Chapter 22

The Return

Hi! So, that chapter won't have much action, but there will still be a lot of events. Enjoy!

Hiccup would probably never forget the conversation he had with Valka.

"I need to talk to you."

Finally! Was she going to tell him that secret of hers she spoke about? She seemed like she was about to cry and he came closer to her. "Are you alright?"

"Well, it's hard to say. When you revealed your name earlier to Viggo, your real name, you might remember that I asked you whether or not you really were Hiccup of Berk, the son of Stoic?"

"I do. Why is it important? You knew my father?"

"You definitely can say that. And you…I know you don't remember me, you were too young…" Hiccup wondered what she meant. She had seen him as a baby? She finally declared: "But a mother doesn't forget."

This just took the air out of his lungs and he was unable to think straight for a moment. What? What did he just hear? How could…Why…He became vaguely aware he was breathing hard, and he shook his head slowly. Valka….He thought she was just another Valka but could it be that…She extended a hand before him.

"Shhh…I know, I know you can't believe it, I couldn't believe it either when I heard your name."

"No…"

"Hiccup…"

"No!"

He started to walk away from her, but she caught him back. "Wait…"

"You're lying! You must be lying! My mother is dead!"

"No! Stoic told you I was killed by a dragon, didn't he? But it wasn't the case."

"Stop inventing things! What proves me you…"

"Your father loved the song For the Dancing and the Dreaming!" This stopped him in his tracks. She went on: "Your father and I loved that song, it was our song. He sang it to me the first time we danced, and before asking for my hand in marriage."

She started to explain how their house got destroyed, how Cloudjumper took her to protect her, how she found himself living with him, and why she decided to come back. He listened to all of it, and found himself having a hard time to breath. His dad had told him about it. She also told him some things about Stoic, intimate things which weren't widely known and she told him about a present she gave him as a little child. It was a little dragon toy, a soft toy which he loved to hold when he was a little child. But something else started to strike him: she looked like him. He hated to admit it, but her hair and face…He didn't look like his dad, but he looked like her. And that expression she had when she asked him whether or not he was indeed Stoic's son…

She…She was his mother. He was smothered by emotions, but those weren't positive feelings.

"Why? Why didn't you come back? Did you get imprisoned a long time ago? Drago caught you before you could come back?"

She lowered her eyes in shame. "No. I could have come back, but…Hiccup, I was feeling so guilty, that night you almost died because of me!"

He couldn't believe it! It was actually hard not to cry out of rage right now. His head was swinging, he felt as if the ground was crumbling under his feet. "Do you know what happened to me after Dad died? I was alone! I was an orphan and alone! And Spitelout took advantage of that to belittle me and mistreat me, and I had to run away! And at that time you were flying around with your dragon, you didn't care knowing what was happening to me?!"

What, no! "No, you don't understand, I was already prisoner when I learned about Stoic…"

"I needed you! You know, I didn't always get along with Dad, but at least he was here! When he died, I…I thought I had lost both my parents! I would have needed my mother to be with me, it would have been…I don't know it would have been nice to know I wasn't an orphan!" The sarcasm came out more desperate and sad than anything else.

She couldn't answer anything, she never knew her son would "I was nothing to the rest of the family, Spitelout and Snotlout just wished me to die and sometimes I really thought they would kill me! I had to bear with them treating me like dirt, and half of the island started to do the same! If Astrid and Gobber hadn't been around to help I don't know what would have happened! And you…"

"Hiccup, I'm sorry…"

"Leave me alone!"

He left her angrily, mounting Toothless and flying away to find a lonely spot.

He told Astrid everything. His mother. His mother had left him, and she had been Drago's prisoner. Gods, what should he think of that?! She was also shocked to learn that Stoick's wife was alive. It was just incredible! After a short moment of silence, her eyes narrowed and she turned to him.

"Well, how did you take it?" Asked Astrid.

"I know what you're going to tell me."

"You're feeling betrayed, just like I did. You both abandoned your tribe."

"She was my mother, it's different! If she had been there, Spitelout wouldn't have been chief, I wouldn't have lived with him! She would have led the tribe, and I would have lived with her! I wasn't your family, you didn't depend on me. And, remember, Berk didn't want me as a future chief anyway." His voice was trembling slightly.

"Okay, I give you that. I admit it's different, a friend and a mother aren't the same thing. Still, I needed you, at least I would have needed to know you were alive."

That was true indeed. He felt ashamed at what he did, making his friends suffer, even if he had reasons, maybe he could have handled things in a better way. Astrid also felt her anger toward him soften.

"I wonder why she did that. I mean, I don't think she had anyone to fear on Berk, from what my father said, they were happy together and she had friends."

"You'll have to ask her, not me. She really was Drago's prisoner when Stoic died?"

"That's what she said. But even if it was true, she should have came back while she could. I know she was fighting Drago for some times."

Astrid sighed: "Many people are resurrecting! I kinda wish my dad would do that as well."

"Yeah…It saddened me to hear what happened." She had told him once, while she still believed he was Fury. "I wasn't close at all to your father, but he was someone good. He wouldn't have abandoned you."

"No indeed."

She couldn't imagine what she would feel like if she discovered her dad was alive and learned he chose not to come back. It would be worse than learning that Hiccup was Fury, parents and friends were a different matter. She would announce that to Fishlegs, she wondered how he would react, maybe his point of view would help Hiccup and herself a bit. When she thought about it, why did Valka do that? Okay, she felt guilty, but staying away from her family for so long…

Later that day, she and Fishlegs went to find Stoic's widow. Her friend had been stunned to hear about Valka, it was incredible to know that she was alive, just like her son. He also had a thousand questions for her. It was pretty incredible, the similarity between the mother and son. Both had run away, both had befriended dragons and both of them became Drago's enemies. But Hiccup managed to remain free.

They found Valka tending to some wounded dragons along with some Endrisians. Her own dragon was around, watching her as if she was going to disappear. It was understandable, they had been both held prisoner by a dangerous man, and the beast was probably anxious because of the trauma. She stroked Cloudjumper gently to reassure him as he started to nudge her for attention. Now that he looked at her, Fishlegs could see the resemblance between the two. Her traits were similar to Hiccup really, even the smile. He guessed the gods blessed both mother and son with a gift toward dragons, he could see how close Valka and Cloudjumper were close. In other circumstances, he would have been very curious about that dragon, he had never seen any like this one. But not right now.

She saw the two walking toward her and gave them a welcoming grin. Her eyes were still filled with sadness, Fishlegs noticed. "You came to help? We're gonna need a hand indeed."

"Sorry, but not for now. We're here because we learned something pretty incredible," Fishlegs replied.

Valka lowered her eyes and took a deep breath. "Oh…I guess Hiccup told you about me."

"He did. I must say I have a hard time to believe it," Astrid declared. "But once we return to Berk, people will be able to confirm. Some of them probably remember you."

"…If I do, they'll be able to do it." She looked at the young woman before her. "Hiccup told me you had been here for him in the past, and I'm really grateful to you for that…You know, your mother and I got along a lot, even if she didn't agree with me about dragons. I hope she and your father are doing well."

"My father died. You would have known if you had stayed." A short, awkward silence settled. Valka didn't know what to say, she was saddened to learn that. Astrid spoke again: "Why did you give up on us? And on your son?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play stupid, you know what I mean!"

This drew the attention of several people around, but none of the three paid attention. Camicazi, who just arrived to talk to Valka, heard what Astrid said but decided to stay behind.

"Why didn't you return? You were taken by that dragon, but once you could ride it, you could have come back to us. Why didn't you?" Asked Fishlegs, understanding what Astrid meant.

She shook her head. "You know, that night, my husband and my son almost died because I couldn't kill a dragon. And anyway, I knew Vikings wouldn't change, that people of Berk wouldn't listen. I tried many times but I always failed."

"Then maybe you should have tried better!" Astrid yelled.

Valka wanted to leave, to just jump on Cloudjumper's back and fly away, but it wasn't the right thing to do. The young woman went on: "Vikings can't change?! Do you realize that your son made many Vikings change? He built an entire tribe of dragon riders! And he was only a teenager when he did that! He made both me and Fishlegs change, two Hooligans, we are both riding dragons, in case you didn't notice! And we still thought he was a weird stranger under a mask when he convinced us!"

Unable to say anything, Valka just listened as Astrid went on: "And do you know what he endured with Spitelout? How many times he got beaten and humiliated?"

She winced as she heard Astrid say that. "Hiccup told me he had been cruel to him."

"Yeah, cruel, that's the word! You know, Hiccup ran away too, but he was a kid, he couldn't oppose himself to Spitelout back then. But you were an adult, you had much more power than him!"

Valka lowered her eyes and Cami decided it was the moment to intervene. She took Astrid's arm firmly. "Okay, that's enough. It's Hiccup who has to say those things to his mother."

"And it's not as if we could go back in time anyway!" Fishlegs declared with bitterness. "Come, let's go."

With that, they both left. Valka sighed and walked away, sensing the people looking at her. She sat down on the nearest rock she found; Camicazi sat at her side, and put a hand on her shoulder while Cloudjumper nudged her again.

"You're not angry at me?"

"Yes and no. Your son is my friend, after all, I used to defend him blindly at a time, but I understood it wasn't always for the best. I thought of blaming you for what you did, but it doesn't seem like it's needed anymore. And I guess being cell buddies can make people bond! You don't seem to be a bad person; I imagine you thought you were doing the best thing."

It gave Valka a little smile. "Thank you. You know, it's strange because even when I was part of the village, I always felt a bit awkward with people. Maybe I was always made to live with dragons, I don't know. But I guess I can't turn my back to the past anymore, no matter how hard it will be to face it." She sighed. "I'm so sorry for what I did, really. You can't even imagine how guilty I feel."

"Indeed. Running away had been a bad decision, don't make it twice. Anyway, you know you'll have me as a buddy to turn to when you need it. Come on, let's go and eat something, it made me hungry."

At the same time, Astrid and Fishlegs were walking back toward the remains of the harbor. The remaining anger she had against Hiccup had lessened greatly.

"Mother and son had made questionable choices, but Hiccup had an excuse at least, he was just a teen back then."

"Yeah, and he was constantly belittled by Spitelout and it probably made him loose self-confidence. It surely didn't help," Fishlegs pointed out

"You surprise me, I thought you would be more merciful? You said you could forgive stupid decisions."

"I can forgive stupid decisions made with good intentions. But here…I don't know, I have the impression that it was more out of selfishness. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. And even if she had good intention, it was really too much of a stupid decision."

They went back on the boat and saw Hiccup here with Rona, Toothless and his little family. Astrid went to him and hugged him before he could talk. His breath cut off by surprise, he slowly wrapped his arms around her, bewildered at that sudden gesture. Warmth spread in his stomach.

"Something made you happy, it seems."

"No, but I just feel like cutting you some slack."

"I'll be happy of that." He turned to Fishlegs: "I guess you wanted to see Heather? She is sleeping for now."

"Alright."

They dined together, and spoke of many things, Fishlegs and Astrid told him some things about the time he was gone. They especially spoke of Gobber and the twins; Hiccup on his side told them a bit more of how he lived with Toothless before building Endris.

"Speaking about all that, what are you gonna do about Berk?" Asked Fishlegs.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you gonna claim it?"

Astrid nodded, she didn't think of it at all yet, it was good that Fishlegs brought the subject. "You should take it back. It's not just your right, it's also your duty! Spitelout is the worst chief ever, you can't let him rule the island," she declared.

"It's true that some Hooligans had been unfair to you, but believe me, most of them got their lesson after years under your uncle's rule," Fishlegs pointed out.

Hiccup had thought of that already, even before the war between Berk and Endris began, but while Drago had been around it would have been impossible to focus on that. Now, nothing stood in his way.

"Ditching Spitelout won't be difficult at all. But I don't want to be a tyrant. If Berk doesn't want me, I don't want to take it by force."

"I understand, but you should have some friends here. I think the twins will be happy. Maybe they will be a bit mad at first, but I think they'll want you to come back. They didn't forget you either, they gave both Spitelout and Snotlout a hard time."

"Well…I already chose Camicazi as governor for this island, as for Berk and Endris, I could alternate living between the two."

Also, if he was to have several children, then he would have more to give them. His heirloom on Berk would be their heirloom as well, he couldn't deny them that. But how would it be to rule his native island? Would people reject him? There was only one way to know. Fishlegs eventually left them to go and see Heather; even if she was sleeping, he wanted to be at her side. Hiccup and Astrid were now alone. A silence settled, both of them were unsure of what they should say.

"Hum…I must tell you I and Fishlegs met Valka. I didn't have the tenderest words for her." She summed up their encounter. He almost felt bad for Valka, he knew that a furious Astrid could be scary.

"So, you were angry for me?" That was giving a weird feeling, to know she might not be angry at him but for him. He smiled without even thinking about it.

"Well, I and Fishlegs agreed that you had much more excuses than she did. In the end, I don't blame you for running away, just for not telling us about it."

"I know, I'm really sorry about that, I understand now how much of a poor decision it was."

"Well, yes. However, even if I'm angry at your mother, you can't reject her right away. You can't ask me to forgive you if you refuse to give her at least one chance. And now that she thought about it, she was Drago's prisoner. She suffered a lot already."

He smiled at her again, she kept amazing him: as hot-blooded as she could be, she still had kindness and empathy. That was definitely one of the things he loved about her. "I don't intend to reject her. I just needed some times to get used to everything. Speaking about that…" He bit his lip and suddenly stood up to check out his bag. "You know, I've been working at the forge a lot to make this…"

"You needed an outlet?" Asked she, remembering he used to go to the forge and work for hours when he was angry or sad. He had spent countless time in here after Stoic's death, even more than Gobber. She wondered what was in his bag.

"Well, this wasn't the kind of work which can provide the best outlet. More like taking your mind away from your problems."

He took out something and she gaped slightly at the sight. It was a golden diadem. He gave it to her and she admired it. It was a thin golden head band, probably comfortable to wear. She could see that runes were carved, as she read, she saw this was a short praise to Freya, supposed to bring luck. One light blue gemstone adorned it. It was refined but not ostentatious with its sober ornament, exactly what she liked…

"It's really beautiful. You made it for me?"

"Indeed."

Really?! It amazed to think he had done this for her. It must have taken a lot of dedication to do it in such a short time. "As a wedding gift?"

"As a gift. It can be a wedding gift, it can also be an apologetic gift, it's as you wish. Whatever your decision is, I want you to keep it."

Understand, she took it and put it on her head. He couldn't help but extend his hand and take a strand of her hair between her fingers. She was really beautiful, the gold made her hair look even fairer. They looked at each other in the eyes, saying nothing, before she turned her head away. It wasn't the moment.

"Hum…So what are you gonna do about hum…"

"Berk?" He offered.

"Yeah, what are you gonna do?"

He took a sip of wine and replied: "We're going back to Endris first, everyone will want to celebrate. Then we will go to Berk."

That was fine with her, anyway she wanted to go back to Endris as well, she wanted to see Kalisha again as well as the few friends who remained there. She took a sip of wine as well.

"Are you nervous to go back?"

"I am. But I won't let it stop me," he replied.

She smiled. That was an attitude she liked!

O o O

Making Spitelout bend the knee had been child play; Hiccup never expected a lot of difficulty from him and it had still been easier than he thought. A few weeks after his victory over Drago, he and a part of his army arrived on Berk. When they landed with their dragons, people had been surprised by their return, but what stunned the inhabitants of Berk even more was the sight of Astrid and Fishlegs. Both mounted on dragons, they were riding at Fury's side. And yet, that had been nothing compared to the revelation which followed.

All his life, Hiccup would remember Spitelout's reaction.

"I thought we had a peace treaty! Why are you here again?!"

Those were Spitelout's first words as Fury and several dragon riders landed before the Great Hall. Warriors started to gather, ready to fight, but dragons were around, and the Endrisians ships were approaching.

"Don't you worry, Spitelout! I'm not here to conquer that island by force. Astrid and Fishlegs wouldn't have idly joined me otherwise."It was only then that Spitelout and the others noticed the two Hooligans mounted on dragons, raising a wave of murmurs and exclamation. The two of them got down and told their dragon to stay put before joining their friends and family.

"Astrid! What are you doing?!" Her mother exclaimed as she saw her daughter on a Nadde's backr. She still hugged her, having been worried since her daughter left.

"Don't you worry, mother, nothing wrong will happen."

Before Olga could speak again, Spitelout declared: "I guess this is a visit, then? Why appearing I such a way?"

Fury chuckled: "Not exactly a visit. More exactly, I'm here to reclaim, my birth-right, Uncle."

Spitelout's mouth opened in confusion as he heard those words and then Hiccup had the pleasure of seeing him turn white as he took off his mask. The man stumbled slightly as he saw his nephew alive and well before him, now a man, and not the teenager he once knew. A man with a Night Fury, one the most dangerous dragons ever, standing at his side.

"So, uncle? No warm greetings? I now it took me a long time to come back, but I had my hands full with a certain Drago Bludvist. But now, I have all my time for Berk."

"You…You died!"

"Ah, do you really think it's a walking corpse talking to you, right now? Or do you think that Hel herself allowed me out of the land of Death? Believe whatever you want, but I'm here. I am Stoick's son, the one who have a direct claim to Berk. The wish to reclaim that land had itched me for long. Now that my enemy is dead, I can finally accomplish that."

It was incredibly satisfying to do that, to see his uncle decomposed and even afraid of him. But deep down, Hiccup was scared, not of Spitelout, that man would be nothing, especially compared to Drago. But he was scared of the Hooligans' reaction, especially a few of them. Gobber, the twins…

"I don't want a dragon riding monster as a chief!" That was Mildew's voice, his reacton wasn't surprising but Hiccup was amazed to see he was still alive. Toothless growled madly at him and the old man squirmed.

"The dragon riding monster cleaned the archipelago of Drago Bludvist! No other chief can say that much!" Astrid yelled loud and clear.

Hiccup took some steps toward him. "A mediocre man can satisfy himself of a mediocre chief. I'm not surprised you wouldn't want to get rid of Spitelout, Mildew. But maybe some of you are tired to be led by an unworthy man. You can say I'm a dragon riding monster, indeed. But monsters are mighty, I built a tribe which became one of the most powerful in the archipelago."

He looked at everyone around and saw Gobber's upset face among them. It was like a stab in the stomach, but he did his best not to show anything. "You can make your choice. I won't force Berk to have me as their chief, even though it does break my heart to see Spitelout ruining my father's island…"

He interrupted himself as he saw Gothi stepping up before him. Even though she was cautious of Toothless, she still stood face to face with him. She hit the ground with her staff, requiring silence. Even though he was taller than her, and had dragons, Hiccup bowed his head slightly and let her speak. He was maybe a chief, but she was an ancient.

"Your blood gives you every right to claim the throne of Berk, as well as your might as a warrior. If you want to take your place as the chief of Berk, you have to challenge your uncle."

She took a step toward him: "I don't reproach you the attack on Berk, Spitelout had declared war on you. Any chief would have attacked back. But you will still owe your tribe the truth over what happened."

"I can give you one truth: I thought Spitelout would rather kill me than pass the chiefdom of Berk to me and I knew I wouldn't receive the support I needed from the crowd. When I got my dragon, I understood the Gods wanted me to fly away."

"…I see. And how did you tame that beast?"

Hiccup briefly explained how he met Toothless and how he learned to fly along with him, how he felt free for the first time since his father's death. The crowd was listening with attention, whispering between one another.

"I didn't know what to do when I left Berk, but when I freed the first slave I met, I knew what my destiny was. I want you to know, I never wanted to attack Berk, Gothi. But when Spitelout came and declared war on me, I had no other choice but fight back. But I never intended for that to happen in the first place. That's why I accepted this marriage, even though I didn't like the idea of making Astrid pay for Spitelout's mistake."

He looked at her as she was hugging her little sister. Fishlegs had also reunited with his parents. Gothi smiled at him: "I'm happy to see you back. You and your uncle will fight tomorrow morning."

She took some steps back. People started to approach and ask questions too, if some were hostile, others were curious and happy to see him alive. Bucket especially seemed like he was about to cry, and Munch seemed happy too. Two figure just arrived and didn't lose any time. Hiccup recognized with stupor Tuffnutt and Ruffnutt, they barely changed!

"Hiccup! You were dead and now you're not?!"

"How are you Fury?!"

He couldn't help but smile at the sight of the twins. They both came at his level and grabbed his arms to see whether or not he was real, pushing the other people around.

"I'm well alive as you see, and…"

"But when did you get so handsome?!" Ruffnutt exclaimed before growling: "But wait, no, I shouldn't tell you that you're handsome, you left us! But it's great to see you…But no!"

"Yeah, you let us believe you were dead! But it's so cool you're back to ditch Spitelout! But that was shitty of you."

People around started to roll their eyes or laugh at the twins behavior. It kinda relaxed the atmosphere. Hiccup was quite puzzled, he had almost forgotten how those two could be. "Hum…Okay, are the two of you gonna decide whether or not you hate me?"

"Probably, our brains are oscillating between the two, at a point, those will stop on an option," Tuffnutt explained.

"Hey, if you hit your head, maybe it will be faster for you to decide," Ruffnutt maliciously suggested.

"Really?!"

Hiccup stopped him immediately before he could punch himself: "Don't do that, and if your brains like me a bit for now, let me hug the two of you."

They both looked at each other and finally embraced him at the same time. He couldn't help but smile hugely at this. Gobber was watching him but didn't approach. He was a bit smothered by people around asking questions. Most of them wanted to know about the dragons, and it was hard to actually explain them he didn't use any magic but simply tamed them. Thank the Gods, he was helped by Fishlegs, Astrid and even Heather with that task. The twins and Bucket were the first ones to go and touch Toothless. Astrid's little sister also caressed Stormfly.

That was already incredible for the people of Berk, but this wasn't all for them. When Valka, Stoic's widow, revealed she was also alive, people were even more stunned. Confusion reigned over Berk during the whole day, but at least it was confirmed that Valka was indeed who she was as several people recognized her. The island was divided between those who wanted Hiccup as their new chief and those who were opposed to it. Yet it would be decided the next morning.

It was before the great Hall that the fight was supposed to occur. Hiccup was impatient to finally fight his uncle, to repay him for all he had inflicted upon him in the past. Spitelout looked discouraged and tired already. He was already beaten. Gothi stepped between the two of them and called for the crowd's attention.

"Those two men have a claim on the throne of Berk, and it's their swords and the Gods who will decide of who it rightfully belongs to. The winner will have the throne of Berk at first blood."

Acclaims and yells resonated. They were Vikings and they wanted a good fight. Hiccup smirked and looked back at Spitelout before drawing his sword out. It wasn't the one with flames, just a regular one. "I won't use my sword 'Inferno' with you, I don't want anyone to think that I cheated in any way. Come, Uncle."

He waved his fingers at him in a taunting gesture. Spitelout looked at the weapon, looked at his own sword and took it in hands. But instead of advancing toward his nephew, he threw the weapon on the ground. Hiccup blinked several times in surprise, and the whole crowd was shocked to see that gesture. Some were deceived, but others were hardly surprised. Astrid snorted in spite, but she was happy to see him finally down. Hiccup was pretty amazed: when he thought that man used to scare him as a child! Now he looked tired.

"I don't know which one of us would win," Spitelout said. "But I know I had my time, and…Believe it or not, but the weight of your death was hard to bear. I'm not at my place as the leader of Berk, I should have been the one leading you n that path…I'm sorry that I failed to see that."

That was…Hiccup gaped: was Spitelout actually apologizing? He certainly didn't await for that. "You won't even fight me?"

"I can fight you if you wish, but not for the throne of Berk. I will not oppose myself, it is yours."

He backed away simply and Hiccup was disappointed. He would have wished to fight Spitelout, to finally prove him and every one of those who believed he was unworthy of being Stoic's son that he was strong. But no. It wouldn't happen that way. He was about to protest when Gothi took his hand. The old woman smiled at him.

"Let your uncle leave with some dignity, my boy. That part of your past is behind you now."

Out of respect for Gothi, and because he realized he would have looked more immature than anything, Hiccup kneeled before her so she could do the short ritual to declare him chief. Dragons roared and though some people remained silent, some even booed, most of them applauded. The twins even went after some of those who vocally showed their disapproval.

Things didn't go as he dreamed. Some people were against his return, but that wasn't his biggest regret. He wished his father had been here. He wished he had seen Stoic's proud face. But he still had people cheering and applauding. And when he looked at Astrid, he saw her proud face. His heart lightened.

He was living again in Stoic's old house, he had shed a tear at the sight of his childhood home. Valka had been completely in tears however. It had made Hiccup feel some more sympathy for her. He had allowed her to stay around but avoided her a bit. As Astrid had taken Rona with her and stayed with her mother and sister, he told Valka to stay with him in their old house again. He was touched when he heard that Gobber had been the one who took care of repairing that house whenever it was needed.

Hiccup had a lot of work at his first day as a chief, having to get updated on Berk's situation, and getting the Hooligan to learn about dragons. The twins had been very curious about dragons and among the first ones to ride with Astrid and Fishlegs. Gothi had been a lot of help as well and Hiccup accepted to give her a short ride on Toothless. The old lady had been enthusiastic, almost like a little girl. Others were still hostile or distant, but Hiccup still had a better welcome than he expected.

There was only one person who hadn't spoke to him and Hiccup really wanted to speak to again: Gobber.

Although he wasn't the rancorous kind, Hiccup feared what Gobber would say. He found the man in his forge, working along with a boy who was around thirteen. As he entered, the boy stilled and looked at him with some fear. Gobber put down his hammer.

"Is our new chief inspecting?"

Hiccup tensed and just replied: "You know why I'm here."

Gobber took a deep breath and turned to the boy: "Kid, go and fetch me some ale, you should find some in the Great Hall."

The boy only nodded and left hurriedly. Only a few second of silence passed before Gobber huffed. "It's the first time this kid obeys so hastily. A good lad, but not really the kind to listen. He makes me think about you sometimes." Hiccup didn't say anything and the man just sighed again: "Okay. Is it the moment where we're supposed to blame each other. I blame you for leaving me, letting me think you were dead. Then, you blame me for not being able to protect you more against Spitelout, even though Stoic wanted me to."

This made Hiccup gape. "What makes you think that I blame you?"

"Please! How could you not? I failed you! Berk was becoming so hostile toward you that you preferred to run away with a dragon in the wild and let us think you were dead!" He stopped talking and Hiccup approached him without a word. Gobber released a shaky sigh. "You don't know how much I hated myself after you disappeared. I kept seeing you dead, and I missed you every day. The only reason I would comply with Spitelout was because I wanted to protect the other kids. Astrid was merciless with him, you should have seen that! All your friends were, and they put themselves at risk, and I had to make sure nothing wrong would happen to them. But don't fool yourself; I wanted to murder that man more than once. "

Hiccup put a hand on his arm: "I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you, you wouldn't have let me leave, my friends would have, but not you. But don't think that I didn't miss you, and don't think I had any grudge toward you."

Those words were as astounding as relieving. Gobber couldn't believe Hiccup wouldn't be angry at him. He lowered his eyes: "Come, let's talk somewhere else."

They walked out and Gobber and he went to the cliff. They looked at the sea together, as the sun was getting lower in the sky. "It's so strange to think you're alive and well. To think you're riding a dragon. I remember the night of the attack. I hated Fury back then, but I was also impressed. When I think it was you under that mask…I guess it's a blessing, a total foreigner wouldn't have showed such mercy over us."

"No, I don't think so. Do you hate me for what I did?"

"Attacking us…No, most of people agreed that Spitelout was at fault. But, I don't know, thinking that it was you…That I looked at you with fear, that you walked on this ground and didn't let us know…"

"I couldn't Gobber. As long as Drago was alive, I had to keep my identity secret. Otherwise he would have attacked Berk, and it would have been way worse than what I did here."

Indeed, he had never seen Drago, but the tales he had heard about him were enough. As hurtful as it had been, hiding his identity from his enemy made sense. "How did you feel when you came back here?"

"It was quite a shock. I didn't think the tribe was doing so badly; I thought I could have came here, asked for dragons and gold and that would be all."

"Ah, yeah, Spitelout is definitely not good at handling money! Dragons attack, surely, but the rest…It will be good for Berk to have you as a chief."

That made Hiccup smile. "Thank you."

Above them, in the air, Astrid was watching the two. She was flying with Stormfly and her little sister. Alina had gathered her courage to ask her to make her fly along with her. Of course, she had accepted and the young girl had been scared and then absolutely ecstatic to be up in the air. And while flying above Berk, she had seen the pair talking. She landed near them, drawing their attention.

"Go back home, Alina." She went to Hiccup and stood by his side. "You know that this knife you gave me when I left had been incredibly useful. I stabbed Drago's leg with it."

"Ah! That's good to hear, lass! I knew it would be useful one day or another! Although I thought you would have needed to use it against your future husband. Thank the Gods, I was wrong."

"Of course you were," Hiccup replied with a little smile. He looked at the sea again. "I missed those cliffs. It's as beautiful as I remember…By the way, the twins finally decided they were happy about me returning."

"Be careful, they might decide otherwise tomorrow morning!"

He smiled to her and Gobber looked at the two of them. Understanding what was happening, he took a deep breath before saying: "Well, I have some work to do. After all, I can't spend my whole day gazing at the ocean. You could pay me a visit and help a bit at the forge. Maybe you could teach a bit to my new apprentice, the kid is really slow. Have a good time together!"

Hiccup promised he would visit indeed, and once Gobber was away, he looked at the young woman at his side. She was really beautiful, bathed in the soft orange sunlight, and he could see she was wearing the diadem he made for her.

"Your sister and Rona are really getting along, I saw."

"Oh yes! My mother really likes her too, she is already starting act like a grandma, she gives her plenty of nice things to eat, she keeps saying she needs to gain some weight. They couldn't believe it when I showed them Stormfly. Alina got her first ride with me, she is already speaking of having her own dragon."

"I bet I can find one for her easily."

They fell into silence again and watched the sunset. As the sky got darker, the orange flames in the horizon lessened more and more and a soft wind blew over them. Her hand caressed his own and grasped his fingers.

"I made my choice."

He turned to her and waited for her to speak again. She smiled softly: "It shall be your first wedding gift to me."

Okay, so the next chapter should be the last, their wedding. It's really strange to think the story is coming to its ending. I like the idea of Rona being spoiled a bit by Astrid's mom ^^ Remember also, I don't hate Valka, but considering the events, it seemed more logical for the characters to be angrier at her than they were in the movie.

As usual, don't hesitate to review.