Author's Note: I am now in a race against time as I struggle to finish this story as fast as humanely possible before summer vacation. The technology I have at home is efficient but unbearably slow and my Mac won't let me upload Docx to Fanfiction. So I've been using the Graphic Design computers instead, and boy, is it strenuous. But I hope this chapter will come to terms as easing your reading nerves, so sit back, grab a mug of Yaknog and enjoy the story.
Commence Ze Responses:
CheyenneDaMelonLord: It's a pretty neat idea, but I'm sorry to tell you that I've already got everything else planned out. But hey! It's awesome to know that someone actually took the time to give me a plot! Thank you so much for your kind words and have an amazing day! :D
Guest: TWINS TWINS TWINS TWINS TWINS TWINS TWINS! Sheesh ...I'll think about it! Cripes... You have a twin fetish or something? ... Okay I took that a little too seriously. Haha!
Nish: Thank you so much! Aw, well if it's confusing to you then you can always ask me a question and I'll answer it for you, no problem. :) If you like reading stuff about Snotlout, then I think you'll like this one.
MHJohn64th: DAAAW! Minx? Me? Please! Yer da minx! Well, unless you're a boy, which you ARE. So... STILL A MINX! In response to everything you wrote in a general sentence: Yaknog will forever be a disappointment to all things related to talent and good. This is the type of drink that would make Jesus cry. The kind of drink that would bring Arnold Schwarzenegger to Heaven's gate. The type of drink that Chuck Norris wouldn't be able to hack down. Yeah, I had a lot of fun writing down that intimate scene. Haha! It was actually based off of comic I saw on DeviantArt but with the roles perplexingly reversed. Glad you enjoyed it!
Guest (number two): Behold! Snotlout's POV, just for you. ;)
Guest (number three): Believe me, Buddy. *rests hand on the shoulder* You and I are in the same boat.
Guest (number four): Oh, trust me, using the same script from "Gift of The Nightfury" took way more time than I thought it would. Remember, I was up till 11 o'clock at night. D:
TheTenggi: Oh, thank you so much for the correction! I actually got the translation for my friend and I guess she had it wrong. *sheepish grin* Greetings from California!
Imaguest: Okayokayokay! *types so fast that fingers catch fire* GAAAAAAAAHHHH!
Launigisae: Keep hoping, sister. Or brother.
Princess Sakura Luna: Well, yes. That was intentional. MWHAHAHAHAHA! I'm sooooooo evil! XD
PrincessOfAtlantis101: YOU'RE WELCOME! XD
PuppeteerOllie: Thank you! Dear Lord, I hope that my twists are better than Shyamalan's!
Alpha darkwolf: Are you right? *innocent eyes*
Guest (number five): *facepalms* WHAT IS UP WITH GUESTS AND TWINS?! Lovely suggestion, though! :D
Noname: Oh cripes, she knows where this is going. I better hide all my future chapters in a safe place: my brain. Yeah I type them as I go along. ^^
CassandraDayTree: ...You're scary. JUST KIDDING! YOU ARE THE SWEETEST! Stay awesome!
FluentFletcher2: I Love You Too. OOOOOOOH! XD (I'll explain later)
A Person Who Likes Comedy: Only on Fanfiction will people find it acceptable for these kinds of things. It...desensitizes you...
Guardian of Azarath: Hm. That's a very interesting preposition, but I've got it AAAALLL figured out. Even though I type each chapter as I go along. Thank you, though! :D
Guest (number six): Dude, bro?
HugsandBugsSmileyFace: Haha! I'm going to have dark circles under my eyes for writing this!
Natellah: Life's not fair, isn't it? MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Ooh! And you feel me on the cursing thing! You feel me?! Awesome, dude...
SMr. Freeze: Thank you! :D
Midsully: The dragons are German because the dragons are German. Well, technically only Toothless is. Stormfly is Swedish. *gasp* Wha-? What does it mean?! And hey! I just so happen to be German/Swedish, and I don't go around killing Jews. Dat's mean, bro. *puppy eyes*
hopelessromantic4life: Ooooh, yes.
Guest (number seven): Fishlegs: S-Sorry. It's just getting a little crazy around Berk. Now Snotlout isn't the only one with a secret. Shhh! Meatlug!
...
Mishap by Confession
The material universe returns in intricate details as Hiccup slowly gains consciousness. The freezing air biting at his body is the sole cause of his wake. He feels incredibly sluggish and achy; Astrid's hysterical, angry screams remain fresh in his mind, echoing in and out as his vision goes fuzzy. His raw, red fingers twitch a little, coming into contact with ice that was once the ground and he faintly jerks them back at the touch. The rest of him is immobile.
His emerald eyes are fluttering open, but he can't focus. Not yet. He's too out of it to do so with fainting once again. No rush, no rush. He thinks he can perceive the image of his father rushing over to his side and kneeling, but he's not sure. All he can make out is a very dull mass of color pallets. A scarlet blob etched against the blurry grey of what he thinks is the sky is supposedly his father.
Undetectable noises fade in and out, almost as if he is underwater and he can feel a large hand rest against his pounding forehead.
Someone shouts, or so he thinks, because it hurts his ears. Multiple jabbers and guttural growls mimic his sense of human speech and he tilts his head to the side.
Instant pain.
His vision alters and the colors change. The voices are clearer now, and so is his detection. The colors are expanding, recollecting, solidifying into recognizable masses that can now be described as his fellow Vikings. And then he jolts, remembering.
"Wha-?!" Hiccup choked out, his emerald eyes popping open wide with fear. His thawing hand flew to his seamed collar, gripping it tightly for a sense of security and to give some feeling to his numb appendage. "What happ-?! Oh, Gods, Astrid!" The male cried out with a gasp and stiffened against the ice. Everything that had transpired minuets before rushed back at him like an angry flock of Terrible Terrors. But instead of being nostalgic at said memory, he was indubitably terrified.
With a panicked intake of breath and grunt of pain, Hiccup propped himself up on his bony elbows and sat up, his wide-eyed stare trained intensely on the empty sky where Astrid was taken. Astrid. She was...abducted! She was hijacked! Literally yanked off her feet! She was kidnapped! By Toothless! His best friend!
A large, meaty hand gripped the fourteen-year-old's shoulder to prevent him from leaping up and running towards his obvious destination: the cliffs, so that he may look out over the ocean to see if he could catch a glimpse of his wife. But additional factors such as the splitting headache and dizziness prevented him from doing much of anything except to groan in pain.
"Ngh... Please, no... Oh, Gods..." He shuddered heavily as his father's large arms gently supported his back to help him sit up. His head was pounding, and he was sure that there was a bruised lump back there from slamming it into the ice when he fell.
"Da-Dad!" He wailed, finally finding his voice, although his words came out choppy and breathless. "He took her! Toothless-he took Astrid! He-He-! She's gone!"
Stoick's heart dropped as his son began to hyperventilate from the sheer panic he was experiencing. "Gone? What-What do you mean that he took her?!" He barked, gargantuan body tensing. "What happened?! Speak!"
Hiccup sucked in a breath and held it, trying to calm himself but failing. "He- *inhale* -I built him a-a tail fin-a new one! *inhale* Since-Since he couldn't fly on his own and-*inhale* and I put it on and he just-he freaked out and took her!" He austerely gripped his auburn hair, eyes impossibly wide from qualm. "Oh-OH GODS!" He recalled. "She's due!" He cried, for fear of his presentiment. "She's due any day now *inhale* and she's gone!"
"Odin's beard..." Stoick was at a loss of what to say, other than to hold his son close to his chest and whisper, "Oh, son. I'm so sorry. So, so sorry."
What else... What else could he say about this cruel repetition of history? How horrible, how appalling must it have been for Hiccup to watch. To watch and not being able to do anything about it as the Nightfury took whom he cherished. It was obvious he'd tried to run after them, on impulse. And Stoick understood. He understood. And now, the only feeling he could ever express towards that dragon was disgust. "Devil," he cursed under his breath.
Hiccup was sniffling, hot, salty tears slowly leaking from his runny eyes in fine streams to which he wiped away in shame. He couldn't cry. Not now in these circumstances. He needed to help Astrid. How he was going to do it was uncertain, but that was his number one priority either way and he couldn't waste any more time than he already had by passing out.
Hiccup unsteadily took to his feet-er, foot, and wrenched himself out of his father's comforting grip. With his runny, emerald eyes trained sharply and solely on the dreary sky, he whispered, "I-I have to go after her."
Stoick quickly got to his feet at his son's gallant statement. "What?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "Go after her?"
Hiccup turned, louder now. "Y-Yes. I have to go after Astrid. Bring her back..." He paused, predicting that his father would immediately deny his bold affirmation, so he tried to reason. "Dad," he implied, "if Toothless still has her, then he's bound to have landed somewhere on a nearby island with the other dragons. He can't fly forever and-and I can track them down-"
"No!" The vast man instantly repudiated with a harsh bark. "Out of the question!" Hiccup flinched and seemed to wilt before his father's very eyes, all the more in which he felt pain to shut down the idea. But he knew Hiccup, and he was aware that the young teenager would do something impulsive if enabled.
"I'm...I'm sorry, Hiccup," he apologized regretfully. "But to attempt such a journey would be too dangerous. Devastating Winter is finally here, half of the ocean is mined with icebergs, and the weather is only going to get worse! In fact, just this morning, Bucket predicted a mighty storm that would take rampage soon enough."
"All the more reason why I need to get to her!" Hiccup defiantly fired back, angrily thrusting a battered hand towards the sea, which was indeed overrun by ice. "We have to find her! We have to! Because-I never thought I would say this, but she needs me. This time-This time my child needs me!"
"I know, I know, and it devastates me too. It just can't be done!" Stoick fumed, on the brink of panic as well. He paced back and forth while his voice wavered slightly in answer. "I can't risk readying the ships to journey through that watery Helhiem! Even Johan wouldn't be able to make it through that-that death trap with his trade ship!"
"Then, what else can we do?!" Hiccup wailed, tugging at his auburn hair. "Really, because I'm open to suggestions! We don't have the dragons and if the ships can't get through, then-"
"Then, there's nothing we can do," Stoick enunciated slowly. Hiccup pursed his lips and stiffened, only to sink to his knees. He stared up at his father, hardly believing that what was happening, was happening.
"Except," Stoick went on with a mutter, "pray to the Gods that she and your...your child will fight through. Pray that Toothless will return with the both of them."
There was a tremendously long lull in the conversation. Hiccup's gaze drifted to the ground and his hands twitched.
"I...I'm so sorry, son," Stoick whispered, his thick hand covering his weary eyes, the other clenched into a fist. There was a pause, and everything about them seemed to disappear as the true meaning of the words were beginning to sink in.
"No," Hiccup breathed, heart thudding against his ribcage at the sight of seeing the man so defeated. He got up, refusing to back down. "No. Dad, you can't give up now."
"I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done," the older Viking sighed despairingly. "We can't travel anywhere, even if we tried. Besides, the ships wouldn't stand a chance against the icebergs and we don't even know where Toothless went to begin with. He could be anywhere in the Scandinavian Archipelago, no doubt. There are simply...no options left."
"M-Maybe not. Not if we used one of our ships, but a smaller boat, perhaps..." Hiccup slowly insinuated. The gears in the boy's mind were churning like crazy as he tried to formulate a plan. "If-If we can't do it with the ships, then I'll..." Hiccup straightened, staring into the older man's eyes with determination, and he importuned, "I'll go alone. With a smaller boat-a rowboat, per se, so I could weave in and out of the ice blocks."
Stoick's head snapped up, his emerald eyes flaring boldly and intimidatingly at his boy's foolishness. "You most certainly will not," he admonished, his gutturally deep voice raising a few octaves higher. "Hiccup, I shall not allow it."
"But I could do it!" Hiccup insisted, already absorbed into his plan. "Sure, I might be the size of a fishbone and have as much brawn as a sea-sick limpet, but-but I could do it!"
"Wormsquat! Hiccup, open your eyes!" His father shouted, startling the boy. "You cannot go on such a journey that reigns your life on the line and expect me to go along with it! My answer is no, and that is my final answer."
"I have to!" The fourteen year-old stubbornly proclaimed. "I have to."
"No!" Stoick hastily approached the boy and harshly gripped his bony shoulders. "I'm not losing you, son. You're staying." His grip tightened once more before finally loosening and falling away. Hiccup reached a hand out to rub the tender area. "The matter is settled."
"How could-?" Hiccup shook his head in desperation. "No! You can't keep me here!" Ignoring his father's heated glare, Hiccup wondered what it would take to change his mind. Didn't he understand that he needed to do this? Didn't he understand what this meant to Hiccup? That his wife and future child's lives were straddling the crevice of Earth and Valhalla?! "No... Dad..." He tried to blink back tears as he inched toward the brink of total devastation. "It..." He couldn't finish. "I need to. Because-This... It's my fault."
"No, it's not," Stoick firmly assured. "It was Toothless who did the deed."
Hiccup shook his head. He knew he should be angry at his dragon for what he had done-and he was. But Toothless was an animal; a dumb animal that couldn't perceive the gravity of his actions. A reptilian creature that couldn't truly decipher the difference between right and wrong. He saw Astrid perhaps not as a companion but as some sort of possession or prize and took the advantage of flight to take her away. The problem was that Hiccup couldn't figure out what his intentions were. But he still blamed himself.
"Think about it. If I hadn't made that tail fin for Toothless, he wouldn't have been able to fly and take Astrid with him," the young boy weakly pointed out, looking back out to the horizon. "That's why I have to go after Astrid. If something ever happened to her, I...I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."
Stoick smiled, his eyes teary. "I understand what it's like to miss someone you love-" he ignored Hiccup's wince at "love", "-because, you have to remember what I've gone through. I know how you feel right now."
Hiccup closed his eyes and backed away, shaking his head in denial. He knew the loss of his mother struck his father and ruptured his heart in a way that could never be replenished, but he couldn't bring himself to believe that the same thing could happen to Astrid. Astrid was too strong, too invincible.
"No," he whimpered helplessly, nasally voice cracking as the lump shimmied up his throat. He wrapped his anorexic-thin arms around himself, a cold breeze reducing him to a shivering mess. His shoulders hunched, quaking with guilt. "You can't honestly be saying that-that she'll die! N-Not-She can't die; not-not now!" He tried to swallow the lump, but failed.
His father's teary eyes met his own matching emerald ones, to defeated to contend. With a choked sob, Hiccup shook his head one last time, pursing his lips together before taking off-only this time at a slower pace to avoid slipping on the ice once more.
Deliberately ignoring his father's shouts for him to return, Hiccup sped on in a blinded hysteric frenzy. He made sure to carefully avoid the plaza and instead raced for the thick woodland trees that were blanketed under layer upon layer of snow. A perfect place for a runaway in denial. So the young Viking tore through, crashing through frozen shrubs, thickets, wading through drifts, and hopping over snowy mounds that were buried logs. His sprinting spree only lasted for so long do to his dizziness, lack of air, and sadness until he came to a stop around Raven Point. The only sounds echoing around said area were his gasps and out-of-control sobs that shook his freezing form.
Limping over to snowy underbrush, the fourteen-year-old collapsed in the powder, burying his face in his knees as he tried to calm down. The silence was unnerving, yet could barely think in his hysteria. There, he sobbed his heart out, feeling oh-so helpless and much like a failure who'd betrayed his family.
...
As always on the tiny island of Berk, news spread like an out-of-control wildfire, and soon, every Viking was keen with the tragic incident of the heir's wife and unborn child.
Gobber was the first to know, since he had seen the auburn-haired boy take off in the first place and immediately confronted Stoick about it when he passed by the Forge.
And even after being explained many times of what happened, he still couldn't believe it. "Whaddaya mean, Toothless jest took her?" He gaped, a hand scratching at his temple. He and Stoick were in the Smithy, the devastated father in a miserable state. "He jest-" Gobber made a diving motion with his hook for a hand, "-swooped en flew off weth th' lassie? Ah're ye sure? What would provoke the beast t' do such a thing, anyhow?"
"I'm not sure of anything right now, but Hiccup was lying unconscious when I found him and he recounted everything that had happened. And now..." Stoick's gaze drifted off to the forest where Hiccup had vanished. "Oh, what am I going to do with him, Gobber?" He sighed, musing the situation as he rested against the wooden counter. "The boy's a complete wreck and so far into denial that he's refused to listen to reason. I don't know what to do!"
"Well," the other man contemplated, "what did he say he'd do about et?" Gobber asked, nudging his friend's arm with his prosthetic hand. "Knowing th' boy, he'd be out on a dinghy, rowing fer his life t' try and get to her."
"To put it blatantly," Stoick grumbled with intermittent discomfort. "But you know I can't just enable him do such a thing. Dealing with dragons may be an exception, but this is a journey that even Vikings with the strength of the Gods could not succeed without fatal consequences. He'd be killed before he'd down a mile of rowing."
Gobber sighed, chewing his bottom lip. He'd always defended Hiccup's capability and it seemed uncharacteristic of him to go along with his friend's protective nature. But even if they only had a hunch of where the dragons had gone off to, then they could have tracked them down to locate Astrid. "Yes," he sighed once more, "Fer once, old friend, as much as Ah hate t' admit et, yer right."
"Of course I am. Nobody's ever entered that deathtrap and come out alive. Except for... Remember Juergen Barndstat?" Stoick reminded the other man. "Winters before he began his life of thievery and that lightning bolt to the head, he barely escaped the ice to return home after a trip. It took six rescue teams to bring him back, and by that point the man had nearly died of hypothermia."
"Eh, yeah. Ah remember. En do ye think that's really goin' to stop Hiccup?" Gobber asked. "Change his mind, Ah mean? He's a very persistent boy, Stoick. Stubborn. Ef ye want him to stay on Berk, then ye'll hafta physically enforce et."
"But-Thor's hammer!" Stoick threw his hands up in vexation. "I want to be able to trust him, Gobber! I don't want to have the boy on lockdown in his room every time I look away! I should very much like to trust that he wouldn't act on impulse and rashly make an escape route."
"Hm. Then at least tell me ye explained t' him why he couldn't go-Why ye'd be a wreck ef he left." He shrugged at his friend's pointed glare. "Et's like Ah always say," he articulated, "When et comes to parenting, there needs t' be relationship and there needs t' be ground rules. Ef ye only stick t' relationship and nothing else, he'll run around wild. Ef ye keep t' only ground rules and no relationship, he'll grow rebellious. Ye see what Ah mean?"
"I need a balance, is what you're saying," Stoick slowly clarified with uncomfortable conjugation. Gobber patiently waited for the realization to dawn on the man's face and it did happen, yes, only to be replaced by a sorrowful grimace. "Hiccup, if worst comes to shove, needs to move on." With a heavy sigh of defeat, he adjusted his horned helmet and trudged off. "Pray to the Gods for him, Gobber."
"Ah will! Just remember: relation and rules, Stoick!" Gobber called out just before his friend disappeared into the crowd. "Ech, the poor lass," he muttered sorrowfully before turning to his workbench.
...
If the gloominess of the dragons' disappearance wasn't enough to depress the teens, Astrid's kidnapping sure did. Ruffnut was especially disturbed, being as she and Astrid had been as thick as thieves in their younger days.
To block the pain over their friend's absence, most of the teens spent less time with one another and more with their own families. Fishlegs disappeared mysteriously into his family's storage cabin near the docks more often, the twins hung upside down in the rafters of their home for hours on end, and Snotlout chose a quiet place in the woods to clear his mind. That, or to snap branches from their trunks or practice physical exercises.
If he had felt guilty before, now he felt like an abomination set out to ruin as many lives as possible. Sure, he blamed that stupid newt of a Nightfury for Astrid's kidnapping, but he was at fault for the death of the little one inside of her. He felt at total fault and honestly, how could he tell Hiccup now? How could he possibly drag the other Viking any lower by announcing his betrayal? How?
"He is going to KILL me!" Snotlout growled in frustration, tearing the branch off a small bush. "No, scratch that. Stoick is going to kill me. But not before tearing me limb from limb!"
"Torture's too good for you."
"Oh, go suck rocks," Snotlout snarled in annoyance, roughly tearing another branch off with his frozen fingers. "Can't you see I'm having an internal conflict? …Oh."
"I can't take it anymore, butt-brain. Why don't you go over to Hiccup's place and freaking tell the guy what you did?! Thor almighty, Snotlout, it's been nine bleeding months! Break already!"
"Hey, can you do me a favor and stop reminding me!?" Snotlout complained, folding his muscular arms and leaning against the frosted trunk of a tree.
"How have you not spontaneously combusted from holding it in?!"
Snotlout wrinkled his nose.
"You know what I mean. And furthermore, who are you to tell me to stop reminding you? I'm never going to stop until you fess up, you ignorant sack of limpets."
"I'm not going to tell him now!" The young Viking argued. "Do you have any idea how brutal his father is? The guy popped a dragon's head clean off its shoulders when he was just a baby!"
"Point. You're afraid of punishment, which is understandable." Snotlout scoffed. "But did you ever stop to think of what they'd do if you keep it a secret any longer?"
Snotlout thought about it for a moment and blanched.
"If you keep it from them any longer," the voice forewarned, "they're going to be more angry at you for keeping it a secret rather than what you actually did. You'd be angry too, if the tables were turned."
The boy took a start. "I don't...well..." He rubbed the back of his neck, raven hair standing up on end. "I guess."
"So tell him, ya twit!"
"I just-I can't!" Snotlout groaned. "Now is definitely not the best time, especially since Astrid's missing, the baby's probably gone, and Hiccup's probably off wallowing in depression."
"Whaddaya gonna do, wait until she's dead?"
"Wha-? N-No!" The very idea that Astrid could die...
"Then hike that sorry behind of yours up that hill and CONFESS for the love of all Gods and Goddesess in pathological existence! Sheesh! The least Hiccup could do is lecture you."
What the voice failed to mention was what Stoick could do, but surely that was intentional so that nothing could prevent the boy from confessing. Or give him any second thoughts. Snotlout sucked in a shaky breath and laughed weakly. "Oh...Thor," he moaned wearily, sliding down the trunk until he sat at the base. His chocolate eyes closed. "I'm dead, aren't I?"
"Get a grip."
...
Hours passed before Hiccup's tortured nerves finally took a break from the waterworks and left the fourteen-year-old exhausted and weary. He hunched quietly, still hidden beneath the underbrush, the sweet silence his ally as well as his enemy. The harsh winds had long stopped blowing, which encouraged a bit of relief to anchor his heart.
"Well, as long as there aren't any storms, Astrid's still safe. Maybe. If Toothless hasn't hurt her," He thought, bunching his bony knees to his equally scrawny chest to hide his tear-painted face. "Odin this is all my fault. If I had just...maybe I could've saved her. I could've. I should've. She should be home, safe and warm! Not out there surrounded by a mass of fire-breathing reptiles!" He flinched in disgust. "Ugh! And you! Stop crying!" He scolded himself. "Astrid's out there probably freezing to death and you're sitting in the middle of the forest, crying like a newborn! You have to have hope! Don't despair!" He sighed, tensing up all the more.
"...Ye'll catch cold ef ye stay out here too long," a deep but distinctively feminine boomed, causing the sniveling boy to outright shriek in surprise. Hiccup snapped his head upward at an angled ninety degrees to gawk into the eyes of the woman herself: Helga.
Memories consisting of her gravely aggressive nature still fresh in her mind, Hiccup paled. He unconsciously reached up to touch his cheek; the one she's struck all those months ago. "Dah, da, dah, I'm dead," he thought hopelessly, considering for a moment if he should make a chicken's escape. But Helga was standing directly above him, parting the branches of the underbrush so he was in her lie of sight. She could make a grab at him any moment, so he stood stock-still as her oddly listless eyes bore into his. Her expression was impassive; though, he could just make out the hint of tear trail-marks and the tiniest shade of redness in her eyes.
Hiccup curled in on himself and squeezed his emerald eyes shut. "Oh, brilliant. She's come for revenge!" He heard the distinct crunch of Helga's boots coming into contact with the ice as she rounded the underbrush and headed for him. He could only tense, his heart thudding against his ribcage. "This is it. What's it going to be? An axe? Sword? Shield? Perhaps she brought the Thumbscrews with her?" He blanched. "Her fists...Oh, this is probably how Toothless felt when I found him in the woods."
Hiccup made one last prayer to Odin before she would initiate his untimely demise, but to his shock, it never came. He waited. He waited quite a while for the verbal and physical abuse that was surely to come, but...
There was a large thump to his right and he curled up tighter. The branches about them were disturbed by her invading form and swayed, flecks of snow drifting from their perches. Hiccup dared not stir.
"..."
A soft breathing finally urged him to peek and he found Helga sitting beside him, cross-legged, eyeing him impassively. Neither of them moved, and Hiccup wondered if she had already killed him and this was that Catholic place...purgatory?
Nerves erratic, the boy spluttered, "I-I don't mind if you ah, sit here. No-Nope, not at all!" When Helga remained silent, he sheepishly added, "Er...did I say anything out loud?" It was all he could take from leaping to his knees and beg for his life.
The large woman merely raised both eyebrows and asked, "Mind ef Ah join ye?"
Okay. ...Okay, she hadn't killed him yet. Good, that was good. Hiccup sucked in a deep breath and replied, "Well, seeing how you're already sitting here-" He cut off abruptly, internally screaming at himself to not be so wry with her. He forced himself to nonchalantly shrug, but then realized that must of looked too condescending, because he quickly added, "No, no. I don't mind." As long as they kept talking, he'd still be alive.
"Careful, boy," the woman muttered, crossing her thick arms. "Think ye almost soiled yeself." Hiccup's throat felt dry, and he swallowed hard. In the biting cold, he could detect the faint feeling of heat radiating from her body.
"Um..." He bit his lip, dodging her piercing gaze. "I guess you can go ahead now."
Helga blinked. "Excuse me?" She inquired in surprise.
"You know," Hiccup said almost testily, "Kick me, punch me, shove me, amputate my other leg. I'm sure you can think of something." The air seemed to stand still and for the longest time, Helga just stared at the young male, trying to best the guilt that overrode her conscious.
"And why would Ah want t' do that?" She asked unhurriedly, as to not startle the boy any further.
"Wh-?" Hiccup looked up at her, exposing his miserable, tear-painted face to the biting air. Helga sucked in a breath. He looked depressed. "Be-Because Astrid's missing! Why wouldn't you want to hurt me?"
Helga's face grew incensed at the mention of her daughter and Hiccup hid his face once more. "Th' only being Ah want t' hurt right now is that devil Nightfury fer takin' mah daughter away."
She wasn't going to kill him? Oh, well that was quite a relief, and although Hiccup was grateful for the sparing of his life, he was still mildly confused. He peeked at her through his arms. "...Mind if I clarify?"
Helga shrugged.
"You..." He uncovered his face a bit more. "You're not mad at me?"
"No," Helga scoffed, much to his dismay, "Ah'm furious, but... Not fer the reasons ye think. Et wasn't yer fault." Oh, he knew it was too good to be true. But even so, the fact that she hadn't castrated him was impressive.
Hiccup was amazed at this new prospect, although he slightly disagreed with it. "Not my fault?" He repeated, dazed. "Wow, that's...ah, pretty amazing coming from you-No offense or anything!"
"Non taken," the older Viking stiffly replied.
Hiccup twiddled his fingers, unhappily relishing in the quiet awkwardness that followed suit to her impassive reply.
"Well, what're ye waitin' fer? Ah're ye goin' t' get her?" Helga suddenly asked, breaking him out of his dazed stupor.
"I-I..." Greatly surprised by her question, he somehow managed to retrieve his sharp tongue and laughed hesitantly, "With my Dad constantly reprimanding the mere idea of it? Sadly, and regretfully...no."
"What?" Helga barked, causing the fourteen-year-old to jump. "Since when have ye ever listened t' him?"
"..."
"Exactly," she smirked triumphantly. "Now, Ah may not be yer favorite person right now, but Ah know ye're fond of mah daughter, and ye'd go t' great lengths fer her."
"Oh boy," Hiccup thought. "Well, yes," he admitted aloud. "That-That's true."
"That, my dear boy, es what Ah'm angry about," she told him with narrowed eyes. "What's keeping ye? Yer small-"
"Why, thank you," Hiccup interrupted sarcastically with an obvious role of his emerald eyes.
"-and with that little advantage, ye can get to her," Helga continued, ignoring his careless sarcasm. She stopped and looked to her right as if to make sure nobody was there before turning back to Hiccup. "Ye can weave in and out of th' icebergs," she continued in a rushed whisper, "Beat the storms. Ye may have a tiny stature, but ye don't lack en the brain department."
"Oh," Hiccup genuinely perked. "Thank you!" Finally, someone who thought that his little rescue mission wasn't impossible! "You're right. I have to find her. Before..." He trailed off, his gaze drifting.
"Aye," Helga agreed quietly. "Ye must remember, lad. That may be yer son or daughter, but that's also mah grandchild and mah daughter out there. Ah want them both back just as much as ye do."
"Right..." Hiccup mumbled, fully revealing his face. "I...I have to try." Now that he had received the proper encouragement that he greatly needed, now he had the greater task of formulating a plan. How was he going to rescue Astrid? He wasn't sure, but he had to do it.
"When ye get t' Astrid, don't tell her that Ah thought she wouldn't survive on her own," the woman warned. "She can get very antsy when folks tell her things like that."
Hiccup chuckled half-heartedly. How much faith did this woman have in him to bring her daughter back? "Trust me, my lips are sealed," he promised wearily. "And I'll-I'll try my best to find her. Cross my heart."
Helga nodded in gratification and with a slight heave, lifted herself out of the snow. For a moment, she seemed torn from leaving him and remaining a bit longer. She licked her lips and huffed. "Just... Do what ye need t' do, Hiccup." The boy let out a slight gasp, having heard his name exiting her mouth for the first time.
"And..." She wrinkled her nose and squirmed, as if she wanted to voice her thoughts but not sure how to word them. "I'm...I'm sorry," she finally muttered, catching Hiccup completely off-guard. "For-For everything." And with that said and done, she turned on her heels and lumbered away through the woodlands to head back to the village, Hiccup staring at her retreating form, open-mouthed.
Whatever his father had done to that woman had certainly made an improvement. Since when did Helga ever apologize to people, let alone him? The act of humbleness touched the young male, and he sat quietly and thoughtfully for a moment before his thoughts returned to his rescue plan.
Helga was right about him. Since when has he ever listened to his father in time of crisis like this? And since when had his father always been right? Not lately, no. This was his wife that everyone was talking about. His wife who had been kidnapped and taken away from him along with his unborn child by the most fearsome of dragons in the Scandinavian Archipelago. Who was his father to decide whether he could or could not go save his wife? With sympathy, Hiccup did understand his father's reasoning. If the tables were turned, he certainly wouldn't want his son to be out there all alone on the freezing ocean. This was just something that he had to do. He didn't care if he returned home black and blue with bruises and cuts, nearly dead of hypothermia. As long as Astrid was safe, he didn't care what state he was in.
"Sorry, Dad," Hiccup apologized with a relished determination burning in his scrawny chest. Shivering from the cold, the young Viking pushed himself out of the white slush and started to hobble towards the edge of the village. "I'll be back...maybe."
...
"I can do this, I can do this, I can do this," Snotlout internally repeated to himself over and over again as he neared the small hill that proudly displayed the Chief's house perched upon it. "Yeah, I'm Snotlout Jorgenson," He thought haughtily. "I can do anything and spilling the beans is just the tip of the iceberg, suckas!"
But as he closed the distance from the large abode and himself, his bravado vanished, leaving him a complete mess. "Oh, who am I kidding?!" He whined dejectedly, clutching the twisted horns of his helmet. "I'm gonna spontaneously combust before I tell Hiccup anything!"
"Tell me what?"
Snotlout froze and visibly blanched, panic coursing through his veins. He whipped around to face his cousin, who's face still seemed weary, but with a newfound lively determination. "Hiccup!" He greeted a bit too enthusiastically, thrusting his arms out while forcing a big grin on his face. "Hi! Hey, wha-? I...didn't hear ya!"
"Oh, well. That's...nice," Hiccup smiled awkwardly, noticing the older Viking's nervous demeanor. "Are you feeling okay?" He asked in slight concern. He'd never seen Snotlout so tensed and skittish.
"What? Oh! Yeah!" The boy replied, trying to sound chill in his typical arrogant speech. "You know me. Just taking a little time to talk with my wittle baby cousin."
Hiccup rolled his eyes in annoyance. Well, at least he could count on his cousin to get on his nerves. "You're only a few months older than me. So if I'm a baby, you're a toddler." He paused and shook his head clear. "I'm sorry. You wanted to tell me something?"
The grin Snotlout's face adorned instantly evaporated. "Shyeah...But you seem to be in a hurry, sooooo maybe I'll tell you later."
Hiccup smiled sadly and shrugged. If the trip was just as dangerous as his father had described, then who knew if he would ever hear from Snotlout again? His master plan was to grab as many supplies as he could from his home, get to a boat from the docks and somehow quietly slip out without anyone noticing. "No, no. I have plenty of time," he lied in assurance, maneuvering his way around his cousin to near his home. "Wanna come inside?" He asked, jabbing a thumb toward the building.
To his surprise, Snotlout rapidly shook his head and retreated back a few steps. "Yeah, I can't," he declined.
Hiccup frowned in puzzlement. "Why not?"
Snotlout inhaled deeply before blurting, "Because if I tell you what I did while I'm in there, you'll never let me back out alive!" Hiccup blinked and then groaned.
"Snotlout..." He asked slowly in exasperation, massaging both temples with his frozen fingers, "What did you do this time?"
"Eh-What did I do...? This, heh, you're gonna love this," Snotlout laughed faintly. Oh, Odin help him. "What I did happened many months ago... Um, it-it has to do with, um, Astrid, Hiccup."
Hiccup's emerald eyes popped open from their half-lidded state and he drew back as if he had been slapped. "Astrid?" He asked quickly but flatly, trying to abort the panic creeping into his tone at the name of his missing partner. "What about Astrid?"
"Oh, Thor... Um, how do I say this? Ah..." Snotlout fumbled with his words in an attempt to sound articulate and averted his gaze from Hiccup's fearful one, rubbing his arm out of nervousness. "Ugh," he shivered, visibly paling. "I think I'm gonna throw up."
"Please don't. It'll freeze," Hiccup advised, biting his lip. What did Snotlout do to make him this terrified of confessing? This wary of entering his home with fear of never exiting? "Just tell me!"
"Okay! Okay! Don't rush me," Snotlout snapped, exhaling deeply. "IcandothisIcandothisIcandothisIcandothisIcandothisIcandothisIcandothisIcandothis-" After a quick prayer to the Gods, Snotlout closed his eyes and croaked, "Remember when you defeated the Red Death?"
Hiccup deadpanned. "Uh. Briefly. Little fuzzy, if you ask me," he joked nervously.
"Ack!" Snotlout smacked his forehead. "I-I meant afterwards. The celebration!" The celebration?
Hiccup squinted and thought for a moment. "Yeah, now THAT was a little fuzzy," he admitted, blushing a bit. "What about it? I mean, I wasn't out in the Great Hall with you guys; I was with Astrid...you know, in the Forge?"
"I know. I was there," Snotlout blurted.
The younger Viking did a double take, eyes widening to an impossible circumference. "Y-You were-" He shook his head, dazed, "You-You were there?" It took a good ten seconds for Snotlout to realize his mistake.
"Oh, nonononono," he cried out in disgust. "Not like that-Thor! I didn't mean-!" He took a deep breath, his cheeks burning. "The point is: you two drank an elixir that gotcha all...yeah-and the adults don't know where you guys got it."
"Honestly, Snotlout. I don't remember jack-squat about that night, nor do I really want to remember," Hiccup sighed. "Where we got that drink is a mystery, so where exactly are you going with this?"
"Okay. Okay. I'm getting there," Snotlout tensed for a moment, his nervousness, anxiety, and stress all at their peaks as the truth at last slipped past his lips. "Wanna know the crazy part?" He was trembling as he squeaked, "...I'm the one who gave you the elixir! Heh! 'C-'Cause I knew that whatever you guys would do in there would jeopardize your relationship! Heh...heh..." There. Finally, after months of keeping privy to a secret that he'd held for so long, it was finally off his chest. The relief was enormous, but even with this horrifying secret revealed, he still felt kind of clammy.
As to how Hiccup felt? Well, that depended on his reaction. And right then, he didn't look too happy. An almost impossibly serene expression overtook his face, his once tensed body going limp. At first, Snotlout was considering the craziness of Hiccup NOT being upset, but then his cousin's expression darkened.
"No... You didn't," Hiccup breathed with intones, brows furrowing. It was a statement, a warning.
Snotlout hung his head and inaudibly sighed in shame. "I...did," he confirmed, heart beating rapidly against his ribcage. "I did."
Hiccup drew back as if someone had socked his jaw, having felt taken advantage of, deceived, humiliated, despised, cheated, stabbed in the back, which blatantly did happen. Snotlout, his own cousin, was the cause of the entire conundrum that had affected his life.
"Why?" Hiccup whispered, a lump rising in his throat. But he wasn't going to cry in front of the traitor. The betrayer. Yes, that's what he was. It was bad enough when a stranger or foe betrayed him, but when it was someone he believed to be a close and trusted friend and a family member, was especially hurtful. "Why?" He asked again, a bit more forceful.
"I...I was jealous because you and Astrid looked all good to go with each other," Snotlout quietly muttered. "I liked her and you already had her. Yeah, I was jealous. Happy?" Snotlout's confession came as unsurprising, and perhaps that was why it was so painful. Hiccup knew that his cousin was always one to pull pranks and sometimes resorted to name calling, but he didn't expect this! Nor did he expect to be hurt so badly from someone he thought he could trust. So now, the fourteen-year-old was left in disbelief and unbelievable pain.
"Happy? You-You're-" Hiccup swallowed the lump and uncharacteristically snapped, "Do I look happy to you? You poisoned us-you poisoned her, because you were jealous?!" The person he thought he could trust and count on with dragons was no longer the person he believed the other boy to be. So he wondered what happened. What was going on through his cousin's mind all those months ago? What provoked him to do such a thing? Because giving them an elixir wasn't just a silly little mistake; it was a scheming move with a conniving motive. The fourteen-year-old felt his little half-sleeved fists tighten, even though he knew he would be no match for his cousin. "Do you have any idea how much pain you put her through?"
"I-No. I don't," Snotlout admitted truthfully, guilt once again overshadowing relief that never even seemed justified. "It's just-it was hard to watch you guys being all lovey-dovey around each other. And in the end I didn't want you guys to go any further."
Hiccup let out a sudden, hollow laugh, taking a step backward. "And you don't even seem sorry!" He gasped. "You betrayed her and you betrayed me and you never even said you were sorry..." Snotlout flinched at the word. Ah, betrayal. A destructive force that leaves many ruins in its path. Snotlout knew that his particular case would change everything. Relationships and all those affected would never be the same again. The damage he'd done was irreparable. Trust was lost. Wounds ran deep. Anger persisted. Hearts were broken. Self-protective walls were erected. Pain would be long and lasting. And he wondered… "You're unbelievable."
Would trust ever be restored between the two cousins? Would the wounds ever heal? Would the anger cease to exist? Could hearts be repaired? Would the self-protective walls ever come down? Would the pain ever go away? As of right now, all answers were leaning towards a negative field.
Hiccup raised a fist and stepped forward, almost as if he were going to strike the other boy, but he stopped and dropped his arm. What good would it do to harm Snotlout? He—He didn't even have time for this. He needed to grab the supplies, and leave at dawn. He gave an angry, disapproving shake of his head and stormed up the remainder of the hill. He then entered his home, slamming the door shut. The sheer amount of force he exerted caused the older Viking to flinch. The air about him grew unbearably cold once more and he swallowed.
"Took it hard, huh?" The voice asked pityingly.
"That's an understatement," Snotlout mumbled guiltily to the voice. "I don't think I've ever seen him this mad before-not that I blame him or anything." Crossing his thick arms, the boy turned around and slowly began to trudge away. "I don't feel better."
"Yeah, well, you did demolish whatever trust he had in you and didn't apologize."
Snotlout stopped short, mentally cursing himself for being so stupid. How could he have forgotten to apologize? "I-Oh, no. I'm such an idiot. No wonder he looks so messed up."
"You gotta understand. It's not just the fact that you didn't apologize, but for what you did in the first place. Keeping secrets... Not only does betrayal change relationships, it changes individuals. Cousin Hiccup might find it difficult to ever trust you. He might be more guarded and protective of himself for fear of being vulnerable again."
Snotlout shut his chocolate eyes, which were growing red, runny, and hot. "Stop," he choked out as he started to turn up a quick pace towards his own house. "I don't wanna hear it."
"You need to because Hiccup might learn to be more discerning and less naïve. His expectations of others may change. He may reflect on their own role and responsibility in the relationship and what went wrong."
"I get it, man!" Snotlout cried through harshly gritted teeth. He was covering his ear now. "Shut it!"
"He might try to understand, empathize, and forgive."
Snotlout opened his eyes and cautiously uncovered an ear.
"He may be motivated to grow from the experience and learn more about himself and others."
"Yeah, great," Snotlout mumbled sarcastically as he entered the darkened home, a hearty fire roaring in the hearth. But for him it was anything but warm and inviting, for it reminded him that Astrid would not enjoy such heat out there. "What are ya? A therapist? Psh."
"You need a therapist.
"What?!" Snotlout exclaimed, thoroughly offended. "I don't need a therapist! You need a therapist!"
"Sick burn. Anyway, I AM what one might call a therapist. Others...call me a conscience."
"Oh, that's what you are?" Snotlout questioned, wrinkling his nose as he sat by the fire, relishing in the warmth.
"Well, what on Berk did you think I was?"
The boy shivered. "I just assumed I was going nuts for keeping that secret for so long. And you were like the voice of Fishlegs, forever hunting me until I confessed."
"Ooh, creative," the voice teased sarcastically, causing Snotlout to grunt. "But on to more important things. What I am and what my origin hardly matters at a time like this. See, you need to know the true gravity of what Hiccup is feeling. You saw him. You saw his face. What pain he must feel."
"Ugh. Ham it up, will ya?"
"Shush. The pain of betrayal that he's feeling is very real and has a significant impact on the lives of all those who have experienced it. It is one of those painful life experiences that have the power to change people's hearts and lives forever. If he has ever been betrayed, he cannot change what has happened to him or make the pain go away."
Snotlout "hmphed" and rested his chin against his palm. "I get it," he muttered.
"Hold on. Don't go running to him right now to apologize. He needs time to grieve and feel angry. He needs time to be comforted and encouraged, yes, but by those who have not betrayed him. He also needs time to restore faith in himself and others. Betrayal hurts, and there isn't a fast and easy way to heal from its affects. It takes more than time. It takes a heart that will not harden. It takes a commitment to believe in others again. Relationships do change as a result of betrayal; but ultimately, how it changes him is what matters most."
"Good Thor, what have you been reading?" Snotlout joked to himself, grabbing a fire poker to tend to the flickering flames. "Alright, alright, alright. So, what do you think I should do?"
"That's your fate to decide," the voice reminded him. "My job is to be on the sidelines, screaming orders at you 24/7. It's a strenuous job. Especially from coaching someone who never listens."
"Hey, I take orders from nobody!" Snotlout snapped, jabbing a thumb at himself. "Except myself!"
"I AM you, dolt-face! Now get out there and apologize to Hiccup!"
"Wait, I thought you didn't want me to apologize to him yet," Snotlout said slowly, setting down the metallic fire poker. "To give him time to grieve or whatever."
"At a time like this, silly things like consistency are practically nonexistent," the voice dismissed. "Now get out there!"
The raven-haired boy groaned and tiredly rubbed his forehead, but reluctantly headed for the door. "Only if you promise to shut it for five seconds."
"Done."
...
Author's Note: *yaaaaawn* I have never been so tired in my lifezzzzz.
Anyways! *perks* I hope all you Fanrats have enjoyed this chapter, and I would love to hear more input from you guys in reviews. Keep leaving them, guys. I'll know how much I love them. And please be dears and fave this. I would LOVE a few more favorites and followers. ;D
Next chapter will be dwelling more to Astrid's point of view. And no, she has not perished yet. Yay!