If Magnhild remembered correctly, Barvik had built more houses since she last was there. It also seemed the population had grown. The only thing that looked the same was the castle.
Magnhild smiled at the sight and guided Sun towards the small garden where bushes of flowers still grew around the long table and it's chairs. It was summer time so the garden was colorful against the stone castle.
Sun landed and Magnhild took the situation in. She was at her sister's gates. Literally on Vylma's island and she could easily be behind that door. It brought memories of Vylma's coronation that was held ten years ago. When their life's turned around and let them both to this moment. Vylma a queen and Magnhild a free dragon rider. Magnhild had thought Vylma would be in her place when she was younger, but now Magnhild held the free card and Vylma held the power card.
She jumped off Sun and felt a hesitation in her.
Maybe she should just have gone to Berk right away and let Vylma come to her. Magnhild hadn't even said goodbye to Vylma. She had missed her sister's wedding and so many years of being by her side. Watching her being happy. Hearing endless talks about her husband and so many awkward questions Magnhild could have asked her. God's, Vylma could have children by now.
The door opened and Magnhild froze. Out came a woman that looked familiar to Magnhild. She guessed it was one of Vylma's servants girls.
"Who are you and-" Sun growled at the woman, who took a step back.
"Sun, no." Magnhild told Sun to stop. "She's not a treat. Stay here and I'll-" Their eyes turned up and saw a nadder flying down. Not any nadder but; "Brie."
Brie landed and tilted her head while checking out Sun and Magnhild. Brie ran forwards to Magnhild when she saw who it was. Nuzzled her head with Magnhild who laughed. "Good to see you too, girl."
Sun huffed and narrowed her eyes at Brie.
Brie looked with curiosity at light fury and looked between her and Magnhild.
"Brie, this is Sun. Sun this is Brie, my sister's dragon." Magnhild introduced.
Brie flapped her wings and squawked. Sun followed and soon the dragons started to play. Tipping over a few chairs as their tails was out of control.
Magnhild giggled watching the dragons until she remembered they had an audience.
She cleared her throat and walked up to the woman who looked wide eyed at the scene before her.
"Hi, my name is Magnhild Haddock and I'm-"
"The queen's sister." the woman ended for her.
Magnhild nodded slowly. "Yes, I'm Vylma's sister. Is she here? Or has she gone away on a boat? I would like to meet her. It have been eight years after all."
The woman clasped her hands together and smiled. "Yes, of course. I think the queen would love to meet you." she looked behind Magnhild with knitted brows. The dragons didn't care what they broke, but the woman did. "She's in the library. I can take you there."
Magnhild frowned. "Just like that? You don't need proof who I claim to be?" She didn't care what happened behind her back. The garden could be fixed and the sight of Sun having a dragon to play with after weeks of being around humans, was something Magnhild couldn't take her away from.
The woman locked eyes with Magnhild and smiled warmly. "You look so much like your mother that you can't be anyone else."
Magnhild's eyebrows rose at that saying. It's not like she didn't. She had always taken after her mother's looks except from the eyes, but was she really that mirrored? Had it been so long that Magnhild couldn't really remember her mother's face? Well, it did run in the family after all.
"Come." The woman led her inside and together they walked through corridors and rooms until they walked down a staircase down to a huge room that held rows of bookcases. The candle's and the fire torches on the walls made the wooden bookcases, tables and chairs stand out to the stone walls and floor.
"My queen?" The woman yelled out.
"In the back, Gunnevi." Vylma's voice echoed through the room making Magnhild freeze.
"Go, I'll let you surprise her." Gunnevi whispered to Magnhild. "Just walk straight forward and she'll be on the right." with that she gave Magnhild a last smile before walking out of the room.
Magnhild watched Gunnevi leave her. She took a deep breath and started walking the direction Gunnevi had given her.
When Magnhild turned right, she saw Vylma's back. Her hair hung down to her waist with two braids braided from the front to the middle of her head, no crown on her head. The red dress was more simple than Magnhild had expected. Vylma was leaning against the bookcase with a book in her hands.
"What did you want, Gunnevi?" Vylma wondered but didn't turn around and keep her eyes on the book she was reading.
"I just wanted to say hi." Magnhild blurted out.
Vylma dropped the book to the ground and spun around. Happiness, anger and confusion went through her face and Magnhild didn't know if she was going to hug her or hit her.
Silence fell and Magnhild held her breath. She didn't know what Vylma would do, so she waited to give her time to decide.
In the end Vylma hugged Magnhild in a crushing hug and Magnhild felt tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Vylma let her sister go and hit her shoulder. "You should be! Eight years. Eight years that you should have been here. Yes I know you well enough for you to leave but eight years? And not saying goodbye? All I was giving was a letter?" She took her into a hug again. "Gods, I'm glad you're alive and well but still! Just a few letters to mum and dad and I'm here wondering why in god's name my sister didn't come to say goodbye to me."
"But now is better than never, right?" Magnhild hinted and smiled.
Vylma snorted and let her sister go. Holding her hands. "Yes, but I wish you had come sooner."
Magnhild pressed her lips together and frowned. "To your wedding I guess?"
"Yes, you could have waited a few more months, you know." Vylma let go of her sister's hands and picked the book she had dropped from the floor and set it back in the bookshelf. "But no. I got information about you leaving Berk and I… kind of almost went after you. But Alvar stopped me."
"Alvar?" Magnhild questioned.
"My husband. You've met him."
Magnhild narrowed her eyes on her. "I have?"
"He was my messenger boy."
"Right." Magnhild started to remember the guy who had been by Vylma's side a few times when she had visited Barvik. "Curly hair?"
"That's the one." Vylma nodded and walked out from the rows of bookcases and Magnhild followed.
"So you have changed your last name again?" Magnhild asked.
"No," Vylma began looking behind her shoulder at Magnhild. "He took mine. It seemed fair to him to change his name as I've already changed mine one time. Also he wanted to take the queen's name."
"It's unusual for a man to take a woman's name, but I guess it was unusual for a 16 year old girl to become queen of an island she'd barely heard of."
Vylma snorted.
They walked in silence through the corridors. Vylma had so many questions while Magnhild had so much to talk about they didn't know where to start. Both were also afraid to get interrupted on their walk so they held the silence until they came into Vylma's room.
Magnhild slammed into Vylma's back when she had suddenly stopped when the door closed.
"Maya!" Vylma blurted out.
Magnhild was in confusion until her sister walked out of the view of a little girl sitting by Vylma's table of jewelry.
"What have I told you about playing with these?" Vylma gestured to the table that had jewelry out spread on its surface. The girl took off the way to the big crown on her head and sat it slowly down at the table. Her eyes started to water, ready to cry. Vylma crouched down, took the girl's hands and said in a gentle voice; "I'm not mad at you. But after so many times of you playing with these, it's getting on my nerves and I have to get mad at you. What have I told you about playing with my jewlery?"
"Only do it when you are around or giving permission." The girl said. Looking with sad blue eyes at Vylma.
"Exactly. And was I around or did I give you permission?"
The girl shook her head.
"No, I didn't. Next time you want to play with the jewelry, ask me. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Now, before you start cleaning this mess up, I want you to meet someone." Vylma began. She stood up and faced Magnhild. "Maya, this is my sister Magnhild. Magnhild this is my daughter Maya."
Magnhilds teori was right. As soon as Magnhild saw the kid, she knew it was Vylma's daughter. Not only the way the girl was in the queen's room sitting by her jewelry, but the way Vylma spoke to Maya; a gentle voice with a little annoyance under it. It reminded Magnhild of their mum. The girl also had Vylma's blue eyes, her face shape and hair color. The curls tho must be from her father, Alvar.
"Nice to meet you." Magnhild smiled down at the girl who's eyes started to widnes and sparkle.
"You're the one who travels the world!" Maya jumped down from the chair and looked up to Magnhild with admiration.
Magnhild frowned and glanced at Vylma. "Yes, I am. Is that what your mother tells you who I am?"
Vylma crossed her arms and scoffed. "You left without a proper goodbye. Left me angry and asked me to explain who her aunt was and why she couldn't meet her."
"So you've talked a lot about me?" Magnhild asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Vylma muttered before taking her attention to Maya. "Sweety, why don't you go and get your father and-"
"Family dinner?" Maya gasped.
Vylma nodded. "Fine, sure."
Maya didn't waste any time to run out of the run to go and find her father.
"You have a kid?" Magnhild hissed when Maya footsteps weren't heard anymore.
Vylma narrowed her eyes. "You're angry?"
"No, more surprised." Magnhild quickly said.
Vylma snorted and crossed her arms. "Wait until you hear about the other kid."
"The what?" Magnhild sputtered, her eyes widened.
"Dad! In here!" Maya's voice echoed through the corridor. Her running feet were heard and a sigh from a man walking after her.
"Maya, no running." A male voice said.
Maya came into the room with a huge smile on her face and after her came a tall man with brown curls, Alvar and on his hip he held a little boy at age three. Magnhild almost took a step back at the sight of him.
Alvar stopped in his tracks and looked surprised to see Magnhild. "Magnhild?"
"Hi, Alvar." Magnhild began with a smile before turning to the boy in his arms. "And nephew I suppose?"
Alvar stood there looking at her with an open mouth and widened eyes. Surprise to say the least. "Magnhild? How…?"
"Long story." Magnhild simply said with slumped shoulders.
"A story I would love to hear." Vylma began
Dinner was served and Magnhild gladly ate the delicious food. Maya looked at her with curious eyes while her younger brother, Viljar looked unsure at her like he didn't know what to make of her. Magnhild didn't blame him. He was three years old and she was practically a stranger to him, no matter what age he would be the first they met. Magnhild hadn't even known he or Maya existes until today and they had only been stories about their aunt Magnhild.
Vylma must have told a lot to Maya about Magnhild as the girl could barely stop looking at her. Maya hadn't asked a lot of questions after Vylma told her not too. Vylma had felt something was off when she said she wanted to hear about Magnhild's story after she left Berk. Magnhild was glad for that but knew Vylma would get the story soon.
Alvar got the small talk going. Talking about what had happened while she was gone.
Magnhild learned that Berk still stood and the only big thing that had happened was the marriage between Finn and Thora (Magnhild wasn't that surprised about those two getting together), Hiccup was still the chief and hadn't planned to step down yet. He wanted to give Finn and Thora as much freedom as possible, especially now when their first child was on its way. Toothless had his own girlfriend and was now father of three and his family lived on Berk as royal dragons.
Magnhild listened with open ears and felt homesick with the new information about her home. She almost forgot the fear she felt at the sight of Alvar. Or rather the sight of a man. At Disa's place Magnhild had almost lost her fear of being near men, but now weeks after leaving that place and avoiding people she got reminded what men actually could do to her. She told herself that this man was Alvar. Her sister's husband and Vylma would never marry a man that would harm her family. They had children for god's sake. If Vylma trusted him with her life, Magnhild could too.
"Tell me what happened!" Vylma demanded.
Dinner was done almost two hours ago. Alvar had laid Viljar to bed and was now giving Maja a bath before bed. Maja had missed her mouth and food had spilled all over her front as her eyes laid on Magnhild the whole time. Vylma and Magnhild were now in Vylma and Alvar's bedroom ready to talk about the last eight years of their life's.
"When?" Magnhild frowned.
"About what happened to you that made you broken."
"I'm not-"
"Magnhild. I have known you my whole life and maybe I haven't seen you in these past eight years but I'm pretty sure something bad will happen to you. Your eyes are like two empty paranoid holes that match the tense and scared body language every time a man is in the same room as you."
"I thought that scare was gone." She muttered looking down at the floor.
"Apparently it isn't. Or you can't hide it very well, at least not to me. I've seen this behaviour before. Girls and boys come to me if they can't get justice by them self when they get treated wrongly."
Magnhild sighed and sat down on the chair that Maya sat on hours before. "I hadn't been in the city for long, walking around the streets watching people buying food and just walking around doing their everyday things. I did what I always do when I come to a new place, explore as much as I can and talk to the people to get to know their city. Everything was perfect until the prince and his soldiers came walking down the city streets and he saw me. He kept staring at me and I thought he knew I wasn't from here, so I introduced myself. His response was taking me by force to the castle and he started asking me where Berk was located. He showed me a map that was not right by the way and I told him no. I wasn't about to tell them about my home when I knew what happened the last time someone was after it. Or every time someone is after Berk."
Vylma waited for her to go on. Magnhild took a deep breath before she continued. "He didn't accept my ´no´ and I was ready to force him to let me go so I could... get to Temple and fly away from there. But he already had him." tears started to build in Magnhilds eyes. "They came with Temple in a cage. A cage that was way too small for him. I still don't know how they captured him, but I didn't care. I wanted them to let him free. Then the marriage proposal came and I said no. I was determined to get us out of this right there. I ran to Temple but the prince caught me by the throat with chains and held me. I had two months to consider the proposal and say yes otherwise Temple was dead. Then he hit me in the head with something and I blacked out."
The tears came down like waterfalls and Vylma grabbed her sister in a hug. Magnhild wept into her sister's shoulder. "They tortured me. They cut me, punched me, kicked and raped me and...and..."
Vylma rocked Magnhild and rubbed her hands on her back in comfort. Tears from herself started to come, but she held herself together as much as she could for her sister. "You don't have to say anything anymore."
"They killed Temple. Tortured him to his death, just because I was selfish to not say yes to-"
"A marriage you wouldn't be happy in. A marriage Temple wouldn't be happy about."
Her sister sat quietly for a while. Vylma still comforted the crying Magnhild until her sobs and tears quiet down.
"Enough about me," Magnhild wiped her cheeks with her hands. She leaned away from her sister, who frowned. "Tell me about you. I've seen you've been pretty busy these last eight years."
Vylma gave her a tight smile. "Yeah you can say that. I've gotten married and had two kids. Barvik has gotten bigger to the west and south."
"You've taken land?" Magnhild asked with raised eyebrows.
"No. Well one island was given to me and Alvar as a wedding gift and the rest had horrible kings and chiefs. One tribe in the west killed their own chief and made me their new queen."
"Seriously?"
"I was as shocked as you are. And I was there when it happened. One minute I was walking out of the chief's house and the next, ten bloody men kneel before me, begging me to their queen. I know I'm good at what I'm doing, Barvik respects and trusts me with their life's and I do and will do everything to keep them safe. But being the queen of an island where they killed their chief because of me? A part of me wanted me to say no, but I said yes and after that; tribe's have had the same idea and leaders started to make their people more happy than ever before. Some even fear me to take their people away from them. The only chief that is proud of me is dad. He thinks I deserve it, but I believe he doesn't want to say anything wrong and cause our relationship to tear further."
Magnhild took it all in, trying to come up with words after that information. She knew Vylma would do anything for her people. She'd heard about the night fury she had killed for her people and put Barvik on thin ice to also help Berk. Her father had told the whole tale to her while they waited for her mother to wake up all those years ago. Now the fight seemed stupid and Magnhild had hoped that the wound between Vylma and their father had healed, but it didn't seemed like it.
"You're still fighting with dad?"
"Fighting?" sputtered Vylma. "No, I've forgiven him and mum. But while mum had accepted it and moved on, dad still felt guilty. Making me angry at him, but I understand him. There's still a crack between us that will probably never close even if I've forgiven him and he does everything to make sure that I know he's sorry." she shook her head. "It's a mess and now I just let it be as it is, because now I make sure my kids get a wonderful life here and on Berk so they know both places are their homes. And make sure they get to know their grandparents and their uncle, aunt and just Berk as a whole you know."
Magnhild nodded. "And what do they think of Berk?"
"They love it." Vylma simply said and smiled. "I was thinking we could go there tomorrow. I'm sure you miss that place."
"I do. I really do."
Silence overcame them until Vylma frowned."Wait. If Temple is...gone then how did you get here? By boat? No, I would know about that before you even got to the castle."
Magnhild sighed and told her about the city burning and her waking up in a house owned by their mother's aunt and how miraculously a night fury had saved her that night she escaped the hellish prison.
Toothless has three kids here because that was how I pictured it from the beginning. It has nothing to do with him really having three kids in the movie. I was surprised when I saw the three kids in the movie, but they don't look like how I picture them. You'll read about that in the next chapter.