The Art Of Thawing A Frozen Heart

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I was working in one of the East end gardens alone when there came the sound of a door opening and closing softly. I turned around to see prince Hiccup, his face ruddy and hair windblown. He was panting so I assumed he had been running. After catching a few quick breaths he pushed away from the door and jogged swiftly away towards one of the sheds, too preoccupied to take notice of me. I looked back at the door he had come through before hearing the raucous laughter from inside. Pinning that as the reason he had been running, I realized that maybe his previous nerves were slightly justified. I wondered what had him running away so fast and abandoned my work to go stalk out the shed. When I got there I found him "hiding" behind a few hay bales. Pushing away some of the straw I tapped his shoulder. He jumped up, screaming slightly before landing once again on the wall. "Woah there! Take it easy, it's just me." I told him, smiling at the small scream. The prince let out a huge sigh of relief before letting his head roll back to the wall behind him. "Sorry… I thought you were one of them." He said. "Terrible trio's got you running, hm?" I walked over to sit down beside him. He nodded, "Yeah," I watched as he still worked to catch his breath. "I hate running."

I laughed, elbowing him in the side. "Not me. It feels like it's been ages since I sprinted. You run through enough forests with royal guards on your tail, and you learn to love running. After a while, it's the only thing that feels safe. Honestly, it still feels strange to have been in one place this long." I told him. Now that he knew about my past anyway I had nothing to hide. He pulled is legs up to his chest and laid his head down on his arms. "Maybe you're right. But if you spend enough time in one place you get scared of going anywhere else." He said. I nodded, he had a point there. To each his own I guess. "Are you alright?" I asked, still curious. He nodded, "I'm fine it's just… gods I could really use a drink." He said. I raised my eyebrows, "That bad, huh?" I asked. He chuckled softly, "Mm-hmm, they're all more than deserving of my name."

Just then there came a scream as someone ran out a side door of the castle. It was a woman's (that or a very effeminate man's) voice, and judging by the overly high pitch… "Gods! Now they're after the girls?!" Hiccup complained in disbelief, dragging a hand down his face. He stood up, brushing away the straw from his clothes. I was surprised he could be so calm considering what had happened that morning in the stables. I'd had a bit more experience so it was easier to prepare myself, but Hiccup seemed almost as if he was too distracted to notice or had just forgotten completely. For some reason this brought out a childish possessiveness in me. Even though I knew it was for the best, I didn't want him to forget. I stood up beside him and put out a hand to stop him as he tried to leave. "Hmm? Is something wrong?" He asked, looking about himself like he had missed a piece of straw somewhere. I breathed a laugh, seeing an opening, "Here," I said, pulling myself closer to him and wrapping my arm around the back of his head. I twisted my fingers in his hair, pretending to fish something out. When I had succeeded in getting him to blush, I threw the invisible piece of straw somewhere behind him. I dragged my hand intentionally soft across his shoulder as I let my arm drop. "You're getting a bad habit of forgetting to check your hair." I told him, resisting the urge to wink.

He nodded quickly and looked away "T-Thank you. I'm, um, I'm probably late for supper though so I'll just... see you in the morning, then." He choked out. I gave him a smile, knowing full well what I had just done to the poor boy. "Alright, then. See you soon." I told him, already knowing that he would see me again before morning came. The little pocket in the back of my mind filled with potentially risky ideas had just provided me with the most wonderful thought...

I had gotten dressed for bed a little earlier than usual, but the sun had already set. I walked across the long rug leading to my bed, stretching out my sore arms where too many "playful" punches had been lodged over the last few hours. My neck had gone stiff again despite Jack's small massage that morning. Just thinking about the way his hands felt made something inside me go warm, even though I didn't want to admit so. I took off my robe, letting it fall into a pile on the floor before crawling under the covers. The bed was warm and inviting after the hectic day filled with Snotlout and the twins. Somehow they had managed to break the corner off of a hefty wooden table in one of the common rooms. That would have to be taken away before anyone else arrived and replaced before anyone could take notice. Just how rough did you have to be to take off the corner of a three-inch-thick hardwood table with no sort of apparatus to aid in said destruction? I shook my head into the soft pillow, trying to chase the annoying thoughts of my cousin away. I let myself sink into the bed, and closed my eyes…