A couple days later, Hiccup looked at his list of things to do that day, and gave a long sigh at the tasks ahead of him.
Sure, it only held two items, but each item could either have a million sub-items or be considered to be the biggest item he'd ever have to succeed in his life, perhaps more daunting then meeting a 'dangerous' Night Fury for the first time.
The list read as such:
Hiccup's To-Do-List
1) Build House
2) Talk to Council about Wedding Night
He whistled for Toothless, who sprang over the house like it was only a boulder in his way. He stuffed the list, not like he formally needed it written down other than for dramatic effect, into a pocket.
"Hey buddy. You have anything you really need to do today?" Hiccup greeted his friend, rubbing his nose. He saw Toothless' eyes glow with a gleam at the idea of spending a whole day with his best friend. The dragon gave a shake of his head.
"Good!" Hiccup said, sighing in relief, "Because I'm really going to need your help building the house." He said, and immediately, Toothless' eyes narrowed, and he looked like he was going to turn around.
"Aw, don't be like that." Hiccup sighed, "I know you don't want me to marry Elsa, but it's going to happen. Do you want us to freeze in a half-finished house, and be the laughing stock of the village?" Toothless sent him a scathing look.
"Okay, so I know she wouldn't freeze, but I would. You'd feel terrible if I died because you were a useless reptile and wouldn't help your best friend build his house." He pointed out. Toothless paused, considering this, and eventually came to sit by his friend, but it was clear he wasn't going to agree to do this any other way.
The house sat in all it's unfinished glory on the hill. It was half him being a chief and finding little time to get away at all, and half in ineptitude keeping him from finishing certain fixtures that although he knew somehow had to be there, he couldn't imagine the way in which they were all put together.
He could study his house, but he didn't want it to be a carbon copy of that. He wanted it to be a place that he and Elsa could make their own, a distinctly different feel so that one day when his children would go to his old home, 'Grandma's place would be a whole different world entirely. And Hiccup couldn't even claim all the work for his own that he'd created so far; it had been Toothless that he'd found curled up one day with much more room to spare in a tree that had been hit with lightning, and through time hollowed out. That had been the beginning of his abode.
A glorified tree house, Camacazi had cackled, seeing the very base work a month or so ago, which was true. But since then, he was quite pleased with what he had added on. The hollowed out tree was the front room and a sitting area. He had expanded upward and all different directions out from there. Instead of his house being so open, he'd carefully carved out doors and left the area with natural lighting and a certain musk to it.
There was still much to do, but for the first time as Hiccup stood on the hill and looked up, it started to look like somewhere someone would one day live. It didn't look like an odd mashing of wooden poles leaning against an obnoxiously large tree, but a structure.
It was far away from the rest of the village; there was a wide grassy felid behind them with a stream about a mile or so away. But this was how it always was; the chief would build away so that they could start their family in a quiet setting, and people built around him. It was quite needed, new houses. Now that they were seemingly entering a time of peace and stability, babies were being born at an alarming rate. Elsa said this was quite normal after wars or times of strife, but Hiccup didn't have the history, or could not recall this happening. All the other tribes were facing similar problems, but it wasn't as much as a concern for food, now with dragons who loved the babies and were concerned about their food too. But dragons could kill things so much easier.
He scoffed; he wondered if Toothless would care if his child were hungry. But that was silly, of course he would. He may seem to have a cold exterior whenever Hiccup brought up children, but deep down, he was quite playful with the baby dragons, even gentle, and he couldn't let a child of his best friend be upset, regardless of the idea that it had to have come from Hiccup's spouse somehow.
"Well, buddy, what do you think?" He asked. Toothless looked a little irked that his once comfy hideaway had been turned into a house, but he butted his head against Hiccup's shoulder, a positive sign.
"Yeah, me too." Hiccup agreed, and took out a different notebook, with everything that he needed to finish on the house. He had the whole day, but had to take in the time it would take to fight with the council. He was far from done, for he still had to figure out what furniture needed to be made (although in his tribe, furniture built by various members of the community were built for him, so he needed to see what he didn't have and go from there) and had to fine-tune all the sharp edges.
"We need more sticks like this." He started, turning to Toothless, "They need to be just thick enough to- Toothless! Stop it! Leave that fox alone!" He scolded, noticing Toothless stalking a fox who batted its paws at him, "Listen to me, buddy."
Toothless shot him a look, but rolled his large eyes, and literally collapsed his feet out from under him to watch Hiccup with already bored eyes.
"Sticks. Well, branches. Like this. As many as you can find, okay?" Hiccup instructed shortly, realizing that Toothless' attention span would either wear out, or he would hit a point when he realized he really didn't want to be helping building the house. After he had flown away, Hiccup went to the stream where he had found a large despite of clay and continued to make the bricks for the chimney.
It wouldn't look like the usual Viking house, per say. Not the usual tent-like shape with the large intimidating dragon that usually went on the front of a ship, but hey…Hiccup had never said he felt like he was a Viking. Elsa surely wasn't. He hoped that she would appreciate a seemingly less characteristically Viking look, perhaps it would remind her a little more of home. He ever so much wished that he knew more about the time she had come from; he would have loved to add anything in there, a little something just for her that she would see and realize how much he cared for her.
With sufficient enough bricks, just outside the main trunk, he began carving out the chimney, and of course he wasn't able to use much of the main wood for a wooden house with a fire would burn. Toothless finally returned, dragging a tree back with him. A literal tree pulled from the soil. Well, it had many branches the size he needed, so he supposed that he couldn't fault his friend too much. Toothless seemed a little defeated when Hiccup thanked him with a smile.
He knew Toothless far too well than to play into his little games. "Hey bud, you want to fire these clay bricks?" He asked. They would take forever to dry, and why, he could just have a dragon fire them and be so much farther ahead. Toothless gave him a look that clearly indicated he had hoped that he would have been released from such tasks after dragging back a whole tree, but went over to where they were lying none the less.
Toothless did manage to fire them, and only set the meadow a little on fire.
After, it seemed that since Toothless had not given him another job, he decided to periodically poke Hiccup in the side with the end of his tail. It was a spontaneous poke, and whenever Hiccup would turn to stick his tongue out, Toothless would be doing something else, and then look at Hiccup with a 'who, me?' expression on his face. Annoying reptile.
"Do you want to find me another tree?" Hiccup asked, after sawing off all the usable parts and realizing that he would at least need another one.
Toothless shot off so fast you'd swear the devil himself was on his tail. In true Toothless fashion, he wouldn't be back for a few hours. He looked like he'd eaten in that time, and probably went and annoyed some of the mothers by riling up the baby dragons, before he returned.
And then, just as Hiccup was about to ask him to do another task, his eyes narrowed and he shot off. Well, Hiccup knew he couldn't talk and he assumed it was a leader-dragon related thing, but he wished he knew for sure.
"Great spending time with you too!" He called after, shaking his head with a laugh. He heard Toothless hiss back at him from the sky, dropping one last stick nearly on his head.
"You missed!"
The apparent second branch did not.
He worked a little longer, feeling very much relieved by the time the yellow sun was drifting through the tops of the skies, and he wiped away a bead of sweat. A dragon dropped down beside him, and at first he turned to taunt Toothless for returning, but saw it was Mercedes and she had a note hanging around her neck. He took it off, and unraveled it.
Dear Hiccup,
I would like to ask you to join Elsa and I for a pretty princess picnic down by the river. Valka says we're not allowed to see the house, so I hope you get this note.
Sincerely,
Ophelia.
Hiccup gave a chuckle at the handwriting and obvious scratched out mistakes, and Mercedes let him climb onto her back. She brought him down to a place a couple miles away, still out of reach of the town, where Elsa and Ophelia were just setting things up on a large blanket.
"Hiccup! You came!" Ophelia cried in joy, and went up to hug him. The unexpected show of emotion had Hiccup blinking back a strong feeling, and smiled.
"I bet this was your idea, huh?" He asked.
"Of course!" Ophelia harrumphed, "But Elsa's too. She said you must be hungry after working on a house all day, and I told her we would have a picnic for us then."
"Well, Elsa was right. I could eat a dragon." He said, winking at Hubert.
Ophelia set him down right away, and handed him a crown made from flowers. Hiccup looked at it a little hesitantly.
"You have to wear it." Ophelia prompted, "Elsa's wearing one too. It is a princess picnic." She said, glaring at Hiccup. He knew better than to argue with a young child, and hastily put it on.
"A princess picnic, eh?" He asked.
"Well I'm a princess." Ophelia said, as if it was very clear.
"Really?" He asked, going along with her. She seemed very confident on the matter.
"Of course. Back home, I'm Princess Ophelia. And here, well, Elsa's a queen and you're marrying her, so you're a king." She said, and then got very shy, "And…" She trailed off.
"What dear?" Elsa asked, pulling her onto her lap, and Ophelia gave a shy smile.
"And you're sort of like my mom and dad here. You both love me, and you care for me and for right now, you're the only parents I've got, so that makes me a princess here too."
Her words stunned both Hiccup and Elsa for a moment. Elsa more so was glancing at Hiccup frantically, for she had no idea what to expect Hiccup's reaction to be. Hiccup was staring at this girl, realizing how if he and Elsa had a daughter, he'd have no doubt it would be like her- headstrong, fearless, but still kind.
"I guess you are a princess." He finally said, and Elsa visibly relaxed.
"The only difference is if you two were my parents, I'd be Queen Ophelia one day, though." She said, but then shook her head, "Naw- I like being a princess better!" Her words nevertheless strung something in Hiccup; an idea. The whole rest of the meal, once the pair of females forgot Ophelia's initial words, Hiccup's mind was spinning.
He did a good act of seeming otherwise interested in what they talked about, and he earnestly enjoyed the food, but there was an itch that he could not wait to scratch. Once the meal was ending, he allowed himself a few extra minuets to go and play with Ophelia while Elsa lay in the sun, but then promptly excused himself.
"I'm going to the council, I have some things to talk about." A wave of understanding flooded Elsa's eyes, but then Hiccup paused and added, "Whatever happens…I'll explain it."
Elsa did not understand this, and wondered what he meant.
He knew from his mother the council was in session today, planning finishing details on the wedding, so when he opened the door he was not at all surprised to find a full body sitting before him.
"I request an audience," Hiccup said loudly, causing all the chatter to pause. His mother looked confused, and when someone asked her why Hiccup was there, she had no answer.
"Hiccup, we were not expecting you." One said, "Please, explain."
"I would, as a chief, like to discuss a tradition or rule." He said. It was not crazy for chiefs to challenge traditions or rules, seldom changed, but it was attempted all the time. Mostly they accepted they changed as a village, and in such, traditions that were in style years ago no longer fit into the day's society.
"Please specify."
Hiccup took a large breath, "I will, in a moment, but I would also like to discuss a matter that will tie into the rules. I would like to adopt Ophelia as my own and give her the rights to the village as the first born heir." He said.
The bedlam of people's voices was overwhelming.
"A female?" Someone said, glancing down at him skeptically, "I know that's how those Bogs do it, but we do not."
"If I were to die, would anyone question Elsa leading singularly, if our children were not old enough? Or Astrid, if I had married her?" He asked. There was the almost offended coughing from a few.
"That would be if you died," An old woman argued, "This is the idea of voluntarily assuring the leadership to a female."
"And she would marry." Hiccup hastened, "She would not be unwed, there would be a man here."
"It's keeping it in the family though," Someone else said uneasily, "The man's blood, your own blood."
"I love Ophelia as if she were my own." Hiccup said quite honestly, "She is young enough to assimilate to our culture still, and she is already a fearless and headstrong character."
"While that's all roses that you love her like that," Someone else said, "She is still not of your blood."
"Blood is…" Hiccup paused, considering his clothes carefully, "Precarious. Adoption can yield familiar family members. Do you not remember Badger? Who was adopted into a family after the Louts murdered his family, and the shore found him? How by the time he was grown, although he looked nothing of his father, people could not believe he was not their real son? Mannerisms, the way he talked, everything. He was about Ophelia's age." He said.
"We are not denying this." A voice from before said, "But this is the chiefdom. Girl of boy, how can we be sure that this girl is worthy?"
"You found her blood relative worthy enough to bear my children, the future heirs?" Hiccup reminded. This quieted a few people.
"What do you say, Valka." The skeptical woman asked, and everyone turned to his mother. She looked still a little shocked.
"I don't know if I should have a voice in this; I'm much to biased." Valka admitted with a warm smile at her son.
"That's almost all we needed to hear," Someone pointed out, "If you had any bad feelings of the girl, you would have said so. Your reluctance speaks louder than if you had spoken."
"Does it matter?"
"Well we did ask her opinion," Someone said, starting to looker a little keener on the idea.
The resounding voices grew in timbre until it was nearly too loud for Hiccup to speak, for everyone was shouting over each other. Finally, the lead Elder banged his staff loudly against the floor.
"We need to discuss this per the usual way." He said, "Hiccup, you must leave, you're only agitating a perfectly debate discussion." Hiccup was more than happy to oblige, for it meant even a few were considering his words. And it only took a drop of water to begin a hurricane.
He sat outside the lodge, twiddling his thumbs, wondering if this is how he reacted to his first question, how they would react to his second. Better? Worse? Same? He was soon called back in.
The lead elder spoke, and it seemed all the others were watching him with calculating eyes. Even his mother's face showed nothing. "We have come to a conclusion. We will give her the rights, but only if she is your daughter. If you and Elsa agree to adopt her and call her your daughter instead of a niece, and let us take her during certain days to instill tradition, we can find this acceptable." He said, "But we do not take this decision lightly, Hiccup." He warned.
"Of course. And it wouldn't be official without a signed paper, now would it? Shows I'm serious about it too- you can add in your stipulations, I've already signed it." He said, handing the parchment and the charcoal stick to the elder. The elders argued amongst themselves for a good twenty minuets about the exact wording, but soon it was all settled, and Hiccup rolled up the paper and put it back into his bag.
Hiccup clapped his hands. "Perfect!" He said, "Now do you all remember there was something else to my agenda today?"
The lead elder looked as if he had hoped Hiccup had forgotten about his other point, but gave a weary sigh all the same. "Go on…"
"While it's all fine and dandy to expect Elsa to go through with certain traditions, I believe that we should be sensitive about some that are unfamiliar and even awkward for her to perform." He said.
"I think I know where he's going." Someone said out loud from the back, but they were quickly shushed.
"Let me guess," The lead elder gave him a scathing look, "The wedding night."
"There's a reason you're the leader of this group." Hiccup nodded, giving a slight chuckle, but no one else laughed, so he sobered, "The whole reason to have the bedding ceremony is so that it can be assured an heir will be arriving soon, correct?"
"Yes…" The elder agreed carefully.
"But there already is an heir, as you have just agreed so- Ophelia." He touched the paper as a gentle reminder. The slow realization they'd been duped feel upon the elders like a rolling storm. He expected fury on the face of the lead, but finally, a grin broke out.
"You are sly, Hiccup." He waggled a finger, "I can see your point, I didn't like it any better than I did on my wedding, but you've found a way around it. Well, not completely." He said, and everyone leaned in, "You're family was just an unfortunate case, your mother disappearing when you were still a babe, but we like to have some…insurance."
"Another child. Of course." Hiccup anticipated this, and he himself wanted one, so he was not opposed.
"We will not disturb you on your wedding night by watching. It is a part of the consummation, and only Odin above will know if you uphold it or not, but within five months- we expect another child on the way." He said.
"But it's a tradition!" Someone cried from the back, aghast.
"We've already broken more than one today," The elder rubbed his eyes, "Why not break some more?" Even so there was a tiny grin.
"Thank you sir." Hiccup said, bowing out, elated with the way today went.
"Don't disappoint me, Haddock." The elder waggled a finger.
Hiccup gave a half-scoff, half-laugh, "Wouldn't dream of it sir."
Now to find Elsa.
Elsa was sitting outside by Mercedes, working on sewing back together some clothes of hers she'd ripped while flying recently, and more so to get outside for some fresh air. That was one of the nice things here; at home, had she ever wanted to go outside, a heavily armed guard squad escorted her. She couldn't have a moment to herself without someone intruding on her perfect moment. Here? No one cared- she could fly off for a whole day, and it would only bat a couple eyes, but hardly more than that.
This was more than she'd expected, but it seemed wherever she was bound to end up, her future was much the same. Anna hadn't known, but back home she was being pressured to look into suitors to marry. A female leading alone? Fine, for a time being, but they wanted heirs. Elsa wanted to give the throne to Anna or her children anyway. That was, until she almost wasn't a queen here and realized she missed it.
Had the roles been reversed, Anna on her coronation day would have opened the doors forever and searched high and low for the love of her life, and then the advisors would never be on her tail for a man. Then again, if Anna was queen, she would have married Hans with no regard for her sister's objections, and that would have been a horrible mess of things. Elsa was nearly sure she wouldn't be alive if Anna had married Hans, so perhaps it was better she was the first born after all.
She had remembered the list of suitors vividly; how could she not, pouring over them for hours, trying to find a way out of it, or find the best of the bunch that they found to be 'acceptable matches?'
If Hiccup had been on the list of suitors, would she have picked him? No, she wouldn't have.
Sure, at first glance, he was ruggedly attractive, but none of the people on her list were not (except this one poor Prince, but he was very wealthy, so some shallow girl would suck it up regardless of his looks, but Elsa still felt bad for him) although none in the way he was. There were the clean-pressed handsome, the buff-handsome, the carefree-handsome…but really, would she have found Hiccup redeeming after just a look?
That was the thing, though. It wasn't until she had him and got to know him that she realized that perhaps she was what she needed after all. She was strong enough at it was, she didn't need a guy looking to always save the damsel in distress. She was a leader to begin with, so did she want someone who would always push to be in that spotlight too? She sometimes had a cold demeanor, so perhaps someone so kind and gentle and caring was someone that she could melt with? Hiccup was nothing like the kind she expected to marry, but slowly, perhaps she could admit that he was exactly what she needed.
"Elsa!" He said, sliding up to her with giddy, childish excitement, "I have great news!"
"I can't even guess." Elsa said honestly.
"Our wedding night…it only happens if we choose it to. No one will watch, no one will check." He said, and Elsa's cheeks burned.
"I thought it was tradition, though!" She said, not exactly objecting, but also extremely surprised.
"I changed it, you asked me too." He shrugged as if it was the easiest thing on earth, which she knew indeed was not, and his nonchalant attitude made her smile more.
"It's not without stipulations," He added. Elsa was sure whatever the rules they'd declared were could only be a thousand times better than some creepy elder watching her and Hiccup as they-
She shook her head rapidly, trying to dispel the sudden image of her and Hiccup in a room with the lights off and the feeling of skin against skin. It made her whole face turn red, and her chest constrict with a half self-scolding feeling, but a half secret want.
"Okay, what are they?" She asked, wondering if she sounded as breathless as she'd suddenly become.
"They do want an heir within five months, but that means we have at least four to, you know, take it slow." He said, turning his face away, and she wished she could see his expression. Was it a sense of want to? Embarrassment? Disgust? In that moment, Elsa couldn't recall his feelings toward what they'd have to do at all. She had perhaps made hers plain a little prematurely, but he'd never expressed his feelings, other than the desire for children. But that didn't necessarily mean that wanting one wanted the other, for of course she was just a convenience, but he couldn't possibly see her that way…could he?
She wanted to doubt it, recalling the kisses. They were…lustful, but they were also kind and gentle. If he was a Viking like Unn, taking what he wanted would be no skin off his back, he would sleep without a thought about what he'd done. But he wasn't like that, first off, and secondly being a gentleman about her intimacy did not equal love or attraction. But he had hinted that he loved her, in the smallest of ways. And if not love, very much cared for her, which she found so odd to imagine. If she didn't know herself, she sometimes thought she would not be friends with herself. And here was a man that had known her for such a short time that was already perhaps in love with her, when Elsa found it hard to even love herself. That had to count for something.
But was she ready to give herself to him in less a month? She would have to consider this. It was all very hot and quick, like sparks from a flint stone, but other than her more recent acceptance of their compatibility, when she took herself away from all her feelings, it still made her feel uncomfortable to think about.
"Also, well, they agreed because I said we'd adopt Ophelia and make her the first heir." Hiccup said, and winced, waiting for her response. This snapped Elsa from her debates in he remind, and she hastily looked around, before lowering her voice.
"We can't do that! She's supposed to go home!" She growled.
"I know!" Hiccup held up a hand, matching her whisper, "But this gives us more time and a non public wedding night. They'll train her, and when she disappears it will really quite dreadful, but hey- they'll be a second child then." He pointed out, and Elsa quieted. It's not like the were going to tell the council they planned on sending Ophelia home, and it would look as though she had tragically vanished.
And now…she supposed Ophelia would be a princess here too, just like she said.
"I love her like a daughter, already," Hiccup laughed, "Is that weird?" He asked, looking at Elsa, "It's only been a month or so."
Elsa almost laughed, but she didn't. Instead she just smiled. "No, Hiccup, I don't think that's weird at all."