Hello everyone! I'm sure you didn't expect to see an update so soon, and to be honest, neither did I! But it's Celebrate HTTYD week, and the prompt for today is 'Of Legends and Vikings' and it inspired me to write this. I hope you like it!
Legends Old and New
Hiccup smiled when Astrid pressed a little closer against him. It was rare for her to be so affectionate in public. But he supposed they were pretty hidden, sitting in the back of the Great Hall. He couldn't be sure, but he believed most of the assembled Vikings were facing the center of the room. Toothless was lazing next to them, sleepy after devouring a huge pile of fish. Meanwhile, Astrid was sitting between his legs, her back against his chest, and he had his arms around her. Perfect.
It was moments like these that he realized how lucky he was to have her. They didn't even have to talk to be this… close. All he needed was her hands in his, lying in her lap. She'd occasionally lean back a little and whisper in his ear about what was happening on stage, but the simple act of holding her was the best thing Hiccup could ever wish for.
And he hoped that after tonight, it could be certain that he'd hold her for the rest of his life. Sure, they had been officially engaged for a month now. Their parents had worked out the details of the contract very quickly, almost like they'd been expecting it. But it hadn't felt real to Hiccup yet. It wouldn't be real and meaningful until he'd propose, really propose, to Astrid. In their own hidden spot in the cove, after a private dinner and a romantic flight under the stars. That would happen tonight, after the feast. He had it all planned out. He could feel the ring in a hidden pocket in his vest.
But for now, he was more than content to sit there with her as they listened to the various performances. It was a strange mix of being alone with Astrid in his black room and still being in the middle of a group of laughing and happy Vikings.
Astrid was laughing at something that happened on stage, and feeling her shake in his arms made Hiccup happier than ever. The previous performance, an archery competition, was just ending, and Hiccup was curious to learn what the next thing would be.
"My fellow Vikings!" Kirsten said loudly, "I can see that you're having fun! We can eat to our heart's content. We have more than enough meat, fish and bread to fill our bellies. But we shouldn't forget that the gods gave us this food. They blessed us this year. We are at peace, we have food, building materials, and above all, we are blessed with our new dragon companions. So the least we can do to repay them is to remember their struggles, their stories, and their might," Astrid's mother continued, and Hiccup relaxed when he realized this would be the part of the feast where legends were told and gods were honored.
"In previous years we often honored Thor or Odin on this day. For good reason! They gave us the strength to fight our war, gave us the power to defend ourselves. But I think that this year, it is best to honor a different god. A god who must have helped us to end the dragon war," The storyteller stated, and Hiccup frowned. This was new. Usually the gods of war were honored during Midsummer.
"I think that on this day, we should remember the tale of Baldr. Baldr is a god many of us have scoffed at in the past. He is the god of mercy and of goodness. It is said that he is the most beautiful person in Asgard, with skin and hair that shine like the sun. He is also brave and just, as makes sense for a son of Odin and Frigg," Kirsten explained, and Hiccup smiled.
Leaning forward a little, he whispered in Astrid's ear: "Sounds like you, milady." He suppressed a laugh when he felt her stiffen before relaxing in his arms, almost sensing the blush.
"How would you know?" she whispered back, and he squeezed her hand.
"I remember your shining hair, and as far as I'm concerned, you're my light. You're beautiful and good and brave and just," he told her, and she relaxed more in his arms, squeezing his hands as they turned their attention back to the stage.
"Baldr was beloved by all the gods, so when Baldr told them he had a dream that he would die, all were scared. But Baldr's mother, Frigg, promised them no harm would come upon Baldr. She would go to all things, living and dead, and make them promise never to hurt the fair god. And so it happened. Frigg walked the nine worlds, and everything eagerly promised to keep Baldr safe. But Frigg forgot one creature. She thought the tiny mistletoe was too small to ask such a promise from. After all, how could her brave and wise son die from mistletoe?" Kirsten asked ominously, and Hiccup held Astrid a little tighter.
"I promise never to harm you, milady," he whispered in her ear, and she scoffed. "Like you even could," she replied coolly. But he sensed her smile.
"Out of all the gods, it was perhaps Baldr's twin brother Hodt who loved him the most. Hodt, unfortunately, was blind. And though he was strong and wise, he rarely got to participate in the god's parties and fights," Kirsten explained further. Hiccup felt Astrid lean back, before saying "Sounds like you, babe."
Hiccup wondered if Kirsten was trying to honor them as well, through this tale of the gods that were so much like them.
"I certainly love you more than anyone else," he said as he turned his attention back to the tale.
"But of course, no one is loved by everybody. The evil Loki was jealous of Baldr's strength and wisdom, so he devised a way to kill him. The trickster discovered that the tiny mistletoe hadn't promised not to hurt Baldr. So he plucked the plant and made a spear from it. Then he went to Odin's Hall, where the gods were entertaining themselves. They were so happy by the news of Baldr's invincibility they decided to test it by throwing all kinds of weapons at him. Spears, knives, arrows, all bounced harmlessly off Baldr's body," Kirsten told them, and Hiccup put his arms a little tighter around Astrid, trying to protect her. He remembered this tale, and it didn't end well.
"Hodt was standing in the corner of the Hall, saddened that he couldn't take part in the game. The other gods would laugh at him if he tried to throw something and missed, so he didn't dare. Loki noticed Hodt's distress, so he disguised his voice and went up to the blind brother. And he told Hodt that he had a spear he could throw, and he would even help Hodt aim it," Kirsten continued, and Hiccup tensed, knowing what would come next.
"Hodt eagerly agreed, not sensing that he was being tricked. So he took the mistletoe spear, and with Loki's help, threw it at Baldr," the storyteller said, stopping for a dramatic pause in which the entire hall fell silent.
"The mistletoe didn't know better and simply pushed through Baldr's body, piercing his heart and killing him instantly. The gods looked around in panic, seeing Loki and Hodt. Loki fled, but Hodt stayed where he was, not knowing what had happened. Vali, his and Baldr's youngest brother, was so furious he attacked Hodt, killing him," Kirsten told with a heavy voice, and the entire Hall remained unusually silent.
"You better not throw a spear at me," Astrid said, and his smile fell. He was often scared of hurting her by accident. He could stab her during combat training, push her off a cliff he didn't know was there, or knock her into something sharp. And it wouldn't be the first time he had harmed her.
"Maybe I already did. Remember the trial? Remember the dragon training finale? We were both banished then, because of me. Just like how Baldr and Hodt were killed," he said with a sigh. He didn't think he'd be able to take it if he killed Astrid, even by accident. He'd rather die.
"And so, both brothers ended up in Helheim. The gods were horrified by Baldr's death, and begged Hel to send Baldr back to Asgard. Hel agreed to release him if every creature, living or dead, cried for Baldr. All did, except for the giantess Thokk, who was Loki in disguise. And so Baldr the good and wise remained in Helheim with his brother," Kirsten continued, and Hiccup sighed.
"At least they stayed together," he told Astrid, who nodded.
"But that's not the end of the tale. Perhaps Baldr and Hodt were actually lucky. For they are unable to take part in the battle of Ragnarok. They won't die as the other gods will, and when Surt destroys the world, he will tear Helheim apart as well. And so the brothers will be released, finding themselves in a broken and burned world. But wise Baldr and strong Hodt shall see life in the devastation, and decide to rebuild the world. And so, because of Baldr and Hodt, and even Loki, the world will be reborn and the cycle can begin again." Kirsten finished her tale.
"Maybe that's a good omen for us. Maybe the Red Death was Ragnarok, and now we're the ones who remake Berk," Astrid said, and Hiccup smiled as he kissed her cheek. It was a strangely similar tale to their own. He wondered if Hodt lost his leg when Helheim burned down.
"Well, let's follow Baldr's and Hodt's example and never be apart, milady," he whispered in Astrid's ear, and she grabbed his hand again, drawing a heart with her finger. Hiccup sighed in contentment, wondering what he'd done to deserve her.
Astrid relaxed a little more in Hiccup's embrace. Normally she wouldn't be this cuddly with him in public, but this was a special occasion. They were warm, fed, and entertained. No one would bother them here. No one would comment on their hugs or stolen kisses.
And besides, her insides fluttered every time she remembered Hiccup would propose to her tonight. She could barely wait.
"But we shouldn't just remember the tales of the gods. Although the gods made us, they do not control our actions. And we would still be at war with the dragons if it wasn't for the actions of two brave people," Kirsten stated, and she perked up. What was this about?
Suddenly, Tuffnut climbed on top of the central stage, stopping next to her mother. But he wasn't wearing his usual outfit. No, he was wearing a faded green shirt and a worn brown vest, and breeches with scorch marks on them. Strangest of all, Tuffnut's long hair was actually dyed brown and tied up to look shorter.
"What the… Are those your clothes? Why is Tuffnut wearing your clothes?" she asked Hiccup when she recognized his old outfit, and he drew a question mark on her hand, asking her to elaborate.
"Tuffnut just climbed on stage, and he's wearing your old clothes," she whispered, almost jumping up when she saw Ruffnut appearing on stage as well, wearing a familiar outfit.
"What?! Ruffnut is wearing my clothes! And… That's my axe! She stole my axe!" she whispered loudly, Hiccup's strong grip on her arms the only thing stopping her from marching over there and taking her stuff back.
"So, to celebrate and honor our newest heroes, I wrote a play, so that we and future generations can all remember the tale of Hiccup the Blind and Astrid the Strong!" Kirsten announced to great applause, and she could see Hiccup's jaw dropping in the corner of her eye. Her mother actually wrote something based on their lives?
Oh gods, how much did she know? How embarrassing would this be? How much teasing would she have to endure publicly?
Hiccup seemed to be having the same worries, tensing around her.
"Long ago, a great war raged. Dragon fought man in brutal battles of claw against sword," Kirsten ominously began as her father, looking very embarrassed, climbed on stage. Moments later dragons flew in and started mock-fighting Tolfdir.
"They actually dragged Meatlug and Hookfang into this," Astrid whispered with a chuckle as the temperature in the Hall increased from the fire Hookfang was shooting into the air. Or was that just the embarrassment?
"In these dark times, young men and women were trained to fight dragons. It was a rite of passage to pass 'dragon training'," Kirsten said as Ruffnut stepped forward, swinging Astrid's axe.
"I'm Astrid Hofferson, and I like hitting things! And I think everybody should do their best in dragon training!" Ruffnut stated with a strange voice as she flicked her new bangs away from her eye, and Astrid was filled with anger.
She did not sound like that!
"Easy, Astrid. It's just a play," Hiccup whispered as he tightened his grip on her arms, and she settled for growling softly.
"And I'm Hiccup Haddock, and I keep destroying things with my inventions!" Tuffnut said in a very nasal voice, and Astrid couldn't stop a snort of laughter from escaping at the surprisingly accurate impression. Hiccup groaned behind her, whispering "I don't sound like that, do I?"
She decided not to answer that.
Tuffnut then lifted a machine up to the stage that she recognized as Hiccup's old bola launcher. Astrid couldn't stop another laugh from escaping when she saw Snotlout climb up on the other side of the stage. He was dressed in all black, with black wings and a tail, and looked very miserable.
"I'm gonna be the first to kill a Night Fury!" Tuffnut stated as he aimed the launcher at Snotlout. A second later the machine fired, narrowly missing Snotlout's foot and instead hitting a Viking in the audience.
Astrid wasn't sure if that was intentional or not.
"I hit it! I actually hit a Night Fury!" Tuffnut shouted, and that seemed to make Snotlout remember his lines. The boy in the dragon costume cried out loudly, shouting "My tail, my tail!" in the worst acting she had ever seen. Holding his tail, Snotlout quickly jumped off stage and hid among the audience again. She heard Hiccup chuckling behind her, and Astrid figured that this play might not be so bad.
"No you didn't! You're lying! And you never pay attention in dragon training either! You can't even deal with one Nadder!" Ruffnut said angrily as she stomped over to her brother. At the same time a familiar dragon appeared.
"Stormfly?! Are you in on this? Is everybody in on this?!" Astrid whispered angrily as Tuffnut pushed the machine off the stage.
"A-A-A-A-Astrid! D-D-Did you know you look amazing when you're angry?" Tuffnut stuttered, and Hiccup tensed behind her, his grip on her almost painful.
As Tuffnut stuttered, Stormfly chewed on Astrid's axe, and afterward Ruffnut turned a full circle, showing the axe to the entire audience.
"Because of that runt, my axe is ruined! I'm so angry! And it's all your fault, Haddock!" the female twin shouted as she turned back to Tuffnut, who fell over and crawled away from her. Hiccup's breathing quickened behind her, and she turned to see his jaw clenched. He clearly didn't like listening to this part. And if she were honest, Astrid didn't like this part either. She knew it was an important part of the story, their story, but that didn't mean she liked to be reminded of it.
"Oh, no no no no no! It's not my fault! Sure, I tried to protect this innocent Nadder from your vile aggression, but that doesn't make this my fault!" Tuffnut quickly said, all the while scooting backward. In any other situation Astrid might have found it funny, but this hit too close to home.
"Oh yes, it is your fault! If you had taken dragon training more seriously and fought that Nadder like you were supposed to, my axe would be okay!" Ruffnut shouted angrily, before swinging the axe in Tuffnut's direction. Astrid closed her eyes, knowing what would come next.
"Aah! My eyes! They're burning! They're melting! Aargh!" Tuffnut screamed. Hiccup's arms started to tremble and his head shook violently. Astrid quickly turned around to him, grabbing his hands and pushing his face into her neck when she sensed his distress.
"It's okay, Hiccup. I'm right here. It's just a play. It's nothing like how it really happened. It's all in the past," she whispered to him, trying to stay strong and prevent him from having a dark day, even though memories of his burned face and terrified screams flooded her mind as well.
Astrid was too busy calming Hiccup to pay attention to the stage. Thankfully none of the Vikings seemed to notice their distress. When Hiccup finally calmed down and she turned back, Tuffnut had just reappeared on stage, wearing a blindfold.
"Alas, in her rage, Astrid crippled her classmate. There was nothing the healers or even the gods could do. Hiccup… was blinded and scarred," Kirsten narrated from her position at the edge of the stage, and Astrid felt like throwing up. She hadn't thought about those events for a long time. Sure, she thought about Hiccup's blindness, and how it affects them, but she hadn't thought about the cause. About how she was the cause.
Tuffnut stumbled around the stage, clearly lost. Suddenly Snotlout appeared as well, wearing a huge Night Fury mask on his head. The comical sight almost made Astrid smile again.
"But somehow, the loss of his eyes made Hiccup see something completely new. The details of what happened between the blind boy and the dragon he found in the forest are lost to the sands of time. We will now show what likely happened," Kirsten continued to narrate as Snotlout walked around the stage, not really acting much like a Night Fury.
With a loud growl, Snotlout pounced the stumbling Tuffnut, throwing them both to the ground. "You destroyed my tail fin! For that you must die!" the Night Fury shouted, before covering Tuffnut's head with the large mask.
Tuffnut screamed in panic, but then there was a sudden silence as the mask kept moving up and down over his head.
"Why isn't it working! I want to eat you, but you're too small and thin to eat!" Snotlout stated in the blandest voice Astrid had ever heard, and she wondered why they couldn't have found a better actor.
"I'm not too small! In fact, I'm the strongest Viking on this island!" Tuffnut declared in an over-the-top voice, and Astrid heard a chuckle behind her. Hiccup was laughing slightly at the ridiculous scene.
"No, the real problem is clear! You can't eat me because my skin is too strong for your teeth! All your teeth fell out! You're Toothless!" Tuffnut continued as he pulled himself away from the huge mask and pointed out the lack of teeth to the audience. The real Toothless lazily opened one eye when his name was called, but quickly huffed and went back to sleep. Hiccup laughed louder then, and Astrid couldn't help but join in. She knew the real story, and this was as far away from that as it could ever be.
"I can't replace your teeth, but I will fix your tail," Tuffnut said as he took one of Snotlout's hands (paws?) and went down to one knee, like he was proposing. Snotlout growled blandly, and leaned his head down a little.
"To complete our bond of friendship, I will now do my weird hand-thingy that I can't seem to explain well to any member of the Dragon Academy, Tuffnut in particular!" the male twin said. The statement made Hiccup erupt in laughter, before moving his arms to their old places around Astrid again. Astrid laughed as well, both from the happiness of seeing Hiccup's good mood return and from the comical scene of Snotlout leaning against Tuffnut's grasping fingers.
Moments later, the 'Night Fury' quickly 'flew away', hiding among the audience again.
"Hiccup had seen the truth of dragons. They could be kind and friendly. But he knew that not many would feel that way. Notably Astrid, who was assigned to take care of him," Kirsten narrated as Ruffnut entered the stage again.
"What are you doing out in the forest?" she exclaimed angrily as she swung the axe.
Tuffnut stuttered something, but his sister wouldn't let him finish. "It's your fault you broke my axe, so you better teach me how to fix it!" Ruffnut stated as she pulled him up and led him to a makeshift forge in the corner of the stage.
"Originally, Astrid just wanted to fix her axe. But as they worked together to reforge her weapon, she discovered a horrible truth: She actually liked working with Hiccup!" Kirsten stated with mock horror, and Astrid felt a blush come to her face.
"Oh no, Hiccup's manly blacksmithing is making me feel weird inside! I don't like feeling like this! I better punch him for doing this to me!" Ruffnut said, before doing just that.
"Mother!" Astrid couldn't hold it in anymore, the embarrassment was too great. She did not sound like that! And… it hadn't been like that at all. Not… really, at least. Not as stupid as Ruffnut made it seem now! Hiccup laughed at her exclamation, and she huffed. Gods, he better not be getting any weird ideas about her. How had her mother even found out about that? Had Gobber told her?
Kirsten smiled when her daughter's yell reached her, but she clearly didn't let that distract her from telling the story.
"We do not know exactly how Astrid and Toothless met, so this is again, a guess," Kirsten said before stepping back again, letting Tuffnut and Snotlout take the stage.
"Aww, who's a good dragon? You are! Yes, you're a cute dragon! Aww!" Tuffnut exclaimed as he rubbed the Night Fury mask, to Snotlout's clear annoyance. Hiccup made an insulted sound, muttering "I don't sound like that!", but Astrid's attention was drawn by Ruffnut sneaking up on the pair.
"Hiccup! What are you doing?!" Ruffnut shouted when she 'saw' the pair, making Tuffnut jump up.
"Hi Astrid! This is my buddy Toothless! He's the coolest guy in the world apart from Tuffnut! Toothless, this is Astrid!" Tuffnut said as he tried to gesture between them, getting their places comically wrong because of the blindfold still covering his face.
"What? You betrayed us! And I thought you were nice!" Ruffnut shouted, before moving away in an exaggerated slow run.
"Oh no! Astrid is going to tell on us! We have to catch her, Toothless!" Tuffnut said before climbing on Snotlout's back. When he was in a relatively stable piggyback position, Snotlout started running after Ruffnut. The pair quickly overtook her, and Snotlout grabbed her in his 'paws'.
"Hiccup! Get me down! Your dragon is going to eat me!" Ruffnut shouted, hitting Snotlout with the flat side of the axe.
"No, not until I show you the awesomeness of dragons!" Tuffnut said, and Astrid chuckled again. Would future generations really think this was what happened?
Would the current generation think that? Gods, how could she ever face them after this?
"Fine!" Ruffnut said with an exaggerated angry expression, and before climbing on Snotlout's back as well, piggybacking on Tuffnut. Snotlout clearly had trouble carrying both twins, swaying on his feet with every step as he walked around the stage.
"And as they went on a flight together, Astrid realized that dragons didn't want to fight. And she wondered how she couldn't have seen something that was so obvious! Of course, even though she had seen one obvious truth now, she remained blind to her clear attraction to Hiccup," Kirsten stated, drawing another "Mother! Really?!" from Astrid, who immediately hid her face in her hands when all the Vikings turned to look at their little corner.
"Did you actually like me back then?" Hiccup asked, the amusement clear in his voice as he held her a little tighter, and she shook her head.
"No. No! At least, I don't think so. I don't know, it's tough to say when I started… feeling like that," she admitted in a soft voice, and he smiled.
"So you like me now?" he asked in a teasing voice, and she punched his arm.
"You know I do," she muttered, feeling far too embarrassed. Gods, two years passed and he still made her feel mushy and stupid.
"Together, they repaired Toothless' tail fin. And Astrid learned tricks from Hiccup that she would use in dragon training," Kirsten continued as Ruffnut and Tuffnut jumped off Snotlout's back, to his clear relief. Ruffnut then knelt in front of Tuffnut.
"Oh, great master of dragons! Share your secrets with me, your humble apprentice," Ruffnut said, and Astrid felt a pang of anger when she saw herself in such a submissive position. Would this play get anything right?
Apart from the part where Hiccup was blinded?
"Very well, young grasshopper. I will teach you the ways of the dragon. I will also explain how this war started. An evil dragon, the offspring of Loki and Surt, is controlling the dragons," Tuffnut said, and Hiccup laughed again. "Could they get how we discovered all of that any more wrong?" he whispered, making her smile when she realized they had been thinking the same thing.
"With her new knowledge, Astrid easily made it to the dragon training finale! But in this finale, she'd have to kill a Monstrous Nightmare! The chief had decided that her punishment for hurting Hiccup would depend on her performance against the dragon" Kirsten said, gesturing at Hookfang flying in and landing on the stage. Ruffnut appeared on the other side, axe and shield in hand.
"I refuse to fight this dragon!" she stated as she dropped her weapons. Then Fishlegs appeared on stage, wearing an oversized cape and a carrying a large hammer.
"H-How dare you! A-And here I-I was, thinking you'd be a good daughter-in-law! But I, S-Stoick the Vast, demand that this fight is stopped!" Fishlegs stuttered, not really sounding like Stoick at all.
There were a few seconds of awkward silence in which Ruffnut apparently forgot her line. Suddenly the female twin raised her middle finger at Fishlegs, making the audience, and Kirsten, gasp. Astrid briefly smiled when she realized that wasn't in the script. Moments later Hookfang 'attacked', clearly responding to one of Snotlout's signals.
"No! Astrid!" Tuffnut shouted as he ran onto the stage, immediately running straight into Hookfang's legs.
"No. Hiccup." Snotlout said without any real emotion as he ran on the stage as well, before 'fighting off' Hookfang and driving him off the stage.
"Order! O-Order! Stop! Capture them!" Fishlegs said as he pointed at the three other riders, and Hiccup's grip on Astrid tightened again. She knew he blamed himself for their failure in the finale.
"Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless were captured. Hiccup was interrogated by his father first," Kirsten spoke in a heavy voice, and Hiccup's grip became tighter. He had never told her what Stoick had said to him that horrible day, and Astrid wasn't sure if she wanted to know.
"You befriended a dragon? How dare you?!" Fishlegs said before turning away, but Tuffnut jumped after him, grabbing his foot and hanging on to it.
"No, father! The dragons are innocent! They live on an island only they can find, and there's a big dragon there!" Tuffnut stated, and Fishlegs pretended to hit him.
"Stop your lies. You're not my son," the big boy said as he walked offstage, nearly tripping over the huge cape.
"Is that what happened?" she softly asked Hiccup, who nodded. "Basically," he eventually whispered.
"Stoick took Toothless and the Vikings to Dragon Island to root out the Red Death. Meanwhile, Astrid and Hiccup formed a plan to stop them."
"We can't do this alone! We need the help of the amazing Thorston twins!" Tuffnut said, and Ruffnut nodded. "Yeah, and Fishlegs and Snotlout as well. But they're not as important!" she said, and moments later Stormfly, Meatlug, Hookfang, and Barf and Belch appeared.
"As dragon master, you will obey me! You will carry me and my slaves, I mean, my fellow riders, to Dragon Island!" Tuffnut said as he gestured wildly at the dragons, dodging a fireball shot by a bored Hookfang.
"And so it happened. The six teenagers, who would later go on to found the Dragon Academy, flew out to stop the fighting. But when they arrived, the battle was already going on," Kirsten narrated as a large wooden dragon Astrid recognized as the Red Death was lifted on to the stage. Meanwhile, various voices shouted panicky lines from amid the audience.
"Save us!"
"Why didn't we listen to Hiccup?!"
"Odin help us!"
"Toothless was stuck on a ship, bound in chains!" Kirsten continued as a chained Snotlout entered the stage.
"There! We must save him!" Tuffnut shouted as he and Ruffnut landed on stage atop Stormfly. Astrid briefly wondered how much chicken they must have bribed Stormfly with for her to go along with all this, before turning her attention back to the story.
"The couple managed to free Toothless as the other teenagers distracted the monster, but all knew that Hiccup, the blind dragon master, was the only one with the vision needed to kill the demon!" Kirsten continued as the twins removed the chains and Tuffnut once again climbed on Snotlout's back.
Snotlout then began to run around the wooden model, occasionally punching or kicking it. "Eventually they managed to strike the killing blow. But not without paying a terrible price," Kirsten said ominously, and Astrid could feel Hiccup tense up again, his left leg vibrating slightly. She squeezed his hand, hoping he wouldn't get a phantom pain.
Tuffnut grabbed a small piece of flint from his pocket and lit a fuse on the wooden dragon. A few seconds later there was a loud bang, followed by large clouds of smoke pouring out of the dragon's mouth. The smoke engulfed the room, making the audience cough and gasp. Astrid closed her eyes when she remembered the smoke after the real Red Death died. That horrible fear when she couldn't find Hiccup. The panic when she saw his damaged leg. The pain when she removed the hot metal twisted around his ankle.
When her breathing calmed down a little she opened her eyes again, just in time to see the smoke clearing. The wooden dragon was gone, and Snotlout and Tuffnut were lying on the ground.
"Hiccup!" Ruffnut shouted as she ran towards them, dramatically gasping when she touched her brother's leg. Suddenly, and with a loud bang, a fake leg fell out of Tuffnut's pants.
"Oh no, my love, your leg fell off!" Ruffnut said, and even though she could still feel the horror she felt when Hiccup's skin disintegrated, Astrid couldn't help but smile at the ridiculous delivery. And when Ruffnut grabbed the 'leg' and tried to shove it back into Tuffnut's pant leg, she couldn't stop herself from laughing.
"No, I'll save you! Even though you're so hot my hands burn when I touch you, I'll put your leg back!" Ruffnut stated as Fishlegs appeared.
"That didn't happen, right?" Hiccup asked, and she shook her head before punching him lightly.
"Stop it, Astrid. There's nothing you can do for him. He died a hero," Fishlegs solemnly said, and another awkward silence fell. But then Snotlout suddenly jumped up.
"He's not dead, you idiots!" he shouted to everyone's surprise, and Astrid doubted that was in the script. Fishlegs was the first to recover from the shock.
"My son lives! And because of his vision, we now have peace between Vikings and dragons!" he stated, and the entire Great Hall applauded.
"After that great battle, the dragons moved to Berk, and so the society you see today was formed. All thanks to two brave Vikings who showed that sometimes, it's the blind people who see the most," Kirsten concluded as the twins stood up and bowed. Fishlegs and Snotlout bowed as well, though Snotlout tripped over his tail and fell back onto the stage, making the Vikings laugh.
"Wow. So that's how we go into history," Hiccup eventually said as the Vikings around them applauded and yelled their approval.
"I suppose. Gods, I didn't know my mother was writing this!" Astrid replied, noticing Kirsten looking in their direction.
"I suppose it could have been worse. At least Mildew didn't write it!" Hiccup said, and she laughed. That was true. But that didn't make it less embarrassing
"But… I prefer our tale. The one only we know. The… not-so-heroic version," he eventually whispered, and she had to agree. The real tale, where she found him in the middle of the night after he had pissed himself. The tale in which he had failed again and again in building a tail fin. In which she had nearly broken his nose in frustration. The tale in which they went on their first true flight under the stars, where Hiccup had shown her the beauty of the sky.
"Let's never tell them. It'll be our secret," she whispered back, and he nodded before hugging her a little tighter.
"Do you want to sneak out now? I have a date planned," he asked, and she eagerly nodded. The play had almost made her forget his plans to propose to her.
Hiccup kissed her cheek as they stood up, before grabbing her hand and waiting for her to lead him out.
"I can't wait to continue our tale," he whispered in her ear, and she had to agree. Their story was far from over.
Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! As always, leave a review if you had any comments!