Here you are, the last and final chapter. It was fun while it lasted, but look out for other stories I'll be posting about the tragic/awesome events of the village of Berk. :D
A day had passed since she had received her medal of honor, which had only been a night after the battle with the Mother. She sat on a grassy hill overlooking Berk next to Gunnvor, her Nadder. It was quite an interesting tale of how Gunnvor came to be her friend. During the battle of the Queen of Dragons, as the village now calls it, she was blasted off of her mount when Hiccup and Toothless had swooped in for the save. She hadn't seen the Nadder again until he came flying through the mist a day after the historic battle, just after she'd been allowed to leave her house. She knew it was him; he had a line of damaged scales on his left side, a wound he had received whilst she was still astride him. After that, they never really parted much. He turned out to be a charming creature with a good, almost human heart. He was also quite the fierce fighter.
And she wasn't the only one with a dragon companion. The whole village had now befriended dragonkind, and many had gone as far as the teens and learned how to ride them. Her father, for instance, had met great success with befriending a Nightmare.
"Lovely day, hmm?" She said sweetly to her new friend. He turned his large head towards her and seemed to smile, his way of saying "yes."
Astrid smiled and tossed a fish she had caught from the stream up high. Gunnvor sat back on his haunches and caught the fish deftly in his mouth. She giggled and scratched him affectionately behind his jaw.
She sighed and lay back. The sun was warmer that day, the last it would be before winter. But she couldn't fully enjoy it; Hiccup was still asleep in the Haddock house. He had been ever since the battle of the Queen of Dragons.
Astrid Ingrid Mohrgun Haddock...Astrid Haddock...Hiccup and Astrid Haddock...
What she wouldn't give to feel him lying next to her, here, on this glorious day.
A group began to form in the village, just outside Stoik's home. She sat upright as she saw Stoik lead someone out into the square. A bright smile graced her face.
"I'll be back soon, wait for me!" She told Gunnvor, giving him another scratch. Quickly, she dashed away and into the village.
Hiccup was now awake, but he seemed to have a little trouble walking. With a pang she noticed the lower half of his left leg was missing, a prosthetic in it's place. She'd heard he'd been wounded, but she didn't know his leg was missing...
"...with a little Hiccup flair thrown in!" Gobber was saying as she approached them, gesturing to Hiccup's new leg. "Do you think it'll do?"
"Eh, I might make a few tweaks," Hiccup shrugged to the amusement of the men around him.
She pushed gently through the crowd until she was next to him. Lord, did I miss him...As was her way, she punched him on the arm. He cried out and backed off a few paces. "That was for scaring me," She explained.
"Wh – is it always gonna be this way?" He said, getting flustered. She thought it was the most adorable thing when his cheeks went that particular shade of red. "'Cause - "
She sighed and grabbed him by the shirtfront, pulling him in for a deep, slow kiss. She rejoiced inside at her chance to finally do this, and she had good reason: his lips were soft but firm, succumbing to the kiss after he realized what was happening. Something stirred within her as she felt, rather than heard, a soft moan deep within his throat. Mmmm...
A few members of their captive audience gasped, some whistled, others laughed or clapped. She let him go and stepped back.
"...I could get used to it..." He said meekly with a shrug. She loved the way his cheeks could flush even redder.
"So, are you ready to go?" She asked.
"What? Go? Go where?" He looked around.
She giggled. "I'll show you." After they had returned from the historic battle, Toothless had stood sentinel inside the house while Hiccup slept. She hadn't seen him leave, so she whistled shrilly to call him out.
"Night Fury!" Someone cried as Toothless bounded out of the house, scattering a few citizens in the search for his newly awakened friend.
Hiccup and Astrid laughed together. Gobber handed over a few other things that he had set aside for this moment; a recreated half of Toothless' missing tailwing (the one Hiccup had made had been burned in the battle), the handling rope, and the saddle and foot lever Hiccup used to control the prosthetic wing's angle.
As Hiccup happily walked off to set up the Night Fury's rig, Gobber elbowed Astrid in the side. "Here, this was ordered for you by Stoik." He handed her a heavy saddle for Gunnvor.
"Wow, this is beautiful!" She gasped. With one finger she traced the intricate designs embossed into the leather. Stoik saw her with it and winked. Gobber patted her shoulder. She thanked them both and jogged back toward where Gunnvor lay, basking in the glowing sun. As she approached, he rolled over and stood up, seeing the excited glint in her eye. "Ready?"
Gunnvor gave his equivalent of a nod and she strapped the saddle on, taking care not to rub the turquoise scales the wrong way. In five minutes it was ready to go. Lightly, she hopped on, tightened the handling rope, and with a nudge of her heel signaled for him to take off. Toothless took off two seconds later from the town square.
As they sped over the houses, Astrid smiled at the fact that she couldn't count the number of dragons lumbering about or sleeping on the roofs. With a fierce joy she realized that she had helped to do this, she had helped to bring all of this about.
She looked over at Toothless and Hiccup, remembering the fact that he had been in seclusion for about a month and yet seeing how much they had learned.
What an interesting way to train your dragon...