Tangled Vows

Chapter 44

"Trust me, Astrid. I think you're going to look beautiful in this dress." Heather proclaimed, sitting beside Astrid excitedly as they waited for the dress to appear from the back of the shop.

It had been several months since Astrid had ordered this dress, and it had only become available. So, she had taken her best friend, Heather, with her to try it on and have it fitted for her. 

Having been in Berk for so long during the whole wedding preparations, she had forgotten about the dress, and everything else she needed to have organised for the wedding. Suddenly, after returning home, she was bombarded by a mountain of tasks to get sorted out before the big.

A big day she wasn't even sure she wanted anymore. She just couldn't say no to it either.

"I hope so," Astrid muttered to herself, picking at her fingers as she waited for the store workers to appear from the backrooms with her dress in a neat package.

"Are you okay? You've been kind of out of it since you returned from Berk. What happened there?" Heather asked, noticing Astrid's strange demeanour as they sat waiting for the dress. Astrid should have been excited, almost ecstatic waiting for this dress, but she wasn't.

In fact, Astrid was far from it. Instead, she looked apprehensious, and perhaps even terrified of what would come through those doors. She seemed reluctant to undertake this simple task, and rather uncertain about what would lie ahead for them.

It bothered Heather that her friend wasn't telling her anything, and she barely even knew why Astrid needed to go to Berk in the first place. The only thing she knew about Astrid's disappearance was where she went.

"It's a long story..." Astrid sighed, slumping her shoulders as the weight of what she had done washed over her in a wave of guilt and regret.

Heather smiled, patting her knee in support. "That's okay. Just give me the summarised version of it."

Astrid rolled her eyes, knowing that her friend was desperate for the real story, and wouldn't let it go without knowing the full truth. Especially after Astrid had disappeared for three months without a word. It was clear that the story would need to be revealed, and Astrid wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it contained either.

"Basically, three years ago I got drunk and married my best friend. We argued and I moved to the city. Neither of us knew about the marriage until three months ago when Eret and I tried to get a prenup. But when I tried to get my friend to sign it, he refused and ordered that I work for him for three months." Astrid explained as simply as she could, summarising why she had been away in the most astute way possible.

Heather let out an exhaustive sigh, as though the information overload had been a lot to take in, and she wasn't sure that she could handle it. But it was Heather, and she could handle a lot of things, Astrid just knew that she was making fun of her to lighten the mood.

"Wow, that's... confusing," Heather concluded, mildly amused by the whole thing.

However, any further conversation between them was interrupted by the arrival of the dress, and a very hurried store worker. She apologised for the delay profusely, and showed Astrid the dress, taking it out of the protective bag that it had been placed in.

Astrid looked at the dress, stretching it out and unfolding all its creases to try and get a better look at it in all its glory. It was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen, unable to stop the bright smile from forming over her lips as she took in the sight of this magnificent dress.

"Do you wish to try it on?" The clerk asked, to which Astrid couldn't reply but only nodded before she was whisked away to the changing area to try on the dress.

Astrid struggled into the dress, admiring its beauty as she did so, and trying desperately not to harm any of the stitching as she poured herself into the dress. It was beautiful, and Astrid was afraid that she might tear it.

It wasn't the most impressive dress to have ever graced these shelves at the store, but it was simple and modest, exactly Astrid's style. It had long sleeves and a scooped neckline that was a little lower than she had wanted, but it was what Eret had liked. It wasn't a large poofy dress and was very un-princess-like at all. Instead, it flowed over her body in the same way as a regular dress and complimented Astrid's body to fill it out perfectly.

Emerging from the dressing room, Astrid stepped up onto the pedestal in front of the mirror and looked at herself in the reflection. She noted her friend clutching her chest and welling up at the sight of Astrid in the mirror, and Astrid had to agree that she did look like a queen.

"What do you think?" Astrid asked, picking up the dress slightly and then letting it fall so that the movement of the dress would elicit more reactions from her friend.

Heather smiled, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she looked at her friend in the most beautiful dress she had ever seen her in. 

"Wow, Astrid you look..." Heather could barely put it into words. "Eret is a lucky guy."

Astrid's heart dropped into her stomach, and the air around her went cold. Her stomach churned her heart as she looked at her reflection, the room darkening as she remembered who it was that she was dressing up for. Suddenly, the beauty of the dress was diminished, and she was no longer sure whether she was doing the right thing.

"Astrid, are you okay?" Heather asked, noticing the sudden shift in Astrid's demeanour as she looked at herself differently. "What is it?"

"I'm marrying Eret, aren't I?" The dull realisation of what she was doing hit Astrid like a tonne of bricks, and as she looked at her reflection she was no longer sure it was the right decision.

"Yes, you are. Why? What's wrong?" Heather looked at Astrid in concern, a shadow passing over Astrid as the realisation set in.

"Heather... I did something very wrong." Astrid admitted, lowering her head in shame and closing her eyes in anticipation of the assault to come.

"What are you talking about?"

"Heather... I think I fell in love with someone else." Astrid admitted sadly, the confession washing through her like a cathartic wave and suddenly, she felt more certain of her answer.

"What do you mean? Do you no longer love Eret?" Heather asked, confused about Astrid's confession and its origins. The dress upon Astrid's figure was quickly forgotten.

"No, I do still love Eret. I just..."

"Also love someone else?" Heather finished for her, with a small nod from Astrid to tell her that her predictive speech was correct. "So, what are you going to do? Do you still want to marry Eret?"

"I don't know... I mean, I love him but..." Astrid sighed, "Whenever I thought about my wedding before, I always pictured Eret standing and waiting for me at the end of the aisle. Now, I don't know who I see."

"What if you thought about it this way?" Heather stood beside Astrid and pointed her towards the mirror so that Astrid could stare at her reflection. "When you see yourself in this dress, who do you want to see it the most?"

Looking away from her friend, Astrid finally met eyes with her reflection and then lowered her gaze to the dress. Immediately, a rush of excitement flooded her body as she imagined a familiar auburn-haired boy smiling at her, and looking at her as if she were the most beautiful creature to walk this earth. She had seen the look on his face once before, and she realised that there was only one person she wanted to see wearing this dress.

"Oh, gods..." Astrid sighed, finally accepting her fate as the truth dawned upon her.

"Who do you see?" Heather asked curiously, noting Astrid's conflicting reaction to her own mind.

"Hiccup..." Astrid breathed, listening to the words as they emerged into the air. hearing them spoken aloud only made the realisation and truth hurt more. "I see Hiccup..."

Heather nodded slowly, "Who is Hiccup?"

Astrid sighed with a smile, remembering that she had forgotten to include Hiccup's name in any of their discussions about her absence.

"The man that I am in love with. The man that I want to marry instead."