Four Letter Word

Svana the Sweet was often hailed as the epitome of feminine charm and grace. Pretty and calm, the woman was the best chef on Berk, as well as the one responsible for brewing mead. Indeed, most men on the island had been smitten with her at some point.

Until it was discovered that Svana could never have children.

Svana had been absolutely crushed when Gothi had given her the news, convinced that she would die alone and without a husband or a child. To her never-ending surprise and delight, though, this didn't end up being the case. After a brief courtship, Arvid Hofferson asked her to be his wife at the age of twenty eight, and Svana happily accepted.

Arvid was a wonderful, brave Viking and one of the best hunters in the village. Unfortunately, he'd lost his wife a year earlier, leaving him a widower with a son on the cusps of adulthood and a young daughter. It was for them that Arvid remarried, and Svana had no problem with this. After all, if she could not have children of her own, then the least she could do was try to be a mother to children who had lost theirs. Arvid's son Andren understood this and accepted Svana.

Little Astrid, on the other hand, did not.

The young blonde was wildly stubborn and absolutely convinced that she was right about everything. She also decided that she hated Svana and everything she stood for from the day the two first met, and nothing Svana tried could change her mind. And oh, did Svana try…

Unfortunately, Svana wasn't a strong, intelligent, brave woman who died protecting her daughter, like the one Astrid admired so much was. She had always stepped back and played a supporting role when battles were raging, instead of being front and center with the warriors. Most people didn't mind this, but Astrid clearly thought less of her for not having the strength and courage to defend Berk like her mother did. After ten years of reaching out only to have Astrid push her away, Svana had virtually given up hope of Astrid ever seeing her as anything other than a step-mother.

Then one day, she came home to find the blonde sitting at the kitchen table, stabbing a knife repeatedly into the wood as she stared mutely at a wall.

"Astrid?" Svana wasn't especially happy at seeing her innocent table being mutilated, but held her tongue since she knew that trying to make Astrid see her as an authority figure was almost useless. "Are you alright?" The blonde teen had been getting broodier and more quiet lately, which Svana figured was mostly due to her age, but now Astrid looked as though she was honestly upset.

"Fine." Astrid replied, in a tone that said she was anything but.

"Are you sure?" Svana pressed as she set her basket on the table, gently placing a hand over the one that was gripping Astrid's knife. "I'm can help, if you need to talk to someone." At first, Astrid's expression soured at Svana's words, but then the blonde turned and considered her for a long moment, her face softening into a look of contemplation.

"…holuthm." She finally mumbled out, speaking more to the table then Svana. The woman blinked a bit in surprise, a little taken aback that Astrid hadn't brushed her off as usual.

"I'm sorry?" She asked, praying Astrid would repeat herself a little more clearly. Sighing through her nose, Astrid lifted her head and gave Svana a glare, a blush staining her cheeks.

"How do you tell someone you love them?" She asked, looking as though she wanted to die right there on the spot. Svana stared for a moment, completely thrown by the question.

Oh.

…OH!

"Is this about Hiccup?" Svana asked, smiling a little. It was fantastic to see her step-daughter finally opening up to her, and about her quasi-relationship with the boy who saved Berk no less.

"Could you please just answer the question!" Astrid hissed back, looking utterly humiliated.

"Well, I guess it really depends on a lot of different things, really. First of all, do you really love them?"

"Would we be having this conversation if I didn't?" Astrid asked scornfully. Svana had to concede that point to the girl, but still felt a need to get her own point across.

"Love isn't just about finding someone different or exciting, Astrid. Those kinds of feelings fade fast. It has to be something truly meaningful if you are serious about it." Astrid rolled her eyes at that, but her scowl seemed to lessen a bit.

"Then fine. Yeah." She replied curtly.

"Has he told you that he loves you?" Svana asked, smiling when Astrid turned a brilliant shade of red and started picking at her braid.

"…Yes." She muttered, so low that Svana almost didn't catch it.

"Is he pressuring you to say it back, or making you feel like you have to?"

"NO!" Astrid said, much more aggressively as she scowled at Svana. "He just- He just told me one night after we were flying, before he went home!"

"Are you scared to tell him, then?"

"I'm not scared!" Astrid insisted hotly, glaring at Svana for daring to suggest such a thing. "I just… don't know how to get the words out in the right order. I mean, I the first time I tried to say it, I ended up telling him I love ewes. Then the second time I just babbled on about how I love flying. And by the tenth time I tried, I just told him that I shoved him!" Svana bit down hard on the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing at that. Astrid was clearly distraught, and laughing at her humiliation wasn't going to help her feel any better.

"Astrid, did it ever occur to you that you don't have to tell Hiccup that you love him?" Svana pointed out gently.

"But I do!" Astrid insisted.

"No you don't." Svana insisted. "Even if you feel that way, you don't have to use those words exactly if you're not comfortable saying them. You can show your love through your actions, through other methods. And with a little time and patience, some day you will feel better about saying those words to Hiccup himself. It's okay to wait, Astrid. It'll make the words much more sincere and meaningful if you say them when you mean them, and not just because you want to." Astrid frowned a little at Svana's words, but it wasn't hostile or angry. Instead, it was thoughtful, and Svana could see the blonde was turning her words around in her head.

Before Astrid could say anything else, though, there was a small knock on the door, which was then hesitantly pushed open to reveal Hiccup himself. The boy glanced between the two women quickly, and a look of confusion passed his face before he settled his gaze on the blonde.

"Uh, hey Astrid." He said a little awkwardly, a slight wariness in his tone which was not dissimilar from someone who was about to try and waken a sleeping Nightmare. "I just wanted to see if you and Stormfly wanted to go flying. You kinda left in a hurry earlier, and well, there's kinda this thing I wanna show you- but only if you want to!" The hand underneath Svana relaxed as Hiccup babbled awkwardly at the blonde, a slight smile stealing across Astrid's face which she didn't bother trying to hide.

"Yeah. Sure. That sounds great. I love flying." Astrid responded, pulling away from Svana and standing up to meet Hiccup at the door. Astrid hesitated a moment before leaving though and, just when Svana was about to ask her what was wrong, the blonde teen turned to her with a hesitant look, biting er lip for a second before giving Svana a respectful nod. "And… thanks, by the way."

Svana's heart soared as Astrid closed the door behind her, a smile threatening to tear her face into two. Standing up, Svana made her way over to the window to watch the teens make their way towards the lean-to where Astrid's Nadder was housed, her smile widening as Astrid reached across the distance between her and Hiccup to take the brunet's hand in her own, causing Hiccup to stumble a bit before catching himself.

For the first time in her life, Svana truly felt like a mother.