Hiccup's friends were quickly making their way to Scotland. Unfortunately, Fishlegs was on his Gronkle, and when urged by the others, he flat-out refused to abandon his dragon, which had been dubbed "Grinky". This slowed down the vikings considerably. The twins, both on their two-headed dragon, were fighting the whole way to Scotland, and when they weren't, they were glaring at each other, simutaneously trying to guide the confused dragon in the right direction. Snotlout rode his Monstrous Nightmare, whom he had named Fire Demon, but against his wish, everyone called his steed Sparky.
And then Astrid, the most serious of any of them. She flew ahead with Gobber and Stoick, who each rode a Monstrous Nightmare. She didn't speak, but everyone knew what was on her mind.
She was going to see Hiccup.
Stoick and Gobber spoke quietly to each other, Fishlegs was reciting facts about Scotland to himself, and Snotlout listened to the twins fight. He eventually got so tired of it that he flew up next to Astrid, who barely acknowledged his presence.
"Listen," he said awkwardly. "I just wanted to apologize."
She glanced at him. "For?"
"For asking you out all those times. It was stupid, I know." He laughed and ran a hand through his hair."I just... I wanted to let you know that it won't happen again."
He circled Sparky back to Fishlegs, leaving Astrid speechless. She didn't know what to think of what had just happened. She didn't even know how she felt about it. Did she care that the boy that had been in love with her for 4, maybe more, years randomly decided to stop? Did she care that he was already talking about the Scottish princess that was rumoured to be so beautiful?
Of course not. She was made for Hiccup, not Snotlout. At least, that's what she told herself.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout from Stoick. They were circling over Scotland. Gobber glanced back at them all and nodded. They had talked about this, formulated a safe plan that would land them somewhere by the castle. One by one, they dropped into nose dives with impressives skill and maneuvering, although they didn't complare to Hiccup and Toothless.
Astrid watched the castle loom closer and closer to them, and she pulled her dragon, Rosie, to a nice, level pace. Stoick and Gobber, who were on either side of her, did the same, the threesome ignoring the whoops and shrieks of joy coming from the four others behind them. Stoick and Gobber were much too mature, but Astrid was just plain nervous. The shouts of joy and laughter quieted when they saw a squire signalling to them from one of the turrets.
This is it, Astrid thought. This is it.
The squire pointed towards the back of the castle, where Astrid saw a large meadow.
"Land!" Stoick cried. "Nice n' gentle." The teens obeyed, dropping their dragons to the ground gently, all smiling from the adrenaline rush of flying, even Astrid.
Astrid hopped off her blue dragon, brushing a strand of golden hair from her eyes.
"I can't wait to see this Scottish princess!" Snotlout said eagerly. "Think she'll be ho-"
"Excuse me," A calm voice interrupted. Everyone turned to see a man and woman standing calmly at the end of the meadow. It was the woman who had spoken, who was exceptionally beautiful.
Stoick bowed his head grudgingly and then took a deep breath.
"Queen Elinor," he nodded. "King Fergus."
"Peasure to meet ya," Fergus smiled. Snotlout flinched at the strong accent, and tried to hold back a laugh, instead letting out a snort.
"Stop!" Astrid hissed. She elbowed him and stepped forward boldy.
"I'm Astrid," she said clearly. "It's an honour to meet you. This is Snotlout. Those are the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and that boy there is Fishlegs. We are all here to help."
"And I'm Gobber," Gobber said, hobbling forward. "Good to meet you."
Elinor looked a bit overwhelmed by the manners and boldness of the Vikings, as well as their distinctive accents. But Fergus came to her rescue by announcing Merida.
"Merida is my daughter," he said. "I need to warn you, she is strong headed." Snotlout grinned at this, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Hope she's feisty," he whispered. Astris felt a surge of anger.
"Just shut up, already" she said.
A tall, slender girl with a fountain of red curls springing from her head stepped into view, leading an enormous black and white horse. Astrid caught her breath. The girl was beautiful. Beautiful enough to attract Hiccup, for sure. And Snotlout.
He swaggered up to her and pulled his helmet off. Everyone watched as he cocked his hip, narrowed his eyes into slits, and flexed his arms.
"What's he doing?" Ruffnut asked, her face going red. "He's making fools out of all of us!"
Astrid held back a laugh.
"He's trying to flirt."
"Uh, hello," Merida said, for once taken aback. "W-What are you doin'? Is this a... Some sort of weird Viking custom?"
"Not a custom," Fishlegs said. "We call it idiocy."
Snotlout immediately stood straight, but didn't give up.
"The name's Snotlout," he said with a wink. "Strongest Viking here, no doubt." He didn't notice Stoick carrying everyone's bags in his enormoursly thick arms behind him, his immense size making Snotlout look tiny. "I'm know back in Berk as 'Muscle'."
Merida stared at him blankly, and then turned to everyone else.
"Hiccup left to take Toothless for a fly about an hour ago," she said regretfully. "Guess he didn't realize that you were coming so early."
Stoick let out a sigh of relief, probably because of the delay in seeing his son.
"That's fine," he assured her. "How about we just get to our rooms, maybe-"
A flutter of wings, a small gust of wind.
"-have something to eat, talk about the-"
A large black shape dropped quickly but softly to the ground infront of them.
"-dragons," Stoick finished, his eyes opening wide. He could see someone riding Toothless, but the person's face was hidden by a helmet that covered his face. Not only that, but he was wearing some sort of leathery armour. But when the rider got off, and pulled his hemlet off of his head, everyone's thoughts were confirmed.
Hiccup. His eyes, really, were the only part of him that were the same. Eyes that Merida used to think were hazel, but were really a startling green. His hair was longer, and shaggier, his body taller and more filled out. A certain sadness was etched around his eyes, which gave him a maturity that nobody recognized.
"Hiccup?" Ruffnut and Tuffnut asked in unison, both incredulous.
"No-" Tuffnut started.
"-way" Ruffnut finsihed. They both stepped forward hesitantly, looking at him closer.
"Dude," Snotlout shouted. "You're so different! Awesome!" He ran forward, and then, like the twins, stopped a few feet away in awe. Fishlegs came to stand next to Ruffnut, grabbing her hand, and Gobber hobbled over as fast as possible.
They all saw Hiccup's lips pull into a slight smile.
"Hey guys."
It broke the ice. They converged on him, tackling him into the scariest hug ever known to mankind. Hiccup laughed and pushed them off easily, and then stood up.
"I can't... What?" Ruffnut laughed. "I can't believe it's you! And Toothless!" She gestured wildly at the dragon, who stood watching protectively. When he heard Ruffnut say his name, though, he seemed to snap out of his trance, and grinned happily. His friends were back.
Astrid stepped forward, not sure what to do. Would he hug her like never before? Or would he stonily ignore her?
Neither. He caught sight of her, and to his complete astonishment, didn't feel a thing. Not butterflies of love, not anger. He simply didn't care anymore. She had done him wrong, and he had forgiven.
"Hi Astrid,'' He greeted. Merida watched curiously, all of her regrets of their kiss vanishing. Hiccup had no feelings for Astrid. At all. It was obvious to everyone, and so was the disappointment on Astrid's face. Ruffnut smiled sympathetically but shrugged. Everyone knew, after all, that it was Astrid's fault the couple had broken up.
Hiccup began to laugh at something Tuffnut said, and stumbled over a stray branch, drawing giggles from everyone except Astrid and Stoick. The huge Viking chief watched from a distance, and then, very nervously, greeted his son.
"Hiccup."
Hiccup's laughter instantly stopped, his smile melting away.
"Sir," he responded coldly. He might have forgiven Astrid, but definitely not his own father. He turned to everyone else and sighed quietly. "Um, there's servants and people inside who can show you your rooms."
"I'll show you," Elinor spoke up, having been quieted by the scene that had just played out in front of her. "I personally oversaw the decorating of your rooms..." Her voice faded away as she walked back towards the castle, and the teens hurriedly followed after her, as well as Stoick and Gobber.
Astrid turned back, ready to talk to Hiccup. But she saw Merida start to, saw his smile when she opened her mouth.
She saw him steal a kiss from her and the run away, laughing maniacally. She saw Merida's cheeks flush bright red, the smile she tried to cover up.
And she felt anger, raw and deep and painful. Her mind flashed back to the day Hiccup had left.
Astrid walked away from Hiccup. He didn't notice her wiping away her tears, he didn't notice the pure pain that was evident on her face. She thought about all that had just happened. A baby dragon, in Hiccup's care, had gone a bit too crazy. Its small puff of flame had lit a house on fire. She knew it had to be killed, she knew that it could happen again, someone could get hurt.
Or did it have to be?
She was stupid, she knew, for listening to Stoick banish his son. But she thought Hiccup wouldn't leave, she thought he would still be there in the morning to work things out, to earn another chance to stay, another chance to set things right.
That night she went to sleep determined to apoligize to Hiccup. She woke up the same way. But when she arrived at her boyfriend's house and saw that Toothless was gone, and Stoick was hiding his tears, she realized what had happened.
And she knew Hiccup wasn't coming back.
When this realization hit her, she fell to her knees in a dizzying wave of pain. He had left. He had left Berk, and his friends.
All because of her.
As she stood, watching Merida and her blushing face, the princess turned and locked her eyes with Astrid, the pink fading away from her face. A friendly smile tugged at Merida's lips, a smile that told Astrid she knew everything, she knew what Astrid had done, but still friendly.
Astrid shouldhave smiled back, or given some sort of sign. But she didn't, because she was still angry. And to her, Merida took away Hiccup.
And she was determined to get him back.
