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"She has to learn Cami. What would happen if something like this happened again, but on a bigger scale? Our daughter, Astrid, will become Queen one day, and the whole Viking tribe will have to trust her, but they may not trust her when she has magic. And they will definitely not trust her if she can't control that magic." The King turned towards his wife and squeezed her hand. "We just can't have more people getting hurt." Astrid's mother, Camicazi, nodded her head, cradling a sleeping Astrid in her arms.
The young family was standing in their old, wooden house that had been passed from king to king, and was a nice and comfortable living space that had been placed on the highest hill in the village when the Vikings had first landed on Berk. The house had been through many remodels because of the raids, but it still stood. Ancestral weapons hung on the walls and simple rugs with Celtic designs lay on the floor of the home. A staircase at one end of the ground floor led to the upper level where two bedrooms were located, one of them Astrid's.
"She will learn to control it, but also hide it," Camicazi stated forcefully. Asher opened his mouth to object, but Camicazi cut in. "Every Viking has their secrets, Asher, but hers is the most important secret to be kept hidden. No one knows how the village will react if they knew the truth. In the worst scenario they could consider her one of the Dragons." Camicazi sighed and pressed a kiss into Astrid's hair.
The small family sat silently for a little while, mulling over their thoughts. "It's going to be hard to keep Hiccup away though," the King said sadly. "He and Astrid are best friends. I know I couldn't stay away from Stoick long when we were kids, not even now. But the risk of telling your best friend everything is too great, isn't it. It won't work." King Asher let his head fall into his hands.
"Well, they'll get used to it. A close relationship cannot be a risked until Astrid can control her fire." Camicazi patted her husband on his shoulder as she passed him, carrying Astrid up the stairs to lay her down in her bed. She traveled back downstairs and went to the open front door. She grasped the iron handle and promptly closed the door with a loud THUMP!
000
Hiccup snuck out of his house and crept to a trail that had been worn down by many footsteps that had tread on the path too many times. He had been kept inside for the past days to recover from his injuries, and was sick of the smell of wood, so he had set his little mind on visiting Astrid. He ran up the path, and snuck around the back of the house to the back door and bounded up to it. "Astrid?" The tiny toddler picked up his small fist and knocked a few times. When no one answered, Hiccup pouted, letting his bottom lip poke out just a bit. "Is anybody home?" Hiccup asked in a small voice.
No one answered.
Hiccup turned his back to the door and slunk to the ground to wait, letting his legs splay in either direction. Although, he couldn't stay still for long because he got up and knocked again. "Astrid, do you want to come and play?" After a few moments of silence, and thinking, Hiccup whispered, "You don't have to be the princess this time."
The door opened up suddenly making Hiccup jump a little. Astrid peeked out and gave a small smile at Hiccup, which he returned.
"Hic! I'm sorry, but I can't play right now. Momma and Papa say 'I have to start my lessons', or whatever that is." Hiccup's face fell. Looking around quickly to see if anyone was close enough to hear, which they weren't, Astrid leaned forward and whispered, "I'll see you soon though, maybe tonight in the forest?"
Hiccup nodded eagerly, smiling once again and hopped off of the stoop of her door and waved. "Okay, bye! See you soon soldier!" Hiccup saluted and turned away to run down the trail. He had the goofiest smile on his face.
"ASTRID!" Astrid's mother called from inside the house. Astrid jumped a little, and turned around. With a hidden smile, Astrid shut the door.
Later on in the day, around diner time, Astrid was putting on her play gear to enjoy a fun play date with Hiccup, when her father came over and asked her to take off her armor. "There will be no playing tonight, alright? You still have a lot to learn in your lessons before you can play. Now off to bed, Kit." Astrid gave Asher a questioning look, but when he ignored her, she obeyed his request.
Looking out at the night air with drooping eyes, Astrid rested her arms on the window sill. She wished so dearly to be with Hiccup; who cared about the stupid lessons anyway. About to curl into bed, Astrid looked down and was surprised to find her window sill almost in ashes. Camicazi was walking into the room to say good night when she saw her daughter and hurried over to her with two shoulder pads. "These will help, Little One. I just received them from the Necromancer and they will help counter your powers, see?" Camicazi strapped on the metal shoulder pads to Astrid's shoulders. Cami stood back to survey Astrid who had returned to her normal state of calmness when the shoulder pads had been strapped on. Camicazi lifted Astrid's chin, "Now cheer up. Conceal it, don't feel it….don't let it show." Camicazi drilled this phrase into the child's mind before she went to bed.
A few miles away, at the edge of the forest Hiccup stood shivering in the fall air waiting for Astrid. She never came that night; she didn't ever.
000
Four years passed, and Hiccup once again found himself in front of the Hofferson's back door, but this time it was for a job. The still scrawny nine-year old had finally been given a job to do by his father. Unlike other Viking boys, Hiccup had not been growing any muscles, and his father, Stoick, wanted him to beef up, so he sent him to work with the Blacksmith, Gobber. It turned out that Hiccup had a knack for it. He could make the sharpest blade in the kingdom, not that he bragged. He never had a chance to.
Hiccup knocked on the back door while trying to keep a large axe that he had fashioned at the forge, in his hands. The door suddenly opened, and Hiccup was met with King Asher.
"He…hello sir, I brought the axe that you requested from Gobber."Hiccup stammered.
Asher beamed down at the boy. "Well hello there Hiccup." Asher picked up the axe easily, and swirled it around a bit to test its weight. "This is a fine axe this is. Please send on my thanks to Gobber for such an incredible job! It is a perfect fit for my young Astrid."
Asher set down the axe on a side table by the door and pulled a coin pouch out and doled out a few gold coins to Hiccup. "Here you go, young master. Thank you, and have a good day." Asher turned around and was about to close the door when Hiccup spoke up.
"Is, is Astrid home, sir?"
Asher considered the question then said a little too quickly, "No, she is not. Sorry." The back door to the King's hut slammed into Hiccup's face before Hiccup could respond.
Even though Hiccup was only nine, he was still quite smart and knew that Astrid was indeed home and she was hiding something. "But what?" Hiccup whispered aloud as he stared up at the window above the door. He could see just a slight bit of movement that he assumed was Astrid. He couldn't remember the last time he had played with her. Recently he had only seen her from afar.
With a sigh, Hiccup ran away from the house and into the throng of people in the town square, becoming almost invisible as squabbles and loud barks broke out. Hiccup could only be slightly heard making fun of the Vikings' conversations.
Inside of the Hofferson's home, Astrid was certainly inside, and was struggling with keeping her powers concealed while staying angry at her parents. It proved quite a challenge. Finally giving up, she fell to the ground, letting her powers singe the floor marginally. "My powers, they're getting stronger. I…I can't conceal them." Astrid whispered breathing deeply to keep the tears in. She hadn't cried since she was six, and would not let it happen again. Asher and Camicazi gave her a tight hug, and then they pulled two objects out and presented them.
"Those shoulder pads might not be helping much, but combined with these, it will definitely help," her father whispered back, placing a ringlet of leather and iron studs around Astrid's head. Kissing her on top of her head, he also placed an axe in her hands. "Carry these possessions at all times. They will help."
Astrid nodded, twirling the axe in her hands. It was beautiful craftsmanship. It had perfect weight from the iron head to the handle that had an intricate design climbing up it. Astrid abruptly threw the axe as hard as she could and was rewarded with a nice thud when it gouged itself in a deep hole in the wood paneling of the wall. Astrid smiled.
000
A few more years passed by, and Astrid finally was allowed out of her house. She soon grew a group of friends that followed her everywhere, four in total. Snotlout was the buff man that acted like the whole of Midgard belonged to him. That might be because he was the son of the head guard, but maybe he was just born that way. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were identical boy and girl twins that caused trouble everywhere. Even in the smallest box they could cause trouble by blowing it up. As you can guess, this kept Astrid and the rest of the village very busy. Then there was Fishlegs. Some wondered why he got into the group because he was such a nerd, but the group of teens didn't seem bothered by it. Fishlegs knew everything about every dragon ever seen, and would often ramble about a new dragon that he had read about. The gang was a great mixture of everything.
Along with friends, Astrid also grew a reputation of the fiercest shield maiden in the village, and also the scariest. No one ever thought to cross her path ever unless they wanted a nice bruise in the morning. In every raid Astrid and her gang could be seen fighting the dragons fearlessly. Astrid was usually the leader and sent each of them to their separate jobs. Her life was so normal no one ever suspected anything.
"See you in two weeks!" Astrid smiled, tugging her parents into a snug hug. Standing in her parent's room, Astrid watched her parents pack for another diplomatic meeting between the fiefs.
"You're sure you'll be alright on your own?" asked Camicazi, looking into Astrid's eyes before hugging her again.
"It's not like you've never left before. I'll be fine. It'll be easy to control the village like you, Dad…. and I've learned everything possible about how to control it, so yes, I will be fine." Astrid smiled at her parents again and walked out the front door with them. Astrid breathed in the smell of Berk, savoring the smell that she never got tired of.
"Hey Astrid, you coming?" someone called, rounding the corner.
"Yeah, I'm coming Ruff." Astrid ran down to the gang of friends that had gathered at the end of the hill and yelled one last good-bye to her parents before following her friends into the village.
Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, and Snotlout walked through the village jabbering and talking amongst themselves, deciding what to do.
"Well, we could definitely kill some dragons, how about it babe?" Snotlout wiggled his eyebrows at Astrid in a disgusting way. "You. Me. dragons. If you're scared, you know I'll protect you babe."
Astrid punched him in the shoulder harshly, and gave him a warning look. He gulped nervously.
"Well I guess, we could go looking for dragons, but couldn't we just go to the flower yard and observe dragons from a safe distance." Fishlegs whimpered.
"Safe distance, HA! I wanna go so close I get my nose blown up," Tuffnut and Ruffnut laughed manically and high-fived.
"How about you guys do that, I've got to go home, and….."
"Come on, Fishlegs, we won't get that close, maybe it will be fun!" Astrid simpered.
The gang went round and round, looking for something to do as they crossed the village to get to the woods. They had almost reached the forest when they came across a thin Viking outside the Forge, who looked like he was his own little world.
"Hey Hiccup!" snickered Snotlout. Hiccup looked up and down again, acting as if the gang were not there. "What do you think you're doing? Have you set another house on fire yet? Remember? Just like what happened to Mildew's house last week? That was hilarious!" Snotlout advanced on Hiccup, flexing his muscles. The twins sniggered behind Snotlout.
"Snotlout, there's no reason to tease him, let's go." Astrid exasperatedly called after Snotlout. She may not be Hiccup's friend anymore, but there was no reason to bully him.
"Just be quiet, babe. Let me show you how a real Viking takes charge." Before anyone could react, Snotlout lifted Hiccup up, off the ground and punched him right in the stomach sending Hiccup out of Snotlout's hands and pushed him into the dirt.
"It was an accident," Hiccup murmured as he struggled into a sitting position.
"What!? I didn't hear you…"
"Maybe that's because your ego is blocking your ears," Hiccup mumbled in a sarcastic tone.
Snotlout turned beet red all over and he muttered darkly. Astrid watched in horror as Snotlout raised a pudgy fist and pummeled Hiccup to the ground. With just a slight hesitation, Astrid joined the swarm and aimed for Snotlout's head.
Hiccup had long since passed out, but with Astrid's punch, Snotlout joined Hiccup on the ground. Breathing heavily, Astrid turned back to the rest of the gang. "If you mention this to anyone, you will end up like him, got it?" Astrid stated, pointing to Snotlout with her foot. The twins and Fishlegs, who looked a little pale, nodded quickly and dispersed.
Eyeing Snotlout with disgust, Astrid murmured to herself, "I think that punch will make sure he won't remember this fight." Shaking her head she made her way over to the lump of clothes that was Hiccup. "Hiccup?" Astrid whispered gently. He didn't move. Astrid tentatively reached out a hand and rolled him over. He was covered in forming bruises and deep cuts. After taking a few deep breaths, Astrid picked up Hiccup and carried him to Gothi, the healer's house. Giving orders to make sure that he was well taken care of, Astrid went home, grabbed her axe, and ran to the forest.
Killing trees became Astrid's favorite hobby as the weeks passed. It was getting harder and harder to get the image of Hiccup's beat up body out her mind. Especially when he came out of Gothi's and was used as a punching bag again. Throwing the axe was the only possible way to keep her emotions from affecting her powers.
After an extra-long workout with her axe, Astrid wearily walked into her house. Her house was still empty, but she had received word that her parents would be back in three days. She collapsed onto her bed, looking forward to a nice nap before supper in the Great Hall. She was just closing her eyes when there was a series of raps on the back door. Curious, she slunk downstairs with her axe in hand, ready for an intruder. But instead of heavy footsteps, she heard a small voice whispering her name, and then the voice broke a little as he or she spoke. Astrid leaned closer and was surprised to hear Hiccup.
"Gods, I really hope you're not home. Ugh, this is stupid. Well, here goes." Hiccup sighed and leaned against the door on the other side, and took a breath to whisper a few verses of a song.
I seem to find myself
At your door again
I promise it won't happen
Anymore.
She knew the song, or at least the tune. When they were little, his mother used to sing a song to the both of them to get them to go to sleep. Astrid rested her hand and head on the door, listening to the rough vibrations of his voice. She missed it.
I know I am nothing
But I'm here to say
Thank you so much
For being there
But
I can tell
This will be the last time
Astrid heard his sharp intake in breath, making her immediately want to fix everything. But whenever she tried to make everything better, it always turns into a disaster. Not that she regretted those few times that she stood up to the gang; she would help him all over again, but he must not know her secret.
This will be the last time
I'll have you at my back
Soldier.
Hiccup let out a heart-wrenching breath and fell against Astrid's door. Astrid jumped in surprise, yet joined him on the ground, but on the other side of the door. The song had ended, and only Hiccup's heavy breathing could be heard. In a momentary burst of courage, Astrid sang back.
I'll be there,
No matter what.
She doubted he'd hear her, but he did.
Hello readers! Hope you liked this chapter, sorry if I took too long in posting it. I was originally going to use a version of the song, Do You Want to Build a Snowman, throughout, but then I chose against it. Did it turn out alright? I'm not the greatest at lyrics. I'll soon have chapter 5 ready, or 4.5? Anyway, TTFN!