Chapter 11 here :) Hicca still growing bigger :) Enjoy :)

Chapter 11

Inner Motion

The next few weeks went by quickly.

Hicca entered her second trimester, she continued to grow bigger, and the effects of pregnancy also grew stronger. Thankfully her husband and friends were there to help.

Ruffnut provided advice and emotional support, Fishlegs took care of Toothless while Hicca was busy, and Tuffnut altered some clothes for her, to accommodate her growing body. Snotlout help her while she was on Talon, and Astrid helped while Hicca was on Berk, they were asked by Dagur to watch over her and make sure she didn't strain herself.

Dagur took care of her when they were home, with the weather becoming colder he worked even harder to make sure she didn't work too hard. Then again, maybe he underestimated just how stubborn Hicca was.

Hicca would now wait until Dagur was asleep before continuing her paper work, she knew he was worried and Hicca couldn't blame him, but she made sure to stop as soon as she felt tired. Hicca liked to work at night, it was peaceful, and at least this way she could stop herself from touching Dagur in his sleep. Hicca hated the way her pregnancy hormones affected her, she would switch from happy to sad at the slightest thing. But right now, sitting by the fire late at night, she felt content.

That night she'd been looking through some papers, Toothless curled around her chair. The various papers included birth records, dragon records, and the list of assigned dragons for each family. She wanted to make sure the students at the academy all had accommodation ready, at the end of the year they would take their dragons home. Training dragons was only the first step for the students, learning to live with them was much different.

Then it happened.

This tiny twitch. At first Hicca thought Toothless had bumped the chair in his sleep, she looked down and watched the dragon snore softly, it was pretty late after all. But then she felt it again. This minute nudge, and a fluttering feeling.

Hicca frowned and looked down, the feeling came from inside of her.

"Oh gods..."

Toothless gurgled and looked up sleepily, but when he spotted Hicca holding her stomach, he grew more awake and warbled worriedly.

"It's moving..." Hicca said quietly.

Toothless perked up instantly with a surprised gurgle, he moved closer and pressed his large ear to Hicca's stomach. It was far too soon to feel anything from the outside, but Toothless could hear it, the tiny fluttering from inside her stomach. Toothless pulled back and started purring excitedly, Hicca just giggled and scratched him under the chin. Her baby was still growing inside of her, becoming larger and stronger, maybe her baby really would be healthier than her.

Hicca leaned back in her chair and stroked her 16 week bump, of course her baby would be strong, it was Dagur's child after all.

/LINE BREAK/

As the weeks went by, more symptoms started to emerge. At 17 weeks, her appetite started to grow, there were times when Dagur honestly thought she would eat raw fish given the chance. At 18 weeks, the back aches started, thankfully sitting with Toothless's warm scales against her back seemed to help.

Now, at 19 weeks, Hicca felt the movements in her stomach becoming stronger. She wanted Dagur to feel the nudges as soon as they were strong enough to be felt from the outside, but for now, Hicca could only feel them from the inside.

She was still working hard though. They were on Talon this week, and enjoying the slightly warmer climate as winter started to set in. Dagur was sorting out shipping arrangements at the docks, and Hicca was handling requests at the great hall. Creativity was still her specialty, she helped design new stables, feeding stations and even saddles for the dragons and their riders.

Around midday things had grown quieter, so Hicca decided to take a break. She walked outside and watched Toothless play with Spark and the younger dragons, he must be so bored with Hicca being grounded. Hicca smiled as she watched, but just as she was about to start walking down the long flight of stairs, another pregnancy effect hit.

A sudden spell of dizziness made her world spin, and her footing slipped on the stone steps.

Thank god for Snotlout.

Just as Hicca's foot slipped, her cousin came out of nowhere and caught her by her arm.

"You're still clumsy as ever," He grumbled with a slight smirk.

As per Dagur's orders, Snotlout was shadowing his cousin and making sure she didn't overwork herself, or in this case, tumble down the stone steps because of a dizzy spell.

"Thanks," Hicca said quietly. To be honest, she was a little embarrassed, she thought her clumsy teenage years were behind her.

Snotlout just nodded, he tugged on her arm and made sure she was steady on her feet again before letting her go. "So where are you off to?"

"Just needed some fresh air, I was going to check the construction near the arena."

"Well... come on then." Hicca looked at him in confusion, she was surprised to see Snotlout holding his arm out for her to lean on. "If we were still teens, I just let you fall flat on your face. But things are different now."

Hicca saw him glance at her stomach, then he turned away almost like he was embarrassed. "Just... hurry up and lean on me."

Hicca just smiled and took his arm as he started leading her down the stairs. Needless to say, she and Snotlout still had a... strange relationship.

They were just family when they were little, but as they grew, Snotlout would tease her a lot. But as Hicca and Dagur grew closer, he stopped teasing Hicca so much, and started listening to her instead. Dagur was the young chief of the Berserker tribe, and Hicca was the great dragon trainer, Snotlout would never admit it aloud, but he did look up to both of them.

He still found it weird though. He'd always thought that Hicca was weaker than him, that she could never be a good chief. But now...

He glanced over to Hicca again, and down at her baby bump, it was strange how she seemed so strong and yet at the same time... delicate.

"Stop staring at my stomach."

Snotlout flinched a little at Hicca's annoyed tone, "Sorry, it's just..."

Hicca kept looking forward, "I know, it's getting pretty noticeable."

"Yeah, and it's making Dagur worry. He asked both me and Astrid to keep an eye on you."

Hicca frowned slightly, "Since when do I need protecting?"

Snotlout rolled his eyes, "Gee... How about the fact that you have a baby growing inside of you, and you almost took a nose dive down a flight of stairs."

They finally reached the bottom of the flight of stairs, and Hicca disconnected herself from Snotlout. "Snotlout, I am not fragile."

"No... You are definitely not fragile," Snotlout mumbled. He frowned and crossed his arms over his broad chest, "But you are pregnant... and you need to be more careful, so like it or not, I'm going to look after you."

Hicca frowned at that. Then a small smile found its way to her face, "Are you actually worried about me?"

Snotlout look embarrassed again, "Well, you know... we're family. That little one inside of you is going to be my niece or nephew... sort of."

Hicca just chuckled, she started walking towards the arena and Snotlout followed, Toothless spotted them and started trailing close behind Hicca.

"I understand why everyone's worried about me, it's just a little annoying," Hicca grumbled as she gave Snotlout a quick apologetic look. "But it's not just the whole pregnancy thing... It's the fact that I'm carrying the heir to both tribes as well, this child is important to everyone. And it's not just my clumsiness that's an issue..." Hicca had a troubled look on her face.

"What do you mean?" Snotlout asked in confusion.

"Snotlout... Do you remember the day Dagur and I got married?" She asked.

"Of course."

"Well... that same day, my father received a message from Alvin."

"The Outcasts? I haven't heard of them in years," Snotlout was starting to get worried.

Hicca nodded, "He hates the union between our tribes, and with this baby on the way, Dagur's worried that Alvin might try something. He's worried about me overworking myself, and he's also worried that the baby and I are in danger."

Snotlouts eyes flickered between Hicca and her bump worriedly, "Do you think Alvin will try something?"

Hicca thought for a little while, "It's been a while since we last saw Alvin, but I doubt he's changed that much. He likes to be in control of a situation, and he likes to boast and play with people. If he does make a move, he'll most likely wait until I'm nearer my due date, when I'm at my weakest."

Snotlout nodded, "Are you scared?"

"A little... I don't want my child's life to be in danger before they'd even taken their first breathe." Hicca brought her hands over her stomach and stroked the growing bulge there.

She wanted more than anything to keep her baby safe, once the baby was born, she could fight and command the dragons to protect her family. But until then, she couldn't do much for herself, and had to rely of everyone else to protect her.

She hated it.

There had to be something she could do to protect herself and the baby. Hicca sighed, "The only thing we can do is wait and see."

Snotlout understood Hicca's frustration, she'd worked so hard, and grown so strong over the last few years. But with the baby using up most of her energy, it's as if the pregnancy was making her weak again. Of course Hicca would never see her baby as a weak point, she was already so deeply in love with the child.

Hicca and Snotlout were quiet for a while, they stopped walking when the construction site near the arena became visible, and Toothless just watched them curiously.

Then Snotlout spoke up, "Well, there is something you can do until the birth."

Hicca turned to him, "What's that?"

"Trust us."

Hicca looked at him with wide eyes.

"We're you're friends and family here, I know it sucks... but you can trust us to take care of you. Just hold on for a little longer, okay?" Snotlout smirked a little as he turned to her.

Hicca smiled a little and nodded. She and Snotlout really did have a strange relationship, but they had their moments.

/LINE BREAK/

Later that night, a small ship docked on the shore of Outcast Island. A Berserker Viking departed from the ship, and met with Savage.

"So?" The Outcast Viking asked.

"You can tell Alvin the rumours are true, the chief of the Hooligan tribe is already pretty far along in her pregnancy."

Alvin despised the union of the Hairy Hooligan and Berserker tribes, with the two clans joined, they were practically untouchable. Alvin could barely get close to either island now, and even when the two chiefs weren't there at the time, they always made sure their other home was well protected before moving.

Alvin had heard rumours about Hicca's pregnancy, so he'd sent someone to check. But it was possible that someone on Talon would notice a strange, lone figure wondering around, so he'd used a Berserker instead. Tarr was a much older Viking, he had also been very loyal to Oswald.

He actually agreed with Oswald all those years ago, he believed that Hicca wasn't good enough for the chief of the Berserker tribe. So he agreed to relay information for Alvin, he didn't know why the Outcast chief wanted to know about Hicca, but he didn't care.

"Good, Alvin will be happy to hear that," Salvage said turning away slightly.

"Whatever, I need to get back to Talon," Tarr said turning back to his boat.

But then a sharp pain shot through his back. He felt the heat of the blood on his skin and tried to turn to see what had happened, he saw a knife sticking out of him.

"Alvin's orders. No loose ends."

Savage pulled the knife out and plunged it into Tarr's back five more times. When he collapsed face down into his boat, Savaged pushed it out to sea. Then he turned and walked back to the village, he needed to report this to Alvin.

I feel this story needed a bit more drama, so keep reading to find out what happens next, and let me know what you all thought of this chapter :)