Hi guys, God, I haven't been here forever it seems, this is a one shot for HiccupHaddockIII, who requested a royalty au in olden times, as her prize for being the 100th reviewer on my fanfic, You Can't Keep Us Apart. To be honest, I'm not really feeling the writing vibe, and I think I'm putting a hold on all fanfics at the moment because of it. It's like a major case of writer's block where I have to squeeze something out of my brain. It might be because of these horribly rude reviews and PM's I've been receiving recently, but anyway. I'll let you guys know if I'm continuing the rewrite of You Can't Keep Us Apart or not, but personal life sometimes gets you so down. I'm rambling again. Just read on and ignore me, hope you enjoy! ~CraziLexa
The carriage bumped along the road, rocking about relentlessly. Astrid gazed out the the carriage window mindlessly.
"Astrid, do stop with that mindless staring, it is rather annoying." Her mother chided her.
"Sorry, Mother." Astrid apologised, sitting up and smoothing down the full skirt of her pale blue gown. The style was not what she would usually wear - far too extravagant -, but her mother insisted. Her mother was getting far too wrapped up in her fantasies to hear - let alone consider - her daughter's opinions. Her mother had planned everything flat out. Astrid's gown, her shoes, shawl, the way she should address people, making her practice her dancing, even going as far as demonstrating how she should walk. All because they were invited to the Prince's twentieth birthday ball. Prince Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of Stoick, King of the small kingdom of Berk. Although Astrid wouldn't like to admit it - the last thing she wanted to be was all the other gossiping ladies who molded themselves into fake, giggling, over-mannered, overdressed women - she was excited. And if she was excited, her mother was overenthusiastic. The past fortnight and a half since they had received the invite, her mother had been continuously fantasising. "Just imagine; you could marry a Prince!" She would sigh wistfully, then the next day she would be saying, "Just imagine; your children would be the heirs to the throne!" Then later be saying, "My grandchildren would be Berkian royalty!". And Astrid would sit there, mentally rolling her eyes, and sighing heavily at her mother's vastly preposterous visions. Whenever Astrid tried to gently break it to her mother that that was very unlikely going to happen, she shook her off saying, "Mothers know best!".
"Astrid!" Her mother exclaimed, bringing her back to the present.
"Look, we are nearly there, oh, the castle is just enchanting!"
Indeed it was. A long driveway leading to a tall, large stone castle, illuminated a beautiful shade of gold by the torches that lined the walls. The castle had four turrets, and a lush moat surrounded it.
The carriage rocked along the driveway, and crossed the drawbridge. When the carriage arrived at the entrance, it stopped. The coachman came round and opened the door for the Hofferson's. Astrid stepped down first, her mother not far behind. Her mother thanked the coachman, and followed her daughter to the grand entrance.
°•°•°•°•°•°
Prince Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III stood in his bed chambers, dressed in the outfit that was tailored specially for this occasion, staring at the wall. He hated this. Everyone thought it was the dream to be royalty, but they did not know how restricting it was. Hiccup would have preferred to spend his twentieth birthday riding his horse, Toothless, a beautiful jet black horse who earned his name by the missing tooth at the front of his mouth. But his father had insisted on throwing a ball for him that he didn't want.
There was a knock on his door.
"Yes?" Hiccup called out.
The door opened a crack, and a servant peeped out from behind the door nervously.
"Your Majesty, the King has required you to come downstairs. The ball is starting."
Hiccup nodded.
"Tell him I'll be down in a few minutes."
The servant nodded, and scampered.
°•°•°•°•°•°
Astrid looked around, looking for a familiar face.
"Astrid!"
Astrid turned, and saw Ruffnut Thorston, a friend of hers, walking over to her.
"Ruffnut! How are you?" Astrid asked her.
Ruffnut groaned in despair.
"Deeply uncomfortable, my mother made me wear a corset, I can barely stand it."
Astrid laughed.
"Where is your brother?" Astrid asked.
"Speaking with Snotlout Jorgenson, they have seen some lady that has caught their eye."
Astrid nodded in understanding.
"Have they not yet found someone who hasn't?"
Ruffnut snorted in a way her mother would have been horrified by.
"Of course not, all they care about is how big their breasts are."
"Ruffnut! Keep quiet! People could hear!" Astrid exclaimed, looking around frantically for anyone who could have heard.
"Oh, calm down, woman! There's no one that could have heard. They are all old and half deaf."
"Actually, there are at least five people that could have heard." A voice said behind them.
Ruffnut and Astrid yelped in shock.
"Fishlegs! Would you please stop doing that?" Astrid said, glaring at the hefty blonde man.
"I'm sorry." Fishlegs apologised, bowing respectfully in front of the two women.
Ruffnut rolled her eyes.
"For someone so big, you can certainly be stealthy." Ruffnut remarked.
Fishlegs was slightly put out by this comment. It was no secret that he hoped to ask Ruffnut for her hand in marriage.
"Are you excited to see the Prince?" Fishlegs asked, changing the subject.
"Who wouldn't? He's the Prince." Astrid said.
"He's just a man with fancy clothes." Ruffnut shrugged.
Astrid looked at her.
"He's our future King." Astrid emphasised.
Fishlegs nodded in agreement.
"Apparently, he looks very little like his father, and more like his late mother." He supplied.
"Oh be quiet. I do hate your facts, they rub on my nerves after a very short while." Ruffnut said.
Fishlegs was put out once again by her comment.
Suddenly, there was a loud clap. Every guest at the ball turned and looked towards the raised platform where the sound had emitted from. King Stoick stood on the platform, towering at nearly seven feet tall, with a girth to match. His bright red beard made any other man jealous, and his green eyes gazed watchfully. He screamed authority in big, bold, red letters. Beside him, stood a tall, lean man with auburn hair, and deep green eyes, a scowl on his face.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." King Stoick started, his voice booming across the room.
"I would like to thank you all for coming tonight, to celebrate my son's twentieth birthday!" At this, he clapped a hand on his son's shoulder. The guest cheered. After a moment, Stoick held out his hand, and the crowd quietened.
"My son means a lot to me, and while I am not the best father in the world, I have the same love for him as any other parent would. And I would like to celebrate him tonight, with the people of his future kingdom." The King finished his speech, and the crown roared to life again.
The King and his son walked off the platform, and Hiccup turned to his father.
"Dad..." Hiccup started.
"Yes, Son?" Stoick said.
"Uh... You are a great Dad. Really, you are."
Stoick smiled warmly at his son, and pulled him into a bear hug.
°•°•°•°•°•°
There will be a second chapter to this! Hopefully, if it isn't too cold and it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'll upload the second chapter tomorrow. I felt like ending it here because it felt right. Sometimes, stories write themselves. Hope you like it, HiccupHaddockIII! See ya guys tomorrow, hopefully! ~CraziLexa :)