Chapter 9: To Love and to Cherish

Hiccup woke to the noise of a terrible terror clawing at his window.

Still half asleep, he stumbled to the window and to his surprise, the terror didn't seem scared of him. Maybe it was one of the ones he'd come across earlier at the beach? Looking around to make sure he was alone, He gave it some scratches on its neck, making it squawk in approval. The dragon scampered off and and he felt the first sun rays of the day warm his face, smiling at the fact that it looked like it was gonna be a much appreciated sunny day.

He'd thought he would feel nervous, anxious, or even scared, but as he looked out over the sea and heard the noisy chirping of birds, a sort of pleasant calmness spread through his body. He felt like he could take on the world.

Today is the day.

He turned and took a long look at his mostly empty room. Most of his stuff had already been shifted to the other house, including his trunks, his desk, drawing supplies, books, etc. His small bed was still here, since a new and bigger one had been made for his new house.

Hanging from a hook was his attire for the ceremony, a white and gold outfit with a highly impractical but extravagant fur cape. It had been a challenge to make the clothes fit his skinny frame properly, but Bart, the village tailor, had managed to get it right eventually.

As he ran his fingers along the expensive fabric, he tried not to think about Astrid's harsh words from last night. Maybe that had just been a bad dream?

Whenever he felt doubtful, recalling Astrid's mom's advice always reassured him. Hiccup might be a teen who doesn't know much about anything, but Ingrid Hofferson was an adult with a lifetime of wisdom and she still thought this was a good match, that this will work out fine.

Feeling strangely excited, he wondered what Astrid would be doing, right at this moment.

It seemed like one second Astrid Hofferson had fallen into much needed sleep, and the other, it was daylight outside and her mother was rousing her out of bed. Oh, how she wished she could sleep for just a bit longer! Sleep was a sanctuary, where no one was telling her what to do or trying to marry her off.

The morning passed in a flurry of activity, starting with her house getting invaded by an assortment of women who made her undress, take a bath infused with a variety of fragrant oils, and every inch of her was scrubbed clean until she smelled like a bouquet of freshly picked flowers.

Following the bath, she was dressed in layer after layer of clothing, finishing with her wedding dress, a white and gold affair with lots of glitter around the neckline and and embroidered with a multitude of patterns in golden lace.

Astrid despised impractical clothing, and dressing up all feminine and pretty wasn't at all what she'd done if she'd had any say in this. Despite that, as much as she hated to admit it, the dress was truly breathtaking. Her family wouldn't have been able to afford it at all without the extravagant bride price that had been agreed upon in the marriage contract with the Haddocks.

Then her mother removed her kransen and put it away for safe keeping, replacing it with a bridal crown on her head. Her golden tresses were put up in an intricate marriage braid, and Astrid grew envious of the fact that Hiccup probably wasn't having to go through so much fuss and preparation like her.

Next thing she knew, she was being led to the great hall where people had already gathered, but as the large wooden doors swung open and a couple hundred pairs of eyes landed on her, her gaze landed on just one small figure on the stage, looking right back at her. Hiccup.

When she got close enough to look at him properly, she was vaguely amused by his dumbstruck reaction as he gawked at her openly, not even making an effort to hide his staring.

In the ceremonial attire of his own, his usual messy hair smoothed down somewhat and a dorky look on his face, he looked... not bad. That was the most Astrid was willing to admit, and she tried her hardest not to return his lopsided smile.

She was still supposed to be mad at him for Thor's sake!

The ceremony went on, and Astrid felt distinctly out of her comfort zone in a situation like this. She didn't have a single weapon on her! Her parents, Hiccup's father, their friends, and pretty much all the rest of Berk had piled into the hall, and the whole room felt warm and buzzing with energy.

When Hiccup presented her with the sword, she bit back a jibe seeing him struggle a bit with its weight as he handed it over. Then Hiccup slipped a silver ring onto her finger with slightly trembling hands, and Astrid forced herself to place a matching ring on his.

She tried to look anywhere but at Hiccup, and almost jumped in surprise when the elder asked them to step closer, and took both their hands and joined them together.

Meanwhile, Hiccup hoped the slight tremble in his hands wasn't noticeable to her as he continued holding her hands, slightly smaller than his, warm, and seemed like they fit perfectly into his like pieces of a puzzle.

All his confidence from the morning had flown out the window when he'd first laid eyes on her. She almost looked like a glowing angel, everything she was wearing, her hair, her necklace, her dress, all seemed to sparkle beautifully in the light, and the sight made his brain numb.

And now, she was close enough to make out the shades of blue in her eyes as he continued doing his best to not get sweaty palms.

The elder was speaking. "Does anyone present here wish to object to this holy union? Speak now or forever hold your peace"

In the deafening silence that followed, He spotted Snotlout try to stand up before getting smacked upside the head by his father. Hiccup might have almost been amused had he not been mortally terrified of what was about to happen.

"Do you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, take Astrid Freya Hofferson to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part, according to God's holy ordinance?"

Hiccup felt his throat close up but still managed to get out the words, "I do"

The elder turned to Astrid.

"Do you, Astrid Freya Hofferson, take Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part, according to God's holy ordinance?"

Hiccup could hear his heart thumping in his chest as he prayed to all gods above that Astrid wasn't about to refuse him right here. A lifetime could have passed in the moment her eyes went down to their joint hands before back up, and she her piercing gaze was aimed straight at him when she finally said, "I do"

Hiccup would have almost laughed in relief if he'd had a moment, but then he heard the elder's subsequent words and found himself blindsided by something that he should have seen coming a mile away.

"I pronounce you man and wife." The elder turned to Hiccup. "You may now kiss the bride"

His heart was racing again as he nervously looked up to see Astrid, who very much looked like she wanted to punch him in the face. Nevertheless, she leaned forward, just a tiny bit, but enough to make him snap out of his stupor and he found himself leaning forward too.

Closing his eyes at the last second, they met in a chaste kiss, the briefest peck on the lips, and before he knew it, it was already over and the crowd's cheering and hollering was reaching his ears, but not his head.

Astrid had averted her gaze, a healthy blush on her cheeks. She looked absolutely adorable, and he gave her hands a gentle squeeze which made her look back at him with an indecipherable, almost shy look.

Hiccup was feeling overwhelmed with emotions all of a sudden as he glanced at his new... wife? Feeling lightheaded, he forced himself to take a deep breath before they were led to the next ceremony.

The driving of the sword into the impressive looking pillar was considered to be an indicator of the strength and longevity of the marriage, and considering Hiccup was already straining under the weight of the sword, he didn't have high hopes for himself.

He braved a glance at Astrid standing next to him, and she looked anxious, which spurred a new wave of determination inside him, and giving it everything he had, he drove the sword right into the pillar, impaling it deep into the center.

Startled murmurs went all around as even Astrid looked surprised at what had happened. There was no way Hiccup should have had enough strength to pull this off. Right?

Hiccup thanked the gods for this unexpected stroke of luck, and then it was time for the feast, which was way more elaborate than any he'd seen at any wedding he'd ever been to.

He drank from the union cup and then handed it to Astrid sitting beside him who took it carefully and drank too. Her expression was still unreadable, and he would have paid a sack of gold to find out what she was thinking at this moment.

The music and the celebration continued well into the night, while Hiccup picked at his food as he spied Astrid doing the same. He wanted to say something to her, anything at all, but the words died in his throat every time he made up his mind to speak.

He peeked her way again and caught her looking at him, their eyes locking.

Oh well, here goes nothing:

"Astrid, I-"

She narrowed her gaze, as if daring him to continue.

"I wanted to t-thank you"

She raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For agreeing to... you know, all this"

She scoffed, then muttered quietly, "Yeah, like I had a choice"

Their hands on the table were excruciatingly close, and he fought the urge to take her hand in his. "You did have a choice you know... the Astrid I know would never let anyone tell her what to do"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, glaring daggers at him. Oh no.

Hiccup tried to stutter a reply, but luckily Astrid was summoned by a group of women before he had a chance to explain.

It was something that had crossed his mind last night. Astrid was never the sort of girl to do something she didn't want, even though others expected it of her. If she didn't want to marry him, she wouldn't have no matter what. She would have found a way.

That thought had gave him the tiniest inkling of hope. Maybe a minuscule part of her did want to marry him? Or at least found him tolerable?

His meandering thoughts were interrupted by a commotion as he saw that the twins had apparently snuck in a yak through the front doors, which was now running amok with half a dozen men chasing after it. In spite of himself, he let out a smile.

Is a wedding even a Viking wedding without a little bit of chaos?

He was led to their new house a while later, even though the festivities were still going strong, and probably will go on long into the night. All Vikings needed was any excuse to party, and the wedding of a heir was certainly reason enough.

He went up to the bedroom where Astrid was already waiting, and he barely registered the sound of the procession shutting the door behind them and leaving them alone in the house.

His knees threatened to give out on him when he took in the sight of his bride, sitting on the bed and looking down, dressed in a flowing white nightdress that made his ears turn red. But what surprised him the most was her hair. Flowing down in waves, unbound and open, the first time he'd ever seen it like that. Viking women were only allowed to put their hair down in front of their husbands or family, hence he was being treated to the hypnotic sight for the first time in his life, tonight.

Realising he was staring, he quickly averting his gaze, and shuffled nervously in place, unsure what to do.

Astrid finally looked up, and she was slightly surprised at his embarrassed expression. "Well?"

Hiccup jumped at the sound of her voice, before replying, "umm... y-you must be tired... we should... get some sleep"

Astrid frowned. From what she'd been told about the wedding night, sleep should have been the last thing on his mind.

He stumbled over to his side of the bed and took his pillow and a sheet. He took it over to the floor on the other side of the small room and placed it on the floor.

Astrid's frown deepened. "What are you doing?"

Hiccup looked sheepishly at her. "I just... I assumed you'd be uncomfortable sharing the bed... it's fine, I'm used to sleeping on the floor it's no problem..."

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Astrid had this whole thing rehearsed in her mind, how she'd tell him off, preferably beat him up, and Hiccup wasn't at all acting like he was supposed to. He wasn't even looking at her! A thought suddenly came to her.

She stood up, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring daggers at the small boy. "What's the matter? Am I not attractive enough for you?" She asked indignantly.

Hiccup's eyes widened. "What? No! that's the furthest thing from the truth, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on!"

Hiccup's cheeks reddened instantly from what he'd blurted, and Astrid's face colored too.

"What then? why aren't you..." she trailed off, too mortified to finish the sentence.

Hiccup looked down all bashful, and said quietly, "I know that you didn't want to marry me Astrid. And of course you don't want to- you know, and what kind of husband would I be if I asked my wife to do something she didn't want? I promised to take care of you, and I don't intend to go back on my word."

Astrid sucked in a breath at his confession, partially because it was the first time he'd called her his wife, and because of the unexpected and frankly unbelievable sincerity and consideration on his part.

"Oh" was all she managed, feeling her anger fizzle out of her. "But what about... they'll check for proof that we..." she trailed off, feeling absolutely mortified at having to bring this up.

Hiccup's head snapped up. "Oh! Don't worry about that, I had a plan for that.." he produced a small vial of something and dripped a few drops on the pale colored bed sheet. "Dark red dye, made from crushed scales of a monstrous nightmare" he grinned. "They won't know the difference"

"But.." but what? what about her plan? her heart sank as she realised there was nothing more she could do now.

She stood there like a statue while Hiccup moved back and laid down on his makeshift bed on the floor.

Unsure where to go from here, Astrid too wordlessly got into bed, and blew out the candle by the bedside.

Engulfed in darkness, Hiccup's quiet breathing was the only indication that she wasn't alone in this room, and she felt waves of emotions crashing around in her head. The day had been far too long and far too eventful, and suddenly her eyelids felt heavy and the bed felt blissfully soft.

The memory of the kiss, her first one ever -and preferably her last as well- popped up in her mind for some reason, and she remembered that weird fluttering feeling it had invoked in her.

Feeling both annoyed and strangely relieved that the wedding night hadn't gone anywhere near what she'd planned, she drifted off to sleep a while later, more relaxed than she'd felt in weeks.

Hiccstrid is a go- I repeat, Hiccstrid is a go. Wish Hiccup luck, he's gonna need it ;)