All I Ask of You

A/N: This one might require a bit of explanation… Some time ago I got the idea to retell Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera with the How to Train Your Dragon characters. It was an errant thought and I didn't really put a lot of effort into it, though I did decide that Hiccup would be Raoul, Astrid would be Christine, Snotlout would be Erik (the Phantom – remember, I'd be using the book as a source, not the musical), Stoick would be Philippe, and Toothless would be the Persian. But I never got any farther than that and ultimately decided against trying it. However, the idea still nagged at me, so I compromised: I borrowed one of the songs from the musical, set up a scene with Astrid and Hiccup – as their Phantom characters – and let them play it out. I chose the Apollo's Lyre scene from the novel because it's pretty much the pivotal point of the story, and the corresponding song from the musical, "All I Ask of You," because it's beautiful and fitting for the scene I was creating. Besides, I've been meaning to write a story in which Hiccup gets to offer protection to Astrid instead of the other way around, and this was a perfect outlet. This story is the end result. I hope you enjoy it!

"All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera © The Really Useful Group

Silence reigned over the little cove in the woods. The late afternoon sun shone down upon the empty grotto, reflecting off the surface of the lake in its center. There was no movement of any kind. There were no animals scurrying about, no birds flitting from tree to tree, not even a breath of wind stirring the leaves. It was utterly peaceful.

That peace was shattered when a large black dragon swooped in from the sky and landed gracefully on the banks of the lake. The dragon itself didn't make a sound, but the two humans it was carrying were discussing something in loud, emotion-strained voices.

"I told you, Hiccup, it's nothing!" said the blond-haired girl as she swiftly dismounted from the dragon's back. "You're being ridiculous!"

"Am I?" Hiccup retorted, also sliding out of the saddle, his prosthetic leg making a soft click as it met the ground. "You disappear for days and when you show up again you pretend I don't exist. You don't talk to me, don't answer me, don't even look at me for weeks. And you expect me to believe that you're fine and nothing's changed? I'm not an idiot, Astrid. I can tell something's wrong. But I can't help you unless you fill me in."

"I don't need your help!" Astrid snapped, looking sharply back at him. "I don't need anyone's help!"

Hiccup sighed and shook his head. "Astrid look, I know you're strong. I know you can kick every butt on Berk without breaking a sweat. I know you're independent and fierce and…" He floundered for a moment, failing to come up with the right adjectives. Then he huffed and continued, "I know you're putting up a front. You're trying to convince me you're not afraid and it's not working."

At this Astrid whipped around and snarled, "Afraid?! I am not afraid, Hiccup! I'm not a coward!"

"Being afraid doesn't make you a coward," Hiccup countered, stepping forward. His voice was soft and soothing, and it was this perhaps that stopped Astrid from storming away from him. "Being afraid makes you human. And despite your best attempts to make everyone believe that you're more than human, I know better." He reached out and cautiously put a hand on Astrid's shoulder. She stiffened but didn't draw away. "You're strong, Astrid, but even the strongest people can only take so much before they crumble. That's why people communicate. Then other people can help you when you need it."

Astrid blinked and looked away, refusing to meet his eyes as she mumbled, "I don't need help."

She couldn't even convince herself, let alone Hiccup. He quirked one eyebrow and replied, "Yes you do. And there's no shame in admitting it."

Astrid looked sharply back up at Hiccup and seemed to be about to speak, but no sound came out of her mouth. She closed her jaw again and swallowed.

Hiccup pressed gently, "Open up to me, Astrid. Let me help you. Please."

Astrid hesitated. She gazed into Hiccup's bright green eyes, those sweet, gentle eyes that were filled with compassion and concern. And she broke. She fell into his arms and started sobbing. "I'm scared, Hiccup…so…so scared…" she gasped.

Hiccup, a little startled, wrapped his arms securely around her and asked, "What's going on, Astrid? What are you scared of?"

Astrid sniffed. "S-Snotlout."

Hiccup frowned. Snotlout? Of all the people on Berk, he was the last person he figured Astrid would be afraid of. Except perhaps himself. "Why? What's he done?"

Astrid drew back and extricated herself from his arms, turning to look at the lake. By the glassy look of her eyes, Hiccup figured she wasn't really seeing it. "Ever since he got burned, he's been…different," she began haltingly.

Hiccup nodded. It was true. A few months ago, Snotlout's dragon Hookfang had accidentally burned Snotlout's face. It wasn't like Snotlout hadn't been burned before, but up till then the wounds had been merely superficial, easily healed. This time, though, the fire had severely disfigured the burly young Viking's face. With the scar tissue and shiny burns, Snotlout was all but unrecognizable.

Naturally he'd been acting a little differently since the accident. He rarely ventured outdoors anymore, and when he did he wore a crude wooden mask to conceal his disfigurement. His once boastful and swaggering demeanor was replaced with sullen silence and hunched shoulders. He didn't come to training sessions at the Academy anymore, and he hadn't been heard to speak at all ever since he discovered the damage Hookfang's fire had caused. Hiccup pitied his cousin. He may have been vain and irritating, but no one deserved something like that.

Still, that didn't explain why Astrid would be afraid of him. Did she perhaps catch sight of his face? Hiccup had, and the sight had given him nightmares, but Astrid didn't strike him as the time to be so affected by someone else's physical injury. So he asked, "What do you mean?"

Astrid sighed, apparently trying to decide how much to tell. Eventually she said, "You know how he was always flirting with me before the accident?"

Hiccup nodded. He did. It had been more than a little irritating to watch his cousin persist in trying to steal his girlfriend.

"Well…" Astrid hesitated. "A couple of weeks ago, he pulled me aside and told me he wanted to talk to me. He was wearing his mask at the time. He said he wanted to show me his home."

"You mean his parents' basement?" Hiccup asked, frowning. Snotlout had been proud to move into his parents' basement and had boasted nonstop about it for weeks. Hiccup had never really understood what was so special about it.

"No," Astrid replied, shaking her head. "Apparently he moved out of his parents' house after the accident. He now lives in the caves under Berk. He's set up quite a nice living space down there, actually. It was quite comfortable."

"Wait, you went there with him?" Hiccup asked, stunned.

Astrid nodded. "I was stupid, I know. But I felt so sorry for him that I agreed. He led me down there through one of the tunnels. He was…he was a perfect gentleman."

Hiccup raised his eyebrows. Snotlout? A perfect gentleman?

"Yeah, I know," Astrid laughed weakly. "Surprised me too. He insisted I ride on Hookfang's back for most of the trip, until we came up to an underground lake."

"There's a lake down there?" Hiccup interrupted, and Astrid could tell that, despite everything, he was wondering how they'd missed that in their explorations.

"Yes," Astrid confirmed. "It wasn't very big, but there was a boat on the shore. Snotlout helped me off Hookfang and into the boat and rowed across to the other side, where he'd set up his lair. He told me…he told me that what was his was mine, that I was to make myself at home. At the time I thought he was just being nice, but now that I think back on it I think he was telling me he wanted me to stay there indefinitely." She shuddered. "I made myself comfortable on a bench and asked if he wasn't going to take off his mask. He said that he wouldn't. 'No one will ever see Snotlout's face,' were his exact words. I thought it was strange but didn't really give it much thought at the time."

She frowned for a moment. "I think I must have fallen asleep at some point. At any rate, I closed my eyes and when I opened them again he had moved. He was no longer sitting across from me but was standing near the edge of the lake. I joined him and asked what he was thinking about. 'I'm thinking about you,' he said. 'I'm thinking about you and me and what might have been.'" Astrid wrapped her arms around herself. "At the time I thought he was returning to his normal flirty self, and I…I thought I'd respond the way I always did to his advances. I…I was going to punch his shoulder but…then I thought it would be better if I removed his mask, just to spite him."

She raised her hands in front of her, as if Snotlout was standing there with them. "I reached out and grabbed the mask in my hands and yanked it away. And…and…" She turned back to Hiccup and buried her face in his shoulder. "Oh gods, Hiccup! That face…that face…!"

"I know," Hiccup soothed. "It's not a pretty sight."

Astrid shivered and Hiccup tightened his hold slightly. "He was furious. He…he howled like a wounded animal. I was frightened and retreated back, but I tripped over a chair and fell. He…he towered over me, this monster out of my worst nightmares. He put his face up close to mine and yelled, 'You wanted to see?! Well go on, then, look! Look! Feast your eyes, glut your soul on my hideous face! I told you not to touch my mask but oh no, you just had to take a peek! Well if you're so curious, then go on and look!'

"I tried to get away from him and refused to look at his face, but he grabbed my hands and put them to his cheeks. 'Do you think that this is another mask?' he asked. 'Well go on, try to remove it, I dare you! Then you'll see, then you'll know that this is no mask! This is my face, my hideous face, the face I have to live with for the rest of my life!' And he dug my fingers into his skin, drawing blood…"

Hiccup's stomach turned. "Oh gods, Astrid…" he moaned quietly.

"He released me then and turned away, covering his face with his hands. 'Now you've seen me,' he said. 'Now you've seen my face, and once a woman sees Snotlout's face she belongs to me forever! You can never leave this place, Astrid. If you hadn't seen my face you could have left because there was a chance you'd come back to see me again. But now that you've seen…you would never return…so you can never leave…'"

Astrid broke off and looked around. "Did you hear that?"

Hiccup scanned the cove with his eyes. There was nothing out of place. "No, I didn't hear anything."

Astrid sighed. "I hear him everywhere now. Everywhere I go, everywhere I turn he's there…"

"How did you escape?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid sighed. "I placated him. I promised him that I would return. To prove myself, I destroyed his mask and lived with him for a couple of days. I did my best to show him that I wasn't afraid of him, and after a while he let me go under the condition that I'd return."

"And you did," Hiccup said, remembering the night of the Midsummer's Feast. Astrid had been there and he'd tried to talk to her, but she'd deflected all his questions, finally exclaiming, "Hiccup, for both our sakes, please don't ask me anything!" and hurrying off. He'd followed her as far as Bjorn's yak farm before losing sight of her. At the time he'd been bewildered at her disappearance, but now it made sense: the yak farm was home to one of the tunnels that led to the caverns beneath Berk.

Astrid nodded. "I wanted to tell you then, Hiccup, but Snotlout made me swear not to breathe a word of it. He threatened you. He said that…if I wanted to keep you safe I was to pretend you meant nothing to me. If he got wind that we were still together, he would come after you. That's why I haven't spoken to you for so long. I was trying to protect you, Hiccup!" Her voice was shaking now. She sounded on the verge of tears. "I've tried so hard to pretend everything's all right and to keep Snotlout calm but I just can't do it anymore! I can't…I can't…"

Hiccup shushed her and held her close, rocking her gently back and forth. "It's all right, Astrid," he murmured. "It's all right. We'll figure something out."

"What?" Astrid demanded. "What can we do? He's insane, Hiccup! I…I've never been afraid of Snotlout before, but…but now I don't doubt that he will hurt us if he finds out that I've talked to you again. Hiccup…" She drew back and looked him in the eye. "He will kill us both. He swore he would and I don't doubt him."

Hiccup felt his heart miss a beat but he merely pulled her back into his embrace. She sobbed and sniffed and wrapped her arms around him. In that moment she never wanted to let go.

Then, to her utter surprise, Hiccup started to sing softly.

"No more talk of darkness

Forget these wide-eyed fears

I'm here, nothing can harm you

My words will warm and calm you"

Astrid gazed up at him. She'd never heard Hiccup sing before. He had a nice singing voice. It somehow lost that nasally edge it had when he spoke, allowing a rather rich tenor to flow from him. He smiled down at her as she watched him, allowing the song to enter her, fill her, warm her.

"Let me be your freedom

Let daylight dry your tears

I'm here, with you, beside you

To guard you and to guide you"

He took a breath, but before he could continue, Astrid opened her mouth and started singing too. His eyes widened comically but a smile soon spread across his face. Her voice was a beautiful soprano, and it reverberated slightly in the late afternoon silence around them.

"Say you love me every waking moment

Turn my head with talk of summertime

Say you need me with you now and always

Promise me that all you say is true

That's all I ask of you"

Hiccup nodded with each of her requests and took her hands in his as he sang the next verse.

"Let me be your shelter

Let me be your light

You're safe, no one will find you

Your fears are far behind you"

Oh how Astrid hoped and wished he was right. She turned and looked across the cove, her eyes lingering a moment on the shimmering waters of the lake. It reminded her of the lake in the caverns, and she shuddered before admitting:

"All I want is freedom

A world with no more night

And you, always beside me

To hold me and to hide me"

She turned back to Hiccup as he picked up the song, his voice rising in pitch:

"Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime

Let me lead you from your solitude

Say you need me with you here, beside you

Anywhere you go, let me go too

Astrid, that's all I ask of you"

Astrid beamed up at him and started singing before he'd finished the last line:

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime

Say the word and I will follow you"

Hiccup joined her, their voices harmonizing beautifully.

"Share each day with me, each night, each morning"

Her voice quieting slightly, as if afraid what he might say in reply, Astrid made one more request:

"Say you love me"

She need not have worried. Hiccup beamed and replied:

"You know I do"

Astrid smiled in relief as Hiccup reached up to brush her cheek with his fingers. Then they sang together:

"Love me, that's all I ask of you"

For a moment they stood motionless. Then Hiccup leaned forward, tilting his head slightly, his lips parting. Astrid wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him closer and forcing their mouths together. They kissed passionately, holding each other, closing their eyes and losing themselves in their love for each other. Hiccup's heart swelled so much he thought it would burst. Astrid felt joy rising within her, and in that one moment she wasn't the least bit worried about Snotlout.

They broke apart after a moment or two and sang the last two lines of the song together:

"Anywhere you go, let me go too

Love me, that's all I ask of you"

The song finished, they leaned in for another kiss, this one no less passionate than the last. Neither of them knew how long it was before they drew back nor did they remember who ended the kiss, but they smiled at each other for several minutes afterward, content to simply stand in their embrace, not saying a word.

It was Toothless who finally spurred them into motion. He roared impatiently from his spot a few yards away, where he'd been watching and listening to their exchange in bemusement. But now it was time to break his silence. The sun was setting! It was time for his and Hiccup's nightly flight around the island. His patience could only take so much.

Hiccup laughed. "Way to kill the mood, Toothless," he said, and Astrid giggled a little breathlessly. Then Hiccup motioned toward the dragon. "What do you say? Join us on our flight?"

Astrid nodded, still smiling, and followed Hiccup over to where Toothless stood, his tail wagging excitedly. They mounted, and no sooner had Hiccup's metal leg fastened itself in the stirrup that the dragon bounded into the air. Hiccup and Astrid's cries of joy echoed in the silence they left behind in the cove.

Neither of them saw the dark shape watching from the tree line at the edge of the grotto, the dark shape whose face was hidden beneath the shadows of his cloak.