Friday, April 27, 2018

How To Love Your Dragon-Epilogue: Part 1

HOW TO LOVE YOUR DRAGON: LEGEND OF THE DRAGON-RIDER WEDDING

"Girls, how long is this gonna take? I told you I don't wanna wear a girl's dress. I'm a guy, for Thor's sake!"

"Oh, stop your whining. You're the one carrying babies, you know."

Hiccup groaned as he was in Astrid's room with Ruffnut and the village weaver and dress-maker, standing on a stool, feeling like an idiot while Astrid and the girls measure him. He should've known better when Stoick had tasked these girls to make his wedding garments. A week after Hiccup's return to the world of living, Stoick had been very insistent that his grandchild not to be born out of wedlock and that a wedding to be held between Toothless and Hiccup as soon as possible. Hiccup had tried to explain that technically he was already married to Toothless after being given the mark, but Stoick insisted that if he were to acknowledge Toothless as his son-in-law, he was going to learn how to respect human customs, thus Hiccup's predicament right now.

"You need to relax," Ruffnut said as she measured Hiccup's head so that they could decide on what kind of tiara he should be wearing. "You're not getting cold feet now, are you?"

"I'm not getting cold feet," Hiccup protested. "I just thought that maybe I should actually dress like a guy, since, you know, I'm technically a guy!"

All the girls present giggled at his statement.

"You can't dress like a guy when you're the bride and you're the mother in this outfit," the village weaver laughed as she jotted down the measurements. "You're technically one of us now."

"That's right, laddie," the village dress-maker said. "Or should I say, lassie? If you wanna be a man so much, be a man and suck it up and take the dress like a man."

"Thank you for summing that up," Hiccup rolled his eyes and groaned, staying at his spot, praying that this would get over and done with.

-:-

Toothless was not in good mood either as he was surrounded by the guys and the assistants of both the village weaver and dress-maker, wrapped over and over again with measuring ribbons and poured over through designs like ties and collar binds so that he look like a proper groom. He didn't know what the heck was the fuss about for all this human bodily decors when all he wanted was to be by Hiccup's side and enjoy a nice flight in the open sky, and he couldn't understand why must he go through this human ritual to do what he had already done for Hiccup in the first place, but Stoick was very adamant about it. As much as he hated this, he had to comply if he were ever to be peacefully together with his mate.

"Stay still, Toothless," Tuffnut complained as he wrapped another measuring ribbon atop the previous one. "We need to measure your neck!"

"Wow, I never thought there'd be so many different kinds of colours to choose from for a groom's outfit," Fishlegs commented as he looked through the designs. "There's even black as well."

"Black?" Snotlout looked at Fishlegs incredulously as he measured Toothless' paws. "Toothless is as black as he is! He doesn't need any extra black or he'd be absolutely invisible in the dark! Pick another colour, white or something."

Toothless let out an impatient snort and a long groan.

"I know you're complaining, ya little devil," the weaver's assistant said as she patted Toothless sign. "Even if we don't understand what you're saying. Just hang in there."

Toothless grumbled. If he hung anymore in there, he was gonna choke.

-:-

Hiccup sighed as he leaned against the window, looking out at the night sky. He was supposed to be holed up in his house, avoiding Toothless for the day as tradition stated that it was bad luck to meet the bride a day before the wedding. He was also supposed to wait for the girls to show up as they were going to celebrate their bachelorette party at his house. The fire has been lit and the preparations on the dining table have been set, and he figured Toothless and the guys, including his father and Gobber are probably in the Great Hall right now celebrating his bachelor party...

Suddenly he blinked for a split second and found himself in the middle of a mysterious fog that came out of nowhere. He looked around for any signs of life before he heard the sound of pitter-pattering of feet. He followed that sound and soon saw that he was chasing himself. Instead it was himself when he was not yet pregnant, still had his good leg, and he was pushing the wheel barrow-like device towards the cliff where he shot Toothless down on that fateful day.

He watched as the familiar scene unfolded itself: cranking the lever, cocking the bowed arms of the contraption, dropping the bola, the works. He watched as he saw himself muttering, looking at the sky to find Toothless in the dark. He knew what was going to happen next, but he was powerless to stop himself. He tried to yell at himself, telling the past Hiccup to stop and not shoot, but it fell upon deaf ears as Toothless came into view and the past Hiccup shot at him.

Another split second and another blink of an eye later, he found himself being the past Hiccup. He watched as the bola flew towards Toothless and hit the mark. But instead of making out a silhouette of Toothless being bound by the bola and his piercing shriek, he was much closer, almost above his head, and instead of just binding Toothless, there was something about the bola that drew blood. Droplets of Toothless' warm blood sprayed out of him and fell like rain, splattering all over Hiccup's face, before he fell like a meteor towards Raven Point.

"No…" Hiccup whimpered, falling to his knees. "No, no, no…! No, what have I done…? What have I done? Toothless…!"

Before he could make his way to Raven Point, he was held back by a strong grip on his shoulder. He turned around to see the villagers, fresh from the fight of ridding another dragon invasion, and they were all smiles.

"Great work, Hiccup!"

"You took down a Night Fury all by yourself!"

"You're the man, Hiccup!"

"That's my boy!" Stoick emerged from the crowd, pride brimming on his face. "I knew you were cut out to be a Viking!"

"Congratulations, Hiccup!" Gobber joined in happily. "You deserve it!"

"Now let's follow Hiccup to Raven Point and get that Night Fury once and for all!"

"Hurrah!"

Hiccup was lifted up and paraded towards Raven Point. The villagers were armed to the teeth as they cheered over Hiccup and searched for Toothless. Hiccup was horrified. This was not the way! He'd admit that at that time, he would do anything to catch their attention and get them to believe that he had caught a Night Fury and give him the recognition he deserved, but that was the past. This was not the way he wanted to gain their recognition! Not when it involved killing Toothless!

"No, no, it's my mistake!" Hiccup shouted desperately. "I don't think it went anywhere! Please stop! I don't even think I hit anything! Please, I beg you, stop!"

His screams fell on deaf ears. They were gaining closer and closer to where Toothless had fallen.
"Please, please don't hurt him! Don't hurt Toothless! Please, NO…!"

"NO!"

Hiccup came to his senses as he blinked his teary eyes open. The hand he held out to stop the villagers was found touching a set of cold scaly skin and felt the vibration of a purr. As his vision cleared, he saw that Toothless was before him, his head stuck through the window Hiccup had fallen asleep on.

"A…A dream…?"

Toothless purred, asking him through their bond if he was alright.

"I…I think so…" Hiccup said as he double-checked himself to see his baby bump and his prosthetic leg before sighing in relief. "I…I think I just kinda dozed off waiting for the girls and had a nightmare."

Toothless purred comfortingly at him and licked Hiccup's cold sweat away, nuzzling him.

"What are you doing here, Toothless? Shouldn't you be with the guys at the Great Hall for your bachelor party?"

Toothless gave him a puppy-eyed look, their bond telling him that the dragon missed him after haven't seeing each other all day.

"Ah ha ha, I guess you don't believe the superstition about bad luck meeting the bride the day before the wedding, huh?"

Toothless shook his head. He couldn't care less about human customs. To him, they were already married, they were already mates, and that was all that mattered.

"Oh, Toothless, you're such a gentleman," Hiccup leaned in to give him a kiss. The past was the past. His dreams were just that: a past that had already happened and nothing to be dwelt upon. If he had not done what he did, as naïve and reckless as it were, he would never have met Toothless, he would never have understood dragons the way he understood Toothless, he would have never fallen in love with the legendary Night Fury and he wouldn't have helped Berk achieve the peaceful co-existence they had now. He would've still been the runt of the tribe and a disappointment to his father as well as continuing to slaughter thousands of these misunderstood creatures, and there would never have been peace. As he cuddled and nuzzled against Toothless, he showed through their bond how much he loved Toothless and how happy he was now than he had ever before in his life, and Toothless reciprocated that feeling. Unfortunately their moment was short-lived when Hiccup heard the front door of his house opened.

"Toothless!" Astrid was the first to catch sight of Toothless at the window when she entered. "Bad dragon! Bad, bad dragon! No looking at the bride before the wedding!"

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Ruffnut chided. "You should be at the Great Hall! Go on, shoo, shoo!"

"Aww, c'mon, girls~!" Hiccup protested as the girls came forth to shove Toothless out the window.
"You know the rules. Go on, git!" Astrid shooed Toothless and closed the shutters of the window, barring the dragon out while Ruffnut went and closed all possible exits and entrances to keep Toothless out.

Both Hiccup and Toothless groaned. This was going to be a LONG night.

-:-

All the villagers and their dragons were gathered in the cove. Food, drinks and decors littered the place as the ceremony was about to start. Everyone was dressed to the nines and was chattering away excitedly at how extraordinary and special this occasion was going to be.

Hiccup and Toothless endured through all the traditions and superstitions, but they had one condition for Stoick if they were to marry: their wedding must be held at the cove where Hiccup and Toothless' relationship first began. It was a special place for them and they would not have it any other way. The day had finally come and Toothless, who was dressed in his groom outfit—which consisted of a wooly sheep scarf, leather leg cuffs and thick Viking belt and a sword in its hilt—was waiting in the front line nervously.

"Take it easy, Devil," Gobber, who was the best man, said as he patted Toothless' head. "Hiccup is coming soon. Now, the tradition of this village is that Stoick will hand over Hiccup to you, and you must lead the bride to the altar where the village Elders. You got it?"

Toothless nodded and chirped, showing that he understood.

Soon, the sound of pan flutes, horn pipes, stringed instruments and lur could be heard from a distant, coming closer and closer as Hiccup's convoy made their way to the cove. Everyone looked up to see Stoick with Hiccup sitting on his shoulder, as how Berk tradition does for generations.

All eyes were focused on Hiccup who was balanced carefully on Stoick's shoulder as Stoick and the wedding march convoy and music players climbed down the cove slowly, making their way towards the ceremony venue. Hiccup was dressed in white and gold, with a long beautiful skirt and modestly spread frills, and a pretty veil over his head adorned with a dragon-motif golden tiara. He wasn't wearing any make-up, but his cheeks showed that whoever dressed him up did put a little colour on them to bring out the glow in him.

Toothless gulped and blushed as he watched Hiccup being brought closer to him. He wasn't sure if it was the dress or the colour on his cheeks or that pregnancy glow he had, but he was absolutely stunning. He had never seen Hiccup any more beautiful than this.

"Hang in there, Toothless," Gobber said as he grinned at Toothless' reaction, but secretly he was also blushing a little at how pretty Hiccup was.

Once Stoick reached Toothless, he picked his son off his shoulder and slowly lowered him onto Toothless' back. Because Hiccup was wearing a dress, he had no choice but to ride Toothless side-saddle. Hiccup looked up to see Stoick looking a little teary, like he was going to cry.

"Aww, c'mon, Dad," Hiccup smiled kindly. "I'm not gonna be gone forever."

"I know, son, I know," Stoick sniffed as he secretly wiped a tear away. "Now you be good to my son, you devil, and take care of my grandchild while you're at it."

Toothless nodded, understanding what he meant. He leaned close to lick submissively at Stoick's hand, a sign of respect and a promise that he would keep his word.

"Let's go to the altar," Hiccup patted Toothless' side. "Slowly now. Follow the beat of the music."

Toothless chirped and went up with the beat of the Viking wedding march music. The dragon tried his best to match the music, since dragons were not known to understand human music anyway. Gobber walked in front of the pair, serving Toothless as his guideline, and the bridesmaids (namely Astrid and Ruffnut) at the back of them, until they reach the altar, where the village Elders officiated the wedding. Once they reached there, Gobber helped Hiccup get off Toothless before he and the bridesmaids made their way to their respective spots.

"We are together here to bring this dragon, Toothless the Night Fury, and this rider, Hiccup Horrendous the III, to lock their love forever in the eyes of Odin and Thor Almighty. If anyone objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace," the village Elders, after chanting a little sing-song prayers and traditional blessings, started the ceremony. When there were no objections, they continued, "We shall start with the drinking of honey mead."

The bridesmaids brought in the huge chalice to the Elders, in which one of them brought out a huge jug and poured in the honey mead into the chalice. Another Elder took the chalice from the bridesmaids and held it before Toothless and Hiccup.

"We shall now commence the drinking of this honey mead to bless this couple a long and happy marriage, sweetness till the end."

The Elder then came close to Hiccup and Toothless to feed them the mead. Hiccup leaned in to drink half of it first, then Toothless leaned in to lap up the rest. Toothless had to admit that this drink tasted great as he licked his lips in content.

"Now the time for exchange of vows and rings," the leading Elder said as Gobber brought in the rings to pass it to her. She took the first ring, which had a dragon and fire motif design to it, and turned to Toothless, "Toothless the Night Fury, do you take Hiccup Horrendous the III as your lawful wedded wife, in sickness and health, till death do u part?"

Toothless chirped and nodded happily, in which the Elder helped put the ring onto Hiccup's finger. She then took the other ring, which had a Viking-ish motif design to it, and turned to Hiccup.
"Do you, Hiccup Horrendous the III, take Toothless the Night Fury as your lawful wedded husband, in sickness and health, till death do u part?"

"I do, till the end of time," Hiccup replied, and the Elder took a small hot poker and gestured Gobber to hold Toothless in place. Since Toothless did not have a finger to put on the ring, the ring was fashioned to look like an earring and they decided to put it on Toothless' ear instead. Toothless was a little apprehensive at first, but after Hiccup comforted his mate through their bond, reassuring him that everything was alright, Toothless tried his best to stay still as the Elder punched the hot poker through the tip of Toothless' left ear before fitting the ring through it. Toothless tried to resist the urge shaking his head from the sting, but his ear couldn't help twitching now and then. After a few more blessings, the Elder ended the ceremony.

"I now pronounced their love locked forever as long as they live and may the gods of Valhalla bless them. You may kiss the bride, Toothless."

Hiccup had to crouch a little to allow Toothless to part his veil, and Toothless stared in wonder at how beautiful his mate was. There was no words either of them could express their feelings for each other, but they could feel it through their bond. They were in love, they were mates both body and soul and they will be together as long as they lived, and that was enough for them. Straightening himself so that he was level with Hiccup, Toothless leaned in and gave Hiccup his favourite dragon kiss, in which Hiccup reciprocated passionately. Everyone cheered and clapped at the background, whooping at the happy newlyweds as they threw lovely white flower petals that they brought along over them, raining down on their heads like pure, white snow.

"I love you," Hiccup whispered between kisses. "I love you so, so much."

Toothless purred a reply, and Hiccup understood what that meant as they broke the kiss to lead the guests to the reception.

I love you too, forever and ever.

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