This is my first ever fanfiction after reading on here for a few years. This is a leaving AU where Hiccup leaves Berk before the fight with the Nightmare but not before he leaves a few letters for a few specific people. Please let me know your thoughts! I will try to read every review and respond to them in the chapters that I post. Enjoy! - Steve


Stoick's Letter


The sun was just creeping over the horizon, casting light onto the village below. Being Chief had it's advantages, standing here on the doorstep of the Haddock residence I could see everything from the Great Hall all the way down to the fishing docks. After having a few minutes of peace, taking in the sight of the village that will never grow old, I started to make my way over to the Great Hall to see if the celebration dinner preparations were going according to plan.

Today was an important day, Hiccup, my not-so-viking-looking son, was going to kill a Monstrous Nightmare! Before I left for the recent Nest hunting expedition, Gobber convinced me to put Hiccup into dragon training so that he could learn how to protect himself. I had my doubts at first, Hel, he could barely lift a sword! Colour me surprised when I returned to everyone congratulating me and telling me things like "Out with the old and in with the new!" I couldn't believe it at first, I thought for sure Hiccup packed up and left the island. Gobber explained to me that he was excelling at dragon training, passing even the Hofferson lass without so much as lifting a dagger, and that he has this special way with the beasts.

I walked into the Great Hall not too long after and made my way to where the food preparations were being done. All the fish and meat were salted and seasoned and set aside to be cooked this afternoon. The barrels of mead were all stacked beside that and one was already tapped and ready to go. Making sure that the tap worked, I grabbed a tankard and placed it under the tap. Twisting the tap, I filled the tankard full with fresh mead. I downed the tankard of mead before placing the tankard back with the others. I walked around to make sure that all the plates were cleaned and stacked nicely. Once I was finished checking everything, I made my way to the entrance of the Great Hall.

After exiting the Great Hall, I started making my way back to the Haddock residence. With the sun being about a quarter position in the sky now, it was time for my celebrity son to wake up and start preparing himself for his time in the Kill Ring as it was to start when the sun was directly overhead. I wanted to make sure he was very well prepared so that nothing bad would happen. One wrong move and he was done, the Monstrous Nightmare is one of the most deadliest dragons, only second to the Night Fury.

More people were awake now and were scurrying around the village, sending greetings my way as I walked towards the house on the hill. As I reached my house, it seemed very quiet and dark. That was strange because I made sure to leave the fire burning this morning, knowing Hiccup would be up not too long after I was. I brushed it off thinking it was myself being nervous for my son, and entered into the household. The fire has gone out sometime this morning after I left and had left the entryway slightly chilly. I immediately went towards the staircase on the left side of the house which led up to Hiccup's room. As soon as I reached his door, I knew something was wrong, it was very rare for Hiccup to have his door closed, especially when the sun was so far into the sky.

"Hiccup? Are you awake yet? Today is your big day!" I said almost too excitedly as I opened the door to his room and squeezed through into the small space. Everything in the room was exactly as I remembered it, with papers all over his desk with his newest drawings and designs and his older drawings and designs pinned all around the room, to the weird material placed into the side of the house that the southern traders called "glass", to some of his miniature models of buildings and weapons on his shelves.

As I looked around the room, I noticed two items sitting on his bed. One of those items was the helmet that I gave him the night before to help protect him inside the Kill Ring. The helmet was one of a matching set of his Mother's breastplates, with the other one sitting atop of my head currently. Sitting in front of the helmet looked to be a scroll of some sort. I crossed the small room in two steps and picked up the scroll that was labeled "Stoick the Vast," untying the thin rope that was placed around the scroll.. As I unrolled the scroll, I instantly recognized Hiccup's neat writing. Once I had started reading the words, I just couldn't stop. I couldn't comprehend what I was actually reading.


Dad,

I am not really sure as to what I should say. Sorry for being so scrawny? Sorry for always making a mess? Sorry for never being the viking son that you always wanted? Sorry for always trying to make you proud and messing up every single time? Sorry for being me? For as long as I could remember, you were always trying to teach me how to become a better viking, telling me that I would lead the village one day and that I needed to stop being all of "this" while gesturing to all of me.

When I was old enough, you passed me off to Gobber the first chance that arose. You claimed that it would help me become a better viking and didn't acknowledge how much I protested against it. You put Gobber in charge of looking after me and of teaching me to be less of myself and to become someone that I wasn't. Anytime I would try to speak to you about it, you would brush me off and say it was for my own good. After a while, it seemed like you were only around to belittle me for one of my mistakes or another. You never listened to me and I am just so tired of it.

As you know, today is the day that I am supposed to kill a Monstrous Nightmare in front of the entire village, something we both know that I, Hiccup the Useless, cannot do. The village will get quite the surprise once they realize that someone released all the dragons sometime during the night. To make things clear, I released all of the dragons before I left because they are not who we think them to be. The dragons attack because if they don't bring enough food back to the Nest, to the Queen, they will be eaten themselves. Yes, I have been to the Nest and no, I will not tell you where the Nest is because you cannot win this war. But I don't expect you to listen to me, you never did in the past and I doubt you will in the future, and this is why I am leaving Berk.

Don't bother trying to find me, by the time you receive this message I will be off the island and long gone. This is Goodbye.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III

H3


I continuously read over the words on the page. I eventually found myself sitting on Hiccup's bed unable to move, not knowing how much time has gone by. This was definitely Hiccup's writing, there was no mistake that it even had his unique signature at the end, a H with a three overlapping. I sat there for Odin knows how long, reading and rereading everything that was written down. Once it finally set in that this was real and not some prank, I quickly rolled up the scroll and tucked it inside my vest, I got up quickly and headed for the door. I quickly climbed down the stairs as fast as I could, whipped open the door and almost plowed down my best friend Gobber who looked like he was about to knock. Gobber looked almost exactly as I felt.

"Gobber, I think Hiccup is gone! I went up to his room this morning to wake him up for his big day and found this letter. It says that he is leaving Berk and to not try and find him!" I said ratherly loudly even though Gobber was standing right beside me.

My best friend quickly hushed me, grabbed my arm and led me inside the Haddock residence before closing the door and turning towards me. Grabbing the Chief's arm and dragging him along, no matter how important the issue was, was something nobody even attempted to do, but Gobber was different, he is my best friend. In Gobber's hand was a letter labeled "Gobber the Belch" with the exact same handwriting, similar to the one I had in my vest.

"I found this in the forge this morning when I was heading down to start on my morning work. At first I didn't understand what I was reading, and I had to read it multiple times for it to sink in. As soon as it did, I rushed my way over here as fast as I could." Gobber was explaining while looking pale as a ghost. I couldn't believe it, if Gobber got a letter as well this had to be something serious.

This couldn't be happening. Hiccup, my Hiccup, couldn't be gone. I had to try and find him. How far could the kid have gone? No ships had left or come and gone last night which means he had to be on the island. He couldn't have just got up and flew away, could he?

I snapped myself out of my train of thought. No, Hiccup had to be on the island, there was no way he had left it. I turned back to Gobber, looking at him and noticing he had a worried look on his face as if thinking the exact same thing. "I need to call an emergency meeting right now, get everyone into the Great Hall now, I need all hands on deck." I mentioned to Gobber as I rushed past him, whipped open the door again, and looked over the village briefly.

Everything seemed to be normal, people were preparing for the big day and others were doing their daily routine. Before I knew it, I broke out in a near sprint up to the Great Hall, passing many villagers on the way up the stairs, some trying to greet me while others seemed to jump out of the way. I reached the top of the staircase faster than I ever had before. Once I was at the top, I huffed and wheezed a few times trying to catch my breath, finally standing up and viewing the village once more. I walked over to the emergency council meeting horn, huffed in air as much as I could, and let out a big long breath into the horn. The sound echoed throughout the village making everyone look up at the Great Hall with worry. It's been years since I had last used the emergency horn. The last time I had used it was when I received word that the Outcasts were planning on attacking the island.

Not too long after I blew the horn, I saw some of the council rushing up the steps with Spitelout at the front of them. He was my Brother in Arms and lived not too far away from the Haddock household. I turned my back to them as I entered into the Great Hall, hearing a second, louder horn at the base of the village sound off, signaling the rest of the village to attend the meeting in the Great Hall.

I had to find Hiccup. There was no way he was gone. I was going to send out search parties immediately. Oh Hiccup, what have I done?