Lightning and Death Itself Deleted Scene 04b
A/N I've gotten multiple requests to write sequels, epilogs, etc., for this story. At this time, I don't have any ideas to add; the book is pretty well closed. But in the interest of keeping my readers happy, I can offer you something a little different: deleted scenes.
Like the deleted scenes from a movie or TV show, these are chunks of dialog and action that I considered writing, but ultimately left out or glossed over because I thought they distracted from the flow of the story. But they have merit, and since you want to read more from this story, I'll write them out and let you enjoy them. They will appear in no particular order.
This scene takes place in the middle of Ending 1-a. It almost tripled in size as I wrote it, compared to what I expected it to be, so I broke it into two chapters. This is the second part.
o
The next day, Stoick was the first to arrive at the Mead Hall. He was secretly dreading this meeting; he didn't expect anything good to come of it. The Hoffersons got there next, with Edda looking determined and Gunnarr oddly relaxed. They closed the doors out of habit. Stoick had to remind them that dragons have difficulty with door handles, and they needed to leave the door open so their children could join them.
The two Night Furies arrived together; Hiccup let Astrid enter first. "Does anyone have anything to say before we get started?" the chief asked.
"Yes," nodded Mr. Hofferson. "I'd like to ask if we could move this meeting outside."
"Meetings always happen in the Mead Hall," his wife shot back. "It's tradition."
"Our children can't talk unless they can write," Gunnarr replied. "Either we move outside so they can write in the dirt, or we let them carve up the wooden floor with their claws, or we condemn them to silence in this meeting."
"There's nothing they could say that will change my mind on anything." His wife folded her arms and glared at him.
"Mrs. Hofferson, my son is involved in this, too," Stoick said, as gently as he could. "It's against Viking law to have a meeting about someone, and not let them take part. We'll move outside." They filed back out the doors, Edda coming out last.
THANK YOU
"You're welcome, Astrid," Stoick answered. "Uhhh... who would like to start?"
Edda began to speak, but Gunnarr cut her off. "I'd like to say something important, if I could.
"When I was talking to our dragons yesterday afternoon –"
"You mean, our children," Edda corrected him sharply.
"...I realized that we're seeing the head-on collision of two different cultures. Humans are supposed to pair off for life, with a ceremony that shows the entire community that they've committed to each other. Dragons pair off for as long as they want to stay that way, and as long as their young are cared for, with no official signs at all. We've been approaching this conflict like typical Vikings, where one side wins it all and the other side loses everything.
"What if we tried something different, something that would make everybody happy?"
"If it doesn't involve a legal marriage, I'm against it," his wife snapped.
"Edda, tell me this," he said as he turned to face her. "What bothers you the most – the fact that they aren't legally committed for life, or the fact that they haven't been through a ceremony?"
"Both, I guess," she said hesitantly. "If I had to choose one or the other, I guess it's the lack of legal commitment."
"So if they made a legal commitment to each other, in a dragony way instead of with a human ceremony, you'd be okay with that?"
"You can't just dispense with the ceremony, just like that!" she exclaimed. "It's the ceremony that makes the marriage!"
"Edda, do you remember what happened in that house over there, about two weeks ago?" the chief asked.
"How could I forget?" she said. "It was that awful divorce between the sailor and the seamstress! I couldn't believe it – they'd barely been married a year! But if he was beating her like she said he was, then I couldn't blame her. I still feel bad for her."
"They had a nice wedding ceremony, didn't they?" Stoick went on.
"It was beautiful," Edda agreed. "It was every little girl's dream. But that brute didn't keep the vows he made!"
"So you agree, it's not the ceremony that makes the marriage, right? Otherwise, those two would still be together. It's the commitment that makes the marriage. True?"
Edda nodded reluctantly. "I guess, when you put it that way, yes. But we're Vikings! We need some kind of ceremony, don't we?"
"Sure," her husband said. "But not a human ceremony. We need a ceremony that makes sense for dragons."
Edda turned to her daughter. "You've kept telling me dragons don't have ceremonies like that."
WE MADE ONE UP YESTERDAY
Edda stared at Hiccup's scratched runes, then turned on her husband. "Were you behind this?"
"No, dear, it was their idea," he replied with a smile. "All I did was write it down." He pulled a folded sheet of parchment out of a pocket and passed it to Stoick. "Every tradition has to have a starting point. Today, we'll start a new tradition."
"Today?" Edda gasped. "You mean, right here? Right now? But I'm not dressed for a wedding!"
Hiccup let out a dragony snort.
AFTER ALL THE PRESSURE YOU'VE
PUT ON US TO GET MARRIED,
YOU'RE NOT READY?
Astrid wrote just underneath –
OKAY, WE'LL WAIT
The dragons waited until the Hoffersons were out of sight before they unleashed a round of Night Fury laughter. Stoick was reading the paper Gunnarr had given him. He nodded and folded it again.
"Interesting work, Hiccup, Astrid. I hope everyone finds this good enough." They bobbed their great heads up and down in agreement.
About half an hour later, Gunnarr and Edda returned to the Mead Hall. They were wearing their best clothes, and they'd brought their neighbors along. "A wedding needs witnesses," Edda explained. The neighbors kept their distance as best they could; they were not dragon friends.
"All right, let's begin," the chief said, in his best businesslike tone. The dragons turned to face one another solemnly. Stoick glanced at the creature his son had become, but Hiccup had eyes only for Astrid.
"Today, we meet to witness the union of Astrid daughter of Gunnarr and Hiccup son of Stoick, according to the standards of dragons and the traditions of men. We choose to set aside most of the elements of a human wedding, seeing how they are either irrelevant or impossible for dragons, but there is one part of that wedding that we cannot ignore. That is the vows that you must make to one another. Due to the language differences between us, I ask that you write them, so all the witnesses can understand the commitment you're making to each other. We understand that they'll have to be short.
"Hiccup, please make your vows to Astrid."
New-night-fury scratched a double row of runes in the dirt, as neatly as he could.
I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU
AND NEVER LEAVE YOU
He left a large space between the two rows. The witnesses walked behind him so they could read the runes right-side-up, and nodded.
"Astrid, please make your vows to Hiccup."
Small-night-fury was facing her husband-to-be, so she wrote her runes upside-down compared to his, with the first line in between New-night-fury's two lines.
ȠOʎ ƎΛVƎΊ ᴚƎΛƎN ⱭNV
I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU
ȠOʎ ƎΛOΊ SʎVMΊV ΊΊIM I
AND ALWAYS LOVE YOU
Edda suddenly dabbed at her eyes. "Their vows are intertwined, just like their lives!"
Gunnarr also felt the need to wipe something out of his eye. "They didn't tell me about that part."
Stoick took a deep breath. "Because you've committed to each other with forever-words, your vows are just as binding as any human wedding vow. Gunnarr?" The father of the bride rested his left hand on his daughter's head and stuck out his right hand. The father of the groom stood across from him with his left hand on Hiccup's head, and they clasped hands between the two dragons.
"It's done!" Stoick exclaimed. "You are now bonded together for life. Hiccup, you may kiss your wife." The dragons looked at him, puzzled. "I know you can't really kiss anymore," he shrugged, "but you need to do something to show your commitment."
The dragons made some croons and grunts at one another, then leaned forward and rubbed noses.
Edda wiped away a tear. "You two are amazing! Congratulations! And thank you, all of you. I feel much better now."
"I'm glad," her husband nodded.
"When is the reception?" she asked.
"Edda... don't push it," Stoick rumbled.
"We'll have a little celebration at our house tonight for both families," Gunnarr decided. "Hiccup, Astrid, we'll provide some fresh fish, in addition to people food. The good stuff, not the second-rate fish that the dragons usually get. Toothless is invited, of course." The Night Furies nodded "yes" enthusiastically.
The Hoffersons walked slowly back to their home. "I know that wasn't the wedding we always dreamed of for our daughter," he said thoughtfully, "but it was a nice little ceremony anyway."
She nodded. "I guess the next question is, what about grandchildren?"
Gunnarr stared at her. "You're still adjusting to Astrid becoming a dragon. Are you sure you're ready for grand-dragons?"
Back by the Mead Hall, New-night-fury gave Small-night-fury another nose rub. "I guess it's nice to make it official, even though it doesn't change anything."
Small-night-fury nodded. "I'm just glad my mother is off the warpath. I guess she'll be begging me for grandchildren next."
"Do you think she realizes they'll be grand-dragons?" he wondered.
"Hey – there's an advantage to being a dragon that Toothless never mentioned!" she exclaimed happily. "We can have all the little ones we want, and we'll never have to change any diapers!"