Disclaimer: This is based on epineffin's story, Even Miracles. I don't own HTTYD or DreamWorks
(Hiccup)
Here I am, on the steps of the palace, on the last night of the festival. After lots of consideration, I've decided to show the mystery girl my face. At first, I wasn't sure about it, but I really like her, maybe even love. And she's probably just a commoner like me. Like a noble other than Fish would talk to you. Besides after I showed, it wouldn't be that bad right.
She could decide that she doesn't like you that way, I thought, but I doubt that'll happen, probably.
What if she laughs in your face
What if she never talks to you again
What if - "Hey Hiccup "
" Hey Fishlegs" oh gods have I been standing here for that long
Fishlegstwiddled his thumbs nervously, " So are you sure you want to do this" he said " you don't have to reveal yourself you know "
"I know but I want to, no matter what comes of it"
He sighed" alright if you're doing it, I'll do it. It's about time I told ruff how I am"
I'm pretty sure she already knows who Fishlegs is already, but with the twins you never know.
As soon as they entered the palace, they saw lots more people than the past nights. All the people who missed the first two nights must have come. For at least one night of fun.
Oh gods, how am I supposed to find her in this crowd. I looked over to Fishlegs and it looked like he was thinking the same thing
"Good luck finding Ruff in this crowd" I said.
"Shouldn't be too hard, I'll just follow the sounds of mischief and destruction".
"Good luck finding your mystery girl," Fishlegs said, before disappearing into the crowd to find Ruffnut.
I started by going to the second level, hoping to spot Milady from above. Leaning against the railing, I realized that it was a stupid plan. There were multiple blond women in blue dresses, and I couldn't tell who was who. But up here I could see Fishlegs dancing with Ruffnut.
At least Fish is having fun, I thought.
Then I saw Snotlout waltz by them, with a girl with brown hair and a silver dress. I was worried that the two would see each other and fight in the middle of the dance floor. But it seemed that the two men didn't even notice the other was there. They were both lost in their partners eyes.
Good for them, I thought before turning back to finding Milady.
~o0o~
Wandering through the crowd wasn't going well, which is a huge understatement. I kept getting confused with other women. There aren't even that many blonde women in Berk. How am I having such a hard time finding Milady?
Wait, I can see a head of blonde hair in the crowd! Is that her?!
I push through the crowd to try to get to her. Finally, after so long of searching for her I've found her. When I get towards her I see her back turned to me, and talking to some other people. This is it. I tap her on the shoulder, she turns around and … it's not Milady. The woman has blonde headband blue eyes, but has some wrinkles on her face and is clearly older.
"Sorry ma'am'', I say sheepishly, " I thought you were someone else"
She smiled, " oh it's quite alright dear", and went back to her past conversation.
Sigh, great now I have spent I don't know how long looking for Milady, only to be confused by some other blonde woman. Maybe I'll have better luck in the halls.
~o0o~
Wandering around the halls wasn't any better, most of the halls were empty, but those were better than the ones that weren't. There were times where I would unfortunately turn the corner and see a couple making out. Which was very awkward, and either I or they left immediately.
This was not how I thought the night would go at all.
I was about to turn the corner, when I saw a large shadow. I swear to Thor if it's another couple, I'm going too -
"But are you sure you want to do this, Drago?"
Drago? DRAGO!
"I have to," Drago said in his deep, gruff voice." It's been three nights, Eret still hasn't found the princess. And at this point he'll just let his anger get the best of them, so IF they interact, and he'll scare her off. If he wasn't so useless, maybe he would have found her already,".
Wow, and here I thought Eret was the golden child in his eyes.
"And don't get me started on that Snotlout, earlier I saw him gallivanting with some woman. First his mother cheats on me with another man, then has to die during childbirth, leaving me stuck with him. "
I gasped, after realizing my mistake I clasped my hands over my mouth. Drago wasn't Snotlout's father. That explained why Drago treated him so poorly. But then left some other questions, like who was his actual father? Why didn't his father claim Snotlout as his own? Did Snotlout know? Did Eret?
"That's why we're leaving early". Wait what?
Drago coruntioned, " We'll be leaving at eleven instead of midnight, I honestly doubt Eret will find the princess in time. Besides, I can just get him married to some duke's daughter."
Well Drago is a Baron, he'll still gain more power and land if he goes through with that plan. But it's better than them with the crown, then again if they did rule the kingdom, we would probably go to war against a former ally.
"I just hope that scrawny servant will have the place cleaned by the time we get there. I don't know why I still haven't fired him yet. But if the manor isn't clean by the time we get there, oh the beating he'll get!,". Both men laughed, as if it was the funniest thing in the world. Meanwhile I was panicking.
"Maybe while I'm at it all give one to Snotlout too"
What! I could understand why me, but Snotlout. They may not be related but he's still his son. I needed to get back to the mansion quickly. I left my hiding place and started to run towards the exit. And of course with my luck, I bumped into someone and landed on the floor.
"There you are I've been looking all over the palace for you" said a new voice.
I look across from me and see her! Milady! She was also on the floor and her mask was a little messed up from the fall.
"Milady!" I immediately got up and went over to her. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going" I said. I offered my hand to her to help her up, thankfully she accepted it.
"It's fine" she assured me "besides I need to tell you something"
That can't be a good thing.
" I need to tell you something too".
Screw the mask reveal, I need to leave as soon as I can for Snotlout. Maybe I can quickly rip off my mask and then run off. Hopefully she'll be able to remember my face.
"Great, now come with me we need to talk somewhere privately, and hopefully we won't run into any horny couples on the way". She took my hand and led me across the hall.
Glad I wasn't the only one who kept running into them.
~o0o~
We went back to the garden, which was again empty. You would think with how many more people there are that they open up more space.
"Come here sit", Milady said, gesturing to the bench.
"Milady, there's something I want to tell you" I need to get over this as soon as possible.
"Me first", she placed her finger on my lips to keep me quiet.
"You know how we've been spending a lot of our time together," she continued.
Well all in my case
She grasped my hand " Over the last three nights I've grown to trust you and I really like you"
"Maybe even love" she mumbled, probably hoping I didn't hear her.
She looked at me worriedly, "Which is why I'm going to take off my mask."
Meanwhile a pair of twins were squabbling on the steps of the palace.
"Ruffnut, why are we doing this, I mean don't get me wrong I love setting traps and pranks. But wouldn't it be easier to dig a boar pit?"
"No, Tuff, because it would take a long time and would be less efficient"
Tuffnut gave her a look
Ruffnut slumped, "I asked Astrid and she said no, besides this our chance to try something new for future pranks "
"Why do we always have to listen to little miss princess Astrid?"
"Are you still mad because she would allow you to bring Chicken as your plus one"
"I don't see why she couldn't come," Tuffnut exclaimed "Just because she almost caused a fire in the kitchen last time. Chicken was so upset when she found out that she couldn't come"
Ruffnut shook her head in disappointment
"Hey, I saw that, You're just mad that I spend more with Chicken"
"I'm mad because I can never get enough sleep from you reading to her in the middle of the night !"
"I always read her favorite book when she's upset, Chick lit . "
"Besides you're not the only one who had to make sacrifices for tonight, I had to ditch my date for this."
"How's it going with Fishy anyway?"
"None of your business, let's just pour the tar and set up the other trap."
Back in the gardens
"Please don't freak out or run away." she added.
"Why would I do that?" I gave her hand a gentle squeeze."Look Milady, these nights have been the best nights of my life and I also really like you,".
My other hand held her chin to make her look up at me "And I swear nothing is going to change that, not even your appearance or status. You have me, no matter what", I promised.
"Ok," She let go of my hand and undid the string holding her mask in place. We were completely silent as her mask fell on her lap.
"You're the princess!, I yelled. She covered my mouth with her hand, and scanned the area to see if people were about to jump out the bushes.
" Shut up" she hissed, "We're not supposed to be out here remember" Oh yeah
"Sorry", I said but it was muffled by her hand.
"What?", she removed her hand from my mouth.
"Sorry'' I repeated. "But you're the princess, you're the reason this whole festival is happening"
She flushed," I mean not really. It was Stoick who organized it, I just came up with the mask thing".
"Why did you do this?l" then a horrible thought came into my head, " Is this some sort of test for your hand".
"What gods no!," She exclaimed before looking down at her hands, "This isn't a test, Stoick doesn't even care that I wore a mask."
"It's just, I knew that when people saw my face they would hassle me with business propositions, complaints, and gods forbid, marriage proposals. People only care about my title and not who I am. And I wanted to feel normal for once," she confessed.
"At first, I was regretting it. Every time I tried to talk to someone they would talk about how they or their sons planned to wow the princess. I was ready to give up" she held my hand, smiled and looked me in the eyes "But then I met you, and I just felt a connection with you that I haven't with anyone else".
Her smile faded," But I understand if this is too much for you and if you never want to see me again".
"Astrid, I meant what I said, you have me no matter what. And I want to be with, and I don't care that you're a princess, I would still want to be with you if you were the poorest person on earth".
Her smile came back," Thanks". She brushed her hair behind her ear," So are you going to show me your face?"
Oh Thor I forgot.
" Oh right," I said quickly, " you this what I originally wanted to talk about, but then you wanted to first, and then I had to get over the shock of you taking off your mask. Iit was alarming, no, surprising, your status I mean. Not your face, your face is beautiful, I just- ".
"You're rambling ".
"Right, sorry" just do it " I'll just take off my mask now".
I raised my hand to the back of my head, this is it, I started to loosen the strings and- Bing Bong, Bing Bong. (Not the character).
I turned to see the clock. 11 o'clock, Shit. The Bludvist are coming home now.
I stood up,"Shit, I need to go".
Astrid stood up, confused," Wait what? Why? It's not even midnight yet".
"I know and I am so sorry but I really need to go", I kissed her cheek before running off, " Bye".
"Wait, stop!"I heard her yell behind me. But I just keep running.
~o0o~
I ran as fast as I could, I needed to get back to the manor before Drago did.
"Stop!" I heard, I looked behind me to see Astrid chasing me down the hall.
How was she so fast? I thought it was hard to run in heels. Then I heard the loud thumps, was she running in boots? When did she change? Fortunately, Astrid was still wearing her long dress which slowed her down a bit.
I turned the corner, and stopped at the entrance of the ballroom. It was still filled with people, it would be hard to get through them all. I looked back and Astrid was catching up to me, so I just went in. Hopefully I would lose her in the crowd.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry" I kept muttering to the people I bumped into, I looked back and Astrid was -
Thump
I crashed into someone and landed on the floor, " I'm so sorry" I said, looking down at my feet. I got up and looked in the direction I came, Astrid was getting closer. I panicked and ran from the person I crashed into, hopefully they accepted my apology.
I had to dash in between groups of people, apologizing everytime, in an attempt to lose Astrid. Soon I could see the big palace doors, finally I'll be out of here. I looked behind one last time, Astrid was still close behind.
"Wait!" she yelled, suddenly something slid in front of her, or rather someone.
"Hello there princess, I've been looking for you everywhere" said Eret, Thank you, Eret.
"Eret, I really don't have time for this," she said.
"Yes I know most girls can't handle this" he said, gesturing to himself," But I know you're different then the other girls".
That's the last heard before the palace doors were in my sight. Thank Thor, I'm almost ther-
Thump
Are you kidding me, again.
"I'm so sorry sir" I sputtered out, " I wasn't watching where I was going". I look up to see- "Oh fuck"
It's the king, oh my Thor I bumped into the king of Berk. Oh Fuck, I cursed in front of King Stoick the Vast
"Oh my Thor I'm so sorry I, I didn't know it was you if I did I wouldn't have bumped into you. And I'm so sorry for cursing" I said nervously.
I had never seen him before, but now I can see why they call him the vast. He looks like he could crush me without even trying. I'm so dead.
But to my surprise, he started to laugh.
"Why, I haven't had a good laugh like that in years?" He said after he stopped laughing. "No need to ramble so much lad, I understand how people find me frightening".
"Now why are you in such a hurry lad" He said as he helped me up, " Now why are you in such a hurry lad?" He gaped when he got a good look at me, "Valka?".
Okay that's really weird. I mean I've heard of people talking about how the king went crazy after his wife and sons death. But I never believed them, until now at least.
"Wait!" Oh fuck me.
It was Astrid, she had spotted me and was making her way through the crowd.
"Nope, sorry not me, but I gotta go" I rushed out, "Bye!" Then I ran off towards the exit.
"Wait, stop! " I heard Stoick yell, " GUARDS! Get that boy! Get him! Bring him back!"
Great, now I have Astrid and the guards chasing me. I hate my life.
I threw the door wide open, and began to run down the stairs. When I looked back, Astrid and some of the guards were gone. Whatever, now I can finally- What the Fuck is that!
At the bottom of the steps was a large black substance. Tar, I thought, they must have known I was going to run again and set up a trap. Luckily I was able to stop before I stepped in the tar. But the guards were gaining on me. It seemed like I had three choices.
Go through the tar
Jump over the tar or
Get caught by the guards.
I didn't have that much time to think as I heard the guards getting closer, so instinct kicked in. I closed my eyes and jumped.
When I opened my eyes, I saw trees and a pathway. Yes! I did it. I have made it over the tar. I looked behind me and saw some of the guards stop at the tar. Ha ha ha, I managed to defeat them and make it over the tar. Now I shall make it home on time.
When I turned to run, I couldn't move. I looked down and Oh come on!
Most of me had made it, but my damn left leg got stuck. Typical.
I panicked as I saw the guard making their way around the tar. Damn it, why didn't I think of that. But I couldn't get my leg out, I tried and tried to pull it out, when it hit me. This is my prosthetic leg, I can just untie the boot, not like I need it.
So I ditched my shoe and ran into the woods to find Toothless. It was actually easier to run without the boot, I kind of wish I ditched it sooner.
I found Toothless near a river, like always but what surprised me was that there was another horse with him. A white mare was standing right next to him, and in a way it looked like they were on a date. She didn't have a saddle so I'm guessing she was a wild horse.
" Sorry to interrupt your date, bud. But we really need to go."
Toothless huffed, and nuzzled his girlfriend before heading towards me. When he turned around, his girlfriend's ears flattened and bared her teeth at me. Great, now I have a wild horse angry with me.
I mounted Toothless," Let's go bud" I said, we rode off.
~o0o~
Toothless started off with a sprint and we didn't stop for miles.
Once we lost sight of the palace I said, "Okay, I think we slow down for a bit"
I groaned " Oh Gods, what a night. First, I try to find the girl I like to tell her who I am, only to not find her, but find out that my boss plans to get rid of me. Then I do find her, and find out that she's the princess. THE PRINCESS! I'm not good enough for the princess."
I slumped and sighed,"Astrid deserves better. I know she said she doesn't care who I am, but I doubt she ever expected me to be a stable lad of all things. She probably thought that I would have at least been a blacksmith's apprentice. If I was, I'd at least have a respectable and important job ahead of me".
Oh gods it sounds so much worse when I say it out loud. Maybe tonight went better for Toothless.
I straightened up, "So my dramatic night aside, how'd it go for you and the mere".
Toothless responded with a neigh. "That's good huh".I can't wait to get back to the manor, and just forget these last few nights. But do you really want to forget these nights? I asked myself, these nights have been the best in your life, why would I want to forget them.
Before I could answer myself, I heard it. Thundering hooves, and shouting. Shit, that's where the guards went. They were getting horses.
"Toothless, run" I yelled.
Toothless ran as fast as he could, and we started to lose the guards. Finally, we're getting out of here.
Further along the road, the twins were waiting for the mystery man to step into their trap. Which took longer than expected.
"Ugh, this is taking forever Ruffnut", Tuffnut complained. He stood up and began to pace around the area.
"Maybe he decided not to run this time?," she said. "What time is it?"
Tuffnut paused to think, " Uh, I think it turned ten recently,?".
"Are you kidding me!" Ruffnut yelled, she stood up and began to stomp towards him, "That's why it's taking so long, he does run until midnight!"
Ruff and Tuff had their foreheads pressed together, while glaring at each other.
"Well at least I got everything here, you were too busy flirting with Fishy, fish breathe!", Tuffnut yelled.
"Why you!". Ruffnut tackled Tuffnut on the ground and they started to wrestle and squabble on the ground.
"She-beast,"
"Buttelf!"
"Bride of grendel"
Both suddenly heard of the sound of thundering hooves. They stopped fighting and looked up to see a hoard of guards chasing a man in black while all on horses.
"He's here!", they both yelled.
"Cut the rope!' Ruffnut yelled. Tuffnut grabbed the axe from under the bush and cut a rope tied to a rock. The rope was over a thick branch which was tied to a large metal cage. When the rope was cut the cage fell from above and was supposed to trap the Mystery Guy . Keywords supposed to.
But the man's horse started running faster, so instead of capturing him, the cage fell on the guards. Preventing them from being able to follow him. The man got away while the horses in the cage started to panic.
"This is all your fault!, " Ruffnut yelled at Tuffnut.
"My fault!," he yelled,"How is this my fault?"
"You should have-'', needless to say they started to squabble and fight again. Which benefited no one.
(Hiccup POV)
I heard a loud clang and looked back to see a cage trapping most of the guards in it. While the others tried to figure out how to either go around it or help them. Damn, my luck's getting better already.
(The Manor)
(Regular POV)
When Hiccup got back to the manor he put Toothless in the stables, dressed in his servant clothes, and waited by the door for Drago and his sons (son). And he waited, and waited, and waited. He even decided to clean to pass the time. The Bludvists were properly delayed due to the cage in the road. Yeah definitely.
~2 hours later~
The Bludvists finally walked through the door looking as happy as one could be. Hiccup straightened up, and tried to keep the confusion off of his face.
"Master Drago, how was your night?" he asked, "Did you have any troubles?".
Drago looked at Hiccup with a smug grin, "Actually no, no troubles at all,". He placed his coat on the coat rack and continued. "Of course there was a time where we thought of leaving early. But my boy Eret was able to find the princess, so we decided to for the rest of the night. Why do you ask?"
Hiccup gritted his teeth in an attempt not to lash out at Drago. "No reason sir, no reason at all".
At the palace
Astrid was waiting anxiously in her room, waiting to find out if the plan had worked.
What if the fact that she was the princess was too much for him and had scared him off?
But if he was captured then would he be upset?
And if the plan didn't work then what?
Her thoughts were interrupted when the guards entered her room with the twins.
"Well, did you get him?" she asked.
The guards bowed their heads in shame. "No we did not your highness" one of the guards said.
Astrid slumped on her bed, putting her face in her hands," So that's it then," she said" He's just gone forever".
"Maybe but maybe not," Tuffnut said. He removed his hands from behind his back to reveal a boot, one with the same design as the mystery man.
"The guards found it in the tar, it could belong to him".
Astrid was eccentric, finally a lead.
"Now we just have to find someone with a missing left boot," Tuffnut continued.
Left boot, left boot, he doesn't even have a left foot!
"Son of a Half-Troll," Astrid raged, she proceeded to take out her frustrations by destroying her room. The twins and guards were both afraid and confused.
"Uh, Ast what's the problem?" Tuffnut asked somewhat afraid.
"Isn't it obvious?"Ruffnut responded, " there are millions of men who can have the same shoe size."
"This" she said gesturing to the boot" is pointless".
"No," Astrid said defeated," it's because he doesn't have a left foot, he has a prosthetic. He must have taken it off to get away faster ".
"Well then it's a good thing we also found this", Ruffnut revealed a black mask, the same mask he was wearing.
"Yes!,"She exclaimed," we've got a lead! Now we just have to have every man in the kingdom to try it on. And whomever it fits on is the mystery man".
"So let me get this straight, using a shoe to find someone is crazy, but using a mask isn't? ",Tuff asked his sister.
"Yup pretty much" she shrugged