Another three months and here we are. Well, let's get right back into Wheel, but first…
Review Replies:
Forever Me: It could be her. Guess we'll find out soon. Yes, Hiccup will live. As she (and the healer said), Hiccup should make a full recovery…if he can just sit still and rest.
xFaerieValkyriex: Wow…that would be hard to do, though. Can you actually do that? Read an epic book while watching an epic movie? Anyway, yeah, Hiccup's life is a mess right now. Hopefully things will start looking up for him soon.
RiseOfADragon: Sorry! It was three months this time too… Hopefully, the action just keeps coming now. (I wasn't really a fan of that past arc either…and I guess it showed). Now that these new characters are starting to be introduced…well, I can say there will be tension…and tension is good! Makes the story more interesting.
Guest (anonymous): I know…I'll try to make the chapters longer. (I seem to say this a lot; hopefully, I can deliver a longer chapter for everyone soon!)
VictoryD: I suppose this woman could be his mother. Guess we'll see soon.
Noctus Fury (anonymous): I'd say that could be a pretty good guess. A popular one, if nothing else. Haha.
Chapter 32: Could Be Too Late
At morning's first light, Astrid woke. She had waited long enough and did not want to miss a crucial moment. The sooner she could show the faded letter to her friends, the sooner they could get back out there and search for Hiccup, find this island where he was stranded and bring him home to Berk. If his letter was accurate, they needed to work fast; she did not even want to think that they could be too late. We are not too late! Astrid reassured herself. We will find Hiccup! We have to find him.
Waking up the rest of her friends, Astrid instructed them to meet her at the academy as soon as they could. The others were irritated, at first, about being woken up so early, but then Astrid reminded them about the clue they had found yesterday. When the others heard that Astrid had found importance in the small object, they slowly rose from their beds and agreed to be in attendance at the academy.
When all five teenage Vikings had gathered in the academy, Astrid pulled out the dried letter and read Hiccup's words to them. Then, as if to prove that she was not making this up, Astrid showed each of them the faded words written upon the page. "See," she continued as she set the letter aside, "it was a clue. An important one. I don't know about you, but when I first read this letter, my immediate thought was that we need to act fast. That is why we are going back out there, on the trail we started yesterday. We are going to find this island that Hiccup is writing about and we are going to find a way to get both him and Toothless back to Berk."
Astrid knew that the others were growing weary of these continuous search expeditions, but what else could she do…especially now? She could not just let Hiccup die, not if there was some way to help him. "Come on, help me pack up some supplies," she instructed to her friends who did reluctantly assist.
When the supplies were rationed and packed, each dragon and rider given a share, Astrid climbed into the saddle on Stormfly's back. "Okay. Let's go. We need to hurry."
"And where would you all be going off to in such a hurry?"
Astrid jumped at the sudden deep voice that echoed across the academy floor. "Chief! I didn't know you were awake yet!"
"I am. Now, would you care to answer my question?"
Though the Chief's words were phrased as a question, Astrid knew that it was more of an order, a demand. What do we say? We can't likely tell him that we are heading out on an unauthorized search party mission…even if it is for the betterment of Hiccup.
"Why don't you just show him that thing you found, Astrid?" Snotlout spoke up.
"You found something?" the chief asked.
Astrid could have smacked her face with her palm in frustration. Why did Snotlout have to clue the chief in that they had found the letter from Hiccup? Then she thought about the situation. Wait a minute…if I show the Chief this letter from Hiccup, maybe then he'll allow us to complete another search. "Yes, we did!" Astrid spoke up, a little too eagerly which earned her curious glances from her friends. Pulling Hiccup's letter out from the packed supplies on Stormfly's saddle, Astrid passed the worn paper to the Chief and allowed him to read the faded words. "It's a letter from Hiccup. We believe it's a clue to finding him, but it sounds urgent and we all felt the need to hurry and find him."
Chief Stoick's eyes darted across the paper several times as if he was rereading the words several times. Finally, he lowered the paper and passed it back to Astrid. Immediately, Astrid stuffed the letter back into her pack with the rest of her supplies. She definitely did not want to lose Hiccup's letter, especially if it was the only clue to finding him. "This letter you found," the chief finally spoke. "You believe it's really from Hiccup?"
Astrid nodded and looked to the rest of her friends who, following her lead, also nodded—though a little more hesitantly than Astrid. "It has to be." Unless it's from someone like Dagur or Alvin, writing this letter to give us a false sense of hope and lure us away from Berk…but they don't know that Hiccup is missing.
"Still, even if this letter is written by Hiccup, who knows how long ago it was written," Stoick reasoned. "The paper is worn and the words faded. It could have been written months ago and a lot can happen in just a few months."
Astrid frowned. Her plan was backfiring. Instead of the chief seeing Hiccup's letter as a need for an immediate search party mission, he was trying to convince Astrid that this letter could mean they were already too late. "Chief, if I may speak, I feel that this letter was written in urgency. Hiccup wrote this to us, to me, so that it would come to attention and we could find him and help him. We need to go out there and find him immediately!"
The Chief stepped forward and set a heavy hand on one of Astrid's shoulders, pressing down on the armor she wore. "I understand your concern, Astrid, but I also know that it's been approaching a full year now since Hiccup left. We don't know when this letter was written. I just feel it's best not to get your hopes up. In fact, as much as it pains me to say it…"
"What?" Astrid asked, her tone bordering on anger. "What are you trying to say?"
"I am saying that, in extreme conditions like the ones that are characteristic of this season, even the most battle-trained Vikings would succumb. I know you don't want to hear it. I, myself, do not even want to think it, but…" Stoick drew in a breath, as if he really did not want to finish what he was going to say. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't think searching for Hiccup is going to help anymore. We'll only find something we don't want to see. Instead, it's probably best—as hard as it is for us all to think of doing so—to instead turn our attention to building a ship for Valhalla and finding a new heir for Berk…"
I know…some of you may be mad, but think of it this way. Stoick does not want to consider these options either, but he also has to think of his village. Besides, as I tried to convey here at the end, at this point in the timeline, it's been close to a year since the start (and all the kids are now 17—just to help acquaint with the story) and, with the limited technological resources available, it's a safe bet to assume anyone missing this long would no longer be alive.
Again, I apologize for the short chapters. I always feel that they're either too short or too wordy. I prefer to get right to the point.
Coming Up Next: Hiccup continues his recuperating and learns more about the village where he now resides. Who are those who live here and how did they make peace with the dragons who also live on their island?
Thank you all for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky!
Posted: June 9, 2015
