"YOU TALKED TO-"
"Ruff, quiet!"
Astrid quickly clamped a hand over her best friend's mouth and dragged her to a fairly lonely corner of the room. Once she was sure Ruffnut had calmed down, she carefully removed her hand.
"Yes, I spoke with Prince Hiccup last night'' Astrid began "Please do not make a fuss"
In hindsight, Astrid should have realised how foolish that request was. Whilst Astrid loved her fellow servant friend, she made a fuss out of everything."
How can I not make a fuss?! Ast, you talked with THE Prince Hiccup! The same one you danced with at the Royal-"
"Shhhhh!"
Astrid looked around frantically to make sure no one was listening then looked back at Ruffnut.
"You can't just say that Ruffnut! Someone might hear you!"
She scoffed "Nobody's around"
"Someone could still walk past!"
"Astrid you're being paranoid"
"I'm surprised you know that word"
"Hey! I'm Smart!"
Astrid gave her a certain look that implied the contrary.
"Okay fine, I heard Princess Heather say it once and it sounded fun to say, did I use it right?"
"Yes, surprisingly"
"YES!"
Astrid couldn't help but laugh a little at her friend's eagerness.
"Does the Princess know?" Ruffnut asked after calming down again.
"No I've not seen her yet. What do you think she'll say?"
"I think she'll be excited!"
Astrid couldn't help fiddle with her fingers nervously as Ruffnut shot her a disapproving look.
"Come on Ast, you know Heather will be happy for you"
"I'm not worried about that Ruff"
"What are you worried about then?"
"Just... Things"
"Things?"
She nodded hoping the subject would not be pushed any further.
"Fair enough"
Astrid felt relief take over her system. It's not that she didn't trust Ruffnut, but there were certain emotions that she liked to keep to herself.
She was about to go back to working when Ruffnut stopped her.
"Will you be speaking with him again?"
Astrid turned away once more, trying to hide the obvious blush spreading across her cheeks "Maybe"
"Is that so?" Astrid didn't need to turn around to know that Ruffnut was raising her eyebrows with her usual smug expression.
Damn her and her smug expression.
"Nothing has been set in stone, but we may talk again if fate crosses our path once more"
"Since when did you believe in fate and paths crossing?"
Astrid hesitated "Maybe I'm beginning to see things differently"
Astrid walked away after that to get on with her work. Ruffnut worked beside her. Astrid decided to throw herself into her work to ignore Ruff's questioning gaze burning into her. She became so immersed in her duties she barely registered her surroundings.
A timid tap on her shoulder brought her back to the real world. It caught her so off guard, when it happened she ended up yelping.
She turned around to be met by Prince Hiccup's eyes. The second their eyes locked he froze. He said nothing, simply stared at her, similar to how he'd looked at her last night.
"Prince Hiccup?"
That brought him back to earth. Once he snapped out of it, he mumbled something and shook his head, more than to himself than to her.
He then began to chuckle "I really must figure out how to stop startling you"
She wanted the world to open up and swallow her whole. She just yelped in front of a Prince. How foolish she must have looked "I apologize, you just caught me by surprise is all"
"Nothing to apologize for, besides, I find it cute"
Her eyes widened slightly as a faint blush spread across her cheeks. Prince Hiccup just called her cute. Her. A mere servant.
Clearly he realized what he said as his eyes widened significantly more than hers had. He began stuttering and stammering as if to recant his statement, similar to how he had the first night at the Royal Ball (though he wouldn't know that).
"I uh.. I just- I... W-what I m-meant was that you have n-nothing to apologize f-for and... Uh... Good morning" he concluded also blushing lightly.
"Good morning" she looked down briefly and brushed her bangs out of her eyes "I trust you slept well"
"Very well, thank you for asking. And yourself?"
This conversation was so polite, it was almost painful "I got a great night's sleep"
He nodded "I'm glad. I was actually hoping to talk to you... Astrid was it?"
Something stung when he was unsure of her name, but she pushed it down. Reality check. Her name would never matter to him.
Ignoring the hurt, she nodded "What would you like to talk about?"
He hastily looked at Ruffnut "Would it be alright if we spoke in private?"
"Yes, of course" she looked to Ruffnut "Ruff, I'll talk to you later"
Hiccup, ironically, went to the same isolated corner in which been talking about him barely 20 minutes ago. She looked over her shoulder and saw Ruffnut staring at her with a 'We are SO talking about this later' look.
"Is everything alright?" she asked him.
"Yes, everything's fine. I just... Well first I wanted to thank you for helping me last night" he said quietly, making sure no-one was listening.
She raised an eyebrow "The pleasure was mine, what is the second thing?"
"I was hoping you could stay up again for me tonight, if possible" he paused then resumed in stutters "U-unless you think you'll be too tired in which case I can-"
"I'd love too" she interrupted.
"Thank you" they stared at each other for a few seconds before he cleared his throat "Right, well, I'll see you tonight"
"See you tonight" she turned from him and caught up with Ruffnut.
Her fellow servant friend nudged her playfully as she rolled her eyes "So?"
Why couldn't Astrid stop blushing? "Well..."
xxxx
What was she doing?
Well, she knew what she was doing, obviously. She was waiting for Prince Hiccup. But why?
Her main aim for this week was to avoid Prince Hiccup, not get closer. Just a couple of day ago she asked herself why she would set herself up for heartbreak. As she'd already told herself multiple times, following these feelings would only hurt her. Nothing could come of it, commoners like her and royals like him were not really supposed to associate, let alone fall in love. Not that he was in love with her.
"Astrid?"
Determined not to be startled by his arrival, Astrid was prepared for his whisper "I'm here"
She squinted and faintly made out his figure. Butterflies filled her stomach and she couldn't even see him properly.
He smiled shyly "Hi"
She mirrored his actions "Hi"
"I'm glad my arrival didn't scare you this time" he laughed
"What can I say? I'm a warrior, scaring me is rare" Astrid smirked.
"Yet I've managed to do so, twice" Hiccup pointed out and Astrid could hear the smirk in his voice.
With anyone else a comment like that would have made her defensive, but with him it only made her laugh
"In my defense, the first time you were strolling around the gardens in the middle of the night, anyone would be surprised. And the second time you caught me by surprise, which won't be happening again. Besides, you were pretty startled yourself the second time, if I remember correctly"
"Touché"
They began walking back to his chambers. Astrid wasn't sure why she was so nervous. Of course being in the presence of royalty would make anyone nervous, but not as nervous as her. Maybe it was because she was scared of being discovered, or maybe it was something else entirely, but it made her heart race at unbelievable speeds.
"I've been thinking about something today" The Prince began
"And what is that?"
"Well it's just... I can't help thinking that I've seen you before"
Astrid, raised an eyebrow, hiding the panic inside "You probably have. Around the castle. I work quite closely with Princess Heather. Plus, there also previous trips to Berk that I've been on"
At least that wasn't a lie, not completely.
He nodded "Well yes, of course there's that but it's also more. It's like I already know you"
Astrid felt a lump in her throat, she couldn't tell him. She just couldn't "I unserstand the feeling. I feel the same way but I can't explain why"
Well she could, but he didn't need to know that.
"It's strange isn't it?"
"Very" she agreed
After that it was a comfortable silence. No words were said, it didn't feel necessary. Anything that she could say with ruin everything. It was best just to keep quiet.
Eventually the silence transitioned into awkward so she started another conversation "How was your flight?"
"Amazing. There really is nothing like flying through the stars"
"I can only imagine" she smiled "My dragon is more of a morning dragon though"
"Is that so?"
"Yes, just as you love the stars, I love the the sun. It's a beautiful sight watching the sun rise in the morning"
"I've never seen the sun rise with Toothless before"
"You should try it sometime, it really is marvellous" She smiled fondly, recalling her own memories of morning flights.
"Maybe we can join you some and your dragon sometime" He nudged her a little and butterflies couldn't help acting up again.
"Only if we can join you and Toothless on one of your midnightmidnight flights" It was out of character for her, but he brought out a side of her she didn't know she had.
"Deal"
"Deal"
She allowed herself to get caught up in the fantasy. Like they would ever get to go on these flights. That's the reason she agreed, because she knew it would never happen. At least, that's what she told herself.
"I must admit, I've not been on many morning flights lately"
"Why is that?"
"I've been busy. What with preparations for Royal Ball and everything, my days have been quite chaotic"
"That's a shame" he seemed genuinely sympathetic with her.
"Yes, I know this sounds strange, but I swear my dragon will not stop guilt tripping me about it. I don't know, it's just the way she looks at me"
"Not as strange as you think" the Prince chortled "When Toothless doesn't approve of my actions, he makes it very clear"
"How?" her voice was a mix of amusement and curiosity.
"Glaring at me, hitting me over the head with his tail, huffing" He explained "He's a very... Expressive dragon"
Even when he was discussing how his dragon admonished him, she could still tell his eyes were sparkling. It was obvious, given the intensity he spoke with. Astrid loved his passion.
Astrid giggled "At least I'm not the only one with a judgmental dragon"
"What kind of dragon do you ride?"
"A Deadly Nadder called Storm..."
...Wait
She'd already told Hiccup her dragon's name was Stormfly at The Royal Ball. If she said it again now he'd know. She just needed to come up with another name that began with storm...
Think Astrid, think.
"... Shine. Stormshine."
'Stormfly and Stormshine? Great job, Astrid' she thought to herself sarcastically.
"Stormshine?"
"Yup. Stormshine the Deadly Nadder. That's my dragon" she concluded awkwardly, praying to all the Gods above that Hiccup didn't make any connections.
"That name seems familiar..."
"Well with so many people riding dragons, I suppose it's impossible for no dragons to have similar names." She rushed to cover it up.
"That might be it..."
"I'm sure that's what it is" Astrid replied with finality in her tone. He didn't seem convinced but dropped it anyways "You know, I've heard stories about you and Toothless. The bond you have with him is remarkable"
There were a few moments of silence before Hiccup spoke up "Toothless is my best friend. When I met him I was nothing. I was the runt of my kingdom, the embarrassment. It always felt as if I had to be this person I simply wasn't. I was not a dragon killer and deep down, I knew I never would be. I was never good enough for my kingdom. Toothless accepted me at a time when no-one else would. And in return, I accepted him. I saw him as the intelligent creature he was, not as the savage beast I'd been taught to see him as. Now, people do accept me. There are still issues with my father, there always be, but we have a much better relationship now. It all really began with Toothless. I never had to be anyone else with him, he accepted me as Hiccup the runt and that's something that I think strengthens our bond, the acceptance"
She was surprised by the intensity and depth of his confession. She could make out his figure better now. His eyes were sparkling. Earlier, when they'd been discussing their dragons, she had been able to tell his eyes were shining from the sentiment in his voice. Seeing it upfront brought a whole new whirlwind of emotions.
"I understand you, believe it or not" she began cautiously "I am from a disgraced family name. I love the castle, but I do hear the whispers. My friends don't talk about it because they know I don't like to, but I know they think about it from time to time. I don't blame them, it's fair enough. It's like an invisible barrier sometimes. Like it holds me back from talking to them. But with Stormshine it was never like that. She doesn't see me for my family name or my past. She just sees me as the person I am, and I love her for it"
"That's exactly how I feel" Hiccup grinned "Wait, your from a disgraced family?"
He didn't sound disgusted, like most people normally did. Just intrigued. She realised that time had slipped away from them once more as she noticed they were in his chambers. It was probably for the best, she needed to remember to keep her walls up.
"A story for another night" her voice was nothing more than a whisper "I'll see you tomorrow night Prince Hiccup"
"Please just call me Hiccup" he responded automatically
"Hiccup. Goodnight, Hiccup" she corrected, smiling gently.
"Goodnight, Astrid"
Once he shut the door, Astrid placed a hand on her chest, trying to get her heartbeat to readjust. These conversations were addictive. She should walk away but she can't. Learning all these details about who the Prince was on the inside was intoxicating. She felt different around him. Details of her life that she never told anyone, not even Ruff or Heather, were revealed to him in seconds. There was a quality about him that made her feel safe.
Around him, Astrid changed. She became a more open person, less guarded. When she was around the Prince, she was more vulnerable. He made her a different person.
The closer she got, the deeper she fell and she couldn't for the life of her figure out if it was a good or bad thing.
Another one done!
Sorry if I made the confessions too long!
So... Another night done... Hiccup and Astrid are becoming closer. Will Hiccup figure out the truth? He's certainly on the right path ;-)
What do you guys think should happen next?
As always please feel free to review! All feedback is appreciated (just make sure any criticism is written constructively)
Shohini :)