Bella Donna

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The following morning, Astrid, Hiccup, and Damian were eating breakfast together. Well, Hiccup and Damian were eating, while Astrid was picking at her pancakes while deep in thought.

"Are you still worried about last night?" Hiccup asked while he put down his fork.

"I just can't shake the feeling that something is going to happen," Astrid replied. "Call it woman's intuition if you will."

"Was it my parents? Did Dad say something to you?" Hiccup questioned as his eyes narrowed.

"No no, your parents were great. I appreciate the last time you stuck up for me to your dad; he was a lot warmer to me at this event," she explained. It had been rather awkward when they had traveled to the city where Hiccup had grown up. The literal headquarters of the Hooligans. To say Astrid had been nervous was an understatement. Of course, Hiccup had told her about his parents but she also knew that he might have embellished things a bit. She fumbled her initial greeting though Valka, Hiccup's mother, seemed rather warm and welcoming though Astrid saw the sharp edge in her eyes as well and she had no doubt that Valka could be a shrewd person as well. Stoick, Hiccup's father, was another matter entirely. He had been less than pleased with his son dating a woman with a child and refused to call Astrid by her name for the few days they spent there. However, he never was unkind to Damian who had started following Stoick around thinking that the man looked like one of those Vikings from television.

Astrid wasn't meant to overhear but she heard Hiccup and his father having a row about her. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop and quickly ran away with tears in her eyes when Stoick had asked his son "Are you really ready to be saddled with a woman that has a child that isn't yours?" She hadn't heard Hiccup's response. Valka had found her on the veranda and the two had a heart-to-heart.

"Forgive my idiot husband. He'll come around," she had said to Astrid. "It's not easy being in this life. There will always be people with ulterior motives and considering our son's dating record my husband has become quite the mother hen."

After that initial meeting, there had been several family functions she and Hiccup had attended as a couple. Hiccup had been quite focal in those, coming to Astrid's defense when Stoick had said something passive-aggressive. The gala this time had been nearly a year since she had seen Hiccup's parents. Valka was as welcoming as ever and Stoick had even greeted her this time, though rather awkwardly. Astrid supposed that either his wife or Hiccup had another talk with him or it dawned on him that she was here to stay and didn't mean Hiccup any harm.

"Good morning," Fishlegs and Heather greeted as they came into the room.

"Oooh pancakes," Heather said while reaching for Astrid's plate playfully. Astrid covered her food and hissed 'Mine' in response while Damian greeted Auntie Heather enthusiastically.

"Why are you guys here so early?" Hiccup asked with a frown. "Wasn't our meeting after noon today?"

"It is though we have an issue," Fishlegs responded while Heather nodded. "Knew I didn't like him," she grumbled.

"Didn't like who?" Astrid questioned. Her friend was silent for a moment and then it dawned on her "Wait you don't mean the reporter from last night, right?"

"Astrid, does the name Oscar Wyatt ring any bells?"

"Not that I know of Heather.... Why?" she questioned with a frown now and when the other stayed silent Astrid added "Might as well spit it out now. I'm going to find out either way,"

"Perhaps I should start," Fishlegs interjected. "Like we had thought the Press had mostly positive things to say in the society columns. Most of the headlines referenced you as a mystery woman, or made comments about the Haddock Heir finally being taken, etc. you know the usual stuff you'd expect,"

"Except for this Wyatt guy," Heather growled and threw down a newspaper on the table with the article plain as day "Haddock Heir falls for Golddigger,"

"Not only did he reference you by name but he also knew about details from your past," Heather angrily muttered.

"He embellished quite a bit though..." Fishlegs tried to add.

"Let me see," Astrid snatched up the paper while sending Damian out of the room.

"I don't wanna!" Damian protested.

"Damian, go annoy Uncle Snotlout. Mommy needs to have a grown-up conversation now," Astrid stated. The tone in her voice was authoritative. The same tone she used when Damian had to clean up his toys or go take a bath.

"Can Uncle Snotlout play Superhero tea party camp with me?" Damian asked while swinging his legs back and forth.

"Whatever you want honey,"

"Yeay!!!!" Damian lept from his chair and raced out of the kitchen while shouting "UNCLE SNOTLOUT!"

"Poor Snot," Fishlegs whispered.

Meanwhile, Astrid started reading the article. She mumbled certain parts aloud as her voice kept rising with each sentence "The mystery woman that has captivated the Haddock Heir so has been identified as Astrid Hofferson from Havenholme, age... and a HIGHSCHOOL DROPOUT?!" she flushed red at this. She had worked hard for her GED, it was public record damn it. "Ms. Hofferson has previously been involved in a town scandal six years ago when she tried to babytrap the Heir of the Jimson family, an affluent family in the area. However, her efforts were for naught as she was left standing at the altar on the supposed wedding day. Nothing is known after Ms. Hofferson left Havenholme until she resurfaced once more, this time with her talons sunk into the Heir of the Haddock fortune. We must not be swayed by the lovely performance she put on at the gala last night because any dog can look cute when dressed appropriately. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!?!"

"It was published in a small paper though it won't take long for the bigger news outlets to get a whiff of it and start their own investigation," Fishlegs said. "We should get ahead of this and nip it in the bud,"

"How... How did he even know about Thuggory?!" Astrid questioned, shaken up a bit.

"It seems this Oscar Wyatt was a year below you in high school. He would have been there to witness the drama." Heather replied. "I asked Fish to look into him. He's from Havenholme and was employed at the local newspaper there out of Community College before taking a job at a bigger newspaper in Berk. He must have recognized you on the red carpet and singled Fish and myself out because we arrived together."

"You mentioned last night that you wanted to punch him. What did he say?" Astrid asked.

"I'm sorry Astrid, it's best you don't know. I can't..." Heather responded.

"I.... I..." Astrid tried to hold back tears. Hiccup had already scooted over to envelop her in a hug.

"Astrid darling, no need to worry. Do you want me to fix it?" He asked. "I know you like fixing your problems yourself but perhaps using my resources would be better,"

"I don't...." Astrid mumbled, overwhelmed. "I just... why does my past always come and bite me in the butt?!" She said wearily. "I got my GED, I'm a good mother, I work in Corporate now....I even have a good relationship with my sister!" she added. "Why is it that people only remember or focus on your one lapse of judgment?!"

"Astrid, babe... everything will be alright," Hiccup comforted. "Let's just forget about this Oscar guy for now," He gave Fishlegs a look as if to say to handle it. "Why don't you, me, and Damian go out today," he suggested.

Astrid looked at Hiccup with a look that said 'Don't-you-dare-make-someone-dissapear' though she did nod at Hiccup's suggestion. Perhaps a day out with her son and Hiccup would be what was best.

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AN: (Pops in while dressed as Frosty the Snowman and waves at readers) Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well in this busy season. Here is the next installment of Bella Donna. If any of my readers are Harry Potter fans keep your eyes peeled in that fandom. I have finally passed the 25-chapter mark on the HP story that I was writing in secret so I will start uploading it as promised. It will be a ship that might not be to everyone's tastes and that is perfectly fine. To each their own. (Waves while holding a glass of eggnog) I will update Bella again after Xmas!