Silence (How To Train Your Dragon AU) (Hiccup x reader OC)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

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I smiled, softly, humming a tune to the child in resting between my arm and hip. He gripped my tunic tightly in his little fists, resting his head on my shoulder. His big brown eyes looked ahead, towards the well, our water supply.

People in our small village nodded or lifted a hand as we passed by, and I nodded brightly back. Some went as far as to say, "Morning, Silence," even when they didn't expect an answer.

I wasn't fond of the nickname the village gave me: Silence. But it was the perfect fit for me. I, however, preferred my name (Y/N). But I did answer to Silence and never gave indication of my distaste for the name.

I set the protesting boy down, forcing his grasp away from my tunic as I sat him beside the well. Unwilling to part from me, he gripped onto my pant leg, using his free hand to suck his thumb.

I pulled the bucket of water in the well up, dumping it into my heavy bucket. I repeated the process five times, filling the five gallon bucket before lowering the well bucket once more, letting it hover just above the waterline, ready to be pulled up for the next villager.

I lifted the child back into my free arm, no longer struggling between him and the five gallon bucket.

I was pushed aside as someone on a horse trotted in. The plump man hobbled off the horse and demanded everyone's attention.

I set the heavy bucket down as the village square surrounded the man, who was obviously from the higher grounds, where the palace was.

"Here ye! Here ye!" the man shouted, silencing the villagers. "I bring word from the king himself!" He stumbled a bit, pulling out and opening a scroll. "Oh, yes. The Prince is of age to choose a bride. The castle will be open to all eligible ladies for three weeks. At the end, there will be a three-day long ball where the Prince will choose a bride." He put the scroll down to his side, dropping the snobby accent. "So, basically, all eligible ladies between seventeen and twenty are to stay at the castle for three weeks to train to become a princess. Then the Prince will decide who will become his Princess."

I huffed in annoyance. I had much better things to do than to waste a month of my valuable time to play dress up with the snobby royal family. I wasn't going to be picked anyways, so what was the point?

"Ladies, you will have the next week to prepare for your trip. A guard will come to lead you safely to the castle then." The man hobbled back on the poor horse, riding back out of the village, probably to the next village just two miles away.

"This is so exciting!" a girl squealed to the group of village girls, most of whom were going to the palace in a week. The other girls quickly agreed.

I picked back up the heavy bucket, feeling the child's grip tighten as I leaned over.

Jessica, the daughter of the richest man in the village, snickered, "Well, except for Silence. I mean, with the baby, is she really considered eligible?"

"Sadly, since Harley isn't hers, probably," Mary sneered. She walked up to me, eyeing me up and down. "But with the way she acts, the Prince definitely won't choose her." She meant my boyish tunic, pants, and heavy boots. My hair was feminine enough, other than being kept in a messy braid I hid in my hat, but everyone had seen my long hair from the days I didn't feel like braiding or hiding it.

"Just stay out of our way, Silence," Jessica scoffed, walking off.

I didn't plan on getting in their way, for I knew I wasn't Princess material. I was too different, but I didn't mind. At least, that's what everyone else believed, for I never changed. I didn't want to be fake. Being fake was too exhausting for me. Besides, Harley needed someone who was honest, even if silence came along with the burden.

Harley babbled for my attention. He wasn't the talker, but the village blamed his adopted mother: me. Besides, it wasn't too abnormal for a child of four to have little interest in talking.

At eighteen years of age and raising a child, I lived alone in a small cottage on the edge of the village. I helped my aunt and uncle, who supported my decision to keep and care for Harley, and they paid me enough to get by. I also did small jobs here and there for extra money.

I sighed, not knowing what would happen to Harley while I was forced to be away. Maybe I could sneak him along. He wasn't a loud or obnoxious child, excluding his clingy attitude to anyone he knew and liked. I glanced at the sleepy boy. I hadn't been away from him for more than a few hours since I found him abandoned by the village well. A few hours, let alone a month!

Maybe I could just skip it. It would literally be a waste of time for me, and time away from Harley. Sure, he was fine with my cousins, aunt, or uncle for a few hours, but he would cry and cry and scream his little head off if he noticed I wasn't around. There was no way he'd survive a month without me.

By routine, I set Harley down for his nap before tending our private little garden. The few chickens we had, I fed, picking some eggs while they were distracted. I did the laundry, hanging it up on the clothesline to dry before I went back to the village to return said laundry to Mrs. Jinx, who paid me to do her laundry, a chore she despised.

The sun beat down on my back but my hat collected most of my sweat. Still, a trickle would sometimes slip down my cheek as I worked in the blistering heat. Luckily, there was a nice breeze.

I would have to hurry back to the village if I wanted to finish my work on my uncle's farm today. I was already slightly behind. Or maybe I could go straight to my uncle's, then drop off the laundry while Harley was distracted and playing with my cousin Sally and Aunt Dorothy.

Harley stumbled out of the house, clinging to his dragon stuffy.

"Momma," he called from the porch.

I smiled and waved him over.

He pouted but walked my way, plopping down next to me by the laundry tub. I was working on another family's laundry now, planning to deliver it early so I would have time to pack.

As much I didn't want to go, I know my Aunt Dorothy would demand that I do, even if we all knew I would never be picked.

Still, she would claim nothing is impossible.

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