Hello Readers! I am sorry for taking a small break after moving into my new house. I finally have internet and a means to write again, so I am trying to write at least a few times a week again. I am planning on going back to the schedule of uploading a chapter every two weeks.
MalirBly, FlashFrost645237, OechsnerC, sup8pdct, EllaBSinging, Atomic R4y, HeronadaleHMI, Guests: Thank you all for the amazing reviews!
Before stepping reading forward into this chapter, remember that Hiccup and Astrid were friends before HTTYD1 in my story, so while they might have been separated for a while, they were always together in soul/spirit.
So without keeping you guys any longer, please enjoy this next chapter!
I knew that we had landed, but I needed a moment to gather my thoughts. Even though Shadow was supposed to be a traitor to vikings, being in his arms after experiencing the single most scariest event in my life right after experiencing the most beautiful sight of Berk, I felt safe.
A few moments passed before I pushed away from him which resulted in him falling off his night fury and landing on the other side as I climbed down and headed towards Stormfly. I knew that it was Stormfly's fault that I had fallen, and I started petting her neck as the dragon seemed to check over me again and again to see if I had been injured. I didn't say anything to the dragon but I scratched her neck and under her jaw to reassure her that I forgave her for what happened.
Shadow had finally called me by my actual name instead of 'Hofferson' and I could have sworn I heard a familiarity in the concern with the way he said it. I was transported back to a simpler time, when we were kids searching for trolls in the woods.
"Come on Astrid! I know the trolls are around here somewhere! Gobber said they like to hide in the caves in the forests!" Hiccup was in front of me carrying his small wooden dagger and struggling to climb over fallen trees. I had my wooden axe slung across my back and was following him with ease, never getting in front of him as he knew the forest better than anyone but also because I liked following him on these adventures.
"Slow down Hiccup! I don't want you to hurt yourself." I could hear myself saying, but all Hiccup did was look back towards me and give me his signature smirk that only I got to see. Hiccup knew what he was doing, he had done it a million times before, but that didn't mean that I couldn't worry about him.
Hiccup suddenly turned a corner and was out of sight before I could catch up. When I turned the corner, I found a dark cave but no Hiccup in sight. I started to panic as I searched around the entrance of the cave. He couldn't have gone inside, could he? It was awfully dark in there.
"Hiccup! Hiccup, where did you go?" I whispered around the entrance of the cave.
"ASTRID!" Hiccup yelled suddenly from inside the cave, running towards me and nearly knocking me over. "Hide, quickly!" As soon as I heard that, I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into a nearby bush as a deadly nadder appeared at the mouth of the cave. The dragon was a beautiful blue and green. It was looking everywhere at the entrance of the cave before it gave up and headed back into the darkness.
Hiccup started chuckling to himself before breaking out into a full on laughter while trying to keep quiet. I couldn't help myself and started laughing with him before we were both in tears over the scare.
"I'm sorry Hofferson..." I could feel the anger well up inside me. He knew my name and had called me by my name but he still insists on calling me Hofferson.
"Don't." I stopped him short of whatever he was going to say. I wasn't in the mood to hear his excuses. "Don't even bother…" We were quiet for a while. I knew that Shadow was waiting to see what I would say, but what could I even say? But I had to make sure, I had to make him take off the mask.
"Answer me this…" I started out by saying. I wasn't sure what I was going to say, but I knew I needed an answer out of him. What did he call his dragon when we were falling? I thought back to when he had grabbed a hold of me. Toothless. That was the name that Hiccup said he called his night fury in the letter. "When we were falling…" Did I really want an answer? I could feel it in every part of my being that it was Hiccup under the mask, but what if it wasn't? Shadow did say that Hiccup wasn't coming back. What if he stole the night fury from Hiccup? But those eyes, the way he handled himself in training, the way he responded to the Chief, the axe, all those were signs that wanted me to believe it was him. "Did you call your night fury, Toothless?"
"I-I don't know what…"
"DON'T!" I cut him off again. Even the stutter sounded like Hiccup did when he would talk to me on the off chance after my Uncle died, nervous around me but looked cute when he did. "Don't lie to me!" I was still angry because who wouldn't be when the person you waited years for comes back and lies to me that he was gone and wasn't coming back. I could hear him sigh quietly behind me, as if finally realizing he was defeated.
"Yes… His name is Toothless."
I knew I wasn't hearing things. Even though I was preparing myself for death as my life flashed before my eyes, I knew that Shadow called his night fury Toothless. The way he called my name as we fell, and the way he risked his life to save mine, putting himself in danger's way. I only knew one person crazy enough to do that. I heard him fall against his dragon in defeat.
"Take off your mask." I said quietly as I turned around. It wasn't a question, it was a demand. I was going to see who was under the mask once and for all. I could feel the tears forming on my eyes, unsure if it was because I was upset, scared, or completely pissed off where the emotions were just overflowing. He sighed again before he complied.
'Shadow' reached up and pulled the hood back from his head, revealing his dark auburn hair that was much too long as if he had missed trimming it for a while. His hair was slightly darker then what Hiccup had when he left, but it was undoubtedly his hair. 'Shadow' was looking directly at me with those forest green eyes, shining with worry as to what I might do if he fully revealed himself. He reached his hand up to his mask but stopped and hesitated for a second, as if debating if it was a good idea to reveal himself or not, but he pulled it down anyways but looked down as he did, hiding his features from me. I knew it was him, there was no denying who it was. He might have been slightly older then what I remembered him as, but I knew it was him.
"Hiccup…" I whispered to the wind, his ears perking up at the sound as he brought his eyes up to mine. I could feel the tears slowly falling down my face as we looked into each other's eyes. He stood and walked towards me. It almost felt like a dream that he was actually standing in front of me. It was almost as if I would blink my eyes and he would disappear again.
"It's really me, Astrid." He grabbed my hand and held it, and I allowed it. It felt so surreal to actually see and feel him again. I ripped my hand out of his, closing my eyes, I threw every single ounce of strength I had in me into hitting his arm. Even though he was wearing his leather armour, I knew he would feel it. "OWW! Why would you do that!" I opened my eyes and he was still standing in front of me, holding his arm where I had hit him. I could feel that my knuckle was going to be bruised in the morning but that didn't matter now. I rushed forward and hugged him as tightly as I could as the tears streamed down my face.
"You've come home." I said quietly against his shoulder as he brought his arms up and returned the hug just as tight. He rubbed my back slightly in a small motion up and down trying to calm my emotions. I don't know how long we stood like that, embracing each other, both thinking that if we let go that we would wake up and everything would be gone.
"Where were you?" I asked him, not releasing my hold on him. "I… I missed you so much." His arms tighten around me as he buried his face in my hair. "Why?" Hiccup went stiff against my hold, as if expecting the question but dreading the answer even more so. "Why did you leave?"
"You… You don't understand Astrid." He let go of me and I just stood there and watched him as he walked around the clearing. Toothless watched him with concern in his eyes as well, which told me he didn't like talking about this. "For years, I was treated like the worst viking to ever exist, being constantly told that I should have been drowned at birth." He shuddered as if remembering something. "I was beaten up by the other kids constantly, your current 'warriors'. Always doing enough damage that I would remember it, but never enough where people would question it." He sat down on the rock near the tree, the one I had called 'Hiccup's Rock', and put his head in his hands. "But you want to know what really hurts the most? My own Father believed that I was the worst viking Berk has ever seen. It was hard to stay in a village where you knew nobody loved you." He looked up towards me, catching me and holding my gaze. "Even you stopped talking to me eventually. I had nothing left."
I could feel the tears start falling again before I let myself sink to the ground, head held in my hands. It wasn't two seconds later before I felt a presence sit beside me and pull me into a hug. I fell into his warm hug and just let the tears fall. It wasn't long before I felt both Stormfly and Toothless lay beside and curl around us. We all just sat in silence for a while, embracing each other.
"I-I never stopped loving you." I said suddenly and felt Hiccup go stiff, his breath catching as I said it. "I pledged myself as shieldmaiden because I watched my Uncle Finn die in front of me and I told myself it was to prevent anybody else I loved from facing the same fate. It was a lie I told myself so that I could train harder and harder so that I could protect you." Hiccup went soft in my hold but I felt his breath catch again as I said it. I have never been so open with someone then I have with Hiccup. Even my Mama and Papa didn't know how I felt. When I talked with Hiccup, it just felt so easy, so natural, so the feelings just poured out. I pulled away from him and looked at him, seeing his beautiful forest green eyes. "I realize now that you could have always protected yourself, maybe even better than some of the other vikings." I looked towards my hands, which were open but held nothing in them. "I was wrong, and I am sorry."
I heard Hiccup sigh beside me again, as if finally realizing. "For years, I thought you didn't want to talk to me because of who I was. Hiccup the Useless. The worst viking that Berk has ever seen!" I scuffed and looked over towards him and he was shaking his head while he was staring off into space. "I would have never guessed you took up shieldmaiden to protect me." He chuckled to himself quietly. "Even when you had your axe to my throat, I thought you were beautiful, but in my mind that didn't matter as I was treated like I was a nobody."
"I told myself for years that shieldmaidens didn't love anything other than the fight itself. That is who shieldmaidens are, they are married to the tribe and will do anything to protect it." Hiccup looked at me, and the look he gave me just made me blush at what I was going to say. "My problem was that I couldn't keep my mind off of you. You were somebody to me, even if I sucked at showing it." I saw the surprise cross his face as my blush deepened even more. "Ever since you left and I found your cove, I came back here often, praying and wishing that you would return." I looked down at my hands and closed my eyes. "It killed me inside when I realized that you might not be coming back." I opened my eyes and looked at Hiccup again, seeing the pain and concern cross his face. "But I stayed strong. I had to, not only for myself but for your father and the village." Hiccup was the one to look away then, regret showing on his face as he did so. "But I always knew you would return." I leaned over and hugged him tightly then. "As you once said, 'There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid.'"
"I never stopped loving you either." Hiccup quietly said, as if trying to make sure that only we heard it. "Every single day I was away, I thought of you." I could see the blush rush up his neck but he was still looking away, embarrassed. "It killed me inside to think that anything could happen to you and I wouldn't be around to help." He snorted. "That's why I sent Stormfly to find you." I pulled back and looked at him and then to the dragon behind us and back to Hiccup.
"Wait, are you saying you sent Stormfly? But... how?" It was my turn to be surprised. He looked over and gave me my signature smirk.
"Didn't you ever feel that Stormfly was familiar when you two 'met'?" Thinking back, I did think that she was familiar. Hiccup must have noticed the realization on my face, because he continued. "That's because you had met her before." Now I was confused.
"Wait, when did I meet her?"
"Let me see if I can jog your memory. 'Making love on the battlefield' ring any bells for you?" I could feel the heat rush up into my face again as I thought back to the time in dragon training against the deadly nadder. Wait, nadder? Could that mean? "See, you do remember!" Hiccup laughed. "Stormfly is the same nadder that we had in the training ring. The one you hit with your axe that was stuck in my shield."
"So if she is the same nadder, how did you send her to me?"
"Well, before I left Berk, I decided to release all the dragons in the ring. I trained each one of them and set them free and most of them flew away, except…" He pointed towards Stormfly who was sleeping behind me, curled around Toothless. "Stormfly decided she wanted to follow me. So we traveled together. Sometimes she went off and did her own thing and other times she traveled with Toothless and I. She could always find us no matter where we went."
"Is that why you could control her so well when 'Shadow' and I first met?"
"Yes. See, dragons are smart, they can recognize someone even if they haven't seen that person in years. That is why she didn't feel threatened once she knew who I was."
"Huh, I never would have guessed. But that doesn't explain how you sent her?"
"Ah, that was a little more tricky. See, Stormfly is an excellent tracker once she has the smell memorized of said person. I didn't exactly have anything of yours that had your scent to send her off with. Though it would have been a lot easier." Hiccup blushed which caused me to giggle. "So instead,-" He reached into his armour and pulled out a notebook and flipped to the first page. The image that I saw completely took my breath away. It was like the one he sent me in the letter but it was just a headshot. It felt like I was looking into a mirror once more. "-I drew you and when I saw Stormfly next, I asked her if she remembered you. She was more than happy to let me know she did, because even though you hit her with an axe, she liked you because you were protecting me."
"But how do you know all this? I thought you didn't speak dragon?" Hiccup laughed at that.
"Technically, I don't speak dragon." Hiccup smiled, which just confused me more. "I lived with dragons for the past 3 years, so I understand their language. I call it dragonese." I must have had a funny look on my face because Hiccup chuckled.
"Anyways, I sent Stormfly to find you and she did. I made sure that she would protect you even when I couldn't. Stormfly would sometimes come visit me and bring me something that you either touched or given her. It made me feel warm inside knowing that you were alive and protected."
"Hiccup…"
"Come," Hiccup hauled himself up and held out his hand to me, which I gladly took. "Let's go back to the Cove, the other riders should be back by now."
"Are… Are we going to fly there?" I asked nervously, remembering the scary experience earlier. Hiccup chuckled when I asked, and I felt like punching him again for laughing at me.
"Gods no, not after your experience. Would you like to?" I looked towards Stormfly who looked sad all of a sudden. "It wouldn't matter anyways." I looked back towards Hiccup but he was looking towards Stormfly. "Stormfly still feels bad for what happened. It might take a bit until she is willing to try again." With that, he turned again and started walking towards the side of the clearing, finding his old path like he always knew where it was. He turned around to find me still standing there, watching him. "Well, are you coming?" He gave me my signature smirk and I felt like we were kids again exploring in the forest. I returned his smirk with a smile, nodded, and ran to catch up with him before we continued into the forest.
It didn't take long for us to get to the cove with Hiccup leading. Even though I had traveled the path many times in the past three years, I still didn't memorize where everything was. I almost lost sight of Hiccup a few times. Toothless followed us most of the way, in the trees more than on the ground beside or behind us, and he glided down into the cove once we reached it. Hiccup disappeared down the hole on the far side and I followed him not too long after.
The cove almost felt different than before. Stormfly had flown over and was already resting where Windshear was sitting behind Heather. Her head popped up when she heard us come into the cove and followed my movements as we approached the group. The same people were sitting around the campfire when we approached but were all talking about different things.
Hiccup approached with his mask down and the other riders all went quiet, before he took his seat in between Thuggory and Heather, making sure to leave enough room for me to sit beside him. I stood outside the circle watching all the other riders as they ate in silence but I found my gaze against Hiccup again. He didn't say a word, just gave me a smile and nodded his head beside him. I took that as my que and entered the circle and sat down. I could feel all eyes on me as I sat down, but once I did, everything seemed to revert back to normal as if I wasn't even there. The riders all went back to talking within themselves as Hiccup was handed a stick with a fish that was mostly cooked on it from Thuggory on his right. Before I could even say anything, the stick that Hiccup was offered was put in front of me.
"No need for that Hiccup, I have hers right here." On my left side was Heather, who offered me a stick as well with a fish that was almost cooked as well. Hiccup withdrew his offer as I took the one from Heather. Hiccup and I sat in silence as we listened to the other riders talk about their day. Thuggory and Dogsbreath seemed to have gone to the Northern Markets to make a few trades before coming back for the night. Camicazi was talking about her trip to Bog and meeting up with Heather on her way back to explore an island between Bog and Berk. Hiccup was pulled in the conversation a few times and I just sat quietly, feeling out of place.
"So how did the flying session go today?" Heather whispered from my left, as if not wanting the rest of the group to hear.
"Argh, don't remind me." I heard Heather giggle quietly to herself.
"It went that bad, huh?"
"Well, I put Stormfly into a steep dive and when I told her to stop, I was thrown off at a speed I never thought possible. Luckily, Hiccup had saved me but almost got us killed in the process. We had to blow up the side of the island that we were bound to hit. So I guess you can say it went pretty bad." Heather giggled to herself again and I just looked at her with a questionable look on my face.
"Sorry Astrid, I don't mean to think it's funny, but that doesn't seem too bad."
"We almost died, Heather!" I whispered-yelled at her. That caused the group to go quiet, with a guilty look on Hiccup's face.
"Thug, what happened when you first tried to fly Killer?" Heather asked Thuggory, trying to keep the mood light.
"Oh you should have seen it! If Hiccup wasn't watching us, all four of us would have been dead!" Thuggory laughed and hit Hiccup on his shoulder, which just resulted in him pushing Thuggory over and shaking his head in the meantime. "I mean, Killer and I were so excited to try flying that we took to the sky really fast without Hiccup even noticing. We were going so fast that when I tried to take a corner around a sea stack too quickly, I was thrown from Killer's back. Which resulted in Killer trying to catch up to me before I hit the water as well with Hiccup and Toothless doing the same. Hiccup and Toothless caught me of course, but Killer was going too fast to slow down and took us all out and we landed in the water below anyways." Toothless brought up his tail and knocked Thuggory over again just like Hiccup did, which resulted in everyone laughing, in which I joined in as well.
"Thug still never got over trying to show off. If he doesn't fall off his dragon at least once daily, I would think that Thuggory had been replaced with someone who looked like him!" Hiccup said and laughed to himself, which had the whole group laughing even harder.
"Cami, how was your first time flying?" Heather asked the other girl as the laughter died down.
"Oh don't even get me started! I think Hiccup was trying to kill us when we tried our first time!" Camicazi laughed. "Must have been to get back at me for all those years of teasing him about Astrid." I felt my cheeks flare up as red as a tomato, luckily nobody noticed as they were all laughing along with Cami. "Hiccup knew that deathly galeslash were hard to fly with a rider but he seemed to forget to tell me that when I had chosen Bloodwing. I spent an hour trying to even get on his back, getting a few burns in the process while Hiccup and Toothless just watched me struggle."
"That's because you were too boar-headed to even ask us for help!" Hiccup said which resulted in everyone laughing again. Cami threw her fish tail at Hiccup, which hit him in the face, surprising him and causing everyone to laugh even harder.
"When I finally did get onto Bloodwing's back and into the sky, I was thrown off so many times before I finally got the hang of keeping my grip on the rope. Hiccup and Toothless saved me a few times when I was thrown towards land, but always seemed to let me hit the water." I looked over to Hiccup, which he looked back at and shrugged, smiling, before returning his look back to his fish.
"What about you Hiccup? How many times did you fall off Toothless?"
"Oh, many more times than anybody here." He looked towards me as he spoke. "When I first made Toothless' prosthetic tail, he wasn't used to having the extra weight on him so he would throw me off constantly, which resulted in both of us in the water." Toothless grumbled from behind us which resulted in the group laughing at Hiccup and the night fury. "When I finally built myself a saddle to hold on to, and we were practicing on the cliffside just past here, the rope that was holding us broke and we ended up tangled on the cliffside. Remember that time when you confronted me at the forge, claiming I was acting strange?" I thought back to the time that he described.
"Was that the time you were lifted up the forge's window and finally dragged into the forge before disappearing?"
"That's the night! See, when Toothless and I got tangled up, he bent the clip that I was using to hold myself to the saddle. He saw a sheep which caused me to raise up the window, and when he finally gave one last tug, I was pulled through the window before I climbed on his back and took off into the night."
"So you brought a dragon, a night fury at that, into Berk?" I asked with surprise in my voice. The other riders were quiet.
"It wasn't hard, we stayed hidden in the dark but you had heard us in the forge which would have given us away if you walked in before I stopped you outside." Hiccup smiled towards me which I returned.
"After that night, we were more careful, but we still tried to fly every day after dragon training. The first time we really attempted to fly with a new tail fin, we almost got both of us killed by running into a valley of sea stacks. That is when I REALLY learned how to fly Toothless and when we both learned to trust each other." Toothless huffed behind Hiccup, which resulted in a snort from Hiccup. "Oh common, it wasn't THAT bad!" The dragon lifted his head and warbled a few times, rolling his eyes. "We survived, didn't we! It could have been a lot worse!" The exchange between dragon and rider just resulted in everyone laughing again, Hiccup and I joining in as the dragons swatted Hiccup with his tailfin.
Once the laughter seemed to die down again, Heather continued around the circle. "What about you, Dogsbreath? How was your first time flying?"
"Dogsbreath was the easiest one to train. Gronckles are calm creatures by nature, so as soon as Dogsbreath got onto Seaslug's back, they were up and flying like professionals before long." It was Hiccup who answered her, and Dogsbreath just nodded in return, agreeing with what he was saying. "And what about you Heather? Want to share your first time with Windshear?" I looked towards the girl who had a small smile on her face.
"Oh, my first time was nothing special. Windshear and I learned to trust each other similar to you Hiccup, but instead of flying, it was watching each other's back in the wild. We saved each other multiple times from the dangers of dragons and viking alike. When Windshear finally let me onto her back, we took it nice and slow. She only dropped me into the water twice before I learned how to hang on." Heather looked up towards me, a smile still gracing her face and her eyes shining a little lighter than Hiccup's.
"See, Astrid? Your first time with Stormfly wasn't that bad compared to the rest of us. We all fall off our dragons every now and again. Sometimes on purpose, like Hiccup does," Hiccup just snorted in response but didn't say anything, while little rips of laughter went through the group. "And others learned the hard way by trying to figure out how their dragon responds or reacts without actually listening to what they are trying to say."
"If your bond is as strong with Stormfly as Hiccup thinks it to be, you will be flying before the end of tomorrow." It was Dogsbreath who spoke up. He seemed to have calculated what he was saying before he spoke, and everyone just seemed to agree with him. I nodded towards him in thanks and he returned it.
Conversations between the riders slowly picked up again, Hiccup joining in with them but always letting his gaze fall back towards me giving me a fuzzy feeling inside every time. I looked around the circle at everyone and realized that this wasn't just a group of dragon riders but people who have been friends for years and consider each other family. Hiccup seemed at home talking with the other riders, something that he never looked like when he was living on Berk. It made me realize inside that what Hiccup had said earlier was true, he really had nothing left when he had left Berk. He had chosen his own path, and created his own family with this small group of riders, people who he would protect with his life and in turn they would protect him with theirs.
I got up suddenly and found my way over to the pond that was in the cove and sat down at the edge. I wanted some time alone to myself but I didn't want to leave the riders as I felt like I was home with them. I didn't know what I wanted anymore. For years, I trained myself as a shieldmaiden to protect the tribe, to protect Hiccup. Once he left, I felt lost for so long until Stormfly had found me. Now that Hiccup was back and with the other riders here, I felt like I was finally somewhere I belonged. I was finally beside Hiccup again and it almost feels like nothing has changed since we were kids while everything has changed since that time.
"Is this spot taken?" I looked up to find Heather standing beside me. Before I even had a chance to reply, she had taken a seat beside me. We just sat in silence for a bit as we both looked into and out over the pond in front of us. "Something on your mind, Astrid?" Heather finally asked.
"I… I don't know." I told her. I really didn't know what my problem was. Hiccup was back, we both were okay after the biggest scare of my life, and Stormfly was okay.
"You are unsure of what to feel right now." I looked towards Heather and she had this caring look on her face. "The person that you waited three years to return is finally back but he isn't the same boy that had left. The fall from Stormfly scared you so bad that you are even unsure if you want to get back onto the dragon's back. Hiccup saved you before you both fell to your death, with every single life event that you cherish flashing before your eyes."
"How…" I looked at her with surprise and Heather just smiled in return before she looked out over the pond again.
"Based on everything you said this evening, I could only guess."
"You're right." I looked out over the pond with her, looking at the waterfall that was falling. "I don't know what to feel anymore. My whole life seemed to have turned upside down within a matter of a few days." I thought about what Heather had said, before I responded again. "It's just, for years I trained to be a shieldmaiden to protect the village and the little boy in the forge. When he disappeared, I felt so lost even though we hadn't spoken for years. It felt like when he left, he took a huge part of me with him."
"You loved him, even if you denied the feelings to yourself."
"But that's the thing, I never denied the feelings to myself. I knew I loved him back when we were kids, before I even knew what love was, and I never stopped loving him."
"So your vision got clouded sometime along the way?"
"You could say that. I pledged myself as a shieldmaiden when my Uncle died in front of me by a Flightmare, and told myself that I was doing it to protect Hiccup and the tribe. I trained for hours upon hours perfecting my combat."
"And with all the training, you forgot to make time for yourself and for Hiccup?"
"I stopped talking to him almost completely but my mind was never far from him. He was always working in the forge but I always caught him looking when I walked by."
"Not long after Hiccup and I met in Nepenthe, we would travel together searching for my Dad as I trained him in combat. I always found him drawing, sometimes it was dragons, other times it was inventions that could help people, dragons, or himself." Heather looked towards me as she was speaking and I found that caring look on her again. "But you know what he always went back to drawing?" I shook my head. "You." I felt my cheeks heat up as I blushed, and looked towards the waterfall again.
"Sometimes it would be you pictured from a far, other times it would be a headshot." I heard Heather sigh beside me. "But there was always one picture I found him drawing that I think scared him." I looked towards Heather again and found a worried look on her face. "It was always a picture of you, but you had your back towards him. Your shieldmaiden shield was on your back while your axe was in your hand but it was lowered to your side. Your hair was taken out of the braid and was blowing in the wind. The worst part was that it looked like you were getting consumed by the flames, and in big black letters at the bottom of the page, 'Why did You leave?' When I asked him about it once, he always said that it was a recurring nightmare that he had."
Silence fell over both of us as I sat there in surprise. I always knew that Hiccup could draw. He had given me a letter with my image on it, and had shown me the one he showed Stormfly. Even all his inventions and papers over his room and the forge's small room that he claimed as his, all the pictures and measurements were beautifully drawn. I thought back to earlier today and realized what came over him when I asked him that exact question.
"Hiccup never stopped loving you." Heather brought me out of my thoughts. "He was always worried about you, even if he didn't try to show or speak about it. Even when he sent Stormfly to you, he couldn't help but worry about what would happen to you if he wasn't there."
"So why didn't he come back, if he was worried that much?"
"I'm not really sure. Other than being a traitor to viking law, why would he come back to a village that didn't want him? The riders all know why he left, he shared that much with us, but he never told us why he wouldn't come back." Heather looked to be deep in thought as if trying to remember something. "Until one day, he requested all of us to meet him here in the cove. If you ask me, I don't think he was ready to come back."
"I can't believe I didn't recognize it was him sooner." I shook my head in disbelief. "Everything pointed towards him. The beautiful forest green eyes, the night fury, the axe, the way he handled himself with the Chief and had no issues training the warriors in the ring. Even if he didn't want to come back to Berk, he came back to help us defeat the raids without asking for anything in return." I looked at Heather then. "And he could have asked for anything. Any one of you could have asked and we probably would have tried to fulfill it so that we could stop the raids."
"So do you see now why he didn't want anything? Why any of us didn't want anything?" I could just nod my head towards Heather. She finally stood up. "When you are ready, feel free to come back to the fire."
"Thank you Heather." She smiled in return as she returned to her spot near the fire.
I took a few deep breaths before following her myself and sitting beside Hiccup again. He handed me something as I sat down, and I smiled in thanks before I inspected what he had handed me. In my hand was a spandauer, but it wasn't just a regular spandauer that we had on Berk. What I had in my hand was a strawberry spandauer, my favourite dessert and only had on rare occasions when Trader Johann brought strawberries to Berk. I looked up towards Hiccup again, who had his signature smirk on his face before he took a bite out of his blueberry spandauer. I followed suit and took a bite out of mine, and all I could do was smile in return.
It was almost nightfall by the time I left the riders, scrambling back towards the village and the Haddock household. It was hard to leave Hiccup's side, scared that he might disappear again, but I had to return to the village before someone thought something happened. By the time I actually reached the village, the sun had disappeared beyond the surface of the water and night had fallen over the village.
When I actually reached the Haddock household, I knew there was no reason to actually try sneaking in. Stoick would still be awake and most likely waiting for me.. I entered through the backdoor of the house and instantly noticed that the fire was blazing. From this angle, I couldn't see if Stoick was sitting in his chair or not, but based on the smell in the air, something was cooking over the fireplace.
I walked into the centre of the household just as Stoick got up and went to the pot over the fire. He pulled out two bowls and started filling mine before turning around and handing it to me. I gratefully accepted it and sat down in my normal chair beside him. Stoick finished filling up his bowl before sitting back down in his chair. We ate in silence, the only noise was the fire crackling in front of us and the small noises we would make while eating the sheep stew.
When we were both finished our dinner, I stood up and took Stoick's bowl from him over to the sink and washed them both. I was waiting for Stoick to speak up, but I knew he was also old fashioned and didn't like speaking to me as I did the house chores that were required of me.
"How was training today?" Stoick finally asked when I finished rinsing the bowls and placing them aside for our next meal. "I heard in passing that the warriors met their dragons today."
"You have heard correctly. Shadow brought some dragons into the Killring today and introduced them to the warriors."
"And there were no incidents?" Stoick asked with a bit of surprise in his voice, which he tried to hide.
"Actually, there weren't any. Unless of course, you count Snotlout being himself. You already know what he can get himself into." I filled up our mugs with water and handed Stoick his before I sat down beside him and watched the fire.
"Ah yes, Snotlout. What happened with him?"
"He thought it would be a good idea to threaten Shadow's night fury with his warhammer."
"And?"
"Shadow put him in his place. He commanded the night fury to send a small plasma blast that knocked Snotlout's hammer out of his hand without him even knowing what happened."
"So the dragon attacked him?" Stoick asked with a serious tone in his voice.
"Well no. Shadow said that his night fury would only protect him if he needed to. I was ready with my axe to threaten Shadow over what happened before he told me that Snotlout actually threatened him and he merely only responded to the threat."
"And Snotlout?"
"Oh, he wasn't hurt, neither was his weapon. His pride, on the other hand, was damaged." I couldn't help myself as I thought of the situation and smiled to myself.
"Well that's good to hear. How were the dragons?"
"You would never believe it, Stoick. These dragons were nothing like the ones we fight in raids. They seemed calm around us when we weren't armed. The warriors were introduced to them and bonded with them over the morning."
"And you are sure there were no incidents? The dragons and vikings didn't attack each other? How could that be possible?"
"Well, there was another incident. Snotlout tried to boss his dragon around and ended up getting his butt lit on fire a few times, but Shadow said that the dragon meant no harm."
"Why am I not surprised?" Stoick chuckled at what I told him. Even though Snotlout was next in line to be Heir, Stoick didn't think the boy could handle it with his big ego and pride. "Do you have a dragon, Astrid?" I kept my focus on the fireplace, trying to keep my emotions neutral, especially after what happened today.
"I actually do. It's a beautifully blue deadly nadder."
"Hmmm…" was the only response I got from Stoick. We were silent for a few moments as I watched the fire crackle and thought back to the events that happened today. "Do you know what Shadow and his riders want for helping us yet?" Stoick speaking up kind of startled me as I was deep in thought.
"I really don't think they wanted anything. I believe that Shadow was telling the truth and speaking with the other riders today, I don't think they want anything either."
"I don't believe that. People always want something. Keep prying them for answers when you have a chance." Stoick got up and yawned, stretching his back as he did and letting an audible crack sound throughout the household. "I think it's time for these old bones to rest." He started walking towards his room. "Good night Astrid."
"Good night Stoick." I got up as well, rinsing our mugs and putting them beside the bowls for future use. I threw another log into the fire to make sure that it wouldn't go out too soon in the night and headed up to my room.
When I had finally laid down to sleep, everything seemed to click in at once. Shadow was Hiccup. Hiccup was Shadow. Hiccup had come home, but at the same time, he was still a stranger to everyone. I finally felt like I was somewhere I belonged. Even though Hiccup was the one that was considered lost, it felt like I was found when he revealed himself. Gods, Hiccup is alive. I thought back to around the firepit where I sat beside him and listened to the other riders talk, and the small glances that Hiccup would give me. When I finally caught him looking, he gave me his signature smirk that just made my insides flip every time he did.
Hiccup loves me. And I told him I loved him. I felt so warm inside, I could have sworn that I could stand outside in a blizzard and not feel the cold. I fell asleep thinking of Hiccup, and for the first time in a long time, I dreamt of the future that was now possible that he was back.
Well, there you have it. The dream couple is finally back together. Not only that, I think the interactions with all the characters in this chapter really set the pace for the next few. I really enjoyed writing this one and cannot wait to post more! If you enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think!