Today was the day. It was Hiccup's first meeting of the chiefs. He received a letter from Johann saying there was to be a gathering of chiefs on the nearby island of Grawk. Another stupid island name, yes, but it was the perfect place. It was uninhabited, never had bad weather, the wildlife was mostly tame, dragons were few, and best of all, it was located in the middle of the tribes. Apparently, the meeting was called by the chief of the Rockwall tribe. His purpose… "It will all be revealed when we are there." Any smart leader would see this and think, "It's a setup. Even if it wasn't it would be useless to go."

But hey, vikings don't have the best of habits. Even Hiccup, who was the smartest leader Berk had ever had, was too curious for his own good. As he got ready to pack up and go, his dragon began nudging him.

"Sorry Toothless but we can't fly there. The other chiefs might not be used to all… this." He said, motioning to the dragons. "Don't worry though. You'll be hidden under the deck of the ship."

"As will Stormfly," Astrid said, walking in.

"Afternoon m'lady," Hiccup smiled.

"Don't forget, I'm coming with you."

"I know I know. I've learned about putting my foot down when it comes to you," He said, and continued to messily stuff a shirt into his bags, unsuccessfully.

Astrid walked over and took it from his hands. "It would be a lot easier if you folded them," She said and began to fold them. Sure enough, they perfectly fit in now that they weren't crammed.

"What would I do without you?"

"Forget to bring an extra cartridge of zippleback smoke for your sword?" She said, taking it out of her pocket. "We don't know what to expect from these guys. Not all of them are the best of friends with us, even though we're allies."

"I'm perfectly aware of that." He ran his hand through his hair. "I guess I'm just nervous."

"Don't worry," Astrid said, entwining their hands together, their wedding rings glinting in the firelight, "I'll be there with you." They smiled at each other.

Only two months ago, the chief was officially married to Astrid Hofferson. Or should I say Astrid Haddock. It was the biggest celebration Berk had ever had regarding a wedding. With dragons shooting "fireworks" and doing aerial tricks, it was amazing. The dress Astrid owned was also beautiful. Borrowing scales from Toothless and a monstrous nightmare, Hiccup's suit was made. With scales from Stormfly and a groncicle, Astrid's light blue and snowy-white dress sparkled in the bright sunlight. There was no hesitation in the vows, and with much crying from Gobber and Fishlegs-even Dagur as well (who was invited)- the two were happily wed.

Astrid's bags were in the corner, neat and light. The rest of the afternoon Astrid helped her husband pack, and eventually they hauled everything they would need on the boat. Before leaving, they took one last flight on their dragons, then they were loaded under the deck of the boat, hidden from prying eyes. Fishlegs and Valka were in charge while Hiccup was gone, and as the boat sailed off, everyone seemed to wave goodbye to them, sad to see their chief leave.

In meetings, the chief was allowed to bring one accomplice along with whatever supplies needed. The meetings could go on forever depending on how long it took the chiefs to settle a matter. With that in mind, Hiccup took a deep breath. Astrid gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before heading to the mast of the ship and watching the tidal class dragons swim.

Naturally, the two had dragons hidden wherever they could. There were three terrors, one for the boat, one for Hiccup, and one for Astrid. There was a scauldron watching the boat and of course there was Toothless and Stormfly. Just in case, Hiccup and Astrid had their dragon calls with them, around their necks, in case of an emergency, and Hiccup had packed 3 extra legs. Astrid had a barrel full of weapons-mostly axes and swords-while her husband had a barrell full of dragon-training supplies like dragon nip and a "laser pointer." His inferno was strapped around his leg, and dagger on his arm. They were prepared for this.

But it didn't feel like it to Hiccup.

As night fell, he was restless, and Astrid couldn't go to sleep with him tossing and turning. So instead, they cuddled, enjoying the warmth of their dragon who were wrapped around them. As soon as the sun rose, Hiccup was up, busying himself with whatever he could. Eventually he took out his old drawing pad and sketched a few dragons while Astrid took a nap. He began to sketch the ship. He took note of the design on the sail. His father had let him pick that design.

His father. He missed him so much. At times like these, when it was an endless, restless period where he had nothing to do, Hiccup would think. He would think a lot. Of his father, mother, wife, tribe, friends, chiefing. He would think about what was to come. These and many more scared him, and so he busied himself in his work, distracted from the worries.

And so, when Astrid shouted, "Land ho!" Hiccup was tingling with energy. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

On the island, there were huts built for each tribe. A new tribe would equal a new hut, and once a tribe was gone the hut would be remade into something new. There were food storage areas and buildings for weapons. Each cabin was customized to fit their tribe. The berserkers, for example, was decorated with the skrill dragon, and dragon heads were mounted on walls. Of course, Heather and Dagur would remove those but nevertheless, it used to fit the tribe.

The Outcasts… nobody has gone into their cabin and lived to tell the tale.

The bog-burglars was a boboy-trapped, women-inhabited place that, if something was missing, you would go there to retrieve it.

The island was small, but perfect. In the center there was a building that had a long, round table in the center. There was a chair for each chief or chieftess, and one for their accomplices. Why was it such a roomy place for a simple meeting? Well, let's just say that vikings don't get along all that well.

"We're vikings, if we can't fight something we fight each other." Hiccup remembered his father saying something like that. He would remember these things his father said at random times, but it made him all the better.

They tied the boat to the dock where all the rest of the tribes boats were. "Are we late?" Hiccup asked.

"Afraid so. I guess we forgot it's slower to go by ship than dragon-back." Astrid said, smiling.

"Heh, yeah good point. Probably should've taken that into account."

They unloaded their things and took it to their cabin where they set it down. Unpacking was pointless for now. They needed to get to the meeting fast! Running their hearts out, Hiccup and Astrid struggled to get their. With Hiccup's leg-even though it was better than ever- and Astrid-well, you'll find out later, they were five minutes late.

Practically bursting through the large double-doors, Hiccup said, "Sorry to be late but I'm here now!"

He was met with jaws dropping.

Five minutes earlier…

"When are the Berkians going to be here? If they don't show up soon they'll miss why I called you here." Chief Mogadon of the Meathead clan asked.

"I wouldn't worry about it. My brother has the tendency to get himself into little problems like this. He'll be here." Dagur said.

"Broth-"

"Don't ask." Heather interrupted the chief's question.

"Is it true what they say?" Chief Bertha asked. "That the new chief trained a Night Fury, killed a dragon as big as a mountain and lost his foot?"

"I hear it was the whole half of his body." Said Camacazi.

"And that he defeated a dragon army with nothing but a hatchling?"

"Don't forget about how he popped the head off a dragon as a baby…"

"You've got it mixed up, that was his father."

"Son of Stoick the Vast…"

Heather and Dagur were bombarded. Eventually, Dagur shouted out, "Hey!" The room grew quiet and everyone looked at him. "I'm sure whatever questions you have he'll answer, but only after we get this meeting over with." The other chief's mouths gaped. They had never heard Dagur be political before. Dagur looked confused. "What? Did I say something?"

Heather smiled and nodded her head. "Again, don't ask."

"To be honest," Thuggory, the heir to the meathead tribe said, "I'm intimidated by him." Dagur and Heather almost burst out laughing, stifling their giggles. "What's so funny?" Thuggery asked.

"Well," Dagur started, "he's not named Hiccup for nothing."

Suddenly, the doors burst open. "Sorry to be late but I'm here now!"

Everybody's jaws dropped. Or, at least, everybody minute Heather and Dagur.

Hiccup walked over to his seat and sat down, Astrid seating herself next to him. While they were walking, the room's eyes followed the two. Eventually, Hiccup wondered what was going on. "Why is everybody staring at me? Did we already begin?" he asked.

After a long minute of nothing, Camacazi shouted, "This is him? No way, it can't be?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Hiccup.

"You're the dragon controller? The guy who-"

"Camicazi, shush!" Her mother said.

Hiccup should have seen it coming. Frankly though, he kind of expected it. "I prefer the term dragon trainer," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Besides, that's not what we're here to talk about. We should get started on the meeting, which I'm assuming hasn't started yet."

"Actually, Chief Hiccup, that is what we're here to talk about." Thuggory said. Everyone looked at him, surprised. Hiccup was now on-edge. He was afraid of this, the other tribes getting too curious about the dragons.

"Dragons?"

"Yes."

"But, why? They haven't been a problem have the-"

"Oh no, chief Haddock, I can assure you that they have been quite civil since-well, we're not sure exactly why. I've called this meeting because we need to know. What ended the 300-year war between the dragons and vikings? This changes all of history, and we, as leaders, need to know what to do about it."

Hiccup took a deep breath in. "Oh boy this is a long story," He muttered. "In what way would you like to be informed?"

"What do you mean by that?" Thuggory asked.

"Well, there's the verbal way," he looked toward Astrid, a lopsided smile on his face, "then there's the demonstrative way."

"Let me show you," Astrid quoted him, speaking in a voice only he could hear.

"My favorite," He chuckled.

Everybody was gathered by the docks, watching Hiccup and Astrid get onto the boat.

"What are we doing here again?" Camacazi asked.

"You'll see," Heather replied. "Believe me, you won't be dissatisfied." She and her brother gave each other an all-too-familiar smile.

Hiccup opened a latch that allowed him to go below-deck, and when he exited, what followed him caused the other chiefs to "soil their britches," as Eret would put it.

"Well guys," Hiccup began, gesturing to the Night Fury nudging him happily, "meet Toothless.