The crew watched their queen walk straight to her cabin covered in blood, sweat and tears. Her body was tense and her jaw clenched tight like she was holding something back and she was pale as snow.
Vylma ignored the eyes that followed her, she would tell them later why she was covered in blood and looked like she did. Right now she wanted to be alone.
She opened the cabin door and slammed it shut behind her. She took two steps in and vomited. It didn't stop until white mucus came out. Vylma started to cry and hit the floor with her fits.
Two of the guards came running in to help her. One lifted the crying girl up from the floor up to a chair and tried to speak to her. The other guard ran back out to get a bucket of water to clean the mess on the floor.
Vylma shook her head and buried her head in her hands while the guard asked if she was hurt, if this was her blood. "Can we get warm water in here!" He yelled and left Vylma to get the bathtub out.
People came running in an out with buckets of water and Vylma felt numb when she sat there and didn't even look up to those who came and helped with the bath.
"My queen," she slowly looked up and saw a blurred face in front of her, "the bath is ready and we'll leave you alone for now and we'll tell you when we have reached Barviks harbour. If you need anything, we will be right outside."
"Thank you." She whispered. The man bowed and she was left alone.
She sat in silence and calmed her breathing before standing up on shaking legs and took off her clothes and jewellery.
The water was luke warm and for once felt welcoming to her. Vylma felt disgusted by the blood and started rubbing the dried blood off her and even when the blood was gone, she kept on rubbing her skin until it hurt.
Vylma couldn't stop shaking. Images of the insides of the night fury came in like waves and they wouldn't go away, the smell, the feeling of blood and organs was like ants crawling all over her body. She wished it was all a dream. A nightmare that wasn't reality, but the red and black water told the truth.
Sobs escaped her and she ran her hands through her hair, but got stuck half way through. The hair was tangled by the blood and the coal. She took a deep breath and disappeared under the water.
Vylma didn't like being under water alone, not since the day her grandmother died, but she tried to overcome the fear. At first she emerged from the water in a second and dried her face immediately with her hands. Now she just wanted to wash the horrors off her body and hair, so she took a deep breath and closed her eyes before dived in again.
When she emerged from the water, her hair still wasn't completely freed from blood or sot or the tangled, but it was a start of a long hour of getting everything off that was on her hair.
"Just leave already!" Finn pushed his brother out from the forge and crossed his arms over his chest.
Stoick sighed and tried to walk past Finn, "Just let me check the swords and I-"
Finn placed his hands on Stoicks shoulders and kept him in place, "I got everything under control, well Magnhild have more things under control because she knows the forge better than me, but," he took a deep breath, "we got this. Don't worry, everything will be right here when you get back. Now go and fly off into the sunset with your future wife, because she's waiting for you."
Stoick's shoulders realized and gave in. "Fine, just make sure nothing goes wrong, I've worked way too hard on those swords and the arrows-"
"Are in the weaponry and needs to be checked, I know." Finn finished for him and smiled. "Go and tell me everything when you get back.
"Okay." he put his hands up and took a step back. "I'll leave."
Finn watched him take his bag and turned to Finn to say something but stopped himself.
"Get back alive and whole and hopefully happy." Finn said and Stoick laughed.
"Pray to the gods for me." Stoick said and walked out to meet his girlfriend.
Ever since Ingrid came back from Grimmel and everything she had been through, she had become worse for each day and yesterday she lost it. Everyday she was reminded of Kyria's death, that she didn't have her best friend by her side anymore. Everywhere dragons was seen and vikings with their own dragon. Ingrid felt left out and trapped on Berk, in her own home and even when she was alone. Her father had giving her permission to go to an island near by with Meatlug, but she didn't want to fly a gronckle and she didn't want to be alone out there. Fishlegs suggested that he could follow him, but a gronckle would still be presence so Ingrid declined that idea. Stoick had suggested that only him and her would go somewhere, just the two of them and Egil, who was a monstrous nightmare and not a gronckle.
Ingrid had agreed and now, the day after, they were on their way to an island a few hours away from Berk. They packed and decided to leave after breakfast, but Stoick had gone to the forge and tried to get some work done before Ingrid found him. Finn had found him first and had pushed Stoick out of the forge and told him that he and Magnhild had it covered.
Stoick had worked on every weapon he could find on Berk. Sharpen them and checking them if they were in good condition. His father told him to slow it down, Berk didn't need a tired warrior just because he worked in the forge every hour of the day all alone. Magnhild had helped him a few times when she was working on saddles together with Thora. And the war day wasn't next week, so it wasn't necessary to do every preparation this early.
It was a shame Gobber wasn't around anymore to help Stoick out. The old man had been an amazing mentor and uncle to the Haddock kids, but had sadly passed away a year ago in his sleep. Hiccup had taking it the hardest, but was happy his old friend had spent is last breaths in peace and was sitting with Hiccup's parents in Valhalla, talking and laughing about the old days.
The forge lived thanks to Stoick and sometimes Hiccup jumped in and helped. Sometimes Magnhild helped out in the forge when she got time. Brant took over as the village dragon teeth helper, it turned out he was pretty good at it.