Omphalos (Hiccelsa)

Chapter 6

And what of Ophelia? Would she live in their house, acting like a child before they had their own? He was sure Elsa loved her, but did Elsa really want to become a mother to a child that wasn't her own? He would have to ask his mother about this one.

"So…Astrid…" Elsa spoke up softly, "Is she going to be a problem in this marriage?" Her voice was quiet, but there was a hard edge behind it. Hiccup sighed.

"Astrid was my first love, and I'll never forget her, and no one could ever ask me to, and if they did, I wouldn't. But…she has been gone…and now I'm going to marry you," He looked her in the eye, "And I'm not going to punish you for not being her, or for arriving when she didn't." He said.

"I understand." Elsa nodded.

"Did you leave anyone back home, that maybe you could have loved?" He asked. Elsa chuckled, and shook her head.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I suppose I only had this eventually for me- an arranged marriage or picking blindly from a list of suitors, and at the very most, handing the kingdom over to Ophelia when I became too old." She said, and she glanced behind her to see her niece riding on Valka's shoulders, Hubert flying obediently at her head.

"Did you want marriage and children?" Hiccup asked softer. Elsa gave a little shake of her head.

"I don't know." She reconciled after a moment, "Marriage, perhaps. But I saw Anna with children and I didn't want them, but at the same time I didn't not want them. Oh, that makes no sense, but I…I don't know." She gave a dry scoff, "I guess there's not really much of a choice about children now."

"I think I've always wanted kids. So…if you want me to raise them…" He started uncertainty.

"And me have nothing to do with them? I may not necessarily want them now, but I can't imagine ignoring them or leaving them!" She said, drawing back.

"I didn't mean it that way, I just…" He muttered to himself, rubbing his hands tiredly across his face. He felt like it was the beginning of his relationship with Astrid all over again. He just seemed to say the stupidest of things. Luckily, Elsa's expression softened, and there was the telltale tapping of Ophelia nearly tripping on her hurt leg to reach them, Hubert flung over her shoulder like a scarf.

"You're going to get married! To King Hiccup!" She cried with glee, "Anna will be so happy! I can't wait to see her here. I wonder if my new sibling is here yet?" She asked, prancing around in a little circle, and Elsa and Hiccup shared a look. Elsa's hands shook, and she wrapped her arms around herself.

Ophelia was already far a head of the pair going back to their house, but not far enough that she was out of their sight.

"Oh, what am I going to tell her? And how can she understand that she can't tell anyone the things we have back home?" She asked, shaking her head.

"Hopefully everyone will think it's an overactive imagination on a four-year-old." Hiccup pointed out, "You could always lie, make her not want to go back." He said softly, "But I think you're the type that wouldn't do that." He said. Elsa snapped her head up.

"Never." She said tartly, realizing Hiccup's suggestion, "I could never make her feel…unwanted…" The words caught on her lips, and Hiccup nodded.

"You're exactly the sort of queen we need, Elsa." He said, sighing, "That would be the traditional Viking way to handle things." He said sourly.

"Would it be your way?" She asked, melting his eyes. Hiccup gave a tight grin.

"Unfortunately, no, which makes me at odds with my tribe, because I don't think I'll ever understand what a Viking really is. Oh, if you could have met my father, he was the true Viking, really!" He said, his eyes shining, "But he always loved me. He would go to the ends of the earth for me, and that's how it all ended." Hiccup kicked the dirt, "And now if I could only be a quarter of the chief he was, I'd do some good."