"Here you go."

Astrid looked up as the dark-haired waitress (Heather, right? Dagur's sister?) set a cup of hot chocolate in front of her. The whipped cream was topped with cinnamon, just the way she liked it, but she was confused as to why it was being given to her.

"Thank you, but I didn't order anything."

"I know. Someone ordered it for you."

Astrid turned in her chair to see the twins and Sera sitting in a booth. All three of them waved at her and she had no choice but to go sit with them.

"Good guess on the cinnamon, guys," she chuckled. "Not a lot of people like it."

"It's me and Daddy's favorite," Sera told Astrid proudly, sipping her own.

"I prefer paprika," Ruffnut scoffed.

"Sprinkles on mine," Tuffnut added.

"Well, thanks anyway," Astrid sighed before turning back to Sera. "Don't you have school?"

"Duh, I'm ten. I wanted you to walk me."

"Okay…"

Heather handed Astrid a to-go cup for her hot cocoa and smiled as the four walked out the door.

"So, I was thinking we could get started trying to break the curse," Sera told the adults as they walked towards Dragon's Edge. "I even have a name for it!"

"Ooh, I like it already!" Tuffnut cackled.

"We'll call it 'Operation Scorpion'!"

"What does that have to do with Vikings or dragons?" Astrid asked.

"Nothing. It's to throw Mayor Bludvist off our trail."

"Brilliant!" Ruffnut gasped.

"Don't you two have work?" Astrid groaned.

"Snotlout and Eret are working today, along with Minden, so we took the day off to help you two plan." Suddenly, Stormfly trotted up to them and started whining for Astrid to pet her.

"Hey, girl!" Sera greeted the bear-dog.

"All we have is a couple of ferrets," sighed Tuffnut. "Barf and Belch."

"But they're actually a two-headed dragon!" Ruffnut reminded him.

"Oh, right!"

"As cute as she is, I can't hold onto her," Astrid told the other three. "I'll take her to a shelter when Sera gets done with school."

"Good idea!"

They'd arrived at Dragon's Edge, where Astrid could see Signy entering the building.

"We can help Miss Larsen first!" chirped Sera. "She deserves happiness, and she's sad a lot!"

"I'm down for helping Signy," Ruffnut agreed.

"We'll start with her, after we take this girl to the shelter," Astrid sighed, rubbing Stormfly's head.

"Bye!"

Sera ran into the building and the twins headed off in a different direction. Astrid walked back towards town, Stormfly staying as close as possible. She decided to head for the beach and take a walk, since there wasn't much to do. She bumped into somebody as she walked, however.

"Oh!" the woman she'd bumped into gasped.

"I'm so sorry!" Astrid apologized, then stared. The woman was beautiful, with long black hair as dark as raven's feathers and eyes the color of amber.

"No, it was entirely my fault," the woman laughed. "My name is Hilda Bludvist. And you are?"

"Astrid Hofferson."

"It's nice to meet you, Astrid."

"Are you the mayor's wife?"

"That I am. I assume you've heard about us from the residents."

"A bit. Hey, do you know where there's an animal shelter in this town?"

"Yes. There's a small mountain outside of town, and the shelter is at the top of it. It's called the Sanctuary.

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Bludvist."

"Please, call me Hilda."

"Well then, thank you, Hilda."

Hilda smiled as Astrid headed back towards the beach.

"Here we are," Astrid told Sera. Her car had been fixed by the time Sera got out of school, so they were driving up to the shelter. Stormfly was in the backseat, her head hanging out the window as Astrid parked the car. The shelter was a beautiful blue-green building with plenty of room for the various animals they could see playing in the yard. The two entered the shelter, only to see that there was nobody at the desk except a great-horned owl sitting on a perch.

"Does anybody work here?" Sera asked.

"There's a bell." Astrid rang the bell on the desk.

"I'm coming!" a woman's voice called. There was the clatter of several items hitting the floor before a woman with long reddish-brown hair tied back in a braid emerged from the back room. She saw Astrid and Sera standing there and gasped.

"Um, hello?" Astrid said.

"Oh! Hello. What brings you to the Sanctuary?"

"I'm here to drop off this girl right here." Astrid ruffled the fur on Stormfly's head.

"Right." The woman shuffled uncomfortably. "Well, just bring her over here. My name is Val, by the way."

"I'm Astrid, and this is Sera."

"Is your real name Valka?" Sera inquired excitedly.

"Erm… yes."

"Oh my gosh! You're my grandma!"

"What?!" both of the adult women gasped.

"My book says so! It says we were all cursed!" Sera pulled the book out of her backpack. "You're my daddy's mom!"

"You… you know about the curse?"

"Of course! Miss Larsen gave me the book, and it makes too much sense that all of us are from this other reality."

"Um, excuse me?" Astrid piped up.

"You don't believe, do you?" Valka looked down at her feet and sighed. "No, of course you don't."

"You believe the curse theory?"

"N-no. That would be… ridiculous."

"But Grandma—" Sera whined, before being shushed by Valka.

"Sera, could we talk?" Valka looked up at Astrid. "The dog kennel is just through there."

"Oh, sure." Astrid disappeared through the door labeled 'Kennel' and Valka pulled Sera into her office.

"Why won't you tell her the curse is real?" Sera asked.

"Because, Sera, Astrid doesn't remember being your mother, or being married to Hiccup. He and your grandfather don't even know I'm alive."

"So why do you remember?"

"I don't know. I remember waking up here and knowing that there had been a curse. I… I tried to talk to Hiccup, but he didn't remember me." A silent tear rolled down her cheek. "It hurt my heart, but I didn't press the issue."

"But… Astrid…"

"We'll convince her one day, but for now, pretend I don't know about the curse."

"Can I ask you one question, then?"

"Of course."

"Who's the father of Miss Larsen's baby?"

"Miss Larsen?"

"Signy. My aunt."

"Eret."

"Eret? As in the guy who works down at Thorstons?"

"Yes. He and your aunt loved each other very much and… your cousin happened."

"How?"

"That is a conversation you must have with your parents."

"Hey, I've got to take the munchkin home," Astrid said, knocking on the door.

"Of course." Valka let Sera go through, then grabbed Astrid by the shoulder. "I, erm, could use some help up here, if you're looking for work?"

"Hmm…" Astrid thought for a second, then realized…

I want to stay here with Hiccup.

I want to be Sera's mother.

I want to live in Berk.

"Yes. I'll take that job."

"Good. You start on Monday."

"Any special training?"

"None, except the ability to deal with all our animals." The owl landed on her shoulder. "This is Cloudjumper. Beautiful, isn't he?"

"Yeah…"

"Astrid, can you hear me?"

"Afternoon, milady. Where have you been?"

"I love you, Astrid Hofferson, with everything I have."

"Astrid, will you marry me?"

"You're beautiful, smart, strong, and the one person I want to spend the rest of my days with."

"We're having a baby!"

"You're doing great, milady."

"Serafina."

"What better name for a girl raised with dragons?"

"I love you both more than anything."

"There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid, always."

Astrid woke up, sweating and panting.

Hiccup's voice… it was in her head. In her dreams. It didn't seem like a dream, though… more like a memory.

No, that's impossible. I never met him before, and we certainly never got married!

Still, the facts remained. Hiccup made her heart skip a beat, and she could hear his voice in her head. He was smart, handsome, and kind, and… engaged to another woman. He was unavailable, and he didn't feel the same way. Despite what Sera thought, or what her book said, he and Astrid had never been together.

There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid. Always.

"He's never where he's supposed to be."

"Stay out of my way! I'm winning this thing!"

"Be careful."

"Take 'em down, babe!"

"Hiccup, of course I'll marry you."

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"I'm pregnant, Hiccup! We're going to be parents!"

"HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD, I AM GOING TO GUT YOU!"

"Serafina?"

"I love it. Serafina… our Sera."

"I love you, Hiccup."

Hiccup woke up in his own bed, confused as to why Astrid's voice had been in his dreams.

"Hic, what's wrong?" Cami mumbled sleepily from her side of the bed.

"Nothing. I need some water."

He headed down to the kitchen, where he filled a glass of water and drank it down. He didn't head back to bed, though. Instead, he went into the small library he'd added when Sera turned six, where she'd left her leather-bound book. The one titled How to Train Your Dragon.

Hiccup picked up the book and turned on the light, beginning to thumb through it. He could see pictures of his fifteen, eighteen, and twenty-year-old self within the pages and illustrations. Suddenly, he came to a picture of him and a blonde girl who looked a lot like a younger Astrid sitting on a dock of some kind, kissing with the sunset illuminating them. It was… romantic, and a completely beautiful yet impossible moment.

Do I… know Astrid?

He turned several more pages to see him and Astrid standing in front of… Gobber? The owner of the mechanic shop? That wasn't important, though. What was important was the fact that he and Astrid appeared to be in some kind of Viking wedding ceremony.

"This is impossible…"

"What's impossible?"

He jumped at the sound of Sera's voice and turned to see his daughter in the doorway.

"Oh, Sera, you scared me."

"What's impossible, Daddy?"

"This… your book. It says I married Astrid."

"You did… but you don't remember." She shrugged. "It's not your fault."

"It isn't?" She shook her head and took the book, flipping to near the end and landing on an illustration of… Mayor Bludvist and his wife?

"This is Drago Bludvist, a madman who wanted to ruin your life. One of four who tried, and the only one who succeeded. He asked Hilda, a witch, to cast a curse to ruin everything, and she did." Sera's smile faded. "The curse arrived only a few minutes after I was born."

"So… you're saying that according to your book, I'm married to Astrid."

"Yeah, and look at this!" She flipped back several pages and pointed at a picture of a ring. "This is the ring you made for Astrid! She still wears it!"

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'm serious!"

"Sera…" He closed his eyes.

He didn't want to believe the curse theory. It was ridiculous, something the Thorston twins would've come up with. And he wouldn't believe it, not until he got more proof.

"Sera, I think it's been a long day and we both need some sleep."

"I guess."

He closed the book.

"Now, how about I tuck you in, just like I used to?"

Hilda leaned against the Thorston Inn as she smiled the next morning. She'd let those memories leak through to begin the process of remembering who they were and what they were to each other. Hiccup was a hard sell, but Astrid… Astrid was starting to come around. Hilda had to be careful, though. If Drago caught her, she knew he wouldn't let her live, and that she wouldn't be able to kill him later.

The mayor's wife headed down the street to Nadder Apartments, where Signy lived alone in a loft. She headed up the stairs to the third floor and knocked on the door. Signy opened it, surprised to see the mayor's wife visiting her.

"Good morning, Mrs. Bludvist," she said.

"Please, Signy, it's Hilda. And good morning to you, too. May I come it?"

"Of course." Hilda looked around. The apartment was a little too big for just one person.

"Tell me, Signy. Do you live alone?"

"I do. Well, not for too much longer. Two and a half months to go and my little one will be in the world!"

"How would you like a roommate?"

"A… roommate?"

"Astrid Hofferson is living at the Thorston Inn. I'm sure you don't want her living under the same roof as those two…"

"Imbeciles? No, I don't, but she's only staying for a short while."

"Not from what I heard. I heard that's she's considering moving here."

"Moving… to Berk? From Boston?"

"Yes. Would you be willing to let her live with you?"

"Of course I would! It would be so nice to have someone besides my students and my baby belly to talk to." She sighed. "Most people refer to me as 'town whore' now, since I'm pregnant and have never been married."

"You're not a whore, Signy. You're an adult woman who made a choice."

"Thank you, Hilda."

"I'm going to talk to Astrid now, and let her know that you're interested in housing her."

"Okay. Bye, Hilda!"

"Goodbye, Signy."

IT BEGINS.

So, yes, Hiccup and Astrid are starting to remember each other, but not very well. I think some more of what I made characters is in order. Signy is a mix of Ashley Boyd and Mary Margaret while Hilda is more or less Rumpelstiltskin with a hint of Sydney Glass. Cami is, obviously, Kathryn, while the Thorstons are just kind of… there. Mala and Dagur are not based off anybody in particular, nor is anybody else. I will admit that I sprinkled a tiny hint of Neal into Hiccup's character.

Next time… Operation Scorpion begins!

So long and thanks for all the fish!