Chapter 6: Time Spent Apart

Age: 12 years old.

Astrid allowed her smile to fade after she closed the door to her room.

It wasn't fair.

It had been a lovely party for her twelfth birthday. All her friends had arrived in carriages one by one, they'd done a tea party in the palace grounds, had danced in the ballroom, and and it had all been so wonderful.

She had seemingly been brimming with happiness and joy all evening but that was a facade, one that she let go the moment she was out of view of anyone.

It just wasn't fair.

Another two years that had felt agonisingly long, but she'd been a good girl and had waited patiently, counting the days till Hiccup was due to visit her, which was coinciding with her birthday celebrations this year.

She was gonna get her birthday wish from him in person rather than in a letter, and then they would share a dance in the ballroom together. She would absolutely love whatever gift he'd brought her. And later, as the party would be winding down, they'd sneak off to some place where no one was watching, and then she'd give him her second kiss. She'd imagined that for months.

Now though, she would have settled for just being able to see his face, as even that much wasn't in her fortune.

The most pointless of all conflicts had broken out amongst some tribes of the archipelago, Berk being one of them. She wasn't politically savvy enough to understand the details her parents had talked about, but she did understand what it meant for her.

No future heir to the Chief would be allowed to risk a voyage out in such tumultuous waters. The conflict hadn't gotten too bloody yet, but the storm was brewing, and the timing had been beyond cruel. Mere months before Hiccup's visit was due.

Worst of all, even messenger boats had stopped or been endlessly delayed in the midst of all this. Which meant that the last letter she'd gotten from her betrothed had been a whole three months ago, and she had no idea if her own letters had even reached him at all.

She'd been holding out the most naive of hopes that despite the numerous challenges, he'd somehow make it for her birthday at least, and she'd have that fairytale day she'd dreamed.

As the sun descended over the rolling green hills in the distance, she regretted even hoping for such a thing.

Collapsing on the bed, she sobbed quietly into her pillow, letting all the disappointment and frustration out that she'd kept bottled up all day.

She would've preferred to not let anyone see her like this, but if it had to be someone, she was glad it was her mother, who opened the door half-expecting that her daughter needed her.

Queen Ingrid didn't need an explanation for her girl's tears, for she knew better than anyone else. She cradled Astrid in her lap even though Astrid protested being way too old for that, and rubbed her back soothingly as another wave of tears came.

"Shhh, It's ok my dear"

Astrid shook her head. "It's not. Everything was so great today but I'm still crying like this… I'm a bad person"

"Nonsense girl" her mother chided. "No one faults you for feeling like this. It's only natural to miss the one you love."

Astrid reddened, but didn't protest like she usually did, whenever her parents or brother brought up that word.

"I feel horrible" Astrid mumbled. "It's been so long"

"I know sweetheart, I know."

In her mother's comforting embrace, she found the courage to voice a worry that'd been clawing at her lately.

"It's been so long… do you think he still remembers me? still cares for me?"

"Of course he does girl! I'm sure he's counting the days till he can see you again, same as you."

"You think so?"

"I know so. I've seen the way he looks at you. Mere time won't erode away those feelings that easily"

"But… but I'm sure he'll grow to make other friends on Berk… girls too… who he lives with all year… what do a couple of weeks with me matter against all that?"

Her mother shook her head and smiled. "That boy is unlike most I've seen. He's stubborn too, not letting himself get molded into a model Viking warrior no matter how much it is expected of him… but most importantly, he's loyal. He wouldn't betray your trust like that just because it's convenient"

"Would it really be betraying my trust though?" Astrid asked solemnly. "The betrothal was done when we were too little to know what it meant. He wasn't given a choice, same as me"

"Even if the choice wasn't yours, the responsibilities that come with it are. He is mature enough to know that by now… and besides, I'm sure if either of you were given a choice now, you still wouldn't change a thing."

Astrid blushed and looked away, mumbling "I would change it so that he is required to visit me more often…"

Her mother just laughed, pulling her closer into another hug. "Dontcha worry my darling- time spent apart makes the heart grow fonder"

Hiccup's lingering insecurities were back with a vengeance. It had been over two years since he'd last seen the only person in the world he could truly call his friend.

His last few letters hadn't returned a reply, and he could only hope that it was due to the ships not crossing, and not cause she'd finally come to her senses, and lost interest in their long distance friendship.

Her last letter was as Astrid like as ever, and he had read it countless times, all in an effort to squash his irrational doubts.

…this dragon stuff doesn't interest Evan much, but I never seem to tire of it. I've already finished reading the dragon manual you lent me- twice over- I hope you'll have more interesting things to tell me when we meet soon-

Summer can't come soon enough. Love, Astrid

He stashed all her letters in a box under his bed, often spending long hours under candlelight reading and reminiscing over them.

As much as he was looking forward to this cursed war ending and getting to see her again, part of him couldn't help but feel hesitant.

Most of kids his age had grown taller and stronger than him by now, and he was still very much the runt of the class.

It might have been different when we were little, but what if Astrid takes one look at me now and decides against me? Surely no princess would want anything to do with a weakling.

He didn't feel comfortable enough to talk about these things with his father, and he didn't have any other close friends he could go to. Gobber always lent a helpful ear of-course, but he was too out of the loop to be giving him any relationship advice.

With his own mind acting as an echo chamber, these worries kept intensifying as the weeks and months passed on, and Hiccup was just about to give in to despair until- until that day.

The day when the miracle happened.

Ships from Romsdal had been halted for ages of course, but one inconspicuous boat from Hymir island to the north docked at Berk one overcast morning.

Some correspondence sent to Stoick the vast from another chieftain- along with a small stack of letters that carried a note on top-

I think these letters are for your lad Stoick. These along with the other mail have undergone a long and winding journey before they came to be in my possession. I will relay them to you.

Hiccup had ambled downstairs, yawning away last night's sleep, only to find the stack on the kitchen table.

Curiously, he read the note.

It was like snoggletog had come early.

Like he could breathe again.

His eager fingers tore open each one, being fast and careful with them at the same time- eager eyes scanning each page- filled top to bottom with words and reassurances and Astrid's daily musings and thoughts- a lot of wonderings if these letters were even reaching him- but she was saying she's gonna keep writing them no matter what- she's hoping to hear back from him- she hasn't in ages- must mean his letters didn't go through- but she never once stopped writing, if anything she wrote to him even more- everything from what she had for lunch to her efforts at finishing school to what she saw in her dream last night- it's like she was here in person, speaking to him.

He could hear her voice. Her even, calm, melodic voice- soothing his long held worries and bringing small tears to his eyes.

One sentence caught his eye. No force on Midgard can keep me away from you for long. I'll stop this war myself if I have to.

He laughed then, even through teary eyes. His Astrid was still as fearless as ever. He wanted to be brave for her too. He wouldn't give into irrational fears. He'd make sure this bond that they had- he'd do everything he could to make sure it would survive this test, and he'll keep it alive until they inevitably met once again.

Unbeknownst to him, a similar resolve was dead set in the mind of a blonde girl, leagues away from the isle of Berk.

After months of waiting, her wish had finally come true. Seeing their daughter's plight, her parents had personally sent out a royal courier to track down the missing mail.

After weeks of enquiring around, one lead had turned up, which had led to another, and now, as if by magic, months of unseen parchment was littered around her like christmas morning, as she absorbed all the writings her betrothed had sent her.

His day to day life, with no details spared. Being a much better artist than she was, he had even included sketches here and there, of Berk, of dragons, and best of all… of her.

Her face from two years ago. He still remembered every detail as if he'd seen her yesterday. He wasn't just words. He truly meant it when he wrote how important she was to him. She almost felt like crying tears of joy when she realised that.

Even though she still couldn't reliably send a reply to him right now, even though any hope of getting to see him was still ways away given the tumultuous situation in the area, the mere knowledge that he had still remembered her, had still thought of her- all those nights when she'd felt lonely and longed for his company, he must've felt similar- just knowing that much gave her new life- knowing that she wasn't alone.

If even a war couldn't break the bond they had, then she supposed she didn't have anything to worry about from this point forward.

And as for the long time without seeing him, one thing her mother had once told her came to her mind. And she repeated it like a mantra, whenever it felt like this would go on forever. Whenever she feared she might start to forget the freckles on his face, his troublemaker smile.

Time spent apart makes the heart grow fonder.

A/N: It pained me to write this chapter, but it was necessary for the story. Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows, but overcoming obstacles will inevitably strengthen their resolve, as well as their feelings :)

Let me know your thoughts as always, and a big thank you to all readers of this story.

p.s. Just a small heads up, the rating for this fic might be eventually bumped up to M in later chapters.

-Gravitybeam