What's this? I'm actually updating this story with a wait time of less than a couple months!? When was the last time that ever happened? Anyway, it's an odd numbered chapter, so I suppose it's time to check back in with Hiccup! Hope that everyone enjoys this next chapter!

Review Replies:

Forever Me: We have to wait until December 25th here for gifts. Anyway…I'm glad that you liked the last chapter…and that you've continued to stick with the story even when I can't update as frequently. It really means a lot to have readers that keep coming back (and that are so patient about waiting for new chapters). P.S. That idea is awesome! If only it was possible. Haha.

Noctus Fury (anonymous): Yeah, I saw it awhile ago. Didn't think I'd be able to see it since I don't have Netflix, but I found a way. It sounds like the next episodes come out soon. Of course I have no idea when I'll see them (again because I don't have Netflix). Good guesses. We'll find out if they're correct. In the next chapter, I mean. That's when we'll find out.

Dragonbow117: That would be a cool idea. I may have to write an extra scene for this story sometime with that idea (since this is the second review in which it came up). I can just picture that scene already. Haha.

Guest (anonymous): Thanks! Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 35: Startling Revelation

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes again. This time, though, it was much less of a shock than the first time he had awoken in this strange place. As he continued to come to, Hiccup noticed that he could not move his arms or legs. He couldn't sit up. What is going on?

"Temporary effects of that medicinal drink from earlier," a voice answered Hiccup's unspoken question. It came from beside his bed and he recognized it instantly.

"H-Heather? What are you doing here?"

"Back on Berk, when we parted ways, Hiccup," Heather explained, "I returned to my home. Welcome to my home village."

Attempting to process all the new pieces of information that he was hearing, Hiccup blinked slowly. How, out of all the places where he could have ended up, did Hiccup find himself waking up in the village where one of his good friends (well, besides those living on Berk) lived?

"I must confess, though," Heather continued, "I wasn't being entirely honest with you when we met back on Berk. There was still even more information that I withheld when I relayed my background to you and Astrid. Since you're here now, I see no harm in telling you now."

Hiccup waited, wondering what more Heather could tell him now about herself.

"On Berk and on Outcast Island, I…lied when I claimed to know nothing about dragons. It was all a show. The truth is…Chief Valka has been our leader for about ten years or so and the first thing she did when she stepped into her position was to make peace with our dragons."

Heather paused, but Hiccup did not say anything. Instead, he tried to process all that he was hearing. Heather had put on quite an act the last time they had met. She'd even fooled him into thinking that she was as much an amateur dragon rider as he had once been.

"The truth is…I knew a good deal more about dragons and riding and training than I led you all to believe. You see, on our island, riders can enter into training when they reach the age of 10. By the time we'd met…I'd already passed training years ago."

"You…you knew more about dragons than we did? Why didn't you tell us?" Hiccup asked, unsure why Heather had chosen to withhold this information from him and his friends.

"Please, Hiccup, you have to understand. You and your friends and your father and villagers, you all were so welcoming, but Chief Valka has told us again and again about how precious this knowledge is. I wanted to trust Berk, but I also did not want to be the one to allow Chief Valka's dragon training knowledge to fall into the wrong hands. Although, if it helps, I could tell immediately that the information must not be given to the Outcasts, but I had no choice. Even so, I only gave them the most basic of the knowledge that I've learned. When I arrived on Berk, though, I desperately wanted to reveal my full backstory, but…"

"Look, Heather, it's fine," Hiccup interrupted. "I understand. It is very crucial to protect knowledge of dragon training and, after what you went through, I can see how you may not immediately have trusted me or Astrid or any of us Berkians."

Heather smiled. "I'm glad that you understand. It may have been a little harder to convince Astrid though. Oh, that reminds me. Chief Valka told me that she only found you and Toothless on the island. Wasn't Astrid with you? That's strange. When I was there on Berk, it seemed like she spent a lot of time with you."

"No, Astrid wasn't with me. My father sent me on a mission and told me that I needed to go alone. I wanted Astrid to come with me, but he insisted." Then, Hiccup remembered something from before this village's healer had forced him to drink the sleep solution. "Heather, earlier, when you came in here with the chief and the healer, you…well, it seemed like you didn't recognize me. Why?"

Answering Hiccup's questions, Heather replied, "I'm sorry if it seemed like I acted as if I didn't recognize you, Hiccup. It's just…you're still recovering and I needed to act quickly along with Chief Valka and the healer to get the sleep solution to you. The consequences would've been far worse than the temporary paralysis aftereffects if we'd allowed you to put too much strain and stress on your body while you're still healing. We understand that you're upset, but you need to stay calm until you've recovered."

Hiccup heard the sound of another entering the area and his eyes shifted to where the Chief, still masked, had entered. Briefly, Hiccup wondered why the Chief continued to wear that mask, but he didn't ask.

Heather was actually the first to speak. "Chief, I feel that we can trust him. He's not here to expose our dragon training secrets."

"Very well," the chief spoke, removing her mask. She stepped closer to the bed where Hiccup lay. "I did not get a good look at you before," the chief told him. "You are but a young lad…much too young to be out here all by yourself."

"Well, I am 17," Hiccup defended, "and I wasn't out here by choice. My mission was to be completed alone."

Chief Valka stepped closer to the bed as if to get a better look at Hiccup. She steadily approached, taking in Hiccup's messy brown hair and wide green eyes. Hiccup waited silently as she looked him over…and then, without warning, she stopped with a gasp. Her eyes were locked on his chin where Hiccup knew his scar to be located. The scar did not bother Hiccup; he'd had it for as long as he could remember. His father had once told him that the scar was from a wound that he'd gotten from a dragon during a raid when he was but a baby. Yes, the scar did not bother Hiccup, but Chief Valka must've been bothered by it…for some strange reason.

"T-That scar. Could it be?" she stuttered, never taking her eyes from Hiccup's chin.

Under the woman's startled gaze, Hiccup began to, for the first time ever, feel a little self-conscious about his small scar. "Uh…what?"

"Hiccup? Is that really you? After all these years?"

"H-How do you know my name?" Hiccup asked, stunned that this woman knew this piece of information which he had not yet given to her. He chanced a quick glance at Heather and saw that she was just as stunned.

Chief Valka gave Hiccup a reply, but it did not completely answer his question. "I was there, on Berk, when you received that scar."

"You…know me, then?" Hiccup asked, still hoping that the Chief would tell him how she knew his name.

"Of course, I know ya!" Chief Valka replied, leaning in a little closer to whisper to Hiccup. "I'm your mother."

Hiccup gaped. Out of all the answers that Hiccup had pictured, this was definitely not the one he'd been expecting. Valka couldn't possibly be his mother. His mother was…

Valka must've seen his expression because she spoke gently to Heather, asking the younger girl if she could leave her and Hiccup alone for a short while. With a bow, Heather exited.

"Okay, you can't be serious," Hiccup began once Heather was gone. "My mother died seventeen years ago, shortly after my birth. That's what I've been told."

"Well, the stories you've heard aren't exactly true. The dragon raid in which you received that scar," Valka explained, pointing to Hiccup's chin, "was the last time I ever saw Berk." She then gave Hiccup a little more insight into what had taken place on that fateful night and how it had helped her to begin a new life in which dragons and Vikings lived side-by-side.

"But…why didn't you come back to Berk? All these years, you just let our whole village think you were dead!" In the back of his mind, Hiccup briefly wondered if she had wanted to abandon him too, just like everyone else on Berk.

"There is much to clarify," Valka answered, "and I will explain it all to you, my son."

Eh…another lackluster ending, but cut me some slack. It was about 2:15AM when I wrote out this ending. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter regardless.

Coming Up Next: Things have only gone downhill for Astrid since the memorial for Hiccup and the choosing of Berk's new heir. Who is the next heir to the Chiefdom of Berk and what other issues must Astrid now face back home?

Thank you all for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky!

Posted: December 31, 2015