Chapter 13

Hiccup hurried into the Artisan alley as he needed to pick up a very special gift for Astrid. Normally he would have taken her but her waiting in line to get food was the best chance to get IT, get out, and then return to deliver the surprise. And what a surprise it would be.

The Artisan alley was a long street that lay parallel to the market and Hiccup hurried to the nondescript store that was one of the few connected to a personal dock. He could smell the salt of the sea as he knocked on the slightly damp door. Above the store, a small sign hangs that reads 'Kraken's oddities & Curios'. There was also a closed sign but Hiccup knocked anyway.

"We're closed! Who's there?" Came the shout from inside and Hiccup rolled his eyes. The man that ran this place was an eccentric one. The 'Closed' sign was always up but if someone desperately needed something they came knocking anyways. Luckily for Hiccup he was a regular. How the shop stayed in business was anyone's guess.

"It's me!" Hiccup replied.

"Me who?!" The voice asked back.

"Johann do we have to go through this password thing each and every time?!" Hiccup grumbled. "It's not very secret since the whole kingdom knows you do business here!"

"Who is it?!" The question came again.

Hiccup sighed and said "Doris,"

"Doris who?" came the question from inside.

"Doris locked, that's why I'm knocking!" Hiccup shouted. He didn't know why Johann insisted on the password since it never changed and more than half the kingdom's population knew it. Sometimes he thinks the man just does it for kicks. The door clicked open and Hiccup came face to face with an elderly man that sported a graying beard.

"Why young Master Hiccup, so glad to see you!" Johann said once the door was open and the old man recognized the Prince. He stepped aside so that Hiccup could step in. The interior of the shop was cluttered with all types of antiques and a fire was roaring on the firepit in the middle of the room. "So what can I help you with?" Johann then proceeded to ask.

"I just came to pick up that order," Hiccup told the older man who merely chuckled.

"Ah yes, that order." Johann said as he eagerly clapped his hands together once. "I have it in the back room. If you will excuse me for a minute." Johann stepped behind his counter and then through a curtained area while Hiccup was left in the cozy shop which sported way too many clocks on the walls. On the counter itself slept a red Terrible Terror. It was curled up while hugging what seemed to be a stuffed hand-sewn doll in the form of a fish.

"Now Master Hiccup I was quite surprised when you ordered this," Johann said as he returned with a small wooden box that had silver flower etchings in it. "To think you would use the Sapphire of the Seas for this,"

"You knew which jewel it was?" Hiccup raised a brow inquisitively.

"I had suspected," Johann chuckled. "And the Grimborn brothers confirmed it when I brought it to them. They're the best Gem smiths in the Archipelago but even Viggo Grimborn had a near coronary when he laid eyes on it. The Sapphire of the Seas is afterall no ordinary gem."

Hiccup nodded and then took a look at his order. He gasped at the detail of craftsmanship that had gone in it. "Oh my," Johann uttered as his bushy brows shot up. "I knew that from the commission orders you gave that it would be beautiful… but this is…" he sucked in his breath. "The lady that will receive this is one lucky woman indeed."

Hiccup stared at the gift he had commissioned for Astrid and smiled. He then turned back to Johann who was grinning at what could only be the love-struck blank look on his face. "How much do I owe you for the commission?" He then asked as he took out a pouch of gold coins. One gold coin would have been enough for a normal family to live off for two weeks. The work that went into his gift was definitely worth quite a lot more.

"No commission charge actually," Johann grinned as Hiccup blinked in confusion and then said "Viggo told me that you can consider this work his and his brother's gift for your upcoming nuptials."

Hiccup nearly sputtered at the shock. No gem or blacksmith would ever just give their work away for free. Especially not something that had a National treasure inlaid in it. "He also told me to tell you that he knew it was you and that now we're even," Johann added.

Hiccup sighed. 'Of course the man had figured it out,' He thought finally. Johann was looking at him with a curious expression and why wouldn't he. The Grimborn brothers were known as the best Gem smiths around but they were also known for being notorious penny pinchers. And they had good reason to be if Hiccup thought back. He remembered meeting them totally by accident as he and Heather had passed an alleyway. There appeared to be a shuffle there. Things were about to get uglier if Hiccup and Heather had not intervened. Hiccup learned afterwards that Viggo and Ryker had been apprenticed to a Gem and Silversmith named Krogan but the man had left the Kingdom in the dark of the night, leaving the brothers to take up his debt. A debt they couldn't repay. The thugs that had been harassing the brothers were about to bring down a hammer on Ryker's hands as a warning, destroying any chance he had left to be a smith and earn a living. The brothers were somewhat arrogant and prideful and Hiccup guessed that they wouldn't accept more help than that lest they think he was pitying them. So Hiccup had sneakily arranged for the debt to be paid off and the brothers to get a sponsor from lesser nobility so they could set up a shop. He should have known that Viggo would eventually figure it out.

"Well then Johann, thank you." He gave the trader some coins still. As a middleman Johann got paid separately. The older man nodded and Hiccup left the shop before Johann started on one of his long winded stories. The wooden box was clutched in his hand as he hurried back to Astrid.

When Hiccup got back to the main market street he made his way towards the stand Astrid had stood in line in. But when he didn't see her there anymore he looked around with a slight worry. He knew Astrid could handle herself but he still worried. He finally spotted her sitting on a bench not so far away, happily munching away at a kebab.

"Astrid," Hiccup said as he jogged up to her. His fiance had been so into her food that she nearly choked when Hiccup called out. "Are you alright?" He asked with a frown.

"Yes," She coughed. "You just startled me." Astrid then proceeded to gesture to the small plate she had set on the bench with two more fish kebabs on it. "Those are for you by the way,"

Hiccup sat down next to her and took one. He observed Astrid as she continued to happily munch on her food. "You seem to like this,"

"Wouldn't you get tired at some point when eating expensive food every day?" She asked. "I like the Kingdom's street food just because it's different. It's so easily made yet the flavor is rich,"

"It does taste very good," Hiccup admitted. "I used to sneak out of the Palace years ago just to come to the market. It is relaxing to also get away from palace life once and a while though the vendors figured out quickly that I was the Prince," He chuckled. "You see… I forgot to take off the cloak pin that had the Royal emblem on it."

Astrid laughed and then said "I never pegged you for the rebel," She smirked. "So did your parents ever figure out you snuck away?"

"Ooooh yeah," Hiccup chuckled. "Mom and dad were furious. Not so much that I snuck away but that I went without a guard then. I still hadn't bonded to Toothless at that time. After I met Toothless they didn't make much of a fuss about it so either he or Heather would accompany me."

"And are there guards watching now?" Astrid asked with a devious smirk.

"No….." Hiccup responded. "Heather put in a good word that you'd most probably violently tear through the Kingdom if anything were to happen to me. Given that you are on par with Heather when fighting and after the Red Death expedition they've agreed to forgo the guards, knowing that we can take care of ourselves."

"Well that's good," Astrid said. "Then I can do this without prying eyes," She then leaned in and proceeded to peck Hiccup on the cheek causing him to turn a shade of pink.

Hiccup coughed and sputtered somewhat, not expecting Astrid to be so forward. Hiccup took her hand in his and was about to ask his fiance to accompany him to a special place when he noticed the light bruising on her knuckles. Astrid noticed where he was looking and said "Don't worry about that. I just had to deal with an annoying fly."

Hiccup nodded and then asked anyways. Astrid agreed and they left after finishing eating. The place Hiccup took her to was a twenty minute ride by carriage and it was a meadow filled with flowers of all colors and butterflies. The meadow was one of many throughout the Kingdom. Even though it was cold many days of the year, once the snow melted this entire area looked like a pocket of Spring. It felt so alive and Astrid giggled when a butterfly perched on her nose for a few seconds. She turned and gasped as Hiccup had gotten on one knee.

"Astrid, I know that our engagement came about due to an arrangement…" Hiccup began to say. "I know we didn't have much time to spend with each other since then but I still care for you and I hope that you do too. It was remiss of me to forget this part but I wanted it to be perfect. You are a woman who saved my position in this Kingdom when you didn't have to and though we only only know each other for several days I hope that we can come to love each other in the years that we will have together after this." It wasn't a conventional proposal, Hiccup knew, but he would speak his heart. He then took out the wooden box from his pocket and opened it in front of her. In the box on a cushion lay a platinum ring with a dark blue sapphire set into it in an emerald cut. The platinum around the inlay was shaped into very detailed flowers. The blossoms looked so frail as they were made of thin metal but they held steady and would never break easily. It described Astrid perfectly in Hiccup's opinion. A woman many overlooked yet a force to be reckoned with. Someone who went through so much yet kept their head about and never swayed from their goal.

Astrid let out a gasp as Hiccup placed the ring on her finger and said "Astrid Hofferson, would you officially do me the honor of becoming my wife? I will share your burdens as you do mine and lift you up when you are down. You are the sun, moon and stars to me. No longer will I let you frown." Hiccup finished his proposal and was then promptly tackled by Astrid. The Prince let out a manly squeak as they tumbled into the flowers.

"Yes yes yes!" Astrid shouted before proceeding to kiss all coherency out of Hiccup as butterflies flew past them.