Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 6: Elsa

The first surprise was the skyship pilot.

The ship itself was small, mainly built for hauling cargo, but it didn't register passengers to the Elites, just it's comings and goings, so it would work for our purpose of secrecy.

"What's your name?" Jack asked the pilot. He was a boy, around our age, with a tousle of blonde hair, chestnut brown eyes, and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose.

"I'm Kristoff," he answered, giving us a tentative but goofy smile. 

Astrid shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. We've heard that your ship is privately owned, right?"

"Yup. I don't work for the Elites," Kristoff answered.

"As long as you don't put our names in the register," I added with a shrug. "Now, how much is the fee to Berk? Just the way there. You won't need to drive us back."

"The Barbaric Archipelago?" Kristoff squeaked. "That's... days away!"

"Kid, we get that it's a little far," Hiccup began, "but we're willing to pay a lot."

Kristoff seemed to have recovered from his bout of surprise. "I've, uh, never been to Berk before."

"That's alright," I shrugged. We had Astrid and Hiccup. "As long as you can take us there."

"I know the way," Hiccup volunteered. "I'll help you out. I've always wondered how skyships worked."

"Okay," Kristoff seemed appeased. "Guess it'll be an adventure. I'll figure out the pricing along the way."

"Fantastic!" Astrid clapped her hands together. 

"Alright everyone! All aboard," Kristoff announced.

The second surprise was the view. The four of us stood on the upper deck, Kristoff at the helm. Hiccup was standing next to the mast, muttering something about the material of the sails.

"Oh," I whispered as we rose into the air, speeding for one of the gates that would take up out of Skyara.

Astrid laughed. "This is why I like being high up. Of course, this isn't the same as dragons, but it's close."

I realized with a jolt that I was probably the only one who didn't do a lot of flying. Jack could magically fly, as he constantly reminded me, and Astrid and Hiccup had dragons to do it for them.

You know, I could get used to this, just soaring around all day, I told Jack down the bond.

I could help you with that, Jack winked at me. For emphasis, he gripped his staff and rose several feet into the air.

We headed below decks as the ship went through the checkpoint. As promised, Kristoff revealed he was carrying passengers but didn't specify our names.

The third surprise was how quickly we were attacked.

Shortly after the glow of Skyara had faded into a distant light at our backs and as we were traveling over the rocky foothills of the western mountain range, an uneasy feeling began to fill us.

The dark of the night seemed to be thickening, almost, closing in on us.

"Something's wrong," I whispered to Jack.

Then, the skyship shuddered, as something slammed into it.

The air around us seemed to still, growing thick with our terror. Tendrils of black creeped around the edges of the boat. There were lanterns hanging from all parts of the railing, mast, helm, and stern, but the dark snuffed them out.

Shakily, I forced myself to keep it under control. I reached into my pocket and removed a small orb, which I shook. Promptly, it rose up over my head, glowing with light.

I was standing back to back with Jack on the lower deck. Astrid and Hiccup stood with Kristoff at the steering helm, guarding either side of him. Astrid had snatched a pickaxe from where it sat, stacked against a few crates. Hiccup had something in his hand. I didn't know what.

The darkness coalesced into forms. Night Mares. Black horses that were servants of Pitch Black, the god of the night.

We were in so much trouble.

"Shit," I mumbled.

One of the Mares lunged.

Jack and I dove to either side, rolling to come up on our feet. I blasted ice at one creature while Jack fired at the other.

Three others descended on Hiccup, Astrid, and Kristoff, but Hiccup threw the object in his hand. "Close your eyes!" he shouted.

I obeyed, squeezing them shut, and throwing up a wall of ice as a shield against the attacking Mare. Sensing what I was doing through the bond, Jack imitated it, and the two of us formed a small bubble shield of ice around us.

Distinctly, I heard a shrill screeching sound and a brilliant blast of light bloomed in my eyes. Luckily, they were shut, otherwise I would have been blinded.

I heard the Night Mares screams and whinnies of pain. 

Opening my eyes, I noticed that the Mares seemed disoriented, staggering and stunned. Wasting no time, Jack, Astrid, and I picked them off, blasting them off the deck, swinging at them until they dissolved.

The black sand swirled away on the wind. 

What was that? I heard Jack think.

Some sort of explosion, I think.

"Are you guys alright?" I called. "What was that?"

"Flash bomb," Hiccup helped Kristoff to his feet. The poor kid was shuddering and shaking. 

"He's been tinkering with it all summer," Astrid supplied. Jack laughed, but I was thinking about something else. With a start, I noticed I didn't even feel off-kilter. Kristoff was barely holding together. Astrid and Hiccup seemed a little shocked but okay. Jack was acting like he did this everyday, which probably happened as an Elite. I only felt steady, energized, ready for the next challenge. A year ago, I would have jumped at every little noise and movement.

I felt... grounded. Sure of myself.

At these thoughts, the power within me flickered and surged, as if recognizing that I was growing stronger.

Jack turned to me, distracting me from my thoughts. "I'd say I did great."

"We did great," I corrected, prodding him in the ribs.

He grinned at me. "As you wish, Snowflake."