It was the middle of spring, and Hiccup was getting changed for his meeting with Astrid. The two of them had planned to go to the movies together, and despite what his father might think, it was not a date.

"Hiccup, I hope you're ready for your date with Astrid," said his father's booming voice.

"It's not a date, Dad!" Hiccup yelled back.

"She's coming all the way to London to see you, and you'll be going alone together to the cinema," his father pointed out. "If that's not a date, I don't know what is."

Hiccup knew very well that his father was teasing him as a method of payback. Hiccup had pressed his father to go out with his therapist for quite some time. He only met Violet a few times, but she was pretty cool, and she quite liked him.

Despite the number of times his father complained, he knew very well that he liked her. Now he was getting his payback by pushing him into a relationship with Astrid. It wasn't as if he disliked Astrid, she was, after all, one of his closest friends, but she did have a short temper.

"Okay, we're going to the movies alone, but just as friends," Hiccup emphasised.

His father then stepped into his bedroom; he was a mountain of a man with a thick red beard and blazing emerald green eyes. He also had a powerful air of authority that needed you to listen to him with pure intimidation.

"Hiccup, she likes you. You need to make a move," he said, folding his arms.

Hiccup sighed. "She likes me because I'm her friend."

"Who also saved her life twice, risking your own, if I might add."

"Anyone would have done the same."

His father raised an eyebrow. "Really? Just anyone would cut off their own leg to save her from ritual sacrifice? Anyone would hang themselves on the tree to gain infinite knowledge to save her from the marriage of a mountain giant?"

Now you probably think this was very strange behaviour, but it wasn't strange if you knew that Hiccup was a demigod. He only found out a couple of years ago that his mother was a Norse goddess, and there was a school for demigods like him in the UK.

"Okay, maybe not anyone," Hiccup relented.

His father gave a small smile. "Son, you fell in love with her the first time ya met. Don't waste this opportunity; after all, you can't find another girl like her in your lifetime."

Hiccup turned on him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, you're not going to find anyone as beautiful, as fearless as Astrid Hofferson."

"Maybe, but at the same time, I don't want her to break my arm."

Hiccup wasn't joking; Astrid was the daughter of Thor, the Norse god of thunder, so he made the wrong move with you and could end up in the hospital. Plus, Astrid was a warrior first and foremost, so dating her was like trying to draw up a battle map.

"I think you're exaggerating, son."

"She's the daughter of the god of thunder; I don't really want to push my luck."

"Are you afraid that she might reject you?"

"I'm more afraid of being eaten up to a pulp."

"Astrid would never do something like that to you. I mean, she agreed to come here to the movies without hitting you, didn't she?"

"It was her idea!"

"Which means she really does like you and that she has more courage than you."

Hiccup was about to argue some more when suddenly, they heard the doorbell ring, and Hiccup immediately felt butterflies flying in his stomach.

"Speak of the devil," said his father.

Hiccup really wished he hadn't said that but decided to say nothing as they made their way downstairs.

As he made his way downstairs, he tucked in his green shirt and did his best to remove the butterflies in his stomach.

Once he reached the door, he took a deep breath and opened it. Standing there was Astrid, who was just as beautiful as ever. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, and her steel blue eyes looked at him fiercely. She was wearing a simple blue shirt, a red skirt and black leggings, but Hiccup knew that every muscle in her body was prepared for battle.

"Hey, Hiccup," Astrid smiled.

Hiccup smiled back. "Hey, glad you can make it."

"You two better get going before you miss your movie," said his father as he appeared behind him. He then looked at Astrid. "You take care of my boy."

"I'll try, but it's never easy," said Astrid.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "Hey, how many times have I saved both of you?"

Astrid grabbed his arm and pulled him over the threshold. "Come on, let's get going."

They began making their way down the street with Astrid's arm around his, and as they walked, people stared at them. Hiccup was inclined to believe that they were staring at Astrid and wondering how he got a girl like her.

"So, how's everything with your mum?" Hiccup asked and immediately regretted asking.

"So so," Astrid heaved. "We are talking."

"About what?"

"You, actually."

"Me?" Hiccup stared.

Hiccup never actually met Astrid's mother, but apparently, she was an actress who mostly did action movies, which caught the eye of Thor. However, Astrid's mother seemed a bit miffed that Thor left her, leaving behind a child she never wanted.

Astrid eventually got tired and ran away before finally reaching Midgard Academy. The two of them hadn't spoken until Hiccup pushed Astrid to talk to her. He had hoped that things had improved between them, but it didn't appear to be the case.

"She wants to meet you. Apparently, she got the idea that the two of us were dating. I quickly set her straight."

"Dad actually believes this is the date," said Hiccup.

"Urgh, parent, you can't live with or without them," Astrid groaned. "I mean, okay, the two of us are going to the movies together, but that doesn't mean it's a date."

"No, of course not."

"Going on a date, are we?" said a voice.

The two of them jumped and spun around to find a beautiful woman in her 40s. She had sky-blue eyes and auburn hair with a few greys. Hiccup immediately recognised as his father's therapist.

"Violet?" Hiccup stared, stunned.

"You know her?" Astrid blinked.

"Yeah, she's my father's therapist and girlfriend."

Violet laughed. "After some pestering from you?"

"I don't hear you complaining," said Hiccup. Astrid then coughed, reminding him that she was standing next to him. "Oh, sorry. Violet, this is Astrid, Astrid Violet."

"It's nice to meet you," said Astrid extending her hand.

Violet smiled and shook her hand. "It's wonderful to meet you as well, Astrid. So I take it that you're Hiccup's girlfriend."

"No, we're just friends," said Astrid quickly, rather too quickly.

Violet gave her a sceptical look. "Yet I see the two of you alone together."

"What? Friends can't hang out?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid nodded. "Yeah, Hiccup is a friend who so happens to be a boy, but that doesn't make him my boyfriend."

"That's not what Steven thinks," she smiled devilishly.

"Oh, not you, too," Hiccup moaned.

Violet giggled. "Okay, I won't say any more; you to go and enjoy yourselves."

They watched as Violet walked away.

"She seems rather nice," Astrid noted.

"She's the best," said Hiccup.

Astrid gave him a curious look. "Does she know…"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to tell a therapist that I'm a demigod to a Norse goddess who fights monsters and the such on a daily basis?"

"Okay, point taken," Astrid nodded.

"I just got her and my dad together. I don't want to scare her off," said Hiccup. "Though I think she will probably figure out that we're not entirely normal, she is a smart woman."

"You better hope that she doesn't figure it out. I've known a few demigods whose stepparents just couldn't handle the strain. They feel as if they were the second choice, and it's even harder for those who have new Islamic heritage."

"I doubt that she would act like that; I mean, she's rather nice to me."

"Just choose the right moment if you do plan to tell her."

"You before they get married?"

Astrid's eyes widened. "They're getting married?"

"Not yet, but I get the feeling it's more than a matter of when not if."

"Well, if your dad does propose, he should probably tell her before he does so."

"Don't worry, you tell me in advance before he proposes, and I'll make sure that he tells the truth beforehand," Hiccup promised.

Astrid nodded and then looked at her watch. "We're going to be late; the movie starts in about half an hour."

"Then what do you say that we pick up the pace?"

Then the two of them dashed towards the cinema.

Once there, they immediately got their tickets and took their seats, with a bag of popcorn to share between them.

Astrid looked at Hiccup. "You know this is really nice."

"Yeah, I'm grateful you are able to make it."

Astrid smiled at him. "As am I."

Hiccup then turned towards the big screen, which was now showing adverts, but it was then that he noticed that he and Astrid were the only ones in the cinema.

"Uh, how many stars did this movie receive?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"High marks, why do you ask?" Astrid asked as she took a bite of popcorn.

"Because we're the only ones here."

Astrid nearly choked on the popcorn and realised that he was right. "I don't suppose there is any chance we went to the wrong showcase?"

Hiccup wished that had been the case and that he had made sure that didn't happen. He then suddenly got a premonition, something which he often received due to the fact that his mother was the goddess of prophecy. He saw swarms of undead soldiers swarming into the stands.

"We're about to be attacked by zombies," he warned Astrid.

"Lovely," Astrid muttered.

Immediately the two of them pulled out their weapons just as the zombies burst in.

"You know there's time for I wish that you weren't so accurate with your predictions," Astrid commented.

"Yeah, I wish that as well."

The zombies that approached them were completely pale, but other than that, they could be mistaken for humans. He also noticed that not a single one of them had any kind of battle wounds; in fact, some of them looked old.

"The dishonourable dead," Astrid whispered.

"You mean the souls not chosen by the Valkyries?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid nodded. "Those who died from sickness and old age plus those who redeem criminals and murderers."

"Okay, what are they doing here?"

"No clue, but there's too many of them to fight. We can't get mortals involved."

"Get ready to run!"

Hiccup then immediately raised his hand in the air creating several Norse runes, and then there was a sudden blinding flash of light. He then quickly grabbed Astrid's hand and bolted towards the door.

"You're really getting the hang rune magic," Astrid commented.

After gaining the knowledge of the Well of Wisdom and hanging himself on a Tree of Life, Hiccup managed to gain a greater understanding of rune magic. It is possibly the most powerful form of magic there was, but extremely difficult to learn. He was still learning that he had managed to master a few spells.

"Still got a lot to learn," said Hiccup. "We need it to the Academy now."

"So much for the movies," Astrid grunted.

They ran past several confused mortals who had no idea what was really going on, thanks to glamour. However, judging from their reactions, it would seem they fought the zombies were protesters of some kind.

Once they got outside, they quickly made their way to an alleyway.

"Time to summon our rides," said Hiccup.

Suddenly materialising were two dragons; they were, in fact, the souls of dragons that had bonded with their ancestors about 1,000 years ago. Hiccup mounted his dragon Toothless, and Astrid mounted hers named Stormfly. They didn't waste any time and immediately took off.