Two: Love

The Funeral was held the next day, an old fishing boat repurposed for the traditional Viking burial that a beloved Chieftess deserved. Fishlegs had suggested that Astrid should be buried in her dragonscale armour but Hiccup had vetoed that, partly because he knew that Astrid's body would already be setting stiff in rigor mortis, making the task of inserting her into the form-fitting armour all but impossible-and for the more practical reason that it was completely fireproof so it would be impervious to her pyre. In the end, she was buried in her wedding dress and Chieftess's white fur cloak, her long golden hair brushed out over her shoulders and hands clasping her axe to her body. Hiccup unashamedly kept the necklace he gave her on their Betrothal so he could gift it to his son for his Betrothed. A simple necklace with three blue Nadder scales was placed round Astrid's neck and she looked at peace.

The entire village collected down at Bucket's Beach, the widest inlet on the island where the funeral was to take place. The wide inlet opened towards the west, cascades of water falling at the extremes of the bay. They waited until the sun was setting before they pushed the boat out.

"I still can't believe it," Snotlout sighed. "I mean-she was the fittest and strongest of us all. I always thought that Tuff would be the first to die...probably by doing something immensely stupid."

"Me too," Tuff said. "I mean she survived everything. She was the best warrior."

"And she died in bed, not on the battlefield," Ruff reminded him. "It was a battle that she won to bring little Astrid into this world. She fought to the end." Fishlegs took her hand.

"She deserves Valhalla and the funeral of a Chief," he added as Hiccup walked forward, his children flanking him with Nuffink carrying little Astrid in his arms. The Chief looked as if he hadn't slept, his face gaunt and the life drained from his eyes. But his head was up and his shoulders back, every inch the son of the line of Chiefs of Berk. The flames were dancing from the fire-basket and the arrows were waiting as Hiccup stared at the receding ship and took a breath.

"May the Valkyries welcome you and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your name with love and fury, so that we might hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla and know that you've taken your rightful place at the table of Chiefs. For a great woman has fallen: A warrior. A chieftess. A Dragon Rider. A mother. A wife. A friend". His voice wavered but he dipped an arrow in the flames and handed it to Zephyr then lit another. Nuffink handed the sleeping baby Astrid to Gudrun and then grabbed his own smaller bow and accepted the flaming arrow before the Chief nocked his own flaming arrow. Then in one swift motion, he aimed and fired the arrow, It soared through the air and landed perfectly at Astrid's feet, lighting the pyre immediately. The children fired and both arrows made the ship. Then the former Riders and Elders added to the hail of flaming arrows that ignited the ship. The breeze caught the ship and it receded quickly, the flames burning bright against the afterglow. Hiccup pulled his children against him and stared out, seeing the sky darken and listening.

And he hoped it wasn't his imagination that caught the edge of a roar-and a Nadder screech-and saw the purple flash and magnesium flare of dragon fire, honouring a former rider finally coming home. And as the villagers slipped away, he remained standing with his friends and his children, the baby cuddled in his arms as the flames began to die down amid the falling night.

"I will look after her, Milady," he murmured. "There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid. Always."

oOo

Little Astrid grew a healthy and stubborn child, relentlessly curious and determined to keep up with her older siblings. Zephyr and Nuffink adored her, helping their father care for their littlest family member and making sure she never felt alone or a burden. She was taught the axe by Zephyr, the bow by Nuffink and her father taught her how to swing a sword, for he was acknowledged as the finest swordsman in the Tribe. But to the little girl, he was Dad, funny, goofy Dad who was there every bedtime and never missed story time either. A source of endless rides and hugs and smiles and above all, love. His friends helped with his duties to allow Hiccup to spend time with his last child and as she grew, the resemblance to Astrid grew more achingly close by the day.

So he told her about her mother, about the girl she had been and the woman she had become. How Astrid had been a fighter, been the best student in Dragon training, how she hadn't been unkind to young Hiccup but hadn't really liked him either...until she discovered he had trained a dragon. And then how she became his friend, the person who stood by him, his impetus. And later, his girlfriend, lieutenant, counsellor, confidante and lover. How she had helped him be Hiccup, how she had given him the confidence to go on without Toothless, how she had helped him through losing a leg, his father, his home and his best friend. And how her Mom had fought to give little Astrid life and had charged Hiccup with her precious final child.

Astrid-who liked being called 'Asti'-loved the stories about dragons, about Berk's history and especially the bits her father and his friends had been involved in. She mixed with the other village kids, learned her runes and sagas with Archivist Fishlegs and helped out in the village with the other wee ones. She was aware there were eyes on her, that in some way people watched out for her. Everyone knew her older sister Zeph was the Heir, training to be the next Chief after Dad-though he was fit and strong and showed no signs of relinquishing his duty yet.

His friends, though, saw the change. Hiccup had lost that shine, the smile that was so ready and the sass was more sarcastic that playful. His emerald eyes were often guarded, and thoughtful, lacking the hope and optimism that had characterised his early years as Chief. His friends from Berserker Island, Heather, Mala and Dagur, had visited when they heard of Astrid's death and intermittently afterwards, doing their best to support their friend, but they had realised that there was nothing that they could do to get their friend back. The Hiccup they had known had died with Astrid and though the widower showed flashes of the man they had loved, there was a part of Hiccup that was forever closed off.

When Asti was six, he had sat down with his friends and explained that he would like to make one last journey to the Hidden World with his youngest child. He wanted to see Toothless one last time. Snotlout volunteered to mind the Tribe while the family was away and the Chief gave his children the choice...but both Zeph and Fink immediately said they would come, both to help their father with Asti and in memory of that fantastic trip they had made with their mother when they were small.

Bouncing with excitement, Asti had wanted to sleep on the ship the night before they sailed but Hiccup had laughed and commented slyly that someone else had wanted to do the exact same thing, causing Zephyr to blush. This time, Hiccup had let Fink do much of the sailing, guiding his son where necessary-but already proud of his son's seamanship. Hiccup had been able to explore the world on the back of a dragon and had flown to distant lands and far-flung islands-and though he was still an explorer at heart, his destiny was tied to New Berk and his wandering days were over. He knew that his son was infected with the same desire to explore the world-but he would have no dragon, just a ship and the currents and the stars to sail her by. So he had equipped his children with the skills they needed-Zephyr as an Heir and Nuffink as an engineer and an explorer. All had been taught to fight, to listen and to know their history and culture.

But his heart was pounding in his chest as they slowed approaching the shallows at the waterfall, the billowing aerosol of falling water rising like white smoke around the sheer drop. Fink lowered the anchor as Hiccup had done himself when they had last visited and the Chief leaned forward at the prow, peering at the rocks beyond the watery haze, hoping against hope that he would see the shape he prayed would be waiting. He knew he was a little skinnier, his face a little more haunted and his beard now had a few grey hairs mixed in. But when a black head popped up, he felt his hopes rise.

The black dragon flapped forward, landing on the prow but this time, he gave a warble of greeting and knocked Hiccup to the deck, crooning happily and licking him urgently. "It's okay," Zephyr reassured Asti, who was hiding behind her legs. "He's not going to eat Dad. That's Toothless."

"Dad's dragon?" the little girl asked, turning her big blue eyes up to meet her sister's matching gaze. Zeph nodded, her auburn braid bouncing as she did so.

"He made friends with Dad when he was younger than Fink-and they haven't seen each over for over a decade...but I think he wanted you to see the dragons. And maybe tell them about Mom." Asti nodded, hearing the catch. She had never known her mother and had long realised that her dead mother was a role model she would never live up to-but her father never put any pressure on her. He was just her Dad, always listening, sometimes talking and forever reminding her that she wasn't her Mom and she just had to be herself. And that he loved her.

The older children watched as she was introduced to Toothless and felt the King of Dragons press his snout into her soft palm. She had giggled-and then flung herself forward and hugged the dragon, taking him by surprise and earning herself an approving warble. The Light Fury and their hybrid offspring-that Hiccup had referred to as Night Lights-all emerged, as did the blue shape of a Nadder, her keen eyes searching for the shape that was missing. Slowly, Hiccup walked forward to the Nadder and gently stroked her face, his hand trailing over her nose horn.

"I'm sorry, girl," he said in a broken voice. "She isn't coming. She's gone." Stormfly gave a distressed squawk and the little girl ran forward, pressing her hands onto the snout.

"It's okay-Mom still loves you," she said gently. "And she always will. Thank you, Stormfly. Thanks for letting me see you. You were Mom's special girl." And then she took Hiccup's hand. The Nadder gave a desperate squawk and arrowed up into the sky, flipping round and stealing one last glance at the little family before diving into the mists, never to be seen by Hiccup again. Quietly, he pulled the girl into his arms, hugging her and hiding his face as he composed himself. Toothless walked cautiously forward and nudged against his hip, earning himself a chuckle.

"Thanks, bud," he mumbled. "Now...shall we check that tail..and then maybe let little Astrid feel what it is like to fly?"

Fink paid close attention to the mechanical tail, having already seen the blueprints that Hiccup had preserved as precious relics amid the dragonscale uniforms the Riders had worn, the various artefacts and the odd dragon scales and spines in the Berk Museum. One day, he may be needed to service the tail, for no one knew how long dragons lived and Toothless could outlast them all. And the last Night Fury had willingly obliged, allowing his Rider to sit aboard with his youngest while the Night Lights allowed Zephyr and Fink to fly them. And for hours, they had been treated to the thrills of being dragon riders one last time.

But too soon, it was over and with tears and heartfelt words, Hiccup had parted from his dragon once more, his expression more broken than ever. Toothless had watched from the rocks amid the mist as the boat weighed anchor and tacked away to the east while Hiccup sat in the stern, staring back at the mists of the Hidden World until it faded from view, a handful of Toothless's scales that he had shed grasped in his hand. Asti sat in his lap, eventually falling asleep and he cradled her as they sailed back towards home. His older children watched him carefully, taking him food and water and realising he had just said another final goodbye.

"I needed to see him once more," he said quietly, seeing his older children inspecting him worriedly. "When he left, Astrid-your Mom-was the-the only reason I coped. She was always there for me. Now she is gone-and I-I needed to see him. To let Stormfly know...and check he was safe and happy." He forced a small smile on his face and beckoned them to come close. "One day you will understand-but don't worry. In a few hours, I'll be back to normal again and…"

"Dad-you haven't been normal since Mom died," Zephyr told him honestly. "You work hard and you smile but we can tell...you aren't happy. You're a great Chief and an even greater Dad but we don't know what to do." Looking up at his firstborn, the child Astrid had cradled with such pride and happiness, he gave a melancholy smile.

"Be yourselves," he said gently. "Be the best you can be. Make me-and your Mom-proud. I am sorry she isn't here and I will try to make sure you never miss out but…" Suddenly Zeph was crouching by him, her hands locked on his.

"Dad-you don't need to worry," she assured him. "We know. And Aunt Ruffnut and Aunt Helga and Uncle Tuffnut make sure we don't ever miss out."

"Though I would prefer if you missed out on some of Uncle Tuffnut's wilder ideas," he sighed. "I mean the sheep and yak stampede was not really what I would hope my heir would be doing…"

"He said you would be doing exactly the same thing at our age," Fink pointed out.

"Actually, at your age, I spent a lot of my time chasing Uncle Tuff and Aunt Ruff around trying to stop them destroying the village-along with my Dad," Hiccup told him with a smile as Asti opened her eyes and smiled.

"I bet Mom would have kicked their asses," she murmured.

"That she would," Hiccup sighed and then he smiled nostalgically. "Admittedly, she was the most competitive person I ever knew. Everything was a competition with her! She was my right hand woman and I could always rely on her to keep the others in order. But she had a sense of fun as well and I remember when Ruff and Tuff were making an absolute pest of themselves on Loki Day, she finally got revenge."

"How?" Nuffink asked from the rudder, where he was steering. His growth spurt was setting in and he was starting to catch his sister up. His blonde hair was scruffy around his shoulders with a couple of small braids in and his bright green eyes mirrored his father's.

"She got Stormfly to relocate their entire hut to a small sea stack two miles off the Edge," he told them with a small smile. "I still remember her returning, her cheeks flushed with cold and her eyes sparkling with her triumph. Gods, she was beautiful. And I spent the time wondering how on Midgard I had managed to have such an amazing woman as my best human friend." Zeph reached over and gave him an awkward hug.

"You have us, Dad," she reminded him. "We'll always be here." And he smiled then.

"I know I am the luckiest man in New Berk," he said quietly, hugging her back. "I have my kids and my Tribe and I know I will never be alone."

oOo

Time passed and Asti grew. She was slender but strong, determined to be as good with an axe as her mother and as smart as both her parents. She studied military tactics and history, the stories of her parents' dragons and the official sagas. Physically, she resembled her mother with her sun-gold hair in a thick braid at the back of her head and bright blue eyes in a beautiful face. Her walk was confident and lithe and sometimes, Hiccup had to catch himself from calling out as if she was his dead wife as he remembered her as a girl.

Zephyr turned twenty and suddenly, all the neighbouring tribes started sending their scions and younger sons as potential suitors for the beautiful Heir to Berk. Asti perfected her stealth abilities and concentrated on eavesdropping the visitors to try to work out what kind of people the possible suitors and their retinues actually were away from the facades they erected in Hiccup and Zephyr's presences. More than once, she had reported that an apparently kind and pleasant young man was in fact a ruthless man who wanted to rule Berk as his own and Hiccup had stood by his Heir when she had rejected the suit, using his diplomatic skills to the utmost to prevent offence as he explained that he would never enforce a marriage upon his daughter, allowing her to choose the person she loved, just as he had chosen the only woman he could love. If the disappointed Vikings thought him unusual, they didn't voice their complaints to the powerful and respected Chief of New Berk.

But along with the suitors for Zephyr, there were an equal number of eligible young women seeking not only the hand of the son of the Chief-but the hand of Hiccup Haddock, the widowed Chief of Berk. When the first offers had come in, shortly after Astrid's death, Hiccup hadn't even replied, tearing the letters apart and dumping them in the fire. But as the years passed, the offers got more persistent-always young, blonde daughters who were vying to be the new Chieftess of Berk. But when ships arrived from allied or friendly Tribes, bearing the Chief and a plethora of eligible and attractive young women, Hiccup had to force himself to be civil and had smiled fixedly. Especially when the young women tried clearly practised techniques to entice his attention.

Fortunately, his friends or his children would usually warn the young women off, especially when one or two would try the direct approach, walking up to the tall, lean shape of the Chief in his brown leather tunic and epaulettes, his bear-fur cloak and with the unique metal prosthetic leg. More than once, Hiccup had shied back as a bold blonde had tried to take his hand and bat her big blue eyes at him-but he had no interest in any of the potential suitors. None of them were Astrid and though they were pretty, he didn't want any part of them.

Asti watched him and had intervened when a slender, very bold young woman from the Sun Tribe had come up to him and taken his hands. Shocked, he had struggled to find what to say, trying to untwine his hands from hers without shoving her away. Her figure-move curvaceous than Astrid's but a little less lithe-was sheathed in a shimmering pale blue gown. She tossed her long blonde hair and looked into his emerald eyes.

"You must be so lonely without a wife," she told him sensuously. He shook his head.

"I am perfectly content," he said tightly.

"But you are a handsome man, Chief Hiccup," she persisted, ignoring his disinterest. "I am young and healthy and I could make you very happy." He jerked his hands free, backing away and his emerald eyes hardened,

"That I doubt, Grethe Magnedottir," he said in a cold voice. "My heart belongs to my wife and I don't need another. I am sorry you have wasted your time and energies. Please return to your father, young lady-this discussion is over." And he turned away-to see the surprised shape of Asti. Immediately, he offered her his hand and and she took it, feeling him almost trembling as they walked away. Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, she saw the blonde girl, Grethe, scowling at him, a look of angry disappointment marring her pretty features.

"Are you going to get us a new Mommy?" she asked him softly as they reached his chair and he lifted her into his lap as he slid into the seat. She squirmed round to look into his familiar face and saw real sadness in his bright green eyes.

"No," he said, recalling a similar conversation from when he was a small boy of five, stumbling down late at night to find his own father, crying quietly by the fire as he recalled his lost soul-mate. "Your Mom was the one for me. She was perfect, my soul male, the love of my life. And there will never be another woman for me. I loved her completely." Not wholly understanding, she reached up and rested her hand against his cheek, feeling him press very slightly into her small hand. The neatly-trimmed beard was starting to grey and Hiccup had silver hairs at his temples but he was still her Dad.

"You really loved Mom, didn't you?" she said and he nodded, his eyes sad as he wound an arm around her.

"Love is the greatest thing there is, Asti," he told her gently. "The rewards are...oh more than you can possibly imagine. And I know that I will only ever love your Mom like that. Trying to recapture what we had...wouldn't be the same. It would feel like betraying her and everything we had. I couldn't even imagine trying with someone else, to be honest. So the flipside of that is that if you love someone, it involves loss. And the terrible pain of that loss is balanced with the absolute joy of the love you shared." And he looked gently into her bright blue eyes. "And it is always worth it, Asti. If you find the person you love, tell them and never be afraid to risk your heart-because there is nothing greater than love."

"And that is why you never even look at any of those girls," she realised, changing her position to look over at the visitors, who were talking angrily among themselves and glaring over at him. The rejected Grethe was haranguing her father, the Chief and as they watched, she stamped her foot.

"Well, she's got a temper," Hiccup commented dryly. "At least she's got that bit right. But trying to replace Astrid will never work. Maybe if they had considered someone who could be a companion, a supporter, a different template...but instead, all they ever do is attempt to present a poor facsimile of your Mom." He sighed and hugged her. "You are the only blonde young lady I need in my life." She hugged him back.

"Hey Sneaky," Zephyr said, walking up. Elegant in a long moss green gown with a gold-embossed leather belt around her slender waist and an amber necklace, her dark auburn hair draped over her shoulder in a braid very much how her mother had worn her hair, she looked every inch the Heir but she winked at her sister and bowed her head to her father. "I see the Sun Tribe failed to get you interested in Grethe the 'next week I'll be Chieftess of Berk'."

"A reason, if no other, not to marry someone," Hiccup commented sarcastically. "Think of the poor engravers trying to fit that on the ceremonial goblet!" The Heir covered her mouth with her hand to try to smother her laughter and then she winked at her smaller sister.

"Any news, Sneaky?" The name was affectionate, for Asti had perfected her stealth skills a while before and she nodded.

"The dark haired one-Geir-is mean to everyone and pretty horrible to his brothers," she reported. "Thorbjorn, the middle brother-the fat one with the brown hair and the really bad orange tunic-loves himself. He's already boasting he's won you, even though you stamped on his foot and told him he was a noxious son of a boar. The youngest one with the light brown hair is the nicest-he helped the servants when Geir hit them and he helped old Mrs Larson when she dropped her bread in the Plaza as they were jostling people aside."

"No," Hiccup growled. "I am not having them behaving like that on New Berk."

"Actually, Sverre is a nice guy," Zephyr said, her blue eyes thoughtful.

"The youngest son?" Asti checked, hearing a different intonation in her sister's voice. The auburn-haired girl nodded.

"While the older two have been showing off, he's been making a few asides that sound just like Dad," she commented. "He's not being offered up-he's only here to support the other two. He's not even here…" She gestured and Hiccup scanned the room, noting the absent shape of the youngest son. It could be that he was already Betrothed-though that seemed unlikely, since he couldn't see Magne, the pompous Chief of the Sun Tribe, allowing the youngest son to become Betrothed before his Heir. And then he looked up.

"You look a little flushed, Zeph," he said thoughtfully. "I think you need to go and get some fresh air." Her blue eyes widened and then she leaned forward, pecking a kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks, Dad," she said, gathering her skirts and trotting from the Great Hall before anyone else could intercept her. Watching her go, a small smile lifted his lips.

"She likes him," Asti added as he nodded.

"I think so," he murmured. "I recognise the look-from a long time ago." He sighed. "It was the look I had for your mother." Asti leaned against his chest.

"Don't worry, Dad," she said. "I'll do everything I can to keep those girls away from you." He winked and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Thanks, Asti," he sighed. "What would I do without you?"