Chapter 7 – Life Begins – Day 8 A few days later Hiccup's wounds were closed enough that he could get out of bed with help, though he was still very sore and had to take it slow as to try and rediscover his body. He delighted that he seemed to have no extra difficulty walking on his odd-looking prosthetic and surmised that he indeed must of had it for a considerable while. Walking with Ardala in the brisk morning automatically made him feel more rejuvenated. It was awful to have to stay indoors for as long as he had. The fresh air and the scent on the wind made him feel like he had more freedom though it bothered him that he had no inkling of his life prior to being dropped out of the sky. As they worked around the village their pacing was slow and they paused every so often to allow Hiccup to take brief rests. His bruised and broken ribs were thankful for the small relief it gave them and expressed in the form of allowing him to take deeper breaths than he had been able just a few long, boring and tedious days ago. "So where is your dad?" Hiccup asked casually. "I mean, won't he find it weird to come home from some crusade and find some strange guy living with his daughter?" He emitted a nervous chuckle and stared off into the distance. It was another one of those times he was simply trying to fill he silence with a sound but he almost regretted saying it as soon as he syllables had left his mouth. Ardala gave him an inquiring look, "Dad is on yet another diplomatic mission." Her eyes rolled as she said it, implying this happened more often than not. "Why, do you think he would mind?" "Well no. Maybe. Well..." hiccup said with a smirk, "I just figured he would have some questions for me. 'Excuse me lad'" he said with a fake accent and while feigning a deeper voice for the impersonation, "'I'm afraid you'll have to be leaving so as not to infringe on the honour of my fair lass'". Ardala giggled, "He does not sound like that!" "Oh I don't know," hiccup smiled crookedly, "I bet a lot of fathers sound that way when their daughters are involved." Which elicited an uncontrolled giggle from Ardala "We'll the accent is all wrong." She smiled warmly at Hiccup. She admired the way his hair caught the light and the life that had reasserted itself in his beautiful green eyes just from not being confined to the bed anymore. "Besides," she added with a blush, "You're not that strange at all. I find you really sweet." She looked thoughtful and Hiccup contented himself just to walk and see the village with a companion while processing her compliment. It seemed like such a peaceful place, the sun was shining and though the first touches of winter were starting to creep into the thoughts of the people, there was still some time for children to play with not much heed to the cold. It made him smile to see all their happy faces as they ran about the village pretending to be dragons and the slayers who would always ultimately defeat them. "Happy to see you're up and about!" said a passer-by with a smile. She was wearing a knitted scarf but nothing on her hands which were weathered looking and tanned from being outdoors. "Thank you!" Hiccup replied as the woman moved on. There were thatched houses which suggested mild winters or at least tolerable ones where the people could spend colder days perhaps telling stories around a comfortable fire to the children. A man and woman had been walking together and also offered their congratulations on Hiccup's recovery. "Thank you very much." Hiccup nodded and received a tender squeeze on his shoulder from the woman and a gentle pat on his back from the man. He was pleasantly surprised at how friendly and genuine the people who lived in that place were to him, a complete stranger. Perhaps they had some sort of holiday tradition to fend off the cold and bring the community together. He then began to wonder what people did in his own village when winter came and he caught himself asking other internal questions when he finally noticed Ardala had stopped to talk to an elderly couple about something. The gentle breeze tugged at her dress in billows which spread and danced behind her in a mesmerizing array and betrayed some of her form underneath the folds. She was certainly beautiful and she was so kind an accepting of him. As he looked at her he began to feel guilty though surely his gaze was innocent enough and did not warrant the negative feeling. He reasoned that maybe it was because she was the daughter of the chief and he had no idea who he was. "No, thank you again though." She smiled and shook the hand of the man, then gently hugged the lady. Hiccup noticed a curious piece of fabric tied around the necks of the two and vaguely wondered what their purpose was when Ardala suddenly waved her departure to the people she had been talking to and hopped back to Hiccup like a girl who was suddenly a little younger than she had been just days ago. "Sorry about that." She quickly apologized with a smile while she absentmindedly took his left hand in her right. Hiccup startled slightly but she seemed oblivious to his mild discomfort. He looked back up and realized they were getting close to the edge of town and Ardala had been talking. Her hand was warmer than his and he suddenly changed his mind to welcome in its comfort. "So then I delegate the baskets and arrange for more to be made when they need them, ah here we go." They were standing in front of a narrow walkway through the trees which had been cut annually by the appearance of the rough boughs and sharp edges. The whole between then was only just big enough for two adults to walk abreast with little room for comfort between them. "Through there is the Ardala fields." Ardala pointed past a rise in the path beyond his line of sight. "I found you out there and had to get help to bring you back safely." He could not see anything of note and made a motion to get closer in order to perhaps see the fabled flowers but was stopped gently. "You can't go there." She explained while moving her face very close to his to look into his eyes. "We wear masks so we can breathe when we pick the flowers." Well at least that explained the odd-looking fabric. "What happens if you don't wear a mask?" Hiccup asked as they started back in the direction they had come. "We've been harvesting the flowers since before we had written history so we don't remember, but we know enough not to do it. Some say you get punished by the gods." "Seems like sound enough logic to me." Hiccup nodded and was content to walk hand in hand with Ardala until he started to get hungry. Back at the hut Ardala and hiccup shared in the preparation of a meal. They usually ate some sort of soup or stew, something with meat and fresh vegetables. There were many farms of assorted edible vegetation in town and livestock kept in pens throughout, in fact, most people with the exception of the daughter of the chief seemed to have pets or livestock running about and sometimes becoming a meal. "Do you guys ever eat fish?" Hiccup asked as he chopped a turnip in half with a knife too big to be taken seriously when it was wielded by him. "Not until the Seawings clear out. We can't get boats near the fish with that mess in the water." She stirred the pot, gave it a taste and added salt. She let it sit for a while before stirring again. Hiccup added the turnip, bumping into her as he put it in the pot with the other ingredients. "Sorry!" he cried awkwardly and jumped aside to get out of the way. "You don't have to be so nervous around me Hiccup. I dressed your wounds remember? Most of your clothes were destroyed in the attack." She said it with a sly grin as she stirred the pot in more ways than one while Hiccup found that his legs had suddenly turned to gelatin. Ardala almost hated what she had planned for the poor boy who was clearly innocent and in possession of many good qualities but her choice had to be made. When he turned his back to get the cups, she quickly and skillfully plunged a hand into her right pocket, grabbed her little vial and sprinkled some of its contents onto Hiccup's portion. "Hiccup, I've been thinking." She started as she placed the two plates carefully on the table. Hiccup finished placing cups, juice and utensils on the table and raised an eyebrow. "Am I in trouble?" "I don't think so. I think you may be someone important in your village." She gestured for him to sit down while she did the same. "Why would you think that?" He asked, fingering his wooden spoon absently. "You came alone and were probably sent here for some sort of diplomatic or retrieval mission." "I don't remember anything like that." Hiccup frowned, wanting to dig into his food and forget this conversation like everything else. "No, listen, it's good!" Ardala smiled somewhat shyly and Hiccup had no idea what was going on. As far as he was concerned, Ardala might have been thinking about this for some time and was many steps ahead of him. "Okay, why?" He gave in. "Part of the reason dad brought me on all those diplomatic missions was to see if any of the other tribes had a son who could be arranged for me." Hiccup looked half terrified and half confused. "So you think we should get married?! It's kinda sudden, don't you think?" "Not like tomorrow." She smiled at his awkwardness. "We should hang out first. I'm just saying, your memories may not come back and you could do a lot worse than the daughter of the chief." He tried to argue but she had a good point. He could have been nothing more than an apprentice blacksmith turned messenger boy for all he knew. Marrying Ardala would set him up for life but if his memories came back, maybe he would find out what had brought him to Auroros in the first place, or who. "I can't decide that right now." He said in a low voice with a bowed head. "Let's see what happens with my amnesia first. I mean, for all I know, I could be already betrothed!" He looked about in disbelief as if the words surprised them when he heard them out loud and from his own mouth. The food looked really appetizing but he was a little nauseous from the shocking conversation. Changing the conversation matter to something more palatable and was finally able to eat. The evening meal was pleasant enough and Hiccup felt he should get out just a little longer before it was time to rest for the night. Ardala bade him temporary leave to tend to a few last minute things and asked that he stay nearby to ensure his safety. "The dragons love to come out at night." She cautioned as she closed the door. Hiccup saw no reason to go very far anyway and so sat in a worn wooden chair with faded seats on the front porch. He curled up on the chair and admired the expanse of stars which blazed from one corner of the sky to the other in dazzling patterns. Something shifted out of the corner of his peripheral vision and left him to wonder if he had actually seen anything at all. He looked again, but saw nothing moving in the ring of trees that seemed to be protecting the village from view. "Is anyone out there?" He called softly to the black abyss. A strange guttural whine could be heard just beyond the thick tree line which made Hiccup decided that perhaps it was best if he went back inside and bolt the door against evil spirits.