Let's Give it a Year

Prologue

"Where are we going?" A young voice called from the back of the car as it cruised through the suburbs of a very rich district in Berk.

Hiccup was sat in the back seat of his father's car as they drove through their neighbourhood, his father having a specific destination in mind. Hiccup wasn't a very big child, especially at the age of 5, he was lean and unimpressive unlike his father, and his lean figure meant he was underweight and weak compared to the other kids. However, this didn't stop Hiccup from being himself and enjoying his time as a child, not knowing why he was so much smaller and weaker than the other kids, but still trying to fit in.

His father, on the other hand, was tall, strong and built like a semi-truck; a semi-truck that he could probably lift with his little finger whilst halting a tornado with his other hand. His name was Stoick Haddock, a proud man and a man of the people, his family name running for generations and dating back to the first civilising people upon the island of Berk. Stoick was not an incredibly smart man, like his son, however, he could hold his own in business. He was the Chairman of his company, Valka & Haddock Co. since he was a young man. Stoick had named the business after himself and his wife, Valka, who sadly passed away when Hiccup was born.

Stoick gazed up into the rearview mirror and met eyes with his son. His face wrinkled as a proud, beaming smile spread across his face at the innocent, curious eyes of his son sat in the back of his car. With a hearty chuckle and a friendly smile, Stoick spoke happily as though they were going somewhere exciting.

"We're going to meet a friend of mine. He told me he has a daughter of his own, and she's about your age." Stoick smiled warmly, but Hiccup closed up slightly at the mention of meeting new people.

Hiccup hadn't always been an extroverted soul, but his father was a charming social butterfly and was constantly dragging Hiccup along to meet any new clients or friends of his that he met along his journeys. Lowering his gaze away from his father, and out of the window, Hiccup gave a small sigh as he thought back to the last time he had met a kid his age.

"Hiccup," Stoick called out, earning the young boy's attention instantly, his tone dropping slightly as he looked back at his son at a stoplight ahead. "It won't be like last time, I promise you. You are a special kid, and some people just don't see it. But your mother and I see it, and that's why we love you. So just..." Stoick paused for a moment as he tried to think of the right words as he turned back to drive away, "be yourself..."

Hiccup gave his father a bright smile, his father's words offering him more comfort and enthusiasm than his father had first anticipated. However, glad to see that his son was more positive about the meeting, Stoick pulled into a grand looking house with a long, gravel driveway leading up to its entrance.

Hiccup awed at the sight of the giant house looming ahead of him, his mouth momentarily dropping open as he took in its size. He always thought that his house was big, but this house seemed almost twice the size - when in actuality it only had an extra room than Hiccup's house.

As the car pulled to a stop, Stoick turned around to see his son already struggling to unbuckle his seatbelt from his booster seat and jump out of the car. Chuckling at his son's excitement to see the 'giant house', Stoick laid a gentle hand upon Hiccup's knee, the hand itself almost covering both his knees under its size.

"Now son," Hiccup looked up to meet his Dad's eye, "I'm going to tell you a secret about these people we're about to meet, but you've got to promise that you won't say a word." Hiccup nodded enthusiastically, causing Stoick to take a large intake of breath. "The girl that's your age, might be the girl that you're going to marry in the future. I made a promise to her father that when you turn 25 and are still without a wife or a kid of your own, you will marry his daughter." Stoick explained simply, his words clear and obvious to the boy sat before him. "I know it may seem confusing to you right now, or unfair to you in the future, but it is a promise I made with him from fear of not having grandchildren when I grow old." Stoick sighed sadly, knowing his words wouldn't make much sense to a child of Hiccup's age, but he felt his son deserved to know why he was there. "And I know that you'll hate me because of this when you are older, I just hope that you'll find a way to understand."