Hey all! So I have been trying to figure out a name for this trilogy, and I've come up with a selection. I'd love it if you guys could vote on your fave, or let me know if you have an even better one. Thanks. The options are: ( / = or )

1) Dance of Power / Dance of Gods

2) The Infernal Powers

3) Ascension / Infernal Ascension

Now for the replies...lol

CB73: There was so much closure in that chapter, but also the promise of continuation. Hiccup and Astrid may be leaving Midgard, but they are not cutting ties to their homeland, or their families. It was nice to write a scene where Stoick finally talks about his feelings and failings with Hiccup. He doesn't even really do that in the movies, which makes me sad. Both of them pass up so many opportunities to communicate, and then Stoick dies, so they will never get the chance. It just seems like a terrible prospect for anyone... and yes. Heather and Eret will be a good match, and Minden and Snotlout...should be interesting. I picture her as being a little over six feet tall (same height as human Hiccup was), which makes her a fair bit taller than Snot. Lol

OechsnerC: Thanks again :)

Draconic king: Haha, I feel exactly the same way, and I'm sure Astrid does to. Lol

Guest: No Account: Thanks :)

Rainnnn: Yes, they are leaving very shortly. As I said, these next two epilogues were originally only one, but it was hella long for an epilogue. Let's see how close you are on your predictions ;P

_

The morning after the feast dawned with a distinct taste of sweet and sour. Now that the Red Death had been defeated it was time for the allies to head back to their own islands. New treaties would be drawn up and signed at The Thing next year, but right now it was time for tearful goodbyes.

The fear and uncertainty of the looming battle had brought the tribes together in a way they had never thought possible. They were all returning home with deeper ties to each other. As well as the knowledge that they were released from the constant threat of dragon raids. They also now had their own troops of highly skilled dragon riders to protect them from any other threat that may come along.

During the night, the call of "raid" had been sounded as a group of dragons were spotted flying towards the village. It had turned out to be a false alarm however. There were indeed dragons coming to Berk, but not to raid. The wild dragons that had now been freed from the queen had come to seek a new home with their rescuers. Astrid was only slightly surprised as she watched the Vikings welcome them with open arms.

Now that it was morning, the refugee dragons were being divided up amongst the tribes. Everyone offering space and resources to shelter them. Meanwhile, Hiccup and Ilweran had called a final meeting at the academy. Apparently they still had one last lesson they wanted to teach the riders before leaving. As Astrid walked to the academy with Minden and the boys, she kept trying to pester them to tell her what they had planned, but no matter how hard she tried they kept their silence. A familiar wicked gleam in their gorgeous eyes. They were clearly up to something.

When they got there it was to find the floor covered with an assortment of beautiful new weapons. Every single one of them bearing the telltale decorations of Hiccup's own work. After allowing everyone to gape longingly at the arrangement for a while, he laughed and said, "these are for you. Consider them a graduation present. They will not break or loose their edge easily and will resist the natural decay of time. Pick whichever one suits you the best to keep as your own. The remainders will be divided up between the tribal chiefs for future riders."

Astrid stood to the side and watched everyone clamber to grab their favourite from the array. Her axe was already a perfect weapon. Even stronger than those Hiccup had made for the riders, and his own shield magic woven into it gave her a constant feeling of safety and love. Kept him with her wherever she went. No, she had no desire for a new axe. Ever. Instead, she leaned closer to Hiccup and asked, "when in Hel's name did you find the time to make all of these?" He gave her one of his shifty sideways glances.

"Well, remember all those nights that I was avoiding you. I was using that time to make these." This seemed like a very reasonable answer to Astrid. Until she took another look at just how many weapons there were.

"You made every single one of these over the span of a couple weeks in between training and sleeping," she asked him skeptically.

"Maybe..." he hedged. She gave him a look. "Can we talk about this later? Ilweran and I really do have something planned for the day and it will be terribly distracting for me if I upset you right now." Astrid crossed her arms huffily at his words, but conceded. Hiccup just laughed as Ilweran stepped forward to address the riders.

"Now that you all have your fancy new weapons, we are going to do something a little different today. The final lesson that you must learn is humility. Hiccup and myself both feel that the best way to do this is by breaking in those weapons with a little sparring match..." Everyone looked at him in alarm and began muttering quietly. Were they really going to be expected to spar each other with these extremely sharp blades? How was that going to teach them anything except how to find Gothi's hut? Ilweran's next words shocked everyone into silence. "...Against us."

The riders all shot confused looks at each other. Even Astrid was surprised. They were going to spar against Hiccup and Ilweran? They wouldn't stand a chance! She watched as many of the riders cast distinctly nervous glances in Hiccup's direction. He just grinned evilly at them as Ilweran continued.

"This match will be a little different than what you are used to. Not only will we be using real weapons, but it will also be no-holds-barred. Try to avoid debilitating injuries. Minor flesh wounds are acceptable and can be healed. Loss of life is a little trickier to remedy." There were a few chuckles at this, but most were just turning a greyish-green from nerves.

Ilweran turned and motioned to Minden. She stepped forward to join him, a sword sheathed on her hip. "The first spar will be all of you, against Minden and myself." Astrid watched as everyone visibly relaxed at this. Although most still looked a tad nervous at what sort of nasty trickery the terrifying trio might be hiding up their sleeves.

Tuffnut's voice rang out through the silence. "Don't worry guys," he said comfortingly, as he waved his shiny new mace around as if making practice swings. "Mace-y and I have got this!"

"You're an idiot..." Ruff exclaimed before shoving her brother. Tuff punched her and she kicked him back, before both of them began to cackle with wicked laughter. Shaking her head as she watched the twins, even Astrid felt a smile beginning to form on her face before she quickly reigned it back in. All twenty of them against two. It should be relatively easy. Granted Minden and Ilweran must be excellent soldiers if they were willing to do this, but the odds were still in the riders' favour by pure numbers alone. Although she did think that it was slightly strange for Minden to be fighting alongside Ilweran, instead of Hiccup.

As if he had read her mind, Ilweran smirked at the group. "I bet you are all wondering why Hiccup is not fighting, am I right? Well, the answer is simple. After his little tantrum at the nest, which one of you would like to run in, blade drawn, and chance your luck with him first?" He looked around at them all with one slender brow raised, while everyone shuffled uncomfortably and avoided his gaze. "No one?.. That is what we thought too, so Minden graciously accepted the challenge," he finished with a grin.

That certainly makes sense, Astrid thought with a chuckle. It would be awfully hard to teach them anything if they were all too afraid to spar. Meeting Ilweran's grin with her own, she watched the Vikings all glance at Hiccup nervously again. He just winked at them, a wicked gleam shining in his forest green eyes.

Going over to join the rest of the riders as they formed a quick strategy, Astrid watched Hiccup move to gather up the remaining weapons and remove them from the arena. Then he went and stood off to the side, reclining against the wall and crossing his arms and ankles. His posture was distinctly relaxed and it gave Astrid a moment of worry. He didn't look concerned for his friends at all. Chancing a glance at Ilweran and Minden, she watched as they both drew their swords.

Ilweran's was the beautiful white and gold blade they had seen once before. Minden's was the same bright pinks and greens as her dragon and looked to be Hiccup's work. Both of them muttered something and ran a finger down the blade. Golden magic flaring to coat the sharp edge. So Minden can use magic too? Astrid thought in wonder. Should she be worried about them using magic during the spar? That hardly seemed fair...

All the riders made their way to the middle of the arena and circled the two in the centre. The plan was to attack from all sides at once in the hopes of at least some of the strikes getting through their defences. There was just no way that two people could block twenty all by themselves. Astrid knew that Ilweran and Minden were ridiculously fast, but even elves couldn't see out the back of their heads. At Snotlout's signal, the riders all attacked.

Ilweran and Minden were so fast that it was hard to follow their movements. Despite having twenty opponents, no one seemed to be able to land a blow on them. They spun and dodged with impressive grace. Almost seeming to dance instead of fight. Working as a perfectly flawless team, they struck out at the horde of vikings with carefully controlled blows. Each one defending their own ground as well as protecting their partner. Easily halting any progress that the riders may have achieved through the element of suprise.

Astrid realized, as she watched this, that they had been using those spells to dull their swords so that they would not hurt any of the riders. They had no fear of the blades their opponents carried, only of the damages their own could inflict. How stupid they had been to assume an easy win. How foolish they were to believe that Ilweran and Minden would have even agreed to this in the first place, if they had not already known that they would be victorious.

One by one the riders fell. Astrid charged in again. Knowing that it was futile, but refusing to let her team down, she swung her axe at Minden's chest. Minden simply knocked the axe aside before dropping into a spinning kick. With a swipe of her leg she brought Astrid to the ground as she raised her sword to block Tuff's wild mace swing that was coming for her head. Reaching out with her left hand to grab the shaft of Snotlout's atgeir before it could connect with her shoulder.

Still holding the atgeir, she followed up with a hard blow to Astrid's chest from the flat of her sword, before Astrid could even get her axe up to block it. All while somehow using her right leg to place a hard kick to Tuff's diaphragm. Dropping the man instantly. Then she pulled Snot forward and off balance using the shaft of the atgeir. Tripping him up and sending him sprawling, before tossing his weapon far beyond his reach. A kick to the ribs later, and Snotlout was down for good.

Astrid was left lying on the ground, winded and gasping through the pain of what felt like more than one broken rib. Watching Snot gasp and moan while Tuffnut wheezed and clutched at his stomach. Muttering, "oh, I am hurt. I am very much hurt," as he rolled around on the ground.

Others were suffering similar fates, or else were knocked unconscious by strikes to the head. After the last rider when down from a pommel to the temple, Ilweran and Minden casually rose from their fighting stances. Removing the dulling spells and sheathing their blades. Then they stood by to wait as everyone came to or struggled to their feet. Hiccup walked over and placed his hand on Astrid's side. He muttered a word, which was followed by a warm tingle through her ribs and a brief burst of green light. Afterwards she found that she could breath easily again.

Helping her to her feet, Hiccup asked, "all better?" She nodded her thanks to him and chanced a look at Minden. The girl just shrugged at her and mouthed "sorry" as her father began to address the riders again.

"Humility is only gained when you realize that no matter how good you think you are, there is always someone better than you. A better fighter. A better strategist. A stronger soldier. That does not mean that you give up. It only helps you to resist the disease that is arrogance. Arrogance causes you to underestimate your opponent; and you will lose." Here he allowed his gaze to rest on Snotlout, who blushed crimson and glanced at Hiccup. "Luckily for all of you, you can now nurse your injuries and your pride as you are only required to watch the next spar."

At Astrid's confused look, Hiccup grinned again. Removing his sword sheaths, he passed them to her. "Would you mind holding these for just a moment," he asked calmly. That same mischievous twinkle in his green eyes. Holding her hands out, she took the swords in their sheaths, careful to stay far away from the hilts. Then she lost all capacity for thought as Hiccup casually pulled his tunic off. Holding the thin dragon-scale garment out to her with a chuckled, "trade you?" When she simply stood there gaping at him, mouth hanging slightly open, he chuckled again before gently taking his swords out of her hand and draping his tunic over her still comically outstretched arms.

"Whaaaa..." was the best should could get out as she watched him replace the swords over his now bare torso. The combination of crossed leather and buckles over toned muscle was an unreasonably delicious sight. It really wasn't fair to woman-kind. No matter how many times she saw him naked, it never ceased to steal every last shred of her coherency. He was just too beautifully perfect. At least she could see that all of the other girls were doing the same thing, so she didn't look like the only lusty idiot here.

Hiccup simply smirked at her, flashing her a glimpse of his wickedly sharp teeth. Curling a finger under her chin and gently pushing her mouth closed, he leaned down to place a soft kiss against her lips. "Minden's sword cannot cut through my armour," he explained, as if this was only obvious. "How else are we supposed to know if she manages to land a blow on me?" Then he stepped away from her before her mind could comprehend what he had said.

He was sauntering calmly towards Ilweran and Minden in the centre of the arena. The large black night fury twisting sinuously on his broad back. Wide wings protruding intriguingly from underneath his sword sheaths. All the riders stared at him for a moment longer before quickly shuffling off to the sides. Astrid moving to join them. Still trying to wrap her head around what just happened.

Sitting herself down beside Ruffnut, she watched Hiccup stop before the other two. As they looked on, the trio in the centre all bowed to each other. Then Ilweran and Minden drew their swords, not bothering to dull them this time, before stepping back from Hiccup. Leaving him shirtless and alone in the centre of the arena. That was when his words finally clicked in her sluggish mind.

"No..." she gasped quietly. Putting one hand over her mouth in horror and clutching convulsively at Ruff's arm with the other. Ruff glanced at her in confusion, before the sudden dawning light of realization began to shine in her eyes too. Both of them looking on in shocked fear at what was about to happen. Certain that they were about to watch Hiccup get cut to ribbons. Sure, he was incredibly fast, but so were the other two, and they had armour on. He was as unprotected as a newborn babe!

Hiccup reached up and drew his own blades. Running a finger over first one, and then the other. Dulling them with his emerald magic. Still Ilweran and Minden had not dulled their own swords, which looked even more wickedly sharp now that Hiccup was bare from the waist up. Without a hint of fear, a predatory smirk growing on his handsome face, Hiccup twirled his blades once before widening his stance. His golden skin looking perfectly smooth and incredibly vulnerable in the early morning light. "Come and get me" he said, and there was a distinct tone of mirth in his voice.

Astrid wanted to scream as the reality of the spar swirled around in her mind. He's going to fight them alone? With no armour on; and they aren't even dulling their blades! Oh my gods, he's going to die! They just beat twenty riders without receiving a single scratch, and now he is going to fight them with dulled swords and no shirt! Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods... She was pulled roughly from her thoughts as the father and daughter team ran forwards with a yell to begin the fight.

It was unbelievable. She had thought that Minden and Ilweran were fast. They were nothing compared to Hiccup. He and his swords moved so quickly that they both blurred out at times, even completely disappearing at others. The two blondes kept up a relentless onslaught of blows, seeking any opening. Somehow Hiccup blocked every single one while still managing to deliver strikes of his own.

The beautiful, night black blades twirled and flashed through the air. The sound of clashing metal was ringing through the arena as steel hit steel in invisible strikes. The strength of the impacts sounding like thunder claps. Clearly, the father and daughter team had been significantly holding themselves back with the riders.

Ilweran and Minden were not helpless though. Far from it. They parried many of his attacks before striking out with their own. Grunts of pain could be heard as dulled blade connected with soft body. Each of them trying to get around behind Hiccup's defences, or teaming up to try and catch him off guard. They seemed to be everywhere at once. Astrid holding her breath and wringing Hiccup's tunic nervously in her hands, just waiting to hear a hiss or cry from him. Surely he could not keep this up forever without getting hurt. The rest of the riders simply looked on in undisguised shock at the display of skill happening before them.

There was a brief moment where Astrid thought that Minden was going to gore him. Her deceptively lovely pink and green blade coming towards his exposed ribs with blinding speed. At the last second, he thrust one of his own swords between his body and the deadly sharp edge of hers. A loud crash echoing around the stone walls as he blocked her sword with the flat of his. Pushing it back towards her before making a slice at her legs, forcing her to jump back or risk having her knees taken out. Allowing Astrid to ALMOST breathe again...

Despite her fear for him, watching him fight like this was beginning to stir a different kind of feeling in Astrid, however. His graceful movements and feral smile causing the familiar heat to bloom in her core. He was absolutely perfect and absolutely deadly; and he's all mine! She couldn't help the self-satisfied smile that grew on her face. Watching the flawless golden body glide around the other two.

His perfectly toned muscles were chording and bunching in a rippling dance of raw power. The charcoal black night fury standing out stark and menacing against his skin. Every movement carefully controlled. Every blow softened just enough. Ruffnut shot a quick glance at her then, her face alight with lusty envy. She quirked one humorous brow at the hungry expression on Astrid's face and grinned widely, before turning eagerly back to the match.

Finally, with a twisting motion of one sword that was too fast for her human eyes, Hiccup disarmed Minden. Then he brought the pommel of his other sword around to strike her in the temple. Raising the first blade again to block an overhand blow from her father at the same time. Minden dropped like a stone. A few more seconds and Ilweran's sword went flying to lodge itself in the wall of the arena. The insane battle coming to an abrupt end with Hiccup's blades resting against either side of Ilweran's neck. The blonde man held up his hands in surrender as he chuckled and Hiccup promptly lowered his swords with an easy smile.

He removed the dulling spells from them and returned them to their sheaths as Ilweran crossed the arena to retrieve his own sword. Then Hiccup knelt down to check on Minden, but she was already starting to wake up. "You asshole" she muttered, rubbing her head as he helped her to her feet. As he stood with his arm outstretched, Astrid noticed a line of red over his ribs with a small trickle of blood running down from it. So Minden had managed to cut him! It didn't look overly deep, but it was pretty long. Not even seeming to feel the wound at all, Hiccup simply grinned at Minden.

"To be fair, you did break my girlfriend's ribs, and I am pretty sure that you managed to knick mine as well. I would say that we are even." She muttered mutinously, but then shrugged. A huge smile breaking across her shapely lips when she noticed his bleeding side.

"YES!" She cried exuberantly. Pumping one fist in the air in triumph. "I did it! I wounded the mighty Hiccup Haddock! My heroic deeds shall go down in history!"

"It is barely even a scratch, princess. No need to get so excited. It is not like you actually beat me..." Hiccup taunted with a deliberately cocky grin, as Ilweran walked back over to them and patted his daughter on the shoulder in a consoling gesture.

"Whatever! This is just a start. I'll beat you one of these days, Haddock! Just you wait," she grumbled, causing all three of them to burst out laughing. They turned back to the dumbstruck Vikings sitting along the arena wall. Most were still gaping open-mouthed at the three warriors. Astrid couldn't help but think, no wonder he didn't agree to spar with me that day at the academy. He would have destroyed me in front of the whole tribe before I could even blink.

Raising to her feet, she made her way over to Hiccup, just as he was about to heal his cut. Grabbing the crossed straps on his chest, she dragged his face down to hers and kissed him exuberantly while everyone watched in amazement. After a heartbeat of silence, she heard whistles that had to be from Cami, Ruff, and Heather. Chuckling at her friends as she broke away, she gave him a predatory smirk of her own before quietly whispering, "You are incredible Hiccup Haddock. I don't think I've ever been so turned on in my life." Then she released the straps to trace her fingers over the edges of the leather. Letting the tips trail over the toned muscle beneath.

"This is very sexy by the way. All this leather and bare skin. It looks like you're about to do something incredibly wicked to some poor, unsuspecting maiden... Sort of makes me want to jump you right now actually," she added with a grin. A slight blush creeping up into her cheeks at the knowledge that everyone would have heard the suggestive statement. Hiccup just smirked at her, as if accepting a challenge for a verbal spar.

"Hmm... Leather on bare skin does tend to lead the body and mind astray, mi'lady. Speaking of doing something incredibly wicked..." he purred in his sultry velvet tones. "Thanks for reminding me, beautiful. I still owe your insolent mouth some serious punishment." He began to trace the curve of her lips as he spoke. Parting them slightly as he slid the tip of his thumb between them. Her belly clenching in response to the strangely sensual act. The dark gleam in his smouldering green eyes causing the heat in her core to flare painfully, as she blushed an even brighter scarlet. Her face was getting uncomfortably hot, as everyone had definitely heard that too.

"What in Thor's name is that supposed to mean? Leather on bare skin and punishment? I don't get what's so funny about either of those things. Leather on bare skin usually just makes me sweaty, and I don't like being punished..." came the confused voice of young Bile, making Hiccup's smirk widen. Minden and Ilweran both snorted laughs at Bile's questions. The jeers and cat-calls from the other men making it disturbingly clear that the rest of them had understood his meaning perfectly as well.

Gods, he was so wicked! He really was just as bad as Minden! Astrid quickly realized that she was completely out of her league here. She wouldn't be able to keep up with him, even if she tried. She simply didn't know enough about the world and it's darker sides. The way he said that had made it sound ridiculously dirty, and a tad dangerous...

Not taking his hypnotic eyes off hers as he held her chin between his fingers, Hiccup raised his voice enough for Bile to hear him. "Getting sweaty is definitely a part of it, and not everyone is adverse to a little punishment. However, neither of those are things that you need to worry about yet, young man. Besides, good boys do not use leather on bare skin." Then he dropped his voice slightly and added, "unfortunately for your lovely flesh, I am not a good boy..." Minden made a surprised choking sound that may have been hiding a laugh, as Astrid felt her eyes fly wide with shock. Oh my gods...WHAT?!

Hiccup paused to grin slyly over at Minden before addressing the young boy again. "Suffice it to say, Bile, that Astrid has been a very rude girl, and like all disobedient children, she needs to be disciplined for it. It is my pleasure to show her that there are better uses for her mouth than simply hurling insults at people."

Astrid heard Tuffnut and the girls cackling in glee, as Bile muttered that he still didn't get it. Unfortunately, all of the others certainly did, and so did Astrid. That predatory shadow passed behind Hiccup's eyes as he watched her suck in a shallow breath. A flash of raging fire coursing beneath her skin as a tingle shot up her spine. She was suddenly hyper-aware of how much skin he had showing, and her hands were actually trembling with the effort as she tried to resist the urge to run them all over him.

Witnessing her body's unruly response to his wicked words, Hiccup chuckled softly. His emerald orbs almost glowing as he ran his tongue slowly over his sharp teeth. Taking note of her very obvious reaction. Her heart speeding up even more as she sucked in another shallow breath. Practically gasping now as her wide eyes followed the action of their own accord. Dear gods! She was probably going to pass out from lack of air soon if he kept this up, she thought with a quiet groan.

Finally giving her a roguish wink and a chuckle, he pulled her towards him. Turning her at the last minute so that she was facing away from him, he wrapped his arms around her. Allowing her time to attempt to regain her bearings as she looked slowly around at the stunned and lusty faces of the gathered Vikings. Clearly his wild magic was turned up strong enough to be affecting them too... the poor fools...

"I am going to have so much fun with you after we leave this infernal realm," Hiccup murmured softly. Another delicious shiver running through her at his words, as he placed a warm kiss against her neck. Making her knees go weak again as Minden scoffed at the two of them. Her father turned to address the group of riders then. Whistling shrilly to get their attention, and then watching in amusement as they all shook their heads to clear their suddenly clouded thoughts. A wicked smirk on his painfully handsome face.

"As I said before, no matter how skilled you may be, there will always be someone that is better." Stopping to grin at Hiccup and Astrid again, he added, "and that devilish rogue, with his wicked ways and potent charms, will probably already have a woman that he is hopelessly smitten with. Sorry ladies..."

He aimed his last comment at Ruff, Cami, and Heather. Making them all burst out laughing as Ruff cried, "way to be a downer, Illy! A girl can still dream, can't she!"

Chuckling at her, he then smiled widely at the rest of the riders. "That is it for today everyone. There is nothing else that we can teach you. Remember what you have seen here, for it will now be your responsibility to keep yourselves in top form." At his words, the riders began to clamber to their feet and exit the arena. Some of them still looking slightly punch drunk. Marvelling at their incredible new weapons and conversing excitedly about the spars they had just witnessed. Tuffnut, walking quietly with Fishlegs and Snotlout, was cradling his new mace as if it was a precious baby, instead of a deadly bludgeon.

"Look at this sword. It's so light, I barely feel as if I'm holding anything! It's amazing! Speaking of amazing, did you see that perfect technique," Fishlegs was saying to Snotlout. "How can anyone move that fast and keep their form that precise while they are being attacked by two unbelievably skilled warriors at the same time? How can the other two attack for that long without faltering or tiring out either? Simply marvellous..."

Snot just grunted and gave a small shudder, "ya, marvellous. Wanna explain to me how Minden and Ilweran can fight off twenty warriors without getting a single scratch? Only to be absolutely crushed a few minutes later by one half-naked guy? They are all terrifying if you ask me..." their voices faded out as they disappeared through the gate. Astrid couldn't help but smirk at that comment. Apparently Snotlout was still very much afraid of Hiccup, as he should be. Her lover was a dangerous man.

Following behind them, Ruff, Heather, and Cami were gushing about the fight too, but mostly about the 'half-naked guy'. Ruff carrying on about how a half naked man wielding deadly swords was her new top fantasy. Cami agreeing, before proclaiming loudly that she didn't see why Ilweran had kept his shirt on. "You know, it really would've been more fair if both of them were topless," she added as she threw a coy grin their way. Astrid heard Hiccup and Minden chuckle at that. Hiccup's laugh shaking his chest as he held her against him.

"Does that mean that you should have fought topless too, princess," Hiccup asked Minden, and Astrid could practically hear the sly grin in his voice. The polite tone heavily marred by the suggestive sarcasm, making her giggle. "Now that is one spar I could definitely get behind. Although, I would much rather be in front of it..."

Minden snorted a laugh at that. "Oh shut it, Haddock. You had your chance to have kinky naked spars with me and you passed it up, lover boy. Although I'm not sure how, since you are apparently even more of a perv than I am, you dirty bastard." Her perfect lips splitting into a wicked grin as she cackled at him.

Astrid felt Hiccup's deep chuckle as he replied in a tone of mock indignation. "You think that I am a dirty bastard? Really?! Just from that one teensy little comment, you suddenly decide that I am a pervert?" His voice dropped to a velvet purr again, smooth as rabbit fur. "You have no idea, princess." Astrid felt another shiver run through her as his arms instinctively tightened around her middle to hold her up.

"Oh, there has been way more than just this one comment, Mr. 'Tie you down and pleasure you until you beg for mercy'. I'm starting to fill in the blanks Haddock, and all the signs point to pervert extraordinaire," Minden cackled again, as Astrid gaped up at Hiccup in surprise. He just winked at her as he replied smoothly, "I thought you liked it when I talked dirty to you, princess."

"Oh do I ever, my delicious dark prince," she shot back at him with a wink as well. "Unfortunately for you and your topless fantasies of pleasurable torture, you heard the ladies. They only want to have their wicked way with dad. Or should I say 'Illy'?" Minden teased with another easy laugh, while Astrid snorted at the ridiculous antics of two of her favourite dorks. Glancing sideways at Ilweran as Minden gave him a playful shove, Astrid offered her own suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

Ilweran just grinned and rolled his eyes. "The next person to call me Illy is going to die a very painful death..." he drawled. Then he shrugged his shoulders as he gave a dramatic sigh. "You two are both perverts, if you ask me. As for the ladies, they all think that I am your handsome older brother dear," he replied calmly as he lightly nudged Minden back. "I doubt they would want me as much if they knew just how old I really am."

"Oh," Astrid exclaimed interestedly. "Just how old would that be, that it would be enough to dissuade the relentless women of the archipelago?"

"Oh, it is not that bad, really. I usually just round up to 400, but I am actually only 394-years-old," Ilweran stated with a lopsided grin at her. Astrid felt her jaw drop straight to the floor. Ilweran... the god-like man with the gorgeous face, laughing golden eyes, flowing blonde hair, and abs like chiselled stone... was 394-years-old! She couldn't even wrap her head around it. Her eyes felt like they might pop out of her skull as she stared at the beautiful, and ridiculously old, man in front of her.

All of them started chuckling at her state of shock as Hiccup added, "Actually, he really is just a young pup still, Astrid. Barely older than a fledgling in elf years. In all honesty, he is roughly the same age as me, when you take into account the fact that most elves are thousands of years old." All of them breaking down into hysterical laughter as Astrid's eyes somehow managed to widen even further at that. Ilweran, after regaining his composure, nodded cheerfully to confirm Hiccup's words

Shaking off her surprise, Astrid supplied in a dry tone, "I've got to say Ilweran; you don't look a day over 200." Joining in their laughter now, she added, "never underestimate the power of physical attraction, 'Illy'. You're a very sexy man, and even if you are older than Berk itself, Cami is still quite determined to nab you." With that she shot him a wicked grin of her own. Knowing full well that he would not follow through on his death threat.

"You'd better be careful. You may just find yourself married off to her without even knowing what happened. You'll just wake up one day, alone and hog-tied to a bed somewhere, waiting for the wedding night..." Everyone laughed again as she let her words trail off.

"Hmm, hog-tied to a bed you say... Probably would not be too bad, really. She is quite good looking, and I am willing to bet that she would be a deliciously savage little minx in the bedroom," Ilweran replied nonchalantly. All three of them barking out a laugh then at the hot blush rising up Astrid's face again. "Sorry Astrid. I guess that was my outside voice," he added as he winked at her. His amber eyes sparkling with bright humour.

Smirking at Ilweran as she tried to shake off her embarrassment, Astrid turned back around in Hiccup's arms and looked up into his face. Raising up onto her toes to beg for another kiss. With a chuckle, he obliged. Leaning down to press his lips to hers as she moved her hands to run them down over his bare chest and abdomen. When her fingers skimmed over his ribs however, she suddenly pulled away with an apologetic grimace. "Sorry," she mumbled with a blush. Lost in her desires, she had completely forgotten about his cut ribs, and she had distracted him before he had been able to heal them.

"Hmm," he murmured softly. Pulling her back towards him and wrapping his arms around her again. "What are you apologizing for? You are allowed to make out with me any time you want to mi'lady. They do not mind," he added with another roguish grin. Jerking his chin in the direction of Ilweran and Minden with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "We could probably give Ilweran some tips for when he gets married off to Cami. Make sure he remembers what his one job is when that wedding night comes."

"Thanks brother! It has been such a long time, I think I have forgotten how to do it," came Ilweran's laughing reply.

Shaking her head at both of them, Astrid grumbled, "you two are ridiculous, and I wasn't apologizing for making out with you, dork! I was apologizing for fondling your injured ribs. That can't be comfortable..." she trailed off as she looked down at his torso. There was not a single mark on him. No red line, no faint pink scar. Not even the slight stain on his skin where the small trickle of blood would have been. How was that possible? She knew that she had seen a long cut across his ribs. It may not have been critically deep, but it was still enough to warrant a good healing spell, which she knew that he had not had the chance to do yet.

Furrowing her brows in confusion, she looked up into his face. He chuckled softly at her, his beautiful green eyes shining with humour. "Oh, that was just a scratch mi'lady. Already healed it. Or did you forget that," he questioned with an easy grin, but there was a definite shadow behind his eyes that told her otherwise. It also plainly told her that now was not the best time to argue about it. If he was outright lying while it was only her, Ilweran, and Minden here with him, then this was not your standard, run-of-the-mill, Rider secret. This was bigger. Probably another strange side effect of being part dragon. Although, that now made her wonder if he had only healed those scratches on his back with magic because she had seen them...

"That's right! You healed the bloody thing right before I forcefully made out with you. Never mind then. Turns out I'm just an idiot," she joked easily. "Not sure where exactly my head is at, but it's likely due to the fact that you're still half naked. It really is quite distracting. You know, you shouldn't have dealt with it so fast! A real gentleman would've let Minden bask in her victory for a while before removing all traces of his shame," she offered with a grin of her own.

Minden shouted her agreement from across the ring. Astrid glanced over at her and saw the same spark of understanding in Minden's eyes. So Minden was in on the secret too, just not her father... Meeting Hiccup's green eyes with hers again, she knew that in that moment, Hiccup had recognized her cover-up for what it was. The gleam of relief in his emerald orbs was enough to confirm it, and to show her that he appreciated her effort.

Flashing him a more meaningful smile this time, she casually tossed his tunic to him. "You'd better put this on before we head back to the village to say goodbye. Otherwise I'm pretty sure that the Bogs are going to hog-tie YOU instead and smuggle you home on their ship. I would hate to start a war by having to steal my treasure back from a bunch of thieves."

"You could hardly call me treasure. Besides, men are not allowed on Bog, mi'lady," Hiccup pointed out. Passing her his sword sheaths again, before slipping his tunic back on as they made their way towards the gate.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure they'd make an exception for both of you. You handsome devils," Minden supplied with a wink. Elbowing both Ilweran and Hiccup in the ribs. All of them laughing loudly as they passed over the bridge and made towards the village proper.

_

Just a note for everyone. Reading back I realized that I had mis-edited a very tiny sentence that actually turned out to be a pretty important one. I went back and adjusted it, but I will simply mention it here for you to avoid confusion. In Chapter 26, 'I Will Never Let You Go Again' there is a point where Hiccup states that the marks Astrid was leaving on him could be healed. That was a missed edit. It now reads that 'his own wounds would heal'. Small thing, I know, but it makes a heck of a lot more sense with the storyline now.

Also, I snuck another HP Easter Egg into this chapter. Did anyone notice it?

Only one more epilogue to go now...