Heir and Pride

Chapter Thirty

Hiccup had no idea what to do as they landed in the cove. The fire was dying down and he was sure that the villagers wouldn't come after him tonight. Not that it mattered: he had Toothless and Stormfly to keep watch. But he was worried about Astrid, who was still trembling and when they landed, when he dismounted, she remained sitting on Toothless. And she was crying.

"Astrid?" he asked gently. "Come by the fire. You-you're in shock now. You need warmth." She just kept quietly sobbing so he warily offered his hand: he was still scared of her, of her strength and temper, but he was more worried. Astrid was always strong, always pushed on. Now, she looked...vulnerable, afraid. And that rocked the foundations of his world. "Take my hand, Astrid. Come sit by the fire." Slowly, her hand grasped his and he helped her off the dragon and led her to the fire, beckoning Stormfly over and folding the blanket around her. Then he limped a few feet away and dropped to the floor, wincing at his sore leg. Toothless automatically shambled to sit behind the boy and curl up against him with a little reassuring warble while the Nadder settled down at Astrid's back.

"Are you...did he..." he asked carefully, seeing her staring absently at the fire.

"I don't want to talk," she said tightly.

"Okay," he said quickly, raising his hands to try to appease her. "Just...if you want to talk...I'm here..." He sighed, staring awkwardly at his hands for a long moment. She was in a daze and he tried to think back to those horrible hours after he had been attacked by Snotlout: he had tried to suppress the memories but they still lurked in his head. He had been terrified, anxious and so jumpy. He had gone into the forest to see Toothless after the attack...and he smiled. Funny how long ago that seemed. He couldn't imagine the dragon not being his constant companion now. But he had been tense as he had stumbled into the forest and his throat had been really sore from screaming... He scrambled up painfully and grabbed a canteen, handing it cautiously to her.

"Have-have something to drink," he offered. "It's only water," he added in an embarrassed voice. She wordlessly took the water and drained the canteen. With a sigh, he stumbled up and limped to the lake, dropping to his knees and painfully filling the canteen, then trying to get up. He gave a yelp as he tried to put pressure on his stump and dropped to his hands and knees, then sat back, clutching his left leg and whimpering. He bowed his head and remained curled up, rocking painfully. He had been warned about pains in his stump, the memory of his missing limb tormenting his brain and firing agonising pains through the remaining part of the leg.

"Hiccup?" Astrid's voice was soft.

"I-I'm fine," he said, his voice tight with pain. "J-just a little cramp..." Then another wave of pain surged through him and he gave an unconscious moan of pain, his eyes squeezed shut and tears of pain leaking from his eyes. He bit down on his lip and rocked as he clutched his leg, his breathing hitching with suppressed sobs.

Then a hand gently landed on his shoulder.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked him hoarsely. He winced and glanced up. She looked terrible, with bruises across her face and deep shadows under her red, swollen eyes. And she was looking concerned for him, which made him feel worse.

"S-sorry," he whispered, his face locked in a grimace of agony. "Those p-pains Gothi said I would get..." He rocked back and forth again and felt tears burn his eyes. "I'm n-not being much help..." he apologised but he felt her gently wrap her arms around him and then help him up, limping him the few yards back to the fire lowering him awkwardly onto the blanket. She sat by him and he tried to scoot away from her. "I-I'm not rejecting you but I-I know you need your own space right now..." he whispered.

"How?" Her brows flicked down in a frown.

His face twisted in a grim smile. "He tried with me as well, remember?" he sighed, not reminding her that she had rescued him that time. "So I know what you're feeling, Astrid. I know how bad, how vulnerable, how violated you feel. And I'm sorry I'm not your parents or your friends or someone more useful and qualified to comfort you. All I could do was get you away and bring you here." He blushed. "Sorry." She stared at him: he had apologised almost constantly since he had rescued her, his genuine contrition for something that had not been his fault starting to irritate her.