Chapter 11
Hiccups shaking hands untangled the blood stained rope that tied the note to the dead dragon's neck. Blood stained his hands. He unrolled the note to read what it said, the first thing to catch his eye was the symbol for Drago's army turning his blood ice-cold.
'To Hiccup,
Hope you like the present I sent you, it will be good for you to see old friends again.
though by the time she gets to you she will be dead, but no one cares, they're just dragons. Slaves to only the powerful humans like the cult.
All I have to say is I am very disappointed in you for running away my pet, we were having so much fun.
And then you run away, how rude.
So I make an offer, you come back to me and I won't kill every dragon and Berkian I see on my way over here to kill everyone you love.
Its a fair deal, isn't it?
-Drago'
Hiccup quickly hid the note in his leather clothing. He looked like he was going to fall to the ground. Stoick had noticed, wait he was! Hiccup fell to the ground. With a thud every one rushed to him to help the dragons blood pooling around him.
A few hours later Hiccup was opening his eyes to see two giant acid green eyes looking at him square in the face.
"Toothless?" Hiccup mumbled as the night fury sniffed at the blood stains on his hands and realized it came from a dragon and not his best friend's.
"Its ok bud," Hiccup whispered as he hugged Toothless closing his eyes and taking deep breaths remembering the smell of ash and fire that Toothless always smelt of no matter how many baths.
There was a soft knock at the door and it opened revealing Valka and Stoick walking in.
"What happened to her? The dragon, I mean," Hiccup asked them.
Stoick sighed and said;
"She's getting a proper viking funeral tonight." Hiccup gazed at the ceiling in response. Memories of playing catch and flying with the dragon raced through his mind before the image of her dead corpse flickered through his mind, the clump of scales peeling off and the blood soaking his hands, his hands oh gods. Hiccup quickly looked at his hands to see them slightly stained with the dragon's blood, Valka sensing her son's panicked look got a wash-cloth and some water and covered his hands getting rid of the blood. Hiccup looks up to see his mother with tears in her eyes.
"Hiccup, what did the letter say?" Hiccup couldn't tell her, he couldn't tell her that he would be leaving soon to go back to Drago to save her and Berk again and this time not return.
"Nothing. Just an empty threat from Drago, nothing to worry about."
"Ok, you cannot go doing what he wants, understand? I will not lose you," Hiccup nodded and hugged his mother and father for what could be the last time as he thought of a plan to get off Berk without them knowing.
After a while of hugging and talking Stoick and Valka left Hiccup and Toothless alone so Hiccup could get some more rest.
Toothless wrapped his tail around Hiccup as he lay down on the floor and started to sleep. Hiccup however was staring at the ceiling figuring out how he was going to get off Berk and back to Drago so no more people or dragons would get hurt. There was a quiet creak in the corner of the room. Hiccup sat bolt up to look at the person opening the door with his dagger in his hand out of instinct, giving the person who opened the door a little fright who just happened to be Astrid, great, Hiccup thought.
Hiccup put the dagger down and tried to stand up to go see her.
"No, stay. You hit your head really bad when no one caught you," she said as she sat on the end of his bed.
Hiccup sighed in protest but remained, yet was in a sitting-up position.
Astrid and Hiccup sat in silence for a while, just looking into each other's eyes. Hiccup noticed how Astrid's eyes sparkled blue like the ocean. Just at that moment, Astrid leaned forward and Hiccup embraced her soft lips. She put more force into the kiss and moved closer to him, and Hiccup returned the same amount of force. She weaved her arms under his and placed them on his back, while Hiccup wrapped his arms around her waist.
As they deepened the kiss, Astrid removed her arms and instead started fiddling with the latches that kept Hiccup's leather clothes in place. Just as the top fell away revealing Hiccup's favorite green shirt, a piece of paper fell out. Astrid stopped kissing Hiccup who was gasping for air and smiled awkwardly to himself. She picked up the paper before Hiccup could stop her. She unfolded it and quickly read what was written. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, only after a minute of silence did Hiccup notice what Astrid was looking at.
"Ah, that's ah thats nothing," he tried to get the note out of her hands but she jumped of the bed looking at him with fire in her eyes along with sadness.
"Please tell me you're not going to turn your self in!"
"Astrid, if I don't then people-"
"You have your family now! The people of Berk. Me and Toothless. You don't have to do this on your own any more. Please!" she hugged him burying her face in his neck, "Please!"
"Ok, Astrid. I'll stay. I won't go."
The rest of the night the two slept next to each other. And Hiccup realized he would stay and he will ask for help from his family who he will never have to leave again. But what if he couldn't?
