Chapter 8! And here comes Hiccstrid! :D OH BOY. Thanks to all who read, review, fav, follow, and all that good stuff. Reviews motivate me, just so you all know. :D So, here's chapter 8, and I hope you enjoy! Over and out! :D Oh, and in case you guys are wondering, Hiccup and Astrid are 18 in this, so they would look much like they did in Race to the Edge. So, ya. :D
"Astrid," Hiccup whimpered, and instantly, the girl was broken from her thoughts. She pulled Hiccup into a hug, holding him close to her while he sobbed and cried fervently, wrapping his arms around Astrid's waist in a death grip.
"Don't just stand there!" Astrid snapped at the people behind her, looking at them over her shoulder. "Go get the healer! And maybe a bucket of water!"
They ran off instantly, while Astrid sat herself down on the bed, still holding Hiccup close to her for fear of him slipping back into unconsciousness.
"Shh, shh, it's okay, Hiccup," said Astrid gently, trying to calm him down. It didn't help, though. The poor boy was traumatized and scared. "Hiccup," said Astrid, but he only cried harder. "Hiccup, can you tell me what happened?"
Hiccup shook his head. "No," he got out between his sobs. "No...it's t-t-too h-horrible."
"I can't help you if you don't tell me," said Astrid. Hiccup still didn't respond, clinging to Astrid as if she were his lifeline, still sobbing and crying as if there were no tomorrow. Astrid hugged his cold yet feverish body to her chest once more, trying to get him to relax while at the same time, trying to coax the truth out of him.
"It was a d-dragon," Hiccup said, catching Astrid off guard. He was shaking like a leaf, yet still managed to speak. "I...I k-know it's so s-stupid...t-to be s-s-so sc-scared, but...Astrid...it...it tr-tried to…tried to..." He couldn't finish, breaking down into another sobbing fit.
"It's okay, it's okay," Astrid soothed gently. "You don't have to tell me, if it's too much." It was contradicting what she had previous said, but she still felt the need to say something to him.
However, in honesty, she needed to know what it was. She needed to know what had happened. That...whatever it was was slowly and painfully destroying the two people she cared about most in life: first her sister, and then Hiccup.
Hiccup shook his head, not meeting her eyes. He took in one shaky breath, and then another, before he finally got the courage to continue speaking.
"It was...big," he said. "D-dark...d-darker than...than a N-Night Fury. It...it t-tried to k-k-kill us...Astrid...m-me and A-Avril."
"What was it?" Astrid asked. "Can you tell me?" She wasn't excited about learning what had happened, but she needed to know, after all.
Hiccup shook his head, burying his face in her chest as his sobbing picked up dramatically. Astrid hugged him and rubbed his back while whispering soothing nothings, trying to get him to calm down, even just a little bit. He continued crying, until it turned to screaming; short bouts of shrill, terrified cries that would have broken anyone's heart.
"It's okay, Hiccup," said Astrid, rocking both him and herself back and forth as she rubbed his back gently in an attempt to calm him down. "It's okay, shh, Hiccup, shh. You're safe now."
"No," said Hiccup. "N-no, n-none of us a-are. It...it's s-still out th-there, Astrid. I-it s-still w-w-wants to k-k-kill us."
"I won't let that happen," said Astrid. "I promise, Hiccup, you and Avril are going to be fine. I won't let anything hurt you, okay? Can you believe me?"
Hiccup shook his head, taking in a shaky, uneven breath. Astrid pretended not to feel hurt, but in truth, it felt as if she had been stabbed in the chest. She felt heated with rage when she thought about the fact that the...the thing that was slowly and painfully destroying Hiccup and slowly killing her sister was still out there, alive, waiting for its next victim.
Seeing Hiccup hurting and Avril in shock - the two people she cared about most in life - made her want to kill a chicken. She knew that, at that moment, if any creature in league or following that evil "thing" came into that room, she would have killed it, no questions asked.
If it were the leader itself, she would have enjoyed it.
"D-don't…" Hiccup gasped out, "don't leave me."
"I won't," Astrid promised, brushing the bangs out of his face. His forehead was hot; he was running a fever. Then why was he shaking so badly? The lad was shivering with chills as if he were in the middle of a blizzard, trapped there for days without feeling any warmth whatsoever in so long. Hiccup held onto her, and she pulled the blanket back over him, doing her best to wrap him in it while still holding him in her arms. "I won't leave you, Hiccup," she promised. "I won't now, and I won't ever. You're fine. You're fine, Hiccup, and if something tries to hurt you again, I will make them regret it."
"I don't want to be alone," said Hiccup, still sobbing and crying violently.
"And you won't be," said Astrid. "I'm here, Hiccup, and you...I'll find that thing, Hiccup. I'll hunt it down. I'll protect you, and I promise you that. You'll be okay. You'll be okay, just don't worry. Just relax...try to rest."
Hiccup nodded, just barely, before he closed his eyes, falling asleep, and limp in her arms, exhausted from crying and screaming and panicking for so, so long. Astrid didn't let go of him, even after he was asleep, staring at him with more care and concern she was known to possess when it came to Hiccup.
Meanwhile, Gina and Rosie reappeared, the village healer trailing behind them while Rosie carried a bucket of water with her, setting it down by the bedside. The healer stepped forward, looking first to Astrid and then to her patient.
"Astrid, you need to leave," said the healer. "I need to examine him myself."
Astrid shook her head violently. "No!" she said. "No, he's sick, and he's scared, Valarie! I'm not leaving him, and you can't make me leave!" She hugged Hiccup closer to her body, almost defensively. "I promised him I'd stay with him! I promised I would protect him, and those are both promises that I intend to keep!"
"I understand, Astrid," said Valarie, "but you have to go, just for a few minutes...you can always come back."
"No, you don't understand," said Astrid. "I'm not leaving, as in, I'm not leaving."
"Astrid, you have to," said Valarie.
"No, I don't have to! I'm not leaving him, and you can't make me go!" said Astrid. Then, in a much calmer voice, she whispered. "Please, Valarie," she pleaded. "He was just awake, and he was so scared...he just now got to sleep again, and he's suffering, Valarie," she was whispering now, looking to Hiccup instead of to the healer. "You can't make me leave him when he's suffering like this."
Valarie looked first to Astrid, and then to Hiccup, and sighed. "Okay," said Valarie. "Okay, I won't make you leave, just...try to be gentle with him, he is still sick and trying to recover. I'll be back in just a minute."
Astrid nodded thankfully while Valarie left, calling her assistants with her, who followed her closely. Astrid held Hiccup to her once more, and then stayed there for a long time.