This story was originally written by DarkForest11, who gave it up for adoption. Penelope Anne Neptune then added a second chapter and left it at that. When I found the story a few years ago I decided to give it a try, so here it is, rewritten to fit my own style.

Prologue

"Who's my baby boy? Who's my little Hiccup?"

Valka was sitting in on the living room floor with her five-month-old son lying in her lap. She was alternating between playing with his hands and tickling him, making him giggle in return.

Rushing steps outside and a knock on the door alerted her to visitors.

"Come in!" she called out, while putting Hiccup down on his blanket.

Gobber entered, with Trader Johann in tow, both with mournful faces.

"Gobber, Trader Johann!" she greeted them. "What happened?"

Johann took a step forward. "Mrs. Haddock, I was sent here after a terrible incident at the chief gathering."

Valka felt her heart sinking as a sense of foreboding overcame her.

"There was a fire that burnt the hall down with the chiefs still inside. I'm so sorry to have to tell you that your husband Stoick was among the dead found in the ruins afterwards."

"No…" she breathed as her knees buckled. Valka would've fallen to the ground if Gobber hadn't rushed forward to catch her. He carefully lowered her into a nearby chair, comforting her while she wept.

"I am very sorry" she heard Johann say, but it sounded miles away. "If you would like to have them, they gave me his helmet and cape buckles, which were found undamaged."

Valka felt herself nodding before Johann left.

She slowly lifted her head, looking into Gobber's equally tear-stained face.

"We have to tell the village." she whispered before she turned towards the blanket. Hiccup was lying on his stomach, staring up at her with wide eyes, clearly not understanding the commotion around him. Valka knelt down next to him, lifted him into her arms and pressed her son to her chest as new tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup. Daddy won't be coming home."

I know that at only 290 words this prologue is quite short. Both former versions had the chief gathering included but when I began adapting the story, I just couldn't make it work for me, so I decided to cut that scene.

Feel free to tell me what you think of this, constructive criticism is something I look forward to the most. Also, if anyone here can tell me if I got baby Hiccup right, go ahead. I have honestly not much of an idea about babies and their development, so I used the internet for help.

One more thing: I'll need names for the other dragon riders' unnamed parents. In Penelope Anne Neptune's version Astrid's mother was named Ingrid, but I'm not yet sure if I like that name for her. If you'd like to, please leave your suggestions in the reviews before I post the next chapter.

Thank you so much for reading this. Hopefully I'll see you in the next chapter!