Disclaimer: I don't own httyd.

AN: Uhmm... Guys... We have a problem... I can't seem to get the reviews for chapter... Uhmm... the latest chapter!

I hope fanfiction fixes this...

Arc: I Do

Days Until Wedding: 17 days

Music I'm Listening To At The Moment: Regretroid

"Are You Sure This Isn't Going To Be A Regular Thing"

Thuggory grumbled as he made his way inside his room on his ship and instantly went to sleep. Just this morning, Cami made him eat something that she "made". It was a sort of salad.

Thuggory's POV

I wouldn't have minded it if it weren't for the fact that something was clearly moving inside! To makes things worse, that something was on my spoon just I was about to put it in my mouth. Astrid called it something... something like Paraponera Clavata, whatever that was! She said it was a type of ant. I shrugged and put the spoon in my mouth anyway since this wasn't the first time I've done it before Astrid could stop me.

I wish she had. The moment the ant got to my tongue, it bit me. I screamed at the top of my lungs. It felt like a nadder's spine was pierced through my tongue, while it was on fire. I went to drink some water and hoped it would eventually ease the pain only to realize too late that the thing was on my arm. It once again bit me and I swatted it away. I could practically feel the sting.

Astrid then asked Cami where she got the vegetation and Cami answered by saying that she got it inside a cave where hundreds of those ants were crawling around. How she got out without being bitten, nobody knew...

I spent the rest of the day trying to talk again because my tongue got so swollen that instead of spouting words, slurs come out.

Then training came where Heather and Cami once again had an argument about, well I think you can already guess, me. I just wished this would stop.

Day 16

No One's POV

Astrid hummed to herself as she made her way towards Acne's hut. In just two days she already learned so much from the old hag, not that she would actually call her that mind you. From plants to animals to minerals. That was why she knew about the ant that Thuggory ate. In fact, she knew how to help ease the pain but didn't tell him since she was still mad at him for fooling with Heather and Camicazi.

She was so busy with her training that she didn't even realize that she hadn't seen his fiancé for two days. Well... that was going to have to change if she had anything to say about it. She decided to have a little detour towards the forge to get her morning kiss from his workaholic boyfriend.

Even though she was a few yards away from the forge, she could already hear the distinct sound of hammer hitting metal. Since there was no singing included then it was safe to presume that it was Hiccup.

She peeked through the side window where the hearth was located. She glanced inside and beamed at the site of Hiccup. She called his name and he looked up at her while smiling simultaneously. She motioned him to come closer and when he did she gave him a kiss that would last both of them the whole day of thinking about each other.

"So... How's training with Acne?" Hiccup asked as he continued hammering on the sword he get from grave robbing. If anyone glanced at it, they would actually think that it was brand new and not a few decades old.

The sword was now refinished. Before it was rusted and it would break apart if not held properly. Now though, it was silver and Hiccup made sure that it was sharp and sturdy enough to be used during the ceremony. The hilt was another thing. The hilt was shaped like the night fury's wings with matching color of course. On the surface of the sword was a runic sentence that held deep meaning for both of them.

It read "If one is in pain then the other will burden it"

That meant that no matter what happened, the other would be there even if the one who was in pain didn't want them to. This only proved how loyal they are to each other, how they knew each other to heart and how much they meant to each other.

Astrid then bid Hiccup farewell and continued her trek. She was getting more excited the closer she got to Acne's. The old shaman promised her that she would now teach her some spells that could possibly help her and Hiccup in the long run.

-Inside Acne's Hut-

Astrid gaped at the spectacle in front of her. No matter how many times she was going to see a plant regenerating from a rotting one, she would never get tired of it. She was feeling both excited and nervous. Excited because she was going to try it next and nervous because she didn't want to leave a bad impression.

"Stop being nervous lass" Acne once again donned her thick accent "I won' get mad at ye fer messin it up." she reassured her as she put another decaying plant in front of Astrid to practice on.

Astrid breathed "Ok... I can do this..." she closed her eyes and tried to remember the words Acne made her memorize. The moment she opened her eyes, it started to glow just like Acne's the only difference was that while the right one glowed blue the other one was pitch black. There was no light coming out from it. All Acne could see was the void and she shivered unconsciously.

Astrid didn't notice Acne's reaction because she started the incantation "smoya líf geta vaxa enn!" she was too focused on the task that she didn't even notice that her voice dropped a few octaves, making her sound somewhat demonic.

And just like that, the plant grew past the one Acne did and the old woman's eyes widened. How can this be possible?! The last person she trained took weeks just to make leaves sprout from the plant and Astrid just done it in her first try! Acne once again gazed at Astrid. Not only did this girl in front of her had potential but she had a feeling that that wasn't just it. There was a deeper mystery and it rotated around the blonde teenage viking in front of her who was gaping at her own work.

Acne knew that void in Astrid's eye. It was the same void that gave her nightmares even up to this day. It was stupid if she asked the girl since she obviously wouldn't have any idea. There was one person she thought might knew though. For now, she needed to congratulate her student.

"That was great lass!" Acne said with a gentle smile

"I did this?" Astrid asked disbelievingly.

"Tell me child, most of my students before would take weeks before getting even a leaf to regrow. How did you do it?"

Astrid scratched the back of her head while smiling sheepishly "Actually, I have no idea. All I did was trying to picture out what the plant would look like then I imagined how to make it look like that. I started with the trunk to the stem until I reached to the leaves. After that, I chanted the words you told me. It was complete coincidence that I did it on the first try"

Acne chuckled lightly while shaking her head "Lass, I've lived in this world for a long, long time... Trust me when I say that there are no coincidences."

Astrid bid her farewell as she left Acne's hut. Just as Astrid was out of earshot, Acne muttered to herself "Yes, there are no coincidences..." she said all too seriously. She glanced at the plant that Astrid revived and noticed that the once peaceful looking plant now had thorns all over it while having a red outline on it's stem. She once again glanced to where Astrid was going "Even you lass..."

-Hofferson Household-

Grudge sighed as he relaxed on the fireplace. Astrid was spending more time with Hiccup and less time with him, not that he was complaining mind you. He just missed his small bundle of joy that used to run around the house and make a complete mess.

He was now close to unconsciousness when there was a knock on the door. If it was Spitelout again trying to convince him to cancel the wedding then he was going to have a fit. When he opened the door, he didn't expect to see Acne, the shaman, at the front of his door with a very serious expression.

"Uhmm... Can I help you? If yer lookin' fer Astrid she's not ere at the moment. She's probably at Hiccup's and won't be home til mornin..." Grudge tried to guess.

"Good." Acne walked inside while using her staff to support her weight. "There is something we need to discuss that involves your daughter" she once again lost her accent.

Grudge frowned and groaned "Wut did she do this time?"

"Actually, she was rather remarkable. She already memorized more than half of the things I told her and she's already proficient in a little bit of... What was it you called it before? Oh yes... witchcraft" she gave him a toothy grin.

Grudge's face then turned sour while clenched his fists "Don't say tha' infront of me face..." he muttered darkly

"Believe me, I wouldn't if it wasn't that important" she chuckled before she became serious again "The thing is, I saw something that concerns me..." she gave Grudge a calculating look "Tell me, who was Astrid's mother?"

Grudge visibly flinched and laughed nervously "W-wut are ye s-sayin? D-don't ye r-remember her? It was" but before he could continue, Acne struck her staff on the ground and silencing him.

"I wasn't talking about your wife... " She smiled crookedly as Grudge started to sweat " I was talking about Astrid's mother... Now tell me, who was Astrid's real mother?"

AN: Oh? What's this? Another plot twist? Well I'll be damned! Things are getting more and more complicating! Enjoy and Review!