This sounds like it's going to be a fun chapter. I'll be right back. I'm just gonna grab some pop—Nah, I don't need popcorn. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this angst-filled chapter. That reminds me, I think it's time this story had a genre change. I might be doing that in the near future. Anyway…

Review Replies:

Ferdoos: Good guess! The update's super late, but here it is.

kitty.0: You could say that again. Poor guy! He just can't catch a break.

aaquater: I feel like I've tried that before, but I can play around with it again. This site tends to easily frustrate me sometimes. I hope they find food soon too and, nope, Toothless would definitely not like living off of berries. That would not quench his hunger at all. He wants fish…but (if Hiccup even managed to find any) they would be awfully salty.

dragonlover17: Thank you very much. Sorry to keep you waiting longer for the update.

Guest (anonymous): Good question! I'd guess that Hiccup packed some dried meat in that handy satchel of his, but once that's gone, he's an SOL (survivor out of luck)since they've officially determined themselves to be the only inhabitants on this island. This chapter does sound good. I'm excited! Here's the (late!) update.

Mara911: Good guesses! Time to find out! I'm glad you like the story. Here's the next update. I'm sorry that it's so late!

Next chapter starts…now!

Chapter 14: The Letter

It had been almost a month's time since Astrid had felt compelled to veer off-course and change direction, walking to Hiccup's home instead of the Berk Dragon Academy. That day, she had sat down with the Chief, Hiccup's father, and told him about the nightmare she had experienced that stormy night after Hiccup had left to complete his mission. The Chief, an experienced listener, had let her speak, tell him the full story about how she had watched Hiccup and Toothless fall from the sky and plunge deep into the dark waters, how they had never resurfaced and she had awoken then with a strange foreboding feeling that something was amiss.

After hearing Astrid's recount of the nightmare, Chief Stoick was, at first, also worried for the safety of his son. However, as he then told Astrid, he had complete confidence in his son and assured her that this nightmare was probably just a manifestation of her fears. He had placed his large hand on her shoulder armor and told her to just give it time. "Hiccup will be back before you know it," he had softly told her. Astrid had left the house then. Honestly, she had not felt any better than when she had walked in to talk with Hiccup's father, but it was disrespectful to question the Chief's judgment (even when it was not completely sound).

As the month had passed, Astrid became more adept at leading academy lessons. The other teens had come to realize that Hiccup would not be back for a while (even though Astrid had told them that multiple times) so they had begun to listen to her and give her the same respect they would give to Hiccup. For Astrid, though, that was plenty enough. Now that each day at the Academy didn't automatically give her a headache, Astrid did not dread waking up each morning. She still preferred the comfort of her dreams, but she could live each day in the waking world too; all she had to do was keep the faith that someday soon her Hiccup would return home, back to Berk where he belonged.

Presently, it was early morning and Astrid was still safely shrouded in the comfort of sleep and the dreams it brought. The sun was just rising, but it was not yet time to wake; she had plenty of time to sleep and the dream she was having now was not one that she was so easily ready to let go of for, in it, she was standing face-to-face with her absent boyfriend whom she so dearly missed.

"Hiccup…" Astrid's voice trailed off in a whisper as she reached out to gently stroke his cheek. His skin beneath her fingertips felt so soft, just as she remembered. Moving closer, she embraced the boy and she felt his arms encircle her. "I miss you," she whispered into his ear. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she willed herself not to cry; Astrid Hofferson did not cry. Ever. "When will you be back?"

"Actually…about that…Astrid…" he replied in his nervous stutter. However, before he could finish, an unseen force pulled him back, wrenching him from Astrid's grasp.

"Hiccup!"

"Astrid…help!"

Hiccup was gone and Astrid bolted upright in her bed. The bright sunlight shining through her window stung her eyes. Rubbing her eyes, Astrid let herself fall back down onto the bed. Her loose golden hair sprayed all around her. She was not ready to get up just yet; she wanted to figure out what this newest dream could've meant. After talking with the Chief almost a month ago, Astrid had resigned herself to feeling a little better about Hiccup, but now, after this latest dream, her fears had returned. There must be a reason for dreams...nightmares, like this! Something is not right. I want Hiccup to be okay, but, somehow, I don't think that he is.

Clearly she could not voice her concerns to the Chief. He'd probably just give her the same answer. Who else could she talk with about this? Maybe Gobber; the blacksmith always did seem to like Hiccup, even back in the days when the young Viking was not popular among those who lived in their village. Quickly, Astrid jumped out of bed, braided her hair, and put on her shoulder armor and leather headband.

The forge was right next to her house. She ran out the door and made to turn left toward the forge. However, a crowd over to her right caught her attention before she could follow through with her plan to talk with Gobber. Watching as the crowd moved together, on their way to some other place in the village, Astrid's curiosity got the best of her and she chose to follow them.

Astrid could barely see where the crowd was heading to, but finally they all stopped near the docks. Trying to see over the taller Vikings, Astrid finally was able to see what had captured their attention. Trader Johann had returned to Berk. Ready to turn away, Astrid was stopped as she took one last glance at the man in front of her, in front of them. Something did not seem quite right. Johann was usually so much more cheerful than he appeared to be on this day. What is going on?

"Where is Stoick? I have an urgent message to give to him," Johann asked the gathered villagers.

"I am here," Stoick's voice boomed around them, parting the crowd as the chief strode up to the edge of the dock. "What do you need to tell me?"

In one of Trader Johann's hands, Astrid noticed a folded letter. What is that? Her question was answered almost immediately. "On my recent travels, there was this one island that I visited. They seemed a bit…how can I put it…distressed. As I was leaving, they asked me if I would soon be visiting Berk. When I said that I would soon be returning to your lovely island, they gave me this letter and asked that I hand-deliver it to Stoick the Vast, Berk's Chief."

The crowd quieted as Stoick took the letter and carefully unfolded it. Astrid watched his eyes skim over the written words. She watched the expression on his face change from one of surprise to one of worry. Bringing the letter down from his face, the Chief scanned the crowd. "Where is Astrid Hofferson?"

Everyone near Astrid looked to her as if this was the first time they had seen her standing by them. The crowd parted again, leaving a clear path for Astrid to walk up to the chief. She could not imagine why the chief would need to see her; she had not done anything wrong at the academy…had she? No, that wouldn't be it anyway. What was that letter about anyway? Guess I'll find out soon enough.

Slowly, Astrid walked up to the chief and waited to hear what he had to say to her. As it turned out, the chief said nothing to her. Instead, he just passed her the letter that he had just read. Her eyes first skimmed through the letter, but as she picked up on the subject and nature of the writing, Astrid shifted her gaze back up to the top, the beginning, and began to read.

To the Chief of Berk,

It was agreed that your top dragon trainer would arrive within the fortnight. At the time of this writing, it has now been one month and we have yet to hear from this dragon trainer. This letter is written to both make you aware and to question the accuracy of our agreement.

The short letter was then signed by the other island's chieftain. Astrid could not find the words to speak so she just handed the letter back to her chief. Hiccup never made it? I knew that something wasn't quite right. I could sense it. What happened to Hiccup?

Stoick borrowed a piece of paper and pen from Trader Johann. The chief then scribbled another quick letter in reply. When he was finished and the new letter was safely in Trader Johann's hands with his solemn promise to "ensure the safe delivery of this letter", Berk's chief turned to the crowd. "My son…is missing. Anyone who has a dragon should meet me in the village center as soon as possible. We will be organizing search parties. We…will find Hiccup."

No one argued; everyone knew how much the chief now cared for his only son. Besides, the villagers were also eager to begin the search; they valued the young (and, now, missing) Viking. Astrid rushed back to her house and entered the stable where Stormfly slept each night. The Nadder woke up and, sensing her rider's urgency, followed.

By the time Astrid arrived in the village center, a good-sized crowd had already assembled, waiting for the chief and his own dragon, Thornado. Finding their friends, Astrid and Stormfly stood by them but no one said a word. They just waited. Stoick arrived soon after and split the gathered crowd up in small teams. He then gave each team instructions and a map. The hope was that one of the small groups would find some clue as to where Hiccup was and/or what had happened to him. "The best possible outcome," Stoick had told them, "would be to find Hiccup and Toothless."

Astrid, as always was paired with the other teens. The group had become inseparable and, despite themselves sometimes, worked very well together. This time, all five of them knew how serious this matter was; there was no joking around on this mission. It was decided that Astrid would lead their group and none of the teens complained. With Hiccup's absence, choosing Astrid, his usual second-in-command, was the obvious answer.

Once the teen's group assembled, Stoick came over to them and, as he had for the other groups, gave them details on their mission and he passed Astrid a map. The chief then moved on to brief his own search party group, leaving Astrid to lead hers. Slipping the map into her saddle bag, a gift that Hiccup had fashioned for her and given as a gift to her on her fourteenth birthday, she hopped into her saddle on Stormfly and directed the rest of her group to also "Mount up!".

"Alright, team! Let's go find Hiccup!" She tried to keep the enthusiasm high, knowing that their chances of succeeding would be better if everyone remained optimistic. Astrid did not want to think negatively; it would be too easy to not remain positive about the outcome of their search. Not wanting to think that way, Astrid stared out at the vast landscape around her. I know that Hiccup is still alive. He's out there somewhere. We have to find him. We just have to succeed. Any other option… I cannot bear to think otherwise.

Well…that update took a long time to get written…but at least it's a longer chapter. I don't feel that it is my best work though, but that's probably because I wrote more than half of the chapter while being sick. Still am pretty sick, but that's no excuse for not getting this out to you, my faithful readers!

Coming Up Next: Hiccup had not planned for this. It's already been a month and the emergency food rations have dwindled into a dangerously low capacity. He knows that he and Toothless cannot make a living just on berries and hard nuts. Besides, there's no fresh water…and he's getting awfully dehydrated. Toothless is too, he knows. They're not going to last much longer. What more can he possibly do to ensure their survival?

Next Chapter: I'll probably aim for Saturday after 10 PM US East Coast time. That is a ridiculously early deadline and it most likely won't happen (especially if I can't kick this sickness), but I'll do my best.

Thanks for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky!

Posted: April 8, 2014
Edited: April 9, 2014