A/N: Yes, yes, I know… I already have a diary story… But it just fits in here too well. I'm not sorry ;)

The tenor of this chapter is a completely different one. It may serve as a small reminder that every mood depends on the PoV… ;)

(And for those interested: 'My Game, my Rules' will get updated on Sunday)

Lissy's Diary

Lissy

Dear Diary

Hi there. I'm sorry I haven't written to you in a while. There hadn't been all that much to tell though, with mom still sick and all… But these last few days have been different and I think talking to you about it would be appropriate.

You know… Mom went on a little vacation with me, as she called it. It was strange, though, because I know we don't have all that much money. And then, we didn't really do much. We just drove to this town and checked in in this small Bed and Breakfast place and that was it. No visiting some interesting places around here or anything. We just spend hours in this public park around that gigantic office building every day. It's not that I would have complained, really, because there were a lot of things and buildings to draw and so many interesting people as well. You know how I love to draw people… But Mom wasn't happy. She cried a lot when she thought I wouldn't notice and her eyes were always on the big building at the center of the park or sometimes on the people around us when all the workers came out of their offices during their break to enjoy the sun.

I began to think this vacation was really just about getting some fresh air and new motives for me until the last day. Which was yesterday… Yesterday was different… We packed our things, clothes and everything and left our room early to spend another day at the park before we were to drive home again. But Mom was different somehow. When we arrived, she stopped the car at the main entrance of the gigantic building and told me to wait for a moment. I saw that she had some paper in her hand, maybe an envelope and when she came back it was gone. She was nervous and fidgeted all the time after that and glanced at her phone every few minutes and when all these people began to leave the buildings around us for their break again, she decided it was time for us to drive home.

I can't tell you what happened then, really. I remember how nervous Mom was and that she kept glancing at her phone even while driving! She'd never done that before… And then, her phone actually beeped, I think. It startled her and… And I don't really remember anything else…

The next thing I remember, and only vaguely, was seeing Mom. Or I thought it was her at least… Everything was blurred but I think I saw her blue eyes and bright hair… By now I know it wasn't her, though. At that point, she probably was already in an ambulance or even at the ER, I don't know. She's alright, by the way. Or as alright as she can be… There was this nice doctor in the hospital, you know? Dr. Cullen was his name, I think. He wasn't as stiff and unfriendly as other doctors I've met and even explained in detail what happened to Mom. But as I said, she'll come around. This won't kill her…

...

…

…

She still thinks I don't know… And I would prefer it to stay that way. She doesn't need to worry about me in addition to everything else.

Anyway, Mom was still unconscious when we visited her yesterday and today as well. She's still sedated so no reason to worry. If everything goes as planned, she should wake up tomorrow, though. I hope so… I want to tell her she doesn't need to worry about me and that she should take her time to recover. Because for once I got very nice foster parents.

Or… well… They are no foster parents, really. They aren't registered in the youth farewell to take in kids when needed and to get paid for that… No, I think they took me in because they really cared. I hope so, at least… Astrid is really nice, you know? She's the one I saw after that accident, the one I thought was Mom. She stayed with me and her friends helped me out as well although they all are a bit strange occasionally.

Yesterday, I had not much to do with Fishlegs and Heather but today I got to spend some time with them and Heather especially kept throwing me these really weird glances… But I better start at the beginning.

For the duration of Mom's hospitalization, I'll stay with Astrid, as I said, and with her boyfriend Hiccup. Or rather, her fiancé. They plan to get married soon although they act a bit strange sometimes… Well, but that's not my problem, really... They have a spare room in their apartment where I can stay. I have my own room! Not just a cushion and blanket on the sofa or a folding bed in a room I have to share with other kids. I have a real bed and even a desk to draw and right now to write on. And they even bought me a couple of new clothes after the ones I brought on our vacation were ruined by our… accident… … … They seem to have a lot of money, a lot more than Mom at least.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you about this day. I learned so much! You know, taking me in seemed to have been a rather spontaneous decision and they don't have a babysitter or anything the like and hand. They both work and since they couldn't leave me at the apartment on my own all day they just brought me with them to their working place. They work together, just so you know. They called the place the dragon's lair which sounded really exciting and they also mentioned a dragon running around there but I have to say I have no idea how they came up with those terms! This dragon's lair is actually this gigantic building in that park Mom and I spent so much time in during the last week. As I thought, it's an office building and Astrid's and Hiccup's workplace really is… an office! Sooooo boring! Alright, it wasn't that boring, really. They have pretty cool stuff around there and apparently, they build is themselves! Hiccup let me watch him work for a while and I have to say the things he does aren't so bad. He seems to be an inventor of some sort and he even took his time to explain to me a few of the things he did, which was really exciting. I think I want to do the same as he does when I'm a grown-up!

Astrid showed me her work as well although I'm still not sure what exactly it is she's doing there… She has a desk in Hiccup's office, too, but I think it is highly unfair that hers is so much smaller than his. But then that desk is not her only workplace so maybe it makes sense. She also works in the training room which looked to me more like a gym, really, with all the equipment in it and the high ceiling with the climbing tower and all. And by working there I mean she's doing all kinds of exercises, really. She told me it is part of her job to stay fit for all the tests, although I didn't understand what she meant by that, so she showed me a few things. Did you know that there's a proper way to fall and that apparently it takes a lot of practice to do it right? I always though falling just requires tripping over something and landing on the ground…

Ah, right… While I was in this training room with Astrid another woman came in to talk to her. She was older and looked like she constantly had a really sour lemon under her tongue. Astrid talked to her for a short while, told her who I am, that I'm staying with her and why she'd brought me there and when Astrid returned to her training, that woman gave me a really weird look. You know, it was a bit like Mom sometimes looks at me when she's angry and wants me to see things her way. It was really funny, in a way. That woman was way better at this game than Mom ever was but she lost nonetheless. And she's a really bad loser… She just turned and left without saying a word, only grumbled to herself in irritation. Really rude!

So… what else happened? Uhm… Oh, right! I wanted to tell you about Heather and Fishlegs. Although I can't tell you much about Fishlegs, really. He seems to be nice enough but he didn't talk much. He came into the office while I watched Hiccup work and seemed puzzled to see me there but Hiccup's explanation that I stay with them until mom is getting better apparently was enough for him.

Heather is different, though. She burst into the office a few minutes after Fishlegs had left and just stared at me for several seconds before she turned to Hiccup and threw him a disbelieving look. He didn't look happy and shrugged and muttered something about she should ask Astrid. Mind you, grown-ups are weird people…

But I have to admit, it got better during the day. Astrid and Heather left the lair for lunch and took me with them and although Heather still kept throwing me strange glances she also talked to me. One other strange thing about her then was actually a rather pleasant surprise, because as far as I can remember she's the first person who didn't treat me like a child in the beginning. And don't look at me like that, you stupid book! I know, technically I am a child… But honestly, I'll never be like Madison and Paige and all the others at school! They act like they know everything when they're just so stupid!

But that's not what I wanted to talk about… Right, Heather… We talked whenever Astrid was busy, which was most of the time, and she asked me all sorts of questions. About me and my mom, my birthday and my school and my grades and favorite subjects. About how and where we live, my hobbies and what mom is doing for a living, where my dad is and what I know about him and all kinds of other stuff. Mind you, I'm not sure if that was some kind of interrogation or if she's just really curious. Well, she seems to be one of these persons that always want to know about everything that's going on around them but she's still friendly so that's alright. She was especially interested in my father, though. I think she wanted to know whether she could or should contact him and inform him about our accident but you know very well that I couldn't tell her much about him. I mean, I know I have a father even though mom keeps saying I don't. I'm not stupid, of course, I have a father, I know how this works. But mom really never told me anything about him…

Sometimes I think it would be nice to know at least a little bit about him, though. Whether he's still alive for example… And if he is, I'd like to know why… why he's not with us. I mean, mom was always there for me and I don't really need someone else, but lately I wondered, you know why… I just hope mom will tell me at least something about him, any information would be nice. Maybe I could try and find him on my own then.

But let me change the subject, something more cheerful perhaps? I bet Hiccup's eyes will pop right out of their sockets when he sees Astrid in her gown! See, that's what we did this afternoon, Astrid, Heather, and I. We went to this bridal wear shop where Astrid wanted to choose a wedding dress and honestly, there we met the weirdest man I've ever seen!

Lissy followed Astrid and Heather obediently through the glass door and into the most impressive room she'd seen in her life so far. The floor was made of shiny panels made of dark, almost black wood while all the walls and even the ceiling were covered in mirrors. It would have been dizzying, like one of these labyrinths made of mirrors but then the mirrors at the walls weren't visible in most cases because of all the racks in front of them. She couldn't even guess how many dresses and gowns there were in this shop!

"Ah, there you are!" Came a voice from a higher tier and Lissy looked up at its source."Finally! So glad you made it today! Ms. Hofferson, it is an honor and my pleasure. May I call you Astrid? Or A? A would do, wouldn't it?"

Lissy stared at the man who leisurely came down the stairs, a wide grin on his face. At least, she thought it was a man. His long, thick, blond hair surely was enough to compete with Astrid's and his style was erratic enough so he couldn't be pigeonholed. Yes, grown-ups were strange but this one surely was the strangest guy she'd met so far. He had greeted Astrid as if he knew her although that didn't seem to be the case if she interpreted his words correctly. Was she someone, one ought to know?

"You must be T then?" Astrid asked with a dry smile. "Thank you very much for shifting our appointment. I hope you didn't get into trouble for this?"

"Nah, don't worry. Today's customers were happy to shift and even for us it's not every day's business to serve a true celebrity, eh, sis?" Lissy perked up her ears at this. Was Astrid a celebrity? She glanced at the blonde woman and saw her grimace slightly.

"Oh, stop it, bro," came another voice from behind him. "Don't give her that…She needs a dress and not a drooling fan!" A woman appeared at the head of the stairs and glared at the strange man. Even if they hadn't addressed one another with bro and sis it would have been obvious that these two were siblings. She had the same hair although she wore it in a different style and they both shared the same wiry figure.

"Of course, of course. But can you imagine? The whole world will watch her wearing one of our dresses. Awesome!"

"I… doubt the whole world will be watching…" Astrid interfered and Lissy saw the blush on her face. So she really was some kind of celebrity and not all that comfortable with it.

"Sure thing," The man, T, reassured her but he didn't sound convincing. "So, you want a dress. Any ideas yet? When's the wedding, anyway? How much time do we have for alterations? Ah, don't mind about that… And what's the budg- never mind, I forgot…" T began to walk around Astrid, mumbling incoherently to himself while he scrutinized her.

"Uhm..." made Astrid, obviously confused. "No budget limit, really, and I need it as fast a possible. We'll decide on a date when we know how long the dress takes. And yes, I already have a few ideas…" Astrid kept talking about what kind of dress she'd thought of while T measured her and occasionally asked interposed questions as his sister took notes.

Lissy only listened with half an ear and used the time to look around the shop some more. It was a rather small one with this well-arranged main room that already held a huge amount of dresses and the registry counter and apparently there was a second room on the upper floor. Although calling it another room was a bit exaggerated, really. Maybe an ample gallery was more fitting, with possibly an adjacent changing room on one side. She wandered around a bit and spotted a framed certificate on the wall above the counter. Huh… considering T would be short for Tuffnut that lunatic apparently was some kind of fashion designer, highly regarded for his designs of wedding dresses and robes for the high society. So maybe he was used to having celebrities as his customers after all. And he'd still rearranged Astrid's appointment on such a short notice?

Lissy turned to look at Astrid again. Should she know who she was? Astrid Hofferson, that name didn't ring a bell and she couldn't say that her face seemed familiar to her in any way but then, why would it? Madison would know! She thought grimly. Although… what difference did it make? Astrid had been kind to her and that was all that really mattered.

"Alright then," rang T's theatric voice through the shop. "Let's have a look. Mermaid cut or trumpet cut would be an option, you said? Yeah, that would work, with your slim waist and all. Although there's nothing that wouldn't work! And strapless I'd say or maybe a sheer neck. Huh, Brocade maybe? No, that'd be too heavy... Damask! Yeah, damask would be better. And not too much lace or silk. That wouldn't…uhm… Sis! Where were the mermaid dresses again?"

"Upper floor, right side," came her crisp answer before she turned to Heather and Lissy, who'd returned to the group during T's monolog. "And you two are here to give advice? Feel free to look around and make suggestions if you want. You have all afternoon, anyway. Want something to drink? Champagne? Coffee? Whiskey? …an orange juice?" she added belatedly, glancing at Lissy.

Heather sat down on one of the cushioned chairs and leaned against the backrest. "A coffee would be great!" she said and sighed. "This might take a while, after all… With all her confusing ideas…" Lissy accepted the offer of some orange juice and hesitantly sat down on one of the other chairs. On the upper floor, Astrid followed T along the racks as he pulled forth dresses for her to look at and with a start, Lissy realized how many dresses he already carried over his arm. Heather was probably right, this would take a while…

After the lunatic's sister had brought their drinks, Heather continued with her relentless interrogation. She had started during lunch but apparently had held herself back as long as Astrid was around. She wasn't as considerate now but with nothing else to do, Lissy couldn't think of a way to avoid her questions and it wasn't like she minded them much anyway. There really wasn't much to do right now… She was glad however when some time and a few dress showings later, T's head perked up around the corner at the top of the stairs, his gaze resting for the first time on them.

"Heather?" He asked a little confused, his eyes shifting from one to the other. "Uhm, who of you is Heather? A wants your advice here, could you come up?"

Heather chuckled and stood up. "Finally, I thought she'd never ask. This Mermaid cut is horrible for her... Maybe we'll be getting somewhere after all…" she mumbled and winked as Lissy before she climbed the steps. Lissy's gaze followed the black-haired woman and after she'd disappeared around the corner, a relieved sigh escaped her and she finally relaxed in her seat. She pulled out her sketchbook and a pencil but looked down at the paper undecidedly for a moment. She had nothing specific to draw in her mind and just wanted to relax a bit so she began simple, with a few sketches out of her memory. She drew the dragon's lair as she remembered it, the glass walls glistening in the sun high up in the air, the view partly covered by branches and leafs. She drew her mom, the way she'd sat in the park with a distant and sad smile on her face while she looked around at the buildings and people, looking for something someone... She drew Astrid's living room, trying to capture the homely feeling thereof on her sketch and she drew the small room that would be hers for the foreseeable future. Next, she drew quick sketches of all the people she'd recently met, Astrid, Heather and Fishlegs, Dr. Cullen and the nurse Margaret, who'd been so kind to her yesterday, Hiccup, the sour-looking woman in the training room and lastly the weird siblings who ran this shop. Drawing the people around her had always helped her to understand them a little better. She recognized the pure goodness in Fishlegs which was probably what had drawn Heather and her cool analytic mind toward him and on her paper she saw the affection between the siblings, more clearly even than on the real people around her. She saw that the strange woman from the training room was distressed somehow. Of course, she hadn't been happy but there had been more than simple dissatisfaction. And then, there were –

"Wow, Hiccup was right! You're really good." Heather's voice startled her out of her contemplations and hastily she shut her sketchbook. She didn't like people looking at her drawings, especially not nosy grown-ups like Heather… But how would Hiccup know?

Heather sat down on the chair beside her again, sighing, and leaned against the backrest. "When we went dress shopping for me a few months ago things were so much easier. I knew which dress I wanted, I tried it on, it was perfect and I bought it. But this might very well take a few hours… She wants the perfect dress to impress Hiccup. As if that was necessary…" She trailed off, waiting. Obviously, she wanted Lissy to answer, to engage her in yet another conversation. She'd rather avoid that but knew by now the black-haired woman wouldn't let go. So she played along.

"Maybe they had a fight and she wants to make it up to him that way?" She suggested, remembering how strange they'd behaved yesterday but Heather just snorted.

"They never fight!" She said confidently and smirked. "Not really at least…" she added a little more hesitant. She was silent for a few moments before she turned toward Lissy, frowning and asked: "What makes you think so?"

Lissy shrugged. "I don't know… Just a thought…" she remembered her drawings of Astrid and Hiccup and frowned. "They'd behaved a little odd yesterday. Uneasy, anxious somehow. They'd made a show of being cheerful but had been tense and keyed-up if anything." She shrugged again, suddenly self-conscious about how much rather intimate information she'd just relayed. But Heather was Astrid's friend, right? Surely, she would already know if there was anything to know.

"They have…?" Heather asked, frowning, and her expression turned thoughtful. "Both of them? Huh…" Her gaze wandered up the stairs again and a moment later, she stood up and climbed the stairs once more without saying another word.

Lissy looked at where Heather had just disappeared, puzzled but decided the other woman's problem, whatever it might be, didn't need to concern her. Instead, she opened her sketchbook and looked at her drawings again. Yes, tense and anxious, that's how they'd acted yesterday. Shouldn't a soon to be married couple be… happy? They had been more relaxed this morning, but still… She just hoped that Heather was right, that they weren't really fighting. And what if they were, how could a dress be helpful anyway? Grown-ups were weird… But who was she to decide, maybe it did make sense. But if Astrid was looking for the perfect dress, she still had a long way to go, at least as far as Lissy could tell.

The dresses she had tried so far had been pretty, beautiful even, but they hadn't been Astrid. These elegant and formal robes might be perfect, but not for her. Astrid was witty and graceful, playful and energetic, her dress should reflect these traits of hers and not be a front for something that was just not her.

Lissy flipped to an empty page in her sketchbook and quickly outlined the form the needed, but then hesitated, thoughtfully. She had no idea what exactly a Mermaid or Trumpet cut was, but the dresses Astrid had tried so far hadn't been right. They'd been too tight, emphasizing her figure but also restrain her movability. And Astrid was constantly moving! Her dress should allow that, call attention to it, should move as well… Her eyes wandered through the room, searching for what she'd seen earlier. There, near the counter hung that dress with the skirt made of countless layers of a thin fabric, silk maybe? Their varying lengths made it look like flowing water or a field of wheat when the wind rippled over it, moving constantly and gracefully. Yeah, that would be perfect, but not in a tight-fitting version like that one. The skirt should be wider, like that of a princess, making it all the more playful. Satisfied with this image, she began to sketch the skirt in her mind down onto the outlined figure, directly adding shadows and creases to highlight the intended movability. And the bodice? It would need to be conspicuous enough as to not get lost aside a skirt like this… Lissy laid her drawing utensils aside and stood up to walk along the line of dresses, looking for a fitting inspiration. Another color maybe? That could work… But it was a wedding dress! There had to be other options… -There! That was it! "Sweetheart – With Straps – Backless – Embroidered Brocade" the sign read. Pretty top with decorated fabric would have done it, too! She thought to herself as she returned to her seat. She added her idea for the bodice to her sketch and by the time Heather returned to her, she only was about to add the last details.

She closed the sketchbook instinctively, but this time, Heather wasn't interested in her drawings and didn't start another round of interrogation either. She seemed distracted somehow, her expression troubled and thoughtful. Lissy considered leaving her to her thoughts but she was rather proud of her idea for Astrid's dress and Heather was probably her best option.

"Still not the perfect dress?" Lissy asked artlessly and Heather looked up, frowning.

"Dress?" She asked, puzzled and then shook her head. "No, no dress yet." She seemed to make an effort to pull herself together because she became more lively again and turned toward Lissy. "I'm sorry, this must be pretty boring for you. We shouldn't have brought you here, really." She apologized but Lissy shook her head.

"I'm fine! It's not that bad," Lissy answered and hesitated for a moment before continuing. She didn't like to show her drawings but in this case, it was necessary. "I… have my drawings after all"

"Right… your drawings…" a small grimace crossed Heather's face but she caught herself quickly and smiled again. "Did you find anything interesting to draw here then?"

Half and hour ago, a question like this would have annoyed Lissy, the prying curiosity of grown-ups… but now it gave her a good opening. "Actually yes, I did." She opened her sketchbook again and held it out toward Heather. Surprised, the woman took it and, after throwing her a puzzled glance, looked down at the picture. For a moment, she seemed confused by what she saw but then a wide grin spread over her face.

"That's it! Perfect!" She looked up at Lissy again and threw her a measuring look. "You really do have a good eye for details... Now, where did Ruffnut disappear to? I guess if one of these crazy twins knows if a dress like this one can be found somewhere here, it would be her."

And that, my dear diary, is how Astrid finally found her dress. She, too, seemed genuinely pleased by my idea at least. There was no dress like that one in T's shop, but she tried on a few others which had the right details to get any impressing of how it would look on her and the Twins assured her they could recompose the parts to sew the dress she wanted within the span of three weeks, a month at the most. A high priority order…

I still wonder why Astrid seems to be such an important customer for them. She and Hiccup and the rest of them seem so normal to me. But it's not like I could simply ask them, really… "Sorry, but are you famous or something?" No, I won't ask that…

Later in the hospital, many greeted Astrid by name as well, but I think that was because they really know her. It was more like the doctors and nurses greet mom and me back home. I wonder why they should know Astrid, though… is she sick, too? I hope not…

Mom was still unconscious when we visited her, still sedated, but Dr. Cullen assured me she should wake up tomorrow and promised me he would alert Hiccup and Astrid as soon as I can talk to her. I really hope that works, because tomorrow, Astrid and I are going to visit some of the locations they'd picked as possible options for their wedding, to take a look at the rooms, try some food and ask for available dates. It sounded interesting when Astrid told me about that earlier but I hope we'll still be able to visit mom in between all this.

But now, I'm going to say farewell to you. Tomorrow is gong to be an interesting day and I still want to take a look at the book, Hiccup brought for me. It's about drawing techniques and stuff like that and looked very interesting. Sooo much better than the childish books Ms. Bayer gave me in art classes!

Bye then. Maybe I'll write to you again tomorrow in case anything interesting happens.

Thanks again for reading. Reviews are, as always, highly appreciated! ;)