As promised, I'm going to get this up early for you all! I feel inspired after having rewatched the entire first movie last night!
Review Replies:
kitty.0: That's good. I mean…that you understand because that means it's realistically correct…I guess. I have no idea what I'm saying.
Jesusfreak (anonymous): I don't have this one fully planned out yet, but my guess is that it is bordering 100. It may even be just over 100. There's about 8 or 9 planned arcs for this story and each arc is roughly 12-14 chapters.
aaquater: Yeah…comparing the sun and Astrid's hair. Who'd have thought? Haha. Yep, that quote is pretty accurate right about now.
Guest (anonymous): I'm sure he'll be rescued…I mean…what's a story where the main character dies? An unconventional one, I guess…and my stories tend to be unconventional…oh, wait… I'm glad you like the dream scenes. Definitely got another one of those planned for a little later.
Next chapter starts…now!
Chapter 22: Berk Moves On
Here Without You
"Hiccup…" she mumbled. "Hiccup…come home…" Opening her eyes, Astrid awakened to another bright day. How uncharacteristic of this season! Usually the sunlight was scarce, blocked by clouds. As her mind unclouded from the jumble of sleep, Astrid realized that she had been mumbling. Was I talking in my sleep? I never do that! Gods, I hope no one heard me doing that! That would be so embarrassing!
Pulling herself from the bed, Astrid attached her shoulder armor and strapped on her leather headband, braiding her blonde hair back as she did. What lesson should I teach today at the Academy? she wondered as she thought about what knowledge would be most meaningful for the Riders to learn. She continued to debate this as she left the room to grab some breakfast. By the time she had finished eating, Astrid remained undecided. Guess I'll just wing it today. That'll be fun.
Silently, Astrid slipped her axe from its wall holder and placed it into her holster so it sat snugly against her back. Hiccup had designed this new holster when her old one started to wear and tear. She smiled at the memory of him presenting his design to her. That had surely been one of the happiest moments in her life thus far. It ranked up there with the romantic flight she had taken with Hiccup when he had first introduced her to his Night Fury.
Walking through the village towards the Academy, Astrid saw the chief up ahead of her a ways. Not wanting to disappoint him once again, Astrid veered off the path in hopes of finding a back-way that did not cross paths with Stoick. As she left the path though, Astrid's eyes met Stoick's and she immediately knew that he would not be asking her today about that decision. What was that look? Astrid wondered. He seemed to look right through me…as if he was distracted or something. Now she was interested to know what Berk's chief was thinking about. It was very rare for Stoick to display such actions; he was usually very focused on all business regarding the island and village. I need to find out what's going on. Let's find out if it's as hard to sneak behind and follow the Chief as it is his son. Astrid laughed briefly as she remembered all the times she had once tried to tail Hiccup and find out why he had been acting so strangely. Who'd have thought that her actions would eventually lead to her teaming up with Hiccup to end the 300-year war between Vikings and dragons? Oh, how times had changed.
Peering out from behind the side of the house where she had taken refuge, Astrid saw that, just in that brief moment, the Chief had moved a great distance. Astrid, an expert at stealth, tailed behind, diving behind barrels and houses. She just hoped that no one else in the village noticed her actions; they'd probably alert the Chief and this would be very hard to explain. As she followed a short distance behind, Astrid noticed that Stoick was heading for the Great Hall. Oh, it's just a meeting, I'll bet. Hiccup used to tell her of the nights his father would come home after meetings; the Heir had made it sound as if they were always long and boring. About to turn back, Astrid stopped as she remembered the distracted look she had seen on Stoick's face, the look so unfamiliar that she had chosen to follow him. This isn't just a meeting. There's something else going on here.
Astrid waited until Stoick had disappeared into the Great Hall before slowly pulling open the door. She hoped that the creaking from the old hinges did not bother those gathered inside the large hall. Keeping to the back and in the shadows, Astrid listened in to the private council meeting. Though she did not catch every word, Astrid was still able to follow the conversations, well….for the most part.
First, Stoick thanked his gathered council for their time. It was then that Astrid heard some words of interest. "I have called this meeting," the Chief informed those gathered, "at Spitelout's recommendation. He has requested…" Stoick paused as if his next words were hard to speak, "the appointment of a new heir…one to take Hiccup's place."
Astrid almost gasped upon hearing this. No! They're….replacing Hiccup. That means they've… She didn't want to believe that everyone had actually given up hope of Hiccup's safe return, but this meeting only served to confirm that they had. Never would Astrid have guessed that even Hiccup's father would lose all hope, but it was happening and she was powerless to change it. Astrid wanted to storm to the front and yell to Stoick and his council, to make strong attempts to alter their decision. Instead, she just stormed (no longer caring if they heard her) out of the Great Hall and walked angrily toward the Academy where she knew her friends would be waiting. As she walked through the village, Astrid began to take notice of small things that she had not noticed before. The villagers were moving on too. It seemed that Astrid was the only one who still held out the slightest hope that Hiccup was alive and well.
Arriving at the Academy, Astrid wasted no time in joining her friends inside. As expected, they were restless and annoyed that Astrid had kept them waiting.
"Late much, Astrid?" Snotlout asked, impatiently.
"Perhaps, but not without good reason," Astrid answered, ready to convey what she had just learned. "I just heard that there are talks about the appointment of a new heir. Stoick is replacing Hiccup. He…believes him dead," she informed her friends, filling them in without giving details of how she came to learn of this news.
"Psh, I knew that!" Snotlout answered immediately.
Of course he would. It was his dad's idea. Glancing at the others, Astrid saw no remorse; they all had clearly moved on so quickly as well. Finally, Astrid's gaze connected with Fishlegs's eyes. In reply, he gave her a sorrowful look. At least he understands. Looking back across the rest of her friends, Astrid smirked as she finally thought of a good lesson to teach. Everyone left the Academy sore, strained, and tired that evening.
888
After the other teens, complaining about Astrid's strict lesson, had left the Academy, the surrogate leader remained, watching the sunset as she cleaned up the Academy floor. First she moved all the wooden barriers back against the wall and then she took the broom (the one Hiccup had brought in especially for the Academy floor) and swept the floor free of any lingering dust. Finally satisfied that the Academy was as clean as it would get, Astrid set the broom back against the wall and left to head home.
Astrid trudged home slowly, still thinking about what she had heard today. Nothing was official yet, though; the chief had not yet made his plans known. Maybe Stoick won't do it. Maybe, just maybe, he's still also holding out hope deep down.
By now it was getting darker and the night air was quickly growing colder. Astrid needed to get home soon. She chanced one last glance at the darkening sky. Is it too much to hope that Hiccup is still out there somewhere and looking up at this same sky? Am I foolish to hope this? Am I stupid for still believing?
Arriving home, Astrid soon learned that her parents had waited for her before sitting down to eat their dinner. Regret gnawed deep down in her stomach. She had been taking her time in leaving the Academy and heading home while her parents were waiting patiently for her return. Over dinner, Astrid told her parents about what she had heard, again leaving out the specific details.
"This isn't surprising news, Astrid," her father answered between bites. "If you think about it, it has been almost five months since anyone has seen Hiccup or traces of him. The chances of him still being alive are...yeah…not so good."
"I know," Astrid replied shortly. "It's just…"
With a sigh, Astrid's mother set down her wooden eating utensils so that she could give her undivided attention to her daughter. "It's been four months, Astrid. It's time to move on," she spoke softly and gently.
Angered, Astrid shoved her food away. "You too? Everyone is saying that, but how can I just move on? He was my boyfriend. Sure, it was only official for a couple days, but he asked me and I agreed to be his girlfriend! It doesn't matter how much time passes or even if he is found, alive or... " she trailed off, not wishing to finish that thought. Hiccup will always be on my mind and that will never change!"
Suddenly, Astrid no longer felt hungry. Wanting to just be alone, she stood up and simply said "I'm going to bed." before retreating to her bedroom for the rest of the night.
This is my last update of Wheel before the release of How To Train Your Dragon 2. Hope it's sufficient. There may or may not be one more update of Brave before then. Depends on how much trouble the Romantic Flight scene gives me when I write it out.
Coming Up Next: Hiccup, sketchbook in hand, sat on the beach and stared out at the rolling waves on the waters surrounding him. Many times he had sketched this scene; it had given him something to do. Today, though, he was sketching some plans, possibilities that might take him and Toothless back to Berk. He sketched various ideas of new tailfins for Toothless but each became less and less stable. Time was running out, he knew. He couldn't continue living on his meager diet and sleeping in such cold conditions. Hiccup knew that he had to figure out a way home…and fast.
Next Chapter: I'll aim to have the next chapter posted Saturday after 10 PM US East Coast time. In the meantime, enjoy How To Train Your Dragon 2 all you lucky people. Though it comes out Friday here, I won't be seeing it this weekend and I might not be able to see it next week either. Sadface.
Thank you all for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky!
Posted: June 11, 2014
