A/N: Just want to say Happy New Year's Eve! I can't believe that in a few hours it will be 2015. This year went by fast!
Anyway, to our story!
It's been months since Stoick became chief and some of the people didn't think Stoick was good for Berk. They didn't believe that he would be great like his father. Stoick knew this, and that just made him want to work harder at being a leader. Also since Valka was by his side a lot during meals, she noticed the people around them. Alvin was the one she observed the most. Valka always saw him whispering to people with a smirk on his face when Stoick walked by. Valka tried to ignore him like her husband did, but she couldn't help herself.
One day during a dragon attack, Stoick ordered Alvin to gather up the flock. Of course, he didn't listen. Alvin decided to fight the dragons and more than half of the sheep were taken that night. Valka remembered clearly how furious Stoick was, she even got an earful about it herself because he needed to vent. That week, Valka only heard about Alvin and a bunch of other stuff bothering him. She couldn't take it anymore and visited her mother to get away from Stoick's outbursts about Alvin.
She sat at the dining table with her mother and had a cup of water that she didn't touch. Mrs. Jorgenson noticed her daughter playing with her nails and had her eyes drooped. "Honey, are you alright?"
Valka sighed and lifted her head. "I'm just worried about Stoick; he's been stressed lately."
"I'm guessing it's about Alvin. Did you hear what The Village has been calling him?" Valka shook her head and her mother answered "The Treacherous." The young woman breathed a laughed "Alvin the Treacherous uh? Seems to fit him." Mrs. Jorgenson nodded lightly then saw Valka taking a deep breath and sinks in her chair. "Are you feeling okay, Valka?" Her daughter sat up straight and answered. "No, I haven't been feeling well for the past few days."
"Do you want something to drink besides water?"
"Yeah, that will be great. Do you have any ginger?"
"Let me look." Mrs. Jorgenson got up and went to open her cabinets and saw something brown. She took it out and saw the plant in her hand. "Here we are, do you want this in tea or water?"
"Tea will be nice." Valka answered and watched her mother making the hot tea and putting the ginger in it. Once the tea was finished, her mother handed her the hot clay cup. Valka inhaled the smell and took a sip of the ginger tea. "I hope I did it right. I used the ingredients that I got from Trader Johann."
"It's just fine, mom." She said and sipped on the tea again. Mrs. Jorgenson studied her daughter's behavior when a thought came to her. "Valka, how have you been feeling lately?"
"Oh, I've been nauseated and it will last for hours! Sometimes it'll last all day."
"Have you gotten sick?"
"Well a few times, but mostly I'm just nauseated."
"What about your sleep patterns?"
"I'm tired more, and I'll take a nap once in a while."
"How does your chest feel?"
"My chest? Mom, just stop asking me questions and just tell me what you think is going on," Valka said. Mrs. Jorgenson sighed grabbed a chair to sit next to her daughter. "Okay, but you might want a second opinion after hearing mine…..Valka, I think you're pregnant." The young woman felt like she just got hit in the chest. She would be lying if she said that she never thought about that possibility. Valka nodded thinking more about the likelihood of being with child.
~oOo~
Stoick was out in The Village when Alvin walked by. Stoick avoided eye contact, but felt his former friend's glare. He knew that Alvin didn't like the fact that he had to follow him, which is why he never listened to him. Stoick was having thoughts of getting rid of Alvin, but he was having a hard time since he knew Alvin his whole life. He gave Alvin many chances to redeem the mistakes he made, but he was getting worse every day.
Stoick went home to not find his wife anywhere. Since he didn't have anything planned for the rest of the day, he decided to look at his father's old records. While he read the scrolls that held his father's handwriting, he heard the front door opening and saw his wife walking in. Stoick gave her a small smile and went back to reading. Valka felt the anxiety rising up with every step she took. She pulled out a chair and sat next to her husband.
Stoick saw Valka playing with her braid out of the corner of his eye. He set the scroll down and turned his attention to her. "Okay, what's going on?" Valka sighed and flipped her braid back behind her head. "Well, I was having some….feelings about what was going on….so I went to Gothi and she told what was going on." Stoick pursed his lip and nodded his head to let her continue. When Valka was about to speak, the door swung open and Gobber stood in the door way. "Stoick, Bucket and Mulch are hitting each other with their bludgeons again!"
Stoick groaned and stood up. "Alright, I'll be right there." Gobber ran out of the house and let Stoick get ready. The young chief looked down at his wife and saw her looking down at the ground. "Hey, just let me deal with those two and you can tell me what's going on." Valka sighed and pointed at the opened door with her thumb. "Just go." Stoick placed a hand on her shoulder and walked of the house. Valka sinks in her chair with crossed arms staring at the door that her husband shut behind him. She really hoped he'd lighten up once he finds out.
~oOo~
It was late that night when Valka was about to give Stoick the news. They just came back from The Great Hall and she asked him to sit down once they walked inside of their home. Stoick pulled out a chair for the both of them waiting for what Valka was about to tell him. However, she was interrupted again when a man cried out "Dragon Attack!"
Stoick grabbed his sword and ran out of the house with Valka following behind. She saw the creatures flying over them and saw the people throwing nets at the dragons. She wanted to run out and try to stop them, but at the same time she wanted to protect herself to keep her child safe. She ran down the hill to The Forge and found Gobber handing out weapons. "Valka! I'm glad you're here! I need your help!" The young woman ran up next to him and he handed her some beat up weapons. "I need you to put these in a pile for me in the back." She nodded and threw them on the dirt ground in the back of The Forge with a clang.
Suddenly, she heard a bloodcurdling scream from outside of The Forge. She ran out and found a man and his wife on the ground. The wife was trying to help her husband up with tears in her eyes. Valka ran to them and help her left him up. He was bleeding out from his stomach and Valka almost vomited from the sight. She turned her head and tried to help the weeping women to focus around her. "Let's put him in The Forge, then I'll get Gothi."
The wife nodded and they dragged the man leaving a trail of blood on the ground. Valka had to vomit once she left The Forge. She had never seen so much blood, she was lucky it didn't get on her clothes. After she calmed herself down, she went to find the old woman. She saw Gothi by The Great Hall looking at the sight before her. Valka told her about the man and they ran to The Forge.
They found the pale man with his weeping wife next to him. Gothi looked at his wound and pressed her hand on it to stop the bleeding. Valka couldn't watch and walked out only to find people and dragons fighting. She couldn't even find her husband in the crowd. "Valka! Gothi says to get her bag in her hut!" Gobber cried out finding the young woman outside. Valka nodded and ran to the tip of Berk.
She ran using all of her energy and found the bag on the bed. Valka grabbed the bag and ran down the twisty hill; she even lost her footing and tumbled down. She was able to stop rolling on the dirt when she dug her heal on the ground. She panted and saw that she was already at the bottom of the hill. Valka got up and kept running. Once she reached The Forge, she threw the bag making it land by Gothi.
After she saw Gothi sewing up the man, Valka fell to the ground and panted while holding her stomach. She could taste the acid in the back of her dry throat with every breath. Gobber saw her becoming weak and kneeled next to her to put a mug of water by her lips. Valka swallowed the warm water and took a breath after every gulp. She must have blacked out because she realized that Stoick was next to her. She couldn't remember when he walked in and when the dragons left.
Stoick put an arm around his exhausted wife as he watched Gothi finishing up the stitching of the wounded man. The weeping wife looked at her husband and relaxed when she saw his chest moving. Gothi patted the wife's shoulder and turned to see the drained out Chieftainess. Valka looked up at the old woman with weary green eyes. Gothi smiled at her and walked out with her bag. Valka pushed her head in her husband's chest then felt another hand on her back. She turned her head and saw the weeping wife smiling at her. "Thank you for helping me with my husband." Valka smiled and nodded at her.
~oOo~
Once Valka got her strength back, they walked back to their house. Stoick remember that she wanted to tell him something, so he pulled out a chair for her and sat down next to her. The young woman sighed before she spoke. "Okay, what I'm about to tell you is important. So I would appreciate if you would pay attention to what I'm going to say." Stoick nodded and said "okay, I'm listening." Valka bit her lip and laughed nervously. "I'm pregnant," she finally said with a nervous smile waiting for his reaction. Stoick's eyes widened in shock and tried to process what he just heard. Valka bit her lip waiting for him to say something. "Stoick, did you hear what I just said?"
The young chief nodded slowly then blinked a few times. He cleared his throat before he spoke. "I'm sorry; I'm just shocked right now."
"You are happy?" Valka asked trying to figure out what her husband was thinking. She knew that they really hadn't talk about having children yet, so she wasn't sure what to expect. Stoick got out of his chair and kneeled in front of her. "Oh Val, of course I am. I just wasn't expecting this to happen yet." He said with a small smile as he placed his hands on her knees. "So, did Gothi tell you how long she thinks you are?"
"She said I'm about three months along. I just thought I was late because of stress."
"You've been stressed?" Stoick asked before he held her hands over her lap. Valka sighed and shrugged at him. "Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but I've been stressed because I know you're stressed." Stoick sighed and looked at the ground. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. He had been stressed, but he didn't know that Valka was taking it as well. "Val, I have responsibilities to this village, and now you have responsibilities to take care of our child. Let me do my part and you do yours."
Valka nodded in agreement, then the door opened and they saw Sven. "Stoick, I know why Mr. Nidar was injured."
"Well, obliviously he was attack by a dragon," Stoick said dryly as he stood up. Sven ignored him and continued "Alvin was supposed to trap that beast, but he thought it would be better to attack it. The beast got spooked when Alvin cut it then it ran at Mr. Nidar."
Stoick clinched his fist and pounded it on the table making Valka jump. "Alvin, it's always that idiot." He grumbled at himself. He took a deep breath threw his nose and relaxed his fist. "Thank you Sven, I'll deal with him later." His old friend nodded and walked out of the house. "What are you going to do?"
"Like I said, I have my responsibilities and you have yours." Stoick said and walked up stairs to their room leaving his wife. Valka watched him stomping up the stairs and heard him slamming the door shut. She really hoped he wasn't going to do anything stupid.
A/N: How was that?
Also I got HTTYD2 on DVD for Christmas, so I've been studying Valka's character a lot better. Just so you know I wrote this chapter before I got the DVD, so hopefully my future chapters will have Valka more in character than before.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!