Mine or Yours – The Other Side
Astrid tried to wrap her head around everything that just happened in mere minutes. She got rid of Snotlout - that was good. In his place, however, Hiccup got assigned to protect her instead. That was bad. In addition, she finally told herself that she was going crazy. Her eyes probably played tricks on her, yes. She was just imagining that black something that engulfed his feature and his sword. There was no way that whatever she just witnessed could be real. She snapped out of it when Hiccup approached her. Their eyes met for a second before Hiccup went down on his knee, pledging his loyalty towards her and the kingdom. His eyes were closed while his head hung defeated in front of her. They both knew that this... changed everything. He could not mess around anymore as well as she could not talk to him normally anymore. Both were aware that they could not be Astrid and Hiccup anymore. They were now Princess and Guard. For Astrid, who had just found someone she liked being around with, it was an utter nightmare.
The King watched everything silently unfold before him. Gobber just prayed to the lords above that everything went according to his plan. The success rate was no more than fifty-fifty. He knew he should inform Hiccup about his father's whereabouts, but it had time. There was a formidable chance to change him, using the Princess and this kingdom. He did not care if he were to be called a fool or stupid. If it meant that he could see his boy smile again, it would be worth it. With that, he would fulfill the last wish of Queen Valka.
Hiccup stood up slowly, now opening his eyes as he looked at the Princess. Astrid shuddered at the sight. Again, she was at the starting line. He was looking at her with such a cold gaze, it nearly made her choke. It was not fair. She had just unlocked his heart, just to have her very father put another lock around his throat. The sight made her eyes watery as she looked at him. This is not what she wanted, this is not what she had worked for the past few weeks. She wanted him back, as Hiccup only. Not as a knight, not as a guard. Just as that foreign commoner who made her feel equal to him. She was about to voice her complaint but the words remained stuck as she felt him touch her hand.
Hiccup knew what she wanted to say, what she wanted to do. He felt the same way. Yet, he also knew that this was a test, and to some point, a plan of Gobber's. Whatever they had in mind, there had to be a reason, so he held her hand gently, bringing the back of her hand to his lips as he bowed just as slightly. He kissed it softly and raised his head to look at her.
"I shall never leave your side," he promised before he mouthed Astrid, though he did not say it out loud. Astrid saw a small smirk at the corner of his lips and it was enough to make her heart jump so joyfully. She pulled herself together and gave him a playful smirk, as to not raise any suspicion, "I would expect nothing less." Hiccup smirked as Astrid grinned mischievously.
All the while, Snotlout had watched the two of them exchange their vows. At first glance, nobody would think of it as strange. However, he caught the way they both looked at each other. Or rather, he saw the Princess giving Hiccup the look that he himself had longed for so long. Somewhere at the far corner of his mind, he knew what it meant, yet he refuses to believe it. The Princess has never taken interest in any guy, ever. And of course that would not change just because some scrawny outsider had invaded their beloved kingdom. No, this was all a mistake and he was just depressed because he just got fired. There was simply no way.
...
Hiccup walked behind Astrid, as per the formality. Astrid looked over her shoulder, just to see him smile at her. She returned the smile and turned around again. Maybe this was not so bad after all. The new arrangement allowed her to keep him by her side the whole time without raising any suspicion. It was the ideal cover to spend time with him. She did not notice that she was walking with a slight jump in her pace until Hiccup could not resist a chuckle. Astrid was about to snap at him but Hiccup pulled her around the next corner before she managed to do so. The next thing she got back to her senses, she was pressed against the wall with her lips connected to his. In an instant, she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer. If there was one thing that people knew, it was her being very competitive. And she would not let him take the upper hand so easily. She did not know what relationship they had, or how they should describe it, but she sure did not want to let him go so easily. As she became bolder, she slipped her tongue between his lips and explored his mouth greedily. All of this was so new to her. Normally she would feel disgusted by the mere thought of somebody touching her at all. However, whenever she saw him, an unsatisfying hunger would overcome her and it would not assuage until she got at least a kiss out of him. She had to make sure that nobody found out about it, especially that stupid Snotlout. Whenever he got jealous, he tended to cause trouble all over the place, annoying her greatly. When they parted lips, she caught Hiccup looking at her with a dazed look before he snapped out of it and showed her his lopsided grin. Astrid then stepped out of the alleyway and demanded him to follow her by pulling her index finger towards herself. Hiccup obliged contently as he put up his act again, walking next to the Princess who he was now serving.
"Well, how about we finish this painting of yours?" Astrid asked with a smirk as she walked to the room where they always went to work on the painting.
"You mean, the painting that I am painting which just happens to be for you?" Hiccup shot back with a raised eyebrow.
"No, I'm talking about the painting with the apples. Of course I'm talking about my painting!" she snorted, taking a seat on the chair. Hiccup chuckled as he lifted the brush. "Will you get in position for me by yourself or do you need my help?" he challenged her, his eyes showing a mischievous glint.
"Oh well, I think I'm a big girl and can do that myself. Although I wouldn't mind if you would correct my posture if needed," she grinned as she sat down on the throne-like chair. Hiccup just hummed delighted and began to work on the painting. As he drew lines over lines and colors over colors, he used the chance to look at her carefully as well. It was the perfect excuse to watch her. And he loved watching her. Normally they both would spend the time in a comfortable silence but it seemed like today was not one of those days for Astrid had something on her heart that tortured her.
"Say… what did you do back there?" she asked silently as she did not move an inch, her face directed towards the window as she watched everything that went on outside. Hiccup lifted his eyes as he searched for fear and anger in her face. However, the only emotions he could read off her face were confusion and curiosity. He stayed silent for a while, trying to find an answer to her question. Astrid waited patiently since she too expected it to be a heavy topic for him. She would let him decide himself if he entrusted his secret to her or not. She did hope that he would just do that.
Hiccup thought back, trying to remember a warning that his goddess might have left for him… but strangely, his goddess never ever forbid him from talking to other people about his secret. It has always been him who decided to keep it a secret. Then again, even if she never told him to keep it a secret, was it wise to tell it to the Princess who sat in front of him? Sure, they both might have a special relationship now, but it does not change the fact that they just know each other for a few months. Reluctantly, Hiccup asked, "Do you believe in gods?"
Astrid lifted her head for a second, turning it to face him so she could see his feature. He was smiling at her, with those gentle and warm eyes, yet distant and unreachable. She returned the smile and nodded, "I do."
"I see," he mumbled, turning his attention back on the canvas. Astrid too took her previous position and waited. Was that all he had to say? Did he not trust her enough yet? All kinds of questions floated in her mind. However, before she could form any questions or logical theories, Hiccup decided to go on, "Did you know that the night is one of the world's greatest phenomena? So many people fear it since you cannot see anything. You're consumed by the darkness. You sleep, when darkness settles in. If daylight and dawn are both beautiful, why can't night be the same? Have you ever spent the night outside?"
Hiccup lifted his head again as he waited for an answer. Astrid frowned a bit, his reasoning unclear to her and yet she is drawn to him like a question searching for its answer. "I haven't. I'm not allowed to go out past dawn," she simply said, a little bitter though.
"Because people are afraid that something might happen to you? …Or maybe because you yourself are afraid of going out?" Hiccup pressed on.
Now the Princess clearly scowled and turned her head to him. As she glared at him, she noticed that his questions were genuine. There was no sign of ridicule in his eyes. "I'm not afraid of anything. It's my parents who are afraid," she answered with power behind her voice, her pride not allowing herself to show fear towards anything. She was fearless.
Hiccup smiled and put the brush down, "Hey, do you want to skip your lessons today?" The Princess' face fell before it turned into a mischievous, yes, almost overjoyed expression. "Now, who is the bad one actually?" she grinned.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Hiccup shrugged, still smiling at her. He stood up and went towards the door. "I'm just doing you a favor."
"I never asked for it," she quipped, but stood up nonetheless and moved away from the chair.
Hiccup turned around to look at her, just to find her knocking the dust off her dress. "Want to change before we go on our little trip?" he asked with an amused grin. The princess lifted her head and glared at him.
"Ha. Very funny. Actually, yes. I would love to change out of this uncomfortable mess," she answered as she crossed her arms over her chest. Hiccup chuckled and went on. "Alright. Your beautiful highness may go change her clothes while I go and get my stuff. Let's meet in front of the gate," he suggested before leaving her by herself in the room. Astrid stared as his retreating form vanished and a small smirk crept upon her face. It is not that she did not like going out or whatsoever. It was the guarding that made her uncomfortable. She felt caged whenever guards followed her every step, which is why she was looking forward to this little trip even more.
She left the room and walked with a confident pace towards her chamber. Little did she know that a surprise guest awaited her there. She opened the door and was about to go towards her wardrobe when suddenly Ruffnut called from her bed, "Why so happy, your majesty? Oh, it rhymed! I should become a poet." Astrid nearly tripped over her own feet as she held on to the wall to find her balance. She let out an annoyed sigh and opened the wardrobe as she looked for something suitable for her little trip. "What makes you think I'm happy?" she asked nonchalantly. Ruffnut however saw right through her and rolled her eyes, "You know what I'm talking about. Is it that new guy? What was his name again… Herold… Harley… Hu-"
"Henry. His name is Henry," she said and held a red top in front of her, eyeing it for a while before she put it back to the rest.
"Oh, are you an expert now? Come on. What's going on between you two?" Ruffnut insisted as she rolled over from the bed and walked up to her.
"Nothing," Astrid answered, "I'm just glad that I got rid of Snotlout."
"And Harley is any better?"
"His name's Henry."
"Whatever. So, where are you going? We didn't hang out much after that guy joined the castle. I don't trust him. He's smells fishy."
Astrid laughed and replied, "Every guy who gets close to me smells fishy to you!"
"No? Every guy but Eret, son of Eret. Oh, he's just perfect," she said with a dreaming look on her face. However, she snapped out of it right away and leaned against the wardrobe door, looking at Astrid.
"Well, it's ironic seeing as Eret is a fisherman."
"That wasn't your best joke, you know?" Ruffnut commented as she looked at her nails.
"Ruff. I'm kind of in a hurry so can we do this interrogation later? Pretty please?" Astrid said as she pulled out blue leggings and a white shirt. She closed the wardrobe and started to undress.
"Who are you dressing up for anyway? … Wait, don't tell me you're going out with this Harley guy!" Astrid just rolled her eyes and didn't even make the effort to correct her best friend. She pulled on the shirt and the leggings before she slipped into knee-length brown boots. "I'm just going into the town for a bit. Don't make a drama out of it."
"So you are actually going with him? For some reason I feel cheated. Is this normal?" Ruffnut started to hold onto her head dramatically as she put on a shocked expression. "Did I just got replaced?"
Astrid just sighed, passed her as she took the dagger from below her pillow, and put it right into her boot. "Well, I'll see you later Ruff," the Princess simply said before leaving the chamber.
"Cheated!" Ruffnut yelled dramatically from behind as the door closed.
...
Hiccup was already waiting at the gate. When Astrid arrived with Stormfly, she looked at his appearance. Everything he wore was black. It was a strange sight to behold. She was used to her guards wearing the royal armor, which is the complete opposite of what Hiccup wore. It was never a rule or an order but most just thought it was common sense to wear it. Some also wore it because they liked to stand out in the crowd as to show their rank in the society. Her eyes wandered over his getup. He wore black boots and black pants. The edge of the boots were folded to the outside downwards while the ends of the pants were stuck inside the boots. For his upper body he had a black sleeveless leather vest and black leather armguards. The vest covered him up to his throat. Around his waist lay a belt with his sword attached to it. Behind him stood Toothless, all ready to go.
"Not what you expected?" Hiccup asked with a sly grin as she approached him.
"Well, not quite, no. I figured you would wear our royal armor," she admitted.
"It's too heavy. And I can't move freely with that. It also burdens Toothless and he will be slowed down if I need him to be as fast as possible," Hiccup explained as he mounted Toothless. "Anyway, are you ready for our little trip?"
Astrid just smirked and mounted Stormfly as well, "Ready when you are."
"Good, let's see if you can keep up with me," and with that Toothless rushed forward, leaving Astrid and Stormfly dumbfounded behind.
"Let's show them that you're not just some decoration, girl. Let's go!" Astrid kicked Stormfly and off they were. This time Astrid decided to leave Stormfly's armor back at the castle, Hiccups advice still echoing in her head. On their way into the village, she passed farmers, merchants and many other people who greeted her happily. She had not noticed before, but whenever Snotlout accompanied her, the people would stay away from her. It was only a vague guess but she figured that Snotlout had pulled some strings behind her back as to keep her safe. She was grateful for Snotlout's sense of protector but it was really annoying. And she was not even sure if he may have done that just out of monopolism. Either way, since Hiccup did not look like a normal royal guard, she was able to act more freely around her folk. She liked it, she could get used to it. It had been a while since she could taste freedom with every fiber of her body. The only times she could feel it was when she broke out with Ruffnut and caused trouble.
It took them an hour to reach the village. Hiccup dismounted Toothless as he guided him towards a temporary barn. Astrid followed him and released Stormfly as well. Hiccup gave the barn keeper a gold coin for looking after their horses and waited for Astrid to catch up. After they left, Hiccup kept walking behind her. Astrid understood that it was now his job to stay close to her. But she did not like the way he walked behind her. "Don't walk behind me. Walk next to me," she ordered him with a slightly annoyed tone.
"I am your royal guard now. It's a standard to do so," Hiccup reasoned, although he too did not like it. "I don't give two shits about standards. Now walk next to me, it's an order," Astrid snapped, frowning as she glared at him.
"Language, Princess. We're in public," Hiccup said, albeit he was not able to hide his amusement and let out a chuckle. He took two long strides and just in a second, he was walking next to her.
"Better," Astrid confirmed as she strolled around, "Where are we going anyway?"
"You'll see," Hiccup replied and guided her through the mass of people. As they walked, Astrid took notice of all the different yet similar booths. She heard many stories and sometimes glanced at them for a second, however, now that she has all the time of the world, she is looking at them longer, taking in every corner and scratch that comes with it. Astrid watched how the children played tag on the streets while the parents desperately tried to catch up to them. Smiling at the sight, she wished that her parents and she could have done the same if not for their royalty. She understood that she had to act different, to endure, yet sometimes she just cannot seem to hold these emotions in check. It did not happen often, but it still threw her off balance. However, before she could dwell anymore on that, she got pulled into an alley.
"Hiccup, where are we going?" she asked again, this time a bit more urgent.
"Somewhere you haven't been yet," he answered with a mischievous grin. He tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her along with him. They turned several corners until Astrid had no idea anymore where they actually were. All she had to orientate for now was right in front of her. She watched as his shoulders moved with each step, how his hair flew towards her, as if some magnet was attached to her, how Hiccup would sometimes turn around and shoot her that lopsided grin and how it made her whole world spin. She felt dizzy just watching him. It had been like this for a while now but she could not find the reason to explain it. Sure, there were many men who confessed or proposed to her – but she herself never did. She never had the experience or somebody to talk about it to. She felt a little lost, but still excited. This new feeling had probably been the first time in her whole life that made her feel alive, next to pummeling Snotlout into the ground and causing trouble with Ruffnut of course.
"We're here," Hiccup simply said as they halted in front of a rundown building. There were holes in the windows, empty barrels pushed over next to the stairs and a huge sign that said 'Marauder's Shelter'. The sign hung crooked over the entrance. Astrid could hear loud noise from the inside. It seemed like there were mostly men brawling with each other. Hiccup let go of Astrid's hand, went up the couple of stairs nonchalantly and knocked loudly at the wooden door. The room fell silent in an instant and after a second, someone opened the door a crack broad. An old man looked through the crack and eyed Hiccup from head to toe. Then he closed the door again. Astrid could only hear how something rattled behind the door before it opened entirely.
"Hiccup!" the old man greeted him with open arms and a smile that went from ear to ear. His hair was already white and his back crooked. He wore a leather vest and underneath a dirty white shirt. Some of his teeth were slightly yellow or missing entirely. His pants were ripped and his shoes torn. Yet, the old man made no sign of unhappiness about his own condition.
Hiccup embraced the old man with a huge grin and whispered into the old man's ears, "I have a special guest with me." The old man looked at him confused. Hiccup just grinned and stepped aside so that he could see Astrid. The old man bowed immediately, as much as his condition allowed him to, and greeted her with a nervous, but still cheerful voice, "I'm honored to meet you, Princess."
Astrid smiled, "Please, raise your head. It's not good for your back to be bowing."
"The Princess?!" a voice shouted from inside and suddenly there were people gathering right behind the old man at the entrance, their eyes filled with wonder and fascination.
"Alright, alright! Get back inside ya old thickheads! Let the Princess have some room! For Thor's sake!" the old man yelled as he slapped the men on their arms and backs, pushing them inside. "Close the door behind ya, Hiccup," he said before ordering the men to get a grip.
Astrid looked at Hiccup with doubting eyes before she entered the rundown building reluctantly. Hiccup followed suit and locked the door behind him. It was dark, the only light sources being the torches on the wall and the candles on the table. There was a bar, a stage with musicians on it, and many scattered tables and chairs around the whole room. The people however, who were all looking at the Princess, were dead silent. The old man pushed himself to the front and yelled at the musicians, "Start playing, god damn it! We're having a special guest here! Show her what this place has to offer, ya fools!" The musicians, mostly men, started playing immediately and the room was filled with the rough yet cheerful sound of harmony. The men then took the chance to gather around Hiccup and Astrid, using the once in a lifetime chance to meet the Princess in person.
"Hiccup, you little- how do you know the Princess?!" one of the huge brutes whispered half-loud to him.
"Oh, sorry, did I never mention that I'm her personal guard?" he asked with a smug grin on his face, though he did not mention that he just go promoted to that position. All men and women started to tease him, trying to squeeze as much information out of him as they could while some others told Astrid what an honor it was to be meeting her in person. Honestly spoken, she was a bit overwhelmed by all the people, and moreover, by the difference in their standards. They all had so much less than her, yet they seemed so much happier in life. It raised her curiosity. When Hiccup brought her a cup of beer, she looked at him even more surprised.
"Alright, Hiccup. What is all this supposed to mean?" she demanded an answer. She thought that he wanted to spend time with her alone, yet here they are surrounded by so many people, no privacy in sight.
Hiccup however just grinned even more and clinked their jugs before taking a huge sip from his own, "I'm going to show you the other side of life."
A/N:
So, I guess I owe you all an explanation. First of all, I will never abandon this story. The same goes for To The Top. Real life just hit me hard and I got barely time to write anything. And to be honest, my motivation was pretty low. I didn't want to just rush through this story, so I decided to take my time and write bit by bit. Today I took my sacred free time to finish this chapter because I too want too see where this story will take me – funny, as I am the one who's writing it.
I'm now working part-time at a new establishment, and it's always hectic. In addition, I'm in the process of moving into my own apartment as well as managing college at the same time. I found a lover a little while after the last chapter was published and am trying to balance my free time to spend time with my friends and my lover. That's mostly the reason why I didn't update anything for the past half year.
I don't know how my future looks like, and if I got any time for the stories. I won't be able to update regularly, but I will write bit by bit from time to time. One thing I can promise is that I will definitely see these two stories to the end. I will never – and I repeat – never ever abandon these stories. Rest assured.
I thank all of you who are reading this story despite the long wait. I appreciate it, I really do. If I could, I would hug you all at once and give you big thank-you-kisses. If you should ever have questions towards my story, you can always PM me. I'll always see to answer each and every question of you. No matter how simple and little. Because to me, it only means that you're interested in this story, a story I never thought would get so many views.
Thank you for reading! And if you got time, leave some feedback or reviews – I'd love that.
Date of Update: 22nd November 2016
~ KeGzZ
