He couldn't believe it when he saw the lifeless body of his mother. He just couldn't. His mind is playing tricks on him. He might be dreaming.
Yet, it feels so real.
Hiccup rushes over to his mother's body and shakes his mother. "Mama…Mama, wake up!" Hiccup shakes his mom in fear, the trauma of his childhood creeping through his mind. When he shook the lifeless woman the fifth time, the body disappears into dust. Hiccup pales and moves back in horror. The surrounding area becomes more hazardous and Hiccup can feel himself turning into the little boy he once was when he faced his mother's supposed death.
"There is nothing to worry about."
Hiccup's spine tingles with fear and he turns around to face a man in his late 20. His hair is silvery white and ruffled, his eyes are stormy grey and his skin is light. The fur-collared, silver vest shows off his lean body and slightly muscled arms while a light brown sash is around his waist. His pants are ripped at the knees and at the hem of it are collared in white fur. The only footwear he's wearing is white sandals and on his chest is a tribal tattoo. The bat's head on the right side of his side is facing the wolf head on the left, as if they're having an angry staring contest against each other. Whoever this man is, he's emitting the very essence of power.
"This is but a figment of your memories." The man replies coolly and snaps his fingers, turning the atmosphere pitch black. He looks down on Hiccup with thundering eyes, as if they're ready to strike down on him. "You're Hiccup, aren't you?"
Hiccup swallows nervously and nods. "Y-Yeah. And…who are you?"
"Follow me." The stranger ignores the question and turns around to face a gray door with cravings of ancient writings that are even older than Hiccup's grandfather, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock II. Hiccup rubs the tears away from his cheeks and stands up, giving the man a suspicious look. Seeming to sense the discomfort, the man sighs. "You'll know who I am when you enter this door. You are truly a curious child." The stranger opens the gray door and before Hiccup can process, he was pushed into the door with a surprised yelp.
At first, Hiccup faces a bright, white light that nearly blinded him. But when he got adjusted to the light, he gawks at the environment.
It was Berk in its younger days. Some of the trees are only a few inches shorter than the trees he seen back home, most likely more than a decade younger. The night was young with shimmering stars, the lights in the homes of his village still on in the chilly cold. The roof he's standing on has the most perfect view of this peaceful-looking village.
Standing next to him is the man from before, his body silvery pale as if he's a ghost. Now that Hiccup notices, he himself is silvery pale as well.
"Is this…Berk?"
"Yes. 18 years ago, in fact. The village was in one of its most horrible weather and the vampires were in need of food as well as the werewolves. However…one particular being wasn't in need of food."
"What do you mean?"
The man answers by pointing in the distance. Hiccup follows his direction and notices 3 silhouette jumping from one roof to another in lightning speed. When they reach to the house and landed next to Hiccup and the stranger, they pay no mind on the two ghost-like figures. Hiccup sees one of them clearly and his heart pounds at the sight.
Toothless is here. Along with his siblings.
"Toothless!"
"He can't hear you." The stranger asks. "This is but a memory, Hiccup."
Hiccup's eyebrows furrow together. "But…it's not mine."
"You're right." The man smiles wistfully. "It's part of mine…"
Hiccup didn't have to answer that. Now that Hiccup notices, Toothless is much younger, maybe around 10. His hair reaches to the base of his neck and his eyes gleam with excitement. His clothes are all black, in a style that looks like a modern-version of Count Dracula. He has the black cape but his shirt is a black tee and he has black jeans as well as black shoes.
"Night, we have to get going lest father find us."
Speaking to him was his older sister, Stormfly. She looks younger as well and her hair is tied to a ponytail. Her clothes are the same as Toothless except her shirt is dark blue. The one next to her, Hookfang with short red hair, agrees with his sister.
"Stormfly's right."
"I know but…I want to see him. He's being born today, guys. Please? Can I at least see him?" Toothless gives his siblings the cutest puppy eyes Hiccup has ever seen. It looks as if a kicked puppy is begging for forgiveness for eating their master's food. Hookfang and Stormfly look at each other and, with a smile, turn back to their brother.
"Fine. Besides, I want to get a look at him as well."
Toothless smiles so widely, his teeth gleams along with his happiness. And that's when Hiccup notices a certain attribute.
Fangs. Vampire fangs visible in his mouth.
A short cry breaks Hiccup's thought and he watches the three siblings turn to the window on the roof, a splitting grin appearing on Toothless's face.
"He's here!"
"Shh! Quiet down, Night!" Hookfang hisses out but a smile graces his lips.
Toothless places his arms on the windowsill, smiling at the view he's looking at. When Hiccup walks over and looks into the window, he gasps silently at the sight.
In the room, lying on a single bed, is Valka holding a baby who had stop it's short crying. Standing next to her is Stoick, who has his arms around her tired body.
"Oh, Stoick…Look at him…He's so frail…He came too early…"
"I know, Valka…but he was excited to meet all of us."
"I know, Stoick but…I'm worried…his crying was short for an average baby…W-What if…What if his health gets worse, Stoick? I…I can't lost him…"
"Valka, it'll be okay…" He grasps one of his wife's hands before picking up his son, smiling softly. "He will be strong, Valka. You'll see. He's a Viking! He will surely bring a great change to our village, a better one than the ones before him had done."
As if feeling Stoick's hands on him, the baby blinks his eyes open and lets out a small 'goo'. He makes grabby motion towards his father and grasps his beard, tugging it lightly.
"Ow! Hahaha! See? Already tugging on your father's beard, eh?" Stoick grins widely and holds his son in the air with a proud smile. "My son and heir to bringing peace to this village!"
"He's so cute…" Toothless smiles while the baby begins giggling in his family's arms.
"Yeah but frail as well…" Hookfang speaks up and leans against the side of the window. "He wouldn't be able to survive for long."
Toothless glares at Hookfang. "Yes, he will."
"No, he won't." Hookfang answers sternly. "Look, I know you feel drawn to this baby but you can feel it, don't you? His cry was short and he was born a week before his actual date. Face it, he's not going to live long."
Toothless frowns at that but he made no protest. He turns to the giggling baby that made his heart twist in horribly at the thought of the child becoming lifeless and dead.
That isn't going to happen. Not with him finding a way to prolong the boy's life.
"Then I'll find a way!" Toothless turns to his sibling. "I'll make sure he stays alive. I know he's my future mate. I can feel it…" He grips his chest and a crestfallen look appears on his face. "I'll protect him. I'll make sure he stays alive, no matter the cause."
"Toothless, he's a werewolf. Our father will find out and with the tradition, he'll-"
"Fuck the tradition!" Toothless growls. "I'll build a safe community where vampires and werewolves can live together! I'll become stronger than father and I'll protect him as well as our people. Especially Mama."
Hiccup flinches when he notices how bright his determination has grown when he says the word of his beloved parent. The death must have hit Toothless harder than he thought if his younger version self-proclaimed in protecting her.
"Then what about making him like you? Once he's all grown up, he'll hunt you down for glory."
Toothless hits his own chest with a proud stance. "Then I'll make him like me! I know I love him, even before he was born!" Toothless blushes a bit and turns to baby with a longing look. "and I know he'll love me. I just know it…"
As if responding to that, the baby lets out a loud hiccup.*
This noise surprises Stoick, Valka and even the 3 vampires but the father laughs joyously. "You see, Valka? This boy has a strong lung as well! My boy, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III!"
Toothless smiles fondly at the full name of his future bride. "Hiccup…Such a beautiful name for a beautiful mate…"
The baby looks at the window on the roof and for a moment, the vampires freezes on how a normal would react to seeing them. Cry.
But this one surprise them. Instead of crying, the baby gives a toothless smile and giggles, making grabby motion towards Toothless's direction. When the parents almost look up, the siblings move away from the window to prevent the parents from seeing them by hiding at the side of the window. The parents look at each other and shrug before continuing to dot on their child. Toothless grasps his chest, a visible blush appearing on his cheeks.
"If I didn't love him already, I would be in love with him right now."
The stranger lets out a low chuckle at that and shakes his head.
"Night Fury is truly a loyal boy. He loves you dearly and even before your fateful meeting, he has considered you a very precious person to him." Hiccup turns to him with a blank expression and the stranger continues. "If it hadn't been for you, he might have turned into his father…" His eyes turn sad and his smile becomes bitter. "I have always loathed that king…"
Hiccup knew he shouldn't pry but the curious side took the best of him. "Why?"
The stranger takes a deep breath before sighing softly, almost as if he's remembering his nostalgic memories. "He has forced my beloved into his own arms and crushed her in hateful suffocation."
Hiccup blinks at the cryptic answer. "W-What?"
But the stranger did nothing to translate what he had just said. "Come…It is time for you to see that fateful meeting…"
And so they head towards the obsidian door. Hiccup looks over his shoulder to see the younger Toothless smiling down at the happy family before he and his siblings disappear into the deep, dark night. Hiccup knows he's happy for his mate's birth but it wasn't the only thing that escaped Hiccup's eyes.
There were tears in those beautiful eyes. Maybe he has always known he wouldn't have his mother for long or he wouldn't be able to have parents holding him lovingly. It shall remain a mystery to the brunette but his heart clenches at the sad sight of the vampire boy.
Hiccup turns back to the door and enters it, surrounding himself in a bright light.
The next scene was horrible compare to the safe one.
His village is in flames, the once quiet atmosphere has been destroyed by the loud battle cries of both his people and the vampires. The land is painted in blood and some of the houses in his village has start to burn to ashes. Hiccup has seen so much of this but never have he seen his village suffer this badly. "What…W-What happened here…?"
"This is a memory of the vampire prince…He was in charge of this assault."
Hiccup pales and shakes his head. "T-That's impossible…He wouldn't…He couldn't…"
"You're right. He wouldn't and couldn't. But he must." The stranger crosses his arms against his chest and looks at the scene, a look of a stoic man apparent on his face. "If he didn't do this…she will suffer…"
"S-She?"
"His mother."
Hiccup makes a nearly choking sound and stutters out his surprised words. "H-His m-m-mother?"
The stranger nods again and his eyes turn cold ice. "The queen was starving but she had no choice. The king ate like the glutton he is and because she still have her children, she gave her share of food to her children. Feeding her four children plus herself was barely enough but they managed. However, food was scarcely found because of winter and because of that, the vampire king demands to find more food. Night Fury has no choice but to find food from this village. His siblings supported him because they had one goal: To feed their mother and their people."
Hiccup flinches at the sight of a vampire sucking away the blood of a male Viking, draining him dry before he fell to the ground, lifeless. The vampire stares at the Viking, as if in remorse before continuing its way.
"W-What about fish?" Hiccup turns to the stranger. "Vampires have fish as alternative food."
"Yes but the king demands blood. He prefers sucking his victim directly and not alternatively. When serving this particular king, it's not about satisfying his needs." The man's eyes darken and his next words are bitter and cold. "It's about satisfying his sick desire."
Hiccup shudders and rubs one side of his neck. Noticing a familiar patch of hair, Hiccup looks up to find a 13-year-old looking Toothless rushing towards a house in a very fast pace.
Hiccup's house.
Hiccup didn't have to hear the stranger to know what's next. He runs towards the vampire and when he reaches his house, he passes through the wall and stops short at the tense sight. His eyes well up in tears at the person he's looking at.
"G-Get back!"
Valka stands between a deadly silent cradle and Toothless with a dagger in her hands. Toothless shakes his head and he speaks with desperation clear in his voice.
"Mrs. Haddock, please. Let me see-"
"Don't you dare go near my son!" She attempts a swing with her dagger but Toothless dodges it with ease, ducking down and rushing towards the side of the cradle. Valka stumbles a bit and her eyes widen at the sight of Toothless being close to her darling baby.
Toothless didn't respond. He only stares down at the quiet baby who's barely breathing. He reaches out shakily and whispers hoarsely. "H-Hiccup? Hiccup, wake up…wake up!"
She growls possessively. "Don't touch him!"
She throws her dagger at him. Toothless dodges it by backing away, letting the blade nearly scratching his face. Valka grabs her son tightly in her arms and she pants quietly, the flames flickering in the once comfy house. Toothless's face is full of worry as his eyes never left the blue blanket wrapping around his future mate.
"Please, Mrs. Haddock, let me help! Let me save Hiccup!"
"Why should I trust a vampire with my only son?!"
"But didn't you say that not all vampires are evil?!" Toothless lets out a pleading question before his eyes turn desperate. "Mrs. Haddock, please…I don't want to lose him as much as you do…"
"What can you do to save him? Even our Elder can't save him!" Valka demands cautiously but her eyes soften at the young boy's worry. Toothless stands as proud as a prince would be. His face is unreadable and the flames surrounding them almost make this staring contest a dangerous one.
"Give him to me. I'll save his life with my own."
Hiccup's eyes widen at those very words. He has heard them before, back when he was concentrating on unlocking his own memories…
Valka's eyes go as wide as saucers and she utters out confuse-filled words. "W-What? B-But that would kill you!"
"It won't kill me…" Toothless turns his eyes towards the mother's shocked face. "It will only kill my vampire self. I can transfer some of my life into him by breaking off my fangs and have them pierce into him. I have learned everything I can to save his life since the moment he was born. The only way to save him is to give him some of my immortal essence. But in doing so, my vampire powers will be half and I won't have the ability to suck out the blood of my victims. Entirely anyways…and…" Toothless's eyes lower a little. "I would be losing a certain part of me."
"Why?" Toothless turns his focus towards Valka. "Why would you, a vampire, be willing to give up half of your vampire powers as well as become the first vampire to have no fangs? Aren't your fangs…irreplaceable?"
"Yes, they are. That's why humans find vampire fangs so worthy as a trophy. But…" Toothless walks slowly towards Valka in cautious steps, looking up at the mother with honesty in his eyes. "If it means saving Hiccup…I'll gladly be an outcast of my own kind just for him."
Valka didn't speak for a moment. She looks down at her baby and strokes the small tuft of brown hair. She speaks quietly. "But wouldn't Hiccup be an outcast as well? If you're truly giving him half of your vampire powers…that would make him a-"
"Half. A half werewolf and a half vampire. But…I think he was half to begin with." Toothless looks longingly at the baby. "He just needs another half to fill him…but I don't want him to be treated like an outcast. No one must know about this exchange. Not even him. He doesn't deserve that life. He deserves the life of what every perfect being deserves."
Valka turns to Toothless with quiet, understanding eyes. "You love him…don't you?"
Toothless stares at Valka and reaches towards his fangs. "I always have…and I always will…"
Hiccup covers his mouth with both his hands as Toothless grabs his fang. Toothless closes his eyes tight and takes a deep breath, his heart pounding against his ribcage. With a tight grip and the strength of his power, he pulls out the fangs of his former self and let out a roar of pain. Drops of blood fall onto the oak floor and the prince staggers a bit, panting a bit. The fangs look as if two loose tooth were pulled out forcefully, having the end of it glistening with blood. Growing in place of where the fangs that were once there are two new teeth.
New human teeth.
Toothless hisses with pain and wipes the blood onto his sleeve, his body slightly weaker and sweat beading his forehead. He licks his new teeth to check whether there are any misplace before he stares at the horrified mother. He clasps both his fangs together in his palms and after muttering in a silent enchantment, a white glow appears in his hands. When the glow is gone, Toothless opens his hands to show a small dagger that's twice the size of his fangs. He looks at Valka worriedly.
"Are you sure about this? Your son would be half-werewolf and half-vampire. You will have to be the only one who knows this. Not even your husband must know."
Valka gives Toothless a small, sad smile as she strokes her quiet baby. "It doesn't matter what species he is to me. To me, he'll always be my son and nothing can change that…I'm just sad I wasn't able to protect him…He would be angry with me if he knew what kind of creature he's becoming."
Hiccup shakes his head wildly and stares at his mother with tears in his eyes. "Mom…no…That's not true. That's not true!"
"I cannot speak for certain of what the future may hold but…if he knows your intention in this exchange, he wouldn't be angry at you…" Toothless positions the dagger above Hiccup's chest, his arms a little shaky. "He will surely love you. I know it."
"And he with you." Toothless looks at Valka with surprise but she answers him with a small smile. "If it's possible…I wouldn't mind having you as my son-in-law…You're risking the acceptance of your people all for the son of your enemy. And you're not disturbed by it at all."
Toothless snorts lightly and looks at the almost lifeless baby. "Whether others accept me or not, it doesn't matter. The only acceptance I seek is my family and Hiccup…" He breathes in sharply and grips on his dagger. "Here goes nothing…"
Valka shuts her eyes, knowing if she opens them to see Toothless piercing her child, she won't hold back tearing his throat out. When the tip of the fang pierces lightly into the baby's chest, a white glow fills the room and Hiccup covers his eyes to prevent being blinded. But he can hear the voices…
"Creature of the night, child of the moon
Accept thine fate and destiny.
Denial is futile and ignorance brings oblivion.
No longer will you walk alone.
As the vessel of the great beast,
You shall be the one who decides the use of its power.
You shall not be alone in the unreadable future for truth
For I, Alrekr**, the Hallow Beast, shall ride the path of destiny with you!"
When the light dies, Hiccup sneaks a peek to find himself outside of his house, hiding behind the burning building. In front of him is his mother crying with joy with a baby's cry filling the air. He searches for Toothless but there was no sign of him. Valka faces the direction of the deep, dark forest with a smile on her face. She utters small words that express a small part of her gratitude.
"Thank you…"
As if the creatures in the trees are listening, Hiccup notices the slightest movement in one of the trees as it retreats. He smiles, knowing who the person is just by the glimpse of his toxic green eyes.
"VALKA!"
The shout of his father made Hiccup nearly jump out of his skin, turning to see Stoick running towards his wife and hugging both her and her son tightly in his grasps.
"Now do you know who I am?"
Hiccup turns to his right to see the man-No…Alrekr staring at him with quiet eyes. He nods before looking at his feet. "Then…when you rampage in the forest fire-"
"That wasn't me."
Hiccup looks at Alrekr's stoic look.
"That was you. I am but a weapon now. Whether I use my powers for good or evil, it entirely depends on my vessel. The forest fire was an incident that happened because of your uncontrollable trauma." Alrekr's voice is stern as he said this and his eyes soften when he sees the pain in Hiccup's eyes. "Toothless was lucky to be there when it happened."
"What do you mean?"
Alrekr waves his arm in the arm and there appear a grey door with a skull surrounded in flames. He opens it and guides the brunette to the next scene.
The first thing Hiccup notices is the loud roar echoing through the burning woods. Through the smoke of the flames, a large shadow raises one of it's large, claw-like arms to strike down on a tree, throwing it to the side that landed next to Hiccup.
"Oi, beastly! Over here!"
"Dad!" Hiccup calls out and runs towards the cause of the situation but he didn't manage to because a black figure is running ahead of him. Hiccup reaches the opening and freezes at the sight.
His father, Stoick, is clanging his hammer against his shield, trying to attract a monstrosity. It was huge, about 7 meters tall, the height as tall as the oldest trees in the forest. It's covered in fur and it has pointed ears. The face and precise feature, however, is unreadable due to the smoke. Hiccup can see Gobber trying to find a way to get behind the large beast.
"Mom!" Hiccup rushes towards behind the beast, managing to go through the large paw that landed in front of him. He finally sees the clearing but as he looks around, he couldn't find Valka's body nor the fallen tree trunk.
Now that Hiccup thought about it…wasn't the trunk from before just like the one that crushed his mother?
His heart nearly broke at the thought of his mother running away from regaining consciousness and finding out her son is an ancient beast but her words calm his worried mind.
"It doesn't matter what species he is to me. To me, he'll always be my son and nothing can change that."
"Hey! HEY!"
Hiccup looks up to see Toothless waving to something up in the clouds.
"Alrekr! Alrekr! Can you hear me?! ALREKR!" Toothless yelps when a tail lands next to him with the beast's head still aiming at Stoick. Toothless mutters. "Okay. Not Alrekr." He takes a deep breath and screams out as loud as he can.
"HICCUP!"
The beast's ears twitch at the sound of a name and the head turns to Toothless and Hiccup, it's eyes gleaming in the smoke with a growl erupting from its belly..
Toothless makes a motion with one of his arms. "Come here! Follow me! You need to get out of here! NOW!"
The beast obeys obediently. He turns towards Toothless, swatting Gobber and Stoick with a wag of his tail to have them say 'Oof!' and throwing them to the side in a safer spot than the burning woods. Hiccup blinks to snap himself out of the 15-year-old Toothless's command. Even when he was a kid, he's commanding. The beast walks on all fours and Toothless calls him out just in case he gets distracted. But the beast made no such move. In fact, he's following the prince eagerly.
Somehow, the smoke managed to cover their tracks and Toothless has led both the beast-Hiccup and the ghost-like-Hiccup to a cove that's near yet out of sight from the village by dawn. By now, the beast has shrunk to a head taller than Toothless's height. They head towards a cave and Toothless sits down with a sigh of relief, the beast sitting next to him. His has silver-white fur with dark grey spots. His fangs are a mix of a vampire's and a werewolf's and his ears are wolf-like. His green eyes, though once was wild and animalistic, are now calm and curious like a little puppy. His nose is like a dog's, black in color. The original Hiccup takes a sit in front of the two, watching their interaction with Alrekr sitting next to him.
Toothless looks at the large creature and reaches out to place a soft pat on the head. "You really caused a big trouble there, huh?"
The beast lets out a pleasing growl against the patting hand and it shrinks even more, going into the same height as Toothless. The prince of the vampires stares painfully at the happy look on the beast.
"I'm so sorry for not being there sooner…" The beast looks at him with His large eyes, confused on why his new friend is apologizing. "If I have been there sooner…Your mom…she…" The beast lets out a small whimper and nudges one of his cheeks against Toothless's, comforting him in a way it knows how. Toothless scratches the back of his ear, earning a happy growl. Toothless makes a sad smile when the beast lays his head on the boy's lap, his ears pressing against his head. Toothless looks outside the cave, droplets of rain falling from the sky to land on the spring-like atmosphere outside of their cave. "…Now we both lost our mom, huh…? It's just us here…"
The beast lets out a pleasing growl as a response and Toothless smiles down at the beast softly, stroking his head while humming a soft lullaby for the tired creature.
Hiccup and Alrekr watch for two days as Toothless spends time with beast-Hiccup, who slowly shrinks to half of Toothless's size. Hiccup smiles wistfully at the sight of his younger-self pouncing on Toothless to give him a sloppy lick on the laughing boy's cheek. Alrekr notices the look on the brunette and pats him on the head, making Hiccup look at him.
"It's not your fault for not remembering this." Alrekr said. "Having been transformed for the first time, you would have your memories jumbled up."
"And yet, I can talk to Toothless obliviously while he has to live with the fact that I forgotten about sharing this-" Hiccup gestures to the cove. "-with him."
Alrekr raises a brow. "Who said you forgotten?"
Hiccup blinks. "Um…you did."
"My boy, I said not remembering. Forgetting is a meaning for not being able to remember. You, however, can remember all this…You just need to unlock your memories and fix them like a puzzle, like how you remembering the words Night Fury has said about your exchange."
"You sure love twisting your words, do you?"
Alrekr chuckles softly. "Night Fury has said the same thing as well." He smiles sadly at Toothless, who fell into the water with a tail-wagging beast. "Fate is truly an unpredictable thing. I never thought Night Fury would lead my next vessel to be you. I once thought he would be the better vessel. But I can see Toothless has greater judgment on people than I ever could. You are the prefect vessel for me and I cannot ask for a better master."
"But…" Alrekr turns to Hiccup's face. "I don't understand. I didn't do anything to prove my worth."
Alrekr shakes his head quietly. "No. You just didn't realize what you did to prove your worth."
Hiccup was about to speak when the memory starts twisting a little. His brows furrow. "What's happening?"
Alrekr looks around as well, his eyes full of confusion. "I don't know…This has never happen before."
When the surrounding changes, it has change into a rainy forest with burnt trees and little fog in the air. A boy with a black T-shirt and dark blue jeans is carrying a brown-haired child on his back, a black coat on top of the sleeping child who has his arms around the black-haired boy's neck. The boy pants softly with the rain falling onto his head before he jumps over a thick tree trunk. He looks over his shoulder to look at the sleeping brunette and smiles a little.
"Don't worry, Hiccup…You're almost home…" His eyes turn sad and lonely. "It hurts to be away from you…I gotten so fond of you…" Toothless looks ahead and continues walking in a slow pace. "…You know…you're the type of guy mama wants me to get married to…Kind, cute, sweet…" Toothless bows his head and he chuckles sadly. "She knows about you being in there too, Alrekr…"
The man flinches next to Hiccup and Hiccup can see the shock visible on his eyes.
"She…died, Alrekr…I'm sure you know that when I told you how Hiccup and I lost our moms..." Toothless's voice shakes with every word but he swallows thickly before smiling a strained smile. "But she didn't regret…She lived the life she wanted…She had her children…she protected what she believed in…she…she fell in love…"
"Alrerk, what is he talking about?"
The stranger looks at Hiccup with a small, pained smile, the tears in his eyes are threatening to fall. "Mariana…The queen of vampires and the most enchanting woman you can ever meet. She was my first love. And I was hers…"
Hiccup didn't even get to react when Toothless continues.
"She said she misses you, Alrerk…a lot…I know you miss her too…But she's happy you can at least look out for me…I know I'm cruel to pull you away from me, the son of your beloved who you promised to look after but Hiccup needed someone to fill the missing piece in his soul. Hiccup has a kind heart, a heart I love…but it's frail, so…so frail…" Toothless exhales shakily and his voice turns weaker. "He wouldn't be able to handle wars…I don't want him to be broken. I don't want him to suffer. He's an angel. I'm a demon. I deserve to be punished for killing so many innocent people but Hiccup hasn't even hurt a fly. He deserves a better life than this…" Toothless sighs quietly and closes his eyes, stopping his walk. "The king was right for one thing…I'm too weak to be a royal vampire…I couldn't even save the people I promised myself to protect…"
"Mm…Mama…?"
Toothless's shoulders tense when he hears the child slowly waking up. Little Hiccup blinks his eyes open but due to still being sleepy, his eyes open halfway. He notices the black lock of hair but he couldn't see the face of the person carrying him. He doesn't know who he is but something in his stomach told him to trust this person.
"Who are you…?"
Toothless blushes a bit from feeling Hiccup's breath on his neck before he mentally slap himself for not answering the question. "I'm…um…" Toothless bites his lower lip. He can't reveal himself like this.
"Are you my guardian angel…?"
Toothless blushes brighter. The only thought he can think was 'What?'
"My mommy said I have a guardian angel…he has always watched over me and he never failed to protect me…She said I would one day meet him again…" The little arms around Toothless's neck tighten softly. "Are you my guardian angel…?"
Toothless smiles at the little confession. Who knew Valka called him a guardian angel to her only son? Toothless looks over his shoulder and smiles widely while his eyes gleam with glee at the title Hiccup has given to him.
"Yeah…I'm your guardian angel. Don't you worry, Hiccup, I'll get you home…" Toothless turns back to the fog, which is slowly clearing up to show a cozy werewolf village. Little Hiccup leans his head against Toothless's neck and nuzzles softly.
"Mm…Mommy once told me…to have the strength to protect your people, you need to learn the hardship of losing the people you promised to protect. When you feel the pain of losing them…you will want to get stronger to prevent anyone from feeling like that…It doesn't matter how strong your family line is…All that matters is the strength of your love for others…"
Toothless looks over his shoulder with surprised eyes, staring at the now sleeping brunette. For a moment, Toothless didn't know how to respond. But when he found the words to speak, he smiles with water streaming down his cheeks. Whether it's the rain or tears, the original Hiccup doesn't know. Toothless turns back to the village but his words can be heard through the silent wind…
"Thank you, Hiccup…for making me who I am today…"
This is one long chapter but here you are, everyone! The big surprise for all these whacky questions that's you have created in your heads! (or the main questions I have intended to plant into at least XD)
Kuro: Oi! You're supposed to be studying right now! You said you would!
Me: I know, I know but…I have been itching to write this chapter… TnT
Mii-kun: Well, you did it! Now off to the study room you go! *grabs me by the ankles and starts dragging me to the study room*
Me: WAHH! NO, I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK THERE! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! D:
*Technically, this is based on a picture that I found on FB and I'll tell ya, it brought feels in so many ways. T_T
**Alrekr - Old Norse equivalent of Visigothic Alaric, composed of the elements al "all" and rikiaR "rich, mighty ruler," hence "all-powerful; ruler of all."