"No Miss Astrid, that's not the right fork"
Astrid sighed "I'm sorry Beatrix"
"Isn't that like the tenth time she's gotten that wrong?" A servant sneered from the corner of the room.
Beatrix turned to the helper sharply "If you think you could get it right on the first try, come do it yourself"
That shut her up.
She turned back to the frustrated princess to be, sympathetic smile stretching across her face "Why don't you take a break?"
"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea" she frowned "I think I need to clear my head"
Beatrix nodded and Astrid left as quick as she could. All of the Princess technique and all the different forks... Why would anyone need so many forks? Do they not all serve the same purpose?
"Oh gods, look it's that Beserk chick"
"I'm surprised she hasn't been kicked out yet"
"Prince Hiccup's way too kind to do that"
"Probably staying with her out of pity"
"Or out obligation" one of the girls snickered.
"You're not saying-"
"That the little whore slept her way to the top?" she smirked "Absolutely. How else would she get here? What on earth would he see in her?"
Astrid took a deep breath. How dumb did these girls think she was? Or maybe they didn't think she was dumb at all. Maybe they knew she would hear their harsh words. Early on in her arrival she'd been told countless times to ignore the gossip. But that was easier said than done.
"You're evil" a girl told her in a way that made it sound like a compliment
"I only speak the truth" another smirk "I know it, everyone knows it. I bet even she knows it. She doesn't belong here. Prince Hiccup just hasn't come to to his senses yet"
She felt the cold stare on her back. Astrid wanted nothing more than to just go back and yell at that group of girls. State the facts and make them see some sense. But that would give them a reaction, and only quench their satisfaction. She was better than that. She knew the truth. Not those girls. So, she held her head high.
As she walked through the village she noticed a young girl struggling to carry a large basket of clothes. Astrid couldn't stand by and watch a little girl struggle with nobody bothering to offer any help. She walked over and kneeled down.
"Hey sweetie" she said gently.
Clearly the younger girl had not been expecting anyone to talk to her. She jumped, causing the clothes to spill everywhere.
"Oh no" she gasped, automatically going to pick up the clothes "I'm really sorry. P-please don't y-yell at me"
"Oh no honey don't worry, nobody's going to yell at you" she reassured picking up the clothes and placing them in the basket "This looks awfully heavy, why don't I carry this for you?"
A look of relief passed across her face "Yes please" she looked around sneakily "But don't tell anyone"
Astrid took the carrier and allowed the girl to lead the way "So what's your name?"
"Mirabelle. Miri for short"
"That's a lovely name" Astrid complimented.
"Thank you!" She smiled brightly "What's your name?"
"My name is Astrid"
Suddenly Mirabelle stopped and gasped again, this time it did not have the same panic as last time. Instead, it was a gasp of elation.
"As in the same Astrid that Prince Hiccup fell in love with?!"
Astrid nodded, amused by the energy "That's me"
She let out a small squeal "Oh my gods! I can't belive I'm actually talking to you! You're like... A character from a fairy tale!"
Astrid couldn't help but grin at the implication "Trust me, I'm no fairy tale character"
"Well you should be! Someone should make a fairy tale about you!"
"And should it end with Prince Hiccup and me riding off into the sunset on Toothless?"
"Yeah!" she squeaked before stopping "I think we can stop here"
Astrid set the clothes down "So Miri, how old are you?"
"Seven. Nearly eight" she said proudly as she held up seven fingers.
"Well a seven year old shouldn't be carrying a basket of clothes this heavy, you could strain your muscles and hurt yourself" she chided lightly.
At that sentence, the little girl shrank a little "I just wanted to prove that I was tough to the other kids. They said I could play with them if I carried these clothes across the village and back"
Astrid's heart melted for the young girl because she remembered being in similar situations herself at that age. With a disgraced family name she always had to prove herself and her strength to everyone. She knelt down so she was at the same height as Mirabelle.
"First of all" she began gently "You don't need to prove yourself to anyone. You're exactly the way you are for a reason, don't let anyone make you think that needs to change. And anyone who does probably isn't worth it. Find friends that like you for you"
Mirabelle looked at Astrid nodding, admiration sparkling in her eyes.
"And second" Astrid continued "If you really feel like you have to prove a point, don't hurt yourself unnecessarily to do so. You can't prove anything to anyone if you're recovering from an injury"
"Thank you" she beamed "Princess Astrid?"
"Oh no sweetheart I'm not quite a Princess, Astrid works just fine"
"Really? Wow okay" she seemed to be in slight disbelief "Astrid, please may I ask you something?"
Astrid smiled soothingly "Of course, what is it?"
"D-do you think I'll ever become a Princess? She asked, hopeful glint glimmering in her innocent eyes.
"If you marry a prince" she shrugged, grinning "But can I let you in on a little secret?"
Mirabelle nodded leaning closer, clearly eager to hear what she had to say.
"If you fall in love with the right boy, you'll always feel like a princess"
When she felt two tiny arms wrap around her, joy flooded her entire being. Astrid hugged back, smile rapidly widening.
Moments like these reminded her of why she had grown to love Berk in the first place.
xxxx
"I know it, everyone knows it"
She was not blind to the disapproving stares of others. The rumours were everywhere. Astrid had a rather keen ear, a habit picked up from years of walking around judgemental people in Beserker island. She knew everything that was said, good and bad.
"I bet even she knows it."
She did, to some extent. Astrid stared at herself in the mirror for a long while. She did not look like a Princess, not even close. Astrid had never really been one to wear dresses. The night of the ball had been a fluke. All of these gowns looked odd and uncomfortable on her. Not to mention how difficult they made dragon riding. And don't even get her started on the corsets. Gods, she could barely breathe in those things! Right now, she was wearing a gown with no corset underneath, she was in private so she didn't see how it mattered. At least she was comfortable. She knew she didn't really look like a Princess, but a part of her thinks that partiality why Hiccup loves her.
"She doesn't belong here."
Admittedly, some days were worse than others. Being a Princess for one night was nothing compared to being a Princess for the rest of your life, a lesson Astrid was unfortunately seeming to learn the hard way. Honestly everything had happened so fast. Between falling in love with Prince Hiccup and leaving Beserker Island to come to be with him, everything had been a blur to her. A positive blur, to be fair, but now everything was clearing up and she was beginning to understand just how deep she was in. It was all just... A lot harder than she thought it would be.
"Hey" Prince Hiccup said, hugging her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder. Though she was surprised by his arrival, she found herself melting into his form.
When did he get in the room? Did she leave the door open?
"What are you doing?"
Without thinking about it, Astrid reached one hand up to stroke the side of his face "Just thinking, I suppose"
"What about?"
"Oh... Everything, really" was what she settled on as a summary.
"Mind going a little crazy?" he questioned with a knowing gaze.
"You could say that"
Their reflection looked so strange to her. Even though she knew she was going to be a Princess eventually. But she still felt like a servant. No matter what way she looked at it, they would always be the Prince and the servant. No wonder everyone talked about her.
"Well milady today is your lucky day because I have brought a distraction with me"
She raised an eyebrow "And what would that be?"
He held up a picnic basket he'd put beside them. As much as she wanted to go, Astrid still hesitated.
"I don't know Hiccup. I'm so busy with Princess training I don't know if I have the time..."
"Sorted. I already talked to Beatrix about it and she agreed that some time to just clear your head would be good for you."
The walk had been beneficial in some ways, but it hadn't quite been enough. Maybe this would get rid of those last few negative thoughts.
"So what do you say?" He grinned.
She found herself returning his grin, doubt already beginning to fade away.
xxxx
"So what brought this on?" Astrid asked as she bit into a yak chop.
"Brought what on?"
"You know" she gestured to the picnic around them "This"
They were currently sitting on an island that Hiccup had discovered a few months ago witg Toothless. It truly was a beautiful place, the scenery was simply magnificent. The only problem was it's name.
("How in the name of Thor did you come up with Itchy Armpit?" "... Toothless was licking his armpit" "Huh. Charming.")
"Oh. You mean the picnic" he realized "You've just been working really hard lately and I thought that you need a break"
"But I've been failing" she frowned "That hardly deserves anything, certainly not a break"
"You didn't fail anything Astrid"
Her frown deepened "Well I'm not exactly succeeding, am I?"
"Just because you've gotten a few things wrong that doesn't mean-"
"But it's not a few things, it's everything" she pointed out before letting out a shaky sigh "Forget it. You put in all this effort so that I could have a nice time. I shouldn't be ruining the mood. Sorry"
"Hey" he said seriously, resting a hand on her shoulder. This was clearly affecting more than she let on "Talk to me"
"I just... I feel like I'm letting everyone down" she confessed, looking down "You've all been so kind to me since I first got here. Beatrix has been so patient with me and this how I repay her? By getting everything wrong? And I want to be this amazing princess for you. And I'm trying Hiccup, I really am but-"
"And we know that" he reassured "We both know that you're trying. Nobody gets thing the first time round. You're doing your best, that's all anyone can ask for"
"You think so?"
"I know so" he paused "And in terms of being the 'amazing princess for me', you already are. You have been since the moment I met you"
She mustered a small smile, but something still gnawed at the back of her mind.
"Prince Hiccup just hasn't come to to his senses yet"
"Hey Hiccup?" she asked tentatively.
"Yeah?" he said taking some food from the basket.
"Y-you would tell me if you ever changed your mind about me, right?"
He momentarily froze, as if he couldn't believe she was even suggesting it "That's never gonna happen"
"But hypothetically, if you did-"
"No Astrid" he cut her off "There's no 'If you did' because it's not happening. My mind isn't changing. Not now, not ever"
'So you say' was how she wanted to respond.
She wanted to believe him, she truly did. But she knew how people worked. Changing minds was one of those things that was just as easy to do as it was to say.
She didn't even realise she was still looking away until she felt Hiccup's finger hook on her chin and bring her face up to look at him "Have you been listening to gossip again?"
"...Yes" she told him reluctantly.
He sighed "Astrid you know you shouldn't-"
"I know" she chimed in "But I couldn't help it Hiccup. They were right behind me"
"No I get that. You've just got to ignore it. There's nothing else you can do"
"Yeah, it's just harder to do that when you already think half the stuff they say"
"Well they're wrong, and you're wrong for agreeing with them''
"But Hiccup don't you ever listen to what they say about me?"
And with that he kissed her, effectively silencing her. Astrid automatically kissed back, fireworks erupting throughout her body. It still amazed her how their kisses still felt as amazing as the very first one, even after all these months.
"Does that answer your question?" he asked as he pulled away.
She smirked in response "I think you may need to repeat yourself"
He didn't need to be told twice. Astrid still had her doubts and insecurities but for now, she had managed to settle them. That was enough for now.
I low key can't believe I'm actually writing the sequel now! How fast the time has gone!
So yes, I know that The Hidden World marks the end of the httyd franchise but I'm still writing stories. Honestly, it's still not over for me. I'm not sure it ever will be. That's why I'm writing, this is my way of keeping the franchise alive.
Speaking of new stories, go check out my new one called 'Blessings in Disguise'. It's prologue and first chapter are up now! For those who don't remember, that was the RTTE AU. It won by literally 2 votes. It was really close though, that modern AU may get published sooner than you think ;)
I think you guys get the drill by now. All feedback appreciated, just make sure any criticism is written constructively.
Shohini :)
