Chapter 4

...

Sighing, Hiccup gave Toothless a scratch behind the ears. He was currently on his second visit to Berk for that month. This time, Stoick had called him back to meet Deirdre. The younger Viking wasn't too keen on the idea, but he'd decided to humor his father and give the girl a chance. However, the idea of meeting her somehow felt wrong to him. He felt like he was being disloyal to Astrid. He felt like he was trying to replace her. And in his mind, nobody could take Astrid's place in his heart.

"Hiccup!"

Hiccup groaned at the sound of Stoick's voice. "Coming!" Giving Toothless one last pat on the head, he made his way out of his room and down the stairs. When he reached the living room, he saw his father standing beside a young girl. She was petite, probably only reaching five feet, and had a light brown braid that draped across her left shoulder. Her thin hands were clasped in front of her, and her grey eyes were focused on the ground.

"Hiccup, this is Deirdre," Stoick introduced, nodding in the girl's direction. "Deirdre, this is Hiccup."

"Nice to meet you." The auburn-haired Viking managed with forced a smile.

"You, too," Deirdre's responded in a quiet voice. Her eyes didn't leave the floor.

"Well," Stoick began, "I'll go ahead leave you two alone now." Grabbing his axe, he headed out the door.

Letting out a sigh, Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. "So Deirdre, how uh...how do you like Berk so far?"

For the first time, Deirdre lifted her head. "I...It's okay." She shrugged. "There's...there's just a lots of dragons."

"Yeah, that's erm...that's kind of what we're known for."

"Yeah."

Silence swept over the room.

"I'm sorry," Deirdre eventually said. "I just...I don't know what to say." She shrugged her slim shoulders.

"Yeah, me, neither," Hiccup responded, a bit more harshly than intended. It wasn't that he disliked Deirdre; he just disliked the idea of being forced into marriage with her.

The two stood in silence for a few minutes.

"Well, I uh...I guess I should show you around the island," Hiccup decided. Turning towards the stairs, he called, "Toothless!"

Within seconds, the Night Fury came bounding down the staircase, causing Deirdre to burst into tears and hide behind a nearby chair.

Hiccup tried to suppress an eye roll. He could tolerate the girl's shyness, but he couldn't tolerate her weakness. If she was going to be the wife of a chief, she needed to grow some thicker skin. And, more importantly, she needed to learn to like dragons. After all, Hiccup and Toothless came as a package.

"It's okay. He's harmless," the auburn-haired Viking coaxed.

Deirdre shook her head.

"He won't hurt you. I promise."

"Can't we...can't we just go...go without him?"

Hiccup sighed. "We could, but it's gonna take a lot longer to look around. Berk is bigger than it seems."

"That's...that's okay. I don't mind. Just so long as you don't make me get on your dragon."

Suppressing an eye roll, Hiccup commanded Toothless to go back upstairs. He then waited while Deirdre slowly removed herself from her hiding place and smoothed her clothes. "Ready?" he asked when she finally looked up at him.

Deirdre nodded before allowing Hiccup to lead her out the door. Once outside, they were immediately greeted by a Monstrous Nightmare, causing Deirdre to shriek and clutch her new companion's arm.

Hiccup tried not to groan as he shooed the dragon away. This was going to be one long island tour.

...

"Hiccup should've been back to Edge by now," Astrid said, looking out over the horizon in hopes of seeing the Viking in question riding in on his Night Fury.

"Maybe he found a new dragon on the way," suggested Fishlegs. "You know how he gets when he finds new dragons."

"Yeah, but he was due back three days ago."

"I wouldn't worry," Snotlout cut in. "He's always saying he can handle himself and doesn't need us, so -"

"When has Hiccup ever said that?" questioned Astrid.

"He's said it in his head."

Astrid and Fishlegs both stared at Snotlout.

"What? You don't believe me?" the dark-haired Viking asked.

Before the other two could speak, Ruffnut and Tuffnut ran up to the group, Chicken and Barf and Belch trailing behind.

"Guess what? Guess what?" Tuffnut said.

"What?" Astrid asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hiccup -"

"Hey! I wanted to tell them!" Ruffnut cut in.

Tuffnut crossed his arms over his chest. "We agreed five minutes ago that I would tell them. Isn't that right, Chicken?" He looked over at the bird, who was preoccupied with eating seeds off the grass. "Chicken?"

Chicken looked up and let out a noise.

"See? Told you. But anyway, you know how Hiccup was supposed to be back on the Edge by now?"

"Yeah, what about it? Is something wrong?" Astrid's eyes widened. What if Hiccup had run into danger on the way back? What if he needed her - no, needed them - as backup? What if he was injured?

"No, I wouldn't say there's anything wrong. It's just...it's just freaking weird."

"What?" Astrid demanded.

"There's some chick from the Berserker tribe visiting him," Ruffnut said.

Tuffnut clapped his hand over his sister's mouth. "What did I say? I said that I was going to tell them!"

"A girl?" questioned Astrid, ignoring the twins' bickering.

"Yeah, Stoick's trying to set her up with Hiccup, I think."

Ruffnut pried Tuffnut's hand from her face. "And rumor has it, they might get married," she added.

Astrid's heart instantly started racing, and the color drained from her face. Her breathing had suddenly grown heavy, and her hands involuntarily balled into tight fists. "M-married?" she finally managed to choke out.

"It's not fair," Snotlout said. "Why is Hiccup getting married and I'm not?"

"I don't think that's true," Fishlegs suggested. "I mean, it just doesn't sound right. Why would Hiccup suddenly agree to marry a stranger? That's not like him."

"Believe what you wanna believe." Tuffnut shrugged. "I know what I heard."

"And who did you hear this from?" the plump Viking asked.

"We heard it from Johann. He was here a little while ago. Brought us our favorite squid ink. I'd give you some, but we kinda used it to paint our room."

Astrid relaxed a bit. Everyone knew that Trader Johann exaggerated. There was probably just a group of Berserkers visiting Berk, and a girl of Hiccup's age just so happened to be with them.

At least, that's what she hoped.

...

"Well, the meeting's out of the way," Stoick was saying. "Now all we need to do is sign the contract and start planning the wedding."

Hiccup groaned. "Dad, I don't wanna marry Deirdre. I...I can't marry Deirdre."

"You'll come around to her," the chief assured, briefly placing a hand on his son's shoulder.

"It's not about coming around to her, Dad. It's about the fact that we're not compatible. I mean, she wouldn't even ride Toothless. And she's too quiet. Astrid -"

"You can't compare her to Astrid. They're two different lasses."

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Hiccup's voice rose. "Deirdre doesn't like Toothless. Actually, she doesn't like dragons at all. She's scared of them."

"She'll get used to the beasts."

"But how do you know?"

"If I learned to like them, anyone can." Stoick chuckled.

The auburn-haired Viking frowned. "But you were never scared of them. You just killed them."

"Because I grew up with them. She didn't. Just be patient with her, son."

"Dad," Hiccup began. "Listen to me. I don't love Deirdre!" He tossed his hands in the air.

"Well, I didn't expect you to be in love after a day. Things like this take time."

"Then why are you trying to make me marry her?"

"It's your duty as Chief to have a wife and an heir. If you'd rather marry Bertha from Dark Island -"

"Eww, Dad. No." Hiccup wrinkled his nose. Bertha was a thirty-year old woman who rarely spoke, never smiled, and was known for killing two Vikings in her village.

"Well, then, that settles it. I'll make the announcement about you and Deirdre this weekend."