33 Sometimes It Just Happens
(no matter how hard you try)
Hiccup and Toothless were the last ones to exit the palace and they found the rooftop rescue in full swing when they arrived; Snotlout had sent up a fire signal as soon as the order had reached him and the dragons began arriving not long after. One by one the Dragon Riders, who had been keeping the cities guards and soldiers busy at the walls, climbed higher into the sky to avoid the spears and arrows aimed in their direction, and made for the palace roof. Each rider also lead one or two of the dragons that had been saved from the ship earlier in the day so as each one touched down, the rescued Vikings were happily reunited with their own dragons once more.
Although there was a lot of room to spare on the large and flat Palace roof, the dragon's arrivals and departures had to be closely managed. More and more soldiers and guards were arriving down below now that the dragons had stopped attacking the outer walls and flown deep into the city, and while some guards were attempting to push past the fires at the palace entrances, others were firing arrows and bolts up to the roof so everyone had to keep well away from the edges.
"You're doing a great job there Snotlout and Tuffnut" Hiccup noted as the two young men made sure that every departing dragon carried one of King Jorics men on its back as well as its rider.
"Of course we are" Snotlout puffed out his chest with pride "When you need something done right, just call on the Snotman."
"And then call someone else to fix the mess he's made" Ruffnut grinned.
"Who asked you?" Snotlout sneered.
"Now now Ruffnut, be fair" Hiccup suggested "Snotlout hasn't made a mess of anything yet."
"DID YOU REALLY HAVE TO SAY 'YET' HICCUP?" Snotlout protested.
"Err no... sorry about that" Hiccup apologised.
"Hey, if the helmet fits..." Ruffnut added.
Among the progressing line of dragons coming and going, Hiccup was pleased to see the arrival of a certain bluish Nadder and its stern, yet dainty looking rider; assuming someone with a massive battleaxe could ever be referred to as dainty.
"Astrid; I am so glad to see you're alright" Hiccup declared as he kissed her cheek "did you...?"
"Of course I did; he's back at the farm with Victor helping take care of our half naked soldiers."
"Ooo that reminds me" Ruffnuts eyes lit up "Come on Tuff; we're outta here."
Astrid could not help but giggle as Ruffnut climbed on her dragon without even waiting for her brother to do the same, and ordered the Zippleback into the air.
"Hey... wait for me" Tuffnut protested as he leapt up and grabbed the underside of the dragons left neck.
"Did you hear that Sigrid?" Gobber noted "They've rescued your husband."
"Oh I wasn't worried; I knew he'd be alright" She lied as she placed her hands on her unborn child.
"You're not foolin' anyone Lass" Gobber grinned at the expectant Viking Queen; she turned her head away slightly so he wouldn't see her trying to hold back a tear.
The numbers on the roof were rapidly dwindling, which suited Hiccup nicely. He was sure that the soldiers down below must have broken through to the entrance hall by now, and he was right; several groups were currently moving around the lower levels searching the palace for any sign of the Dragon Riders and their allies.
"Come on your most royal majestiness" Gobber nodded "time for you to go too."
He lead Sigrid to where three huge Nightmares had gathered together to await their riders. She petted Viper and Hookfang as she passed and could not help but smile at the looks on the dragons faces.
"Who was it who said that a dragon tends to take after its rider?" she asked.
"I dunno" Gobber pondered "Hiccup maybe... but it sounds like the sort of observation Fishlegs would make; why is that Sigrid?"
"Just look at these dragons" she gestured.
Gobber looked back and forth from dragon to dragon for a moment until it hit him like a Gronckle rushing to a rock pile.
"Oh my goodness" he tried and failed to hold back from laughing.
When Gobber stared at them long enough, he noticed a look of pride mixed with slight confusion coming from Hookfang, while Viper was stern, alert and constantly looking for any unexpected trouble.
"It's like looking at dragon versions of Snotlout and Stoick isn't it?" Sigrid smiled.
"I never would have thunked it, if I hadn't seen it with me own eyes" Gobber smirked "Now get your expectant butt up on your dragon and go back to your husband."
"Alright, alright ya soft hearted troll" Sigrid chuckled as she climbed onto Skywolf.
The Viking Queen began to wonder what it would be like trying to get into her saddle over the next nine months as the baby grew inside of her. Sigrid looked at Astrid and Hiccup as they saw to evacuation of the sailors while standing together hand in hand, and she realised that she would be able to give Astrid some help with what to expect as a pregnant Dragon Rider in a few years, when it would be her turn.
"Come on Toki" Sigrid called to her Elydonian friend "I'll give you a lift outta here."
"O-on YOUR dragon?" Toki exclaimed "With YOU? I couldn't Your Highness... I'll go with one of the others; it's not like the old days... you're the Queen now."
"Exactly, so do as your told" Sigrid ordered as she held out her hand to him.
"We're almost done here son" Stoick declared as three more dragons flew in "maybe you and Toothless should circle around the palace and make sure we're not going to get over run; most of our backup has left now."
Hiccup looked to the sky and saw that his father was right, but although the dragon numbers were dwindling as they made their way back to the farm, he could see also that several were returning after dropping off their passengers.
"Is all still clear at the tower Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked his friend who was keeping a close eye to make sure none of the enemy guards and soldiers were advancing up the stairs from the palace below.
"Still no sign of anyone Hiccup" came the reply.
"Good; help Snotlout with the last of the Elydonians and then take off yourselves while Astrid and I cover the retreat."
Arrows and crossbow bolts were shot up towards Toothless and Stormfly as soon as they flew out past the edge of the palace roof, but the dragons were high enough above the ground to make avoiding them a simple matter, as long as they stayed alert.
"I didn't realise so many soldiers had surrounded the palace" Astrid noted as she and Hiccup circled the plaza below.
"It certainly didn't take them long to get back here once they saw that the dragon attack outside the city was just a diversion" Hiccup agreed "but it's the front doors that have me worried."
As Astrid and Stormfly came around to the front of the building, she could see what concerned her fiancé; the main entrance had been fully breached and soldiers were pouring in rapidly. Neither of the Dragon Riders knew how long this had been happening, so they were totally unaware of just how many guards were working their way up to the roof at that very moment. Over a hundred men now scoured the inside of the palace building from the deepest dungeon to the highest floor, looking into every room for any sign of their enemy, and a group of eleven were just about to make a great discovery.
"We've found them" one whispered to his colleges as he peered through a crack in the door at the base of the tower "There aren't many left, but their leader is still here."
One of the other soldiers took a quick look through the crack and came to a fateful decision.
"You and you" he pointed to men with crossbows "follow me and take out the Viking Chief."
The two men nodded and braced themselves to strike, then in one quick and purposeful manoeuvre, the three of them burst through the door and onto the roof; before Stoick could even turn his head at the sound, two of the men had dropped to one knee as the third stood between them and together, they fired their bolts."
"DAD... NO!" Hiccup cried out, but he was too late and too far away to do anything to help his father.
Stoick's senses were aware of the fate that was about to befall him as soon as he heard the sound of the door and the twang of the crossbows. The deadly bolts would have surely found their target if it were not for the fact that there was someone else nearby; one who was closer than Hiccup and Toothless, but just as alert. At the first sign of trouble, Viper had leapt into action; his fire blast was away before the men could completely squeeze their triggers and with one beat of his massive wings, he was already in motion towards his master and friend. The charred remains of the three men were thrown back into the doorway along with the blast of fire, sending the remaining soldiers retreating back down the steps as they desperately beat the fire from their hair and clothes, while up on the roof the Dragon Riders came to terms with the latest of their losses.
Hiccup leapt from Toothless's back as soon as his dragon touched down while Astrid guided Stormfly in to land near the burning door. The Nadder's cry echoed through the tower as a warning to any others who would dare to climb the stairs to the roof.
"Oh Dad" Hiccup sighed "I'm so... so sorry... I... should have seen it coming."
"It's alright son... it's not your fault" Stoick knelt down, placing his hand on the head of the dead dragon; Viper lay still and quiet with two bolts in his chest and one in his neck
"Thank you... my friend" Stoick said softly "You saved my life."