Chapter Text
‘You know we’re not supposed to do this.’
Kamilla shrugged. ‘Augusta, please. When has that stopped us before?’
The other woman laughed and stroked her dragon’s neck. It clicked and shifted in place, claws digging into the ground. Kamilla was still nervous around the Nadder but Augusta knew what her dragon could handle. She helped her friend climb up into the saddle behind her and petted Sagitta as it adjusted to two passengers.
‘Are you comfortable?’ Augusta was used to the weight of another person straddling the saddle behind her, often taking the village kids for short flights to their delight.
Her friend, however, was squirming and shuffling. The back of the saddle was raised, like trying to sit on an anthill, and the feeling of Sagitta breathing between her legs was disconcerting. She let out a nervous giggle, ‘it’s not as horse-like as I was hoping.’
Augusta laughed again and tightened her grip on the front of the saddle. ‘This is no horse.’
She clicked her tongue and Sagitta perked up, squawking and throwing its wings out. Kamilla’s breath caught in her throat, two steps and it launched itself into the air. The only reason she didn’t scream is because she hadn’t had time to draw breath. When she could, when she forced herself to inhale icy air that burned her lungs, she let out a whooping laugh. Her fingers went numb immediately, secured as they were in the back of Augusta’s tunic. Flying was the most exhilarating experience she’d ever had and, not for the first time, she felt a pang of jealousy toward her friend.
The flight wasn’t too long. When they landed Kamilla slipped off Sagitta’s back and spent the first few minutes stretching and warming up. She knew she should have brought a fur with her but the flight had been last-minute. As it were, Augusta tried to fly below the clouds. It wouldn’t do to be wet and cold. They had long since explored Dragon Island, they knew they could hang around without the fear of aggressive animals or people. Berk was a different story. Sure, the dragons wouldn’t kill you, but the boar sure would. She shuddered, thinking back on their first run in with the local wildlife.
‘What are you thinking about?’ Augusta startled her out of her thoughts and she smiled back.
‘Ah, nothing. Are we going to our spot?’
Her friend shot her a look. ‘Of course, why else would we be here?’
Kamilla gestured her forward and she dropped off her dragon, patting its side. ‘Go on then, Sagitta. Go talk to your friends.’
The Nadder clicked happily and nuzzled against Augusta’s face, before galloping off to find other dragons. She then turned and hooked her arm through Kamilla’s. ‘Shall we walk?’
Kamilla laid her hand over her friends. ‘We shall.’
The two strolled off, arm in arm, into the forest. There were easy trails to follow and they had been here so often they didn’t think about where they were headed. Their feet took them the right way as they exchanged news.
Augusta was getting better at her training; she had shot the centre of every target yesterday, even the two the twins were wearing as they ran around the arena, and she had even managed to wrestle Astrid to the ground for a moment! She had immediately been thrown off and had to yield, but it was an achievement nonetheless! Her archery skills were improving rapidly, probably due to her using them almost every day, and she revelled in her newfound skills. Kamilla never had interesting news. All she did was sit in on political meetings and resolve minor disputes around town. She told her friend about the few baby-naming ceremonies she had officiated, and the new food rationing that would come in the next week or so. They were preparing to host a major event.
Kamilla refused to say anything more until they reached their destination. As they started to climb the hill, the conversation turned to the others.
‘I don’t understand why you don’t like Astrid.’ Augusta had taken her friend’s hand and was now swinging their arms between them. ‘She’s nice.’
Kamilla snorted, ‘It’s not that I don’t not like her, she doesn’t like me. Anyway, the real question is how you manage to survive your ‘training sessions’ with her. I’m surprised you leave with all your fingers.’
‘She’s not trying to hurt me.’ Seeing Kamilla’s face, Augusta presses on, ‘never mind Astrid, how’s Hiccup? He hasn’t been around lately. Astrid’s taken over my dragon training lessons now, too.’
Kamilla sighed, kicking at a loose stone. ‘Yeah, we’ve been busy. This celebration, it’s very important. Stoick has us running ourselves ragged making preparations. You know, last night I woke up to get a drink of water and I found Hiccup slumped over on his desk. His candle had burned out ages ago, thank the gods, or I’d have woken to a house fire.’
Her friend winced, ‘Was he okay?’
‘Oh, yeah. He just had charcoal smudged all over his face. And whatever he was drawing was ruined. Now that I think about it, he probably wasn’t okay.’ Augusta snorted beside her and she grinned. Nothing was as satisfying as the suffering of others.
They broke through the tree line and were hit by a hard gust. Outside of the cover of the forest the wind was cut by the cliff they were looking over. They assumed their normal positions, flat on their backs on the edge of the cliff, allowing the wind to be pushed just above them so the sun could warm them up.
As soon as they got comfortable, squinting up into the glare of the clouds overhead, Augusta spoke up. ‘So, tell me about this celebration.’
She felt Kamilla sigh beside her. She could picture her face, eyes closed but brow furrowed, thinking. ‘Stoick has invited the tribes—’
‘All of the tribes?’
‘All of the tribes—’
‘Why?’
‘Gus, please.’
‘Sorry.’
They shift. Augusta catches Kamilla’s fingers with her own and they curl together until they’re holding hands. She squeezes as Kamilla sighs.
‘All of the tribes are coming. They’re going to be staying for a week once they’re all here, that’s why we’re stocking up so much food. Stoick wants to have a display of power, so you’ll probably have to do a performance flight with your dragons. It’s going to be a week of partying, I think. For everyone else, that is. Hiccup and I have to become acquainted with every Chief and their heir for political reasons.’
Kamilla picked at the grass mindlessly, eyes still closed. Augusta was side-eyeing her, ‘is that all? What are we celebrating?’
‘… By the end of the week, I will be expected to have,’ Kamilla’s voice cracked and she stopped, tightening her grip on her friend’s hand, ‘to have chosen a husband.’
The words sat heavy in the air between them as the wind whistled overhead. Kamilla flinched as Augusta sat up, casting a shadow over her.
‘Wait, what? You have to get married?’ She didn’t need to open her eyes to see Augusta’s shocked face.
‘We always knew this would happen, we just thought it would happen to you.’
‘But- but that’s different! I was already betrothed.’ The shadow moved and she peeked over. Augusta was slumped over her crossed legs, staring over at the horizon. ‘I guess I didn’t expect it. I don’t know why, it was expected of me when I was the princess. It feels unreal, that you’re the one being forced to marry.’
‘It’s not all bad. I’d rather it be me, I didn’t have a chance at marriage as your hand maid.’ When her friend’s posture didn’t change she rose, stretching, and looped an arm around her shoulders. ‘Maybe it will be as romantic as you always hoped it would be. He might sweep me off my feet.’
Augusta was silent and the two soaked in the day. In the distance, under the rush of the wind, there were playful dragon cries.
She almost jumped when Augusta held the hand that was draped over her. ‘What about the Chief that I was engaged to?’
Kamilla let her head rest on her friend’s shoulder, ‘what about him?’
‘Well, do you think he’s going to come? Won’t he just say you’re supposed to marry him?’ Augusta shot up, smacking Kamilla’s head with her shoulder. ‘Won’t he know we switched places?’
‘Um, ow! Give a girl some warning before you slam into her skull! Ugh, no? If this guy was so adamant about marrying you he would have come looking for us way before now. We’ve been here, what, a year? He probably assumed you died on the way. Plus, we were never told his name, he probably doesn’t know yours.’ She rubbed at her head, scowling at the probably bruise forming beneath her fingers. ‘At worst, we feign ignorance. If some guy does come up and demand he was supposed to marry a princess Augusta… We say it was a Roman tactic. To avoid a Helen of Troy situation, we swap names with our servants. That’s believable. And with no proof, they wouldn’t have a claim to either of us.’
She sighed at her friend’s face, still furrowed with worry. ‘Come on, Gus. When have I ever been wrong about this kind of thing? Politics has always been my speciality, and politics is mostly lying through your teeth.’
‘… Okay.’ Augusta flicked her hair over her shoulder and grinned at her, ‘Helen of Troy are we now? Expecting a declaration of war when you’re proposed to?’
Kamilla snorts, ‘gods, I hope not. What a mess that would be.’
‘Oh, most beautiful Kamilla!’ Augusta draped herself back against Kamilla’s legs, pretending to fan herself. ‘I will simply perish if you will not wed me! Oh, most wonderful princess! Please, bless me with your beauty and wit!’
She fluttered her lashes at her friend, who shoved her off her legs, laughing. ‘Shut it! For all you know they could all be old and wrinkly, like the senators back home.’
‘Oh, ew, no way. With my luck, they’ll all be gorgeous, muscular young men. Seems about right that when I’m not getting married all the suitors are perfect.’ Augusta sighed, laying belly first on the grass. ‘… We’re not going to be able to stay together after this, are we?’
Kamilla rolled next to her and nudged her with a shoulder. ‘Have we even been together recently? You’re always training now and I’m always doing official business. The only times we ever hang out anymore are when we sneak away together like this.’
‘But we’re not even going to be able to do this. You’ll be on another island, won’t you?’
She nodded, watching Augusta roll onto her back. ‘You can visit me.’
‘I always thought that we would stay here, you know? You and Hiccup in charge, me and Astrid as your second-in-command. It was like a dream, washing up here.’
Kamilla tangled her hand in her friend’s hair, finger-combing it like when they were children. ‘It was a dream, alright.’
They sat in silence, each wondering what they should say, until a shadow fell across them. Sagitta had returned and plodded over to nudge at Kamilla’s shoulder until she petted her.
‘Come sit with us girl, we’re not leaving for a while.’
The Nadder chuffed and circled her rider, settling in delicately around the girls. It was always careful of its spines, something they greatly appreciated, and the trio remained on the cliff until nightfall.