How To Be Brave

Talks

Stoick let his hands wander over the tapestry his wife made a year before she died.

"You're muttering", a familiar voice said. He was surprised for a moment, then replied:

"I don't mutter." That was a lie.

"Aye, you do. You mutter, mate, when something's troubling you."

"I blame you. Stubborness. It's entirely from your side of the family." Gobber laughed at the remark, as his sister late indeed had been quite stubborn.

"I take it the talk didn't go to well, then?" He asked. Stoick sighed.

"Oh, I don't know what to do."

"Speak to him, mate."

"I do speak to him. He just doesn't listen."

"Come on, now." Gobber sat down next to Stoick. "Pretend I'm Hiccup. Speak to me. What would you say?"

"I can't do this", Stoick protested.

"Sure you can." Stoick opened his mouth to speak, a hint of steel in his eyes. "There, there. That's my king. Right, here we go." Gobber breathed in a few times and then started talking with a voice that looked strangely much to Hiccup's. "I don't want to get married, I just wanna have fun with Jack and do whatever I please as I ride on Toothless and race with my best friend." Stoick chuckled softly while Gobber looked at him expectant.

"Hiccup, all this work, all this time spent preparing you, schooling you, giving you everything we never had. I ask you, what do you expect us to do?"

*Meanwhile*

"Call off the gathering. Would that kill them? You're the king, you can just tell the chiefs the prince's not ready for this", I exclaimed loudly, cleaing Toothless stall.

"In fact, he might not ever be ready for this, so that's that", Jack completed, grinning. "Good day to you. We expect your declarations of war in the morning."

*In the studyroom*

"I understand this must all seem unfair. Even I had reservations when I faced betrothal."

"What?" Gobber muttered. It was his sister his best friend was talking about.

"But we can't just run away from who we are."

*In the stalls*

"I don't want my life to be over. I want my freedom."

*Studyroom*

"But are you willing to pay the price your freedom will cost?"

*Stalls*

"I'm not doing anything of this to hurt you."

*Studyroom*

"If you could just try to see what I do, I do out of love."

*Stalls*

"But it's my life, it's..." I sighed. "I'm just not ready."

*Studyroom*

"I think you'd see, if you could just..."

*Stalls*

"I think I could make you understand if you would just..."

*Studyroom*

"...listen."

*Stalls*

"...listen." I sighed then looked Jack right in the eyes. "I swear, Jack, this isn't going to happen." He nodded.

"Not if I have any say in it." He took a step closer and hugged me. I hugged back, thinking of what I would do when the 'big day' was there.