Screaming, that was all that could be heard that night. The screams of innocent people who had done nothing wrong but were still being punished, punished for a something that was seen as a crime in the eyes of their killers: living on Berk and being loyal to Chief Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and his wife Merida.
The air was thick with the scent of smoke and blood, ear shattering cries of children crying out for their parents who they would never see again, not in this world anyway. Two maidens were running through the burning village, holding small bundles wrapped in thick blankets against their chests. Small whimpers could be heard coming from the bundles while the maidens tried to avoid the flaming debris that was coming down all around them. Occasionally the sound of a dragon's roar could be heard along with the cries of Berk's people.
"Do you think they'll be there?" One of the maidens asked in a soft voice as she tried to calm her terrified child.
"They have to be, I don't know what to if they're not." The other replied with a thick Scottish accent as she to cried to calm her terrified offspring. Suddenly an arrow came rushing towards the maidens and hit the side of a building, an inch from one of the children's head. They wasted no time looking to the shooter and ran faster towards their destination.
After what seemed like an eternity of running the two arrived at the docks where the few survivors of the attack were kicking and fighting to get on the boats that they hoped would save them from this nightmare that looked like it would never end. The two maidens stopped and looked around in the hope of seeing even a glimpse of their husbands. A strong looking woman with a thick braid of blonde hair came over to the maiden and embraced them.
"I was about to go and look for you, are you okay ?" She asked as she looked down at the bundles in her friend's arms. She smiled when she saw that two children were unharmed, they were clearly scared but they were unharmed.
"We're all fine, where is Hiccup Astrid?" The red haired maiden asked as she looked at her friend with pleading eyes.
"And Jack?" The blonde maiden asked as she held her child closer to her chest. Her usually bright and cheerful green eyes that would lift the spirits of whoever looked into them were now full of fear and sparkled with the tears she was afraid would flow out at any moment.
"Jack is at the dock trying to stop people from killing each other in an attempt to get on the boats and Hiccup is flying with Toothless, he said he had a plan and he had to get something, but he never said what." Astrid replied before she took the blonde maiden's hand. "I'll take you to Jack, hold on to me I don't want to lose you both in the crowd." The maiden nodded and tightened her grip on her friend's hand and her child.
The three women ran through the crowd of screaming people fighting to get away from the flaming island. When they arrived at the far end of the docks they saw a man with white hair and pale skin trying to get people safely on the boats that would take them away to the mainland where they hoped they would be safe.
"Jack." The blonde maiden cried out in relief as she let go of Astrid's hand and ran towards him.
"Rapunzel." He cried out when he saw her running towards him, the frightened people were forgotten as he embraced his wife and child.
"Thank goodness you're safe I was so afraid I had lost you." Rapunzel cried she buried her head in his shoulder, letting her tears flow free.
"You should know by now Punzie, I don't go down without a fight. Besides someone has to make sure this little one doesn't get her heart broken by some idiot who doesn't deserve her." Jack said with a smile as he took her daughter from her mother and held her close. He removed the blanket covering her face and he breathed a sigh of relief when she smiled at her father. She had snow white hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was her father's daughter.
"I hate to interrupt but do you have any idea where my husband is Frost?" The second maiden asked.
"Merida I'm sorry but I don't know. Are you and Mary Katherine okay?" Jack asked.
"The lass and I are fine but she needs her father." Merida replied as she looked to the sky in the hope of see anything that even remotely resembled the ebony dragon her husband was famous for flying.
"I don't know what got into him." Jack began to explain. "I mean one minute he's trying to stop two guys from killing each other and the next he looks like he's totally blanked out. When I finally snapped him out of it he said he had to go get something, he just hopped on Toothless and flew off." Jack explained to his troubled friend as he handed his daughter back to her mother before coming over and embracing Merida.
She immediately burst into tears, something Jack had only seen once in the many years he had know Merida since his and Rapunzel's arrival to Berk, and those had been tears of joy at the birth of her's and Hiccup's daughter, Mary Katherine Haddock, which had only been six months ago. Not long after the birth of his own daughter, Elsa Frost.
"What are we going to do now?" Rapunzel asked, as she put her hand on her husband's shoulder.
Jack just sighed and looked away from her and focused his attention on the burning village on top of the cliff. It was no use. Their attackers had caught them by surprise and attacked in the middle of the night when they were at their most vulnerable. Whoever they were they had planned this ambush perfectly, the Vikings who usually took guard at night were found at their posts with their throats slashed. They would have been dead before they even knew to raise the alarm. The dragons were dealt with next, their wings and tails were slashed to pieces making them easy targets. He could still hear the cries of his dragon, a Frost Snapper it was a new breed that had been discovered three years ago. He had named it Guardian, a fitting title after he had defended Rapunzel against a rogue Deadly Natter had tried to attacked her. After that he had been welcomed into the Frost family with open arms and now he was gone.
When Berk embraced the dragons and accepted them into their lives, the Vikings had abandoned traditional weapons and used to strength of the dragons to fight their battles. With their dragons gone many of the Vikings didn't stand a chance. Those who escaped the fires the invaders lite were either killed in the streets, on one of the boats that would take them to the mainland or they had been killed by their fellow Vikings who had gone mad with the fear that they would not live to see the sunrise. The battle was over before it had even began, Berk was lost before it's people even had a chance to fight for it. The invaders had crept into every corner of the land and had taken it from them. Now Vikings who were once thought be fearless, who were believed to laugh in the face of death, were killing each other to get on some old boats that may not even make it out of the docks.
Jack had seen battle many times in his live, more than a man his age should have seen but never in his life had he seen people so overcome with fear that they were willing to kill their own without a second thought if it meant their own survival in such a short space of time.
"Hiccup." A voice cried out, bringing Jack back into the present. He looked up and saw Toothless land next to him. On his back was Hiccup and Tara, a kind hearted, dark skinned woman who came to Berk from a small village on the mainland called Moonhaven five years ago.
"I'm so glad you're okay." Hiccup said as he embraced Merida and their child.
"Tara it's good to see you're unharmed." Rapunzel said happy as she embraced her friend.
"Thank you, I don't know what I would have done if Hiccup hadn't showed up when he did. I was afraid that I was the only one left I couldn't find anyone else." She explained with a grim look on her usually happy face.
"I'll ask again what are we going to do?" Rapunzel asked as she tried to calm Elsa who was crying even more at that point.
"There's nothing we can do you all have to leave now." Hiccup answered, ignoring the looks he was getting from his friends.
"Are you crazy?. Berk is my home to I will stay and fight till my last breath to defend it." Astrid yelled at him.
"I won't leave you. " Merida cried over the sounds of Berk being destroyed.
"Neither will we." Jack and Rapunzel said together.
"Listen to me all of you, the remaining dragons and their riders are heading north. If we have any hope of taking Berk back we have to regroup." He turned to face Astrid. " Is Storm Fly still with us?" He asked with a serious look on his face.
"Yes she's over there." Astrid replied as she pointed to her left where her dragon was coming in for a landing. Even from this distance Hiccup could see she had blood on her teeth, the blood of one of their invaders.
"I want you to take Jack and his family and follow my mother and the rest of the riders north. I know storm fly can take the extra weight, go now while you still can." He told her.
Everyone expected her to put up a fight but she knew from the look on his face that there was no arguing with him. He had changed from that weak, useless boy who everyone was sure would be killed his first day of training to a strong chief who was asking her to retreat from a fight, that she knew in her heart was lost. She had no choice.
Astrid nodded and put two fingers in her mouth, whistling for Storm Fly to come to her. The dragon ran over to her. She let the Frost family climb on her back before Astrid climbed and jack looked at him, their eyes begging him to let them stay and help him. He smiled at his friends.
"Do it for Elsa." He said simply. The couple said nothing and simply nodded. They would tell him to do the same thing.
"Get them out of here." Hiccup told her.
"I will, oh and Hiccup if you die I'm going to kill you." She said before flying away, leaving Hiccup, Merida, Tara and a crying Mary Katherine on the docks.
Merida looked down at her child and then at the last boat that was getting ready to leave. She looked back down at her baby. She had her red hair and her father's green eyes. This little bundle in her arms was her whole world and the thought of losing her was unthinkable, but she knew there was no other way. She took a deep breath and looked at Tara.
"Tara listen to me, I want you to take Mary Katherine to the mainland. Take her to your old home and keep her there, don't tell anyone who she is and keep her safe until we can come back for her." Merida told her as she placed her precious child in Tara's arms.
"What are you doing?. This is not what I had in mind." Hiccup told her as he grabbed her shoulders.
"I may not know exactly what you had in mind but I know it involved me leaving you and I won't do that not after we fought so hard to be together in the first place." Merida removed herself from his hold and took her bracelet off, she handed it to Tara who understood what she was telling her without saying anything.
Hiccup had made her that bracelet when he proposed to her, knowing she would like it more than a ring. On the inside he engraved something in Gaelic so she could read it. It said "No matter how far the distance or how long the night, to you I promises I will always return from the fight". Merida was telling her that she had no idea if they would ever be together again so she wanted her daughter to have something of her.
"We love you and we promise that one day we'll be together again. You are the hope of Berk and as long as you live there will always be hope for our home. I love you so much and I know you will make me proud." Merida whispered to her daughter as she kissed her goodbye.
Merida looked at her husband who looked like he wanted to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. Merida placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him gently on the lips. When they pulled apart they put their foreheads together and closed their eyes.
"This is the only way, we'll be together again someday. Now say goodbye it's not going to be forever." Merida assured him with a small smile. Hiccup nodded and went over to Toothless and took something out of his saddlebag. It was wrapped in cloth. When Toothless saw it he let out a sound of protest. Hiccup knelt down to look his best friend's in the eye. In those he could see the same pain that Hiccup was feeling. Hiccup smiled at him.
"This way she won't be alone and it won't be forever. I know you've already lost a lot and I have no right to ask this but please for my daughter." Hiccup pleaded with his friend. Toothless looked at him and then back at the object in his hand, he then looked at Tara who was focusing on the baby in her arms. The dragon looked back at the Viking who had been his friend for so long. Whom he had grown up with, the Viking who had fixed his tale, gave him a home and had helped him become an Alpha dragon. He was asking him to do something almost impossible but Toothless understood Hiccup was doing the same thing. The Night fury nodded his head and moved away from Hiccup, showing him he understood.
"Thanks bud." Hiccup whispered before getting handed the package to Tara who held it with just as much care as she with his daughter. Hiccup looked at his daughter and smiled, she looked so much like her mother.
"Now listen you, behave for Tara and I promise the three of us will be together again. I don't know when but I promise we will. I love you so much." Hiccup kissed his daughter goodbye before looking at Tara.
"I'll protect her with my life." Tara assured them.
"No one can know who she is we don't know where the invaders came from you must be careful with who you trust." Hiccup told her. Tara nodded.
Suddenly, a flaming cannonball hit the docks and the impact almost sent them into the water. When they got to their feet hiccup and Merida rushed Tara to the boat that was about to leave. When she and their child were safety on board, the couple took one last look at their child, not knowing how long it would be before they saw her again. As the boat pulled away from the dock the parents listened to the cries of their daughter as she was being taken away from them. They ran back to Toothless and climbed on flying away from their home and their child. They quality told themselves that it wasn't forever. This was what their heart said but their heads said otherwise.
As the last boat of survivors floated farther and farther away from Berk Tara held the child in her arms tighter. Berk had fallen, this was true but as long as this child in her arms lived then there was hope. This child was the daughter of the first dragon trainer and a brave princess who went against everything she was taught to get her freedom. They were great chiefs and as long as their daughter lived then there was hope.
Berk had fallen but it would rise again.