As Tuff was walking away Astrid looked up. She realized too late that she forgot to tell him about Hiccup. Oh well, she would fill him in tomorrow.
Astrid decided that enough was enough. Maybe she couldn't change the fact that she was betrothed to Tuffnut but she didn't have to like it.
She crept back to around her house and was about to enter before she thought the better of it. She went around back to Stormfly's barn and she and her dragon went for a ride. She didn't want to go home just yet. She and Stormfly flew around the whole island twice before landing on the beach and starting a fire. Astrid watched as Stormfly went to go find some fish out in the water. When Stormfly came back, she brought enough for Astrid to have one too.
"Thanks girl," she said as she impaled it with a stick and started to roast it over the fire.
After she had eaten, she curled up against her dragon and they both fell into a restless sleep.
Astrid woke up just after dawn and decided to go and see Hiccup. After she ate the left over fish from last night, she hopped on Stormfly's back and they flew to the centre or the village, where Hiccups house was.
Just as Astrid was about to knock on the door, it swing open and Stoick was there.
"Ah, Astrid! Just the lass I wanted to see." He gestured for her to come inside.
"I was wondering if you could spend some time with Hiccup today. It doesn't have to be all day, I have things to do in the village and I don't want him to be lonely."
"Sure chief," she said. "Where is he?"
"Up in his room," Stoick told her.
She ran up the stairs and into Hiccups room. Hiccup was laying down on the bed, but the pose he was in looked pretty uncomfortable.
"Hi Hiccup," she said as she sat down next to him.
"Your father sent me to keep you company for a bit," she told him. She looked closely at him, his face, the holes in his clothes from the stinger, the way his eyes moved-
"Your eyes! You can move them?" She asked. Since Hiccup couldn't respond he just moved his eyes up and down a bit.
"This is great. Ohh, I have an idea! What if you looked right for yes and left for no? Then we could have a bit of a conversation."
Hiccup looked right and Astrid smiled.
They went on like that for a bit, Astrid asking him some questions, and telling him a bit about her day. She saved telling him about the betrothal for last though.
Astrids thoughts took her to yesterday when Hiccup first got stung.
"Did it hurt? When you got stung all those times?" She asked him.
He looked right and Astrid winced in sympathy.
"Was it bad?" Another look right.
"Are you still in pain?"
Hiccup looked right and left so she interrupted that as kind of but not as bad.
"Are you uncomfortable? I mean, it can't be that comfy in that position and with your face like that." He looked right and Astrid asked if he would like her to move him into a more comfortable spot. Another right, so she arranged his arms and legs into what she hoped was better for him.
"Better?" She asked. He looked right and she smiled, but it was a small one. When she looked up from her lap, she saw Hiccup staring at her, as if to ask what was wrong.
She sighed and told him all that had happened after he had left her house. When she was done telling him about the talk with her parents, axe throwing in the woods, meeting Tuff in the woods and sleeping on the beach, she sighed.
"I just don't know what to do. I mean, Tuffnut?! Really?" She was interrupted by a small sound coming from Hiccup. After a second she realized it was laughter.
"It's not funny!" She said, poking him in the shoulder.
"And being betrothed to Tuff isn't even the worst part! Well I mean, it's pretty bad, but the worst part is that my parents didn't even ask for my opinion! I didn't even know I was going to get betrothed until yesterday!" She brought her knees to her chest and hugged them, and then turned so she could see Hiccup.
"I don't know what to do," she whispered.
Just then they heard people coming up the stairs and three figures appeared in the door frame. Astrids father, Tuffnuts father and Stoick, Hiccups father.
Astrid scooted backwards, her back bumping into Hiccups leg.
"Come here Astrid," her father told her. Hesitantly she got off the bed and came to where he was.
"You are going to spend the day with your betrothed, Tuffnut." He told her. Astrid tried to protest but her father grabbed her arm and led her downstairs. She threw Hiccup an alarmed look over her shoulder and then she was gone.
Hiccup didn't know what to think. Astrid was betrothed to Tuffnut? What?!? When did that happen? She seemed so upset when she was talking to him, and even though they weren't dating anymore, Hiccup still really cared about her, and he didn't want his best friend to be miserable.
He let his thoughts wander, and they took him to yesterday when he got stung.
He saw the Stinger coming up behind Astrid and he pushed her out of the way. Just as she hit the ground the Stinger stung him. Even though he had never been stung before, Snotlout and Ruff had and they said it hadn't hurt that bad. When he got stung it felt like his blood was on fire and his bones were turning to ice. He was stung over, and over, and over and each time it was getting harder to think, to breath. All he was aware of was pain. He thought he passed out because when he was aware of his surroundings, he was in Astrids house with her leaning over him. Then his father and Gothi and Fishlegs burst in and they started talking about how long it would take for the venom to wear off.
A week or more, he thought. I might be stuck like this for a week or more. He was going to go insane, he knew it.
Toothless came up and nuzzled him, wanting attention. Hiccup wishes more than anything that he could move, pet Toothless, help Astrid, even just talk with her, instead of doing that stupid looking to the side thing. But it allowed him to communicate so he was great full. Even though it did hurt to move his eyes, at least Astrid was good company.
He let his thoughts drift again, soon going into a sleep like state, unaware of what was going on just outside his house.