Sort of hit a writer's block with this next chapter. That and I rewrote this sucker close to twelve times. I hope that this chapter is more interesting and praiseworthy than the last one! Please enjoy!

Astrid awoke to the reverberating sound of Stormfly's relaxed breathing. The dragon's steady intake and exhale slowly bringing her to the waking world with a contented feeling. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. As the fog of sleep slowly abated, memories of the previous day and week bombarded her mind. Panic seized her heart with a sharp grasp and held it as it beat painfully fast. Astrid tried her best to remain calm, but one thought continued to haunt her. I'm getting married today. It had stopped storming the day before, but since Hiccup was sick, the wedding didn't occur.

Vikings are impatient by nature and quickly go about completing unfinished business. If they had to prop Hiccup up on a stool, they would. She had to get out. Even though her talk with her father had made her understand, it did not make her feel at all ready for today. Her panic must have woke Stormfly, because the next thing that Astrid knew, she was being wrapped closer by her dragon's tail and crooned at in worry. Warmth flooded her chest and she didn't resist the urge to hug her dragon and scratch her in appreciation. "At least I'm comfortable being with you for the rest of my life, girl." Stormfly squawked happily at the attention and stood up, lifting Astrid as well.

"I'm not ready to meet anyone today, so let's go fly for a while, ok?" Astrid grabbed her spare saddle, just for emergencies or so she had told Hiccup when she asked him to make her an extra, and put it on Stormfly before taking off through the dragon door and into the air. Flying always seemed to brighten her mood and this morning was no exception. She forgot about her troubles for a minute or two as the world sped up underneath her and became a blur. The wind ripped all other thoughts away with its icy bite and left nothing but numb excitement. Stormfly flew her over to the woods and circled around a nearby lake.

"Sorry girl, I didn't feed you this morning. Let's land for a bit and you can get some fish there." Astrid pointed at the lake below and Stormfly didn't hesitate. She went into a dive and then snapped her wings open just as the water was about to meet them, gliding over to its edge. Astrid took her saddle off Stormfly and sat down, letting her dragon have her breakfast alone. Her body thrummed with the rush of flying and her mind buzzed with excitement. She loved this feeling. Sometimes, when she practiced with her axe, she was able to achieve a feeling similar to this one, but not as intense.

Finally, her mind slowed down enough for the stray thoughts she had cast aside wiggled their way into her awareness. She understood that every woman had to eventually get married or become a shield maiden. However, to be honest, she was hoping more towards the latter at the moment. She just didn't feel like it was the right time to choose between the two paths she had in front of her. It made perfect sense to be married to the future chief from a political and financial standpoint, but it made her feel like she was using Hiccup. They were friends or possibly more than that. She felt like she was cheating him if she approached the wedding like that. Astrid Hofferson didn't need to use someone else to get her own glory and achievements! She fought bravely with the other Vikings to make her own name and legend.

Astrid shook her head angrily. She needed a fight. Something to cool her down and give her that thrill that even surpassed flying. Then, maybe she could walk into this marriage thing with her head held high. Confidence born of martial skill that she herself had won would surely make her feel more self-assured. A stray thought blinked across her mind and she almost missed it, but she clung to it with the tenacity of a drowning Viking clinging to a floating piece of wood. There was a way to do both! She could do this! Hurriedly standing, she called Stormfly over, who had yet to finish her meal, and saddled her again for another quick flight. "Sorry girl, but this can't wait!" Astrid jumped into her seat and then took off with renewed determination, grinning into the wind as she headed back to her house.


Hiccup was thoroughly and absolutely confused. On his way back to the village, he tried his best to figure out what had just happened with Astrid's father, but was so far unsuccessful. People don't praise him for being him. Sure, they cheer at what he did and anything related to dragons, but that was about it. He was still the same Hiccup that screwed over the village more than he helped it when he did it without Toothless to help him. Granted, he had gotten better, but he had found his best friend that made sure he succeeded. Out of all the things that Hiccup had accomplished, becoming friends with Toothless would still remain on top.

Speaking of which, he had to mend their somewhat awkward rift that he had inadvertently caused. Spotting dragon nip to his right, he went about gathering as much as he could hold. The winter would be coming soon and it was wise to stock up on as much as he could while he had the chance. After spending some time collecting he finally stood and continued on towards Berk. He would have to work with Toothless first. After that, maybe if he talked to his best friend, he could work something out with what to do about Astrid and her father.

When he finally stepped foot inside the village, he saw that everyone was gathered near his house. Oh great, did Astrid kick dad through my door this time? After finally getting through the crowd, what he saw literally took his breath away. Standing with her axe in front of her, in full battle dress, was Astrid. Her face had black lines painted across them, her armored shoulders stiff and unmoving as she rested her hands on the head of her axe. Her right foot was stepping on a round shield and her eyes stared straight ahead, until they caught sight of him.

Astrid kicked the shield over to him and pulled her axe from the ground as she took a stance that he knew all too well. "Arm yourself." Was the only warning he got before she lunged at him with a fierce battle cry. Hiccup ducked and rolled as he grabbed the shield and scrambled to his feet as her axe passed harmlessly above him. "What!? What are you doing, Astrid?" She turned around and repositioned her axe before slowly starting to strafe to his left.

"What does it look like? I'm fighting you." Was her curt reply as she shifted her feet and swung her axe in a terrific arc. Hiccup brought his shield up to block it and was jarred brutally by the blow. His teeth chattered and his arm went numb for a second or two. He heard Astrid start to talk as she continued to bash into his shield with her axe. "I'm not some weak woman-" *bash* "-that needs to be protected by others." *slam* "My own axe will-" *clang* "-carve my own destiny!"

Hiccup's arm felt like jello and when he used his other arm to help brace the shield, it quickly turned to mush as well. He had to do something. He couldn't sit there and take the punishing blows that Astrid continually pounded into the shield. It was then that he spotted Toothless bounding behind Astrid with a snarl on his face. Oh no! Moving as quickly as he could, he twirled around Astrid's wild vertical swing and stood facing Toothless. "No! It's ok bud. Let me handle this, ok?" Toothless skid to a stop and continued to snarl, but didn't move further than the nearest spectator. His low growl rumbled throughout the crowd. Hiccup turned just in time to see Astrid finish her recovery, then launch herself at him again.

Her axe moved quickly towards his feet, so Hiccup jumped and rolled to the side. "I won't be trussed up like some prize!" Astrid turned around and used her momentum to help her swing her axe in a deadly horizontal slash. Hiccup and just enough time to duck before he accidentally slipped on the pavement and fell into her. They both went down in a tumble, but Astrid untangled herself from him with a swift kick to the ribs and a backwards roll. Hiccup got to his feet and looked at Astrid in confusion.

"What-?" He was interrupted by another war cry and Astrid bodily leaping into the air, coming down on him with her axe in front of her. With a colossal impact, she dented the metal in the center of the shield and sparks flew across the ground.

Hiccup reeled at the impact and backed away, rubbing his sore arm furiously. "I'm a Viking! I'll fight on the front lines and continue to follow my own path, regardless of if I'm married or not!" She lifted her axe over her head in a very familiar motion. Hiccup pulled the shield up in front of him and braced his arm for what he knew was coming. Another furious battle cry rent the air and a short whistle was heard before a giant CRACK! Rang in the air. Hiccup was bodily thrown to the ground a few feet back, Astrid's axe imbedded into the wood and sticking through it just above his arms. He groaned in pain until a weight settled itself on his shield. With a sharp jerk, the axe was removed from his shield. Then a quick kick shoved his shield off of him. He saw Astrid standing over him, with her axe held directly under his chin. "So long as you understand that, we will have our wedding."

Hiccup knew when to be serious around Astrid and when to throw sarcastic remarks her way and this was definitely the time to take her seriously. With a quick gulp, he slowly nodded his head yes. After that, the axe was removed from his neck and she pulled him up off the ground. Hiccup just finished standing when Toothless came over and nudged his other arm. Acting on pure habit, he turned to the dragon and scratched him in his favorite spots, saying "Everything's ok, bud. Thanks for coming." Toothless gave both him and Astrid a quick once over before shaking his head. Unfortunately for Hiccup and Astrid, it was that exact time that he smelled the abundance of dragon nip all over his best friend. The next thing that either person knew, they were being tackled by an extremely playful night fury. Hiccup fell on top of Astrid and Toothless pinned both of them underneath him, nuzzling the pocket full of dragon nip that Hiccup had been carrying.

Astrid yelped in surprise before trying to shove Hiccup off of her and wiggle out from underneath the duo. Unfortunately, her armored skirt also moved back and forth, worming their way into the boy. "Ow ow ow! That stings!" Hiccup voiced his discomfort.

"Sorry, but tell him to get off!" Astrid's irritated reply came from behind his ear. It sent shivers down Hiccup's spine and thankfully, it was all he needed to roll away from Toothless and off of Astrid. His lanky body was indeed actually good for something. After finally digging out enough dragon nip to move Toothless off of him, he stood, dusting himself off and rubbing his sore arms and now legs. Astrid's voice interrupted his train of thoughts when he heard her start to speak. "So, let's get this marriage thing over with." Yep, Vikings were certainly a very impatient bunch, stubborn too.

Before he could say anything, Stoic's laughter rang out among the crowd of spectators. "I am glad I got to see that! Reminded me of myself and Val when we first got married!" Gobber was standing right next to him, nodding his head as if remembering the exact scene.

"Aye, but the lad fared better than you did, Stoic. You had a black eye on your wedding day. At least Hiccup chose to use a shield instead of a hammer." Gobber motioned to the now splintered shield laying on the ground.

Stoic walked over to Astrid and put his hands on her shoulders. "I'm afraid that we have to postpone the wedding, lass. You won't be getting married today." Stoic said with a giddy smile.

"What? I thought it was supposed to happen after the storm, that was the agreed upon time in the contract." Astrid looked Stoic in the eye with pure confusion and slight agitation leaking from her voice.

"Aye, that was the agreed upon time. However, your soon to be husband thought of you and decided to give you a proper wedding! He didn't want your dress to get all muddy and wanted to properly undergo the proper traditions for a true Viking wedding! So we are getting everything ready and when he's finished with the preparations, you two will be wed! It will still have to happen before the other tribes get here, but at least you'll have a proper wedding, lass!" Stoic was basically jumping for joy as he finished speaking.

Hiccup gulped again, then grinned sheepishly at Astrid. Her face turned to him with a look of anger slowly dawning on her features. He went to take a step back, but bumped into the semi-comatose Toothless laying on the ground, sniffing dragon nip. Hiccup had just enough time to look down at Toothless and then back up to see Astrid's fist collide with his right eye, then everything went black.


Gothi stood at her house, watching the commotion unfold beneath her. A chill ran up her old bones. It was true that this particular couple brought her heart happiness, but something peculiar was nagging at her core. She was there when Stoic came and got her for his son's illness. It was not a natural illness. Staying out in the cold rain would bring about a fever and some coughing or sneezing. Nothing a young man could not recover from quickly on his own. No, something from the other side had haunted the boy.

She had seen the thing that had latched onto him and sickened him. It was a blackened mass of smoke and sickness that attempted to lift his spirit from his body and take it to the afterlife. She had seen this particular thing before on one of the Vikings in her care years prior, unfortunately the creature had succeeded in carrying her off before Gothi could rid it of her. Luckily, she had found a remedy in herbs that she obtained afterwards and always kept it with her.

She mixed the brew together that would chase it away and allow him to recover faster. It had not stilled her mind, though. If anything, it brought discomfort and unease. Her mind had wandered to what she had seen when she entered the Haddock hall, shadows danced across the walls with scenes of marriage. She saw the celebrations and the dragon boy sharing swords with the warrior queen. After the ceremony, the shadows twisted and evil creatures consumed the two. A horned figure stood above the chaos as heartless creatures devoured the celebrating Vikings. The last shadow was the most abstract, but its meaning haunted her still: bones were the only thing left on the island to mark where brave men and women once lived.

It was not often that Gothi had such potent visions and even less so that she was able to stop such calamity from happening. Her only success had been the same boy who brought about the end of the war with the dragons. When she had picked him in the arena, it was not because he had vanquished all the dragons with ease, but because she knew that he was the one that was a Viking and a dragon both.

Gothi shook her head and moved inside her house, her terrible terrors all skittering about, investigating the odds and ends of her hall. She went to the back and used her staff to call them to her. With a sudden whirl of wings and squeaks, the terrors all gathered around her in rapt attention. Gothi pointed towards her menagerie of herbs and poultices before pointing to her traveling back. Each dragon gathered a specific jar and stored it in her bag before going back to their wanderings. She would worry about it later. In the meantime, she had time to unravel the visions that the fire had shown her in the Haddock hall. So that is where she would go first to decipher what she saw.

Hiccup was the only person that had changed everything when she intervened, so she wanted to make doubly sure of her warnings and meddling that she would do to insure the survival of the island. After all, where Stoic's job was to defend the island from human invaders, and Hiccup's job to defend against dragons, her job was to protect Berk from everything else. She had done a pretty good job of it so far and she didn't plan to stop now.

Sorry guys, this particular chapter is shorter than average. However, after writing it so many times, I figured it was about time that I just up and go on with it than hold on to it longer and make you guys wait more. I'll try to get the length back up to the usual next chapter. Please review and tell me what you thought! I absolutely love hearing your thoughts and opinions. It also helps me know what I'm doing right and wrong in terms of presentation and content. So thank you very much for your support!