AN: It's so surreal to be saying this but... This is the end... I don't think it's fully hit me, but we've reached the end of an era. To everyone who has read through and stuck with it this far, thank you from the bottom of my heart. This series has been a journey in many ways and I've grown so much since I started it out all those years ago. I've had several people ask for me to continue on with this series for at least one more book, and to be entirely honest, I haven't decided if I will or not yet. There is an idea for one more book, however I am definitely in need of a break. So, please make sure to follow me here on FF, or you can find me on Ao3 or tumblr to keep track of it. Once again, thank you all for the love and support of this series of the years. Best wishes to you love -Owl.
Music: "I'll be the Light" by Colton Dixon
NOTES!: "Hero's aren't fearless. Hero's are brave. Bravery requires fear, and Fear is born of loving something enough that losing it would break you."
Chapter 36: I'll Be the Light
The horns blew sometime during midday as the watchposts alerted everyone of the approaching threat. Large, metal ships sliced through the water, surrounded by a cloud of armored dragons. Out from beneath the waves burst a dragon the size of Hogwarts castle itself, roaring furiously into the sky. At the point of the flagship stood a broad-shouldered man with long, braided hair. He smirked as he looked out towards the castle by the sea.
The Allied Forces gathered on the shore below the castle and up the hillside. Their ships were prepped and at the ready for battle. Wizards, Trolls, Centaurs, Fairies, Dire Wolves, Sprites, and so many more. Hiccup and Toothless swooped low, checking to make sure that everyone was ready, and then landed on the edge of an overhang, facing the enemy. Emma and the other Dragon Riders were mounted and waited for Hiccup's command. The wizards and Fairies had created a powder that would allow the trolls to be out in the sunlight even as the sun began to sink towards the horizon. Jim took up his position as their leader, his armor shining and newly structured to fit his Kittroll form. Rapunzel, Merida, and Jack were all at the front line with the other Guardians, just waiting to give the order to charge.
Hiccup watched as Drago stepped off of the ship, onto his Bewilderbeast's tusk. The ships continued on towards the Allied Forces. The Alpha reared up onto his back legs, taking in a giant breath, and blasting out pillars of ice into the water. Drago's metal ships would be able to cut and force themselves through the ice, but the Allied wooden hulls would only get stuck or smashed.
"Hold together!" Hiccup called to his riders, and Toothless let out a massive roar.
"Charge!" Rapunzel's voice rang out across the battlefield, and while the shields of the defensive line raised, the front lines surged forward to meet their enemy. Toothless leaped into the air, leading all of the riders to do the same.
Their forces clashed. Dragons fought dragons, ships tried to sink other ships, and Drago's men stormed the beaches, crashing into their defenses.
Rapunzel ran up a small rise in the earth and took a flying leap, gathering up as much energy and light into her hands as she could. When she landed, she threw all of it outward in a blast that cut a hole in the first offensive line. The explosion caused a white flash, blinding those that weren't caught in its radius.
Merida stepped up beside Rapunzel and shot three flaming arrows into the crowds. Each one hit the ground, but the flames grew and flared until each one took the form of a phoenix. The three flames flew deeper into the enemies lines, leaving trails of burnt remains and ashes.
Jack flew over them, riding the wind and frosting the ground in front of him so he could slide along, using his speed and agility to his favor. He dropped down and slid past the first few lines of soldiers and was back on his feet in a flash. He slammed the foot of his staff into the earth and ice and frost shot out all around him. The men immediately around him were left half-frozen and unable to move, the rest were left fumbling and sliding all over the place as their heavy metal armor made it more difficult for them to move on the ice.
A very big dragon covered in metal dropped down in front of Jack, shaking the ground. It roared at him and then swung around, using it's clubbed tail to through the ice smash and throw away the men-turned-half-ice-statues. Jack ducked just in time to avoid the bone-crushing hit, but was left scrambling back on the ground as the dragon rounded on him again.
A whistle and a sharp blast to the dragon's armored muzzle had it backing away as Toothless and Hiccup dropped down between it and Jack.
"Shouldn't you pace yourself a little? Seems a bit early in the fight to try to get yourself killed." Hiccup smirked as he jumped off of Toothless to meet a soldier's axe with his flame sword. Toothless, for his part, tackled the larger dragon into a wrestling match.
"Hiccup, this is Jack we're talking about! He's always playing hero!" Merida snickered as after firing an arrow over Jack's head and then twisting around to break another man's jaw with her fist.
"You're one to talk! I am not healing your hand if you break it on someone's metal helmet!" Rapunzel snapped, blasting away three soldiers behind her with a sharp wave of her hands.
"At least you'll have a great story for it!" Jack laughed, using the hook of his staff to slam a soldier's head into the ground and then swing around to shoot out ice shards, knocking several of the enemy's arrows out of the air.
Hiccup laughed at their banter as he rolled back out of a stalemate to avoid an attack from the side, and he found himself back to back to back to back with his friends. They were surrounded, but Hiccup wasn't afraid in the slightest. Not with Jack, Merida, and Rapunzel there.
"Hiccup! I think Astrid needs you!" Rapunzel called out, and Hiccup looked over his shoulder to see what Rapunzel was looking at. Sure enough; Astrid and Stormfly had three dragons herding them back and forth in the sky.
"Well, looks like I've gotta run! Catch you guys later!" Hiccup grinned at them and then brought his hand to his mouth, giving a loud whistle.
Toothless leaped above the crowd to get sight of Hiccup and then started shoving away about five soldiers as if they weighed nothing and racing towards Hiccup. He grabbed hold as the Night Fury ran by and in the next second they were flying straight towards Astrid. A plasma blast to one dragon and a hard shoulder ram to the other was enough for the pair to get out of the kill-circle they'd created.
"Thanks for the save!" Astrid smiled at him warmly and Stormfly squawked happily. Hiccup gave her a mini salute and they went separate ways. Astrid flying to rejoin the other riders, and Hiccup and Toothless flying up to a rock with a good vantage point of the whole battle.
He couldn't help but glare down at the destruction and chaos that was all caused by a single man. Hiccup turned to look out at the sea, beyond the battling ships, to the Alpha. It prowled the edge of the battlefield, it's sharp eyes seemingly following his every move even though Hiccup knew he was too small to spot from this distance for the Alpha. Hiccup could feel that familiar pressure of the Alpha's influence, and Toothless shook his head, trying to get it's voice out of his mind.
"They're waiting for you." Toothless said softly, glancing back at Hiccup with a silent question.
"I know... Come on, bud!" Hiccup took a deep breath and then steeled himself, placing his hand on Toothless's head and funneling his magic into him to help him. Toothless growled an affirmative and the pair shot into the sky, heading straight towards the Alpha.
"On your left!" Hiccup looked over in time to see Jack knock an enemy flyer off his broom before he could shoot any spells at him and Toothless. Jack leveled out and shot forward, flanking their left side, and guarding their back. "And you guys say I'm always trying to play the hero! Oh, well. At least we're even now!"
"Watch the ice!" Hiccup warned as the Alpha drew back, and Toothless darted off to the side.
"I'm a winter sprite, Hic!" Jack grinned, he let himself fall backwards, gathering up as much wind as he could. He twisted around at the last second to throw the wind up, redirecting the Alpha's icy breath up into the air. Snow and hail rained down around all of them in a massive cloud as Jack and Hiccup circled around behind the Alpha's back. Jack was panting hard.
"You okay?" Hiccup asked him.
"Yeah!" Jack wheezed. "Just, probably don't got any more of those in me!"
"You tired already?" Hiccup teased, and the Alpha's tail came crashing down towards them, so they split off and shot back up into the sky.
"No more games! Move forward!" Drago ordered the Alpha, drawing it's attention away from them and back towards Hogwarts and the Allies. "Take control of their dragons!"
The pressure on Hiccup's mind increased and the humming in his ears got louder. Toothless faltered, pawing at his ears, but the voices were getting louder for both of them.
"Hiccup, look out!"
He couldn't register what was happening, but suddenly he and Toothless were tackled and thrown off balance. They went tumbling down onto an island of ice with Merida, and a bright flash of light warded off a few of the dragons that had been taken by the Alpha's call. As the dragons fled, Rapunzel flew down on her broom to regroup with them.
Hiccup pushed himself up to his hands and knees as Toothless shook himself out. Merida rested a hand on his shoulder as Rapunzel dropped to her knees on his other side. Jack swooped in, his feet touching down next to Toothless, and he reached out to give the Night Fury an encouraging scratch.
"Are you okay?" Merida wanted to know.
"They're too strong. Every time we get close, the Alpha tries to take control of our minds." Hiccup told them.
"It can do that?!" Jack asked incredulously, and Hiccup nodded.
"Were you even paying attention when Hiccup and Valka were explaining it all to us?" Merida demanded, crossing her arms.
"I didn't think it worked on Hiccup!" Jack defended himself.
"I can resist it a bit better than the dragons, but it still takes a lot of effort. Especially when I'm trying to protect myself and Toothless. We're the only thing between Drago's Alpha and our own dragons." Hiccup explained.
"So if we lose you, we lose all the dragons." Rapunzel deduced, and Hiccup nodded. "Well, we aren't going to get very far so long as they're together."
"So we need to get them apart." Jack decided.
"You have to block them out." Merida said gravely, tugging off her red and gold scarf and handing it to him. "You're our only shot at this." Hiccup swallowed at that, but gingerly took the offered scarf and looked up at his twin-flame.
"Do you trust me?" Hiccup and Toothless shared a look as Hiccup held up the scarf. Toothless nodded.
Hiccup climbed back into the saddle, and Toothless took off into the air. The Alpha already scaling the cliff, looming over the castle and glaring down at the Allied Forces. Toothless and Hiccup rushed forward as fast as they could. They swung around the Alpha's head to draw it's attention, but as they swooped low through the castle courtyard, the Alpha shot another ice blast after them. They swung around the back of the castle, and Toothless shook his head, glaring over his shoulder in frustration.
"He won't get out of my head!" Toothless snarled.
"You've gotta block him out." Hiccup replied, slowly lifting Merida's scarf towards his eyes. Toothless tensed, and Hiccup paused, but then he relaxed and Hiccup gently tied the scarf around his eyes and ears. "We can do this." He whispered, reaching forward and pressing his hand to Toothless's forehead. Their magics blended and together they pushed away the Alpha's influence. "You and me. As one."
Hiccup clicked his prosthetic into the saddle attachment, and Toothless's red tail fin flicked out to a better angle, smoothing them out. They were synced and ready.
"That's it... Now let's try this one more time!" Hiccup called out as they spun around the corner and shot towards the Alpha again. Soldiers and friends cheered them on as they swooped over the courtyards again.
He could feel them all. Counting on him. Trusting him.
"Take control of it!" Drago shouted, pointing at Toothless with his staff, and the Alpha snarled as it focused in on them.
Hiccup pulled his feet up and pressed himself flat against Toothless back, wrapping his arms around his head to cover his ears. "Shut it out, Toothless!"
"Stop them!" Drago shouted.
"Now!" Hiccup yelled, yanking on a lever to give control of the fin over to Toothless.
The Alpha fired another blast of ice, and Toothless veered off target, swooping up and doubling back. Drago cackled as he pointed his staff up at him mockingly, but he froze with a gasp when he realized the saddle was empty, and Toothless smirked down at him. Drago turned around, and Hiccup was already flying straight towards him with his flight suit out and his flame sword in hand. He released the canister of zippleback gas as Drago tried to take a swing at him while he passed.
Once he cleared enough space, Hiccup hit the trigger for the spark, and the gas ignited. The resulting explosion gave off a large cloud of smoke and Drago went toppling off of the Alpha's head, hitting the ground below hard.
Hiccup looked forward and the sight of the Alpha's tail rising up in front of him made him wince. "Not again," He groaned. "Toothless! It's now or never!"
Toothless focused in, extending his spines to help with the tight turns. "Come on, bud!" Hiccup said, and with a sharp pump of his wings, Toothless pressed his back up, catching Hiccup as he grunted. Hiccup scrambled to right himself in the saddle as they were gaining speed, wind rushing through their ears. "Hold on!"
By the width of a hair and nothing short of a miracle, they cleared the Alpha's tail, spinning into the sky as Hiccup cheered and Toothless roared happily. "Yeah! We did it!" Hiccup shouted, patting Toothless's head as he grinned right back at him.
They fell backwards into the sky and then twisted around, eyes fixing low on the ground. Toothless angled them in and skidded across the dirt as he landed. Hiccup flung himself out of his saddle and threw his sword at Drago, stopping him from grabbing his staff. The stone embedded into the blade on top glowed amber between them.
"It's over, Drago. Surrender." Hiccup ordered him, staring him down. Drago snarled at him, but then his gaze went to something beyond Hiccup and he smiled. Confused, Hiccup tilted his head and then turned, finding the Alpha glaring down at him. "Oh, no!" Hiccup shouted, diving down as Toothless shot forward, and ice smashed down on them, completely encasing them both.
Drago chuckled wickedly, rising to his feet as his Alpha stepped back.
"No!" Valka screamed from one of the upper walls, but Stoick held her back. Jack, Merida, and Rapunzel skidded to a stop behind Drago, just as they realized fully what had happened.
"Oh, no." Merida whimpered, covering her mouth with her hands.
The massive dragon roared out, and any dragon that was left fighting alongside the Allied forces was called. Struggle as they might, the Alpha's control was too much, and slowly, they all took flight. They all went to join their new Alpha.
Drago cackled gleefully.
"Is this your great Dragon Master?" Drago called out, addressing the Allied forces that were gathered around the scene. "The one who would defeat me? A mere boy that does not know the power he wields."
Drago walked over to his staff, the stone still burning amber. He pulled it from the earth and held it up towards the Alpha. The stone glowed brighter and the Alpha backed down, yielding to Drago.
"It's the staff." Jack said through gritted teeth, moving to charge the man, but Merida grabbed him and held him back.
"Not with the beast there. You wouldn't stand a chance." She hissed.
"We have to do something!" Jack snapped back, his eyes shining and full of tears he wouldn't let fall.
"Wait," Rapunzel whispered, reaching out to both of them with one hand while her eyes were on the icy grave of their long-lost friend. "...It's not over yet."
It started small and grew slowly, but the ice actually began to glow. Wisps of steam rose from hairline cracks. A deep blue light burned through the center of the ice, a familiar whistling noise piercing through the air. Drago stiffened, looking over at the ice. He took a few, slow steps back in his shock, and then all at once he turned and dove away, the ice exploding from the inside out.
The smoke cleared and at the center, Toothless unfurled. His spine glowed the same blue as Hiccup's arm. Toothless widened his stance and roared up at the Alpha while Hiccup shook his head and caught his breath. Toothless looked back to him, and Hiccup smiled gratefully.
Hiccup grabbed onto the saddle and swung up onto Toothless's back as he leaped up onto the ice to get a clear view up against the Alpha. Toothless snarled as Hiccup fueled his strength, charging a plasma blast.
"They're challenging the Alpha!" Merida gasped in amazement as they stared up at them.
"To protect us." Rapunzel agreed.
Toothless and Hiccup fired a barrage of plasma blasts, one after the other. The Alpha roared angrily and swung it's tusk to smash the ice that Toothless was perched on, but the pair didn't skip a beat. They leaped over themselves, flipping backwards and landing on a lower spike of ice. The plasma blasts continued, striking the Alpha again and again as it began to shrink back.
Above them, the dragons they had lost to the Alpha's control began to shake themselves free. They roared and growled, slowly returning over to join Toothless and Hiccup's side of the battle. Even the dragons that had been under the Alpha's influence before noticed the strength of the small dragon and human working together.
Toothless paused in his attacks to roar at them, calling them to him. And the dragons listened. They flooded over to their side, abandoning Drago's Alpha as it struggled to fight back against the pair.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Drago screamed, rushing forward and climbing up the dragon's tusk by digging the blade of his staff into the tusk. "Fight back! Fight! Fight!" He screamed. "What's the matter with you?"
Despite all his screaming anger, Drago could see the dragons leaving his side. He turned to watch them go, and found that the Allied Forces had also overcome his soldiers, gathering on the ground before him and his Alpha dragon with determination.
"Now do you get it?" Hiccup demanded, raising his chin as he and Toothless stood at the front of all their gathered forces, heads held high. "This is what it is to earn a dragon's loyalty! Let this end. Now."
Drago huffed and puffed for a moment, his face twisting in anger. "Never!" He spat. He swung his staff forward, screaming at the Alpha, but Hiccup threw his arm forward as well. Drago stumbled a bit, not expecting the yank of Hiccup's magic on his staff, but the larger man planted his feet and held his grip as they both pulled as hard as they could.
Drago yelled again, taking a step back, trying to pull his staff back, but Hiccup added his second hand into the spell and the staff came flying out of Drago's hands. Drago screamed in fury, falling forward onto his chest on his Alpha's tusk. Hiccup's eyes snapped open in surprise and he twisted to the side in his saddle as the staff shot past him too fast to catch and embedded itself into the ground behind him.
"Not my smoothest moment, but it'll work!" Hiccup smirked, turning to face forward again with Toothless who hadn't taken his eyes off of the Alpha.
The Alpha took a few steps forward, roaring and willing to continue the fight against his challenger. Toothless growled over his shoulder to the other dragons, and then hunched low as he and Hiccup combined their magic to charge a final attack.
They fired, and all of the dragons joined in. Countless blasts of fire rained down upon the Alpha, pushing him back as Toothless and Hiccup simply held their ground. The Alpha reared up once again, shaking away the never-ending blasts, and it lunged forward. Hiccup pressed close and Toothless quickly drew up another blast, firing just in time to stop the Alpha. It reared back, shrieking a massive roar and swinging his head as the tusk Drago was standing on snapped, falling down to the earth. Drago screamed as he fell with it, his voice silenced when he hit the ground the giant bone fell on top of him. The Alpha drew back, and Toothless roared as loud as he could, finishing with a snort as the Alpha backed away.
"The Alpha protects them all." Hiccup said, keeping his hand on Toothless to maintain the strongest connection possible.
The Alpha shrank back, wounded and defeated. It turned and fled back into the ocean. And as Toothless and Hiccup stood their ground, ensuring that the threat was gone, a deafening cheer rose up among all of their forces and the dragons.
Hiccup looked back at all his friends and family as they celebrated a second unlikely victory within a week. Unable to shake the anxiousness of battle, Hiccup turned back to the sea and peered down at the water for a long moment. He could sense the Alpha fleeing far away from Hogwarts, and even though it was difficult to process, he nodded to himself.
They did it. They won.
Toothless was the one to turn them away, carrying Hiccup back down to where the others crowded towards him excitedly. His parents and his friends gathering around to congratulate him and cheer for him. As Hiccup slowly lowered himself to the ground, dragons flew all around, landing wherever they could to be close to Hiccup and Toothless.
Cloudjumper landed before them and drew closer. He locked eyes with Hiccup, who took a deep breath and then looked to Toothless. The Night Fury was already looking at him with a knowing gaze. Hiccup smiled and stepped back.
Cloudjumper looked between the two, nodded, and then lowered his head to bow to Toothless. All of the other dragons quickly followed suit as Toothless lifted his head high. He gave an impressive, celebratory roar, and the other dragons joined in tandem. Toothless looked around brightly before turning to Hiccup again.
"You never cease to amaze me, bud." Hiccup smiled at his Twin-Flame, pressing their foreheads together. "Thank you."
Amusement came off of Toothless in a big wave, but before Hiccup could pull away, Toothless started licking him and nudging him. Hiccup laughed and and squirmed as Toothless nudged him onto the ground, rolling around with him. Jack, Merida, and Rapunzel all jumped into the scene pulling Hiccup up and hugging both him and Toothless.
"We really need to talk about the hero complex thing." Merida laughed wetly in the middle of their group hug, and they laughed at that.
"I think we're all a little helpless in that area." Rapunzel admitted with a shrug, and Jack nodded in agreement.
"We've got each other to pull us out of the fire when we need it." Hiccup assured them, but Toothless nudged his shoulder with his nose. "Or ice, in this case."
They all laughed again but eased back to allow some of the others through as more and more people poured into that one clearing on the steep slope up to the castle.
"That was pretty fine flying up there." Eret grinned, yanking Hiccup out for a moment to ruffle his hair, and Talia appeared on his other side to punch his shoulder. Emma grinned up at him, peering out from behind Eret with Bluewhistle close by.
They sobered, though, and stepped aside when his parents walked forward. Hiccup looked up at them for a moment and then ran over to them. They both caught him in a hug, and Hiccup beamed at them both.
"I am so proud of you." Valka gently brushed his cheek as her eyes welled up with prideful tears.
"We both are." Stoick added with a nod of agreement. Gobber and Astrid and the others murmuring agreements behind them.
"Hiccup."
The young Dragon Master turned to find North and the other Guardians standing just off to the side. He held Drago's staff in his hands. The stone's glow had dimmed, but there was still the presence of magic.
Hiccup eyed it, not sure how to feel about it, but he stopped in surprise when North offered it to him.
"We all agree. No one else but you can be entrusted with it." North explained, holding it out further to him.
Hiccup's heart gave a thrill as though he'd just dropped into a free-fall. For a moment he was frozen. He looked over to Bunny, who lifted his chin and smirked in response. He looked to other side to find Percy, who'd wrapped his arms around Jack's shoulders proudly. Percy gave a single nod of encouragement. Hiccup took a deep breath and slowly he lifted his hands to accept the staff from the Guardian.
There were wounds that only time would heal, but for that moment it was simply enough to see the genuine warmth and welcome in North's eyes again. For that moment, all Hiccup wanted to do was forgive and to begin healing.
The crowds were cheering again and for a few minutes they were all content to stay in that moment. Hiccup stared at the stone at the top of the staff, but came back to the celebration when his father rested a heavy hand on his shoulder.
There was a shift as several calls went out and the leadership of the Allied forces began to gather the troops. Clearing the battlefield and healing after so much war would have to come before anymore celebrations. Everyone began moving into groups; some to help prep the medical wing, some to search for wounded, others still to clear the dead and weapons from the fields.
Hiccup lingered behind with Toothless after giving brief nods to Jack, Merida, and Rapunzel as they all went to do their part in the aftermath. He knew his mother would need him to help organize the care of not just their dragons, but all those rescued from Drago, but he was thankful for a few minutes to breathe and settle down first.
His feet-dragging did not go unnoticed as Sypys the Centaur walked up beside him, slowing to match his pace.
"You fought well." The Chief complimented him, and Hiccup gave him only a slightly awkward smile.
"Um, thank you. Toothless did most of the work at the end there." He shrugged, glancing off to the side to avoid the Centaur's eyes. Toothless snorted.
"I see." Sypys hummed. "We owe you both a great deal, then."
"Oh, I mean, not really. I did what anyone else would've done in my shoe." Hiccup tried to wave it off, but Sypys didn't seem to buy it.
"Arafess believes that this belongs to you." Sypys explained, reaching into his pack and pulling out a very old, simple crown. Hiccup stared at it a moment as the Centaur held it out to him.
"Oh, uh... I -I think I heard my mother calling -!" Hiccup stammered, already backing away, but his back connected with Toothless's shoulder, and the Night Fury didn't seem to be in a hurry to move.
Sypys chuckled. "From what I have heard of your story, young Wild One, you should know better then to run from your destiny."
Hiccup gave a heavy sigh, and then reached out to accept the crown.
"That's all of them, then." Toothless remarked, peering over Hiccup's shoulder to sniff at the ringlet as Sypys gave a deep bow and left. "The ten Lost Things from Grimbeard's prophecy."
"Yep." Hiccup nodded, sucking in his lips and biting down on them. "Don't tell Talia."
Toothless laughed.
Hiccup fidgeted awkwardly, fumbling with the clasp on his fur cape as he stood outside the Great Hall.
"You ready for this?" Jack asked him, looking perfectly comfortable and relaxed in his own finery. And Hiccup snorted.
"Are you kidding? I'd give anything to get out of this." Hiccup laughed, shaking his head, and Jack chuckled in agreement.
"I swear, if you two ditch us, I am going to put frogs in your beds!" Merida threatened, her dress flowing as her hair bounced around her with every movement.
"Let's just try to get through this in one piece, okay?" Rapunzel suggested with a fond smile, and the others grinned at her.
Rapunzel stepped forward and took Jack and Merida's hands. Merida reached out, grabbing Hiccup's, and they stood in front of the doors of the Great Hall together. The doors slowly parted, opening up as the trumpets blared and all of the people and wildercreatures in the over-packed Hall rose from their seats.
The four of them walked down the center aisle together, holding tight to each others hands. When they reached the dais, Rapunzel continued forward up the steps as Jack, Merida, and Hiccup remained at the bottom of the steps, kneeling down. She turned to the crowds and knelt down as Arafess stepped forward, lifting up an elegant tiara of vines and flowers that matched Rapunzel's hand markings before lowering it slowly onto her head.
"People and Wildercreatures of the Allied Kingdoms, I give you a new era. The beginning of peace and prosperity for us all." Arafess announced. "I present to you Queen Rapunzel of the Royal Order!"
The crowds roared, thrilled by a promising future and their new Queen to guide them. The Royal Council would be reformed with Rapunzel at the head of it, helping to maintain alliances and peace across all the Kingdoms. The Sorceress of the Sun would grace them with her nobility and leadership.
And of course at her side would be a brave Seer, a cunning General, and a wise Dragon Rider for her Champion.
Standing there, on the steps of the dais in the Great Hall, they all lifted their chins and stood a little straighter. Rapunzel stepped forward and nodded to them, so all three of them moved up to her, turning to face the crowd alongside her. They smiled together as Toothless moved over and pressed against Hiccup's side. Jack was first to throw his arms up in the air, but they all followed pretty quickly, laughing the whole time.
There was such warmth and love, and they knew that whatever came next, they would face it together.