CHAPTER TWELVE: A WARM WELCOME

Kenna

They entered the Great Hall and Kenna was overwhelmed by its grandeur. It was a massive structure, that easily seated the entire population of Berk and their dragons. Several large beams lined the center of the building, each far too large for her to wrap her arms around and all ornately carved. Along the walls were massive tapestries depicting Berk's history. She recognized the images of Hiccup and Toothless, as well as some of Astrid and Stormfly, as well as the other dragons and individuals she assumed were their riders. There was a tapestry depicting Hiccup defeating the dragon queen he mentioned before they had left the Hidden World. It showed a massive dragon, with three pairs of eyes, facing down Hiccup and Toothless as the people below watched in horror. The boy and his dragon were dwarfed by the immense dragon. Another tapestry showed Toothless radiating blue, Hiccup atop him, staring down the massive Bewilderbeast that now resided with the other dragons. Another tapestry showed a village burning. Kenna assumed that it was the original Berk, their home for generations. Her heart panged with a sympathetic feeling of loss. Another showed this island's discovery, dragons flocking to its steep cliffs. Yet another tapestry depicted the dragons leaving, the entire village standing on a cliff as the dragons flew away, toward the setting sun. The final tapestry depicted Hiccup and Astrid in their wedding clothes, flower crowns on their heads, standing hand in hand in front of the giant statue of a man I had seen in the village square just moments ago.

Eret led Kenna to the front of the Great Hall, where a large table was adorned with boar, venison, fish, chicken, roasted vegetables, fresh bread, and a variety of other dishes. In the center of the table, Hiccup stood with Astrid, Toothless and Stormfly beside them. Eret and Kenna sat down at the large table, next to Valka.

"Berk!" Hiccup shouted, attempting to get the large crowd's attention. "People of Berk!" Still the crowd continued speaking. Hiccup sighed, a look of defeat flashing across his face.

"Hey muttonheads, listen up!" shouted the chieftess. Her voice carried through the hall, and almost instantly, the voices stopped. Hiccup rolled his eyes slightly before stepping up on the bench, putting him high enough for everyone to see.

"Tonight, we feast because our dragons have come home!" Applause erupted and Hiccup held up his hands to quiet the crowd. "I am just excited as the rest of you. I know we've all missed them, so I figured we would want to celebrate with them. I don't know if they are staying, or for how long, so we need to make the most of the time we have with them. They are here to help us in an upcoming challenge, but I will save that for another day. Tonight, let's enjoy their company." Again, cheers broke out throughout the room. "I also called for this celebration to celebrate a newcomer," he gestured to Kenna. She stood, feeling hundreds of eyes on her. She felt the whisper that started in the front a passed like a wave to the back. "Kenna is the one who brought your dragons home, I just tagged along for the ride." An overwhelming cheer erupted and she blushed furiously, the heat burning her cheeks. "Please make her feel welcome here. Well, that's it. Let's eat!"

There was another round of thunderous applause that faded into the rumble of a large crowd talking and laughing as everyone took their seats and began to eat. Kenna grabbed a piece of bread and began to eat as a short but burly man shoved his way between Eret and herself.

"So," he started with an air of arrogance, "you're Kenna. Hiccup didn't mention how beautiful you are." He waggled his eyebrows and blew a kiss at her. She raised her eyebrows and shot a glance at Eret, who was now seated behind this shorter man.

"He's harmless," Eret said with a shrug.

"Shut it pretty boy!" the austentatious man said, "She's only interested in real men." He flexed his arm, winking at her.

Kenna leaned in, and looked at him seductively. "Well…" she paused, waiting for him to tell her his name.

"Ughh...Snotlout."

"Well, Snotlout, you're right. I am only interested in real men."

Snotlout blinked repeatedly, completely entranced.

"Do you know where I could find one?"

The look of absolute shock on his face had Eret and Kenna both laughing loudly. He was too easy, too simple. Playing a simple joke to exploit his overconfidence had been highly entertaining. Hiccup and Astrid were laughing, since they had witnessed the entire conversation. Even Valka chuckled quietly.

Snotlout stood up from the bench had stalked away, shoulders hunched.

Kenna turned her attention back to the food, please with herself.

"Nicely done," the blond chieftess complemented. "Not everyone can leave Snotlout speechless."

Kenna nodded in thanks, her mouth full of delicious food.

"Astrid," she said, extending her arm across the table. Kenna grasped it in greeting.

"Kenna."

She looked the newcomer up and down, as if measuring her worth. Astrid had shockingly blue eyes, that seemed steely and cold at first, but twinkled with a playfulness that was reflected in Hiccup's own green eyes. While clearly pregnant, she was a petite woman, and her stomach matched her stature. She still maintained a sense of grace, even with the added weight of her unborn baby, not waddling like other women at her point in the pregnancy tended to do. Her eyes flashed to both Hiccup and Eret, as if silently asking their opinion. Satisfied with the answers she apparently received, she relaxed slightly and gestured to Eret.

"So, you two have history,"she said to Kenna, clearly hoping she would share the story.

Kenna nodded as Eret wrapped his arm around her waist. "We were betrothed for a little over a year before.." she paused, unsure of how to proceed. She didn't think that this was the place to discuss Drago. "...before I left."

"It sounds silly, but I knew I loved her when we were children," Eret continued. "We grew up together and I was always amazed by her strength, her fire, and her kindness." Kenna rolled her eyes at the overly-romantic statement.

"Really!" he said with a smile. "I remember the exact moment I told myself that I was going to marry you. We were maybe thirteen. And Uffe and the other boys were teasing you, claiming you weren't strong enough to play fight with them because you were a girl. You didn't bat an eye or even acknowledge their teasing. You just grabbed the sword out of Uffe's hands and disarmed all of them!"

Kenna smiled at the memory. Not only had she disarmed them, she had sent all six of them running home, crying.

Astrid laughed quietly. "Ok, Kenna, you HAVE to show me what you've got."

The red-haired woman smiled, happy that she was making a connection with Astrid. "Alright."

They ate until we couldn't take another bite. Kenna's mind buzzed slightly from the wine and mead that had been provided. At some point, most of the tables had been pushed to the edges of the Great Hall, and a band of musicians had begun to play. Vikings of all ages danced and clapped with the music, while others sang loudly.

Hiccup, Astrid, Eret and Kenna sat off to the side, watching the festivities. Kenna rested my head on Eret's shoulder, smiling as he hummed along. S had been introduced to the rest of the dragon riders, many of whom were on the dance floor. Ruffnut and Tuffnut were performing some sort of strange interpretive dance, waving their arms in the air and kicking their legs wildly. Snotlout was currently dancing with Valka. She was patient with him, especially since he was so drunk. She continued trying to politely escape, but the young brute would just pull her back in. The large blond man named Fishlegs was dancing with his dragon, Meatlug. She spun and bounced, her tongue lolling out of her mouth. Hiccup had his arm around Astrid and was whispering in her ear with a smirk on his face. She would laugh and swat his arm playfully, before he would grab her hand and kiss it tenderly. The two were clearly not only in love, but passionate partners, unafraid to display their affection for each other.

Without warning, Eret stood up and held his hands out to his woman. "Dance with me," he said with a smile.

"You're ridiculous," Kenna said, smiling back. He said nothing in reply, but stretched his hands out further and raised one eyebrow. Shaking her head at his antics, she placed her hands in his and stood up. He pulled her into the center of the room and spun her in a slow circle. They started by facing each other and raising their arms, crossing them as they walked in a circle, then repeated the motion in the opposite direction. They wrapped their right arms around each other's waist, and with the other raised, circled each other again in one direction and the opposite. As the music sped up, so did their movements. They skipped and spun around each other, clapping along with the music. Kenna couldn't help the massive smile on her face as Eret grabbed her waist and lifted her high in the air, spinning around. The song ended with his arms around her, their eyes staring into each other's, and their breathing rapid.

Kenna felt light-headed. Perhaps it was the mead and wine, or the activity, or the rush of so many emotions. She needed air, and this room was too warm, too crowded. She jerked my head in the direction of the door.

"Want to get some air?" Kenna asked her love.

He nodded and grabbed her hand, leading her from the music and the crowd and into the cool night air.