Disclaimer: I don't own httyd.

AN: We're almost there guys! Just two more chapters before the wedding! Whoo!

Starting from this chapter, I'll make Grudge talk a little bit normally since it's a killer making him talk the way he usually would.

Arc: I Do

Days Until Wedding: 16 days

Music I'm Listening To At The Moment: Life's Too Short Nightcore... Still the same song with a different beat XD

"What Are You Planning To Do With Her"

"Astrid... yer mother is not my wife" Grudge said with grief in his voice. After that one sentence, Astrid's world shattered. She would've ran away from the house if Hiccup wasn't there to help keep her feelings in check by holding her hand.

Astrid swallowed and steeled herself and looked at her father resolutely. "W-what do you mean?" she whispered since she couldn't find her voice at the moment.

"My wife, Astral, wasn't the one who birthed ye." Grudge hunched over, feeling older than usual. "Before I tell ye who yer mother is, let me tell ye about Astral."

Everyone there was listening intently since this was the first time Grudge talked about his departed wife, even Gobber was keeping quiet.

"Astral, for the most part, was a true viking. No matter what ye threw at her, she would face it head on with a smile on her face. Her favorite weapon was a spear and she never brought a shield with her since she thought that it was just getting in the way" Grudge chuckled humorlessly "I always replied that it would be the death of her"

Everyone noticed that Grudge tensed a bit and his eyes narrowed "It happened one day, after a week's worth of hunting, she and other vikings came back and that was when she started acting a little bit weird" he gazed at Astrid "This happened seventeen years ago, two years before ye were born" Astrid nodded silently, not voicing out since she didn't want to interrupt her father.

"It was then she decided to stop fighting and that she wanted to learn alchemy" Astrid's eyes widened at that statement "At first, I thought nothing of it since there was no harm in it and it also lessen the chance of her dying early. It was only two weeks later that I started to worry"

-Flashback-

Grudge descended towards the basement since he was looking for his wife since morning and it was already noon. There, staring intently at a bowl full of ingredients, was Astral.

"Ast?" Grudge called but Astral didn't make any indication that she heard him "Are ye still down here? Ye haven't left this place since making breakfast and that was hours ago!" Grudge scolded.

Astral looked up and it was then that Grudge noticed something weird about her eyes. It was harboring between the color black and blue as if one color was trying to overwhelm the other. It only took a second later before her eyes turned blue again.

Astral shook her head and smiled at Grudge "Oh really? I never really noticed" she said in a shocked tone. "Next time, I'll try not to overdo things" she laughed before walking past Grudge.

Grudge glanced at Astral's retreating form and he could've sworn that he saw her smirk. Grudge shrugged it off and also walked back upstairs.

-End of flashback-

"I swear, it was as if she was taunting me or something like that. Months passed but nothing eventful happened, only when she would lock herself in the basement to continue her training. I even sometimes hear her mumbling in her sleep something about finding suitable subjects and switching with them."

Grudge shook his head "It was only years later that I finally realized that those mumbles were clues"

"Clues?" Hiccup asked with a raised brow

This time, Grudge gripped the edge of the table with an iron grip "It was only then that I realized that my wife was already possessed by a... demon... He muttered darkly"

"P-possessed?!" Astrid silently gasped.

"I only found out about this after ye turned three... She was planning on taking you away from me."

-Flashback, again-

Grudge stood between the sleeping blonde toddler and the black haired hovering woman infront of him. The woman smirked at the cowering man.

"W-who are y-you?!" Grudge shouted vehemently. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at the woman.

"I'm sorry... Were you expecting someone else?" the female mocked Grudge. "I mean, we've been together for years now and you act as if you don't know your own wife" the woman chuckled. "I feel insulted"

Grudge's eyes widened while his jaw dropped. It all finally made sense. Her sudden change from fighting to alchemy. Locking herself in the basement. The changing of the color of her eyes from blue to black. "N-n-nooo..." he choked, unable to grasp the reality of things "A-all this time... I-it was y-you?!" he stumbled back and fell on his backside.

Astral started chuckling and it only increased until it was a full blown laughing fit "Hahaha yes! That is the kind of look I feed on! The look of pain, suffering and most of all betrayal!" Her dilated eyes were now focused at him and Grudge could finally see the true color of her eyes. Pure void. Darkness was nothing compared to the emptiness of her eyes.

"W-what do you w-want with my daughter?!" Grudge stuttered out since he was still unnerved by the insane looking woman infront of him.

"You mean OUR daughter... You did impregnate me" she stopped hovering and kneeled in front of the scared man "How could you deny me of my own flesh and blood?" she mocked asked

Grudge shook himself from the shock. This was no time to act like a coward. He breathed deeply and steeled his eyes before standing to his full height which made him easily towering over the calm looking woman.

"Listen to me and listen well" Grudge said in an all too calm voice, finally losing his thick accent "I don't care whether you are her real mother or not, when it comes to her safety it would always come first"

Unfortunately for him, his threat only made her laugh "My, my... Someone sure is trying to be a hero here..." just like fire being doused by water, her smile disappeared completely and was replaced with an unreadable and collective look "Fortunately for you, I have no immediate need for the child so I'll let her stay with you a little longer" she smiled gently before her body started fading away "Please take care of her after all she is still my daughter." Grudge could hear the honesty in the words she said before she disappeared completely

Grudge stayed completely still, his eyes never leaving the spot where his wife disappeared. Without warning, tears started pouring from his eyes. He wasn't going to act like the previous scene didn't affect him. The person he cherished the most followed by his daughter, was most likely a witch.

While all that was happening, he never noticed the faint glow surrounding the sleeping toddler before it dimmed.

-End of flashback, again-

Grudge sighed as he looked at the audience in front of him. Hiccup and Stoick had fury in their eyes, which was understandable since the woman did try to kidnap the little girl. Gobber was also having trouble hiding his anger towards his once called friend. Astrid, on the other hand, was bowing her head while her bangs were covering her face, shadowing her eyes.

"A-astrid?" Grudge called "What's wrong?"

The only answer he got was low chuckling. "Nothing... In fact, I find this whole situation quite entertaining" Astrid said in a voice that was definitely not hers. She raised her head and All the men's eyes widened at what they saw. Both of Astrid's eyes were now pure black while her hair was slowly changing from black to blonde.

Astrid checked herself and smirked "Not bad. For a teenager she has already almost reached her peak" she then turned to Grudge, who was gaping at her "I must say, you really did took care of her."

Astrid then turned her gaze towards the other teen in the room and her smile broaden "Well... Isn't this a special surprise? You sure have grown, Hiccup... Your mother should be proud of you"

AN: And thus another chapter has ended... Two more chapters to go to go before I'm done with this! Well... for this story at least. Enjoy and Review!