Let's Give it a Year

Chapter 49

The next few weeks passed by quietly, and Astrid was thankful that Stoick had heeded her advice and taken the information to the police, all the while keeping everything quiet. She appreciated his subtlety as he dealt with the problems of the board, slowly regaining the reputation and support he had before.

In fact, he was mainly pushing for Hiccup to take his place sooner even without an heir.

Heather, meanwhile - as Thorald's new secretary - was sat behind her desk feeling rather bored. She had her head rested on her palm as she stared down the corridor ahead of her. Recently, the board members hadn't been too social with Thorald and she had no meetings to schedule either.

For Thorald, everything was getting too quiet.

"Perhaps I could create a scandal around Hiccup, maybe... he's cheating on his wife?" Heather whispered to herself, planning a new way to ruin Hiccup and Astrid's relationship and reputation. "No, that's too risky. Besides, there's no chance it'll work after my last attempt." The image of Kristoff and Astrid popped into her mind. "No, it has to be something about Astrid, I can't risk Hiccup losing everything if I want him to be with me." Heather continued to theorise to herself, lost in her own thoughts mindlessly.

Grabbing a notepad from one of her desk drawers, Heather started jotting down random thoughts, many of which were viciously aimed at Astrid. Her thoughts on Hiccup were that of a teenage girl doting over a crush who didn't even know she existed.

"Maybe I could cause a major accident to her, not enough to kill her, but enough to... No, that might just bring them closer." She scribbled out the idea and scratched away at the words. "What else?" She asked herself, tapping the pen against her chin. "Perhaps I could cause major controversy, perhaps she's pregnant with someone else's child? No, that wouldn't work..."

Suddenly, a loud, thunderous noise sounded from the direction of the elevators, and it was enough to snap Heather out of her vicious thought cycle and look up from her desk. Looking down the corridor she could just about spot the approaching shadows, their large figure growing in size as they approached. However, when their owners appeared in the corridor, Heather felt her heart stop and she rose to her feet without much thought.

"What's going on?" She asked as a large group of men, headed by Stoick, charged towards Thorald's office.

However, her question went unanswered as they stopped in front of Thorald's office and organised themselves together. Heather could only look on as she spotted a group of policemen accompanying Stoick, as well as Hiccup and Astrid lingering at the back of the group.

"Alright men, whatever happens, make sure that man stays under control. He's a wild card and won't hesitate to bargain his way out of this." One of the police officers announced, looking over at his subordinates as he issued his orders. They all nodded in understanding in unison and turned towards the door, poised at the ready.

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

Upon their response, the door was heavily kicked in by the leading officer and was quickly followed by the others. All the officers, of which there were around 5, charged into Thorald's office and swiftly apprehended the man, much to his dismay and resistance.

"What in Thor's name do you think you are doing?! Unhand me!" Thorald protested as the policemen jostled him out f the office, Thorald struggling recklessly in their grip.

Once they had passed the threshold out of his office, Thorald locked eyes with Stoick, who had been patiently waiting outside Thorald's office. Stoick wore a face of thunder and looked as though he wanted Thorald dead yesterday, his arms were folded across his chest and his jaw was locked tight. It was clear that this man was in no mood to sympathise with anyone.