Chapter 11
~ Astrid's POV ~

I had been grounded by order of Gobber, the acting chief.
I was agitated and frustrated at the prospect of Hiccup in danger and I unable to help him, though I could also see the evident common sense in it.
Hiccup's life depended on the wisdom of his rescuers.
No matter how much I missed him or worried about him, we had one shot at saving him, or we might lose our chief.

We might lose my best friend.

I spent my days helping forge extra weapons, guide distracted Vikings and keep the dragons under control.
The dragons were just as lost as the people were. The people were short of their chief, the dragons were short of their alpha, all were disorientated and all were leaderless.

One particular evening, I was standing in the workshop slamming my hammer angrily against an axe on the anvil. My face was red with the heat from the blazing furnace and the metal shoulder pads resting upon my collarbone were beginning to burn my neck and face as they soaked up the heat.
I had slammed the hammer so many times I had lost count and had begun to bend the axe, except, I hadn't even noticed, I didn't care.
The axe head slowly bent over the anvil edge as I vented my anger on it.

I felt like that axe as life pounded me with this situation, just as I was pounding the axe. The slamming of the metal was starting to ring in my ears and it took me a few moments to realise somebody was talking to me.

"Astrid, are you alright?" The voice asked.

I looked up to the doorway, but didn't stop swinging, only leading to bringing the hammer down with extreme force on my finger.
I jumped back, stamping on the floor angrily. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Gobber hurried forward from the doorway. "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen...sit down, I'll get you some ice." He said, trying his best to comfort me.

Vikings weren't a particularly comforting type of people.

"All I need is a few broken fingers right now!" I snapped, biting my tongue.

Gobber came back with ice wrapped in a piece of old cloth. He curled the crushed ice around my hand and gave me a tired smile.

"You don't look well." He mumbled eventually.

"I haven't slept...," I sighed and looked back to the saddle-making area where not that long ago, Hiccup was planning on making himself a new saddle with his fresh leather from Johann.

How unimportant that seemed now.

"I haven't slept since I returned."

Gobber took my other hand in his and ran it through his broad, rough fingers.

"Go home, I'll finish up here. Go home and see that beautiful daughter of yours."

I nodded gratefully, forcing a smile, and followed the small dirt path back to our home.
I struggled to get the door open with my left hand. I did everything with my right hand, the opposite to Hiccup, who did everything with his left hand.

Once in, I was immediately faced with my four year old daughter sitting at the table with her arms folded on the pine wood, she was intensely staring down. Her eyes darted up at the sight of her mother and she smiled.

"Hi Mummy!"

I walked over beside her and sat down, also folding my arms, though she folded hers around her waist as a I did so.
She had been so quiet since I had returned home alone.

She missed her Daddy.

"Are you okay?" I asked, softly.

"Yes. Is Daddy home yet?" She replied quickly.

"No." I solemnly replied.

"Oh." Her green eyes stopped dancing and she looked back down at her hands on the table.

I noticed she had something clasped in her small fingers.

"What have you got?" I questioned, trying to change the subject.

She looked down and quickly covered it up.

"It's my special." She answered, a small smile climbing up her rosy face.

I raised a curious eyebrow, "Your special?"

"Yup! And only Daddy knows about the special. It's our secret!" She squealed, giggling.

I looked down quickly hoping to catch a glimpse of what was in the child's hands.

I couldn't see, Lucy moved too quick.

"Well come' on, my special, it's time for bed." I sighed, kissing her head and patting her back.

Lucy slid off the chair and scurried into her room with a cheeky smile on her face.
I took one last check on my daughter, then I knocked on Eva's bedroom door.
"Eva, if you need anything I'll be in Lucy's room."

"Okay. Thanks Mrs. Haddock!" Came the muffled reply.

When I entered Lucy's room again, the little girl was climbing into bed.

"Mummy, can you tell me a story?" She begged, her big eyes glistening.

"No, Mummy's too tired tonight." I huffed, tucking the blankets around her.

Lucy's face fell considerably and she looked back down to her hands where her special was still hidden away from view, "Aww...okay."

I kissed her good night and blew out the candle.

~*~

In bed that night, I tossed and turned, begging that sleep would bid me peace, but no such blessing was to be bestowed tonight, again.

My night was instilled with nightmares and fear. I would cry myself to sleep then wake myself up because I couldn't breathe and struggle to regain sanity before remembering all I was fighting tonight, this brought back the tears and then I was back to square one.

In the early hours of the morning, I gave up and started for Lucy's room hoping the sleeping child would give me some of my tranquility back.

I tip-toed in and knelt at my daughter's bedside.

"You're not alone, Astrid, you have the most beautiful daughter in all the world." I whispered to myself.

Lucy's slow short breaths and sighs were enough already to calm my rough spirit. As I spoke softly into the silence of the night, I realised that Lucy was still holding tight onto her special.

Curiosity prevailed and I reached out to take the small thing. I drew out of her coiled hand, a piece of scrunched up paper.

On it, clearly in Hiccup's handwriting, was written,

'I love you, my little Night Fury'

I squeezed the paper into my palm as the tears streamed uncontrollably from my eyes.
For all I knew, Hiccup could already be dead and this would be the last thing my daughter had of her father.

"I'm sorry, Lucy....I'm so sorry..."

I tried to control myself when my distress roused Lucy slightly.
I left the room and sat at the kitchen table instead.

I tried to think of nice things to calm myself, anything to wipe away the painful thoughts.

"I would swim and sail on savage seas......with ne'er a fear of drowning......if you would promise me your heart and love for all....eternity."

I smiled and sang the words of the song Hiccup had used to propose to me.
It has taken me by surprise because we had done it before now as a joke, and I had watched Hiccup do it with Valka many a time, but when he proposed to me, I wasn't expecting it.

I continued humming the song to myself, waltzing around the room.

I hadn't noticed the door open.

"That's nice."

I had been dancing slowly around the room imagining Hiccup in front of me, but when the voice interrupted, my hands dropped to my sides and my eyes darted in the direction of the sound.

There leaning against the door frame with his arms folded and a smile on his face, his blue eyes sparkling and blonde locks of hair flipping everywhere, was Solomon.

"Solomon!" I cried joyfully, running up to him.

I threw my arms around his neck.
He hugged me back, laughing, seemingly just as glad to see me as I was to see him.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" He asked, smiling down at me.

He was taller than Hiccup, a few inches taller. And broader in his shoulders.

I shrunk back and looked down nervously. "I don't like goodbyes..."

He smiled down at me dreamily.

"You could have said, 'see ya later', or 'take care', but instead you left and I ...never knew why." He sighed, his chest rising and falling in sync with my own.

I sighed again with a brief smile and rubbed my hands together nervously, I couldn't think of an excuse, and I couldn't lie to him.

"They're just other ways of saying goodbye." I replied. "How was I supposed to say 'take care, I'll never see you again!' That's not fair on you, sorry." I snapped, harder than I had anticipated.

He looked me square in the eyes, I was struggling to read the look on his face. He was just...staring.

"Was leaving without a 'take care' more fair?..." He asked slowly.

I sighed and looked down, his face was too intense for me to handle right now.
"How did I know I would ever see you again? How was I supposed to say goodbye?" I questioned.

I looked up again and he looked down, seemingly struggling with the same eye contact problem.

"We'll never know because you left before giving yourself a chance."

"I don't take chances...can we drop this now please? Why did you even come?"

He grinned and leant back again, refolding his arms.
"Because you need my help."

I rested my hands on my hips and glared at him. "I have an entire island of warriors, fearless, blood-thirsty Vikings, and I have an army of dragons, what makes you think I need your help?"

He took a step closer to me, his blue eyes shining and sparkling in the dim light. "The reason you're sitting at your kitchen table at three a.m. You're scared and you're too proud to admit it! You may be fearless Astrid Hofferson, but fearless is having no fear...and you're eyes are burning with fear. I'm staying with your friend, Gobber, he was on watch and he welcomed me and my help. I'll be waiting if you decide that, not that you have no fear, but you can face the fear you do have..."

He started for the door and closing it behind him, he turned back to speechless me with a stern look on his face. "When you're fearless in the face of fear, now that...that is bravery."

He turned his back on me and closed the door as he strolled into the silent darkness of night on Berk.

~*~*~*~
~ Hiccup's POV ~

I was still weak and starving when I woke in the morning. My head ached and my chest was tight as though a rubber band was tied around my waist. Luca was already gone when I arose into a painful sitting position.
I squeezed my eyes shut hoping to block out the pain a little.
It worked for a moment before the blood thumps came rolling back again.

Before I had properly attempted to stand, Sonya hurried in.

"Don't move! You will just fall over! You're too weak to get out of bed yet."
She ordered, making me sit against the wall because I refused to go back to bed.

"I have to move...I have a family to get home to." I whined through the aches and pains.

She walked back to me with a smile on her face as she stirred a small bowl of stew.
"You're not going anywhere with no meat on your bones." She laughed.

I rolled my eyes and sighed.
"I've been a talking fishbone all my life, what's a few pounds gonna do to me?"

She chuckled lightly and sat down beside me.
For the first time, I properly got to see what she looked like.

She had long dark hair tied over her shoulder with a small piece of leather. Her hair seemed to melt into colour with her animal skin dress. Sonya's skin was darker than my own but seemingly smoother, as if almost caramel and her dark eyes were nearly black because they were such a deep brown that the defining line between her pupil and her iris was no longer visible.

She was pretty, I couldn't deny that, but I truly wished it was Astrid trying to make me fat, even if she was force feeding me one of her terrible meals, I would be the happiest man on Earth.

"Here, open up!" Sonya smiled as she spooned the thick soup into my mouth and it seemed to clog in my throat.

The meat was hoarse and the vegetables were tasteless, it was vile.
But, I was so hungry, that mouthful after mouthful I ate until the entire bowl was gone.

"Any better?" She asked when I was finished.

"Yeah..." I croaked quietly, leaning back with a semi-contended sigh.

Sonya sat back and sighed in synchronisation with me bringing an awkward smile to both of our faces.
"Well, you better be ready because training starts tomorrow."

I looked down trying to plan my next sentence in my head.

How was I supposed to tell her?

"Sonya I....I can't train your dragons...not while Eddval is in charge..."

Sonya stared blankly at me.

The look that crossed her face momentarily crushed me.
The look of disappointment I had faced my whole life, over and over and over again.

I didn't want to disappoint anyone else.

"But Hiccup! What about Avril, or me, or Luca! All of us are trapped here until Eddval gets what he wants, then we are all free! If you refuse, he will kill you and we are stuck here forever!"

I still couldn't look at her. It hurt too much. Then I forced myself to look up, her face was fallen, but for some reason, she didn't look as disappointed as I had expected, she just looked angry.
Her emotions didn't match her story.

She was unreadable.

"I can't! There's too much at stake! If I don't train them, my life is on the line as well as my family's and probably yours too, he will probably try and force me with blackmail. But, if I train them, the consequences will go miles and miles beyond this little island...he will take over our world, all dragons controlled, all people trapped....I ask you which is worse? My life, or world domination?"

A tear slipped from Sonya's eye.
She swallowed hard and readied herself to continue.
"What are you gonna say to him?"

I shrugged and played with the loose strings on the wrist of my shirt.
"I will tell him I can't do it...he can threaten me and hurt me all he wants, he can even take my life, but I am no coward and I will not carry a shame as big as this on my back before I die."

Sonya stood at my words and played with the ends of her hair nervously.
"Well...rest up and prepare yourself...because...tomorrow you face him."

She left the room without another word.

I stared at the empty bowl hanging over the fire.
For the first time in a long time, I was unsure of what was gonna happen next and I was scared.

Very scared.

~*~*~*~

Thank you for reading chapter 11! I hope you enjoyed it! What did you think? What about Solomon coming to Berk? Or Astrid missing Hiccup more? What about Sonya begging Hiccup? I'll update soon! :)

Thanks again,

~ Httyd_2014 <3