EDIT: Sorry I completely forgot to add an author's note! I just finished my final A level mock and got a few results back... . I got an A in maths. An A. AAAAAAAA. Anywho, replying to reviews;
Baltimore Raven: I'm really enjoying this! And I never thought I'd say this to someone, but you did a great job with Snotlout. You showed a totally different side to him that, while unexpected, really fit. Please keep going and update soon! God Bless! / Wow thank you! I didn't want to make Snotlout OCC but I think he really does care for Hiccup, and seems to have matured a lot by the end of the second movie.
Guest 1: i like the story more pls! / Your wish is my command.
Guest 2: My guess: The dragon hunters are back. This sounds interesting, please keep going. Thank you. / You're close, but its a little bit more complicated than that- a hint is in this chapter ;) Thanks, I don't exactly want it to be boring, and I will try my best to update regularly!
Also, a big thank you to:
Baltimore Raven
ChigauBakemono
FallenWinterRose
Fox of the Emerald Isle
Iris Patton
Rogue Dragon Rider
ShadowSpirit020
shutupandREADwithme
wingedflower, and
zippythecellist for following the story! Now, on with the actual story.
The wind whistled through Hiccup's auburn locks as he sprinted through the town square, the cobbled streets threatening to throw him to the floor. Thankfully no one was around to see his unchieflike behaviour, though the faint screams of his 'subjects', could be heard in the direction of the training arena.
Nothing like a bit of deadly competition to forget about death itself, he mused bitterly. After the battle with Drago and his army, he supposed he couldn't blame them for needing some happiness. It wasn't just his father who had been lost that day, although his missing present had been the hardest to ignore. How could a scrawny, weak, useless thing like him ever hope to match up to the greatest chief he had ever known?
Pushing away his despair he paused, panting, to take in the familiar ruggedness of the healers hut, which he had raced to as soon as its sole inhabitant had sent word of the messenger, whom had collapsed the previous night.
Gothi's home, balanced precariously on the edge of a weathered cliff side, was as easy a route as his own house; he'd been there enough times (unfortunately) to know his way to the islands forested edge.
His dad had tried many a time to convince her to move closer-a bigger house, new furniture-to no avail. He could have ordered her as chief, sure, but he has-had,always had a fondness for the stubborn old woman.
Ignoring the tightening of his throat, he pushed open the wooden door of the creaking shack that belonged to the village healer.
"Gothi," he nodded at her respectfully before looking towards a blonde haired boy, who lay sprawled on a straw mattress below a row of assorted hanging dried herbs. His pale skin was obscured beneath a threadbare blanket, his face awash with exhaustion.
"How is he?" The worry in his quiet voice was apparent to the elderly woman, who hurriedly hobbled to gather a jar of sand from one of the many shelves. She, after sprinkling it on the floor, started writing in it shakily with her gnarled walking stick.
"A suspected broken rib..concussion.." he winced inwardly; he definitely knew what that felt like,"claw marks aren't infected.." he muttered, offhandedly realising that Gobber's reading lessons had actually paid off, to his surprise. Hopefully, Gods willing, he could question the boy when he woke up.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he thanked Gothi as he shut the door behind him, breathing in the late autumn air, and focusing on getting back down the hill. The messenger's condition appeared to be the least of his worries, especially according to the scro-
No. No.
Astrid stood stoically at the bottom of the hill, the cold steel of Drago's sword pressed against her throat.
An eternity passed.
His voice wouldn't work. Hiccup tried to keep himself steady as he slowly approached the madman like one would a wild animal. He was suddenly too hot. Sweat trickled down his trembling hands.
"You...you're dead.You aren't-"
"One more move, boy, or girlie gets a sword through her neck." He leaned in close to Astrid, tightening his hold on her waist; "And we wouldn't want to ruin such a pretty face." He whispered with a sickening grin.
Anger. Despair. Fear. "Let her go." Desperation seeped into his words. Silence. "Let her go, or I swear to all the gods you will never see daylight again." He snarled.
"You've become quite the little chief already, haven't you?"
His fury bubbled into desperation. "Please," Hiccup pleaded, "leave her be. She has nothing to do with this."
"Oh, but my dear boy..she has everything to do with this."
He had to keep Drago distracted. His breath quickened; he couldn't lose her. Not her too. A seconds glance made him want to cry- the streets were deserted, he had no weapon. He had no plan, no friends, no father. His facade broke.
"What do you WANT from me?!", digging his hands into his hair. There it was. Drago studied him for a moment and smiled, before he relaxed his arms. Astrid stumbled forward from his meaty grasp, before landing onto the cobblestone. Before his blade plunged into her back.
"Revenge."The world stopped. stared as a madman pulled his sword from Astrid Hofferson's body with a sickening sound. Someone screamed. He rushed over, grabbed her before she could fall to the ground, cradling her in his arms.
"Astrid. Astrid? Astrid! No, no no no,"he gasped frantically,"don't you dare leave me. Don't you dare close your eyes!" He screamed in a whisper, shaking her. "Please." He looked at her and forgot how to breathe.
"I ..." Astrid whispered.
"Shhh," he shook. He cupped her face and gazed into her eyes, "save your strength."
She clasped her hand on top of his, breathing weakly.
"Don't wait for me, dragon boy. Promise.. Promise me." He rested his forehead on hers, blood and sweat and tears mixed into one, and smiled as tears rolled down his face.
"I'll always wait for you," he sobbed, " don't leave me, Astrid? Astrid!"
Her eyes stilled, a tear frozen on her cheek. Her final breath left her, and Hiccup's wail tore through the air.
WHY? WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME? Please, don't leave me!
"Son." Hiccup tensed, looking at nothing and everything. He span in the time of a heartbeat, his face a dewy meadow of tears.
"...Dad?"
"She's gone, my boy."Stoick's voice was laced with regret as his son slowly twisted his neck back to the concrete. He faced a pile of ashes.
"Lover girl is dead." His stomach pooled with dread. Dead.
He stepped back over Astrid's dusty remains as his father surrendered to the shadows, morphing into a hulking, scarred figure with dreadlocks the shade of nightlock, framing the eyes that plagued his nightmares.
"And so are you." Drago lunged.
Hiccup gasped and shot up, banging his head on a cool black surface. Green orbs watched him, cooing. The chief started, before grabbing onto Toothless with an iron grip, rubbing his sweaty face into smooth scales. He sat, shaking, until the sun rose, only later realising that the sweat on his face had been tears.
His father's cloak was a symbol of power,of respect. Each brass button had an engraved symbol of one of the four seasons, to show resilience and determination throughout the year's heavy green material brought good fortune for the Autumn's harvest; the fur lining did the same for hunting season. The respect it brought put the pompous Emperors of Rome to shame.
Hiccup hated it. Every time he walked down the stairs as he did now, it's singed edges stared him in the face from the banister. The fur had burned to tufts, the brass buttons were tarnished. He looked away.
The house was empty, him being the only resident as Valka- mother- was on a trip to collect her belongings from what remained of the dragons' ice nest and check for any lone dragons. She wouldn't be back for a few days, at the least. It was just as well- he hated having to put a fake smile on in his own home. The day was enough, especially in front of Astrid.
Gods, Astrid. Shivering as flames eat away at the wood in the fireplace, he couldn't help but wonder if his nightmare had been a warning. As if he needed another- the message in writing already had him wanting her support more than ever. He just couldn't look at her without seeing undeniable pity. He didn't want- didn't need pity.
He needed an army.
Hiccup sat down heavily on an armchair, unfurling the scroll once again. The firelight danced across the parchment. It would be so easy to get rid of; a flick of the hand into the flames. If only it were that simple- pretend it had never happened. Pretend his father's murder didn't happen last week.
His Dad would come in, laughing jovially as he put on his cloak that he'd left behind and reminded him to eat breakfast for the third time that morning. He'd give that prideful smile that always made him turn away in embarrassment after smiling back. The past few years had been some of the best between them for a long time. He knew he wasn't what his father had always wanted in a son, but he'd accepted him- all of him, and that was all he had wanted.
A gentle knock sounded on the panelled door, raising dust motes from their slumber to dance in the morning sunlight and Hiccup from his reverie. He should clean that. A heavy sigh came from the gronckle iron handle as it turned.
"...Hiccup?" He raised his head hopefully. Astrid's golden braid appeared from the doorway along with the scent of periwinkle. Ever since they'd started dating, she'd been obsessed with making perfumes from the flowers that grew in the forest outside her house. Although, she had promised to kill him if he even mentioned it to anyone,which had made him familiar scent was comforting as she stepped into the room, firelight and concern dancing across her delicate face.
"I,-" clearing her throat, "I was wondering if you needed me to ride Toothless."
"Oh." He winced at the disappointment in his own voice."Thank you."
Astrid hesitated, before stepping forward suddenly as if not of her own accord. She made to open her mouth as if to say something, before Toothless spared them their embarrassment. He bounded down the stairs with a seemingly endless abundance of energy, which deflated at the sight of their visitor. Unfortunately, Astrid's visits had become less looked forward to.
"Hey Toothless! Ready to go for a fly?" The croon she received in return with the look towards him did nothing to deplete her desperate cheer, Hiccup
noticed, before he had to turn away. "Come on!" The ebony dragon's ears flattened to his head, looking back at Hiccup stubbornly.
His throat was tight. "Go on with Astrid, bud, I've got a lot of work to do. I'll- I'll see you later." Paws shuffled across the wood, ending with a creak and a finalising click.
Hiccup shuddered, and choked on a sob, before shamefully hiding himself with his hands so his father wouldn't see.
Gods, someone help me.
"Hiccup, good to see ye! I was about t' come and get ye myself!"
"Sorry Gobber, I just had to sort some things with Astrid."
"Oh?" The blacksmith swung his hammer around so fast he almost fell off of his stool.
"Yes, the flying arrangements?" Gobber raised an eyebrow, the glimmer of mischief still in his eye. "For Toothless?" The eyebrow lowered with his face.
"O' course."
Hiccup scratched his head. "Did you finish the beams for the Jorgensen's house?" The majority of the larger houses on Berk had been ravaged by the ice from Drago's attack, including his pompous uncle's, and his own. He'd tried to insist on the others having re-construction priority, but it appeared the chief had no choice in the matter. At least, not with him as chief anyway.
"Yes, comin' along quite nicely if I do say so myself." The blacksmith paused, stroking his moustache with the comb attachment of his stump. He turned towards the younger man. "Hiccup... I know things are hard right now, but... Dontcha think the lass deserves to know what's goin' -"
The door crashed open, holding a panting Fishlegs and relieving an anxious Hiccup. Anything physical, he could deal with. The newcomer rested his hands on his thighs, his face as red as a tomato.
"Hiccup! Gothi- soon- up-"
"Use verbs, Fishlegs!"
"The messenger's waking up!"
Please don't forget to review it is so cool to talk to you guys! I'm leaving the mystery of the scroll for another chapter or so, so feel free to place your bets on what it will be!