Dragons: The New Chief

Chapter 50: Little Kicks

The fire crackled again as the dying wood crumpled into pieces, followed by the disintegration into ash. The room was dark and cold, nothing made an effort to move. Hiccup sat in his chair, elbows rested on his knees and hands clenched into one fist, where he laid his head on. The man stared into the nothingness of the dark den. It's been hours, hours since he brought Gothi to his home to help his ailing wife. He had heard nothing. Once the voices had hushed, as well as Astrid's sobbing, he wandered down the stairs with his head hung and plopped himself in the chair. There he has sat for the past few hours, unmoving.

Toothless lay curled up at the feet of his rider so that his head face him, allowing the dragon to look up into the man's solemn face.

Hiccup huffed and shook his head. "This is kicking me in the ass." He commented.

Toothless grumbled, nudging his rider's right leg with his nose. He, too, was extremely worried. His ears perked up when he heard a few footsteps, then the creak of an opening door. Hiccup sunk his head lower and folded his hands behind his neck, ready to hear the worst. Every step he heard come down the stairs was agony, they were slow and well paced.

"Hiccup." Valka said.

Hiccup sighed deeply. "Just get it over with."

Valka placed her hand on her son's shoulder. He shivered at the touch.

"Astrid didn't loose the baby."

Hiccup jolted, then looked up at his mother with wide, pleading eyes. Was it true? Valka seemed at ease, but her shallow breathing told she hid something. Hiccup raised his brows, begging her to go on.

Valka pursed her lips. "Not yet at least."

Hiccup's joyful face downturned. Valka slowly walked around and sat on the table in front of the man. She leaned forward, grasping his hand in hers. Hiccup frowned and hung his head.

"It's not definite." She assured him. "Just a possibility."

"Then, what happened?"

Valka tucked a piece of her son's auburn hair behind his ear. "Gothi thinks she overstressed herself, so she's putting her on mandatory bedrest for a while."

Hiccup gazed up through his lashes. "For how long?"

"About, a month or two. You should know if the baby is still alive by then."

"Why don't we know now?" He questioned.

Valka sighed. "Hiccup, it's not something that you can really know now. She didn't birth the baby, and she's not bleeding anymore, so we can only assume. If, in the next month or two, nothing out of the ordinary happens, then the baby is most likely still with us."

"And..." Hiccup pressed. "What might happen thats out of the ordinary."

Valka softened her gaze at her son and patted his hand. "You'll know if it happens...it's not very pleasant."

"Can...can I go see her?" Hiccup asked nervously, staring off at the dead hearth.

Valka gazed over before turning back to her son. "Of course, Gothi was just mixing some lavender into a liquid, she say's it helps relax you when the scent is inhaled."

Hiccup stood, followed by Toothless. Valka grabbed her son's hand again before he could rush off.

"Don't worry." She said. "Everything will be fine, Astrid is strong, so are you, you're baby is likely a strong one as well. Heck, if it's even half as stubborn as you, then it's still there."

Hiccup chuckled, smiling slightly. "Thanks mom."

She nodded once then jutted her head towards the stairs. Hiccup quickly ascended the stairs and pushed open the door to his bedroom slowly.