"DINNNNNGGGGGG! DONNNNNNNGGGGGG!"
A voice yelled outside Astrid's home, startling her awake. She panicked that she had slept in and rushed to get dressed, brain still groggy and confused from sleep. Bursting out of her home she saw the sun hadn't risen yet though it was just about too.
"No Bucket, you're suppose to ring the bell and yell meeting."
"Ooohhh…"
Bucket and Mulch were a house over, no doubt Bucket was the one causing the racket.
"What's going on?" Astrid jogged up to them. "Did you say there's a meeting?"
"Yep!" Bucket happily replied, turning to go back to his job of informing the village.
"Stoic wants everyone at the Great Hall for breakfast. He did say to send you over there first." Mulch explained. She thanked him and he went back to helping Bucket who was know just ringing the bell and not saying anything about the meeting.
Astrid quickly made her way to the Great Hall. Weaving her way through the usual morning crowd, those who were up at sunrise or those who were on guard the night before. Several people tried to stop her to ask what the meeting was about. She could only say Stoic has an announcement and keep running.
I knew we would have to announce Hiccup's return at some point but this might be too soon. No doubt this is Stoic's idea, Hiccup didn't seem to be in any rush.
Turning around one last turn the Great Hall came into view. There was already a crowd forming at the doors, which were closed. Astrid decided to go in through the kitchen door so she ducked down an ally and made her way around the stone building. She reached the back and found a few of the women who work in the Hall out there. As she made her way up to them several stood up top greet her.
The older women bombarded her with normal issues and complaints.
"How are we suppose to finish preparing the food if Stoic kicks us out?"
"We're running low on mugs and plates again."
"Can you please stop Snotlout from flirting with the girls for free food?"
The younger women only cared about Hiccup.
"This is about that man you lot brought back, right?"
"What's his name?"
"Is he single?" A few of the others giggled while the women who asked shrugged. "What? He's cute! And, flirting with him will make Snotlout jealous."
That's…Inger, right? One of the women Snotlout's always talking to. Astrid shook her head slightly.
"I'll try and get you all in to finish making breakfast." She promised, marching passed them. "All other questions can be answered during the meeting."
The Hall was dark and quiet. Usually it was full of people cooking, talking at the tables, or even a fight every now and again. She quietly made her way through the kitchen, keeping an eye out for Stoic and Hiccup, or anyone else who might have snuck in. She heard some murmuring but was too far away to understand what they were saying. The closer she got to the main room the louder the voices became.
"Do we have to do this right now?"
"O'course! Any time an Heir returns home after a long expedition there should be a celebration! And you, you basically returned from the dead! Why wouldn't we celebrate?"
That's the happiest I have ever heard Stoic! Astrid's relieved the awkward tension she left them with seemed to be gone now.
"It wont be long now." Stoic hummed as she entered the main room.
"What took you so long?" The sudden voice next to her ear made her jump.
There, sitting right next to the corridor she just came out of was Cami. For a moment Astrid had forgotten she was till here.
"Astrid!" Stoic came over to her, arms stretched out in greeting. "We're gonna be telling everyone the good news today!" He smiled so wide it almost looked painful.
"Yeah, I figured." She looked beyond Stoic to see Hiccup rolling his eyes only to have Gobber smack his shoulder.
"I still think this might be too soon." Hiccup offered. "I mean, there's still so much to talk about."
"What? Are ya afraid we'll kick ya out after we find out what ya been doin' all these years?" Gobber joked; to bad it only made Hiccup more anxious.
"Ah, Stoic. The women were wondering how they're going to finish preparing breakfast for all the villagers if they're not allowed in." Astrid changed the subject.
"Ah well…good point." Stoic admitted sheepishly.
"We can hide Hiccup in the backroom so the women can finish working, and maybe we should start opening up the hall to everyone waiting outside." Astrid offered, already signaling for Hiccup to move to the backroom.
"Good idea. I'll go let the women in." Stoic went to make his way to the kitchen door before stopping and turning back around to Hiccup.
"I am so happy you're alive and back home, son."
Hiccup was caught off guard. He froze where he stood, looking unsure for a moment.
"Uh, yeah." Hiccup took a breath, his voice turning sincere. "I…I missed you too dad."
Stoic isn't the perfect viking she once though he was, but he's a good man who cares for his family. Now the two can finally have a normal father son relationship, even if it's still a bit awkward.
Astrid led Hiccup and Cami to the back room while Stoic let the women in and Gobber opened the main door. Once safely out of sight Hiccup let out a sign and sunk into a chair.
"You okay with this?" Astrid asked.
Hiccup shrugged. "I don't know. It's just a lot."
"No kidding. It's only been, what, a week since you found out Berk thinks your dead?" Cami added. "And, you've only just reunited with your dad a couple hours ago!"
"Yeah. Even I'm surprised Stoic wants to announce your return so fast. I thought he'd at least wait till dinner."
"Well, he's waking everyone up bright and early so I can only image how pleasant they'll all be." His sarcasm leaking out as he dramatically threw is hands in the air and let them fall back at his side.
"Look at it this way, better to get it over with quickly. Or would you rather wait a few day, stuck in a house with Stoic, going over all the 'what if's'?" Astrid smirked as Hiccup's face formed a grimace.
"You've already escaped once, if you spend any longer stuck inside I'm sure you'll go crazy." Cami chuckled.
Hiccup stuck his tongue out at the tiny Bog-Burglar and she returned the gesture.
Voices started growing louder from the kitchen. They could here the chefs calling out orders and the scuttling of the mead maidens as they started cooking the food. Gruff voices could soon be heard adding to the noise, though they couldn't actually make out what anyone was saying from their spot in the backroom. As the noise grew the more fidgety Hiccup became going from siting to pacing to leaning against the wall to pacing again.
Astrid and Cami both tried to calm him down, Cami even went out to sneak some food but Hiccup claimed he wasn't hungry. Astrid could understand Hiccup's nerves. He was probably worried the villagers would get angry at him, thinking he tricked them on purpose or something. She was confident they wouldn't, that the village will be just as happy and excited as the rest of them had been.
"I'm just…not good. In front of crowds." Hiccup slumped back into the chair, arms dangling at his sides.
"Unless he's leading an army into a battle." Cami brought up, snaking on some dried yak meat. "Then he's natural."
"That's different. We have a mission, people need to be in the right place, gotta make sure no one gets left behind. It's different!"
"Hey, I'll stay by your side the whole time. Okay?" She tried comforting him again.
Hiccup gave her his crooked smile. "Thanks. Your support means a lot."
Strangely, pride bloomed in her chest; she had been expecting the dizzying rush that usually went through her body when he gave her one of his sweetly awkward smile. At the moment she just was ecstatic that her presences could help him.
A part of her was relieved. That must mean I'm over the Dead Man's Charm!
Another part of her was still confused. Astrid can admit she is a bit of a prideful person, usually that pride comes from her own achievements. Winning races or fights, being the top student, these were some of the times she felt pride. All things she's done and that she's accomplished. She's never felt pride from someone saying something nice to her.
Maybe this is still Dead Man's Charm? Astrid tried to push her confused thought to the back of her mind. They could hear Stoic's speech was stating, his voice loud enough to be hear outside the Great Hall.
"I know you're all wondering why I called you here this morning." The crowed murmured a few answers, undoubtable dazed by the energetic spirit of their Chief that they haven't seen in years. "The Gods had given use a blessing, given me a blessing. But we were to blinded by our own traditions and expectations to see that."
Gobber showed up, telling us it was time. Hiccup got to his feet and they left to stand in the shadows, waiting for Hiccup's cue. Astrid could see Hiccup's hand shacking with nerves, without thinking she grabbed it and held his hand tight. Hiccup whipped his head to look at her and she gave him a confident nod. He nodded back, squeezing her hand as they made their way to the side of the stage.
"We lost that blessing and I thought I could never get it back. But! The Gods have given us another chance! And no one's more surprised...or more proud than I am. Today, my boy HAS RETUREND!"
Stoic grabbed Hiccup and pulled him on stage as he made the declaration. Since Hiccup and Astrid were holding hands Astrid got pulled on stage as well. Hiccup managed to let go before anyone had a chance to see. Astrid stepped to the side so that she was still next to Hiccup, just not in the center with the two Haddock men.
The crowd was a buzz with gasps and choking. Even a bit of whooping. She could hear some of the women in the kitchen 'oohing' with excitement that the man they brought back was indeed handsome, and also the Heir of the Hooligan tribe. She restrained an eye-roll but otherwise ignored the women.
Stoic nudged Hiccup forwards to say a word to the village.
"Uh. Hi!" He began awkwardly. Astrid resisted a chuckle.
"Um, apparently you all thought I was dead. I'm not!" Astrid had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing.
"Um, yeah. So I actually just decided to go travel for a while." She could see the crowd watching Hiccup's hands as he talked, following their chaotic movements much like she had when she first reunited with him. It was one of those Hiccup thing's that proved he is who he says he is.
"Apparently my note had..slipped..between my desk and the wall, so no one ever saw it." Hiccup nodded along to his story. The Hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"Ummm…" Hiccup looked at her for help. She gestured for him to keep going.
"Astrid! Astrid's the one that found me! We both ended up captured by the Outcast's at the same time. What a coincident, right? Uh, yeah, so she told me you all thought I was dead. Gave me a good punch to the face!" He laughed awkwardly.
Hiccup rubbed the back of his head. "So, uh, sorry about the misunderstanding. If I had know you were all, mourning my death, I would have come back earlier, so…"
The crowd was silent for a moment. Astrid understood the shock but she can also see the silence is making Hiccup tense. Finally the silence was broken by Phlegma the Fierce.
"Ack! You owe me three chickens!" She cackled. "I told you it was Hiccup!"
The crowd broke out into cheering and dancing. A few could be seen handing over weapons or food. Spitlout had a line of people handing over different items with them all grumbling it wasn't fair.
"Apparen'ly there's been a bet goin' round." Gobber hobbled on stage towards them. "Some of those who got an eye full of Hiccup at the docks recognized him. There's been a debt on whether you had come back from the dead or not."
"OHH! That makes this so much easier!" Hiccup mumbled, the tension leaving his body.
Stoic and Astrid were laughing at it all. Of course Berk would make a bet about their dead heir being alive and back home.
"Three cheers for the Return of the Hooligan Heir!" Stoic called, pulling Hiccup to his side.
The crowd cheered, a celebrations already beginning. Hiccup looked surprised by the love Berk is showing him, but happy none the less. He was pulled from the stage to the crowd, Stoic and Gobber following behind him. Astrid took a step to join when another round of cheers rang out.
"The true heir is back!"
A weight sat in her gut. She knew she wouldn't be the heir anymore, knew the job would go back to Hiccup. All the sudden the knowledge became reality. Astrid was out of a job. She looked towards Hiccup being shuffled from person to person to say hi, shake a hand or two. This was now Hiccup's job. His birth right.
Astrid took a step back, deciding to take some time to herself. She walked off to the backroom deep in thought. She wasn't angry or upset at loosing her position, nor was she happy or relieved. She didn't know how to feel about it.
What will I spend my days doing? She thought. I hope I can still be in charge of construction on the new addition. But, Hiccup's the one making a new roof for it so maybe not? What do I want to do now? What do I like to do in my free time?
The only thing that came to mind was target practice with her axe. Is that really the only thing I do?
Astrid has never been one for house hold duties. Sewing was complicated, finances were a pain to go through, the one time she tried cutting hair was a disaster; she did enjoy cooking but her mom kicked her out of the kitchen indefinitely when she was twelve. Maybe she could try again?
I like hunting, but only every now and then. Maybe I could join Fishlegs as a fisherman? And we do still run Dragon Training. Maybe I could teach the kids to become vikings?
Astrid sighed to herself. It's not that she loved being the heir, she just liked how busy she was, how she already had a purpose. Now she has to come up with a way to show all of Berk her worth. And that was a lot harder to do without all the dragon raids. Her childhood dream was to be a great dragon slayer, she might still have a chance with that Drago and his war but still…
I could train with Gothi. She was pretty good with treating wounds and knew enough about medicine to get by. Gothi was getting up there in age. They'll need some to take over for her at some point.
Astrid didn't know how long she had been in there, just thinking about what she could do with all her free time. She now had the freedom to do whatever she wanted. She just needed to figure out what she wants. So lost in her thoughts she didn't notice someone walking into the room.
"There You Are!" Cami practically yelled.
"How do you keep doing that?" Astrid yelled back, hand clenched over her speeding heart.
"I'm Bog-Burglar. Were sneaky." The pint sized blonde snapped back. "Is this where you've been hiding? Hiccup's been looking for you."
"Oh, Odin's beard!" Astrid forgot she had promised Hiccup she'd stay with him. She sprang up, not realizing she had even sat down, and went to leave.
"He's outside." Cami came along, following Astrid threw the kitchen to the back door. At first it didn't look like anyone was out there.
"Are you sure he's not around the front?" Astrid asked only to receive a glare.
Some rustling sounds came from the tree line not too far away. Astrid and Cami exchanged a suspicious look before making their way over. As they got closer it sounded like someone was talking. The two blondes were right in front of the tree line when Hiccup jumped out.
"Oh! Hey Astrid! Hi Astrid! There you are!" Hiccup stood right in front of her.
"What are you doing in the woods?" Astrid asked.
"Do we want to know what you are doing in the woods?" Cami added.
"Oh well, I heard you all made a grave for me in the cove and I was….thinking about…going to see it." Hiccup pressed his lips together, like he was trying not to say more.
"Oh, yeah." Astrid nodded, a little unsure. "I guess if I had a grave I would be curious about it too."
"Great!" Hiccup grabbed her shoulders and pushed her towards the Great Hall. "Why don't you go tell my dad where we're heading. Don't want him to get worried!"
Astrid nodded, taking a look back at the two heirs. "I'll be right back. Don't leave without me."
She shrugged off the weird feeling, assuming Hiccup was only acting weird because his grave was brought up. Cami would keep an eye on him, as long as they aren't plotting something together.