Snow for the Dragon

Goodbyes

"This is excellent . And take full credit for you have done all the work sir, I have simply given you permission and some advice on the way. Your father would be very proud of you. I am sure of it." Elsa replied, feeling a bit sad when talking about the old Lord, Sidius's father, who had been a good friend to her family.He had recently passed away.
Thank you, your majesty!" He replied as he started to pack up his trade documents and carefully rolled up the newly signed trade sanction into a cylindrical container . Seeing the sad look in Elsa's eyes, the young man looked reproachfully at her." I think about my father every day ....hoping to make him proud, that's why I do this, I know he wanted the trade routes to be fully functional. ". The young lord sighed before picking up the last of his papers. "I will make sure to keep you updated on our progress. Thank you once again for seeing me on such short notice your majesty, I know there is a lot to be settled before the Vikings and your cousins leave today." . Elsa felt her heart clench at the mention of all of them leaving. To distract herself, she called out to the Lord. "Please. won't you stay for dinner? ". The Lord smiled and declined politely. "I'm afraid I can't, your majesty. I need to fetch across the northern isles , to the kingdom of Berk. The King was my correspondent over letter until a few days ago when there seemed to be no response. " . Elsa giggled softly. The an looked at her confused ."What is it your majesty?". Elsa composed herself. "Lord Sidius, the reason the King of Berk hasn't been replying to letters you've been sending to Berk, is because he is currently here, visiting Arendelle. ". His eyes widened . "Really!? Please tell me who it is, your majesty. I will save myself the trouble of getting across that harsh climate up north. ". Elsa smiled. She had introduced him to Hiccup that morning , but, upon Hiccup's insistence, had introduced him as just by his first name. So that's why the Lord had no idea who he was. And Sidius hadn't reached Arendelle in time for the formal dinner two days ago. "I believe you have met him today morning, my Lord.". She smiled at his bewildered expression. "But... the only person you introduced me to was Sir Hicc..... " he trailed off as he realized. " You dint mean.... but he's so young.. and the man in my letters was so wise...". Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Really? You can't believe a young person can be king, even though you know me, who is just his age? And he has gone through a lot early on his life, giving him wisdom beyond his years. ". He began backing out. " Please excuse me, my queen, I jeed to go find the king as fast as possible. ". Elsa chuckled and nodded. With a sigh, Elsa turned to look at the disarray of papers spread over her desk the table which had been placed next to it. It was a mix of drawings, plans and maps, some she was sending with Hiccup to Berk while some they had used in their work during the past weeks. There was a strange mix of old and new papers, showing just how much they had dug through her library the pat few weeks.The Vikings stay, which originally had been planned to only a week, had turned into a five weeks instead. In the beginning it had been prolonged because of what happened with the Duke of Angmarr , but as she and Hiccup had gotten lost in one of his projects, the stay had been stretched out until they were finished, which had only been two days ago, the Vikings using the past two days to pack up their things. Looking at the mess on her table, Elsa knew she would lie if she said she wasn't going to miss all of them. Just as Anna had said last night the castle would be empty without her cousins and the Vikings, all of them having been a breath of fresh air to the usually dull court which only consisted of the same people doing their best to climb the ranks and in her esteem.The Vikings hadn't done this and she thought this was why they had connected so well, not only the royal family, but with everyone.Valka had started to become a motherly figure to Elsa and Anna. Especially Elsa. And astrid had actually turned out to be good friend, despite initial hostilities. Snotlout was still snobbishly annoying. He tried to flirt with Elsa every chance he got, but most of the time it ended with him getting punched in the face my Astrid. When it came to her and Hiccup's relationship, it had deepened. The more they had gotten to know each other, the more relaxed she kept feeling in his company and the warmer she started to feel when he was around. She had also begun to notice that she would miss him when he was not there, even if it meant that she was just missing the comfortable silence they so often shared when they worked together. She had very much come to enjoy his simple company. She valued his opinions and she knew he was always honest with her. He was not afraid to speak his mind, no matter if he knew she would like his opinion or not, and she found that it both intrigued her and made her trust for him to grow.
It would be strange to have him leave now after all this time, and Elsa realized that she would even miss the way they had been forced to partner up against the constant teasing they had suffered from the others, both having become slightly tired of constantly having to hear little comments about their friendship.
Thankfully, the others had never spoken about the subject when people outside of the family were present and Elsa could accept their teasing since she knew it was just that; teasing. After all, she and Hiccup were just friends and nothing more. There were tines when her heart would flutter when he looked at her with his intense green eyes, or that she would feel a strange warmth in her heart when he looked at her with eyes filled with laughter, meant nothing at all. She had come to the conclusion that this probably only happened because she was so unused to let someone in as much as she had let Hiccup in, for it could be nothing else.
Sure he made her laugh and they had opened up about to each other more and more, she had even taken him up to her ice palace late one night. It had been about two weeks after their talk by the Fjord when she had approached him after dinner, saying that she wanted to show him her palace of solitude. Hiccup had not questioned anything about her strange request, instead she had seen that he knew it was not simply about her wanting to show him the palace she had built. They had met at the castel terrece in the middle of the night and flown on Toothless high up into the Northern mountains, Elsa finding some calm from his warmth in the cold night. It had been the first time Elsa returned to her palace since she had been taken away by prince Hans and the guards. The need to return had grown stronger the more she had started to accept herself, for she had felt more and more that she need to return to get some kind of closure. The only thing that had bothered her had been the fact that she hand't wanted to go alone.
Hiccup had been the natural choice for her.Of course, she contemplated between Anna and him but he had something Anna, how much ever Elsa loved her, didn't have. He knew of the dark emotions connected to the place, how it felt to be alone, and in the end she had been happy she had brought him along, for he had helped her overcome the dark memories which had flooded through her once she stepped through the palace doors.
They had been there for each other, like friends always were and now she was going to miss him very dearly, like one missed your best friend. A knock on the door made her jump slightly and she realized she had been so lost in her thoughts she had not even begun sorting the papers. Collecting her racing thoughts, she turned her attention to the papers as she called out for the one who had knocked to enter, Kai appearing in the doorway. " Chief Hiccup is here to see you, your majesty." He said in a small voice. Elsa smiled and nodded at him. Kai bowed out of the room as Hiccup smiled and entered.He was dressed in his green tunic and Viking attire once more and she hadn't seen him in it since the first few days that they met.
Elsa felt a small pang in her chest once more, the sight reminding her of the fact that they were all soon about to leave.