Chapter Eight: A Threatening Reunion

"Hiccup! Hiccup, come over here quick!"

Hiccup nearly tripped over his own legs as he bolted over to his wife, his mind racing with unlikely and steadily more horrible possibilities with every step. Astrid was lying on her back staring at her protruding belly, her left hand rested on top of it and watching him with slight amusement.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, completely out of breath.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just... here..." she grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach.

"Astrid, what is..." Hiccup began but suddenly stopped.

The belly moved in a strange sort of way. At first, he wondered what was going on and then, with a start, he realized that it wasn't Astrid that was making the movement. For the very first time, he was feeling his unborn child gently brushing against his fingers through his wife's skin. Completely breathless, he placed his other hand on top of her belly and leaned in, hoping to feel it once more. His wish was granted a few seconds later and for a while, he simply sat there, feeling the movements.

"Wow..." he breathed, smiling widely. "She's just like her mother."

"Oh really?" Astrid asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yep. She likes to hit me." Hiccup winked at her. "Just wait until she's a teenager."

"I think I'll settle for waiting until he's born." Astrid said with a small smile.

Hiccup, feeling slightly unworthy of this moment, gently leaned in and caressed his wife's lips with his own. Astrid's eyes fluttered shut as she enjoyed the warmth of this moment. But it simply wasn't meant to be, for at that moment, she felt her baby give her an almost indignant kick. Hiccup felt it as well and, after kissing his wife once more, slowly lowered his head and kissed her belly.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, little lady." Hiccup whispered to his child. "I can't wait to meet you."

"Hiccup..." Astrid said, finally sitting up and staring at him.

"Yes?"

Astrid took a deep breath. "I... well..."

"Hiccup!" came a loud voice from outside the house.

They looked at each other with a smirk and rolled their eyes.

"Dad, you can't just keep barging in like this..."

"No time for formalities, son." said Stoick, throwing open the door and completely ruining the moment. "We just spotted some Berserker ships sailing in. They should be here any minute."

"Already? They weren't supposed to get here for hours!" Hiccup groaned. "All right, all right, I'm going."

Hiccup had been dreading the renewal of the contract. He and Dagur had never been close and the Berserker chief had tried to kill him on many occasions. However, a peace treaty between the Hooligans and Berserkers had kept him from doing any real damage. Now it was time for the renewal and he feared Dagur would be a lot less open to signing the parchment than he had been years ago. Especially since he had made it clear he wanted Hiccup dead and his dragon's head hanging on his wall.

Astrid had offered to come along to support her husband. Her right arm was nearly healed so that if Dagur attacked, she could fight him but Hiccup told her repeatedly that it was a bad idea. At 22 weeks of pregnancy, her center of gravity was shifting so her fighting wouldn't be as good as before. Not to mention the danger she would pose to her baby. Astrid simply scowled when reminded that she wasn't allowed to do what she liked best.

"This is going to be a disaster." Hiccup said, awkwardly clasping his hands behind his back as he watched the Berserker ships approach.

"You're being too hard on yourself, son." said Stoick as he lifted his hand to place it on Hiccup's shoulder, changed his mind, and decided to use it to wave at the guests instead.

Hiccup watched the ships grow steadily closer, dreading the upcoming moments more with every millimeter closer they came. He saw the outline of Dagur the Deranged against horizon as he sailed in on the closest ship, standing erect with his hands on his hips and staring at Hiccup with a murderous glint in his eye. Hiccup was sorely tempted to back away but, as he was to become chief one day, he figured that it would have come across as cowardly.

There was an incredibly awkward silence as Hiccup stared at Dagur and the deranged chief stared back. Hiccup tried his best to give the taller man a small smile but felt as though it had come across as a grimace. Dagur seemed to think so too, for he stepped forward and produced a gigantic sword that would have stretched from Hiccup's hip to an inch above the top of his head. Despite not being very tall, Hiccup thought that it was a formidable weapon and it was making him feel quite queasy. He wondered if he was having sympathy nausea for Astrid. At least that would have been easier to explain away than to say he'd vomited in fear.

"Hiccup..." said Dagur in a sickly sweet voice. "My old friend..."

"Hi... Dagur." Hiccup said, hoping that he wouldn't have to talk too much for fear of suddenly being sick.

Dagur brought the sword dangerously close to Hiccup's face as he passed him. Hiccup finally recoiled, glad for that excuse at least. Dagur gave Stoick a very penetrating gaze, almost as if he was hoping to burn the man's skin with his eyes. Upon realizing that he did not possess this supernatural ability, he averted his gaze and half heartedly waved for his army to follow him.

"It has been brought to my attention that you have a different way of coping with our... dragon problem." Dagur said slowly as though talking to a toddler. "In light of that particular change, I believe the rules of our treaty should be rewritten."

Why was Dagur acting so formal? Hiccup had always thought he'd been dropped as a newborn (it gave him a firm resolve to make sure his child didn't suffer any similar injuries) but looking at him now, one might wonder why he was called deranged at all. He might as well have been called Dagur the Diplomatic.

"In light of the changes, yes, it would probably be best if several rules were rewritten." said Stoick, apparently having the same suspicions as his son if one read his facial expression correctly.

"Excellent." Dagur simpered, inspecting his sword with great interest. "It seems we have much to talk about. But I believe a tour is part of the original arrangement."

"A tour, yes. Well you had one the last time you were here..."

"Well it's always nice to keep up with the changes. Hiccup here can lead me around while you go and get everything ready." Dagur suddenly threw an arm around the smaller Viking, crushing his ribs.

Stoick gave his son a sympathetic look before turning back to Dagur. "If that would give you incentive to amend the treaty..."

"Oh yes. Lots of incentive." Dagur said, a wide smile that revealed a row of glimmering and, probably, sharp white teeth crossing over his features.

Hiccup nodded once when his father caught his eye. He had to learn how to deal with the slightly less peaceful visitors to Berk in the future and this would be good practice. If he wasn't impaled by that frightening looking sword first. Dagur roughly led Hiccup away from his army and Stoick and Hiccup felt as though his courage was leaving him with every step he took away from people who didn't want him dead.

"Well you've certainly changed since we last met." Hiccup said, trying his best to smile despite the churning feeling in his stomach.

"Oh that was just me being theatrical. My sister's been giving me lessons. Well now, Hiccup, I thought you'd have gotten rid of your father by now!" Dagur said, the glint of insanity coming back into his eyes.

Hiccup desperately wished Dagur would let him go soon. It was hard to breathe with the huge, muscled arm gripping his shoulders.

"Well... I thought as long as he's planning on retiring soon, I could just let him live until I took over..."

Dagur let out a loud, terrible sounding cackle. "My, my, you are funny, Hiccup! Did I ever tell you how funny you are? Hilarious!"

Hiccup couldn't figure out why Dagur was laughing but it seemed impolite (not to mention dangerous) not to laugh along with him. He managed to get out a breathless sounding chuckle before feeling like all the air had been suctioned out of his lungs. He gasped for breath as Dagur's vice-like grip tightened around his shoulders.

"What are you doing to my husband?" asked a horribly familiar voice.

Dagur and Hiccup turned around to find Astrid wearing a very loose shirt in a futile attempt to hide her pregnancy and a Gronckle-iron sword which she kept on a hilt in her belt.

Dagur was momentarily speechless. Then he burst out laughing, the sound echoing all around them.

"Hiccup? You married Hiccup?" his eyes flitted to the obvious baby belly. "Oh and got busy!" he added, reaching out and grabbing her stomach with one hand.

Astrid drew her sword and Dagur withdrew his hand, grinning widely. She opened her mouth but Hiccup was the first to speak.

"You touch her again and I will knock your front teeth out!" he shouted, throwing caution to the wind as he threatened a man almost twice his weight in muscle.

This only made Dagur laugh harder. "Back down, I wasn't going to do anything. At least... not here." The last two words were spoken slowly, in a low and threatening voice.

Hiccup and Astrid exchanged worried looks made a silent promise to each other that they weren't going to leave the island anytime soon.

"I still want that dragon's head on my wall, Hiccup. And I can give you a lot to..."

"You're not taking him." Hiccup interrupted. "No price. He's mine and that's final."

"I will have your Night Fury, Hiccup." Dagur narrowed his eyes as he gave the couple a terrifying smile. "And I suppose that treaty will just have to wait."

"Dagur, you have to..."

"No!" Dagur threw Hiccup at his wife, who caught him before he knocked her over. "I don't have to do anything I don't want to do. And maybe I don't want peace between our tribes. Maybe it's time for a little war."

Hiccup stood in front of Astrid, stretching out his arms in a vain attempt to protect her from the insane Viking in front of them. Dagur walked slowly toward them.

"I tried the whole peace thing and it didn't exactly work out." He said through his teeth. "I'll be back with the strength of ten thousand Berserker soldiers. And your Night Fury won't be able to stand a chance."

"We're not afraid of you." Hiccup said, glaring back at the Berserker chief and trying in vain to make himself seem a little taller.

"It's not us you should be afraid of." Dagur's smile widened and he stomped away from them, leaving them slightly shaken but unharmed.

"What did that mean?" Astrid asked her husband as she watched him walk away. "It's not them we should be afraid of?"

"I don't know. But Dagur has a plan. And whatever it is, it can't be good." Hiccup replied with a deep sigh. "We're going to have to round everyone up to patrol the island."

"I can help..."

"Absolutely not. You've got to stay home and take care of yourself." Hiccup insisted.

"Like Hel I am! If Berk is in danger, I'm going to fight!" Astrid exclaimed, sounding offended.

"You are carrying the next chief, Astrid!" Hiccup shouted. "That makes you one of the most important people here on Berk. And you are going to keep yourself hidden and well rested until that baby is born, do you understand?"

"I don't have to take this..."

She began to walk away but Hiccup grabbed her around the wrist. "Astrid, listen to me. This is important! If anything happened to that baby, we'd..."

"Fine!" Astrid bellowed, wrenching her wrist away from Hiccup's grasp. "Keep the baby safe. Got it."

Before Hiccup could say another word, she stomped away, muttering darkly to herself. Hiccup stood there, watching her go. He furrowed his brows and pursed his lips, deep in thought but unable to bring up any conclusions.

"What's gotten into her?" he whispered to himself.

He quickly shook his head. It was obviously something to do with being pregnant. Women were difficult enough to understand on their own but pregnant women were a different story entirely. Hiccup at least hoped he would be able to support her and make her feel like her contribution was important. It was the least he could do.

If only he could do more.

Did anyone catch the movie reference? If you did, doesn't Dagur act a LOT like a Viking version of that character? I've thought so for a long time but no one else seems to see it! Can you imagine the crossover? That would be pretty awesome!