How to Tell a Story

It had been almost twenty-five years since the battle with Grimmel. Twenty-three years without dragons. Some of the young vikings in town thought they were just legend, but us Berkians, we knew the truth. Especially my husband, the chief. His best friend had been a dragon. I sighed, remembering my girl, Stormfly. I quickly pushed the thoughts away and focused on the white fabric in my hands. "Zephyr, baby, come let me hold this up to you," I said, tucking a strand of gray hair behind my ears, but not to worry, I still had some blonde hidden in the gray streaks.

My daughter stood from her position on the floor and stepped forward so I could hold the top of the dress against her. She had been working on detailing the skirt.

"Do you think Spikelout will like it?" she asked nervously.

"Baby, he is going to fall over when he sees you in this wedding gown," I reassured her. She laughed and twirled the end of her auburn braid with her fingers before sitting back on the floor to finish the skirt.

Yes, my daughter, Zephyr Haddock, was marrying a Jorgenson. Snotlout had actually married a wonderful woman named Willow. Spikelout was basically the opposite of his father. Spike was an intelligent, caring, gentlemanly, viking. He was also more attractive than his father, he got it from his beautiful mother. If you had told me twenty years ago that my newborn baby girl would one day marry the offspring of Snotlout, I would have slapped some sense into you. And yet here we were, sewing the wedding dress that she would be wearing at her wedding in three weeks time. There she would become Zephyr Jorgenson.

"Mom, can you tell me more stories about you and dad? The last one you told me was about how you guys defeated Grimmel. What happened after the dragons left?" Zephyr asked.

I sighed, "Well, baby, after they left it was hard for us vikings. We had learned to be dependant on our dragons. We managed to learn our old skills like fishing and hunting, but we really just missed having our best friends around. Especially your father…"

*Twenty-three years earlier*

I watched as my boyfriend said goodbye to his best friend. It was then I realized I had to say goodbye to my best friend. Tears filled my eyes as I gave Stormfly one last scratch in her favorite spot before taking her saddle off. The tears fell unashamed down my face as every other Berkian did the same. Fishlegs gently placed the baby in Meatlug's mouth before all the dragons took off and followed their new king and queen, Toothless and the Light Fury.

As we watched the dragons fly into the sunset, I placed my hand on Hiccup's shoulder, letting him know I was there if he needed me. The other vikings went to their houses, but Hiccup didn't budge, even after we could no longer see the dragons.

"Babe, it is getting cold out. Do you want to go inside?" I asked softly. Hiccup did not respond. I sighed and got two blankets out of my saddle bag. It felt so strange to have my saddle on the ground, and not on a dragon. We were all going to miss the dragons, but Hiccup…. He was going to take it the hardest. I glanced back at my boyfriend as I unfolded the blankets. His face was tear-stained and his eyes looked as if he could start crying again at any moment. He had not spoken a word since the dragons had left.

I walked back over to the young chief and draped one of the blankets across his shoulders, sitting down next to him with my own blanket.

"Hiccup, you did the right thing. That is the only place they are safe," I whispered, gently running my fingers through his auburn hair and resting my head on his shoulder.

He did not answer. He just ever so slightly nodded and wrapped one arm around my waist. I knew this would take time, but I was still worried about him.

I absolutely hated seeing the man I loved like this. His usually bright and shining eyes had glazed over and were dull and slightly bloodshot from the tears. He has several new cuts and bruises from the battle that had taken place earlier that day. My hand slowly went up to a cut on his neck, causing him to wince. I sighed, knowing he would not let me touch it. I just settled with sitting next to him, hoping that was enough help.

The stars and the moon had come out without my noticing. I always loved stargazing, especially with Hiccup. However, I knew that night time was going to be difficult for my boyfriend for a while because it would just remind him of his beloved Night Fury.

Suddenly, Hiccup sat up a little straighter and looked over at me. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"What is it?" I asked, relieved that he actually wanted to say something.

Hiccup took a deep breath, then shocked me when he said, "Let's get married, Astrid."

My mouth had dropped open slightly, but I quickly shut it as soon as I had processed what he had just said.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"When Berk needed a chief, I filled the role. But it is a lot to handle, my dad always told me that any good chief had a great chieftess. Right now that role is empty. I want you to fill that role," he said.

"Hiccup what exactly are you saying?" I asked.

He sighed and rubbed his hand on his neck, a cute little thing he does when he is nervous. "I am trying to ask if you'll marry me…"

My eyebrows scrunched together. "So you just want me to marry you because you think it is what's best for Berk?" I asked. The way he had said those things made it sound almost like marrying me would be a chore, like something he did not want to do.

"What? No, babe, I want to marry you because I love you. We are basically running this tribe as husband and wife. Why don't we make it official? I promise this isn't just some task or chore. I truly want to marry you, Astrid. I love you," He said, taking one of my hands in one of his and sweeping a stray curl behind my ear.

He still looked sad, but there was a glint of something in his eyes. Fear? No… Love? Maybe… I looked up at him and realized he was so nervous he was shaking. I chuckled softly.

"I love you too. Yes, I will marry you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," I said, before pressing my lips to his.

Suddenly his arms were around me and he was kissing me in return. I could feel his body relaxing a little, the first time all day probably. It had been a very tense day. When we finally broke apart, Hiccup just rested his head on my shoulder. We sat that way for the rest of the night, falling asleep under the stars.