Alright everyone! I'm back and I come bearing gifts! First and foremost, I have to fulfill a promise I made last time. So bear with me and look at those that have reviewed chapter 3 for me! They are listed as thus: Midoriko-sama, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx , Soul Razor, dancingRAINBOWS, AngryHenry, and Bane348. All of these people gave me the inspiration to move the story in a different direction than I had previously planned and all have helped contribute to the story in some form or fashion. I apologize for the length of time it took me to write this, but let's just say that personal crisis sort of struck while I was halfway through this chapter. I hope to update sooner than this next time, but I can't make promises. The big guy upstairs has his own plans that trump my own too often. *Phew* Now that I'm finished honoring those that have reviewed for me, I'll let you get to the real reason you stopped by. I hope you enjoy this next installation of POL!
Gobber started the morning a little bit earlier than most other Vikings. He had to start the forge and get the fire hot before the break of dawn. As an added bonus, he got the chance to smith in peace during the wee hours of the morning. He'd been doing it for years and would probably do it for years to come as well. So when he finally got the forge running and was almost ready to start pounding out a new weapon, the sight of a sneaky Astrid Hofferson trying to make her way up the hill towards Stoic's house caught his attention pretty fast.
In a Viking village there is precious little that doesn't become common knowledge, so when someone starts sneaking around there are two things that a proper Viking must do. One would be to catch the sneak and find out what they are up to, then decide to let them do it or not. However, the second option was the trickier of the two and had the most benefits, follow the sneak and then gossip about what you saw to other Vikings.
Gobber chuckled to himself and began to follow Astrid at a respectable pace. He was grinning like the devious Viking that he was. That was, of course, until he finally noticed the state that she was in. Her shirt was all wrinkled, her hair disheveled, and she was missing her maiden band. Thor Almighty! She was missing her maiden band! Gobber went to stifle his gasp with his hand, but got a face full of stone hammer instead. His river stone tooth popped out of his mouth and he scrambled around to catch it before it hit the ground.
Luckily, his antics were masked by the sound of Stoic leaving his house. The door shut with a loud bang as Stoic caught sight of Astrid. Gobber finally caught his tooth and put it back in place before he moved a little closer and started waving his hand and hammer around to get his attention. He got within earshot and heard Astrid ask for Hiccup. Right before Stoic answered her, Gobber finally got his attention and pointed at his head then to Astrid. Stoic looked at Gobber in confusion for a second, then chanced a look at the girl. His face turned crimson, then immediately pale. "Ah. Uh. Yes. Hiccup. My son, Hiccup. He is..uhh.. sick. Yep! Sick. Very sick. I'm on my way to see Gothi to get something to help him. I..uhh… I don't want anyone to maybe catch what he has, yeah! So make sure you… uhh… stay away from him for now. Alright, Astrid?"
Stoic was struggling, but Gobber was very glad that he was able to come up with a great story to cover for his son. Astrid was an adventurous lass, but even she wouldn't disobey the chief's orders. "Is Hiccup going to be alright, Chief?" Astrid sounded more than a little worried and Gobber stored that little bit of information away for the housewives on the island. Who knows? He might get a free dinner out of the deal!
Gobber gave Stoic the thumbs up to congratulate him, but then he heard him continue. "Yes, he'll be fine. He just…uhh… cut his thumb off!" Gobber dropped his arm and opened his mouth in disbelief of Stoic. The man could never tell a lie to save his life. Most of the time, that would be a wonderful trait to have, but Gobber quickly saw the disadvantages to it now. He quickly shook his head side to side and waved at Stoic to stop. "But we stopped it from bleeding and sewed it back on! Then he.." Stoic kept looking at Gobber for help. Gobber gave him the universal sign for cut it out and drew his hand horizontally in front of his neck. "Then he tried to cut his throat open and…" Gobber hit his head with his hammer in dismay. How did he misunderstand that? "…hit his head with a hammer. But we stopped him from all that and now he's home and sick and I have to find Gothi. So don't go near him today, ok?"Ugh. Finally Gobber shook his head and then motioned for Stoic to meet him at the forge. He'd done enough damage today. He turned a corner and shook his head at his battle-brother's antics.
After getting to the forge, Gobber turned to face the door expectantly. Stoic entered not moments later, his face smiling in glee. "Did you see it, Gobber! My son! MY son! Odin, he's a man now!" Stoic was doing his best to keep quiet, he really was, but his voice carried like he was addressing the village nonetheless. Gobber motioned for him to quiet down a bit and made to talk, but was interrupted again. "And Astrid! She really looked roughed up, didn't she? I KNEW that they made up yesterday! 'Fix her door.' Bah! I should have known, that little weasel!" Stoic was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet in joy.
That is, until Gobber finally interrupted him. "Yes yes, the boy whetted his whistle with the womenfolk. Now, Stoic, this isn't a really good thing." Gobber was trying to sound menacing, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying this. Hiccup was going to be reminded of this for the rest of his life! Blackmail for the lad to do anything he wanted forever! Still, his safety came first in Gobber's mind and it was the only reason that he was serious at all right now. "Now that Astrid has lost her…err… you know… what about Angnir?"
Stoic finally settled down and looked stricken for a moment. "Oh no. I hadn't thought of that." He looked back at Gobber. "Maybe we can move the wedding date up a bit?" he asked hopefully.
Gobber laughed derisively "And tell Angnir what exactly? 'I want to move up the wedding date because your daughter might be with child.' Yes, I can see him being very reasonable about it." His sarcasm was completely evident in his voice.
Stoic seemed to think for a moment. This is what Gobber loved about being Stoic's battle brother. Yes, Vikings were bull-headed and stubborn as a frozen Yak, but Stoic was a problem solver. Gobber could fight with even the best of Vikings with all their limbs attached, but a problem solver he was not. More like a problem maker. Like that one time when- "We'll have to talk to Astrid about this."
His thoughts were interrupted by a line he did not see coming at all. "Talk to the lass? Why would we do that? She's partly responsible for Hiccup's… err…troubles."
"Aye. And she can help us keep this a secret until after the wedding. Then it shouldn't matter anymore. All we have to do is convince her to wear her maiden band and act like it never happened. If the rest of the village sees her still wearing it, then they won't panic. And most of all, Angnir won't try to kill my son, even if he now has the right to." Stoic looked seriously at Gobber. He meant every word he said. Never mind that he had been in a similar predicament earlier in his life. In fact, that's probably what made him want to do it this way. It worked last time.
"Fine, Stoic. I'll say nary a word. At least, not until after the wedding." Gobber smiled conspiratorially.
Stoic smiled and nodded his head in agreement. "I'll go talk to Astrid, then go talk to Gothi. Meet me in the great hall for some celebratory mead after that! I can't believe it, Gobber! I might be a grandfather! Hahahahaa!" Stoic laughed from his stomach and exited the forge.
Taking a long look at the door, Gobber smiled and felt genuinely happy that his friend was this joyful. Then he looked at the forge. *sigh* "And I just started you up." Standing up, he went about putting the fire out and getting ready for an early morning of celebration and drunken singing. It was going to be a good day.
Astrid felt horrible. No, she felt beyond that. She had woken up in her bed, tucked in and still dressed partially in her armor when she remembered everything that had happened downstairs yesterday. A sudden surge of happiness rose through her at the thought of her father when she was struck with a very abrupt thought of what she had done to Hiccup. Her happiness left with the coming of said thought and she rose from her bed, determined to make it up to him.
She didn't think of anything other than going up to the boy and making him sit down and listen to her. It may have only been a day since their 'engagement', but she was already tired of the arguments and the feelings that he caused in her. If she was being totally honest with herself, she actually preferred that he talk to her instead of trying to fight it out like other Vikings when they got into disputes. Although she knew that she would win every single argument that way, the intelligence that he was so known for was somewhat attractive.
No! What was she thinking?! Astrid shook her head and tried to clear her obviously sleep muddled head. Deciding that thinking wasn't something that she needed to do at the moment, she got up and started walking to her door. Action is what had always defined her and that's what she needed to do right now. Make things right and beat Hiccup up a little bit for everything that he made her go through! She strode out of her room and down the stairs and spared a glance at her father's closed door. The memories of how he treated her filled her heart and it made her smile. She would have to do something for him to repay him for his kindness yesterday. A silent vow left her lips as she promised to make it up to him.
Steeling her resolve, she walked out of her door and saw the sun peak out above the ocean. If she could just make it to Hiccup's house unseen and then back again, then no one would have to know that she was going to see him this early in the morning. She wasn't some love-sick girl who snuck into her man's room early in the morning just to see him, but she didn't want other Vikings to think that as well. Besides, if Gobber ever saw her going there, he would gossip about it to everybody. The man was worse than most housewives!
Plotting out her route and moving quickly from shadow to shadow, she made her way through her village without a hitch at all, that is until she saw Stoic exit his house and greet her. Astrid's first impression was that he looked worried. His brow was arched and his eyes slightly wide while his smile didn't really reach his eyes when he greeted her. She felt a little tremor of her own worry slip into her by seeing the chief like that, but answered back and asked about Hiccup. At his son's name, he seemed to look a little lost and then looked past her before finally turning pale as a ghost and stuttering a reply back to her about Hiccup being sick and how he didn't want her going to see him today.
Astrid felt a stab of guilt hit her as she remembered him fixing their door in the rain yesterday. He should have went home and just left the door alone. Now it's all her fault because she was the one that broke it and of course, he was so stupidly kind that he just HAD to fix it before it affected her family. Idiot! She was a Viking! A little cold and dampness wouldn't kill her! Still, it was nice of him to think of her even when she treated him like she did yesterday. Great. Talk about piling the guilt on, Hiccup.
She looked back at the chief and connected the worried look from him to Hiccup. Stoic had seen Hiccup get sick before and if he looked like this, then it had to be something serious. Worry burrowed further into her as she asked if Hiccup was going to be alright. It really didn't help when the chief finally told her what really happened. Astrid numbly shook her head in disbelief after hearing the things that Hiccup had done yesterday. Cut off his thumb!? Tried to kill himself? He felt so bad about what she said that he tried to kill himself? Guilt, sadness, utter disbelief, and worry all hit her stomach like a rock and almost made her violently sick right in front of the chief. She did that to him. She was the one that was responsible for the state he was in right now. Oh gods, she had to leave.
Stoic ran past her quickly and she turned around as well. She had to get home and fast. Astrid didn't feel like crying, instead it was more of a feeling of getting away. Her father had already soothed her once, but a crybaby she was not and she would die before doing so two days in a row. So she headed back home to get Stormfly and go for a flight. She had told Stoic that she wouldn't see Hiccup today and she wouldn't, but she needed to clear her head and go away from the village. Anything to take her mind off of what she had made Hiccup almost do. Gods, she felt so freaking useless!
One mistake, one stupid mistake and she keeps getting punished over and over for it!? Surely everyone is allowed to make at least one mistake before it gets this bad, right? So why were the gods trying to punish her so much for one little argument? Astrid argued with herself until she got back to her house. She opened the door and saw her father sitting down at the table with something in front of her seat. He looked up and motioned for her to come to the table. When she got there, he pointed at the band of leather on the table. "It was the weirdest thing this morning, waking up with that in my beard. I didn't know it was even there until this morning."
Astrid looked at her maiden band and finally took account of how she looked this morning. Her hair was disheveled and partly in her single braid, her clothes were wrinkled, she wasn't wearing her maiden band, and she didn't have her axe. Oh gods, she had met the chief like that! She turned red with embarrassment and thanked Angnir before hurrying up the stairs to fix her appearance. Although it was true that she didn't really care what she looked like, it was still important for her to maintain the image of strong and capable Astrid Hofferson, not disheveled and scatterbrained lovesick puppy.
No sooner than she had finished finally making herself presentable, she heard a knock from the door downstairs. "Oh, Chief Stoic! Nice to see you here! What can I help you with?" Her father's voice reverberated through the air.
Astrid quickly strode downstairs to see why the chief had come to her house so soon after their talk about Hiccup. Worry filled thoughts of Hiccup played through her mind, quickening her heartbeat and stride. She finally reached the bottom of her stairs and saw Stoic looking over her father's shoulder. After spotting her, he smiled. "Oh, nothing much, Angnir. I just need to talk to the lass. Hiccup's sick and I wanted to make sure I set some ground rules so that she doesn't get it as well." A rumbling belly laugh followed shortly after, making her cringe in embarrassment and slight annoyance.
Angnir sent a glance over his shoulder to Astrid and chuckled uncomfortably. "Alright. I'll be down by the docks if either of you need me." He grabbed his horned helmet and put it on as he walked out, sending one last look of concern at his daughter. Astrid stood there, waiting for what she believed was going to be her assignments for today from the chief.
Stoic gave her a quick once over, then broke out into a huge grin before grabbing her up in a tremendous hug. Astrid had to give credit to Hiccup's durability. It felt as if the giant Viking was trying to make her head pop off with how much strength he put into his arms. Astrid couldn't think of anything but how to get air and struggled a bit before Stoic finally put her down.
A gasp of air made its way into her lungs and continued to drag more air to her as she tried to undo the damage that massive hug had done to her. Stoic started speaking and it distracted her somewhat from the pain. "I am so happy for you two! I didn't think Hiccup had it in him! Thor almighty! Now I know why you were coming to the hall so early in the morning!" He was laughing rambunctiously and it started to confuse Astrid as she finally managed to get her voice to work.
"Chief? What do you mean? Why are you so happy again?" Astrid tried to wrap her head around what he was saying, but she truly couldn't connect anything he was saying to what had happened recently. Unless, Hiccup finally told him that they got into a fight earlier. She suddenly felt sick. He was so happy because he thought that she didn't have to marry Hiccup anymore. He had annulled the contract, somehow. She should be happy, but for some reason, revulsion coursed through her instead. Before she could dwell any longer on her feelings, Stoic spoke again.
"Well…you know… because you and Hiccup finally got together! I couldn't be more proud of you two! But you know, you really should have waited. What will people think if they find out? Bah! What does it matter! You just have to get away with it!" Stoic was flitting from pride to worry and back so fast it was giving Astrid a headache. He reminded her of a little child who just received a Snoggletogg present.
"Uhh…Chief. I don't understand what you're talking about. Could you explain a bit more?" Astrid had to stop this childish act from possibly the most responsible and tough man on the entire island. No one should ever be subjected to seeing Stoic act like he was right now. The village would die of collective embarrassment.
"You know… you and Hiccup…did…well…THAT! But you two should be more careful! What if your father saw you walking around like you were this morning? I know you don't like to lie, lass, but it might be wise to wear your maiden band until the day of your wedding. I don't think you want Hiccup to be killed by your father for taking your…umm… that. But you'll be fine. If me and Valka could hide it, so can you. Unfortunately, we can't move up the wedding day. That might make Angnir realize what happened." Stoic started to trail off as Astrid finally understood what he was saying.
'Oh gods… oh gods…' "Chief, me and Hiccup didn't do…that. Or, well, anything for that matter." Astrid tried backtracking to save her honor.
"Of COURSE you didn't." Stoic winked at her conspiratorially. "It NEVER happened. And I have NOTHING to worry about." Stoic laughed a little more, then moved to the door. "And I am NOT looking forward to any grandchildren." He started giggling a little. The chief of the hairy hooligan tribe…GIGGLING!
"No, Chief. You don't understand. We didn't do anything. At all. I mean, I almost killed him yesterday. There is no way that could have happened." Astrid made sure to say everything as truthfully as she could and make sure that he understood.
Unfortunately, trying to reason with a giggling Viking must be almost impossible, because all Stoic did was whisper to her. "Yes, just keep that up. You are very good at this! Keep up the good work and this will blow over before you know it." Then he stood to his full height and talked a bit louder than was needed. "SO STAY AWAY FROM HICCUP TODAY! HE IS VERY SICK! THANK YOU FOR ASKING ABOUT HIM, YOUNG LASS! GOOD DAY!" And with that, he winked then turned and left.
Astrid stood at her door, stuck in silence as she stared unbelievably at Stoic's retreating form. She just couldn't believe what just happened. Her thoughts had all stopped and her eyes had gotten larger as her mouth tried valiantly to hit the floor. "But I- But we- I said-" She just couldn't get enough traction to continue her defense and instead looked around and saw everyone staring at her and smiling. She turned red as the implications of what Stoic thought he knew finally sunk in. He, the Chief of the tribe, thought that her and Hiccup had… she couldn't even finish the sentence. It was literally the furthest thing from her mind up until now.
The wooden door creaked as she stepped back inside; dazed at the conversation she just had and shut the door. Everything that had happened this morning was just too much for her poor head to handle. She made three good steps, then turned to wooden post of her stairway and kicked it as hard as she could. "DAMMIT LOKI!"
Hiccup felt like the dead. The world was too uncomfortably hot and it was very fuzzy at the moment. Sort of like a haze after sleeping too long and getting up incredibly drowsy. There was this black turtle creature that kept moving around his bed, circling and waiting for him to move. Hiccup knew that it would devour him as soon as he did, so he chose to lay still and look around his room for any sort of helpful item he could use to protect himself. His wonderful bed was the only thing that was keeping the creature from attacking him and he was thankful for that, but it was starting to get too hot for him to handle and he needed to get out of his covers. Finally finding a weapon, he made a move for it.
He reached behind his head quickly and grabbed his pillow. It would certainly shield him from the beast. Then he sat up and used it like a shield against the creature. "Back! I'm warning you, this thing is dangerous!" The black turtle shuffled back a bit and then made a crooning noise as it slowly started to move closer to him. 'It must have called for reinforcements!' Hiccup thought. Looking frightfully around the room, he saw his salvation! A piece of wood floating on the ocean that covered his room floor! Gauging the distance, he decided he could make it, but when he went to stand, his left leg didn't quite touch the bed and he flopped back down. Hiccup looked down and saw his leg. 'Drats. The beast must have taken my leg! He's a smart creature, I'll give him that!' Looking worriedly around, he spotted his prosthetic leg floating next to his bed. Glaring daggers at the turtle, he slowly reached down to get his leg, watching it intently as he finally grasped it in his hands.
Finally retreating a bit on his bed, he quickly put the prosthetic on and periodically shifted the pillow to protect him from the piercing gaze of the black turtle that was sitting on the floor, just waiting to eat him. After he got all the buckles in place and cinched tight, he stood wobbly on his bed and slowly backed away to the edge closest to the wooden desk that was floating across his bed. The creature had cocked its head curiously and made to move towards him when he gathered his courage and threw his pillow at it before turning and making a leap towards the desk. His efforts were rewarded with a resounding crack as his metal foot struck first and broke the top layer of wood. Hiccup turned around to see where the creature was when he came face to face with said beast that was now covered in feathers. "Thor! You've eaten a chicken!" He backed away again, only to find that he was up against a wall when he noticed that he was now within jumping distance of his chandelier.
Kneeling down, Hiccup sprung with a mighty leap and barely caught the edge of his chandelier as he swung to and fro in midair. It was during this time that his door opened and he saw a mountainous man and an elderly goat enter. "Son! What in Odin's name are you doing?" The mountain man said. Hiccup looked down and could not spot the black turtle anywhere.
"Quick! Get on the bed! He's underwater! Run! Before he eats you!" He cried, trying to save the others. They looked at him with confused faces before he heard a grumble come from above him. He saw the turtle creature was perched above him on the rafters. Hiccup screamed and let go of his hold as he plummeted to the ground.
The mountain man dived and caught him before he drowned and he made to thank him, but was interrupted with "By the gods, you're burning up! Gothi, his fever is getting worse!" He turned towards the elderly goat and it moved its hoof towards his head. It felt cool and refreshing against him. He groaned into the hoof as it felt incredibly good. The goat removed its hoof and began making strange signals with its arms. The mountain man's booming voice regained his attention as it continued. "Ice. Got it."
The next thing Hiccup knew, he was thrown into a coffin filled with ice and made to drink some awful liquid he was quite certain was embalming fluid. 'Gods! I'm going to be buried alive!' He started to struggle, but he felt weak. His limbs didn't respond to him and he was getting sleepy. Wearily looking around, he saw the black turtle sitting behind the mountain man and the old goat. 'They are working for the turtle!' Was his final thought as blackness consumed his vision and he thought no more.
Yeah, I know. Not as serious as you'd have liked probably. However, it is important that some of this happen. I know it looks like filler, but it's not. I plan to write more from Hiccup's perspective soon, but it's just too much fun to mess with Stoic and Gobber sometimes. I don't see many stories that actually include Gobber in them as a point of view and I thought it would be a good idea to involve him in some of the story development. Especially when it's a funny one. (I hope) That being said, this story is still a love story and I plan on writing more about Hiccup and Astrid in it. This was a small break from the normal because let's face it, when the parents get involved, it just gets over complicated and, in this case, hilarious. Well, please review! I know that sounds overused and can be very nagging, but I really appreciate them and I absolutely love the support you guys are giving me! Thanks for everything! See you next time on POL!