WARNING: THIS CHAPTER HAS SOME BRIEF VIOLENCE IN IT, AS WELL AS MENTIONS OF BLOOD!


***Austen's POV***

Well, that didn't go as planned… I thought as I stared at a now unconscious Hicca in my arms. I had rushed forwards as soon as her eyes started rolling. But unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to her in time to catch her and she hit the ground. Oops.

So here I am now, staring at Hicca in my arms as I sneak through the village, towards my house. I would take Hicca to her own house, but I don't want to face the chief's questions and glaring. Ever since the fire, he has become more and more protective over her.

So, as quietly as I could, I snuck behind houses to avoid being seen because I was sure that if someone saw me carrying the chief's daughter while she was unconscious, they would tell Stoick.

Luckily, I managed not to get seen, thank the gods. I quietly opened the door and was almost upstairs when I hear my dad, Asmund, call out.

"Austen?" Oh no.

That was one possibility I hadn't thought of, one of my parents being home.

"Uhh wait, one-second dad!" I call back as I go into my room and put Hicca onto my bed. But as I turn around to go back downstairs, I see the one thing I tried to avoid. My dad is standing in the doorway and staring at Hicca with an expression of horror on his face.

"Austen?" He breaths out.

"...Yea?" I ask nervously.

"Why do you have the chief's daughter unconscious on your bed?" He asks faintly, still staring at said girl.

"It's a long story." At my words, my dad's head snaps towards me and he says;

"Well, why don't you tell me downstairs." Without waiting for a response, he turns and goes downstairs. I follow him after I glance at Hicca again.

When I go downstairs, dad is waiting at the table, not facing me. Once he hears me take a seat at the table, he turns around, with a sigh.

"So? What happened?"

"Well…" I trailed off, not really wanting to tell him that I made her faint because I confessed that I had feelings for her.

"Austen." He said warningly.

"ItoldHiccathatIhavefeelingsforher." I rushed out, then prayed that he didn't understand what I said.

"What? Could you repeat that, slower?"

"I told-" I started repeating but was cut off.

"Oh. My. GODS!" I hear my mom, Helga, shout. Two seconds later, the door slams open as she bursts in the room. She stands there for a few seconds then comes straight to me.

"You have feelings for Hicca?" She asked, looking like she would burst if I said yes… or no.

"What?" I heard dad ask, disbelieving.

Why? Is it so hard for him to think that I can like Hicca?

"Oh, honey this is AMAZING!" She squealed, causing me and dad to cringe.

"...It is?" I asked, hoping for but not really expecting this reaction.

"Of course it is! Valka and I had been planning this for years! Before she was….taken." As she said this she slowly looked down. I decided that I had to know what happened. Maybe if I did, I would have some insight into Hicca and her past.

"Hey, Mom?" I ask hesitantly.

"Hmmm"

"What happened to Hicca's mom?" I saw Dad stiffen out of the corner of my eye as Mom looked up at me. I just stared back at her until she sighed.

"You have to understand, not even Hicca knows what happened that night, Stoick didn't tell her, at least last time I checked."

"When was that?" I asked, hoping that it was a long time ago, so there was a chance that he told Hicca her mom's fate.

"A month ago." I deflated.

"Oh."

It was silent for a moment, all of us in our own thoughts, before, dad spoke.

"Okay, now that that's settled, I'm gonna go do… stuff." He slowly backed away, out of the house. As soon as the door closed, mom's head snapped up from where it was before.

"Why do you want to know what happened to her?" She asked, squinting at me.

"I… I want… I want to know what happened to Hicca's mom so I can understand Hicca more, even if she doesn't know what happened, she knows something happened to her mom."

"Awww honey. If that's the reason, I'll tell you. BUT! You can't tell Hicca." As I nodded, she added on, "Or Stoick for that matter."

At my nod of agreement, she gestured towards the chair across from her. I sat down and watched as she prepared to tell me the story.

"Okay it was fourteen years ago, both you and Hicca were no more than babes. It was the middle of a stormy night, everyone but the patrols were sleeping. You and I just so happened to be sleeping at Hicca's house for the night. Valka had asked me if I could help out with Hicca, she was a sickly babe so of course, I said yes. I was sleeping soundly but heard a babe's cry. I looked in your cradle and saw you sleeping soundly. But when I looked over at Hicca's cradle, I was met with a horrific sight."

She paused, shuddering. I wasn't sure if it was due to flashbacks or the sudden coldness in the room.

"Hicca was crying in her cradle. But that wasn't the bad part, behind her cradle looking over the top into it, was a dragon." I gasped, and mom waited for me to calm down before continuing.

"But not just any dragon, a stormcutter. I screamed and looked around for Valka and didn't see her anywhere. Just as lightning stuck, Valka opened the front door. She looked at the dragon immediately then ran back out into the rain, calling for Stoick. Not even a minute passed before she came back in, weapon in hand. She ran to the dragon, putting herself in front of Hicca's cradle, blocking her from sight. Then something strange happened, instead of swinging and killing it, she paused and lowered her weapon slightly. Just as I was about to scream at her, ask what she was doing, Stoick rushed in and saw them. He gave a battle cry and rushed towards the dragon. It froze for a moment then grabbed Valka and jumped to the skies and slowly flew away. By now, everyone was awake and saw the chief's wife being taken. Stoick simply stood there, watching his love be taken away by his enemy. Then, he heard Hicca's crying and picked her up out of the cradle. He shushed her for a few minutes then noticed me. He only spoke one word, still looking at Hicca; Go. I grabbed you then rushed out of the house. That was when I returned home."

"I thought she was killed by the dragon!"

"Well, eventually she had to have been. But we didn't see it. That was the last we saw of her."

At this, she broke down crying and ran up to her room. I just sat there shocked for an unknown amount of time. I barely heard dad walk in, I barely heard him tell me to go to bed, I barely registered my own body moving and slowly laying down beside Hicca. All I knew was the darkness slowly grabbing me and pulling me into sleep.


There we go! A tiny peek into Austen's view and the tragic backstory of Valka.

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~Night Fury's Avenger