Bond of Two Lands

21. Heirs To Come

Merida was furious. "Hiccup's gone mad!" she exclaimed. "How can that backstabbing, snobbish Heir Boy think that I would actually marry him? I mean, after this?"

"I don't know", Astrid said, still pale from the news. She sat on her bed in the guest quarters with her hand gently stroking the bed spread. "But it must be part of his plan. Hiccup would never..."

"What plan? To become king? Well, he sure seems to be ticking that box."

"Merida, please..."

"No. I can't trust him anymore. If we want something done, we must do it ourselves." With those words, she stormed out the door, almost getting trapped by her long bow.

~~~~~

The Chief of Berk and the King of Dun Broch had eaten their breakfast quickly this morning and hurried hence to catch the first daylight out on the castle meadow. Both were armed with swords and axes worthy of their positions.

"This is where I lost mi leg", Fergus said, pointing calmly at the grass. "I've never had the chance to show ya before. Big beast, really big, although there of course was a reason for that. Yer lad told me the story of his loss, by the way."

Stoik tried to keep a straight face. "Did he?"

"Ay. But he never told me what caused it. So, what was it? A sneaky Changewing, or perhaps a treacherous Nadder?"

"It was actually one of the larger kind. A Titanwing of sorts."

Fergus whistled quietly. "That isn't too bad, auld boy. Be proud of him. I know I will be, to have him as mi son-in-law." The Scot suddenly took aim on a aperture in the thick tree bunch. "Watch out, Stoik. Here comes a recent improvement of ours."

Both the men glanced at the glade, where nothing more than the wind carrying a few leaves was visible. And then there was a dragon.

"A Terror!" the king said. "It seems to be our lucky day. Those are difficult to trap, as ya well know. I'm happy to have the best trapping team in and outside the Archipelago at my command. Ya will see them in a few days, at the great wedding banquet."

Stoik tried, without success, to look away from the poor creature, which was completely entangled with a torturous chain net. He was actually somewhat surprised to find that his first impuls was to pick it up and cradle it in his arms - the species he'd devoted his entire life up until some years back to make extinct. The realisation just increased his already constantly present longing for his late wife, who'd always tried to make that exact fondness grow on him.

~~~~~

There was too few trees in the woods. Hiccup could only strike them each a couple of times before cutting of branches, and he didn't wish to leave any trace. Yet, he was in absolute need of some comfort and the only way to get that he could think of at this moment was Astrid's. He knew that his father and - he had to brace himself before even thinking it - future father-in-law were out hunting, which could mean only one thing. Dragons would be their targets. 

The Chief's Heir hated not knowing when he'd see his own dragon again. After the way they'd parted some days earlier, he actually worried that they would never meet again, although that thought was almost to painful to bear.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, you muttonheaded fool", said an outraged voice behind his back.

Hiccup nearly grinned. Nearly. "I can tell you're really happy to see me, right, Astrid?"

"No. No jokes. You've got some serious explaining to do."

"Astrid..."

"Now. You don't want to regret sharpening my axe before we left The Edge."

Hiccup sighed. "Alright. But... can I please say it face to face?" He turned around slowly, cautiously. She really was holding her axe alarmingly close to his abdomen, judging by the furious lightnings that lived in her eyes.

"Okay", he said. "What do you want to know?"

Astrid slammed her weapon in the ground. "Firstly, why in Valhalla you would get engaged to a girl who doesn't even like you in the first place, when you've particularly promised not to do so?"

"And secondly?" he said, weak in appearance.

"Why you'd let me hear it from your father and the king."

"Oh." The boy couldn't deny that there was a hurt look about the warrior that he'd never seen before. It seemed that he had messed things up even harder than intended. "That was unfortunate", he began, "and completely uncalled for, I know."

"If excuses all you've got, I'd rather get going right away." She turned around the leave, when Hiccup suddenly grabbed her hand.

"I know I'm stupid", he said, "but only in order to fix this. Trust me, this might be the only way."

"Marrying Merida?" Astrid said, every inch both fierce and broken. "Becoming king?"

"It might not come to that. It's just that you reminded me of something yesterday. It's true that The Edge can't last forever, no matter how hard I try. It's an outpost, after all. What I can preserve, though, is Berk." Hiccup breathed in heavily. "Berk needs a leader, a protector. With the outpost gone, we will be our enemies' next stop. And we can't be sure about defending ourselves all on our own."

Astrid shook her head. "That aren't you talking."

"It is. Or perhaps it is my dad. Either way, I'm next in line. Next up for the plucking. And I wouldn't want my heir to live in the uncertainty we're living. This might be the necessary insurance, Astrid."

The female Viking continued to shake her head. But there was something new in her look now, something so hurt and so unwillingly understanding that one could only barely bear to look upon her. She was already leaving in her mind.

"Good luck with that heir of yours", she said. "I'm sure no one on Berk would mind having another red-head for Chief."

Hello again! Long time, no see. Sorry about the incredibly long delay on this one, there is really no excuse for it except for writer's block. Hopefully it was worth some of the wait! More is to come shortly.