From Ceremonies to Dragons to All in Between

Chapter 4: Breaking the News (And Maybe Someone's Arm Too)

Astrid had spent her whole life following rules. Ever since she was small, she was taught to bow, to be polite, to smile. She had followed every rule and did everything her parents told her. Granted, she did learn how to fight and use a sword, which is very unprincess-like, but her parents had approved. As her father always says, "A Hofferson is always strong and never yields." 

Along with all her other classes, she had taken lessons to learn how to use all kinds of weapons, the ax being her favorite. Her favorite ax, which was a gift, was always by her side and she never left home without it. Despite having so many lessons, Astrid excelled in all of them and was admired by all the girls in the kingdom. 

So when Astrid's father comes to her one morning, a week before her birthday, about her coming of age ceremony, she's ready to listen. She's prepared for the worst and ready to do whatever it takes. 

Her father enters the library, where Astrid had been all afternoon, studying up on the economy and trade routes of the kingdom. Trade has been waning these days, and she's hoping some new trade routes could help the kingdom. Her father comes up to the table she's sitting at and takes a seat. She sees her mother also enter and take a seat next to her father. As she watches the serious looks on both their faces, she realizes that whatever is happening is something she is not going to like.

Her father clears his throat and says, "Astrid, as you know, your coming of age ceremony is in a week. And, in that ceremony, you will be crowned Queen. This is a great honor to be bestowed upon by your ancestor, and I know you won't disappoint me. I am sure you will be a capable and amazing Queen fo the country."

Astrid flits her eyes from one to the other as they talk, and she finally says, "Dad, get to the point." Her father stares at her for a minute in surprise but then smiles.

"You know me so well, dear. As Queen, you will need a king to rule by your side. So, we have decided that you will choose a husband at the ceremony." He hands her an envelope, and he looks at her mother nervously. 

The moment she heard about a husband, her nerves rose. Could she not be an independent woman? Why did she need a man?! She read the letter inside and read about the competition. When she finally finished reading, she turned towards her parents who were staring at her. 

She slammed the letter on the table and stood up. The chair scraped on the floor and fell behind her. "I'm sorry father, but I am not going along with this." Her cold steely tone rang through the library, and her mother winced at her. "I do not want a man to rule me. I will be a strong leader on my own."

Her father stood up also and gave her a serious look. "Astrid, I know you can rule on your own. But, I have no choice. The council is pushing me to get you engaged in an arranged marriage. This was the best I could do. And who says the man has to rule over you? You could be equals."

By this point, she was filled with rage, because in their society, a woman could never be equal. And she didn't even technically get to choose him! She ran out of the library and went out to the royal garden. She went through the trees to her special favorite place, where she liked to practice targets with her ax and where she used to meet with . . . Well, that doesn't matter anymore. The place was an empty field in the forest, and near it, a stream. You could see cuts on some of the trees from the times Astrid practiced here.

She started throwing her ax and the trees practicing her aim and letting all her rage go. She hit it again and again, imagining her future husband as that tree. She was ready to break some bones. She kept throwing her ax over and over again, letting out all her rage. 2 hours later, she had finally burned herself out. 

She sat against a tree and rested for a moment. She took a moment to gather her thoughts and sighed. She knew she couldn't do anything. It was a direct order from the King and council. And she would bet they had already sent out all the letters to other kingdoms to join. Well, she mused, at least she could fight her way through the husbands. Then, an idea struck her.

She quickly got up and grinned. She went back to the castle and took a shower, as she was sweating a lot from the workout. When she was finally dressed and ready, she headed towards her father's office. She stepped in front of the door and knocked, then entered. Her father looked up from his documents in surprise when he saw her. 

Astrid cleared her throat, then spoke. "Father, I have a proposition for you."

Her father stared at her. ". . . I'm listening."

Astrid continued. "My husband has to beat me in a battle to marry me, correct? Well, if no one beats me, I would like to not marry at all, and rule on my own." She raised her chin as she looked at him with a set face.

Her father grinned. "I accept your proposition. And that is quite a smart idea, dear." Astrid blinked. She hadn't expected it to be that easy. She smiled at him and raised her hand. He shook it. She then bowed and left the room. As she walked back to her to her room, she smiled, excited. No one had ever beat her in a battle with her ax, so she was quite confident that she wouldn't lose. 

But . . . There was only one person who was equal to her. Her eyes darkened at the thought. She hurriedly gathered her thoughts, as Astrid was sure he wouldn't be there. 

She was now more excited than ever for the ceremony. She would finally prove to everyone that she can rule on her own and that she doesn't need a man.

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A boy walked through the trees, clumsily going through the bushes, till he reached a field of grass. He went to the other side where a stream was located and found who he was looking for.

"Astrid! Happy 8th birthday!" the boy said excitedly. The girl looked up from where she was practicing with her sword and saw the boy holding a package. 

"Hey Hiccup! What do you have there?" she replied easily, putting the sword down and heading towards Hiccup.

"A birthday present! Gobber has been teaching me how to make weapons in the forge and helped me make this! I hope you like it!" he said giving her a toothy grin. She took the package from him and ripped the wrapper away from it. 

In front of her, she saw a gleaming new ax that looked in amazing quality and was one of the best craftsmanship she's ever seen. "You made this?"

Hiccup smiled sheepishly and replied, "Well, it took a few tries. But I finally did it! Do you . . . like it?"

Astrid turned to him and gave him a big hug. "I love it! Thank you so much!" 

Hiccup wrapped his arms around her and hugged back. "Your welcome."

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Hiccup and Astrid both playing with the ax and having fun. After, they both tried to make a cake for her birthday, but both learned that day to never let Astrid in the kitchen. 

And from that day on, the ax was Astrid's favorite weapon. She never let it out of her sight.