Hello everybody! :D I apologize for that last cliffhanger!...oh, wait, no I don't. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!
Seriously though, I love you guys. Thank you so much for taking time to read this story! I know it isn't much...but...ya. Isn't much. But your encouraging reviews mean SO much, and thanks for all of that! Here's chapter 7! :D
"AVRIL!" Astrid shrieked, jumping away from the girl in shock, surprise, and terror. Avril continued screaming, now focusing her eyes on the area in front of her instead of Astrid. Astrid quickly ran over to the girl, grabbing her by the shoulders in a terrorized frenzy as she tried to figure out what was wrong with her dear little sister.
"Avril, what's wrong!?" Astrid asked, trying to get her voice over Avril's screaming. Avril merely sucked in a deep breath before she continued, louder than she had screamed previously.
Astrid was horrified now, scared out of her mind as she tried to find out what was scaring her sister, because she looked terrified. The girl continued screaming as if there were no tomorrow, looking at everything but Astrid.
Astrid was sure that the entire village could hear Avril's screaming at that point. The three year old girl didn't stop, either, even after she ran out of breath so many times. She continued to scream bloody murder, as if in severe pain.
The door to the house swung open, and Astrid looked over as Valarie, her mother, and her father raced into the room.
"What happened!?" Astrid's mother demanded.
"I don't know!" Astrid cried as the three adults raced over to Avril and her sister. "She just started screaming! I don't know why!" She didn't try to hide her fear; it would have been pointless if she had, anyways. She was terrified, and everyone on Berk probably knew it by now. Why hide it?
"Avril," said Valarie, but Avril continued screaming, as if she hadn't heard any of them. Then, Avril launched herself at Astrid, hugging her sister while she continued screaming.
Astrid, not knowing what else to do, hugged the girl back, tears flowing from her eyes just because it hurt her so much, seeing her precious sister in such a state. Suddenly, Avril stopped screaming altogether, and looked up at Astrid.
"Don't let it get me," she whispered. Then, her eyes rolled up in her head, and she went limp.
"AVRIL!" they all shouted, besides Astrid. She was too stunned and shocked to say anything or react in any way. She was vaguely aware of Valarie taking Avril from her and laying her down on the bed while examining her, trying to find out what had happened that would have made the girl so frightened.
Astrid, on the other hand, stood up abruptly, walking backwards, her eyes glued to Avril.
"Astrid, are you alright?" Astrid's mother asked.
Astrid shook her head feverishly. "No, no, I'm not," she said. "No one's alright right now. I just...I need some air." Then, she turned and bolted out the door, away from her house. She couldn't bear to see Avril in such pain. She was only three years old, for goodness sake! She wasn't supposed to be like this, for someone so young!
Astrid knew that she needed to keep her mind off her sister, but it kept drifting back there, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't get the image of Avril screaming out of her head. The cries repeated in her head over and over again, as if it were still happening at that very moment.
Astrid stopped running once she found that she could run no longer, and then continued walking. She had to get her mind off it somehow.
She found Stormfly, and then decided that that wasn't a good idea. She had always rode Stormfly with Avril, and so it would only bring back more memories of the girl if she rode her dragon alone.
She walked and walked, until she found herself in front of the hill leading up to the Chief's house. Stoick wasn't in, probably taking care of the village, since he had been by his son's bedside for days and needed to get out at some point, since the village needed him.
After a few moments of hesitation, she started climbing the hill. She was worried about Hiccup, and had been worried about him for a long time now. She needed to see him, and to make sure that he was going alright, even though she was quite certain that he wasn't.
She paused at the door, her hand hovering over the handle, until, mind made up, she pushed it open, entering the abode. The house was silent except a few whispers coming from upstairs, presumably from Valarie's two helpers, Gina and Rosie.
Astrid then slowly, ever so slowly, began walking up the stairs, disliking how they creaked beneath her feet. When she made it to the loft, she stopped, staring at the healers, and then at the boy they were tending to.
Hiccup looked even worse than he had before, if that was even possible. He was so pale he could have been dead, his countless freckles standing out painfully against his ashen skin. Gina was setting a cup of water on the desk, while Rosie was pacing, waiting for Valarie to get back.
Astrid cleared her throat to indirectly tell the two healers that she was standing there. They both turned in her direction, and then sighed, looking back at their patient.
"How is he?" Astrid asked, although she felt as if the question were pointless. She already knew how he was, and had been told before. Still, she didn't know what else to say.
Rosie shook her head. "Not good," she said. "Not good at all, Astrid. He's...he's gotten a whole lot worse since the day he was brought in, and...we don't know what to do. We're just watching him while Valarie checks on Avril."
Astrid approached the bedside, standing next to Hiccup while Gina and Rosie stood behind her, watching the scene with saddened eyes. Suddenly, Hiccup's eyes flew open as quick as lightning, and he shouted, "ASTRID!" at the top of his lungs.
"Oh my GOSH!" Rosie shrieked, jumping backwards in alarm, Gina doing the same beside her.
Hiccup sat straight up, and then started sobbing violently. "Astrid…" he whimpered, his voice barely audible, sounding broken. "Astrid."