=Brenna's POV=
(Odinsdagr, Einmanudur; Mid-Morning)
(Berk; The Village)

As of today, the wedding was in nine days. I honestly had to say that I couldn't wait. I felt like Hiccup, and I would have a good marriage. Hiccup was strong, smart, inventive, skilled, and an absolute gentleman. I was very surprised that he showed me this other custom of a man asking for a woman's hand in marriage. Hiccup never mentioned that the tradition was to give a small speech about the man's feelings to the female before asking. I couldn't believe the things he said, and I played along, saying yes to him asking if I'd marry him. Listening to his speech, my heart was pounding fast. I started liking him. I was beginning to like Hiccup a lot. I decided to see if maybe he felt something for me, so I invited him to kiss me. Shockingly; Hiccup did so.

The kiss was incredible. Gentle, sweet, loving, and lasted a few moments. I knew that I was beginning to like Hiccup, and I felt like things would be alright between us. However, Hiccup seemed to get scared and took off. I heard Gobber talking; it looked like Hiccup might have started something for me, and he wasn't sure how to take the new feelings. Stoick went to talk to Hiccup and returned a bit later to say that Hiccup began to feel sick again and was going to get some sleep. I felt bad; I felt like he needed time to sit with whatever he felt and sort things out. But all that aside; I loved what I've seen since I met Hiccup.

We would have a good marriage, and we'll get along well. Hiccup will make an amazing husband, father, and Chief and I want to be his wife, mother of his children, and Chieftess. This is a choice, not due to the arranged marriage. If I had to choose one person to spend the rest of my life with; I choose Hiccup. Now, Hiccup had spent Laugardgr and Sunnudagr sick. On Manudgr to today moving his things from the cove to his father's house, which would be his, and then ours after the wedding. Hiccup finished moving everything in and organizing it all himself. Stoick was now living with Gobber until his new house was done; it would be nice, but smaller since it was only him and it wouldn't be far from his old house.

I honestly couldn't wait to be married to Hiccup; I really couldn't. Only nine days to go, and I cherish the ring he gave me. I will still wear it after we marry too. Typically, betrothal gifts get put away since the couple moves to married status, not betrothed. But Hiccup said other places in the world keep the ring on with the wedding band, which makes a lot of sense; you are engaged or betrothed before you are married. I liked it a lot, and I'm glad Hiccup introduced me to it; I still can't get over the little speech he gave. I'm living in the house with him, and my parents too. Hiccup sleeps in the big bedroom, which we'll share when we marry.

My parents are in one room, my brother in another; then my sister and I share one. After the wedding, my parents and siblings will return to Peaceable Country anyway. All the Chieftains and Heirs will be leaving, and I think I'll be immensely grateful when they do. It's nuts having them all present in one place for this extended time. Hiccup was doing great with his Chieftain training; it was amazing to see how much he managed to handle in one day. Hiccup spent the mornings with his father, then the afternoon moving his stuff from the cove to his house in the village. Hiccup always made time to be in the forge and help Gobber, and he would spend the nights after dinner organizing the house.

Oh, and on the Drage Riddari situation; we haven't seen him appearing since the raid before Hiccup got sick. We were hoping to talk to him once before everyone returned to their islands, so for once in Odin only knows how many years; the Vikings were praying a raid would happen and Drage would be part of it. Today seems to be a quiet day; everyone is doing their normal duties things while Stoick and Hiccup got stuck being good hosts to the Chieftains and Heirs. This means Stoick was Chiefing but had an audience, and so did Hiccup. We got the joy of just watching them work, and having random conversations about the past year since the last meeting. I was next to Hiccup, but that was to be expected; we were going to be married soon.

"Is everything all set for the wedding, Stoick?" Mogadon inquired.

"I believe so; we're just waiting on the day to arrive," Stoick nodded. "You have your things set, son?" he asked.

"Yep," Hiccup nodded, and then I saw his eyes widen a bit as we passed the forge. "Except the bands. I got busy with being sick and moving…"

"Well, there's not much going on right now, Hiccup. Why not head to the forge and get them done?" Stoick suggested.

"Yeah, shouldn't take long," Hiccup nodded, preparing to head off, but then he stopped and turned back around to face me as I blinked quickly. "I, uh, said you could watch when I did them. Did you…Still want to?" Hiccup inquired.

"Oh! Yes, please?" I smiled brightly, happy that he remembered what I'd said almost three weeks ago now. Hiccup offered his hand to me; I took his, and we walked towards the forge. I was going to like this; I've never seen Hiccup do forge work before, and we'd be able to spend some time together without the others around.

. . .

(Berk; The Forge)

Hiccup brought me to the forge and allowed me to sit down in a chair that would let me see everything and not be in any dangerous spots. I couldn't wait to watch Hiccup make out wedding bands! I know he made my betrothal ring, but I never got to see the process, and I found blacksmithing and forge work to be incredibly interesting. I was glad Hiccup invited me to watch this.

"Does this take long, Hiccup?" I inquired.

"Not typically. The process is pretty easy; the difficult part is sizing it properly; I had to guess with the betrothal ring," Hiccup admitted.

"Good guess," I smiled. "It's perfect. Not too tight or loose," I informed. "I can spin it around my finger, but it won't slip off unless I shimmy and spin it off,"

"That's what I was going for," Hiccup chuckled. "So, I can copy the size of your ring now to make the band you'll wear. Mine might take some playing with," he said while grabbing the things he would need.

"Can we watch too?" came another voice. Hiccup and I glanced over to see the Heirs of the other Tribes, and Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Fishlegs. Not all the Heirs had come, but it looked like Heather, Eret, Thuggory, and Camicazi. Perhaps the rest hadn't been interesting in leaving their father's side. Or mother since Camicazi was Bertha Bogg's daughter.

"If you want to, but you'll have to stand where Brenna is. Gets wicked hot in here and when I start hammering; I don't want you to get hit by sparks," Hiccup stated.

"That's okay with us. Where's Gobber?" Fishlegs inquired.

"I have no idea, but I don't need him here to run the forge," Hiccup informed. "Thank the Gods he left it lit; it would take me most of the day if I had to get it heated myself," he smiled after laying out his tools. Hiccup glanced around for something else.

"What'cha looking for, laddie?" Gobber asked.

"My apron…I thought I left it hanging at my station yesterday," Hiccup replied.

"I put it in your room when I was cleaning up," Gobber said.

"Thanks," Hiccup went to get it, returning a moment later while slipping it over his head and tying the strings at the sides around his back. Hiccup got right to work making the two bands, but mine first. No one talked, Hiccup seemed like he was incredibly focused while working. The process was easy, but long when it came to manipulating the hot metal into a circle and hammering it out thin or needing to make it smaller.

Somewhere in the time spent, Stoick arrived with the other Chieftains, watching quietly. Hiccup finished both bands as far as bending them into rings, he set his aside and focused on mine. Hiccup moved near her when it came time to ensure the size was right.

"May I see the betrothal ring real quick?" Hiccup asked. I got it off carefully and handed it to Hiccup so that he could check the sizing. After a moment, Hiccup handed my ring back and did a bit more on the band before setting both in a clamp and beginning to file out imperfections and make sure it was smooth. When both rings were set, Hiccup heated them once more and then quickly dipped them into the water where there was a hiss and some smoke.

Hiccup pulled the rings out and dried them off with a cloth. Hiccup smiled as he inspected both before placing them in his palm to show me. "Done," he informed. I leaned closer to see their rings; they were a beautiful metallic silver color, smooth and in perfect circles. "Would you like to try yours on for size?"

"Yes, please?" I nodded. Hiccup took my band in his hand as I slipped off the betrothal one, remembering what Hiccup said about it going in front of the wedding ring. Hiccup slipped the ring on my finger, and it was an excellent fit. Hiccup decided to try his on as well, but it came as no surprise that it fits splendidly. "It's so light…Won't these break easy?"

"Not a chance, Milady. They are light because I used Gronckle Iron; it a strong, but extremely light metal," Hiccup informed.

"What is Gronckle Iron," Gobber asked.

"Certain mixture of rocks that Gronckle's eat and spit back up as a blast. When the blast cools and hardens; it's ridiculously strong, and not much can match it," Hiccup informed.

"When did you use a Gronckle?" Stoick blinked.

"I, uh…When I went outside for a little air and came back in with that steaming pail, then kept my back to you guys so you couldn't see what I was doing…" Hiccup admitted.

"Normally, I'd be mad…But since I know you know what you're doing with dragons…I won't yell at you," Stoick sighed.

"Appreciated, but yeah; these won't break. I promise," Hiccup told me. "My sword and shield are made from it, so are a lot of my other weapons. This stuff is stronger than your typical metal," he informed.

"Really?" Snotlout stated.

"There's no way," Dagur huffed.

"Would you like to test your weapon against it, Chief Dagur?" Hiccup challenged.

"Sure, bring it," Dagur nodded with a grin as he drew his sword. Hiccup exited the forge, pulling his blade out and facing against Dagur.

"I never make the first move," Hiccup said.

"Why not?" I wondered curiously.

"If I get the first move, you lose," Hiccup smirked.

"Yeah, alright. Prove it," Dagur remarked.

"As you wish," Hiccup shrugged before his eyes narrowed and he dashed in, taking Dagur by surprise with speed. Hiccup brought his blade up to strike, and Dagur went to block. However, Hiccup psyched him out by bending down and kicking the sword from Dagur's hand; it went up into the air. Hiccup took this chance to sweep Dagur's feet out from under him, causing the Berserker Chief to land on his back on the ground. Dagur's sword began to fall.

Hiccup struck the sword mid-air and cut it directly in half on the blade. Both pieces hit the ground as Hiccup turned his wrist, cornering Dagur, who was still on the ground and Hiccup's sword tip at his throat. The man gulped with his hands up. Hiccup backed up and offered his hand to Dagur. "M-My sword…" Dagur paled at the sight of his precious blade in two pieces on the ground. Hiccup's sword didn't even have a scratch on it. "You gotta make me one of those…"

"Here," Hiccup tossed his blade to Dagur now. "You can have that one, in place of yours that I broke,"

"But this is yours…" Dagur reminded.

"What's your point?" Hiccup inquired.

"Don't you need it?" Eret said what Dagur had planned to.

"Not really, no. I have more weapons than I can keep track of. I'm not worried about one sword," Hiccup shrugged.

"Isn't this the one the lights on fire?" Soren asked.

"Odin no; I would never give that one up; it took way too long to perfect. The one I handed over is an average-made sword with a mix of normally used metal and Gronckle Iron," Hiccup explained. "It will still break if not maintained, and it will need to be sharpened at least every three moons," he added.

"No problem," Dagur nodded.

"So like…Was meaning to ask something," Tuffnut mentioned.

"What's up?" Hiccup looked at him.

"Where do you keep all your weapons?" Ruffnut questioned. Hiccup chuckled a little as he exited the forge and moved over to a door on the right of the building. Hiccup grabbed the handle and slid it open as they were able to see the room. It was small but had a bed, desk, sharpening, and polish station. One wall had tools for forging, and the rest were lined with weapons. There were swords, daggers, both short and long types, axes that were single and double-headed. There were two sides axes too! There were spears and maces, even some shields.

"Wow," a few said, the rest stared or blinked.

"You made all these?" Stoick inquired.

"Most, yes. Some were just collected through travel," Hiccup smiled.

"I don't even recognize some of these…And I'm curious about your shield too. Did it fire a bola a couple of weeks ago at that Krogan guy?" I inquired.

"Yes, Milady; it did. My shield is one of a kind and multi-use. Which means it does more than defend," Hiccup nodded. "Perhaps in a few days I'll show you everything, and the weapons you don't know of; there's a lot out there," Hiccup chuckled. "For now; it's about lunchtime and we should get to the Great Hall," he suggested. Not arguing; they all departed the forge and went to the Great Hall to eat, but not before Hiccup got both wedding bands and set them in a box, safe and sound until the wedding in nine days.