CHAPTER 1

Chaos reigned in the Great Hall as Astrid entered through the large entrance doors.

"This is a disgrace!" she heard one lady say.

"Absolutely!" was the reply. "Imagine not even turning up. This naming ceremony was booked two months ago by my nephew and I know he spoke to the chief only yesterday about it, making the final arrangements. Now he doesn't even show!"

Astrid walked up the centre aisle past all the grumbling people and turned to stand on the dais facing the crowd.

"May I please have your attention!" she bellowed. The room was immediately silent. "On behalf of the Chief of Berk, I apologise for the delay."

"Outrage!" someone called out.

"A complete dishonour to our family!" chimed another.

"Please!" Astrid continued. "We are not certain why the chief has not yet arrived but please bear with us and we will continue with the ceremony shortly. In the meantime may I ask kindly that you all remain seated and enjoy some light entertainment provided by the Thorston twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut?"

"Now ladies and gentle-Vikings!" announced Tuffnut, stepping forward. "My sister and I would like to recite to you a selection of poems we have concocted. Our first piece is named "A Young Viking":

"There was a young Viking from Berk,"Who was a big, ugly jerk!"

There was a great amount of grumbling and sneering as she left the hall. Astrid kept her head high and once the doors were closed tight behind her she breathed a big sigh of relief. She turned, walked towards Hiccup's hut and rapped on the door. Valka answered.

"Hello Astrid. What can I do for you?"

"Have you seen Hiccup? He hasn't turned up at the naming ceremony this morning and the Trout family are pretty narked off."

"No dear. I didn't hear him come home last night and his bed hasn't been slept in."

"Oh no. Not again. Thank you, Valka, I think I know where to find him now."

"No problem."

Astrid ran down the steps and back across the grounds towards the old blacksmith shop which was now the one-stop dragon service centre. As she entered she saw a large bulk of a man with his head stuffed inside a dragon's mouth. "Hello Gobber. You haven't seen Hiccup today have you?"

"Oh, hi lass. No. I haven't seen him all morning. There ya go mate," he said to the dragon decanting an over-sized damaged tooth into a bowl. "Good as new." Gobber wiped his hands with a cloth. "When you do happen to see him could you tell him I still need that spoon drill he promised me. I only need to borrow it quickly and I've been asking him for it for a week now."

"I'll remind him."

A big, black creature with large wings and an even larger grin came bounding up to Astrid, nearly knocking her over.

"Hello Toothless. Sorry, I can't fly you just yet, I'm looking for Hiccup. Do you know where he is, boy?" She followed Toothless through the inner door of the building into Hiccup's private workstation area.

He was sitting at his desk hunched right over fast asleep.

"Oh Hiccup," she sighed. She crept up to him and gently shook his shoulder. "Hiccup." He didn't stir. "Hiccup, wake up. I'm sorry but you need to wake up."

"Nnnnnnuh," he groaned but didn't wake.

Toothless came up to him and gave Hiccup a big wet lick over his face.

"Huh? Wha..? Oh, hi Toothless. Hi Astrid." He looked around him. "What? Where?"

"Hiccup, you fell asleep at your desk. Again. You look awful. How much sleep have you had?" He groaned and rubbed his face in an attempt to wake up. His face was covered in Toothless' drool. "Hiccup. It's the Trout family's first born child's naming ceremony. Now. They're waiting in the Great Hall and I've had to resort to letting the twins provide entertainment…"

"The naming…. Oh no!" Hiccup scrambled to his feet and started hunting for papers scattered all over his desk. "Right. I need my… and that… and that. Thanks Astrid! What would I do without you?"

"Gobber is also asking for that spoon-whatever you promised him and your mother's making dinner tonight. We need to make our final plans for our knot-tying ceremony. It's in three days. Please don't be late home tonight."

"I'll try. Sorry, I've got to go. Love you!" Hiccup gave her a quick peck on the cheek and dashed out towards the Great Hall.

"Oh Toothless. What are we going to do with him?" Toothless brushed against her legs and purred. "Come on boy. We'll go flying now. You and me."

All day Hiccup raced from one thing to another. Spitelout Jorgenson wanted his new store house plans approved; the twins were creating havoc in the fields with Snotlout; he was late for a meeting with Heather and Fishlegs to arrange their own knot-tying ceremony date and Bucket was having problems with his bucket – Mulch was convinced a storm was approaching. He didn't stop for lunch and once he had dealt with everyone he went back to his workshop to get on with all his paperwork.

The whole day had passed and it was getting dark. A few people mulled around the grounds but most were inside eating their evening meals. Astrid walked back towards the service centre again with a frustrated expression on her face.

"Hiccup?"

"I'm in here," he called back.

"Your dinner's on the table. It's getting cold. You need to eat and we were going to discuss final arrangements for the knot-tying, remember?"

"I'm sorry, Astrid. I just can't tonight. I have too much I need to do."

"I'm sure it can wait."

"I've got seven saddles to make, Basher's coming of age speech to write, a plan for the new store house to finalise, three sick dragons, four missing sheep…"

"Hiccup! Stop!" She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can't do all of this on your own in one night, you're burning yourself into the ground. Please. You need to rest. You haven't eaten properly all day and you need your family. The village will be fine for a few hours."

"But I just need to…"

"Hiccup!" She gripped his arm tight. "That's it. You're coming with me. You need to eat." She yanked his arm in an attempt to drag him out but he resisted and released it from her grip.

"Astrid, I'm sorry, I don't have time for dinner. If I want to run the village half as well as my… as well as my… father… then…"

"Hiccup?"

He spoke in a quiet, monotone voice not looking at her. It was like he was talking to himself. "You didn't see him like I did. Most nights he wouldn't sleep. When things went wrong he wouldn't come home for days. How can I hope to run the village nearly as well if I don't work as hard?"

"You're not your dad, Hiccup and I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine. You go and have your dinner. I'll see you later." He said, forcing a smile, then sat back down to continue his work. Defeated, Astrid sighed, turned and walked out of the room.

"Is he coming?" Valka asked Astrid as she entered the hut.

"No. He says he's too busy." Together they began to clear away the dishes. "Valka, I'm worried about him. He doesn't look right. His face is grey and there are bags under his eyes. He's exhausted but he won't stop. He said his dad worked as hard to be chief and he wants to do the same."

"Stoick? He hasn't spoken of his father to me for months."

"He's really beginning to worry me. I can tell he's still struggling with the loss of his dad but doesn't talk about him much. And when he does, he gets this distant look and I can't reach him. He hasn't talked about his death since it happened."

There was a knock at the door.

"Hi Valka." It was Gobber. "Astrid. Just returning the spoon drill. Is Hiccup here?"

"No. He hasn't come home. He's still at his workshop."

"Still? At this time of night?"

"He says he's too busy for dinner. He even mentioned that his dad often worked late too. Is that true? You and his dad were good friends."

"Tha' he did. Hmmm. I think I see wha's happening here. Lass, would you think it helpful if I have a chat with him for ya? I can sometimes get him to talk."

"If you think you can, that would be great. Thanks Gobber."

"No problem. Night Valka."

"Night Gobber, and thank you."

"Hey lad. Come to hand ya back this." Gobber squeezed through the door frame and placed the spoon drill down on the desk next to Hiccup.

"Thanks Gobber," Hiccup replied, not turning round and continuing to write.

"I went to your house to return it to ya. They said I'd find you here."

"Uh-huh."

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Gobber found a rickety old seat and plonked himself down facing Hiccup. Distracted, Hiccup paused what he was doing and looked up at the bulk of the man that was Gobber.

"Is there something else you want, Gobber? I'm a bit busy right now."

"We don't chat much you and me anymore. Thought it would be nice to catch up a bit."

"I'm sorry Gobber but I have too much to do."

"Yes. That's what Astrid said and that's what I want to talk to you about."

"She talked to you?"

"Yes, of course she did. We all know you want to be a good chief Hiccup, but you can't keep pushing yourself like this, you're going to burn yourself out and that won't be good for anybody."

"But I need to. I've got so much to do."

"Hiccup. There's something I need to tell ya. Something about your dad." Hiccup froze. "You ought to know your dad didn't work as hard as he did because that's what it took to be chief. It was because he felt no one else could help him. He felt alone after your mother left and buried himself in his work. I remember him being just as bloody-minded as you are right now. Not eating. Not sleeping." Hiccup looked up at Gobber stunned. He hadn't expected this. Gobber continued. "Look. I know I can't make you do anything, lad. If you say you've got to work then you've got to work. But if ya ask me I think Astrid's right. You look terrible and you need to rest. Just promise me you won't push yourself too hard and ask for help when ya need it."

Hiccup didn't answer. He just sat there frozen.

When Gobber realised he wasn't going to get a response he said, "Well, I've said my bit. I'll be off then. You make sure you take care of yourself. See ya later, lad."

After he left, Hiccup stared blankly for a long moment before remembering that he was in the middle of something. He looked back over Basher's coming-of-age speech he had been trying to write but he could no longer make sense of anything on the page. He rubbed his face hard in an attempt to focus but all the words just went fuzzy and he realised quite how tired and hungry he really was.

"Arrrgh! I'll just have to carry on first thing tomorrow." He arranged his paperwork into relevant piles on his desk and left the room, swaying as he went.

"Hiccup! You're back. I'll go get you your dinner." Astrid went to fetch it as he shuffled his way to the table and lowered himself down.

Toothless came bounding up to him for a stroke. He hadn't seen much of his rider all day.

"Hey bud. How are you doing?"

"Arrooo!"

"Astrid. I've been thinking about what you said and you were right: I'll never be as great as my… father. But I still want to try. I'm sorry I was a bit short with you." He began to hack at his now cold and very tough meal. Astrid sat down next to him.

"Hiccup, that's not what I said at all. I said you weren't your dad. That doesn't mean you won't be great. You're Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. The man who brought Viking and dragon together. You've already achieved great things. You'll do fine." She placed a hand gently on him. "You just need to let yourself rest sometimes. You've been pushing yourself too hard lately and you look drained." Hiccup chewed silently, not looking up. "Your mum and I have been talking and we both think you could do with a vacation. We can postpone the knot-tying for a couple of weeks…"

"No! Astrid, no. We don't need to do that."

"Yes. I think we do. I insist. You need a break and your mum and I can run the village together until you get back. We'll speak to Gothi first thing tomorrow and arrange things properly…"

"Astrid…"

"Hiccup. Please. For me. I need a husband who's not burnt out every day."

"I'm fine!"

"No, you're not. It looked like you were about to pass out when you came in just now. You don't eat. You hardly sleep. You're trying to do too much and you're missing important deadlines…"

"But…"

"Hiccup! I'm not asking anymore. I'm telling. You're going on a vacation whether you like it or not. And when you get back, all rested, I expect to get knot-tied to the loving, caring, sensitive Viking I fell in love with."

Hiccup knew when he was beaten. Astrid was as stubborn as Vikings came and once she'd made up her mind there really was no swaying her. He knew the consequences of putting his own foot down with her all too well.

"Okay," he sighed half-heartedly. "But just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"That you look after my mum. I think she's still struggling to settle back into life at Berk and asking her to be co-acting chief may be a bit much for her."

"Sure I will. You don't need to worry about a thing." They gazed fondly at each other then, slowly, they moved in for an affectionate kiss and hug.

As they held each other Hiccup felt he could no longer hold back and let out a great heavy yawn.

"Right, that's it. Off to bed with you. Now," bossed Astrid.

Hiccup smiled weakly at her and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Goodnight, M'lady."

"Night babe." And with that he finally climbed the stairs to bed.

A while later Hiccup was lying in bed fast asleep. Astrid had gone home and Valka was getting ready for bed herself. She crept into Hiccup's room to check on him. She saw him lying there sprawled across the bed with the sheets dangling over the side. Toothless looked up and watched her.

"Oh darling." She quietly approached the bed and attempted to adjust his position. Then she pulled the bed sheets back over him, tucking him in. "Night love," she whispered. Finally, ever so gently, she placed a kiss on his cheek and left the room closing the door behind her.

Not long after, Hiccup began to stir.

"Nnnnnuh…"

Curious, Toothless approached him sniffing him.

"Arrrooo?"

"No…" Hiccup called out in his sleep. "No!" Becoming more aggravated, he slipped and fell out of bed. Toothless came over and patted him with his snout. Still asleep, Hiccup raised himself onto all fours calling out, "Dad!"

Toothless was unsure what to do but wishing to comfort Hiccup, he went up to him again giving him a gentle nudge.

"No! Get away from him! Go on! Get out of here!" Hiccup pushed him away yelling. Trying to move away from the monster in his dream, Hiccup slipped on his bad leg and fell backward, banging his head on the wall behind him. It woke him up, and seeing Toothless looking at him uncertain, he realised what must have happened. He curled himself up tightly, arms around his knees and gently rocked. Nervously, Toothless came up to check on him again.

"I did it again didn't I, bud? I'm so sorry, Toothless." Hiccup timidly put his palm out. Toothless, after sniffing it, accepted his apology and placed his snout inside Hiccup's hand. They hugged. The warmth of Toothless comforted Hiccup and as he was so tired he soon dozed back off to sleep still laying on his dragon.

Toothless carefully lowered him as best he could onto the floor of the room. He went over to the bed and grabbed the bed sheets in his mouth and threw them haphazardly over Hiccup. He then curled and settled down surrounding Hiccup to help keep him warm.

That's how Valka found them in the morning, still snuggled next to each other on the bedroom floor.

The next morning was a lovely sunny day. Hiccup was packing his belongings into the saddle bags on Toothless and Astrid, Valka and their dragons were there to wish him farewell.

"So, are you able to go through the speech tonight? It needs to be ready by tomorrow."

"Yes, Hiccup. I've got it," replied Astrid.

"And don't forget to see Sven as soon as you can. He's very protective of his sheep and gets very edgy when any go missing."

"We will."

"And…"

"Hiccup. We'll be fine. You've already gone through everything with us three times now and we know where to find everything. The question is, are you ready?"

"Err… I think so. I just need to check Toothless' tail fin." He hesitated. "But are you sure you'll be okay? I can hold off for a day or so if it'd help."

"That just sounds like you're trying to postpone the inevitable," Astrid said as she folded her arms and glared at him. "You're going, Hiccup."

He smiled weakly back at her. It had been worth a try.

"C'm'ere bud. Let me just check your fin. Toothless! Hold still." They all laughed as they watched Toothless bound about happily as Hiccup struggled to get hold of his tail fin.

"He's just so happy he's finally going flying with you. He's really missed you," laughed Valka.

"I know, bud. I've missed you too. But let me just check this first or we can't go. Toothless! Please!" Hiccup sat himself over the tail in an attempt to pin it down. He struggled but finally got everything in place. However, as he stood back up no one noticed Toothless' prosthetic tail get knocked against Hiccup's and a pin loosened ever so slightly.

"There. Ready." He looked back at Astrid. "I'm going to miss you." Astrid walked up, looked at him and thumped him on the arm. "Even when you do that." She gave him a big squeeze.

"Send a t. mail when you reach The Edge. Just so I know you got there okay."

"I will." They shared an affectionate kiss. Then, turning to his mum he said "Thank you," and hugged her. "And please, don't work too hard. Both of you."

"Coming from you, Hiccup, that's saying something. Now you take care of yourself you hear?" Hiccup smiled back at her.

Without being able to delay any longer, Hiccup climbed onto Toothless' saddle.

"Right bud. You ready?" Toothless grinned back at him and nodded. After one last glance at his mum and Astrid they took off. As they climbed the skies Hiccup cried out in release "Woohoo! Yeah!"

Astrid and Valka watched as he disappeared over the horizon.

"I hope he'll be alright," admitted Astrid.

"I'm sure he will," said Valka but with her own concerned look upon her face.

Hiccup and Toothless raced through the sky, the wind rushing passed them. Hiccup felt alive again. All of his exhaustion vanished as they practised their tricks, spins and mid-air somersaults. "This is the life hey, bud? I've really missed this."

"Prrrrrrr," Toothless said in reply.

They stopped half way on a sea stack to have lunch and a rest before continuing their way up north. It was a long journey to The Edge and it wasn't long until Hiccup began feeling tired again. Once again in the saddle he lay back on Toothless for a rest.

He didn't notice the sky darkening as they flew. Spots of rain began to splash onto his face and he sat up.

"The storm. The one Bucket and Mulch warned us about, I forgot. Come on, Toothless, we're nearly there. We can make it."

Hiccup leaned forward and flicked the switches controlling Toothless' tail fin to try to get him to go faster. Something dislodged and Hiccup looked back and saw something was wrong.

"Oh no!"

The rain quickly grew heavier. The sky turned black. Within moments it became impossible to see more than a few feet away. Hiccup tried to adjust the tail position and speed with his metal leg but it didn't respond. They couldn't slow down. A cliff sped into sight but they were going too fast to stop.

"WATCH OUT BUD!"

They tried to make a turn but it was too late. They both took a side knock but Hiccup's head took the brunt and bashed against the sharp edge of a rock. Struck unconscious, he let go of Toothless and dropped down to the sandy ground beneath.

Back at Berk Astrid and Valka were inside Hiccup's private workshop. Valka was going through the speech whilst Astrid rummaged through boxes in the corner of the room looking for Hiccup's ceremonial cape.

"Huh?"

"What is it?" asked Valka.

"It's Hiccup's flight helmet. He didn't take it with him." Astrid studied it for a while then added "I guess he doesn't really need it. He's flown many times with Toothless over the years without it." But why didn't that thought comfort her?

Suddenly there was wailing coming from outside.

"It's coming! It's coming! Where's the chief? We need to find the chief!" someone shouted.

"I'll go and see what that's about," said Valka.

It was Mulch and Bucket. "What is it Mulch?" she asked coming out from the dragon service centre.

"The storm!"

"Storm?"

"The one we told the chief about yesterday. It's nearly here!" Bucket wailed again.

Astrid appeared next to Valka and they both looked up at the sky. Sure enough the wind was picking up and the sky had turned a nasty shade of grey.

"EVERYONE INSIDE!" Yelled Astrid. "QUICKLY! INTO THE DRAGON STABLES! STORM COMING!"

"My Hiccup's out there," muttered Valka.

Astrid looked down at Hiccup's helmet she was holding.

"He knew it was coming. That's what Mulch just said. He knew and he still went."

Gales blew. Rain continued to lash down and in the distance there was the occasional bolt of lightning. On the island Toothless stirred. Gently, he rose onto his feet and shook himself awake. He looked around. Where was his rider? Where was Hiccup? It was difficult to see far ahead of himself. He decided to scan the area with his sonic radar and spotted a dark heap lying motionless on the sand to his left. He bounded over and sniffed it. Yes. The scent was right. It was Hiccup. He gave him a nudge. There was no response. "Arrrooo." Toothless tried again. Nothing. He whined and nudged Hiccup harder causing him to roll onto his back but Hiccup did not wake up. He just lay there. His eyes closed.

There was a dark patch on the sand where Hiccup's head had just lain. In the poor light it was difficult to tell what it was. Toothless sniffed it and recognised the scent. Blood. His rider was injured. Toothless became anxious. What should he do? He couldn't fly without a rider and the weather wasn't letting up. He took another look around himself and spotted a gap in the cliff. A cave. It would provide some shelter from the wind and rain.

As gently as he could Toothless lifted Hiccup up using his front paws and walked clumsily on his hind legs towards the cave. Red smudges of blood smeared against Toothless' chest as Hiccup's head lolled against it. They went inside and Toothless, with only paws to use, placed Hiccup as carefully as he could down on the floor. Hiccup flopped like a rag doll. Toothless looked at him with concern. He nudged him again but there was still no response. He whined anxiously for his rider and circled around him. There wasn't much else he could do now until the rain stopped. Reluctantly, he positioned himself at the cave's mouth to wait. Either for the storm to pass or Hiccup to wake. He would protect his rider. He would protect.