Chapter Twelve: Coming Back Around
Kyra still remembered the last time she'd woken up with a splitting pain in her head like it was only last week. Except that time she'd woken up with a bandage covering the left side of her face which when removed revealed that she was now the owner of a dragon eye. This time, as her eyelids fluttered painfully open, she received a fuzzy vision in both of them – all she could make out was a warm brown colour accompanied by flickers of golden orange light. She was lying on something hard but her head was propped up by something...a pillow? It had been so long since Kyra had known the sensation of having a rough bag stuffed with fluffy sheep's wool under her head.
"Ughn..." she groaned, raising a hand to add pressure to her throbbing head. She felt exhausted, more so than she'd ever felt before. Maybe that overload of power hadn't been the best of ideas...damn dragon instincts. It wasn't the first time Kyra had cursed her innate abilities and it certainly wouldn't be the last.
"She's waking up!" a call sounded, one that sounded familiar. It was gruff but still soothing – a low voice heavy with a Scottish accent (as Kyra had known it in the world she'd grown up in). Moving her head stiffly and blinking a few times to clear her vision up, Kyra's face broke into the tiniest of smiles when she saw the bearded face of her father, Stoick the Vast.
"Dad..." she whispered weakly. It had been twelve years since she'd seen the man, not counting a possible brief glance when she'd visited Berk as a bandit a few days ago, but he'd barely changed. Aside from the heavily greying beard, he was still the giant of a man that Kyra remembered. "Am I...?"
"You're safe, Kyra," Stoick murmured gently. "You've been out cold for a couple of days." Kyra winced. Ouch – she must have gotten really mad to have used that much power.
"Where am I?" she mumbled, although the answer was probably obvious.
"Hiccup brought you back to Berk," Stoick replied. "Further from the pirates and Berserkers than the Meathead Isles. Artair and Ember are downstairs." Kyra bit her lip and averted her gaze. After all this time, was she truly ready for a family reunion? After all, her only daughter...the daughter she'd hidden herself away from to keep attention away from her...had seen her at, quite possibly, her worst – enraged and dangerous. And Artair...well, she'd never given him as much as a whisper to let him know that either she or Ember were alive and well...ish.
The sound of footsteps brought Kyra out of her musings – turning her head to face the stairs that led to the upper floor of the Haddock residence (at least, that's where she assumed she was), she pushed herself into a seating position as she was greeted with the sight of her (not so) little brother and her daughter.
"Kyra!" Hiccup exclaimed.
"Mum!" Ember cried quietly at the exact same time. Overwhelmed with the dragon-like motherly instinct within her, Kyra swung her legs over the side of the bed as she shakily sat up and opened her arms, weeping softly as Ember threw her own arms around her mother's neck. "You're okay..."
/\
"Em...I'm so sorry..." Kyra whispered into my ear. I didn't know why I'd hugged her – I thought that it would be a seriously awkward reunion with me hanging back downstairs for as long as possible – but something had compelled me to run over and comfort my mother...perhaps it was part of being the child of the Dragon Shifter. After all, despite being able to suppress her instincts to an extent, Kyra had still protected me with her everything back at the pirates' fort the way I'd seen some dragon mothers with their offspring. And the hatchlings always had a way of letting their mothers know they were okay...unhurt. Maybe it was similar with me.
"I can't believe you're alive..." I murmured back. Well, I couldn't exactly say something along the lines of 'I missed you' because, let's face it, I'd known the woman for a maximum three days (not counting the ones she'd just been spending unconscious). I didn't know what to say, if I'm honest. Kyra broke the hug and held my hands, her mismatched eyes avoiding my yellow-green ones.
"I guess I've got more than just a bit of explaining to do, huh?" she grimaced weakly, her accent mirroring my own.
"Maybe later," I suggested. After all, the woman was still weak – she could barely sit up straight. Hiccup walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I hope we've taken care of her as well as you might have hoped," he smiled awkwardly. Kyra laughed softly with a silver-bell quality before replying.
"You've raised her wonderfully," she replied. "Thank you." Hiccup smiled in welcome before pressing something into my hands – my hair pin. Smiling my own 'thank you', I quickly pinned some of the stray bangs out of my face. "It suits you," Kyra noted kindly.
"It was yours, wasn't it?" I asked.
"Your father had that made for me as a wedding gift," Kyra explained. "Though, just between you and me, I think it looks a little better on you," she winked. Grandpa Stoick walked over with a caring twinkle in his eyes.
"You think you're ready to come down?" he asked. I noticed my mother's brief smile fade into an expression of uncertainty. After so long away from proper human contact she must be so nervous. Instinctively, I grabbed her hand and squeezed it – Hiccup did the same.
"You got this, Sis," Hiccup murmured. A crash sounded from the roof, making the chief wince. "Besides, I think Windwalker might destroy the entire roof if you stay cooped up in here too long." Kyra laughed at that and nodded – using me and my uncle as support, she slowly pushed herself to her feet. After wobbling around for a moment or two, she regained her balance and pulled herself straight – now that they were side by side, I noticed that my mother was indeed about an inch or so taller than my uncle which made me rather smug for some reason – maybe I'd inherit her height and overtake Flint someday. Even though she still had a shoulder-blade-length plait hanging by one side of her face, the rest of her hair was roughly cut to around her jaw and it was remarkable how much she and my uncle actually looked alike. If it weren't for the one year age difference (as Astrid had explained to me) they could have easily passed for twins.
With Stoick leading the way and me trailing a step or two behind, we made our way down the stairs into the dining room where practically the entire Haddock-Godrikson family had gathered to witness the return of the Dragon Shifter to the family. My father, Artair, was standing on the far side of the room to the fireplace, half concealed in shadow (mayhap this reunion would be more awkward for him...I wasn't sure); Flint was perched on his favourite thatched chair; and Astrid was keeping the triplets under control by the table. Upon seeing their aunt for the first time, the usually squabbling trio of young girls quietened down instantly.
"Hey..." Kyra mumbled shyly, rubbing the back of her neck. She was no longer dressed in her bandit's rags – instead, Heather had brought over one of her own tunics for the Chief-tess to wear (Heather and her family were, as far as I knew, back on the Meathead Isles taking care of things whilst Artair was out): a dark green one with a leather overskirt. The sleeves were mid-length and bound with a leather strap, showing off the flame-like marks running down my mother's arms. Her black leggings had been replaced with a pair of Astrid's dark blue ones and my aunt had even dug out a spare pair of boots. I squeezed her other hand reassuringly as Hiccup hopped down the rest of the stairs (wincing as he landed awkwardly on his left leg, might I add) to let her past.
There was a few seconds of silence that seemed to drag on for eternity. Astrid was the first to move – leaving her (for once) pacified triplets by the table, she walked over to Kyra and pulled her into the kind of hug one would expect from a best friend or a sister. I let go of my mother's hand and smiled at the sight – Kyra truly had missed her family...I hated to think how painful it was to stay away. I could hardly say anything – I hadn't known who my parents were until about a week ago.
/\
"It's good to see you again, Kyra," Astrid whispered into her friend's ear.
"Good to see you too, Astrid," Kyra muttered back. With a beaming smile, Astrid broke the hug and wiped the tears leaking from her sister-in-law's eyes. Time for family introductions.
"Come on – time for you to meet the kids," she grinned. Kyra smiled back shakily as Astrid pulled her over to a spot where she could be seen easily. "You met Flint briefly," Astrid began, pointing at her son who waved slightly. Kyra's smile warmed.
"Okay, the last time I saw you, you were...this big?" she teased, holding her hands about a foot apart from each other. She remembered the day that word had come from Berk that her sister-in-law had given birth to a son. As soon as they could, even though Kyra was still pregnant with the child that had turned out to be Ember at the time, Artair and Kyra had paid a visit to see their newborn nephew.
"It's an honour to meet you, Aunt Kyra," Flint laughed in reply. Kyra flushed a shade of red that was visible even in the firelight.
"I don't know about 'an honour' but..." she trailed off as she walked over and ruffled the boy's bright blonde hair, a shade matching his mother's exactly. "You've grown up with Em?" she quizzed, glancing at her daughter who nodded at the same time as her cousin...the boy she'd called her brother for twelve years.
"Uh-huh," Flint nodded. "She's got your left eye," he teased. Kyra and Ember both flushed – Hiccup darted his gaze between them and suddenly noticed that the irises of his niece's eyes were indeed the same shade as his sister's dragon eye. Astrid pulled the triplets into a line.
"And, well, you've never met these three," she shrugged. Kyra turned around and smiled at the sight of her five-year-old nieces. "Girls, introduce yourselves and no playing around," Astrid instructed with a motherly warning tone. The triplets huffed – clearly at least Lysa and Eva had been planning a joke (Nott was less of a trickster – her sisters often called her the 'goody-two-shoes' of the trio).
"I'm Lysa," Lysa introduced herself with a slight curtsey. Nott walked forward shyly and shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"My name's Nott, Aunt Kyra," she murmured. Kyra smiled warmly and shook their hands in turn before turning to the last triplet.
"I'm Eva, Aunt Kyra," Eva introduced confidently, sticking her hand out. "Between you, me and everyone in this room, I'm going to be the most kick-butt dragon rider ever existed!"
"Says who?" Lysa snapped dryly. "The girl who can hardly control Camicaze?"
Kyra laughed her silver-bell giggle at her nieces' interactions – Nott shying away from the confrontation as Lysa and Eva began verbally battling it out. It reminded her a lot of the arguments Hiccup and Snotlout used to have when they were teenagers.
"We'll introduce you to the other kids later," Hiccup suggested with a smile as he hung back by the stairs (Stoick had sat down in his usual chair). "They've been waiting to meet you since we got you back here." Kyra smiled at the suggestion as she broke up the fight between two of her nieces.
"I'd like that," she agreed. Artair moved from his place in the corner of the house into the light coming from the fireplace – as he did so, Kyra stood up and her smile vanished to be replaced by a stoic expression. Ember gulped and sat down next to Flint – okay, awkward parent reunion time. "Hello, Artair..." Kyra mumbled.
"Kyra..." Artair breathed quietly. Hiccup cast a side-glance at Astrid and gulped – this could get extremely awkward extremely fast and Hiccup knew that he was likely to explode if Artair said something he felt was out of order. Astrid nodded and Hiccup quickly left the house with the excuse that he needed to help the Ack family with mending the roof on their barn. A silence filled the house, so much so that the triplets began fidgeting. In the end, Artair tried to start talking again.
"Kyra, I..." he began, walking towards Kyra but the woman flinched backwards slightly and avoided his gaze.
"Artair, I know what you're going to say, alright?" she interrupted. "Why didn't I say anything? Let you know exactly what I planned to do?" She trailed off and gulped back what Ember recognised as a sob. All the time, Kyra's voice never raised much above a stifled cry – it wasn't at a level that would rival a banshee but at the same time she wasn't mumbling. "I...I...I honestly don't even know if I knew what I was going to do," she stammered. Artair walked over to his wife slowly as she spoke. "I know that I left you thinking we were both dead and, I'll admit it, I was a complete idiot for doing so. I...Artair, I know that I can't use...this...as an excuse!" Kyra almost choked on her sobs as they rose further up her throat, gesturing to herself and the birthmarks that ran across her arms and face. "I was wrong to do all of that! I know that...just..."
"Kyra," Artair whispered with a gentle firmness as he held Kyra's shoulders, trying to calm her uncontrollable shaking as their gazes met. Ember bit her lip and held her breath before her father spoke. "I don't care." Kyra fell silent as tears began leaking from her eyes. "You and Ember are alive!" Artair continued, his handsome face breaking into a warm and relieved smile. "That is all I care about."
Astrid quickly covered the triplets' eyes as Artair and Kyra shared a heartfelt kiss in front of the fireplace.
/\
I couldn't stop my heart from soaring at the sight of my parents' reunion. I must have let loose a small gasp of some kind as they broke their kiss ad my mother extended her arm towards me. I glanced at Flint before moving – he smiled and made a motion with his head.
"Go on," he mouthed. At that, I leapt up and ran over from my position next to my brother...my cousin...and into the embrace. I'd been hugged by the aunt and uncle I'd called Ma and Pa for twelve years before...but this was different. The warmth was different...the comfort from the embrace was different. I felt the arm around my shoulder tighten slightly and I pressed myself into the warmth off the hug. For years I had wondered what it would be like to have a hug with my own parents. Now I knew.
My mother was the one who pulled away from the embrace first but we all remained in place. I glanced up at my mother and smiled comfortingly as I saw her sad smile and her tearstained cheeks. She was home – she didn't have to worry about me anymore. We were both safe. I was unsure as of yet if I wanted to leave Berk and instead live in the Meathead Isles with them...after all, it would mean moving away from the place I'd called home for years and effectively starting my life anew...but for now, I was happy enough to finally know my parentage...to know who I was.
Silence filled the house for what seemed like forever until Hiccup walked back in through the door. My family's hug broke apart but by the contented smile on Hiccup's face, I could tell everything was okay – that there would be no explosive outbursts this time. Even Stoick visibly relaxed in his chair as any tension that might have been in the air lifted.
"Well..." he remarked once the silence became a bit too loud for his liking. "I'd say we've all had a rough couple of days..."
"Girls, how much trouble did you give your grandfather?" Hiccup shot sarcastically at the triplets who immediately started bickering over who did what and whose fault for whatever happened it was...you get the point. Stoick burst out laughing and shook his head.
"Oh, the wee lasses were fine, son," he reassured. "Better than the Thorston twins ever were."
"Looks like you did well with your family, Hiccup," my mother joked at her brother as she sat down by the table.
"You didn't do too badly yourself, sis," my uncle smiled back – I was grateful for the firelight covering what no doubt was my cheeks blushing. Suddenly, someone's stomach growled from somewhere in the room – a highly embarrassed-looking Flint gave away the culprit.
"Sorry..." my cousin-who-I-called-a-brother mumbled. Seconds later, my own tummy decided to give a demonstration of a dragon's mating call – in embarrassment, I hid my face under a curtain of hair but not before every single adult in the room startling laughing.
"Okay, who wants dinner?" Hiccup suggested. Kyra shot to her feet, wavering slightly from lingering exhaustion and rushed to the kitchen area before Astrid had a chance to move.
"I'll cook!" she offered. Astrid opened her mouth in protest but my mother was already in with a counter-argument. "I'm out of practice, Astrid," she pointed out. "Besides, last time I had your cooking..."
"Uh, in milady's defence, she has improved, Kyra," Hiccup interrupted. Kyra raised an eyebrow before turning her attention to whatever ingredients she'd fished out of the baskets – I spotted cod (Mum had steered clear of eels) and a few root vegetables. There was a mumbled "I'll believe that when I see it" and despite the "Ooh!" from the triplets and huff from Astrid I was amazed there wasn't more of a spat rising between my mother and aunt – evidently, Mum was one of the few people who could say that kind of thing to Astrid's face and get away with it.
Thinking about it, judging by what I'd seen a few days ago I could see why.
"I know...I know, it's her decision entirely," I heard Artair's voice sound behind me. Glancing over my shoulder I noticed that Artair had gone over to Hiccup and the two chiefs were now in conversation. From what I'd just heard, I assumed it was about me. Brilliant and just when I'd been thinking about it as well. "If she decides to stay here, I won't hold it against her."
"Just don't push it on her, okay?" Hiccup muttered. "If I know Ember, she'll talk about this kind of thing when she wants." I smiled – what Hiccup said was right. If I had something I wanted to talk about, I'd say so. I didn't want to bring up the matter of which family I would live with now that I knew who my blood parents were right now – we'd had a far too crazy couple of days to worry about that right now. I decided to wait until my mother had fully recovered until I'd bring the subject up.
The smell of fish stew began wafting from the kitchen – I noticed that everything my mother put into the cooking pot was very roughly chopped and she was tentatively poking the fire underneath and stirring the contents with an uncertain frown on her face. I winced and grimaced as she fumbled with a board of potatoes and sent them splashing into the pot all at the same time. Stew went everywhere and Camicazi instantly flew down from her favourite spot in the rafters to lap up the mess but I bit my lip when I saw how saddened my mother looked. She wasn't used to this at all but from what I'd heard over the last few days whilst she was unconscious, Kyra had every speck of pride that every Haddock family member had. She wasn't one to back down from something and often kicked herself mentally if something went wrong.
I was about to walk over to comfort her when a whistling started. The tune was familiar – it was one that Hiccup and Astrid often sang and danced to on their anniversary. It was known throughout the village and was a traditional Viking love son but it was known to many as the Haddock's Song because of how it had been passed down through generations of the family as part of courtship: For the Dancing and the Dreaming. I cast my gaze about the room, half expecting to see my uncle, aunt or even my grandfather whistling it as they sometimes would on impromptu occasions but I was surprised to see my father instead walking towards my mother, whistling the tune.
"Ah...so she did teach him," Stoick remarked with a smile. Kyra had paused in her uncertain cooking and stopped trying to mop up the spilled stew (in my opinion Camicazi was doing an okay job on her own) as her husband walked over, her face lighting up in nostalgia. Hiccup and Astrid gathered the triplets together whilst I sat down next to Flint again as we all watched things unfold. My mother had spent twelve years alone; cutting herself off from those she loved most to protect them...to protect me. My father held no resentment towards her for it...and now he was proving it.
"Remember, Kyra?" he whispered gently as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and took the board out of her arms. "Your family's son?" Softly and uncertainly at first, he began to sing.
I'll swim and sail on savage seas,
With ne'er a fear of drowning
And gladly ride the waves of life,
If you would marry me.
/\
The smallest of smiles broke across Kyra's face as the familiar lyrics, as much as part of her life as the Song of the Adriatic, floated into her ear. Artair had never been the best singer in the Archipelago but the sound of it brought back memories of when they'd first married. Having learnt the song over the years, she decided to teach her new husband to continue her family's tradition of having the song as their usual courtship melody – a celebration of love. She had just moved to the Meathead Isles with Artair and was starting her new life as the Chief-tess of the Meatheads but she still wanted to keep a hold of the family traditions she herself had only just learned about.
"No scorching sun nor freezing cold," Artair continued, helping Kyra to her feet again. "Will stop..."
"Will stop me on my jour...!" Stoick suddenly started singing, making everyone fall silent until Hiccup elbowed him sharply in the ribs and snapped "Dad!" rather sharply at him. "...ney..."
"Shh!" Hiccup hissed.
"Sorry..." Stoick mumbled as Artair and Kyra laughed quietly. Ember and Flint were nearly besides themselves with laughter, as were the triplets. Artair took a breath before continuing.
If you will promise me your heart,
And love...
He paused and waited for Kyra to start singing herself. True, everyone had heard the woman's crystalline voice as the Song of the Adriatic had torn through the mist back at the pirates' fort but that song had been full of power and danger. Artair missed his wife simply singing...just singing. He longed to hear that voice again, without the deadly force that brought back her powers when she was at her lowest moments. The silence that followed made him worry and he backed away slightly with a sigh. Maybe Kyra wasn't ready...
And love me for eternity.
The crystalline clarity of a voice filled the house as Kyra allowed her vocal chords to sing as she'd done years ago. Ember gasped and smiled – this voice was the same she'd heard at the pirates' stronghold but this time it was gentler, more beautiful than powerful. Flint and the triplets were also stunned to silence at their aunt's voice whilst the grownups had smiles of joy stretching across their own faces. Kyra took a deep breath before turning to face her husband with a strong gaze set into her face.
"My Dearest One, my Darling Dear," she sang as she allowed Artair to lead her away from the cooking pot and into the main hall of the house where everyone else was gathered. "Your mighty words astound me," she added with a smile stretching over her own face. Kyra was so caught up in the moment she let herself go that she failed to noticed Artair leading her subtly into the dance that accompanied the song. "But I've no need of mighty deeds..." Kyra's eyes suddenly widened in shock horror as she realised what was going on...she was a terrible dancer. "When I...feel your arms... Not the dancing!" she squealed pleadingly as Artair spun her around. Kyra stumbled over her own feet and not because she was tired. "NOT THE DANCING!"
Too late. Artair was already leading his wife into a clumsy version of the dance which he had learnt off Hiccup years earlier. Neither Viking was particularly graceful but Artair made sure that his wife wasn't sent flying and kept a firm hand on hers the entire time.
"But I would bring you rings of gold," he sang with a wide beam across his face. Hiccup and Astrid snickered slightly as Kyra was led round Artair's kneeling position and nearly tripped over his leg.
"AH!" she yelped.
"I'd even sing you poetry!" Artair continued with a laugh in his voice.
"Oh, would you?" Kyra laughed breathlessly, trying to break away from the dance but being held back by her husband and urged on by those watching. Stoick was beaming and tapping his feet nearby and Ember was nodding her head in joy.
"And I would keep you from all harm if you would stay beside me!" Artair finished his verse. Kyra took the cue without missing a beat, although she missed a few steps and clumsily spun under Artair's arms, nearly bashing his head as well as her own nose, as the dance also continued. There were a few 'ows' from Artair as his beloved wife trod on his toes multiple times.
"I have no use for rings of gold! I care not for your poetry..." she laughed with the same shimmering quality as her singing. "I only want your hand to hold..."
"I only want you near me!" Artair finished as Kyra stumbled over her own feet again. Hiccup and Astrid laughed at the sight of the two Vikings dancing clumsily around the room, reunited after far too long apart. Ember was clapping along with the rhythm of the song nearby and Flint was tapping his feet as well as swaying along next to her. As Artair made sure Kyra didn't get too dizzy and Kyra carried the tune over Artair's slightly flat tone, the song continued.
To love and kiss; to sweetly hold
For the dancing and the dreaming...
"Whoa!" Kyra chortled as Artair lifted her in his arms and spun her around. She landed awkwardly but Windwalker stood nearby to make sure she wasn't sent flying into the fish baskets, nudging her forwards before she fell over backwards.
Through all life's sorrows and delights
I'll keep your love inside me!
I'll swim and sail on savage seas
With ne'er a fear of drowning...
The song suddenly came to a halt as Artair and Kyra stopped dancing. A silence fell in the room as everyone waited for the song to end – Artair placed a caressing hand on Kyra's cheek and she echoed the movement.
"And gladly ride the waves of life..." Artair sang quietly as Kyra smiled. A tear streaked down her freckled face before she finished what her husband had started.
"If you would marry me," she finished with a beautiful clarity to her voice that sent shivers down everyone's necks. Contrasting the otherwise jovial jig most of the song had been, the final note hung in the air lovingly as if it were the most precious treasure throughout the far north. As the song finished, Artair and Kyra pulled each other into a hug again – this time, Ember let her parents have their moment before Artair gazed into his wife's mismatched eyes.
"You ready to come home, Kyra?" he asked gently. Kyra glanced at Ember who nodded as if to say she'll be fine and would make her own decision once she was ready. Until then, she wanted her parents to have their own chance at happiness. Ember had lived a happy life on Berk whilst her parents wrestled with the turmoil of not knowing whether or not their other family members were dead, alive or even safe. They needed to get away from that. Kyra looked back at Artair who stood an inch shorter than her.
"I've had enough of running, that's for sure," she replied with a sly smirk before nodding. "Yes."
Oh, my golly goodness! I am so sorry I haven't updated in ages, guys! Basically, I'm uploading this plus the first two chapters of How a Hofferson Trains her Dragon 2 as a celebration of FINALLY getting all of my coursework done (exams are yet to come but I've got one major bit of school out the way). After this I'll be going dormant again but you've waited long enough for an update on this story so here you go.
Fluffy chapter is fluffy but I wanted a Dancing and the Dreaming moment in here - don't ask me why, just...reasons. Anyway, thanks again for your patience, guys! See you guys soon.