This was requested by grimes19 of Fan Fiction. net
The battle was their beat. It was fought and won countless of times, in one way or another and as every ship sunken and hunter fallen, they were one step closer in reaching the victory of the war. The war had caused too much, but neither side declined to surrender and continued, gambling their lives in the process, provoking the other of their supremacy and antics—it was like Holmes and Moriarty without the British accent and long coats. It was that infamous fight of the intellect which brought tribes and colonies to face off against each other in such play as an old beaten up board game which continues to fascinate either side of their own strategy.
They were regarded as mere puppets, ought to be played and lost to win a battle—but it wasn't always the case. They played an impressive feat but failed to conceive at the end, the glory of dying for battle—for what was righteous. Hel was waiting for their cries and pleas to enter the field and sit at the table of kings and the goddess was laughing at their idiocy. But the latter side chose to save as many as they can, even shaming themselves for those they can't save, it was a tearful sight but it was war—they were no tears but, screams of rage and agony.
The old but young looking captain once said, "We try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes, it doesn't mean everybody but if we can't find a way to live with that, next time, maybe nobody gets saved". It was something that could be related to their situation and strikingly leaves a dent deeper with the weight of an entire race depending on their shoulders and every battle they fought, fought as if it's their last.
On the northern isles, just a little far off the archipelago they have acclaimed, on the northeast boundary where a beautiful and bountiful island stood was now a few steps away from an ultimate disaster area. The coast was filled with debris and the trees and vegetation covered by flames or replaced by ashes. However, on the south coast where a certain outpost once stood, now reduced to debris and scraps was recently a warzone and with the last of the hunters gone and retreated, it was a battle cry of victory, yet the damage sustained was devastating and would take about months to restore the outpost to its former glory.
The victors gathered in their clubhouse where the hearth kept them warm and relaxed from the battle. Miraculously, not much injury were sustained considering their noble dragon steeds and their cooperation during the battle pulled them through into successfully recapturing their outpost who had fallen to the hands of their enemies.
However, the fatigue and horror of the battle withered away as their eyes burned out of the sight of a foreign man who came to aid them in their battle pleasured their ally in massaging her swollen and ridiculously smelly feet while getting massaged on the feet by another one of their ally. The latter took time to compliment each other's feet and skill in massaging with set their stomach to churn and haul their eyes out of their sockets, apparently wishing to have amnesia to forget about that image. Coming to their aid was a black dragon who raised a wing to cover their eyes from the sight and helping him was the other dragons inside the clubhouse that also wanted to get away from the horrid and dragged their riders out to somewhere to clear their heads.
"Thanks bud" said Hiccup, a skinny lad with an unusually striking face, who was currently being dragged away from the clubhouse, "That was one image that will haunt my dreams forever"
The dragon warbled as he received a pat from his friend. The lad mounted him and they took off freely in the setting sunlight which coloured the skies in red, yellow and lavender tones. The pair eventually circled around the forest, surveying the damage the island sustained and if there were any harmed dragons in sight and to their bad luck, there were armed catapults, weapons and nets that were lying about with burnt vegetation here and there but so far there weren't any dragons who were injured or berserk from the incident.
The lad smiled and steered his dragon towards the western coast of the island where a few bits of the fight took place. While on course, he ruffled his hair and held his nape, letting out a few deep breaths to release the stress from his body. He felt relieved after being able to recapture to outpost and just wanted to sleep or spend some quality time alone to let himself loose but then again, the images in his head won't disappear and will haunt him every time he'll close his eyes.
As the western coast came to view, he surveyed the debris left behind from the battle with ships and outposts wrecked and sunken leaving it a total wasteland. He requested his best friend to land on the sand and he obliged, following his rider as he took a stroll on the beach, along with watching his rider wincing as he surveyed the damage they will deal.
"Odin have mercy" he mumbled, "Hey Toothless, how in Thor's hammer are we gonna clean up this mess?"
The dragon, named Toothless, simply warbled causing his rider to ruffle his hair in frustration. Hiccup continued walking with his companion in tow and began to randomly kick the rubble away from his path before settling down on a boulder and faced the ocean. His face rested on his palms, looking pale and stressed from the recent events and ignored his dragon's attempts to cheer him around—he even drew on the sand with a wood piece he just found lying on the sand. It was supposed him and his rider riding into the sunset but his rider was so distressed that his thoughts filled his head and besides, the drawing wasn't understandable anyway.
The black dragon found it impossible to move his rider and roamed around the area, trying to find something to lighten him mood for the moment. But his interest on a pile of crates all stocked up caused him to be buried beneath the crates as they fell on him due to his nose sniffling inside one of the crates and that caught his rider's attention who walked up to him with a grunt and helped his dragon out of the mess.
"Oh c'mon bud!" Hiccup grunted, "These were neatly piled and now we're gonna have to stack them all up"
As he grabbed one crate away, an item fell and landed on his foot, causing him to yelp and jolt back. Hiccup groaned as his good foot ached and struggled to stand up. He hopped towards the item and kneeled to take a closer look. His dragon friend sniffled, taking a scent of familiarity on the object that surely he has only seen now. Hiccup brought the item up and studied its feature and calculated the weight, and as the sand fell down back to the ground, he saw it was a beautiful lyre with bronze frames which had a Doric design.
"Look bud" he called, "I haven't seen a lyre in a while"
The dragon shook his head and raised a brow, not familiar with such instrument. Hiccup plucked a few strings and the lyre beautifully ringed with a pleasant melody. The dragon's ears perked up and he shot a gummy smile, indicating that he like the tune and nudged his rider, wanting to hear more of the music. The boy plucked a few more random strings and the melody became a bit dishevelled and the dragon nudged his rider again, stopping him from plucking the strings.
"What?" asked Hiccup, "It's not like I know how to play a lyre"
The dragon snorted at him and the lad shot a disgruntled look at his dragon and stood up, walking back to the boulder with the lyre in hand. The dragon stood up and walked towards the boulder and watched as his rider fumbled with the lyre without knowing what his intent with it whatsoever.
"The last lyre player I know of back at Berk was Bertha Hildegard, but she was already old and the last time I saw her alive was about nine years ago" he told, "She was a great player and would sing songs and stories to young Vikings every night and I came to every gathering and dad would have to force me out before I would leave. Then sometimes her tales would keep me awake until the stroke of the next sunrise and I'd draw the scenes I remembered her telling."
The dragon lied on the sand with his eyes up and bright, listening attentively to his rider who told a bit of his childhood. Hiccup initially went on, telling a few tales which he remembered and would sing a few verses of the songs he liked to hear before but the dragon ended covering his ears in the process which ended in subsequent laughter from his best friend.
As the laughter subsided, Hiccup brought up the lyre to his lap and strummed a few strings, "But there was this one song which I couldn't get off my head" he said.
The dragon garbled, his curiosity shifted back in the look of his cat-like eyes. The lad took a quick glance at his curious friend and shot a smile before turning his attention back to the lyre, "Old Hildegard sang it to me as a lullaby but it kept me awake all night with the words stuck in my brain" he shared.
He tried to pluck a few strings he thought was correct but eventually sighed in frustration and brought the lyre down to rest in his laps and took a breath before trying to get the lyrics out his throat, "As I take the rose flower and let it float on the water…" he started, before trailing off to try to recall the next lyrics of the song.
"Float and float you, rose flower down the ford"
The dragon shot a displeased look and his rider noticed and shot back a frustrated look, "I know I'm not a good singer. I'm just trying to sing the song in my accord" he retorted, "It's not like my family had a line of great singers. I bet my dad could do worse than me!"
The dragon rested his snout into his rider's lap and let out a huff, trying to calm his rider who was getting worked up by his awful singing voice. Hiccup lets out a sigh and patted his dragon and his eyes shifted from the lyre and stared out at the horizon to watch the sunset to pass the time. Hiccup suddenly laughed, causing the curious glance of his dragon yet again, "In all honesty, I haven't seen a rose yet" he said, "Trader Johann said it's red as wine and full of thorns but beautiful as a maiden. I think that's maybe the reason my brain is hooked on the song—it's this rose that got me shook"
"As I take the rose flower and let it float on the water…" Hiccup sang, "Float and float you, rose flower—"
"… down the ford"
Hiccup jolted and turned to the source of the voice and found none other than Astrid and her companion Stormfly. He relaxed as he caught sight of his ally and beloved, and shot a cheeky grin towards her, "How'd you find me here?" he asked.
"Follow the sound of the dreadful singing voice" Astrid laughed.
"Astrid.." he called, with a flirtatious tone implied.
Astrid couldn't contain her laughter and let loose, earning a glare from her boyfriend. Her laugh subsided and walked over to Hiccup and took a sit beside him on the boulder, "I was around the area and coincidentally found you here on the beach" she answered, "And yeah, I heard you sing and it was awful"
"As if you could sing any better" Hiccup pouted.
Astrid shifted her eyes to the lyre and snatched it from Hiccup's lap, startling the poor lad. Astrid studied the lyre and strummed a few strings and gave out a nostalgic kind of smile. She plucked a few strings, creating a melody which surprised Hiccup considering that she never mentioned she could play the lyre before. As the notes ended, Hiccup clapped his hands and both Toothless and Stormfly nudged the Valkryie who responded with a pet.
"Why haven't you mentioned to me that you can play the lyre?" Hiccup asked.
"Not really" Astrid answered, "I only know a few songs—the ones my grandmother used to sing a lot to me every night"
"Wait, your grandmother was Old Bertha Hildegard?"
"Yeah" Astrid responded, "I even remember you swinging by whenever she would tell tales and sing songs with her lyre"
Hiccup laughed, "Well, I really like them" he responded, "It keeps me entertained and relaxed after apprentice work in the forge. Also, it keeps me awake almost every night just thinking about it"
"No wonder you have such vivid imagination" Astrid commented.
They shared a laugh which lasted for the next few moments. As Hiccup gathered his breath, he rested his head onto her shoulder, sliding his arm onto her shoulder. The romantic couldn't help but stare up into this girl he's betrothed which really seemed like a dream he'd never want to wake up from. He remembers all of it vividly in his mind, how she was the girl of his dreams from the first moment he saw her. Astrid befriended those he can't befriend but she remained neutral to the whole bullying part until the dragon killing training about where she claimed an intense rivalry and hatred for him but things shifted yet again as he took her out on a flight that changed her point of view forever.
They became friends, allies, partners and the rest wrote itself—and now, they were lovers and betrothed to each other, destined to one day tie the knot, but it wasn't in their plans yet. They were still young and there were still too many things to do and responsibilities to fulfil. Astrid took a glance at Hiccup and smiled, feeling lucky to have such smart, saintly and dorky handsome lad as her boyfriend. Finally, someone who was able to put up with her antics and loved her first without any reason to care whether she was a war freak or mean because he knew there was that goodness and driven heart inside her and Hiccup was able to point it out to her and help her.
"Astrid, can I ask" Hiccup spoke, "Have you seen a rose?"
"Yeah" Astrid answered, "Grandma once traded it from Johann and gave it to me as a gift"
"What did it look like?" Hiccup asked,
"It was red and the petals were soft and the stem was filled with thorns" Astrid answered, "Why are you asking me this?"
"I'm just curious" Hiccup replied, "Since flowers weren't welcomed that well at our house and I never really inquired to Johann about flowers"
"The song got you curious, I presume" she chuckled.
"I guess you could say that"
Astrid grabbed a stick from the sand and drew a rose. It wasn't as great as Hiccup's style of drawing but it was still like rose realistically. She put the stick down and brought the lyre up and began to pluck a few strings and took a few glances at Hiccup and back at the instrument. Meanwhile, both dragons scooted closer to Astrid and listened to the melody and waited for the right note before she started to sing, "As I take the rose flower and let it float on the water…"
Surprisingly, she wasn't a bad singer. She was rather great at it and it surprised Hiccup yet again. Astrid lets out a chuckle before singing the next lyrics, "Float and float you, rose flower down to the ford"
"Floated and floated the rose flower and started spinning…" Astrid sang. She nudged Hiccup, prompting him to sing the next few lines with her but he shook his hand, answering a gentle 'no' to her, "The mother came to get the water and started wondering"
"My rose flower, why have you withered?" Astrid continued to sing and kept on nudging Hiccup to join her but he kept shaking his head 'no', declining the offer but Astrid kept on nudging him.
Hiccup sighed in defeat, having surrendered to her prompting and sang along, "It must have taken you too long, baby—to be floating on the water…"
"The mother took the rose flower and puts it in the house and as she looks at it, she remembers her own child" Hiccup sang in solo, surprising him, but Astrid only responded with a chuckle and turned her attention to the lyre. But Toothless kept teasing and covered his ears in agony, earning another distressed look from his rider.
"As I take the rose flower and let it float on the water" Astrid sang again, "Float and float you, rose flower down to the ford…"
She plucked a few more strings before ending the song and as the melody faded away, Hiccup pulled her into a kiss. Astrid was startled but nonetheless, kissed back with a smile plastered on her face. Their lips parted a few moments later and the romantic lad pulled her closer and the rest of the moment was filled with the righteous silence with the moonlight glimmering above.
The song is named "Rose, The Flower" by the Belarusian folk band "Stary Olsa".
I hope you guys like it! Leave a criticism if needed so I can improve my writing.