Chapter Twenty-Four: Get Well Soon
Astrid wished that the cure would work immediately. Dalla had said that it would take time for the medicine to work its way through Hiccup's system, and it would take an even larger amount of time for Hiccup to return back to normal. Astrid handed Hiccup a cup of water, and Hiccup gulped it down in less than five seconds.
"Feeling any better?" asked Astrid as she sat down on his bed next to him.
Hiccup shrugged. "No, not really." The young viking sighed and laid back down onto his pillow. "I just want to get out of bed."
Astrid nodded understandingly. "Well, good news is you're not dead."
Hiccup laughed softly. "Yeah. That's good."
Astrid placed the empty cup on Hiccup side table and took a seat in a chair. She began to sharpen her axe and Hiccup watched her. Astrid had no idea what to do, and the best thing she could come up with was to keep Hiccup company. Toothless warbled from the other side of the bed and laid his head on Hiccup's chest. Hiccup smiled and rubbed Toothless' black scales affectionately.
"So...what happened to Ingvar?" asked Hiccup.
"He's still in the dungeons," said Astrid. "But I did overhear Stoick talking about tying him to a mast and shipping him off the edge of the world for what he did to Berk and you."
Hiccup laughed again. "That sounds just like him."
Astrid smiled. "Yep. And if Ingvar does fall off the edge of the world, we won't have to worry about him accusing another outbreak with a mysterious virus ever again."
"I still don't understand how Ingvar pulled it off. Where did he even put the illness anyway?" Hiccup wondered.
"I'm guessing probably in the food," said Astrid. The Hofferson set her axe aside and faced Hiccup. "There was a feast at the Great Hall the night before the Inytits broke out, so Ingvar and his men must have snuck in and put the virus in there. I hear that they're throwing out the infected food and we're going to have to hunt extra for the winter."
Hiccup nodded. He hoped that something like this wouldn't ever happen to Berk anytime soon. Luckily, it didn't seem like an illness outbreak would happen agani for a while. Everything was returning back to normal, and the people who had contracted Inyitis were back to their normal, everyday lives. Hiccup smiled. Things were back to being slow again, and even though he knew that his wishing for adventure didn't cause the pandemic, he made a metal not not to crave for it so much in the future.
Astrid placed the back of her hand on Hiccup's forehead and winced. "You're still pretty warm."
Hiccup sighed. "I really hate being sick and injured…"
Astrid wrung out a wet cloth and placed it on his forehead. "Don't worry, you'll be up on your feet in no time. Then we can have a dragon race with the others."
"It's been a long time since we've had a dragon race," remarked Hiccup.
Astrid nodded. 'I know, which is why we have to have one."
"I'll put it at the top of my list of things to do when I get out of bed," said Hiccup with a smile. Astrid gave him a kiss on the forehead and picked up her axe to leave. The sun was setting and Astrid had promised Stormfly that she would take her out for an evening flight before the sun went down.
"I'll be back tomorrow," said Astrid. "Don't try to escape!" she added as she ran down the stairs.
Hiccup chuckled to himself. "I make no promises," he whispered. Toothless' green eyes glared at him.
"What? I'm not actually going to get out of bed!" said Hiccup, but Toothless caught the hint of a lie in his voice. The Night Fury flopped his head onto Hiccup's chest and Hiccup gasped.
"Hey!" cried Hiccup. "Let me go!"
Toothless only snorted in response. Hiccup huffed. He was bedridden. There was no way Toothless was going to let him out of his sight. Hiccup had been sick multiple times before, it all came with being the runt of the village. But still he managed to escape his room every once in a while, and he remembered hearing Gobber say that Stoick nearly had a heart attack when he found that Hiccup wasn't in bed when he came up to give him medicine. Hiccup smiled at the memory. His father had gotten the entire village to look for him, and he had only gone out to get a cup of water.
Hiccup turned his forest green eyes to stare at Toothless. "I'll give you extra fish tonight if you let me go."
Toothless grunted as if to say, Yeah, not happening, buddy.
Hiccup sighed. He was stuck in bed whether he liked it or not.
…
The next couple days were slow, and Hiccup found that he mostly spent his time sleeping, sketching, or talking with his friends when they came to visit. Hiccup longed to get out of bed and go outside, but he was in recovery, meaning that it would be a while until he could go out and do whatever he wanted.
Hiccup groaned as Astrid held out another medicine cup. "Do I have to take it?"
"Yes," said Astrid. "Dalla and Gothi's orders."
Hiccup grimaced at the drink. "I really don't want to take it."
"I'll force it down your throat if you don't, so you're going to take it either way," said Astrid firmly. Hiccup took the cup out of Astrid's hands and gulped it down, shuddering after finishing it.
"It tastes like Night Fury drool," said Hiccup in disgust. Toothless' head turned toward him, an offended look on his face.
"How do you know what Night Fury drool tastes like?" asked Astrid, laughter sparkling in her eyes. Hiccup rolled his eyes.
"Toothless' favorite spot to lick me is the face," replied Hiccup. "And there's no way to stop Night Fury saliva from getting into your mouth."
"Ew," said Astrid. "That's really gross." Now that she knew what Night Fury drool felt like, she knew that she wouldn't want to feel it in her mouth. Toothless laughed in the corner and Hiccup glared at him and then sneezed, making Toothless laugh even harder.
Hiccup frowned. "Stop mocking me!"
Astrid laughed and Hiccup gaped at her. "Really? You too?"
"Sorry!" she said in between laughs. Hiccup just shook his head, but a smile crept onto his face. Once Astrid calmed down, she handed Hiccup another cup of medicine.
"Wh-what?" spluttered Hiccup. "Did you just—-"
"It helps to speed up the healing process," said Astrid. "At least that's what Gothi told me. She could be giving this to you just to make you drink her horrible medicine."
"Wow. I can totally see her doing that," said Hiccup.
Astrid pushed the drink toward Hiccup's direction. "Drink it, Dragon Boy. This one tastes better than the last, I promise."
Hiccup tentatively took the cup out of her hands and gulped it down. Like Astrid had said, it did taste better than the previous cup of medicine he had drunk. He handed the cup back to Astrid and Astrid took it from his hand.
"Now get some rest," she said. "You look like you could use it."
"I'm not tired," said Hiccup, but then he yawned.
"Yeah, right. Totally not tired," said Astrid. "Go to sleep. I'll see you later."
Hiccup nodded and laid his head on his pillow. He felt Astrid brush his bangs out of his face and then heard the sound of her footsteps leaving his bedroom. Hiccup closed his eyes and sighed, falling asleep promptly afterward.
