Finding you

Chapter 22: Medallion

Astrid's POV

"What? Is it always going to be this way? Cause —"  I interrupted his rant by pressing a firm kiss to his lips, a wide smile on my face as I let go of Hiccup's collar and pulled away from the young boy, whom I had left with a rather dopey-looking smile on his face.

It took a minute for him to process what had happened, but with a nonchalant shrug, the teenage boy finally spoke: "I could get used to it."

I blinked my eyes open as I sat up in bed, revealing a dark and gloomy room which was a stark contrast from the bright, beautiful and sunny summer's day I had just witnessed in my dream. With a sigh, I turned to glance over my shoulder, only to discover that the other side of the bed was just as empty as it had been the evening before. I ran a hand over his side of the bed, Hiccups side of the bed. My heart ached with longing as I found myself rolling over to his side and burying my head in his pillow, desperate for even the tiniest trace of him.

We had only been apart for two days, but when you've first spent fifteen years apart only to get together again for a week or so before you're forced to spend even more time apart only to be reunited again another week later and then spend an entire month attached at the hip to that one person only to have them once again be ripped from your grasp, let's just say it isn't an easy feat.

As I laid on my side, hands wrapped around Hiccup's pillow with my nose buried deep in it, my stomach began to twist and turn uncomfortably. I tried to ignore the feeling, but found it difficult as it felt like the contents of my stomach were bubbling, like some acidic, green witches brew that was just waiting to spill over the edge of a cauldron. I found the feeling of nausea to quickly overtake me as I struggled to keep whatever was begging to come up, down.

It didn't take me long before I realized that the battle between me and the vomit that was climbing up my throat was one that I was bound to lose. I forced myself up and out of bed, dressed in nothing but a sheer nightgown as I burst out the backdoor in our bedroom which led outside, to the back of the house. I barely had time to close the door behind me before I crumbled to the ground, doubling over as I watched the yak-chops from dinner make a grand and bitter return.

It is when you are nauseous that you start to regret everything you have ever eaten. Absolutely everything sounds disgusting and you keep on saying to yourself that you're never going to eat whatever you had for dinner that evening ever again. Obviously, that was a lie as I had a great adoration for yak-chops, which is why I quickly dismissed them as the cause of my nausea and vomiting and instead set my sights on what I believed to be the real culprit: the yak milk I drank beside it.

I cursed myself as I regretted not making the smart choice — like my daughter had — and instead had taken a cup of ale beside my meal. Let's just say I wouldn't be surprised if I had drunk spoiled milk by accident.

After I had completely emptied my guts, I wandered hazily back into my bedroom, making sure to lock the door behind me as I made my way inside. I climbed back up into my bed and sat there with crossed legs as I cradled my stomach, which was still in the process of recovering from the puking-extravaganza from mere minutes before. A new wave of nausea hit me as I thought about what dragon would come and ... clean up after me in the morning. I shuddered at the thought.

After I had fully recovered from my disgusting adventure, I found myself unable to sleep, so I decided to wander around the house instead seeing as it was way too late to wake anyone up to do anything at all. First I wandered around the bedroom for a minute before I ventured out into the main room, taking in all the details that surrounded me from the decorative shields by the staircase to the large slab of rock in the corner on which Toothless slept, all the way to the large wardrobe that was almost invisible from where it had been pushed up against a side wall, draped in shadows from the pillar that drained it of all light.

I ran a hand along the thick metal handles, wondering when the last time I had opened the wardrobe had been. It wasn't all that hard to guess, especially considering that most of my time spent at home in the last months had either been spent around the hearth with my family or in the bedroom. According to my probably very accurate calculations, I hadn't seen the inside of that wardrobe in over fifteen years. I know, what a surprise.

I pulled on the large metal handle and the wardrobe immediately opened with loud creaking, as if its hinges hadn't been used in ages, which they probably hadn't. I cringed at the sound, hoping that I hadn't awoken Zephyr from her sleep, but after a few minutes of silence from upstairs, I went back to my exploring. The faint glow coming from the embers of the dying hearth lit up the inside of the dusty wardrobe, which was clear hadn't been opened like this in ages. I was faced with five large shelves inside of the wardrobe, all of which had been decorated with everything from stacked helmets to small baskets filled with the gods know what. Quite frankly, it was a treasure chest of memories, each item holding a specific share of importance and affection for whoever had put it there.

I picked up several things as I explored the closet of mysteries ranging from Hiccup's Nadder plushie from when he himself had been a child, to a teeny-tiny axe which looked to be just big enough for a scrawny little baby. I picked up a familiar wooden rattle, rattling it as I smiled to myself and studied the carvings that stretched like a belt across its middle. Familiar scenes of dragons and humans working together and caring for each other had been carved into the rattle, causing a smile to tug at the corners of my lips as I remembered when we had been gifted it.

"Now that yer about to burst any minute," Gobber began as he removed his hand from my swollen foot and instead stuck it into his pocket. "I thought it was time to give ye this."

From his pocket, Gobber produced a small, wooden rattle, which bore the carvings of some very familiar scenes. A smile danced across my lips as I found myself placing one hand on my nearly boulder-sized stomach whilst the other rattled the rattle. "Thank you, Gobber, this is truly the most wonderful gift I've received."

"Oh, it's just somethin' I threw together back at the forge, when the little one is actually born I'll present them with somethin' much better!" Gobber boasted as he looked to be planning the big present he had in mind for the baby.

"Gobber, this is more than enough, really." I smiled at my old mentor as my stomach suddenly moved. "A kick! I think the baby agrees with me as well, Gobber."

Gobber placed his good hand on my stomach as he began blabbering to it about how it was one day going to follow in it's father's footsteps and come work at the forge and how he was going to treat the baby like it was a gift from Thor himself — which he most certainly onsidered it to be.

My smile remained on my face long after I had put away the rattle. I couldn't help but wonder if Zephyr had used it much after my disappearance. My heart constricted at the thought. Although both Hiccup and Zephyr kept on assuring me over and over that they weren't mad at me for staying away for so many years, I couldn't help but feel a sting of guilt every time I was left with a question about Zephyr's childhood, a question any parent should be able to answer.

As I kept on rummaging through the wardrobe, a small, round piece of metal caught my eye as a wave of nostalgia washed over me. I turned the metal over, running my fingers along the intricate carvings of the medallion, my mind flooding with memories as I remembered the day Hiccup had gifted it to me.

"It's my betrothal gift for you, my father gave it to my mother and now I give it to you."

My heart raced at the memory of how absolutely adorable Hiccup had been and how much I had loved his present, though I could not for the life of me figure out what to give him back.

I felt my heart sigh as I wondered how long it had been in there. How long had Hiccup let it sit on our bedroom desk before he had buried it deep in this wardrobe of memories? A thousand questions swiveled through my mind as I let out a sigh. It seemed like I would never be quite caught up on the last fifteen years.