Chapter 34: In which Hiccup has a plan...

Change.

The word echoed in Hiccup's mind as he stared up at the ceiling. The ripples of change had started with him then flowed to Astrid and now were moving through the rest of the teens.

They were the generation of the "few". There'd been a sickness spread through the village when Hiccup was four. He'd been placed into quarantine at the early stages of the outbreak, along with those that hadn't shown symptoms. The rest of the children their age group had been wiped out, and it was a mystery to this day as to how and why the sickness had targeted that particular age most of all. A few of the other children that had survived had been killed in dragon raids, leaving just the small group to mature into teenagerhood.

Hiccup had thought that maybe because their age group was so few that they'd all become tight knit. But that wasn't the case. Astrid was cold and stand-offish. The twins would rather laugh at their own pranks on people than be real friends. Fishlegs was scared to be excluded. Snotlout, the worst of them all and Hiccup's cousin, was boorish and crude and enjoyed using Hiccup as a punching bag.

But by some miracle, by some act of the gods, all that changed.

Dragon training had shifted in his favor after learning the tricks from Toothless, and with that shift came a new recognition Hiccup had never experienced before with the other teens. They began treating him like he was one of them; like he'd never been the useless outcast of the village.

There were moments the last two days that Hiccup wondered if he'd dreamed up the whole thing. He never assumed in a millennium that the others would have had any interest training dragons instead of killing them. That was what they were bred to do from birth – to become warriors of their tribe and die in a blaze of glory as they entered Valhalla. And yet, here they were, excited to train and ride dragons.

"Snotlout, you're first."

Snotlout stepped back, raising his hands up in defense. "Whoa, whoa…is this some elaborate plan to get me killed?"

Hiccup nodded with great exaggeration. "Yep. Been planning your demise for months. Now, c'mon." He grabbed his cousin's wrist, and Snotlout hesitantly let himself be pulled along.

Snotlout's eyes snapped open wide at the dragon he was being led to. "Hiccup, if this thing roasts me, I swear I will haunt you forever."

"That's fair." Hiccup wasn't about to let Snotlout chicken out. He'd take the risk of having his cousin bug him from the afterlife.

Hiccup spread his palm over the back of his cousin's hand. The Monstrous Nightmare's hot breath clouded around them as it watched with sharp, curious eyes. A whimper escaped Snotlout as Hiccup offered his cousin's outstretched palm to the Nightmare. When the dragon closed its eyes and pressed its nose to Snotlout's palm, a small smile crossed Hiccup's features and he stepped back.

It was an odd thing, seeing his cousin grin with such pure joy. Snotlout glanced back at Hiccup, his face dropping as Hiccup walked off. "Where're you going? Don't leave me!"

"You'll be fine, Snotlout!" Hiccup called back, giving him a thumbs up.

He introduced Tuffnut and Ruffnut to the Zippleback, who's two heads immediately headbutted the twins. Fishlegs was a mix of nervous excitement, appearing as if he wanted to throw up as he was introduced to the Gronckle. After the Gronckle licked his face with a swipe of its wide tongue, the jittery noises evaporated from the boy and Fishlegs' heart visibly melted.

The first meeting had gone well. The dragons and their future riders seemed to bond instantly. It was like neither side had ever raised a weapon or a claw against each other. Bringing peace to Berk and the dragons wasn't just a pipe dream. It could be reality. A future unseen before.

A hitch in breath brought Hiccup's attention to the girl beside him. Astrid was facing him. Her clinched fist peeked from the edge of the furs at her neck. Her features twitched uneasily. She drew in another sharp breath. Her eyes screwed shut tighter.

Hiccup had witnessed this restlessness with his wife before. After the near-death experience in the dragons nest, Astrid's sleep had been interrupted with bouts of night terrors. She'd curl in on herself, features pinched with anxiety, pained whimpering escaping her. Sometimes her body would suddenly jerk and the action would leave Hiccup with a fresh bruise on his leg.

They never spoke about it, but he knew what terrors haunted her dreams. He shared those terrors in the twilight hours, though he knew his weren't as bad as hers. She experienced falling from Toothless, the momentary panic of knowing she was plummeting to her death. The scorching breath of the Queen blasting on her skin. The reverberation of the chomping of its jaws as they shot out of the volcano. She'd lived through far worse than him. The dragon raids had never reduced her to a sobbing mess.

Hiccup couldn't bear for her to be trapped in the nightmare. He rolled onto his side, leaning closer and called softly to her. When she didn't respond, Hiccup swallowed and cautiously reached out to comb her fallen bangs from her face. Astrid jerked to life, swinging at his arm with such force that Hiccup shrank back with a yelp.

Several ragged breaths raked through her. She clung to her pillow, pushing her face into it. Hiccup watched her, wide-eyed and concerned. He didn't know what to do next. Was she awake or still trapped in the nightmare? Should he risk trying to rouse her again?

Finally, Astrid inclined her face to him. Her voice small and graveled, "Hiccup?"

"Hey," he replied, just as small, "are you okay?" Stretching his hand out, he tentatively touched her back. He could feel the trembles of her body through the furs.

For a long beat, there was silence as she stared through him. Hiccup assumed she didn't want to talk. His hand found its way under the furs to graze fingertips gently along the length of her spine.

"All our lives," Astrid finally began, her voice stronger, "we've lived with thousands of dragons attacking our village. We've watched our homes burn to ash. We've seen people killed." Her eyes squeezed shut as she visited silence again then suddenly popped back open as if something frightened her behind her eyelids. "All of that violence and yet, none of it has affected me like this." She clutched a clump of her bangs, pulling on it in frustration. "I feel so weak…so helpless by how terrified I was."

"Astrid—" Hiccup unfurled her fingers from her hair. He drew the back of her palm to him, pressing it across his lips and cheek. Now he was trembling. "Besides my dad, you are the strongest person I know."

Her hair rustled against the pillow in disagreement. "You didn't blink an eye when Toothless flew us into the dragons nest. That dragon could have easily consumed you with fire or swallowed you whole. But you and Toothless attacked that dragon. Picked a fight with something as big as a mountain. Just to save me." She tapped his chest with the heel of her hand. "Hiccup, you're the strong one."

"C'mere." Hiccup pulled her to his side, her head resting against his cheek and shoulder. Astrid curled around him, clinging to him like her only pillar of hope. Hiccup was honored that she felt safe sharing her deepest fears and faults with him. He knew how difficult that was for her being a stoic warrior in training for basically her entire life. "You would have done the same for me. I know you would have."

Astrid nuzzled into his shoulder. "We need to kill the Queen."

"I know." And I will.

The chill of the air clung to Hiccup as Toothless glided along the sea surface of the early morning hour. He'd left Astrid a note and a feather-lite kiss in her hair before leaving out. She'd be upset with him later, but this was something he had to do.

Toothless had understood exactly where Hiccup had requested they go. He had no desire to return to the place that haunted him – and neither did Toothless, it seemed. The dragon had warbled in concern at the mention of the Nest.

Hiccup continued to ponder why Toothless had brought him there in the first place. Toothless had introduced him to the band of dragons led by the Monstrous Nightmare. By the way Toothless acted, Hiccup suspected he'd informed the Nightmare that these humans were friends. Maybe he wanted the other dragons to see that humans and dragons could live in peace.

But then, they'd been introduced to the Queen. Hiccup wasn't sure if Toothless had intended on revealing the Queen to them that day. After getting caught up in the dragons hauling in their kill, Hiccup suspected Toothless had taken the opportunity, knowing the Queen would show herself during feeding time. After seeing how the dragons did the Queen's bidding, feeding her or being eaten themselves, it all made more sense. Maybe the band of dragons they'd met were setting up for a rebellion. Maybe Toothless thought Hiccup and Astrid could help them.

As terrifying as it could be, both boy and dragon understood what had to be done to achieve peace. The Queen had to go.

They didn't know exactly how massive this dragon was. It's head alone was at least the size of 20+ Nightmares. They didn't even know if it had wings. It could probably cause tidal waves just stepping into the sea. What if the dragons stopped feeding her, would the Queen rise up and consume whatever it found? Just the idea that she could possibly make her way to Berk sent a cold shiver down Hiccup's spine.

Though he and Astrid had brainstormed how they could takedown the Queen, none of their ideas had come to fruition. There was one idea Hiccup was holding out on her. It was just as risky and dangerous as all the rest they had proposed, and it'd put him and Toothless in the greatest danger of all. Astrid would never go for it. She'd want to be right up there beside him in the midst of the battle. But what Hiccup had in mind was something only he and Toothless could accomplish themselves…with some help.

As they approached the volcano island, the eeriness struck Hiccup all over again and a pit settled heavily in his stomach. This was a place of fear and death, and the atmosphere proclaimed it. Toothless touched down lightly on the rocky shore. His ears flattened and his scales shivered. Hiccup patted him, comfortingly.

"I know, bud. I don't want to be here either."

Hiccup remained atop Toothless, waiting to be spotted or sensed by the Nightmare leader's welcome party. It didn't take long before the band of dragons flew in formation down to them from an opening in the volcano's side, the Nightmare in the lead.

The band landed in front of them, the members looking wary and alert. The Nightmare cut them with his glowing orange eyes. Hiccup hopped off Toothless and stared for a long beat, frozen in the Nightmare's gaze. The volcanic mountain rumbled lowly. The Nightmare finally lowered its snout, permitted Hiccup to approach.

Hiccup took a cautious step forward. "Do you wish to be rid of the Queen?" he asked in the strongest voice he could muster. He hoped the dragon understood.

Toothless warbled behind him, and the Nightmare's interest was piqued. The Nightmare blew a huff of smoke from its nostrils.

Hiccup took another step forward. "You want to be free of her, don't you?" The Nightmare gargled in reply. Hiccup glanced back at Toothless, who nodded his head. "Okay. Now that we're clear on that."

He licked his dry, chapping lips as a strange flutter of relief welled up in him. He felt stronger. This was exactly the confirmation he needed to move forward. "I have a plan to take down the Queen, but I'm going to need your help."