Friends and Harmony

Chapter 4

Prima Donna Greeting

Soon, Henry and Astrid arrived at the Berkton Town Hall for the next task they needed to check on.

Astrid pulled out the checklist again. "Decorations." She said, looking around. "Amazing."

The inside of the hall was sparkling and spit-spot clean, and colorful ribbons were elegantly woven around in circular patterns everywhere. Banners symbolizing the sun hung from the balconies circling the area.

"I agree." said Henry. "The décor is coming along nicely. This should be quick. We'll be at the library in no time. No need to worry, Astrid."

"Definitely." She agreed.

Then, they saw a girl their age at the front of the platform analyzing different colored ribbons. She had ebony hair curled down to her back, fair skin, and crystal blue eyes. She wore a purple blouse, a jean skirt, dark brown leggings, and fancy black boots with silver trim. It was obvious she took pride in her appearance.

"No, no, no, no. Oh, goodness, no." Her voice was very prim and proper, like she was meant to be a lady of nobility.

Astrid felt a twang of envy when she saw this girl. She had never paid much attention to her own appearance before, but now that Henry's with her on this assignment, she took a quick glance over at him. She silently gave a sigh of relief when there wasn't a sign of infatuation in his emerald eyes. They then walked over to her.

"Hello there." Henry said.

"Just a moment, please. I'm in the zone, as it were." The girl finally chose a red ribbon and tied it around a curtain in a bow. "Ah, yes." She admired. "Red always does the trick, does it not? Oh, Violet, you are talented."

The girl, now known as Violet, turned around to greet her guests. "Now, what can I do for you-Aah!" She screamed the last part when she saw Henry and Astrid's bad hair. "Oh, goodness! What happened to your coiffure?"

"Coiffure?" Astrid asked.

"It's French for 'hair'." Henry explained. Then, he turned back to Violet. "You know a guy named Tobias?"

"Ah, that explains it." Violet said with a small smile. "That Tobias has always a bit much."

"You know him?" asked Astrid. This is getting strange. First, Tobias said he knew Ritchie, now Violet said she knew Tobias. So, she decided to probe a bit more. "And, do you also know a cowboy named Ritchie?"

Violet nodded. "Yes. We've been friends for a while now." Astrid was now getting confused as she tried to fit this new information in the mental puzzle she was piecing.

"Well, now that we've seen the decorations, we can now get out of your hair." Astrid said.

"Out of my hair?" Violet asked. "What about yours?" She grabbed Astrid and Henry's hands and began dragging them out of the Town Hall.

"Where are we going?" Henry asked.

"To my place and my boutique." Violet said. "So that you two can get cleaned up a bit. My name's Violet Gardner, by the way." She properly introduced herself.

"I'm Henry, and that's Astrid." Henry said.

"Very nice names." Violet said.

Soon, all of them were at Violet's house, and her boutique, Noble Chic. The boutique was very colorful and fancy. Violet led Henry and Astrid to one of the rooms and gave Henry a comb.

"You start cleaning, and I'll help Astrid." She instructed.

"Okay." Henry complied as he went to a full-length mirror and start running the comb through his auburn locks.

As Violet started untying Astrid's braid, Astrid watched Henry fix himself up. She intently observed how his short auburn bangs fell into emeralds, which were his eyes. She felt his face growing warm as she imagined her hand brushing the bangs away to get a better view of them.

"So, where are you two from?" Violet's question snapped Astrid out of her daydreaming. She quickly looked at her reflection and saw that Violet was already almost done tying her fixed braid.

"We came from the castle to check on the preparations for the Summer Festival." Henry explained.

"THE CASTLE?!" Violet squealed loudly. Astrid and Henry both winced at the volume. "Oh, sorry." She apologized. "It's just that, I've always dreamed of going there. Now, I have two new friends that do know what it's like."

Astrid froze. What is it with everybody in this village wanting to make friends? Henry, however, smiled brightly.

"After the festival, we can tell you all about it if you want." He suggested.

Violet's eyes lit up. "Absolutely!" She cheered.

"Henry, we need to get going." Astrid broke in.

Henry frowned at his companion's inexcitement. "Fine." He groaned. He turned back to say goodbye as he and Astrid began to leave the boutique. "See ya, Violet!"

"See you both later!" She returned the wave.

As they walked away, Astrid returned to her thoughts. If what she suspected is true from what she read from Henry's books, along with her own knowledge, her crush, and anyone else he befriends, including Ritchie, Tobias, and Violet, could be in danger. And, it will be her fault for failing to do her job she swore to herself that she would do from the day she was assigned to Henry. To protect him.

Author's Note

A/N: Again, this was short, but this was the best I can do with this chapter. I'm kind of terrible with writing characters that seemed prissy and proper because I can relate more to tomboyish personalities, since I am a bit of a tomboy myself. Next chapter will definitely be easier to get in the zone with.

Also, I know that the title for this chapter probably is corny, but it's the best I could come up with.

For those of you who don't know, Violet is the human form of one of my OC dragons in my other HTTYD stories, having the same name.

Also, it revealed more about Astrid, and why she's a bit on edge with making friends. There's definitely something she knows about that Henry doesn't. But, what is it?

Well, we'll find out soon, in the next couple of chapters. Don't forget to let me know about what you guys think.

Got to fly! ;)