Chapter 2

It was just a dream.

Just a really vivid and enigmatic dream.

It had to be.

Hiccup pulled himself off his bed, ignoring Toothless's questioning croons as he hastily put on his flight suit and outfitted said dragon with its latest fireproof saddle.

He needed to be up in the sky. To feel the freedom it always gave him. Then his mind would be clear enough to think straight.

Not bothering to use the front door, Hiccup flipped a lever on the wall that opened a hatch on the roof before leaping on Toothless's back and the two flew up into the sky at full speed.

Upon leaving further North, they easily navigate using Hiccup's compass attached to his arm. He had regretfully forgotten his mask. The icy wind made it impossible to keep his eyes fully open and his face began to feel numb from the cold.

They didn't crash anymore. Toothless's sharp spines enabled him to make tight turns which made his solo flying easier. Hiccup being Hiccup managed to incorporate Toothless's newfound ability to burst plasma flames from these spines into a new ultimate move.

For this move, they had to be high above the clouds to account for impact damage.

"You ready bud?" Toothless growls in response, instinctively knowing what Hiccup wants him to do. The black dragon's spines pop up and along with the glow of plasma down his back.

"Here we go." Hiccup fixes Toothless's tail into place by locking in a lever before unattaching himself from the saddle. Without thinking about it, he slips off Toothless.

Toothless descends with him, flying parallel with Hiccup for awhile before grabbing him and covering him with his wings creating a protective shield around his human.

Toothless glows brighter and bursts into a giant flaming plasma ball.

They call this move, The Falling Star.

Like a meteor, they are shooting down toward the ground. This is the move that destroys many unsuspecting dragon hunter ships nowadays.

They slam beneath the ocean. The water extinguishes the flames, creating mist and a three meter deep depression before leveling off again.

In seconds, they emerge from the water, both shouting their victory for another successful practice. Both of them unharmed.

But not even the aftermath feelings of adrenaline could last long enough to stop Hiccup's mind from dwelling on his dream and what it could mean.

The duo landed in front of the Great Hall just in time for dagmál. Eating with his people started to become the norm now that he didn't have time to cook for himself anymore. Upon entering, he meandered toward the feast table, not surprised to see not many Viking around as most tended to come for náttmál.

He has heard about Vikings receiving dreams from the Gods to guide them in life. Was last night similar to that? Was his dream about his lady really what happened in the past or was it symbolic?

It had felt so real. Hiccup didn't know what to think. Later he will make time to consult Fishlegs at the Archives. There must be at least one book about dreams to help him find some clarity. Or maybe Gothi will be able to help him.

On the other hand, he guiltily hopes it would happen again. Being in Astrid's mind, it was nothing short of amazing. Even if it might not be real.

He was careful not to show it, but Astrid had power over him. She was the source of his confidence. The one who believed in him first. Her opinion of him mattered a great deal.

And for the first time, he possibly got some insight into his lady's mind and now that he had more time to process what it meant, suddenly everything about her made more sense. Like some hidden part of her he could not see before now became crystal clear.

She actually liked him before he became a hero. Albeit, just a little bit at the time. But it was better in comparison to everyone else. Hiccup had always wondered what she thought of him back then. She seemed to only tolerate his presence. He was wrong of course. Astrid had noticed him. She just hid it behind her cool indifference.

Though Hiccup cannot remember Gobber ever telling him that she thanked him for fixing her axe. Granted it is Gobber and Gobber must have forgotten, but it could also mean it didn't happen at all. More evidence that the dream is just a manifestation of his own desires.

At that time, his fifteen year old self would have been in a state of bliss to know that something about him impressed an amazingly terrifying girl like her.

She didn't think I was useless, he remembers her last thought from his dream. A smile forced itself to spread across Hiccup's face.

His thoughts were brought to a halt when he felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Excuse me Chief," said Ranveig. He stepped aside to allow her to set a basket of cabbage and turnips on the feast table.

Ranveig is Jarlize's Mother. She has straight black hair but it was cut short to under her ears which is uncommon for a woman, light green eyes, burly facial features, looks to be in her mid thirties. She is the same height as him and her body is rather plump. Hiccup guessed that someone in her direct family line must have been taken in a raid from the South as her skin had a copper hue.

"I see there was a good harvest this morning?" Hiccup asks her to make small talk.

Ranveig nods, sparing him an unimpressed look before answering with a bored tone of voice, "Yes." It was clear she wasn't interested in chatting with him.

"I uh... See. Have a good day Ranveig." He says awkwardly.

She nods stiffly and walks away.

Someone sitting at a table in the corner catches Hiccup's eye. A skinny girl with long black hair tied in two braids who couldn't be older than thirteen is staring at him. The girl notices him looking back at her and immediately looks down at the table in embarrassment.

Hiccup tilts his head to the side. Has she always lived in the village? He doesn't remember ever seeing her before.

Suddenly, Hiccup is jumped from behind making him grunt and stumble forward before catching his balance. Arms wrapped around his shoulders and toned shapely legs clamped around his waist. He knows exactly who it is when he feels her spiky skirt press into his back.

"Gotcha!" She laughs.

Astrid.

She slips off his back, turns him around, twines her fingers in his hair and roughly yanks him down before kissing him deeply on the lips. He sighs into the kiss and wraps his arms around her waist. They pull away and grin at each other.

"You seem to be in a good mood Milady." Hiccup says, noting the glimmer in her eyes and her wide smile.

"I just got Terror Mail from Heather. She and Dagur will be arriving on Thorsdagr in time for the wedding. This one is for you." Astrid says, taking out a rolled up parchment from her side pouch and handed it to Hiccup.

He quickly reads it over and smiles. "They're bringing wedding gifts. That's nice of them. It's been so long since we've seen them."

Toothless nudges Hiccup in his side and warbles.

"Right, time for your fish Mister Bossy." Hiccup grabs a basket of fish next to the table that is meant for Toothless. He tips the basket making all the slimy fish fall into a metal bowl hanging off a hook against the wall. Toothless immediately digs in.

While Toothless is devouring the fish, Hiccup fills his plate with eggs, bread, jam bread and yak chops. Astrid does the same. They move to sit at the table they and the gang usually congregate to. The others weren't there today and were most likely eating with their families at home.

"You are coming to the academy today?" Astrid asks.

"Yeah. I'd like to sort the girl out as soon as possible." Hiccup says.

"We've never had to deal with this kind of problem before."

"I think my Dad may have once, but it was before we were born. They are one of the few families who have joined the tribe after we found peace on Berk. I think it was around the time we made our base at Dragon's Edge but I'm not sure"

Hiccup could feel someone starring at his back. He turned around and saw it was that girl again who quickly averted her eyes again.

"Do you know who that girl is eating by herself over there?" Hiccup discreetly points in the direction of the skinny black haired girl with two braids.

Astrid's smile turns sad when she sees the girl, "That's Jarlize. Don't feel too bad. I didn't know that was her either until the Academy started again. She's so quiet you don't really notice she's there."

Hiccup blinks in surprise, "She's fifteen?"

Astrid nods.

"But she's so–"

"Small?" Astrid finishes his sentence.

Smaller than he was at that age. And that's saying something. Because all the girls were a little taller than him at fifteen until his growth spurt happened.

"I can't help but worry about her Hiccup."

"We'll know more after I speak with Jarlize. Then hopefully I can do something about it. What do you have planned for today?" Hiccup asks and rubs her back, trying to comfort her in some way.

"After this, my class will have their first flight today," Astrid says.

Hiccup smirks at her, his eyes shining with mirth, "that should be interesting. It's been awhile since I've seen you teach. Remember when you first trained your A team?"

"How could I forget?" She laughs, "I was really strict on them."

"You're still strict." He points out, earning a smack to the arm.

They both eat in companionable silence. Astrid finished her food before him and was now braiding his hair while he ate.

"I need to cut your hair shorter. It's starting to grow over your eyes again. Oh I almost forgot! My father wants you and Valka to have dinner with us when he comes home from hunting in the next two days." Astrid tells him.

Hiccup blinks in surprise, "uh... Yeah. We can come. Is there a reason? My dad and I already settled the requirements for the marriage contract when he was still alive afterall."

Astrid pauses in thought before answering, "He's been... different. Ever since you took over the Village, my Dad has actually been positive about the wedding. I think he's gained more respect for you once you fit into your new role. My Mother thinks so too. When we were working on my dress yesterday, she commented on how Dad was planning to take you with him on one of his boar hunts soon."

He pursed his lips thinking it over, "I guess spending some time with your Father won't hurt." They will all be family soon anyway.

The sound of a horn being blown could be heard outside. The signal that dagmál is now over.

"Come on babe. I have a class to teach." Astrid says, taking his hand before dragging him off.

...

Five young teenagers, three boys and two girls, stood in a row next to their dragons with their backs straight in attention.

Astrid stood in front of them with her hands on her hips, her blue eyes hard and her posture dominant. She quickly glanced to the spectator seat at the top of the Academy that was behind the cage roof bars. There sat her Hiccup. Toothless lay at his feet. She felt that there was something different about him today. She just couldn't put her finger on it. He was his usual self around her except today there was this knowing look he gave her while they ate. She would ask him about it later.

Her eyes snapped back to her students assessing each one of them. Four of them were too excited and didn't notice that their Chief is watching them. It was a good thing for now. It means that they are less likely to act like mutton-heads by showing off. Astrid's eyes landed on Jarlize who stood a little distance away from the rest.

You could tell that the young girl was nervous. But it made her more alert than her peers. Jarlize had followed Astrid's movements and had noticed her Chief as well. She didn't say anything about it, just remained quiet.

"Today, you will learn to fly with your dragon." Hearing this, the teens excitement visibly grew.

"Yes! Finally."

"Awesome! I hope we—"

"As you already know, the basis of your bond is trust." Astrid cut them off, "You must trust your dragon to catch you if you fall. Lark! Saddle up. You're going first."

...

Hiccup had to hold in his laugh when Astrid was done with them. The teens looked windblown. Their hair stood on end as they tried to catch their breath. Every time they got something wrong Astrid made them do twenty pushups, much like the time when she trained the 'A' team. But Hiccup approved now because she also rewarded them with praise and smiles when they did something right.

He went inside the Academy when Astrid told them they were done for the day and they could leave. The dragons were put in their cages. Astrid asked Jarlize to stay behind to talk.

"Did I do something wrong?" Jarlize asks just as Hiccup walks in to go stand by Astrid. The young girl fiddled with the edges her long sleeves before bowing her head to Hiccup in respect.

"No," Astrid says to reassure her, "you did great today. We just want to ask you a few questions."

Jarlize shrugs unsuspecting, "okay."

"Can you show me your arms?" Hiccup asks.

Immediately, the girl looked terrified. Her pupils contracted and her small body started to shake a little with nerves. She took a step away from them and shook her head.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I can't."

"Jarlize," the young girl's attention was drawn to Astrid who was looking at her sadly, "I already saw a bit yesterday. Your sleeve rode up." This seemed to make the girl panic more. Astrid glanced at Hiccup helplessly.

"It's okay." Hiccup tried to soothe her, using the voice he would use to calm a frightened dragon. "We're not here to judge you. Or hurt you." He put emphasis in his tone on his last words, "I just want to help you. And I can't help if you won't show me."

Jarlize seemed to relax a little, "Thank you for you concern but I'm fine." The words came out forced. She shrugged but didn't make eye contact, "These bruises are nothing. I'm clumsy is all. I need to go." She practically ran out of the arena before either of them could say anything.

It was clear the young girl lied. Without evidence or a witness Hiccup couldn't do anything. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to find a way to help her.

The rest of the day Hiccup did his chiefly duties, made sure preparations for the wedding were going smoothly and ate with his friends at Náttmál. When he layed down to sleep at night his mind was almost immediately pulled away from him and his breath stolen.

Hiccup rubs his upper arm where I hit him and shares a bewildered glance with his dragon who was drinking fresh water from the pond.

I am not done with him yet. Far from it.

Discovery of a ginormous Queen dragon aside, Hiccup gave me one of the most amazing experiences in my life. My first flight.

Not even in my most wildest dreams did I ever think I would be able to touch the clouds, fly through the Aurora lights or see Berk from such a height that it looked like a miniature model of itself made by an expert sculptor.

Hiccup has awed me with his loyalty to his friend despite the fact that said friend was his pet dragon.

It was a different side to him that I've never seen before.

That's because you never made the effort to be his friend, my subconscious sneered at me. I grimace internally.

My blue eyes look from his green eyes that had narrowed with such determination moments ago down to his lips. No. That would be too forward of me. But I want to thank him.

I wipe my fringe out of my eyes and grab him by his top tunic bindings. I pull him closer to me. He squeezes his eyes shut, probably thinking I'm going to hurt him. Not this time.

I press my lips to his warm cheek. The kiss is quick. Three whole seconds. I pull away and feel my lips tingle.

"That's for everything else," I say, diverting my eyes and holding my hand over my chest where my heart is now beating faster. I turn away and begin to leave before he could see how flustered a simple kiss to his cheek made me feel. Luckily, the darkness of the night hid my reddening face well.

I quickly look back to see his reaction. He's standing there slightly dazed and his lips parted. I smirk and break into a sprint, sliding under Hiccup's shield that was still stuck between the passage of the cove and rushed into the forest.

I nearly trip a few times. It was a good thing it wasn't cloudy tonight. It allowed the moon to light my path and eventually I find the hiking trail leading towards the village. I slow my sprint to a relaxed walk.

I exhale and see the condensation of my breath envelope me. I shiver and I wrap my arms around myself to preserve my warmth. The night was cold. I didn't think to bring my yak fur cloak since I was not planning to stay out this late.

Now that I am away from Hiccup and his Night Fury, the adrenaline starts to wear off and I become aware of my fatigue.

So much has happened today. Hiccup beating me at the preliminary exam. Finding out Hiccup has been hiding a Night Fury. Hiccup kidnapping me. Finding the Nest. Kissing Hiccup. That boy has really turned my world upside down. Ever since Hiccup had backed that Zippleback back into its cage, things have begun spiralling out of my control.

I have goals to meet. Goals set for me by myself and my parents. Killing my first dragon while in training was one of my personal goals and it peeved me to no end that Hiccup kept one upping me.

What really did it was my father expressing his disappointment in my performance in the kill ring. My Dad's opinion mattered a lot to me. He was the one who taught me to fight after all. By now he has probably heard that I wasn't given the honor of killing my first dragon.

Honor, I scoff. Was it really an honor anymore? Suddenly, I didn't want to kill dragons anymore. Not after what I knew now. There was no point. Dragons aren't what I thought they were. If things continued as they were all I saw for our future was an endless cycle of death. Something different had to happen to change that.

Something different... Hiccup. Hiccup was that something different.

I look around. I stood in the village plaza now. The Hofferson household not far away. I walk to my home and stand in front of it to get a better look at the village.

If Hiccup could convince his Father of what he learned about dragons, I wonder what our Village would be like. If Dragons and Vikings could live together in harmony, there would be no more houses burned down, less death, and no more stolen food. Gods, there would be peace!

I sigh, the idea of peace felt so farfetched. I look longingly up at the sky where the stars glittered. Could I touch those too? What did they feel like? How high could I go? Would I be able to fly again?

"Astrid?" My Father's sudden sharp voice is like ice water pouring on my head.

I turn around and see him standing outside our house with his arms crossed, scowling at me, "Dad!"

"Get inside." Without a word, I obey. I walk past him into the house and go sit on the bear-skin chair with my hands folded on my lap.

My father takes a seat across from me, "Where were you?"

I hesitate before answering, "I was with Hiccup."

Dad's eyebrows raise to his hair-line in surprise. "Why were you with him? I thought you didn't like him?"

"I don't dislike him Dad," on the contrary I liked him more than I should, "I just wanted to find out how he became so good in the ring."

"And did you?"

"Yeah."

My father looked expectant of me to elaborate.

"He's been training."

"By himself?"

"Yes."

He sighs, obviously feeling frustrated by my short answers. "Fine. What were you two doing that made you come home so late? Do you have any idea how worried we've been?"

I lower my eyes. I felt bad for making them worry. "I'm sorry. I lost track of time. Where is Mom?"

"Asleep. She's had a tiring day."

I nod.

"Astrid. Don't make me ask again. What were you doing with Hiccup?"

I swallow. I never had to lie to my Father like this before, especially to his face. But I couldn't tell him what actually happened. Hiccup would never trust me again, "Nothing. We just talked."

"You... talked." He says slowly. I nod. "For the last three and a half hours?" Thor, it's been that long? Ugg.

"Yes."

My Father looks disappointed. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. "Stubbornly loyal. Just like your Mother." He sighs, "You'd tell me if he doesn't show you the respect you deserve?"

I blink in surprise and nod.

"Then go to bed. I expect you to apologize to your Mother for worrying her in the morning."

I nod again and go to my room.

Thorsdagr — Thursday

I'm so psyched up from all the positive reviews I got. To the one reviewer who made my day:

loverofhttyd : You are absolutely correct. I indeed got inspiration from the deleted scene. Thank you so much for your feedback. I was worried people would think Astrid wasn't up to character.

To my "The Chief of Berk" readers, I apologize for not updating yet. I haven't dropped this story. I just have so many things going on right now. I've also entered the Miraculous Ladybug fandom recently and may write a quick one shot for that.

Until I update,

LaylaDeMich