HiJack (Corpse Bride Au)

Chapter 9

Jack hated himself.

Here he was. Back in the Land of the Living after a few short hours of swearing he would never return.

But he had to. He forgot to give Hiccup the ring back. Jack stared at the small gold band. Maybe he could just place it on the doorstep and hope they find it. Or give it to Astrid. Jack just couldn't bring himself to go see Hiccup again.

Jack sat on a branch far above the ground sighing and leaned against the tree. What should he do?

xxx

"Mother! Father! I'm telling the truth!" Astrid yelled, frustrated.

"Preposterous! You mean to say that Hiccup came back, from the Land of the Dead, then left and got kidnapped?" Lady Hofferson asked.

"Yes," Astrid pleaded. "I didn't think he would come back again, so I followed him and someone in a carriage grabbed him!"

"Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?" her father asked. "Land of the Dead? There is no such thing!"

Astrid acknowledged to herself that telling the whole truth to her parents wasn't the best idea, but everything just spilled out when trying to get her parents to listen.

"You don't understand, we have to help Hiccup!" Astrid yelled.

"You had a bad dream," her mother said soothingly, patting Astrid's hair down. "You might as well forget about that boy. He probably died in the forest."

"It wasn't a dream!" Astrid shouted, pushing her mother's hand away.

"Just go back to bed," her father sighed.

Astrid glared. "If you won't help me I'll find someone else who will!" Astrid yelled, running out of her house. The rain had slowly turned into small snowflakes falling down, and Astrid carefully walked down the steps.

"Astrid! Get back in here, you'll catch a cold!" her mother shouted from the door.

"No! I'll find Hiccup myself!" Astrid yelled back.

"She'll be back soon when she calms down," the Lord assured his wife.

Astrid stomped her way through town. What was she going to do? Who in their right mind would even believe her? She let out a heavy sigh that showed crystals of her breath in the frigid air. She glanced over at the group of trees passed the bridge.

Well, Astrid thought, might as well try.

xxx

Jack swung his leg back and forth while still on the branch wondering what to do.

"Jack?!"

Jack almost fell off of the branch at the sudden burst of noise.

"Jack?! Are you here?! Can you hear me?" Astrid shouted, running through the trees.

Jack raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. Now why was she here and why was she looking for him? If anything, Astrid should be mad at him for taking Hiccup.

"Jack!" Astrid shouted again, stomping a foot on the ground as if Jack would hear her if he was in the Land of the Dead. "Jack! It's Hiccup! He's in trouble!"

Jack's eyes went wide and he quickly jumped down from the tree, startling Astrid.

"Jack! You're here! Thank Thor," Astrid said in relief. "No one believes me and I didn't know who to turn to so I thought that maybe you would be here and-"

"What's wrong with Hiccup?" Jack said, cutting her off so he could figure out the real problem. "Is he still sick?"

Astrid shook her head rapidly. "No! He was on his way to try to find you so he could say goodbye, and a carriage pulled up and grabbed him!"

"What?" Jack said shocked. "Who was it? Why did they kidnap him?"

"I don't know," Astrid sighed. "And there's nothing we can really do... but I couldn't be the only one knowing this."

"There has to be a way," Jack said. "We have to find out who did it."

"But how? All I know is that they headed south out of town."

"Think! Is there anyone who has it out for this town?"

"Not specifically," Astrid said. "Maybe they just want ransom. That would be good, right? Then his father can get him back. Maybe we are worrying for nothing."

"You're right about one thing. It was probably for ransom. But have you met his father? He doesn't have much compassion for Hiccup," Jack said sadly.

"But surly he wouldn't let Hiccup die," Astrid said.

Jack shrugged. "Who knows? What I do know is that one of us needs to be at the house when a ransom note turns up and figure out who did it. Can I trust you to do that? I will go get some recruits."

Astrid nodded. "I'll head towards Hiccup's house right now." She turned to leave, but paused and looked back. "Why are you helping?"

"What do you mean? I think it is obvious by now that I like Hiccup."

"I know, and that's why I'm confused," Astrid said. "Wouldn't you like it better if Hiccup died? Then he could live in the Land of the Dead with you."

"Isn't it cruel if you wished death upon someone?" Jack asked. "I do love Hiccup, and that is why I want him to live a nice happy life with a beautiful wife such as yourself. Maybe have a couple children."

Astrid blushed slightly and looked towards the ground. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to take him away from you."

"You are not," Jack laughed. "He loves you like he will never be able to love me. It was me who took him away from you and I apologize. But we can chat about this all later, right now we have to make sure Hiccup is alright."

Astrid nodded and quickly ran out of the forest towards her family's stables. She quickly saddled her horse, which was almost light blue in color. She jumped on top and lightly kicked her side. "Come on, Stormfly!"

Stormfly quickly galloped out into the snow, the flakes stinging her face as they road along.