Chapter 5
~ Eva's POV ~

I finished up my breakfast and started for the door. As I turned the handle nothing happened. The large, wooden door stayed fast shut. I yanked again. Again, nothing happened.
I was still trying to wedge the door open when Astrid came out of her room plaiting the end of her braid up. "Oh, sorry, the door is faulty. Just give it a hard pull and it should open." She instructed me.
I tried to take her advice and yanked harder this time, but the door still didn't open for me.
Astrid giggled and came to the my rescue by pulling the door open swiftly and carefully with just one hand.
I marvelled at her skill.
"It takes practice. Hiccup messed up the door handle when he built this house. It doesn't open properly."

Astrid ran her fingers over the oak wood wall and stopped just staring at it as if it held some special secret.
"He maybe a skilled craftsman, but he can't fix a door handle to save his life."

~*~*~*~

Astrid's thoughts drifted back to when Hiccup had built her it on the run up to their wedding. She presumed they would live in Hiccup's old house. But, no. Valka lived there alone.
On their wedding day, they ran out of the Great Hall laughing as the villagers threw homemade confetti of dragon nip and rice and they were ringing bells and yelling congratulations to their new chief, while Gobber played tunes on his panpipes.
They got married not long after Toothless became Alpha dragon so the village was still battered, broken and covered in ice, but they were happy. She hadn't heard Hiccup laugh like he did as they ran in a long time. He had hardly laughed or smiled since his father's death, but that day, he laughed and he changed. He laughed like he was the happiest man on Earth with a broken heart and a falling village, he took that moment to put his hurting aside and make it perfect.
And he persevered.
Astrid had planned to stop running once she was breathless, but Hiccup hadn't. He helped her onto the back of Toothless then they flew up into the sky to relive their romantic flight through the clouds. Astrid wrapped her arms round Hiccup's waist sparking that same excitement as she had the first time she did it. Then she rested her head on his shoulder and kissed his cheek.
"Can we go home, all I want to do it look at you."
Hiccup smiled and glided down at her request. He started towards his home, but turned as he reached it. Astrid frowned as he flew through the trees, he was so close to the pines that she had to duck sometimes in fear of her head. She questioned him, but he just grinned romantically and mysteriously. He landed in a small clearing near the back of the island that Astrid knew well.
The Cove.
They came to a halt where before them stood a beautiful little house. It was crooked and rough, but that was exactly how Astrid liked it.
She jumped off Toothless and ran to the door bursting with excitement.
"Hiccup....Is this?"
Hiccup just stroked Toothless nose with a small smirk on his face and a nod of his head to confirm her question.
Astrid threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. "Hiccup, it's beautiful!"
Hiccup laughed awkwardly and took her hand to lead her towards the door. It was big and had round corners. The handle was a large metal one and creases of bark ran down the front. Carved into the doorframe were small dragons, including their own dragons and a bewilderbeast. Skullcrusher, Meatlug, Hookfang and Barf and Belch were even in there. Carvings of flowers, trees and, to Astrid's delight, two small axes crossed over each other were in the centre of the door. Underneath the Axes were their names and the date they were married.
Astrid smiled and swallowed back the joyful tears. "Hiccup....I don't know what to say..."
She reached for the handle and turned it. Nothing happened. Hiccup stepped forward and took over. "Oh...I had some...t-trouble, getting that...handle to stay on. Here, allow me."
He pushed the handle and it still did not open. Then he turned it and kicked the door open. Astrid gasped and laughed with a hand covering her mouth nervously.
"That's okay, I like it."
Hiccup looked down to hide his scarlet red cheeks of embarrassment as Astrid stepped in and looked round the room filled with wonder.
Paintings hung on the wall and a small kitchen area was on the far left. It was decorated with flowers and even a few wedding gifts, like drawings from the village children, and they were leaning against the vases of flowers. They were paintings and drawings of Hiccup and Astrid in their new house.
"Cute." Astrid sighed.
Hiccup chuckled and picked one of them up signed by Grace. "They just love their new chief's wife." He decided.
Astrid smiled at the thought of her new title.
Wife of the chief, what an honour!
She saw a set of stairs leading up from right and ran towards them, skipping up them as fast as she could.
Upstairs, lay a bedroom with a big double bed. Four posts rose up from each corner and four toppers stood proudly on each one. The headboard at the top end of the bed in the middle held the same crossed axes shape carving as the front door did. Cupboards for her to store her things were in the corners of the room and shelves lined the walls with mementoes on and a few ornaments.
She stood speechless with her mouth unhinged. "Hiccup...I-I don't know what to-"
Hiccup nervously sidled over and took both her hands in his, looking her right between the eyes. "Astrid Hofferson. I vowed to care for you, to love you and to protect you before the entire village, but I wanted to vow it before you alone. You are my one love and I will never leave you but I want you to know that I promise to always be with you-". He took a ring out of his pocket. It was silver and was a ring of flowers just like the one around her head. He knelt down and held the ring out to her. "Astrid Hofferson, I promise to care for you, to love you and to protect you always. I will speak where words are needed and share the silence when they're not. I will share with you all my secrets and promise to hold onto you with the arms of my heart. I will never let you go and I am not perfect, but I hope you can trust me and my faults. I love you Astrid and nothing you or anyone else can do will change that. Will you take this ring as a token of my promise?"
Astrid laughed and stretched out her shaking hand to his while wiping the tears from her eyes with the other.
He slipped the ring on her finger and stood. He was trembling too.
Astrid rested her hand on his cheek. "I take this ring, Hiccup Haddock. And I accept you with your faults and promise to share with you my secrets and sing laughter into our mistakes. You are mine, and I am forever yours."

And he kissed her for the first time in their little house in The Cove.

~*~*~*~

I had slipped out the door when I was listening to Astrid hum while she poured herself a drink. I guessed she was lost in thought, in happy thoughts. I wished I had happy thoughts and memories. It was something I had always wished for.

The morning was just warming up as the sun cooked the stones beneath my blistered feet. It felt nice to be free to do whatever I wanted.
But, I had already made a promise to Hiccup that I would work and earn my keep. I would work with Gobber as he had suggested.

But who was Gobber?

I passed a few more homes before coming to a crooked, but inviting, saddle and crafts workshop. I slowly reached out my hand to knock on the pine door frame.
Maybe someone in here would know Gobber.
"Hello?...Anyone here?"
A blast of lava and fire burst out from a doorway a bit further into the shop almost like an unwanted welcome.
"Oh wow...HELLO?" I called again.

A grumpy, rough kind of voice groaned from behind the wall. "Whatcha standing there for, come on in!"

I raised my eyebrows, but crept in wary of what was about to happen.
A fat man in striped, worn-out pants and a goat's fur vest stood before me. He had a metal golden mask strapped to his face while he prodded a sparking fire.
"You're late again! What do you....oh great Odin's skivvies! Sorry lass, I thought you were Hiccup! Can I help you?" He asked, his tone changing as he raised his mask and revealed his soft blue eyes and crooked smile.
I couldn't help but feel glad I wasn't Hiccup.
I giggled and coughed as another blast from the nearby dragon drowned me in a cloud of smoke. "Err....Do you know Gobber and where I might find him?"
The man bounced his head up and down proudly at the sound of his own name. "Yup! You've found him! That's me name! And you might be?..."
I smiled and waved my hand to waft away the smoke. "Eva. I'm staying with Hiccup...he sent me here to find work?"

Gobber rolled his eyes. "He would skive off and dump his work load on a pretty wee thing like you! To have a job in my workshop, you must like fire, resent hygiene and can deal with long hours and the constant, stagnant smell of smoke? Can I count on you?"

I smiled and held out my hand for him to shake. "Like a clock!"

He grinned, I couldn't help but notice his missing teeth and a large stone awkwardly lodged where a real tooth had once stood.
"I like you. Here, sharpen this sword!"

I took the sword in my thin arms and heavily lifted it onto the rapidly spinning sharpener.

"So lass, where are you from and what are you doing on Berk?" he asked curiously.
I looked away, why did everyone care about where I had come from? But this time, I had no excuses left.
"Err.....I come from....err....the Isle of Berdwick."
Gobber stopped what he was doing, but he didn't turn round. "That's a four day sail from here...Besides...What would you be doing there? It's a desolate Island after the Battle of Berdwick Cliffs..."
I stopped and stared at the blade. "I...It's a long story..."
Gobber smiled kindly and rested his chin on his fist. "I got all day."

I chuckled lightly and sat down on a nearby crate. "Well...You see, Berdenease people flocked back to Berdwick after the attack and defended it. Our Chief made the island strong again. We used to be the crown of the archipelago, Gobber! Berdenease don't give up.
Well, we were gaining notice in the trade works when a hundred ship armada attacked. Some of my family were out fishing and they escaped, but my parents and my brother and I...we weren't so lucky. This man went by the name, Eddval Skull-Hunter. He did not come armed with soldiers, he came armed with Night Furies, hundreds of them. We were over-run and Eddval said should any of us try to escape, we would die. So nobody knew that the island had become one large dungeon for an entire clan. We were all imprisoned, except my father who was the only one to stand up against Eddval, and Eddval made him watch my mother get tortured, then he killed them both.
Nobody stood up against Eddval again. Instead, people started to join him to save themselves and their families. Any who did not join him were caged, like I and my brother amongst others. We were trapped there for...I don't know how many days or nights, but I cried and screamed for help. No one seemed to hear us. I don't know why they didn't just kill us, they decided to starve us instead.
As the time scraped by, my brother got sick. Severely sick.
So sick that I cried all night and screamed at the iron door begging for them to hear us.
Nothing.
Then one night a man in a black suit came. He looked me over. Then he turned his gaze to my brother. I pleaded with him to help my brother because he was so sick. But the man pushed me away and his partner held me back. I begged him not to hurt him....but then....he pulled a dagger out of his pocket. At first he went to slit my brother's throat.
But he didn't.
He glared at me and instead, began to stab him fiercely.
I don't know how many times he stabbed my brother. But each time I screamed. Maybe three times, just enough to kill him.
I got so angry I pulled away and grabbed the man with the dagger and I began to shake him. He turned and aimed to strike me. I ducked and he only caught the side of my face and neck. Screaming in pain, I yanked the dagger from his hand, then...-" I stopped and gasped for breath before pulling out the dagger from my pocket that was dabbed with bloodstains. "-I stabbed him...with this..."
I couldn't help myself and I broke down in tears. Gobber looked around wondering what to do with a sobbing girl. I felt like such a child.
"Oh lass...come here..." He sighed, drawing me in and hugging me tightly. I caught my breath and wiped my eyes.
"Then...I ran. I knew if I stayed I would die. So I ran. I hurried through the darkness tripping and crying with only the dagger for protection. A lady, she was dressed all in black leather which meant she was a Skull-Hunter for Eddval, but she took pity on me and helped me escape. I saw a ship leaving in the darkness. It was a life saver. It happened to be Johann's ship and I hid in one of the empty barrels. His next stop, Berk. That's how I escaped The Granite Skull, as Eddval has renamed it..."
I took a deep breath. I had never shared that with anyone before.
Gobber shrugged and carried on hammering his nails into the saddle that he was working on. "Well, you can't do anything about your past now. Look to the future, Eva."
I frowned disbelievingly at him. "But I killed a man, Gobber! That is some big past mistake and I'm not even sixteen yet!"
Gobber turned to me his eyes glazed with question to complete his unreadable expression. "And I've killed thousands of dragons just like Toothless! I can't take that back, but, I had to move on from there...Can I have a look at that."
I handed him the dagger and he examined it by a small window so he could see every detail.
"That's not just any dagger, darlin'. That's the claw of a Night Fury."
I tipped my head to the side and my mouth hung open with confusion.
"Who....is Toothless?"

~*~*~*~

So, what did you think of part 5? :) What about Astrid and Hiccup's wedding and the house? Or about Eva's story? What about Gobber's reaction? Did yo think he would know about the Granite Skull? :) as always, feedback, comments, messages, good or bad, are much appreciated! Thanks for reading!

~ Httyd_2014 <3