Astrid stared up at the thoughtless sky above her; its flawless blue met the mottled purple of night. Astrid sighed contently as she traced circles in the grass beside her. The spot on the cliff, off the island of Berk, faced outward towards the never ending sea beneath the Meridian of Misery. This place had always been a sanctuary for her through the years, and she needed it more than ever right then.
Astrid closed her eyes, humming to herself. How she wanted to be able to forget everything that had happened in that conversation. That dreaded conversation. Stormfly butted her nose against Astrid’s head, gently drawing Astrid from her thoughts.
“Hey girl. Yes, we can go flying.Just wait a second Stormfly.” Astrid rose to her knees and picked up her studded headband beside her. Astrid massaged the skin above her brow before putting on the headband under her bangs. Sighing once again, Astrid tossed her long, heavy, loose hair behind her shoulders as she climbed onto her dragon, Stormfly’s back. Stormfly’s haunches bunched up, then let go like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Astrid breathed in the fresh air around her. Even though she couldn’t see anything because of the vexing combination of wind and her hair she still felt free. There was nothing to worry about. No expectations and no one to frustrate her. Absentmindedly, Astrid patted Stormfly’s neck. Stormfly warmed underneath her touch. It always amazed Astrid how Stormfly could always pull her out of a wicked mood.
Astrid smiled, pulling hair away from her face enough to see the last light of the sun disappear into the clouds. Slightly relieved by the concealment that the darkness provided, Astrid lay back and closed her eyes. She lay down, listening to the whispering of the winds running.
000
“Astrid, we need to talk.” My father’s voice broke the uncomfortable silence.
I glanced up from my food and met my father’s gaze. “About what?”
“Your mother and I have decided to send you to the Warrior’s Camp on Breakneck Island. We know it’s been a dream of yours for a while, and well, here is your final answer. You will be leaving…”
“What!” I blinked at my father. “Who said it still is my ‘dream’. Who says it hasn’t changed since I was little. Thank you for finally giving me a chance at a dream, but I don’t want to take it.”
“Astrid, do you know how much money this is? Imagine all the respect that the Hofferson name will get if you go. This is a once in the lifetime shot that you are going to take.” My mother sensibly added to the conversation.
“So you’re just going to send me off like that?” I slouched back in my chair. “Like I’m a piece of twine on a package? Have you ever thought that I enjoy life on Berk? Things have changed so much, can’t you see that?”
My father just shook his head. “Things may have changed, but nothing will change this.”
I slammed my fork down, my vision blurry. I pushed my chair back from the table and turned towards the door. Suddenly everything turned black.
000
Astrid’s eyes fluttered open. It was only a dream this time, but it wasn’t earlier. Groaning softly, she sat back up and gazed into the moonlit world. While she slept, Stormfly had continued flying randomly. Neither of them had any clue where they were, and neither wishing to go back to Berk yet. So, they settled with trying to find a vacant island.
After a few minutes, Astrid and Stormfly came across a pretty decently sized island and landed. Without any real care, Astrid jumped off of her dragon and pulled out a blanket from one of the saddle bags. Settling into the crook of Stormfly’s stomach, Astrid settled down to try to sleep peacefully. Sleep was just reaching out to her when a voice called out from the darkness.
“Astrid?”
Astrid clicked open her eyelids and grabbed her trusty double-headed axe. “Who’s there?” she called back.
A form of a man and his small dragon stepped forward into a shaft of light. “Gees, you can’t even recognize your best friend? That hurts, Astrid.”
“Well, that’s not my fault is it? You’re the one that chose to surprise me, Hiccup. For all I know, you could have been my mother.” Astrid lessened the grip on her axe and set it down beside her.
“Oh come on, no mother in her right mind would come this far away from Berk; certainly not when she could have been sleeping in her comfy bed.” Hiccup’s prosthetic foot click-tapped as he sauntered over to Astrid, with Toothless close behind. Folding his legs under him, Hiccup sat a few centimeters beside Astrid. “Speaking of sleeping, shouldn’t you be sleeping in your own bed in a comfortable setting, not sleeping in an unknown and possibly hostile place?”
“It’s not hostile….yet. I just felt like a rest after a night ride.” Astrid crossed her arms defensively.
“Oh really?...What’s wrong?”
“What! I, um…nothing’s wrong. Why would you….” Astrid stuttered, trying to get the words out. Hiccup raised his eyebrows. “Fine, I just needed to get away from my father, ok?”
“Why’s that? I’m just saying, you usually don’t have fights with your parents. It’s usually mine that are the trouble out of the two of us.” Hiccup glanced up at Astrid, waiting patiently for her answer.
“Uh…My father announced that I would be going to the Warriors Camp at Breakneck Island next month. He couldn’t understand that I didn’t want to go. I tried to explain it, but he just got stuck deeper in the mud. They just don’t understand that I can be perfectly happy here…sometimes. Definitely not now.”
“You lost the argument,” Hiccup stated.
“Yep.”
“Why are you not happy?”
“Isn’t that a little obvious? Everything is not going as planned. I’m going to be gone for a whole year. There is a lot to be unhappy about. It seems to outnumber the happy.”
“I believed that for a while too, but someone taught me to think happier about anything.” Hiccup’s dragon, Toothless, hit him gently topside the head with his tail. “Oh, I’m sorry, two.” Hiccup aimed a lopsided grin at Astrid, but it faded when he saw Astrid just sitting there with a hopeless look on her face. “Well I guess I’ll just have to convince you that everything can be seen this way.”
Hiccup held his hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Oh I’ve got it.” He got up once again, threw his head back, and spoke in a high pitched voice. “I don’t want to go! I want my braid to flow freely through the air as I throw axes at harmless tree!”
Hiccup grinned widely at Astrid. She just sat there with her arms crossed and a wicked expression etched on her face. Hiccup continued, “I shall be single Shield-Maiden forever!” Astrid threw her blanket to the side and got up. Almost standing to his height, she landed a punch on his arm.
“I do not have that high of a pitched voice. Also, I definitely do not play with my hair like that!” Astrid defended herself. Her face was impassive until a stream of giggles escaped her lips.
Hiccup was holding a clump of his hair and swinging it back and forth. “I know you don’t, but…I made you laugh.”
“That, you did. Thank you.” Astrid whispered, wrapping him in a surprise embrace. After a few seconds of surprise, he wrapped his arms around her.
“Anytime, Milady.”