Hey guys! Happy –belated- Valentines Day! I hope you all like this chapter! More to come soon!

Chapter 6

Rather quickly, two months went by on the Island of Berk. Hiccup learned to forgive Erika for the argument they had. It was all in the past, and they had both forgotten. Tuna, on the other hand, couldn't forget what it was like to fly freely for once. She had no master on her back, and so could go faster without the extra weight. She felt one with the sky when flying, like she belonged there. But she was confined to the land, and confined to confinement.

Erika was a natural at dragon training. She picked it up very easily and excelled at it. Others were pretty jealous of her, and even went as far as talking about her behind her back.
"Who does she think she is," wondered Snotlout. "I mean, she just shows up out of nowhere and wants to train dragons? If that's not a red flag I don't know what is." Snotlout viciously ripped off meat from the chicken leg he had and ate it.
"For once in my life, I actually agree with you, Snotlout." Fishlegs said, chomping away at a piece of lamb.
"I have an idea!" Ruffnut said.
"That can't be good." Astrid replied.
"Let's investigate her!"
"Yea," Tuffnut agreed. "Lets follow her around and go through her stuff!"
"No, we can't do that! Don't you guys remember? She lives with Hiccup. Well... we'd be outcasted if broke into the chief of Berk's home without permission!" Fishlegs suggested.
"Well," Snotlout interrupted, "Stoick's new law is still in effect, so unless Hiccup marries her, she'll be gone soon enough." The word marriage made Astrid's heart skip a beat. Marriage. All her life, Astrid envisioned herself marrying Hiccup. Something about him always got her. His sarcastic smile, neck length hair, or weak build? She didn't know, but she loved it. Ever since she was a girl, she imagined herself walking down the aisle with him. Now that Erika is in the picture, she feared her dreams would never come true. She saw how happy Erika made Hiccup. He was going to marry her, no doubt. She did want him to be happy, but she wanted him to be happy with her. It was only a matter of time before Hiccup popped the question to Erika. And when he did, Astrid definitely didn't want to be there for it.

It was late one night, and Erika went to go fly Tuna. She was getting cranky and needed her exercise. Hiccup entered his house and started to go upstairs. Before he could reach the second step, he heard a voice.
"Son," His father said. "Sit down. I need to talk to you."
"Look, whatever the twins broke, I can fix..." He started to say.
"No, it's not about that. Sit." Hiccup pulled up a chair across from his father at the dinner table.
"Then what is it about?"
"Erika."
"I knew it. First Astrid, now you," He began to mimic his father. "I don't trust her son, be careful, I don't want you to get hurt."
"Glad to see you were at least listening."
"I know what I'm doing, dad."
"I know son. I know. I trust you," He stared at Hiccup for a while before speaking again. Hiccup reminded Stoick a lot of himself, aside from the build. He himself was once young and in love. "I just... I'm warning you that her time is almost up. You know of the law, son. I can't accommodate anyone, not even my own son. Once I let one stay, they'll all want to stay."
"Just a few more months, dad! She's really come a long way in dragon training, and she's such a great addition to the academy!"
"I'm sorry, son. But she's overstayed her welcome. I wish I could... I'm sorry."
"I'd say it's not your fault, but it kind of is."
"I want you to be happy son! But I also have an entire village to attend to. If I bend the rules even the slightest..."
"I know. They'll use it against you." Hiccup sighed. He knew this day would come, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly. He didn't want himself to fall too hard for Erika, but he already did. It was too late. There had to be some way he could let her stay. Some way...
"I'm giving her until sundown tomorrow. If she's not gone by then, she will be forcefully removed."
"Dad!"
"Sorry, son. I have duties as a father and duties as a chief. Majority rules." Stoick really did want Hiccup to be happy, and he wanted Erika to stay if she made him happy. Even though he still didn't entirely trust her, she had lived in his house for nearly two months without incident. Either she wasn't planning anything, or she was very patient. Stoick trusted that Hiccup knew what he was doing. He was becoming a man now, and had to start making decisions on his own. If he wanted to be with Erika, then Stoick would be happy to let him. When he passed the law, he had no idea this would happen. Part of Stoick thought that Hiccup would marry Astrid when the time came, and when she kissed him that day, he was more than sure. Now that Erika was in the picture, Stoick was in a pickle. His duties as chief always came first though. It was either have a happy son and an upset village, or vice versa. Right now, and always, Stoick went with the latter of the two.
"Thanks for the heads up at least." Hiccup moped.
"There are plenty of fish in the sea!" Toothless, who was listening in on the conversation, perked his head up on the word fish.
"Sorry, bud. Not that kind of fish" Hiccup said to Toothless. He sulked and put his head back down.
"How about Astrid? She's a nice catch!"
"Yea, but... I don't know. I don't really like her like that. I mean, I used to but... I don't know. Things change." Suddenly, the door opened and Erika came in. She noticed the father and son sitting at the table and felt the tension in the air.
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" She asked.
"No, no. Don't worry, come on in. We were just talking about you." Stoick said.
"Talking about me? About what?"
"Your time is up." Hiccup blurted out.
"What do you mean?"
"The law, remember? You've overstayed your welcome and you have to leave."
"What? No! I was just beginning to settle in here! Hiccup!"
"It's not his fault, it's mine." Stoick said.
"There has to be some way..."
"There is no way. I can't go back on my word! I have an entire village looking up to me!"
"Oh my, Gods," Erika sat down in a chair and sighed. She always figured she would make them forget about the law, or that Hiccup would fight for her. He never gives up, and here he is, giving up. This was one mess Erika couldn't charm her way out of. "I... there's got to be a way..." Hiccup, who had remained pretty quirt, suddenly sprang up from his chair.
"I have an idea! Hold on," Hiccup ran upstairs so fast the he nearly tripped over his false leg. Both Erika and Stoick looked at each other with confused expressions. Almost as fast as he went up, Hiccup came back down with something clenched in his fist. He caught his breath, and grabbed Erika's hand, pulling her up from her chair. "Erika... I know I haven't known very long, but I really do... love you. Something about you, I don't know what it is, makes me want to be around you. I don't want to ever see you go. I want to have a life with you, and create life with you... eh sorry that was gross okay. Oh, never mind! My point is I want you to stay. And there's only one way I can do that," He looked her straight in the eyes, then kneeled down on one knee. He opened his fist to reveal the most stunning diamond-incrusted silver ring. He held it up so Erika could see. This was the moment every girl had waited for. Hiccup took a deep breath, then asked, "Erika... Will you marry me?"

Ooooo snap! What's gonna happen next? I'll update soon! I'm officially on school vacation, but I have a bunch of long rehearsals for a play I'm in. They shouldn't interfere with my writing too much, but in case they might I figured I'd tell you now. Also, for those of you craving a little action, adventure, or violence, that's coming up in the chapters to come! Nothing too graphic. I'll warn you beforehand when there's graphic material! Review/favorite/follow/whatever! :D