"Gramma, Grandpa Stoick didn't say that?" Zephyr asked shocked that her usually jolly giant grandfather could say something like that.
"Me didn't know Grandpa Stoick said that." Nuffink said just as shocked as his older sister. Both of the Haddock children could not believe that their father was treated that way. All of their lives they had seen the villagers of New Berk treat Hiccup Haddock with respect. Now they are hearing that years ago that was not the case. There was also something about the story that Zephyr noticed.
"Gramma where were you at when all of this went down?" Zephyr could not help but ask Valka. That was when Nuffink also notices the lack of Valka in the story as well.
"You see young ones I was living with the dragons." Her grandchildren looked even more confused. What did the elderly woman mean living with the dragons? Did she even care about their father? These were the questions running through Zephyr and Nuffink minds. Especially the last question is running through Zephyr's mind. "Lets say the Berk we live in today was very different from the Berk of years ago. The next part of the story is when your father found me." Valka added. The original dragon rider decided to resume the story.
Sixteen years ago, a young boy named Hiccup Haddock the Third had ran away from his home. He had run away on the back of his best friend, Toothless the Night Fury. Hiccup and Toothless friendship was one that would have been seen as an abomination of nature by the humans. A forbidden friendship Hiccup liked to call it.
Hiccup after convincing Toothless to leave Berk had broken into the killing ring where the Berkians kept the dragons for training. With the intentions of breaking out the dragons. Unfortunately, Hiccup was only able to get the Terrible Terror and Monstrous Nightmare out before he was almost caught. After the Nightmare was free it went its own way, as the Terror stayed with Hiccup. The Terrible Terror was green scaled with reddish brown highlights. Hiccup had named the Terror, Sharpshot. He named the little dragon that because of Sharpshot's excellent accuracy at shooting. Both dragons and rider have been flying in the north direction for two days now. They would usually stop on every other island they would come across. They fish for their food and rest on the island. Hiccup would take the time to play with his dragon friends. Hiccup had also started to map out where they were going.
As the three are flying above some clouds. A unknown figure is rising above the clouds beside them. The figure was wearing an intimidating horned helmet covering his or her face. This stranger was holding some sort of crooked staff and shield. This stranger appears to be standing on the clouds. The young boy's expression showed great confusion about what he was seeing. Toothless and Sharpshot both growled at the figure. Neither of the two dragons trusted this stranger, so the two wanted to protect their human friend at all cost.
Then as fast as the figure shown up, it disappeared into the clouds. The dragon rider and his dragons were looking around trying to figure out where the stranger went. "Okay. Now that was just creepy." Hiccup said totally freaked out about what happened. Both dragons nodded their heads in agreement with Hiccup. That was when they heard a dragon cry before a huge dragon with four wings appears in front of them. Toothless has to flab his wings to stop himself from colliding with the unknown dragon. Toothless is now hovering in the air.
On the back of this dragon was the masked figure. Both Toothless and Sharpshot growl as a warning to stay back. The masked individual pointing the crooked staff towards Hiccup. "Oh, um hi my name-," Hiccup tries to greet the other dragon rider but was interrupted the masked rider's dragon roar. Just when Toothless and Sharpshot were about to fire a shot, but stopped when they heard another dragon cry. Toothless and Sharpshot turned around behind themselves to where the noise came from. Before either one of the two dragons could reacted to anything. A dragon had quickly snatched Hiccup out of his saddle.
Without Hiccup to control the prosthetic tail-fin. Toothless starts plummeting to the sea below. "TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup screamed while he watched his best friend falling out of the sky. Sharpshot was torn from saving Toothless or Hiccup. Toothless warbles to the Terror to go save Hiccup. The tiny dragon followed Toothless' order and went after the retreating dragons and mysterious rider.
Toothless fell through the ice and into the freezing water. He quickly as possible swam to the surface and tried to fly. Unfortunately, the Night Fury couldn't fly to long before falling back to the cold water. Toothless had to get to Hiccup. He knows that Hiccup didn't know how to defend himself from danger. Toothless gets himself back on the ice as he watched helplessly as the unknown dragon flock continue to carry his human friend away. But when all hope had seemed lost to the dark scale dragon, he was picked up and carried him towards the direction Hiccup and Sharpshot went.
Hiccup tries to break out of his captor's grip but sadly he wasn't strong enough. "Hey, you left my dragon back there. He can't fly on his own. He needs me in order to fly. If you don't turn around and get him right now? He'll surely drown." Hiccup tries to reason with the masked stranger. Hoping that since the masked figure was also a dragon rider like him. That this person would understand that he didn't want any harm to his best friend. Woefully for Hiccup the masked rider didn't seem to acknowledge his presence. Sharpshot tries to attack the dragon that was carrying Hiccup. "Sharpshot don't," Hiccup ordered. The small green dragon obeyed the former heir of Berk order, but stayed close to Hiccup incase one of these unknown dragons decided to attack Hiccup.
They continue to fly until they came to a ginormous ice fortress. They then go through a series of tunnels before entering a cave. Once inside the cave the dragon carrying Hiccup set him on the ground. Sharpshot lands in front of Hiccup and growling at the dragons. "Could we please go back for my dragon?" Hiccup begged the masked figure as the four winged dragon lands in front of him. He didn't care about what happens to him, just as long as Toothless and Sharpshot were safe. The auburn hair boy couldn't live with himself if something happened to his two dragons.
Sharpshot looks at his new human friend shocked. "Do you work for Drago Bludvist?" The masked figure asked Hiccup. The voice of the stranger sounded like a woman's voice. Tapping her staff on the ground and the dragons from the flock used their fire, without shooting at anyone, to light the room so they could see. Hiccup wears a confused expression on his face as the masked dragon rider is now analyzing him.
"Drago What-Fist? I'm sorry you might've got me mixed up with with someone else." Hiccup answered honestly. The masked woman gasped when she saw the scar on Hiccup's cheek. Dare she hope that somehow her son became a dragon rider like her. Tapping her staff on the ground again causes a rattle noise. A moment later a dragon appears carrying in his paws was Toothless. The unknown dragon sat the Night Fury on the ground gently.
"Toothless! I was so worried you drowned." Hiccup cried out as he ran towards his best friend and proceeded to hug the black scale dragon. Toothless shakes off the water before he would lick his rider's face, happy that they're reunited safely. "Eww, Toothless I do hope this washes out," Hiccup complained.
"Hiccup? Could it be you after all these years? How is this even possible?" The masked woman asked as she took off her helmet. To show the face of a thirty-five-year-old woman with auburn hair with a light touch of grey. Her eyes were pale blue. She takes a few steps closer to Hiccup. Toothless would crouches protectively beside Hiccup as his tail wrapped around his leg. Sharpshot is now by the opposite leg that Toothless' tail. Both dragons were growling as the stranger came closer to Hiccup.
"It's going to be okay Toothless and Sharpshot. I don't think this woman is going to hurt us." Hiccup calmed both of his dragons hoping to avoid any kind of fight to break loose. Both dragons stop growling but are still keeping a wary eye on her. If she tries anything sneaky? Both of them wouldn't hesitate in attacking her. "By the way how do you know my name? Eh, should I…should I know you?" Hiccup couldn't help himself and asked the woman he had no memory of meeting. How did she even know his name? That question is running through Hiccup's mind.
"No, you wouldn't know me. Because the last time I saw you were just a baby. But a mother wouldn't forget her own child." Valka answered shocking Hiccup to his core. All his life he believed that his own mother was dead and now this stranger is claiming to be his mother. Both Toothless and Sharpshot decided to use their sense of smell to see if the masked rider was telling the truth. To the shock of both of them their rider's and the woman's scent were all most identical to each other. That meant that the older woman is the mother of their rider. What the two dragons wanted to know is why was she here and not on Berk with Hiccup's father? Valka smiled sadly at the confused and hurt expression on her son's face. "Come," the long-lost mother said as she turns around and heads deeper into the cave. With her four-winged dragon following closely by her.
Seeing his mother leave after dropping a bombshell like that, snapped Hiccup out of his shocked state. "Get back here!" Hiccup shouted as he took off after the older woman. What the nervous of her to drop something like that on him and then take off like it was nothing happened? Toothless and Sharpshot followed Hiccup closely as they made their way after Valka Haddock. "Ah, ho-hold on for a Thor damn minute! Would you just stop for a second?!" Hiccup screamed at his recently thought to be dead mother.
Valka jumps on the rocks ahead of them before motioning Hiccup to continue to follow her. "This way we're almost there." The woman instructed her son, as she keeps heading deeper into the cave. Hiccup also jumps on the rocks like his mother, resumes the pursuit of his mother.
"Get back here now!" Hiccup yelled still on the chase.
"We're getting closer. So come quickly," Valka response. The middle age woman continued to lead her son into the cave. The former heir followed his so-called mother and trying to get her to stop. But all his words went in one ear and out the other; he stopped trying to get her to talk and hoped when they reached where she wanted him, then she would explain herself to him. Moments later they made it to cavern where thousand dragons greeted Hiccup, Toothless, and Sharpshot. Never in Hiccup's life would he believe there was a place where the dragons lived in peace and harmony like he was seeing right now. So, this is where his mother had been living for the past fifteen years. Did she like the Berkians didn't even wanted anything to do with Hiccup? Was he just so unlovable that his own mother decided she would rather be with dragons then him? Hiccup had to find out the answer to these questions.
Hiccup looked around trying to locate his mother. It didn't take long for the former heir to find his mother with her dragon hanging from a ceiling. "This is where you've been for the past fifteen years? Why didn't you ever comeback after being taken by dragons? Didn't you even want me?" Hiccup couldn't help but question her in his most broken tone. Heartbroken at the realization that his own mother abandoned him. Tears of sorrow and heartbreak came streaming down his cheeks at a rapid rate. Both the Terror and Night Fury came in front of their human friend to keep him safe from his mother. The two dragons know that Hiccup had been going through a lot as of late with what happened in Berk. Now to learn that their human's own mother was alive all this time had hurt Hiccup even more. Valka hop down and made her way towards Hiccup, so she could try and comfort her son. "It's okay Toothless and Sharpshot. We're just going to leave and pretend this didn't even happen."
"Please don't leave just yet Hiccup? Let me explain what happen first please? And if you still want to leave after I tell you what happen? I won't stop you. I know I shouldn't ask anything from you after everything I did. Please Hiccup?" Valka asked and hoped that Hiccup would give her a chance. She knows that asking this might be asking too much. After all she did abandon him when he was just an infant. What right does she get of asking something like that after abandoning Hiccup?
"Alright I'll let you explain," Hiccup answers.
"Berk was a land of kill or be killed. But I believed that peace was possible between both dragons and Vikings. It was a very unpopular opinion to have back then to say the least. Then one night fifteen years ago, a dragon broke into our house finding you in your cradle. I rushed inside to protect you from what I thought to be a dangerous situation. But what I saw was proof of everything I believed about dragons. This wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature whose soul reflected my very own. You and your father both almost died all because I couldn't kill a dragon. It truly broke my heart to stay but I thought that the both of you would be safer without me." Valka explained as both guilt and regret filled her to the core of her soul.
Hiccup took the moment to process what his mother had just told him. He had very conflicted feelings about what she said. On one hand, he doesn't want to forgive her for what she did. Sure, he was following her footsteps unknowingly and ran away from Berk. But at least he didn't leave a child without a parent like Valka did. He could also understand that convincing Berk about the true nature of dragons was a difficult task. That still didn't excuse her from deliberately staying away from her family and tribe. On the other hand, he believes in second chances in life. This is also a chance to finally get to know his own mother. Growing up and being the only child that didn't have both parents in his life, had a negative effect on him. There were times where he wished that his mother was alive and that maybe she would make his life better at home. Unhappily that was not the case for the small teenage boy. At a young age Hiccup learned that his mother wasn't coming back home to make everything better. He decided that he might just give his mother that chance. Who know maybe this would be a good thing in his life. "It's okay mom, I forgive you." Hiccup told his mother honestly.
"Thank you so much Hiccup. I promise to never leave you like that again." Valka proclaimed as she ran towards her son. Then proceeded to engulf in him a hug while the tears of relief are rolling down her cheeks. Who was she kidding? She believed that her son wouldn't forgive her for what she did. She promised herself that she would never make that same mistake again. But there is something that she wanted to know. "What did your father think of your Night Fury and Terrible Terror friends?" Valka asked as she pointed at his two dragons who were watching her closely. She knows she shouldn't have hope that Berk changed their views of dragons. But seeing Hiccup with his two dragons she couldn't help it but hope that they changed for the better.
"He doesn't even know about them, because I ran away from home a few days ago." Hiccup answers breaking from his hug from his mother. He wasn't looking forward to having this conversation with his mother. From the shock expression of his mother told him he wouldn't like where their conversation is heading.
"Hiccup, why would you do that?" Valka questions her son concerned as she had ever been. What happened to cause her son to run away from their home like this? She had hoped over the years that her son wouldn't make the same mistake she made. Now hearing that he was unknowingly following her footsteps worried her deeply. Hiccup would explain everything that had happened in her absence. With every word Hiccup said filled her with horror. Like how Hiccup and Stoick relationship started to rippled as the years went. With how almost everyone in the village treated Hiccup as if he was worthless and useless. Or how he felt like the only way people would even treat him like a living person was to hunt down a Night Fury. The night he shot Toothless out of the night sky and how they became best friends. And most importantly what Stoick had said the night that he ran away. And everything in between.
Oh, how she wished that she checked up on him sooner. While she lived with the dragons in peace as her son was being mistreated by almost the entire village. She could have saved him from all the heartache he endured if she only checked on him. Now tears of regret and sadness falling down her cheeks as she let out a heartbreaking sob. "I'm so sorry Hiccup. All of that was my fault. I shouldn't have just stayed here. I Should've come and got you years ago." All this time she believed that Hiccup would be like Stoick, but the thought that Hiccup would be more like her never came to her mind.
"It's alright mom. You don't know what was happening." Hiccup said as he hugged his crying mother to bring comfort. What had happened in his life? Was now just the past and he still had his future ahead of him. Now after fifteen years son and mother were reunited with one another. Both promising themselves that they would never be apart like they were again. Maybe fate was at work here. Whatever the case was? The two dragon riders and the dragons would face that head on.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter we're returning back to Berk to see how they dealt with Hiccup disappearance. I would like to thank everyone that has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story so far. I hope you all are having a great day and are staying safe out there. I'll see you guys in the next update. ^_^