DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from the HTTYD series or any of the ideas to the plots. My ideas are inspired by a collective of stories that I have come across. But I am always open for any ideas that could help with the story. I might also mess up with some details but I will try my best for the story. Without a further ado I will let you get on with the reading, enjoy!
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Hiccup felt calm as he heard the familiar sound of metal hitting metal as he worked in the forge. He enjoyed the warmer temperature as well, having to keep the forge even hotter than before since he was working with Gronckle Iron. A week had passed since his little fiasco with Snotlout and he had tried his best to just mind his own business. He was doing good on staying out of the village but today he had to make some stuff in the forge. He tried to go in early and managed to get in before anyone saw him. He continued to pound away at the metal and once he was satisfied with it, he dipped the hot metal into the tub of water. A cloud of steam quickly rose up and Hiccup took off his shirt and used it to wipe the sweat on his forehead. He threw the sweat covered cloth on top of a nearby table and continued to work away.
He continued to work for about thirty minutes when he heard the door open and he looked up to see Gobber walking in.
"God's laddy do you need to keep it so hot," he heard Gobber call out as Hiccup set the hammer down.
"That's the downside of Gronckle Iron," Hiccup told him, "Strong as hell but you gotta get it real hot."
"Gronckle Iron," Gobber asked as he walked over to another table where Hiccup had laid out a few finished pieces.
"I know what you're thinking Gobber and absolutely not," Hiccup told him as he leaned back against a cluttered workbench.
"And what was I thinking exactly," Gobber asked as he turned back to Hiccup.
"You want me to make weapons for you," Hiccup told him as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"You have to admit it would help us significantly," Gobber said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"And it would just lead to more bloodshed," Hiccup added, "And I won't be responsible for that."
"I know laddie," Gobber said with a sigh as he looked over at Hiccup. "How did you become so responsible," he asked with a chuckle.
"Part of the job," Hiccup said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. He looked up and saw Gobber looking at him with a soft smile and almost a look of admiration.
"Just make sure you don't burn yourself out laddie," Gobber told him with a nod of his head. He turned and walked over towards the other side of the forge to work on other projects. Hiccup watched him for a few more seconds before he turned back to all the designs he made. Satisfied with the work he did he decided to go back out to chop a few logs that he could hand carve later. As he stepped out into the cool morning air Hiccup felt relieved as it washed over him. He even saw a bit of steam coming off from his arms as he walked around to the front of the forge. A pile of logs were waiting for him and a large wooden block had an axe embedded in it. Hiccup pulled out the axe and reached over to grab a log before setting it on the block. With one swift movement Hiccup brought the axe above his head and then brought it back down, splitting the log cleanly in half.
As he continued to chop more logs, Hiccup noticed a crowd began to gather close by the forge. It was mostly younger kids and a few teenagers, the adults not bothering to pay any attention to him. He paused for a moment and set the axe down as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. As he looked up he paused when he saw Astrid, who had an annoyed look on her face, making his way over to him.
"What's wrong," Hiccup asked her as she stopped close to him.
"Nothing," she said with a shake of her head but Hiccup could tell she was lying. She was sitting on the wood pile now and her arms were folded across her chest. Hiccup sighed as he laid the axe down on the ground and walked over to her. He stopped when he was just in front of her and tilted his head to the side as he looked at her.
"Am I going to have to keep asking what's wrong or will you tell me," he asked her as he raised his eyebrows.
"I'm fine," Astrid told him but then he caught her eyes flick over his shoulder and look at something behind him. Hiccup glanced back and realized what was making her annoyed as he saw a group of older teenage girls watching him.
"Is Astrid Hofferson jealous," he asked with a joking tone in his voice, which didn't help with Astrid's annoyance.
"I am not," she told him but by the look on her face Hiccup could tell he hit the nail on the head.
"You know you are a terrible liar," he said with a soft chuckle. The look of annoyance on Astrid's face became even more clear now and she wasn't happy.
"I'll talk to you later," she said in a tone that signaled she was very annoyed now. She started to get up but Hiccup stopped her as he moved closer to her. He lightly held her down with his hands until she looked up at him.
"You know you don't have to be jealous," he told her as he smiled at her. "You are the only person who has my interest."
"I know," Astrid said with a sigh as she lightly rested her head against his, "But the way they look at you just makes me think things."
"Well none of them are Astrid Hofferson," Hiccup told her, "And she is the only person who I love and want to have a future with." That comment made Astrid smile and he pulled back so that he was standing up straight now.
"You think about our future," Astrid asked him with a small smile on her face.
"All the time," Hiccup told her with a nod of his head, "I always need someone in my life to annoy and scare the hell out of."
"You're such a child," she told him as she playfully shoved his shoulder, a bigger smile on her face now.
"And you still love me for it," he said as he leaned forward and she lightly wrapped her arms around her neck.
"How could I not," she asked him before he kissed her. As he pulled away, Hiccup glanced back and saw several of the girls walk away. Hiccup laughed to himself as he jumped up and sat on the wood pile next to Astrid. "So what's the plan for today," she asked him as he brought his arm around her waist.
"I don't see anything wrong with this right now," Hiccup told her as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You know it's interesting how lazy you can become sometimes," Astrid told him with a soft laugh.
"What's wrong with being lazy," Hiccup asked her as he leaned back so he could look down at her.
"Absolutely nothing," she told him as she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. They sat there for a few more minutes and just enjoyed the peaceful silence.
"Astrid," someone called out and Hiccup looked over to see Bella running over towards them. A wide smile was on the girl's face as she ran over to the two.
"You're up early," Astrid noted as Bella finally made her way over to them and Astrid picked her up so she was on the other side of Astrid.
"I wanted to see you," Bella told her, "And mom said I could spend the day with you." Hiccup looked up when Bella mentioned her mother and he saw both her mother and father staring at them. Or rather at him as they eyed him down as they walked past, their father especially as it felt like he was trying to burn a hole through Hiccup as he walked away. He felt his hand being squeezed and he looked over to see Astrid looking at him.
"Don't worry about him," Astrid reassured him, "I won't let him touch you either."
"Maybe I should be protecting him from you," Hiccup told her with a joking smile. Astrid leaned her head back on his shoulder with a soft chuckle. Hiccup's smile quickly faded away as he looked back towards Astrid's father who was still watching him. He didn't say anything but the message was clear in his eyes, he hated Hiccup. Hiccup understood his hate and he also understood what was laying ahead for him, and to be honest, he was a little bit uneasy about it.
Astrid smiled softly as she listened to Hiccup and Bella share stories back and forth. Bella was acting like it was Snoggletog all over again with all of her excitement. She struggled to hold back her laughter as she watched Bella bounce around as Hiccup continued to work on his cabin.
"So what did you do when you got bored on the island," Bella asked as she sat in one of the wooden chairs that Hiccup had made.
"Well there wasn't a lot to do around there," Hiccup admitted as he brought a log up on a stand. "I guess I would just go out and fly with Toothless most of the time." Toothless stirred slightly at the mention of his name and Astrid saw a little excitement in his eyes at the mention of flying as well.
"What is it like up there," Bella asked as she looked up at the sky as a few clouds rolled past.
"It's calming," Hiccup told her as he stopped working and looked up at the sky as well. "I can just leave all my worries and problems behind and feel free up there."
"It sounds nice," Bella said in a soft voice as she looked down and over to Toothless.
"It is," Hiccup said with a smile as he seemed to reminisce over all the memories he had flying.
"Could you take me flying," Bella asked with a sudden eagerness in her voice.
"I don't think many people would be too fond of that happening," Hiccup told her as his eyes flicked over to Astrid. "I will take one day though," he added after Bella's shoulders seem to sag a little bit.
"You promise," Bella asked him as she perked up again.
"I promise," Hiccup said as he extended his pinky out, to which Bella wrapped her's around it. Toothless stood up now and slowly walked over to Hiccup and bumped his head into his leg. "Great," Astrid heard Hiccup say with a sigh, "Now that you heard us talk about flying you want to get up." Toothless looked at him eagerly and Hiccup just shook his head as Astrid just laughed as she watched the two. "Alright give me a minute," Hiccup told Toothless as he finally gave in.
"You give in that easily," Astrid asked him with a joking smile.
"You try to tell him no then," Hiccup told her as he motioned to Toothless. Toothless turned around to face Astrid with a pair of begging eyes staring at her.
"Yep, you're out of luck with him," Astrid told him which earned her a toothless smile from Toothless.
"See what I mean," Hiccup asked as he brought over Toothless' saddle. The dragon walked over and held still so that Hiccup could secure all of the straps. After Hiccup checked over everything again he walked over to his riding gear and put everything on. Astrid moved over to Bella as Hiccup and Toothless walked into an open space.
"Don't do anything stupid," Astrid called out as Hiccup got into the saddle and steadied himself.
"It's only stupid if it doesn't work," Hiccup said back with a childish grin. Astrid just shook her head as he put on his helmet and placed his foot in the pedal. Toothless lowered himself down to the ground as he spread his wings out before he launched himself into the air. Astrid heard Bella gasp as they watched Toothless soar higher into the sky. Toothless changed his direction so that he was now going straight up and was starting to slow down. Right as it seemed they were about to stop in midair Toothless leaned back and pointed his nose towards the ground. As they made their descent they began to pick up speed and Astrid felt Bella grab onto her. Right as it seemed they were about to make contact with the ground Toothless pulled up and swooped by.
"You're such a child Hiccup," Astrid mumbled as she turned to watch the two continue to fly around. As they continued to pull off a couple stunts Astrid looked over and saw a couple of crowds gathering. She saw several annoyed looks on their faces as they watched him also along with some curious expression. She turned back to see Toothless pull out of a large loop before he leveled out again. Astrid was confused why they were moving slowly in the air and then she realized what Hiccup was planning. He was shifting around in the saddle and then straightened up before he slowly leaned to the side. He fell out of the saddle and began to plummet towards the ground. A few seconds later Toothless took a nose dive towards the ground and chased after Hiccup.
Bella buried her head into Astrid's stomach, not wanting to see the outcome. Astrid watched as Toothless was now level with Hiccup and the two were looking at each other. Right as it seemed they were just going to hit the earth, Toothless spread his wings and caught a rush of air. Seconds later Hiccup extended his arms and caught the wind so he could glide through the air. "It's fine to look now," Astrid told Bella who still had her head turned away from Hiccup. Her younger sister slowly turned her head back to look at Hiccup and she gasped when she saw him gliding through the air. Astrid smiled as she saw the look of amazement of Bella's face as Hiccup and Toothless glided through the air. Eventually Toothless flew under Hiccup and he got back in the saddle.
The two flew back towards Bella and Astrid and slowly came down to the ground. As Toothless landed on the ground Hiccup took off his helmet and spread his arms out wide.
"How did you like the show," Hiccup asked as a wide smile appeared on his face.
"You're such a child," Astrid told him as he walked over to her and readjusted all of his riding gear.
"You made all of that," Bella asked as she looked at Hiccup as he began to take off his riding gear.
"After a lot of failed attempts," Hiccup said with a chuckle. Bella just nodded as she looked over at everything again.
"You should probably home Bella," Astrid told her, "Mom and dad probably want you back for lunch."
"Alright," Bella said with a hint of sadness in her voice. She then hugged Astrid goodbye and then the same for Hiccup. Hiccup paused for a moment and then lightly hugged Bella. With one final wave she turned and headed back towards the village.
"She likes you," Astrid told Hiccup as they watched her turn the corner and head further into the village.
"Slowly winning over more and more by the day," Hiccup said as he turned and walked over to the bench that was set out. "I'm up to three people who don't want to kill me now."
"They all don't want to kill you," Astrid told him as she sat down next to him. "They just don't know what to think for themselves and follow what Stoick says."
"Well hopefully they will start thinking," Hiccup said with a sigh. "Otherwise I don't know if I will actually be able to do any help." Astrid sighed as well as she placed her head on his shoulder. She knew he was right and that the people of Berk had to trust him in order for him to help them. The problem was she didn't know how to get them to trust him.
Ayo, it's me, hopefully people liked the chapter and apologies for the long wait. Between how busy work got at the start of July and with some stuff for school a few days ago, I had no time or energy to really crank out anything. I wanted to get something out so that is also why this one is a bit shorter than some of the previous chapters.
MeoW: All I will say is that Snotlout will try to use his 'power' as the next chief to try and win over Astrid or something along those lines. I can't really say much because I haven't really given it too much thought at least into a lot of detail.
Stardust333: It was brought to my attention that the guillotine wasn't invented yet. I just randomly thought of an execution style and that popped into my head. Thank you for the history correction because I honestly don't look into much history.
AnakinMousestalker: Of course thank you for the feedback and review along with your overall analysis of the story. Appreciate other people's insight and how they see it all playing out.
Atomic R4y: Glad you liked the fight, trying to bring in new aspects for any fight scene and not to make it dry or repetitive.
RERESNIPER and .9279: Thank you both for the positive reviews and the compliments.
One quick thing I will also say is that I am going on vacation at the end of this week so there may be a pause on updates for about two weeks until I get back. Now it's not set in stone because any time I say I won't update, I somehow find time to get some stuff out. I am just letting it be known that I will be away in case anyone is concerned about another long pause on updates. The discord can really help also keep updated, which I need to do better on doing that but it's been a long few days recently. If you don't want to join, that's perfectly fine, I take no offense to it. As always if you have any thoughts, reviews, and/or questions please leave them as they are always helpful and peace out!