"...so now the Jorgensons claim that the Svensons have taken three of their sheep, while the Svensons are saying that it was completely legal. How would you solve this, son?"
Hiccup sighed. Really, he considered himself good at making peace between two conflicting sides, and he enjoyed it, but he'd been solving imaginary problems for an hour now. He was starting to grow bored.
"I guess the best compromise would be to ask the Svensons to return one of their sheep to the Jorgensons. And perhaps advise them both to start writing down their bets before actually making them. Not that they would actually pay much heed to that."
"True that", his father remarked. "But still, it's an effective solution, I think. Well done, Hiccup. Now, for the next one-"
"Oh, come on, Dad", Hiccup groaned. "We've been doing this for ages now. If I could change your mind about dragons, I think I can solve a domestic dispute."
Stoick stared at him for a few seconds. "Fine", he reluctantly agreed. "You can go now." As Hiccup got up, he added, "You're doing great at this, son. I knew you had it in you!"
The rider gave his father a half-hearted smile. "Thanks, Dad", he replied, and was out the door before the man could change his mind. As soon as he stepped outside, Toothless, who had been napping next to the hut, perked up, eyes wide and expression curious. Hiccup grinned.
"Let's go flying, bud."
As they soared over the sea, he let himself relax. This whole chief business was really getting to his nerves. Although his father was completely confident in his abilities, Hiccup himself wasn't. Sure, he was doing well in the scenarios his father invented, but that was all theoretical. In practice, he knew that actually having to take care of the whole village would be entirely different, and far more difficult. However, he knew he would have to do it, eventually. He was the heir, and if he were to step down, Snotlout would have to be chief. And if Hiccup thought that he was ill-fitted to be chief, his cousin would be much worse. All of this was what made Hiccup eventually agree to his father's lessons.
Truth be told, he'd hoped he'd feel better, more prepared, after some time, but it had been a month now and he didn't yet have more confidence in himself. Despite Stoick's constant praise and assurances, that feeling that he wasn't good enough persisted. Then again, maybe that was natural after fifteen years of insecurity.
Once he got back, a few hours later, he headed into the forge to give Gobber a hand. Since he'd started taking chiefing lessons, he didn't have as much time to spend there, which meant the blacksmith was busier than usual. The man greeted him with a smile as Toothless settled down by the door.
"Look who finally showed up." Hiccup smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry. I'll get right to it. What's up?" he asked as he took his apron from its hook.
"We have a couple of axes to sharpen, so start with those."
As he worked, his mind was still back in the air, where he'd been testing his flight suit. Toothless wasn't exactly fond of it, but it worked perfectly. He just had to figure out a couple of details, such as the steering. And besides, there was something exhilarating in free falling along with his dragon, like he was actually flying all by himself. Still, he'd have to wait until he got home to start sketching.
That night, as he prepared to go to sleep, he found himself wondering what Astrid was doing. He sometimes thought about her, and when he did, the anxiety about becoming chief seemed to worsen. Because he knew perfectly well that being friends with a well-known criminal wasn't exactly compatible with being a chief. What if one day they crossed paths? How exactly was he supposed to act? Or, even worse, what if one day he had to actually fight against her? He knew he couldn't do that. She'd told him she'd stay away from him, but leading a village meant having to travel, for trading, for diplomatic reasons, anything. He just hoped she would find the way to keep her promise.
The following morning, when he went downstairs to get breakfast, his father was waiting for him with a serious expression.
"Morning, Dad. What is it?"
"Hiccup, we have to talk", Stoick stated as they both sat down at the table.
"So noted."
"It's time you put those skills you've practising to the test."
Hiccup swallowed. "And that means...?"
"As you know, the Thing is coming up in a month. This year it's in Meathead island."
"Oh." He'd been learning about the Thing, an important meeting of chiefs from the islands all over the archipelago. Lots of important people. Then he remembered his father's previous comment. "And you want me to go?"
Stoick nodded. "Aye. It'll be a great chance for you to interact with the other chiefs. Maybe even make some allies. You'll be dealing with them soon, after all."
Hiccup sighed inwardly. He wasn't looking forward to having a bunch of older men criticise him because of his general un-Viking-ness, from his appearance to his way of thinking, but his father was right. He needed to get used to them. Besides, this was an opportunity to try and convince other people to accept the dragons as Berk had. So he just nodded.
Stoick beamed. "Great!" Then his face got serious again. "Also... many of the other chiefs are also coming with their heirs. Mostly the ones that are your age."
Hiccup thought he knew where this was going. "So... I can make friends with them? For the future?" (That wasn't what his father meant and he knew it.)
"Well, yes, that would be convenient too." The man nodded. "But also..."
He sighed. "Marriage."
"You're twenty, Hiccup. It's about time you found a woman you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. And hopefully, one who can give you heirs."
Hiccup knew all this, of course. He just didn't see himself being a husband, never mind a father. It was his duty, however (another reason why he was so reluctant to be chief). Not only that, but he'd never found a woman that he'd consider getting married to, at least not in the island. The only other girl his age that he was friends with, Ruffnut, was definitely not an option for him. (She was for Snotlout and Fishlegs, though. He was mildly curious to see how that ended up.) He'd never really given thought to marrying someone outside Berk. Given the circumstances, however, he supposed it made sense.
"I just..."
"Just what?"
"I don't want marry out of duty. I want to marry for love, like you and Mom."
"Well, give the other heirs a chance, Hiccup. I'm sure that you'll find one you like."
Hiccup decided not to mention that his main worry wasn't that he wouldn't find someone, but rather that whoever he liked may not like him back. After all, he didn't think that only elder Vikings would be put off by his unconventional ways.
"Very well. I'll try." As long as he didn't end up with a female version of Dagur, he guessed he'd be all right.
Stoick smiled. "You'll see, son."
Hiccup felt an odd sense of familiarity as Toothless landed in a spot a ways off from the main village, where everybody was. His father had mentioned that they shouldn't show up right in the middle of everyone on dragonback, unless they wanted to start a fight, and Hiccup had agreed. As they began walking towards the path that would take them to their destination, he realised that this, more than a year ago, was exactly what they'd done when they'd come here with Astrid. What a strange coincidence, he thought.
Predictably, when they encountered other people, their first reaction was to try to attack the dragons. It took a bit of explaining, and a demonstration by Toothless, for them to calm down. Fortunately, they were able to do so without any incident. In fact, the children that were walking along with them soon started playing with Toothless, petting him and offering him bits of food which the Night Fury readily accepted. Hiccup laughed when he saw this.
The moment they entered the village, the rider gaped in amazement. He knew that Berk was small compared to other places in the archipelago, but he'd never imagined that a village could be quite this big and crowded. Dozens of stalls had been crudely built along the sides of the main road, undoubtedly for the Thing. Vikings of all origins were walking around, shopping at the stalls, or having arguments (of course), and he knew they were from other places because their clothing was nothing like his own. Some were covered entirely in armour, while others wore plain cotton clothing, although the majority, like them, wore a mixture of both. A lot of people stopped to stare at the dragons, but seeing the children playing with them, nobody made a move to attack. Relieved, they continued their way towards the Great Hall, where the other chieftains were gathered. A few Vikings recognised Stoick and stopped to greet him, occasionally asking about the dragons.
Finally, they reached the meeting place. A crowd was gathered at the bottom of the stairs, but nobody went up. Hiccup and Stoick made their way through the people, who parted immediately at the sight of the dragons, until they reached the front, where a man dressed in uniform stopped them. He was clearly nervous, but he stood firm.
"Only chieftains and heirs here, sir."
Before Hiccup could explain that he was an heir, his father, who'd fallen behind, showed up, and the guard instantly relaxed.
"Stoick! Long time no see."
"Likewise, Ivar" his father smiled.
"Is this your son?" he asked, nodding towards Hiccup, who couldn't help the irritation at being ignored.
"Indeed."
"I see." Ivar stared at Hiccup with a critical expression, and the latter suppressed a sigh. It'd been a while since people had regarded him as the weak son of the great Stoick the Vast, and he doubted this would be the last time here. "Well, come through, then."
"Thank you." They both nodded at the guard and climbed up the stairs. They told the dragons to stay outside; they didn't want to cause a panic. (Toothless was clearly displeased with the idea.) Inside, the Hall looked pretty much like Berk's, only bigger: large tables and benches, people talking with mugs of mead in their hands. The main difference was that all the elders, who were obviously chiefs, were dressed in their finest clothes. Stoick had brought the heavy golden belt and had put it on after getting off Skullcrusher, along with a fur cloak, but Hiccup hadn't had time to get changed; his flight suit took a long time to get off. Luckily, as he scanned the room, he noticed that the youngest people, probably also heirs, weren't dressed so formally.
"Stoick!" a voice boomed. A large man with long black hair (he swore, all the chiefs were huge) approached them, smiling.
"Holger!" his father replied. The two men shook hands, and then Holger looked at Hiccup. Unlike the guard outside, if he was judging him, he hid it well and smiled. "And you must be Hiccup, Stoick's heir." The chief of the Meathead tribe crushed Hiccup's hand and then turned back to his father. "Well, don't just stand there. Come in. We've heard you've come with dragons. Such strange rumours one hears these days."
"Actually, Holger", his father smiled. "It's true. We came flying on them."
Holger was speechless for a moment.
"Really? How did you manage that?"
Stoick turned to his son and smiled. "I think Hiccup will explain it better than anybody."
"Very well, in that case, come, boy." Holger smiled at Hiccup. "Let the other chiefs hear about it."
Following the indications of the chiefs, Hiccup found the lady on the side of the Hall who was pouring mead and asked for a mug. The woman gave him one with a smile. Thanking her, he left and found a quiet corner to sit down.
"Hey", someone said.
Hiccup turned around, unsure whether somebody had been talking to him.
"Hey, Hiccup."
He looked around for the source of the voice and finally found it: a blonde girl who was standing by a side door he hadn't noticed before. She was smiling at him. He walked closer.
"Um, hi?" he said, uncertainly.
"Hello." She smiled. "That was pretty amazing. I mean, the story you told back there."
"Oh." At Holger's insistence, he'd told the story of how he'd found Toothless and showed to the other Vikings that they were wrong. He'd left out some details, such as the fact that his father had disowned him, which he considered much too personal to share. "Thanks, I guess."
"Can you show me?" she asked. Her blue eyes scrutinised him. She was rather pretty, Hiccup thought idly, wearing a long blue tunic with a belt that secured it, a dagger strapped to it. She looked surprisingly burly and muscular for a woman. Belatedly, he remembered she'd asked him a question.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Can I see your dragon?"
"Uh, sure, I guess. He's outside, so..." He turned to the exit, but to his surprise she grabbed his arm.
"Let's go through here. If we go through there" she nodded at the main entrance, "the other chiefs won't stop asking questions."
"Okay, that makes sense" he nodded. "I think I should tell my dad I'm leaving, though."
She winked at him, and he blinked. "We won't be gone that long, and they all seem pretty deep in conversation. Let's go."
Bewildered, he started to follow her outside before he realised one thing. "I didn't catch your name."
"Camicazi", she smiled.
A/N: The belt that Stoick brought, in case anyone was wondering, is the one that appears in the ROB episode when the Berserkers go to sign the peace treaty.
Also, I'm going to be in a beach house until Friday, and I'm leaving tomorrow. I won't have Internet access unless I go to the petrol station or something, so review replies will be delayed.
