Preface
Astrid pushed her way through the crowd. It wasn't difficult. Everyone seemed rooted to the spot. Quiet, and still in a way that Vikings never were. She had felt the heat of the explosion on her face, seen him fall into the flames, and then nothing. She had screamed his name, her vocal chords burning from the smoke, but the sound of her voice was drowned by the rest of the chaos. He couldn't be dead. He was Hiccup, and that was reason enough.
She fumbled past Gobber and came to a halt. She saw Stoick now, his head bowed, kneeling by Toothless, who lay motionless on the ground. Bits of burnt ash fell down on them like snow. Astrid felt her heart descend into her stomach and her knees nearly buckled. Hiccups face flickered behind her eyelids, accompanied by words she would never get to say.
And then it happened. Toothless stirred and retracted his wings to reveal a boy, stored gently beneath his paws. The shock of it hit her like a lightning bolt. She could see Stoick cradling him now, listening carefully for a heartbeat and then—"HE'S ALIVE!"
It was as though a veil had been lifted from the onlookers. Astrid's eyes stung with relief as the other Vikings cheered and clapped each other on the back. But something was still not quite right, as Stoic's expression remained to be one of urgency.
Turning to face them, Stoick's eyes scanned the crowd until they fell upon Astrid. He gestured for her to come forward, Hiccup still in his arms. Confused and grateful, Astrid closed the gap between them, adrenaline coursing through her body.
For the umpteenth time that day, her heart seized in her chest. Hiccup's leg was gone. A clean cut below the knee. By the looks of it, it had been partially cauterized from the flames, but blood continued to spread into the fabric of his trousers. Gobber was working away, wrapping the leg with bits of cloth to fashion a makeshift tourniquet.
"What can I do?" said Astrid, trying to keep her voice steady.
"I need you to fly him back to Berk on your dragon." replied Stoick, "You're the best rider for the job and he needs Gothi now. I fear the ships will take too long."
She knew what he meant. He was alive for now but they weren't out of the water yet. Astrid could feel her focus and determination returning. Thor knew she wouldn't let Hiccup bleed to death on her watch.
"You got it, Chief," she said, with a resolution that she hoped inspired confidence.
Toothless let out a coo of despair and fluttered his wings as though to say he was up for the job as well.
"You're hurt too, Toothless," said Astrid quietly, placing her hand on his nose. "You need to rest." Toothless wailed in protest and nudged Hiccup's cheek as though requesting backup for this particular argument.
"I'll take good care of him," said Astrid, stroking Toothless' back. "I promise, Stormfly and I have got this."
"You saved him Toothless," said Stoic, with a kind of gentleness that Astrid had rarely seen from the chief—so much so that Toothless submitted with a slight bow of his head before licking Hiccups face.
Stoick looked at Astrid with such intent that she resisted the urge to look away. "We'll be right behind you. We should be back by sunrise. Take care of my son, Astrid."
"I will, Chief," she replied, knowing that she would sooner die than let anything happen to the boy that had risked his life for all of them.