Chapter 5

...

Hiccup immediately wanted to fly back to the Edge, but Stoick insisted that he remain on Berk to spend time with Deirdre and help to get the wedding preparations in order. Reluctantly, he'd agreed to stay put for another five or six days, but only because he hoped to convince his stubborn father to sway his decision about the marriage. So far, he'd been unsuccessful, but he figured there had to be some way to get him to budge. And if there wasn't? Well, Hiccup took that into consideration, and began considering his options.

The first option was to openly defy Stoick, and refuse to say "I do" when the time came. The second option was to leave right away and permanently stay on the Edge. The third option was to go to the Edge and talk to Astrid about giving marriage a second thought. But there was a downside to all three of those choices. If he picked the first one, it would cause chaos both within his home and outside of it. If he picked the second option, there was an almost certain chance that Stoick would just fly to him. And if he picked the third option. he ran the risk of being too pushy, and scaring Astrid away for good.

Sighing, the auburn-haired Viking sank onto his bed and buried his face in his hands. "What should I do?" he asked himself. "What should I -" He broke off as Toothless gave him a comforting nuzzle on the arm. "Thanks, bud."

Toothless let out a quiet purr.

"Yeah, bud, you're right. I'll figure it out. I just -"

"Hiccup!" Stoick's booming voice broke into his son's thoughts.

The auburn-haired Viking groaned. "Yeah, Dad?" he called.

"Come downstairs, son. Your future wife is here to see you."

Hiccup groaned again, this time a bit louder than before. "I um...I can't. I uh...I'm not feeling well." He faked a coughing fit.

"What do you mean you're not feeling well? You were fine earlier."

"That was then, Dad. This is now." It was then that Hiccup knew he had to leave. He had to leave before Stoick came upstairs and pushed him into moving forward with the dreaded wedding plans. He had to leave before he was forced to entertain Deirdre. He had to leave for the sake of his own sanity.

"Come on, bud," he whispered to Toothless as he climbed onto his back. "Let's go."

The loyal Night Fury quietly escaped through the window, and began flying his rider in the direction of the Edge.

...

For probably the fiftieth time in a row, Astrid pulled her axe from the tree, backed up, and threw it again. Hot tears poured down her cheeks, and the knots in her stomach tightened. She'd thought Hiccup's planned marriage had been a joke. That is, until Fishlegs had gone to Berk for supplies, heard all about it, and related the information to the dragon riders on the Edge. Astrid trembled at the memory. She hated Deirdre, she hated Stoick, and she hated Hiccup. No, that was an exaggeration. She couldn't hate Hiccup. But she was upset with him. She was his closest friend. He shouldn't have kept the news from her. He should've told her what was going on right away.

But why?

Hiccup wasn't committed to her; they weren't in a relationship. They were just friends. Of course, he had talked to her about becoming more than friends, but she'd rejected him. She'd rejected him. Suddenly, it hit her. She was the one responsible for this. If only she'd agreed to try courting when he'd brought it up. If only she hadn't been so alarmed at the prospect of marriage. If only she hadn't let her pride get in the way. But she had. And now, she was suffering from the consequences.

Sighing, Astrid grabbed her axe and sank onto the ground, thoroughly overwhelmed and exhausted. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, but new tears came as soon as the old ones hit her hand. But why was she so upset? Her mind wandered back to the conversation she'd had with Ruffnut. Ruffnut had asked if she loved Hiccup. At the time, Astrid had said that love was a strong word. But now, she was starting to believe the truth.

She was in love with Hiccup.

She hasn't acknowledged her feelings before because she hadn't let herself. She'd been too guarded, too focused on staying a shieldmaiden, to see what was right in front of her. It also hadn't occurred to her before that if she didn't want Hiccup, he would find someone else. It sounded ignorant of her, but she hadn't been thinking clearly. She'd just thoughtlessly assumed that Hiccup would stay single forever, that they'd always be best friends, that she could always hug him, always talk to him about what was on her mind, always knock on his door when she was lonely. She'd never considered that another girl would take her role, would give Hiccup the companionship he needed as future Chief, and would give birth to his children.

Astrid clenched her hands into tight fists at the last thought. She couldn't bear the thought of Hiccup sleeping with another girl. She couldn't stand to think of him being a father to a baby that wasn't hers. Wait, what was she thinking? She didn't want kids. Even if she did agree to marry Hiccup, she didn't want to be a mother. But if they were his... She thought again, as she'd thought once before, about how cute the babies would be.

"Astrid?" That was Fishlegs. "Astrid, the twins are about to blow up Snotlout's hut! I need your help!"

Taking her axe, Astrid ran deeper into the woods as Fishlegs' footsteps grew closer. She couldn't risk letting anyone see her cry. Not to mention, she wasn't in the mood to deal with childish behavior. As she reached an open area - the area at which the hot springs were located - she stopped.

"Don't worry, I can leave if you wanna take a bath," a familiar voice said.

The blonde looked in the direction of the sound to see Hiccup sitting beside a rock, Toothless curled up beside him. "Hiccup?"

"Yeah, Astrid, it's me. How's life on the Edge been? Has - oh, gods. Your eyes are red. Have you been...have you been crying?"

Astrid thought about lying, but she knew that the tear stains on her cheeks wouldn't do a good job of helping her in her fib. Reluctantly, she nodded as she made her way over to sit beside Hiccup, who laid a hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

For a minute, Astrid couldn't speak. All she could manage to do was stare at the water before her. "You're...you're getting married," she responded eventually.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Fishlegs told me. He said...he said he heard about it when he flew to Berk the other day." The blonde fought back the tears that were threatening to spring into her eyes again. "According to him, there's some girl named Deirdre, and -"

"I'm not getting married."

"What?"

"I'm not getting married. I mean, my dad wants me to, but I'm not gonna do it. At least not to her." Hiccup shook his head. "She won't even get onto Toothless. And besides, I don't love her."

"It sounds like Stoick doesn't just want you to. It sounds like he's already planning the wedding."

"And that's why I'm back here."

"You do know that he can just come get you, right?"

"Of course I know. That's why I'm running away."

Astrid's eyes grew wide. "What? Running away? Hiccup -"

"I know, I know. It sounds crazy," the auburn-haired Viking interrupted, throwing his hands out in front of him. "But I have to, Astrid. I'll never be able to live with myself if I let myself get caught up in this marriage."

The blonde bit her lip. "Where will you go?"

Sighing, Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, that's the problem. I...I don't exactly know where to go. I mean, I'll probably head up north, I guess."

"But it's dangerous up north," insisted Astrid. "Every time we go up there, something happens, whether it's finding the skrill, or dragon hunters, or -"

"But I'll have Toothless. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, a dragon with a broken tail and a one-legged Viking will be fine." Astrid rolled her eyes.

"We will. Just...just don't tell anyone where I am."

"I won't."

"Good."

"Because I'm going with you."

...

Hiccup and Astrid left in the middle of the night. They'd told their friends they were going out for a late flight before everyone had gone to bed, and added that they probably wouldn't be back until noon of the following day. That way, they'd have enough time to get fairly far before anyone started looking for them.

"Is it just me, or is it really cold up here?" Astrid asked through chattering teeth. Despite the arm warmers and lined boots she'd put on, the frigid air was still managing to slice through her skin.

"It's a little chilly," Hiccup responded.

"Well, I'm freezing."

"You can hop onto Toothless with me if you want," the auburn-haired Viking invited as he glanced over to see Astrid shivering violently.

"I think I might take you up on that." Astrid guided Stormfly to a height that was level with the Night Fury, then jumped onto Toothless' back. Wrapping both her arms and legs around Hiccup, she cuddled into his back and buried her frozen nose into his shoulder.

Hiccup smiled. He loved when Astrid snuggled up to him while they were flying. There was no better feeling than being on the back of Toothless, soaring through the air, with his best friend pressed against him. "Better?" he asked.

The blonde nodded against him.

The little group flew until daybreak. It was then that Hiccup decided the dragons needed a break, and thought it was about time that he and Astrid had breakfast. Astrid, however, didn't care about the meal. She was fast asleep, her arms still encircled around her friend.

"Hey," Hiccup began once he'd landed on a small, peaceful-looking island. "Astrid." He gave one of her hands an affectionate squeeze.

The blonde's eyes cracked open. "Hmm?"

"We just landed. The dragons need to rest. And I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

"Me, too," Astrid yawned, slowly detaching herself from Hiccup. Sliding off of Toothless, she stretched before heading over to Stormfly.

The auburn-haired Viking led Toothless to a nearby stream. "Alright, bud. Get a drink. Find some fish if you want, too." He scratched the Night Fury behind the ears.

"Hiccup! Hiccup, look!"

Hiccup turned to see Astrid pointing in the direction of a giant, owl-like dragon coming close to the ground. This dragon was larger than any land dragon he'd ever seen. It had four massive wings, a large head, and an exceptionally long, round body. And if that wasn't intimidating in itself, a rider in full head-to-toe costume was on its back, a stick clutched in his hand. "What in the name of Thor?"

"Dragon hunters!" the rider exclaimed. It was then that Hiccup realized the rider was a she, not a he. "The Night Fury!" As the dragon landed, the stranger stepped onto the ground.

"What?" Astrid summoned Stormfly to come close to her.

"Toothless, plasma blast!" Hiccup commanded.

Toothless, who was at his rider's side, obeyed.

"The Night Fury," the stranger repeated, inching closer to Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled, sprinting over to her friend's side.

At the mention of Hiccup's name, the mysterious rider put down her stick and removed the mask that hid her face. It was then that Hiccup and Astrid got a good look at her. She had light green eyes and gentle features, and her long brown hair was fixed into a braid.

"Who...who are you?" Hiccup asked.

The stranger inched closer, causing him to back up. "Hiccup?" she said, her eyes fixing on a scar on his chin. He'd had that scar ever since he could remember, but he didn't know why the newcomer was so interested in it.

"How...how do you..."

"Stay away from him!" Astrid demanded, running over to Stormfly and pulling her axe out of her saddle bag.

"I...I can't believe it," the rider breathed, a smile breaking out into her face and tears filling her eyes. "Is...is it really you, after all these years!"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Should I...should I know you?"

The stranger's smile suddenly faded. "You don't...you don't remember me?" She sighed. "Well, I suppose I should've expected that. You were only a babe, after all."

"Can you just tell me who you are?" Hiccup continued to back away.

"My baby," the rider whispered, her tears spilling out onto her cheeks. "My son!" Without warning, she pulled the auburn-haired Viking into a tight, motherly embrace and kissed his cheeks.

Astrid's mouth fell open, and she slowly dropped her axe onto the ground beside her.

Hiccup wanted to resist, but at the same time, he felt comfort from the stranger's affection - a comfort he'd constantly longed for when he was a child.

"Stoick, Chief of Berk...he's my husband," the rider revealed as she ended the embrace. "And I'm his wife, Valka. And you, Hiccup...you're...you're our son."

Hiccup's eyes nearly jumped out of his head. "What? What do you mean? You're supposed to be dead! Dad said -"

"Shhh," hushed Valka, placing a finger to her son's lips. "Come with me. Quietly."

Still in a state of confusion, Hiccup's gaze darted around until it finally rested on Astrid. "Wherever you're taking me, erm...Valka...Astrid's coming, too."

Valka briefly looked in the blonde's direction before turning back to Hiccup. "Very well. She can come with us."

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Thank you...uh...thank you, Valka."

"It's Mom," corrected Valka as she began walking to her dragon. "Now, let's go."