Hurray for the New Year! My resolution is to write more and work less! Well, as promised, here is the next chapter of How to escape a marriage. It's in Hiccup's view point and things take a turn for the worse for him today. What's going to happen? Read and find out.

Disclaimer: So what if I own the movie, the special, the soundtrack, the game, and am writing too many fan fictions about How to Train Your Dragon? I'm still not obsessed!

Chapter 6 Hiccup

"You belong to me, my Snow White Queen! There's nowhere to run, so let's just get it over. Soon I know you'll see you're just like me! Don't scream anymore my love, 'cause all I want is you!"

I sat in my house trying to sort things out in my head with Toothless sitting right beside me. There was no way Skullheads were going to spend their nights on the beach, so Stoick offered them our own homes for shelter. Obviously the Chief of the Tribe and his family was staying with us.

I still refused to talk to my father. No matter how this turned out, I wasn't going to forgive him so easily (especially since he hasn't even begun trying to apologizing to me). I made it a point to glare accusingly at him whenever we were in the same room (which was never very long, I could barely stand being in the same room as him any more). He came into my room now, looking terribly awkward and pointedly looked away from him.

"So, the Skullheads are getting comfortable down stairs," he told me, rubbing the back of his neck. "They really seem to like the place." I didn't say anything, but simply narrowed my eyes at the wall. "Er, I told Isabella that she was more than welcome to use the room right next to yours, if that's ok."

Glaring at him, I slid off my bed and stood up. Still refusing to say anything to him, I stormed out of my room with Toothless right behind me. I still couldn't stand how Stoick would act like there was absolutely nothing wrong. I tried to ignore the hurt in his eyes when I refused to acknowledge his presence, but it was hard not to feel hurt by all of this.

As I walked out of the house and down the hill, I almost ran into Isabella, who was coming from the beach and looking rather sad. I stopped and looked at her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Oh Hiccup," she sobbed. "I tried so hard to make my father change his mind about the wedding, but he wouldn't listen! My pleas fell upon deaf ears and he refused to stop this injustice. I tried, I really did, but to no avail! Oh Hiccup, I'm so sorry!"

Toothless and I stared at her in shock. What could we possible do now? As far as I could see, that was our only hope! We were slowly running out of options.

"It's ok," I tried to comfort her. "Toothless and I know you tried your best. It's not your fault. We're just going to have to think of something else."

"But what can we do?" Isabella asked, looking up from her hands which she had been sobbing into. "The only thing my pleading seemed to do was make my father move our wedding to a closer date!"

I stared wide-eyed at her as she said this. I could still barely believe this was really happening. I barely knew what to do anymore.

"There must be something else we can do," Toothless insisted in my ear. Was there? I wasn't quite sure anymore. Out of all the Vikings, I was the one who usually came up with the plans, including the one that ended the long war with the dragons. But I couldn't think of anything. Nothing that would get our fathers to change their minds at least.

"You know," Isabella said suddenly through her tears. "It's probably for the best anyways."

I looked up at her and blinked. "What are you talking about?" I asked her.

"You're doing all of this for Astrid, right?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she continued. "Well how are you so sure you would be happy with her anyways? She's kind of mean and cold, and when we were talking down at the beach she was threatening me for no good reason."

Toothless and I exchanged glances and I knew we shared the same thought. There was no way Astrid would ever threaten someone unless she had a good reason. And Astrid was just telling me how Isabella had been threatening her. Who was I supposed to believe now?

"Are you sure she was threatening you?" I asked her. "Because that doesn't sound like Astrid at all."

"Doesn't it?" she asked a tad bitterly. "Didn't you notice how she was glaring at me when we first met? I hadn't done anything wrong or even said anything, but there she was, glaring angrily at me as if she owned you or something."

Was she? I tried to remember back to that moment, to when our fathers were talking and the two tribes had met. But I had been staring at the ground the entire time, trying not look at anyone, especially Astrid. I shook my head. I still had a hard time believing this girl. After all, we had only known each other for a few days. I shook my head.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken?" I asked. "Besides, you don't even know Astrid."

"I know enough to know that she isn't right for you," the girl replied matter-of-factly. "I just don't want you to miserable, Hiccup."

I never thought about my relationship with Astrid until this point. Before the whole dragon incident, she refused to even speak to me (which I suppose was better than everyone else, who preferred to tease me mercilessly). I was never her favorite person and I remember she hated me during dragon training. But that was before. We weren't like that now. Now we actually respected each other and she actually liked me.

I tried to open my mouth to tell Isabella this, but found that I couldn't. Mostly because she was kissing me full on the lips. I tried to take a step back in surprise, but found myself trapped between her and Toothless. I managed to grab her shoulders and push her away from me with a gasp of breath.

"What did you do that for?" I asked with shock. She shrugged, giggling and batting her eyelashes.

"I don't know," she replied. "I just think you're really cute." She took a step closer. "Come on, Hiccup. I appreciate you way more than Astrid ever did or will."

I took a nervous step back, thankful that Toothless had the sense to move this time. "I don't know," I replied, holding up my hands. "I just need time to figure things out." Toothless stood back so I could escape her and we turned and hurried away, with Isabella staring after us.

I made directly for Astrid's house, making sure to stay out of Isabella's line of sight. She answered the door almost as soon as I knocked. She didn't look too happy to see me; I guessed she was still upset with me. I smiled nervously at her and she merely frowned.

"What do you want, Hiccup?" she asked me shortly. I sighed.

"I'm sorry," I told her immediately. "I should have believed you. That's what people do in a relationship, they trust each other. Sometimes I feel like you deserve better than me, and you do. But I want you to know that from now on, I'll believe whatever you say." I took a breath before continuing. "And there's no way I'd ever give you up for that Isabella," I added shyly. "Not in a hundred years."

Astrid smiled at that. Before I could say anything else she leaned forward and kissed me deeply. I was surprised to feel a tear fall on my cheek and I realized that they were coming from Astrid. I'm not sure how long we stood there with her kissing me, but I didn't mind. I liked the feeling of her lips pressed against mine. I didn't want reality to set back in. Not yet anyways.

"Does that mean you forgive me?" I asked when she finally let go and took a step back. She rolled her eyes.

"Of course you idiot," she replied with a slight growl. She let out a sad sigh. "But what are we going to do now? What will people say if they think we're still together?"

I thought for a moment. An idea sparked in my mind. "We could meet at night," I suggested. "When everyone else is asleep. I don't think I can fall asleep knowing Isabella is right next door. It can just be you, me, and Toothless."

"Toothless?" Astrid asked, cocking an eyebrow and looking at the dragon that stood behind me. I glanced at him and he blinked at me.

"Yeah," I sighed. "He won't let me go anywhere without him anymore. Apparently I'll get myself killed if he's not around."

"I'm totally justified," Toothless argued with a snort. "Do you know how many times you've almost gotten yourself killed? You're lucky to be alive!"

Astrid laughed. She couldn't understand Toothless, but she could guess what he had said from the look on his face. "I always did like breaking rules," she told me. "There's no way I'm letting these Skullheads get the better of me. We're going to get out of this mess if I any say in it. And lucky for you, I do."

I smiled at her. "Tomorrow night then," I replied. "We'll figure something out."

"I can't wait."

I'd like to thank CrystalIceFire for coming up with the idea that the two of them should meet in secret. I added Toothless in there so they can have nightly flights. It's like Romeo and Juliet, except they're from the same tribe! How fun! And I know Astrid already came up with a plan with Ruffnutt, but she didn't tell Hiccup because she didn't want to get his hopes up in case the plan doesn't work. Also, there's nothing wrong with coming up with more than one plan, right?

I hope you all had a great holiday! I got the How to Train your Dragon soundtrack for Christmas, and we listen to it all the time! Classes are going to be starting again soon, but that hasn't stopped me before! Remember, until then, read and review!