Hi guys, I know you guys are mad at me for the inconsistent updates and I apologize for that. This chapter has three different story points and I tried to make it as smooth as I could not wanting to make it feel rushed. The next chapter is going to be my favourite so stay tuned for that. Make sure to leave your thoughts about the chapter in the comments and Enjoy!
The sun's gentle fingers stretched across the horizon, gradually painting the sky with hues of pink and gold, and my world of dreams began to recede. In the quiet moments just before my consciousness entirely took hold, there was a delicate dance between the realms of slumber and wakefulness.
As my consciousness finally took over, I could hear the sounds of distant Viking greetings and the gentle cool morning winds against my naked body making me shiver. The thick furs did nearly nothing to protect me against the icy winds but instead, it was the warmth on my back that made me moan in comfort. As I slowly shifted closer to the source of the warm radiation, I remembered the events that had taken place the day before...
I had spent nearly half an hour covering Hiccup's wounds and listening to his story on how Snotlout and his lackeys, Dogsbreath and Tilda beat him to a pulp along with Eret. It had angered me that he hadn't stood up for himself, but then again he had to keep his identity a secret.
And what got me even more riled up was that Eret, the same man who tried to woo me for as long as I could remember, was now in cahoots with Snotlout, helping him beat up my soon-to-be husband. As I sat on the soft grass, tending to Hiccup's wounds on his back, I saw the series of scars and the Night Fury tattoo Hiccup had on his back.
I traced over the scars, some from his bullies, some from battles, and the remaining from Drago Bludvist. His kind and caring soul had endured so much pain and suffering that it had broken him. I could see the pain in his eyes, the deep green eyes I loved so much were now filled with pain and misery which contrasted with the lively and happy emotions they held when we first met.
It broke my heart that the person I loved and cared for so much had to endure this kind of injustice. He only opened up to me and the Fishlegs, the only people who knew what had happened to him on Drago's ship. Even the Council had no idea what had taken place in that horrid ship. But that didn't stop them from supporting him.
Hiccup slowly stood up and lifted his shirt back over his lean muscular frame. The bruises were instantly out of view and the facade of an inexperienced weakling was all anyone would notice. He turned around to look at me and the look in his eyes made me hug him close to me. The pain and sadness in his eyes made me cry out with him as he sobbed against my chest.
The pained sobs attracted Toothless's attention, who tried to nuzzle his best friend. Toothless crooned and started licking Hiccup's calloused hands while I rubbed his covered back and tried to hold back my own tears, all in an effort to stop him from remembering Drago's sadistic torture.
I had spent the entire daytime holding him, muttering words of encouragement, or just planting soft, tender kisses on his face and lips in an attempt to stop him from recalling his past. He had had one last panic attack before he was able to compose himself.
The light from the sky slowly faded as he stopped shaking violently in my arms. As we wordlessly started to pick ourselves up from the tight embrace Toothless had made around us, we once again locked gazes. In the slowly fading light, I could see my reflection in his pupils. My hair was dishevelled and my cheeks held marks of dried tears, starting from my bloodshot eyes which were almost identical to Hiccup's own puffy eyes.
He slowly walked towards me, closing the gap between us as he lovingly moved his hands through my messy hair, effectively straightening it out. The silence between us spoke more than what our words ever could. As I freshened up in the clear lake, Toothless and Hiccup played around with each other.
Looking at the smile on his face while chasing Toothless warmed my heart, this reminded me that Hiccup still had some happiness left in his life due to the dragons and his close friends. After saying our goodbyes to the overgrown cat we silently walked back to Berk through the dark forest.
As we entered the Great Hall hand-in-hand, I could see the many Vikings eating the cooked meat straight off the bone or drinking jugs filled with mead. The rest were either arm-wrestling or laughing at the banter between each other.
But out of all the Vikings in the hall, my eyes immediately fell on a certain height-deprived Viking. The wrongdoings he had committed against my betrothed were not going to be left unpunished by me. Hiccup could try to forget or ignore it all he wanted but I was not going to let Snot-face's treatment towards the man I loved go unpunished. I was going to show every Viking between our two tribes what exactly happens when they mess with Hiccup and me.
I quickly let go of Hiccup before making a beeline towards my target. I could hear Hiccup trying to stop me from over the booming noise of the Vikings, but I ignored it. I walked over to Snot-face and before he could react gave him a hard jab, the sound of his jaw breaking silenced the whole Hall.
Snotlout was at my feet knocked out and as I looked back up I could see Dogsbreath running up to me. I quickly sidestepped, dodging his punch while moving beside him. I then quickly grabbed his outstretched arm and with one swift motion broke it. As he fell to the ground in pain, I took the axe strapped to my back and held it to Tilda's head.
She slowly raised her hand in surrender while Eret looked at me with fear from the other side of the table. I looked around to see all the Vikings staring at me with shock and awe. My parents, Stoick and Ruffnut looked at me with worry.
I looked down to see Snotlout slowly regaining consciousness as he looked with furrowed brows at Dogsbreath weeping on the ground beside him. I knew I had to explain myself for my actions, which was what I did. I pulled Snotlout up by his tunic and looked him in the eyes with pure hatred while I spoke.
"You listen to me, Snot-face... If you or your muttonhead friends lay a finger on my Hiccup again I swear to Odin my face will be the last thing you ever see on Midgard. He might not want to defend himself but that doesn't mean I won't... Stay away from us and you will stay on Midgard with all your limbs intact... If not, well you know what is going to happen."
I ended my threat with the most sinister and sadistic smile I could conjure. Tilda and Eret were looking at me with pure fear while my parents and friends were staring at me with wide eyes. I dropped the clearly petrified form of Snot-Face on the ground. He got to his feet quickly while putting as much distance between us as he could.
Satisfied, I turned around to see Hiccup carrying a small smile. As we walked into the cold night, not hungry anymore, we stared at each other for a moment before we burst into laughter.
"Di-did you see Snotlout's face? I don't think I have ever seen him so scared. Oh, Thor! That just made my whole year." Hiccup said in between his laughter. We made our way to Stoick and Hiccup's hut while laughing and making jokes at Snotlout's expense.
The laughter ended when we ended up in front of Hiccup's room, across his room was his father's room and just down the hall was where me and my parents were to stay till the end of the marriage celebrations.
Hiccup gave me a soft peck on the cheek while saying his goodnights' and was about to close the door when I squeezed past him, into his room.
He looked back at me with wide eyes, I just grinned and attacked his lips while closing the door with my legs. As I pulled him towards his bed I remembered not knowing why I was in the mood to do the dirty deed.
We did it only on special occasions to minimise the chances of me getting pregnant... And today was a day where this was the last thing both of us would have wanted to do. But somehow we still drifted to sleep in a tangled mess and with nothing but the furs between us.
The warmth next to me reminded me of the state I was in. I turned around to see the forest green eyes of my lover, his lazy expression combined with his shaggy hair and half-open eyelids made him look like he woke up from Odin-sleep.
He gently moved a few stray strands of my hair behind my ear, while smiling at me with the same warmth he radiated. I smiled back while snuggling a bit closer so my head rested in the crook of his neck and my arms and legs were wrapped around his thin frame.
"Good Mornig-h' ", I mumbled, my voice coming out hoarse and dry. Yesterday might have been the best sleep I had had in years, and seeing Hiccup's cheerful mood I was confident it was his too.
"Good Morning Milady." He replied while pulling me closer to his bare body. We were wrapped around each other completely naked with only the thick furs to give us warmth against the icy mornings of Berk. I sighed contently against his chest, "Thank you, Astrid... for yesterday it meant a lot. And I don't just mean about Snotlout or yesterday night but just for being there for me throughout everything."
I moved slightly away to look up to him, "Hiccup... I will always be there for you, just like you said... There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid always. That means I am going to be right by your side always whether you like it or not. Understand Dragon-boy?" I responded playfully.
"Crystal." Was all he said before moving closer to kiss me. Just as I felt his lips on mine, our attention was directed to the loud gasp and the pale face of my mother. Ughhh! Why does this keep happening, the last time it was Snotlout the time before that it was Heather and now it was my mother.
We quickly moved apart as both of us looked at her with wide eyes and tomato-red faces. I held the furs close to my body as I sat up and tried to say something but nothing came out. That's when I noticed she wasn't alone but the shocked statues of my father and Stoick were also behind her in the hallway.
Thankfully my mother had composed herself and quickly said, "We will leave and wait for you two downstairs, we will give you two time to get dressed. Before you explain to us what in Odin's name is going on." Her eyes darted one final time between me and Hiccup before she hastily exited the room while shutting the door.
I stared at the spot where my mother had been standing just a few moments ago, unable to move. I heard Hiccup curse quietly and looked at him as he walked towards the chest picking out a fresh pair of trousers and a red tunic. He placed my skirt, shirt and armour on the bed for me to wear. As the shock was replaced with the awkwardness of the situation, I quickly shuffled into my daily wear just as Hiccup fitted his prosthetic on his leg.
We walked out hand-in-hand, we both knew our parents wanted to know what our relationship really was and were going to chop our heads off when the inevitable question of my purity being lost before my marriage would be brought up.
This was going to be a rough morning, we walked down the stairs to be greeted by the morning sunlight streaming through the windows and the sight of our parents sitting on one side of the dining table.
Stoick looked pissed and had his eyes throwing daggers at Hiccup while my father held a confused expression while my mother looked at me with her worried and thoughtful eyes. I slowly clasped my hands tighter around his as I felt his nervousness upon seeing his father.
We sat right next to each other, on the opposite side of the table, facing our parents, this felt like when we used to get scoldings when we had been caught sneaking candy as kids, but now instead we were being caught for a completely different reason and we were at least a decade older.
"So... " My father said trying to ease into the awkwardness, but Stoick on the other hand had no filter and wanted to get over it as fast as possible. "All right, both of you are going to tell us everything, how you two met, your relationship, how long have you guys been together and how many times have you done... well you know what I am saying." Stoick ordered.
Hiccup sighed before answering, "We actually met four years ago and not at the summit two years ago... I had been hunting for dragons, sailing around trying to find the perfect kill when I got caught in a storm and crashed onto Frejya Island. Knowing they were our enemies I tried to gather wood to fix the boat I had crashed, so I could get back to Berk, without gaining your tribe's attention."
"I had been training in the forest that day, and when I saw him I confronted him. He had been injured and for some reason, I let my guard down and helped him. I knew from the second I saw the sails on the boat that he was an enemy but he was kind, and scared, so I took a risk and helped him. That turned out to be the best decision I ever made." I said while looking at my parents to see their reaction.
"Astrid helped me fix the boat since I was injured and we got to know each other very well. I fell for her then. She snuck out bringing me food or herbs to heal my wounds or just to be with me and for the first time I felt accepted." Hiccup said.
I looked at him with tears in my eyes, I had never known I had had such a huge impact on him by just visiting him those days when we first met. He wasn't telling our parents the whole truth but, when we had met Toothless's tail fin had been hit by lightning and Hiccup had broken his hand.
Therefore I snuck out to meet him every day, I loved having someone like Hiccup to just say whatever I wanted to, sure I had Ruffnut but Hiccup was different he had this charisma that brought out the best in everyone while making them feel safe and protected.
"The night I healed completely and we fixed the boat, Astrid and I uhh... sort of... told each other what we felt about one another and agreed to court each other, over the years we sent each other letters through Johan the Trader and sailed to meet each other occasionally." Hiccup continued.
He was now blushing red, even though we were not telling them the real story, we were telling them only a slightly edited version of our real story. Instead of a boat that had crashed, it had been a dragon and instead of Johan, we used Terrible Terrors to deliver letters.
We told them about how we used to meet each other once in a while or how we sent each other gifts. The looks of our parents were just as diverse as when we had started. My mother's was one of happiness while my father looked sad and betrayed. But Stoick looked at me with furrowed eyebrows, he looked confused, and it made me uncomfortable.
"And as for your second question... we both agreed to it and have done it a few times..." I said trying to get this extremely uncomfortable conversation over. "So yeah, we met four years ago, fell in love and have been together ever since... that's why I loved the idea of getting married to him... he is the only person I have ever loved and is the only person I can see myself marrying. He brings the best out of me and is the strongest of us all in his own sweet way..." I confessed while blushing really hard.
Hiccup placed his hand over mine interlacing our fingers. I looked up to see my mom in tears and Stoick staring at his son confused. "Hiccup we need to talk... in private." Stoick ordered. He started walking towards the door not waiting for a response. Hiccup followed suit right after giving me a loving peck on the cheek.
The second Hiccup shut the door of the hut my mother threw herself at me. "Oh Astrid, I am so happy you found someone you loved... You never talked to boys or spent all your time training we were afraid you would never marry anyone and that's why we agreed to this marriage." She said.
"And now we know why she actually trains for so long..." My father said, in a knowing voice. I smiled, I was glad my parents were taking this well. "So Hiccup... I never thought you would love a guy... like him, from his reputation, he seemed useless and weak. That's the reason I agreed to the union, you would be the one in control and he would be following you." He continued.
This angered me, Hiccup was not the useless runt everyone thought. Why does everyone just judge him on his outer appearance and how he is different from everyone else? Sure he isn't buff and doesn't boast about his fake heroic stories, but that's what makes him Hiccup.
"He is not useless and he is in no way weak... and we both love each other very much and there is no way in hell I am going to boss him around. Ever." I growled out, before storming away from my parents, who were surprised and taken aback by my outburst.
I knew these next two weeks were going to be long and tiring, but it would be a bit easier now that one of our secrets was out of the way... but then again our parents are now a step closer to finding out about our other secret our life of secrets.