The Gift Of Power | Wattys 2020 (Dance of Power Trilogy: Book 1)

A Question Of Honour

The following morning dawned with a clear blue sky and very little wind. Perfect flying conditions. Astrid leapt out of bed and was hurrying into her clothes when she suddenly paused, remembering something. Moving to the highly polished bronze disk above her desk, she turned to look at her back. Covering the part that she could see was a beautiful and intricate black design of a deadly nadder in an unmistakable battle pose.

Its crested head was held high. The regal spikes flowing up the back of her neck and under the base of her hair as the splayed wings fell in line with her own shoulder blades. Its whip-like tail curled around it; the spines standing slightly erect as if about to be launched at the viewer. It was every bit as elegant as Hiccup and Ilweran's marks. Though Astrid also noticed that it still burned somewhat. Idly wondering how long that would last, she pulled her bindings and tunic on and headed out of her room.

Her butt cheek still smarted a bit as she trudged down the stairs, and a wide grin grew on her face as she remembered again the wonderful ravaging of last night. A shudder going through her at the memory of Hiccup's unexpectedly delicious dominance. The pleasant fantasies causing Astrid to greet her parents a little too cheerfully as she paused to grab a bowl of cold stew from the kitchen. Her mother eyed her suspiciously, but she simply wolfed down her breakfast. Trying to ignore the probing gaze she was receiving.

Before she was actually able to escape the kitchen however, her mother started on her. Almost seeming to glare at her collar instead of her face. "Astrid, we need to talk about your behaviour, as of late," Brenna stated in an unusually stern tone. "You are betrothed to a future chief and are therefore required to uphold and protect your proper status in this village. Instead of being careful, you've been running off at every available moment. Acquiring something of an unpleasant reputation in the process..."

Having heard enough, Astrid cut across her mother's rant with a loud sigh. "I know what people are saying Mom, and I don't really care. You know that I've never been concerned with my status in this village, and I have absolutely no intention of marrying Snotlout. Ever. My reputation, earned or not, won't be the thing that stops him from becoming chief some day."

Seeing that both her parents were about to start arguing now, she quickly added, "I'll talk to you about it later, I promise. Right now I'm late for training and you guys need to stop worrying so much. I'll be fine. I love you both!" Then she quickly hugged her mother and waved to her father, before rushing out of the house. Grabbing her axe from beside the door on her way past.

Arriving at the arena, she saw Hiccup and Ilweran standing by Toothless and Tintallë. Stormfly preening alongside them. As she ran over to greet her dragon, Astrid couldn't help noticing that an awful lot of people were staring at her. Even more than usual. Stopping to scratch Stormfly affectionately, she leaned slightly towards the two men. "What's wrong with everyone," she whispered.

Although the question had been directed towards Hiccup, it was Ilweran that answered her. His tone positively dripping with mock sympathy. "Nothing good, I am afraid," he offered with a dramatic sigh. "Apparently our little friend Snotlout snuck out to the forest last night, where he claims to have heard the distinct sounds of vigorous lovemaking. Fortunately he could not find the entrance to the cove in the darkness. When he spotted his betrothed returning from the forest afterwards though, clearly unaccompanied, he was unfortunately still able to form his own conclusions. Being too afraid to confront you directly, he intends to challenge Scáth to a duel for stealing your maidenhead instead."

Looking quickly to Hiccup now, Astrid saw him shrug in agreement. "I have to say, the vigorous lovemaking part has got to be what finally pushed him too far. How does your ass feel this morning, by the way," he added as both men gave a soft chuckle. She just stared at them, and Hiccup cleared his throat gruffly as he raised one hand to rub at the back of his neck. "I willingly admit that it is not really the way that I wanted to do this. I was hoping for a quiet meeting with your parents to avoid public knowledge of the whole affair."