A Saga Of Ice And Fire

Chapter Twelve - A Coronian Reception

The voyage across the sunset sea and the narrow gulf to the Kingdom of Corona had taken nearly three days, the trip being just a day  shorter than the time it took Hiccup to travel from the Wilderwest to Arendelle.

Most of the journey had been quiet uneventful, not that he'd been hoping for something to happen or anything , but it was mostly a normal day on deck. He'd have breakfast, then attend his classes with Elsa, and then carry on the rest of the day doing whatever he could. And the weather had been rather sunny and much warmer than it was in Arendelle for the most part but if he was being honest, the constant salty spray of the ocean scent all around him vaguely reminded him of home.

As they'd heard the captain of the ship announce that the ship would arrive at the pier soon, Hiccup, who'd been reading a map he'd found in board, found himself being focrefully shoved by Gerda into a neat new attire for the arrival, one he wasn't that used to wearing . As the maid sat him in front of the dressing table and attempted to comb his unruly hair into place, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and and nearly rubbed his eyes in disbelief at what he saw. The boy looking back at him from the mirror bore a vague resemblance to him but he was decked in a recently ironed white button shirt underneath a green sleeveless vest , as if it was an attempt to make it look similar to his usual tunic , though it definitely failed miserably in that regard. The thigh hugging black pants was a little too snug in areas it shouldn't be and he didn't even want to know how they were planning on putting his feet into the weird looking boots that sat in the corner of his cabin.

Apparently satisfied with her work, Gerda stood back and ran her eyes over Hiccup, a scrutinizing glint in them.

"I suppose this will have to do." The maid muttered audibly as she hurried to fetch the boots.

"Why do I have to wear all this ?" Hiccup protested as she stuffed his feet into the boots, though they didn't feel as uncomfortable as he had initially thought they would.

"You're meeting the King and Queen of Corona today, Master Hiccup. Don't you want to look handsome?" Gerda hummed as she swatted the imaginary specks of dust from his vest .

"But I feel like I'm being punished." Hiccup groaned.

"Oh sush! Give us a turn around." Gerda chided , twirling her finger out in front of her. Hiccup did as he was told, struggling to move properly as a result of his groin area feeling more and more constricted by the second.

"I can't even move ! This thing is too tight. . . ." he winced as he managed to turn back around and face the plump, middle aged woman.

"Now head to the main deck.You know where it is, don't you ?" Gerda asked, ignoring his complaints .

"Yeah, I think."

"Then off with you,dear." she shooed him out the door before hurrying off in the opposite direction along the wooden corridor, nearly bumping her head on one of the lamps hanging precariously from the low height ceiling.

Feeling rather stupid with his overall look , on the way to the main deck past the small army of Arendellian staff that were hurriedly shuffling around, making sure everything was in place as the royal family, already on the main deck, were getting ready to disembark.
King Agnarr was busy in a conversation with the old Captain of the ship so he hadn't noticed Hiccup making his way onto the deck but Elsa, who was standing by her father's side, swaying slightly on her heels and toes, did.

The wide eyed look of surprise on her face was enough for Hiccup to want to just hide away somewhere and regret everything that had happened in the past thirty minutes.

"Oh Thor." he mumbled to himself as she left her father's side and made her way towards him, clearly trying to hold back her laughter.

"Yeah, yeah. Go on. Laugh it up. " he groaned , his shoulders slouching forward as he glanced around. Anna and Queen Iduna hadn't noticed him arrive either, as the queen was trying to contain her daughter and stop her from flying off the vessel .