Disclaimer: This is one of my wishes that won't come true, no matter how hard I work or how many stars I wish on. And I won't ever own where I stole that idea from either, Princess and the Frog. DANG!

Author's Note: School starts tomorrow. Blegch! So here is the last chapter of the summer. Don't worry. I've become very dedicated to this story. There will be more. Just not as often. So keep your eyes open.

Still she had no idea what Hiccup was up to. Now that she had calmed down from the fight and the kiss with him, she returned to her curiosity. It had only grown since before his visit.

Why would Hiccup not come back? Astrid had heard them leaving the house with their dragons. So they were going somewhere. But where? And would it be dangerous? She hoped not. She wouldn't be able to bear Hiccup getting hurt. She had changed so much because of him. She actually wouldn't mind having him be her husband. She needed to marry him in order to determine whether it was friendship, something more, or what he felt for her. Although she wasn't sure, through the worry, she was deeply flattered.

She waited up all night for him. She willed herself to stay awake until the first rays of dawn stretched across the sky and she could see Hiccup, Toothless, and the other Vikings on the horizon. She stood at the door to wait for Hiccup, extremely glad that he was alive but displeased that he had kept her waiting for so long without telling her where he was going.

As soon as Hiccup landed, Astrid bombarded him with questions. "Where in Valhalla were you? What in Woden's name took you so long? Why did you think you weren't going to come back? Why all the secrecy? Why won't you tell me?" She demanded.

Hiccup was exhausted. He said drowsily, "You sure have a lot to say, don't you?" He dismounted Toothless and tried to go inside.

"Oh no you don't!" Astrid blocked the doorway. She couldn't let him get away. She had so many more questions for him. Not just about the night's journey, but about everything. "You're just going to go to sleep and in a few hours I won't be able to talk to you! You'll be so busy helping everyone else."

She let Bertha and Camicazi sneak by to get into their house. Hiccup, however, was the exception. "Hey!" protested Hiccup.

"You're not going in there until you answer all of my questions."

Hiccup gulped. "How many do you have?"

"Too many," Astrid admitted.

Hiccup sighed. "Alright, then." He sat down on the grass in front of Bertha's house. "Let's get this over with. Ask away."

Astrid shook her head. "Not here. Somewhere secret." She grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the houses to the cliff where they had first found the isle.

"Secret? Why?" Hiccup asked, "Astrid, it's dawn. No one's awake yet and-"

"Oh, put a sock in it." She muttered.

The sunrise was peaking out of the lavender clouds. She sat Hiccup down on a rock. He looked around. "Hey, where's Toothless?"

"I asked him to go home." Astrid said simply, "I want to talk to you alone, remember?"

"What's bothering you, Astrid?" Hiccup asked.

"You, Hiccup," she said simply. When he gave her a quizzical look, she explained herself. "You and Bertha are plotting something, I know it. First, where were you last night?"

Hiccup had a pained expression on his face. He sighed and said slowly, "I can't tell you."

She glowered at the Heir. Heat rose in her. "Can't tell me? You… you… Do you think I'm asking these questions because I'm trying to catch you at something like I was that night you found me asleep in your house? This is different, Hiccup. A lot has changed since then. I haven't forgotten what we said to each other last night. I'm not sure how I feel about you anymore. At the very least, you're a better friend than Ruffnut ever was. I don't want you to get hurt on some fool's errand." She covered her mouth. She'd said too much. He didn't need to know all that. Actually, none of it was his business. She turned pink.

Hiccup stared at her. She averted her gaze from his enticing round green eyes. She could tell from the corner of her eye that he was grinning at her.

"Forget it." She mumbled.

"No, that is not something to be forgotten." Hiccup said.

"Oh yes it is!" She felt herself growing redder.

He got to his feet and grabbed her hand. It was really hard not to look into his eyes now. Oh, Thor… not now…

"I'm glad you haven't forgotten what I said. I love you. I'm not ashamed to tell you. I know you probably don't feel that way because I'm just an awkward Viking who can't lift an axe." Hiccup said boldly.

"Don't get yourself down. You're crazy. You actually think. That's… that is something. You don't know that I don't like you. Don't be so sure! Nothing's so certain." Astrid blushed. She had remembered more of Hiccup's words. Where had those come from? She was sure that she wasn't in a fit state to remember anyone's words when he had said that to her. She rapidly changed the subject. "In all honesty, this has been bothering me because…I care about you. Where have you been all night?"

Hiccup didn't speak for a long time. Astrid realized that they were still holding hands. For some strange reason, she didn't find it as pressing to remove her hand from his grasp as the matter that was at hand, although not too long ago she would have found his hand much more repulsive. She sat down on a rock. Hiccup followed suit.

"You were right. We've been training people to fly their dragons all too soon after they've bonded with them. Bertha thinks the sooner we get you flying, the sooner we can rid the dragons of that monster." Hiccup said.

This was not what Astrid had been expecting at all.

"What monster?"