Recently I was told to take care of a hatchling by the young princess. My third clutch of eggs died this year, so as an experienced parent, and having no babies I was the best caretaker for Fiendish.
I began to think about Pache and her parents too. As dragons it is required to have two guardians, or at least a mother. Many species' mates leave after mating, having the mother to care for the hatchlings. But Pache didn't have one to watch over her. Her mother was on another island while her father had to take care of a child on his own. Pache was raised by males and around dragons, which are not her species. Yes, her mother wrote and made sure she was safe by staying on Berk, however... was there another option that was overlooked?
I was drifting off into the darkness of sleep with Fiendish curled by my side, warmed by the ground I heated up, when I heard quiet footsteps. That's odd, most of the dragons are asleep by now. The alphas couldn't have come back already considering when they go night flying it's usually until the break of dawn. It also couldn't be any dragon in general, the footsteps don't match.
An odd scent filled the air. Something I'd recognize from a thousand miles away. The scent of humans, more specifically, Berk.
Many years ago I was prisoner there. I remember dragon training and how Hiccup freed us after he was chosen to kill Thiorson, the nightmare who he dubbed Hookfang afterwards. My dragon name is Mira, Sharpshot, the Nadder was Citera, Stormfly, who decided to stay with Hiccup's mate. The Zippleback is Dok and Shire, Barf and Belch. Why Barf and Belch I have no clue but it suits their Character. Then there's Olre, Meatlug, the Gronckle.
The nightfury had no name before Hiccup called him Toothless. There were rumors it was so that death could not find him. But we know it was because of the Red Death. Toothless is an alpha dragon, this the Red Death always knew, but never told anyone else. He practically turned the young night fury inside out with his cruelty, not even giving him a name. We knew one day he'd snap, and so when the Red Death was dead because of him and his human partner we knew
they were the ones to lead us. The nest has never been better because of them, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Which is why the humans being here are an immense threat.
The next thing I know a hand grabs me and I'm face to face with one of the ugliest creatures I've ever seen with a long mustache and rock for a tooth. I roar to alert the others, but my cries are muffled. I'm shoved in a sack with a few other dragons. I hope the alphas come back quickly because we have a big problem.
Night flying is the best type of flying. The aurora lights, the stars, the moon. It's beautiful. I honestly can't think of anything better. It clears my mind, and takes all the worries away.
I never realized this until I met Pache. Night flying, before she rode me, was considered dangerous because of the toxins in the air the Red Death snored out. Pache is laying down on my back resting. She's not very good at sleeping so this is basically how you get her to do it. When she dozes off I take her home and put her in bed. Usually by now she'd have dozed off. Something's wrong.
"Pache, what is it?" I asked.
"I can sense something's wrong." She answered. "I…" She paused. I could hear her panting and could see her reflection in the water. She was sweating, and looked in pain. She was having another one of her visions.
Pache can witness things that happened in the past. When she was four she was being bullied by some of the other hatchlings for being human. Then she caught sight of the same thing happening to her father when he was six, but with other humans his age. It gave her so many nightmares, but Hiccup solved her problem by talking to her, and making her a medicine.
The thing is her visions are never good, by what she describes them as it feels like being in hell.
"Toothless! Something's wrong with Pache, it's another one." I said. Toothless nudged his rider who I felt take Pache off my back and into his lap.
"Let's go guys." He said and we flew as fast as we could back to Freyja.
Hiccup immediately got off Toothless and ran to Pache's bed where he set her down. She had tears streaming down her face and was whimpering. Her father tucked her in and told Striker to watch her while he went to the medicine room with Toothless.
There was one thing that could always wake her up and make her feel better. Dragon nip.
They raced to get some before the worst part of the vision came… the screaming. They were almost there when the black dragon pulled Hiccup behind a pillar giving him a look to be quiet. Hiccup listened for what he meant and heard voices, not just any voice, but his wife's.
Also, Gobber's, and his father's.
"Stoick." he whispered the name like it was poison. Hiccup is a forgiving man, but he has held a grudge against him like Toothless has to a whispering death.
He peeked around the rock they were hiding behind and saw them stuffing Sharpshot into a bag. She was trying to alert someone, they could tell. It couldn't be heard, and if he hadn't had seen it the alert wouldn't have worked.
Hiccup made a few clicking sounds which made a changeling, Multivine, appear. Toothless growled to him who nodded back in understanding.
Multivine called a few other changelings who disappeared. Unaware of the invisible dragons, the Berkians walked through the caves, searching for their goal.
Only when it was too late did they realize they were being watched as the changewings knocked them out, and brought them to their human alpha who tied them up to a rock pillar. After a few minutes they woke up, surprised about their capture.
"Gah, the beasts got us." Gobber said.
"Not surprised, the terror must've warned them. We shouldn't have taken her." Astrid scolded him. It was after all his idea.
"No, Gobber was right, the beast smelled us and would've warned them anyway. Our situation was inevitable." Stoick said, trying to wiggle his way out of the restraints.
Astrid sighed. I now know what hiccup meant by one-sided conversations. He obviously got that viking stubbornness from his father, she thought. "Gods help me." she muttered under her breath.
Not long after the three began to argue, causing chaos, and causing the restraints to tighten and tangle, making it impossible to escape. "ENOUGH!" a voice shouted and everyone shut up.
In the corner the vikings saw an outline of a person who went unnoticed the whole time. "I swear you vikings give me migraines with every word you speak." he said.
"Who are you?" Stoick asked. If he could guess, it'd be the Death Rider, but he knows better than to jump straight into topics like that.
"That information is not important."
"Well then we're not telling you anything about us." Gobber said, a smug look on his face.
"You don't have to. I already know who you are." the man said, as the smug look dropped. "You are chief Stoick the Vast, the blacksmith Gobber the Belch, and the shield maiden and fierce warrior, Astrid the Fearless." He was about to say Astrid Haddock, but remembered how stupid that'd be. He mentally face palmed at the very thought of it.
"How?" Stoick asked.
"Let's say I'm an old acquaintance." Hiccup smiled. "I don't know why you're here, but I do know you've come for something. So, what'll it be?" There was silence. "It's either tell me and I'll possibly help you, or stay silent and get burned to death. What'll it be?" of course he was bluffing. He'd never burn anyone to death. But bluffing always worked.
Stoick frowned knowing all too well what the answer was. "We need your help in finding my son." he said.
"The lost heir ey? Why do you want him? Heard he's just a Hiccup, pretty useless if you ask me?"
"We know you know him. All I want is for him to come home. Please. If you know anything." Stoick beseeched. Hiccup thought for a moment. For a long moment. He could hear the sorrow in his father's voice. He really did feel bad. Hiccup did miss a few things, like the old smith he's come to know as a second father, the forest where he'd clear his mind after being bullied, or the forge where he'd express and create all his ideas, and had become his second home.
And, there was Astrid. He missed her all the time. He felt bad for Pache not having a mother to learn things from, and not having people to learn social skills with. Maybe there was a chance for him on Berk.
Hiccup blinked a tear, hidden by his mask, and exhaled. This was the moment to tell them everything.
"I'm sorry, but I can't." He managed to finally say.
There was everything to the advantage of going to Berk, except, what about the dragons?
To say Stoick and Gobber were disappointed was an understatement. Their only hope of finding Hiccup was gone. There was an awkward silence for moment until little footsteps could be heard entering the room.
All eyes turned to the little 5 year old holding a baby terror, face red from the nightmare. Toothless woke Pache up, and when he did she wanted to go straight to her father, ignoring what her uncle was trying to warn her about.
She looked around the room and saw the three vikings. "Daddy, what's going on?" she asked in a shaky voice. Then, she spotted the women she had seen in only a few pictures. But she had memorized the face and knew exactly who she was.
"Mommy?" she asked and took a step forward. Everyone had a surprised look on their face. Astrid's eyes began to water at seeing her daughter in person for the first time since she was a baby.
"Astrid, what's she talking about?" Stoick asked. Hiccup groaned. Things took a wrong turn really fast. He walked over and cut her ropes. As they dropped, Pache ran over to her mother and gave her a hug as they both began to cry in happiness.
Hiccup couldn't help himself as he walked over and hugged them both. Toothless, followed by Striker also walked over and joined in, not wanting to be excluded from the family reunion.
"What the heck?" Gobber said.
"I think we have some explaining to do." Astrid said as she smiled at her daughter and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Ya, a lot." Hiccup took off his mask.
He thought he hadn't changed much over the years, but his 22 year old self is way different than the scrawny 15 year old he used to be. He had become more muscular, and had earned more thn a few scars over the years. He had grown his hair longer, and messily cut it. When Pache was 4, she learned to braid, which was when Hiccup began to do a few small ones. His jawline was sharp and had a small beard growing from where he had last shaved it a couple days ago.
Vikings are proud of their hair. But Hiccup wasn't a viking, so he shaved his.
When his own father didn't recognize him he felt a little disheartened, but knew it was for the better.
"Who are you, really?" Stoick asked again.
Hiccup paused as if he wasn't going to answer until he said, "That information is not important." "But I will tell you all you need to know is that I am the Dark Rider. Me and my dragon are the alphas of the nest of Freyja, and you are trespassing on our land." He said.
"I honestly hate it when you get proud." Astrid shook her head in annoyance.
"Yeah, but you know I can't help it."
"Daddy, is Mommy gonna stay with us for good?" Pache asked, eyes filled with hope.
"I… I don't know honey." Hiccup's smile faded as he and Astrid shared a look of sadness knowing it's not that simple.
Suddenly, Stoick charged at Hiccup and knocked him unconscious, taking advantage of him being off guard. While the reunion was going on, Stoick took out a knife he kept in his arm bands. Gobber tied up Astrid and Hiccup, and they ran out of the nest as quickly as possible before the dragons could notice their leader's disappearance.
When they were on the boat Gobber said, "The girl must've escaped, she disappeared before I could get to her."
"That's alright, she looks too young to do any damage. We won't need her. What we do need is my son back, and whether or not he wants to, the Dark Rider will tell us. I'll make sure of it." Stoick said with a new type of anger in his voice.
Learning your best warrior was a traitor is not a good feeling, especially if that warrior is Astrid Hofferson. But then again, Stoick thought… is that even her last name?
Astrid's thoughts were everywhere as she thought about what would happen when they went back to Berk. She'd probably be marked as a traitor, or worse. But if her daughter escaped, she knew despite what Stoick thought, that they would be saved.