Hey Guys, 

Hope all is well in your lives. I have a cold - so yay for that - just kidding. I hate getting sick. I have crappy lungs from a horrible past of bronchitis and pneumonia - so colds take a toll on me. Also, doesn't help that stores have a shortage in cold medication right now, so hopefully I can find some to help. 

Also, sucks cause my work cut hours back for a bit, and I can't afford to stay home even if I wanted to because I'm sick (our economy is the worst right now). 

 Anyway, enough of my ranting, and I hope you enjoy the chapter. 

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"Fix your form." Hiccup told the girl, while he was standing behind her and looking her over to make sure she had the right positions. 

"I'm in the right form." She said back a little sharply. Hiccup walked around her until he was standing in front of her, he smirked. 

"Are you?" He asked. She glared at him. "Your arms are a    little low, you need to bring them up more and straighten out your elbow for more force." Hiccup approached her and looked her in her blue eyes. "May I?" He asked and she nodded. Hiccup grabbed her arms and moved them to the position he wanted them in. "Do you feel the difference?" 

"Yeah, it feels like I have more control." She told him looking in his bright green eyes. 

"Exactly." He backed up again. "Grab a drink of water, and we'll start sparring after." He told her. 

Astrid sighed and relaxed. She walked over to the table where the water was and saw Hiccup limping a little over to a stool. She watched him as she drank her water. Hiccup lifted up his pant leg revealing his prosthetic, he grabbed a small round tin that was beside the stool and cloth. He opened it, dipping his fingers in what looked like a cream - a healing salve - Astrid realized. Hiccup rubbed it around the area above his prosthetic and then wiped his hands on the cloth. Closing the tin and putting it down again. She grabbed more water, and an extra cup and brought it to him. Handing it to him. Hiccup looked up at her. 

"Thanks." He told her, she smiled at him. 

"If you're in too much pain, we can stop." Astrid told him. Hiccup drank the water and looked at her again. 

"I'm fine. I could sit around all day and it will hurt. Heather said something about phantom pains too, could be the issue. My brain still things my foot is there and remembers the pain of the injury." He told her. 

"That must make it hard. To do anything." Astrid told him. Hiccup shrugged. 

"It can, but I'm use to it, its been almost two years since it happened, and I'm lucky your dad even let me continue as the Royal Guard. But I worked hard and proved to him I could still do it. Prosthetic or not." Hiccup explained. He stood up and looked at her. "Ready?" 

Astrid smiled at him and kissed him lightly. Hiccup's eyes widened. 

"It's fine, we're alone. For the record, you're pretty amazing." She smiled at him and Hiccup smiled back. Astrid walked over to the wall of weapons grabbing her favorite axe. "and yes, I'm ready. Are you?" She smirked at him. Hiccup grabbed his sword smiling at her and they walked into the middle of the training area. 

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Astrid was sitting at the table in the dining room picking at her dinner. Her parents were talking about some issues that they had heard about in another Kingdom somewhere. Astrid wasn't really paying attention to the details. Annika was complaining that her food wasn't made properly and demanding she get a new plate of food. The servant girl, who was probably only about eleven or twelve years old took Annika's complaining like a champ and took the princess' plate back to the kitchen to replace the food. 

Astrid looked at her parents. "May I be excused. I'm not really hungry." She told them. Her mother waved her hand at her. Her father made a grumbling sound that sounded like 'fine' and Astrid sighed and got up from hear seat. She spoke to one of the servants on her way out asking for something she'd actually like to eat be brought up to her suite. The servant nodded and hurried off to the kitchen. Astrid started her way back to her suite. Going down a long hallway covered in their portraits of her family and ancestors. She found the staircase she needed and headed up to her room. She looked up and saw the guards who were usually stationed at her room, weren't there. She raised her eyebrows and got closer to her room. She felt someone grab her arm and pull her into a room. She ripped from their arms ready to punch the person when she saw it was Hiccup bracing himself. She sighed. 

"Gods, Hiccup. You scared me." She told him. She let herself relax. 

"Sorry. I just wanted to see you." He told her. She smiled. "Did you eat?" He asked her. 

"Not really, I asked them to bring something up to my room." She told him. "I was going to see if you wanted to go for a ride after?" 

"Sure, do you want me to join you for dinner?" He asked. She smirked. 

"Sure. Just wait a few minutes before coming to my room." She told him. She slipped out of the room and walked down to her door. She saw that her food had been delivered already and the servant girl was setting it up. The girl saw Astrid. 

"Oh, your highness." She said bowing. "I'm sorry, I just thought I'd have it ready for you." 

"Thank you." Astrid told her with a small smile. "You may go, can you send Myra up for me, whenever she can. I don't want to interrupt her dinner if she's eating." The servant girl nodded and smiled before leaving. 

Hiccup waited for the girl to disappear down the staircase before walking over to Astrid's room. He knocked and Astrid let him in. 

"Dinner awaits." She told him gesturing to the tray. He smiled.

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Myra showed up and walked into the room. She saw the tray that was full of eaten or half-eaten food and heard voices from the sitting area. She walked in and saw Astrid and Hiccup sitting and talking. 

"Your Highness." She bowed to Astrid. "You asked for me. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner." Myra said looking at the floor. 

"Myra, it's fine. It's just Hiccup. You don't have to address me like that in front of him." Astrid told her. Myra slowly looked up and she glanced at Hiccup and then looked away again. Almost as if he intimidated her. Astrid noticed this and got up and walked over to Myra. "I was going to go out with him for a ride. If you could-" 

"Cover for you? Of course." Myra told her. "Let me bring your dinner cart to the kitchen, and I'll be back soon."  Astrid smiled at her. 

"Thank you. He won't hurt you, he's really sweet." Astrid told her. Myra nodded at her and then walked away to bring the dinner cart back. Astrid sighed a little and went back to her chair and sat down. Hiccup looked at her. 

"She's scared of me?" Hiccup asked. 

"I think she's just uneasy around you and all the guards. She's messed up before when she was serving my mom, and it didn't end well for her. So she's very wary around any guards now." Astrid told him. Hiccup sighed.  

"What did they do?" Hiccup asked. 

"Beat her, whip her. It happened when I was a little younger, and I didn't see Myra for like a week until she was healed enough to take care of me again. She still had bruises and a black eye when she came back." Astrid sighed. "That's gonna be the first thing to go when I become queen. Treating the servants the way my parents and sister do." 

"I can mention it to my dad. Maybe he can change something, and if he doesn't, I'll try when I'm take over for him as the head of the Royal Guard." Hiccup told her. 

"You can try. I'd appreciate it. Myra is older than both of us and she's like a terrified little girl around the guards. I hate seeing her, or any of the servants grovel for them. They all love me because I'm actually nice to them." Astrid explained. 

"You ready?" Hiccup asked her and stood up. Astrid stood up as well and nodded. 

"Sure, lets go." She said. They went to leave her room and checked the hall first. Astrid saw Myra and smiled at her. Myra went into Astrid's room to cover for her. 

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Hope you enjoyed this chapter! 


~ httydobsessed13