ALERT: This is a very minor spoiler alert directed only to the readers of my other story: "Fly to Live". If you aren't reading that story, then you can ignore this alert. Otherwise if you are, and you don't want to find out why the elder Gothi doesn't speak, then you probably shouldn't read this. It's not a major spoiler though. If you have already picked up the hints planted in the first act, solved the mystery, and want to know more, or if instead you are just too curious, then welcome to my first one-shot (which now has become a collection)!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the plot or characters of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. They belong to their respective owners: Dreamworks and Cressida Cowell.

A VOW OF SILENCE

Drabble 01: A Valkyrie

"I feel you've come to tell me something lass, but all this while the only conversation here is the one I sense taking place inside of you." The woman said, narrowing her ice-blue eyes and making a circular motion with her pointed bony finger, the shadows of which were projected and magnified upon the walls of the dark wooden hut. "Speak lass, don't waste this old woman's time. What are you here for?" She added.

"You don't know? I thought you were supposed to see the future…" The other woman complained humorously, though she was hiding a great deal of sadness in her voice. She was sitting on a pelt-covered crate by the sizzling hearth at the center of the room, her elbows resting upon her knees.

"No one can see the future, silly girl. One can merely predict it based on the situation… for example: I predict that I'm going to kick you out if you don't tell me why you came at this hour of the night." The old woman pointed out nonchalantly.

"I forgot you are always grumpy at night… unless you've had a few drinks at least."

"Did you bring some by any chance?" The old woman asked with sudden expectation. The other didn't reply quickly enough. "Oh, don't bother answering." She said with a sigh. "I haven't had a proper drink since Gobber brought me that southern ale from trader Johan anyway. So… what do you want?"

"Well, I've been talking with Cloudjumper… He said he saw Hiccup the other day, playing by the woods with the other kids. He was pretending to be a dragon!" She chuckled fondly at the mental image. "They didn't see him of course. He made sure of that." The younger woman added reassuringly.

"How you've managed to keep that dragon hidden all this time is still a mystery to me." The old woman said.

"Cloudjumper is very careful, and he's really patient. It took him almost a year to teach me how to communicate with him, but he still never left. He is really determined to end this war… we both are."

"So this is why you came." The old woman shifted uneasily in her seat.

The long silence that followed was only punctuated by the pops and cracks of the lively fireplace, which was the hut's sole source of light.

"I…" She began. "I think it's time I left Berk."

The other woman didn't respond right away. Her breathing seemed to stop all of a sudden. Slowly, she closed her eyes thoughtfully, and tilted her head upwards, softly hitting the backrest of her tall wooden armchair. An observant viewer would have been able to see the wrinkles on her face deepen; such was the seriousness of the conversation that awaited her. She finally took a deep breath, before she voiced the very question that she had been both waiting, and dreading to ask for months. "So, are you finally going through with this?"

"I feel like I have no other choice." The guest answered; any appearance of confidence in her words was betrayed by the nervous movements of her hands. "Even If I manage to convince Stoick to rally all the ships and Vikings of the Archipelago to fight, assuming he doesn't banish me for betrayal first, we still can't defeat that huge dragon by ourselves. It will be a massacre worse than a century of raids put together... I need to find a bigger one, an alpha dragon, who will be willing to help me." She said, trying to fend off the doubts at the likelihood of her plan working. "It will take years, maybe decades before I find one, but what else can I do?"

The other woman looked thoughtful. "Are you sure you can end the war like this?"

"Cloudjumper… he says it's the only way. And I tend to agree. I mean, I saw the queen… It's like a fire-breathing jötunn with wings! It could destroy Berk just by sitting on it! Only something like an alpha can kill that monster. I'm the first Viking who can finally do something about it, and I can't kill any more dragons knowing that they are being enslaved by the queen! The raids have already begun for this summer, and I can't fight anymore… I'm completely useless here!" She said, raising her voice. "Someone is going to notice at some point, and then they'll find out about Cloudjumper, and when they do, they are not going to listen to reason. They will kill him, and it will have all been for naught! Can you imagine Stoick's face when he finds out I'm friends with a dragon?! What will he say when he realizes he married a traitor?"

The old woman didn't have to think long to imagine the chief's reaction. However, she was much more concerned with the reaction of someone else: a small boy of only six years, whose joyful smile was destined to be wiped away from Berk, and forgotten for years to come. "What of Hiccup?" She asked, almost hurriedly, as if she were trying to rid herself of a horrible weight. The question had been already in the air, and it was an unwelcome one, for it hurt both women to even consider it, but it could not be avoided. The younger one looked at her hands, without speaking, mostly because, for a small interval, she physically couldn't; such was the lump in her throat.

"I don't know what to do… I know I can't leave him; he's only a child. But I can't stay here and do nothing any longer." The young woman exclaimed, with burning tears already welling up abundantly in her eyes. "What if Hiccup is hurt in a dragon attack? We can't keep him inside forever, no matter what Stoick thinks. He's going to want to get out there. He will want to fight too. He is a Viking! What if he is killed by a dragon? Tell me; what will I do then?! Knowing that maybe I could have done something to prevent it! How am I going to live then?!"

"Calm lass. I know this ain't an easy choice." The elder's voice softened, but even she didn't have the answer to this. She had once been a mother too, many years before. She knew only too well the despair of losing a child, and even worse: all three of them.

"I know he needs me, he's only six… oh gods. What am I doing?" She suddenly whimpered, cupping her face in her hands, crying. "I can't abandon him like this! Please, what do the gods tell you? Am I doing the right thing?" The woman pleaded, trying to smother her sobs with deep breaths, but failing.

"Oh sweet child. The gods don't voice their thoughts to us mortals so easily." The elder explained sadly. "It is us mortals who need to observe, and learn from their deeds. But not even the gods have all the answers. They are not all wise, not even all good. The only thing they are is eternal. That's why we look up to them; because of their timeless experience. If they were all perfect, and had all the answers, they'd never make mistakes; and if they never made mistakes, then they'd have nothing to teach us."

"What are you saying? What should I do if even they don't have the answers?"

"You should think for yourself, lass." The old woman responded gravely but sweetly at the same time. "I'm not going to lie to you; it's not an easy thing you are trying to do; even Thor himself would hesitate at such a quest. But only you can decide what to do, and live with the consequences of that choice."

A painful mixture of sadness and resignation besieged the young woman's face. She looked as if in mourning, though no one had really died, except perhaps her hope of seeing her son grow up. "You think Hiccup will be all right?" She asked, sniffing.

"Hiccup is a strong boy. Not a lot of muscle perhaps… but he has a strong mind. Don't doubt him; he's Stoick's son too you know." The elder pointed out with a heartfelt smile. "Trust me, before long he'll become tall like his father, handsome like his mother," she flicked a playful finger under the other woman's chin for emphasis, "and all the daughters of the Archipelago will sail for days to meet Berk's heir, but he won't be easy prey. He's too smart for that, isn't he?"

The younger woman had quit wiping her falling tears (there was no end to them anyway), but she still chuckled, accepting the encouraging words. For a blissful instant, she forgot her sorrow, and reveled in the hopeful picture of her son's future that the elder had offered. She wished that prediction would come true, as she searched for some fleeting solace within the past: "Remember when he was born? He came so early into the world... when you told me he was going to live I almost died of joy!" Her puffy eyes became bright at the memory. "He was so small that Stoick could only hold him in one hand… I had never seen Stoick cry before that day… or since. Remember?" She asked in a pleading tone, although she already knew the answer.

"I remember."

"And then… and then, remember when he started walking? I was so afraid he'd never walk, so weak he was; but he did! He started walking even before the Jorgenson kid… I was so happy." The joyous recollections evoked a heartbreakingly beautiful smile on her face. She had to wipe her nose with a white piece of linen though, before she continued. "Stoick was so proud, he threw a feast for the whole village! I've never seen him so drunk!"

"Oh, I remember. I was there too... he picked me up on his shoulders that night. The man has no respect for his elders!" The grumpy elder snapped jokingly, although she was secretly very fond of that memory. While Hiccup wasn't a son of her own, she had been the one to pull him out of the mother's womb; there was no complete parting with a child after that. In a sense, while her true sons had died, being the village healer had made her a surrogate mother to so many Berkian youngsters. She truly cared for them all, though the little Hiccup held a certain special spot in her heart.

The other woman laughed at the cranky remark, but her expression turned serious very quickly.

"Until the day comes that I succeed, and the war is over, I can never come back." She revealed somberly. Her eyes had no more tears to shed now. "They must think I died. I'll stage something with Cloudjumper in the next raid; a kidnapping maybe... I don't know." She looked straight at the elder. "They can never know the truth. They wouldn't understand… Please Gothi, promise me you'll never tell anyone. Keep it a secret like you have Cloudjumper. I can't bear the thought of Stoick knowing I betrayed them. And I can't do this if I know my Hiccup grows up waiting every day for me to come back."

"Valka, lass… are you sure about this? You are not betraying anyone. Maybe you ought to tell them before-"

"I know it's cruel." She interjected. "I do. But isn't it crueler for them to think I left them, and that I'm still out there as a traitor, siding with the 'enemy', willingly away from home? Away from my son… what will the others think? What will Hiccup's life be like, knowing his mother deserted the village? What will the other kids say to him? What if he grows up thinking I didn't love him? At least if they believe I died, it will be easier for them in the long run."

"Perhaps they'll understand that you are doing what you think is best for them." The elder tried to reason, fearing the weight of keeping such a secret from the whole village, from Stoick, and especially from the poor Hiccup. How could she manage that?

"It doesn't matter what I think, does it? I'm his mother. Hiccup will grow up to resent me for not being with him either way. I know he will, but at least he'll have some closure if he thinks I died. He's too gentle and frail… I don't want him to live thinking I meant to abandon him! And Stoick… Stoick would never allow-"

"I know." Gothi interrupted, offering an encouraging smile as she cupped Valka's cheek affectionately with her lanky hand. The young woman was not wrong, unfortunately.

"He's so stubborn! He never listens to-"

"Oh, I know how stubborn our chief is, lass. No need to tell me."

Valka breathed in deep, trying to calm the shivers in her chest. She then puffed out her deepest sigh yet. It took a while before the young woman could restore any semblance of confidence to her face. She finally stood up, and slowly walked towards the exit. The völva accompanied her to the door.

"Please Gothi. They must never know." Valka said, turning around as soon as she stepped out of the isolated hut, and into the gentle summer breeze. The night was misty outside, and the stars veiled by the clouds. Even Berk's lights were almost indistinguishable in the distance. It would have been a bad night for a dragon raid.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I beg you."

Gothi sighed. "I'll seal my lips for you lass." She said solemnly. "But you must promise me one thing in return."

"Anything."

"No matter how long it takes you to find that dragon… be safe. Don't go dying out there, or all you are sacrificing now will have been in vain."

"You need not worry about me." She answered boldly. "I'll have Cloudjumper by my side. But I'll try to be careful." Valka promised as she tightly hugged the elder. "Just look after Hiccup for me."

"He'll grow up to be a fine boy."

"I thought you couldn't see the future." The young woman pointed out, breaking the hug with a fleeting grin, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"I don't have to, silly girl..." The elder explained, mustering all of her confidence into the following statement; the only humble parting gift she could afford, for a true Viking of Valka's caliber. "He's the son of the bravest man and woman I know. I predict he'll make us all proud like Stoick was, the day Hiccup walked for the first time."

"I know he will… thank you Gothi."

"Goodnight lass."

"Farewell Gothi." Valka finally said as she backed away from the hut, smiling the sweetest and saddest smile in Midgard. Just then, suddenly, for a brief, breathtaking moment, Gothi was certain she had seen a real Valkyrie.

AN: Ok, ok, I promise to get back to my main story after this, but I just had to get this out of the way. I couldn't take it off my mind, and suddenly, it was written. It's the quickest thing I ever wrote, and I'm afraid it shows… but I still hope some of you liked it, if only just a little tiny bit.

Please note that, while Valka is not listed as a protagonist in my main story (I apologize to the readers who wanted to see her make an important appearance) she is still alive as in canon, and her actions influence the developments of my plot. She will be a constant underlying presence throughout.

When Fly to Live is finished however, there might be a sequel where she actually is a protagonist, much like the second movie. The sequel's storyboard is not yet fully developed though, but I must think ahead for the sake of long-term consistency. That's where this one-shot comes in.

You may have noticed that Valka's reasons for leaving Berk are very different in my version of the events. As you've noticed, I also made a few other changes, i.e.: Hiccup is six, and Valka had already secretly befriended Cloudjumper.

If I had to explain why I did all this, I would say that it always slightly bothered me that Valka would spend twenty years away from her home without returning once, even in secret, free as she was to sneak back whenever she pleased and check on her son from a distance. I still absolutely love the second movie, but I somehow wanted to make Valka's disappearance as reasonable (and hopefully admirable) a choice as possible. Only you can tell me if I succeeded. Thanks for reading!

EXTRA NOTE: This chapter has been updated to fix a couple mistakes. My thanks to acw28 for pointing out to me that Cloudjumper is actually male.

SHAMELESS PLUG: If you didn't know about my main fic (which, as I've implied above, is strongly connected to this collection), and you like Hiccup-leaving stories, you can always check it out by searching Fly to Live: Chronicle of an Exiled Viking Boy, or by visiting my profile page.