Her Smile
"How are you over there?" Hiccup screamed over to Astrid, who was wiggling a little in her saddle, an annoyed and slightly pained expression on her face.
"To be honest?" She asked, holding tightly onto the handles, while cold wind was blowing all around her, making her shiver lightly. If she had known, that it was colder by Valka's Mountain, than Hiccup's casual explanation of 'A bit cool', then she surely would have taken a fur mantle. Or at least something similar to her old, fur hood.
"Yeah! Be honest!"
"I am freezing my ass off and the saddle gets a little hard over time! But flying over sea and seeing all these tiny islands down there is simply amazing!"
"Okay, I will memorize that, once we have returned to Berk, to improve your saddle. After all – its a similar distance towards Hranafall like this one! And for the second thing – I am glad to hear that!"
"Ah – good to know! But I don't think, that this is it, what annoyes me most...I guess it is my hair!"
"Your hair?!"
"Yeah – since I am not allowed to wear my hair in a braid anymore, since I am technically married to you, it is too loose for these kind of adventures! And its going everywhere – especially in my face!"
"You can bind it together, when we are flying. You know – I don't care if your hair is loose or not! As long as you feel comfortable!"
It really sounded too good to be true, but she somehow felt, that there surely were a few Berkians, who still wanted her to follow that tradition. And yet – especially while flying – having her hair in a braid would be so much better!
"Look – we are there soon!" Hiccup's once again echoed over the sharp wind, while Astrid averted her eyes towards the distance and to a high mountain, that raised from the horizon at the very edge of the sky. Strangely enough there were huge spikes of ice piercing towards the sky, which was quite a sign she had never seen before.
"Just stay behind and stay close, we will fly inside..."
And she did, yet wondering, how they could that, but once they have reached a icy tunnel, she knew exactly, what he meant. Soon she knew, that the training had come in handy, since she was able to maneuver Stormfly easily through the tunnels and stay close behind Hiccup and Toothless, though she felt her heart beating fast with Adrenalin, whenever they came quite close to the walls.
Still, she felt how it was getting warmer and warmer with every passing second, and soon the coldness from outside was completely forgotten. And before she knew it, they have reached the inside of this massive structure and they were suddenly surrounded by something, that Astrid could have only dreamed off.
Thanks to the warmth, there were many, beautiful plants of many different kinds growing around them, spreading a pleasant, quite exotic smell. And above them – covering the stony pillars and the roof, tangling down from them. Beneath her were deep pools of water, and by the slight stream emerging from it, she knew that this must be quite warm and the reason, why these plants could grow here so easily. And still this wasn't by far the most amazing thing – it were the many kinds of dragons, that surrounded them – flying, jumping on the mossy ground below, or swimming in the depths of the water. Sure – there were a few kinds that looked similar to the species, that lived both on Berk and on Hranafall. But there were also dozens she had never seen or imagined before.
And all that the young woman could do, was to stare in awe just everywhere, in fear, that she could miss something. Stormfly must have been noticing Astrid's behavior, therefore decided to get a littler slower, but stayed behind Toothless close enough.
Astrid would have loved to say something, but she quite couldn't find something, that could describe her fascination with this place, or the pure beauty of it. Which was one of the reasons, that she didn't even notice, that they were landing in the first place and found herself to be a little frustrated, when she found Stormfly already standing on the rocky ground. Oh how she would have loved to see more of this place!
"Ah, Cloudjumper!" She could suddenly hear Hiccup's voice exclaiming in joy, just before she decided it was the best for her to get off of her dragon's back. Therefore she found herself in front of a tall, owl-like creature, which was already patted lightly by the young chief in front of her. And seeing that dragon, she somehow felt, that she had seen him before, but still stood quite next to Stormfly, since she had no clue, how to approach an unknown dragon, yet. But by the way, that Toothless soon jumped around it, hiding beneath his wings, she thought, that dragon was also one of the kinder ones.
"Hiccup!" Somebody suddenly called in joy and before she could have said or done something, he was already embraced by the slim woman with long, brown braids and a loving smile.
"I am glad, that you could make it so fast!" Valka said happily, now holding her son a little away, so she could muster him "I can't wait to show you, what Cloudjumper has found a few days ago! I have never seen something like them and maybe we could figure out together-"
She suddenly stopped, her blue eyes fell upon Astrid and she immediately let go of Hiccup. Quite unsure she looked between the young woman and Hiccup, then towards Stormfly, who urged Astrid to go forward by pushing her lightly with her head.
"You..." Valka said, walking a few steps past Hiccup and towards Astrid's direction, while all that the young woman could to, was stand there, knowing very well, that this was quite a surprise for Hiccup's mother. And judging by her reaction...it wasn't a pleasant one...After all – the last time, that they have seen each other, she had been quite a different person and one, that Valka probably didn't want too close to her beloved dragons. "...you are here..."
"Ah...yeah!" Hiccup stepped in, somehow sensing the uneasiness between the two women, walking closer to Astrid and reached out with his hand for her, grabbing her wrist tightly and softly pulling her closer. "Look Mom – there might have been a few difficulties in the past between us, but we sorted them out..."
"Most of them..." Astrid added, feeling, that it was better to remain truthfully towards Hiccup's mother.
"Yeah..." He said, still not letting go of her wrist "...but time has proven, that Astrid had been able to accept Berk's ways and she has learned how to fly a dragon - as you see here - and right now we get along pretty well!"
"So...you two are a couple now?" Valka asked, still with a blank look on her face.
Astrid eyes widened immediately and her whole body went stiff, while Hiccup immediately let go of her wrist and scratched the back of his head with some shame painted across his face.
"Ehr...no...We are just friends..." Hiccup mumbled absently, before he cleared his throat and stepped forward to approach his mother once again. "Sure..., we are still pretending in front of our people, but at least the contract seems to work. Hakon has send his first letter with Terror Mail and of what I have heard, they really try to approach peace with dragons quite well. So does Astrid. She is not hurting any dragon. She is flying them and she is really fond of Stormfly and Toothless and every other dragon as well!"
"And what about you..." Valka whispered, though Astrid could hear her clearly.
"What about me?"
"She still could try to attack you behind her back...And what about her mother?"
"Don't worry. Astrid would not do that. I know it..."
The was a tense moment of silence between the two of them.
Astrid understood her pretty well – this reluctance. After all of what she has heard about Valka, was she the perfect example of what the vigilante woman had been fighting against the past years. And she tried to kill her only son, when they were fighting in the arena for the Dance of Maidens. But she deep down hoped, that Valka would accept her here in the Sanctuary, now that she would never do something like that again.
"Okay..." Valka soon said, looking back towards Astrid. "She may stay..."
Astrid saw, that Hiccup exhaled a puff of air in relief, while his mother walked past him and inside of yet another cave.
"See...it has been quite a surprise for her..." He said, trying to sound cheerful.
"Yeah..." Astrid chuckled nervously and added with sarcasm in her voice, before they both followed Valka: „...what a surprise!"
And the three dragons followed closely behind.
They were going through a tunnel inside of Valka's cave, where she had her sleeping place and can cook and just spend time, when she is not around the dragons. Astrid just couldn't stop to look everywhere, since she felt amazed, that Hiccup's mother had lived like that for about twenty years.
"Come here, son!" Valka called smiling, waving her hand in excitement for him to come closer, while they were going towards the fire place, where a big and heavy pot over it, with something inside of it that rattled quietly.
"I have never seen some like these before! Cloudjumper has found them and brought them to me a few days ago and I guess, that they came from a few traders." She said, while her son stood right next to her, watching with raised eyebrows the pot, that still had a lid on it, concealing the contents inside.
The young woman still stood a little away from them, unsure, if Valka wanted to share her secret with her, too. But yet again it was Hiccup, who invited her, with a sharp nod of his head and one hand, that reached out for her, to take her place next to him - which she did after a few moments of hesitation, but she still notices Valka's careful watch, that laid upon her.
"What is inside?" Hiccup finally asked, before Valka lifted the lid off of the pot, revealing three eggs inside, that were already moving a little around. Well...at least two of them, since one laid there quietly and without moving. And though there was some dim lighting surrounding them, Astrid could clearly see, that they had a pale, metallic shine to them and cracks all over their shells – they were about to hatch!
"I have never seen dragon eggs like these before. And I have seen many in my life..." Valka explained, closing the lid again. "Have you?"
Hiccup immediately shook his head, scratching the back of his head, while he tried to remember something similar.
"No...I guess not. I guess...something like a sketch, that one of the Eastern traders had, but it could have been the sketch of any egg..."
"Then we will witness the birth of an unknown species...at least for us..." Valka exclaimed happily, though her tone suddenly shifted and an uncertain darkness suddenly laid itself upon her eyes. "...well...at least two of them look like they want to hatch soon. You see – the still one, it hasn't moved, yet. And I quite doubt it will, for it had been heavily damaged on the bottom. Yet I hope, that Thor might show some mercy upon the small one and gift it with life."
"Well...at least we can try..."
Valka nodded sadly, before she moved past them, to pet Cloudjumper in comfort.
"How long will...you two stay here?"
"One or two days..." Hiccup answered, looking over to Astrid, as if he wanted to make sure, that she still was agreeing to that. She guessed, that he was feeling the uneasiness between her and his mother. But still she gave him a tiny nod as an answer, before he continued: "Winter seems to be striking soon. And I don't want them to be alone for too long."
"That is reasonable." Valka said "And I was thinking to return for a while again. After all, I have promised you, to stay on Berk, whenever I can, to help you. And now, that this...'certain danger' seems to be gone, the dragons could return with me as well..."
"Certain danger?" Astrid wondered out loud, not quite sure, what Valka was hinting at.
But Hiccup seemed to understand immediately, pressing his lips together into a thin line.
"Astrid is no danger. Neither for me, nor for Berk. Really. You don't need to worry."
"Hiccup is right." Astrid said, stepping in as well. "I may have raised my hand against dragons multiple times in the past, but mostly in defense. But I will not do that again! I have learned my lesson and appreciate Berk's ways. I won't ever lay my hand on a dragon again!"
Astrid's chest was heaving and she clenched her firsts together, not quite sure she understood, why she wanted Valka to see, that she has changed. But nonetheless – she wanted her to believe it, for it was the truth.
Valka pressed her lips together, just like her son did before.. Sure, it still was hard for her to see, that anybody could change, who had killed dragons before in their lifes. But it has worked – for Berk. The Bersekers. And now for the Hunter tribe as well. And from what it seemed like – there was something else, that has formed between Hiccup and Astrid, that she still could grasp.
„As I said before – she may stay and I will try my best to see her in this new light." The older woman finally said, smiling a little. „For still I am sorry, whenever I do not behave like I have said."
Astrid nodded.
"I accept that...I really do..."
Valka opened her lips again, maybe for an apology, or maybe to release a few more doubts, but was stopped from a loud crack from inside the pot. And yet another. And a third, more silent one, until quiet screeches echoed through the cave.
The older woman hurried back towards the pot and looked inside. But before any of them could have said something, a small creature looked with its dark yellow eyes at them, followed by a similar head with red eyes.
"They have hatched!" Hiccup and his mother exclaimed happily in unison, while Valka let go of the lid immediately, taking out one of the small dragons, to hand him over to Hiccup, taking the second out as well.
They were long, snake like creatures, with soft, fish-like scales, which were shimmering in red and yellow. On their heads, that were a mixture of smaller dogs and a yak, were longer, thinner scales, that somehow looked like clusters of hair, while two of those were hanging from their noses, just as if they had tiny beards. And they were so small, cuddling themselves tightly into Hiccup's and Valka's chest, their little wings flapping every now and then.
And Astrid was amazed, having never seen such fresh hatchlings before.
Hiccup looked over to Astrid and smiled, walking closer to her, petting the small dragon in his arms.
"Ever seen such a small hatchling?" He asked, while the small dragon his arms was examined by Toothless and Stormfly equally, who sniffed and nudged the little one, while he only stared, his tounge coming out every now and then.
She nodded slowly, though those she had seen before, were probably a little older, than these two here.
"Ever had a hatchling in your arms?"
"What-"
Before Astrid could have reacted, Hiccup was giving her the hatchling, laying it onto her arms, as if it was a human child. She snorted a little at that, not sure, if she should feel irritated, flustered or happy about it.
"Why has every now and then somebody the tendency, to give me a new-born?!" She asked out loud, though she clearly was joking about it. And maybe, she could get used to it as well...
"Well, its the chieftess' duty to bless a new-born!"
"Even dragon hatchlings? And what will come next – a yak calf? A little chicklet?"
"It should be an honor to be trusted like that with new-borns!"
They were joking some time like that, petting the small dragon, while letting their dragons looks and sniff all they wanted. It was a nice moment, that made her smile wide and feel her warm inside. And Astrid was very glad, that she was allowed to witness this moment together with Hiccup. This particular moment even lasted for some time, both of them being watched by Valka, who couldn't help but smile herself at the sign that unfolded in front of her - until Hiccup turned a little back to his mother.
"What about the third?" Hiccup asked, still having one hand on the back of the hatchling, while he looked over to his mother, who's dragon seemed to be more agile and had already started to climb on her shoulders with his claw like feet, sniffing carefully at Cloudjumper.
"The egg looks like it has a few bigger cracks. And it definitely has moved a little. We should give it some more time..."
He nodded, while Valka closed the lid once more, to keep the last egg warm, having a sad smile on her features.
"But I still hope, that he will make it!"
"He will – if he has come this far now, then he will also get through the shell as well." Hiccup said reassuringly, while he was taking the second hatchling now from Astrid's arms, since it had begun to get agile as well – which seemed to be a little too much for the young woman. And he gave it to Valka, once he had stretched out her hand for him, laying it now on her left shoulder, whole its sister laid on her right.
"Well...let's hope for the best and hope, that you are right. In the meanwhile, Cloudjumper and I will show these two how to fly! And you can show Astrid a little around, if you want!"
Oh how she wanted to see more of it! She wanted to see every corner of this mountain and all of its caves! She wanted to meet every dragon, give her knowledge on those she already knew, while she wanted Hiccup to teach her things about those she didn't.
"Sure, I can..." He said with a grin on his face, taking one last look of the egg inside the pot "But I hope, that we will be back, once this one is hatching, too!"
"Oh, our dragons will lead us here. They have a sense for that." Valka said, mounting her dragon, with the two smaller ones clawing on her back. "And by the way – it looked kinda beautiful – I would say. The two of you with a small one between you..."
And with that Valka was off, leaving the two young Vikings behind, both with a light blush on their faces, and their two dragons, that seemed to snicker behind them with small grunts.
"I am sorry for that...Didn't know, that my mother could be teasing, too" Hiccup mumbled, rolling his eyes at his mother's strange behavior.
Astrid eyed him from the side, setting her fists on her hips.
"Well..., first I thought, that she wanted to drag me out of this cave with her bare hands and that she hated me for everything I have done and now I have the feeling, that she just wants nothing more, but to have a grandchild!"
"Yep...that definitely is that desperate need for an Haddock-heir that everybody has evolved over the past months! But I have to agree with one thing there..."
"And that is?"
"It really looked beautiful..."
"Are we getting cheesy or sassy there? Or both?! Shall I hit you to clear your thoughts..."
"No...I mean – it was not what my mother meant, what looked beautiful!"
"Then what else?"
"That smile on your lips, when you held the hatchling... It somehow still lingers on them...And it really suits you..."
Before she could have punched him, he jumped right onto Toothless' back, and made him fly through the cave towards its entrance, while the young woman stood there dumbfounded. And she reached for her lips, noticing, that it still hadn't vanished, wondering, if it really had been the hatchling, that had made her smile, or if it had been something else...
Stormfly cooed next to her, nudging her rider into her side, to get her to mount her back. But Astrid could very well see the mischievous gleam in the Nadder's eyes, making her roll her own.
"Oh, don't you dare to say a word about that!"
A/N: Ah well, was quite looking forward to these chapters, since the bond between Hiccup and Astrid is getting deeper and deeper even more. I mean – Hiccup defeated Astrid in front of his mother! And in the next chapter, we will get some inside-thoughts from our favorite chief about his favorite pretentious wife ;D
And for the poll – well, you see, it had been for the two hatchlings over there, but since I had too few to make a poll, I decided to skip the poll (and chose the names myself ;D – well from the comments but you will see in the next one :D) And if some of you may be asking – I am going with the Chinese dragons 'Long' here for the hatchlings, sine I have the imagination, that the dragons in this world each region has its specific dragon with own backstories and that would fit the description of the dragons in our world (like the casual dragons for the medieval ages for the European continent, or asian looking dragons for the Asian continent – which every now and then come along with the traders ;D)
So, I still hope, that you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it and see you in the next one :D
And for the comments:
hiccstrid105: Ooooh! I will definitely check it out! (Though I need some time to actually read it, so maybe once I have finished this fic ;D) And its only 6 days now! :D
cosmicblader12: Yeah – though this meeting had been a little more...difficult, than expected in the beginning. But well...who can blame Valka there? ;D
Mariah: Well, not yet ;D But will get the answer in a few chapters :D
Kirika: Yeah, they needed the common ground in their past to understand more, where their future will lead them :D And we will see about the epic fight there ;D And I really like the name of 'Enchantress' there – I would be going with the English one here, since it would fit the story, if you like :D
DebzAnstey4: Well, sadly no blue dragon, but one is a female. Am I still allowed to call one Sky? :D
Silvolde: Yeah, A small break before the big end ;D Oh that would have been awesome. I guess, that Astrid would have fainted after seeing the Bewilderbeast for the first time ;D
CajunBear73: Yeah...I guess, that the scene about the prosthetic was needed, to make Hiccup see, that Astrid doesn't see a cripple in him anymore... And it also helped him understand Astrid even more... And yeah...The letter will definitely drive Ljóda to insanity...And yeah...the trip will help them furthermore, so you are right there ;D
Vivi-ntvg: Thank you for liking it :D And yeah...more flirting in the future ;D
SuperFangirl16: Haha – well, still the same frequency with the chapters (Friday and Sunday) but I guess, that they are a bit longer now? ;D And for Ljóda's future – if I would tell you something, I would spoil it heavily for you ;D But we will see ;D
aaquater: Oh gosh – haha – you are so right ;D And it would probably evoke questions, like 'Ehr...daughter, why shouldn't Hiccup let you sleep in his bed? You are his wife and I demand my grandchildren!' I am a little confused on how Terror Mail seems to work completely there... (So lets just pretend, that it had been Hakon's dragon, too? ;D) But yeah, Sneaky would easily hide from Ljóda :D And for cooking – she will cook soon, so brace yourself XD And why he wasn't Ruff telling that herself – he clearly doesn't want to break her heart and hopes, that she can move along herself ;D But your explanation sounds quite nice, too 3 And for Astrid, I was more going for like she was always searching for 'the One' and hoped, that one day would just magically fit for her ;D And yeah...she was always only working as the heir of Hranafall, but not more...Well...I really don't want to be in Astrid's skin there...isolated, though being the most wanted person (well – for marriage...) It really must be quite difficult...
Guest: Thank you very much :D
Guest: Well...at least I would trust Gobber more than the whole gang...maybe Fishlegs...but the others...then we certainly should leave it to Gobber there...
Guest: It was also quite hard to write about Hiccup's battle, since everybody knows about it and I didn't want to screw it up completely... And that Hiccup had been so scrawny will come soon ;D
Dragon4ever: Thank you :D And yeah – of we go to the Sanctuary :D