Tangled Vows

Chapter 15

"And so she ran around the house, with makeup all over her face, pretending that she was a fairy. Glitter went everywhere, and it was the most exhausting cleanup session I had ever had." Ingrid laughed raucously as she sipped on her wine, recalling another one of Astrid's most embarrassing childhood moments.

Astrid, meanwhile, had her head in her hands, clearly regretting every life choice she had ever had. Unlike Hiccup, who was having the time of his life listening to these cute little stories about Astrid's childhood. For the first time since they had known one another, Hiccup was learning things that he had never had the chance to ask before, and it made him look at Astrid in a whole new light.

A light that he knew Astrid could no longer see herself in.

"Okay, before I lose any more face and self-esteem, I'm going to head up to the bathroom," Astrid announced to the table, making sure to get across her immense displeasure at the endless stories about her childhood.

Many of which did not paint her in a very good way.

Hiccup chuckled as he watched Astrid hobble away in shame. Embarrassment covered her face as she disappeared into the shadows and back up the stairs, out of sight.

A soft silence settled over the table, with Ingird seemingly waiting for Astrid to be out of earshot before speaking again. She placed her wine glass back on the table and tipped her head to the side, straining to hear the sound of the bathroom door closing behind Astrid as she hid herself away.

Once the door slammed shut, Ingrid's head whipped towards Hiccup with a serious expression darkening every feature upon it. Hiccup was startled by the sudden change and prepared himself for whatever onslaught was about to be fired his way.

"Make her stay," Ingrid demanded sternly, her words sharp and confident. Yet they gave Hiccup whiplash as he tried to make sense of them.

"What?"

"Do whatever you can to make her stay," Ingrid demanded again, firmer than before. It dawned on Hiccup as he heard her words for a second time, that this was no joke. "Get her to fall for you, refuse to sign the annulment, kidnap her and tie her up in a basement, I don't care. Get her to stay here, in Berk."

"What? I can't make her do that." Hiccup replied, bewildered that they would even suggest such a thing to him. Let alone allow him to go to extremes in order to achieve it.

"What my wife is trying to say, Hiccup, is that we want Astrid to stay with you. To stay married to you." Harold implored, his words much softer and kinder than Ingrid's. "We don't like that Eret guy that she intends to marry. We'd much rather her stay here, where she belongs."

Hiccup couldn't believe what he was hearing, and what they were asking him to do. It seemed completely insane.

"I can't make her stay. If she wants to leave, she's going to leave. You know how Astrid is. Once she's decided on something, she can't really change her mind that easily." Hiccup explained, wishing that he wasn't being backed into a corner like this.

Even if deep down, some part of him wanted her to stay and missed her company, he couldn't. Not only because he hadn't forgiven her for what she had done all those years ago, but because it wasn't his decision to make. Astrid would stay or leave on her terms, not his. There was no way that he could convince her to do anything that she didn't want to because she was Astrid.

That was exactly the side of her that had shown itself when she had decided to leave three years ago. And it was exactly the side of her that he was not willing to forgive so easily and allow her to walk away without regret.

"I can't," Hiccup repeated, shaking his head softly as he refused their pleas.

"Please, Hiccup," Ingrid begged, leaning forward over the table to get closer to him and show him how desperate she was to have her daughter home again. "We can give you anything, anything at all. Just make her stay."

"At least, try to." Harold offered, deliberating himself as the karmic balancer between the couple. 

Harold was the good cop and Ingrid was the bad cop. 

Hiccup tried to not amuse himself by that image and concentrate on what they were asking him to do. They were asking him to make Astrid stay, to get her to stay willingly.

"Are you saying you want her to stay married to me?" Hiccup asked, knowing that this subject would not be dropped unless he sounded as though he may consider it. Continuing to deny their pleas and ignore their request would only illicit stronger desperation towards him.

Ingrid smiled, believing that Hiccup was indeed beginning to consider it. "Of course!"

"It would be best."

"For who?" Hiccup asked Harold, mildly perturbed by his words. "Who is this good for? Me? Astrid? Or you? Because I can't really see it being good for Astrid."

"But it could be good for you?" Ingrid questioned, noticing Hiccup's slight slip in his words.

"It doesn't matter what I want." Hiccup shook his head, not wanting to discuss himself in relation to this matter. "What matters is what you are asking me to do to Astrid. You're asking me to brainwash her into staying."

"At least it's better than blackmail." Ingrid offered with a small shrug and a half-baked smile.

Hiccup sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Forget it. It's ridiculous. I want no part of that."

"We'll pay you. We can pay off your mortgage on this house. I know your father never quite managed to pay it all. We can give you a better lot on the high street for your store. Whatever you need, we can give it to you."

"In exchange, I get Astrid to stay?" Hiccup concluded, summarising their deal and bringing an end to this ludicrous conversation. "I'm not saying 'no' because you can't give me what I want. Trust me, I could use the money, any money, you can offer me. But I'm refusing, because it's Astrid. No amount of money can change my mind."

Hiccup folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, certain that he had made himself clear. yet, the conversation fell silent as the bathroom door opened and its sound echoed throughout the house.

As Astrid appeared in the kitchen once more, the matter was laid to rest.