Chapter One: A New Holiday Begins
This is Berk. I'm not gonna go into too much detail about this place as you've probably heard most of it from Hiccup and Toothless. Anyway, this is the place with the six month winter, including Devastating Winter, with the one thing to look forward to during this time being Snoggletog – our annual holiday. Trust me, even I still don't know why such a stupid name was chosen but to be quite frank, I can't be bothered to ask about it.
"Hiccup!" a young woman called from a large cooking pot. She was an attractive young lady with bright blonde hair that hung in a plait by the side of her round face. Her storm blue eyes were the type that were beautiful to see when she was happy but the last thing anyone wanted to look at when she was angry. She was wearing a blue woollen tunic with red decoration at the hem, sleeves and a red leather belt, dark blue leggings and bear skin boots. "Are you getting up anytime soon? Toothless is threatening to cave the roof in again!" Her statement was followed by a loud THUD from the roof as the one-tailed Night Fury started his usual routine of jumping up and down to get his rider's attention.
That's me cooking, by the way – Astrid Horrendous Haddock I. Don't worry – I've improved my cooking skills since I was fourteen and I'm pretty sure no one's gonna get poisoned or anything now! It's been about nine months since I got married and, I have to admit it, I couldn't really be happier.
BANG!
"HICCUP!" Astrid yelled before wincing, doubling over as she felt something move inside her. Astrid was heavily pregnant with her first child and the baby was due to be born the next month. She wasn't sure on whether it was a boy or a girl but she had a few names in her head that she felt would suit it. At any rate, her yell combined with Toothless' incessant bouncing on the roof that woke up the person upstairs. Groggily a young man came walking down the stairs – he sported a prosthetic leg that was a lot more advanced than the peg legs other Vikings usually used and he was a couple of inches taller than his wife. He had messy dark auburn hair that was clearly not familiar with a comb and forest green eyes which glinted with an idea no matter what mood the guy was in. He was wearing leather armour of some kind with a dark green wool under-tunic, dark khaki leggings and one black leather boot on his remaining right foot.
"Alright! Alright – I'm coming," he yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and grabbing what appeared to be a leather riding mask.
That's Hiccup – my husband and heir to the Hairy Hooligan tribe of Berk. I think it's safe to say he's not much of a morning person.
"It's about time – Toothless has been jumping on the roof for the past ten minutes," Astrid smirked, spooning out a bowlful of porridge. "Hungry?" Hiccup smiled and accepted the bowl, sniffing it cautiously whilst Astrid wasn't looking. Despite the improvements made in her cooking, he still had to be careful.
"You should've gotten me to do this," he grinned. "You need your rest..."
"Well, you were up late helping your dad yesterday," Astrid shrugged. "If it weren't for Toothless I would've let you sleep in."
"And how much have you eaten?" Hiccup asked in surprise, ignoring Astrid's statement and spotting the half empty pot of porridge. It was big enough to fit enough food to feed an entire family but Astrid had already gotten through most of it.
"Seems to be the only way to keep the little guy calm," Astrid explained, patting her stomach. "OUCH!" she yelped as the baby nudged her again.
"You okay?" Hiccup grimaced. Astrid nodded and sat down, the effort of cooking and carrying the baby around exhausting her. Astrid had been more tired than usual since discovering her pregnancy and she'd shown all the symptoms – morning sickness, cravings (for some reason it was for parsnips – because of that Hiccup's older sister, Kyra, had stopped coming over for dinner before she got married herself. She hated vegetables)...you name it, Astrid had it.
"He's just a strong kicker, that's all," she groaned. Hiccup moved over and knelt down by his wife – it was strange calling her that even after all this time. Hiccup's relationship with Astrid had never been the smoothest one – before he'd discovered the truth about dragons she'd pretended that he didn't even exist despite liking him herself (she admitted this fact a lot later) and even when she'd begun to return his feelings and their relationship became official they still had the occasional argument and Astrid did have a habit of punching Hiccup when it pleased her. It had been when Hiccup had randomly let his true feelings slip in the middle of a battle with the Outcasts that Astrid had asked his father, Chief Stoick the Vast, to handfast them, ready to marry when they reached the age of sixteen.
That, however, hadn't happened as six months later during the engagement party organised by Kyra, Hiccup had been hit by a dragon's curse that transformed him into a half-dragon (the transformation wasn't complete due to Toothless firing a counter-jinx to prevent Hiccup from turning into a dragon completely). He'd been stuck like that for three years before finally deciding to take things into his own hands and returning to Berk where he regained his humanity with the help of Kyra and the others and also defeated the dragons behind his stint as a Halfling. It had been the spring after that adventure that Hiccup and Astrid were finally made husband and wife.
"What's it now? About a month to go?" Hiccup asked gently. Astrid was too exhausted to make a witty comeback.
"I dunno..." she panted. "The way he's kicking, I can't tell if it's gonna be a month or a couple of weeks...OW!" she cried, wincing painfully. Hiccup gently comforted her and patted the bump carefully – instantly Astrid calmed down and things seemed to settle. "I think he likes you being around," Astrid smiled. Hiccup smiled back before turning his gaze to the bump.
"I know you're eager to get out," he whispered gently. "Just go a little easier on your mother for me, okay?" BANG! "At least while I'm out," Hiccup finished, wincing as a piece of roof slate fell onto the table. "I'll fix that when I get back," he noted, standing up and helping Astrid to her feet. Walking outside, the couple admired the view for a moment. Berk was surprisingly beautiful when it was covered in snow the way it was – at this time of the year, the sun was still rising and setting so despite the shorter days the sky could still be a stunning blue for the small amount of daylight hours there were.
The moment was ruined when Hiccup's dragon, Toothless, barged in and nuzzled his rider in the side.
"Okay, buddy – I'm coming," Hiccup grinned, scratching his best friend behind the ear where he liked it best. "We'll go flying now," he added, mounting the black dragon and slotting his prosthetic foot into the modified stirrup. He turned to face Astrid who was standing by the door with her own dragon, a blue and yellow Deadly Nadder called Stormfly. "Tell Dad I'll be back in time to help out with those negotiations," he asked.
"I will," Astrid promised, leaning slightly on Stormfly's flank for support. "Just get back before lunch, will ya? Last time the stew burned and that wasn't because of my cooking skills!" she pointed out before Hiccup could protest. Even so he promised not to take too long before heading into the sky on Toothless. Astrid watched wistfully after them – she hadn't been able to go flying for months because of her pregnancy and she couldn't wait to get back into the skies with Stormfly. Once Hiccup and Toothless were out of sight, Astrid decided to take a walk down into the village where everyone was preparing for Snoggletog.
The wooden pine tree had been set up in the middle of the plaza, shields and wreaths were decorating every doorway and shop stand Astrid could see and Vikings were scurrying everywhere to get presents hidden. People were also preparing to say goodbye to their dragons for the holiday – Snoggletog was the time that dragons went off to have families of their own. Stormfly had had a litter the previous year and so would be one of the few who were staying but Astrid knew that it was a hard time for those whose bonds with their dragons were strong, especially in the Defenders of Berk team that she herself was part of.
"Mornin', Astrid!" a Viking with a missing left hand and right leg greeted from a store which served both as the weapons' forge and a dragon dentist. The Viking in charge was Gobber the Belch, the mentor of the Defenders of Berk. Astrid waved back and walked over.
"Morning, Gobber," she greeted back. "Busy day?"
"Just the usual assortment of present orders," Gobber shrugged. "Shields, hammers – you know, the normal." Astrid snorted slightly – her mentor and his sense of humour. "How's the little one doing?" Gobber asked. Right on cue, the baby growing inside Astrid gave a gentle kick – hard enough so that its mother would notice but soft enough so that Astrid only needed to grit her teeth. "Still kicking, I see?"
"Clearly," Astrid replied sarcastically. "Not too long though," she smiled.
"I'm sure he'll be a fine young lad," Gobber chuckled.
"I don't even know if it's gonna be a boy, Gobber!" Astrid protested.
"Or a fine young lass, either one!" the aging Viking retorted. "Either way, the Haddock clan will have gained a great new member," he joked, hammering a blade into shape. Astrid heard a call from the plaza so she bid Gobber farewell and headed over to a group of Vikings around her age – the Defenders of Berk.
"And there's the Mom-to-be!" Ruffnut Thorston cheered. Her twin brother, Tuffnut, joined in the mock applause. Astrid gave them her death glare.
"Oh, yeah, Ruff? Wait till you have to carry around a six pound baby twenty-four-seven," she huffed.
"Not gonna happen," Ruffnut bit back smugly.
"Will so. Your wedding's next fall last time I heard."
That shut Ruffnut up. Fishlegs Ingerman, the walking dragon encyclopaedia of the gang, stepped in.
"You doing alright, Astrid?" he asked nervously. "And how's he...she...it doing?"
"I'm fine – baby's still...YEOW...kicking," Astrid winced. "Okay, I lied – baby's more than fine. I just so happen to be his favourite punch-bag."
"How do you know it's gonna be a boy?" Snotlout Jorgenson, Hiccup's cousin and a boy who once had a massive crush on Astrid, smirked. Astrid glared at him.
"I don't – I'm being generic, okay?" she snarled cynically.
"Besides, you're kinda the little guy's only punch-bag right now," Tuffnut snickered. Astrid clobbered him round the face. "OW! I AM HURT! I AM VERY MUCH HURT!"
"Will you quit saying that? You didn't even bleed," Ruffnut stared at him. Astrid shook her head before another call came, this time from a non-resident of Berk.
"Hey, Astrid!" It was Heather, a good friend and honorary member of the Defenders of Berk who had married the year before Hiccup and Astrid and often made visits to Berk to get away from what she saw as the stresses of married life (needless to say she was a bit jealous of Hiccup and Astrid in that department). The dark-haired young woman jogged over clutching a bundle of something in her arms.
"Heather!" Astrid greeted, giving her friend a gentle hug. It was only when Heather was close did Astrid see what the bundle was. "Oh, my gods! She is adorable!" Astrid couldn't help but coo as she saw the tiny face peeking out from the skins and furs. Heather had had her daughter merely a few months ago but she was keen to get the kid well-travelled and familiar with the other islands in the Barbaric Archipelago as quickly as possible.
"She's been keeping me and Magnus awake half the night," Heather joked. "Only thing that keeps her asleep is that flute you gave us for the anniversary." Astrid remembered – Hiccup had made a pan flute for Heather, who was a skilled musician, and the music it created was something far superior to the sounds that came out of Gobber's pan flute.
"What'd you call her, again?" Ruffnut asked nearby. Heather rolled her eyes – just like the twins to forget.
"Iona," she replied. The name meant 'island'. It certainly fitted a girl who was being carried around by her mother on dragon-back around the islands from such a young age. "Not a bad name, huh?"
"Dammit! That was one of my ideas," Astrid groaned mockingly. Heather laughed for a bit before clearing her throat and wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck.
"Anyway, what're you doing here?" Snotlout asked. Again, Heather was a girl he'd once taken a liking to – like Astrid, however, she'd rebuked him.
"Is Hiccup around?" Heather asked, seemingly avoiding the question.
"He went flying with Toothless about an hour ago," Astrid explained. "Why?"
"It's Kyra," Heather replied with a hint of concern in her voice. "She's asking for him."
AN: Before you ask; no, this isn't the final part of the trilogy - just a short special I'm writing. The final story, How to Twist a Dragon's Tail, is still in the works but with any luck should be out some time in the New Year if school work doesn't cause too much of a problem...Hope you guys enjoy this in the meantime!