Warning: This chapter contains very brief mentions of blood and violence. Rated T.
The dreary ship slowly churned in the sea, gliding over the murky brown water. The night sky was beginning to lighten and the slightest shades of light blue overtook the horizon.
Men and women alike manned the deck of the ship, calling to each other in high and low voices. Ropes were pulled, oars were extended, and chains were tossed into piles, ready for use at any moment.
High above them all, an insignia consisting of a constellation glimmered on the sail. It billowed in the growing wind, as the ship moved faster and faster toward the coming daylight.
Inside a large room at the back of the ship, a woman stood commanding the attention of several people.
Again, the room was a mix of men and women alike. They sat or stood near the edges of the room, all eyes on their leader. Their leader stood in front of a map, occasionally tapping it or asking a question.
"And you're sure we didn't find anything on this island?"
A man standing near her nodded. "Yep. Searched far and high but nothing out of the ordinary."
The woman faced him, examining the growing anxiety on his face. "Send a crew of five there, on the second mission ship. It should be back from the mission to the outer islands. I want three from higher ranks and two from lower. And tell them to search underground."
The man swallowed. "Orion, we already searched there-"
She tapped the map with one long finger. "It's called Screaming Death Island for a reason. Go tell them, I want the mission ship back in five days. We'll be at the new base by then, regroup there."
The man nodded and scurried off, seemingly relieved to be out of the tension-filled room. The door swung shut and footsteps could be heard pounding away.
Whispers filled the room. A group of three talked among themselves at Orion's words. A base? They didn't have a base, but commanded all missions from their ship.
Orion heard him go with an ever-growing sense of annoyance, then turned to her senior officers who had just been whispering to each other. "In five days, we will be at our new base. The location is, uncannily enough, very familiar to that Chief of Berk. We've got a message for him."
A young woman stepped forward, although a man at her side frantically shook her head and beckoned her back. She shook off his pleading and in a strong high voice, asked, "Ma'am, they've heard rumors the Chief is on Wingmaiden Island. And all of his best fighters." Orion curiously narrowed her eyes. "Don't call me ma'am. My name is Orion. Where did you hear this?"
The girl looked at the floor, then lifted her head back to meet Orion's unblinking eyes. "A few men from the higher ranks, they said they saw one of his fighters with a girl flying a full-grown Razorwhip."
Orion snapped her fingers and the girl looked up expectantly. "Get me those men." The girl nodded and hurried off. The man who had dissuaded her from talking to Orion shook his head slowly.
Orion looked over the rest of them, and her dark eyes landed on a stringy man huddled next to her door as if unsure he was supposed to be there. "Fledger." She barked. The man snapped to attention and stared at her as everyone twisted to see him. "Did you get the Zippleback gas?"
The man nodded hesitantly, his hand groping the inside of his coat. He produced a tightly corked bottle, with seemingly nothing in it yet he still held it cautiously.
Orion stalked over and snatched the bottle with one hand. The man withdrew against the wall as she examined it. Nodding in satisfaction, she flicked her free hand toward the door. "I'm going to need Nadder spikes and research on Shockjaws by next week. You are dismissed, Fledger."
The man nodded and awkwardly stepped out of the room. Orion watched him go, and put the bottle on a desk next to the map. She scanned the room. "Loher. Drop by the village island tomorrow with mission ship four. Riga from lower ranks is with child and we need to drop off two children from higher ranks."
"Yes, Orion. Three elderly men from higher ranks are also asking to be dropped off at the village."
Orion waved a hand at her. "Do what you need to. You're dismissed. Actually, everyone dismissed."
The men and women got up from chairs and walked out the door, chatting and laughing. Another man tried to exit, but Orion reached out and held him back. "Not you, Dafk."
He nodded grimly and retreated to the corner of the room. Then, four men came through the door. They smelled of fish and salt, and were still gripping axes and ropes.
Orion acknowledged them with a nod. "You saw a Razorwhip?"
One of the men nodded earnestly. "Yes, Orion. Full grown, by the looks of it. Had two people on it's back, both women. One looked much like a Wingmaiden yet none of those maidens looked like her."
Orion leaned forward. "Describe both women."
The man shrugged. "Pretty, one with dark hair in a braid. Looked familiar. The othe-"
He was cut off by Orion turned sharply around and lunging forward. "Did she, by any chance, have green eyes? Razorwhip scale outfit?"
The man nodded hesitantly, then jumped back as Orion hissed. "Imbecile! That was the Berserker Chief! Heather!"
The man's eyes widened. "I'm sorry-"
"Whatever. Men. Ugh, the other one?"
He nodded, looking to his friends for backup. One of them piped up, "Blonde hair. Actually very pretty. Blue eyes, had an axe on her back. Saw them from a scope."
Orion's eyes glinted and she grinned. "Blonde? Friends with the Heather girl?"
She cast a cunning smile toward the men, and they shrunk back, unsure of what to do. "Boys, you just gave me an instrumental piece in this war."
She turned to her map. "You four are going to go to whoever is manning the ship, and tell them steer us to Wingmaiden Island."
The man in the corner, Dafk, stood up. "Why Wingmaiden Island? We've had enough trouble with those maidens-"
Orion rolled her eyes. "Do I need to put it together for you? The Chief of Berk is there. And it's no secret his best fighters are there. If we can take them out, we've already captured his village."
Dafk scratched his head. "What about the blonde one? Why did you say she was instrumental."
Orion smirked. "Oh, you'll see. This Chief's made another mistake.
Surrounding himself with the ones he loves most."
Snotlout lay on a cliff top, stretched out as he watched the Wingmaidens fly around. He was still wet from plunging into the waterfall a few dozen times with Eret and Tuffnut. His hair matted to his face and he lay to dry off in the sun.
Eret and Tuff had gone off to the boat pits, he was sure of it, based on Tuff's eagerness to teach Eret boar wrestling. Ruffnut had made the decision to go with them, stupidly enough.
He sat up, wincing at the squelching sound. He sat observing the Wingmaidens.
Ooh, that one just took a fall. Those rascally dragons. Oop-yep, that's a tree. He laughed at them trying to reign in the crazy dragons.
Suddenly, he heard a pattering behind him. He twisted around, then started when he saw Minden. "Oh, Oh! Uh, hey Minden! Watcha been up to?" She smiled and sat down on the soft brown grass next to him. "You know. These dragons are hard to control now." She gave her Razorwhip an affectionate pat. She sighed. "I guess though now it won't matter when they're gone."
Snotlout nodded. "Yeah. I mean, it's crazy. I thought Hooky and I would... always be together."
She lifted her Razorwhip off her back and cuddled it. "I really don't know about this. I feel like Atali has got this all planned out, but a island without dragons?"
She set her dragon down. "We've always lived with dragons. There have never been Wingmaidens without dragons. But it's out of our hands now, isn't it?"
Snotlout stared at the baby dragon. "Yeah. Up to the leaders. And now they've gone and decided that Razorwhips and Wingmaidens should be let in the Hidden World, even though they wouldn't let the Defenders of the Wing in. And the baby Razorwhips are in extreme danger because like half of the Hidden World is male."
She nodded. "They've already planned out the trip to the Hidden World for later today. They want it to be as soon as possible."
"Oh. Well, hopefully something works out."
The baby dragon nipped her hand, and she stroked it. "Yeah. I've got to rest this little guy before the trip."
Snotlout stared at her. "You're going?"
She shrugged. "Atali wants me to be the next leader, as scary as it sounds. So she wanted me to have the experience." She paused. "What's Hiccup doing about it all?"
Snotlout shrugged. "Umm, I feel like he's really stressed. The last time this happened, he was either in a relationship with Astrid, or gambling." Seeing her blank look, he amended, "It's a looong story."
"Okay. Y'know, sometimes I feel like he and I are in the same position. Even though he is already Chief, we're both still learning. Hiccup just doesn't have anyone to teach him anymore, now that Stoick died."
Snotlout leaned forward and stared off the cliff side. "Wow. Guess that is true."
They sat in silence for a few more moments, each uncomfortably aware of the other's presence. Snotlout snuck a look at Minden petting her dragon softly, and a wave of emotion quite unfamiliar hit him.
"Are you gonna miss your dragon?"
Minden looked down at her dragon and sadly nodded. "I do have to go through this every Grand Transition, so I suppose it's not if I'm going to miss my dragon, even though I will. I'm going to miss all the dragons."
Snotlout nodded, then opened his mouth to ask another question when a horn sounded. Minden jumped up, looking apologetic. "Snotlout, I'm so sorry. I have to report to Atali for the trip." She lifted her dragon onto her back. "I'll see you sometime soon, hopefully."
Snotlout replied softly, "Yeah. Umm, sometime soon?" He watched as Minden hurriedly flew into the village, and sat back down on the cliff. He watched other Wingmaidens go and fly toward their mission, and he couldn't help thinking that something had just ended, and a whole other thing had just begun. "Bye, Minden." He said softly. "See you sometime."
A purple Terrible Terror weaved through the forest, ducking to avoid branches and leaves. The Terror held a scroll tightly strung to its leg, slightly lopsided from the weight.
The Terror zipped out of the forest to see bright sunlight accompanied by several Razorwhips. It squeaked, then dashed upwards.
It looked around, and saw a village clustered in a clearing. It flapped toward it, looking for one tall, brown-haired male with one leg.
A small hut at the edge attracted its attention, he sniffed eagerly and smelled the scent of metal and smoke. It beelined toward the scent, moving around to the back of the hut to see the male around various parts of metal and a stove of fire.
The man jumped and turned toward the Terror, before seeing it. "Oh, thank gods. Just a dragon." He brushed the small pieces of metal behind him, nevertheless, and shoved a few Nadder spikes behind him.
Hiccup walked curiously to the Terror. "Now, let's see what we have here." He watched as the Terror lifted it's leg to show him the scroll, then flew around the makeshift forge earnestly. It nudged a few appliances before settling down for a rest.
Hiccup broke the seal on the scroll, then read it hesitantly. It was clearly from Mala, and he was glad it held good news.
They had moved out of their island, everything packed up and away. An island near the Edge had caught their attention, and they had promptly moved on it. It had no active volcanoes, no dangerous dragons, and relative safety from enemies.
They asked if Hiccup would be returning to the Edge anytime soon, for they also had strange concerns. A large battle ship had recently been seen circling around the Edge, and then several people exploring the buildings, and entering them. They didn't recognize any of them, nor the strange symbol on their sail.
He laid the paper flat on the table and wiped away bits of ash and metal. Getting a fresh piece of paper and a pencil, he scratched out a reply.
They had known that when they left the Edge, sailors would see the abandoned island and possibly explore it. They hadn't left anything important (though they had taken some unnecessary things, cough cough, Snotlout's S), and it wouldn't be a real danger. Still, it seemed strange a big ship, a war ship, would show any interest in the Edge.
He wrote that he was glad they had settled in a safe place, but also wrote of a favor. If they could keep an eye on the strange sailors and tell him if anyone else happened, he would be grateful.
No, he decided, they would not return to the Edge after all. Pressing matters had to be attended to in New Berk, they had a very short rest on Berk planned, and they would maybe see the Edge in the distance.
He signed the letter, and tied it back to the Terror's leg. The little dragon awoke, and hopped up. It flew into the sky, zipping here and there until it flew out of sight.
Hiccup leaned back onto the table and surveyed his work. As soon as everyone had exited the two huts and went their separate ways, he had set up a hidden, makeshift forge. He had only needed a small amount of metal, and a few Nadder spikes to experiment with.
He looked at the sun; he would have to finish his project quickly, before noon, when they were scheduled to leave.
He cleaned up a few hammers and welding tools, and packed them away into crates that would be stored in the ship.
In the middle of his table sat a small, almost unnoticeable band of metal. Next to it, an even smaller blue-yellow gem shone.
He picked up the band and examined it, he didn't know the exact size he would need for it. He gulped, imagining what would happen if it wasn't the right size.
He had made his mind up, quickly, yesterday night. He wanted to be married to Astrid, he wanted to propose as soon as he could, no matter how nervous he was thinking about it. Even though they had already been betrothed to each other for two years, there was a clear difference between being betrothed, and actively looking forward to a wedding.
He had to admit the thought made him giddy. He had had a crush on Astrid for years, before he was ten for sure. Somehow, after eleven years, they were dating, and constantly on pressure to become a married couple.
The band could use some smoothing over; it was made of some silver he had obtained through the Northern Markets years ago. At the time, he had been hoping to use it for an invention, though now it was being used for a completely different purpose.
The small gem next to it could also use smoothing, and shining for sure. He had painstakingly carved out a jewel shape out of a Nadder spike that he was sure had belonged to Stormfly. It had the same blue-yellow shades, and had been found stuffed into a crate at the back of their ship.
He planned to mold them together somehow later, when the band was complete and the gem was adequately prepared. Now, though, he had no time. He packed up the rest of the tools and shoved them into crates, and then took the ring and carefully stored it inside one of his many pockets.
He heard a horn sound near by, and looked up to see several Wingmaidens flying to the sound. He knew they were preparing for the trip to the Hidden World. But for some reason, a familiar full grown Razorwhip flew with them, and understanding suddenly knotted in his heart.
Fishlegs had been on the edge of the island, looking for the flora and fauna he knew were native to this island. He had crossed the path to the sea and was instead venturing to the wilderness, exclaiming in surprise every time he found some of his favorite plants.
Suddenly, he came to a small crack in the ground where a mound of bauxite rested. He brightened, thinking of Meatlug, but then instantly dimmed when he remembered that his Meatlug and Fishmeat would never see this. Fishmeat hadn't ever seen bauxite, as it couldn't be found on Berk or New Berk.
He looked up when he heard a loud flapping and gusts of wind pummeled the air next to him. Above the trees, he saw Heather riding Windshear. She slowly came down, and hopped off as Windshear landed.
"Fishlegs!" She greeted him. She took a closer look at the rocks in front of him. "Bauxite?"
He nodded. "Yeah! Finally found some out here. I haven't seen any in a while. Not since... you know."
"Yeah. Meatlug loved bauxite." She picked up a small stone, and tossed it around in her hand. "What do you think? About... the dragons having to leave."
Fishlegs sighed. "It felt like the right decision at the time. I mean, we had just been badly attacked because dragons... just aren't fit to live with us greedy, cruel humans until we can do something right."
She sat down, and Fishlegs copied her. "Does it still feel like the right decision?"
He shrugged and picked up a pebble. "It's hurting a lot of people, and everything is changing. Entire villages are moving, ways of life are completely turned around. But, in the middle of all of this, I guess it's the right thing to do in the end."
She smiled at him, finally meeting his gaze. "Thank you."
He smiled back, although confused. "For what?"
She leaned back onto her hands. "Everyone I've talked to so far either supports it, or hates the mere idea. But you're the only one who agrees with what I think. It's going to be pretty bad at first, and the idea is pretty... depressing to think about. But this is for the greater good."
He looked back at her. Her words meant something deeper, he could tell. "Are you saying..."
She sighed and wiped her hands off. Looking up at Windshear, she said, "I've been thinking about what Hiccup and Astrid have said. Windshear has been with me forever. She's my best friend. But I want to do what's right for her. It's not safe, she's already been through so much. While she's still here with me, she is in constant danger. I care about her too much for that."
Windshear tilted her gleaming head down so Heather could stroke her. "She's responding to the calls too. So we want her to be one of the five to leave today on the Wingmaiden trip."
Fishlegs stared up at Windshear. "Today? Are you sure?"
She nodded. "As soon as the horn sounds, she'll be off to the Hidden World. I want her to be safe, no matter how much I'll miss her."
He reached out a tentative hand to her shoulder, and was glad when she didn't pull away. "We all miss our dragons. I miss Meatlug so much, it hurts everyday. It really does."
She nodded, and her hand came up to his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you." He smiled, then felt a pant of sympathy when he saw her eyes well. "They should be sounding the horn soon."
They sat a few minutes more, in companionable silence. Windshear wound her tail around the two, and rested her head in between them. Heather leaned onto her, letting a stray tear fall off her cheek.
The horn sounded, it's deep blast unknowingly ripping two dear friends apart. Windshear lifted herself up in a show of majestic beauty, and Heather stood up with her. For a second, Heather wrapped her arms around her neck, and tears began to fall onto her shining scales. They stayed like that for a moment, then Windshear slowly raised her wings. Heather nodded brokenly, stepping away.
Windshear soared up, a gleaming masterpiece in the sky. She gave Heather one last adoring look, then turned to fly toward the village.
They saw her fly up, sunlight glinting off her. She flew in a blinding spotlight that never left her.
Heather pressed a hand to her mouth, tears beginning to fall. Fishlegs felt his own eyes dampen, and moved forward to rest a hand on her shoulder. She gripped it with her free hand, as they both watched the majestic dragon fly away.
Astrid bent down to pick up a heavy crate, settling it into her arms before walking back to the ship. Valka followed her, carrying another wooden crate. They skirted the edge of the dense forest and walked across the soft sand to the shore.
They reached the ship at the beach, and stacked them onto the sand next to the boat. As they lifted the heavy crates on top of one another, Astrid noticed that Valka was moving more stiffly. "Valka, are you okay?"
The older woman waved her hand dismissively, unconsciously smoothing the streaks of grey in her hair. "I'm fine, Astrid. I'm not a youngster like you, but I'll manage."
Astrid nodded, and they began the trek back to the huts, where some of the crates had been unpacked. "What do you think about the Wingmaidens going to the Hidden World?"
Valka shook her head. "I admit it isn't a perfect solution, but for now it's the best we could do. We mustn't let the Hidden World become general knowledge, or it defeats the entire purpose of 'hiding' the dragons there. It is much more risky for the Razorwhips though, since their young are vulnerable to male Razorwhips."
Astrid shielded her eyes from the burning sun. "I guess we shouldn't let Mala or Dagur know about this. I don't think they would be happy."
They reached the cool shade of the trees, and shortly arrived to the rest of the crates. Snotlout and the twins were already there, picking up a new set of crates. There was one left, and Astrid picked it up.
Tuffnut nudged Ruffnut with his shoulder. "Ah, remember when we were here and you became a Wingmaiden?"
She snorted in response. "For like two minutes. If being a Wingmaiden means being stuck on this island, even though it has an amazing boar pit and the coolest huts, it's not worth it."
Snotlout snickered. "Yeah, you weren't even capable of taking care of Wingnutt."
She rolled her eyes, saying, "Hey, so it was a team effort."
"How long were you at the Edge? Hiccup hasn't told me too much about that time," Valka asked curiously.
Snotlout shrugged. "Little more than a year, I guess. We left after Krogan and Johann were defeated."
"Yeah, even though we almost left it for good a couple times before that." Tuffnut remarked. "Remember the lava?"
Snotlout banged his head against the crate he held in his arms. "Hey, that burned my S!"
They reached the shore, and stacked the rest of the crates. Eret and Hiccup hopped off from the ship, and took the crates to be stored in the bottom layer. They climbed back up the railing and disappeared into the lower storage.
Astrid looked around, mentally counting everyone. "Where's Fishlegs?"
Everyone looked around before Fishlegs came running from the forest to them. "Oh, sorry!" He panted. "Lost track of time."
Hiccup reappeared from the railing, and smoothly hopped down onto the sand. Astrid noticed that he seemed much more energetic, now that he had gotten more sleep.
He brushed off his hands. "Okay! Atali will be coming here just to confirm everything. Right now, they should be finalizing everything for the trip."
Snotlout raised an eyebrow. "So do we just wait?"
He shrugged. "Guess so."
Snotlout plopped onto the ground and laid his head down. "Great, catch ya later." They rolled their eyes, then the twins also sat down and began to talk.
Fishlegs strolled over to them, partaking in their conversation. Astrid walked to Hiccup, who was leaning against the part of the ship that was lodged in the sand. "So back to Berk, huh? Are you excited?" She leaned against the boat next to him.
Hiccup nodded, his eyes sparkling. "I know that it's burnt down. That's—going to be horrible to see. But it's still Berk, just without buildings. Still where I grew up."
She smiled. "Where we all grew up. And made so many memories."
He gave her a smile, remembering some of those memories with her. He entwined their fingers, enjoying her company.
Fishlegs had broken off from the conversation with the twins to stare off into the distance. Ruffnut and Tuffnut talked for a few seconds before noticing Fishleg's squinting expression. They followed his gaze.
All three stood up, walking closer to the shore. Eret, Valka, and Snotlout stared after them. Snotlout yelled, "Where are ya guys going?"
Ruffnut turned back, pointing to the shoreline. "Look!"
Hiccup and Astrid's attention now caught, they too stared at the shore until they saw a curious dull object half on the sand, half drifting in the water.
Hiccup tugged Astrid toward it, and they all arrived around it. They could see that it was a dull green, almost brown bottle, made of what looked like glass.
Eret frowned. "Glass? It's hard to come by any round here, much less an entire bottle of it."
It was transparent, though oddly murky inside. It was tightly stopped by a wooden cork. As Hiccup crouched down to stare at it, he couldn't help feeling like something was wrong.
He looked up at them. "Should I..."
Fishlegs shrugged. "I mean, what harm would it do? It's a bottle."
Hiccup reached out and took it. It seemed to be empty at first, though when he shook it, a rattling could be heard. "I think there's something inside."
Snotlout gestured impatiently. "Well, open it."
Hiccup gripped the cork, though his insides seemed frozen, unsureness spreading throughout him.
He slowly tugged the tight cork out, and was sighing in relief when it was almost out. Just as he was about to open the bottle, Tuffnut and Ruffnut both shrieked. "Hiccup, WAIT!" They yelled.
But it was too late.
When he opened the bottle, it exploded in his face. He stumbled backwards, arms flying up to cover his face. A frightening bang had come from the bottle, and hissing noises still came around him.
Everyone had yelled in surprise, arms flying up to shield themselves. Hiccup sat on the sand, arms still covering his face.
He tried to move his arms, but he felt sharp pricks of intense pain. The glass shards had impaled his hands and part of his face. He felt pain burst out, felt pricks of blood appearing.
Astrid dashed over to him, taking his arms. "Hiccup! Oh my gods, are you okay?"
He tried to grunt out a reply, but to no avail. She examined his hands, hissing in sympathy, then she saw the glass shards stabbing his face. She gaped.
Hiccup tentatively opened his scrunched up eyes, wincing in pain when the skin on his face broke even further. He saw everyone had recoiled from the bottle, creating a wide open circle around it as they stared at Hiccup and Astrid. The remains of the bottle lay in shatters, and a piece of paper lay intact in the middle.
Astrid hurriedly unstrapped part of his sleeves, and rolled them up. The thick leather had blocked his arms from being pierced, but his hands were bleeding. His face was still dotted with pinpricks of blood. "Oh my gods, Hiccup. Don't move, don't move. No, don't try to speak."
Valka stepped around the shards to Hiccup. She dashed to Hiccup, being careful to avoid the glass remains. "Fishlegs! We need the medicine bag. Now!"
Fishlegs unstrapped a thick bag from his belt, opening it and handing it to Valka. She rummaged in it to extract a pair of thin tweezers. "Astrid, did any get in his eyes?"
She shook her head. "Just the lower side of his face, and hands." She took the tweezers and carefully took a minute shard of glass from his face. He hissed between his teeth, and screwed his eyes shut as she plucked out another shard.
Fishlegs looked queasy as he stared at Hiccup wincing in pain. "What WAS that?"
Tuffnut looked grim, and bent down to look at the shards. "Definitely Zippleback gas. Right, Ruff?"
She nodded, hand over her mouth. "Wow. Yeah, that's why we yelled. We couldn't see it because of the green of the bottle, but that was unmistakably Zipple gas."
Eret pointed a finger toward the piece of paper. "Then, why in the name of Thor did that not explode? It's completely fine!"
Tuffnut touched the paper, and shared a knowing look with Ruffnut. "Zippleback saliva."
Ruffnut nodded. "That paper is covered in Zipple spit. Protects from explosions."
Snotlout had a hand clenched on his stomach looking very queasy. "That paper is covered in spit so it survives, but the bottle explodes on whoever opens it."
Astrid had finished taking all the glass out of his face, and Hiccup let out a pent-up breath. He hissed, feeling the blood well up. His hands were shaking, glass still stabbing his hands. Astrid noticed his pain, and pressed a hasty yet calming kiss on his forehead. "You're okay, you're okay. It's just your hands now."
Valka gently used a wet towel to clean his face, and he desperately wanted to move. The pain never left, and he could now see that small red cuts were visible on his hands. He assumed the same had happened to his face.
Astrid finished taking care of his hands, and took a thin, damp bandage. She carefully wrapped his hands, and then took another bandage and applied it to the side of his face. He tried to speak, but it came out as an slightly intelligible grunt. "Astrid-"
She took his shoulders and gazed at him. "Does it still hurt?" She bit her lip, looking very anxious.
He tried to shake his head, but a groan of pain escaped him. "Help me get up."
She supported him, and he stumbled up. The others stared at him, partly scared. He walked carefully to the note, Astrid holding him up all the way. She picked up the note for him, as his hands were stiffly bandaged.
The note certainly felt as if covered in saliva, grossly catching the light. It was covered in neat, curly scripture. She read aloud, "Dear Berkians and Wingmaidens,"
"As the Wingmaidens are aware, my name is Orion. But for our ill-informed Berkians, I have a message for you. You see dragons as more than pets. You see them as intelligent creatures, capable of friendship. You treasure them.
We see dragons as livestock. Why should they not be different than sheep, yaks, or cows? We are not dragon hunters. That would be like saying there are such things as sheep hunters.
You have a plan to hide all your dragons. We are aware. But this is reducing our profits, our supplies, our sales. We will not let this go unnoticed.
Watch, for we will come."
She stared back up at the astounded faces surrounding her. Hiccup stared at the letter, then told her, "Get Atali."
Atali paced the deck of their ship, her head in one hand. A few select Wingmaidens who were not currently preparing for the trip stood behind her, whispering with worried expressions.
Hiccup had sunk into a chair brought up to the top level of their boat. Astrid stood next to him, offering silent yet strong support as she rested a hand on his shoulder. The rest of the gang stood behind them, talking among themselves.
Hiccup's face and hands still hurt, but not as strongly. He could speak adequately with little pain, and his skin appeared to slowly heal.
Inside, he was a mess. Guilt and pain mixed together in a violent storm, tainted with indecision. He should have been more wary of the strange bottle, he should have taken extra precautions.
He should have endeavored more to keep their plans a secret, only now did he realize what was on the line. A dragon "farmer", as they had described themselves, planned to seek vengeance for what Hiccup had done to whatever kind of business they had. They had briefly been informed of this persons actions against the Wingmaidens, but by the looks of it, they planned something far worse than what any Wingmaiden nor Berkain had expected.
Atali held the note in one hand, and then let it fall onto the deck where she glared at it. "Zippleback gas? And Zippleback saliva? Are you sure?"
Hiccup replied, "We're sure. We've had the twins and Fishlegs look at it, and even I can tell it's Zippleback."
She shook her head. "This means they practically milked a Zippleback for its saliva. Then brought the bottle-" She cut off abruptly, jerking her head up to scan the nearby seas and forest. Her eyes trailed across the surrounding area.
Snotlout's eyebrows creased together. "Uh, whatcha doing?"
She made a sharp snap with her fingers toward her Wingmaidens, then muttered a few hurried commands. Promptly, one sped off toward the sea, another to the beach. "If the bottle was here and was found directly on our island, our beach, you can't just toss a bottle into the ocean and hope it ends up where you want it to. Orion planted the bottle near here."
She picked up the note, and taking note of Hiccup's hands, gave it to Astrid. "I've sent my Wingmaidens to search in case they have left anything, or are still here. Orion is dangerous. Perhaps not as dangerous as Drago, or Viggo, but this is an entirely new physiological situation."
Hiccup's eyes followed her as she frantically paced. "What kind of situation? If he's not as dangerous as Viggo-"
Atali stopped pacing and kicked the floor in a display of unusual frustration. "It's not a he, it's a she."
Everyone was still, considering this prospect as Atali continued. "All that we have fought against have been males, and that helps us in a few ways. Our mother Razorwhips attack them without hesitation, and we even find it easier to fight them. Our culture is based around the fact that we believe males will not allow us to continue our sacred purpose of protecting Razorwhips."
Astrid continued her train of thought. "But Orion is a female, and-"
"It's different. We're not saying that males and females are harder or easier to battle against. We're saying it's a different way of thinking that some in the archipelago have yet to come across."
She walked to the edge of their ship, and stared at the sea in watch for her Wingmaidens. "You absolutely don't have to take my advice. But here it is. You need to get back to New Berk as fast as possible. Orion has a huge sea operation, with one mother ship controlling it all. My scouts reported it was seen near the Edge, and she has a new base. Once you get to New Berk, she won't be able to track you. It's farther than she's ever gone, as far as we know."
Hiccup nodded wearily. "Thank you, Atali. Is there any more you know about Orion?"
She nodded. "She's intelligent. She's got the mind of Viggo. And she likes to be in control of everything. It's going to feel as if she always makes the first move, and destroys you with the last."
Hiccup briefly glanced up at Astrid, her face was as worried as his. "Thank you. Eret, Snotlout. Get the ship ready, would you?"
They nodded, and swung onto the sail and ropes. Atali flew up a few feet, her baby Razorwhip now awake and flapping. "I'll leave you to it, then. The Wingmaidens should be leaving very soon. I wish you well, and hope we will meet again soon."
Hiccup stood up, still leaning on the chair. "Thank you, the same to you."
She promptly flew away, gliding to her island. Hiccup left the chair, standing on his own. Astrid moved to support him, but he shook his head. "I'll be okay."
"Are you sure?" He nodded, but he was sure that she could see the truth in his eyes. She was the only one that ever could. He wanted her next to him, and supporting him even without the actual physical support.
Her eyebrows set in understanding, then took the chair and headed downstairs. "I'll be right back up."
Hiccup watched the ship slowly drift away, the island growing smaller. They had been slowly sailing away when they saw a group of dragons and two silhouettes against the sky, speeding out from the island.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut dashed to the railing, almost falling over in their excitement. They squinted up at the group. Tuffnut exclaimed, "Is that who I think it is?"
Ruffnut bounced on heels. "Wingnutt!"
Sure enough, flying gaily with the group, was a full-grown, sparkling Wingnutt. Tuffnut and Ruffnut kept staring at them, and followed their path across the sky. Hiccup smiled, thinking of their times together.
He certainly did not think about the disturbing incident when Tuffnut and Ruffnut attempted to feed Wingnutt. Nope, that memory was locked tight in a box labeled, "Never Again."
When they had moved far away from the island, far enough for the unique spikes to look like toothpicks, Hiccup went down to the lowest level, which held storage area for the dozens of dusty crates that they had stuffed in here. The light seeped in from a few minute cracks in the side of the ship. He sat down on a crate, wincing as he gazed at his bandaged hands.
He found himself trying to grip things, and unable to. Astrid had tied them tight to keep the cuts from getting worse. They wrapped around the lower parts of his fingers, and his upper palm. As he stared at them, he was reminded of the bandage that had kept peeling off on the side of his face.
When he heard the door open, he looked up to see Astrid walking toward him. Her face seemed worried, and she knelt down by him. She silently took his hands in hers, and he relaxed in the cool feel of her hands.
She pulled up a crate next to his, and sat on it. In a surge of hopelessness, he buried his head in her shoulder.
She let him wrap his arms around her, and pull her close, reciprocating his actions by looping her arms around his neck. He leaned his forehead against hers, and closed his eyes when she leaned in for a soft, reassuring kiss.
He kissed her back, feeling eternally grateful for her support. When they pulled away for air , he murmured, "Thank you."
She smiled, softly. He pulled her onto his lap, then, and hugged her tightly from the back. She leaned her head against his chest, and they cuddled together in the first time in a while, in the crazy time they were currently in.
As he buried his head in her sweet, golden hair, he couldn't help but love her more than he could express.
They sat there together for a long time, longer than they cared to remember. He rejoiced in feeling the warmth from her, snuggling with her.
But the beautiful, loving moment was disturbed by a realization that came at the worst time possible.
Three things flew into Hiccup's mind.
1. A strange ship was seen on the Edge.
2. Orion's ship was reported to be near the Edge.
3. Orion had a new base.
He whispered aloud. "Wait. Oh my gods."
Astrid turned around to face him, her clear-blue eyes scanning him. "What is it?"
He gulped, then looked straight at her.
"Orion's new base is on the Edge."
Author's notes: I'd like everyone to remember that these are Viking times. This is centuries before our time, and our beliefs. And yes, this chapter does contain some sexist theories that were believed during that time. How to Train Your Dragon does not have any female villains, and that is most likely because Viking women did not hunt, fish, or sail, as men did. But I have always hated stereotypical villains, and I wanted to bring in a different perspective from the antagonist's point of view. This villain is more revolutionary than others, and you will begin to see her beliefs as the chapters go on.
Thank you for reading! Have a great day. ~ScribeOfTheLegends