The Song

The whole island looked up to him now, he couldn’t be seen crying. He was the chief. And not just any chief, the descendant of Stoick, the Vast. And like the great chief his father was, Hiccup wouldn’t let people see him cry. He had never been too good at hiding his emotions, but he was learning. The memory of his father helped, the need of delivering as finely as he, did too. But there were times, when he was sure no one was looking, be it flying with Toothless, or smithing at the wee hours, that he let the barrier down. When he cried and felt sad, like he hadn’t felt in years.

His mother and Astrid always made sure he knew he could confide in them. That he could let the wall down with them, too, as he did with his dragon. But his answer was always the same.

“I’m fine, Astrid. Thank you.” he would say. “I’m fine, mom. Thanks for asking.”

He did mean it. He was thankful for them being there. But the idea of crying like Hiccup instead of enduring like Stoick made him feel a pit in his stomach. It made him scared. But he tried his best.

“You know,” said Gobber one afternoon while they were smithing parts for their new vigilance towers. “It’s okay to feel sad sometimes, lad.”

“M’ okay,” Hiccup said, without tearing his eyes from the rod he was hammering.

Gobber paced around the shop a bit uneasily, the way he always paced when he wanted to say something important.

“What is it, Gobber?”

“Your mum came to talk to me the other day, she was worried. And so am I.”

Hiccup finally stopped his task and drowned the crimson piece of metal into the water. He met Gobber unsure if he could read the sadness in his eyes.

“I’m okay, Gobber.” And it would’ve been a perfect lie, if his voice hadn’t cracked with emotion.

Gobber made no comment, but nodded understandingly and sat on a stool. Then he gave Hiccup a long look. “You were too little to remember what it was like when your mother disappeared,” he began. “Stoick wasn’t always so... well, stoick. The day Valka was taken away something changed in him, but he didn’t let anyone see it hurted him. You were the one who softened him.”

Hiccup wiped his face with his forearm and tried not to sob. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I saw how long it took for him to go back to normal. Don’t let yourself get turned to stone.”

Toothless’ announcing his arrival with a growl put an end to their conversation. He purred and cocked his head to the side when he saw Hiccup hiding his face. “I’m okay, bud.”

Toothless went to him and nuzzled against him. Hiccup patted him. “I’m good, buddy. Thanks.”

That night, after everybody went to sleep, Hiccup and Toothless decided to go for a flight. It wasn’t full of complicated tricks or dives. Hiccup did not even put on his flying suit. It was just like the old times, when they had to conform with a steady, quiet glide. But that’s what Hiccup needed, and Toothless knew.

He whined when he heard Hiccup’s unmistakable hiccups, which so often occurred when he cries.

“I’m fine...”

Toothless felt Hiccup plopping down on his back. “I miss him, Toothless. I can’t do this without him.”

Toothless purred. Then another dragon, a Zippleback, joined them curiously in their flight. It took no more than a cautionary growl from Toothless to gain privacy again.

Hiccup chuckled. “You’re better at this than I am.”

Toothless growled as if saying, “You know that’s not true.”

Hiccup petted the dragon’s scales and sighed heavily. Then he proceeded to tell Toothless everything Gobber said. He told him about his mom, and Astrid, and how gentle they had been ever since the incident happened. And how he wished he would stop acting like he was made of ice.

After a moment of looking at the northern lights dance, a strange urge hit him. To whistle. To sing the betrothal song of his parents. He didn’t want to remember his father as a lifeless bulk sprawled on the ice. He wanted a better memory, the sweetest memory he will ever have. His family reunited, and his father happy as he had never seen him before. That’s what he wanted to keep.

The first couple attempts made Toothless whine, but he got it right after a few more tries. Then, he tried to remember the words to the song.

“My dearest one, my darling dear-- no, wait... I’ll swim and sail on savage seas... with ne’er a fear of drowning.” He sniffed. “And gladly ride the waves of life... if you would marry me.”
He had to stop because of the knot on his chords, but Toothless continued the song, howling and purring, trying to imitate the notes conserving Hiccup’s tone of lament instead of the cheery melody his parents used. Hiccup smiled and recovered, then rejoined Toothless.

“No scorching sun, nor freezing cold will stop me on my journey. If you will promise me your heart... And love me for eternity.”

Even though Hiccup stopped, Toothless didn’t. In his dragonesque way he rendered a version of his mother’s part of the duet, prying a genuine laugh off Hiccup.

“But I would bring you rings of gold, I’d even sing you poetry, bud. And I would keep you from all harm if you would stay beside me.”

He let Toothless sing solo again, then they sung the last part together.

“I only want you near me. To love, to kiss, to sweetly hold, for the dancing and the dreaming. Through all life’s sorrows and delights, I’ll keep your love beside me. I’ll swim and sail on savage seas with ne’er a fear of drowning. I’ll gladly ride the waves of life if you would marry me...”

Hiccup frowned and then said, “He wouldn’t want me to feel like this.”

Toothless nodded and growled in agreement.

Hiccup sat back on and patted Toothless. “I think it’s enough flying for today, bud. I have to get up early tomorrow. Maybe we can sing again tomorrow.” He laughed.

Something funny happened the next day. Throughout his chores and free times, he couldn’t seem to stop singing the song in his head. He would catch himself humming or whistling. Hiccup discovered the song put him in a better mood. It was the beacon of his happiness. Soon it didn’t just remember him of his dad and how happy he had been when he reunited with his mother. It remembered him of the rest of his family. Of Gobber, Toothless, but more specifically, Astrid.

As he and Toothless helped repair roofs and put up new buildings, he would have to shake his head to stop daydreaming and he’d inconspicuously look around to see if anyone saw him. He would imagine him and Astrid singing it to each other. That idea made him inexplicably happy, so he would think about it as soon as he started feeling down again.

“Ta ta ta ra ra ra ra raaa, hmm hmm hmm hm hmm hmm hmmm hmm. If you would stay beside me. My dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me. But I’ve no need of mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me.”

Sure, he would get the verses mixed up. But the passing of days made sure Hiccup learned the song by heart. Until one afternoon, unconsciously as usual, he began singing in the shop. And Gobber, with much gusto, joined him both singing and dancing. They laughed, for the first time in months they both laughed and enjoyed carelessly, turning them oblivious to passing spectators. One of them being Astrid. She didn’t have the heart to interrupt, especially with Hiccup happy like that. It had been a long time since she had seen that Hiccup, not the chief. The dragon. It confused her that a simple song was able to bring him back, but she let it pass.

With her boyfriend busy with the day-to-day nuisances of the village, she had to fill into his former job as caretaker of the dragons and the academy. And that meant spending time with Valka, learning everything she discovered. Astrid never found a way to start conversation with her, even though she was as sweet-tempered as Hiccup. And whenever she did have something to say or a question to ask, Valka’s reply was always kind and patient. But that didn’t stop her from feeling self-conscious though.

One day, Valka and her were cleaning the stables after Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Eret had taken the dragons out on a herded flight. And Astrid heard the song again, she thought it was Hiccup whistling but it was his mother. She stood perplexed, watching the woman sweep the floors without putting much thought to it.

Valka noticed and grew coy. “Is there something wrong?”

“No. Not at all. It’s just... that song. I heard Hiccup singing it the other day.”

A pang of pain crossed her face but quickly turned into a smile. “Is that so?”

Astrid nodded, then kept sweeping, unsure what so say next.

“You had never heard it before?”

“Should I have?”

Valka smiled, enjoying the girl’s sparky tone. She saw why her son loved her so, being so starkly different from him. “I suppose not. It’s a betrothal song.”

The way Astrid’s face paled made Valka laugh even more. “But Hiccup heard it when Gobber and... Stoick... found me.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

Valka smiles thankfully and they resume their cleaning.

“Hiccup keeps singing it all the time, though. It’s starting to get annoying.”

Valka laughs again. “I bet you know the lyrics by now.”

“No. Not even that! He just... he keeps humming and whistling.”

She chuckled and tended to Cloudjumper, who just returned from his flight, and started singing to him.

Astrid simply watched, unable to prevent herself from smiling.

After finishing the song, Valka turned to her and said, “Well, now you do. I think the rest of the dragons are going to be back soon. We better hurry.”

After making sure the feeding stations were full and the fire-prevention systems charged, Astrid and Valka went separate ways. Valka to fly with Cloudjumper, and Astrid to add notes on the Book of Dragons. She finished late that night. But not as late as Hiccup, for the shop was still lit when she was on her way to her house. Even from where she stood, she could hear Hiccup’s slightly off-tone voice. So she decided to check on him.

The version she heard him sing was not the same Valka taught her. He changed some verses, but she liked it better.

“I’ll soar and glide through stormy skies, with ne’er a fear of falling and gladly ride the winds of life if you will marry me.”

She heard Toothless, too, accompanying Hiccup with his howls. They were alone in the shop, and so invested in the song, that Astrid couldn’t help but be warmed by their picture.

“No scorching sun. Nor freezing cold will stop me on my journey if you will promise me your heart, and love me for eternity. Your turn bud.”

Astrid had to harness all her will to not laugh at Hiccup’s startled expression when she joined Toothless and made herself seen.

“My dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me. But I’ve no need of mighty deeds when I feel your arms around me.”

“Astrid! How did you--”

“Shh.” She put her hands on his shoulders. “Keep going.”

Hiccup smiled and tentatively spun her around, like he saw his father do with his mother. “But I would bring you tales from far. I’d even draw you portraits--”

Astrid laughed. “You know I hate those.”

“And I will battle arm-in-arm if you would stay beside me.”

“I’ve got no use for tales from far, I care not for your portraits. I only want your hand to hold, I only want you near me.”

They danced around the room, careful not to knock anything or to trip into the burner. “To dance, to kiss, to sweetly hold for the dancing and the dreaming. Through all life’s sorrows and delights, I’ll keep your love beside me. I’ll soar and glide on stormy skies with ne’er a fear of falling, and gladly ride the winds of life if you will marry me.”

Even after they finished the song, they couldn’t stop laughing because Toothless kept howling. When silence finally came, they stood still, beaming at each other, holding the other like the song said. Astrid pulled Hiccup into a kiss and when they finally let go, Hiccup asked, “Would you, though?”

To which Astrid nodded, before bringing him into her arms again.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” she muttered.

Hiccup hugged her tightly. “You softened me.”

The end.