I DO NOT OWN HICCUP, ASTRID, TOOTHLESS OR ANY OF THE HTTYD CHARACTERS!
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This is a pick up of where 'Her Gift' by Calico left off. 'Her Gift' is a sad but beautiful fanfic that I fell in LOVE with. I hope that I do 'Her Gift' justice :)
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Hiccup sat down on his bed and sighed. His amputated limb ached where it rested in his wooden prosthetic leg and he had finally finished packing his things for his future travels. It had been a long week for the Chief of Berk. Within a weeks time, Stoick had passed away due to his illness, Hiccup had received a message from Bershire,a distant land, asking for his help with a dragon problem and the Elders were now enforcing their stand on his need to marry.
Stoick had been sick for a very long time so when he passed, Hiccup expected it. You could even say that he felt relief to know that Stoick was no longer suffering. Watching the mighty Stoick the Vast, waste away into nothing killed Hiccup. During his father's last moments, both men revealed their deepest secrets, their biggest regrets and the things that they would have done differently with each other. When Hiccup revealed to his father that he and Astrid had secretly taken each other the night before she married, Stoick couldn't help but express his deep sorrow and concern for his son's happiness.
Of course his father had tried to convince him to move on and to find a pretty viking woman to take his mind from Astrid, but Hiccup couldn't. He was still as deep in love with his blonde god as he was on that sacred night, 13 years ago. She was his first and she was his last. Yes, he had tried seeing other women but every time he would start enjoying their company...he'd look at them and see Astrid. Hiccup knew that he had to get over her but he was unable to do so.
Now with his pending nuptials, he finally felt hope that he'd be free of her spell. Not that getting married to a foreigner and being taken away to a far off land had even been Astrid's choice...but Hiccup couldn't help but to place some blame on her. He had offered to run away with her, to give up everything that he knew just so they could be together but she refused to keep from dishonoring her family's name.
Hiccup leaned forward and rested his face in his hands. Even it held the hope of happiness, he wasn't too thrilled about being forced to marry. The Elders of Berk had all agreed that the Chief of Berk should marry or soon be married to make sure that an heir would be produced, and there was no fighting their decision. When Hiccup first became Chief due to his father's illness, the Elders decided to not pester him on the subject so that he would not be distracted from his duties or from taking care of his dying father. Now they had given him two months to find a woman to marry. Now that he had to travel far off to help another land with their dragons, he felt like he didn't have enough time to find a woman let alone marry one.
A soft nudge to his shoulder brought Hiccup out of his thoughts. He looked over to his best friend, Toothless. The midnight colored dragon had never left his side, he had never let him down.
"I'm ok bud. I've just got a lot on my mind." Hiccup said as he scratched behind Toothless' left ear. The dragon offered him a gummy smile then walked away. Before he could question what he was doing Toothless reappeared, dragging their forgotten riding gear out from the corner of the room. It was then that Hiccup realized how forgotten his dragon must have felt. That whole week, he hadn't even spared his best friend a passing glance.
"I'm guessing you're ready to go, bud?" Toothless offered him another smile in return. "Alright, I'll go tell Gobber that we are leaving."
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As Hiccup made his way down to the old forge. It was an unusually warm day for Berk. The warmth of the sun felt good on his pale skin. Many of the villagers met him with smiles or quiet greetings, as well as their dragons. If some one had told him that 20 years ago, that Berk would happily live with dragons and that he was the reason for it...he would have called them crazy.
Now at the age of thirty, Hiccup was fully grown. He was tall like his father and thicker by muscles built from his days in the forge. But he was still the same lean, accident prone and shy boy who learned the secrets to taming dragons. His unruly red hair hung down to his shoulders and his eyes were still a vibrant emerald-green, just like his mother's. After years of believing that he would be unable to, a short well-groomed beard finally decorated his face. Hiccup really didn't like his beard though. He only grew it out during the colder months to protect his face from Berk's bitter cold.
When he arrived that the forge, Hiccup didn't waste time by knocking. He knew Gobber wouldn't hear it with all the clanking from his smith work.
"Gobber." He yelled out, letting the older man know that he was there.
"Well hello there lad. What have I done to earn a visit from the mighty Chief of Berk." Hiccup knew Gobber still loved to tease him with his new title. "Maybe you have come to request a ring for the lass you plan on marryin'."
"Not yet Gobber. I'm just here to tell you that I'm off to Bershire. I don't know how I'll be gone but if you need me, just send a message by Fishlegs." Hiccup told him.
"Alright boy. Have a safe journey. Don't let Toothless tire himself out." Gobber told him. Hiccup nodded and turned to leave when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder, turning him back around. "Hiccup, I just want you to know that I'm proud of the man you've become and I know that Sto...*clears throat*...Stoick was very proud to have you as a son. You'll do Berk proud to have you as it's Chief."
Tears stung Hiccup's eyes and he hugged the man who had been his father's best friend for many years. They might have expected it but both men were still deeply hurt by Stoick's death. Knowing that they at least had each other made things better. Hiccup had a man to go to when he had questions that he was unable to answer and Gobber found a piece of his best friend in Stoick's son.
Hiccup released Gobber from his tight grip and left the forge. Hot tears that he had held back finally found their way down his freckled face. He quickly wiped them away and continued walking toward his house to get Toothless.
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