Welcome to the second chapter, this is just a couple of stories of what happened in the eight years when Hiccup and Astrid ran away. Hope you all enjoy it.
It had been a few days since Eret had gone undercover in Drago's army…
It had been exactly a month since Bertha had been killed by Drago's army…
The war was taking a toll on the Draconian Empire, not only economically but also on the mental health of the people. The villagers were scared and afraid, and the newly formed nation still had a long way to go to become a strong united front against Drago. The constant evacuations and the unpredictable battles led to many casualties and more families torn apart.
Camacazi still didn't speak to anyone and hardly left her house anymore. The once energetic and humourous young teen was now reduced to an utter mess. She had become really thin and her eyes sported dark bags from her constant sleepless nights. She looked pale and tired whenever anyone saw her.
Since her mother's funeral, she had moved back to Bog-Burgular Island to lead them. It was no secret that the daughter and mother had a close bond, and to see them torn apart so abruptly broke their heart.
Hiccup and Astrid were now flying towards a strait where the dragon recon team had spotted Drago's ships. It was further North than many of their previous sightings. Eret had confirmed that Drago's base was somewhere further North than Vikings liked to venture, so it did make sense to spot a stray ship in this region.
Hiccup was painfully brought from his thoughts when he felt the splitting and blinding pain in his side. He had felt the force of the arrow before he felt the pain. The force jerked him forward bringing Astrid's attention to him.
The pain however was literally blinding; when he opened his eyes, the sky appeared as a white, blurry landscape of nothingness. He could only hear the distant shouts of the Trappers and his wife screaming his name. And just as his vision slowly cleared, his head started to hurt just as much as when he had had a drinking competition with Dagur.
"Hiccup!" Astrid screamed.
She could not lose her husband too… Not after she had lost Bertha only a few weeks ago. Bertha had been the mother Hiccup had never had, and the second mother Astrid had gained. Thus, Bertha's death had taken a toll on both Hiccup and Astrid as well.
Hiccup opened his eyes again, blinking repeatedly to relieve himself of the fuzzy, spinny images that flashed before his eyes. When he finally was able to see what was happening, he realized that he and Toothless were plummeting straight for the ocean.
His mind began to panic and that only made his dizziness worse, with the air whipping his face he could barely hear Toothless's roar. It was coming up close... too close. And when he finally heard his best friend's call, he immediately pulled up with all his strength. Hiccup yanked on Toothless' saddle, practically jamming his prosthetic unceremoniously into the foot petal while his fingers dug into the leather saddle, pulling back with all his might until they were alongside Astrid and Stormfly.
They just barely missed the ocean. Toothless had skimmed the water ever so slightly. The cold seawater had sprayed all over the duo. The icy cold water had broken Hiccup out of his dazed state.
"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted again. "Are you okay?"
"I am fine… Yeah, just got an arrow sticking out of me." He replied. "I have had worse…"
"Not funny!" Astrid shouted back. She didn't like to be reminded of past experiences. She could fill an entire book with the number of times Hiccup has almost got himself killed.
"We have to land!" Astrid said trying her best to find a way out of this mess.
"Where!?" Questioned Hiccup. "Oh, wait a minute, I have an idea! Let's go back and see if those dragon trappers want to offer us a room on their ship! Where else do we go, Astrid!". Hiccup sarcasm had once again 'saved the day'.
"Stop talking!" said Astrid. "Just stop talking! You're only making it ... Hiccup! "
She was about to point out the fact that talking would just make his heart pump faster, causing him to lose more blood from the wound, but apparently, it was too late to warn him.
He slid off sideways over Toothless, unconscious.
Toothless shrieked, not only because he could no longer fly, but because his rider was falling to his death. Toothless roared once again in a desperate attempt to catch his rider.
"Stormfly, fetch!" Astrid ordered.
Stormfly did as she was told, grabbing Hiccup by the ankle just before he would have slammed into the ocean. Toothless crashed into the sea, grabbing onto a chunk of ice to keep himself afloat. Astrid felt awful for leaving the dragon, but Stormfly couldn't carry him, and Hiccup needed immediate medical attention.
Astrid had to find a place to land. Fast.
"Just... stay alive!" she shouted to Toothless. "I'll be back… I promise."
Then, she turned and headed off in the opposite direction. Astrid felt horrible for leaving Toothless, but really, she didn't have much of a choice. The options were to either leave Toothless and find land or try to think of a plan to save him while Hiccup bled to death in her arms. Even though she knew she had no other option she still felt awful for leaving him.
After flying for almost half an hour, she spotted it, out in the distance, it looked almost like a lion's mane... only it was made out of ice. Sharp, solid ice shot up in every direction from its base on a rocky island. The tall shards of ice had an almost mystical glow about them. The icy radiated heat in the harsh icy cold weather.
Astrid breathed a breath of relief. A place to land. Good.
Hopefully, if anyone lived there, they wouldn't have a problem. But that was crazy. No one would live there. Or, at least Astrid hoped someone would. Without giving a second thought she quickly steered Stormfly in front of the structure and then dismounted, pulling Hiccup down with her.
He was half-conscious, just barely aware enough to stay on his feet if Astrid supported his weight, but he didn't look good. She knew she had to do something. Fast. But what?
"Help!" she shouted, hoping something or someone would hear her. "Anyone!"
Part of her was worried if dragon trappers lived there, if they did Astrid would just be captured and Hiccup would bleed to death, but her other half was screaming that if she didn't try, Hiccup would die anyway.
Suddenly, a dragon dropped out of the sky, landing a few feet in front of Astrid. Astrid tightened her grip around him as she watched a figure dismount… Wait. Dismount? Were there other dragon riders?
She watched with bated breath as the figure slowly stepped towards them. He or she was wearing a horned mask, so any facial expressions were hidden; no features were left exposed. From what Astrid saw the clothes he or she wore were made from different types of animal skins that had been painted over.
"Who are you?" Astrid asked, not letting her voice betray any emotion.
The mysterious rider looked at the two figures in front of her, and then at the dragon behind the two young-looking people. The dragon had its teeth barred and was ready to protect the rider if she felt any incoming danger.
One of them was a girl, wearing a spiked skirt with blue leggings and a red shirt. Her hair was blonde, braided to the side. The other was a boy, clad in light leather armour, with short auburn hair and from what she could tell in the bad lighting his eyes were half-closed, and there was nothing else distinguishable about him. She did notice, however, that he was missing a leg, which was replaced with an advanced metal prosthetic that sparkled slightly against the setting sun.
She also realized that he had an arrow sticking out of his side. Her instinct would be to treat the wound, whether he was a friend or foe, but if he was working for Drago, she couldn't help either one of them. She would have to take them prisoner, or... or worse.
The dragon behind them growled lowly, a Light Fury, one of the rarer dragons. How did one bond with a Light Fury? She had never seen one before only heard of its existence. The couple must be very skilled to have found and bonded with a Light Fury… But who were these two people? They certainly didn't look like trappers, but Valka wasn't taking any chances.
"You know what? I don't care," the girl said. "You could be a flyer, you could be a no one ... someone just marooned here for some odd reason... but my friend needs help. We were ambushed by Drago's flyers… " the blonde girl continued. "And... my friend here was shot."
For some reason, she wasn't using names. Probably because she didn't want to give away any information to a potential enemy.
"Astrid..." Hiccup whispered, "I might pass out."
So that was the girl's name? Astrid. For some reason, that name sounded slightly familiar to her, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"I know. Hiccup" said the girl.
"Hiccup?" The mysterious rider repeated, almost in awe. Was this him? Hiccup?
"No. It's not possible."
"What's not possible?" Astrid snapped, clearly irritated.
The setting sun let out a final burst of light before it completely disappeared, the change in lighting was enough for her to see a small scar on ' Hiccup's ' chin. That was it. This was her Hiccup. That scar that her dragon had given her Hiccup on accident, the day she had been abducted by dragons.
She was in awe but didn't have much time to be amazed. This was her son, whom she had not seen for twenty years.
Valka took off her helmet, tossed it to the ground and ran forward instantly, falling to her knees in front of Astrid and Hiccup. Astrid shot her a glare, hugging Hiccup tighter.
Valka didn't blame her, it was obvious she and Hiccup were close by the way Astrid had been so protective over him.
"I want to help," said Valka, sounding probably more pathetic than she had intended to. Astrid was unbelievably gentle as she laid Hiccup down on the ground in front of her, making sure her axe was close enough so it could remind Valka of the constant threat. Valka though, paid no heed to it.
"We have to take him in if I'm going to remove the arrow," said Valka. Astrid looked at her, hesitantly nodding.
"Come." said Valka, rising to a stand. Her son wouldn't be alive for much longer unless she did something about that arrow wound. "I can take him on my dragon ...".
"No way!" Astrid replied instantly.
"Follow me," Valka quickly ordered. Without waiting for a response, she hopped onto Cloud Jumper, her dragon, and then headed for the entrance to the ice cave.
Astrid had no choice but to follow, keeping one arm around Hiccup and her other hand wrapped firmly around her axe handle, she tried her best to steer through the narrow cave.
Cloud Jumper turned and headed inside Valka's cave, where he landed and allowed her to dismount.
"Come on, bring him over here." said Valka, gesturing towards her makeshift bed.
Astrid stumbled over, clutching Hiccup as tight as she dared, not wanting to hurt him any further. She put him down carefully on his back, making sure he didn't lie in a way that would cause him any more pain. Valka quickly ran to the back of the cave, gathering herbs and long, slightly thick fabrics that would work as bandages. Years of dragon attacks had taught her what to do should an accident like this occur.
After removing the arrow, Valka herself bandaged the wound. She had about a million questions. And then there was that Night Fury the dragons had brought back sitting at the back of her mind. And then the shoulder pad on Hiccup's armour matched the prosthetic on the Night Fury's tail. Was that his dragon? Astrid had a Light Fury it would make sense…
Did that mean that Berk had changed? Or had Hiccup and Astrid left without anyone knowing? And how did Hiccup lose his leg? That was one of the biggest questions Valka had. She looked back at Hiccup's unconscious form with Astrid right by his side, doing her best to keep him comfortable…
She had many questions but one answer she did have was that she would never leave her son again, this time she would stay and protect him… something she knew she should have done twenty years ago…
Hiccup woke up slowly adjusting his eyes to the sudden bright lights dancing in front of his eyes. As he adjusted to the light he saw a black blur jump on his stomach which made him double back in pain as the midnight black dragon covered its rider with his saliva.
"Thanks a lot, you useless reptile." He said while smiling and scratching his best friend's neck. That was when he heard the knocking on the door and he remembered what day it was.
He felt nervous, it felt like his stomach had tied itself into knots.
Today was the big day, today was the day he was finally going to marry, his childhood crush, the love of his life, a Valkyrie who looked as beautiful as Frejya herself. He felt like the luckiest man in Midgard being able to marry Astrid Hofferson soon to be Haddock.
To say he dreamed of this day was an understatement, he had imagined and thought about this day since he had started dating his childhood crush. He always thought this day would never come as he had only been a mere fishbone when he had developed a crush on one Astrid Hofferson.
But things had changed drastically, over the years they had revealed that they loved each other and had later gotten betrothed.
Astrid herself had told him she had a crush on him when they were little but she couldn't get herself to tell him as she wanted to prove to her tribe that she was a warrior and she would have not been able to do that if she had revealed to everyone her biggest secret…
As he opened the door to his hut, he saw four men waiting for him with smiles on their faces. His closest friends even though few started out as foes had become his most powerful allies and now were the closest and most trusted members of his Empire.
Alvin chuckled to himself as he laid eyes on the now muscular, tall and handsome young man with a sharp jawline that could make any girl faint. Dagur hugged the air out of Hiccup while saying something along the lines of 'brother' or 'crazy'. Not listening to his crazy 'brother' he tried to convince Dagur to let him go.
Once Dagur did let him go while mumbling an apology, Viggo and Eret gladly led him to the bathhouse where they gave him the traditional bath the groom is to take before the wedding.
Astrid was excited, she had tuned out her friends as they kept making jokes about how Hiccup would be in bed.
Astrid and Hiccup had never engaged in illicit activities outside of wedlock. So that night was going to be a new thing for both of them but she was excited nonetheless. Astrid had listened to Bertha's advice, and as she was being dressed she wondered if she would have ever been able to marry Hiccup back on Berk if they had never left… Surely not the people would never have let the pride of Berk be married to the village fishbone.
The marriage had begun as she walked up to the altar in front of all the six tribes that had arrived a few days ago. The Edge was big enough to host most of the people, while the rest slept on the ships.
As they both said their vows, they never blinked instead they just stared deeply into one another's eyes.
As the elder finally declared them as a married couple they kissed deeply as the crowd erupted in applause, Camacazi and Heather squealed while the others cheered and shouted compliments. The celebrations were quickly led to the Great Hall.
As night fell, the celebration slowly ended and the newly wedded couple were led from the Great Hall after the feast, to celebrate their wedding, to their new house.
As they entered the newly constructed house, the couple looked at each other with burning lust as the witnesses left their home. 'Their', one of the many things they would share together from now on. Astrid smiled as she closed the gap between them.
Hiccup simply chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He had done it. He had married his best friend, the girl he'd fallen in love with, the girl who used to have her heart set on being a shieldmaiden. He prayed to Thor that he'd do a good job of making her happy. If he messed up, and she ended up regretting her decision to marry, he would never forgive himself.
He walked to the bed and, sitting on the edge of the mattress, pulled off his boot.
"Well, what are you waiting for, milady?" Astrid made her way over to join her new husband.
"Are... are you nervous?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"No, I'm... okay… " he sighed. "I am a little nervous."
She smiled. "Good. That makes us even."
After exchanging loving glances with one another, Astrid leaned in to kiss Hiccup's lips. The kiss led to another, then another, then another, each one more passionate than the last.
Eventually, she dared to slip her hands beneath his top, running her fingers along his stomach and chest while their tongues explored each other's mouths. Breaking away from her, he lifted his tunic over his head.
"Oh, gods!" She moaned out while taking a deep breath as she took in the sight of his lightly defined abs and freckled shoulders. A light blush covered her face. Astrid placed a palm on his chest, while the other hand travelled down to unfasten his metal leg.
Smirking, Hiccup motioned for his wife to turn around. Once she did so, he gently gathered her hair and draped it over her left shoulder before gently untying her dress. He then slipped the soft material off of her shoulders but stopped when he felt her trembling.
"What's wrong, Ast?" He asked, slightly worried.
"It's...it's nothing." Astrid replied.
"You're shaking. Are you...are you still nervous?" Hiccup knew she was nervous but his wife would rather jump off a cliff than admit it…
Hiccup leaned over her shoulder to kiss her cheek.
"Do you wanna stop?" The blonde shook her head. "No. I... I want this."
She twisted around to look him in the eye. Nodding in acknowledgement, he continued to slide the sleeves of the dress off of her arms, then proceeded to unknot her breast bindings with delicate motions.
When the last of the cloth was finally removed from her body, Hiccup stared at his wife's chest with wide eyes and a pounding heart. Bending down, he briefly brushed his lips against each of her rosy nipples. In between kisses and gentle caresses, the two fumbled to finish undressing each other.
Once that task was complete, they completed the consummation with bright red cheeks and awkward stammers. It wasn't the wonderful thing that everyone had claimed it to be. It was painful for Astrid - who bled - and Hiccup finished too soon.
However, knowing that they had the rest of their lives to learn, they didn't dwell too much on the less-than-amazing first time they'd just experienced.
"Come here," Hiccup murmured, crawling beneath the furs and wrapping his arms around Astrid's bare middle from behind. After kissing the space beneath her ear, he rested his chin on her shoulder.
"You sure you're okay?" He asked the blonde who nodded.
"You can stop worrying about me, Hiccup."
"I'll stop worrying when you're in Valhalla…" Hiccup said while sporting his signature smirk.
She playfully rolled her eyes and gave him a gentle slap on the chest. Slowly the newlyweds gave in to their tiredness and slept holding each other with smiles on their faces…