The Dragon Master Part I: Rewritten (A Httyd fanfiction)

Chapter 40: Darker forces

(Normal pov)

Astrid sat by his bed once again in Gothi's hut this time, refusing to leave his side even after her parents had repeatedly urged her to have her wounds properly checked by Gothi. She only responded with the same reply. "Hiccup had it worse than me." And his leg was a whole other story. Now his left leg ended where his knee should have been; the stump covered in medicinal linens coated with a special herbal paste to hasten the healing process. Despite his promising outlook, it pained her every second seeing his eyes filled with pain they were stitching up his wound and applying the herbal paste that seemed to burning his wound even further. All she could do was lower her head, block out everything else in his sight and whisper comforting words to calm him down. Her actions did have dramatic effects as he only focused on her eyes and tried to block out everything else.

After his condition had been stabilized, Gothi had him drink a strong sedative to help him sleep easier and rest. She estimated that a week or two in bed with constant scheduled bandage changes before he was ready to walk again. Provided that Gobber had his new prosthetic ready by then. After Gothi was sure he was asleep, she had turned her attention to Astrid. Knowing that the young shield-maiden wouldn't leave her beloved's side, she had one of her apprentices bring the necessary medical items to treat her wounds.

She only had to treat a few cuts and bruises. Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of injuries for a Viking. Her parents had brought her a change of clothes and some food for her as well. They told her how worried they were; how they were praying to Odin and all the gods to bring her back alive. Her mother was in tears when she enveloped her in a hug; her father on the brink of them. Despite her concern for Hiccup, she couldn't help the overwhelming tears of joy escape her eyes as she was reunited with her family.

It was most likely, the only occasion where everyone saw the entire Hofferson family in tears.

However, as they moved Hiccup from Gothi's hut to the royal household , she could see Stoick couldn't share her family's exact emotions, except Valka. Of course he was glad his son was alive, but at a huge cost. His leg. He had only seen Vikings sustain such injuries in their late thirties, forties, even fifties for that matter... never at such a young age. And to his own son. She had an idea of what the Chief of Berk would have been feeling.

Anger. Regret. Sorrow. Emotions all directed towards himself. She, along with the whole village, was there to hear his words when he asked Hiccup for forgiveness and promised that he would be a better father from then on. She knew he'd be cursing himself for not being able to protect his own son. He dropped by every chance he had; every time there was a niche open in his busy schedule, to check up on his condition. And she was there every time he came, along with Toothless, who had his head placed where Hiccup's left leg should have been.

And every time Stoick dropped by, he always brought her something to eat. He even brought fish for Toothless, knowing the dragon wouldn't venture more than ten feet from his rider.

It was on one of these drop-by's that Stoick had an interesting talk with Astrid.

"How's he doing?"

"He's still out. He wakes every now and then, only asking for water or food, but he's too groggy to realize it who it is before he goes back to sleep." Astrid said softly as she chewed on her mother's homemade smoked cod. He nodded silently, and she could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking of something else to say.

"You two have grown inseparable." He stated, with a smile.

"Yeah."

"He's he's really lucky to have a woman like you, Astrid."

She couldn't help but blush under his comment. "If anyone's lucky here, it's me. I don't deserve a man like him."

"I know I don't deserve his forgiveness Astrid... but I do know that not many people find their true opposite self." He started. "I've had to conduct and attend countless number of marriages, on and off Berk for decades of my life. And I can tell you now that a good chunk of them involved people getting married for power or money; hardly out of love. Apparently I've learned you have to fight for what and whom you love. However, on most occasions, people lose. But... there are those two individuals, who do not care about what others think, about the rules, about traditions...and take matters into their own hands." He stopped, making eye contact with her as she listened intently.