1: Arrival

12.7K 221 296
                                    

A/N: This was really prompted by a listener call on the Danny Baker Show on Radio about a celebrity paying for his meal because he mistakenly thought the caller and his friend had just gotten engaged. And then I watched 'Notting Hill' and the star-crossed romance came in. Of course, that would be fairly easy to sort out...or would it? Add in celebrity, a psychopathic girlfriend and misunderstandings galore and see what happens...

DISCLAIMER: I still don't own How To Train Your Dragon. Rights remain with Cressida Cowell and Dreamworks.

One: Arrival

"We are coming in for final approach. Could all crew take their seats and prepare for landing. I repeat, we are landing in Berk Airport in less than five minutes. We hope you have enjoyed your flight with Archipelago Air."

Astrid Hofferson, the most famous sportswoman to ever come from Berk, sighed as the airplane dipped through the clouds and the precipitous geography of her home island came into view. Berk was so small that the commercial carriers didn't even do First Class, only Business and the seats were so limited her agent had needed to contact the airline District Manager to ensure she was allocated Business Class seats despite all being sold out.

She rested her head back as they circled and came in for final approach and closed her eyes. The main town was very steep with a small mountain forming what was known as the 'upper village' so the airport had been built on the flatter part of the island over the main ridge from the town in what had once been forest. The plane juddered slightly and then, with the slightest bump, they touched down. She waited for the sudden roar of reverse thrust to die down and the plane to move sedately onto the taxiway to take its stand before she unclipped her belt and stood, reaching down her bag and taking first place in the line for the doors. The cabin crew were staring at her but she met their eye steadily, her steely sea blue eyes and determined expression warning them from saying anything.

When the door opened, she was first off, because she hated waiting. Astrid was single-minded and impatient, an intelligent and fierce competitor who had known what she wanted to do and had ruthlessly done everything required to achieve her goals. She was a star across the Archipelago and beyond, her arresting looks almost as frequently featured on fashion magazine and gossip websites as they were on the sports feeds. As the Captain of the Archi Valkyries and the Archipelago national team, she was a global star courted by many of the main European and US soccer clubs and she had recently launched her own clothing and perfume lines. She adjusted her soft oxblood leather jacket and strode down onto the tarmac, then headed as directed to the single terminal.

In truth, she hadn't been planning to visit home at this time because the season was in full swing and her time was precious-but her mother was having a big birthday-one of the ones ending in '0'-so non-attendance had never been an option. So she was flying in two days before the big day and was booked to leave the morning after the party on the morning flight out to Vilnius to join the team for the World Cup Qualifier against Lithuania. She was waved through Passport Control and rewarded the officer with a smile and a few words: it cost nothing to be charming and she was hugely popular on her home island. She willingly signed an autograph-even though it held up the line-because the man had begged for his daughter and as she was waved on, the smile had lasted longer than usual. Somehow, being back on Berk did that for Astrid. She was home, with people who were uncomplicated and not out for everything they could get.

Her baggage was priority but there was still a long wait and she scanned her texts and social media profile, checking her twitter feed and smiling as her team wished her a safe trip. She was just sending a message to home when the belt rumbled into life was relieved that her baby blue suitcase was the first off. Primly, she gathered it and walked through customs and out into the main airport...

Accidental FiancéWhere stories live. Discover now