A/N – Happy New Year! I'm glad you all are enjoying this story. It's one of those that popped up on morning and wouldn't go away. So…here we are. Thank you – you are all amazing! Have a great New Year and a great rest of the year, too.
X
Chapter 3
Astrid sat on a fallen log, waiting. She hadn't anticipated what might happen if Hiccup Haddock did not honor their deal. She didn't want to tell his father that he'd been in the woods. It would reveal her own presence in the woods. They would both be in trouble. Hiccup Haddock might have seen that flaw in her plan, and decided against training her. He might have his own devilish ideas.
In any case, there were logical reasons for him to be late.
Astrid listened for his footsteps in the woods. She heard many sounds, bugs and insects, and something larger she couldn't identify. She had no plan of action in case she met a wild dragon. That was another thing squires learned that she would like to know. If Hiccup Haddock honored their deal, she would ask him.
After a while of sitting in the dark, Astrid stood, ready to call Hiccup a no-show. She took a step toward the castle when she heard the footsteps, light but steady, heading closer to her. Between the trees, she spotted the gray of the squire.
She breathed a sigh at the sight.
"So, you didn't back out," Astrid said as Hiccup came into clearer view. He carried two practice swords on his back.
"No," he said, out of breath. "No, Princess. We ran late. Knight Haddock is adamant that we learn fast and don't sleep until we know all the sword moves by heart."
"That won't be hard for you, then," Astrid said.
"You'd be surprised," Hiccup said. "Knight Haddock is good at finding your weak points."
Hiccup walked into the clearing and Astrid followed. Hiccup smelled of sweat and an earthy scent she couldn't identify.
"Why do you call him 'Knight Haddock' and not 'Dad?'"
Hiccup let out a chuckle. "He tells me to. He doesn't want the others to think he's treating me any different."
"Is he?"
Hiccup hesitated. "Not in a good way."
"How so?"
Hiccup glanced at her, considering whether or not to speak what he thought. Astrid knew the face. Anyone she spoke to outside of her immediate family and close friends wore it as they spoke.
"You may speak your mind, Hiccup," Astrid said.
Hiccup pulled the two swords from his back and unsheathed them. "He's harder on me. I'm his son. He expects me to be this great knight, and I'm trying, but I'm never good enough for him."
"Perhaps he's worried," Astrid said, pacing the clearing.
"Worried I'll make him look bad?"
"Worried that if you become a knight, you'll be in danger."
Hiccup blinked at her, unsure. He handed her the sword, hilt first. She took it as she'd seen them do.
"Don't grip it too tight," Hiccup said. "You want to remain fluid, but in control."
Hiccup stepped around and examined her grip. He reached for her hand, but hesitated with his fingers above hers. After a moment, he placed his hand on hers. He adjusted her fingers.
"There," Hiccup said, his voice a pitch higher. "As you practice, you'll find the grip that works best for you. You'll learn when to tighten your grip, when to loosen, and how to flex your fingers and wrist."
Astrid flexed her hand around the hilt; she'd never realized, or given as much consideration to, how many things worked together to hold a sword.
Hiccup taught her the words, parry, thrust, step, and when to sidestep right or left, and basics of fencing. It had been a while, but the steps came back to her. Swishing the blade, anticipating when the opponent would strike upward or down. The clank of the metal thrilled her, the constant motion, the fluctuation of a fight, all of it heated her insides.
Too soon, Hiccup called it a night.
"That it, unless Princess would like to continue," Hiccup said. Dark circles hung underneath his eyes. His shoulders drooped.
"I agree," Astrid said. "It's late, and you've an early morning."
"I do," he said.
Astrid handed him the sword, and as he took it, his fingers grazed hers. He paused as if she might reprimand him. When she didn't, he sheathed the swords and swung them around his shoulder. He began to walk through the woods, and Astrid followed a step behind.
She wanted to ask him something, anything to hear him speak. She wanted him to stop and turn to her. She wanted to see his eyes looking at her. She wanted him to speak to her, to open up to her again. Her tired mind couldn't formulate questions fast enough. She had one on the tip of her tongue, when Hiccup stopped short at the edge of the woods. He bent low to the ground.
She saw what he saw; a guard patrolled the edge of the woods and walked toward them.
"Back this way," Astrid said, pulling on the back of Hiccup's shirt.
Astrid tiptoed back into the woods with Hiccup a few steps behind. She led him to her familiar hiding spot, a large tree with roots poking through the ground. She navigated her way through and pressed her back against the large tree. Hiccup tried to follow her steps, but tripped. He caught himself before he slammed into her, a hand on either side of her head. Astrid moved to catch him, and her hands met his chest.
The guard's slow, cautious footsteps came closer, one step at a time.
She felt his pounding heart beneath his shirt. His breath met her lips, hot and quick. Neither moved; he stared down at her as though she might plunge a dagger into his heart, or worse, throw him into the lightless dungeon for a crime he didn't do. Astrid moved her thumb across the fabric of his shirt to reassure him she wouldn't, but it didn't seem to help.
She'd never been this close to anyone. She'd never felt another's heart beat so rapidly; her own thundered away.
The guard's footsteps came ever closer, and hesitated. Astrid's heart skipped a beat. If they were caught like this, no excuse would suffice. Hiccup knew it, too, and the fear showed on his moonlit face. He shook.
She wanted to tell him not to worry. She would defend him.
The guard walked on. The footsteps gradually faded in the other direction.
Neither moved until the footsteps went away.
"Damn," Astrid breathed. "That was close."
Hiccup stood up, shakily. He ran a hand through his hair.
"It's alright, no one saw," Astrid told him.
"They could have," Hiccup said, voice small. "I could have gotten killed on the spot."
"I wouldn't have let them," she said.
Hiccup shook his head. "No, this…this isn't alright. I'm sorry, Princess. I can't risk this. My father would kill me if the guards didn't."
Hiccup dashed through the woods. Astrid pushed herself off the tree to run after him, but a glint in the foliage caught her eye. The swords. She picked them up and went after Hiccup. She reached the edge of the woods, but Hiccup had already vanished. She sighed, and looked down at the practice swords. They would be missed in the morning.
She looked for guards, and then ran back to the servant's door. She knew what she had to do. Those swords couldn't be missed.
X
"Rise and shine," came the light voice of Helga. She pushed the bed curtains aside and let in the warm sunlight.
The brightness stung Astrid's eyes. She rolled over to escape the light, and pushed her head into the pillow.
"Oh, no, no," Helga said. "It's time to get up, Princess."
"Ten more minutes," Astrid said into the pillow.
"Breakfast is in an hour," Helga reminded. She whisked aside the bed curtains on the other side, allowing no room for shadows.
Astrid got up, bathed, and dressed, and met her parents in the dining hall for breakfast.
"My dear, you look exhausted," King Arvid said to Astrid as she sat. "Trouble sleeping? Or were you up half the night?"
Astrid froze at the suggestion. "I couldn't sleep."
"I'll have the herbalist make you something tonight to help," Queen Lenora said.
Astrid pushed her food around the plate. She didn't feel remotely hungry. She'd spent two hours sneaking the swords back into the practice room. She hadn't thought of how many knights would be in the training hall, or how many would be awake. She'd spent forty minutes waiting for one of the knights to finish reading. She'd nearly fallen asleep herself, hiding just inside the servant's passage. When she'd finally gotten back to her room, sleep felt as far away as it could have.
"Warm tea, dear?" Queen Lenora asked.
"Yes, please," Astrid said. Within a few minutes, a warm mug rested in Astrid's hands. She sipped slowly.
After breakfast and studies in the parlor, Astrid retired to watch the squires train. They worked on swordplay. She sat in the royal box on the courtyard, and searched the squires for Hiccup. She spotted him; he stood with his back to her. He fought with a large boy with dark hair. One by one, the other fights ended, but Hiccup still parried the dark headed boy. Stoick said nothing about his son's skill. He walked by, scowling, and commented on the others' imperfections and mistakes.
Not very fatherly, Astrid thought.
The teams switched; Hiccup saw her. He blinked, and then focused on his opponent. More than a few times his green eyes flickered up to the box.
"That's enough," Stoick roared. "We break for lunch. Be back here in an hour."
The squires returned the practice swords to the racks and vanished in several directions. Hiccup lingered by the rack, and glanced back up at the box. Snotlout walked behind him, and lurched his thick body into Hiccup's. He spoke, but Astrid didn't hear the words. By Hiccup's sour expression, they hadn't been nice.
Hiccup headed into the squire's dining hall where the castle prepared them three meals. Astrid walked down to the courtyard, and stood just inside the arched doorway onto the green. When Hiccup exited the dining hall a short while later, Astrid caught his eye. He looked startled. She motioned, and then walked into the shadowed stairwell that led into the box.
Hiccup followed her through the archway with caution.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Princess," he said, bowing his head. "There is no need to apologize."
"Of course there is," she said. "I don't want you to get into trouble because of my selfishness."
He blinked. "Did you…did you bring the swords back?"
"I did," she said.
He breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought my father knew they'd been taken and replaced them. He kept glaring at me all morning. I assumed he knew."
"How could he know?" Astrid asked. "No one saw."
"I don't know. He has ways."
"If I had a different location, would you still be willing to train me?" Astrid asked, hopeful but stern.
Hiccup considered. "Yes, Princess."
She grinned, and clasped her hands together. "In the paneled room beside the squire's hall, between the candelabra and the painting of Margo the Wise, there is a panel that opens. Press on the right side. Meet me inside tonight."
"What?" Hiccup asked.
Astrid repeated her instructions, and included a small line about the servant's passage that runs through the entire castle. Hiccup took the information, and repeated it back to her.
"Yes, that's right," Astrid said, nodding. "I'll be waiting, Squire Haddock."
He gave her a quick grin, and then Knight Haddock signaled the beginning of the next session, and he rushed back through the doorway.
X
That evening, Astrid made her way through the servants' passage with a single candle to guide her. Despite the efforts to keep the castle spotless, the servants passage did not receive the same attention. Cobwebs and dust became commonplace.
She waited on the other side of the door to the squire's hall, and resisted the urge to open it. At last, she heard a hand feel the panel. It slid across the wood and pushed against the right side. The panel sprung open, and on the other side stood a bewildered Hiccup Haddock.
"Amazing," he whispered.
He stepped through the door and Astrid showed him how to push it shut. It clicked back into place, resetting the mechanism.
"How many of these are there?"
"In the entire castle? I don't know, I've never counted. Dozens, at least," she said.
Footsteps sounded on the other side and they both froze. Patrol.
Astrid motioned Hiccup after her, and led him through the servants' passage, to an empty corridor on the fourth floor. The door came out through a painting of Cedric the Dumbfounded. She stepped through, and held the painting open for Hiccup. She chose an empty parlor at the end of the hall. The furniture had been removed years before and a tall window let in plenty of moonlight. Astrid set the candle down away from the window.
"We can speak in here," Astrid said. "No one sleeps anywhere near this room, and there's nothing to clean, so the servants won't come. We have the space to ourselves."
"Wow," Hiccup said. "You really know your way around."
"I've spent a lot of time sneaking," she said. "But let's keep that between us."
"As you wish, Princess."
They sparred with the practice swords; Hiccup gave advice and pointers, more direct and personalized than his father's. Before the night ended, they were clanking metal left and right, quickly and without hesitation. Hiccup won several rounds, but Astrid didn't lose them all.
"You've gotten farther in two nights than most of the squires have in their entire training," Hiccup said, out of breath. "You're good at this."
"Not as good as you, Squire Haddock," she said, handing him back the sword.
He grinned, and shifted his gaze to the floor. "You can call me Hiccup, if you'd like, Princess."
"And, if you would like, can call me Astrid," she said.
He blushed. "I wouldn't feel comfortable with that."
"Why not?"
He stammered. "You're the princess. You'll be my queen. I'm not…"
"Not what?"
"Worthy, I guess."
"Not worthy to speak my name?"
He shrugged, eyes on the floor. "No, Princess."
"That's rubbish, Hiccup." Astrid stepped to him, ignoring whatever invisible wall he believed existed, and placed her hand on his chest, over his heart, as she'd done the night before.
Hiccup inhaled and took a small step back. Astrid stepped with him. She held her hand firmly over his heart.
"There is nothing standing between us, Hiccup," she whispered. "I can touch you without harm or worry."
Hiccup laid a hand against her waist. He swallowed, and his entire throat moved.
"See?" Astrid said. "I don't bite. Unless you bite first."
Hiccup didn't move.
"I will see you tomorrow?" Astrid asked.
"Of course, Princess," Hiccup said, then added, "Astrid."
"I will wait for you behind the wall," she said, and removed her hand. She walked back into the empty corridor and to the painting. She pressed her hand on the right side and sprung the mechanism with a series of small clicks, and it swung open.
Hiccup followed a few steps behind. "Uh, Princess?"
She turned, and raised a brow.
"I mean, Astrid?"
"Yes, Hiccup?"
"Could you…show me how to get back to the hall?"
She grinned. "Lost?"
"A bit," he said, nodding. "We took several turns, and stairs, and to be honest, I'd never find my way back in this maze."
"Gladly," she said, grinning. She held the painting open for him, and led the way back down through the castle, with nothing more than the candle to guide them, and to the squire hall.
"Thank you," Hiccup whispered.
"Before you go," Astrid said, stepping up beside him. "Do you have something for me?"
Hiccup blinked. "Uh…?"
"Nothing for a lady after an evening spent together?"
He blinked again.
Astrid turned her head to the side, and tapped her finger on her cheek.
"Oh," Hiccup said.
She didn't move. After a moment, she heard him move, and then felt the soft peck of lips against her cheek.
"That's better," Astrid said.
Hiccup's face had gone a bright shade of red.
"A kiss goodnight," Astrid told him. "It's proper etiquette."
"Yes, Princess," Hiccup said. "Milady Astrid."