Chapter 23

The Dragon and the Maiden

Last chapter is up! It's freaking weird to conclude that story. But it's also satisfying, because at times it was quite hard to write it, and I'm really happy I finished still. I really want to thank the readers who supported me, and I'm sorry for all the time I made you wait.

Enjoy!

Although she had wished her daughter's wedding would take place on Berk, Olga Hofferson had found herself taking the boat toward Endris along with her second daughter and some other Hooligans. At least she would see the place where Astrid would live for half of the year. She had been incredibly worried to see her leave with that mysterious chief when she had been engaged, she still felt baffled when she thought it was Hiccup Haddock all along! At first, when she heard her daughter defending him, she thought she had gone crazy. But the facts were here: she could see a Nadder being all loving toward her daughter, like some kind of big dog.

Things had changed a lot already on Berk, some people didn't like the new chief, but no one could say he was bad at management. Handling money, repairs and organization was definitely his domain. The situation would get better soon, and somehow, it was also thanks to the dragons who started to live on the island. The twins and some other Vikings had decided to try to tame some, and it worked. The beasts helped to protect their island but also the cattle and sheep once trained to do it, and they were helpful during the construction work and the repairs as well.

Spitelout and Snotlout had both left the island, preferring to take a new start elsewhere. Hiccup hadn't tried to stop them. But he couldn't stay forever on Berk, and he wanted to celebrate his marriage on Endris. While he was away, he had given Fishlegs responsibility to watch over Berk. Although he had been saddened not to be at his friends' wedding, he had been honored by such an offer. Olga didn't know what to expect of that, but she had the feeling Fishlegs would handle things well. She also had the feeling he would be married soon. That Heather girl and him had been close, and although she had came back to Endris for the marriage, she had promised she would head back to Berk again as soon as it was over.

That travel, with dragons pulling the boats from time to time and flying around, sometimes even bringing fishes back for the sailor. The Hooligans on boat were also amazed at that. But it was nothing compared to the island itself. Seeing so many people from so many different tribes and cultures, the strange building for both humans and dragons, and more importantly, all those fire-breathing creatures flying around and acting like pets. She had seen some of them playing with children! But a heart-breaking sight had awaited her as well. The sight of the former slaves children who were still wary and frightened. They looked like they had seen the worst horrors, and maybe they did.

She knew that little Rona had been through that too, and the kid hardly spoke, but Astrid had told her she didn't talk at all at first. She was preparing lunch for the two girls.

"I made a good soup with some roasted fish. I want you two to eat well, especially you Rona, if you want to be as strong as Astrid and Alina."

She was glad that she got a big fish, on this island, they kept most of meat and fishes for the dragons. It was logical of course, but she wasn't used to that. Funny, it was Astrid's dragon who brought it for them. Olga had made sure to take off the dragon saliva carefully, though.

"Is there dessert?"

"Not today, dearie. But anyway, you need to keep some appetite for tomorrow, there will be sweet things."

"I hope there will be tarts!"

"Honey cakes, too?" Asked Rona is a soft voice.

"I hope so! Mom, why can't we go and see Astrid trying on her dress?"

"It's not the moment, she has a lot to think about. You will see her dress during the wedding, and remember you promised to help with the preparation!"

Although she was a bit disappointed, preparing the wedding along with the others would be exciting too. As Alina got out after lunch, she saw Stormfly eating some fishes. She threw a tick at her and the Nadder happily brought it back to the girl. Alina was still a bit freaked out by the dragons at time, but she liked the way Stormfly would play. Maybe she would get a dragon for herself; Hiccup had told her he would find her one if she wanted! Olga took Rona in her arms and the three went for the wedding preparation. Decoration and cooking would take long; after all it was the chief's wedding.

There wasn't only some Hooligans and and Endrisians, Mala and a lot of her tribesmen came at Hiccup's wedding, and it had been a surprise to see that Endris wasn't the only tribe to love dragons. The Chieffess had offered Hiccup and Astrid gold, wine and also a precious book about the Gods. Hiccup had definitely been happy of it. Her people were helping with the preparation as well. She saw the girls were playing while helping. As she was hanging a banner along with some people, she was approached by Valka.

"Hey, can I help?"

"No, I will be fine."

Biting her lip, Valka took a deep breath: "You hardly spoke to me. You're angry too."

Olga released an angry huff: "You think?!"

"Please, our children are going to marry, we should at least try to talk."

Olga gritted her teeth. She took the other woman by the arm to walk away with her. She didn't go far, they weren't hiding at all, but she wanted to have a bit of space. It was their business.

"Talk about what? About the fact you turned your back to us? We were friends, or at least I thought so! I mourned you when I thought you were dead! We needed you, Valka, and you just chose to abandon us."

"I know I made poor decisions, and I do regret those…"

"I hope so! Didn't you miss us just a bit?"

"Of course but I felt like I couldn't stay anymore on that island."

"And why?"

Valka tightened her fist a bit: "As you said, we were friends but never once you listened to me whenever I told you there was another solution for dragons! I thought you couldn't change, and now I see you indeed can. And I don't know whether or not I should be angry at myself for not trying harder or angry at you. You could listen but you chose not to do it with me."

"Don't try to act as if you were some outcast. Okay, we didn't agree with you, but you were still one of us, you had people who counted on you!"

"Maybe you liked me for real but a lot of others only respected me because I was Stoick's wife!"

"You had enemies like everyone. I'm not liked by the entirety of the island either!"

A silence settled between them. It was only broken by an unexpected arrival.

"Well, I did liked you for you," Gobber said, as he had heard their last lines, surprising both of them. "We both missed you."

"Gobber, I missed you, and I missed Stoick and Hiccup. But I failed to protect them, and I knew I had to understand more about dragons. I had understood something important and I couldn't ignore it. I wanted to come back to you one day, but then Drago took me prisoner. You don't even imagine how I felt like when I heard Stoick died and when I heard about Hiccup it was way worse! I know how you suffered because I also thought my loved ones were dead and I was alone in a cell."

Olga couldn't help but remember a conversation she had with Astrid, on how she considered Valka had suffered enough for her mistake. Maybe she was right, Hiccup's mother had paid in the hands of Drago. "I still hope you know what a stupid decision you took."

"I admit we could have tried to listen," Gobber grumbled. "But it wasn't easy when dragons would come so often to steal food and burn everything. Anyway we can't change the past. At least, it allowed Hiccup to build the tribe and the people he freed can be happy of that."

"We can agree on that," Olga replied. She spoke again in a softer voice: "Maybe I should have also tried to protect Hiccup more than I did. My daughter blamed me at a time for not taking his side more often."

"You weren't his mother, I was. I'm really sorry, I didn't think my absence would have such consequences."

Gobber wanted to say that she should have known it would have consequences for her son, but it wouldn't help much. Olga at least appreciated the fact Valka admitted she made a mistake. Now that she thought about it, it was true that some people of Berk would be often angry at her for not wanting to fight against dragons. They argued quite often as well. Valka would have had difficulty to rule; that didn't excuse running away from her responsibility, but things wouldn't have been easy indeed. She spoke again: "Well, we might just need some times. Anyway, we should focus on the wedding. It will Astrid and Hiccup's moment, let's not ruin it."

Valka and Olga looked at each other, and Astrid's mom seemed a little less angry. Maybe it was good they spoke about it before tomorrow. She honestly had affection for Olga and Gobber, and she regretted hurting them too.

"You took Stoick's sword, didn't you?" Asked Valka to the blacksmith.

"Of course, I wouldn't forget it. He would have been proud."

"I'm sure of it as well," she murmured.

Gobber gave her a grin, it was still good that Hiccup got her mother back. "…Well, let's go back to the preparation."

"Yeah. I hope Astrid's dress will be alright, I don't know the seamstress, I hope she will do a good job!" Olga told them, feeling a bit lighter.

If Olga had seen the result, she wouldn't have been worried at all. When Cryda showed her the dress, Astrid was agape. Heather and Kalisha smiled at her reaction and Ruff whistled at the gown.

"It's…It's really for me?"

"No, it's for Tuffnutt, didn't I tell you he wanted to wear a dress for your wedding?" Ruffnutt teasingly replied.

Astrid rolled her eyes, and looked more closely at Cryda's work. "It was difficult to make it, considering you came only once to let me take your measurement. I hope it will fit you well"

She hoped as well. It was a light blue and nightly blue gown, with golden embroidery, and small golden citrins were shining on the cleavage. A belt was adorning it, a belt composed of disks made of gold. A necklace, bracelets and earrings went along with it, all of those made of gold. This would perfectly go along with the diadem Hiccup made for her. It was breath-taking, she never had anything that beautiful in her life! She hardly dared to touch it and on the other hand, she badly wanted to wear it.

"You'll be radiant in this," Kalisha commented, "Fury will be crazy in love!"

As she tried it on, she felt her cheek heat up a bit. She couldn't see herself whole, but the look in the women's eyes were enough. When Hiccup would see her like that…

When she found her mother and the other women the next day, for the ritual bath, she showed them the dress and they were also amazed at it once she put it on. Cryda was also with her, as she had been married. She received praise from the other women for her work and her usual composed face reddened a bit out of pleasure. Olga took her daughter's face in her hands.

"You deserve this. You have been really strong and courageous. I wish your father was here with us to see you, he would have been as proud as me."

She hugged her mom tightly and held herself from releasing a few tears of joy. As they started to bath she received several advices about marital life and motherhood, such as tradition wanted. Her life would change so much, she was a bit nervous but very impatient too. Hiccup was pretty much in the same state while he was with Gobber, Eret and Munch. His mentor gave him a present which touched him deeply.

"Your father can't give you that, but I guess he would have wanted me to do it. He used that one during his wedding with your mother"

That was a sword. His father used to fight with an axe, but Valka still gave him a sword during their own wedding ceremony, as tradition wanted.

"Thank you," he murmured while putting a hand on Gobber's shoulder. The blacksmith pulled him into a hug, making him laugh.

When the moment of the ceremony came, he was still nervous as one could be. Before going, he went to his dragon who could feel something was happening and he hugged him.

"Seems like I'm gonna have my 'Lady' as well, bud!" Toothless cooed gently at him and he petted the big black head. "I could have never built all of this without you. I'll never forget it, Toothless."

The dragon rubbed his snout against his face and Hiccup let his forehead rest against the dragon's skull for a few seconds. He remembered the day he had met him, both of them were scared and wounded in some ways. He believed in destiny, and that day he set his destiny in motion. He was pretty the gods had guided him when he had stopped himself from killing Toothless. Now, he would continue his destiny with Astrid. If one woman had to take part of it, it was her.

Stroking his dragon, he got up and they walking together toward the ceremonial ground. He still did his best to hide his nervousness; he was the chief after all. At least, he didn't have a mask for his wedding, he was happy of that. His mother came to him before he walked to the hörgr where the ceremony would take place.

"I'm really happy for you. Your father would have been extremely proud, you know."

"Thank you, mom…I'm glad you're here."

"I know I wasn't a good mother. But I'll do my best to help you now."

She hugged him gently and let him walk toward the shaman who was waiting for him. His father's sword in hand, he stopped breathing for a short moment as he saw Astrid.

The ritual sword in hand, she advanced in the middle of the crowd. She loved the big oak tree beside the hörgr, it had already made an impression on her during Kalisha and Eret's wedding, and she was even more sensitive to its beauty today. A soft wind was blowing, the winter sun was making the snow shine and the whole island seemed bathed in light. Dragons were flying around, they didn't know what was happening, but they could feel the humans' enthusiasm.

As she advanced with the sword in her new dress, Astrid felt all eyes on her, and she was really proud. She never was so beautiful in her life, and she could feel admiration as she walked. He little sister and Rona were both agape and she smiled even more. But the best was to see Hiccup's face as she approached: he looked completely dazzled at her sight. Her heart was moved by that look and she had to admit he was even more handsome than usual.

She stood facing him, both holding the swords as the shaman pronounced the traditional words.

"Hiccup Haddock the Third, you will give this woman your father's sword to pass to her firstborn, making her enter in a new life as married woman and a future mother. Astrid Hofferson, you will give this man a new sword to fight for his family, making him enters his new life as a married man and a future father. May Freya bless your union and give our tribe many heirs."

The two exchanged the swords and a kiss, embracing each other, reminding each other of their first kiss on Drago's island. This wasn't part of the traditional ritual, but this time, the shaman who was usually strict about that didn't stop them. As Hiccup was chief, a big Yack was to be sacrificed for the marriage, a much more prestigious offering than the usual goats. Some people suggested him to sacrifice a dragon, but he had refused. Hiccup used the sword Astrid gave him to kill the beast, hitting him right on the neck as strongly as he could to off him quickly. Hiccup hoped the gods would like this offering, but now if Astrid had accepted to marry him, it certainly meant that Freya had given them her blessing.

Weirdly, the part where they exchanged the rings was the most touching to him, even more than the sword. He didn't know why, but passing the ring around her finger and receiving hers was like really giving each other a little part of themselves. They pronounced the traditional vows, that they would belong to each other, protect and love each other and fight for their tribe and their family.

"It's not just formal vows to me, you know that?" He murmured to her

"I know. I mean it too, Hiccup," she whispered gently.

With a smile, he took her in his arms and made her sit on Toothless to walk toward their house. She could have made the ride on Stormfly, but the Night Fury was the symbol of Endris and Toothless was even more special among the other dragons. Almost as if he knew what he was doing, Toothless walked with his head high and Lady strolled along with him. Hiccup was holding Astrid's hand all the while. The last part of the ritual was the stab in the house in a pillar, and that made him nervous, after all it was supposed to predict whether or not their wedding would be fertile and happy. Hiccup took the sword and hit the wood with all his strength. He was prouder than ever when he saw that the stab was even bigger than the one Eret made the day of his own marriage! Applauds were heard and the music, the dancing and the banquet followed for the rest of the day, and even the next day would be dedicated to celebration.

"I really want to congratulate both of you," Mala told them. "I can only wish the two of you happiness and peace for your family and tribe."

"Thanks," Astrid replied. "It's kind of you."

"Thank you, Mala. I'm really thankful to see you here."

"It's natural. I must say I'm curious to talk a bit more with your mother. She seems like an interesting woman."

"I'm pretty sure she will like you!"

A profusion of food and drinks had been prepared, hydromel especially, as it was Endris's most appreciated merchandise. During the feast, Ruffnutt and Tuffnutt made a lot of people laugh, and though the blond girl tried to get close to Eret at first, Kalisha quickly showed her Eret was a married man, much to her husband's relief. Mala and Valka started to talk together and it was obvious the two were really appreciating each other. Hiccup started to enjoy dancing now that he could finally do it with his new wife. He couldn't believe it, he was married, and to Astrid with that!

"You're really beautiful. You don't need that dress for it, but it's nonetheless magnificent on you."

"It would look magnificent on anyone."

"I disagree." He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. "When we got engaged, did you imagine it would go like that?"

"Absolutely not. Let me remind you I faced a masked man who wouldn't talk."

He rolled his eyes and smiled in embarrassment, but she was saying that in a teasing way at least. "I had no idea how it would go. Honestly, it's kinda ridiculous to admit it, but I thought it would be something more sinister, I don't know, with dragons everywhere and weird rituals."

It made him laugh hard as he heard that, even though it was pretty logical as well. She chuckled and kissed his temple with affection. Looking at each other in the eyes, they suddenly found the time long, even though they continued to dance and joked at the banquet with everyone, they both longed for the moment they would retire in their house.

"I know you will spend most of your time together, but don't forget to tell me if you have any wish for Berk," Heather reminded Hiccup.

"I will remember that. When are you leaving?"

"In two days."

"You're impatient to see Fishlegs again, aren't you?" He half-joked.

"Well, yes. And he will need help anyway," she mumbled.

"He has help back on Berk. But I'm sure he will appreciate yours especially," Astrid added teasingly.

Heather rolled her eyes but laughed still. She looked at Eret and Kalisha dancing together, and at Hiccup who was giving Astrid little bits of food. She had no difficulty imagining herself in such a situation with Fishlegs. He had been such a support when she lost her arm, and his gentle nature, his intelligence was making her long for him. She would definitely go to him.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Eret raised his voice: "Hey everyone! Night has fallen, you all know what that means!"

Astrid and Hiccup looked at each other, a bit embarrassed by the attention, but happy that it finally came to that. They were both escorted to the house and locked themselves in here together. Their eyes crossed, and Hiccup felt his guts tighten while Astrid blushed again. It wasn't their first time, but it was their first time together. He approached her and she could see the desire in his eyes.

"We have all night for us. Whatever we want to do, or not…"

"I don't know about you, but…I'm not in the mood to sleep," she murmured in an enticing voice.

He bit his lips and put his hands on her waist, and ran his fingers over the cloth, sending little shivers in her. "You're incredibly beautiful in that dress."

"And I like that leather on you," she replied while putting her hands on his torso, as if she was merely appreciating the fabric.

Bringing her closer to him, he whispered: "I love that dress on you, but I saw you in it all day. Maybe it's time to wear something else?"

"And invisible dress, maybe?"

He smiled at this, and she took his hands and put it on the gown's ties. "Well, why don't you help me? I can help you."

"With pleasure."

She kissed him as they started to undo the unwanted layers of clothes. They exchanged several kisses like that while undressing each other, struggling at times with knots. Before they even realized it, they were entirely naked and Hiccup broke the kiss to look at her wholly, feeling his body grow fiery. She also devoured him with her eyes, a satisfied smile going up her lips. Taking her by the waist, he laid her over the fur on the bed and she tightly gripped him, wanting to feel his body against hers as much as possible.

Whatever future awaited them, they would face it together, they knew it at this moment. Ruling and raising a family wouldn't be easy. They knew it, but for now, they didn't care. All that mattered was this: only death would make them part.

The End

Don't hesitate to review! I definitely enjoyed writing their marriage, it was probably the easiest chapter to write, it came naturally! I'm also glad we had a dialogue between Valka, Gobber and Olga. I really hope you liked it as much as I did. Kisses to you all!