Hi guys!
First of all, thank you to Nerdmom1701 for making me notice my mistake in the previous chapter. I wanted to write 'passing out' but my hand slipped. Oops!
Your reviews made me so happy, thank you all!
Here you go with chapter 7, I hope you'll enjoy it!
-Clary Chase
The door opened slowly and Hiccup looked up to see Merida closing it behind her and leaning on the wall.
She looked from Astrid's sleeping form to him "Did you sleep at all?" she asked.
He shrugged "Sleeping isn't exactly my priority right now"
The princess stepped forward and sat on the armrest.
"My mother's been asking... things" she blurted out.
"What kind of things?"
"Well, she wonders why you care so much about her, for example"
"What sort of quest-"
"Relax. But you need to admit it, your behavior last night was quite ambiguous. She asked me if you two were ever together"
"And...?"
"I just told her you two have been friends since you were little kids"
"Thanks, Mer"
"Anytime" she said shrugging, though she blushed a little at the nickname "But you need to be more careful next time. She has an hawk's eye. Now yesterday you were justified seeing she was on the verge of dying from blood loss"
Hiccup flinched just at the mere thought of Astrid dying.
Merida stood up "Wanna come down to breakfast?"
"No, thanks. I'm not hungry, tell everyone I'm sorry"
"It's okay"
The princess' blue gaze fixed on Astrid. It seemed like she wanted to say something but in the end she turned and left.
When Astrid opened her eyes they were instantly hurt by the intense light.
For a moment her vision was fuzzy.
She knew she was in a bed, she could feel soft covers and pillows surrounding her.
Her head was throbbing and her arm and leg were stinging.
There was a movement beside her and she looked around, alarmed.
"Hey"
She sighed and relaxed when she was met with Hiccup's gentle eyes.
"Hey" she croaked as he took her hand.
He placed a kiss on her palm and then rested his cheek on it.
She brushed her fingers on his cheekbone in a tender way.
"You had me worried sick" he said.
"Sorry. What happened?"
"I should ask you what happened. The guys went back with you bleeding to death, unconscious"
"Ah... right"
"Mind telling me your side of the story?"
She did.
In the meanwhile Hiccup ran his hand on her bandaged arm, his piercing and serious gaze on her.
When she was finished he pursed his lips "I don't know, Astrid..."
"What?"
"You hit your head. And pretty badly. Tonight your fever was so high that you whined for almost an hour despite the cold cloth I put on your forehead"
"What are you trying to say, Hiccup?" she snapped snatching her hand away from his grip.
"I just... maybe it's your head doing some... ugh look-"
"Are you saying I imagined it?!" she yelled "Because it was all real. The Nightmare. The fight. And most of all the dragon rider!"
Hiccup looked at loss of words. He fidgeted with his hands in his lap.
Astrid glared at him "If you don't want to believe me-"
"I do want to believe you! Really. But as far as we know we're the only dragon riders"
"You're right. As far as we know" she retorted crossing her arms and flinching a bit.
Hiccup rolled his eyes "I'm not saying... you know it's..." he groaned and sat swiftly on the bed, capturing her lips.
She narrowed her eyes and pushed him away "You think kissing me will make me forget everything?"
"Probably" he said with an esitant grin, but when her glare only intensified he bit his lip.
"Look, Astrid. I don't want to talk about this now. I'm tired and still shocked from yesterday. I just want to spend some time with you now that I can do it"
"Don't you have somewhere to be?"
"Not really. Merida told her mother that we've been friends since we were kids so I have a good excuse to be so worried and stay up here with you"
Astrid was taken aback. Why would Merida do that?
She wanted to ask him but her thoughts vanished as Hiccup climbed on the bed and stood on his elbows not to crush her with his weight.
He leaned down and kissed her temple "I love you" he murmured in her ear.
She shivered at his closeness and her hands came to wrap around the back of his neck "The door..." she said "Someone could see us"
"It's already locked"
With that he pressed his lips on hers and the world around them was nothing but a distant dream.
They moved softly against hers and their slow dance was so familiar that it was almost heartbreaking.
Astrid gripped Hiccup's narrow shoulders, digging her fingers in his vest. She kissed him passionately trying to savour the moment, to ingrave the feeling of his body pressed against hers.
His lips moved to her neck and she let out a deep breath, tangling her fingers in his brown hair.
"I will prove you wrong" she said "I will... make you see... the rider"
Hiccup hummed against her throat and she knew he didn't believe her and he wouldn't let her go another time.
She knew him very well to recognise the signs of when he didn't want to keep on talking about something.
When he pulled away his eyes were darker than usual "You probably need to rest"
She shook her head "I've been resting for a day. I'm fine"
"Then maybe I should leave you some time alone"
"No. Just... lie down with me for a while?"
He smiled lightly and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.
He pulled her to his chest careful not to touch her wounds and she placed her head in the crook of his neck.
Hiccup stroked her hair and whispered sweet words in her ear.
She tried to focus on his breath against her neck and his low voice but her mind by now was somewhere else.
That night she would have gone to the cave.
And Hiccup wouldn't be able to stop her.
It was almost midnight when Astrid reached the stables with light steps, limping, with her bandaged arm clutched to her chest.
Stormfly was up while the other dragons were fast asleep, snoring loudly.
As soon as she saw her she let out an happy squeak and rushed to her.
"Hey girl!" Astrid smiled hugging her with her good arm "You were worried about me?"
The dragon nudged her affectionally and she scratched her chin.
"I need you to take me to that cave" she whispered.
Stormfly whined gesturing to her arm "I'm fine, Stormfly. Really. I need you to take me there"
The dragon huffed and Astrid rolled her eyes "Oh, come on, girl. Do this for me. Please?"
Stormfly looked at her with her yellow eyes half-closed and then sighed, lowering to make her rider climb on her back.
"You're awesome!" Astrid patted her neck trying to balance herself.
The flight was slow due to her gripping the saddle with only one hand and Stormfly's overprotective side showing.
They were flying above the land where they had found the Nightmare when Stormfly suddenly hissed, snapping her head from one side to the other.
"Stormfly" Astrid called "What's wrong, girl?"
The answer came just one second after, when the large four-winged dragon appreared from the clouds below.
Astrid cried in fear steading herself on the saddle.
The dragons wings were huge, probably twice a Nadder's size.
Its face reminded Astrid of an howl, with large yellow and clever eyes.
The misterious rider was standing upright on the dragon's back and she scanned the weird outfit.
A weird suit made of leather and a little fur cloak.
But the most weird and disturbing detail was a huge blue mask with long horns.
The shield and long staff the rider was clutching weren't welcoming either.
Astrid narrowed her eyes as the staff was pointed directly to her. Then in a matter of seconds the rider was flying away.
"Stormfly, follow them!" she ordered.
The dragon didn't esitate this time and they soon reached the icy cave.
They followed the dragon on the inside and landed in the open-space where the Nightmare had attacked Astrid.
"Stay put, Stormfly" the girl ordered.
The rider jumped off the huge dragon and smacked the staff on the ground.
Suddenly thousands of dragon's mouths lit up with fire and Astrid let out a strangled sound.
Stormfly crutched next to her and hissed.
"Who are you?" Astrid asked mirroring the rider's circular moves.
When she received no answer she exclaimed "Do you understand what I'm saying? Why did you save me? Where do you come from? Why was that Nightmare acting that way?"
A light chuckle came from the under the mask and Astrid swallowed.
"So many answers, uh?"
It was definetely a female voice.
It was smooth, with a weird accent that reminded her of Stoick's or Gobber's ones.
The rider removed her mask and Astrid was surprised by the beautiful face that had been hiding behind it.
The rider couldn't be much younger than her own parents. She had a long face, with sharp cheekbones and thick eyebrows. Her brown hair was braided in a complicated way.
But the most gorgeous thing were her eyes. They were forest green.
They reminded Astrid of Hiccup's ones so much that it was almost painful to hold her gaze.
"Who are you?" she repeated.
The four-winged dragon hissed and so did the other dragons surruondung them.
The woman gestured for her hand "You better lower your axe, my dragons don't like weapons"
Astrid bit her lip and the rider let her staff fall to the ground "I'm not gonna hurt you" she promised.
She didn't know what she was doing.
She shouldn't have lowerd her axe so easily.
But something about the woman's gentle voice and her big eyes made her trust her.
She reached for Stormfly's saddle and placed the weapon on it.
"That's better" the rider said "To answer your first question, my name is Valka"
"Valka? That's a viking name" Astrid reasoned.
Valka seemed esitant for a moment "I'm not a Viking" she said "Who are you, girl? I've never met another dragon rider before"
Astrid wanted to tell her there were tons of them but something stopped her.
"My name's Astrid. Astrid Hofferson" she only said.
Valka let out a little gasp, as if her name reminded her of someone, but she quickly recomposed herself "Beautiful name"
"Thank you" Astrid said with a frown "Now, may I ask you why you saved me and where-"
"There will be time for questions" Valka said picking up her staff once again "But first, come with me"
Aaand there you go!
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Til next update! :)