Friends and Harmony

Chapter 2

Arrival and the Farm

The limousine drove and rumbled across the cobblestone road. Henry was looking outside the window with excitement in his eyes as they drove into the small town of Berkton. Astrid just rolled her eyes with a slight smile at her crush's childish joy.

Finally, they arrived in the town square. Henry and Astrid got out of the long sleek car and took a moment to look at their new surroundings. The plaza was buzzing with people, all going about their lives. Most of the buildings around seemed pretty much ordinary, but the most that stood out were the town hall, the pavilion, and a colorful bakery that had the smell of fresh bread and cookies wafting through the air.

"Okay, what's first on the checklist, Astrid?" Henry asked, admiring the sights.

Astrid unfolded the list and began to read. "Number One: banquet preparations, Apple Harvest Acres."

"Let's go, then." Henry was about to take off, but Astrid stopped him.

"Do you even know where it is?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I saw a sign that says it's just down this path." Henry gestured to a white wooden sign nearby saying, Apple Harvest Acres, in red bold print, with an arrow pointing to a dirt path. Astrid glared at him. "When you get to a new place for the first time, you take in everything." Henry explained with a cheeky grin.

Astrid rolled her eyes again with an annoyed groan, then the both of them started down the path.

About a few minutes later, they saw a large magnificent field of corn, and hundreds of sturdy and healthy apple trees as far as the eye can see. The only space free of any crops was for the gigantic red barn with white trim, and for the single-level farmhouse painted white with gray trim and a green porch swing on the front.

"I'll admit, not bad." Astrid said, admiring the view.

"You said it." Henry agreed.

"Yee-haw!" cried out a voice. The two turned in the direction of the voice, and saw a boy running at full speed at an apple tree. He slid to a stop at the base of it, and gave the tree a firm and hard kick at its base. Suddenly, ripe red apples came falling down into baskets positioned below them.

The boy wiped off some sweat off his forehead. Now, they got a better look at him. He was about their age, with auburn hair, similar to Henry's own, but his was more red and wild. His eyes were a dark sapphire blue, like the deepest parts of the ocean, and his fair skin glistened in the sun with a little bit of sweat. He wore a dark gray T-shirt under a beige vest, jeans, brown cowboy boots, and on his head was a matching Stetson hat.

"Let's get this over with." Astrid sighed.

"Come on, you gotta admit, that was pretty cool." Henry said, then they went over to the cowboy. "Hey, there." He greeted him. "My name's Henry, and this is Astrid."

"Howdy there, Henry." The cowboy greeted back, a western twang in his voice. "You, too, Astrid. Pleasure to meet ya both. I'm Ritchie. Ritchie Iverson. We here at Apple Harvest Acres sure do like meeting new friends."

"Uh, actually-" Astrid began to speak, but Ritchie interrupted her.

"So, what can I do for you?" He asked.

Astrid looked ready to get in a fight because he interrupted her, but Henry stopped her with a look saying, "I got this".

"Well, we're here to check on preparations for the Summer Festival." He explained. "And you are in charge of the food?"

"We sure are." Ritchie confirmed. "Would you care to sample some?"

Henry looked over to Astrid. She shrugged. "As long as it doesn't take too long." She gave her consent.

No sooner did she said that, Ritchie ran over to the barn at lightning speed. "Mom! Pop! We have guests!" He called out.

Two adults came out of the barn, wiping their faces clean. One was a man with shaggy dirty blond hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. He wore a green shirt with jean overalls and black cowboy boots with a matching hat. The other was a woman with auburn hair styled up in a crown-high ponytail, crystal blue eyes, and pale skin. She wore a lavender blouse, jeans, and tan boots.

"Henry, Astrid, these are my parents." Ritchie introduced.

"Howdy, young'ns." The man said. "The name's Simon Iverson, and this is my wife, Thalia." He gestured to the woman beside him.

"Hello." Thalia greeted with a bright smile. It was obvious that Ritchie mostly took his looks after her.

"Hi." Henry smiled. Astrid just waved.

"They're here to check on the catering." Ritchie explained.

"Well, you're in luck, young'ns." Simon said with a grin. "We just finished preparing for lunch. Care to join us?"

"Absolutely!" Henry complied.

"Henry, we need to get going." Astrid reminded. However, her stomach chose that moment to growl.

Henry chuckled, making Astrid turn bright pink. "Looks like your stomach disagrees."

She scowled, but gave in. "Fine."

Minutes later, the Iverson family served them some corn and apple fritters. The two ate their share, and it was quite delicious. Astrid took large notice that throughout the meal, Henry and Ritchie had kept conversing with each other, like they were old friends, maybe even brothers.

As much as she wanted to feel happy for him that he has a new friend, she knew that if what they said is true, then they and anyone else Henry befriends could be in grave danger.

Author's Note

A/N: Didn't expect that one, huh? So, there's a reason why Astrid is acting like this. Does she know something Henry doesn't?

Well, we'll find out soon. Until then, I'll see y'all in Chapter 3! Please let me know what you think.

P.S. Ritchie is the modern name of one of my HTTYD OCs, Ragnar Iverson. Check my FanFiction stories to learn more about him.

Got to fly! ;)