HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is not really a full epilogue which is why I upload it together with the second one. It's just that I had some background story for the two Redthorn guards as well but including that in chapter 17 in addition to everything else… That wouldn't have worked. It is longer and fuller than I originally intended as it is, their little background wouldn't have fit in.

But I like them and still want to share this bit with you. As Laif said, these two are some decent guys who just like most others on Redthorn Island were afraid of Magnus, Geir, and their supporters, of what they would do to their family members.

So, readers, meet Mart and Ben.

Epilogue 1: Meet Mart and Ben

Mart is a friendly and caring man, a fighter and also some kind of paramedic. They don't do weddings and marriage on Redthorn Island but it is possible for a man to claim a woman. In that case, the other men will leave her in peace as long as she doesn't draw too much attention to herself and nobody seriously wants to challenge that claim. It is the closest thing they have to marriage and that's what Mart did. That way, his beloved nearly-wife Manda is fairly safe but their newborn daughter is not. So he does his best to keep Geir and Magnus appeased lest they would take the girl as bed slave as soon as she turns five. Even so, he knows she wouldn't have a good future on Redthorn Island anyway, so he supports Laif in becoming the next Chief as much as he thinks is safe.

On the cliffs behind the Haddock house that night, he was responsible for keeping Stormfly subdued while Magnus and Geir played with Astrid as they called it. He saw his chance however and used far less Dragon Nip than would have been necessary to keep a dragon her size calm and did his best to fully wake her up when the two men made honest attempts to rape a hugely pregnant woman (which surely would have killed the child and as a fledgling father himself he couldn't let that happen). In the chaos that followed with Stormfly and Toothless attacking Magnus and Geir, he used whatever limited medical skills he had to care for Astrid until Hiccup arrived. So, in the end, we owe it to him that Astrid and little Faye survived, I guess.

Ben is a little different. Weird. You can call him socially awkward. He doesn't care for much and barely gets involved in the lives of others. He does what he's told to and lives in his own head. The one thing he does care about though is his little sister Sienna. She's only seven and lives disguised as a boy but, of course, that wouldn't work forever. So for her sake, Ben, too, supports Laif's claim as future Chief.

He's clever! When he was told to pack the powdered Dragon Root and Dragon Nip for this trip to Berk, he purposefully dug out the oldest bags they had in store. He knew these plants would lose their efficiency over time so in case Magnus were to actually use them against Hiccup's dragons they would be in for a surprise. His aid in all this might not be as valuable as Mart's but it was more planned in advance.

Some might have seen it already… these two had some famous models as inspiration ;P Special greetings to L at this point. And to everyone else who recognized them: great taste! xD

And just as an afterthought: While writing chapter 17, I had a strange kind of déjà vu but couldn't place it until two days ago. Many months ago, I made an AMV that just fits this chapter perfectly xD So, if you're interested, check my YouTube channel Ship Mistress and the video Hiccstrid ~ I miss you. It has Hiccup devastated, Hiccup on Itchy Armpit, Hiccup remembering Astrid and missing her and even Astrid dissolving into thin air... :O