Marked - An Eret [Son of Eret] Love Story (HTTYD)

6. Disappeared

Catching Eret staring at her in shock, Aria felt her face heat up. "You might never have killed a dragon before," she began as she pulled her sleeve back down, "but I have. So I really shouldn't be treating you the way I have been."

"You've killed a dragon?" Eret wondered aloud.

"Another a shameful moment looking back," Aria told him, "but I was trying to prove myself to my father, back when killing dragons was what we did." She nudged him gently with her elbow and spoke with a small grin, "so I guess we're not that different after all."

She then did something that Eret hadn't expected at all. Just like the day they first met, Aria took him by the chin. But she was more gentle this time. She grazed her thumb over the marks on his chin and met his eyes, "they're just tattoos now, nothing more....I'm sorry."

Eret couldn't take his eye off of the new look of kindness on Aria's face. Even when she let his chin go, he found himself frozen. Aria rolled her eyes a laughed lightly, bringing Eret out of his daze. He shook his head and asked, "why the sudden change of heart?"

Aria sighed and smiled out at the horizon, "I guess I just needed to talk about it, instead of getting angry." She then turned to Eret as if she wanted to say more, but his brown gaze made her lose her words. With a shy smile, she looked away for a moment. Then, she leaned up and planted a small peck on his cheek, and raced into her half-built hut. Eret watched her go with wide eyes lifting a hand to the place she'd kissed. He then left for the evening, a dazed smile on his lips.

• • •

A few days had passed when Aria realized that she hadn't seen Eret at all, not even at meals. "Mom," she called as she entered the Great Hall, "have you seen Eret around?"

Her mother gave her a sly grin and wondered, "are you, worried about him?"

Aria felt heat rise to her cheeks and stuttered, "no--I mean, yeah--kinda..have you seen him?"

Valka let out a laugh and responded, "he's fine; he left with Skullcrusher to gather some herbs for Gothi." Aria felt relief flood her body. "You seem to be warming up to him a bit better," Valka observed with a smile.

"We talked over our differences a couple days ago," Aria explained.

"You know, he's a very good man," her mother went on suggestively, "strong, helpful, understanding...not to mention, handsome."

"What?" Aria gawked in fluster, "n-no, I'm just warming up to him, it's not..that."

Valka laughed again and put an arm around Aria's shoulders. "Oh I know, but a mother can dream big for her only daughter, can't she?"

"As long as it's just dreaming," Aria responded, unable to hold back her own laughter.

"Hey, what are you two laughing about?" Hiccup wondered as he approached the two women. Seeing Aria's reddened face, he looked to his mother with a quirky smile and chuckled, "oh Thor, you went there, didn't you."

Aria gave him a look of confusion. "Well, not completely," Valka assured Hiccup with an amused smile.

"What's going on?" Aria questioned, her gaze switching from Hiccup to her mother. But she had a sneaking suspicion that she already knew. Aria was twenty-two years old, one of the oldest, unmarried women in Berk. Stoick had been trying to get her interested in the subject ever since she came of age. But after a year of trying, he'd finally accepted that Aria was stronger as an independent.

However, Valka seemed quite keen about the topic now. "It's nothing, Aria," Hiccup assured her before their mother could speak.

But Aria still gave her mother a suspicious look. She simply shrugged and grinned, "as he said; nothing."

Rolling her eyes, Aria knew she wasn't going to get anything out of them, so she simply smiled and shook her head. But with the ideas of Eret and marriage planted in her mind, Aria couldn't help but wonder. He was quite suitable, and he seemed to care deeply about her. But did she really like him that way? The thought made her cheeks burn once again.

• • •

When a week had gone by, and Eret had yet to returned, everyone began to worry. "It shouldn't have taken him longer than three days," Fishlegs fretted, "Healer's Island isn't that far away."

"But what could've happened? It's not like any dangerous dragons live there," Astrid pointed out.

"And even if there were, he has Skullcrusher," Hiccup added.

Aria was silent throughout the meeting of the dragon riders. She tried her hardest to think of what might've went wrong. Suddenly, something he told her popped into her mind; let me prove myself.

With her worry only growing, Aria wondered if he'd gone to do just that. Finally, she spoke up, "I think we should send a search party."