The Arcane Evil (httyd-fic)

Chapter 45

Astrid let out a yawn as she grabbed for the thing emitting warmth next to her. The warmth shifted a bit and Astrid snapped her eyes open only to see amused emerald eyes gazing back at her.

"Hiccup! You're really here!" Astrid happily said as she rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes.

"Of course milady." Hiccup said as he gave Astrid a kiss.

"I thought it was a dream." Astrid murmured.

"No milady, you did nearly squeeze the air out of me." Hiccup stated amused only to earn a light swat against his chest. "We slept until the morning."

"You had me worried sick. I still would like to know how you returned." Astrid said as she was reluctant to get out of bed. "But that can wait after I snuggle for another couple of minutes."

Hiccup let out a chortle as Astrid, with her disheveled hair, slipped back under the covers.

They stayed like that for a couple more minutes before they decided that it was time to face the day once again.

"Shall we have breakfast milady?" Hiccup asked offering his arm after they had gotten dressed.

"Of course milord." Astrid said playfully as she wound her arm in his and they set off towards the Great Hall.

When they got there they saw that the others were already seated. They bid all good morning and sat down to eat. Breakfast was quiet and Astrid looked around at everyone. Normally the twins would be trying to make the bread explode.

"Okay. What is going on?" Astrid asked as she looked down the table.

"Nothing! Nothing is going on. Why would you think something is going on! It is not like we p-hhfffm" Fishlegs babbled as Snotlout quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

"Hiccup was going to tell us how he escaped right?" Tuffnut asked as casually as possible, completely changing the subject.

"Yes" Hiccup readily agreed as he broke some bread. "I however still cannot believe that three days passed. I landed on some small primitive stone houses which belonged to sentient rock creatures. They gave me a way out after I promised that we would not send Sielihah back to them."

"Wait.....wait....... what?!" Snotlout asked. "Rock creatures...... are you serious?!"

"Yes" Hiccup stated. "But I only met them later. They were very hesitant to approach. There was another human trapped in that realm as well. He goes by the name Cidore."

"Hiccup are you sure?" Astrid suddenly asked.

"Yes, that is what he introduced himself as." Hiccup mentioned and saw Astrid's eyes widen.

"Most of the knowledge about Sielihah came from an old battered journal which was found in the catacombs. It had the name Cidore listed as the owner on the cover."

"Yes he did mention leaving an account behind." Hiccup stated. "So we talked and he told me how he met Sielihah, was her mentor and eventually fell in love with her." Hiccup explained. "When he found out what she was doing he decided to banish her to the Timeless realm."

"Wait, how do you know that he wasn't lying to you?" Fishlegs queried. "He could have assumed someone else's identity."

"I had no reason to lie Fishlegs." Hiccup said as he took a sip from a goblet. "Sielihah cursed him to be a partial statue when they landed in that realm and he was mortally wounded."

"If he left then he would die." Astrid mentioned looking pensive. "It does not sound like a man who had any reason to lie."

"He also mentioned fusing spells, he told me to tell you that magic is driven by intend, but conviction and imagination are also needed to fuse spells." Hiccup said which got everyone's attention. "According to him, the results would have nearly limitless applications."

"Conviction and imagination?" Astrid muttered as she tried to figure out what that meant. They had finished their breakfast when a crash of metal could be heard outside the room.

The doors to the hall were opened by Eret and in bounded Toothless with a basket in his maw. Toothless stopped next to Astrid sat on his haunches and proceeded to place the basket on Astrid's lap.

"What?" Astrid asked, looking perplexed, as she took out a beautiful blue and white cascading wedding bouquet out of the basket.

Her eyes widened and she looked down the table to see everybody smiling. Then her eyes landed on Hiccup who was gazing at her lovingly. "For you milady." Hiccup said as he stood up and offered his hand to Astrid.

Astrid grasped his hand and stood up, still stunned by the flowers. "Is this what I think it means?"

"Well milady, I did not want to keep you waiting any longer." Hiccup said as he kissed the back of her hand making her blush. "So I asked Eret if he could arrange for us to be married today."

Astrid stared open mouthed at Hiccup for a few seconds before she launched herself at him and gave him a very passionate kiss. Toothless upon seeing the display covered his eyes with his tail while the others at the tables were shouting their congratulations.

"Now shall we get ready milady?"

"Yes yes yes!" Astrid said excitingly as the couple made their way out.

The wedding would take place in the palace gardens. Eret had made sure that the gardens were beautifully decorated. Chairs had been placed facing the gazebo, which now sported an altar, and had an arc of the same flowers which went into Astrid's bouquet framing the entrance.

The servants, knights and scribes and even the dragons were all in attendance as Hiccup took his place near the altar. Hiccup was dressed completely in black, with silver brocaded ivy leaves woven into the sleeves and high collar.

According to Eret, the seamstresses were more than ready for a wedding event as they had already started sewing the clothes when the engagement was announced.

The doors to the garden were opened and out walked Astrid, dressed in a flowing off the shoulders light blue gown. Astrid wore her hair loose for the occasion and it cascaded around her elegantly.

All stood in attention as Astrid, bouquet in hand, walked down the aisle towards Hiccup. Hiccup took Astrid's hand when she reached the altar and a faced the officiator.

The ceremony in itself was simple, something that both Astrid and Hiccup could appreciate. Many other royals would be wanting to hold grand displays for such a day but to the couple standing at the altar it mattered not as long as they ended up with each other.

The vows were said and the officiator decreed them Husband and Wife, Queen and Consort, and partners for life. There were loud cheers from the crowd when Astrid and Hiccup kissed.

A small reception was held inside and as the guests raised toasts to the newly wedded couple a commotion could be heard from outside the palace gates.

Hiccup and Astrid proceeded to a balcony to see what the commotion was about and to their surprise they saw most of the city gathered in front of the castle cheering.

"News really travels fast here." Hiccup stated as he saw the happy crowds waving at them.

"That it does." Astrid said before she pulled Hiccup into another kiss.