Author's Note: *Screams* THE LAST CHAPTER. THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTERRRRR AHHHHHHHH-
Wow, wow, wow, I can't believe this story is over already! =D I had some much fun writing it, and I hope you guys enjoyed it just as much as I did writing it for ya'll. =)
Oh, and the answer to my poll? 'Tis at the end of this chapter in the final author's note. =) I hope you guys enjoy this last chapter! =D
Chapter Twelve: A Well-Deserved Rest
The island Hiccup had picked out for Midnight was spectacular.
It was perfect, it was safe, secluded, and it barely had any dragons living on it. The island was large and vast, which meant plenty of room for Midnight and her future baby dragons to fly and play around. A large forest stretched out in front of the Dragon Riders as they landed, and in the center of the island, a large mountain stood, meaning that there had to be several caves buried into it or around the rest of the island.
The dragons landed on the glittering, sandy beach of the new island. Midnight had been the first to land, and she was currently in the process of examining the place. The Dreamcatcher looked like she was in paradise as she took a look around. Hiccup and the Dragon Riders watched from a distance, smiles on their faces. After all of the hardships and troubles that they went through, they knew it was worth it to keep this dragon and her future babies safe.
"She looks so happy," remarked Heather. Before heading to the island that Hiccup had chosen as Midnight's new home, the Riders made a stop at Dragon's Edge to pick up the eggs. Heather wanted to come along and witness Midnight exploring her new home, which was something that she didn't want to miss out on. The black-haired girl handed Hiccup the bag of eggs; they looked just like they had when Hiccup had first given them to Heather. "Windshear and I took good care of them…I think they would like to be reunited with their mother now."
Tuffnut was surprised. "Wait, Heather, you can read eggs' minds?" he asked.
"That's wicked," Ruffnut commented. Heather only rolled her eyes, wondering if the twins would ever grasp simple logic.
Hiccup took the eggs and with Toothless at his side, he walked up to Midnight. The Dreamcatcher stepped in front of Hiccup, her eyes shimmering curiously. Hiccup rolled the eggs out on the sand in front of her and smiled.
"Here they are. Safe and sound," said Hiccup. Midnight bent down and nuzzled Hiccup's cheek in thanks. The young viking laughed softly, and he rubbed Midnight's cheek affectionately.
"Take good care of them," said Hiccup. "Maybe we'll see you next summer—"
"Ah, no," Snotlout interrupted. He crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, but Midnight's messed up our sleeping schedules enough."
"Snotlout, you weren't even touched by her," said Fishlegs.
"So? Even if I've never had Dream Deprivation, I'm pretty sure I know how it feels after being forced to stay up all night," Snotlout shot back.
Midnight huffed and Snotlout stopped talking, but the Dreamcatcher didn't mean any sort of harm. She licked the Jorgeson across his face, leaving a thick, gooey trail of dragon saliva behind. Snotlout grimaced and the Dragon Riders laughed in amusement.
"Fine," said Snotlout. He whipped the drool off his face. "I'll accept your apology. But seriously…don't eat our dreams."
"She'll do what she has to do to survive," Astrid said. She walked up to Hiccup's side and placed a hand on his shoulder before turning to Midnight. "I'm gonna miss you…even if you did eat my dreams."
Midnight nudged Astrid, and the Hofferson laughed. Fishlegs and the twins walked up next.
"I wish we had more time to properly study you," said Fishlegs. He placed a hand on Meatlug's side. "But Meatlug and I are glad that we got to spend time with you."
Midnight gave Fishlegs and Meatlug small nuzzles, and she even plucked off one of her beautiful feathers to give to them as a souvenir. Fishlegs took it gingerly, and he squealed in delight.
"Annnnd Fishlegs becomes a fanboy," drawled Snotlout. "Exactly what we need at this time of day."
"Leave him alone, Snotlout. He's just excited," Heather said.
The twins were the last to say their goodbyes to Midnight. They marched up to Midnight and stood in front of her, bowing respectively. Then, they stood up straight, putting on rather ridiculous looking professional faces.
"If you do come 'round next summer," said Tuffnut. "Ruffnut and I give you the permission to eat our dreams."
Ruffnut nodded. "They're super creepy, so I'm sure they're tasty."
"That's enough of that," interceded Hiccup. He turned back to Midnight. "We're going to miss you, girl. But we hope we'll get to see you again…someday."
Midnight gave Hiccup one last nuzzle, then gathered her eggs and flew into the forest to find a new cave to settle in. Hiccup smiled, but he felt a little saddened to watch Midnight fly away into her new home. Astrid squeezed his shoulder.
"Hey…we did what we could for her. And now she's safe," said Astrid. "You did a good job."
"Thanks, Astrid," said Hiccup. He let out a small sigh. "But…I am going to miss her."
"We all will," Astrid said. "Now, let's head home before it gets too dark to fly back."
The Dragon Riders departed from the island and headed back to Dragon's Edge. The Riders filled Heather in on what happened during the battle on the way there, and she surprisingly wished that she had been there to help. The fight had been rough for all of the Riders, but they had managed to get through it without any serious injury.
Once the Dragon Riders arrived home, Heather said goodbye and flew back to Berserker Island, knowing that Dagur would send his armada searching for her if she arrived home late. Hiccup hoped that they would see her again soon. Perhaps at a friendly get together instead of in the middle of an emergency.
As Heather and Windshear flew into the sunset, Hiccup and the Dragon Riders trudged back to the Clubhouse, exhausted but feeling good. The Dragon Riders whipped up a quick dinner and bid each other goodnight before heading to their huts for a long, well-deserved had successfully saved Midnight and her eggs and safely returned home, but doing so drained a lot of their energy. Hiccup predicted that none of the Riders or dragons would be
awake until late afternoon.
Astrid followed Hiccup to his hut, mainly to make sure that he actually went to bed instead of staying up working on a new invention of his. Hiccup didn't mind Astrid's company; he enjoyed as he always did.
"You know…Even though Midnight pretty much invaded my mind, I'm really going to miss her," Hiccup said as he, Astrid, and Toothless arrived at his hut.
Astrid nodded. "I hope we get to see her again one day. Like you said, maybe we'll see her next summer."
Hiccup smiled, and Astrid gave him an affectionate kiss. "But for now…get some sleep. You've been awake for way too long. You look like you're about to collapse."
Hiccup chuckled. "I will, I promise."
Astrid grinned. "Have a good night, Hiccup."
"You too," Hiccup said back. Astrid began to head for her own hut and Hiccup walked inside his, Toothless following close behind. The young viking and dragon made their way up the stairs into the loft. Hiccup pulled off his armor and tossed it into a corner, flopping onto his bed with a long, exhausted yawn. Toothless warbled in amusement.
"Yeah, I'm tired," said Hiccup. He shifted so he was lying on his back. "And I'm going to sleep…Hopefully the twins don't decide to mess with the Thunder Ear tomorrow morning."
Hiccup yawned once again and Toothless laid at his side. Hiccup rubbed his dragon's scaly forehead with a small smile and soon, he fell asleep.
And that night, he had a dream. Not a nightmare, but a dream. And while Hiccup wasn't completely sure, he had a feeling that dream was from Midnight.
The End
Author's Note: A happy ending for all the Dragon Riders. Yay. =)
And the answer to my poll? *Intense drumroll* If you guessed a song...Then you're right! =D My pen name comes from a lyric in the song "Still Dream" from Rise of the Guardians. =D "Fly away...beyond the moon...A place you've been beforeeeeee..." That song is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, and I love it so much. =3 And since I've always loved the moon, the name seemed perfectly fitting. X)
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed "Sleepless Nights on Dragon's Edge" as much as I did writing it...And I've officially run out of words to say, haha. XD *Waves happily* Thank you guys so much for reading! =D
Until the next story!
~BeyondTheMoon1203