Chapter 3: Preparing for battle.
"What's all this racket eh?"
Hiccup jumped at Gobber's voice, then sighed in anticipation of the explanation he'd inevitably have to give.
He had been pulling an all nighter at the smithy, and apparently he'd gotten a bit carried away, judging by the faint blue light visible out the small window.
"I was just..." he trailed off, unsure how to spin this. The contraption of the modified shield in front of him was glaring evidence of what he'd been up to. He decided to be straightforward. Gobber could be trusted to keep a secret for a couple of days. Probably.
"This is a new idea for a shield I had. I was just trying to finish up this prototype" he said, holding up the large circle of wood and metal.
Gobber eyed the strange looking object with curiosity.
From the back, it looked like a regular old shield, but from the front, the wooden disc was interrupted by two wedges of thin iron sheet embedded in parallel lines, slanting inward in a valley.
It was a simple idea really. When Astrid had struck his shield in training all those weeks ago, it had become wedged between the seams of two planks. It was simply a matter of chance. With this new design, Hiccup was trying to effectively tip the odds in his favor by maximizing the area of impact for the wedging to happen.
If he managed to get her to strike it with her axe in the right place, it should wedge itself nicely between the guiding metallic gully. He had sized it precisely keeping her axe in mind, sneakily having gotten a quick measurement the day before during one of their rest breaks.
Moreover, the metal on metal friction should, in theory, get it wedged in there so good that it wouldn't come out without specialized tools and a lot of effort, and certainly not in the midst of a heated duel.
The bottom side was, he'd also lose his shield this way. It would then be a hand to hand fight in the purest terms. But at least he'd have the element of surprise on his hands. Astrid's so good with her axe, but maybe she didn't have that much experience without it?
It was certainly optimistic, Hiccup had no delusions about it. But wasn't this whole charade that? An exercise in optimism. Hiccup would rather try and fail than spend the rest of his life wondering, what if?
Even if he somehow won, keeping his head on his shoulders would be a tall order in the face of Astrid's fury. But no use worrying over that when he had more pressing things to think about. Like beating Astrid hand to hand. He'd cross the countless other bridges as they came.
Gobber watched with a smirk that kept getting the wider the more Hiccup explained, quickly putting two and two together and figuring out the purpose for this new invention.
"I'm not gonna pretend this is one of yer brightest endeavours" Gobber said, fiddling with his moustache, "But at least you're giving it a go. Taking the initiative. If you can't win with yer muscle, win with yer mind" he finished with a tap on his head.
"Umm... thanks?" Hiccup said, surprised at Gobber's positive take on it.
"But don't let this tinkerin interfere with your actual work, will ya? I'm not paying ye for chasing girls"
Hiccup rolled his eyes at his mentor/boss. "Right"
Hiccup had been training like he'd never even dreamed he was capable of. Every waking hour of the last week had been dedicated to either brainstorming, or working out until his muscles screamed in complain.
It was hard to believe even for himself, but he could actually do multiple pushups in a row without collapsing now. His stamina was better than ever. His reflexes felt sharper while flying toothless. He overall felt more alive, and -dare he say- he was feeling slightly better about his chances.
It was partly due to a crucial detail that he'd discovered in the last few training sessions with Astrid. While sparring with her, he had noticed that her feet didn't move much, and her stance was fairly narrow. This meant that she could be knocked off balance with a well timed and firm swipe to her shins. And with his metal leg, that would pack an extra punch.
Astrid was so good with her fists that she didn't even need to use her legs during a fight, and hence he figured she wouldn't expect him to strike there. There was no way he could test that theory during practice, since then she'd find out about it and it'll all be over. He'd only get one shot at it, and it'll have to be during the actual duel.
The other thing he'd made sure of was to pull his punches, limit his speed, and overall act like a worse fighter than he was becoming, during the last few days in front of Astrid. Hopefully, this would mean she'd be totally taken by surprise when she found out Hiccup's actual skill. The element of surprise and his shield was the only tools in Hiccup's arsenal.
He just hoped they'd be enough.
Stoick the Vast instantly noticed his son's unusual quiet at dinner.
"What's the matter, son?"
Hiccup cringed at the expected question, before taking a calming breath and meeting his father's inquisitive gaze.
"D-dad, I wanted to ask you something"
"Yes?"
"Tomorrow is... Astrid's betrothal trial"
"Oh?"
"And she set these terms where-"
Stoick interrupted him with a chuckle, "I know son. It's all anyone's been talkin' bout around the village. She's a very stubborn lass, eh?"
Hiccup hoped his red face wasn't visible in the firelight as he spoke his next words. "Y-yeah. So I was thinking... what if I also competed?"
His father's eyes widened in surprise and his bushy eyebrows rose, but it was more a curious expression than disapproving, much to Hiccup's relief.
"Are ye sure? I don't think that girl would hesitate to beat all unfortunate souls who face her, including you"
"I have a plan... which I think might work"
"And this will go better than yer other plans?"
"Well... that's the plan" He muttered, smiling sheepishly.
"Well son, if you want to get beaten up by yer girl, then go right ahead. Maybe it'll be a good learning experience" Stoick said, grinning behind his bushy beard.
Hiccup resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his father's 'vast' confidence in him, but he hadn't expected any better anyway.
Hiccup tried to block her axe with his shield, but she simply knocked it away, lifting her axe over her head to deliver the final blow.
"No!" Hiccup whimpered, horrified that Astrid would actually-
The blade collided with his chest with a sickening crunch.
"Aah!" Hiccup gasped, sitting up on his bed and clutching the sheets with sweaty hands.
He quickly patted down his chest to find no gaping holes anywhere, breathing a sigh of relief.
Astrid won't actually try to kill him, right?
He glanced sun rays out the window and dread pooled in his stomach. It was the morning of the big day, Astrid's sixteenth birthday in fact.
He'd been up late last night, tossing and turning, mind filled with various scenarios running rampant through his mind.
What if he gets injured? What if Monstrous nightmares happen to not be tameable? What if...
Stop it, Hiccup.
He had made up his mind to go through with this, these were just the pre-fight jitters.
He got out of bed and put on his prosthetic, taking a deep breath before heading downstairs.
It felt like his appetite was non existent, but he forced himself to down a small breakfast, thinking he'll need the energy.
Stumbling out into the chilly morning, he gripped his modified shield in one hand. He had painted it brown last night to make the metallic rails less conspicuous. It almost looked like a regular shield provided someone didn't look too closely.
Reaching the arena, Hiccup was surprised to see a bruised and battered Thuggory limping out, muttering colourful curses under his breath. Hiccup didn't have to wonder what had happened.
A sane person would have probably gotten out of there, but Hiccup found himself entering the arena.
A sizeable crowd had gathered on the bleachers, anxious to see the action.
Typical Vikings, Hiccup thought dryly, at their eagerness to see the violence.
Astrid was standing in the middle, breathing heavily but the fierce determination in her eyes clearly visible.
Dogsbreath was lying motionless off to the side, being tended to by a couple of people.
This carnage discouraged most of the boisterous young men from attempting to duel her, but not all.
Apparently Snotlout was up next, cracking his knuckles and looking hilariously over confident. Tuffnut was egging him on, boosting his ego and manly bravado.
Astrid narrowed her eyes at Snotlout as he stepped up, then smirked in figured she was looking forward to this opportunity to beat up the guy who constantly attempted to flirt with her at every chance he got.
"Listen babe, let's just do away with all this formality and sign the contract. I really don't want mess up your pretty face right before our wedding" said Snotlout, flashing an arrogant smirk.
Astrid's frown morphed into a disgusted scowl, and she replied through gritted teeth, "I wish I could say the same about your ugly face, but I think it'll be an improvement after I'm done with it"
She gripped her axe tighter, and Hiccup found himself involuntarily taking a step back from the impending carnage.
Gobber, who was acting as the officiate for the morning, gave a nod to both Astrid and Snotlout, and signaled for the duel to commence.
"Fine princess, let's do it your way" said Snotlout before yelling out a guttural roar and charging her with his large broadsword raised.
He was way too obvious on his swing, which Astrid deftly ducked under before swinging her axe around with more force than she should have been capable of.
Snotlout blocked it clumsily and the last second, but the impact still managed to knock him off his feet and to the ground with a thud.
He got to his feet and tried another swing at Astrid which she countered with her axe.
Astrid managed to land a couple of punches then, then a third one to the face which sent him spinning to the ground in a heap, his sword clattering away. She could have finished it right then and there but she held back, clearly wanting to humiliate him by dragging out his defeat.
"Had enough yet?" asked Astrid, the satisfaction dripping from her voice.
Snotlout pushed himself off the dusty ground before wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth, looking at her with a vicious sneer. It reminded Hiccup of an angry male yak, rearing for a fight.
"Not quite" he growled before launching himself at her.
Astrid caught his left hook with one hand, before slamming her axe down on his helmet. The loud CLANG rang through the arena, and Hiccup felt it rattle his bones as Snotlout crumpled and fell to the ground in a heap.
Astrid was looking winded, but she still nodded smugly towards her parents watching from the sidelines, looking onward with a mixture of concern and disappointment. Hiccup figured they must've lost all hope of their daughter getting married by this point.
"Astrid wins the duel" announced Gobber in a bored voice, for it was the fourth or fifth time that morning. Snotlout was being helped off by two guys, still mumbling something in a half conscious state.
The sight almost made Hiccup have second thoughts, but then he remembered all the work he'd put in over the last week. I'm gonna do this, he thought, throwing worries of bodily harm out the window.
"Are we done here?" asked Gobber, and Astrid's inviting glare was met with a silent crowd.
"I hope so" muttered Astrid, wiping sweaty bangs from her forehead.
Suddenly, Hiccup realised he had to say something, and yelped out a "wait!"
Dozens of pairs of eyes suddenly turned to him, and he suddenly felt very exposed and vulnerable. Nevertheless, he urged himself to step forth which his chin up despite every nerve in his body telling him to run.
"I'd l-like to challenge" He said, cursing mentally at the irritating crack in his voice.
Ooh, cliffy ;) Hope you guys liked this chapter, and thanks as always for all the reviews! :)