Chapter 21

The Wedding

Author's Note:

I was very excited to write this chapter, and my intention was to portray a Viking wedding as realistically as possible. I apologize in advance if I got anything wrong.

The summer months were drawing to a close on Berk. The harvest time would soon begin and then another winter would come. Night had fallen and the Vikings were in Mead Hall having a meeting, led primarily by Mildew. Gobber would have liked to clobber the man and tell him to shut up, but he had to be as impartial as he could and let Mildew state his opinions, lest he be accused of favoritism.

The dragons present were much less tolerant and hissed at his words.

"It's been weeks since the Chief left!" Mildew yelled in his gnarly cankerous voice, "Weeks! They could all be dead fer all we know!"

"It's so touching you care, Mildew!" someone shouted.

"Oh be-leave me, ah care very much if 'Iccup lives or dies! An' 'ere we are, an' winter will be on us in a few months! We need ta prepare! An' where's our Chief? Where's our 'eir? Oo's gonna control them dragons now? Oo's gonna run things if they don't come back? They've been gone fer far too long now! An' fer what? Some favor to some tribe run by a woman!" A number of women in the hall growled in offense at this.

"I wouldn't call it a waste of time!" One shouted, "And keep your offensive comments to yourself, Mildew, they might hear you!" The Defenders had arrived about a week after the Chief had left, and spent all their time either with their recovering Queen or on their ship. While both sides had maintained a healthy respect and courtesy for the other, both sides had also kept their distance.

Gobber spoke up. "An' our law is very clear: if anythin' 'appens ta the Chief's entire family so they can't rool, the Gods will select a new Chief and send the message through the Elder." Gothi was in her hut looking after Mala and other patients.

"Certainly they wouldn't choose you, old grumpy pants!" A dragon laughed.

"An' 'ow are we gonna know if anythin' 'appened ta the Chief and 'is useless 'eir?" Mildew asked angrily.

"He's NOT useless!" all the dragons roared.

"How dare you call him that!"

"He saved us all from Drago! He's helped rebuild Berk in ways none of us would have dreamed of!"

"He forgave us after all we did to him!"

"He ended a three century war! And introduced me to my Gronkle Malady and helped show me how to ride her!"

"An' 'e's been neglectin' Berk fer a while!" Mildew shouted back.

"He's got a point," One brave soul said. He got a lot of jeers for his support. "Hear me out! The fact is Hiccup's been gone a long time, along with the other riders, and now the Chief and the 'A' Team have been gone for some time too! Doesn't anybody else think that maybe this shouldn't be happening? That maybe our Chief and future-Chief have acted a little irresponsibly?"

Some conceded the wisdom in that, but most shrugged and said "it won't happen again,"

"An' wot are we gonna do fer the comin' winter?" Mildew yelled, "Wid-out someone ta control them beasts they'll run rampant and take our food! Maybe the Chief an' eir' 'ave left us ta die! What're we gonna do?"

"How about stop complaining and start stocking up?"

Everyone startled. Standing in the doorway was Hiccup.

He looked quite tired and dirty, but excited. Behind him were his friends and family, human and dragon. They were looking into the hall to better see what was going on.

Mildew was struck speechless, but the expression on his face said quite clearly "Ohhhhh dear,"

"Hello Berk. Do please go on, Mildew. I'm sure we'd all love to hear more about how we've left you all to die." Hiccup smirked. People laughed. "Well, everyone, we're back at last, and we haven't returned empty handed either."

Now the travelers made their way into the hall and several of them carried in chests, some of which were filled with gold and silver.

"Where on earth—" someone exclaimed.

"Presents from our guests, the Dragon Hunters of the Archipelago," Snotlout announced happily. "We offered to watch their goods for them while they had their hands full with being captives!"

Indeed they had. After they left the desert they had located the ships the Hunters had used and plundered them.

Stoick came in right behind them, beaming at his villagers, who let out a loud cheer. Behind him came Valka, Skullcrusher, and Cloudjumper. One by one the Riders and their dragons came in, all as happy as ever. The only person absent was Heather. She was with Queen Mala in Gothi's hut. Windshear had stayed with the dragons at Heather's suggestion.

The newly returned at once began mingling with their friends and family members. An impromptu party was in the making. Old Mildew and his complaints were quickly forgotten.

"And look at these," After hugging Gobber tightly, Hiccup showed him some of the weapons he had picked up. "Say what you will about those hunters, but their weapons are first class."

"Fine pieces," Gobber acknowledged, "Ah think we could replicate 'em. Oh, an' by the way, 'Iccup, ah've got a new apprentice!"

Hiccup was less than thrilled. "Oh?"

"Aye! Spittle, c'mere!" A young boy came over and looked at Hiccup with a mixture of awe and nervousness. "Spittle, ah think ya know 'Iccup—'Iccup, meet me new apprentice, Spittle Alfsson,"

The boy nodded stiffly and Hiccup responded in kind. Spittle quickly went back to his father.

"Spittle," Hiccup mumbled, "The Egyptians had a name meaning 'Living Image of Amun,' the Romans, 'Venerable,' the Spanish, 'Sweet,' and we name kids after spit, snot, and hiccups. With a mindset like this, no wonder it took us 3 centuries to end a war."

"And you name your dragons after dental conditions!" Toothless grinned.

Hiccup went over to join Astrid, who was with her mother. "It's great to be home," Astrid smiled.

"Yep. Our enemies are locked up, your hearing is almost healed, my leg has been mended somewhat," he had used Meatlug and Stormfly to improvise a forge to make his leg usable again, similar to when he had built his very first prosthetic, "we've got the Eye safe and sound, brought back a bit of money, found my long lost mother, and Mala seemed to be recovering when we visited her. All things considered, I'd say this was a successful trip!"

"I shudder to think how dirty the house will be!" Greta moaned.

Hiccup had only sat just down when he had to stand up again. He had spotted Silent Sven rolling in a barrel of mead. "Hold it, Sven! No mead tonight! We've gotta save it!"

There was a huge uproar. Hiccup could hardly have said anything more unpopular. And the question everybody had for him was "Save it for what?"

Hiccup grinned and put his hands on Astrid's shoulders. "For our wedding of course!"

Later that night Valka was in the main room of the Haddock house. The last time she was in there she had really only had time to observe Hiccup's room. She was pleased to observe the dragon trophies had all been removed.

Stoick came in looking excited. Hiccup was right behind him. "Well, we've arranged for a date and begun the formalities with Greta Hofferson! Letters are going out tomorrow. Ah, it's good to be home!" he threw himself into his chair and rubbed the arms fondly. Hiccup made his way upstairs with his travel bag.

Stoick looked at his wife uncertainly. "Um…the bed's still the same, you know, so if you need a place to…you know, sleep at night…because you'll need one since you're staying and it would be perfectly alright if you should sleep with your husband, and—"

"Stoick, you're rambling," Valka chuckled. "And of course I'll sleep here. I imagine it'll be the best bed I've had in years."

Suddenly they heard a loud screech from upstairs. "AUGH! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ROOM?"

Stoick looked at Valka. "Did we put his drawings and maps away before we left to find him?"

"Um…no? Oh bother."

"LEAVE IT TO PARENTS TO MAKE A MESS AND FORGET TO CLEAN IT UP!" Hiccup yelled down at them. "Sheesh, it's gonna take me days to get this reorganized!"

"Welcome home, son!" Stoick yelled back.

"All right everyone, pay up," Fishlegs ordered.

Snotlout and the Twins reluctantly handed him some coins. "They aren't married yet!" Snotlout protested, "There's still a chance one of them will chicken out!"

Tuffnut hit him on the head. "Never use that expression again! But at the same time, he's right. You only win the bet once they're married, Fish!"

"Do you really think Hiccup or Astrid is gonna back out of this now?" Fishlegs asked smugly, "face it, I win!"

"We didn't think he had a chance back in those days!" Ruffnut insisted, "We were 15 years old! It's not fair! And we didn't think you'd remember it nearly 10 years later!"

Not long after an infamous Nadder training day, where Hiccup and Astrid had been teased about 'love on the battlefield', the other four trainees had placed bets on whether or not they would get married. Fishlegs had been the only one to have faith in Hiccup's courtship abilities. And now, though the wedding had yet to take place, he wanted his money.

Everybody would have liked to have had the wedding at once, but the preparations had been enormous. A large scale wedding was customary, but as this was the marriage of Berk's heir, it was also a major diplomatic event. The leading members from virtually every Viking tribe in the Archipelago had been invited to attend, and while most had dragons of their own, they were compelled to come by ship, as a ship could also serve as lodgings once they reached Berk, at least for the lower ranking Vikings. There simply was not enough room on the island for so many to stay comfortably, and adding dragons to the mix would push space and supplies past the limit. Thankfully it was nearing the time of harvest, so there was ample food. Dragons and fisherman were out at sea day and night filling nets, and the mead makers were working overtime to fill more barrels than the carpenters initially had available.

One by one, guests arrived. The first to come were the Bog Burglars, Berk's closest and best ally. They both aided the preparations and hindered them, with their penchant for stealing things. Camicazi especially seemed to be having the time of her life. Berk was being decked out with all kinds of floral decorations, and she would help put some up, pick someone's pocket, run around for a few minutes before returning the contents, run over to find a friend and talk with them for an hour, and start over.

Little was seen of Astrid or Hiccup during this time, for both were largely confined to their homes. When Stoick had the time, which was very seldom, he would talk to Hiccup about his upcoming duties as a husband, father, and Chief. These conversations seldom lasted long, for some new problem would come to Stoick's attention and he would be out the door again, often not returning for hours. He and Valka were throwing themselves entirely into the preparations, and it was rare for either of them to be in the house for longer than an hour at a time. And even when they were in the house, they could still discuss every aspect of the wedding, down to the colors of Hiccup's bootlaces.

It was essentially the same situation for Astrid. She stayed at home and every now and then her mother would give her lectures on motherhood and how to be a Chief's wife. For Hiccup, the lectures had been mostly a waste of time; he believed and hoped he would make a good husband and he did not care too much about what tradition said or what something symbolized. As for Astrid, she followed her mother's every word carefully. She was going to prove to everybody that she was the perfect choice for Hiccup's bride and she was going to set new standards for a wife's proper conduct. On top of that, she honored Viking tradition much more than Hiccup did, so when she had gone to the bath-house the night before for the ritual washing and purification, she treated it with as much respect as a solemn Rite of Passage was due. When Hiccup took his bath, a while later of course, he took it solemnly but carried an air as if to say 'let's get this over with'. For him, Viking traditions were respected but could be broken when the situation required it. For Astrid, at least in this case, Viking traditions were to be followed without question.

These opinions had also been demonstrated with their confinement to their homes. Astrid stayed put without complaining. Stormfly accepted the situation as inevitable but temporary, and went flying without a rider. Toothless and Hiccup, on the other hand, nearly went crazy being cooped up inside all the time, and after a few days they broke out and made it a habit of flying every sunrise and sunset. When someone complained that this disrespected traditions, Hiccup retorted that Astrid marrying a lunatic would be even more disrespectful and he would become one if he did not go flying.

Other tribes had arrived soon after the Bog Burglars. Among others came the Owl Guts, the Lava Louts, the Murderous tribe, the Hysterical tribe, the Berserkers, and the Meatheads. Some of these tribes were only invited for diplomatic reasons; Hiccup certainly had no interest in seeing Mogadon the Meathead, Madguts the Murderous, or the Berserkers and their new Chief Scolder the Boulder, and he knew they did not want to see him, but they would have felt snubbed if their tribes had not been invited. Hiccup knew both men had been offered positions with Drago Bludvist, and might have joined up had Bludvist been more successful, and he knew that they only had accepted dragons to match the military strength of other tribes.

Mogadon had also brought his son Thuggory. Since Hiccup was confined to his room, Snotlout was given the task of keeping Thuggory entertained. Camicazi had volunteered for the job, but Thuggory had quickly agreed to go with Snotlout.

"That girl's always trying to embarrass me!" he muttered to Snotlout, "I swear, she's feistier than a dragon and as dangerous as the Scourge of Odin!"

"And very beautiful!" Snotlout added brightly.

"No argument there," Thuggory grinned. They entered Snotlout's house. It was very messy but neither of them minded. "So, you live alone now?"

"Just me and Hookfang, yeah," The Nightmare was sleeping in the other half of the room.

Thuggorgy flopped himself down into a chair. "No other visitors? No ladies slipping in for the night?"

"No, but Gustav Larsen and some other guys are coming by tonight. We're having a party,"

"For the wedding? Is Hiccup coming?"

"Nope." The party was going to be in the mold of a funeral wake, to lament the loss of Astrid as an eligible maiden. It had been Gustav's idea. And it was a most pitiful event. Except for Thuggory, who watched with amusement, everyone present bawled like little babies as they repeatedly toasted Astrid and dwelt on the romantic lives she would never have with any them.

"Oh, Astrid, how could she do this to us?" Gustav moaned drunkenly. The others nodded sadly. "Poor Astrid. Gone to marry Hiccup!"

"A slave for life to—hic!—to the mistake of a runt!"

"WAHHHH!"

"Forced to live with him instead of me!"

"It's not fair! I mean, what has he got that we ain't got?" Snotlout half yelled, half slobbered.

"A metal leg?"

"Metal legs aren't everything! And even if they were, what are we supposed to do about it?"

Thuggory held up an axe. Everyone around him blanched at the implication.

"What else has he got that we ain't got?"

The Twins were not present at this little party, because they had their own visitor. Their cousin Gruffnut had arrived late that day, and Tuffnut was busily engaged in showing him around.

"Think of all the explosions you guys could pull off now that I'm here!" he grinned. His voice sounded part human and part frog.

"Tell me about it!" Tuffnut said dreamily, "But those darn chiefs of ours only let us blow stuff up for special events!"

"Does this count as a special event?"

"You'd better believe it!" They 'high-fived' each other. "It's great to see you again, coz! It's been—how long?"

"Who cares?" Gruffnut asked idly, "Life's too short to worry about dates,"

"So what have you been doing all this time, anyway?"

Gruffnut's parents had been killed in dragon raids a long time ago. Shortly afterwards Gruffnut had run away to sea. Ever since, his visits to Berk had been highly infrequent, to the point where most people except Tuffnut seldom thought about him. And while Tuffnut practically worshiped his adventurous cousin, he seldom brought him up anymore because he had found that nobody else was interested. Ruffnut in particular had gotten sick of hearing about Gruffnut and had bashed her brother's head enough times for him to take the hint.

"Oh, I've retired from the travels for a little bit. Gave all my money away to the poor folks, so I've been staying at a Tavern and earning a bit jousting. Or at least I did until I hurt my leg in the last tournament." With those words he began limping.

"THAT IS SO AWESOME! I must get Hiccup to install dragon jousting here!"

"Since when does Hiccup the Fishbone have any say in Berk's entertainment?"

"He's the Chief's son and the authority on Dragons," Tuffnut replied simply.

Gruffnut snorted. "Authority on dragons? Yeah, right."

"Oh, he's not what he used to be, cousin! He's the Dragon King!"

Gruffnut nearly fell over from laughing too hard. "Hiccup the Fishbone? The guy who couldn't walk two steps without tripping over his own feet? Him? He's the Dragon King? And I suppose Fat Old Fishy is the Dragon Chamberlain and Snotty's the Dragon Court Jester!"

"You always did have a way with words, Gruff,"

"Yes he did!" Ruffnut growled. She was as unhappy to see her cousin as her brother was to see him. "And I suggest, Gruffnut, you show a bit more respect now, or else Hiccup the 'Fishbone' might just lock you up!"

"I can escape from anything," Gruffnut said smugly. "I've probably broken out of a dozen prisons so far."

"Oh yeah? How? Keep a picklock in your fake leg, do you?" Ruffnut jeered.

"Well now that you mention it—I don't have a fake leg,"

"No, but if you keep it up, you might need one. But since this week is about Hiccup and Astrid, I won't upstage them with anything exciting or dangerous." And she walked away.

"Tough old goat, our Ruffnut, isn't she?"

"You have no idea," Tuffnut said.

Frīge's Day came at long last. Hiccup had been up long before sunrise and had spent the time pacing back and forth, to the annoyance of Toothless.

"Will you cut that out? Go back to sleep!" The dragon grumbled as he rolled over on his slab.

"How can I sleep now?" Hiccup asked in an unnaturally high voice, "What if it rains? What if someone attacks us? What if I trip and make a fool of myself, or break a leg or something? I can just see the Gods up there thinking 'what kind of fun can we have with our friend Hiccup today?'"

"This is why I'm glad I don't believe in gods," Toothless muttered. "Look, you're gonna be fine! You won't trip and I won't let you get attacked, and I don't smell any rain coming, so relax! It'll be great!"

Hiccup went back to pacing. "Man, I can't believe I'm about to do this, Bud! Just think—if someone had told me a year ago I'd be marrying Astrid I'd have called them crazy! And yet it's happening! It's happening!"

"I know it is. I've only heard it about 20 times a day for the past two weeks or so." Toothless said, half ruefully and half jokingly. The truth was he was delighted to see his human so happy and excited.

Hiccup looked down at his hands as if he had never looked over them before. "I tell you Bud, I don't know how much more excited I can get now! I wish you could get the chance to experience what I'm feeling, you know?"

"Here we go again." Toothless grumbled. "You know as well as I do we've never seen another Night Fury, let alone a female."

"Have you ever considered maybe mating with a different species? It's not unheard of, you know,"

"Yes I have, and the mere thought of it disgusts me more than eels. No, Brother, if I don't mate with a Night Fury I won't mate with anyone."

"Well, maybe we'll find them on our next trip."

"You've said that many times." Toothless sighed. "Maybe I really am the last of my kind. Wait a minute—next trip?"

"Sure! We've got the Dragon Eye and all the lenses, haven't we? We can use it to find the Isle of Night and go take a look for ourselves! Not right now, probably not until after Thawfest, though it'll depend on where this place is."

"And your father's gonna allow that? And Mala will let us use the Eye?"

"We'll wait until they're in very good moods before we ask, of course,"

Toothless thought a moment and then shook his head. "Well, worry about it later, and don't think about Night Furies today. Today is for you and your mate, and she won't like it if you show up looking like a nervous wreck. So settle down and get some sleep!"

Hiccup sat down next to his dragon and stopped talking. He listened to the sounds of the night outside and was just about to drop off, when his father came in.

"Sunrise, son. Time to get goin'"

Hiccup had wanted the wedding to take place at Raven Cove but there was not enough room. A grove in the woods was the traditional place for weddings, and even that was almost not big enough, given how it had to accommodate a vast amount of dragons. For most of the dragons this was the first wedding they had ever seen, and they were curious about it.

The day was perhaps one of the last calm and sunny ones Berk would see that year. With the sunlight reverently slipping through the gaps in the trees, the morning felt fresh and brisk. The air was chilly, but not unpleasantly so, and the breeze was just enough to make cheeks and noses turn a little red but no more. The grass was covered in dew, the ground was wet and muddy, and there were fallen needles and cones everywhere. But shafts of sunlight came down and illuminated the dewdrops, dried the mud somewhat, and enhanced the red and yellow shades of the debris on the ground. Of in the distance on the coast, where seagulls could be heard calling, a short wall of cool gray clouds was visible.

Hiccup and his family were in the grove first, but the two Hofferson's soon joined them. Hiccup could not recall ever seeing Astrid look so beautiful. Her bridal crown was woven from straw and orange roses, with the thorns cut off. It matched and yet stood out against her golden hair. She had put on her most formal clothes, which he had hardly ever seen her in. Hiccup was also dressed in his own nicest clothes. Attached to his belt was his preferred blacksmith hammer, to represent Thor. He thought it also symbolized the way his heart was hammering. In his hands he held a sword once owned by one of his great grandfather. Sometimes these swords were stolen from graves, but in this case the sword was a family heirloom kept on a wall in Mead Hall, so Stoick had ordered Skullcrusher to take it and hide it on a nearby island for Hiccup to find during one of his sunset flights. Astrid brought a sword as well, a brand new one which looked more for ceremony than for battle. But it was true, Hiccup reflected, Inferno did not make a good ceremonial sword as usually only the hilt was visible.

She and Hiccup came together at the center of the grove and formally turned to face the far end. As the village elder, Gothi was the one to perform most of the marriage Rites. First there was the sacrifice of a boar to the Gods, provided by the Twins. The blood was then sprinkled on the couple and those nearest them. The grove was so silent during this they could hear the birds whistling in the nearby trees.

Next Astrid and Hiccup exchanged the swords they held. They solemnly recited oaths of fidelity to each other, the Gods, and tradition, the promise of protecting their family's honor, legacy, and each other, and a pledge from one to bring the other a fruitful and prosperous family. Gothi then held raised her staff, evoking another prayer to the Gods for prosperity. Gobber had no need to translate Gothi's writings for this, as the words had been created long ago and everyone already knew them. It was just as well for Gobber, because his eyes had grown so teary he could not have read anything if his life had depended on it. Nor was he the only one to get teary eyed or moved by what was happening.

"I thought I'd never see this day," Valka whispered to Stoick.

"Me neither, as a matter of fact," he admitted.

After the vows the two exchanged rings. Astrid's ring had belonged to her father, while Hiccup's had belonged to Valka once. Stoick had put it away for years with the specific intent of using it for this occasion. As neither ring fit on its new owner's finger they were attached to chains so the couple might wear them around the neck.

Then at long last, they held the swords before them and recited a new set of vows. Gothi than raised her staff once again to call upon a final blessing from the Gods, and brought her staff down on the ground to symbolize the end of the ceremony.

Now that the ceremony was over, everyone at once rushed over to Mead Hall to begin celebrating. It took some effort for Hiccup and Astrid to get inside, as the doorway got so crowded. Both of them almost fell at different points, but were caught just in time. Then Hiccup went over to one of the pillars in the hall and slammed his new sword into it. A loud cheer went up and Berkians came rushing through the kitchen door carrying the largest trays of food and drink possible. A Gronkle pulled in a small wagon covered with plates and knives and goblets.

There were mountains of smoked fish, roasted beef, boar, yak, and mutton. Barrels full of bright red apples were brought in. There were yellow and white cheeses, piles of vegetables like carrots and beans, trays full of hot steaming rolls, honey from beehives, and was enough mead and wine and ale and yaknog to make a river. And Hiccup and Astrid never actually got to taste any of it, apart from a drink during a goblet sharing ritual. Everybody wanted to come up to them, to shake hands, offer congratulations and gifts, and ask what their plans were. This went on for so long that their arms became numb, their throats grew sore, and their food sat untouched on their plates.

Conversations were almost impossible to have due to all the noise. Plates were scrapped with knives, toasts were proposed left and right, songs broke out, people cried, others shouted jokes, and it went on and on for hours. Everybody had come to have a good time and they made the most of it. Toothless later said without exaggerating that at no point during the entire feast was somebody not laughing. It was about as happy a feast as anybody on Berk could remember, except for one thing: a complaint was raised that, amidst all the immense and diverse piles of vittles there were no eels and no chickens.

Stoick had had a bit too much to drink and was yelling loudly "Well, I can show my face in public again!" This prompted laughter and made Toothless to scowl.

"Does he always need to start like that?" he muttered.

"I admit, back in those days when Hiccup was a…well, a hiccup, I worried how he'd carry on the family name. I mean, no girl ever looked twice at him back then! I always thought I'd have to arrange everything and they'd be the most unequal couple in history! Like—remember that time we were considering marrying him to Marva the Larva?" His audience howled with laughter. Hiccup would have buried his face in his hands if he could actually have heard any of this. Toothless and Valka were both furious and only kept quiet because they did not want to cause a scene. "But here we are!" Stoick went on, "And I didn't have to arrange it, I didn't have to choose the bride, and he didn't make his choice out of desperation or choose someone because everyone else said 'no'! Nope, he went for the very best Berk had to offer and he won her despite all his former disadvantages! And nobody here today is more proud than I am. And I am so very happy to say how wrong I was to have had all those doubts about him."

Now Toothless wished Hiccup could have heard this.

The day wore on and night began to fall. By that point, most of the Vikings had passed out drunk or were sleeping soundly on the ground. Mead Hall and the ships in the harbor sounded like a chorus of lumber mills. It was a commonplace occurrence at these events, one the dragons always found hilarious. No dragon was drunk. They seldom ever touched alcohol.

But not everyone was sleeping or passed out. Fishlegs was talking with Heather, mostly pointing out who was who. She nearly spat out her wine when he pointed out King Sweyn of Denmark and his entourage, who had arrived only just before the ceremonies had commenced.

"You never told me you knew an actual king!"

"Sure," Fishlegs replied, happy to impress her, "we helped him out last year during a peasant revolt and we've been exchanging letters and goods ever since."

The wine had made Heather a bit looser than usual and she eagerly asked him to tell her what had happened.

"Well, Hiccup was hoping to integrate dragons in an actual country, not just a tribe, so we'd been writing letters for a while and were invited to come spend—I forget what they call it, Chris-Mass or something. Some big holiday they have. Anyway, peasants were starving that winter due to crop failures, and some nobleman wanted more power so he used their hunger to get them to rebel. So we went to see these rebels under a flag of truce, and Hiccup had a few dragons go off and bring back nets full of cod and gave it to them. I then gave them the figures for the harvests on Berk before and after dragons aided us—it's a substantial difference, you know—and before you know it every farmer wanted a dragon to help them and from what we've heard, only the idle will be going hungry this winter. So, we ended a revolt without shedding any blood—except the nobleman's, probably—and King Sweyn's been pretty excited about dragons ever since."

Heather was impressed. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah. They weren't evil, you know. The rebels I mean. They just wanted enough to eat. Once we showed them dragons could help them grow more food, they were perfectly willing to listen." Not as stubborn as Vikings, he added mentally.

"Most people would have said 'we put down the revolt in a great battle'." Heather said, "But you're not 'most people', are you?"

Now Fishlegs nearly spat out his wine. She spoke so warmly and looked so lovely he could not help it. He began to wonder about the chances of his own wedding.

Cloudjumper was surveying the hall in disgust and upbraiding Skullcrusher for letting things get become so undignified, which Skullcrusher ignored. Toothless and Stormfly had left a while earlier, muttering something about spending the night hunting for dragon nip fields. Valka had pulled Stoick outside hours ago, before he could drink any more, and it was a few hours before they had returned to the Hall. Stoick was still a little tipsy, but in control of himself.

"I haven't had that much in years," he muttered bitterly. "But once I got going I just couldn't stop. I've gotta watch that."

Hiccup and Astrid at last thought they might get something to eat, though the food was cold and stale now. But then Tuffnut pulled his cousin Gruffnut over to them.

"Hey Hiccup! Astrid! Remember my cousin Gruffnut?"

Hiccup smiled and shook hands but then Tuffnut dragged his cousin away to talk to someone else.

"Didn't Gruffnut shut you in a barrel full of Pollock heads last time he was here?"

"I don't want to think about it on our wedding day," he said quickly. He saw Queen Mala come over to them and asked "How are you feeling, you're Majesty?"

She noticed it was the first time he had ever called her that. "Well enough thank you. I came to offer my congratulations, and to thank you for bringing the Eye back, even if you did go considerably behind my back."

"Sorry about that,"

"It turned out to be fortunate for all of us. Heather has mentioned that you would like to know where the Isle of Night is located." Mala stared at him hard for a moment before resuming. "In that case, as a reward for your help, and as a wedding gift, I will allow you and your Original Riders to use the Dragon Eye once. Each of you may select any combination of lenses you wish, choose a dragon to breathe on the Eye, and examine whatever appears."

Hiccup wrung her hand so hard he almost squeezed it to a pulp. "Thank you! Thank you very much! And don't worry; we'll keep this to ourselves. Those hunters won't learn a thing!"

Mala wanted to discus more, but others were still waiting to see the newlyweds and she moved away, looking more touched than Hiccup or Astrid had ever seen.

When the time came, the newlyweds left their seats, their food still untouched, and made their way towards the Haddock house, accompanied by others. They had only just left Mead Hall when Hiccup spotted the Twins and rushed over to them. "Oh no, no, no! You point those fireworks up, not at my house!"

"But it was gonna be so spectacularly cool!" Tuffnut pouted, "Gruffnut was going to be so impressed!"

Ruffnut had moaned at first, but at those words she promptly began repositioning the fireworks, and just in time. Stoick had come over to see what was going on.

"Were these two trying to blow up my house again?"

"Yes! I mean no!" the Twins said at the same time. They fell silent under the glare Stoick gave them. He shook his head and pointed to one in the company.

"You keep an eye on them. They can fire off those things, but you make sure they do it right!"

"But you can't do it now!" Astrid interrupted, "Ruff, we need you as a witness, remember?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot. Tuff, don't you dare start setting these off without me."

Dragons had no official legal status on Berk, so the marriage consummation witnesses had to be humans. This group of witnesses included their parents, Fishlegs, and Ruffnut. They took the newlyweds separately up to Hiccup's room by candlelight. Once everyone was in the room some prayers were recited, a form was signed by everyone present, for the legal records, and then the witnesses one by one exited after offering congratulations. Hiccup and Astrid were left alone together for the first time in weeks.

Their first reaction was to embrace and laugh with relief. It had finally happened! Finally! Hiccup was laughing almost to the point of tears and Astrid was laughing as she tried to keep him on his feet. Elderly folk like Mildew and Gothi would have been hard pressed to recall a time that two Berkians had laughed so hard and for so long.

But quickly they became nervously aware of what was supposed to happen next. They were not quite sure how exactly to go about doing it. Hiccup watched as Astrid's beaming expression turned to one of confusion and even shyness. Astrid Hofferson shy?

"So…um…." She gestured to the bed, "which side do you prefer?"

Hiccup scratched his head. He had never really had to think about this before. So, to avoid a long discussion he just shrugged and said "Left is fine,"

"All right," she said quickly, "Yeah, right is fine for me,"

"Yeah," But neither of them made any move towards the bed.

"Talk about awkward," Hiccup muttered to himself.

"Did your parents ever talk about…this with you?" she asked carefully.

"Sort of. Did you and your mother?"

"Sort of."

Hiccup suddenly thought back to the time he was in China, where he had become friends with the Emperor. At one point, when discussing a possible marriage, the Emperor had told him that sex could be either a great experience or a miserable one. It largely depended on how you approached it. The Emperor, who had been no stranger to love making, said he always preferred to take it slow and gently; to begin with a kiss and let things happen naturally. Hiccup now wished he had asked him exactly how you let things happen naturally. He also wished he had talked about this more with his father or perhaps King Sweyn, who had fathered nearly 20 children out of wedlock.

Still, starting with a kiss did not seem like a bad idea.

He slowly approached Astrid and put his hands on both sides of her face. "You nervous?" he asked.

"A little," she admitted, "and if you tell anyone I said that I'll shove my axe down your throat!"

It was an unusual but adequate way of easing some of the tension and made them both smile. Then Hiccup leaned in and kissed her. She kissed back and wrapped her arms around him. They kissed again and again, parting for quick breathes, their kisses growing in passion. Astrid's hands darted back and forth, unable to decide whose shirt to remove first. She settled for hers and began to reveal her bare shoulders…

And suddenly Hiccup was not there anymore. He was locked in a cell. Adoncia was lying next to him, half naked, kissing his scarred back, running her hair over his cracked and bloodstained skin, and raising a whip to start lashing him again…

"Hiccup? Hiccup! HICCUP!" Astrid shouted. Hiccup now realized he was leaning against a bedpost, his hands covering his head, waiting for a flogging that was not going to come. Quickly and shakily he assumed an upright position.

"Nerves," he said with a weak smile. Astrid did not buy it.

"You were thinking of Adoncia and Spain," She said sharply, "I thought you'd gotten over those fits!"

"I thought I had too, for the most part," he mumbled. He sat down on the bed and Astrid joined him. "I'm sorry, Astrid—"

"Sorry for what?" she exclaimed, "sorry that a sex-crazed slut beat you and scarred you so badly you can't even stand to think about it? You didn't ask for any of that to happen!"

"I killed her, Astrid," he said hoarsely, "in cold blood, I killed her. I saw her balancing on a cliff and I kicked her into a river of lava. I had her at my mercy and I chose not to be merciful."

Astrid shook her head. "She deserved it. And it was kindness compared to what I would have done to her."

"Did she deserve it? Do I have the right to make that decision?"

"Do you feel guilty about that fact that she died or the fact that you were the one who killed her?"

Hiccup thought a moment. "A little bit of both, I guess," he stood up and faced the wall. "And yet I can still see her in my mind. Even after her death she plagues me. Gods, am I ever going to be free of these memories?"

"I'm glad you feel this way," Astrid said quietly. Hiccup turned around and looked at her incredulously. "Yes, I am. She would've killed you and laughed. She's killed hundreds and enjoyed it. You acting like this shows to me you have a conscience. It shows you're a better person than she ever was."

"And what about you?" he asked wildly, "You aren't sad in the slightest that I killed her! You said yourself you would have done worse to her and that she deserved to die! What does that say about you?"

Astrid considered her answer carefully. "Hiccup, I'm a warrior. Warriors live by a code. And when someone breaks that code, there are consequences. She broke that code, Hiccup. I wish it hadn't happened, but after all she did to Berk and to the Sanctuary, and to you, there was no possible fate for her except death. As cold as it may sound, that's the way things are to me. And I think it was fitting and proper that you were the one to finish her."

"It's a messed up world all right," he muttered.

"Hiccup, she made her decisions in life. I know you told me she was born unwanted and in the gutter, but don't forget she enjoyed what she did when she grew up. Can I feel sorry that after years of doing horrible things to innocent people her crimes finally caught up with her? No, my mercy doesn't extend that far. All the same…this was a particular case. I'd be furious with you if it had been someone else."

Hiccup nodded and sighed. "Just keep an eye on me, Astrid. I don't want to take another life if I can ever avoid it."

"And I'm glad I married such a person,"

"And I'm glad I'm married to you, because if I didn't have you and Toothless for help, I don't know what I'd—"

Suddenly a loud series of explosions went off and made them jump.

"The Twins must've set off the fireworks," Hiccup laughed weakly, "They must be having the time of their lives right now." He went over to the window and removed the blinds. "Lots of sparks and colors. Beautiful in a random way. But very noisy. Thank goodness they've only got 10, or else nobody would be getting any sleep tonight."

"Remember when we used them against the Berserkers?" Astrid smiled, "when you first started making amends with your father and getting us to accept dragons?"

Hiccup did not answer and she realized he was thinking about being tortured on that adventure. He normally did not dwell on that but talking about Adoncia had awakened recollections of similar experiences.

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Hiccup, you have too many bad memories in your head. Maybe it's time to replace them with something happy,"

Hiccup smiled faintly. "I can't promise I won't have a fit again,"

"Then think about something instead of her, and maybe you won't. Focus on me instead of your memories if you think it'll help,"

"I don't think that'll be too difficult now," Hiccup whispered. He gently pulled her towards him and they started kissing again.

Hours later, Hiccup woke up for no reason. He was suddenly aware that he was sharing the bed with someone. His wife. The most beautiful woman he had ever known, the only woman he had ever loved, and now she was his wife.

She was sleeping with her back to him. He reached a hand out and gently ran it down her long golden hair and traced the space between her shoulder blades. Her hair felt soft as silk and, amazingly for a warrior like her, her skin was remarkably smooth. He repositioned himself so he could wrap his arms around her and sleep with her in his embrace. It felt very warm and comforting and, dare he say it, natural.

"Odin," he whispered, "or Thor, or Freya, or whoever's up there: I know I've complained a lot about how much you don't like me…but if all those miserable years were preparation for this future, then I'm deeply grateful. Thank you for this. Thank you for her. And Astrid, I know you're asleep, but I love you so much, and I'll never stop loving you, no matter what happens."

He could not see it, but there was a smile on Astrid's face.