Hi guys, I am posting this chapter today because I got a holiday these two days. But next chapter, next week. ;)

Anyways, enjoy the chapter...

HICCUP

For once I didn't hate the water.

Around the nest in the silent sea, back home, it was icy water. I hated both drinking and bathing in those waters. In the younger days of my seemingly small childhood, the only way to make me bath was only if it was scalding hot water. How hard Mom had worked to fulfil my persistent desire? (Although, it didn't take much other than swishing her staff in the air and making a dragon heat it up) I didn't hate water, just the fact that it was ice-cold. And when Toothless came, I began to love water and also loved swimming; not a day passed without me and Toothless diving into the water and emerging out wet.

Mom. I missed her so much. I had no idea how she must have felt reading my letter. And everything I had - to remind me of the times we had - was taken away when I landed in that Damned village.

Why couldn't I have been more careful?

Setting my thoughts aside, I shrugged my shirt off and rolled my pants. The boots were lying on the edge of the lake, kicked. I took a breath and plunged into the water. Toothless crooned behind me and a moment later, I broke to the surface gasping and swallowing air greedily, before swimming back. The water here was warm in the morning, but in the night it grew cold, so cold that I didn't even drink from there, until Toothless heated it up. I smiled as I kicked a few more laps. The previous day, I had taken off my 'awesome headgear' and so was eager to swim. Toothless hadn't flown for three days. I mentally noted to go on a long flight that night. As I kicked a few more laps around, one more thought occurred to me.

Astrid.

After changing my bandage three days ago, we had spent talking about our lives (I didn't tell my mother's name, naturally) Astrid had a brother Gunnar and lived with her parents, Egil and Inga [1] in Berk. She had topped her dragon classes and had killed the Monstrous Nightmare, therefore becoming a fully fledged Viking. To my surprise, although, she hadn't killed a dragon ever since. When I had asked her about it she had shrugged.

"It will never satisfy me." That's all she said. And also, I owed her for not killing Toothless, at least not yet. Who knew how fickle-minded women could get?

A few more laps and the village of Berk sprang up in my head, my well-healing head. The village was peaceful, only they had enmity with Dragons. Astrid had told me that the dragons came periodically and raided their village, succeeding every time in taking their livestock and destroying their houses. Berk had moved four times in the whole generation before settling down on this island. Yet, it appeared that it never seemed to end. I never knew Astrid could be so... philosophical. Hadn't Mom told me that all Vikings depended more on their brawns? Astrid was the first who didn't just depend of her fighting skills; she was also a strategist and worked more with her brain. In fact, she was the one who worked with the chief of the village, Stoick the Vast. Astrid spoke of the chief as though he were Odin, himself [2]

What was special in him anyways? He was just a well built Viking who really knew nothing else but to capture people and throw them in the dungeons, that too without a trial. The chief took decisions without the consent of the one whom the decision concerned.

I swam for some time that way and came to the edge of the lake and plopped myself onto the bank on my back. The sun was high in the noon, so I couldn't stare at the sky. Instead I focussed on my surroundings by closing my eyes. The light came red through my eyes and I inhaled, opening all my senses to the nature around me.

There was twittering of birds, occasional grunts of a boar, the fragrances of roses and lilies, the soft grass beneath me, swaying in the wind. The water tickling my half submerges feet, the wind tickling my bare chest, and a couple of other natural sound that –

A scream rang out, a stark contrast to the voices of the nature, and I jumped, spinning around to see Astrid, her axe behind her and a sword in the scabbard, her hands on her eyes. She was yelling hopelessly, "What in the name of Thor, are you doing?" Although I wasn't quite sure she meant her question, seeing her peek through her fingers, a smile tracing her face like a gently flick of a paint brush. It looked as though she wasn't sure about what she'll do. I hastily pulled my shirt back on.

"What do you think you're doing?" Astrid came stomping on the ground as she punched me in the arm, lightly. "That is for taking off your bandages." And then she punched me in the gut; I cringed. It wasn't painful, but every hurt pains initially. "That is for swimming half naked in the water."

"What -" I looked at her and stopped: her face looked as though she had cried for a long time in gods-know-where place. "Astrid, are you okay?" I asked, reaching out for her but pausing in the middle, when she nodded her head hastily. Her face was puffed up, all pinks and reds. Her blue eyes were small and she was still gasping.

"Why did you take off the bandage?" she asked her hands on her hips, one hand trailing the scabbard's length. So she saw the cloth lying near Toothless, who came jumping around on seeing Astrid and gave her a sloppy lick

"Ugh..." she groaned rubbing her face, hopelessly and then washing her face in the lake water. "How do you manage to -?"

"Just get on with it, I guess." I shrugged/smiled as I pulled her up. "You are crying." It was supposed to be a question, but rather came out as a statement. She didn't reply anything; she just shoved an iron sword into my hand.

"What is -?"

"Just spar against me." she sniffed as she pulled her axe over. Toothless looked at me and I shrugged, not knowing what it meant. The dragon plopped himself on the ground, his eyes open for anything interesting.

"Will that make you feel better?" I asked, as I moved back, the sword switching from my right hand to my left and then back to right.

"Maybe," she gave a tired smile as she grasped her axe, tightly.

I made the first move, going ahead for a direct attack, my sword in the air. She smirked as she side-stepped and brought her axe onto my sword, toppling it out of my right hand. I caught the sword, with my left hand but had no time to switch it back – Astrid brought her axe in a round arc, meant to cut my head in one sweep. I bent down and the axe swished past like as though slicing the air. I parried with my left hand and jumped back, taking my defensive stance. Her eyes flitted between my sword and my hand.

"Ambidextrous [3]?" she asked as her eyebrows rose; I nodded, grinning. This was going to be fun.

She smirked before attacking me. As much as I had a crush on her (yes I admit it.) I wasn't going to lose against her. At least when I couldn't bear to see anyone cry for no reason. We parried for some time, analysing each other's moves and attacks. Then she made her move. She brought her axe down hard on the sword and the CLANG! of two metals vibrated through the forest. She had the upper hand, the sword and the axe a few inches from my throat. I let my guard down just by a tiny inch, letting her slice her way through just until it was moments before she'd have cut my head. I gave a realistic mock cry and she faltered, confused. Seizing that moment, I counter-tackled her and her axe went flying into my hand. In the next minute, the blade of her axe stared at her while my sword slide smoothly behind her, placing Astrid in a do-or-die situation: to move and die (although I wouldn't kill her) or accept defeat.

She just stood there, gasping for air as my head throbbed. I managed to hold my ground, staring at her. She just stood there staring at me, her mouth opened in a very seductive way. I could just lean in...

"Alright, I give up." Astrid spoke, cutting my thoughts as she raised her hands. "You are one efficient swordsman." She smiled as I tossed her axe back to her. Toothless hopped around us and then tackled me off my feet giving me tens of sloppy licks as Astrid laughed hard.

"I'd love to see you guys fight." She tried to push the dragon away. "It'd be interesting."

"Don't even think about it." I pushed the dragon off my body and it coughed. I frowned at the dragon, flicking its saliva off my hands onto the dragon's face. "So I win, right?" I asked her and immediately regretted it; her face grew small as she turned away, rubbing her arm in a careful way.

"Haemir," she said. I was not still used to that name. Wasn't there a man somewhere in the 'Green Flame archipelago' [4] whose name was Haemir?

"Haemir?" She spoke once again.

"Yeah?"

"I might be getting married." She spoke, her voice indecipherable as she spun around her eyes brimming with tears.

"Just wait. Snotlout?" I asked in disbelief.

We were sitting on the edge of the lake, Astrid on my right and Toothless on my left. I was scratching Toothless although I wasn't in a mood. Astrid had her head in her hands.

"Yes, the one whose face you slashed the first day here," She gave a sad smile; I returned it and toothless nudged me. I frowned at him and the dragon smacked its tail on my head, sending pixies in front of my eyes.

"Toothless!" I pushed the dragon exasperatedly.

"Don't be harsh on him." she sighed.

"What?" I asked momentarily distracted.

She sighed again before stretching her bare feet into the water. "The Jorgensens didn't ask me. Stoick did."

Okay, seriously I really hated the chief now. "What did you tell him?"

"I said I still didn't decide and that I will see. It wasn't his fault but." She sighed once again, while tracing her axe blade with her finger. I noticed that the blades had simple runes carved into it.

" "Guyenne veiled deg I raised ad Livet ditto." [5]

"poate viața ta să fie plină de pace și prosperitate." " [6]

"The heir to the throne is Snotlout." she said. "Stoick doesn't trust Snotlout to rule as Just and truthful as him. So he just asked me -"

"- to marry and keep a watch over him. Make sure he takes care of the village."I finished, stunned at where this was heading to.

"Yes, he just wants it for the good of Berk. He knows I hate that Jorgensen." Astrid looked at me. And I don't know what to feel. Astrid didn't deserve this.

"What will you do?" my heart was thundering against me skin. If she said yes then...

"I don't know, Haemir. It's like I want to but I don't. It's a mess." She sighed, wiping a few tears.

"You want to marry that man?" I asked exasperatedly in disbelief. "Snotlout Jorgenson?"

"I don't want to marry him for him, but for Berk." She looked at me. "That's what it is all about. Trade and relations. Besides..." she trailed off leaving me in thought.

She was going to throw her life in Hel for her village, for her family. And me? I was the one who ran away from my responsibilities, my duty of becoming the dragon lord. She was here facing her future, and me? Did I deserve a selfless girl like her?

No, no I didn't.

"Do you want to do this?" I questioned her. "Listen to your heart, it'll tell you where to go." I was listening to my heart and it told me I was supposed to be back in the nest, learning to control dragons, not here in the woods spending time with a girl

"Uh..." she nodded and stood up. The sun was setting already.

How long had we sat there?

"Thanks Haemir." She gave a sad smile as I returned the sword to her. "No," she shook her head and pushed the sword back to me. "This belongs to you." She put the sword in my hand and wrapped her hands around it. "For you."

"I don't deserve it." I'll never deserve it.

"You do." She insisted, running her fingers over runes that were also decorated into the blade of the sword. When I read it, I was stunned.

" "til en nærmest mitt hjerte, jeg gi deg min kjærlighet." " [7]

So how was it?

[1] Gunnar (brother), Egil (father) and Inga (mother) are the family members of Astrid as written in "Inner Struggles" written by InsertACreativeNameHere. (Check her out, the story is really good. She's in my favourite authors list)

P.S. - the ideas for the foot-notes too, came from her.

[2] Odin, Thor – Valka had taught Hiccup about the Norse gods as a part of his education.

[3] Ambidextrous – it means someone who can use both hands effectively (I am ambidextrous in playing badminton =P)

[4] I believe there are other Archipelagos in the world, not just the Barbaric Archipelago. As for the name, I made it up just then :P

[5] "The gods guide you in the journey of your life" in Norwegian. (Google translate)

[6] "May your life be filled with peace and prosperity" in Romanian. (Google translate, courtesy)

[7] My personal favorite - "To the one closest to my heart, I give you my love." in Norwegian (Google Translate)

I was SQUEALING! in delight when I came to the end!

also if there is any mistake please don't hesitate to rectify it. PM me or tell in the reviews. either way it's fine.

Thank you for everything...