Chapter 10: Travels


Age: 17 years old.


Hiccup was understandably busy during the following year, as he worked his hardest to train other dragon riders, search for dragon trappers, and pave the way for mutual understanding between age old enemies.

Astrid knew that, and she was all the more prouder of him for it. The timid boy that she'd befriended as a child, had grown up into a strong, capable, and compassionate young man. He was a hero in every sense of the word.

But due to all the travelling between Berk, Dragon's edge, and other places on his missions, he wasn't able to write to her as much or as often as before.

She didn't blame him for that, the work he was doing was important and time sensitive. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel lonely and sad, being so distant from him all over again. It was their last stretch of two years apart, and there were already talks of setting the wedding date soon after they turn eighteen.

That made her hopeful and excited of course, but that was still over a year away and she really really didn't want to wait anymore.

It's always darkest before dawn.

She supposed that was true, but that didn't make her feel that much better. She'd been trying to distract herself in her studies to avoid having to count the days, as doing that just made them feel longer.

She'd been studying about Berkian laws and history, in an effort to be able to help her husband one day after he assumes the position of the Chief. Hiccup of course didn't expect her to be a Chieftess in the traditional sense, he'd told her numerous times he just wanted her to be there for him as his best friend. As he would be for her.

But she did want to be a wife that could support him in every way possible, be it at home or at work.

The thing that really thrilled her was his promise to teach her how to ride a dragon one day. Apparently more and more Berkians were learning it, judging from his last letter.

Which had been a month ago.

Astrid sighed. But then she stood up.

Hiccup wouldn't want her to mope over him, rather he'd laugh and tell her that a frown didn't suit her face.

She knew doing nothing would only make time go slower. Instead, she decided to get out and live a little, like her fiancé was doing, and took up the offer of accompanying her parents on one of their numerous journeys into the kingdom.

It felt kind of refreshing to get out of the palace for a while, and seeing all the people and activities around the numerous towns they visited did help lift her spirits, not the way Hiccup could ofcourse but it was definitely better than nothing.

Then, a few weeks later, some commotion was heard outside one guest house they were staying at. She'd been waiting for her parents to return all day from some meeting, and her boredom made her ears perk up at the slightest break from the norm.

She glanced out the window to see some people running towards the square. And- some people running away from the square.

She creaked open a door, and a distant roar made her stand up straighter.

Her feet were pushing her along before she even realised it, ignoring the cries of her guards behind her to come back.

A wild dragon had somehow made its way into a busy town square. People were frightened, and she knew the dragon must be too. Even though she couldn't say she was completely unafraid, she knew she had done do something before someone got hurt.

It's what Hiccup would've done.

The people chasing after her fell away, and the cries and shouts all around dropped in volume as people saw the young woman with an apparent death wish approaching the large beast. The girl who had intentionally left her axe behind too.

She swallowed nervously as the dragon turned its attention to her, seemingly entranced by her lack of fear.

She'd never actually seen her betrothed tame a wild dragon before, but he'd once described doing it in one of his letters. As engrossed as Hiccup was in this stuff, he'd shared every last detail.

The way he'd positioned himself. The intonations of his voice. His hand movement. All the ways he'd let the dragon know he wasn't a threat.

Although she couldn't help the way her hand trembled slightly, she still forced herself to calm down and go back to the day he'd told her about his first few meetings with Toothless.

He had believed peace was an option between man and beast.

If he could believe it back then without even knowing anything, then she could also believe it now, having seen everything she had so far thanks to him.

Even her own personal guards were holding their ground, not rushing forward to put themselves between her and the apparent danger like they'd sworn to do.

She didn't blame them though. She didn't expect them to come to her rescue, when she was the one who'd put herself in this position in the first place.

This was her battle. She wanted more than anything to do this, to help people and make a difference, like the boy she admired had been doing all his life.

Her voice felt nervous even to herself but she tried her best to speak softly, calmly to the dragon as she lifted her palm.

Stepping to the side when the dragon shifted, not letting it get closer to the crowd behind her without going through her. She wasn't sure if anything she'd done so far had been the way it was supposed to be done, but thankfully, somehow, she was still here and the people were still backing up behind her and the men hadn't fired their crossbows yet.

Renewed with the realisation that they were waiting, waiting to see if she could really pull off something most still thought was a myth, she managed to hold her ground then, willing herself to wait for the dragon to come to her.

Putting her life on the line, for the safety of her people. That was the reason she'd been born a princess.

The crowd's anxiousness gradually gave way to guarded jubilation and amazement as they witnessed the young girl stand up to the feared creature.

The scaly warm skin against her palm felt different from Toothless, yet quite the same.

The tension deflated from the entire gathering as dozens of people saw something remarkable with their own eyes.

She knew that these people would tell their friends of this day, who would in turn tell their own.

Peace was possible. The word would spread far and wide, and she'd actually managed to make a contribution to that end. Heart still pumping, a big smile bloomed on her face.

I'm proud of you, she could almost hear him say.

And even if he wasn't here with her, for now, that was enough.


Hiccup had managed to wrangle his schedule around and extract a week of time, dedicated solely for her.

We were divvying up the duties between us dragon riders. I was assigned the north eastern reaches, and my route just so happens to pass near your home. It will be a few hours of detour at most… I can visit you… and perhaps we could

She had giggled as she read his letter.

Assigned my foot. I know he picked this area intentionally.

Astrid had begged her parents to let her go with him. While they were reluctant to let their unmarried daughter go off unsupervised like this, they did trust Hiccup to be a responsible young man.

Astrid was understandably annoyed to know that she was deemed 'less responsible' than her fiancé. She was plenty responsible!

In the end, she had to promise that they'd stay in separate tents for the week long trip, and that she'd be extra good when she returned and not throw a fuss about her finishing her classes for the whole year.

She knew that even one week together will be enough to tide her over till the next year, the year they would turn eighteen, and could finally be together for real.

She sent the good news to him in a letter, and mere days later, she got word that a Night fury was fast approaching from the west.

His feet had barely touched the ground and his arms were already around her waist, as he picked her up and spun her around, making her laugh in delight. He looked even taller and stronger than last year, completely used to his prosthetic by now.

"I missed you" he whispered in her ear, as he held her close. "No matter how busy I might be, not a day went by that I didn't think of you"

At a loss for words, she just nodded. It was the same for me.

She'd been so wrapped up in Hiccup that it took her a second to realise that Toothless was also there, eyeing her curiously.

Astrid laughed and started scratching the place on his neck that he loved. The large dragon easily rolled over like a house cat when she did that.

It was strange how at ease she felt around the Night fury now. Back during those days when Hiccup was still unconscious, the dragon hadn't left his side, and neither had she.

Curiously approaching it, she'd managed to sort of befriend the dragon in time for Hiccup to fully wake up. And then in the following weeks, she'd really gotten to know Toothless.

It was a situation where she felt completely comfortable now, while most of her people still eyed her strangely at times like these.

She never got over how impressed people around her got with even her limited skills in approaching or pacifying dragons. Things that were commonplace on Berk by now were still very new out here.

That was exactly the reason why her fiancé had to travel so much, she supposed.

The quicker he could spread the awareness and knowledge, the sooner comes the day when there is true peace between dragons and mankind.


Less than an hour later, she'd attached her modest bundle of supplies and clothes onto Toothless, and they were in the air.

She'd only flown with Hiccup a handful of times, and that had been a year ago. The thrill of it was definitely not gone for her yet. To the boy sitting in front of her though, it seemed as easy as walking by now.

They flew all through the day before reaching their stop for the night, a small island some ways away from the coast.

They set up their tents, Hiccup finishing much quicker as he was much more used to doing this every evening. She was worried he'd tease her about her lack of these types of skills, but then he was right next to her, helping her without a second thought.

It was as if he wanted her to swoon over him like a lovestruck little girl. It was absolutely unfair in Astrid's opinion.

Nevertheless, she couldn't complain, as they sat together by the fire, his arm around her shoulders keeping the chill away.

He listened eagerly as she told him about the time she stopped the dragon that was running amok around that town. By the time she finished her story, his eyes were so brimming with pride that she couldn't help but look away, embarrassed.

"I'm sure you do more impressive things on a regular basis-" she started but was interrupted by his arms around her as he hugged her from the side, pressing his cheek to hers.

"My future wife is the most amazing girl in the whole world. I love you so much, Astrid"

Astrid blushed furiously again. "Keep saying things like that and you won't be sleeping alone in your tent tonight"

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Is that a threat or a promise?"

Astrid laughed and pushed him away, all this contact was making her knees weak. "I think it's best if we sleep separately for now… not that I don't want to of course… but…"

"What is it?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"It's just that… if I do find ourselves together at night like this, in the same tent… with no one else on this whole island to interrupt… I'm not sure if I'll… be able to… control myself" she finished meekly.

Hiccup chuckled. "Shouldn't that be my line? You're insatiable, milady"

His words invoked memories of their time last year together spent tentatively 'exploring' each other, and she squealed in mortification. "Hiccup!"

She stomped in frustration. "I made this stupid promise to my parents and now I'll feel like a bad girl if I break it"

Hiccup smiled and palmed her cheek. "Hey- I was just joking, okay? I'm glad you did. As much as I want it too, I think it's better if we wait. A cold tent on a grassy hillside isn't what I had in mind for our first time. A girl like you deserves something even more special and romantic"

Astrid leaned into his touch. "Mmm. I think I'd like to wait too. You're right"

"When we do get to do it though… I promise I'll make love to you all night long- as much as you want" he said earnestly.

The way he always reassured her made her melt without fail each time. Not to mention the way his words made her nerves tingle.

"I'm gonna hold you to that" she stated quietly.

Hiccup smiled. "Let's get inside before the fire dies"

Having agreed to sleep separately, that still didn't mean either of them was in a rush to get their goodnight kiss over with.

A good five minutes of carefully pressing their lips together again and again, while taking care not to get carried away with it was much easier said than done.

Finally, Hiccup managed to gently untangle himself from her hold and bid her a final good night, and they went inside their respective tents.


Hiccup groaned as he lay feeble on the ground. Above him, he saw a head of blonde curls smirk down at him triumphantly.

Their sparring sessions had been more competitive than ever this year. He'd been slacking off on his training amidst all his other duties, and her skills had been growing sharper each day.

Normally, Hiccup wouldn't be bothered by losing in hand to hand combat with a girl, since he didn't care for gender roles like that. He loved that his fiancé was strong enough to kick his butt if he let his guard down for even a second.

The problem was, she was playing it completely unfair today. Hiccup wasn't one to allow brazen cheating of this magnitude slide, unnoticed. But, he was in for even more trouble if he brought that up.

"That one didn't count" he protested. "I-I had something in my eye"

Astrid smirked. "Seemed to me like your eyes were working just fine, other than dropping down to my chest every so often"

Oh no. I am a dead man.

Astrid rolled her eyes then, offering him a hand.

Perhaps not.

As he stood up and dusted off his clothes, she leaned close to his ear and whispered coyly, "If I knew forgetting to wear my bindings under my shirt today would distract you this much, I would've done it ages ago"

Pecking his cheek, she sauntered away, leaving a helpless Hiccup in her wake. Curse that vixen and her womanly charms. His sole weakness on this earth.


Over the next few rounds, Hiccup managed to man up and pull himself together, not letting his focus drift astray. When he did finally managed to pin her down, boy was she annoyed about it.

He loved how prideful she was. Despite being physically weaker than him in theory, her agility and reflexes more than made up for it. And she did not like to lose.

Using that to fuel her, she did away with him in quick time on their next bout. Hiccup groaned again. He was definitely gonna feel that one tomorrow. "Is it always gonna be like this after we're married?" he huffed. "Being beaten up by my wife over every little thing"

Astrid laughed. "I promise I'm gonna be a good caring wife who'd never try to dominate her husband…" -Hiccup began to smile- "…except in the bedroom perhaps" she added with wink.

Oh yeah. She was definitely going to be the death of him.


They spent the rest of the blissful week together in the same way, travelling, camping, mapping the furthest reaches of the land.

They had more heart to heart conversations in the evenings, with Astrid remarking that it was so much easier to converse when she didn't have to wait weeks for his replies.

Hiccup especially enjoyed this brief reprieve from his hectic schedule. Despite working all day still, he didn't seem to tire at all when she was with him. Every moment felt new and exciting. Was this what being married would feel like?

If that was even half of what he felt now, then he'd certainly be the luckiest man in the whole world.

On their last night together before going home, Hiccup and Astrid managed to muster up all their self control and managed to sleep together in each other's arms in the same tent. Fully clothed, and not even daring to share a kiss, lest that push them over the edge.

But they did hold each other, and Astrid was confident that it didn't break her promise in a way that her parents would disapprove of. Waking up with him was as wonderful as she remembered, but with the new day came the inevitable goodbye.

They stood on her balcony, Astrid having asked him to drop her off privately. She'd let the others know of her arrival once Hiccup had left.

"This is the last time" Hiccup whispered, squeezing her hands. "The last goodbye"

Astrid nodded, fighting the urge to tear up. "The last time I have to feel this way"

"My princess, c'mere" he held her tightly to his chest. "You've made my life, you know? For as long as I can remember, no matter how hard it got, I kept on going, because I had you to look forward to"

Astrid felt his heart beat in tune to his ambrosial words. "You have done the same for me, Hiccup" she admitted, her voice shaky. "You made me strong"

Hiccup pulled away and smiled. "You are my strength. I love you. I'll miss you"

Astrid nodded and kissed him firmly, until she couldn't hold her breath anymore. "I love you too. Now go away before I decide to keep you"

Hiccup grinned. He was about to turn to leave when he noticed her emotional face morph into a somewhat devious one, even through her teary eyes.

"Astrid?"

She bit her lip nervously then, twisting the bottom of her shirt between her fingers.

"I k-know I had way too much fun tormenting you this week. Let me make it up to you…" she said, blushing brightly, and then-

Hiccup's eyes turned wide as saucers when she lifted the hem of her shirt up to her neck, holding it for a few seconds before dropping it and clutching her arms over her chest in embarrassment.

"You've seen them properly now, so I hope you'll be better focused the next time we spar" Astrid added with a wink, trying to sound casual even though her face felt burning hot.

Meanwhile, Hiccup's brain had been broken for good. "Is keeping me still an option?"

She laughed and pushed him away. "Wait one more year mister, then I'll let you look at me as much as you want. I'll miss you too"

"You're unbelievable. I'll get you back for that" Hiccup warned, though he couldn't stop grinning.

"I'll look forward to it" his fiancé shot back.

Their little farewell banter was interrupted by an annoyed Night fury, who'd been growing real tired of watching these two humans lick faces or showing their bellies or whatever they were doing.

Hiccup laughed and climbed aboard. He waved at her and she blew him a kiss, then watched him fly away until they were a speck on the horizon, which finally disappeared into the clouds.

Astrid turned, going back into her room and laying down on the bed. Her ceiling glowed with the last few rays of the setting sun.

The last goodbye is over. Now there is only the final reunion left.

It was all as it's meant to be.


A/N: The penultimate chapter of this story. Hope you enjoyed! I loved writing Astrid facing a wild dragon all on her own. And of course she got to spend more time with Hiccup the year before the wedding. Let me know your thoughts! :)