The guy that the director had asked had not quite been fully aware of the year it was. He was lucky to even get a time within the ballpark, for it was not ten years since the year Ophelia and Elsa had arrived in Berk but more around thirteen. The director may have realized, had he stuck around any longer, he might have realized this guy probably had no idea what he was talking about, for the many may have tried to convince the director that aliens controlled every person from England or that in two years Italy would sink into the sea.
And if Anna and Kristoff had bothered asking Pabbie, he might have let on that there was at least three more letters from them, meaning that if they were all annual, it couldn't have perfectly fit the times up as the director thought.
But neither happened, although three years is hardly anything in the eyes of people dealing with time-travel.
And miles and miles away from the man who still went on with his conspiracy ranting, in a little tree house on the island of Berk, a man with one leg woke up to silence.
"Elsa...Elsa...wake up...shh...quietly..."
Elsa opened her eyes to the bright sunlight of the morning, feeling her husband's hands slide over her back, rubbing in nice circles. She gave a little sigh of pleasure, and turned.
"Elsa," She heard Hiccup whisper in her hear, "Do you here that?" He asked. Elsa tipped her head against the pillow, frowning, straining to hear something.
"No, I don't hear anything." She said, confused, turning to look at him. A wolfish grin twisted on his face as he pulled her tightly against her.
"Exactly." He whispered in hushed tones, "No screaming kids, no fights, no dragons to disturb us...do you know what that means?" He asked. Elsa gave a playful smile.
"That we can sleep until at least eight AM today?" She asked hopefully, although she knew very well where her husband of thirteen years was heading, but the idea of a few more blissful hours of sleep really were exciting to her.
"Awe, come on. Be a bit more creative." Hiccup pushed, kissing her gently.
"Ten AM?" She teased. For a moment, Hiccup looked genuinely confused, as if he thought Elsa truly was only thinking in terms of sleep, until she burst into soft giggles. Hiccup poked her in the side.
"You minx, you know exactly what I mean!" He accused, "When's the last time a miracle like this happened?" He questioned, his hands resting on her hips and lips ghosting over her neck.
"Exactly nine months before Bjorn was born," She reminded, pushing him away a bit, "We always have the worst luck. That's how Yvonne was created too, may I remind you?"
"Or the best." Hiccup pressed, "You know many Vikings would say the more children the more fortuitous we are." He pointed out.
"We're not most Vikings." Elsa said. Hiccup paused for a couple seconds.
"You have me there." He agreed with a slight laugh, "But maybe if we could just-,"
A cry ripped forth from the hearty lungs of the toddler in the room across from them, and Hiccup and Elsa shared a sigh...now Hiccup wasn't getting anything and Elsa wasn't going to sleep an extra hour. When Bjorn awoke, crying usually, unexpectedly so did the rest of the house. Toothless would be around any moment, glaring at Hiccup for creating such a small and loud human. Bjorn by far had the 'heartiest lungs', or as Gobber had put it, although it was probably to make them feel better.
"I think Bjorn likes being the youngest and doesn't want another sibling." Elsa said as she got up, throwing open her wardrobe door to pick out her outfit for the morning. Hiccup muttered something intelligible, "Dear, it's your morning to sooth him," Elsa reminded as she laced up her dress.
"I know, I know." Hiccup muttered, wiping the sleep from his eyes, "Hopefully he hasn't frozen the whole crib over again!"
While Hiccup went to sooth Bjorn, Elsa stepped into the kitchen to start breakfast. There was a thundering of footsteps when the bacon began to sizzle, an item she knew always attracted the children from every place in the house.
"Ugg, can Bjorn not be so loud?" Rika complained, covering her ears, "He wakes me up every morning!"
"You don't remember, but you were just as cranky too," Ull said, nudging her.
Rika snorted, "Like you remember. You were only like three when you arrived."
"Ahem, four."
The two teenagers continued to bicker, a usual occurrence, which was ignored most often. The rest of her children- her biological children, although Rika didn't know the difference much, sat down.
"Mom! Are's hogging the bacon!" Swain cried, "Look! He has the whole plate!"
"I'm a growing boy," Are replied, "I need it. Mom can make more." He said dismissively.
"Mom will not just make more. Are, give your brothers and sisters some bacon." She said, "You can eat other things. You won't wither away and die today." She said, and Are gave a loud groan, staring distastefully at the oats and fruit.
"But men like bacon!" He said.
"And boys under their mothers roofs will eat their oranges." Elsa said sharply, sending him a glare that quieted him and made him meekly reach for an orange.
"Mom, can we go into town today and buy those fabrics from the foreigners?" Yvonne asked, bouncing up and down in her chair, "Remember the pretty blue ones with the stars? I want those. Or there's the pink ones and the yellow ones, there's ones with flowers, there's a red one Ophelia would like and Rika can get one too and-," Elsa just smiled at her very loquacious daughter, although it was a bittersweet smile, for her only biological daughter reminded her so much of Anna it hurt.
"I don't want ribbons," Rika frowned.
"Maybe Leif would like you if you wore ribbons," Are jibed, a gleam in his eyes. Rika's face blushed bright red and she stuttered.
"I don't like Leif!" She cried, although everyone saw it was clear she did, "Shut up, okay?"
"Rika and Leif sitting in a boat, K-I-S-S-,"
"Ugg! You're impossible!" Rika said, throwing her spoon down and storming out. She was almost as bad as Ophelia during her early teenage years, so luckily Elsa knew exactly how to handle it.
"Are! Don't be mean to her." Elsa said, "Please," She asked.
"It's obvious though!"
"I don't care if it's painted across her chest in bright red letters. You will be kind and understand and not talk about a certain Viking at this table with her around," Elsa said in a low voice, "Okay?"
"Fiiiinnnne..."
Elsa went and retrieved Rika from the living room, where the curly-haired girl was pouting.
"Are is such a jerk!"
"I know, he's 12. What do you expect?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't like Leif."
"Of course you don't. Come back and eat your breakfast now, dear." Elsa said comfortingly, "And you can decide if you want to come into town or not with us."
Rika looked up, wincing. "Maybe I do want some ribbons..." She said quietly.
"I know," Elsa rubbed her back, "Now, come on, or Are will eat all the bacon."
By the time Elsa coaxed Rika back into the kitchen, Hiccup had appeared with Bjorn and set the now happy and babbling toddler in his seat, and put a bowl of oats in front of him, which were at the moment more of a hat than food.
"Hiccup, did you talk to your mother?" Elsa asked, and Hiccup looked at her oddly, "About tonight...?" She reminded him.
"Oh! Oh, yes, Valka will watch and cook dinner while we're at the meeting, no worries." Hiccup realized, and his eyes scanned the table, "Dear, we're missing one."
Technically, they were missing two, but Calder hardly came around anymore. They were lucky to see him more than once a month. It always hurt, seeing him take off, when Elsa knew he was hurting so much, but much like herself and Hiccup in their youth, refused to let anyone in.
The one he was referring to was Ophelia, of course.
"She slept over at Sigrid's last night." Elsa said, and Hiccup scratched his head.
"Did I say yes to that?" He asked, "I swear I'm loosing it, Elsa."
Elsa scratched his head with a gentle laugh, "I did, Hic, don't worry." She assured.
"Good. Don't want her just running off without asking permission..." Hiccup said meaningfully, glaring at Are, who had found it perfectly reasonable the night before to go off to town to see the Dragon festival with his friends, leaving his parent to scramble to find him.
"She's almost nineteen," Elsa commented absently, "Anna was eighteen when she married Kristoff."
All the kids perked up, listening intently, waiting for their mother to say more. They all knew that Ophelia and Elsa were...not from here. As far as they knew, except for Ull, who had been informed by Ophelia, they were refugees from a ransacked kingdom as the only survivors, and therefore never knew this mysterious aunt or uncle their mom talked about. But she talked about them so vibrantly, it was easy for all of them to imagine that well, maybe she was real.
"Marriage?" Hiccup stuttered, "No. Ophelia is way to young to get married!" He said, and Elsa gave a wide smile. It was moments like these, when Hiccup got all cute about his children, that she loved him especially. For some odd reason, out of all the children, he and Ophelia had something special that was even beyond the reaches of her knowledge and understanding.
"Well, I think we're quiet far off. You haven't gotten any marriage offers from anyone for her yet, have you?"
"I have, but they were all losers. No one fit to marry Ophelia." He muttered, "Although that Gustav kid-," He began, but Elsa shook her head.
"He was not right for her." She said simply, "I don't understand why you like him so much..."
Breakfast finished promptly, as everyone prepared for the day. Elsa and Hiccup had to take care of some trading supplies being brought in, and then Snout and Hiccup would go and start to prepare for the leader's meeting later that night. Elsa would go into town to do the day's shopping, and would take the girls with her to help along. Ull accompanied them down to the docks, and although he wasn't their child, he was by the far the most willing to help, especially when his strength was more than Hiccup or Elsa's, and it was a blessing. Rika decided to follow down, feeling a little clingy today, but Elsa was pleased for her company nonetheless. Are and Swain were out riding their dragons, so Elsa had little fear they'd burn down the house. Yvonne would be able to watch Bjorn for the hour or so it took to check off the items and sort out what went where.
It arrived by boat, per usual. Dragons carrying cargo was just not feasible. Elsa first saw a ship approach, and she saw the figure standing on deck, and gave a little sharp intake of breath. No one but her knew Rika's true parentage, not even Hiccup, and while she had been expecting the Outlaw Tribe's shipment of grain and other foods, she hadn't expected Gnaw to oversee it today. He'd been careful; they both had been, to never cross paths with each other...Rika and Gnaw. One day, Rika might be old enough and brave enough to learn the truth, but today was not one of those days. She tried to casually ask Rika to go wait in the fields, but like the stubborn girl she was, refused.
The ship docked, and Elsa watched Gnaw step off the boat, shouting orders to his men, while Hiccup organized the trade of dragon-like handling material and saddles. Gnaw and Hiccup were on rocky ground; after Unn's whole fiasco, and still now, no on knew about Gnaw's true alliance either. While Elsa and Gnaw had often considered coming clean about being on their side, something told Gnaw Unn would return...and in that case, they'd need him on the inside. Therefore, Elsa was usually the one to talk to him in matters like these, for she was one of the few people that didn't distrust him immediately.
She gave a low hiss of acceptance as Rika followed her.
Gnaw's and Rika's faces were mirror images. They had the same cheeks, the same wild black hair, and the same soulful look to them.
"Elsa!" Gnaw said, failing to notice the girl at her side, "A pleasure as always."
He seemed a bit distracted, and he told her it was because he had to get back for his son's tenth birthday before the meeting, on threat of his life, he said with a forced laugh, and therefore tried to hurry the transaction and check.
Elsa knew he loved Rika, even if her birth mother did not. Whenever they were alone or out of earshot, how she was doing was the first question out of his mouth. He often seemed conflicted about giving her away, but was glad that she was happy in this life here. But today...today maybe he wouldn't see her. Not that Elsa didn't want him to; it was just that she didn't know how he'd react.
He was almost to the dock, when he turned back to ask Elsa something and his eyes fell upon the girl at her side, and everything he was asking fell right from his lips. He just stood, staring at her, and he didn't move until his journal clattered onto the docks and he realized he'd been frozen.
Rika was giving a weird look, which wasn't surprising. Elsa glanced down at her, wondering if she was looking at the way he looked.
He came close, as if he was approaching a wild animal, his eyes glazed with sorrow and love.
"And...who is this?" He asked, his voice low and hard.
Elsa forced a smile, noticing all the people around her, "This is my second daughter...Rika." She said, looking right at Gnaw while she said her name. Rika stepped closer to her mother, one eyebrow raised.
"Uh...hi?" She asked.
"Rika. What a...beautiful name." Gnaw said awkwardly, his words jumbled and hands shaking.
"Thanks?" Rika asked unsurely, looking at her mother, as if to ask what the heck was wrong with this guy. Elsa gave her best reassuring smile, and Rika relaxed.
"Rika, this is Toothgnawer of the Outlaw tribe." Rika nodded in understanding; she'd heard about them in school.
"Cool name," She said, and Gnaw looked as if he'd died and been sent to Valhalla, "So do you really eat people?"
"Rika!" Elsa chided, although she couldn't blame her for being curious. The Outlaws had interesting rumors about them.
"Some of us." Gnaw replied, "I'm trying not to, though, mostly because it's hard to go places with out being tempted." He said, and instead of looking freaked out, Rika instead looked fairly interested.
"That's cool. What does human taste like?"
Gnaw thought for a moment, "Like chicken or pork," he decided on after a moment, "You could always come to our island to try some."
Rika's eyes widened, "How do I know I wouldn't be eaten?" She asked.
"Well, because we would never eat you, Rika." Gnaw said, getting a little teary-eyed, and at that moment, Elsa found it a good moment to signal to him to get going. She felt that this was decent enough for a first meeting, but Rika was beginning to look a little uneasy. Luckily, Gnaw got the hint.
As they walked back up the path, Rika frowned. "That leader, Tooth or whatever, he seemed cool. I don't know why everyone dislikes him." She said.
"His side is...questionable." Elsa explained.
"But he's so nice." Rika said, "Although a little weird. What did he mean they would never eat me?"
"I think the Outlaw Tribe only eats bad people from outside our lands." Elsa said, "If anyone at all. Gnaw's trying to eradicate that tradition though." She added.
"Have you ever eaten human, mom?" Rika asked.
"No. Never appealed to me." Elsa said, "Although I was offered it."
"I might try it." Rika bit her lip, "Just...to say I did." She said, "Hey mom...did you notice he sort of looked like me?" She asked. Elsa felt herself holding her breath, and her mind wildly searched for answers. After a couple seconds, before it would have been awkward to not say anything, Elsa shrugged.
"I suppose so. Wasn't looking that hard." She said. She stared at Rika wondering if it was all going to ravel apart today. Instead Rika laughed.
"Maybe Hiccup has some Outlaw in him that he doesn't know about? Maybe that's where I come from?" She said, and Elsa a wide smile of relief.
"Perhaps. These Vikings are more intertwined than you'd like to think, so maybe, dear." Elsa assured. When she returned to the house, Hiccup had beaten here there, and was chatting with Snoutlout and his daughters outside the tree house.
Hiccup recalled way back when that he and Snoutlout hated each other; more so that Snoutlout beat him up all the time. Little known fact, and denied vehemently by Snoutlout as a child, they were first cousins. By this point, no one really knew it was true unless they were around at the time of his father's life, and not many were.
His father had been so close with his brother- Snoutlout's dad- and had all these wild and soaring dreams that their two sons, born months apart, would be the same...but it didn't turn out like that. Even when Hiccup had found the dragons and integrated them, he and Snoutlout had a level of quiet animosity of glares and sarcastic comments. It wasn't until after his father's death they became just as good friends as he had always hoped. He wished his dad could see that.
Spitelout wasn't surprised, he commented that he and Stoick were two forces not to be put in the same room as children, and it wasn't until Spite learned some humility and Stoick learned some leadership that the two came together, much like Hiccup and Snout now. The 'Jorgenson' was a name he carved for himself during one of his more violent days with Stoick, to separate himself from being associated with him. Now, it was theirs and they weren't changing it.
But Snoutlout and Hiccup sometimes liked that maybe it was a secret they were cousins. Less people accusing Hiccup as appointing him because of a family tie that was for sure.
His daughters, Gersemi and Embla were drawing things in the dirt with sticks, waiting for Elsa to return. Rika's whole face brightened at her best friend, Gersemi, and the two instantly launched into a babble of things that Hiccup didn't want to understand. The adults milled around for a couple minutes, talking and socializing, for the children were fine playing where they were. Elsa was just about to suggest they go into town when Rika gave a sharp gasp.
"Mom, dad, look! It's Calder!"
Hiccup and Elsa swung around to see Calder drop down, a concerned look on his face. Elsa was instantly brightened at the sight of him, but he made a beeline for Hiccup.
"Hiccup, it's my egg." He said, and Hiccup's attention was instantly drawn to him.
Ah, yes, the whole egg business.
Most times, people hoped that the connection between a dragon and a human around the age of maturity enough to take care of one was a seamless one. With Calder, nothing had clicked really, so he took to taking the dragons that were abandoned or otherwise for spins around in short-periods, hoping he'd connect with one.
Calder also was gone for long periods of time, looking for his father. It was an obsession that burned deep inside of him. It had been five years ago when a particularly jumpy dragon had crash-landed about a day's journey from Berk into a glacier, disturbing and causing it to crack. What Calder found, though, was worth the couple scars he received from the episode. He came back, carrying 13 unusual dragon eggs.
It had been a long and lengthy discussion about which the eggs should go to. Although Hiccup was the largest point of dragon knowledge and was the one who began the domestication, no one wanted Hiccup to have all of them, mostly because there were quite a few eggs in the batch no one had seen before. There had been a raffle across all the islands that had wanted to participate, under a couple conditions. First, they decided that it should be children, not adults who should care for the eggs- besides, most adults already had their dragons, and it would be mean to leave one for a new one. Also, going along with that idea, the child had to not be in current possession of a dragon and show the ability to be able to car for an egg, since it was an unknown about of work and care until it hatched, and then the rearing of a baby dragon.
On a sunny day, all the 13 eggs had been laid out and Calder got the first pick, since he'd been the one to find it. He picked the smallest and most normal looking of all the eggs, claiming it spoke to him.
Many others had gotten eggs too- including Ophelia, who previous to this point, had been in denial that she could exist with just her little dragon, with no large dragon to ride. It had been a tough choice, trying to decide, but in the end, she came to the realization she needed something to ride on.
But, because she didn't want to offend Hubert, she let him pick the egg. From their own tribe, Rika, Sigird, Are, Ull, and Gersemi got eggs too. One of Camacazi's twin daughters, Brinja whose own dragon had just died from a mysterious disease, picked one. The rest of the picks were other chief's children, mostly, more so because Hiccup expected the ordinary child was terrified at what might come out of the egg.
And it had been quite the haul. There was only one egg that Hiccup even sort of recognized, and that had been the first to hatch. Camcazi's daughter got the screaming death. Because there was now two screaming deaths he knew of, Hiccup had only been able to theorize the glacier had held these for at least a hundred years, perhaps more. Brinja's screaming death, despite it's ghastly appearance, was perhaps the sweetest dragon you could ever met. Pet it once, and it loved you for life.
There had been three night furies, which Toothless was none to happy about. Hiccup was pretty sure he secretly liked being the only known fury of his kind, and it didn't help that two of Hiccup's daughters- Rika and Ophelia- had picked that green egg that hatched them. The third went to Vidkum, Thuggury's first son all the way on Meat Head island.
Two more skrills appeared from eggs, which they weren't like Toothless and the last of their kind, but more it was a rare gift to raise one from birth. Manathis of the Bezerker Tribe was one of the two people, and Tore couldn't be happier, as their official sigil was the great beast. It was a reassurance to the whole tribe she was meant to be their leader one day. The other one went to Hiccup's eldest son Are, and of all the dragon pairs made, those two were the closet.
A weird little one that seemed completely normal and non-magical was hatched from a sparkly translucent egg, although Randalf- Ragnar's heir claimed he wasn't all too disappointed. Hiccup was pretty sure in a couple years it would be something amazing, and it just hadn't matured yet.
There were also five weird animal-hybrid eggs, where Hiccup couldn't tell if they were born like that, or if their eggs had been experimented on. They were all half-dragon have beast- ranging from a lion, tiger, leopard, wolf, and fox. These had been the last ones to hatch, besides Calder's. Five years later, he still held onto his egg.
Some people claimed it was a dud or the dragon had died inside of it long ago. Others just thought it was a fancy-recreation, put in as a decoy with all the others long ago for reasons they didn't know. By this point, five years after, a lot of people forgot he had the very forgettable egg in the first place. But Hiccup never had, and neither had Elsa. Indeed, Elsa had been (besides Calder) the most supportive of the little egg.
"I just like it." Elsa said, gently petting it, "I can't tell you why, but I do."
And now...good or bad, Hiccup thought, something might come of it.
The plain looking egg was not plain looking at all. It had also grown at least twice it size, and now was slightly larger than a normal dragon egg and had glistened over with a glittering blue looking mineral that dusted his hands.
"When did this happen?" Hiccup said, taking it, walking back to the other side of the house, probably to take it to the soft meadow. Even as he walked, the egg shivered and grew a bit bigger.
"This morning." Calder was wringing his hands nervously, "What's happening?"
"Well, I'd say we're about to see what this thing is." Hiccup said.
He had hardly gotten a couple more steps before the egg grew again and became too heavy to carry. Hiccup set it down with an 'oof', looking behind him to his whole family running after. Yvonne poked to his side.
"Is Calder getting a little baby dragon? What color do you think it will be? What will it look like?" Yvonne asked, bouncing around. Hiccup really could only take one question at a time, and chuckled, mussing her hair.
"I think it's not going to be a little dragon, star." He said, and everyone watched with wide eyes as the egg grew again, and the shaking pushed the egg to the edge of the valley, and it rolled over the top. Everyone rushed nervously to the edge, and Elsa saw the glimmering crackling first.
"Everyone down!" She cried, and threw her hands out, throwing a strong ice force field around the entire group, with everyone crouching down. Outside there was a loud bang and a blinding light, and shards of the shell (which at that point was the size of a normal sized cow) went flying everywhere. Elsa felt the impact of the little jagged pieces hitting the field, and her arms trembled under the pressure. But after a moment, it was all done and she melted the field, the shell pieces sinking into the grass.
Everyone at this point seemed a bit afraid to glance over the edge, because no one was sure what they would see. Calder went first, although Yvonne grabbed his arm.
"No! That was scary, what if this dragon is scary?" She asked fearfully. Calder gave her a gentle smile.
"This is my dragon. It won't hurt me." He assured. He slid down the hill, and called up.
"Hiccup, I think you need to see this!" There was a frantic, but shocked and excited tone to his voice that broke everyone from their tensed positions and they all followed him down the hill.
"Hiccup..." Elsa gasp, covering her mouth, "That's not..."
"Yeah," Hiccup said, "It is." He said, a wide smile across his face. Snoutlout looked a little more concerned.
"We need to tell everyone about this, you know." He said, "The leaders."
"I know." Hiccup twisted his mouth into a frown at this, looking down at the dragon, "Hopefully they take it well. Either way, we should call the meeting now. Elsa? Can you postpone your town day?"
Although Yvonne pouted, Elsa nodded instantly.
"Of course, Hiccup."
The three adults began to rush to their dragons, and Calder tried to follow, but Hiccup paused him. "Whoa, you need to stay here. With your dragon."
Calder looked momentarily crestfallen, but glanced back, and nodded.
"Okay." And then, the first smile Hiccup had seen in a very long time spread over his face.
OMPHALOS
"Yo Phea! Catch!"
Ophelia whipped her head around just in time to see the woolly black sheep fly at her head, and would have had just the right movement of her body to slightly fly just out of the way. What she monetarily forgot was the way Hubert got, and as soon as the sheep brushed his tail, he scrambled on top of Ophelia's head, his tiny hands obscuring her view.
"Gosh-darnit," Ophelia muttered, accepting the inevitable crash, and managed to rip him away from her face moments before her flying dragon, Achilles, would have smashed into a tree, and steered him to the ground.
She was positive that the ill-timed warning at the point to hit Hubert was fully intentional, as assured when Sigrid touched to the ground, laughing hysterically.
"And this is why little dragons should not fly." She said, poking Hubert's side.
"I've tried to leave him behind with my mom or Are." Ophelia muttered, setting the little dragon on the big dragon, "He almost had a heart-attack." She sighed.
Sigrid gave a grunt, "Leave it to you to pick the most needy dragon of them all..." She rolled her eyes.
"I didn't know that when I was five!" Ophelia scowled, hitting her friend on the arm playfully, "Wait where's Hijordis?" Ophelia put her hands like a visor on her forehead, scanning the sky for their last friend in their impenetrable trio.
"Probably saving the sheep." Sigrid shrugged, "Ah, there she is."
As Hijordis' dragon hit the ground, it sent a shudder through the forest, and Hijoridis slid off, looking positively tiny. The three friends were well matched- Ophelia was the tallest, but she was middle in build, not skinny, but not fat. Hijordis was the smallest and the most sleek, and although she was nearing twenty soon, she hardly had any curves anywhere. Sigrid, on the other hand, had grown to be the second tallest with broad shoulders and an athletic build. It only helped with her 'overall character' as she often told him, pointing to the scar she wore proudly that she'd gotten when she was young.
"You guys!" Hijordis said, carrying the black sheep over to them, although the animal almost weighed as much as she did, "It's cruel to throw sheep in the air! Look, he's terrified." She said, setting him on the ground and patting his head.
"Sheep have been used for decades, Jor." Sigrid rolled her eyes, "I don't see why you get so upset. It's not like any of them have died mid-flight."
"It's still mean!" Hijordis insisted, and Ophelia sighed, patting her friend's shoulder.
"I'm sure he enjoys it. He's probably shaking from adrenaline." She assured her friend, who looked unconvinced, but dropped the topic.
"You think your mom's cooking tonight?" Sigrid asked Ophelia who shrugged.
"I'm not sure. Maybe it's grandma. Why, you want to come for dinner?" She asked. Sigrid and Hijordis both gave shudders.
"Not if it's your grandmother's cooking!" Sigrid cried.
"My teeth hurt the last time I ate her bread." Hijordis agreed, which was the meanest thing she could say about anyone.
"You guys are impossible." Ophelia rolled her eyes, but secretly agreed. Her and her father, and now her brothers and sisters, had made it a game to see who could be the most inventive to make grandma's food actually taste good. Dad usually won, because he of course had the most experience with masking flavors and hiding things that were pretty much not even food.
"Can you blame us?" Sigrid asked, putting a hand on her hips, "If I eat-,"
"Oh Hijordis!" There came a shrill call from the middle of the village. Hijordis' face turned bright red and she immediately turned to duck beneath her dragon, but it was too late, "HIjordis! Ah, I've been looking for you all over." A breathless Gustav Larson jogged up to the three.
"You...have?" Hijordis asked, wincing.
"Of course, my beautiful blossom." He assured. Sigrid and Ophelia giggled beneath their fingers, which caused Gustav to notice their existence. His face turned a bit sour.
"Sigrid and..." he gave a pregnant pause, "Haddock..." He growled out. Ophelia forced a smile.
"Mhh, Larson." She replied. He seemed to hardly notice her response, and had already turned back to Hijordis.
"So, what do you say to join me for dinner tonight? I have the most wonderful evening planned for us." He said, grabbing her shoulders. Hijordis looked uncomfortable, but winced, and stuttered.
"Ah, I well..."
"She already agreed to have dinner with me tonight." Ophelia broke in, and Hijordis sent her a grateful look over her shoulder.
"Really?" Gustav raised an eyebrow, "With Valka's cooking? Elsa and Hiccup will be leaders meeting." He said, and Ophelia watched a shimmer of panic across her friend's face, but she quickly recovered.
"I actually love her cooking." Hijordis blurted out, "I mean, it's just so...so...erm...base. I mean you can add any flavor it you please." She said. Gustav gave a disgusted look.
"That's one way of putting it..."
"I mean I would love to have dinner with you but-,"
"Oh, you would?" Gustav latched on, a hopeful look appearing on his face. Sigrid gave herself a face palm and Ophelia gave a long sigh. Hijordis took it with ease, and gave a tiny forced smile.
"Rain-check?" She asked in a tiny voice. Gustav kissed her hand.
"Anything for you, my queen. I will find you tomorrow." He said. He straightened, and glared at both Sigrid and Ophelia, but mostly Ophelia.
Way back when, like four years ago, he'd taken a liking to Ophelia and had followed her with the same creepiness he now followed Hijordis. But Ophelia was much more crass and blunt than Hijordis could ever be, and she also wasn't afraid to (perhaps accidentally) punch Gustav the first time he tried to kiss her. Not surprisingly, the pair didn't like each other much now. It had only taken him a couple months to turn around and start pining of Hijordis, although now his attempts were getting much more forward and aggressive.
"Why don't you just tell that creeper how you feel?" Sigrid asked, "You just dug yourself into a hole, Jor."
"My parents say it would be a good union." Hijordis' face blushed bright red, "I mean, he is well respected in the community. He was one of Hiccup's star pupils at the Dragon training academy..." She trailed off, playing with her fingers, "I just...well, I don't know when the next offer will be."
"Pfft, who needs a guy?" Sigrid said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, that's awful funny of you to say, as I distinctly recall you staring longingly at Lyal at the last meeting of the tribes." Ophelia teased.
"I was not staring longingly!" Sigrid rushed to cover, "I was wondering if he really was Asgar's bastard son. They don't look much alike." She pointed out.
"Sure...that's what it was." Ophelia assured. Sigrid was still scowling at the idea that she liked Lyal (she did, she didn't want to admit it) and tugged her dragon to the crossroads.
"I'll see you guys tonight." She growled grumpily, "Don't die from the food. I'm dead serious."
"Nice choice of words." Ophelia laughed, nudging Hijordis, "Really, Gustav is...he's...."
"I know you don't like him," Jor said softly, "But he's not to bad. At least he's very open with his feelings."
"Ew."
"What about you? Is there really no guy in your life?" Jor prompted, nudging her friend. True, if it came down it to, although Ophelia often felt closer to Sigrid, she would feel more comfortable telling Jor something, because knowing Sigrid the whole town would know by nightfall.
"No, there's really...no one, I think." She shrugged, "All the guys are my friends."
And it was true. There was certain rawness and rebel to Ophelia that she'd had since she was a child. Aunt Camacazi often said that Ophelia reminded her of herself at that age, which Ophelia found to be one of the highest compliments that could be given. Maybe it was the way everyone talked about her in town. When her father was a child, most had wondered if he really was a Viking, regardless for being born into it. Although he was a beloved leader, he was very 'noveau' with some of his ideas, and while it wasn't a bad thing that he was pushing the tribes away from the older reputations, he was still not quite a Viking.
But Ophelia? She hadn't been born here, at all, and people always said, 'Now there's a Viking girl and a future leader!' Maybe it was the fact she was a natural born dragon rider, maybe it was that she could cook a full meal and then eat it all by herself in one sitting, maybe it was her spunkiness and attitude toward things, and maybe it was her natural aptitude for sea-faring and star-charting. Maybe it was something else that couldn't be pinned, but still exited in her. Ophelia would never know, but there was a glimmer of security. It truly felt like she had found where she'd meant to be.
Not that she recalled her other life very well. Ophelia's whole life, in a nutshell, was a bit screwy.
So the story went, her and her aunt- who she now called mom, because that was a natural thing for her to think of- had fallen to the age of Vikings from a totally different time period. It would sound false if it weren't true. She'd been a prim and proper princess there, or at least her real mother had tried to make her. Now, thirteen years down the road, Ophelia couldn't really remember what her real parents looked like.
Occasionally, in a dream, she'd get a little vision of them, but it was always shadowy and filled with ghostly imagines, and whenever she thought she could get a good look at their faces, it would vanish. Hiccup had a couple drawings, but when she looked at them, there wasn't really any connection...they were just cool portraits of people that she wasn't entirely sure was real. She wrote them, but it was more like writing to a journal, because they could never write back. Heck, if her mom here wasn't remind her about her sister and Ophelia's real mother with stories, Ophelia would think that she had created them from her own imagination.
Which that wouldn't make sense either, because Ophelia frankly wasn't looking for different parents. She loved her life, every single part of it.
Her parents were the leaders of their tribe. She got her own room. Her dragons were ferocious and handsome. She was going to be chief one day and she looked forward to it. There had been a time, much before this, when she'd always told herself she was going home. But as the years went on, slowly, this was home and now Ophelia, if given the chance, wasn't sure she'd want to go back to this place that might exist but she didn't know anymore.
She hadn't told mom and dad that yet, mostly because she was sure her mother always held onto the hope that one day her sister would appear here. Which was great; it would prove that 'Anna' was real. They looked alike, according to Elsa and the pictures. But go back with her? Nuh-uh. Ophelia was very pleased to be exactly where she was.
She was fairly sure she couldn't bring a dragon back to her castle. And she loved Achilles and Hubert as much as she loved mom and dad.
But it had been thirteen years and it hadn't happened, so Ophelia was relaxed and assured that if it didn't happen now, it never would.
The sight of their tree house home came into view and a breath of relief and joy escaped Ophelia's lips. She would never see her house and not feel relaxed. She and Jor brought their dragons to the stables, and since her youngest siblings were far too young for their own dragons, there was an empty stall for Jor's dragon Fenrir. Ophelia made sure Achilles had food and spent at least half an hour carefully pouring and scrubbing water over his scaly black exterior, washing the mud from his back. It was calming for both dragon and rider. She glanced around to see which dragons from her family were gone and which weren't?
Her family, by far, was the largest on the island.
There were her parents, Hiccup and Elsa, and both Toothless and Mercedes were gone, which didn't surprise her. Very rarely near dinner were they home. Ophelia was the eldest of four other children she was positive were her parent's biological kids (mostly because she vividly recalled them coming into the world). Are was 12, and he was here. Swain was 10, and since he'd just gotten his own dragon, it was no surprisingly that he was gone, most likely bonding with him or practicing flying. The stall where Fenrir was would hold Yvonne's dragon when she would receive it in two years, at the age of eight. Little Bjorn at age two still had a long while to go, and it was only recently a stable had been tacked on for him. Ophelia was 99% positive he had not been a planned child.
Then there were three others that were around. There was Rika, who as fourteen. While her parents had never said she wasn't a biological child, they never said she wasn't either. They didn't really talk about when Elsa was pregnant with her, if they ever were on that topic of the children, but never denied she wasn't their kid. Rika's origins were a mystery of Ophelia, especially since she looked nothing like anyone else in the family. Rika had high cheek bones, tanned skin, dark hair, and dark eyes...she was perhaps the most beautiful of all the children, but it wasn't traits found anywhere in either family tree. She was sure by this point Rika might have realized this, but no one said anything. Ophelia still loved Rika like a sister, but...well, whose was she?
There were also the refugee boys, and Ophelia was quite sure, as was the rest of the island, whose kids those were. They were the sons of the infamous Unn; a horrible man who hadn't been seen for a decade now. Most people thought he'd died, but Ophelia knew her parents didn't believe that. They never made any claims the kids were their own, and therefore they didn't feel like Ophelia's siblings, but as friends here for a thirteen-year extended sleep-over.
As a child, she'd been closest with Calder. But as he grew older, he'd grown taciturn and solitary. Now, she was lucky if she saw him more than once a month. As soon as he'd been 16, he'd been almost non-existent in their household, returning only for short periods of time. Ophelia didn't know what he did, and he wasn't about to tell her. Recently she'd heard rumors he was trying to reclaim and see if the ground on the former Lava Lout Island was fit for living, as he was the rightful heir, so perhaps that's what took so much time. That, though was risky. It might bring Unn out of the shadows...but then again, Ophelia sometimes thought from the dark look on Calder's face, that was exactly what he wanted.
Now, Ull, who was only two years younger than Ophelia, was good friends with her. He was a much happier incarnation of his older brother, and it was sometimes a bit freaky because they looked so similar, that one of them was always...smiling. He was working under her father's blacksmith as an apprentice, after Hiccup took it over when Gobber retired and joined the Elder's league.
"Let's go wash in the stream." Ophelia offered.
"Agreed," Jor said, nodding, running her fingers through her pretty blonde hair, "I'm covered in sweat."
"And Gustav cooties." Ophelia added, shuddering theatrically. Jor sent her a look, but it wasn't altogether convincing.
"Be nice. If I marry him-," She began and Ophelia made gagging noses in the back of her throat.
"If you marry him, I don't know what I'll do. Seriously, Jor, I can't stand him!"
"I'm sure he feels likewise," Jor gave her a sympathetic smile, "It might not be so bad for you to...you know, have to be nice around him." She said, "You're a bit...prickly."
"Prickly?" Ophelia repeated, gasping in mock offence, "Prickly? That's the best you can come up with? At the very least I'd say I'm a force to be reckoned with."
Jor playfully flicked water at her, laughing. They washed up in the cold, pure water, scrubbing away their recent flight (sweat and splattered bugs!) and both took a long while to run their fingers through their hair and then lay on the bank, letting it dry.
"Do I really have to stay for dinner?" Jor asked.
"Yes, you dumbbut. I got you out of it, now you owe me." Ophelia said, poking her, "It's only fair."
Jor gave a disgruntled snort. "Will your grandma believe me if I say I'm not hungry?"
"No," Ophelia said, "You're the skinniest girl on the island. Grandma's always going on and on about how someone should hand you a leg of a cow." She said, "Even if you were full to the brim, she'd still fork more food into your mouth. She'll be thrilled your over, actually."
Jor gave a long sigh, "Does your grandma even know how bad her cooking is?" She asked, "Like, seriously, it's been how long?"
"Well, back when her and grandpa were together, before they had my dad and a little after, grandpa cooked. And then she went to live with dragons, and I don't' know how much they care about eating human cooked food, so it was probably never an issue. When she came back, I just think dad didn't want to offend her, he never said anything. That's how it's been forever. I was taught at a very young age to masterfully hide my food!" Ophelia recalled with a laugh.
"Was your great-grandma bad at cooking too? Bad cooking just doesn't appear out of thin air."
Ophelia gave a long whistle, "Wouldn't know. I mean, us Vikings don't have a very long projected lifespan," She joked, and was relieved when Jor laughed too. Not because it was a touchy subject, but she felt whenever she referred to the group as 'us' someone would jump out and accuse her of having no right to that generalization. But damn right, maybe she did! She wasn't born here, but she went through their school here, took the rights of passage, and picked and tamed her own dragon! She was as much a Viking as anyone else here!
But no one ever had. It didn't mean Ophelia didn't worry about it, though. She often took comfort in her mother's friend, another chief named Ragnar. He was not from here either, but only few knew, and if you looked at him, you would never think he wasn't Viking born. No one would question him either. Maybe one day, when Ophelia was a respected cheiftess, she wouldn't worry about this anymore, because she was sure Ragnar didn't.
"You okay?"
"Huh?" Ophelia said, turning, "Yeah, of course." She said hastily.
"You sorta zoned out. Locked your jaw." Jor rolled onto her stomach, "What's up?"
"Dragons." Ophelia replied distractedly, "It's noting to worry about. Just stupid musings." She assured.
Ophelia wouldn't ever tell anyone her insecurities. Especially not other Vikings that had the right she didn't. They simply couldn't understand. Luckily, unlike Sigrid who would be relentless with her prodding, Jor gave a little frown, but didn't press. Jor figured whatever was eating away at her friend would eventually resolve itself or come out in time.
"Let's go to my room," Ophelia said suddenly, standing and brushing her animal fur leggings off.
"Sure." Jor agreed, still wondering what was bothering Ophelia so much.
As they approached the tree house, Ophelia inhaled deeply, giving a deep sigh of relief. She opened the door, and let the strong smell of pine and tree-sap rush over her. It was the smell of home.
The first room was the living room, which had a lot of mismatched furniture everywhere. Opehila came in first, and then slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. She motioned to Jor to be silent, pointing to the darkened end of the room where Ull sat...kissing the current heir to the Meathead tribe- Fulla. Jor's eyes sparkled with mirth and the pair of girls crept carefully around to the kitchen, not to disturb them. Once inside the steaming room, where Valka was already preparing a meal, they burst into laughter.
"Did you have a good ride?" Valka asked them, "Hijordis! Are you staying for dinner?" She asked pleasantly, catching sight of the young girl.
"I plan to." Jor replied, putting on her best smile. The girls contained their laughter for a minuet before looking at each other and dissolving all again.
"What's so funny?" Valka demanded putting her hands on her hips.
"Oh, I just didn't know that Fulla and Ull were...friends." Ophelia said carefully, glancing to the door.
"Fulla?" Valka's eyebrows pulled thought, "Thuggury's daughter?" She questioned, "What makes you say that?"
"They just seem...cozy." Jor jumped in, blushing hard.
"Did you see them in...town?" Valka asked cautiously, eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Erm..." Ophelia bit her lip, "No..." She glanced at the door to the living room again and Valka got it.
"Not even in Valhalla," Valka muttered under her breath, "Ull!" She yelled, storming into the living room, a threatening wooden spoon her hand. Ophelia felt a little bad, but Ull should be pleased it was just Valka, and not her mother. Elsa would have maybe frozen him to the spot for making out on her favorite couch.
"C'mon," Ophelia tugged her friend into her bedroom.
Originally, back like ten years ago, Ophelia had occupied the smallest bedroom, back when she and her parents had entertained the idea that she would one day go back to Arenfall or Deltown or wherever she came from, but as her parents had biological children of their own, the smallest room was converted into a nursery, for it was closest to their bedroom. Right now Bjorn, who didn't really know that he had the smallest room, occupied it. By the time he did, Ophelia or Ull or Calder may be moved out for good. As it just so happened by chance and fate, she got one of the biggest rooms of the house.
She had hardly sat on her bed when her seven-year-old sister, Yvonne, burst into the room.
"Ophelia! You missed it!" She cried loudly, jumping up and down.
"Whoa, calm down." Ophelia said, stopping her bouncing shoulders before she knocked something over, "I missed what, starkid?"
"There was a big this, and then it rolled around like this, and then there was a light like this, and then the ground shook and boom and-," Yvonne began to describe, rather pitifully, but to her it was making perfect sense as she made over-exaggerated hand motions and rolled around on the ground.
"Yvonne, we still don't know what we missed." Jor reminded her gently; grabbing her, as she was about to roll into Ophelia's collection of wooden sculpted animals and dragons.
Yvonne gave an annoyed huff, and it reminded Ophelia of herself when she was that age. Yvonne was much more likeable, though. Especially since she'd been the first Haddock child to inherit Elsa's magic...that had made her an instantly likable girl. Her hair wasn't as white, it was more of a pale yellow, but there was no doubt that she was magical. Even now, as she tapped her foot, little snowflakes dusted the bedroom floor.
"You guys aren't getting anything!" Yvonne complained, and grabbed both their hands. Ophelia shivered from the cold touch, but let her lead them through the living room (Both Fulla and Ull were getting a stern talking to, and Ull sent Ophelia a nasty look, which she ignored), into the hallway and out onto the back porch, then out to the back of the house.
The first thing Ophelia noted was a figure sitting on the grass.
"Calder!" Ophelia cried out, and he jolted at her tone, "You're back!"
There was an awkward moment in between trying to decide to hug him or not, but Yvonne was instant to keep them moving, so she couldn't to even if she wanted to. He picked himself up and began to follow them.
"That's part of what I've been trying to tell you!" Yvonne said, as if she was speaking clear English the whole time.
"Do you know what's going on?" Jor whispered to Calder, and he opened his mouth to answer, but Yvonne spun around, poking him in the chest with an elongated icicle.
"No! I get to tell them, Cal! Please?" She said, although it was clear that it wasn't his choice.
He looked at Jor helplessly, "My hands are tied." He said.
Yvonne led them down to the valley by the stream, and Ophelia was the first to notice that the pieces of Calder's egg were scattered all over, like it had exploded. She was about to say something, but recalled Yvonne's child-like joy of being able to tell them, so she didn't say anything. Her and Calder's eyes met, though, and he didn't look as thrilled as she expected him to be...mostly...concerned.
And when they passed the ridge, Ophelia realized why. Jor broke free, stumbling down the hill.
"Great Thor..." She cried.
"I've been trying to tell you! Calder's egg hatched!" Yvonne cried proudly, "See?"
Ophelia was speechless. "Yeah, yeah...I see..." She gulped, and went down to examine it with Jor. Calder was right behind them. She turned.
"Calder...that's a...it's a..."
"Yeah," Calder agreed, wincing a bit, but giving a hint of a smile, "I know. A bewilderbeast."