When I Come Back

Hiding pt. 1

Hiccup

   I wake up to Toothless jumping around my room. He is making as much commotion as possible for me to wake up. He is late for breakfast and not too happy about it.

This is what I get for keeping my dragon on a schedule.

  I swing my legs over the side of my bed, but just before I stood all the way up, a sharp pain shot up from my left foot to my knee. The most terrible thing about this pain is that in place of my left foot is a metal prosthetic leg.

   When I first lost my leg, the phantom pains were unbearable. They were close together, but as the years flew by, the phantom pains became less frequent. Now, five and a half years later the pains are almost rare.

   With a yelp, I fall towards the ground, but my best bud is there to catch me. However, the pain continued causing me to howl and repeatedly punch my bed frame. Memories flood through my head of the night Gothi told my father to cut my leg off. My father does all the amputations on Berk, he's the only one with enough force and a heavy enough ax to make the cut quick. 

   The pain was unbelievable, I first regained consciousness on the way back to Berk with Astrid and Stormfly. My skin burned like hell, shocks of lightning felt like they were shooting through my leg. The second time I remember being awake, Gothi was poking and prodding at my leg, intensifying the pain. My screams still echo in the back of my head at night. The last time I regained my consciousness before it all went black for the next few weeks, the pain I felt before was only minor until my father swung his ax down, separating the scorched foot and ankle from the rest of my body. 

   If the phantom pains are bad enough, I can still feel the burning and lightning sensation of my imaginary foot. That's what I'm feeling now, but that's all I remember before waking to a knock at my door. I'm on the floor under Toothless' wing with his tail wrapping around me.

   With a grunt, I lift myself off of the floor and Toothless follows suit. I open the door to find a very impatient wedding planner.

"Oliver, how can I help you?"

"What do you mean, 'How can I help you'? I have been up for hours revising the sketches, lists, and menu for your wedding day!! Neither you nor Astrid had the decency to wake up at a reasonable hour?"

"Uh...what time is it? Where's Astrid?" I scratch the back of my neck.

"It's almost midday!! Your bride decided to sleep in today!! I didn't realize that highly trained warriors even knew about sleeping in."

   I smirk, "Yeah that might be partly my fault."

Oliver raises his hands to get me to stop talking, "Look, I don't care what the two of you were doing late last night. I just need the two of you to take this planning seriously and that means waking up at a reasonable time in the morning."

"I completely understand, I was just dealing with some pains with my leg."

"Excuses, excuses. Come along now young cheif." Oliver waves.

"Please don't call me that and just give me a moment to get dressed. Please come in." I step aside and allow him to walk through the door.

   I run up stairs and quickly throw my armor together. In doing so, I hear rustling from underneath my bed.

   Peaking under I earn a hiss, "Astrid?"

"I forgot my hood in here and its snowing!" she hisses.

"Hiccup, do I hear two voices up there?!?" Oliver calls up.

"Yes, well no. I'm talking to myself."

"Sure you are, bring that bride of yours down here with you!"

"You told him!?!" she hisses and punches me.

I chuckle, shaking my head, "No, but Oliver has worked with many betrothed couples before us. Besides, we're young adults. What else does he expect?"

Astrid blushes profusely. We head down together and Oliver is nowhere in sight.

"Oliver?"

"I'm in here!" He calls from my invention room.

Oliver is looking curiously at each creation I have trophied around the room. "Did you make all of these?"

"Uhh yeah, I have a knack for this sort of stuff."

"I'd say it's more than a 'knack', Hiccup." Astrid chimes in.

"No kidding. These are incredible! This also gives me a great idea for decorations!" Oliver chirps.

"Decorations?" Astrid clearly isn't amused with the idea of random gadgets littering our wedding.

However, I find the idea intriguing. "What'd you have in mind?"

The wedding planner excitedly runs to the main room and spreads his plans across the table. Immediately, he's revising and adding to the sketches. Astrid and I admire the plans in shock. The set scene already looked perfect.

   As Oliver adds hints of gears, metal, leather, and tools to the sketch I realize that he is trying to make it equally about both Astrid and I. The decorations show a bit of Astrid, a bit of myself, and both of us together.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" I ask.

"You just did." He immediately earns a laugh from Astrid. Her laugh makes me smile, no matter my mood.

   I roll my eyes and laugh, "Can you draw us on our-"

"Stop right there. I already have something planned. I will give it to you, as a joined couple, as a wedding gift."

"So this is where you've been hiding, Oliver." A British male greets.