A/N: Alright, obviously Hiccup and Astrid are going to get married in this chapter, I just wanted to get a chapter in before I get very busy this week with school. Hope you guys are staying safe out there, be sure to stay distant from other people and wash your hands every now and than. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
(Normal pov)
A week had passed since arriving at Eden's Embrace and Hiccup had proven his worth by aiding the royal blacksmith by forging weapons and armor forged out of Gronckle Iron, which the Guardians used as well to ensure they wouldn't be weighed down by their armor and weaponry. Astrid and Thyra aided in training the teenagers their age in weaponry as well as dragon training, however, some of these teenagers mocked the two Viking girls and questioned their instructor why they would allow foreigners to teach them. Astrid and Thyra made an example of those who believed they were unfit to teach them by besting them in combat, the two Viking girls informed those they bested in combat that they know what's out there and that they're trying to help them prepare for the Swarm invasion. Astrid also took the time to search for a dragon to bond with, Queen Gia and her Honor Guards paired her with a Night Fury called Sapphire due to her deep blue eyes and glittering blue scales that blend perfectly with her black ones. Sapphire was smaller and curvier than Toothless, she didn't possess the spikes down her back and the middle of her face like Toothless did, but rather she had small yet long dorsal fin that reached her lower neck.
Sapphire, like many of the dragons of Eden's Embrace, fled from Dragon Hunters and Trappers and so the female Night Fury was cautious towards Astrid out of instinct, which Astrid understood completely. Remembering everything Hiccup did to train Toothless back on Berk, Astrid rid herself of all weaponry and offered the beautiful female Night Fury with gifts of fish and affection and soon enough Sapphire longed for Astrid's company on a daily basis, so the blond girl decided to seal the deal and formed a bond with Sapphire. Once forging this bond, Astrid and Sapphire took practice flights around the city as well as beyond Eden's Embrace just to get the feel of each other and practicing trust exercises. Seeing her fellow Viking in the sky, Thyra reached out to Astrid and asked if she could help her train her own dragon which Astrid happily obliged, Thyra formed a bond with a Skrill she named Bolt.
Also during this time, Eden's Embrace has been having difficulty in trying to befriend a massive alpha class dragon the Guardians call Ghost because not only is this dragon practically invisible, but it seems like a beast that comes from the supernatural world. It's said Ghost is the last of his species, and that they were killed off by Dragon Hunters and Ghost managed to flee extinction when he was but a hatchling and has grown up despising humans for murdering his kind. However there was something about Eden's Embrace that Ghost felt... drawn to, perhaps it was the feeling of safety or witnessing humans and dragons coexist together.
Whatever the reason, Hiccup and Toothless offered to train Ghost so that this alpha could be of service to the Guardians and Eden's Embrace, the idea was almost shot down entirely because of Ghost's rather violent nature towards humans and because the best Guardians of Eden's Embrace couldn't train this giant. That didn't stop Hiccup, he and Toothless would spend time up in the clouds and would try and locate Ghost, which eventually they did and the duo were shocked at the mere size of this giant dragon. It had the wings of an eagle only much bigger, its body was bulky and covered in thick scales, its forepaws and hindlegs were that of an average lizard, but Ghost possed eagle-like talons that could sink into flesh with ease, it had long spikes sticking out of its back and its head resembled that of a serpent. Ghost had piercing blue eyes and his white scaled body made him perfect for blending in the clouds and attack from above, he was able to breathe blue fire which could vaporize you in mere seconds, even though Toothless's scales were fireproof and Hiccup wore armor out of his Night Fury's scales when Ghost hit them with a wave of fire? It nearly destroyed both boy and Night Fury alike, Ghost's fire was that hot.
So, taking a leap of faith, when Hiccup and Toothless went out to visit Ghost again? Hiccup extended his palm out the alpha dragon; showing the giant that he posed no threat to him and that he intended no harm. Ghost had seen what lengths Toothless would go to protect the human on his back and after witnessing the level of trust between the boy and his Night Fury? Ghost too took a leap of faith and accepted Hiccup's outstretched palm and formed a bond with the massive alpha. Bringing the alpha back to Eden's Embrace, Hiccup was named therefore named "The Dragon Conqueror" due to him training a dragon that was believed to be untrainable, Hiccup too believed this dragon was untrainable but Ghost merely didn't trust humans for murdering his species, but in the short amount of time, he's lived in Eden's Embrace? Ghost was happier, felt safer and finally came to the conclusion that not all humans are vile killers.
Casper and Aldwyn aided the Guardians to create an accurate map of where Devil's Keep is located and they also disclosed better routes to get to the Swarm home without the Guardians being caught in the nasty blizzards. Odda too disclosed all the knowledge he knew of the Swarm to King Osferth and his war council, the number of the troops and dragon riders as well as the Dark Fury dragons that were in their possession. When asked what a Dark Fury was, Odda told the war council that the Dark Fury was not of this world and that a massive rock touched down on Devil's Keep before the Swarm even made it their home and these Dark Furies had abilities that rivaled a Night and Light Fury. The supposed rock that touched down was actually a nest that contained thousands of these dragons, they're able to survive without oxygen and fly to the very heavens. Not only were the Dark Furies bigger, but their abilities of plasma bolts, sonic roars and even the ability to send crimson shock waves occur when the dragon is subjected to agony.
These Dark Furies were prisoners of the Swarm just as the tens and thousands of children that were being subjected to their cruel ways.
When the Swarm arrived at Devil's Keep? They enslaved these dragons and subjected them to torture and cruel ways to get them to submit to them, once they had "trained" the Dark Furies they then began a breeding program to provide the Swarm dragon riders with future Dark Furies to ride into battle. Odda also revealed that the Swarm Queen takes resistant children and injects them drugs that make them more... obedient, the news of this slave conditioning process sickened King Osferth and his war council, they thanked Odda for disclosing this information and that when they would attack Devil's Keep? He would come with them and lead them to the home of their enemy.
Going back to Hiccup, the boy was also hard at work forging wedding rings for himself and Astrid. She had already told Hiccup that she wanted to spend the rest of her days with him, as did he, so he wasted no time and got to work on those wedding rings when he had the time. The rings were made out of pure gold and Hiccup managed to inscribe tunes on their rings which said the following: "There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid." When Hiccup proposed to the woman he loved? Astrid broke down in tears of happiness and kissed the living daylights out of him when she saw the inscribed runes on their wedding rings.
The wedding party had taken another week to prepare for and the whole of Eden's Embrace was there to witness to a Viking wedding ceremony. When the day of their marriage finally arrived? Astrid could hardly believe that they were finally getting married! She had longed for this day for so long and pictured how it would go in her mind many times, but she was glad that she was finally living this dream and not imagining it. Calista, Thyra, Valka and many of the Viking women who lived in Eden's Embrace prepared her bath, wedding dress and crafted a crown made out of blossom flowers. Astrid's long sleeve wedding dress was white as snow and she was also draped in a thick fur cloak made of white wolf fur and her blond hair was unbraided and done in a flowing waterfall style.
"By all the gods in the Æsir Astrid, you look like a goddess in the flesh." Thyra breathed out in admiration, Astrid smiled at her friend and thanked her for her kind words, the rest of the Viking women too complimented Astrid's beauty and godly appearance, causing the soon to be Haddock to roll her eyes yet nod in thanks. Valka and Calista approached Astrid with warm smiles and shook their heads slightly. "I fear my son will faint at the sight of such beauty." Valka chuckled, causing Thyra and Calista both to laugh lightly in agreement. "He'll be fine mother, although he may be speechless at the site of my soon to be sister in law." Calista said while placing a hand on Astrid's shoulder, causing the blond to smile at Calista and hum in agreement. "Valka, will you... do the honor see to it that Hiccup and I are married?" Valka smiled at Astrid's request and gently cupped her chin. "Of course my child, come now. Let's marry you off to my son." Astrid smiled and nodded in agreement as they were then led outside to the steps of the palace where all of Eden's Embrace was waiting.