Chapter 24

With a curse, Snotlout scrabbled back inside the cavern. "It's still out there."

I barely stirred. "Of course it is. If you haven't noticed, there are a ton of dragons here, and only two of us. We're not going to sneak out."

Snotlout curled up with his knees against his chest. He looked miserable, but on the bright side, at least I knew he wasn't cold. Even though it looked like we were in a cavern carved from ice, it was surprisingly warm. Or maybe my magic Night Fury powers simply prevented me from feeling the cold.

I wasn't betting on that, though. Snotlout's bangs were plastered across his forehead. Not from sweat, I think. The air was damp, unlike the usually crisp air that chilled Berk. It was like there had been a huge rainstorm in here, and none of the moisture had been able to escape, so it hung around. Within our cavern, a few water droplets glistened on the walls. I lapped them up gratefully. You know, I never did get to eat that fish on Eret's ship.

"Any ideas?" he asked.

I shrugged as best as I could. "Well, I don't think would have gone this badly if you had a little more tact . . . But, anyways, if we're being honest, I think we – well, you - are screwed."

" . . . Was that a yes or no?"

I huffed.

Unlike Snotlout, I didn't feel the need to lurk at the back of the cavern. If I wasn't worried that dragons would mob him the second he set foot outside, I probably wouldn't even be in here. As it was, I felt the need to stick by him, since we were the only Berkians present, of course. Even despite . . . despite everything.

Ever felt your happiness, everything that made you feel content with the world, just be sucked away? Yeah, that's what I felt just now. Snotlout's betrayal was the millstone around my neck. It hurt whenever my thoughts grazed it. But whenever I remembered it was there, I couldn't resist poking it.

Ouch. Need to stop doing that.

Outside, our "guard" cooed as another Nightmare approached. The two locked horns briefly, before the larger one rubbed her snout against the other's neck. They chittered and trilled to each other, with light bird-like sounds that you wouldn't expect from the throat of a Nightmare. I smiled, watching them.

"Makes you think of Hookfang, huh?" I said, mostly to myself. Seeing as Snotlout was pretty much paralyzed, his dragon may not have been the first thing on his mind.

The Nightmares stopped nuzzling. Their snouts were pointed the same way, slowly tilting downwards as they followed the cautious path of the stranger. She had neither the staff nor the shield now. Good?

"We have company," I said.

The Nightmares murmured, but the stranger put a hand on the larger one's nose and pushed her away. The two dragons fell back obediently, eyes alight with curiosity. The smaller one tried to creep forward, but the stranger glanced at him sharply. He shrank back and tucked his chin in, saying, Sorry.

She paused at the entrance to our cavern, kneeling, but not yet on her hands and knees. The threat of a fight had Snotlout rolling out of his little ball. With one hand on the ground for support, he locked his body in position, matching her crouch. His breathing was steady, but quicker than usual.

The stranger took a few steps back, and slowly raised her empty hands. The way they opened, it wasn't fluid, but happened in parts. Her hands, unlike most of her, weren't covered in armour, but pale skin. Much like me and Snotlout's, actually. Once she was a respectful distance away, the stranger reached into her . . . pockets? Cape? Hard to tell. Her costume kind of swirled and wrapped around her.

Splat.

I blinked. Was that a fish?

Yep. A raw fish. Smelt like it was freshly caught, too. Snotlout, his one-track mind forgetting that he was supposed to be worried, wrinkled his nose. He looked at me, jerking his chin at the dead fish in a manner that said I was supposed to be disgusted. Because it's not like he and the twins ever dumped a bucket of fish guts on me, or anything.

Her hand swept out again, and this time, deposited a pile of berries. As she, again, moved back, Snotlout's eyes widened in surprise and confusion, but mostly confusion.

"I think that's for you," I said.

I nudged him forward, but Snotlout shook his head wildly. He spluttered, "No way! I'm not going out there."

I rolled my eyes. Way to exhibit that Viking courage.

With every foot I moved forward, the stranger moved half a foot back. Her head was bowed respectfully, almost like an animal facing its alpha. The two Nightmares were virtually vibrating with energy, but she kept them back without ever facing them.

"Uh, thanks?" I put my paw on the fish, marking my claim. Sure, I was hungry, but this was raw.

The stranger bobbed her chin, making that same gulping sound Toothless had made the one time he forced me to eat raw fish.

I cringed. "Uh, thanks, but I think I'll pass. Hey, Snotlout, here you go."

I hooked a berry with my claw, rolled it back towards him, and he dove out of the way like it was going to explode. He reappeared a moment later.

"It's . . . it's just a berry?"

I'm not commenting on this whatsoever.

Snotlout crawled out of the cavern. His sweaty hand held the berry tight enough that you would have had to kill him to take it, but gentle enough that it didn't break. He stood slowly, looking more like a bewildered child than a fierce Viking.

"Who are you?" he said.

"Please." The stranger stood up, speaking in a slow, carrying voice. "I come in peace."

Snotlout glanced at me uncomfortably. "You were the one who grabbed us."

"You were in trouble," she said. "I wanted to help."

Snotlout clearly didn't trust her. I, on the other hand, held the opposite opinion. Despite everything, she hadn't really done anything that I could classify as having bad intentions. So, I marched up, sat by her feet, and made my position clear.

"Oh . . . he's wonderful." It took a full five seconds before I realized she was talking about me. "I've never seen a Night Fury in person before."

Fingers danced along my spine. They dug into the small crook between my head and neck, and it felt good. Really good, in fact, but also really degrading. I couldn't help my back leg from thumping, but I moved away regardless.

Snotlout shrugged. "I think he only likes being petted by Astrid."

The stranger tilted her head to one side. Splitting the name into two words, she repeated, "As-trid?"

"His girl . . . his girl trainer!"

What a save.

The stranger stared at him, obviously catching his slip. "This dragon, his name is Hiccup?"

"Weird name, I know."

"Why is he named that?" I could feel the tension in her fingers, and leaned away.

"I dunno." Snotlout kicked at the ground, eyes wandering as he struggled to come up with another lie. "Named after my cousin?"

"Your cousin?" She said that sharply, unlike the slow, uncertain tone she had been using until now. Her fingers left my back completely as she swept forward, cape dragging on the ground behind her. I was behind her now, at her heels, while she stood like a statue between Snotlout and me.

Her breathing turned quick and sharp, the contrast so jarring that it nearly had Snotlout running back into the cavern. I could feel her eyes sweeping over Snotlout's face, engraving every little line into her memory. She reached out again, stopping an inch away from brushing his cheeks. She didn't seem to handle her fingers like a normal person, I noticed, but more like hard, dangerous claws.

"You look like someone I knew," she said, and I don't think I could really blame her. Big and strong, dark-haired with the barest of facial hair? Yeah, he looked like a lot of Vikings.

"Great?" he squeaked.

And I felt her mood change before she even spoke. "You're from Berk."

The word rang through the air like a stricken gong, wedging itself into my chest with an icy thrust. How . . . ? How did she know Berk? I think I would have been the first to know if some crazy dragon lady had been flying around our island. This wasn't . . . something was wrong here.

Everyone else thought the same. Orange flashed in my eyes as the watching Nightmares set themselves alight, and from a dark corner, the stranger's previously hidden Stormcutter snarled. Snotlout went rigid, head turning quickly as he tried to keep an eye on everyone at once.

"Okay, everyone calm down!" I shouted. "Let's sit down and talk about –"

The stranger let out a rattling breath, like a dragon's hiss. Her heel dug into my neck, shoving me back toward the Nightmares, who advanced so that they loomed over me. But it was Snotlout they glared at, not me.

"What do you want with the Night Fury?" she demanded of Snotout.

"What? I . . . we want to go home. Back to Berk," he said.

"Berk is . . .," She said that quietly, almost sorrowfully. Then, her voice hardened again, "Berk is no friend of dragons."

"Look, lady." Snotlout seemed to have calmed down a little; he was no longer holding his hands up in that universal please don't hurt me manner. "I don't know what you've heard, but we're totally cool with dragons. We're the ones that killed the Red Death!"

Of course, the stranger had only heard one thing.

"Are you so proud of killing dragons?" she hissed.

"Whoa, you have this all wrong. The Red Death was evil. Seriously evil."

He was blowing it. Each word he spoke was another piece of wood on his pyre. I lunged, and launched myself onto his chest. I had to do something fast, something to prove once and for all that Snotlout was my friend and wasn't trying to . . .

Oh, no. Please don't say . . .

Sometimes, I hate being me.

Swallowing my pride, I stretched upward . . . and licked his cheek.

The reaction was immediate.

"EEEEEEWWWWW! Why did you do that?"

"I'm trying to save your life. You could be a little more grateful!"

"Did I say I wanted you to do that, huh? At what point, did I say: Gee, it would nice if Hiccup licked my face right now!"

"Like I wanted to do that. Maybe you didn't notice, but I'm the one who had to humiliate himself here!"

I could still taste it. And Snotlout didn't taste much better than he smelt. It was oily and sweaty, and clung to my tongue like . . . like something clingy. I don't know. Clever metaphors aren't exactly at the top of my mind right now!

"Have you even heard of a bath?" I snapped. "Or did you think jumping off ships into the ocean was good enough?"

I scrubbed my tongue. I didn't taste good either, but I tasted better than Snotlout. He mimicked me and scrubbed his cheek.

Our ritual was finally interrupted when we remembered we weren't alone.

"Well, this is awkward," I said, hopping back to the ground as human and dragons stared at us, speechless.

The Stormcutter recovered first. His big, owlish eyes closed and opened slowly, and he shook his head as if to clear them of cobwebs. Although the stranger's back was to him, she seemed to sense his movement and was spurred into speaking herself.

"You are friends," she said.

"That's what I've been saying," Snotlout said.

"But . . . I don't understand." She began to move, circling us, although it wasn't as threatening as the time before. As she passed in front of them, the two Nightmares fell back, dipping their heads in submission. "Berk hates dragons. The village is built on their bones."

"That was like five years ago," Snotlout said. "We don't do that anymore."

"How? Why?" she asked. "I spent years trying to make them see, but they were so stubborn . . . How did you do it?"

My mind, wasn't on any of her questions. Who was this person? Dad had never mentioned anyone, anyone who had advocated for the dragons before. I thought I had been the first. Maybe Dad had just forgotten. Still, the encounter sounded unusual enough that I thought it would have stuck with him.

Snotlout said, "Well, once we got rid of the Red Death and the dragons stopped raiding us, everything was pretty cool. Mildew was a jerk, though."

The stranger exhaled. "I never was a fan of him."

That, that sentence had way too much familiarity in it. While my pupils narrowed to slits, I inhaled deeply. But she had been hanging out with dragons too long. She smelt more like them than she smelt human, and she definitely hadn't been among other humans for a long while. I didn't understand who this woman was.

Snotlout didn't seem to notice. "So, uh, I'm Snotlout Jorgenson, son of Spitelout; dragon trainer extraordinaire and rider of Hookfang; nephew of Chief Stoick the Vast. And that's Hiccup."

". . . Stoick is still Chief." Her scent changed. Became downtrodden. The Nightmares smelt it too, and cooed softly.

"What's your name?" Snotlout asked.

She turned away quickly, cape swishing through the air and pooling at her feet. "It doesn't matter. It's not important."

"Okay . . . then where are we?"

She turned her head. Her stare was so intense and sober that for a moment, I thought Forseti, he of judgement and justice, had borrowed her body. "Let me show you," she finally said, beckoning us.

As she made her way to leave this place, the Nightmares took flight, passing her quickly. The Stormcutter waited for her, however, and plopped down on the ground behind her. I could tell that he wanted to fly with her, but it's not like I would have been able to carry Snotlout. Plus, I don't think he trusted us to ride with him.

The further we delved into the interior of the crystal fortress, the darker it got. There was always enough light to see by, especially for me, but Snotlout bumped into an edge here and there. Not the stranger, though. She must have been through here dozens of times. And even if she hadn't, she used her fingers as feelers and gently mapped out the world around her.

Before we saw it, before we saw the light pouring in through a gap in the crystals, before we heard them or heard the Stormcutter bark back in response, I smelt them. Not one dragons, but many. Their scents intertwined in a cloud so thick I could barely separate one from the rest. When the stranger's dragons had first grabbed us, I thought that had been a lot of dragons. Now I could tell there were so many more.

Snotlout and I paused right before we could see through the gap. I expected him to be frightened, or nervous, but his face had hardened into stone. He reminded me of his father, or mine, watching as the enemy's boats grew closer to their home.

"You ready?" I asked him.

He looked down, lips turned slightly downward as if wondering what I was doing here. I offered my paw in a mock handshake.

He grinned. "Let's do this."

Together, we stepped into the light.

I couldn't believe it.

Where I expected to see crystal and rock there was, instead, life. The walls were carved from crystal, but soft grass covered the ground. The warm, humid air nourished the growth of broad-leafed ferns and lichen that coated the walls like a second skin. The moisture had also allowed the formation of several small pools, which spilled from one to the other in an exceptionally long waterfall, before coming together in a great lake at the bottom that must have been part of the sea. Great stone pillars, green with life, rose from the depths, ending in jagged, fragmented ends all connected to each other by a plane of ice. The sunlight passing through the icy roof made it shine blue, like we were looking at an exceptionally bright sky.

And dragons. So many dragons. Big dragons, small dragons, species I knew and those I had never seen before. A cloud of them circled a large, slanted pillar in the center of the lake, where others roosted on its side. They were a rainbow; you named a colour, any at all, and it was there.

"This is incredible," I said, stepping in front of Snotlout who had been stricken dumb.

Squeak. At the sound of my voice, several small heads popped out of the ferns. Gronckles, baby Gronckles, scurried toward me. Their tiny legs were almost too small to support their weight, and they slipped and teetered along the way.

"Hi there," I said, remembering afterwards that in dragon-speak, I had to chuff. They chuffed back in high, light pitches that sounded more like a poor human imitation than Toothless's throaty chuff. Like me!

I was so distracted that I didn't notice the mother until her wings were buzzing right behind me. I jumped – playing with a strange dragon's children was usually a bad idea – but she chuffed at me herself. She sniffed me, and licked my cheek in what I was sure was meant to friendly.

"Snotlout, are you seeing this?"

He remained silent, slowly walking forward like a man walking the plank. But his mouth was parted in amazement, fixed upon the pillar and its dragons. If I was stunned, I couldn't even imagine what he was feeling.

"I've been here for nearly twenty years," the stranger said, startling us. Somehow, she and her dragon had gotten behind us. Oh, and she had her staff again. "Living among them, learning their tricks . . ."

"Snotlout asked, "But what is this?"

"A safe haven for all," the stranger said. She knelt down and extended a hand in my direction. I knew what she wanted; I didn't have to sniff her, but I guess I should approach her anyways to act friendly.

"You said he was named after your cousin," she said to Snotlout as she scratched under my chin. "Did something happen to him?"

"Nah, Hiccup's fine. He's . . . we left him at home because there's a bunch of sick people or something."

I rolled my eyes. That was the excuse we had agreed to use, but I don't think that it needed to be used on the crazy, feral dragon lady.

"He's doing well?" I could feel her doing her best not to look at Snotlout while she asked that.

"Uh . . ." He studied me closely. "I think so."

"Good . . . good." Her voice was happy and clipped, but I smelt the same sadness I had detected when she spoke of Dad. Her dragon noticed too, and nuzzled her.

The silence stretched on, disturbed only by the squawks and calls of various dragons. Finally, Snotlout asked, "Are you the boss here?"

She laughed a true, genuine laugh whose mirth radiated out from her in a brilliant aura. If someone had walked in just now, they would have thought the three of us were best friends – certainly not that we had been seconds from fighting each other not so long ago. With her staff planted into the ground for support, she stroked my chin one last time before standing.

"I may be the queen, but it's the king that rules this roost," she said. "Come and see for yourself."

She led us forward, to the edge of our island's cliff. Snotlout stopped short, and I crashed into him.

"Thanks for the warning," I said. I walked past him, and peered over the –

Wow.

"The Bewilderbeast," the stranger announced. "The alpha dragon, and guardian of us all."

Down, down below, resting in a pool of seawater was the massive dragon that had fended off Eret's ship. The great king's eyes were closed as he dozed, and the sound of his breathing rolled through the air like thunder. Spines, taller than any house, rose from his brow like a thorny crown. They were thinner though, than the scattered ones on his back that followed his spine, and even larger still were the two tusks that protruded from either side of his face. They were long and smooth, nothing like the ridged horns of the narwhals that I was used to.

"That's a really big dragon," Snotlout brilliantly said.

She laughed again. "This is our king. With his icy breath, he built our nest. We all live under his protection, and command."

She leaned down and tickled me again. "Not you, of course. Babies don't listen to anyone."

Before I could object that I wasn't a baby, I heard the Bewilderbeast shift. Static built on my face's tendrils, making them flare.

Snotlout scrambled back. "Why is he moving?!"

The stranger said, "Don't be scared. Were you telling the truth when you said you were a friend of dragons?"

He nodded.

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

The Bewilderbeast raised his head. Although before we had been staring at him from above, he barely had to stretch to tower over us. He came close, so close that I could make out every individual scale.

The stranger, with a graceful sweep of her arms, dropped to one knee and bowed. The Stormcutter dropped his head too, as did all the Gronckles. I didn't mean to, not at first, but the moment those blue eyes met my own, I couldn't help it. I felt his authority and power like a physical force. I could feel it in every instinct and part of my mind: this was a king - this was the king. The great king of the north. To not bow was sacrilege.

He only paid a little attention to Snotlout. I was his focus, and my chest bubbled with a wondrous, humble glee. Whatever his majesty required, I would do my best. The conviction in my thoughts surprised even me, but it couldn't be helped. I held the attention of a god, and there was no other choice.

Welcome. I heard the king's voice in my mind. Safe, here. Safe, you.

Thank you, I thought back. Did I do that right? I'm pretty new to this whole telepathy thing.

The king blinked slowly. For a few dreadful seconds, there was no response. Then: You have a much better grasp of language than I had expected.

It's a long story, I said back.

He watched me, and I had the eerie feeling that he knew exactly what that story was. Rest easy. The hunters shall not trouble you again.

Thank you. I bowed to him again and he breathed on me, coating my back with snow.

"Aw, he likes you," the stranger said.

Snotlout complained, "What about me?"

His majesty almost turned away then, but at the last second, turned back to Snotlout. His gaze seemed to close upon my cousin like a vice, holding him in place. Every bit of Snotlout was scrutinized under those eyes, like a piece of gold being examined by a jeweller. I had the feeling Snotlout was regretting this.

At last, his majesty turned away and drew back to his resting ground. Snotlout, after checking his hair for the telltale snow, asked, "What did that mean?"

"He's giving you a chance," the stranger said. Her tone was carefully neutral. "Do not waste it."

With that, she climbed atop her Stormcutter. Patting his side, she said, "Make yourselves comfortable. If you need anything, just look for me or Cloudjumper, here."

Before they took off, I ran forwards. "Hey, wait!"

Cloudjumper cocked his head.

"Any chance there's something cooked I can eat?"

Review Responses:

Guest: Thank you!

I thought Hiccup's reaction to Valka in the movie was lacking too. He had seemed more amazed to me about finding the dragon sanctuary than discovering his mother had been alive all these years. Which yeah, the dragon sanctuary is pretty amazing, and Hiccup is a little obsessed with dragons, but I had expected a little more shock about his mother. The whole thing was kind of just brushed over.

Haha, as much fun that might be, Hiccup's always been into peace. Cael would have to do something incredibly stupid to push Hiccup to that point.

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Noctus Fury: We seemed to have decided the in-story justification is because magic XD The plot-wise reason will become apparent later on.

The aftermath of Berk vs. the Berserks will be covered later. That said, the story will stick with Hiccup's POV.

Keep in mind that Hiccup is physically a dragon, but mentally, most of him is still Viking. That means he's still thinking in Norse, and trying to speak in Norse (but his warped vocal chords make him impossible to understand). You can think of it this way: a human baby isn't born knowing how to speak English or French or any other language. They have to learn. Same goes for a freshly-turned-into-a-dragon Hiccup.

Thank you! It may not have been a sexual innuendo, but it was definitely a friendly, neighbourhood jab at Hiccup being a bit whipped. ;) As for licking, I don't think Astrid would mind, but Hiccup might. He'd much rather stick to nuzzling and other things he deems as less embarrassing.

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Estrellla85: Thank you! Hiccup and Snotlout seem to be in a good place with his mom right now. That said, they still have no idea she's Hiccup's mom XD

Guest: Thank you! But you didn't know what an ice floe was? Well, I'm guessing you live somewhere warm then ;p