The following morning, in the healer's hut…
Heather POV
I couldn't decide which of the two I hated more; the healer's hut or the healer herself.
For Thor's sake, why would anyone leave their patient with no clothes to wear whenever they woke up? She could have at least provided me a blanket so I wasn't bearing it all to the public. Then again, I never fell unconscious, but I might as well have been to her at the time.
After a few more minutes of trying and failing to stand up, with great effort, I pulled myself into a sitting position and examined my lower body.
I felt repulsed by my own skin.
Anger, disgust, and shame ran through mind when I remember what they did to me. I really started to hate the idea of throwing up because of…never mind.
I saw what those degenerates did to me, and bit my lip in anger, but the damage they did that I couldn't see was far worse. It served as a constant reminder of what they did to me, of what I am. No…what they want me to be…a spoil of war. But that won't be me. That will never be me!
I'LL KILL THEM ALL FOR WHAT THEY DID!
Summoning all the energy I could muster, I just got my feet under me. Then, I groped the walls of the small hut, searching for something, anything, to wear. I saw the healer and her apprentice snoozing in one corner. I may not have been able to move as freely as I would've liked, but I know how hard they worked to heal me.
I may hate the healer a bit but that's only because I hate not being able to move. I know they were up many nights to care for me and for that, I owe her-hell, I owe the entire tribe my life.
Still, they could stand to learn a little modesty.
After gathering some clothes, I went out of the hut with a quick note on the back side of something that looked like a list of herbs. Soon, I was off to the village. I remembered most of the village from the few days that I spent hanging around with Cami. Nothing has changed here, yet everything has changed for me.
Seeing that I need to acquire some serious skills in the decapitation sector, my best bet is to train with Cami. Granted, I knew Cami for only a few weeks but from what I gathered, she was a warrior and a brave one at that. I walked down the path from the hut towards the village center when I spotted a bunch of dragons chasing down the night fury.
You wouldn't believe your eyes, I promise. To tell the truth, I'm not angry that my dad spat it out about Hiccup and the Bogs anymore. I'm still sad that he cracked, but I don't blame him. After all, the sight of his baby girl being tortured would've driven him insane.
Actually, now that I think about, before those heathens butchered my mother, Odin rest her soul, she said that she and my father weren't my blood parents.
Was there no end to my pain and confusion?
I mean, I guess there is a slight, SLIGHT possibility that my mother MIGHT have been a gladiator, having seen the way she used the broom on Dad when he had one too many pints of ale.
But how could my DAD possible have been a ROMAN!?
I could never wrap my head around that. In a brawl or a fight, Dad was the first to leave the area and it was Mom who waited to see the outcome of the fight. I even had a laugh whenever he ran for his life after crossing Mom too many times. I still remember his girly screams…
I swear, Mom and Dad, I'll make them pay. Every last one of them will die!
I might have been so wrapped up in my inner struggles that I failed to realize that a giant Changewing landed right in front of me with Cami riding it.
"HEATHER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE!?" her shriek tore me out of the internal struggle.
"What? I'm not under house arrest or something like that…" I replied to her. Even my voice sounded foreign to me in my own ears.
"You are supposed to be recovering from your injuries! For Thor's sake, come with me to the healer's hut. Just yesterday she told us that your life was hanging on a thread!" She yelled, clearly worried.
I really didn't feel like spending time, that I could use to train, imitating a vegetable, but Cami really sounded frightened for me and the healers are taking good care of me and I wouldn't dare be ungrateful, lest they leave me on my own.
"FINE, let's go back to that boring hut so I can stare at the roof till I die of boredom!" I told her and turned on my heel to head back to the healer's hut.
Camicazi POV
What in Midgard is happening right now? Am I dreaming or is this reality? Heather, who was a mangled pile of flesh a few days back, is walking again? Not only that, but she left me in a huff!
Oh no, you don't, sister! No one shrugs off "ze great Camicazi," like that! Not even my Hiccup!
…Wait, where did that come from?
"Hey! Wait for me! I'm coming to make sure you get there." I told her and caught up with her with ease.
"Heather, how are you feeling?" I blurred out before I could stop myself from asking the most stupid question I could've asked at that point. She turned around and raised an eyebrow for that question.
"Let me clarify. How are you feeling up here?" I rephrased while pointing to my head. Maybe I didn't have to be as worried about her physical health as the healers, but no Viking emerges from torture without scars of some kind. Heather, obviously, was no exception.
"As a person would feel when she is the last of her tribe. Frankly, I don't know what to feel, except vengeful anger." she told me and I had a feeling that she was debating internally about something so I let her solve it and kept my thoughts to me.
If I was on her shoes, I would have grinded those bastards, one by one, into piles of mangled flesh. I'm sure there are more painful ways, but it was the cruelest way I could think after seeing all those innocent men, women, and children slaughtered like cattle.
Be that as it may, I really don't want to be in her shoes. Everything and everyone I care about…gone. I don't ever want to know how I'd deal with it.
"It's a good thing that I found you. I need to ask you for something?"
"I think I might know what you are about to ask." I told her. At that she stopped walking and looked right to my eyes with a blazing storm of fire burning in her eyes. It made one thing clear, what she is going to make is neither a request nor it was up for debate.
"Would you train me to fight?"
I knew it.
"I will, but not right now. You need to heal first. Do I need to remind you that yesterday you were locked in a death battle with…death?" I told her.
"I'm fine. Besides, if I'm not, how am I walking and arguing with you?"
…That was a good point.
"Either way, I'm not training you until you have the green light from the healers."
She nodded to that rather hesitantly and we continued our walk in silence.
"HEATHER! HEATHER!"
"OVER HERE! SHE'S WITH ME!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.
Soon the healer and her apprentice were here and they looked like they were about to have a heart attack.
"What in Midgard are you doing outside of my hut Heather? You are in no condition to walk around like this! Your wounds are still fresh and it will be a miracle if they don't get infected while you roam around the village like this!"
Well, this is officially the longest scolding I've seen anyone get from the healer.
"What fresh wounds? Would you be talking about these?" With that, Heather lifted the hem of her tunic revealing her scared belly.
Wait a minute, what the hell? Her wounds have mostly healed!
"This is strange, but I should have expected it…" The healer told to herself while walking closer to Heather.
Before she could reach Heather the hem of the tunic was dropped to the original position.
"Well, if you need to inspect the wounds, it'd be much better not do it out here on the open, don't you think?" She asked the healer while nodding her head towards me.
"Oh fine, but I'll be back at the hut within the hour. Don't do anything funny or I'll have to postpone your training. Don't let her do anything funny." I told the healer, sensing that Heather is not comfortable with the fact that I saw her scars.
I should use this time to do something productive. Like telling mom and Hiccup that Heather was out of the healer's hut.
"Come Footprint, let's find Hiccup." I called Footprint and soon we were off to find Hiccup.
Later that day...
Bertha POV
Just this morning, Cami had come with Hiccup and told that Heather was awake and was demanding Cami to train her.
Of course, I didn't believe her initially, but after we saw her, I had to concede that my girl wasn't fibbin'. Thus, I needed another ice block. I may be an experienced chief but I'd be dammed if there were delicate cases pop up here and then.
Last time something like this happened was that incident we had with Sage.
After his wife was lost to the seas, the majority of the elder council had demanded that we should ship him off because he had no daughter to look after and without a wife or a daughter, a mere man was just that, a man. It took some rather cunning thinking from my part but it was worth it because he was a mess. He made Stoick seem tame after a dragon had carried off Valka.
Then about a decade and a half later, his son, Hiccup came here half dead with a dragon as a pet.
A dragon, for Thor's sake!
But this, right here, is an entirely different herd of sheep. How am I supposed to tell the little girl that the ones she thought her parents were not her real parents and one of the mongrels responsible for the deaths of her family and tribe, was her own brother?
Odin's beard, that's a messed up family.
I mean, I know for a fact that Valarie's father is the Roman emperor and even she doesn't know that. But compared to the condition Heather is in, that was a small little spat between lovers.
The only good thing is that she made here to Bog; the perfect place for a woman to start a new life.
Speaking of the woman,
"Chieftess Bertha, I don't know how I ever can thank you for what you have done for me." Heather told me. Behind her, Hiccup and Cami were making small conversation, too small for me to hear, anyway.
"It's nothing, dear. Besides, the one you should be thanking is not me. The healer and those two are the ones who deserve your thanks." I told while pointing to Hiccup and Cami, who was behind her.
"I've thanked them already and I know well that owe them my life. Of course, I also owe you, chieftess. I am sorry that I have to bother you more because I have nowhere else to go to."
I could see the battle with her inner demons in her eyes. Those savages took everything away from her; from her innocence to her tribe. I don't want to imagine how those poor Peaceables felt as those heathens…
I swear we won't let that happen to us.
"It's nothing, and as I told you before dear, this is your home now. I know that this may never be as great as the land of the Peaceable tribe, but this can be your home for as long as you want this to be."
She nodded to that. This was a hard decision for me to make indeed, but a chieftess must do what a chieftess must do.
"Cami, if you could bring Heather the things we found-" I told Cami.
"All of it?"
"Yes, all of it and Hiccup go and help her."
Hiccup went with her without any questioning. After they were out of sight, I sat down and gestured Heather to take a seat too. To be fair, I thought it better to tell her while she was seated to reduce the possibility of her fainting and causing more damage to herself than what those murderers did.
"Hiccup and Cami had found some things while they were searching for your clothes. First, I need you to promise me to not to do anything rash." I told her.
"I promise." Heather told me, and in her eyes I felt that she knew to some extent that where I was going with this.
"It would appear that your mother and father were not your birth parents." I told her without much sugar coating. I know from experience that it is better not to sugar-coat something this big.
"I think my mother said something like that. She said it before...they…" Heather trailed off. I could see how pained her eyes were. It must have been one of the final few times she spoke to her mother while she was still alive.
"It's ok, Heather. There were some letters and a few items that belonged to your parents that they were able to carry. They couldn't take much but I think you would like something to remember your folks by."
Heather's eyes were pained, as if she was ready to cry, but no tears came out. All of her tears must have dried up during her torture.
"My parents left me a letter?" she asked in a broken voice.
"Yes they have, I haven't read it though. I thought that it would be good that no one read it before you." I told her as sincerely as I could. "For now, however, I think you had better stay at the healer's hut. After she gives you the clear to move into another hut, we'll find one that should fit you just right." I told her.
Hiccup and Cami came down with the bundle of stuff from the Peaceable tribe.
"This bundle contains all the letters and stuff. I think you should have this. I'll drop the rest off at the healer's hut." Hiccup told her while handing me the box and the horn and continued dragging the heavy bundle out of the door with Cami.
"Dad gave that horn to me when I was about seven, I think…" Heather told me while looking at the horn and the box.
"Well, it's not mine so, here you go." With that, I handed over the box and the horn to Heather.
"Thank you, chieftess." She told me and turned to leave.
"Heather…" I called, getting her attention once more. She turned back with a raised, albeit narrowed, eyebrow.
"Just…remember the promise you made to me."
With a curt nod, she left.
Time Skip-Berk, a few days later, midday at the Great Hall…
Fishlegs POV
We arrived home to Berk last night. I'm glad we arrived under the cover of night because what we saw when we sailed by the Peaceables would've sent Berk into a frenzy. Of course we had to tell Stoick, and when he heard about the Peaceable Tribe's annihilation, he drafted letters for a great gathering of chieftains.
Seeing that we have just arrived from our journey and that most of the communications between tribes for emergencies like this are handled by the messenger pigeons, the birds were set free that night to ensure that the gathering could be held in a month's time.
All in all, this situation we're in…it's likely to get a lot worse before it starts getting better.
With Hiccup missing, presumably dead, and the Berserker tribe declaring war by attacking the defenseless Peaceable tribe, the world is quickly falling into chaos. No one can deny that the Berserkers have one of the largest armadas in the archipelago. If they declared war under the leadership of Oswald the agreeable, then this would mean dragon-sized trouble for us. Oswald, we've known him to be more of an intellectual than a brute, but I have read in the scrolls that Oswald was a unparalleled commander of the Berserker army in his younger days. I read that he once send an entire Roman legion in retreat with their tails between their legs.
That shook me to my core.
The most bizarre thing that happened last night would be the fact that Gobber invited us to his hut tonight, and asked us to keep it a secret. It's a well-known-fact that he lives in the forge more than his house.
That definitely bugged me.
Speaking of which, today marks the 6 month anniversary of Astrid brutalizing Hiccup to near death. Only a handful of people like me, Gobber, and the chief see today as a day to mourn, because the events happened today 6 months led him on a dangerous path that ended the Dragon War, but got him killed in the process.
At least, that's what they believe.
Nonetheless, the village hasn't ever looked better, but at the same time, it hasn't ever been worse. The dragons were doomed to become history in the books of Berk as we had no more raids these days, but at what cost? We have no heir to the chiefdom and Stoick has to choose someone; he can't let it hang for debate. He'd probably end up choosing Snotlout.
I wonder if any tribes are welcoming of Hooligan deserters.
Maybe Gobber wanted to invite us to have a drink in memory of Hiccup; that may be it. After all, though others don't show it outright, Hiccup's death is celebrated more than the defeat of the dragons. The only reason that there is no official celebration for his death is because no one is bold enough to try what Mildew did. Especially considering how the chief reacted.
Therefore, we decided on having a private memorial for Hiccup.
There was a monument built in memory of Hiccup commissioned by Stoick. It's on a cliff top where there was a bolder that Stoick and Gobber say that Hiccup used to hang around. Gobber sometimes visits that place but Stoick is the one who visits there the most.
Surprisingly, Astrid visits that place often too. Statistically, she's gone there more than anyone else. I've seen her travel through this road to go to that place from time to time. The chief has banned her many times from visiting that place, but she always disregards him. She should consider it a mercy that she hasn't been banished yet. Maybe she regrets her actions. That's a possibility; after all, when we were kids, the two of them were best friends. Well, they were closer than friends, but not quite boyfriend and girlfriend.
Do I believe she regrets what she did, maybe I do.
Do I want to believe it, Helheim, no!
She did more damage to him than good and last thing I need is to feel sorry for her. Maybe if Hiccup was still here living today in the back room of the forge, I might have been able to forgive her, but I doubt that too.
At any rate, I shouldn't talk about the Hoffersons too much. Their reputation has fallen to the point where they're not worth the dirt on our boots.
After Gobber put the Hoffersons in their rightful place and Astrid's mother had to cut off her hair, her family honor was not the same. Though the villagers still feared and respected the Hoffersons, it would be next to impossible for Astrid to marry because her family's honor was stained. I bet even Spitelout won't allow Snotlout to marry her, him presumably being the heir and all.
I believed that Hiccup may have fled to the Bogs, but after hearing that Gobber had found out that he had died, that hope quietly died. I even mentioned that to Thuggory just as a point in our conversation.
Guess you really don't know what you have 'till it's gone.
Few hours later…
*Knock…Knock…Knock…*
My father knocked on the door of Gobber's house. It seems that the old man had forgotten that he invited us to come to his house in the first place.
"There's a 78% chance that Gobber just forgot that he invited us to come." I told my parents.
"It looks like that." Mom told us.
We were just about to leave when we heard the sound of some approaching people, specifically the sound of Gobber's peg leg.
"AH! You're early! I just went to get this old bat." Gobber said enthusiastically, before he was followed by a loud WHACK and a small exclamation of pain.
"Good to see you too, Gobber, we were just about to leave thinking that you forgot that you told us to come altogether." Dad responded.
Soon, we were seated in Gobber's home and waited for the smith to start.
Gobber POV
I've planned for this moment for days with Gothi.
As Stoick's right-hook man, it pained me to do this behind his back. Still, some things just have to be done and this was one of those things. I waited until Stoick and the village were distracted enough to not notice us while we talked about Hiccup. The way the Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death acted around Hiccup had changed the way I saw dragons forever. So, I told Gothi about the incident. She told me, well scribbled:
"He was never meant to be a Viking. He is too open-minded, just like his mother."
I didn't understand what she meant, which wasn't too surprising considering her scribbles are getting harder to decipher. After talking to her, she told-well, scribbled that I should gather the people who may accept the change without either of the parties being dead. That left Fishlegs and his family. I would have invited the Hoffersons because Wing is loyal and open-minded, but the same cannot be said about the ladies of the family.
Sorry Wing, but no.
Everyone was gathered in my house so I laid it out there for them.
"I've called you all here because I have something to share…Before I say it, though, I need yer words as Vikings that you will take this to yer graves."
"We promise to take this to our graves."
"Well, that was simpler than I thought…" Gobber said, slightly put off before he sighed and said…
"Aside from a missing leg, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is alive and well."
I waited for a response. Fishlegs was the first to recover from the news and his level of excitement made me think that I should have sugar-coated it just a bit.
"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT ALL ALONG! HE'S ALIVE! I KNEW HE WAS TOO SMART TO DIE! OH-HO-HO-HO! THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING! HE'S PROBABLY AT THE BOG ISLANDS! THAT MEANS HE CAN COME-"
"Slow down, Fishlegs! You don't need the whole village to know he is alive, do ye?" I told him but he was too happy to rein himself in. I couldn't blame him, I was happier than a kid on Snoggletog when I found out that Hiccup was alive. I was just about to knock him out but Gothi beat me to it. She shrugged and smiled apologetically to the elder Ingermens.
"You guys fill him in slowly. Well, I called you to say that he is indeed alive and happy-happier than he ever was here." They nodded. "Now then, there's something else, but I'm warning you now, don't freak out or do anything rash. Ok?!" I asked them to be extra sure. They gave a quick nod.
"Not only does he claim that dragons are not evil, which I believe, but he also has a Night Fury." Once again, they were frozen in place and Bob was the one who got out of the shock first.
"Don't joke around, Gobber! I thought this was serious!" he told me.
"This is serious, Bob, and I'm not joking! While I was there, he even found a pet Changewing for Camicazi. I gotta see if they'll name one of their kids after me, but I digress. I know it sounds impossible but believe me, I wouldn't get within 3 miles of the beasts that left me with only two good limbs if he hadn't convinced me." That might have woken up the voice of reason in the Ingermens because the faces told me that they trusted my word.
"Then why on earth were they attacking us for generations? Where did he find a Night Fury in the first place? How in Helheim did he survive the freeze and reach Bog Island?" Ingrid started to ask and I knew more were following.
"He is now a Bog. He has written off his birthrights and severed his ties with Berk. If Stoick hears this, he will be crushed. Last time I asked, he had no intention of returning to Berk. I'll tell you the rest, but remember, as you are Vikings, you will take everything I say to yer graves."
They nodded resolutely.
"Well, here's everything I know. According to him, it all began when he shot down a Night Fury on the last full raid we had..."
Time skip…Few hours later…
Gobber POV-cont'd
"That is what happened to Hiccup until I left the Bog island." I told them. They were in shock for sure but Bob found his voice soon and the news he had to bring was not good.
"Now that you've told me his side of the story, some recent happenings make a lot of sense." He said while rubbing his chin.
"Like…?" I asked.
"Like why the Berserkers and Outcasts destroyed the Peaceables."
I hit myself in the head with my hook hand for my cluelessness.
"Of course it makes more sense now! I never thought it that way. They were searching for the Dragon Rider and they thought that he will be in the lands of the Peaceable tribe."
I got an approving nod form the older Ingerman. Our attention was drawn to the scribbling sound if elder Gothi. After studying them I was less happy than I have been, even though there was not much of a possibility.
"Dark clouds come to our tribe." I read out loud. "Well, you're ever the cryptic, Gothi."
"Understandable, seeing that they never found out that the Dragon Rider they encountered was actually our heir." It was Ingrid who spoke up after staying quiet for a long time.
"I think it's safe to assume that Berserkers and the Outcasts are working together. Good thing that the gathering was called." Bob said and I nodded.
"Now for some serious question, what are you going to do? Frankly, I have half a heart to leave this rock to rot but I know Stoick cares for Hiccup, though he has a crappy way of showing it." I told them.
"Frankly, I don't think I like staying here anymore now that I hear what is happening and the way our tribe treated one of our own" Ingrid said and I nodded to that.
"When the gathering is called, I think you should find a land to which you can move into, all the tribes are going to the gathering anyway." I told them.
"To think after everything, Hiccup was not only a hero, but a living legend…" Bob said. After that we just started to talk about light matters and some gossip flying around the village.
After all, what better way to let serious matters fade than gossip?
Next morning, near the edge of the forest at Bog Island…
Heather POV
I thought I already had a shitty life now.
I thought it couldn't get any worse.
I thought I had finally conquered my demons and could take my life back into my own hands.
I thought wrong. ABOUT EVERYTHING!
The letters that Hiccup and Cami had found were just the beginning of the mess. Let's just say my parents weren't actually my parents. My father was indeed a Roman general and my mother was indeed a gladiator, and they fell in love, and thus I was conceived after a night of passion.
So Chieftess Bertha was right.
My birth parents were the berserker chief and his late wife. The one who ruined my life, one who disemboweled my mother, tortured and killed my father, annihilated my entire tribe, tortured me and wanted nothing more than to defile me…he was my brother?!
MY OWN BLOOD?!
No…no, he wasn't. I don't care what anyone says, I don't care what some stupid letters have to say, that…that psychopath is not my brother. I could never acknowledge someone as depraved and deranged as that vicious bastard to be my kin!
Then again, how different from him am I? I will gladly do what he did to our family ten times over if I could!
I'd make him bleed, cry, and plead for his life, just as he and his berserker bastards did to my tribe. I'd cut off his arms so he couldn't hold a weapon, then his legs so he couldn't get away, then I'd gouge out his eyes so he couldn't see me coming at him, then slowly, oh so painstakingly slow, I'd take a heated Dagur and remove the one thing that makes him a man and let him bleed to death like the vermin he is!
Damn it, maybe Berserker blood does run through my veins. I won't acknowledge that animal as my kin, but I won't be naïve and say that we don't share blood. No…in fact, I think I might grow to be proud to share blood with that heathen. After all, it's the job of any member of the family to put the family on the right track to where they belong. Now I must train. Not only to avenge my family and tribe, but to make sure monsters like Dagur, Alvin, Savage and the rest of the Berserkers & Outcasts will never walk on this earth again.
I frankly feel bit saddened by the fact that I never get to see my real father or mother. Based on the letters, they were just like the parents I lost to my...BROTHER.
And let me tell you, my parents, the ones who raised me, they are definitely either dining in Valhalla, or at least living happily in Asgard.
Standing up and picking up the letters and the horn, I started walking towards the forge. While I walked, my mind started to wander to those letters that I read a few hours back.
**Flashback…A few hours earlier…**
…Goodbye my friend, until we meet again, at Odin's table.
Your old friend,
Oswald the agreeable of the Berserkers
I just finish reading the first letter. It was a lot to take in to tell the least and without even thinking, I was tearing the seal of the second letter. It was from my father to me from what I gathered from the first letter. There were two letters inside the letter rather than one letter. Placing one beside me, I started to read the one I had in my hand.
Good day,
I know this might be somewhat strange to you. I can't begin to think what you will be thinking of me right now. If it was me, I would have been a very angry person and shredded this letter even without opening this. But as you are reading this, I'm glad that you are at least willing to listen to what I have to say.
First of all, I'm overjoyed that you have finally reached an age that you can read and understand something like this. Though it pains me that I was not able to see you grow into the young woman you are now, as for me I just changed your soiled clothes before starting to write this. Even now, you are crying while your mother and brother try to calm you, right on the next room as I write this letter to you.
I don't know what name Meridius gave to you but to me you are my little Heather. Lil and I are very sorry for having to send you away. I know it will be a lot to take in and knowing my friend, by the time you have this, you might also have a family to call your own and maybe you have little ones running around the house as you read this. If so, you know how a parent feels when they have to leave their child just so she could have a life. It kills me knowing that the next few days will be the last I'll be seeing you and most probably my wife, your mother too. I don't know whether you can find it in your heart to forgive this old man, I'm not old but by the time you read this, I will almost certainly be dead.
Though I may never see you or hear the answers for this, here I go. How are you, child? Are you living fine? Have you found a boy you fancy about and should I sharpen my axe just to scare him? Are you going to invite me to your wedding? I know it would have been a simple one if you are like me, then again it will be a grand one if you are like your mother. I wouldn't complain either way. How many grandchildren are waiting to tackle their granddad?
Well, I may never know. But hear me out young one, life is too short to worry about the things you should have done and that should have happened. The past is the past and no one can change it, no matter how hard they try. Make Meridius and Achilliea, your parents proud. I know if you make them proud, I would be too.
Well, I have many more things to say but your mother wants to write a letter to you too so I will end mine. Just maybe if you can find it in your heart come and visit us on the Berserker islands. I might not be chief, or alive, but your brother will be. Just say 'HI' to him. You know, you two bonded the moment he saw your face.
I wish for a happy, long and a healthy life for you with all my heart. Let nothing dissuade you from the fact that you're my precious baby girl, and I will always love you.
Your father,
Oswald the agreeable of the Berserkers
I was reading this for about the hundredth time when, suddenly, rain started to fall and without thinking twice, I put the letter away from the offending droplets of water. A moment later I realized that the rain that was staining the letter wasn't rain, but tears.
They were MY tears.
**End flashback**
I wiped my eyes, knowing that they were wet, and seeing that I have reached my destination, I fixed my face the best I could and then entered the forge.
Meanwhile, inside the forge…
Hiccup POV
The morning was nice as always and here I am in the forge making saddles for the new Dragon Riders. Cami's saddle was done but I had a new idea for some armor that might make her "blend in" with that dragon of hers. The saddle was done now. I just have to stain it with the paint that I made with the Changewing egg shells, Changewing scales and saliva.
You see, the thing is whenever a Changewing sheds or a scale is touched by a Changewing, that scale takes the color of the Changewing skin. Normally those things are blood red, hence the invisible saddle.
Besides, it's not good for the dragon to have a saddle that gives away his location. They do have a life, you know.
The evenings are extremely tiresome as Cami keeps making the training harder and harder. Granted, it was just a few days, but still one day is harder than the next. Between training the riders, making saddles, teaching Sage how to make dragon saddles, and training, my plate is quite full these days.
But, I'm happier than I have ever been.
I was about to start my work on the next saddle when I heard my name being called. When I looked around, I saw Heather standing at the door of the forge.
Well, I didn't expect that for at least another 4 days.
"Good morning, Hiccup!"
"Heather! Good morning to you too! What brings you here?"
She looked like she was crying, and if she read the letters, I think that would explain it.
"Hiccup, I need a favor from you."
"Sure, what can I do for you?"
"Well, I need you to mend my mother's axe for me."
"Um, okay…may I ask why?"
"You just did."
"Cheeky, aren't we." I muttered, causing a small smile to appear on her face. "Okay, so why do you need it mended?"
"To train."
"I get that, but still, why? I mean, you literally left the healer's hut yesterday." I could tell from the look that she was giving me I might just have told the wrong thing.
"You're seriously asking me that? Cami was right; you're hopeless when it comes to girls."
I wish I had a pillow so I could stuff my face in it. That hurt.
"You don't need to be a genius to figure out that after what happened I might want some blood on my hand. No, I need his blood on my hands."
Yeesh…talk about direct, and the look she wasn't giving me wasn't friendly anymore, like at all. And 'his blood?'
"Urmm….. I don't know if it's my place or not but isn't that a bit…extreme?"
Frankly, when you think about it, we both want the same thing. The only reason I bear the training that Cami put me through is because I don't want to hide behind others to protect me. She had it worse than me so maybe her 'need' is greater than mine.
"I don't think that what I can do will ever come close to what he deserves."
'He?' Who the hell is 'he?' Man, that voice. Her voice could freeze a dragon's spirit. Maybe she was not the same person that Cami first knew. Then again, I wouldn't expect her to be.
"I can mend it, no problem. But Heather, you don't need to be that cold."
Something clicked in her eyes and then she was giving me a…sympathetic look? Suddenly, I remembered that I too have training.
"HEY! You can train with me and Val. Cami is training us and you should definitely join us. I'm sick of being beaten by a little girl!"
"So, you'd settle for being beaten by an older girl?" she asked amusedly. I can't help but notice no matter what her face says that there was a cold unfeeling edge on her eyes.
"Great! Here I was thinking that at least you might be lacking on the training department."
"I was joking, calm down. Besides, it's not like you're the person I want to kill the most. But enough about me, what're you working on?"
I started explaining my latest project to her.
Time skip…Two weeks later, on Dragon Island…
Eret, son of Eret POV
"This is it?" One of my men asked and I have to admit that it is a good question. What the hell happened to the nest?
"Well lads, let's not waste time. Hurry up and scout the island!" I ordered my men. Mal stayed behind and was with me. After a brief silently observing the area and waiting for the crew to walk out of the hearing range, Mal broke the silence.
"This was nothing but a waste of time."
I had to agree. There was no queen, and there were certainly no dragons.
"Is it possible that the old goat at the Outcast Island actually knew something?" Mal asked and I nodded. We need a plan and fast. If we don't supply the dragons to my boss, he will kill us and seeing that I have no way to supply what Ryker needed, at least I should find what kind it was.
"It seems so. Well for now, let's try to at least try to figure out what kind of dragon the queen of the nest was."
I hope the nest hadn't shifted; I really do, because if it has, then we're dead men walking. I never made a backup plan as I believed for sure that there was a nest at Helheim's gate for at least for the last three-four hundred years. But here I am, finally arriving here after some 'Genius' finally killed off the queen.
I will admit, killing the queen was no small feat.
After reaching the pile of bones, the dragon was not much hard to identify. Clearly the dragon's breath was ignited inside her, incinerating her from the inside out. I don't know who was brave enough to stare at a dragon's face when it was just about to burn him to ash. Then again, I have done that once that I had nothing else to do. Clearly this was a "Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus" or "Green death" for short, and a Titan-Wing to boot.
"Seems to me like a Titan-Wing Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus to me. What'd you think?" I asked Mal.
"That is not the problem. Who killed it is the problem." He told me while nodding to the first.
"That is a matter for another time, but I don't think that the one who did it walked away." I told him and he nodded.
"The matter at hand is-"
I was cut off before I could finish what I was telling. Few of my men were returning from the exploration and seems like they have good news.
"Cap, the nest hasn't shifted yet. The dragons are still here and you are going to like what the cave is made of!" Robert told me.
"And the island is claimed by a tribe called 'Bog-Burglars'. There's a claim stone near the tunnel entrance." The quartermaster told me.
"WHAT! Why on earth would the Bog-burglars claim an island full of dragons? This makes no sense!" I yelled at the men. I've heard of the tribe and they only went after shiny things. From what I've heard, they prefer pillaging valuable goods rather than living off the glory of killing dragons.
"It's not that surprising. The entrance tunnel looks like it's a diamond mine and by the looks of things, it surely is a big one." Well, in that case, claiming this island is totally normal. If that was the case then this island not having a mining outpost is much more bizarre than the claim stone.
"Well, what are ya waiting for? Lead the way!"
Soon I was standing next to a large cave opening, which looked like the cliff wall was blown to pieces to make the hole.
"Soil my birches! This is a fortune! What are ya waiting for lads, start gathering!" With a blink of an eye, they were gathering the gems into the sacs we usually carry on our hip pouches.
"Keep in mind, lads, we do need to capture some dragons too."
If Odin himself thinks I should have some wealth, who am I to refuse? Besides, if life's taught me anything, it's that every man…is indeed for himself.
Meanwhile, in Alvin's chambers on Outcast Island…
Alvin POV
We arrived home to Outcast Island yesterday. While I was at the sea, I was using my rather good brain, if I call it so myself to make a good plan to attack the tribes and make sure that I will have that Night Fury and Stoick's runt in my pocket
As far as I'm concerned, the plan is simple. If I remember correctly, Berk is fully prepared for a full-frontal attack. What they are not prepared is an attack from the range of a Berserker siege ship. They'll lay siege on the island while my fleet creeps onto the island through Thor's beach on the far side of the island.
The trouble is making that lunatic agree to 'lend' me some of his siege ships. After that less than enthusiastic attack and annihilation of the Peaceable, Dagur proved to have earned his title of 'Deranged' and was currently not in a favourable mood. Hence, there will be a grand feast tonight to celebrate our victory or to be precise, butter Dagur up.
It is best only after his belly is full and had some fine ale and mead in his blood to bring in the matters of importance to the discussion. That boy is just a puppet, whatever he thinks of himself. A knock on the door got my attention and I would have been irritated and possibly mad at that if I wasn't feeling this good with my plan.
"Come in."
Soon Savage came into the room with…Mildew? What on earth is that old goat doing here? The only upside of being banished from Berk was not having to see or hear from that old sheep. Why on earth is he here?
"You want to tell me the meaning of this before I kill you for wasting my time?"
Under pressure from being put on the spot, and the memory of my tool being inside of him fresh in his head, Savage quickly produced a pouch from his vest and threw it to me, which I caught easily.
"He says he needs an audience with you, sir."
I opened the pouch while he was talking. It was filled with what seemed like to be some hefty amount of diamonds. Well…well…well…last I remember, he was living on that almost falling apart hut on the far side of the island. I turned to Savage.
"Leave us."
He nodded and I turned back to Mildew, who seemed to have an accomplished look on his face. Soon, I heard the sound of the door opening and closing.
"What do you want, old man?" I asked.
"Come on, lad! You remember yer good ol' uncle Mildew!"
Great, this idiot is here for old times' sake, which is clearly not something I look forward to. I might as well run him through with my sword and end his miserable life.
"Let me rephrase the question, 'uncle'. Why should I not run you through with my sword right now?" I asked while standing up and unsheathing the sword.
"I have news. I know how to get to Dragon Island, and…I know where plenty more of that comes from." He said, pointing his staff at the bag of diamonds.
Time skip…
"Let me get this straight…you know how to get to Dragon Island?" I asked.
"Stoick does. He's even got a map!"
"There are diamonds on that island?" I asked.
"Stoick said so himself."
"And there are no dragons on that island?" I asked.
"None that the search party could find and they all came back with no missing limbs."
Strangely enough, he actually had some valuable information. Now Hiccup being the dragon Conqueror makes much more sense. Stoick's too smart to share this, but Mildew? He'll boast about this to everyone once he had a tankard of mead or felt grumpy. That's not a chance I'm willing to take.
In one single motion, I turned around while unsheathing the sword and plunged it, hilt deep, into his gut.
"Well then, Mildew, I appreciate the help."
"Wai…Wha…Why...?" He rasped out as the light began to fade from his eyes.
"The news was good and all, but I hate traitors and I hate you. You're much better off dead than alive."
I twisted the sword in his gut so that he screamed in pain and, rather unfortunately for me, released his bowels. I removed the sword from his gut. He died before he hit the ground and I wiped my sword on his clothes.
"SAVAGE!"
"Yes sir! Should I call the maids to come and clean the floor?"
"Yes, but first dispose of this smelly old goat."
Though he was an idiot, he does learn after a while. Then again, don't they all? He promptly yelled back at the guards of the door to drag the body out and as he was leaving, Fungus, the coot's pet sheep, bleated.
"Savage, on second thought, it seems there will be mutton tonight at this feast."
"I'll let the cooks know."
With that, he tucked the sheep under his arm and left my quarters.
Don't you just love watching a magnificent plan unfold?
A.N.
well, here you go another chapter for you guys. any way i know that by now you may have realized that because of the workload of this bloody course that i do my updates will be random. Any way i managed to get another chapter in for you guys and frankly if i have any old readers left because of my crappy update schedule i will be suprised. on the bright news i got almost 100 favs(Actually 99). you guys are awesome and i cant thank you guys more for that. I like to shout out for my friend MODdenial for beta reading this and making this an understandable one for all of you.
about the chapter the shit is starting to move towards the fan. this is going to lead to the "First big war". And the eagle eyed readers may have guessed what the war 2 and 3 would be. These chapters might be boring but bear with me because actually these chapters are the foundation for the war.
Like always feel free to leave a review if you have something in mind to say and help me improve the story further more.