"CHIEF! It's Astrid! She's- somethin has happened lad"
Hiccup ran as fast as he could to get to her house. Once he heard what happened, he dropped everything he was doing and ran. He reached her house and threw open the door. Fishlegs, Snotlout, Eret and Valka stood around her bed, concern written all over their faces. He scanned Astrid's body, finding bruises and cuts on her arms and face.
"What-what happened to her? How did this happen? Who did this? Somebody tell-"
"Son, take a breather. It won't do her any good if you pass out" Valka said, soothing her son. Hiccup nodded and sat down next to her bed. She looked so pale and blood was matted to her hair. Hiccup tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and sighed.
"Can I have a moment alone with her? Please." Hiccup asked, his voice quivering.
"Of course my dear, holler if you need anything."
He took her hand in his and placed a gentle kiss on it. She suddenly launched forward, hyperventilating and looking around, her eyes wide with fear.
"Hey! Mom! Mom come here! Hey, hey calm down. It's me, Astrid." Hiccup soothed. Valka appeared, along with Eret.
"No, they were everywhere Hiccup! You don't- Eret!" she cried, looking at the ex-trapper" he was there. And there was hunters and-" Astrid was cut off by Hiccup shushing her.
"Shh. Take deep breaths in and out." He told her. She slowly laid back down. He turned to Eret."What happened?"
"Dragon hunters. Everywhere. We were patrolling the island. To be sure no one was sneaking in and we heard a Nadder. It was like it was crying for help. We went in for a closer look. Turns out it was a trap. Hunters shooting arrows and tranquilizer darts but thank the gods that they didn't hit the dragons. But Stormfly was caught in a net." Eret explained. "Astrid went down and hit her head on the side of the ship. I went down to help her, but she was up and about, fighting the hunters. She got a few good hits against the hunters, but she was outnumbered and I was too busy freeing the Nadder. Forgive me Chief. I have failed you." Eret finished, looking down in disappointment.
"It's not your fault Eret. No need fir apologizing. What else happened?" he asked.
"When Astrid managed to fight them off, she was covered in blood. Her OWN blood. I ran to her and she passed out from exhaustion, I'm assuming. She got a nasty blow to the head and a few broken ribs, but I think she'll be alright."
Hiccup looked to the side to see his girlfriend sleeping. He brushed her bangs to the side. He sighed. "I'll stay the night with her, in case she wakes up so suddenly again." He turned to his mother.
"Mom, go check to see if the Nadder is okay and healthy. Eret, go home and get so rest. You've been through Hel." They turned to go when Hiccup pulled Eret aside."Thank you. For looking out for her." he said.
"I owe my life to her." the two men looked over to the young woman."She gave me a chance when no one did." he said." Well good night Chief. I'll come to check on her in the morning." he finished. Hiccup nodded.
He turned his attention back to his betrothed, taking in the bruises and cuts she had. He noticed her ragged breathing and figured it was her broken ribs. He went over to the cupboard and got out some bandages and clothes. He turned to see her beginning to stir. He quickly walked over to her and sat down.
"Hiccup?" she said groggily.
"I'm right here babe, I need to lift up your shirt." Her eyes widened with alarm. "Oh please, like I haven't seen your bindings before." he said jokingly. She rolled her eyes and muttered a 'shut up' under her breath.
He lifted up her shirt and started to wrap the bandages around her chest and abdomen. He gently lifted her up and back down. She was biting her lip and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Sorry, I'm trying to be as gentle as I can." he said. He grabbed a cloth, dunked it in water and lightly dabbed at her cuts on her face."Even with your cuts, you still look beautiful." she smiled at him as he leaned over her to place a light kiss in her lips. "When Mulch came to tell me what happened, I thought I was gonna lose you and the worst thoughtful were going through my head and I-"
He was cut off when Astrid leaned up, though her ribs protested, and kissed him, her arms wound around his neck. When she pulled back, she saw tears in his eyes. "You're not gonna lose me Hiccup. I love you too much babe. Okay? Please don't forget that." she finished, tears of her own gathering in her eyes. "When Eret and I were fighting off the hunters and I saw that there were more than I imagined and I couldn't believe that I wasn't gonna see you, because I thought we weren't gonna make it. I wasn't gonna marry you or-or get to have kids with you and-and-"
She was cut off by Hiccup soothing her and hugging her. "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. I'm here Astrid." He lowered her back down. He brushed her hair to the side and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
"Can you stay with me tonight? I don't wanna be alone." she asked in a small voice.
"Of course. Do you want me in the bed or?" he asked unsure.
She nodded as he climbed beside her. He was careful nit to jostle her ribs. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she placed her head on his chest. He wrapped a blanket around the both of them and blew out the candle. The only light was from the low fire from the fireplace.
"I love you." Hiccup mumbled sleepily. "So much."
"I love you too." she murmured. They both fell asleep, without any disruptions through the night. In the morning, Hiccup quickly changed her bandages and went into the kitchen to cook them some breakfast. He searched her cupboards anything that he could cook for her.
"Oh gods it's like a ghost town in here." he murmured. He finally found 3 eggs and half a loaf of bread. He pulled of a frying pan and scrambled the eggs he found and made an egg sandwich for himself and Astrid. When he walked into the room, he saw Astrid sitting up, her head cradling in her hands as she whimpered. "Astrid? What's wrong?" he asked putting down the food and rushing over to her.
"My head," she whimpered. "it hurts really bad." Hiccup pried her hands away from head and looked at her. Her pupils were dialated.
"I'm gonna get some herbs from my mom, I'll be right back, okay?" She nodded her head slightly. "That's my girl." he said smiling. He quickly kissed her and lowered her down on the bed. Before he left, he put her plate of food on her nightstand. "There's an egg sandwich for you, in case you get hungry."
"Thanks," she mumbled. As she watched her boyfriend leave, she sat up slowly, the whole room spinning, and looked over to the plate of food. The eggs were unsatisfying to her.
She carefully moved from her bed to the washroom across the hall to wash her face and brush her hair. As she reached the sink, she cupped her hands together and splashed water on her face. A wave of nausea hit her and she collapsed to the floor, groaning in pain. She heard the front door open, then close, and heard uneven footsteps. She quickly panicked and tried her best to get up, but she was still too weak.
"Hiccup," she moaned in pain. She heard him come up the stairs to into her room.
"Astrid?" he said, in a panicked voice. He exited her room and heard moaning come from the washroom. He rushed to the room, only to see his girlfriend on the floor. "Astrid!" He knelt beside her, putting the back of his hand against her head. "Fever," he mumbled. He gathered her petite figure in his arms and carried her back to bed, putting her gently back on the bed. He looked at her face. She was paler than the night before. She opened her eyes and looked at Hiccup.
"M'sorry," she slurred. "I needed water." Hiccup sighed and he put a cool, damp cloth on her forehead.
"It's okay, it's okay" he soothed "You scared me Astrid. I lost my dad, I can't lose you too. I love you, so much and I can't lose you." he placed a hand on her cheek and she nuzzled into his touch. He kissed her head. "Get some rest. I'll be around later to check on you. Please stay in bed. Mom will downstairs in case."
She nodded and closed her eyes. He placed a kiss on her cheek before going out of the room. She sighed. She hated being stuck in the house. She was Astrid Hofferson! The General of Berk! Chief's Second In Command. With 3 broken ribs and a fever. Which she still didn't know how she got. She was just thankful that she had someone like Hiccup. Hiccup. He had soothed her when she woke up in pain. Being in his arms was a safe place for her. Her best friend and love of her life had been by her side the whole night. He had kissed the crown of her head when she whimpered in her sleep.
She was knocked out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. She turned to see Eret at the door. He smiled and entered her room.
"How're you feeling? You took a nasty blow to the head last night."
She sighed. " My head hurts. Hiccup got herbs, but he had to go. Do-do you mind making a tea for me?" she asked shyly.
"Not at all." he picked up the herbs." I'll be right back." he nodded to her before he left. He returned shortly with a mug of tea for her. He helped her sit up and placed the mug in her hands. "Do you need anything? Beef stew? Yak jerky?" he offered.
"No, thank you though." she said quietly. "Thank you, for helping me last night. If not for you, I would probably be a pet to the hunters." she said, taking a drink from her mug.
"It was my pleasure. I think Chief would be wondering where his General is. Or girlfriend." he said chuckling.
"Y'know you can call him Hiccup." she said laughing. "I think you've earned that right." she said.
"Alright, I've got to go. Feel better General." he left the room and she put the mug down. She looked at the food Hiccup left for her. She was a little hungry. She put the plate in her lap and picked up the sandwich and took a bite. Wrong choice. She spit it out and gagged. She took a sip of her tea. The eggs were cold and the bread was stale. She really needed to get food for her house.
She laid back down and closed her eyes. She figured Hiccup wouldn't be here for a couple of hours due to his chiefly duties. She would hope to get a another few hours of sleep.
Hours later, she felt a damp cloth on her head. She drowsily opened her eyes to see a pair of jade eyes looking at her. He smiled at her. "How're you feeling?" he asked her, sweeping her her bangs off her sweaty forehead.
"Better than last night for sure." she said, her voice a little hoarse. He brought a mug to her lips, and she drank the cool liquid. She noticed old bandages on her nightstand. "Did you change my bandages?" she asked.
He nodded. "I changed them this morning too. I heard Eret came over earlier." she nodded.
"I asked him if he could make me some tea from the herbs." she told him. "How was your day?" she asked him. He sighed.
"Busy. Two young girls were having trouble with their dragons, so Toothless knocked some sense into the dragons, quite literally. The girls were all happy and excited. They thanked me and hugged my legs. I think you've got competition." he joked as she rolled her eyes. " And then it was just settling disputes between petty couples." she nodded and sighed. "You okay?" he asked cupping her cheek.
She nodded, but tears pricked at her eyes. Hiccup immediately noticed and got up from his seat and got in the bed with her. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried. "Hey, what's wrong? You never cry, you're scaring me babe." She shook her head and continued to cry into his chest, wetting his flight suit. "Astrid," he started, taking her head in his hands and pulling her to look at him. She looked at him, his thumbs wiping her tears away. "Tell me, please, I hate seeing you like this."
She sniffled. "I feel so useless. Weak. A burden to you." she said, avoiding his stare. She cried harder as he pulled her to his chest, wrapping his strong arms around her.
"Astrid, you are NOT a burden to me, okay? I am taking care of you because I love you. I decided to take care of you because I want to, not because I need to. You're not useless. You're the General of Berk! You correct me every time I make a mistake in a council meeting. You make sure Berk is safe and protected from all dangers that lurk in the archipelago. You're AMAZING! And you're sure to hell not weak at all. You flew on Stormfly when you were blind! You managed to make an excellent recovery from the Scourge of Odin. You even protected Stormfly from a dragon root arrow using your leg! So you're amazing Astrid!" he said, her crying ceasing. "I made you my General for a reason. And if that doesn't convince you, then I'll just have to kidnap you again, like I did when I convinced you that dragons were different." he said. She had stopped crying and Hiccup had pulled her out if his chest and wiped the tear streaks off her face. "I love you, so much and I hate seeing you so upset."
She was at loss of words. How does someone respond to that? "I love you too, I feel, stupid." she admitted.
"You don't need to, but please next time, tell me when something is bothering you? okay?" she nodded. "Good, now lets go eat dinner at the Great Hall." she smiled as he helped her up out of the bed. He helped her out of the house. They walked to the Great Hall, their hands intertwined. She looked back on it and smiled sheepishly. She did feel kind of stupid, but these things run through your mind when you don't feel good. She knew that she had Hiccup, no matter what. There would always be a Hiccup and Astrid. Always.