=Normal POV=
(Sunnudagr, Goi; Afternoon)
(Berk; The Village-Haddock Hut)
Almost everything stopped in the village when everyone heard the loud yell from Hiccup and Brenna. Of course, no one understood why except the Chieftains, who chuckled collectively knowing what Cuyler and Stoick must have told their children about the night of the wedding.
"You think they just found out about the public consummation?" Dagur asked.
"Without a doubt," Soren laughed a little.
"I don't see what the big deal is," Eret shrugged.
"Because you boys love showing yourselves off," Camicazi rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I don't care," Ragna informed.
"It's a tradition; there's no way out of it," Thuggory mentioned.
"Still embarrassing to have all eyes on you," Heather mumbled.
"What are we talking about?" inquired a new female voice; it belonged to a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes, and she came up with four others: three males and another female.
"Hi, Astrid," Heather hugged Astrid instantly. "Hey, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut," she greeted afterward.
"And we're talking about the public consummation thing the night of a wedding between Heir's and their new husband or wife," Brynjar remarked.
"Oh, that thing?" Ruffnut asked. "I wouldn't care," she shrugged.
"I think I'm with Heather on this one. That's something that should be private," Fishlegs stated.
"Don't think I'd care much," Tuffnut replied.
"We all had to do it, so will all of you," Mogadon informed. Suddenly, the door to Stoick's house opened, and Hiccup stomped out.
"Hiccup! Get back in here; it's not that bad!" Stoick tried to go after Hiccup.
"Nope! No, NO…HELL NO. I was cool with everything else, but that draws the line, and I'm not crossing it, Dad. It's…Not right. It's barbaric! There's no way the laws say we have to do that to make the marriage legal!" Hiccup glared, trying to control his anger and not let his eyes change.
"It's been that way for hundreds of years, son! We've all had to do it; it's just-," Stoick attempted.
"It's bedding your wife in front of EVERYONE! That's wrong on so many levels!" Hiccup remarked coldly.
"Hiccup, you have no choice!" Stoick towered over him.
"What is new there? I never have a choice! And this time I'm giving myself one…" Hiccup challenged.
"Hiccup, what are you-?" Gobber began but stopped with wide eyes. "You can't possibly be thinking of-,"
"It's the only card I've got left to play, and if this can't be resolved in some fashion…I will use it," Hiccup stated coldly.
"Lad, no!" Gobber said quickly.
"What?" Snotlout decided to ask.
"I'll invoke self-exile," Hiccup threatened. Everything seemed to stop now, people staring and shocked. Even Stoick had wide eyes.
"Hiccup…You wouldn't…" Stoick insisted nervously.
"Just like I wouldn't survive, right? Don't test me, Dad…I absolutely will. No one should be forced to do that, and as I've had no control over anything else in my life thanks to you…This something I won't let you make me do…Find another way, or I'm gone by sunset," Hiccup warned, turning and walking away.
"Hiccup! Raid!" Toothless warned. However, while Hiccup heard words; everyone else heard a roar. Hiccup stopped quickly.
"What do you mean raid! It's afternoon!" Hiccup replied, panicked. This was a bad time for one; Hiccup couldn't sneak away and become Drage.
"Sharpshot spotted them; large group inbound for Berk," Toothless reported. "Get back here, now!"
"I can't just sneak off, Tooth! I'm surrounded! We have to find another way," Hiccup insisted.
"DRAGON RAID!" someone shouted from a lookout tower. Hiccup looked up quickly; there were at least fifty, more than usual and he couldn't grab Toothless and fend them off that way.
"Use your sword and shield! Or roar!" Toothless demanded.
"Might not have a choice…At least for now," Hiccup sighed.
"Orders, Chief?" Gobber asked instantly.
"Man the forge, take Hiccup with you," Stoick commanded.
"What? Excuse you? I'm not hiding out in the forge!" Hiccup snapped.
"Hiccup, no time to argue about his! Just go, you can't handle it; you didn't do dragon training!" Stoick glared.
"Alright, that's it. I'm sick and tired of you telling me I can't handle things!" Hiccup growled almost, which some weren't sure how to take. "How the hell do you expect me to be Chief if all you want me to do is run and hide from battle!"
"That's what training is for, and you'll get yours. This is not the time or place for you to prove yourself!" Stoick countered.
"Oh, you think so? I say otherwise. Why don't you let me show you a thing or two I learned while I was banished," Hiccup drew his blade, pressing a button and the sword encasing in flames.
"What the-I thought only Drage Riddari's sword could do that…" Brenna blinked.
"Pretty cool, right? Not sure the mechanics of his, but I thought it was awesome, so I decided to make a flaming sword too," Hiccup shrugged. "Now, why don't you stand back and watch how I dealt with raids when I was on my own for two years," he said, clipping a chain to the handle of his sword and throwing it up into the air. While the sword was up, Hiccup started swinging it around. The sword circling above gave the illusion of a floating ring of fire. Hiccup kept his back to the others while his eyes narrowed to slits.
The dragons flying overhead didn't attack the village; whatever they were going to do, they stopped and began flying in a circle, following the direction of the sword. The others weren't sure what to make of it? Hiccup learned this while banished. Hiccup yanked the sword down, catching the handle and clanging it against his metal shield which was on the ground in front of him. The sound was loud and resonated throughout the area. The dragons stopped and hovered in front of Hiccup; he pointed the sword West. "This island is under the protection of the king; you will disperse and leave, now," Hiccup ordered. The dragons seemed to bow their heads a moment with closed eyes before they roared out and turned, flying off.
When they'd left, Hiccup returned his shield to his back and the sword once he'd doused the blade before facing the Vikings who were all staring in shock. "What?" Hiccup asked.
"How did…You do that?" Brenna asked softly.
"I don't know," Hiccup shrugged. "Happened while I was banished. I was doing something with my sword, making sure it would stay lit if I swung it around. It had been early morning, during a raid. There were a few heading this way. I messed up catching my sword while preparing to hide, and it ended up striking the shield. The dragons around the cove stopped and stared at me. I started moving the sword, and they would follow it, I pointed it in a direction and told them to go away, and they left,"
"Good lie," Toothless chuckled.
"Shut up," I huffed. "Like I said…I learned a few things out on my own," he added. "How to survive…" he remarked a bit coldly. "I dislike how much I have to say that,"
"Well, it's hard to believe, son. You never used to be able to do all the things you can now," Stoick muttered.
"Doing these things didn't take any effort, Dad…" Hiccup glared a bit. "You know where all my survival came from? Testing things out, just as I did here in the village. Were there mistakes? Yes. Did I fail? Yes. But I learned from it and got better. This thing with the dragons was entirely by accident while testing my flaming sword, but that mistake taught me something new," he informed. "All I've ever done is try new things, but you and the rest of the village hated it because of minor destruction. All this…Was because I had the freedom…The chance to continue working on my projects. To modify, rebuild, and master. I've always been me, Dad; you just wouldn't let me be myself,"
Hiccup began to walk away, heading for the cove. "Hiccup, we're still talking about the wedding things…" Brenna tried.
"I made my stance clear on that," Hiccup said. "I don't know how you could be okay with it,"
"It's not ideal, but it is a required tradition. I won't dishonor my family over it," Brenna stated.
"I'm not dishonoring my family, Brenna. Why? Because I don't have one. All I have is my little bit of space in the cove that I built from the ground up when I was unfairly banished from the village for things I didn't do, and nobody would give me the time of day even to listen. I don't have a father; he died when my mom did. I don't have a Tribe; they are just a bunch of bullies. Why should I treat these people any differently than they treated me? I don't belong here. I've got nothing to lose by leaving. When you have nothing, then you still have nothing to lose. All I get is a new start," Hiccup remarked coldly.
"Hiccup…" Stoick said, a bit hurt by what Hiccup said.
"Tell me where I'm wrong? Can you deny any of what I just said, Chief Stoick?" Hiccup asked.
Stoick sighed, lowering his head. "No. No, I cannot," he admitted.
"You promised me yesterday that things would change. That you would be my father, and all you're doing is controlling my life. If self-exile is the only way for me to run my life, so be it. I don't mind going out past Berk and finding another island to live on, even if it is with the dragons. As you've seen, I can take care of myself," Hiccup reminded.
"Wait, wait, wait. Hiccup…Stop," Gobber stepped forward. "Now, I know none of this is fair, lad…But what did we talk about in the cove, huh? Everyone says all these things about you, and leaving is only going to make them believe what they say more. Prove them wrong. Stay. Fight. Win…"
"I was all for that before this public consummation thing," Hiccup scoffed.
"It's not that bad, laddie. You could do it," Gobber encouraged.
"I know that I can; I just don't want to, Gobber. It's foolish to prove marriage legality by bedding your significant other on a bed of furs in front of everyone over the age of eighteen in the Tribe, plus the visiting Chieftains and their Heirs," Hiccup crossed his arms over his chest.
"Please, don't leave. I've missed you these past two years; I don't want to lose you again. Maybe you can find another way?" Gobber tried. "You managed to do everything else with a little extra effort, and you just claimed you don't give up until you succeed…So use that knowledge here, and figure something out,"
Hiccup took a deep breath, looking up at the sky before letting it out. "Bring me the book of Viking Laws and Traditions…" Hiccup sighed.
"Atta boy," Gobber patted his shoulder. "Wait, what are you gonna do?"
"Find another way," Hiccup said. Not long after, Stoick returned from his house with the book; it was old and looked like it needed some organization. Hiccup set it on the ground and knelt before it while flipping through pages towards the section on weddings. Hiccup scanned through until he found the required traditions, and began looking for the one Stoick was talking about.
After a few moments, Hiccup located it and started to read everything thoroughly. "Find anything?" Brenna wondered, standing next to Hiccup now and kneeling beside him to look over the book.
"Gimme a second…" Hiccup mumbled while reading it over another time. "Alright, the book reads; the Heir and/or upcoming Chief will be in bed with his wife, or husband if Heir is female, on a bed of furs in front of witnesses, six,"
"So public consummation," Eret clarified.
"It's not actually," Hiccup looked at him. "I honestly think you've been interpreting this wrong for Thor only knows how many years," he added.
"Excuse me?" Cuyler inquired.
"There's nothing written here that says public consummation," Hiccup stated. "It reads that the Heir and upcoming Chief is to wed before Chiefdom is attained. Full legalizing the marriage requires for it to be held on Frigga's Day and following the negotiated decisions of the finalized marital contract. Required traditions to finalize the marriage are as follows; the upcoming Chief or Chieftess will BE IN BED with his wife, or husband if Heir is female, on a bed of furs in front of witnesses, six," he read off word for word.
"That means-," Gobber began with wide eyes.
"It means that there's no mention of doing the deed, as it were, in public. Example wise, Brenna and I have to be in a bed of furs together in front of witnesses the night of the wedding. This also doesn't specify we have to be in front of the village. And I think the six next to the word witnesses refer to only six witnesses have to be present to see them lying in bed together thing," Hiccup remarked.
"And it is written underneath that the witnesses are supposed to be Current Chief, Tribe Elder, Parents of the Bride and Groom," Brenna pointed to the smaller font under the requirement. "Also says that the witnesses are only present until groom's sword and bride's kransen are removed,"
"The lad is right, Stoick…This doesn't say anything about having to do the deed of bedding his wife in front of the village. Maybe we have been reading this wrong. I think we should seek Gothi's council on it," Gobber suggested. Of course; he was tapped with a staff as Gobber looked to see Gothi, the village Elder for the Hooligan Tribe. She was a short woman who never spoke. Gobber moved as Gothi glanced over the book, then nodded her head, motioning to Hiccup. "I'd say that means she agrees that Hiccup is right,"
"So we don't have to do the thing in front of everyone," Brenna asked. Gothi shook her head as Brenna instantly hugged Hiccup tightly. "You did it! You found another way! You're good; I'm gonna like being married to a smart guy like you!"
Hiccup blinked a few times at her happy face. "I, uh…You're welcome, I think?" he said. "At least you're easy to entertain," he chuckled, deciding to close the book, handing it to Gobber, and then hugging Brenna back. "Yeah, I guess things will be alright; I can see myself married to you. We'll make it work," he looked at her. Brenna blushed as she laid her head on his chest, closing her eyes and relaxing. Hiccup set his head on hers, eyes closed. Everyone else was just glad they were getting along.