Let's Give it a Year

Chapter 6

Astrid looked at her reflection one last time, dusting off the invisible dust that had settled upon her dress as she stood there for a few minutes, staring at her own reflection. In her opinion, she wasn't sure the outfit suited her. Evening gowns or dresses weren't really her thing and she much preferred to cover up her flaws than flaunt them.

It had been a few months since Stoick and Thorald had organised Hiccup and Astrid's wedding, forcing them into this unlikely circumstance as though it was always their destiny. Thorald had managed to obtain a wedding date for the middle of April, and as Astrid stood before her mirror, it was only a few days away.

Now, Astrid was dressed up in her finest evening gown ready for the engagement party that her father and Stoick had insisted on having. Astrid wasn't sure about the whole event but knew that she didn't have much choice and therefore agreed anyway.

As she looked at herself in the mirror, she admired the beautiful, bright red colour of the dress, its satin look shining in the artificial light of her bedroom. The dress had no straps and was held up by her waist and her chest, lucky she was big enough to fit the dress without any gaps. The dress itself fit her perfectly enough that it almost seemed made for her, except she had never worn it before until that day. There was a long slit in the dress, running up all the way to the top of her thigh and exposing most of her leg. Yet the dress didn't reach the floor, instead, it stopped about a centimetre or so before the floor so that it didn't trail, or Astrid could trip.

"You look, beautiful darling." Astrid's mother, Erika, complimented as she entered the room, peeking her head around the door as she looked inside.

Astrid turned around to look at her mother, a small blush creeping onto her cheeks as she took in her mother's compliment. Erika walked up to her daughter with a proud smile, until she reached Astrid and took a closer look at her face.

"Why aren't you wearing makeup?"

Astrid gulped, she didn't know an answer to that one. The truth was that she didn't like makeup all that much. She would apply a small amount around her eyes or on her lips if she felt like it was needed. But for some reason, Astrid didn't feel like she wanted to impress anyone at the party that evening, there was no desire to look good. Instead, Astrid just wished to disappear into the crowd and fade into the darkness.

But that wasn't going to happen. Not as one of the guests of honour.

"Mother, I don't want to wear makeup," Astrid complained, but her mother wouldn't take no for an answer.

Suddenly, Astrid found herself being dragged into her ensuite and her mostly empty makeup bag thrust onto the countertop. Not missing the small scoff of disappointment from her mother, Astrid allowed Erika to cake as much of her face as she could in makeup, covering up every blemish upon her face so that she looked like a perfect barbie doll.

And Astrid didn't like it.

"Ugh, Mom!" Astrid complained, throwing a small hissy fit at her appearance in the mirror. To Astrid, there was too much makeup on her face making it extremely obvious that she was wearing makeup. Erika slapped her daughter's arm lightly, but the threat was still evident.

"Don't you dare complain! I will not allow my daughter to step out of this house without looking perfect. Do you understand?" Her question was stern and harsh. Astrid lowered her head and gave a small nod in understanding before listening to the fading footsteps of her mother exiting the bathroom.

Astrid looked back into the mirror and looked at her face, a face that she no longer recognised.

"Who are you? What have you become?" She asked herself sadly, wiping away the concealer on her cheeks and forehead and just leaving her lips and eyes heavily made up.