Now Account: My best regards to our neighbor Germany! Thank you so much.
Rmysa: I...can't really tell if you are saying this ironically or not cause it was pretty obvious but...I'm glad anyways. Thank you so much.
AnonymousNoobThe2nd: I am glad you liked it, thank you so much.
Galaxy'-'wolf-1: It would be very interesting if Hiccup had mermaid powers indeed. But remember that when he was born both of his parents were humans. He could inherit a connection to the ocean though. It would explain his undying love for the sea. Thank you so much for this review I really loved it.
watermelon04: thank you!
CHSHiccstrid: I am laughing so hard right now. You are still hoping for a happy ending after all this time and I admire that a lot.
Guest: Well...definitely sad but also kind of...bittersweet. Kind of like Romeo and Juliet. (I am a huge Shakespeare fan.)
.
.
.
A long pause that seemed like centuries passed as complete silence filled the room. Only the splashing water in the tank was a sound that echoed between the walls.
She couldn't stand this look on his face. She knew he felt betrayed by her and she didn't blame him. She was lying to him about who she was and why she was there. She didn't tell him the truth about his mother. She knew exactly who he was from the beginning but she acted like she didn't.
How did things get so messed up? How could she mess it all up like this? She allowed herself to be free around him. She allowed her heart to connect, to catch feelings, to get attached. She fell in love. And that love, made her weak. And the moment she let her guard down, the humans got her. Just like everyone was warning her. Just like the stories say. Did she expect something different? Yes. From him. Because he was different. He never treated her badly. Even though he didn't know anything about her, he trusted her and she...
Oh, he must hate her.
"Hiccup I-"
"You knew? The whole time you knew exactly who I was and you..."
"I'm so sorry but I wasn't supposed to tell you, I had orders..."
"She sent you? My...mother gave you orders to save me? So that's why you came to me?"
Astrid shut her eyes closed. So tight hoping that when she opens then this will all be just a bad dream and she will be in his arms again. Away from all this mess. In a different world...In another life...
"My Queen asked me to protect you. I had no choice. But I didn't know what would come after that and I...I started to have... feelings for you and I knew I shouldn't be talking to you...and-"
"Oh, so you lied to me. About everything!"
"Well I guess that makes two of us! Let me remind you that you weren't exactly honest with me either. Besides I was only trying to protect you. I was ordered not to reveal my intentions. I am not going to apologize for keeping you safe while you were trying to kill me."
She was right. He lied. The only reason he was approaching her was because of his stupid mission. At least...at the beginning. Everything changed after he fell in love with her. And oh the betrayal she must have felt when his men literally dragged her out of his arms, into the nets.
"That wasn't me."
"Right. Like I'm going to listen to anything you have to say." Astrid laughed.
"I was fooled. The sailors my father sent, they...they disobeyed my orders because I wouldn't hurt you. You have to believe me Astrid I had nothing to do with this. I would never let anything happen to you."
"Stop. Just stop. Enough with the lies. You fooled me Hiccup. You made me trust you, you made me let my guard down, you let me lose all my senses and go against my own nature!"
At this point, he wasn't sure if those drops coming out of her eyes were tears or just water.
"And you know what the worst part is?" She sobbed. "That I let you! I let you like a fool! And now look at us. I'm chained down in this tank and you, the post feared pirate in the archipelago, yet you have zero power over your father."
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds passed. Guilt was eating and pestering him. A fire burned in his mind and throat. Remorse hit him like a sledgehammer. He could feel daggers aiming at him from within.
Ba dum. Ba dum. Ba dum.
His heartbeat seemed to echo in the hall. Astrid was screaming at him but after some time he did not hear a single word. Instead, he was staring into the eyes of the girl who was staring daggers at him.
"You're wrong." He stopped her. "Yes, I am the most feared pirate in the archipelago, yes I am ruthless and won't even think twice before taking the life of whoever comes in my way of getting what I want. I have killed so many. I've taken so many lives. I am a sinner. A really bad one."
It was not too late. Not too late to be honest. Not too late to tell the truth...
"I killed Eret."
"What?" she gasped.
"And Spitelout, and Dagur."
"Who-"
"They are...they were the sailors of my dad's navy. He sent them to make sure I would capture you successfully. When they saw I was holding back, they took matters into their own hands."
"Oh, don't even bother-"
"They set me up Astrid! You have to believe me I had nothing to do with their trap. I wasn't going to hurt you. I would never hurt you!"
"Yes, you were! Don't lie to yourself, that day you were angry at me for leaving you."
Emotions.
The very thing that makes someone human. You can have happiness, pride, excitement, relief. Every emotion considered good. But what would you be if you didn't feel hurt, or pain, or despair? You can't have the good without the bad. There is no light without darkness. The trick is to balance them, so the bad doesn't seem so terrible, and you can truly appreciate the good.
"Yes, I was angry. But god I would never cause you any harm. Look, I was never good with dealing with my emotions. I was always shutting them down after my father faked my death, Ι didn't allow myself to feel any affection for anyone. Even with my own crew I didn't show any signs of caring. I told myself that if my own family, my own blood wanted me dead, then no one would even care about me. I did it to protect myself. But when I met you everything changed. You made me see that my emotions are a part of me and they blend with yours in the most delicious of ways. Yet there are times I have storms inside, never because of you, but from the damage, the triggers of my past. It is for me to know that the fear comes from another place and time, that there is no connection to you. And then in those moments of storm you help me find my calm core by myself, find myself. With you. I no longer need to be calmed."
She couldn't believe him. Even though the voice in her head was telling her to forgive him. But forgiveness is not easy when you're broken. Psychologists generally define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness. ... Forgiveness does not mean forgetting, nor does it mean condoning or excusing offenses.
The guards opened the door letting them know that their time together was over. Hiccup nodded and started to walk towards the door.
"It still hurts." She inhaled sharply making him stand still. "Why does it always hurt? Why won't it stop?"
He stopped where he stood. His fists squeezing so tight that he almost started to bleed. With his back still facing her, he turned his head to look at her direction.
"But do you want it to stop?"
Astrid's attempt to hide a tear that slid down her cheek by lowering her head failed.
And it took all she had in her to resist the urge to scream as she slowly rose her eyes to meet his.
.
.
.
.
[[Forgive me that my love is too strong,
Forgive me that I cannot contain it,
Forgive me that I ask too much,
Not with my mouth,
But with my eyes and my heart.
Forgive me that I cannot break it,
Forgive me that I tried,
Forgive me for walking away,
Over and over and over,
Not with my legs,
But with my mind in chains.
Forgive that I stay,
Forgive the weakness under my strength,
Forgive that I promise, fail and return,
Each time with my heart in your pocket,
But with eyes cast to the floor.
Love is the most beautiful of traps,
The most delicate of prisons,
Walls of petals and sweet words,
Of gentle touch and soulful eyes,
Yet is is my honour to remain within.]]
.
.
.
.
"WHAT?" Hiccup's crew gasped when they heard their Captain's crazy plan.
"Shiver me timbers!"
"Captain, that monster-"
"Stop calling her that!"
"You've been calling them that your whole life! But ever since you met this creature you've forgotten who you are! That demon has enchanted you!"
"She's not a demon!"
"Hear yourself! You are Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third! The most feared pirate in the archipelago! The mermaid killer! The master of the sea! The wave tamer! What happened to our captain? What happened to you?"
"Love."
The whole crew fell silent.
"That's what happened. I fell in love with a mermaid."
Their faces fell faster than a corpse in cement boots. In that instant their skin became greyed, their mouth hung with lips slightly parted and their eyes were as wide as they could stretch. They glanced nervously at him, as if he was joking.
They didn't even believe that he was capable of having any feelings except anger rage and
"I tried to fight it, ignore it but even the master of the sea cannot go against the inevitable. It is beyond my power and will. And I realized that at the end of the day it's the most exciting adventure of my life. She is important to me and I would give up all my treasures for her. And I need you to help her."
Nobody spoke until Tuffnut broke the awkward silence.
"That's it. The Captain is losing it. I knew it would happen eventually. The Mermaid mixed his brains with sea water and now he is hallucinating. It's sorcery!"
That only gave him a slap by his sister.
"Hey! Watch it!"
"You shut your mouth bro! Don't you see that Captain is in love?"
"Wow hold on so...that's why the whole...Eret, stupid face, and taller stupid face blood shed happened the other day?" Fishlegs asked.
Hiccup lowered his head in guilt.
"What...That's why we had to get rid of three bodies AND mop the entire deck floor? Do you know how hard it is to get rid of blood smell off the wood?" Snotlout growled.
"That's your problem? Grow up Snotlout. It's not like he hasn't done that 100 times already."
Their voices became distant in the void as Hiccup felt like he had betrayed them. Their freedom depended on him. This mission was their ticket to freedom and now he wanted to take that away from them. His crew. The people that have been like family to him. They have always been loyal to him, always done whatever he told them to. They never betrayed his trust and they always had his back in every fight, every danger. There were even times when they almost gave up their own lives for him and to even think that he had the audacity to ask them something like that. To give up their only chance of freedom...for him?
"So? What is the plan Captain?"
Fishlegs had a tone that caught Hiccup out of guard.
"What?"
"He asked you what the plan is Captain. Did love make you deaf?" Ruffnut laughed.
"B-but...I don't understand. You realize that what I'm asking you to do will take away any chance of finding freedom forever. And you are still in?"
The crew shared a few glances.
"We are the crew of the night fury. Pirate code says we obey to our Captain no matter what."
"Even if he has the most stupid and crazy plan in the world that is probably going to end up killing us all."
He couldn't believe it. He couldn't have asked for a better family. He wasn't grateful for a lot of thing in his life even though he had countless treasures. But for his crew, he will never understand why he deserves them.
"Awww is he crying? Man, I knew he had a heart deep inside!"
.
.
.
.
We are almost there guys. I hope you are all healthy, happy and safe.
