Song: Ends of the Earth by Lord Huron
000
They mended and mapped as much as they could before the moon appeared like the white of a giant's nail and glared across the sky at the sun, challenging it to move on and illuminate the dark course ahead.
The trail they took back passed around the camp's round lake.
"We should race back," Astrid challenged.
"I taught you better than that – it's unsafe to let a horse speed toward the stables. Besides. with Toothless, I'd win."
"Not all the way, just to the path off the lake. It's about a half mile." She flashed a coy smile, "Are you afraid to lose, Haddock?"
"I'm so confident," he said while pulling the reigns back and slowing Toothelss, "I'll give you a head start, m'lady."
Astrid smirked before kicking heels into her mare's sides. Stormfly sprung into a full gallop and Astrid felt the stagnant summer air morphed into a whipping gust against her cheeks.
She remembered this feeling – being alive, feeling the rhythmic motion of her horse rocking beneath her, nothing but raw energy and smooth muscles. The feeling like she had become part of the wind.
The pounding of hooves filled her ears like the rapid beating of her own heart. She heard more beats added as Toothless surged past them. Stormfly still stood about a hand and a half shorter than the sleek stallion, but the little mare struggled to make up for her smaller stature with determination. Her head and neck stretched farther, and her ears pinned tighter to her poll. Astrid could feel the mare pull herself out further and push in harder.
Ahead she saw Hiccup sitting forward, elevated over his horse's neck, giving Toothless most of the reins and letting him be nothing but power and motion. Astrid would have recognized it as a beautiful site, had it not meant she was losing.
"Come on girl!" Astrid urged, her words whipped away by the horse's flowing mane and the gust created by their speed.
Their race continued as they curved around the edges of the lake. All the stresses and troubles of her life seemed to fall away, left behind in the dust. The hard times, the disappointments, the grief – this place tore away all of it, making it a part of another world. Maybe another life. Maybe here she was another person, someone she felt she never was outside of Berk.
Hiccup pulled Toothless off the trail and through the shallow waters of the lake's shore. The stallion broke the calm surface of the water sending shattered droplets spraying behind each thundering contact of horse and earth.
The horse and rider surged out of the lake and past the finish line. Hiccup pulled Toothless back to a slow trot then plodding walk as Astrid swooped past.
She kept going for a few more feet till she slowed her own horse and called back, "You cheated – you took a short cut."
"No rule I couldn't."
"It's an implied rule."
Astrid pulled Stormfly up to Toothless so she could reach over and punch Hiccup, but the now older boy must have picked a few moves since they last met, because he ducked while getting his horse to sidestep out of reach.
"One day, Astrid, I realized there were very few actual rules. That is what holds people back and slows people down. They think they have to follow some social etiquette or be a certain way, but we all have more freedom than we think."
"There are always rules, don't kill, don't steal, don't curse. DON'T CHEAT."
"The first two are moral obligations aka laws. The third one is being polite. And that last one – I'd never do. We never established boundaries."
Astrid rolled her eyes.
Hiccup changed the subject, "Thanks for your help today, by the way. I would tell you how nice it is to see you again and to spend time together, but that might be out of line."
"Probably," she smiled at him, "but I felt the same…As a friend."
"We managed to walk the most important fences today. If you'll join me tomorrow I think we can finish the rest. And then, I'd like to thank you by taking you somewhere, I think you'll love."
"Hiccup, that's not a good idea. I –"
"No, not a date. You'll see…trust me I have no intention to try anything."
"Telling the truth is a moral obligation," She warned.
"Truth is relative. And that was the truth. I'll tell you what, if you're so worried, I'll invite everyone, including Dagur. We'll all go out for a night of fun. It'll be a way to start the summer off right."
"Alright," she relented.
They made small talk for a bit longer and then fell silent, enjoying the slow darkening of the sky and brightening of the stars as they approached the stables. In the distance, beyond the open fields and at the end of their path, the lights of the stables glowed in the navy background of early evening. The bird songs of day had been traded for the cricket orchestra of night and the heat of the sun finally dissipated, leaving crisp air that pricked the skin. Around the field and forest lightning bugs began to emerge, glowing like stars on earth.
"Gods, I love this," Astrid whispered.
"What?"
Astrid could not make out Hiccup's face in the darkness, but his voice sounded higher and a sudden jerk from Toothless made it seem he might have lost his balance.
"I just said I love this – Berk, the night, the horses, the darkness without light pollution, the clean air."
"Yeah," Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck, "I love this too. There's nothing I wouldn't do for this."
"You mean Berk?"
"Yeah…Berk. Summer nights. Horses." Hiccup patted his horse's neck. "Right, bud."
The horse snorted.
"That is the horse equivalent of an eye roll – in case I never taught you that."
Astrid laughed.
"Hiccup," she turned to him, his eyes catching a single sparkle from the lights around the stables and the moon silhouetting the curves of his calm face. "Thank you for re-uniting me with Stormfly. This ride today reminded me of how much I missed her."
"Yeah…I'm happy you're happy…No problem."
000
Song: "Want You Back" by 5 Seconds of Summer
Hiccup - Three Month Earlier
"Rapunzel," Hiccup trotted after the petite blond as she walked away from him toward the red barn. "I'm willing to pay anything. You know me, money is not an issue."
"Hiccup Haddock," she spun around and put her hands on her hips, "you know me, I don't exactly have money issues either. No sell backs. Not even to you."
"If you were, to name a price?"
"Ugh!" She turned back around and kept walking. "A billion dollars."
"Done!"
"Hiccup, even you don't have a billion dollars just lying around," Flynn warned. The dark haired lanky guy had been tagging along listening to Hiccup fecklessly negotiate.
"Flynn," Hiccup turned to his buddy. "I'll beg my dad for the money, then work like a slave or bleed myself dry to pay him back. You don't know how much that horse means to me right now."
"Look man, as your friend, I'm going to tell you to give up. You know my girlfriend - she won't part with the horse. And your desperation is causing you to lose my respect."
Hiccup ignored him. "Rapunzel, when I made that sale, about three years ago, I was in a bad place. I thought I needed to let go and move forward, I went through something and I thought putting some other things behind me would help me forget, and I know you are great with animals and love horses – that's why I sold to you."
"Exactly why I won't trade my beloved horse for money."
"You know me. You know I offer a good home. I need my horse back."
The blond shook her head.
Hiccup circled around in front of her, forcing their eyes to meet. "Come on. You're going off to school next year. Can you honestly tell me you want to cart a horse with you?"
"Yes, I am going off to school, which is why I want this last summer, to do horse shows and go as far as I can. I won't just change horses with six months left. This is the end for me. I want to go out on a high note."
She cut around him then disappeared into the barn. Hiccup kicked the ground causing dust to rise in little brown clouds.
"Why do you want the horse so badly anyway, Hiccup?" Flynn lingered behind, leaned against the open barn door.
"Can't a guy miss his horse?"
"You can have any horse. And your family has a full stable." Flynn tossed his hand up, "And a billion dollars? – You could buy the entire line up of the Kentucky Derby for that. What's the real reason?"
Hiccup looked away.
"Jezz," Flynn shook his head, "If you don't want to tell me, I know it's a bad reason."
Hiccup pressed his lips together harder.
"Is it that girl? Astrid? Oh gods, Hic. She'll ruin you if you keep this up."
Hiccup drew in a breath to speak, but all his words evaporated before they left his tongue. He knew Flynn's counter arguments. Why waste time.
"How is she Flynn?"
"I talked to Tuffnut about this whole thing. He told me to tell you to stay out of it."
Flynn put his hand on his younger friend's shoulder as Hiccup deflated like a balloon losing air.
"Hic, she's going to need a lot of help to get out of the mess she's in. And it's not your place. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate that you paid off some of my debts in exchange for my helping her out, but if you get more involved…well, she could drag you down. Do you want that?"
Hiccup and Flynn stood equal in height, making it easy for Hiccup to meet his friend's eyes, "She won't drag me down. I'll make it so I pull her up."
Flynn shrugged.
"Now, be the good friend I know you are and tell me how to get your girlfriend to sell me back my horse."
"Look, dude, it's clear you've argued this out with yourself. I'm not gonna talk you out of it. But I'm sure there's no way I can talk Rapunzel into taking any amount of money you lay down. So-"
"That's it!" Hiccup's head shot up. "She won't take money! – Flynn, you really are a genius. I knew there was a reason I keep going to you for help."
Hiccup clapped his friend's back then took off, leaving the perplexed man to wonder what he did.
000
Over a month later Hiccup showed up at one of Rapunzel's dressage competitions. She got one of her lowest scores ever that day, a fact she knew it before the numbers even posted. After she and her horse left the ring, fake smile plastered to her face, eyes welling with disappointment, Hiccup found her next to her trailer with her instructor, groaning over the low score.
"The problem is, Rapunzel," Hiccup strolled up to them, "You're riding a horse who suffered from a strained tendon as a two-year-old. It still catches on those right circles and with your right shoulder being weaker due to your separating it a few months back, it makes it harder for you to keep her collected on those turns. You'll just never be a winning pair. At least not in the next five months."
Rapunzel's instructor glared at him, but once he properly introduced himself, she calmed, knowing who he was and figuring he was right.
"OK, Haddock," she folded her arms, "What do you suggest?"
"Well, you said you wouldn't sell, but you never said anything about trading. I think I can work something out that will make us both happy."
Hiccup took her over to his trailer and brought out Maximus – a beautiful gelding with a coat as white and smooth as fresh sheets. She took him for a ride, and yes, he had no hitch in his gate, he made smooth turns. Unlike Rapunzel's current horse, he'd never had an injury or suffered any hardships, he only knew the smooth successful life of a champion show horse.
"I know this horse, Hiccup, he's been on the show circuit."
"With clumsy riders who couldn't take him to his fullest potential. I bought him, trained him for a month, balanced his diet. He'll take you to the top or as far as you want to go in the next five months. Hel, I think he could go all the way without a rider he's so good. And if you'll trade with me – he can be your's."
"How much did you pay for him?"
"Too much. Because he's perfect for you and I need my horse back. If you take this deal, it will be worth every cent. So?"
"You really want this."
"Rapunzel, I should have never sold you that horse. I didn't realize how much she meant to me or how badly I needed her. Not until I got some news a few months ago that made me re-think my whole life."
"The way you put that – makes me concerned. I know she's special-"
"Yeah, I got it. I'm going overboard? Do we have a deal?" He neglected to mention that month of training Maximus had been his most intense ever. He dropped everything else that month - including having to forgo riding Toothless and dropping out of two of his own competitions. He'd have to spend the next two months making up for the lost time in training and school work.
Rapunzel sighed. "You are very convincing…I don't know. I guess I love her too and we have fond memories."
She smiled at Hiccup when she said the last part.
"Look, Rappy, I didn't bring this up around Flynn, because we should let the past go, but I want to make sure – you're not holding back because you're holding onto our past? I know, maybe we could have been more, but I wasn't ready, and as your instructor, I felt it was wrong, even if we were close in age and I've-"
"Hiccup," she stopped him, "It's OK that nothing happened. I moved on. Like you said back then - it was a silly little summer crush and I hadn't seen enough of the world. Flynn doesn't care, because why would someone care about something that never was? And it's obvious to any girl you haven't ever moved on from something. You even confessed your infatuation was because I reminded you of someone else."
He studied her blond hair. Then that round face and big eyes sitting atop a petite frame. When he met her those few years back, he thought maybe he was cursed to have a type, but now he knew he was cursed with just one infatuation.
He forced a half smile and she kissed his cheek.
"I'll say goodbye and then she can be your's again. You know I really am going to miss Stormfly."