Yeah, so they're siblings in this universe! I really liked the possibility of Heather being Hiccup's brother raised in the series, but she turned out Daggur's... I understand they didn't want to change that because it could mess up the time line of the movies, but it would be so nice! And I always thought both were really alike: similar eye color, both are the few characters that wear long sleeves and both are really smart (plus, that axe of hers seems like something Hiccup would come up with).

Thanks everyone who read and reviewed so far! Now for the replies:

CB73: Yeah, that's who she is! hehehe. I've always wanted to play with the idea since the show hinted it, so I did it here! And, wow, you always amaze me wth your poetic reviews! Thanks so much! And for your question, what I'm waiting for? Well, I need to edit the chaps and it'd be great to get some more reviews in the meantime... hehehe

Silvede: Yeah, right? It's something rare to see, so I thought it'd be an interesting and different twist on the story. I hope you'll like it, but I can't tell you spoilers...

Hiccstrid: Thank you so much! I'm really happy you liked this little twist! And for the answers of your questions, well, I if told you, I'd spoil this chap, so I guess it'd be better for you to read it instead... Anyway, thanks so much and I'm rreally trying to make it very different from my first AU story, so it means a lot to have someone saying it really is different! :D

HTTYDfang1rl: Thanks for making me laugh with that long "moooooore"! :D

Also thanks to the guest reviewers, and congratulations for guessing it right!

Now, enjoy the chap!


Shadow and Silver

Chapter 4

A week has passed and now Hiccup was feeling completely healed. And as he exited the cave in the morning, he found Valka and Heather taking care of his little plantation.

"Good morning." He greeted them. Toothless followed him. "You guys really didn't need to help me that much, you know. I told you last night I was feeling better."

"It's okay, dear." Valka said as she stood up. "Besides, we all need to eat, anyway." She walked towards him. "Are you sure you're feeling better?"

"Yes. Thank you so much for your help." He looked at Heather. "Both of you." Now his focus shifted to the woman in front of him. "And you two even helped me get more fish for Toothless when I couldn't. How could I ever repay you?"

In the back of Hiccup's mind, something told him to be careful, after all, he didn't really know these two. But at the same time, they've been so helpful and kind towards him and Toothless that it was hard not to like them; besides, if they wanted to do something against him, they'd have done that already. He knew he needed to keep an eye on them, though, just in case.

"We don't want anything, dear. I'm just happy to see you're healthy again." She embraced him. Her eyes found her daughter's and Heather was sending her a meaningful look: she should tell him at once.

"Thanks. It's rare to find someone willing to help strangers… But maybe now we can be allies, right?" Hiccup pulled away to look at Valka. Toothless cooed by their side and nudged them. "Yeah, I want to go flying, too, but you know I can only go if my nurse allows me to." He joked.

"Well, if you're feeling completely healed, then why not?" The dragon then started jumping in happiness. He's been grounded since Hiccup got sick. "And well, maybe tomorrow we can show you the island where we live. What do you think?"

Hiccup smiled and kept trying to calm Toothless down. "I'd love that!"

"Well, then, off you go. This Night Fury needs to stretch his wings."

"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded and then ran inside the cave. "Come Toothless, let's saddle up!"

"Mom!" Heather stopped by her side, hands on her hips. He wouldn't be able to hear them once he was inside the cave, putting the saddle on Toothless. "He needs to know!"

"I know, dear…" She sighed. "I just want to show where he can find me again if he runs away after I tell him…"


At the end of the next day's afternoon, they arrived at the island of the Defenders of the Wing.

Valka left Cloudjumper's back and Hiccup couldn't help but admire how that woman could ride a dragon all the way by standing on him and not sitting. A blonde woman approached them and Valka hugged her.

"Where have you been? We were worried. You left saying your daughter needed help and you two don't show up for a week." She crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry, we've been a bit busy… And we found a friend." Valka gestured to the boy and his Night Fury. The blonde woman's expression turned to an irritated one as she looked back at Valka.

"I've told you not to bring anyone on my island without my consent."

"I know, but don't worry. He's like me in many ways. More than I had imagined…"

"What do you mean?" She asked, but Valka gestured him to come closer and he did so.

"This is Mala, Queen of the Defenders of the Wing." Valka introduced her.

"It's a pleasure to meet, you, Queen Mala." He extended his hand, but she didn't shake it. He then put his hand down, awkwardly. "I'm Hiccup… Hiccup Haddock."

"Haddock…" Mala looked at Valka, but the brunette discreetly put a finger over her mouth, asking her not to say a word.

"This place is amazing!" He looked around, dragons in peace with the humans in every corner of the village. "I thought I'd never see anything like that!" His smiled got bigger until he realized something. The dragons on the skies were all by themselves. "Wait, why no one else rides them?"

"You're a good observer." Mala noticed. "We respect the dragons, we don't use or ride them. Unless it's absolutely necessary, of course."

"Except for Heather and I. And although we came from somewhere else, we respect this rule here and we don't ride them unless it's to leave or arrive at the island." Valka explained him.

"It's still amazing. Since I befriended Toothless, I had dreamed of a place where Vikings and Dragons could live together in harmony."

"If only Vikings could see the truth…" Heather shrugged.

"Hey, it's not their fault… The dragons do raid them and they need to defend their food, too… And I don't get it why dragons do that. I've lived with them for months and they can help out a lot and can get enough food to feed themselves…"

"That's because they don't get it for themselves." Heather said.

"What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You know the nest, right?" Valka asked.

"Yeah, my dad has been obsessed to find it for forever… Why?"

"There's something in there… It's like a dragon, but this one is mean. It's the Queen of the dragons and she eats them unless they bring her enough food. That's why they raid the Vikings." She told him. "I found out when Cloudjumper and I were flying a bit too close to Dragon Island and he was pulled towards it…"

"What? But... We need to do something! We need to help the dragons!"

"Oh, my dear… I thought like that, too; but there's nothing we can do. She's too powerful. It was a miracle Cloudjumper and I escaped with our lives and she almost escaped the mountain she was trapped in. I don't even wish to imagine what it'd be like if she escaped…"

"The destruction would be horrific, to any place that she can go to. We must prevent it at all costs." Mala said and then turned to Valka. "May I have a word with you for a moment, my friend?"

"Sure." She glanced at Hiccup. "I'll be back shortly." And then she left after the Queen.

Hiccup looked at Toothless and crossed his arms. "So you knew about that and you didn't tell me, hun…" The dragon growled and rolled his eyes playfully. "Maybe if we got rid of the Red Death, Vikings and dragons could start living in piece, don't you think?"

Heather smiled, even though he wasn't talking to her, she answered. "I think they might be a bit stubborn, but I hope for that, too… Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do…"

"Or maybe we just need to find the right way to tackle the situation…" He mumbled more to himself than to her as he stroked an invisible beard.


Later that day, Valka was showing Hiccup the other side of the island. As they walked through the forest, their dragons were following them. She gulped, knowing she had delayed an important topic for a long while now.

"So… Hiccup…" She started, but it was hard to make the words come out. "What would you do if your mother was alive all this time?"

He shrugged. "I never thought of it. I mean, she's dead, anyway…"

"Do you know what happened to her?"

"Dad said she was taken by dragons on a raid when I was a baby."

"But now you know dragons aren't mindless beasts. What if she befriended one of them?"

"I thought of that possibility once… I just don't really believe it. I mean, wouldn't she have come back? And I could only survive because Toothless helped me from day one. If it took a while for her to befriend one, wouldn't it be unlikely that she'd have survived?"

"Maybe she couldn't come back for a reason… maybe she befriended one quite quickly… And maybe she was a good survivalist…"

He stooped walking and eyes her suspiciously. "What are you really talking about?"

She took in a heavy breath. "Hiccup… I was from Berk, too. I was taken by a dragon on a raid, 15 years ago."

"Wait… Are you telling me that you're…" His voice vanished.

"Yes… I was married to Stoick, the Vast, and therefore, I am you mother."

Hiccup's heart started to race desperately and Toothless sensed his distress, and came closer.

"What… but… how…?" He stepped back.

"I can explain… Please…"

Toothless nudged Hiccup, showing the boy some support. Hiccup petted him while clearing his head. After a moment, he gulped and had a determined expression. He only said one word. "Why?"

"I know that anything can excuse what I did… I've always believed dragons were good creatures, of course it wasn't a popular opinion, but I was a good fighter and the chief's wife, so they respected me, even if they didn't like my ideas. One night, I saw a dragon break into our home and finding you in the cradle. Instead of it harming you, he played with you, proving what I believed… But then your father rushed in. The dragons was startled and trying to save me from the fire, he took me away… Yet, because I hesitated, you almost got killed, and Stick could have gotten hurt, too. That guilt haunted me... And then deep down I realized that Berk was not the place for me, even though I didn't want to admit it…"

"What about the dragon?" He guessed who it was, but needed to be sure. She looked at Cloudjumper.

"He never meant to harm me… However, it took me a few days to befriend him. When I managed to ride him, I tried to go back to Berk. My plan was to show everyone that a dragon was not that bad if he didn't hurt me and brought me home. I tried that twice, during the night, and then during the day. But the results were the same: when the Vikings spotted Cloudjumper; they attacked him before they could even see me. And then I found out about the Queen of dragons… Red Death was a suiting name for her, by the way."

"And… why didn't you make Cloudjumper land in the forest so you could come to the village?"

"I thought about that. I even tried it once, at night… I was almost spotted and we escaped in the last minute. Later, I was too afraid to do it again. What if someone found Cloudjumper? Or what if they believed I was crazy and sent a search party to kill him? How could I endanger his life like that?" She asked and Hiccup exchanged looks with Toothless. That part he could understand. "It'd been only a few weeks then, but he and I already had a bond and I couldn't threaten his life. How could I put someone's life on the line like that? Would you?"

He sighed as he shook his head.

"So I started living in another island, like you. But I still tried to make contact with people from Berk. I tried getting near to the ships, but again, I couldn't get near enough… Well, some saw that there was someone in his back, but I guess no one believed them when they returned to shore… I was determined to find a way back, though. Eventually, I found this place. The Defenders of the Wing first thought I was an enemy, but they didn't harm me, because I was pregnant, which was another reason that made me want to go back so badly."

"Wait… who's Heather's-"

"Stoick." She answered before he could even finish the question. "I could never love another man." A stubborn smile crossed her lips. "Anyway, Mala and I became good friends and they helped me through my pregnancy, which was quite difficult, since the beginning was such a roller coaster of emotions… I almost lost her a few times, actually. So when she was born and yet another attempt to go back failed… I gave up and by then, I had a life being built here. I found my purpose: to save dragons from hunters and trappers."

Valka stepped further, tears in her eyes as much as Hiccup's. She cupped his cheeks so he would look at her.

"Not a day passed by that I had not thought of you or your father. I've always wondered how you'd have grown. What your voice would sound like…" She chuckled. "I've always imagined you'd take more after your father, how wrong was I… I'm so sorry, Hiccup… I wish I'd been there for you…" She gulped. "Can… Can you forgive me?"

Hiccup wanted to say yes, but he didn't know if he could. He was upset at her for not coming back. If she really wanted, she'd have found a way to do so, and as she had said herself, she felt that Berk is not a place for her from the beginning. However, could he really blame her? He had done the same. He abandoned his father without even leaving a letter because he couldn't find the words to leave behind and because he was afraid of what Stoick would think of him even if Hiccup weren't there anymore.

"I do understand why you did all this… Heck, I did a very similar thing, I just… I didn't want to be alone all these years… I'm a small Viking, I was different and clumsy; I used to cause trouble, almost as much as the dragons during raids… I was bullied and cast out for so long and it'd have been easier having someone with me…"

"I'm so sorry, Hiccup. I know I should have been there for you… Can we start over? I want to be there for you from now on. We can be a family."

"I… I don't know… I'm sorry… I think I need to go flying a little to clear my head…"

"Sure. I understand. You know where to find me."

He mounted Toothless, but before they took off, he asked. "Does Heather know?"

"Yes."

He nodded and then told Toothless to go up.

They've flown for a few hours until they found a small deserted island not far from the Defenders of The Wing.

It didn't take long until a Razorwhip appear. A girl dismounted and shyly came closer to him.

"Mom told me what you recently talked about… Are you mad at us?"

"You definitely didn't have any fault, so you're off the hook…" he chuckled at the little joke, but she didn't even smile. He was serious again. "It's not like I'm mad at her, I sort of get her, I just… I don't know… It's all so… confusing…" He pulled his knees close to his chest and embraced his legs.

Heather sat down a few inches from him. "And what do you want to do now?"

"Right now, I just want to find a way to free the dragons that are controlled by the Red Death."

"Hiccup… We told you it's not possible."

"Well, I don't believe that. And I'm going to do something about it."

"Then, what?"

"I don't know yet… Well, for now, I'll just head back home to Itchy Armpit."

"Don't you want to live here with us?"

"I'm not sure… Anyway, I've got stuff there and books I need to check."

"Just promise me you'll be here tomorrow. Okay?"

He sighed with a small smile on his lips. "Okay, Sis." He added the last part playfully and she did the same.

"Then I'll be waiting for you, Bro."

He then mounted Toothless and the Night Fury took off. Hiccup wanted to find his first journal about his discoveries of Toothless and then other dragons, he was sure there were some kind of fire weakness all dragons he knew shared, he just couldn't remember exactly how he found out about, but if he did, he knew he could find a way to bring the Red Death down.


If you liked what you read, please consider reviewing. It makes my day to see your comments and opinions on this story! And what do you think is gonna happen next?

BTW, I always thought that Valka was forgiven way too fast in the movie (but it's understandable since they didn't have a lot of time), so in here, I tried to make it a bit more "realistic", by making him question if he wanted to forgive his mom or not. However, he does understand Valka in a deeper level than in the movie universe because he ended up doing the same. Anyway, one of the things I admire the most on Hiccup is his forgiving soul, that's the kind of character he is.

See you next chap! :D