Double Fury (Book Two)

Chapter 27: This Is My Vow To You

Hiccup's POV

I look around at the Great Hall. It looks amazing, perfect even. All the tables have been pushed to the side, leaving enough room for the entire village and their dragons to watch. We set up a banquet outside for afterwards, and it took all of my willpower not to snack on the food we prepared.

The music starts playing and I give the clasp of my fur cape a final tug before standing up straight. Fishlegs, Snotlout, Eret, and Tuffnut make up the rest of the groomsmen, and Ruffnut and Astrid make up the bridesmaids. Toothless sits tall beside me, grinning. To my left, Nightstar waits patiently.

To anyone else, having two dragons be the best man and maid of honour would be really weird, but in truth, Thora and I wanted our best friends to have those positions and those titles belong to our dragons.

Everyone stands and I take a deep breath as everyone watches the door to the Great Hall. Thora enters, and I swear, no one in that hall breathes for a moment.

I can't help but smile as she walks down the aisle. A tiny smile rests on her lips, but I know she's forcing herself to remain calm beneath that mask. Public attention isn't her favourite thing.

Despite the nervous feeling she's hiding, she nearly glides down the aisle, her veil trailing behind her like a soft bed of snow. Her movements are smooth and delicate, absolutely lovely.

She meets me at the altar and we turn to face each other. Gothi and Gobber stand in front of us, conducting the ceremony. From the first words, things go smoothly, winding down little by little.

"Do you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, take Thora of Hermaōr as your wedded wife?" Gobber asks.

"I do," I respond.

"And do you, Thora of Hermaōr, take Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third as your wedded husband?"

"I do," she says.

I reach into my back pocket, where I wrote down my vows. Thora smiles, resting her fingertips over her covered mouth, and I look from her to the paper in little intervals. I gaze up at her again, tossing the paper aside as I take her hands in mine.

"I, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, take you, Thora of Hermaōr, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life. I vow to never let you suffer through a sleepless night, to chase away any nightmares that plague you. I vow to protect you and always be here for you, with a shoulder to cry on and arms to surround you and comfort you. I vow to cherish every moment we have together, to never take it for granted, because you never know when it'll be taken away from you. I vow all these in Odin's name."

Her cheeks turn the most delightful shade of pink as her eyes flutter downwards, flustered by my words. She takes a deep breath, composing herself.

"I, Thora of Hermaōr, take you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I vow to keep you on your toes, to always make sure that you get the job done, even when you don't want to do it. I vow to always have a loving home for you to come home to, a place that's safe for both you and our dragons. I vow to never let you down and to always stay faithful to you. I vow to always be your hand to hold when the ocean of life grows stormy. I vow to...to be honest." She clears her throat, fidgeting for a second. "I vow all these in Odin's name."

Through the doors at the back, Dark Moon and Emerald appear, carefully carrying the pillow with the rings in between them. We kneel and Gothi hobbles forwards, accepting the rings and holding them carefully in her small, wrinkled hands.

She mutters something, closing her eyes. We wait patiently and, soon enough, she opens her eyes, smiling and touching each of our heads with her hands.

As we stand up again, she hands us each our ring. I extend my left hand to Thora, and she extends hers towards me. We slip the rings onto each other's fingers, and Gobber raises his hand and stump.

"Today, in front of all you lads and lassies, witness the union of these two young Vikings. By the power vested in me by Gothi, the village elder, I pronounce you husband and wife." He drops his voice to a normal volume. "You may now kiss the bride, lad."

I smile at him before looking to my newlywed wife. I reach forwards and lift up Thora's veil. Her eyes seem to twinkle as she smiles at me, a little piece of forever passing in a mere second.

"Well?" she asks.

I don't hesitate to press my lips to hers. Everyone cheers and claps wildly, but my only focus is on her.