What We Said

Hiccup

"HICCUP!" Screamed a voice in the distance. The pitch blackness of a nightmare surrounding my vision. "Dad?! DAD!" I screamed. But there was nothing. No one. Suddenly, my head was filled with noises from every angle, all at top volume. Men yelling, wood creaking, metal clanging, so much noise I had to throw my hands to my ears, kneeling to the ground which was wet and splashed all around me. It was like kneeling on the soft sand of a beach, right next to the water.

"DAD! H-HELP!" I tried to scream again, my voice becoming gargled and washed out, like it was removed from my body. Suddenly, I was the helpless boy from eight years ago. The boy that my dad couldn't be proud of.

A sharp turn threw me against the wall of the bottom deck of my ship. I jerked awake and I was back to reality. The hellish reality that had been my life for the past three years. I reached up, rubbing my head and pushing back the small strands of hair that hung just low enough to reach my eyes. "Shit." I muttered, climbing out of bed and haphazardly sliding a shirt on over my torso. "Alright bud, if I'm up, so are you." I said, searching the darkness for a minute until my eyes found the black lump sound asleep in the corner of the room. I smiled, the only bright spot of these last three years had been Toothless. Well, Gobber helped sometimes, but he was better as a physical trainer than a mental one. And training? Well that was just about the hardest thing I had been through.

Not only did I have to learn every single thing about being a chief to even come close to the kind of work my father did, but I had to fight and claw my way through people just to get them to respect me as a leader. Literally. I had fought every challenger the elders put me up against.

And then there were the nights spent alone, with nothing but my mind and Toothless to keep me company. I thought about her a lot. More than I thought was humanly possible. This was all for her. Yes, I was living up to my fathers expectations and I thought about him every time I punched someone, but all the glory and gold was nothing compared to Astrid. She was everything I ever needed and wanted and I hadn't seen her in three years. It was tearing me apart.

Suddenly, the door burst open, startling both Toothless and I. My dragon jumped up, growling as he thumped towards the door. But I knew who it was. "Alrighty then Hiccup! Up and about already? Well isn't that a surprise!" Gobber yelled, announcing himself a little too loudly for the size of the room we were in. Toothless slumped, almost rolling his eyes. But he perked up when Gobber threw him a fish. I half-smiled, not feeling the energy to muster up a full one.

"What is it today Gobber?" I said, leaning against Toothless. "What is it? Hiccup we're only ten minutes away from home! From Berk! You better get yourself dressed, we'll be landing soon!" At this, I jumped up, my eyes wide, and my jaw slack. Home?! Oh my gods, I haven't seen Berk in three years! I laughed loudly and ran around, grabbing everything I would need to return home as a chief. And then, I stopped. And my breath fell. My heart stopped. The room began to spin as I leaned against the wall to keep me upright.

"Astrid." I whispered.