Heather Together Chapter 13
The light from the full moon cast sharp shadows across the cove. The sounds of trickling water mixed with the song of the crickets to make a completely relaxing environment. Anyone would love to spend time here and relax, but for Hiccup, this would always be his special place. After all, this was where he'd befriended Toothless.
Tonight would be doubly special. He'd just returned from Fedje with a note from Heather. This would be the last such note, for tomorrow, she and her family would board a ship for the week-long voyage to Berk. When she arrived, it would be time for their wedding. After that, they wouldn't have to write notes to each other any more.
He knew better than to try and read her notes on the flight home; it was much too windy. He'd tried it the first time and nearly lost the note. Waiting until he got home was hard, but this engagement was teaching him a lot about waiting and being patient. Tonight, all his other responsibilities were taken care of, Toothless was relaxing by the water, and he could lean back against his dragon friend and read her note by moonlight with no distractions or interruptions.
"My dearest love, my Hiccup,
"As you've probably guessed, this will be the last note I will write to you. It's been hard to be away from you all these months when I wanted to spend time with you and get to know you better, but the rules are the rules. In just a week, I'll be stepping off my boat onto Berk, which will be my home for the rest of my life, and then... our wedding! I wish I could tell you how much I can't wait!
"I'm glad to hear that our house is ready at last. "Our house" – that sounds so strange and wonderful! Thank you for asking about my favorite color; would I be right if I guessed that you painted our house green?"
No, he thought. I couldn't arrange that in time, but our curtains and tablecloth are green. Maybe we'll paint the house together later.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous about some of the things that are going to happen. All those silly wedding traditions! Who came up with that stuff, anyway? I'd love to meet the guy who decided I need to have a hammer laid in my lap so Thor will approve of my babies. I'd like to take the hammer and whack that guy in the head, so Thor will approve of his brain. But if he's a typical Viking man, he'd never even feel it.
"Of course, that insult isn't aimed at you, my sweet, because you aren't a typical Viking man. That's one of the things that drew me to you. Even these notes are proof that you aren't like all the others. Who else could have thought of a way to obey the rules and still let us talk to each other?
"Even though I haven't seen you in months (unless you count me looking out the window to watch you and Toothless fly by), I feel like my love for you gets deeper every day. Yes, I know we agreed not to get too emotional in these notes. But this is the last one, and if anyone finds it, what are they going to do about it – cancel the wedding? Not likely! Our time is almost here, and I'm so excited! There are so many things I can't wait to see happen!
"I can't wait to be the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning.
"I can't wait to cook for you, and learn the things you like to eat so I can make them for you.
"I can't wait to make our home into a place that reflects both of us.
"I can't wait to walk down the streets of my new home town, holding your hand so everyone knows I belong to you (and you belong to me!).
"I can't wait to sit next to you and talk about whatever we want, with no one telling us we can't spend time together.
"I can't wait to look in your wonderful green eyes and tell you I love you, and show you how much, instead of just writing about it.
"I have only one concern. Are you ever sorry you're marrying me and not Astrid? I know you had some very deep feelings for her. Sometimes I wonder how you could ever be drawn to someone like me. All I ask is that you not talk about her when I'm around, and that you give me a chance to win your heart. I know she hurt you badly; I promise I will never do that to you, ever. I'm not perfect; I'm not a great warrior or a great cook or a great anything; but I swear by any god you care to name, I'll do everything to be a good wife to you. My life's dream is for you to love me as much as I love you. For you to look in my eyes and tell me you love me would be the most wonderful thing that could ever happen to me.
"Oh, I almost forgot – I finished my first quilt! It was just a little one for a friend's baby, but now I know I can do it. I'll make a nice big one for our bed once we're married. I'll keep you warm one way or another!" He blushed when he read that part, and felt very warm indeed.
"I'm running out of parchment, so this note has to end. I'll see you in seven or eight days, and then I'll be yours forever!
"With all my heart,
"Your Heather."
Hiccup read it twice. It hurt him a little that she didn't think he loved her. Apparently, his own notes didn't get the message across. Hopefully he'd be better at telling her in person.
He was reading it a third time when he heard the heavy flutter of dragon wings. A dark shape landed in the cove in the shadows near Toothless, and its rider dismounted and walked toward him. He quickly put the note in his vest pocket. How had someone found his cove? He thought he'd kept it a secret. Who could have...?
"Uhhh, good evening, Astrid. Why... are... you here?"
She stopped about five feet away from him. "I need to talk to you."
"Are you out of your mind? I'm an engaged man! My wedding is a week away! I can't spend time alone with you – one of us could get killed!"
She shook her head. "No one knows about this place, and no one knows that either of us is here, so we're safe. We need to talk about that wedding."
"Oh, no." It was his turn to shake his head. "Like I said, it's only a week away. There is nothing to talk about."
"Hiccup, I've had to fight for everything I ever got in this life. I'm used to that; I expect it now. So when I see you making a big mistake, I'm willing to fight to make it right."
"If you're calling my engagement a big mistake, then may I remind you, you had a chance to make things different, and you threw it away? You threw me away!"
"Hiccup... I was wrong. It's hard for me to admit that, but it's true. I was wrong to reject you. I... I'm sorry."
"I'm willing to forgive you, Astrid, but it's way too late for that to change anything. I put my heart in your hands, and you threw it on the ground and stomped on it. I found someone who helped me put it back together again, and you want me to turn around and break her heart, just because you're having second thoughts?"
"Hiccup, she's a liar and a deceiver! You know that! I don't understand how you can even trust her, never mind like her!"
"She was a liar, because the Outcasts had a sword at her parents' throats. She hasn't lied since then. You're a heartbreaker; what's your excuse?"
"I told you, I was wrong and I'm sorry."
"And I told you, I'm engaged to be married! What part of 'engaged' don't you understand?"
"You're not married yet! It's not too late to avoid a huge mistake, Hiccup! Please, think this through!"
He sighed. "Astrid, you're wrong. It is too late. I've made my choice, and I'm happy with it. You made your choice, and you're going to have to live with it. In any case, a deal is a deal. I couldn't back out now, even if I wanted to, and I don't want to."
Her expression turned bleak. "You'd really rather marry Heather than be with me?"
"Astrid, all she can offer me is plain, simple love. I don't think you understand how powerful that is. She isn't exciting or awesome or amazing or anything like you. She can't throw an axe, or ride a dragon, or beat the boys in arm-wrestling. She's clever and quick-witted, she's a hard worker and a fast learner, but those things don't matter that much to me.
"She just loves me. I guess that's all I ever really wanted."
That left her speechless for several seconds. "I can see she's got your brain under siege," she finally managed to say.
"Maybe she does," he nodded. "If it's true, then I like it."
"Hiccup, I won't let you do this to yourself! I came here to fight for you, and I will!" She grabbed him by the shirt and kissed him, hard. He began to yield, then tried to push her away. He wasn't strong enough. She didn't let him go until she was good and ready.
He did not react the way she thought he would. He spat on the ground, wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and glared at her with pure rage.
"What are you thinking?! My family would kill you for that! Heather's family would kill you twice if they could!"
"Hiccup, look me in the eye and tell me you haven't dreamed of doing that for years!"
He looked her in the eye. "Back when I thought I loved you, yes, I would have loved to do that. But I've learned some things about love since then.
"Love doesn't decide what another person needs, and then force them to accept it whether they like it or not. Love says, 'How can I help?' and then waits for an answer. Heather understands that, and I'm starting to. You don't. You're looking at me as some kind of conquest, a reward for fighting long enough and hard enough. I'm not your Dragon Training medal, Astrid."
His expression turned sad. "The two of us could have learned about love together, but all you wanted was a victory, and I was nothing but an obstacle for you to overcome. You haven't changed – you're still looking for a victory, and I'm still an obstacle you're trying to overcome. It was you rejecting me that opened my eyes to what love is really about. If it hadn't hurt so bad, I might even have thanked you for it.
"But you and I are done. It was your decision then, and it's my decision now. Heather loves me, and I love her, and I've made promises that I'm not going to break... and there's no room in this marriage for a third person. I think you should go now."
Her face hardened. "It took me long enough to find this hiding place of yours – I'll leave when I feel like leaving!"
"Fine," he said sadly. "Keep on calling all the shots, and winning all the games, and making a contest of wills out of everything, if that's what makes you happy. I hope some day you realize there are better things than winning, before you wind up all by yourself."
He shook his head. "They say it's lonely at the top."
He hopped onto Toothless' back, and they soared away, leaving her alone in the cove.