HICCUP POV

"Okay, then, good night," I yawned.

"Thanks, Hiccup. Good night," she said.

Astrid rolled to her side and threw half of my fur blanket over her. She wasn't wearing her shoulder guards or her spiked skirt. I guess it wouldn't make much sense to wear them to bed. How do those even come off? 

Ugh, come on, Hiccup. Stop thinking about random things and go to sleep.

I rolled to my side and made my wooden bed creak with every slight movement. With a few deep breaths, I fell asleep. 

However, after what seemed to be a couple hours later, I heard a lot of creaking beside me. The squeaking sound of the wood was enough to wake me up and I looked over to Astrid. 

She was fidgeting in bed like crazy! Her clothes were drenched in sweat and her eyebrows were scrunched up like something was bothering her. Her breathing was uneven and she was making quiet whimpering noises in her sleep.

I decided to nudge her and wake her up.

"Astrid? Astrid?" I called, shaking her shoulder with my hand.

She quickly sat up, gasping and coughing uncontrollably.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I asked urgently.

She continued gasping and breathing, sitting up and looking away from me. I propped myself up with one arm, looking at her panting back.

"It's not real... it's not real..." I heard her whisper to herself.

"What's not real?" I asked.

Astrid lay back down and curled up in a ball facing away from me.

"I'm fine, Hiccup. Let me sleep." 

That was all she said to me. 

I lay back down and watched her carefully, wondering what was going on. What could be bothering her so much? I know she told me she had nightmares, but I thought they were just bad dreams. I didn't know they were this extreme.

I fell asleep again and when I woke up in the morning, she was gone. 

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(The 2nd night)

Just like the past few days, Astrid again was sluggish during the day and yawning all the time. I was getting really concerned.

Tonight, I was surprised to see her back in my room. Her parents had returned from their trip, but Astrid said she was too old to sleep with them, so she wanted to sleep in my room again. She said even if she still had nightmares, at least she could actually fall asleep in the first place if she was beside me.

Of course I offered her my bed and we slept beside each other again.

And again, she woke me up. This time, I woke up when her heavy hand smacked me in the face while she was thrashing around in her nightmare.

"Aauhh! Astrid!" I groaned in pain. 

She was shaking uncontrollably and making those same sobbing sounds.

I shook her until she woke up. I waited until her breathing stabilized before I spoke to her.

"Astrid, please. Please tell me what's bothering you," I said as softly as I could.

"It's noth-- nothing... I'm fine," she still denied, sniffling and wiping her tears on my blanket. 

"No, you're not fine. Do your parents know about this?" I asked concernedly.

"No... and Hiccup, you can't tell anyone about... this... about me. Promise me okay?" she sniffled.

"Okay... I won't."

I had considered telling our parents what she was going through every night, but I decided to keep silent if that's what she wanted.

She curled up in her ball again and covered herself in my fur blanket.

This time, I wanted to offer more support in any way I could.

I scooted closer to her and held her in my arms. Surprisingly, she scooted back towards me! I tried to breath as calmly and steadily as I could, and that seemed to help her steady her breathing as well.

This cycle went on for a couple more nights.

Every night, she'd hop into my room and ask if she could sleep there, even though I'd told her she could sleep here anytime. We'd both lie down and fall asleep. Then she'd wake up from a nightmare and not tell me anything. I would then snuggle close to her and hold her until we both fell asleep. 

I was growing worried and frustrated at the same time. Frustrated that she wouldn't tell me what she's dealing with; not giving me any chance to help her. All I could do was hold her and try to carry her pain as much as I could. 

One night, while I was holding her in bed, I wept and prayed to the gods to let her sleep in peace for once. When will this ever end?

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It was bedtime again, and I was already holding Astrid in my arms before she even woke up with a nightmare. Everything was going fine so far. Maybe her nightmares are over. 

But tonight, I found out otherwise...

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A/N: Thank you for reading!

[Next Chapter: We find out what's been plaguing Astrid all these nights]