Finding you

Chapter 25: Madwoman

Astrid's POV

A week had passed since Hiccup was supposed to come home and both Zephyr and I had been worried sick from the moment we realized he was late. I sat at the head of the dinner table, tears gathering in the corners of my eyes as I forced my quivering pencil to the parchment, where I begun writing a letter to the Chief of the Haven Isles.

Dear Chief Finnur "The Vigorous",

I'm writing to you because we have failed to locate my husband's whereabouts since his departure from the Haven Isles approximately a week from the date I wrote you this letter.

I took a deep, shaky breath as I tried to focus on the task of hand, which was proving to be increasingly more difficult than I had originally anticipated. The weight of the village rested upon my nimble shoulders and if Hiccup didn't come back ... I quickly shook the thought off as I set my focus back on the letter, trying not to think too much about my sleeping daughter in the room above me having to accept that her father was gone, or rather missing.

We hope that you can provide us with more details than what we already know and perhaps even help us in the search for—

My charcoal pencil slipped out of my grip, scratching out the rest of the page as my head was filled with screams of agony, anger and exasperation. My shoulders had been shattered by the heavy weight I had borne and my lungs were crushed by the impact.

I gasped for air, desperately clawing at my throat for just a tiny breath, but it was hopeless. Tears streamed down my cheeks as frantic gasps filled the room. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I couldn't do anything. My body had turned on me, like a viscous pack of wolves that were ripping me to pieces, flesh and bones.

Then, it suddenly stopped. Just stopped. I could breathe normally again, though my cheeks were still stained with tears as my stomach tied itself into a knot, a wave of nausea washing over me as I climbed back up into the chair, in which I had fallen off during my panic attack.

I took a deep breath, salvaging the sweet, precious air that filled my lungs once more and slowly returned completely back to my normal self. I closed my eyes as I rested my head in my hands, heart aching painfully. Where was Hiccup?

I quickly found myself flying right back off my chair though, seeing as mere moments later the front door was suddenly thrown open. A loud yelp escaped me as I missed the chair and tumbled to the floor, somehow managing to hit my head on the surprisingly hard wood.

A grunt escaped me as my hand rapidly found its way to the aching spot at the back of my head, massaging it as I winced at the pain. "Oh my gods! I'm so sorry, Astrid, I really didn't mean to startle you like that!"

The voice similar to that of a honking goose rang through my ears, filling me with a sense of disbelief and a slight hint of anger. I slowly blinked my eyes open and was immediately met by a familiar pair of sparkling, emerald green eyes, which were filled with concern. "Hiccup?"

Before he even got the chance to respond, I threw my arms around his neck, tackling him in my embrace as an immense sense of joy filled me to the brink of tears. "You're back! You're not dead, I thought you were dead!"

Hiccup huffed from where he was pinned beneath me with a mouthful of my braid. The Berkian Chief promptly spit the braid out before he found himself in the process of plucking out loose strands of blonde hair from his mouth. "As you can see, I'm very much alive. I take it I've been missed, then?"

"Of course you have!" A smile stretched across my face, but it quickly faded as I remembered how long he had been gone. "Where were you? You were supposed to get back a week ago! We were worried sick!"