How To Train Your Princess

Epilogue

Hey guys! I entered this story (How to Train Your Princess and my miraculous book (The Dark One) into the wattys2017 so if you could go vote for them and show your love and support it would be greatly appreciated. I'v never entered before so I don't know how it works really lol.

Also! The prologue for the sequel is up!!!!! The title is How to Train For War! I hope yall like it, so go read that after this!

Love,

hiccstrid_lover_98

"Come on, Astrid! Hurry up with those boxes," Ruff calls out, standing at my front door. The last few weeks, my house has become a school storage hut, boxes piled high to the ceiling full of parchment, writing utensils, books; not to mention tables and chairs. What we couldn't fit here took up residence with Ruff.

"I know!" I holler back to her, heaving up the crates in my arms, and stomping down the stairs.

I make my way to all the tables set up outside the school, putting my stuff down and sorting through it, before dispersing the contents into their correct piles.

"Two days!" Heather sing in my ear, setting down more crates and going them as well.

"Branchton keeps eyeing you," Ingrid says, passing me.

"He can fall off a cliff!" I shout to her as she walks back to my house for the remaining supplies.

"I don't get you. I thought you really liked him," Heather says. I ignore her, marking items off of my list. "You know you don't have to be scared."

"Easy for you to say. You're married. Everyone our age is married."

"But, you said so yourself that you're not the marrying type," Heather adds.

"Then why do you guys keep pressing me about the Branchton thing?" I argue.

"Because we don't want your life to only consist of work. Go on another trip. We have the school under control. We have plenty of qualified teachers signed up."

"Do you really think I should? I heard a boat is leaving for the black sand isles tomorrow morning."

"Then go! You deserve it," Heather urges me. I nod, placing my crate under the table, and head to get another load.

A crowd has gathered near the school when I come back. I set chairs down with the others, making sure they are still in good condition. Maybe Heather is right. I need a vacation. I need to do something for me again. It's about time. Not that helping the Lower Valley wasn't exciting.

"What's going on in there?" a male voice asks.

"Do you honestly think I know? I'm not in there," I answer, rolling my eyes.

"Look, Astrid. I'm just trying to be nice," Branchton says.

"Okay," I say, refusing to look at him. He sighs, and finally leaves.

I hear the crowd drift away after awhile before I hear footsteps. "Go away, Branchton. I don't care what you have to say," I grumble, bending the end of a nail in on a leg of a chair.

"Hi, Astrid."I instantly feel all of the blood drain from my face and seep into my hands and feet making them almost too heavy to move. "I just thought I should come tell you how great of a job you did on the school."

I pull myself up, wiping my hands on my leggings. "Thank you, Your Highness," I say, busying my hands with straitening out a stack of books. All of the times I wanted to tell him I missed him come flooding back. But I always knew it wouldn't have made a difference. It wouldn't have changed his mind. So, I moved on, even though it physically hurt, and I grew more and more distant from my feelings until he was just an old memory. He was no longer my world. I didn't need him anymore. He caused me to feel this way. He gave me the push I needed. "I'm glad you approve. Now sorry, but I have a ton of work to do," I tell him, beginning to walk away.

"Astrid, wait," he adds, gripping on to my elbow.

I face him this time. He's older, taller, but his hair is exactly the same. He looks like a man, and I remember he's not a boy anymore. He's twenty-one now, not eight-teen. His eyes are as emerald green as ever though and I know they are saying the same as mine, 'remember how we could talk for hours and now we can barely look at each other'.

"What?" I snap, wishing he'd let go of me.

"Why are you angry with me?" he asks, brows furrowed, perplexed.

"Why? Oh I don't know. Maybe you should go think about it for three years," I spit, yanking my arm free.

"What? You're mad because we haven't seen each other in three years? You're to blame for that too. Besides, you were gone for a year and a half of it."

"I wasn't the last year and a half. It doesn't matter though. I'm over it," I say, moving a few mathematics books into the correct pile a table over. "no, I'm mad that I wasn't even invited to be apart of your council when all I wanted was to help the Lower Valley feel equal with the nobles."

"Astrid, you weren't here," he groans, annoyed with me.

"At first I always had to hear everything second hand. .That all of my friends would get to see you all the time, and I felt forgotten when I returned home. And I pretended like I didn't mind until I just didn't care enough to know how you were. I tuned everything about you and the royal family out."

"Astrid, I--"

"You don't have to make up for it though, because I'm leaving tomorrow for another expedition. So, you don't have to feel guilty. You can go back to your palace and sit in your hiding place and cry about your daddy issues, and talk to your council buddies, and play polo."

"Hey! I wrote you letters for the past three years. It's not my fault if you didn't read them," he shouts, fuming.

"What letters?"

He sucks in a deep breath to calm himself. "I wrote you letters and asked Heather to deliver them to you each time."

She shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. I've moved on. I'm happy now. I have my own life, and you have yours. We were just kids. We were stupid and reckless. I'll send you a letter from the black sand isles," I say, heading to go meet up with the other girls unloading supplies and setting up the classrooms. He doesn't follow me, and I feel relieved, already working on forgetting the whole thing.

"I still love you," he calls after me, and I stop dead in my tracks.