Prologue: It's Winter

A/N: Okay. Okay. Okay. So, this is an AU I'm writing for the movie 'Frozen'. It's dedicated to HTTYD because I saw Elsa and I just thought it'd make an amazing AU, Hiccup as Elsa. I know I cut out Anna completely, but I planned this story before even thinking about it. I realize I'm ruining the movie's message by doing this, but it's only the plot that I'm keeping from Frozen - not the message.

Hiccup Haddock squeezed his hands into fists, trying to ignore his father yelling outside his bedroom door. Ice was starting to glow on his bedroom window, a sure sign that winter was coming; but how much of winter would he actually see?

Of course, he had very good reason for staying shut up in his house like a hermit all the time – but that was another story.

The bedroom door flew open and Hiccup gave a start, scrambling back as fast as he could.

"Dad, wait no— but Stoick stormed in without waiting.

He surveyed the room, caught sight of the ice on the windowsill, and his eyes grew cold.

"It's…it's not me," the five-year-old weakly whispered. "I…I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to do it…"

"Stop it!" his father yelled, raising a hand to strike Hiccup on the face. "STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"

Hiccup flinched and dropped his head, waiting for the blow. "It's w-winter," he insisted in a quavering voice. "It s-snows in winter."

The blow came then, when he repeated the season's name, as it always did. A quick, careless smack on the face that his father could give him without even blinking. A swift slap that sent him tumbling to the ground, holding his face.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Stoick howled. "STOP IT! MAKE IT STOP!"

"I can't," Hiccup whispered brokenly, inches away from sobbing. "It's not me…it's not me…I can't…"

He could feel it rising up, a snake about to strike, his palms growing colder and colder…

'Get it together,' Hiccup chastised himself. 'Conceal it, don't feel it'.

His father's boot made harsh contact with his ribcage then and Hiccup gasped from the pain, the tears beginning to race down his cheeks now.

He could feel ice starting, could hear it creaking as it cloaked the windows but in his mindless terror, he could do nothing to stop it.

"STOP IT!"

"It's not me, it's not me!" Hiccup pleaded through his tears, earning him another swift kick. The ice creaked as it spread, coating not only the windows now, but also the next wall over in a thin sheet of ice.

"TAKE IT AWAY!"

"It's an accident!" Hiccup sobbed. "It's an accident!"

"UNDO IT!"

"I'm…I'm tr-trying!" And indeed, he was. Hiccup was focused so hard on trying to melt the ice that it only thickened, spreading around the whole room by now.

"UNFREEZE IT!"

"I c-can't!" Hiccup howled, hiding his face in his hands. The icicles came then, shooting down in a rapid blur, caging him in, forcing his father to step back.

"It's w-winter…" the five-year-old managed through his sobs. "It's winter…it was only an accident…it was winter…"

The eight-year-old boy looked tired and he looked worn, Gobber decided as he stumbled to the door.

"Hiccup?" Gobber asked. "Where's Stoick?"

The boy tensed slightly. "He's out."

Gobber looked the boy up and down again and struggled to think of something to say; the boy looked ragged and beaten; he looked at Gobber with eyes that had deep circles under them.

"Are…you okay?" Gobber asked.

"Yeah," Hiccup replied tiredly, his voice growing quieter. "It's just winter that's got me down."

His father glanced out the window, watching the snow piling up on the ground. He turned back to his son, hands clasped behind his back, feeling the familiar rage pulsating through his veins. His son had done wrong, and his son had to pay. "Stop it," he commanded angrily.

"I can't," Hiccup replied tonelessly.

Stoick took a step forward, raising his hand threateningly and this got a response; Hiccup moved quickly away, his hands clenched into fists as he tried to stop the ice that threatened on the walls.

"It's your fault," Stoick accused. "You ruined this. Now make it better!"

"I can't!" A hint of anger and hopeless frustration entered Hiccup's tone.

Stoick curled his hand into a fist and let it hit Hiccup hard, on the side of the face. The impact sent the boy tumbling backward. He hit the front of his bed hard, clutching weakly at his face, looking up at his dad with betrayal speaking clearly in his eyes.

Even through the boy's small fingers, Stoick could see the mark he'd left rapidly becoming another bruise.

Hiccup gave a small, slightly choked sob, the emotion ripped from him when he didn't think he had any left. "It's winter."

Stoick stood in the living room, his bags all packed, his Viking helmet on.

Hiccup put his tightly fisted hands, covered by his long sleeves, behind his back.

Stoick hefted the bags on his shoulder, barely even looking at his son. When he'd reached the door, he simply turned and said, "Now don't screw up again while I'm on this voyage. Conceal it, Hiccup. Conceal it and don't feel it."

Hiccup nodded.

Stoick exited the house.