When Hiccup and Vesta landed in the plaza of Berk exactly an hour after they had left, the young chief was extremely relieved to find all three sisters waiting for their fourth piece to return to them. The sisters all shared the relief of seeing Vesta back safely but the other emotions on their face were very different. Terra's look was somewhere between anger and shock, Skya was happy without a second thought, and Isla stared openly in wonder at Toothless.

Astrid walked over and smiled victoriously as she said: "The sisters agreed that if Vesta returned safe and sound, they would give the dragons a chance with no more complaints."

"All of them?" Vesta asked with an arched eyebrow. Astrid only smiled brighter at the girl and Vesta's gave the Viking female a crooked smile. "Damn your good."

Astrid reached her hands forward to crack her knuckles as she said: "Tell me something I don't know."

Vesta laughed before she saw the Vikings face go from amused and proud to back to the normal glare that she held for the fiery-haired teen. Hiccup arched an eyebrow and started to ask what was wrong when he felt Vesta's hands move out from under his and her arms away from his waist. He hadn't even realized that they had been holding onto each other until Vesta's hands were no longer touching him.

Hiccup couldn't help but notice the strange feeling he got when Vesta jumped off of Toothless and landed on the ground but quickly shook the feeling to the back of his mind. She didn't look at the blonde as she walked to her sisters and put her hands on her hips once she was able to look at all of them.

"Did you miss me?" She asked and Skya reached forward to embrace her sister.

She didn't say anything but the moment Skya let go of Vesta, Terra smacked her in the head. "One of these days I am going to let Astrid push you off the edge of the island and save me from countless headaches in the future."

Vesta never lost her smile as she rubbed her head and said: "Surely you must like me somewhat if you agreed to get to know a dragon in exchange for my safe return."

"I change my mind. He can eat you." Terra's voice sounded angry but it was impossible to miss the smile that was pulling at her lips.

Isla hadn't said anything but was staring in amazement at the Night Fury so Vesta broke away from her older sisters and turned to the youngest. She held out her hand and Isla took it despite the confusion that was all over her face.

Hiccup jumped off of Toothless and went to stand by Astrid, who didn't hide her annoyed expression for a moment but softened up a little when she realized what Vesta was about to attempt. Vesta held her hand out to Toothless, who didn't hesitate to lean into her hand. After her hand stayed on his head for a moment, she let her hand drop to her side.

"Go ahead. It's all about trust. He has to trust you just as much as you have to trust him." Vesta's voice was gentle, something that was rarely heard even by her sister's. She was used to putting on a brave face and not letting people in but she knew that that was not how she was going to teach her sisters to get close to the large reptiles that were a necessity in the lives of the people of Berk.

Isla gave her a smirk as she held out her hand to Toothless. "Says the one who doesn't trust anyone."

"I'm working on it." Vesta couldn't help but cross her arm and smirk at her sister. She bit her lip nervously as she fought the urge to look back at Hiccup, who's eyes were fully set on the teen that had seemed to be unafraid of anything until only moments ago.

"Vesta, are you sure he isn't going to hurt her. I don't think that..." Terra trailed off as Toothless leaned into Isla's touch and the girl jumped nearly a mile at the unfamiliar but oddly comforting feeling of the dragon's scales beneath her hand.

When Toothless's green eyes met Isla's, she felt a wave of calmness come over her. It surprised the Night Fury when she suddenly moved her hand away from the dragon and Terra moved to defend her sister when Vesta held up a hand for her to not move.

"Skya," Isla called to her older sister and gave her a pleading look as she held out her hand. "Please."

Skya bit her lip nervously before shaking her head and saying "I think I'd rather wait a little while. You know, let the dragon get used to one stranger at a time. I don't want to overwhelm him."

"Toothless won't hurt you." Hiccup told the purple-haired girl, who looked at him with a dumbfounded look.

She quickly composed herself and shot him a glare before looking back at her youngest sister with a defeated look. "Fine."

She walked forward and reached her hand out, not needing any further coaxing into the experiment. While Isla had stared into Toothless's eyes the whole time, Skya's storm-colored eyes rested on Vesta's rose-colored ones. When Toothless leaned his head forward and his scales came in contact with Skya's skin, she almost jerked her hand away until the same calm came over her that Isla had felt.

She looked into the dragon's eyes before reaching her other hand up and scratching under his chin. The Night Fury grinned and this caused Skya to give a smile of her own. "He's not so bad after all."

"One of these days you'll learn to listen to Vesta." Isla told her sister with a teasing smile.

When Terra snorted Vesta stuck out her tongue before saying "That would be a miracle."

Vesta hopped over to her eldest sister and gestured to the dragon. "Well?"

Terra looked at the Night Fury before saying "He seems safe enough."

"Terra." Vesta scolded before grabbing her hand. Terra didn't fight but didn't go with her sister willingly either. Skya moved so that Terra could place her hand up for Toothless to move into but both of them stared each other down.

"Then I guess we will do this the hard way." Vesta said with a shrug before gesturing for Toothless to get closer. Only whispers could be heard as she spoke in the dragon's ear and Toothless didn't take his eyes off of the eldest sister.

Astrid looked to Hiccup, her aggravation forgotten for the moment, and asked: "He's not going to do what I think he is, is he?"

"I honestly have no idea." Hiccup didn't take his eyes off of the sisters as he spoke to Astrid and watched cautiously to see what was about to unravel.

Terra leaned her hand out and kept her eyes on the Night Fury as he growled at her hand. He leaned in close and Hiccup began to worry about his friend and the girl as Toothless leaned in close to the girl's friend. His worry was forgotten when the Night Fury stuck his tongue out and licked the girl's hand, coating it in the dragon's saliva enough that it could be seen dripping off of Terra's skin.

Vesta couldn't hold back her laughter as Terra looked completely disgusted. "I didn't say to do that but damn that was great."

Terra stared at her hand horrified before looking at her sister with a serious expression. "Vesta?"

"Yes?" Vesta asked after her laughter finally ceased.

"I'm going to kill you." Terra didn't hesitate before taking off into a run after her sister.

It didn't take Vesta more than a split second before taking off into a run in the opposite direction with her sister hot on her trail. The rest of Hiccup's companions came into view after they had heard the sound of the sisters screaming and had come to investigate what had happened.

Astrid looked to Hiccup with an unamused expression as he laughed at the two sisters running through the village. When he felt her glare, he turned with a teasing smile. "Oh come on, that was great."

"That's not what I'm mad about." She told him as she put a hand on her head. He was as oblivious as ever and this was confirmed when he looked at her confused.

Tuffnut spoke up and asked, "Is he in trouble again?"

"This looks worse than when he didn't notice the betrothal necklace." Ruffnut added with a sly smile.

Snotlout smiled at Astrid and said "You know, he should really count himself lucky. If Astrid were mine, she wouldn't ever have to worry about me looking at another woman. Especially a newcomer."

"That's because you wouldn't be able to look at anything if Vesta caught you staring at her." Tuffnut told the shorter Viking, wiping the smile right off of Snoutlout's face.

Hiccup looked at Vesta and then back at Astrid before saying "I thought they were teasing when they mentioned something about you being jealous of Vesta but now I'm a little concerned."

"So am I." Astrid told him as she crossed her arms over her chest, speaking softly so that the four sisters couldn't hear what she said next. "Hiccup, are you having second thoughts about us?"

Hiccup smiled at her in an attempt to reassure her when said "Astrid, I'm not making promises but I can tell you that I'm not getting attached to them. It won't be long until they leave and we have years behind us."

"You didn't answer my question." Astrid's reply was soft and she took a breath before adding "I don't want to ruin years of friendship, Hiccup. So don't do anything stupid."

Every part of him was screaming for him to tell her that she was wrong and was imagining things but for reasons only Odin knows, he nodded in agreement. Astrid jumped on Stromfly and he watched as the two flew off. He watched her but didn't feel the need to chase her like he would have a few days ago. The feelings were still there but he also felt a need to stay where he was at the same time. He was chief now and he couldn't take off whenever he felt the need to. He had to put the needs of the many above the needs of the few and at that moment, his job was to stay to watch over the four sisters rather than chase his best friend.

While the twins, Snotlout, Hookfang, and Barf and Belch watched the other two sisters join in the playful fight between the sisters, Hiccup lost himself in his thoughts of what he should be feeling and the new emotions that had caused so much conflict.

Fishlegs came to stand by his friend and swallowed nervously as he asked: "Hiccup, you've been in love with Astrid for years but... have things changed?"

"No, that's ridiculous." Hiccup's words were too quick and he ran a hand through his auburn hair nervous before looking at his friend. "Isn't it?"

Fishlegs shrugged before saying "That's your call."

Hiccup let out a frustrated sigh before saying "We've known each other for years. It's not like one person can come in for a day and change that."

"Hiccup, before they showed up the future was pretty much laid out for you. It was easy and simple to follow. You never looked at anyone else, but Vesta... well... she's something else altogether. They all are. They are nothing like anyone else on Berk." Fishlegs spoke to Hiccup but his eyes rested on the blue-haired sister that was giggling next to Skya as Terra messed up Vesta's long hair.

Hiccup bit his lip as he looked at the fiery-haired teen who was oblivious to the trouble she'd unintentionally caused. The fight between the chief and his betrothed wasn't her fault but she was the reason behind it.

Hiccup remembered something suddenly as he looked at his friend and asked: "Has Isla mentioned anything about where they are from or anything about their past?"

"She mentioned something about having to keep a secret is why they can't stay in one place for very long." He told his friend and asked, "Does that mean anything to you?"

Hiccup looked at the four sisters with a troubled expression as he said "Vesta mentioned on the flight that she wanted to leave a piece of her behind. Something's telling me that whatever part she doesn't want is shared between the siblings."

"Should we ask them about it?" Fishlegs asked and Hiccup took his eyes off of the girls to look at his friend.

He was about to reply when Skya's voice was heard. "Ask us what?"

When he turned to look at them, he saw several pairs of eyes staring at him. Hiccup cleared his throat before coming up with a quick and terrible lie as he asked: "Would the four of you like to help out in some area of the village? It would ease the people's mind if you would all spend a little more time out and about helping them when you aren't interacting with the dragons."

Isla draped her arms over Terra and Vesta's shoulders as Skya answered for all of them. "We'd love to. Just tell us where to start."

The twins came up and grabbed Terra's arms, knocking Isla to the ground in the process. Terra looked startled as she looked at the twins and asked: "How do you two contribute to helping to the village exactly?"

"We get on everyone's nerves as much as possible." Tuffnut said with a proud smile.

Ruffnut added quickly "We're really good at it. Plus, it'll help you remove the stick from your butt."

"Actually, I believe that this decision lies with the chief." Valka's voice came from behind Hiccup and he turned to see her and Gobber giving him a look of encouragement. He smiled at his mother in a silent thank you. "Where do you think they are needed, son?"

Hiccup cleared his throat as he looked at Terra. "Would you be content with helping out in the gardens?"

Terra grinned happily before saying "That sounds perfect."

"However," Hiccup stopped her celebrating and looked at the twins with a devious smile. "I do agree with the twins so you'll spend two days a week with them goofing off. Just not too extreme."

"I can live with that." She told him with a smile.

Skya looked at him with an eager smile and he shrugged before saying "Would you mind helping out with grooming the dragons?"

"I'd be glad to help." She couldn't hide her smile at the news and it was easy to tell that she couldn't wait to get started.

"Gobber, would you be okay with Isla helping you out in the forge?" Hiccup asked and Gobber looked at him stunned.

"Lad, did the red-haired girl hit you in the head?" Gobber asked and Isla blushed, slightly embarrassed at the Vikings reaction.

Hiccup rolled his eyes before saying "You thought the same thing when dad told you to teach me."

"You proved to be a giant pain in the ass just like I assumed you would be." Gobber said with an amused grin.

Valka laughed as she elbowed her old friend in the ribs. "It seemed to do you both some good so perhaps it will do the same for Isla."

"Well, it can't be any worse than you setting fire to the whole village and breaking a bridge in one night." Gobber shrugged before smiling at the girl.

She smiled back and looked at Vesta as she said: "I promise not to set fire to the village. I'm actually really good at putting them out. I kind of had to learn how to in a hurry."

Her sisters looked at her in shock but quickly composed themselves as Hiccup looked at Vesta with a contemplating look. Vesta smiled before saying "It's okay. I know, I'm going to help Gothi with the herbs and whatever else she needs help with."

She was about to walk to Gothi's house when Hiccup startled her. "You can do that in your spare time. I want your help training the Dragon Explorers."

"Sure, no problem." Vesta hesitantly agreed until she saw the twins and Snotlout's nervous expressions. "Why do I have the feeling I'm missing something?"

Valka laughed before saying "I hope you like children."

"Wait." Vesta looked at Hiccup with a terrified expression. "Kids? As in tiny human beings? Did I hit you in the head and forget about it while we were flying?"

Hiccup laughed before saying "No. You are the one that the village trusts the least and the best way to improve that is giving you a job teaching the future generations of Berk how to defend themselves. It'll also give you the chance to learn more about the dragons."

"Vesta?" Skya asked and had a troubled look on her face.

Isla mirrored this expression as she asked: "With kids?"

"And Astrid." Gobber added.

Terra put a hand to her face before saying "This is a terrible idea."

"For once, I agree with Terra." Vesta said as she looked at Hiccup. "You're insane... and an ass."

"I just want Berk to be peaceful. This is the best way I can think of." Hiccup told her and she could sense that there was something he wasn't telling her.

She fought the urge to ask him what it was that he was keeping a secret but decided against it, not wanting him to ask her the same question in return. Instead, she sighed and made her decision. "Okay. The least I can do is trust you after everything you've done for us."

Hiccup smiled and the relief was clear in his eyes as he stared at her. It was clear that she wasn't thrilled about the decision but she was willing to give it a chance and that was the best he could hope for.

"It's getting late so I'll let you guys get some rest. We'll start first thing tomorrow." He told her and she nodded before she and her sisters made their way back to the twins' home. While it was only midday, the riders and the sisters all felt more than exhausted from the days events so no one argued at the suggestion to turn in early.

"We aren't really the right people to ask but..." Ruffnut started but trailed off.

Tuffnut finished her sentence by saying "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I'm sure everything will work out fine." Fishlegs said trying to ease his friends worry.

Snotlout snorted and said, "I can't wait until Astrid hears about this."

With that being the final thought his friends left him with, he turned to go home. Valka put a reassuring hand on her son's cheek as she said "If you think with your head and your heart, you won't go wrong. Wait and see how this plays out before you regret your decision, son."

"Absolutely. Go clear your head. We'll keep a watch on things here." Gobber said and Hiccup didn't ask questions.

"Ready, bud?" He asked Toothless and the Night Fury grinned in response before leaning down to eye level and licking Hiccup's face.

Hiccup wiped the dragon's saliva off but returned the smile before jumping on Toothless's back, placing his prosthetic leg where it needed to be and Toothless's fake tail flared out. Toothless didn't wait a moment longer once he knew his rider was secured that they took to the skies. The freedom that the flight brought was something that had been the greatest bond between Hiccup and Toothless. It was the one thing they would always have. That, and each other.

***That makes another chapter complete. I was watching Race to the edge while writing this and I had planned on this chapter being a bit shorter but the more I watched, the more I wanted to write. Well... I hope you all enjoy this chapter and thank you for reading. Have a great day!