Just a few quick notes:

This story draws from Tangled, Brave, How to Train Your Dragon (1 and 2), Rise of the Guardians, and Frozen. All these films and their events are considered canon with my story.

The night was warm, and the water around Corona quietly lapped against the shores. Shades of dark blue bled to black in the sky above, and a swift wind pushed the clouds along as the moon kept vigil over the kingdom. A bridge reached across the water, rising to a peak in its middle, connecting the castle to the mainland. A pointed arch lifted itself over where the bridge met the island, with a solid gate shutting out the world beyond. Scaffolding branched out to either side - the stonemasons were laboring to construct a set of proper walls for the city, by the king's demand. Their tools and work lay still now, though, and the only people near the gate were two guards, standing with their pikes.

"It was weird," one guard said. "The horse just landed right in front of me, wearing this dress, and these shoes-"

"Horses are supposed to wear shoes, Matthew."

"But horseshoes, not high heels. And this horse was wearing high heels, I swear! And then it ran off, after what I don't know. I tried to follow it, but it it disappeared before I could. Then I saw this lizard-"

"Matthew?"

"Yes Captain?"

"You realize this isn't your social hour?"

He blinked. "Uh, yes sir."

"Thank you. Now, keep your eyes on the bridge, and keep your mouth shut." He peered down the way, and furrowed his brow. "That's odd…"

The bridge was lit with lanterns, but at the moment they were slowly dying out, their flames shrinking and dimming.

"Here, take the oil and fill them up. They must be running low."

"Yes sir." Matthew leaned his pike against the stone, then turned and went inside the gate, found a container of oil, and came back to the bridge. Now the lanterns had almost extinguished, with only the barest pinpricks of light still showing. He stepped forward to the first pair on the left of the path, and lifted the covering off of one of the lights.

He heard an animal snort at the far end of the bridge.

"Someone's coming," the captain whispered. He gripped his pike.

"Don't worry sir, it's just a late-night traveler, I'm sure." He peered into the lantern's reservoir, and was surprised to find it still full. "Hey, it's not the oil. Do you have any wicks with you? I don't think I have any on me, but I'll just replace it and maybe-"

"Matthew."

He turned around at the captain's voice, and looked down the bridge. A churning cloud smothered the moonlight, just as a rider crested the hill in the bridge, seeming to appear right out of the shadows.

Matthew forgot the lantern as the horseman came forward. His black hood matched his horse, and his face could not be seen. His flowing robe left no part of his body exposed. Two hands clad in iron clutched the reins of his mount as he approached.

Then a second rider appeared behind him, just as dark and just as suddenly.

"Who goes there?" the captain demanded.

Matthew watched as the first rider slowly clopped his way up to the gate, prompting the captain to become more defensive, pike at the ready. The hood slowly turned, and a hissing voice sounded from within:

"We seek audience with the princess of Corona. We bring a gift from a far land, and we offer friendship. Open the gate, and let us pass into the kingdom to meet her."

The voice chilled Matthew - quite literally bringing a slight physical chill to his heart. He tried to shrug off the feeling, and he saw the captain clutch his pike tighter.

"Here," Matthew stepped forward. "I'll let you in and show you to the castle." The two hoods turned to face him, casting a shiver up his spine. "Come with me."

"Matthew…" The captain shook his head. "No."

"We are a foreign envoy!" The voice came forth again. "Have us come before your princess, and allow us only present our offering to her."

"You say you're a foreign envoy," the captain said. "Where are you from?"

"Our business shall be considered none of your affair. Only know that our lord wishes to offer his friendship to Corona, that it might unfold into a great kingdom that all shall envy."

"Sir," Matthew piped up, "they are just messengers."

The captain looked from hood to hood, and finally sighed, standing his pike back up. "Very well. We shall escort you to the castle."

And the two riders entered through the gates.

A long road stretched out of Corona to the southwest; it passed through villages and cities, where it was paved with smooth stones, and through hills and forests, where it devolved into packed dirt. Eventually it ran into a vast roaring ocean to the west and stopped. Across this ocean, the Isle of Berk lay in peaceful slumber, dragons and humans deep in sleep.

Only two were still awake.

Hiccup hunched over Toothless as they soared through the air with only the faintest sound, gliding around the island. A bout of insomnia had persuaded them to try some late-night flying. So far, it seemed to be working - the wind softly blew through Hiccup's hair, and the crashing ocean waves below soothed his mind.

"How you doin', bud?" He kept his voice soft, even though there was no chance of waking anyone at this height. Toothless grumbled back in contentment. "Wanna try a few loops?"

After a delighted snort from the dragon, Hiccup shifted the fin and leaned back. The Night Fury lifted up, now pointing straight into the sky, now completely upside down. Hiccup felt his stomach flip and the blood rush to his head. He closed his eyes and breathed in the clean night air.

"Ha, that feels good." He shook his hair as they came back right side up. "Here, we better head back home. Mom's gonna have us up in the morning." They banked in a wide curve, ready to return back to the village. Hiccup felt guilty that he had to bring their flight to an end, and he tried to enjoy the last few minutes of it. As they passed around the back end of Berk, he watched how the moonlight struck the rocks, painting them almost silver. The foam of the waves crashed against the stacks rising out of the ocean, battered the cliffs of the island, washed into the cave-

"Huh." Hiccup stared as they began to fly past a dark cave that bored into and under the island - a cave he had never really noticed before. Dozens of rocks surrounded its entrance, effectively barring any ship from drawing near. He figured that this had kept any Vikings from actually charting this place, and a rousing sense of curiosity filled him…

"Hey Toothless," the dragon looked back at him, "do you wanna go look around in there a bit, before we get back?" A happy grin answered. "Alright, let's go!"

The two dived through the air, with Toothless slowing their descent just as they neared the opening. The cave opened in a massive chasm, its mouth reaching halfway up the cliffside. The floor sloped upwards out of the water and faded into darkness in the back. Hiccup dismounted, and felt fishbones crunch beneath his feet. He shuddered.

"Ugh…" He looked around. "Hello? Anyone here?"

No answer besides his own echo.

"Toothless, can you see anything?"

The Night Fury shot a gentle bolt of plasma, which traveled deep into the cave before it puffed into a spark at the back. The purple light revealed no one and nothing of particular importance.

"Huh. I guess dragons used to come here and eat during the raids." Hiccup stooped and picked a piece of aged fabric from the ground. "At least, I hope 'used to'." Looking around, he saw more shreds of clothing scattered over the stones of the cave floor. There were also more fish bones, but no human skeletons at least.

"We'll have to come back when it's daylight, maybe bring Astrid. What do you think, bud?"

Toothless seemed distracted though. He had turned around and now hunched over by the water's edge, staring at something.

Hiccup came up beside him. "Hey, what'd you find?"

The Night Fury didn't look up, but warbled softly. Hiccup followed his gaze into a small tidal pool, and saw a glint of gold.

"What?" He bent down, curled his fingers around the trinket, and lifted it from the water. He held the item out in his palm, wet sand caked to it, and stared at it along with Toothless.

It was a ring - a plain band of the most flawless quality. It had no jewel set in it, but its simplicity gave it more elegance. Hiccup ran his finger around its edge, gazing at it; even in the dim bluish tones of night, the ring gleamed a brilliant, hypnotic gold.

"Wow…" he breathed, "It's amazing." Toothless purred, his eyes never leaving the ring. They both stood there for a long while, watching it. Hiccup brought it close to his eyes, wanting to see as much of it as possible. He felt lucky to have found this ring, almost blessed by the gods. Already he felt as if it was one of the most important things he had ever possessed. It seemed his size...he could easily slip it on, he could see that…

Bugdu zag...

A dark voice spoke the words, which echoed around him. Hiccup shook his head, snapping himself from his trance.

"Here, uh..." He hesitated for a moment before pocketing the trinket, causing Toothless to also return to reality. "Come on, let's get home, alright? We'll take care of it later. I guess it's a good thing we stopped by the cave, huh?"

With that, he mounted the dragon and the two took off.

Rapunzel held her candle in one hand as she came to the sitting room. A light shone from inside under the door. She laid her hand on the handle, and pushed it open.

"Father?"

She found him sitting over a map, his own candle on the table beside him. He looked up at her voice; his eyes appeared tired and worn.

"Rapunzel," he stood up. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

"No, don't worry. Eugene is still asleep, I just...I saw the lantern light go by my door, and I thought-"

"Oh, I'm sorry I woke you." He crossed the floor, and gently left a kiss on the top of her forehead. "I'm just worried, that's all, and I couldn't sleep."

Rapunzel nodded; she had heard plenty of her father's worries. "Well, when the walls go up, that'll make things better, right?"

"That's right. With the waters of the lake and the walls behind them, we'll be secure. And with the patrols out and around," he motioned over the map, "we'll be able to break up any hordes before they can attack us."

Rapunzel looked over the map herself. Corona sat up near the top right corner of the map, with a road heading southwest towards Weselton, and Arendelle lying on the shore far to the west. A river strung them all together, flowing from the great Lake Corona to the ocean fjord that Arendelle sat on. To the north, snowy mountains blocked any exploration, and to the distant south below Weselton a dark forest filled with savages claimed any scouts sent into it. Then there were the deserts to the east, and the Ash Mountains directly to the south of Corona.

The mountains that had been shadowed for years, according to her father.

Living in the tower, Rapunzel had never seen the Ash Mountains, but when she finally had the chance to glimpse them, she marveled at how the black clouds hugged the tops of the peaks, which were bare and devoid of life. From what she had heard, the clouds had grown even thicker recently, and an occasional flash of flame could be seen. It had been at this time that strange individuals had been seen roaming the countryside, forming bands and causing trouble…

Rapunzel shivered, and tried again to comfort her father, mostly to comfort herself. "Don't worry, whatever it is, we can take care of it."

"Thank you. I just," he sighed as he hung his head, "my nerves have just been eating at me. I want to protect Corona…"

"And you will. I'm sure of it." She saw a weak smile return to his face, and she grinned and gave him a hug. "It'll all be alright."

"Thank you." He returned the gesture. "I'm just going to look over the maps a bit more. Why don't you go to bed, and tomorrow we'll do something together?"

"I'd like that."

He smiled through his thick beard. "Good night."

Rapunzel quietly closed the door behind her as she left the sitting room. Going down the corridor to her and Eugene's room, the flickering candlelight made the details in the woodwork leap out at her. Finally she returned to the room, and grasped the door handle.

She froze.

A folded note sat on the floor.

Bending, she set her candle down. Then, with slow fingers, she picked up the paper.

A ring slipped from inside and fell to the ground.

Rapunzel paused and stared for a while, before also plucking it from the carpet. She looked at the ring, then to the note. She read:

Princess Rapunzel of Corona -

We bestow this gift unto you at the behest of a benefactor who wishes, at the moment, to remain hidden. Please accept this ring as a symbol of friendship, and we shall return when our Lord plans to make himself known to you.

There was no signature, and the handwriting was sharp. Rapunzel then directed her attention to the ring.

It was fashioned from three strands of gold, which had been braided together. Nestled into each knot in the braid was a small diamond, each giving a muted sparkle. The work was expert, and she could find no fault in the design.

She looked up and down the hallway, but saw no one. Her gaze lingered on what she thought to be a strange gliding shadow, but she ended up dismissing it as nothing.

"Eugene…" she whispered with a smirk. She was sure that this was some game of his, and so she put on the ring to play along.

She gasped as her heart suddenly leapt, and she clutched at her head, which began to pain terribly. The ring grew hot on her finger, and the hallway started to glow.

No. Her hair started to glow.

Too shocked for words, she felt her hair with her hands as it grew from her scalp. The short brown straightened into blond again. Her head felt worse and worse, it would split open from the pain, she knew it. She squeezed her eyes shut as the glow grew stronger.

Then it stopped.

Opening her eyes, Rapunzel grabbed her hair, now down to her waist, just as it had been before it was cut.

She looked at the ring on her finger, and the note.

She knocked the candle aside in her excitement.

"Eugene!"