Two days later, Hiccup still wound the name 'Mercedes' over his lips, attempting to get used to the unfamiliar accented lit that Elsa said it with. She had attempted to explain the plot to him, but many of the things in the book were not created yet, so she often was going back and explaining key details and in the end, she was pretty sure it was a lost cause.
Hiccup found it slightly interesting, but he could tell that even when he restrained his questions, his face said it all and she was loosing in her interest in making him understand her name choice.
That day, bright and sunny as it was, Ophelia was out with Valka before visiting the school the next morning. She wasn't starting, but perhaps, Elsa had budged a little. She wanted to see how Ophelia reacted to a sit-in, and if it went well, she would more formally consider it as an option. Now, it was just herself and Hiccup sitting at the table, chewing on their food. She watched as Hiccup mouthed 'Mercedes', but once again stumbled where she put the second accented 'e' into her speech. He didn't even realize he was doing it, and she found that a little adorable.
"Trying to master my dragon's name?" She teased slightly, stirring her food around in the bowl.
"Are you a virgin?"
The question literally came from nowhere, and Elsa's whole face turned bright red altogether. She dropped her spoon, and sputtered.
"What kind of a question is that?" She demanded hotly, fishing for her dropped utensil.
"Snoutlout asked. I mean, it's common for women to be maidens when they are first married. If you weren't, I could hardly judge, but I-,"
"You cannot ask a women that, Hiccup!" Elsa cried, completely mortified.
"So…is that a no, from your reaction." He asked more strategically, narrowing his eyes with thought.
"Hiccup." Elsa took a deep breath, "Not that it is any of your concern, but I am. Either way, that is not a question you go around asking so blatantly at our lunch table." She said evenly, a darkening fire beneath her eyes. He noticed that she had sat on her hands, an odd gesture, and her whole body shook.
"So…it was bad of me to ask that?" He had been honestly curious! Not in a sexy, weird way, but in a 'hey let's get to know each other way'. He figured he'd just start with a hard one, so that nothing would feel awkward. Obviously, his plans had failed.
A spoon came flying at his head. He dodged it, and saw that Elsa was now one utensil short. She could have thrown the knife, he reasoned.
"Yes, quite." She replied, although the spoon may have spoken for itself.
"You know, I think Astrid taught me a couple about what not to ask, like the time of the month thing, but I guess I never asked her that." He mused, and Elsa shot him a dirty look.
"At least she was good for something," She hissed sourly.
"But I really have to ask; that outburst two days ago. It was so unlike you…" He twiddled his thumbs, "Was it your time of the month?"
This time, it was the knife that sailed his way. He dodged that too, and it stuck itself into the wood behind him.
"Pretty good arm." He laughed nervously, and realized that that too was an inappropriate question. They sat in silence for a while, then Elsa sighed, leaning her elbows on the table.
"Actually, I apologize, because I may have a question with just as great of inappropriateness." She admitted.
"And?" He questioned.
"Our wedding night…" She began, but trailed off. Hiccup gave her a curious look.
"Well, it is between us, and not an uncommon thing. I can't imagine any question about that being awkward." Elsa had only begun to realize how blasé sex and reproduction was here, in comparison to the very hush-hush and horrified looks when someone so broadly talked about such things. And it was hardly polite for a lady to ever even begin to think such rancid thoughts! But here it seemed most women were so very open, and it was just a 'fact of life' as Camacazi had put it. She was preparing for her own chief ceremony, and was quite nervous, although resigned.
Elsa would not be resigned.
"Well, I've been thinking…" She sighed, "I'm just really, really, really uncomfortable with one of your traditions. I am trying so hard to accept what I find strange and weird and even things that I would never do, but this is one thing that I cannot."
At first, Hiccup didn't quite understand. He didn't love the law, and he found it to be a bit intrusive, but it had happened for centuries. It was just to make sure he filled her with seed that first night, and then they left for the couple to get back to privacy. So he at first thought of arguing this point with her, but from the look on her face, such fear and vulnerability, everything melted away.
"I just, Hiccup…in my time, sex is very taboo. Married people do it, and only married couples. And it is an act of love in my time, not merely a heir. I could not let myself go so easily. I already hardly know you, and like it or not, in two months and less I will be married to you. And I know what that will mean for me, to become a mother. But can't I be able to get comfortable with the situation in my own way with my own time, without some elders watching my every move, every mistake?" her breath broke finally, and she sucked in air, not quite done, "It's so…barbaric! Hiccup, please, for just this one time, see this through my eyes…and realize…I cannot…" She pleaded.
Hiccup frowned. Snoutlout had given him a rule to follow above all others; keep your wife happy. So he asked her, "Does this really make you that upset?" He asked, "I…didn't know."
"It's okay. I didn't tell you. To be honest, Hiccup, I don't know if I'd be willing to go that far with you in just two months anyway. I don't think I could love you by then." She said honestly, her words feeling like lemon on a wound, but he was glad that she was being so giving of her thoughts, as he'd been attempting to get her to talk with him like this for quite some time. He nodded.
"I'm sure there is a loophole somewhere," He agreed, "Or perhaps I can talk to the elders, make them realize the position from your country what you are in." He said, and her whole face lit up, "But Elsa…I think I can get away with the public part of it. I don't' think I can let them give up the consummation of the marriage, though."
Elsa paused to think, then she smiled. "I suppose that was a better arrangement that I had hoped." She shrugged, "I thought you would just tell me that's how it is and that's final."
"I want to try to make you happy." He rubbed the back of his neck, letting himself free. Elsa stood, and came over to him. She planted as sweet and short kiss to his lips that left him nearly speechless.
"What was that for?" He finally blubbered.
"I will have to do much more in two months." She said, then went to the water bins, "And I may not love you, but I can respect you and find you to be a friend. Also, that last comment confirmed my beliefs that you will make a good husband and a good father. That's really the best I could hope for." She said, and brushed off her hands, leaving the room.
Hiccup was still shocked into a silent freeze.
The next day, he didn't know what to say to her. It was like he had a sexy dream involving her, as sometimes he did with random people in his tribe, and then was unable to meet their gaze, although usually there was some confusion as to why the Chief of the Hairy Hooligans was suddenly not meeting the eyes of certain women. But with Elsa, something had happened, something incredible and unexpected, and she seemed perhaps a little smug about it, his reaction. Although, perhaps that was just his imagination.
She was worried about Ophelia, of course. She braided her hair three times, trying to make it perfect and stay in. She wiped away dirt from her shoes, which would only get muddy again, and asked Ophelia twenty times if she was sure she wanted to see the school. Ophelia answered all of the questions with an enthusiastic affirmative, and Elsa paled a little each time.
The school grounds for children her age was located at the heart of the village, where they could be seen easier if someone was trying to escape. They had a whole village to get through if they thought they could just walk out and go frolicking in the meadow!
Eventually, they would move onto the old training area, which was still used for friendly tournaments, but they would learn all of the things of being a Viking for at least five years. Usually, children received their own dragon when they were twelve, and there was a big ceremony. Ophelia already had her own, but Hubert couldn't be ridden like others, so perhaps she may still go through the ceremony as well. Many people had two dragons, and loved them as much as the other.
Ophelia saw children and went off with them right away, for it was their free time in the enclosed space, and Elsa had Hiccup take her to the main teacher. She was a skinny woman, with wide set eyes giving her a frog like face. She was very matronly, even though she had hardly hit fifty-five, with long dresses on and graying blonde hair. She answered all of Elsa's questions patiently, the same attitude he'd seen her give to the young children.
Would accommodations be made for Ophelia's broken leg? Yes of course, did she think they would not notice such things? Could Hubert come to school? If he was good and well behaved, they encouraged it. How well were the children watched? Like hawks, she said. Did the children get one-on-one time, for she had been used to tutors that knew her and her study habits well. The lady responded that in most situations, it was one minor teacher to every five children, but she-being the head- made a point to get to know all the children.
The questions lasted until the children were called inside to continue their day. Ophelia followed behind with a hobble to her step, and Elsa grabbed her hand. "If you want to come home at all-," She began.
"Just tell someone. I know Elsa." Ophelia repeated. Elsa sighed, and watched her go in. She called a promise to be back to pick up Ophelia at one o'clock sharp, half the day.
Hiccup studied her when they walked back.
"This is hard for you, isn't it." He said.
"Yes." Elsa wrung her hands, "You have no idea."
"I've watched you, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to have…well…you like to be in control. Not just of a country, but…" He frowned, and Elsa sat on a rock.
"I suppose so." She agreed, resting her head in her hands, "I grew up being told one day I would be in charge of everything. I was raised to be the one calling the shots, but growing up, I never felt as though I ever had that control. I couldn't stop my sister from harm as a child, I couldn't control my emotions and outbursts, I couldn't control my parents dying, and I couldn't control my sister and I becoming estranged. So when I finally had it…it was so wonderful. For three years, everything was utterly perfect. And now? I've lost it once again. I am no longer a queen of a country I love, I had little choice in my suitor- no offence, and because these customs are strange to me, it is hard for me to make logical decisions, usually falling to someone else to have to make them for me." She said. She hoped he understood, for it was difficult to admit to anyone. She felt that she had done a fair job, even without speaking of her ice powers. She kept her hands busy playing with her fingers to avoid having to accidently show Hiccup them before it's time.
He sat with her. "I do understand, except I had the opposite problem. There was too much for me to decide, so much responsibility and control I didn't want, and still I'm not sure I do. I suppose we are like two sides of the world, the sun and the moon." He said comparatively, and Elsa gave a smile.
"I am the moon, and you are the sun." She agreed, "If only our lives were switched way back when," She chuckled, and Hiccup shook his head with a laugh.
"I suppose. Darn Omphalos. Why don't we get food while we wait for Ophelia to be done?" He asked. And so they did.
Ophelia, much to Elsa's pain, loved school and the children. Because of her broken leg and dragon, plus being such a mystery, she was an instant favorite among the children, and had many friends by the first day. She wanted to go back everyday, and Elsa could only smile a little brokenly and admit perhaps it would be a good thing.
The day after, Ophelia's first day, was an usually sweltering hot day. Hiccup commented they did not usually receive such rays, so enjoy it now. Elsa did not enjoy the heat. Although everyone in the village was unprepared for such weather, they seemed to love being sweaty and stifling hot.
Hiccup had some leader-type things that he'd been apparently putting off, and was going to be gone most of the day. Elsa offered to help him out, but he smiled. "One day. It's negotiations with other tribes, so perhaps we should wait until they meet you first." He said, to which Elsa pouted a little. She instead took her dragon out to the edge of their island, where few people went. Mercedes seemed better off than most dragons, because of her inability to breathe fire, but she was still hot and her tongue lapped out like a dog's. Elsa made her a bed of ice, and she sunk down onto the sheet with a happy breath.
Elsa pulled out a trick she hadn't done in ages; ice clothing. The last time she'd done it had been a parlor trick at Anna's wedding, for she had not had time nor need to do such things since. But today, it was better than the coldest drink on the island to make her underclothes into soft and cool fabrics.
The pair spent the day at the edge, and Elsa talked to her dragon. They ate fruits they found, and watched the waves. Elsa tried to think of Ophelia much, and forced herself to explore and have fun doing it to avoid worrying.
It was two hours before Ophelia's day ended that Hiccup found her, although neither had expected it. He flew in, saw a dragon on the edge where usually were not, and swooped down. Moments before, Elsa saw him and rationalized he would for sure question the gigantic ice that Mercedes lay on, and quickly melted it, leaving mud in it's wake. Alas, her ice-dress was not vanished quickly enough.
"Oh, hey Elsa." He greeted, "Mercedes…" He nuzzled the dragon, and smiled, "She must have been playing in the water all day, she's cool and cold, unlike my dragon. Most Vikings wouldn't think of the cold water right outside our doors!" He laughed, and noticed her clothing, "Where did you get that?"
Elsa backed up a bit, so that he didn't touch it. "Oh, Valka…" She lied. She knew Hiccup wouldn't ask his mother about it, or say anything (Because clothes were clothes, and he didn't understand even Viking women's fashion).
"It looks almost like ice. Too bad it's probably not as cold though!" He chuckled to himself, and got back on his dragon, "I have a little time before I need to go back to the islands. Want to come and fly around a bit with me?" Elsa was infinitely grateful, and was pretty sure there was a god or two on her side, for Hiccup had not pressed or questioned her clothing. She agreed, but said that she would meet him in the sky, and that she should probably change back into her other things, so that this didn't dirty.
When she went into the forest to melt away her clothes back to a simple top and skirt, Mercedes threw her a look.
You have to tell him eventually.
"I know." Elsa groaned, realizing that she was just too lucky, "But I don't' want to scare him. I'm afraid, I am…what if he thinks I'm a monster?" She asked, "No…later I will tell him."
Mercedes' next look was not helpful, and Elsa sighed. She didn't say anything else as she hopped onto her dragon, but knew that soon she would have to say something, before anyone else did.
When she got into the air, she realized that she had been so preoccupied with keeping her ice a secret that she hadn't noticed that Hiccup was sweating so much he'd taken his shirt off. Now it was Elsa's time to blush and look away, and Hiccup smiled.
He hadn't meant to make her feel uncomfortable, but perhaps it was evening out the field after the little kiss a couple days ago, and her reaction made him feel empowered. Special.
Inwardly, Elsa had to admit he looked nice. At that was the beginning of what some people might call a crush, and the realization was so shattering that she had to stop her dragon midflight. She wondered if Hiccup felt even remotely the same.
Yes, he thought in his own mind, yes he already thought he could begin to love Elsa of Arendelle.