Chapter two
Hiccup yelped in pain as his dad pulled him by his neck and flung him into a chair. Stoick stood with his arms crossed and his brow furrowed staring down at his son. Hiccup looked up at him with wide eyes and a raised eyebrow. "What?" "You know exactly what!" Stoick boomed. "You and Astrid!" "Oh, right... that..."Hiccup turned bright red and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "What were you thinking! You can't behave like that when you're not married!" Hiccup frowned and became angry at this. "Well how am I supposed to act? It's like I can't do anything right!" "Hiccup you have liked Astrid for years! And you are going to be chief soon so" "So what!?" Hiccup interrupted, now standing with his fists clenched.
"I don't want to be chief. Don't you understand?" "It's time Hiccup." "Are you not listening to me?" "This is serious, son!" Hiccup turned away and clenched his teeth together. "I can't do this." he mumbled. Stoick became frustrated and asked Hiccup to repeat. "I SAID I CAN'T DO THIS!" Stoick's jaw dropped and he stepped back. He had never seen his son act like this. Hiccup breathed in and out shakily, before turning to his father to speak. But no words came out. He uttered "I'm sorry, dad..." before he pushed past Toothless and Stoick and sprinted out the door. Toothless growled at Stoick and followed his master, purring and calling him to stop. Hiccup didn't look back. He couldn't. Before he knew it he had run past all the houses and was heading straight to the edge of the cliff. But he kept running. Toothless shot a plasma blast at Hiccup which narrowly missed his feet. Stoick was right behind Toothless, yelling at Hiccup. The cliff edge was a metre away when suddenly Hiccup closed his eyes, spread out his arms and jumped.
Meanwhile at the Hofferson's house Astrid was being questioned by her parents. They paced around her in circles and lectured her on her "inappropriate" behaviour. Then her mother stopped when she realised Astrid wasn't paying attention. "Astrid!" "What?" She replied, spinning her axe in her hand before slamming it into the floor. "Astrid we are sick and tired of you flinging yourself at that boy" "I'm not flinging myself at anyone! And that boy is the smartest, bravest and greatest Viking I have ever known" Astrid interrupted. "I don't want you hanging around with him anymore. You're giving yourself a bad reputation." Now Astrid had stood up and her eyes began to fill with tears. She was used to being a strong, ruthless Viking, but for the first time in her life she stopped acting like a warrior. She couldn't put on a brave face this time.
"But I love him..." She stumbled over the words in her mouth, realising she had hardly said them before, not truthfully like this. Her mother sighed and walked over to the table behind her. "Well, I love you Astrid and you are too old to be playing games. I need to do what is best for you. Which is why..." She didn't finish and instead picked up a scroll of parchment and handed it to Astrid. "What is this?" Astrid questioned as she unrolled it. "A contract." Her father said with a stern voice. "A contract? For what?" Her parents looked at each other and then both said "For marriage." Astrid's eyes widened in horror. "What!" she stuttered dropping the scroll on the floor. "Between you and Snotlout." Her mother finished. "WHAT!" Astrid shouted, ripping her axe from the floorboards and raising it over her head. "NO! I won't do it!" "This doesn't concern you anymore Astrid." Her father said angrily. "We have had to take matters into our own hands." "No you can't make me!" She roared and swung the axe down. Her father grabbed her wrist and stared into her eyes. "Go to your room." He ordered. "Dad no, please." She began. "Upstairs. NOW!" he repeated. Astrid crumpled up her face and yelled "I HATE YOU!" before she ran upstairs, taking chunks out of the wall with her axe as she did. Stormfly was in her room waiting for her. "Come on girl, let's go." The Nadder chirped as Astrid mounted her and the two of them flew out of Astrid's window and disappeared into the clouds.