[ Chapter Nine: Awakening ]
I groan, eyes fluttering open and seeing the light of a candle nearby. My body did not ache as it had constantly in my sleep, and I had been peacefully dreaming since. I was in a little hut, one I did not recognize, on a soft cot in nothing but undergarments.
"Ah, about time you came to!"
I turn to the voice, seeing the tribes doctor grinning at me. I smile weakly back, carefully sitting up from the small bed I'd been inhabiting.
"Water?" I ask, voice still hoarse but far better than it had been.
The medic immediately hands me a cup, and I find my hand wrapped tightly in a bandage and splint. I use the other to grasp the water offered, downing it in one go.
"How long have I been out?"
"Nearly a month. We didn't think you'd live through it, to be honest, lass." The old man was puffing on a pipe as he sat down, checking over her wounds. "You've healed up nicely, but have gotten a few scars out of the mix."
"Scars are nothing I cannot live with," I whisper, remembering some of the nightmarish acts I went through. "And some scars are so deep, I'll never forget them."
He nods, understand what I meant by that. I was devastated to have my womanhood taken the way I did, but I would have to move on. It would be a burden I carried with me forever, a haunting truth to what it was like to lose focus on your surroundings in a fierce battle. It would take many moons for that to ever heal.
"Try giving walking a go. I know you've been off your feet for a good while, but the worse is over healing-wise. Just have to watch those ribs and your hand to not damage them further." He puffs a few more times, standing to help me to my feet.
I shakily stand, unnerved to be in such clothing in front of him. I would not worry about this old man though, and owed him my life for all he'd done.
He walks me to a set of clothing, a simple white tunic and brown leggings with a pair of boots to match. After dressing, I use a simple throng of leather to tie my long hair into a high pony-tail, taking a mirror offered to assess the damage.
A new scar had formed under my right eye, another going down the same side of my neck from underneath my chin to my collarbone. I had seen another on the inside of my thigh earlier, an even more physical reminder of what had taken place. I would have to mark over it someday. Soon, preferably, with a tattoo from anyone that could.
"See, still as pretty of a little lass as ever. You just have more stories marked on you," he whispers, his smile contagious. Though small, I give him a ghost of one. "There you go! Now, let's feed you to gain some strength. I have a potion for you to take, and then you need to go and find everyone else. The entire village has been worried sick."
I nod, sitting at the makeshift table and finding out how starved I was when I begin devouring the hefty portions in front of me. It was not until I was completely full that I took the vile-tasting herbs, offered a mug of ale afterwards. It was exactly what I needed at this point, mainly to wash away the taste that lingered on my tongue.
"Ah, there we go. Now shoo! You've taken enough time up in my cabin!" He laughs, ushering me from the decent-sized home.
I step foot onto the soil of Berk, the sun slowly lowering in the sky. It was near sunset, about a good two hours off, if that. I had a few people to find.
"Hmm," I sigh, letting out a bellowing whistle that echoed down towards the people below. It had the right effect, a black blur bounding forward and towards me.
Zera stops at my feet, wagging herself around excitedly. She nuzzles against my face, wincing as she pushes me back a step. She backs up immediately, eyes wide.
"I'm fine. Come here you big oaf," I coo, pulling my arms around her neck and hugging the beast for all I'm worth. She had come for me, along with my friends and family. Thank Odin…! "Without you and the others, I'd be dead. Or worse…"
She slobbers across the side of my face, earning a disgusted cough as I try to wipe away the trail of drool. Well, at least I felt back to normal.
"Where's everyone else at, Zera?" I had finished getting the saliva from me. "I'm sure they'd be happy to know I'm alive."
She motions me to get on her back, and with a bit of difficulty at my broken hands and ribs expense, I finally climb atop her. The beast takes off running, careful not to rock me around to much, and stops in front of the Dining Hall. Of course, it was dinner time in Berk.
With her assistance, I slide from the beast and make my way towards the door. Pushing it open, I find the entire congregation eating over loud conversations. Vikings were certainly boisterous, that was certain, but a few females I recognized were not any quieter.
Astrid was the first to notice my noiseless entrance, spitting her cup all over Fishlegs. She wastes no time in leaping to her feet and leaping across the table towards me. She stops, gently wrapping her arms around me and holding on as if I would leave should she unravel.
"We were so worried!" She pulls back, holding me at arm's length. By now, many had noticed the ruckus and swarmed around the two of us. Cheers were heard from everyone, and I'm passed to another set of arms.
"You are such an idiot!" The woman's voice was deep and had a thick accent.
"Brunhilda?" I question, staring at the hefty woman with a dumbstruck face. "Why are you here?"
"We have stayed until we were sure you would actually wake, young Valdis!" Gunnvarr, another of the larger women of my island, calls, pulling me to her as well. "Ever the small and pretty one, but fierce nonetheless!"
"Hey, we want to see her too!" Ruffnut squeezes between the two massive women, shaking me. "Are you alright?"
"I was until you started throwing me around like a puppet!" I scold, holding my head at the headache trying to push it's way forward.
"Sorry," she murmurs, shyly backing up.
I'm greeted fondly by Snotlout, Hiccup, and Fishlegs in turn, eyes searching for Tuffnut amongst the mayhem. Where could he be?
"If you're looking for Tuffnut, he's standing guard by the cliff face. He's been there, waiting for a sign that one of those thugs survived ever since the accident. Or he's been at Old Wrinkly's, bothering him as to your condition," Astrid whispers, pointing out a nearby window. Sure enough, he stood atop a tall cliff, sitting there and staring off towards the sunset.
"Before you disappear for a few hours," Hiccup waves me towards the door, "let's go see our new addition."
My eyes grow, wondering if the baby of Toothless and Zera had made it or if it had died from the stress of it's capture. I follow behind him quickly, leaving everyone else in the Dining Hall, and wind up not far from the cliff, near Hiccup and Astrid's home, where both our Night Furies were playing with a little version of the two.
"Toothless, bring Reidi over here, would you already?" Hiccup hollers, staring at his dragon expectantly.
Toothless runs over, giving me the same greeting as Zera did, with a little dragon bounding after him. The baby had grown a bit since it's birth, but was nowhere near the size of the other two. It sniffs me curiously, but leaps into my arms when Zera gives a series of noises to the creature.
"You are adorable!" I coo, holding the baby as it squirms and plants wet kisses all over my face. "What did you say the name was?"
"Well, since it's a boy, I thought we'd call him Reidi," he smiles as I nod.
"Wrath, I like it. Means Fury, also, which shows your lack of imagination," I laugh, setting the baby back down.
"Hey, I'm a guy, remember? I like things simple and to the point," Hiccup grins, motioning his hands for me to go on somewhere. "You have someone else to greet, remember?"
Of course I had not forgotten. I turn, moving as quickly as I could with my injuries, heading towards the cliff to find the one man that kept me going.
Tuffnut was in his same spot as the sun began to fully disappear, glaring out towards the sky with an unyielding gaze. I was almost intimidated by the gesture, his arms folded and legs curled around him. He reminded much of a statue with the way his body seemed nearly still.
"Well, I did not believe you hated the sky so," I cross my arms, smiling as I stood behind him, "considering you are in it most of the time."
Tuffnut's shoulders tense, the breath hitching in his chest, before turning his head to face the intruder. I knew my voice was not the same, what with it being still scratched and raw, but the reaction was not what I expected.
He finally realizes his company, mouth dropping. It only took him a minute to process that I was out of bed, standing and talking to him. Tuffnut became a blur as his arms encircle, head burying into the top of my hair. I had not realized he was that much taller than me…
"I thought you died," he whispers against my lock, successfully messing up my pony-tail.
Despite this, I wrap my arms tightly around his waist, holding him close to me. "I think I did for a while back there."
He pulls away, looking me over, anger evident in his face. "What they did to you…"
I hold my hand up, halting his sentence. "Are they dead?"
"You finished off the leader. Tortured him. I stayed until he choked on his own blood," he spits upon the ground on finishing his comment. "Everyone else was finished off too, don't worry."
"Why do you sit here then?" I whisper, looking out across the waves.
"In case," he assures. "That, and it's calming. You've been out a month."
"Old Wrinkly told me," I murmur.
We were silent for a moment, staring into one another's eyes. His lips lower to mine, sharing a kiss so deep, I felt light-headed.
He pulls away, forehead to mine. "I've been a ball of rage since you were captured, then worried when I had found you. Zera took me to the valkyries and they did not hesitate in helping you out. Helping me out. I want you to stay on Berk with me, Valdis…"
"What are you trying to say, Tuff?" I whisper, hand on his cheek.
"I want you to marry me. Live here with me, forever. I understand if you don't want to stay off your island now, but it's the only thing I want." His words were sincere, and the quietest I'd ever heard from him. He was loud mouth, after all. "I love you. I want to protect you from anything and everything that might try to hurt you."
I process his words, pulling back and staring in shock at his revelation. He wanted me to marry him, to live a life here with everyone I'd come to care for besides my valkyrie family.
"They've consented, too," he informs me. "They saw what I was like and the urgency I came to them. At first, they aimed to kill me, wondering why I rode your dragon into their home. When I explained, they helped. And now, they feel as if you belong here. But you can leave, instead."
I take in a breath I did not know I had been holding tightly in. I was still trying to process everything that was being declared. Tuffnut was patient, finally letting it all sink in.
"Tuffnut," I pull him to me, "I would be honored to live here on Berk with you. Forever."
It was his turn to stare, picking me up and spinning me around. "You'll marry me then?"
"Yes, I will," I smile wildly. "I will be your wife."
"You've made me the happiest Viking alive!" He hollers to the world. "Odin, I swear I'll take care of her! I swear it now!"
We laugh together, reveling in the touch of one another. I was happy, happier than I had ever been, and in love with an idiot Viking. The deadliest weapon of Berk was going to be my husband, and I his wife.
To be honest, everything was perfect.
As a valkyrie I lived, and as a valkyrie, I'd die. But not on my island, no, this was my island now. I would be a Thorston….
And I was the happiest woman on the planet.