Firstly I am SO SO sorry I didn't get this up on Wednesday. I've just got so much to do at the moment. Hopefully I'll get more time during half term but I have a feeling my teachers are going to be extra cruel this half term... Oh well, I guess it'll only get harder so I may as well make the most of the time I've got now:) Anyway this chapter follows on from the last chapter. I'll try and get the whole of chapter 4 up on Wednesday. It shouldn't be too hard a chapter to write and after chapter 4 things start to heat up a bit then we're going to add some more flames to the fire and we're going to get to the action and my cruelty to fictional characters ladies and gentlemen ;D Oh and just before you start reading I start from Astrid's point of view then switch to Hiccup then back to Astrid then Hiccup etc.

Chapter 3- Vows (Part 2)

6 months later

I stand in front of the mirror staring at my pale reflection. I look like I've just seen a ghost. It's just Hiccup, I tell myself. It's not like I'm getting married to some stranger I just met. It's Hiccup. I'm marrying the man I love. I restrain myself from thinking 'boy I love' Hiccup's no longer a boy even though he has a tendency to act like one- especially when he gets one of his 'genius' ideas. I smile at my reflection almost reassuringly.

My strapless dress is a pale blue colour that swings in curls around my hips and legs then spreads outwards onto the wooden floor beneath my feet. The flat pumps I insisted I wear look dull in comparison to the beauty my dress transforms me into. I don't look like myself. I look like a new person. Is this what marriage does? Transform you into something different? The person I see staring back at me in the mirror looks beautiful and grown up and even vulnerable. I am not vulnerable. I sigh. I am getting married. Why aren't I staring into the mirror with flushed cheeks and a beam that lights up my whole face? I am just nervous, I tell myself. But I know it's a lie.

The door creaks open and I turn to face my mother standing in the doorway. "Are you ready?" She asks.

I bite my lip and nod but she sees through me. She always does.

She comes in, her feet barely making any sound on the dark wooden floor, and perches on the bed. She pats the space next to her and I slip onto the bed entwining my hands nervously as I stare at the floor. "You know, before I married your father I was terrified. Not because of your father, but because I was scared that marriage would change the relationship. Make it more serious and hard. I thought with all the decisions we were going to have to make it would change us both and in doing so pull us apart. I didn't want your father to become someone I didn't know just because we vowed to live together and share.

Things will change as you face challenges that come with growing up together, but you'll get through them as long as you have each other to lean on. You love Hiccup and he loves you Astrid. That is one thing that will never change. And that's what you need to think about when you walk down that isle. There's a saying: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift- that is why it is called the present Astrid. Treasure today's gift. Don't be afraid of the mystery. Let yourself go. You'll both change but your changes will only pull you closer. They won't tear you apart as I feared on the day I married your father." She stands and kisses my forehead. "I love you."

I stare as her form retreats into the hallway. Is that what I was afraid of? Being different after getting married? I turn back to the mirror as my mother's words sink into my consciousness. She's right. Any challenge we face is only going to pull us together. I inhale deeply and stand up strong and proud. I am marrying Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the 3rd. I am marrying the chief of berk. I am marrying the clumsiest being in the world- of course we're not going to change. Hiccup will always be Hiccup (the clumsiest being in the world). His experiences have only made him who he is. Just like my experiences have made me strong and in a way devious. I smile as the light I've been searching for enters my eye. I turn on my heel and walk swiftly from the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm marrying Astrid Hofferson. I am marrying Astrid Hofferson. I am marrying Astrid Hofferson. Oh Gods. I am marrying an angel. Literally. I stand, my hands clasped tightly together, next to Gobber- who has agreed to perform the ceremony been as the chief is absent getting married himself- at the end of the isle which my bride will walk down any second now and I know my breath will abandon me and my knees will weaken considerably. Thor I hope I don't fall over. I remind myself that even though Astrid is invincible she's probably nervous too. I gulp as the great hall doors open and she walks in surrounded by her glittering bridesmaids. But my eyes only have room for one angel.

There are no words to describe her beauty. Her crystal dress flows around her body, clasping to her in all the right places making my knees weaken as I knew they would. Her sapphire eyes are strong yet vulnerable and I feel a wave of protectiveness. This is my bride and I will protect her at any cost. She smiles at me her cheeks radiating a warm rosy glow. I take her hand as she sweeps up onto the platform. The pews are filled with villagers staring up at us with excitement but they're all invisible to me.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My hands shake slightly within Hiccup's but he squeezes slightly and gives me a reassuring smile. His eyes are bright and hopeful like a freshly born sun. Gobber starts to speak but I'm barely listening. The words "I do" escape my lips as I stare at Hiccup's emerald orbs and messy hair. I smile to myself imagining Hiccup trying desperately to pat his hair down with no success. I feel the urge to ruffle it up further but I resist. I can embarrass my husband later.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I do," I almost whisper my eyes locked onto Astrid's deep mysterious eyes which hold a hint of mischievousness. Oh no- now what has she planned…

"You may now kiss the bird, Ahem bride. Sorry spelling mistake." Gobber mutters his face turning the colour of a tomato as he stares down at the book.

Astrid snorts and I fail to supress a grin. I cup my hand under her cheek and lift her face up to mine. Her hands trail round my back and our lips press against each other almost hungrily.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I break away from Hiccup; a beam, that I can't seem to erase off my face, glowing like flames.

"I love you," I whisper as the village children throw rice over our heads causing Hiccup to jump back in shock and promptly slip over the settling rice itself, face planting onto the floor. This brings out a burst of laughter from the villager filled pews as they watch as their chief's face slowly turns the same colour as Gobber's.

"I just ruined the moment didn't I?" He says from beneath my feet.

"Yup! But it wouldn't be our wedding if you didn't face plant at some point."

"I have a feeling this isn't the first time I'm going to face plant this evening," He says as I pull him from the floor.

"Unfortunately I think that's true." I say with a grin.

Awww! Day got mawied! I've wanted to write that scene for so long!:D Just want to ask you guys if the start was okay? I've never got married myself (thank Thor) and I went kind of deep and dark in a way and I was just wondering if it worked? After all I guess fanfiction's about trial and error:)