Aand we're back to Hiccup's POV!
This chapter was a bit challenging for me to write, I will tell you why at the end of the chapter, so see you there!

Stoick was back on his feet two days later. The wound hadn't healed, but that didn't stop him from sitting back on his throne. Hiccup could see that his father was in a lot of pain, and he was sure everybody else did, too. The king tried to hide it, but the pain seemed to be so unbearable that he couldn't control the hisses that escaped from his mouth and the painful expressions whenever he sat down or stood up, walked or, in short, simply existed.

The king had been given different options that would allow him to rest, but it had been like talking to a brick wall. Hiccup would've ruled Berk for the time his father needed to fully heal, and all the important matters that required Stoick's attention would've been postponed, but he was having none of that. The king didn't want other kingdoms to think Berk was an easy target for them, and on top of that he didn't want to give Briral the satisfaction that his bedrest would grant them.

Nothing was the same after Stoick had woken up, and it was making Hiccup uncomfortable. He didn't know how to react to his father giving him more and more responsibility out of nowhere, tasks and duties that the king himself had always taken care of. The prince wasn't allowed to meddle with those until now, and being driven into the unknown without the slightest notice was overwhelming and scary.

It became Hiccup's responsibility to plan the future attacks on Briral, and that if anything was unsettling. Stoick was certain that the prince would want nothing more than to see that kingdom burned to ashes after everything that happened. The king expected his son to be filled with rage, but he wasn't. Hiccup wasn't mad at Briral for shooting his father, he was mad at the pointless grudge that was the cause behind it all.

It was needless to say that it wasn't Hiccup's intention at all to make any plans regarding Briral, at least not ones that involved spilling blood. He wasn't sure how long he could delay another battle before the king began breathing down his neck, but that was something he wanted to find out.

If these changes made Hiccup uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to how he felt after hearing a dreadful piece of news two mornings later after Stoick had gotten out of his bed. When the king had demanded his son's presence in the Throne Room, Hiccup had been expecting to be given yet another task to fulfil. Well, he hadn't been completely wrong.

The king and queen of Olissa, along with their daughter, were going to arrive that afternoon. It had taken Hiccup a moment to realise what that meant, and when the realisation hit him, the word 'shocked' wasn't even close to describing how the prince felt.

He was going to meet Princess Arleigh.

"Why?" was the only thing to come out of the prince's mouth. He instantly realised how stupid it must've sounded, and Stoick's face was proof of that.

"Of course you need to meet Princess Arleigh before marrying her," the king said with furrowed eyebrows. "You surely want to know what she's like."

Yeah, no, was what he thought. "Of course" was what he said out loud.

Hiccup felt sick. Meeting her would only mean he was one step closer to having to face the fact that there was no hope for him to be with Astrid. He had always known it, but he sometimes teased himself with the distant hope that they could figure out a way to be together. However, now it felt as though that dim ray of hope was stepped on and extinguished by reality.

He did know this day would come eventually, but in no way did he think he'd need to face her for many years. Their marriage wasn't relevant at the moment, with Stoick surviving the arrow and him being so attached to that throne.

"They will be staying for a couple of days," Stoick added. "I know you're aware how important their visit will be, so I expect you to behave properly."

"And what does define 'proper behaviour', exactly?" Hiccup asked.

"When you're talking to them, just remember who their daughter is going to be to you. That should do the trick," the king said simply.

Gobber appeared out of nowhere with some important-looking letters in his hands. He handed them over to the king, who hissed in pain as he reached out his left arm. He ignored the pain and began reading the letters, which was a wordless permission for Hiccup to leave the Throne Room. He was more than happy to leave, as he needed to prepare himself for what was to come that afternoon. What that preparation was exactly, he didn't know. He just needed to get out somewhere to clear his head before stepping in front of their guests.

The afternoon came too soon. In the morning it had felt like he'd have plenty of time to mentally prepare himself, but now that the moment was here, he felt he hadn't done enough to stop himself from having an inner freak-out.

As he stood by the gate, Stoick and Gobber on the other side and he and Fishlegs on the other, he felt nervous. He knew what he was supposed to do – he should first focus on the king and queen of Olissa and drown them in compliments that didn't mean anything, after which he was allowed to look at Princess Arleigh and offer her a tour around Berk. After that, he was expected to escort the princess to the guest chambers where she'd have time to get prepared for the massive dinner. There was nothing complicated about it so he didn't need to consider his actions beforehand, which was why he had too much time to dwell on his nervousness.

"How are you feeling?" his friend asked him under his breath. He wasn't looking at the prince because they had to look like they weren't talking.

"If I ignore the fact that I feel like I'm about to jump into a bottomless pit with no way out, then I'd say I feel nothing," the prince responded. He took a sideway glance at his father who was in subconsciously rubbing his hand on top of the spot where the wound was while talking to Gobber who was just nodding his head every now and then.

"So that means…?" Fishlegs asked.

"That I'm feeling miserable. I know I shouldn't, but I am. Why am I feeling so miserable, Fishlegs?"

"That might have something to do with the fact that Princess Arleigh is stopping you from being with the one you want."

"There's a bit more than just her stopping that," Hiccup reminded him. "Add in hundreds of years of brainless fighting and stubbornness and we might just have the package."

"You may really like Princess Arleigh," his friend tried to cheer him up. "Maybe she'll make you forget about the other princess."

Hiccup snorted. Luckily that went unnoticed by Stoick. "As if that could ever happen."

The prince was convinced that he would still be mourning over Astrid when he was old and on his death bed, surrounded by his children that weren't Astrid's…

…and now he needed to stop thinking.

He didn't have time to sink deeper into his depressing thoughts, for someone from the watchtower that was located on top of the gate announced that the royal family of Olissa were arriving. Hiccup fixed his gaze on the horizon, and there indeed were four horses pulling a carriage that was surrounded by knights of Olissa, some of them travelled by foot and the others rode horses. The prince had completely forgot that Olissa was one of those kingdoms that chose to live without dragons.

The carriage came to a halt inside the kingdom walls, and out of it came out the king and the queen. One of the knights that had travelled by foot stood next to the carriage door, holding out his hand for the queen to grab for easier exit. They both looked older than Stoick, but the queen had successfully hidden most of the wrinkles around her eyes with make up. They both were smiling, but it didn't break the tension the situation was surrounded by.

Hiccup knew what to do. Once the king and the queen were standing on solid ground, he put his right hand behind his back and bowed down ever so slightly. Not too much so they didn't think the prince thought they were superior to him, but not too little to avoid showing disrespect.

"Welcome to Berk," Stoick said ceremonially. "I hope your journey here didn't come with any obstacles."

The royal couple bowed down and curtsied in a similar manner as Hiccup had done before the king spoke; "It was very pleasant, thank you. We spoke a lot about the greatness of Berk on our way here."

Hiccup doubted that very much. His father often said that as well if they were visiting another kingdom, but in reality they didn't talk about anything at all, mostly because it was near impossible to speak when their ears were filled with the sound of wind.

"It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Prince Hiccup," the queen of Olissa said and turned to look at him with a warm smile that still didn't convince Hiccup.

Nevertheless, he returned the smile. "The pleasure's mine," he said and bowed down once again.

That was when Princess Arleigh stepped out of the carriage. She eyed the surroundings with an unreadable expression, after which she first turned to face Stoick and then Hiccup.

She was the perfect definition of a typical princess. Nothing about her was out of place, the light blue dress with details in golden silk hugged her body. The sleeves of her gown were large and loose, and her dark brown hair highlighted her pale skin. Not a single strand of hair was sticking out of her tight bun. Just the way she stood there looked graceful, and how her lips curled into a tiny smile seemed measured as if she had been practising the perfect way to bring out her dimples in front of a mirror. She was really beautiful – there must've been something in the genes of royals that made it impossible to be anything but. Hiccup didn't know what to make of it, but one thing he was sure about; she was nothing like Astrid.

He mentally reminded himself of who that girl was going to be to him. It was no use comparing her to Astrid; it would only make him more miserable. "Princess Arleigh," he said as the princess took a couple steps towards him.

For a split second her eyes fixed on the prosthetic leg. Hiccup didn't miss that, but he was used to new people staring at it so he didn't mind. Arleigh raised her head to meet the prince's eyes again. "Prince Hiccup," she replied and reached out the back of her hand for Hiccup to take and press his lips on it. He did that. "I am delighted to meet you. I've heard so many great things about you and your achievements."

"I hope you'll find there's some truth to them," the prince responded.

Stoick and Gobber escorted Arleigh's parents towards the castle and Hiccup offered to take Arleigh around the kingdom grounds to properly see the place she was going to be living in some day. They walked through the village and the marketplace, and Arleigh was really curious about how Berk lived with dragons.

"I've heard a great deal about you and your dragon. They say you're the best dragon rider this world has ever seen," Arleigh said with a lot of enthusiasm. When Hiccup glanced at her, she was looking at the prince curiously.

"I…err…I don't know about that," he said and scratched the back of his head.

The princess let out a laugh that was clearly fake. "Don't be so modest, it doesn't look good on you," she replied in a teasing tone.

"I prefer to not claim titles that I don't know to have the right to possess."

Princess Arleigh didn't seem to understand him, the look she gave him resonated that. She examined him curiously and tried to make out something from his face. It made Hiccup slightly uncomfortable.

Astrid would've understood, and she would've agreed with him wholeheartedly. It was cruel how he had met someone with very similar views on the world and he didn't get to share his life with that person. He would've given almost anything to have Arleigh replaced by Astrid.

"When I eventually move here," the princess started, snapping Hiccup out of his sulky daydreams. "Hunting is very dear to my heart and I would love to continue it as my hobby also here in Berk."

"Hunting?" the prince repeated in surprise. He had never heard of a princess that hunts at her own will.

"Precisely. I have been doing it for as long as I can remember, and I would hate to part with it."

"Yeah, of course, I don't mind," Hiccup said, still astonished.

Arleigh was so delighted to hear those words that she let out a hearty laugh, a very genuine one this time.

They visited the stables, the training grounds and every other place that Arleigh found interesting. She was very talkative and there never came a moment of silence. She laughed a lot and she listened to everything Hiccup told her with interest written all over her face. Sometimes Hiccup got the feeling that she was faking it, because there was no way she'd find something like taxation in Berk interesting. Even the prince himself found that subject boring.

She asked many questions and Hiccup asked some in return. He found out that Olissa didn't have as strict rules for princesses and queens as Briral did, which explained how she had been training hunting for so long. Olissa didn't want to live among dragons because they didn't think the dragons would do that at their own will. He then told her that they hadn't forced any of their dragons to remain in Berk, and when Hiccup reminded her that Olissa hadn't most likely asked their horses whether they wanted to be at their service either, Arleigh just shrugged her shoulders because she didn't have an opinion on the matter.

"I can't contain my curiosity for much longer," the princess confessed suddenly and shot her eyes on Hiccup's prosthetic. "I have heard of stories about your missing leg, but I do not believe I have heard the right version. Did it really get bitten off by a dragon?"

"It did, but not in the way you probably think. I fell off Toothless – yes, that's my dragon's name, funny huh? – and he tried to save me from the fire that was underneath us. He did succeed in that, as you can see, but he grabbed me from the leg and with too much force so yeah... That's how I lost it. It's been almost five years now."

"Incredible," Arleigh said impressed. "It must be easier to have a missing leg knowing that you lost it because you were being saved."

"I never really think about it that way, but I suppose you're right," Hiccup replied with a slight frown. He fixed his expression before he turned to look at the princess and continued; "Is there anything else you'd like to see, or do you want me to take you to your chambers to get ready to dine with us?"

Arleigh considered his question for a moment before she replied with a gentle smile; "I think I'm in a need of a bit of rest, so that'd be wonderful."

The prince walked with her into the castle and showed her the corridor at the end of which the guest chambers were located. He also told her that if she wished to have guards at her door, that could be fixed. Arleigh didn't consider that necessary but thanked anyways and they parted their ways, the princess entering the corridor and the prince taking the stairs to the next floor where his own chambers laid.

The rest of the day had gone by quickly, much to Hiccup's surprise. Arleigh had sat next to him on the table and they had continued their discussion about Berk and Olissa, but meanwhile it was easy to talk to her, it didn't feel genuine. They were still speaking to each other too formally. Hiccup didn't know if that was because today had been their first time communicating in any way, and of course the fact that they both knew why they were communicating in the first place was haunting them at the back of their minds constantly. Or at least Hiccup's. It wasn't like they had been talking at their own will. It had been planned by his father and Arleigh's parents.

Hiccup leant his other foot against the stone wall of the castle while resting his elbow on his knee. He looked at the sky, his mind going back and forth between the memories of events that occurred today. He tried to clear his thoughts.

There were stars in the sky, but he couldn't make out any constellation. Not that he knew many, but there were a few he was aware of, but none of those were visible to him.

While looking at the sky and the stars, he was trying to make sense of what he thought of everything. The day with Arleigh had been surprisingly nice, and he had enjoyed his time with her for the most part. She perfectly fell into the 'stereotypical princess' slot, but her personality seemed much richer. He didn't know it was appropriate for princesses to hunt, and like it on top of that. He still didn't know if it was something Olissa approved of, and he made himself a mental note to find that out tomorrow.

They seemed to get along quite well, Hiccup had noticed that. It was easy to make Arleigh laugh and she seemed like a very happy person. She was also well-educated, and she seemed to have some interesting thoughts.

But she wasn't Astrid. Arleigh might laugh a lot but it didn't carry the same warmth Astrid's laugh did. It didn't make Hiccup feel anything. Her thoughts were interesting, but she wasn't an interesting person. Astrid was both.

He hated his mind for comparing them, but he couldn't help it.

"That's Antinous," he heard a voice say behind him. "It's a constellation created by an emperor who lived over a thousand years ago."

Hiccup turned his head. "Princess Arleigh," he said surprised and corrected his posture so that he stood on both feet. "Why are you up so late?"

Arleigh smiled sadly. "You're not the only one whose life changed a lot today," she responded and walked up to the prince. "I find walks at night very refreshing. The silence gives you space to think."

"It definitely does," Hiccup agreed and looked back at the sky. He tried to find the constellation, but it was no use. He didn't even know what it looked like.

"Something's troubling your mind," Arleigh said. It wasn't a question, it was a simple statement.

"It's nothing that matters," the prince replied.

That was both true and untrue. True because whatever he thought of the situation didn't matter. Untrue because what he was thinking of made him feel like he was being suffocated.

"But it clearly matters to you," the princess insisted, maintaining that gentle tone.

Hiccup didn't answer. He busied himself with the night sky and his thoughts instantly travelled to the forbidden sneak-outs that he had recently done with Astrid. It would be three more nights until he'd see her again – they had agreed to meet once a week from now on, and the prince already knew that those nights were going to be the highlights of his busy weeks. He couldn't wait to see her smile again, to feel her lips against his, to hold her in his arms.

A fond smile creeped on his lips before he noticed.

"There's somebody else. Somebody that you love," Arleigh said instantly. Again, not a question, just a statement.

"I don't love anybody," he said but even he could hear the hint of uncertainty in his voice.

Did he? Did he love Astrid? Could his feelings be that strong? It was true that his mind was mostly consumed by the thought of the princess of Briral, but had his feelings developed that much in such a short amount of time?

That was something he needed to figure out as soon as possible.

"But it's another your heart belongs to," the princess next to him stated. She didn't sound angry or sad, which was both relieving and strange to Hiccup.

"How do you–"

"I'm not blind, Prince Hiccup. I spent all day with you and I could see that your heart wasn't with you all the time. There were moments where you were lost in your own thoughts and smiling at nothingness. It wasn't that hard to miss."

Hiccup didn't really know what to say. Was he supposed to apologise? Or should he use the prince card and say that it was none of her business?

He decided to go with the former. "I…I am sorry I wasn't discreet about it. I swear that will try to behave from now on."

Arleigh shook her head with a sad smile. "Who is she?"

"That doesn't matter, does it?"

"No, I guess not," the princess said in thought.

They stood there in silence for a while. Hiccup glanced at Arleigh to see how she was taking in the news that he had feelings for someone else. The princess didn't seem upset, however. She was still thinking about something, and she looked like she was in peace with her thoughts.

Gods damn it with princesses and their unreadable, calm expressions.

"There's this man back in Olissa," she began, her eyes looking into nothingness. "He's the son of a huntsman, and he taught me how to hunt, I don't think I've ever seen a better hunter. We've been friends since we were kids. He isn't noble, but he truly acts like one. I always knew we couldn't be together, but knowing that has never made it easier to accept it."

That was, wow. Hiccup hadn't expected for Arleigh to have a similar story with him. It was hard to believe that they both knew exactly how it felt to be in this situation, to be forced to be parted from the one they truly wanted to be with. That brought some indescribable comfort to the prince. He didn't know why it was so relieving for him to know that he wasn't alone with these emotions, but it really was.

"I am sorry it cannot work out for you," Hiccup said sincerely. "If there was anything I could do about it, I would do it."

"There really isn't anything to be done," Arleigh responded with a sigh. "Our futures have been decided for us before we even knew what was going on. The only thing that's left for us to do is to try to make things easier for us. And that's why I am asking you – please, whatever it is that you feel, try to push it away. You're only making this hard for yourself if you keep on being sad. I like you, Prince Hiccup, I really do, and even if we will never love each other, I am glad it is you I am going to share my life with."

The prince smiled but it wasn't even close to reaching his eyes. "I will try my best. I liked your company today, too."

Deep down Hiccup knew he just couldn't push Astrid away. He knew he was being selfish, but he didn't want to part their ways ever. Knowing that she also felt the same way about him made things worse – if Astrid hated him, it would've been so much easier to just suppress his feelings and try to forget about them, but now? Not possible.

But was there any hope for them left? Was he only making things worse for himself, just like Arleigh said?

...well, is there any hope for Hiccup and Astrid? (why am I asking when I am the only person who knows the answer lol)

This chapter was challenging to write because I didn't want to take the obvious road and make Arleigh a terrible person. I wanted her to be likable, but I also wanted to show that they aren't really made for each other. I constantly wanted to make her annoying but I think I managed to stay away from that path XD

Thank you all for reading this story!
(something big is going to happen in the next chapter, just so you know huhuhuh)