The note at the end contains all you need to know.

Chapter Thirteen: The Final Ingredient

Hiccup couldn't sleep.

True, they had gotten the berries they needed and flown to Healer's Island, arriving just after midnight. He needed to sleep for sure but he couldn't force his body to relax. His eyes remained open and staring at the top of the tent as he drummed his fingers on his chest and listened to his daughter's deep breathing next to him. She had fallen asleep just minutes ago, he could tell when she wasn't faking it, but the longer his brain remained wide awake, the more convinced he was that he would be up all night.

Then again, after a day like that, it was a wonder Adrianna had fallen asleep at all. The haunted look in her eyes wasn't one Hiccup would forget easily, not after seeing it more times than he could count as she was growing up. The look she got just after snapping out of flashbacks when she was little or even sometimes when she thought no one was paying any attention to her. Something was very, very wrong, that much he knew for sure, but he didn't know what it was, so his odds of fixing it were minimal. Then again, she didn't seem too enthusiastic about him putting any effort into it.

As he laid back against his mat, Toothless snoring quietly next to his head, he went over the day's events.

"They're here." Adrianna said after a very silent day of hunting and looking through even the thorniest of bushes in the darkest areas of the woods. "Finally!"

Hiccup hurried over, nearly tripping on several tree roots as he went. "Are you sure?"

His daughter got out the list and gave it a quick look. "That's them."

Hiccup frowned. "Just to be sure, let me see. We've been looking so long, I don't want to go back and find out they're the wrong ones."

"It's fine." Adrianna crumpled the paper in her haste to return it to her back. "It's them, dad."

Hiccup's long arms and quick reflexes served him well as he reached out and took the paper from her hand. Her eyes widened in horror as she nearly dove for it but her father's height difference of over a foot proved to make retrieving it impossible. Toothless, sensing something neither human could quite understand, stepped between the desperate girl and her father.

"Toothless, get out of the way!" she grunted as she tried to push him to the side.

As his daughter fought his dragon, Hiccup's eyes scanned the list. Adrianna had been right about the berries; these matched the description and picture exactly. But beneath the list of ingredients was the name of an herb Hiccup had never heard of: the Potens Sanationis plant.

The Potens Sanationis plant is the most powerful herb in existence (to our knowledge). It can only be found in a continent many miles to the east of us. Few traders have ventured that far but those that do pick up this herb in bulk because it can heal many sicknesses at any point- even moments before death. While it is not required for the cure, it is the only thing that will save everyone. The more you put in your cure, the more powerful it will be. Another important thing to note is that this herb's effectiveness as a cure never decreases with its age. As long as it is preserved, it will be every bit as useful no matter how long ago it was harvested.

Hiccup stared at the page for several seconds. The name of the herb had been underlined three times, making it impossible to miss. Yet Adrianna had acted like it didn't exist. There was no way she could possibly have missed it... so what was the problem?

"I know what you're thinking." Adrianna said, almost in answer to his unspoken question. "But we can't go flying across the world to get any."

"No." Hiccup said slowly. "So why didn't you let me see the list?"

"I just didn't want you to be a hero." Adrianna shook her head. "But now we've found the berries we're looking for. Soon as we get what we need from Healer's Island, we can go back to Berk and cure everyone."

Her false smile and the haunted look in her eyes made him pause before speaking up again. "You know where we can find some, don't you?"

Adrianna froze as she was using her dagger to cut off full clusters of berries. She shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. "I've never heard of it."

"You're lying." Hiccup said quietly.

Adrianna sighed deeply. "So what if I am?"

"I want to know why." her father looked between the paper and her a few times, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"It's not important."

"Clearly it is!"

Adrianna's shaking fingers caused her to cut the palm of her hand rather than the branch. She hissed in pain and quickly reached into her bag for a bandage. The cut didn't look deep at all, in fact it almost didn't need the bandage, but she made quite a show of wrapping it up and Hiccup decided to let the subject drop. At least for now.

Nothing about that afternoon had made any sense. Why in the world had Adrianna acted that way? Why wouldn't she tell him anything? Why had she been so quiet on the entire flight there and while they set up camp? The subject had to have triggered something but what?

The snuffle of Lily from across the tent brought Hiccup back to the present. He still had a small lamp lit to keep the tent warm, which he intended to blow out when he felt sleep beginning to overtake him. But it continued to burn, illuminating the green surroundings that were the tent, the brown blankets atop himself and his daughter, the black scales of his dragon's back... and Adrianna herself.

His daughter's face was half buried in the pillow and her hair was strewn around it like some kind of weird spiderweb, but she was peaceful. And sometimes that was the only time she was ever peaceful anymore. Her nightmares seemed to have ended (or she wasn't telling him about them) but there always seemed to be a subtext behind everything she said lately. Or perhaps he was reading too deeply into it. She used to tell him everything, from the way she felt when a butterfly landed on her finger to how upset she was after a spat with Erick to how scared she was when she got lost... the list could be endless some days and it took all his energy to wind her down so he could put her to bed. Then again, when was the last time that had happened? If memory served him, these kinds of evenings happened less and less often. And perhaps they had stopped altogether without him realizing it...

Adrianna took a deep breath and he was once more snapped to the present. He stared at his daughter for a few minutes. He could see her resemblance to him in an instant. Her long eyelashes fluttered every once in a while and Hiccup wondered if she was dreaming. Aside from nightmares, what did she dream about? Did she ever dream about him? The gods knew she popped into his dreams more time than he could count. Some were sweet moments like playing with dolls or snuggling in front of a fire but others... well, they were less pleasant. But after everything he'd been through as a parent, those dreams weren't surprising. She had faced horrors the likes of which he couldn't begin to imagine. And yet he had no idea what had happened because she never once divulged the details of her nightmares, only her feelings about them. At first he'd let it slip. But now, as he watched her sleep peacefully a few feet away, he wanted to know everything.

He just hoped that the everything he wanted to know wasn't as bad as he was beginning to suspect it would be.

Silence other than the crackling of fire from the nearby fire pit and the occasional cough from a mat. Erick sat with his back against a pillar, holding his father's hand, his thoughts roving. His mother sat across from him with a placid expression and a rigid back. Only her fingers moved quickly at their work in patching a hole in some trousers. He'd watched her work tirelessly for hours and vaguely wondered how her fingers hadn't bled yet.

His oldest sister Magnus, the next child after Gustav, gently hummed from her seat beside him. Erick snuck a quick glance at her and found her already watching him.

"What?" He mumbled, turning back to his father's prone form.

"You should sleep."

"Can't."

Magnus smiled gently. "They'll get here." Erick sighed and she reinforced the comment. "They will."

"It's been four days, Mags," Erick huffed to her. He looked up at her with doubtful eyes. Despite their six year age difference, he'd always been closest to Magnus. He'd always had Gustav to goof off with and there were times he'd stick up for the youngest boy; his other brother Nikolas was usually glued to their mother's side, too reserved and opinionated to even attempt a relationship with "the blonde squirt." And the only thing he had in common with his sister Aud, the middle child, was the fact that they were the daddy's boy and girl. They could get along and hold conversation well enough. But none of the others held a candle to his relationship with Magnus.

Since he was a toddler, he remembered Magnus coming into the house after a day outside with her friends and him running to hug her. She'd always play with him like none of the other kids would. And the older he got, and even when she got married and moved out of the house a little over a year ago, she still pursued a relationship with him. She'd stop by the house to talk with him and ask how he was doing. Sometimes she'd stop by the Haddocks if he was hanging out there, and she'd stick around to converse with Astrid, or even Hiccup if he were home. Other than his father, Magnus was the only family member he'd run to.

"Four days," Erick repeated quieter, turning back to their father. His ragged breathing still made the blankets shudder. "What if… we don't have a lot of time."

Magnus frowned and slid closer to her little brother, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "No, we don't. But we need to have faith that the Chief and Anna will be back soon."

Erick opened his mouth to reply when a sudden anxious shout erupted nearby: "Catch him, catch him, catch him!" Magnus straightened and looked around in confusion as a small tussle was heard. Erick caught sight of Mara sprint across the hall as a small crowd of people began to gather around a table a few yards away.

"What… what's going on?" Erick asked pensively. Magnus trained her eyes on the scene, unable to respond.

Urgent voices sounded from the group until Mara's firm voice finally told people to back up. First, Erick saw Benen stand from the huddle with worry plastered on his pale face. Then, surprisingly Magnus' husband Gregory stood from the center with a redheaded boy in his arms, limp as a rag doll. Magnus gasped in recognition, but it wasn't until Mara and Gregory came closer to their area that he realized who the boy was.

"FINN!" A sharp gasp interrupted the Erick's when Astrid saw her son from the next pillar over.

Erick watched in horror as Gregory laid Finn down beside his mother's mat. Benen sat on his haunches behind Finn, his hands on the teenager's head gently while Mara busied herself with equipment.

Astrid brushed Finn's bangs off his forehead. "Finn? Finn? Come on baby, say something."

"Here," Mara helped Benen lift Finn's head to put a cup of water to his lips. "Come on, Finn…" the healer murmured, quickly setting the cup down beside her and checking Finn's vital signs.

Astrid looked to be on the verge of tears and kept coughing pitifully over her shoulder. Benen chewed his lip nervously, which Erick had never seen before. He hadn't realized Magnus had wrapped her arms around him tighter and pulled him closer to her chest protectively. The Larson boy continued to watch as Mara and Astrid tried to revive his friend, but it was becoming clear that Finn wasn't going to wake up.

Mara finally opened Finn's slack mouth with her fingers and inspected his tongue with a clean, flat piece of wood. She sighed with pursed lips. "He's got it."

"No…" Astrid whimpered, wrapping her hands around Finn's face and resting her forehead against his. Benen placed his hand on her back comfortingly. Astrid sat up with a look of terror. "He's burning up. Mara, what do we do?"

"I have something to give him for now, but the problem is getting it down his throat without drowning him." Mara turned to her medical supplies and quickly made a liquid concoction of herbs, spices and a spoonful of honey. She stirred it together and again they lifted Finn's head. The brown liquid trickled down the sides of his mouth and seeped into his shirt, but he gave no response to the liquid whatsoever.

"Mara, he has to drink it, what do we-"

"Astrid." Mara rested a firm hand on the woman's shoulder and declared, "It's all right. Okay? He's just unconscious because he worked himself too hard and got the sickness as a result. He's exhausted, so the sickness is taking its toll at a faster rate." Mara turned back to a bag and pulled out a small siphon with a strip of very thin netting over top.

Erick watched as she carefully eased the thin end into the corner of Finn's mouth and poured the makeshift medicine onto the netting. He knew from watching her do this with his father that the remaining herbs collected at the top while the liquid drained to the bottom, and into the patient's mouth. Mara poured slowly and only a small amount at a time. There was a collective sigh of relief when Finn's natural instinct to swallow kicked in and he drank the full cup of medicine.

"All right," Mara sighed, setting the tools aside. "I want a cot set up beside Astrid's and I want to know immediately if he wakes up, coughs, or is in pain. Astrid, back on your mat, please." Erick realized Benen had nodded to every instruction and Astrid scowled.

"Mara-"

"Astrid." Mara interrupted and stood. "He'll be right by your side. I don't want you to move."

Erick watched Gregory and Benen quickly make a mat beside Astrid's, and then carefully move Finn onto it. He still made no sounds or movements. Astrid sat beside him, her lower half still half pooled in blankets. She blinked heavily and cleared her throat constantly, fighting the cough in her lungs just like everyone else.

Magnus stirred beside him and he jerked, having forgotten she had been there. "Astrid?" the blonde looked up and his sister asked, "Is there anything you need?"

Astrid moved to shake her head but paused. Her lips parted and her request came softly. "I need some paper and a quill. Or charcoal, something to write with." She turned to Benen with an urgent look. "I need to send a message to Hiccup. They need to hurry."

As if to second that notion, Olaf coughed hoarsely. His body wracked and he winced in his sleep painfully. Erick jerked forward to see if he would wake up, but he remained asleep after nearly a minute of discomfort. He sighed and sat back against the pillar once more, giving his mother a single glance. A flare of annoyance shot through him at how uncaring she seemed to be at all of this, but he gave Magnus a short smile when she stood to fulfill Astrid's request.

His teal eyes darted across the short distance to see her stroking Finn's face sadly, Benen's hands resting loosely on the sides of his boy's head. Both looked weary, exhausted, and disheartened. This only made him feel worse as his father gave another painful cough. Surely if the strongest people on the island were discouraged, what could he do to keep his fears at bay?

Hiccup was silent as he and Adrianna gathered all the necessary ingredients. It didn't take long, only twenty minutes or so, but neither of them were paying much attention to what they were doing. As Adrianna put a cutting of grass in the bag of ingredients, Hiccup took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

"You have to tell me." he said as calmly as he could.

"What?"

"You know what." Hiccup was slightly firmer. "You're keeping something from me."

"We have the ingredients. We can go home." Adrianna shut the bag and shouldered it without looking at her father.

"Addie, please, this could save a lot of people." Hiccup pleaded in a slightly hoarse voice. "Do you know where we can find this plant?"

Adrianna didn't respond. She stared at her feet for a few seconds before turning to her dragon and attaching the bag to her saddle. Hiccup slowly approached her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, Addie." he quietly begged.

"No."

"Addie-"

"I said no. Now let's go back to Berk." Adrianna made a move to mount her dragon but Hiccup grabbed her arm and held it firmly. "Let me go."

"Not until you tell me where to find the plant." Hiccup hated doing this. He felt like he was forcing her to relive something, though he didn't know what. But his loyalty to his people had won out. "You know something. You have to tell me."

Adrianna struggled but his grip was too strong; her arm finally went limp and she shut her eyes. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

"You could save so many lives, Addie!" Hiccup's patience was beginning to dwindle. "What could be so bad that you can't tell me where to find it?"

"Let me go!"

"Tell me!"

Adrianna suddenly wrenched her arm free and ran in the opposite direction. Hiccup, surprised at this sudden action, had to act fast before she was too far to chase with only one good leg. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick as ever; she got only a few feet away before he caught her. She let out an indignant scream as he grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him.

"It's okay." he said in a gentle voice. "You can tell me anything."

"Not this." Adrianna thrashed around in his arms but he refused to budge. "Please let me go."

"Did you see someone use it?" he asked.

She didn't answer. She stopped moving and went limp in his arms. Her whole body had begun to shiver and she dropped her head so he couldn't even look at her face anymore.

A timid whimper became audible after several tense seconds. "Don't make me go back."

The question Hiccup wanted to ask least of all began to press into his mind, slowly enveloping all else as he tried to think of something, anything, other than that. But there it was. At the forefront as everything else ran out.

"Was it Trista?"

He had said it. A name that made his blood boil with rage at even the mention, even the thought of mentioning it... but a necessary utterance in this case.

Adrianna exhaled slowly, shakily... and then nodded. Hiccup forced his arms not to tighten against hers, though he felt as if his heart was being squeezed to dust. The woman who had stolen his daughter's innocence and, in some ways, her very childhood, seemed to spring back from the grave to haunt them again. But this time he had had enough. This time was going to be the last time.

"Addie, that was ten years ago." Hiccup reminded her, his voice hoarse but as soft as he could make it. "She can't hurt you now."

"Don't make me go back." Adrianna shook her head. "Please."

"I think you should." Hiccup gently placed two fingers on her chin and turned her head up to face him. She kept her eyes shut but offered little resistance. "Addie, this is a big opportunity. You can conquer this right now."

"No."

"I know it's hard. But it's time to let it go and move on. Isn't that what you want?" Hiccup sighed deeply. "Look... I don't know where she kept it. Or if she had it crushed so I wouldn't be able to tell which one it is. Or even if it's still there. But you remember. You could be a hero, Addie. You could save people."

Adrianna shook her head. Her head told her that her father's words were true. But her heart constricted and her whole body seemed to panic when she as much as entertained the thought of going back and facing what she had seen. Of living those nightmares again... she wanted to help Olaf and Svala and everyone else who had gotten sick so badly. She stood still and sniffled once before nodding shakily.

"That's my girl." Hiccup kissed her forehead and led her to the dragons, who were watching the scene with interest.

As Adrianna mounted Lily, her whole body tensed. Lily seemed to feel this and made a comforting sort of noise before taking off behind Hiccup and Toothless. The girl shut her eyes and prayed for courage as she hurtled to the most terrifying place she had ever been.

Erick felt himself nodding off halfway through the night. The painted stone pillar dug into the back of his skull and he kept having a knee-jerk reaction when his head would slump sideways. He'd snap his head back up, frown and readjust his position in the attempt to fall asleep without lying down. He was unsuccessful thus far, but he finally got his head angled into a somewhat comfortable position.

That's when he felt the rustle of material by his leg and then the gentle touch of fingers on his cheek.

He flinched and squinted at the offensive appendage… but froze when he saw his father's brown eyes gazing back at his, exhausted and baggy, but alert. Erick sat up, opening his mouth to speak when Olaf rested a finger on his lips.

"Shh…" Olaf carefully glanced at the rest of the sleeping family around them. "Sleeping."

Erick carefully wrapped his arms around his father and buried his face in his chest. "Dad. You're awake."

"For now," Olaf whispered, brushing a hand through his youngest son's blonde hair. Once Erick sat back up, he promptly asked, "What's happened?"

Erick scowled at the blankets. "There's a sickness. At least half of the village is sick. Chief Hiccup and Annie went to get ingredients for the cure almost five days ago… a couple of people have already recovered though."

"Five days…" Olaf mused, his raspy voice almost squeaking from misuse.

Erick nodded. "We hope they'll get back with the cure soon. It's taking a long time but…" Erick paused, eyes searching out Astrid and Benen's sleeping forms nearby. "Mrs. H- ahh Astrid… She sent Hiccup a letter today, asking him to hurry."

Olaf's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"Because…" Erick swallowed. "Because Finn is sick." Olaf frowned sadly and Erick felt the need to continue, "I-I mean, a lot of people are sick so they don't mean it as 'oh, Finn is sick so now it's imperative they return quicker.' They're just… I don't know. I know they don't mean it that way. I just don't think they've really been communicating with them since they left."

Olaf nodded. "They probably took that as an opportunity to send a message."

"I mean, they didn't send a message when Astrid got sick two days ago."

"Astrid is sick?" Olaf asked in surprise. "Wow. She doesn't get sick often. Neither does Hiccup, actually. They've both got strong immunities."

Erick sighed. "I feel so bad for Finn… you should've seen him, dad. I haven't seen anyone work so hard for so long. Even Mara has had to stop and rest from time to time to keep up with everything, but Finn… he refused to stop. If he fell asleep he'd get mad at himself and work even harder to make up for lost time."

Olaf smiled. "He'll be a good ch-" A harsh cough interrupted him and he faced the other direction. The cough lasted only a few seconds, but Erick knew it was uncomfortable. Olaf sighed, "…chief someday."

"Yeah, if he makes it…" Erick glanced at his father in surprise at what he'd just said without thinking, but shook it off. "I didn't see it, but I guess he was working himself too hard or something today and he just… passed out. Collapsed. Greg brought him to Astrid's mat over there and they couldn't wake him up." Erick paused to sigh. "He's been feverish ever since. No matter what Mara gives him, they can't shake it."

Olaf frowned throughout the entire explanation. When Erick remained silent, he calmly replied, "He'll be all right. Hiccup will bring back the cure and Finn will be just fine."

Erick smiled for the first time in days. "Just like you."

Olaf's smile faltered for a moment and he sighed, patting Erick's hand gently. "I dearly hope so, son."

"I can't wait until this week is over," Erick mused. "So many people are sick, too many accidents."

"Accidents?"

"Well, Finn's episode today, and…" Erick paused with a frown. "Inga's accident. She crashed her dragon yesterday morning and… she had some sort of episode later that day."

"Episode?"

"Her body was shaking and she frothed at the mouth." Erick shivered. "I didn't see it but I heard people freaking out."

Olaf sighed. "Poor girl…"

Erick nodded, staring down at the blankets again with a morose expression. He didn't notice his father's gaze turn to him, taking in details with his brown eyes. The dark circles under his eyes, the slouched posture, the firm grip on his father's hand, the noticeable difference in his son's weight.

"You need to sleep."

Erick blinked at him and one shoulder bobbed. "I'll sleep for days when you're better."

"You should sleep now."

"'m fine."

"I'm sure that's what Finn said."

"Finn was working nonstop, dad. I've been sitting on my rear." Erick smirked with a slight eye roll. "I'm more tired from lack of activity than anything."

"Then go do something," Olaf smiled like leaving his side was the easiest thing in the world. "Take Charger around for a flight, I'm sure after five days he's going barking mad."

Erick pursed his lips. He truly hadn't given his dragon much thought these last few days. He should probably go home and at least bring him back to the Great Hall. His green Deadly Nadder would prove to be a more comfortable back rest than this pole, for sure. Then again, he didn't want to think about how much room he'd take up and how rambunctious he'd probably be at finally receiving attention. His name wasn't Charger for nothing.

"Ah probably best to just wait until everything is back to normal," Erick finally mused, scratching his scruffy cheek. "Wouldn't do…" He frowned in surprise at the sensation and ran a hand across his face. Olaf gave a knowing grin and Erick breezed through his thought, "Wouldn't do to have a hyper dragon in a Hall full of sick people."

Olaf couldn't hold back the comment any longer. "Finally getting rid of the peach fuzz, I see."

Erick rolled his eyes with a snort, running both hands on his cheeks and chin. He hadn't even noticed that he was starting to actually get some manly scruff. It was even on the underside of his chin a bit. He wondered for a short moment if he could grow a full beard… that would shock Adrianna right out of her saddle for sure.

But then he remembered some of the older boys growing random patches and thinking they looked like something amazing, and in reality they looked quite silly. All those snickers and under-the-breath comments from the older men… nope. At least he was blonde, but he'd be shaving just in case.

Olaf seemed to read his mind, chuckling lightly at his youngest's facial expressions to match his thoughts. The man sighed serenely and shook his head lovingly. "Already grown up."

Erick shook his head with half a smile. "Hardly a man yet."

"No, not yet." Olaf agreed. "But you've got something special inside that none of my other children have." Erick paused, unsure what to expect. Olaf poked Erick's chest with a single finger with a gentle smile and said: "Compassion."

Erick frowned. "Compassion?"

"You help those who need help. You befriend those who have none because you see they're lonely. There aren't many people who have the strength or courage to do that."

"Are you talking about… Annie?"

Olaf gave a mild shrug. "Possibly."

"Dad, we've been friends since we were little. I'd hardly call that friendship based on compassion."

"No?" Olaf raised an eyebrow. He gazed at his son non-critically for a moment before he settled on a decision: "Let me tell you a story."

"Okay."

"There once was a little boy. Quiet, reserved, cautious." Olaf began. "He had two brothers and two sisters, all older than him."

Erick gave him a detached look. "Dad, does the story have to be about m-"

"Shh you'll miss an important detail." Olaf chided with a twinkle of mischief in his eye, and continued: "This boy didn't have many friends his age and those who were close by didn't seem to catch his eye. He was too busy drawing pictures and coloring, playing with tools and leather in his father's shed, things like that. Until one day, it was his birthday. His fifth birthday."

Erick frowned, wishing his father wouldn't bring up this particular day. But he didn't stop him from plowing through the story.

"This boy, you see, was born on Snoggletog. Brightest day of the year, perfect for celebrating joy and happiness, but even better with his own special time mixed in. He was so excited the night before…" Olaf paused, a frown forming on his face. "But the boy awoke to the sound of warning bells and horns. An emergency had taken place and everyone was to assemble in the Great Hall.

"A kidnapping. The little granddaughter of the chief was missing, and no one knew who had taken her, or where she'd been taken." Olaf paused, letting the information sink in. Erick could still remember the fear that shook his little world that day. "That little boy was terrified. Some terrible person had taken a child from her home in the middle of the night. Those days she was missing, he wouldn't sleep without a light on in the room. In fact, he barely slept at all-"

"Dad…" Erick whispered.

"He couldn't get it out of his head. Most children knew something bad had happened, but none of them weighed the true gravity of the situation. This boy was smart and he saw cruelty in the world long before he needed to. But," Olaf paused and a hint of a smile formed on his face. "When that little girl was finally rescued, that boy was suddenly overcome with something. He couldn't stop talking about her. He'd seen her from time to time around the village and knew who she was, but never before had his parents realized just how much he seemed to know about her. While they wanted to keep him inside where it was safe, he nearly begged them to take him to the healer's where she was being kept."

Olaf paused again, his smile widening for just a moment. "When asked why, that little boy said something that I never forgot. He said, 'she likes purple' and showed us a small drawing in purple that he wanted to give her. And that struck me as odd at first, because what does the color purple have to do with any of this? But then I realized, you'd been paying attention. You knew what she liked, what made her happy. And though you were terrified yourself for what had happened, though you really didn't know her and though she was… nearly broken by that woman's hand…" Olaf's face split into a smile at last. "You reached out to her."

Erick swallowed thick, suddenly overcome with emotion that he normally never showed. "Don't praise me, dad. I was just a kid."

"A wiser kid than many adults that I've met in my day," Olaf sighed in exhaustion, resting a hand on his shoulder. But his smile didn't waver. "Let me tell you something, Erick. Adrianna… needs love. And patience. And most of all, time. You know this almost better than anyone. Don't let anyone or anything get in the way of helping her heal. It's… it's important."

Erick blushed, breaking eye contact. "You're turning it into something more. There's a proposal at the end of this story, I can feel it."

Olaf breathed a laugh, too weary to chuckle. "Perhaps… someday. Erick…" He paused, blinking heavily but he still seemed to take the time to choose his words carefully. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course, dad." Erick smiled, holding his father's hand in both of his. "I would never doubt it."

Olaf smiled and smudged his thumb against Erick's cheek. "Good." Erick stifled a yawn and finally rubbed his eyes. His father smiled knowingly. "Get some rest, son. Come here, I've got you."

Erick finally gave in, laying down beside his father and resting his head on his shoulder. He felt his father's arm wrap around his back and gently pull him closer. Just before falling asleep, he mumbled "Love you, dad."

Though Erick didn't hear it, Olaf gently whispered, "I love you too, son" and kissed his forehead before following him into a warm, comfortable sleep.

It was quiet when they touched down. Hiccup looked back at Adrianna on her dragon and was dismayed to see her eyes shut tight. She held onto Lily as if she was clinging to the only thing in the universe. Her father slowly walked over and put a hand on her upper arm.

"Addie, it's okay." his voice was barely audible but he forced it through. "She's not here. She's not anywhere."

Adrianna looked up and took in her snow covered surroundings. Everything was exactly as she had dreamed it had been. The little hut standing stubbornly against the cold. The place in front of it in which a blade had been pressed to her throat. When she had learned that Trista's stories about Stoick had been true. When she had believed that her short life would be snuffed out at any moment. And the hut itself was old, much older than she remembered, but that was where...

Her whole body tensed and she buried her face in her dragon's neck. Lily made a concerned sort of coo and the girl felt Toothless nudging her foot with his snout. Her father's hand hadn't left her upper arm and it was beginning to feel like sandpaper. As she listened to the still silence in the woods and heard her heart pumping so fast it was beginning to make her feel lightheaded, she knew one thing for certain: she couldn't do this.

"It's okay." Hiccup whispered.

"It's not okay." she mumbled into the scales. "It's never going to be okay."

"Not if you don't face this. Come down, Addie." Hiccup motioned for Lily to lower her head and the Monstrous Nightmare, sensing that her human's father had her best interests in mind, obeyed. "Let's do this. Let's save everyone."

Suddenly, Adrianna's reflexes kicked in full blast and she clung even more tightly to her dragon. "No... no, no, no, no, no..." she mumbled. "Don't make me do this."

This was too much. She was walking into her own nightmares. It was as if Trista already had her in her clutches again. The last ten years vanished from her memory and suddenly she was a tiny child. And even her daddy's soft words were ultimately as meaningless as the promise he had made to protect her from everything she had faced.

Hiccup finally took his hand off of her arm and faced the hut. He thought vaguely that if he could show his daughter that there was nothing to fear, he could fix this. He could save her from this nightmare once and for all. Even as he strode forward, he was becoming increasingly uneasy about what he was about to find.

But nothing could have prepared him for the truth.

As he pushed open the door and looked into the darkened hut, a strong, musty smell reached his nostrils. It was clear that no one had been inside for an incredibly long time. He took a step inside and a shape on the ground caught his eye. He lit his lamp and held it up so he could see it more clearly... and then stumbled back a few feet. There, lying in the middle of the floor, was a skeleton fully dressed and wearing a shiny but blood stained white scarf. Its flesh appeared to have rotted away a long time ago. But the most horrifying thing of all was the axe was embedded in its back, its blade still reddish brown from its victim's blood.

After a few seconds of pure shock and horror, he turned and walked out of the house. Adrianna was still clinging to Lily and refusing to look at anything at all. In a daze, he walked up to her and the first thing he thought to ask tumbled out of his mouth.

"Who was that?"

Adrianna knew exactly to whom he was referring. The man who had looked so much like her father. The man whose story Trista had told her while his blood poured out of his limp, newly dead body. The man whose name made her blood run cold.

And yet it could no longer be avoided. Hiccup needed answers. And so she took a deep, shaking breath and forced them out.

"He was an escapologist named Zebah."

Ladies and gentlemen, you have just finished reading the 100th chapter of the series (not counting bonus chapters or Fearless Fables)! EmmerzK and I met while I was working on the 4th so it's been a long journey and we are so thankful that you've joined us!

This chapter has also been a milestone in that a section by my co-author actually put tears in my eyes. I have never cried over fanfiction (though I cried while writing one scene but ended up cutting that plot point entirely because it was too depressing) but that scene was really touching. Beautiful work, Emily, and if you cried for the conversation between Erick and Olaf, you were crying in the right place.

Don't forget to review this wonderful 100th chapter and I hope you'll be around for the next 100!

~KateMarie999

P.S. My composer really wants feedback on his work so please PM me or reblog my tumblr posts to provide it because he's been working hard! The link is at the bottom of my profile.

P.P.S. Go see Big Hero 6! I saw it last Friday and it was amazing! I already have fanfic ideas involving Baymax!

P.P.P.S. I need an artist to do the next cover. I'd prefer someone who can do it in a more mature, realistic style. The cover will be darker and requires a lot of different facial expressions, as well as things going on in the foreground and background. Please contact me here or on tumblr if you're interested.