OechsnerC, Luna Nightrider, INFERN0BOLT, Atomic R4y, Guest: Thanks for all the reviews!
Guest: Thank for the awesome review! It makes me so happy inside to hear you call it one of the best stories! I actually wanted to push this story past 21 Chapters when I first started writing it, but decided to cut out a lot of useless info that could be explained in a paragraph. I plan on uploading some ideas that I had for this story as deleted scenes after the story is completed! And considering that this story followed the first movie events pretty well, I can say there is a chance I make a sequeal after this one following the other movies/shows.
Lucasdiaz900: A Brighter Future will be written after this one is done. I threw up that chapter as an idea, and already have some ideas on how to start the story.
Well, we are getting closer to the end! I took some advice from other reviews and decided to write a little bit more Hiccstrid within this chapter.
I hope you all enjoy!
The Calm Before...
"Aright Fishlegs." I pulled out the ingredients that we were using for tonight's dinner. "We are gonna make some of my famous salmon."
"Ohhh, I love it when he cooks that. I can feel my mouth watering already." Camicazi said as she rubbed her stomach in anticipation.
"Where did you learn to cook?" Fishlegs helped grab some of the ingredients and brought them over towards the fire.
"I actually knew how to cook before I left." I grabbed the pan and threw it over the fire to let it heat up. "Hilde taught me a long time ago."
"Wait, my Mother taught you how to cook? When did that happen?" I smiled towards Astrid before throwing the salmon into the pan and hearing it sizzle. I handed some vegetables and a knife to Fishlegs.
"It was right before your Uncle passed away. When you trained, I was learning how to cook." Adding some of the special spices to the salmon that I got when I traveled south of the archipelago, causing an aroma of tastefulness to float through the air. "Since my Mother passed away when I was younger, and my Father was always busy with the village, I needed to learn how to feed myself."
"But you're the Chief's son! You should have had someone cooking for you!" Fishlegs said as he handed the vegetables and I threw them in the pan with the salmon.
I let out a sigh, turning over the salmon in the pan so that it would cook evenly all the way through. "It sure didn't feel like it when I was here..." Astrid snuck her arm around mine, seemingly not wanting to let go. The group had gone quiet as dinner cooked in front of us.
"I didn't mean it like that Hiccup…"
"It's okay Fishlegs. Nobody knows exactly what I had to go through when I lived here on Berk. That's why I left in the first place." I looked directly at Fishlegs then. "Why would I stay in a village where nobody cared about you?"
I checked the salmon to see how it was doing, flipping it over a few times before I pulled out of Astrid's grip. I grabbed the plates that we had brought over and threw the fish and vegetables onto a plate, splitting it evenly for everyone and putting them on separate plates. Fishlegs started handing out the plates of salmon and vegetables as I put some more fish and vegetables into the pan to sizzle.
"Gods above, this is amazing!" I looked over towards Astrid and smiled, as she took another bite.
"Thanks, Milady." Astrid looked adorable when she went red as a tomato when I called her by the nickname that I gave her. She had to swallow her food slowly and put it in front of her. I offered her a cup of water which she gladly accepted.
"So when did you two become a thing?" When I looked towards Fishlegs, he had curiosity in his eyes. I looked towards Astrid to see if she wanted to inform him or not, but when she shrugged her shoulders, I just chuckled.
"Technically…" I looked back towards Fishlegs. "We became a thing when Astrid offered up her shield to Stoick." Fishlegs face fell to one of unamusement, and I got a small punch from Astrid from behind me. I looked at Astrid mischievously and she just giggled. "What? It's the truth! I just didn't know…"
"So how did you find out?" I looked back towards Fishlegs again.
"In so many words, Astrid figured it out."
"After we almost died!" Astrid exclaimed. "Hiccup was teaching me how to fly Stormfly when I happened to fall off. Hiccup and Toothless saved me, but I figured out who he was when he actually called me by my name instead of Hofferson, and called out Toothless' name."
"We didn't almost die."
"Hiccup, we blew up a huge part of the island!"
"I had everything under control." Not only did I receive another punch to the arm from Astrid, I also got smacked with Toothless' tail, causing me to fall over. As I laid there, I couldn't keep up my act any longer and fell into a fit of laughter. Rolling over, I looked up at Astrid who had a smile on her face, while everyone else started laughing with me.
"You're such a dork." Astrid held out her hand which I gratefully took and sat back up beside her, before I pulled her into a huge and kissed her crown. I felt Astrid just melt into me as I did so, but since I was unfortunately still cooking and we had people watching us, I had to steady her before I went back to the food. I heard a quiet 'awww' release from her as I did so, which made me smile contently to myself.
"When Astrid fell off Stormfly, all I could think about was saving her. Astrid knew Toothless' name from a letter I wrote to her before I had left, which is why I called him T for the first few days I was here. So without thinking, I called out Toothless' name and made sure that we caught her. In the process, we might have modified the cliffside near Trolls Peak a little." I tended to the food, putting more vegetables in and adding my secret spices.
"How did you end up finding all the heirs?"
"Technically, I found him." Camicazi spoke up before I had the chance to. "He was stealing some food supplies from a smaller village near Nepenthe. "
"You were stealing?" Fishlegs jaw seemed to hit the floor.
"Well, I was a nobody in a strange land with no money, no work, and a dragon as a friend. What was I supposed to do? I could barely lift a sword." Fishlegs surprise seemed to vanish as it started to make sense to him. "I made sure that those places that I stole from were well off when I left."
"I actually knocked Hiccup out since I caught him stealing. Once I had realized who it was, Toothless made it clear he wasn't happy that I had hurt his friend."
"If I wouldn't have stopped him, I swear he probably would have blasted Cami into pieces."
"Yeah, talk about being scared for my life. Never had I gone up against a dragon without a weapon, and especially not a night fury. After that, Hiccup showed me the truth behind dragons. Eventually, I convinced Dogsbreath and Thuggory to go on a voyage with me, just for the heirs and met up with Hiccup, who in turn showed them the truth as well. The rest, well, is history."
"That must have been scary." Fishlegs stated. Camicazi just nodded in return before a shake went through her as she seemed to remember what happened that day. "How did you meet Heather?"
Heather chuckled at the mention of that. "Actually, I almost killed him as well."
"I'm starting to see a pattern here…"
"What, everyone wants to kill you before they become your friend?"
"Well, you aren't wrong…" I laughed nervously looking at the amused look on everyone's faces.
"Getting back to the story. I thought Hiccup was following me when he approached the abandoned island that Windshear and I were on. It wasn't the first time that I had seen him the past few days. So we cornered, attacked, and bested him to where we could talk. All I wanted was for him to leave the island and not come back. When he asked politely to talk to my face instead of my mask, I obliged, and that's when he recognized who I was. We've been partners in battle ever since."
"Heather would always go off and do her own thing, or I would help her when she searched for her Father, but she always ended up back on Nepenthe. Heather was the one who taught me how to fight and how to survive. Without her, I probably would have starved years ago." I chuckled lightly as Heather looked over and smiled. "She really was the sister I never had."
"If I had never attacked Hiccup, I would still be flying around the Archipelago aimlessly. With his help, I found out more about my Father than I ever would have by myself." I took out the second batch of salmon and handed it out within the riders.
"Nah, I think you would have found everything eventually. You didn't need my help." I sat down beside Astrid again, who instantly wrapped her arm around mine. "I should be thanking you, if you hadn't agreed to help me, I wouldn't be where I am today."
"That's for sure! Astrid would have kicked your butt in the arena way before you had a chance to raise a weapon." Heather chuckled, causing me to blush as I scratched the back of my head nervously. "If Astrid is even half as good as you said she is, you barely stood a chance during the fight anyways!" I could see Astrid smiling up at me, which just caused me to blush even more before she giggled.
"It didn't help that you gave me that axe either."
"Wait, Hiccup made you that axe?" Fishlegs was surprised again. "I knew he was good in the forge, but that design work in the axe was bar none." I looked at Astrid as she looked at me before we just laughed at the husky viking. "What? Did I miss something?"
"Fishlegs. Do you know who made my first axe with the designs?"
"I always thought it was Gobber. Hiccup could barely lift a sword during the time you got your axe."
"While you are correct in thinking that I could barely lift a sword during those times, Gobber did teach me everything I know."
"Are you saying you made Astrid's original axe?" Fishlegs was looking between Astrid and I, not really seeming to grasp what we were saying.
"That is exactly what he is saying." Astrid looked towards me again and warmly smiled, before pulling me into a small hug. "Hiccup actually made most of the weapons in the village."
"You did? Even my hammer?" Hiccup looked at the warhammer that was currently on his belt, before nodding. "How do you know?"
"Have you ever looked at the bottom of the handle?"
"No…" Fishlegs took out his warhammer and was looking at the bottom of the handle. "The only thing there is an H3 inscribed in the wood, but it's very hard to see. Wait, is that your signature?" I nodded towards Fishlegs as the surprise on his face was evident.
The group was silent for a while, as they finished off the meal that we had served and listened to the fire crackle in front of us. Astrid was curled up into my side, her arms around me, as she watched the fire. I ran my hand up and down her back and she seemed to relax even further into me.
"How did you bond with Toothless?" Fishlegs asked after a while. I looked at him and saw general curiosity. I looked around the circle and saw that all my riders were paying attention. I could even feel Astrid's eyes on me, even though she knew the story from when I wrote her the letter.
"Remember the raid where the Nightmare chased me through the village?" Fishlegs nodded, waiting for me to continue. "I was trying out a new invention that could throw a bola for me." I closed my eyes, thinking back to the raid that happened. "I pushed my invention to the top of the cliff just outside of the forge and waited. When the catapult exploded not far from where I was looking, I knew that the night fury would follow soon. So I aimed as much as I could, closed my eyes, and pulled the level. The release was so strong that it broke the string and threw me back on my back. I heard a pained dragon cry and watched as a shadow fell through the sky and landed somewhere near Raven's Point." Everyone's eyes were watching me, all listening to the story that I told.
"I mapped out the whole forest trying to find where I shot down that dragon." I pulled out a journal that I always carried and plopped it down in front of me, flipped to the page of the map of the forest with my marks all over it. "I got so frustrated that I drew all over the map and slammed it shut, as you can see. I ran into some branches after that, freshly broken as if something had fallen through the forest. I found him tangled in my bola not long after that."
Toothless brought his tail around and rested it against Astrid and my lap, and whined softly as if he didn't like the story as much as I did. "Toothless was badly hurt and I was the cause. When I looked into his eyes, I could see how frightened he was, and I saw myself. I knew from that moment on, that I would never be able to kill a dragon, so I released him." I smiled to myself softly, remembering the encounter. "The response I got was instant. He jumped up and slammed me against a rock, and it felt like he was looking into my soul. I felt that I was going to die, right there and then. He didn't though, he just roared at me and tried to fly away without any success.
"We were put into dragon training the very next day, against the gronckle."
"You mean Meatlug?"
"Yes, Meatlug was the one in the ring at the time. She almost blew my head off that day, and Gobber is the one who saved me. I can remember his words vividly as if he had just said them. 'Dragons will always, ALWAYS, go for the kill'. I went back to find Toothless after that, and found him stuck in this very cove." I flipped a few pages to where I had first drawn Toothless but scrubbed out one of his tailfins.
"He was trying to escape, but couldn't because of the missing tailfin, the one that I had ripped off with the bola." Toothless understood where I was in the story because he held up his tail and showed them the fake tailfin. "If you look closely, you can see which one is fake and which one is still his real one." As if on command, Toothless closed up the one tailfin while the other one stayed open, showing that he had no control over one. "I eventually gained his trust enough to build him a tailfin and a saddle so that I could control the tailfin myself."
"It was definitely a challenging week. I was thrown into dragon training, while also befriending a dragon. But instead of fighting dragons, I was training them, which amazed everyone." I heard Astrid huff under me. "Except for Astrid. She was just jealous that I was beating her."
"I was not jealous!" Astrid blushed after she said that, fully indicating that she wasn't telling the truth. Everyone noticed and chuckled at her, making her blush even more. I ran my hand up and down her back to relax her before I continued.
"Training and flying with Toothless became more difficult because Astrid would chase me through the forest on my way here. She knew I was training with someone and wanted to find out how." I looked down and smiled at her, while she just buried her head into my shoulder. "She could never catch me though. I had mapped out the forest and knew it better than anybody.
"Eventually my Father came back from the voyage to the nest, defeated once again. He had heard about my conquests in training and found me in the forge to congratulate me for all the wrong reasons." I closed my eyes and let my hand come to a rest on Astrid's back. I let out a sigh before Astrid started running her hand up and down my back to soothe me. "Stoick let slip that he believed that I was the worst viking Berk had ever seen for years." Another sigh as I opened my eyes to find everyone looking, including Astrid. "He was right, but it hurt all the same."
"Not just any viking could defeat me in a duel like you did." Astrid was looking up at me, and I could resist myself as I leant down and kissed her right on the nose. She buried her face in my shoulder again.
"You were angry, and it was luck." I felt Astrid mumble against me, no doubt disagreeing with me, which caused me to chuckle at her.
"After I was chosen to kill the monstrous nightmare I had already decided that I was going to leave Berk for good, so when Astrid came in before Stoick, I had fitted her axe with a special handle that contained the note I left her. After the talk with my Father, everything really clicked in that everyone who was acknowledging me were only doing so because of a trick, a lie to get ahead in the ring. I released the dragons from the Killring and left the notes for Stoick and Gobber before leaving and thinking I was never going to come back."
"So what changed? Why did you come back?" It was Astrid who had asked. She was looking up at me again, with more curiosity in her eyes than anybody here. Nobody, not even my riders, knew why I came back.
I let out a sigh, reaching into my chest armour and pulling out another journal. This one was different, it wasn't like my normal journals. This one I kept on me at all times, scared of what might happen if I didn't have somewhere to document my nightmares. I heard Heather gasp when I had brought it out, and everyone looked towards her, but she was staring at the journal in my hand. Heather knew what the journal was, as she had caught me drawing a few times after a nightmare I had during the night. I closed my eyes as I handed the journal to Astrid, and let her go through it in silence.
"Oh Hiccup…" Astrid said as she turned the pages through the journal. The very first picture was of the Red Death and how menacing it actually looked. Most of the pictures were of Astrid in a scene where she was asking why I left. Sometimes it was only Astrid in the photos, other times it showed other villagers burning to their death, or their housings collapsing on them, or some being carried away by dragons. "Hiccup, there are hundreds of pictures in here." I only nodded towards her as I let the tears silently escape. I felt Astrid's grip around me much tighter than ever before, and I threw my hands around her and returned it. I tried to hide in her hair as the journal was handed from rider to rider.
"No matter what I did, the nightmares haunted me from the first day that I had left, until the last one finally broke me." I could hear the gasps from my riders as they looked at picture after picture, each of them showing a nightmare that were all similar but yet very different from each other.
"I always thought this was the journal that you kept pictures of Astrid in." Heather finally said in the silence. "Hiccup, if I would have known…"
"You wouldn't have. It was a battle I had to fight alone."
Astrid pulled back and looked at me with sorrow in her eyes. "Have you had any since you came back to Berk?"
"I've had one." I said very quietly, as if trying to hide it from my riders in front of me. "But I've been good since I've been back."
"What was the nightmare about when you came back?" I looked at Astrid and pulled her close to kiss her forehead.
"The nightmare was about you falling off Stormfly, but even though I saved you, I couldn't save myself in a way." Astrid looked taken aback when I said that. "We both landed and I revealed myself to you, but after you called my name, I fell into darkness."
"I won't let you fall into darkness." Astrid hugged me tight, and I returned it.
The silence stretched on throughout the evening, nobody daring to speak up once again. When Heather passed the journal back towards us, I took it with shaking fingers. I looked at it once, before making a final decision and throwing it into the fire in front of us. We all watched the flames roar up while it burned the parchment and the fire returned back to hot coals again.
"I'm done running from the nightmares."
"Stoick!" I called out as I landed where the ships were being built. I could see the Chief standing off to the side inspecting the two ships that were already built and had catapults on them. Astrid wasn't far behind me and landed beside me. "How are we looking?" Stoick eyed Astrid for a minute before looking back towards the ships.
"We have two ships built and ready to go. The other two should be done sometime today. As for the catapults, the two ships already have three on them each. The other six catapults should be done before the two ships are done." I looked over the work being done and noticed that it was going very quickly. Just like Stoick said, he had all hands on deck and was getting everything built quickly.
"Not a moment too soon either. Based on my calculations, the next raid should hit us in about three days. That should give us plenty of time to sail to Helheim's Gate and prevent them." Stoick looked at me with a questioning look on his face and I could almost guess what the next question was going to be.
"Helheim's Gate is at least three days away. Are you that confident in your ships?"
"As long as you built them to the exact specifications that I gave you, those ships should arrive at Helheim's Gate in two days or less." I knew what the ships were capable of, because I had designed them. When I flew into the far south, I saw how each and every ship was built differently than the ones up here. I watched the fastest of ships and took their designs and implemented them into my own. "Chief, we need to go over the plans for attacking the nest."
"I will call the war council to the Great Hall."
"Not enough time. We need these ships and catapults finished. Call your most trusted warrior to spread the battle plan and we can get started."
"My most trusted warrior is sitting on a dragon beside you. Astrid Hofferson is our General of Defence." I looked over towards Astrid and she gave a sheepish smile back towards me, giving me butterflies in my stomach.
Looking back towards the Chief more seriously, "I need your most trusted warrior on the ground forces. Astrid will be a part of the air team and has an important job already." Stoick crossed his arms and stood tall as he towered over me, but even though I tried to pay him no mind, I was intimidated.
"And what would that be?"
"Other than watching my every move to make sure I don't backstab Berk when we attack, she will be leading the new riders. Astrid is already on the same skill level as some of my riders and I will need her guidance when it comes to defeating the Red Death." Stoick huffed in response, and I knew that I had got him. I knew how Stoick and the war council made their plans, so I made sure to follow those while still incorporating my own twist to them. "Call your trusted warriors over and let's get started."
I pushed everything off the table that the Chief was using and placed down the map of Helheim's Gate, transferred over from my journal onto a big piece of parchment, similar to the one that Berk had in the Great Hall. "Astrid." I turned to see the Chief calling for Astrid as she was walking over beside me. "Come with me." Astrid looked at me, shrugged, and followed the chief with Stormfly not far behind.
"How are you holding up laddie?" I didn't even have to look over to see who came up to the table.
"Shouldn't you be in the forge creating the material we need to get the ships and catapults done?"
"You do realize that I am the best blacksmith in all of the archipelago? I had all those done yesterday."
"Second best…" I whispered quietly, knowing that it would bug him.
"Are you saying the apprentice is better than the mentor, young laddie?"
"Well, the mentor did teach me everything I know and I just expanded my knowledge from that."
"That doesn't mean I taught you everything! This old man still has a few tricks up his sleeve." I finally looked up towards Gobber and saw that he was smiling, and I returned it even though he couldn't see it. "You didn't come and visit me in the forge."
"I'm sorry Goober, I've been busy planning this attack. I cannot have it fail."
"And it won't. I have full trust that you will take down this monster."
"Thanks Gobber. I've missed you."
Stoick returned with Spitelout and Phlegma behind him right after that. Astrid was off to his side with her head down, trying to avoid eye contact when I looked in her direction. That was weird, I wonder what Stoick had said to her. "Alright people, gather around. Let's go over the battle plans."
"The ground units will be leaving for Helheim's Gate tomorrow morning and the air team will be leaving later in the day. If my calculations are correct, the air units should meet up with the ground units before we enter the fog." I placed the small ships I had carved out of wood on the table at the edge of the mist. I also placed some dragon tokens beside them, indicating the air units. "The ships will follow me through the smoke, while the air team follows the rest of the ships in, taking up the rear.
"The fog will be hard to see through, so I will need every ship to follow as close as possible while also being as quiet as possible. The later the Red Death knows we are there, the better. We don't need her attacking us with the dragons if we can help it." I moved the four small ships in a line behind my black dragon token while I had the other dragon tokens following the rear.
"Once the ships are landed, I need all catapults onto the ground as fast as possible." I had the four ships lined up beside each other while the dragons were in front of them. "The riders will cover you as much as possible, but I am hoping that covering fire won't be needed if everyone is as quiet as can be." I moved the ships around the island into a sunken inlet that I knew was there. "Once the catapults are dropped, I need the ships moved into this inlet."
"Are you saying you want our only getaway halfway around the island? If anything happens, we won't be able to get away!" Spitelout instantly started to complain.
"If the Red Death emerges from the volcano, you won't have any ships to getaway on!" I looked at Spitelout as hard as I could. "I am making sure that if my plan fails, that the people of Berk have at least a small chance to get away while the air team distracts it!" I could see that Spitelout was about to talk again before the Chief shut him down, before nodding for me to continue.
"Once the ships are moved, I need everyone ready for the attack. If all goes according to plan, we can get enough shots off onto the mountain to trap her inside. The air team will be helping destroy the mountain as much as they can while also providing covering fire."
"What if the mountain doesn't crush this beast?" Phlegma asked, knowing that it was a chance.
"If she isn't crushed by the mountain, then I need the ground team to retreat back to the ships while the air team either takes on the monster or distracts her long enough for you to get away." I looked at all the faces that seemed surprised at what I had said. "I'm hoping it doesn't come to that, but I don't know what will happen."
"You're willing to put yourself and your riders at risk like that for Berk?" Spitelout was the one to ask. I knew he was still trying to figure out what my actual motive was in this whole thing. If I had any say, the ground units wouldn't be coming at all. They pose a risk to the air units because not only do they need to focus on the Red Death, but also on making sure the ground units get away.
"My riders and I are willing to put ourselves in danger if it means the raids stop across the archipelago."
"But why now? Why come to us for help?" Phlegma stated. Astrid and Gobber looked at me with a worried expression since they knew the truth of who I was behind the mask. "There has got to be other tribes around us affected by the raids just as bad."
"I didn't have the means to do this a few years ago, and when I figured out that I could possibly stop the raids, I ran from the problems instead of facing them head on." I looked towards Astrid and saw the sad look in her eyes. "Something or someone has called me here and told me I had to do this, to repay a debt that I didn't know was owed."
"What do you mean something or someone has called you here?" Stoick was the one to speak, after being quiet for so long.
"I don't question the Gods' methods. All I know is that it came to me in the form of a nightmare. I saw Berk engulfed in flames, burnt to the ground, with no survivors." The vikings around us didn't even try to hide the gasps that they produced. "The Gods have a plan for me, and I am following their guidance." I saw Astrid bring her hands up to her face, but her eyes deceived her. I could see a smile in her eyes, as she knew what my nightmares conceived of, and she was the main feature.
"What are we if we deny the Gods' plan? If what you say is true, you are putting yourself in front of a huge amount of risk. It sounds like you are planning on not coming back." Stoick mentioned as he scratched his chin.
"I'm praying it doesn't come to that. For once in my life, I have something to look forward to."
Later in the night, I was sitting in a familiar huge chair in front of the fireplace. In my hand was a familiar mug that was currently holding mead for the first time in it's life. I had a pot of stew simmering on the fire in front of me, keeping it warm without burning it.
Looking above me, I saw two green eyes looking down towards me as if he was bored of waiting. The eyes also told me that he didn't think this was a good idea, and I had to agree with him. Doing what I was about to do could sacrifice everything that I had worked towards the last few days, but after talking to Astrid, I knew it had to be done.
After what felt like a lifetime, I heard the door creek open and a huge shape enter the household, letting in the cool breeze behind him before the door was shut again. I heard the helmet get hung up on it's special peg beside the door, followed by the warhammer and the cloak beside it. "Whatever you are cooking Astrid, it smells amazing." I knew who it was before he even hung up his helmet, but the sound of his voice just confirmed it was actually him. I took a sip of the mead in my mug, before placing it back down on the armrest of the chair. This was it, there was no turning back.
"It was something I picked up along my travels." Instantly the sounds of movements were present as I suspected that Stoick was grabbing his warhammer from where it was on the wall. I let go of my mug and pointed upwards towards Toothless in the rafters. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." I heard the creak of the floorboards as he steadied himself on his favourite leg, ready to pounce towards me, regardless if the dragon was there or not.
"What. Are. You. Doing. In. My. Home." I could practically hear the venom in his voice as he spoke the words softly but dangerously. Even though I trusted Toothless to protect me if Stoick lashed out, I really didn't want him hurt. "And what have you done with Astrid?" He sounded very worried for Astrid, even though he threatened to tear up the brethoral contract they had signed.
"If you must know, Astrid is fine, but she's not here right now." I brought the mug up and took another drink, almost finishing it off before a shiver ran through my body, before I brought the mug back down to the armrest. "She's getting ready for what tomorrow brings." I looked up at Astrid's maiden shield that now hung above the fireplace because of the contract. "What am I doing here? Isn't it obvious? I have come to speak with the Chief of Berk."
"What do you want?" I could still hear the venom behind his words, and knew that I had to play around with my words very carefully. I brought the mug up and downed the rest of the drink before placing the mug down for the last time. For someone who was always praised to have a way with words, they seemed to be failing me now.
"After tomorrow, everything will be different for Berk. Whether we succeed or fail, you will have to accept what happens." Even though Stoick was smart, I knew that what I had said would stump him.
"And what will happen? Are you threatening me?" I chuckled at that. If he knew who I was, he would know that I would never threaten him in my lifetime or the next.
"Threatening you? I have no need to threaten you, Stoick." I heard the floorboards creak again as he shifted his weight from his favourite leg to his other one. As I looked up at Toothless in the rafters, I knew that Stoick didn't dare take a step forward after finding out that he was up there. "No, if we fail tomorrow, most of Berk will be wiped clean of Midgard and who knows after that. Why do you think I took the precautions of making sure you had an escape route? If we succeed, well, I'm not sure what will happen. The dragons in the nest will have to go somewhere and with Berk being so close, my guess is that some will find their home on this island." Stoick shifted back to his favourite leg again, as I heard him twirl his warhammer.
"And we will succeed. A few extra dragons on the island? We can handle them." I could tell he still didn't believe me on the size of the dragon. Typical vikings. If you bang your head against a rock enough times, eventually you'll crack it or get a serious headache. I felt like banging my head against a rock to get rid of the headache Stoick was giving me.
"You still don't believe the info I told you about the Red Death." It wasn't a question, and Stoick knew that. "We will be very lucky if we happen to succeed, if we even stand a sliver of a chance." Stoick laughed again, and I could only shake my head, almost predicting what words would come next.
"Of course I don't believe you. There isn't a dragon that vikings can't take care of. We will succeed." I let out an audible sigh, and let the household fall into silence. What could I possibly say that could convince him? Astrid, Fishlegs, and my riders have seen the nightmare I had about the Red Death but I had since burned it. The only sounds were the crackling from the fireplace, the simmering pot, and the odd creak from above as Toothless shifted his weight on a rafter. I heard the step and the growl that Toothless released.
"Would you believe your son?" The stress on the floorboards stopped instantly. If what Astrid and Gobber told me was true, I knew that I had hit a soft spot with the Chief.
"Don't you dare bring my son into this." The words were barely above a whisper. I could feel the venom behind them, spoken with such anger that I knew he was moments from blowing up. If he blew up now, Odin help me, because I don't think anything would stop such a mountain of a man from killing me, even if I revealed myself to him.
"Did you really care that much about your son?" I mentioned it just above a whisper. He had no reason to answer me, and I knew I was playing on a very thin line of his anger. He was in a state of such anger and sadness that anything could happen in the next few moments, and I was about to attack it with an axe. "Because he told me otherwise." I felt the tear slide down my cheek as I told my Father what I had really felt when I was here.
"You've talked to my son?" My heart broke at his words. I could hear the hope and concern in them as he spoke, and I knew that I was hurting him even though I didn't want to. Way to go Hiccup, screwing up again. "When? Where?"
"It doesn't matter." I brought my hand up to my eyes and wiped away the tears. "You wouldn't recognize him if he was right under your nose."
"It does matter!" The anger was back, but he didn't move forward. "He is my son and I have been looking for him since he disappeared! I would recognize my son anywhere!" I tapped the armrest in quick succession, sending the signal to Toothless. The dragon dropped from the rafters between Stoick and I. As I stood up, I brought the hood up over my head, and adjusted my mask over my face again before I faced Stoick.
"Really?" What right does he have to show feelings for me now? He never cared when I was on the island before, passing me off to Gobber and only showing up to scold me when one of my inventions went wrong again. I could feel the anger flow through my veins as I looked towards the mountain of the man standing across the room. "You better hope that we succeed tomorrow if you want to see Hiccup ever again."
Stoick's eyes grew dark as he raised his warhammer again, and Toothless' growls got louder. "Are you threatening my son?" I felt the snap inside, and I just released everything that I was holding in.
"I don't need to, Stoick! Your son doesn't want to come home!" I saw the hurt flash behind his eyes, but I was already too upset to stop. "He doesn't want to come back to somewhere he wasn't loved! His own Father passed him off to the village's blacksmith instead of taking care of him. His own father never taught him how to use a sword, or helped or encouraged his inventions. He was called a nuisance and told he only knew how to destroy the village! Nobody ever listened to him, always brushing him aside or ignoring him! He was teased, beat up, and bullied by multiple people on the island, and when he tried to tell you, you ignored him! Hel, even his own blood was doing it and nothing was done!"
Everything I said was like a blow to my Father as he took a step or two back, warhammer falling to his side. I felt my eyes start to water as I yelled at my own Father with years of hurt behind my words. Even if he didn't know it was me behind the mask, he was going to hear about all the hurt that I had to bear before I left. Even Toothless had sulked to the side as I started yelling, crooning softly as if forgetting that Stoick was here. I turned away from him, looking towards the fireplace once more.
"He told me that even his Father believed he was the worst viking that Berk had ever seen." I started out more quietly, letting the anger fall out of my voice as Toothless came close and I started petting him. "The only time you were ever proud of him was when he was doing good in the ring. He told me that he never intended to hurt the dragons, because he wasn't a dragon killer. Instead he cheated in the ring, using tricks and lies to train the dragons to do what he wanted to do." I brought my hand up to my face and wiped away the tears quickly before turning back to Stoick.
"Only I know how to find Hiccup, and if we don't succeed tomorrow, he will never come back." I started walking towards the backdoor of the house. "Astrid will be staying with the dragon riders tonight, especially after what you said to her today. She's not breaking her promise to Hiccup, she just wants him to come home…"
With that, I exited out the back door and took off into the night on Toothless' back. Everything that I had ever felt when I was on the island was laid out before my Father, even if he didn't know it was me. I chuckled to myself humorlessly as I flew, thinking about how I came so close to revealing myself to him. He would find out after the attack on the Red Death, whether I told him myself, or Astrid, Gobber, or the other Heirs did. Gods above, I hope we succeeded.
Well, there you have it. Hiccup and Stoick have one final talk before they set sail for the nest. Next chapter will hopefully be just as good as more things come to light. While I am excited that I am getting near the end of the story, I am also sad that I won't be writing this story anymore. I have ideas for a sequeal, but I would like to write "A Brighter Future" before I even think about touching the sequeal. As always, let me know your thoughts on this chapter in the reviews!