Last chapter for this Mother's Day Special! I would have posted it yesterday, since it was Mother's Day already in the Philippines, but I was so busy spending time with my Mom :) Love you forever Mama ;)
Anyways this story is dedicated to all mothers out there. You are the reason why we are part of this wonderful world and we love you all so much.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
NOTE: I DO NOT OWN HTTYD NOR DO I OWN THE LYRICS TO Lullaby by Nolwenn Leroy
Chapter 7
The Mother's Day Feast in the Great Hall was in full swing. Drinking horns were filled with ale and flowers adorned the tables. Every mother in Berk was given a special crown of flowers. Hiccup and Zenna had made every single one of them and their fingers were still a little sore from all the preparations. But neither of them cared about that once they saw how happy their Moms were. Valka and Henna were happily gabbing away with Brenda, Gunhild, Ingrid, Jorunn and all of the other women.
Fathers and husbands were also chatting with them, while also bragging about the great lengths they went to in order to surprise their ladies. Meanwhile the seven Dragon Riders were all gathered together in one table. But, to their confusion, there was one empty seat. "Anyone seen Eret?" Hiccup asked his friends only to get shrugs. Zenna looked around worriedly, hoping to spot the former dragon trapper in the crowd of people. "He probably decided to skip the celebration. He doesn't have a Mom, remember?" Snotlout reminded the group, earning groans of disapproval from them. "Snotlout, that's a bit harsh…" Fishlegs told him. "What? It's true, isn't it?" Snotlout said in his defense, his face saddening when Ruffnut gave him a disappointed look with a thumbs-down. "Wait…so…Eret's an orphan?" Tuffnut gasped, earning even more groans.
"Seriously? You didn't notice?" Astrid deadpanned. Zenna decided to leave the group to go looking for her boyfriend. Pushing past throngs of people, Zenna craned her neck to hopefully catch a glimpse of Eret's face (or his rather buff arms, secretly) but only saw his crew talking with Bucket and Mulch. Thinking that maybe the men knew of Eret's whereabouts, Zenna approached the group having a round of drinks.
"Ah, evening, Lady Zenna!" Ug, the eldest member of Eret's crew, greeted the one-eyed Dragon Doctor jovially. "Evening, Ug. Ehm…I was wondering if you or any of your friends here saw Eret today? I haven't seen him all day…" Zenna asked politely. Mulch then raised his hand, which held his mug, and replied, "Oh, he's with his Mum at the Eastern cliff, Zenna."
Ug and his crewmates could only look at each other worriedly while Zenna stared at Mulch like he had gone crazy.
"The Eastern cliff…with his…Mum, you say?" Zenna asked slowly, trying her hardest not to look incredulous. Bucket nodded. "Aye, that's right, Zenna. Eret's Mum…she looked like such a sweet lady," he smiled.
Zenna wasn't completely sure whether to nod in reply or tell the duo the truth. Luckily Teeny, another one of Eret's crew members, helped her. "Indeed. Eret's Mum…is a very sweet woman, right Zenna?" he asked. Nodding quickly, Zenna excused herself and went back to her friends. When the others saw her troubled look, they immediately became worried.
"Okay, this is going to sound crazy…but Bucket and Mulch told me that Eret's with his Mum at the Eastern cliff," Zenna blurted out just as her mother sat down with them. Henna looked shocked while Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the Twins looked confused. "But isn't Eret's Mom supposed to be dead?" Hiccup asked skeptically. "Elisabeth died 22 years ago from pneumonia, lad. She's been gone a long time…" Henna told the Chief sadly. Astrid looked sad as she said, "Eret's probably having some alone time so he can remember his Mom…" the others nodding sadly in agreement. "Oh, Elisabeth…" Henna sighed, missing her old friend.
Meanwhile Eret and Elisabeth had been having a musical time. Eret was more than happy to play his shell flute as his Mum sang Celtic songs of brave warriors and the story of the Maiden and the Selkie along with ballads about the Fair Folk. Eret had only learnt a little Celtic but he loved the sounds of the words as they rolled off his Mum's tongue. Skullcrusher was also enjoying the music, flitting and jumping around as if he were dancing, as mother and son sang and played.
Then Eret noticed that the sun had already set.
He stopped playing and looked at his Mum with a slightly fearful look. Elisabeth knew what he was thinking about and gently smiled. "How about one last song before I leave, dear?" she asked softly. Eret smiled and eagerly nodded. "Mum, can you…can you sing the lullaby? Please?" he asked hopefully. "Of course, my dear…" Elisabeth smiled before she began to sing…
Hush now, my story
Close your eyes and sleep
Waltzing the waves
Diving the deep
Stars are shining bright
The wind is on the rise
Whispering words
Of long lost lullabies
Oh won't you come with me
Where the moon is made of gold?
And in the morning sun, we'll be sailing
Oh won't you come with me
Where the ocean meets the sky?
And as the clouds roll by
We'll sing the song of the sea
Elisabeth's sweet melodic voice was carried by the wind all the way to the Great Hall, where everyone heard it. "Do you guys hear that?" Snotlout wondered out loud. "You mean some lady singing a song? Then, yes. We hear it," Tuffnut replied. Valka looked curious and turned to Hiccup. "I don't see anyone singing here…" she said to her son, confused. "Maybe it's coming from outside?" Hiccup guessed. Everyone followed their Chief outside where they heard the voice sing…
I had a dream last night
And heard the sweetest sound
I saw a great white light
And dancers in the round
Curious, everyone in the village, mothers in front and beside their children, began to follow the voice. The next verses they heard now came accompanied by the sound of somebody playing a flute.
Castles in the sand
Cradles in the trees
Don't cry
I'll see you by and by
Finally they reached the Eastern cliff and Mulch pointed to the three figures at the top. "See? There's Skullcrusher and there's Eret and his Mum!" Mulch told Zenna and the others. "Good playing!" Bucket cheerfully waved at mother and son, who were busy making music together. Henna and Edgar took one look up at Elisabeth and they both nearly burst into tears. El cooed, awestruck at the pretty lady singing while his Uncle Eret played the flute. Zenna merely stared while the rest of the gang exchanged shocked looks.
Oh won't you come with me
Where the moon is made of gold?
And in the morning sun, we'll be sailing
Oh won't you come with me
Where the ocean meets the sky?
And as the clouds roll by
We'll sing the song of the sea
"It's her…It's really her…" Henna breathed out, tears of joy running down her face. "The gods sure know how to surprise us…They must have brought her back just for Eret…" Edgar murmured, smiling tearfully.
Rolling…
"Zen, who's that up there with Eret?" Hiccup asked his surrogate sister.
Rolling…
Zenna smiled, tears in her eyes, and looked at her friends who were waiting for her to answer.
Rolling…
"That's Elisabeth…Eret's mother," the Dragon Doctor replied just as Eret played a solo on his flute.
Everyone watched, in awe, as Eret played his shell flute with all his might. He poured his heart and soul out into every note as he played, the notes coming out sweetly and clearly. And Elisabeth had a look of pure love on her face as she sang.
Oh won't you come with me
Where the moon is made of gold?
And in the morning sun, we'll be sailing
Oh won't you come with me
Where the ocean meets the sky?
And as the clouds roll by
We'll sing the song of the sea
Rock…a…bye…
Everyone watched in silence as Elisabeth and Eret finished their little performance. Looking down and seeing the large crowd down below, Skullcrusher nudged Eret. "Whoa…Mum, it looks like we had an audience during that song…" Eret mumbled, spotting Zenna in the crowd. Elisabeth also saw the crowd and smiled. "Well then, I do believe we might as well hear what they have to say about it," she said briskly. Eret smiled and helped his mother up on Skullcrusher before he got on the saddle himself. Skullcrusher flew down to where the villagers were and landed softly on the ground, his two passengers getting down.
"Elisabeth!" Henna cried out and immediately went to embrace Eret's mother. "Henna, it's been so long!" Elisabeth smiled and gladly hugged the woman she had always thought of as her sister. "After all these years…" Edgar murmured, still very much in shock. "Ah, Edgar, so good to see you," Elisabeth lightly laughed. "Hi, Uncle Eret's Mama! You'we pwettwy!" El giggled. "Well aren't you just the cutest little boy? Thank you, dearie…" Elisabeth bent down to affectionately bump noses with El. "It's good to see you again, Ms. Elisabeth," Zenna smiled widely. Elisabeth smiled back at her and hugged Zenna. "It sure is…my future daughter-in-law," she said with a mischievous smile.
Hiccup and Astrid both held back laughs as they saw Eret and Zenna both turn red. "So, you're Eret's mother?" Valka asked. "Yes. And it is quite an honor to meet the mother of my son's Chief, Lady Valka. Your husband, Stoick the Vast, sends his love," Elisabeth smiled. "Wait, you know my Dad?" Hiccup asked in amazement. "When you're in Valhalla, Chief Hiccup, you get to meet a lot of brave warriors who had died in battle," Elisabeth told him before smiling. "And your father wants me to tell you that he is so proud of you, Hiccup. You're off to a great start as Chief," she added, making Hiccup smile. "By the way, Chief, he still wants to be a grandfather!" Eret laughed, making Hiccup and Astrid blush.
Elisabeth laughed as well before looking at the full moon. "The time's come for me to go…" she said. Everyone looked sad at the news but all said their goodbyes. "And, please, keep an eye on Eret for me will you all? Odin knows that he can get himself into a heap of trouble on a daily basis," Elisabeth said jokingly. "Mum…" Eret pretended to whine but he was smiling as his Mum gently brushed her hand against his cheek.
"You'll be a good boy, promise?" Elisabeth asked softly. "I promise, Mum," Eret nodded, his face softened up. Then mother and son hugged for the last time. At that point, everyone had tears in their eyes while Snotlout, Fishlegs and Tuffnut were already shamelessly crying.
Eret embraced his Mum as tears trickled down his face. "I wish I'd had more time to tell you this…Mum…I love you…I love you forever, Mum…" he choked out. Elisabeth had tears in her eyes as she gently kissed her son's forehead. "I love you forever, too, Eret…Remember me and your father in your songs and your flute as well as the sea…Remember that I will always love you with all my heart…" she whispered. Eret tearfully smiled. "Happy Mother's Day, Mum," he said. "And this was the best Mother's Day ever, Eret…" Elisabeth smiled before her body glowed with pure white light.
And, with that, she was gone.
Eret looked at the spot where his Mum had stood before looking up at the sky. And he swore that he could see one star shining brighter than all the rest. Smiling, Eret looked at his friends who were all crying. Zenna went over to him and gently wrapped her arms around him. "Are you alright?" Eret asked softly. "Yeah…You?" Zenna sniffled, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "Never better," Eret grinned.
Gobber was the first to regain composure. "Well, now, let's all head back to the feast! The mothers haven't even had any dessert!" he said cheerfully, making everyone laugh. Everyone went back to the village, all except for the eight Dragon Riders. "Dude…your Mom's real cool," Tuffnut told Eret. "She is, isn't she?" Eret grinned. Ruffnut eyed the shell flute curiously. "Did she teach you how to play?" she inquired. "Yup," Eret said, popping the 'p' for emphasis. Astrid fiddled with her braid before asking, "Can we…hear you play?"
"Thought you guys would never ask," Eret then played another lovely tune on his shell flute as they all went back to the village for the Mother's Day Feast. And, as he played for his friends, Eret saw that the star he had seen up above had joined with other stars to form a picture of his Mum's smiling face.
'Happy Mother's Day, Mum…' Eret thought as he continued his song.
Indeed, a mother's love knows no bounds – even the boundaries between life and death. And his Mum, Elisabeth, certainly proved it.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MOMS OUT THERE!
