I listen to the Jane Eyre (2011) soundtrack while writing.

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"Hiccup?" Astrid asked softly, not to bring calamity upon herself. "Are you here?"

She peaked in the right door, which easily gave way when she pressed on it. It opened with a creak. By the light of her lamp, she saw several gadgets and gizmos. Tools and sketches laid strewn about. No doubt, this was Hiccup's room. But where was he?

Back in the main room, Astrid peered over to the left door. She snuck closer and looked in the window. Cold green eyes stared back at her, surrounded by wrinkles and red hair. To this day, she had never met Stoick, but she was familiar with his face.

"Chief? Chief Stoick?"

He blinked lazily at her, like there was not a thought in his head.

"My name is Astrid, Astrid Hofferson. You knew my Uncle Finn."

"...Finn..." he spoke.

"Yes…I'm the master of the house now."

He crinkled his brow, thoughtful, then he spoke with a dry voice. "…Why are you here?"

"I'm looking for Hiccup. Your son."

Stoick closed his eyes, as if he had to recall long lost information. "Hiccup…"

"Yes."

"I locked him in…for his own safety."

She got closer to him, wrapping her hands around the bars. "Locked him in where?"

He glanced over to the huge iron door that laid in the middle of the room. "His heart has been broken. Like so many before him. He fell in love…my poor, wayward son."

Astrid felt her mouth pull into a grimace. How much pain could he been in? Thinking that she was dead?

"I'm the one who broke his heart." She claimed. "I had no say so in the matter…but I'm here to fix it now."

Stoick studied her, earnestly. "It's not so easy to fix a broken heart. Especially one that hasn't loved in a thousand years."

She nodded, holding out her hand. "But how can I fix it, if I don't try?"

"I can see sincerity in you. And if it were any other man, a kind heart like yours could do. But my Hiccup is not just any man." He reached out, and took her hand in his calloused pair. "His whole life, Hiccup has been haunted."

She furrowed her brow. "Haunted? Isn't he doing the haunting?"

Stoick shook his head, his hands shaking in desperation. "The druids saw it, his nightmare. No matter how kind, how smart, how clever…it's always there. Waiting to devour him."

A nightmare? He had never spoken about that before. "What? What is?"

Stoick placed a key in her hand, and closed her fingers around it. "We mustn't speak it's name. It alone is Hiccup's to deal with."

Astrid took the key in hand, and stepped away from the door.

Just like that, Stoick returned to his distant gaze, like an ever vigilant mountain.

The key was nearly identical to the one for the tower. It was black, iron, and felt like anything but a normal key. Quickly, before she lost her resolve, she pressed the key into the lock. The door cracked and slid, stone against stone, on the floor.

Inside was cavernous. It seemed to go on for miles. But one thing was certain, it was hot. Heat attacked her and she swallowed thickly against it. Looking around, she sought out her friend.

"Hiccup?"

"….not here…" She heard his voice, distantly.

"Hiccup!"

She heard him moan, and hurried her steps.

She finally found him. He laid on his side, face to the ground, with his hands hiding him.

"Hiccup…? Are you alright?"

"She's not here…she's not here…" He said aloud, his voice breaking. "She's never coming back…never…"

Astrid gasped. "Hiccup…" Then she knelt, and touched him. "I'm here. I'm here! Toothless and Eret saved me. I'm alright!"

"She's not real!" He shouted. "She's just like all the others…she's just tormenting you…"

Astrid gripped his shoulder a little harder, and shook him. "Don't you dare shut me out, Hiccup! I came all the way down here, for you. I'm not leaving!"

Surprising her, Hiccup swung his arm back, his nails scratching across her cheek. "He doesn't want to speak with you!" His voice grated on her like metal scraping against metal. A fire churned in his mouth, while two more pairs of eyes opened on the side of his face.

Astrid held her bleeding face as she scooted away.

"Hiccup…it's me…" she whispered. "Please…please just listen to me!"

The young chief stood slowly, his body wobbling and growing as he rose. His jaw jutted forward, and his teeth came to points. His skin turned green and scaly.

Astrid clambered to her feet and started to run to the exit. She had left her axe behind. But as she approached the threshold, a giant, mace-like tail fell onto the floor, and forbade her movement.

She swiveled around, coming face to face with what had once been her Hiccup. A monster of a dragon. She'd never even imagined anything so horrendous in her life. The hulking mass filled the cavern with spines and ash. It almost froze her in place.

The cavern was illuminated by the fire from his jaw. All six eyes were on her.

"I'm not afraid of you," She said. "I'm not afraid."

Her legs trembled severely, and the tears came without control. Of course she was afraid, she was looking death in the face. He reared up and let out a cacophonous roar, the castle walls rumbling in it's wake. Astrid pressed her hand over her ears in protest.

The heat surged again, and she could see the room glowing even with her eyes closed. She dared a glance and saw a stream of fire coming from the dragon's mouth, setting the room ablaze.

Astrid leapt to safety behind the dragon's tail, and covered the back of her head.

When the fire ceased, she could see several torches lining the walls burning. The room looked even bigger, and the dragon even more ferocious.

It lifted it's tail and sought her out with a growl, the mouth still aflame.

"I'm not afraid of you," she spoke again. "But…I am afraid…of loosing him." She swallowed.

The fire dimmed slightly, as the dragon listened to her words.

"I haven't known Hiccup long. But it feels like I've known him all my life. I…he's been here, all along." She touched her chest. "So loosing him…it's like loosing a part of me."

The dragon growled, lowering it's head towards her. "So, Hiccup, if you're still there, let me see you one more time. Look into my eyes and see that I'm here. That I came for you."

The dragon lowered it's mouth in front of her. It felt like a furnace, but she did not show her pain. She closed her eyes, and reached her hand out.

"Please…"

Hard scales brushed against her fingertips.

"Astrid…" She heard Hiccup's voice in front of her. "Do you love me?"

She knew the answer he wanted, but it wasn't the truth. And the truth is what he deserved. "No. I don't love you." A painful moment passed in silence before she continued to speak. "Could I love you? Yes. Absolutely. You've been good to me, and you're smart and funny…everything I could ever want. But I never allowed myself to think like that, because I don't want to get hurt." She scrunched her eyes. "What happens when the curse is lifted? Do you return to life? Or do you pass on? How could I love you, only for you to leave me?"

The cold scales resting on her hand disappeared, only for fingers to replace them moments later. They intertwined with hers, intimately, soothingly.

"Astrid…"

She finally opened her eyes, to find Hiccup looking at her with pain and adoration. "It is you. You're not a vision."

Gently, she raised her hands to touch his cheeks. They were warm, as they had always been, but his skin felt otherworldly. Tangible, but not quite solid as her own. "I'm sorry I scared you."

He wrapped his arms around her. This hug was deceptively sturdy. For when she went to squeeze him back, her hands were absorbed into his skin like water. And for that moment, she realized she had forgotten he was a ghost.

"Nevertheless," he began. "I love you. In my thousands of years, no one has come close to being as wonderful as you. And I couldn't help it. Body or not, I fell in love with you."

He didn't pull away. For this was as real as his touch could be, and he wanted to feel her. Just for a moment.

"I would spend another thousand years as I have, just to spend another moment like this with you."

She wanted to cry. Right then and there. "I'm sorry…"

He shook his head. "You came for me, and that's all I could ever ask for." Then he pulled away and looked at her. The lamp she wore illuminated her face from below, and he could see the visible bruises she had accumulated as badges of honor. Her cheek still bleed with the scratch he had delivered. His eyes widened at that point and he seized her arms. "Oh gods Astrid! You actually made it here!? But the—How—you—how?!"

She smiled at him. "Well, it wasn't easy…or fun. But Gobber lent me an axe, and Snotlout brought me food halfway through…" She sighed. "Why couldn't you just stay in the chapel?"

He looked away, ashamed, and rubbed circles on her arm with his thumb. "I'm sorry. I…that dragon you saw, that's what we call the Red Death. She was the queen of the dragons before we were friends with them. Then I befriended Toothless, and we defeated her. But I lost my leg in the battle. Every night after, I had nightmares of the fight, over and over again. Whenever I doubted myself, it was the dragon speaking. When I was cursed, it only became more vivid and I…I started bringing it to life. My anxieties and my insecurities…they'd awaken the beast in here. No matter where I was in the castle…it was always listening to me, waiting to pounce."

Astrid waited patiently, soaking up every word.

"When you were a little girl, I saw you in the South Tower one night. You were getting a glass of water, and you looked quite scared. So I showed myself to you. You were so friendly and nice. All you said was that you were lost. You took my hand, and together we walked to the East Tower. That's when you saw me for what I was…and I made you cry. Finn came shortly after, and he yelled at me. He had never yelled at me before…" Something troubling was stirring in his eyes as the temperature in the room began to rise. "I knew then, that you would be my downfall. Whenever you called to speak to Finn, I was there, listening. I held onto every word, every description of the books you read, the friends you made…it was like water to me. Getting to know you, was the closest I had ever felt to freedom."

Astrid stared at him, barely believing what he was saying.

"And when I thought I lost you…I lost all hope, and the Red Death consumed me." He sighed. "I'm sorry Astrid…I didn't mean to do this to you."

She smiled at him, forgiveness in her voice. "It's alright. The woman you were in love with was kidnapped, and there was nothing you could do about it. That's a perfectly good reason to be upset."

He huffed. "I suppose."

It was then that a gust of wind blew in from the deepest part of the cavern, accompanied by a rumbling sound. It blew out the lit sconces.

"What's that?"

Hiccup moved in front of her, protectively.

From the distance, another door came rushing towards them.

"The room…it's shrinking." He noted.

"It does that?"

"Not that I've ever seen…"

The door stopped mere feet from them, and waited. It was wooden, and looked very very old. Celtic knot work decorated it.

Hiccup stared. "I didn't know this was here."

"Should we open it?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I…I think so. Why else would it have just appeared like this?"

Though he said it, neither of them moved.

"Maybe you should," He urged. "I think it's here for you."

She nodded in agreement, took hold of the handles, and tugged.

The smell hit her first, followed by trepidation.

Of course, the only way to see was a beam of light. At first, she saw a face, white eyes, stumbling toward her. She let out a shriek as Hiccup wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders.

Then the figure ambled away and Astrid ceased her screaming. Urged on by Hiccup, she swept across the room with her lamp, studying the scene before them.

Inside the room, 90 or so real, human bodies roamed around. Well, some roamed, while others laid in various stages of decay. Some mummified, some bloated, and many in-between. The living ones sauntered, soulless, naked, and lost, drooling with each step they took.

Astrid covered her mouth and nose in an effort not to vomit. Surely, this nightmarish vision was the price to pay to break the curse.

Coming out of his shock, Hiccup panted, "Our bodies…it's our bodies! Astrid!" He grabbed her. "You did it! You—" he tore away from her, and ran to the door to the tower, shouting. "Our bodies! We found our bodies! Dad! Gobber! Bucket! Mulch!" He screamed every name he could think of as he ran from the room.

Not to be left behind with the horror, Astrid also fled from the room.

Stoick's ghost was soon there to greet her, with a wide and proud smile. He said nothing but breezed past her into the room. She stayed back, slightly hiding behind the door frame. From the darkness, she heard someone taking a gasping breath, and then Stoick was running towards her.

"Astrid! Oh lass! You did it!"

Rightly startled by the naked man, Astrid froze in place as he hurried to her and scooped her up in a hug. "You beautiful, smart, clever girl!" He praised, with a kiss to her hair. "A thousand years, and I never thought I'd breath again! I'm going…I'm going to eat a whole cow by myself! And drink a barrel of mead! And sleep for three days straight!"

He put her down and wandered back to his cell, ranting about all the things he couldn't wait to do.

From behind, more spirits were making there way down the tower and into the crypt.

Astrid moved away, giving them room to unite with their flesh and blood. The dark North Tower was now illuminated with the light of day from the windows way up high. It seemed that the tower itself had shrank as well, with the coming of the door to the crypt. Now, it was scantly bigger than the other towers in the castle, and the ceiling was visible from all the way down below.

A parade of vikings were making their way down the spiral stairs, some running, some so far gone that they could only saunter. But as they entered the crypt, only a handful came back out. Each whooping and hollering. Astrid stood patiently by as she was showered in hugs and kisses by naked vikings. This day would certainly haunt her for days to come, but for now, she was just glad to see so many people happy.

She witnessed friends pinching each other, feeling their beards, and even a man punch his friend hard enough to cause blood. After the pain passed, the victim laughed heartily and slapped his buddy.

She almost felt like she didn't belong in this sacred moment, and she quietly made her way back up the stairs.

As she travelled, she spotted relics of the guards. A scythe, a part of chained cuffs, an empty cell. They had all been freed as well.

On the way, Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout, and Fishlegs all ran passed her, in a race to see who could get down there first. Then Hiccup and Gobber were walking at a leisurely pace after.

"Good going Lass! I never doubted you for a second!" Gobber praised.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Of course, Gobber."

Hiccup looked at her with the biggest smile he could muster. "I am so proud of you."

She grinned toothily. "Cut the chit chat, and go get your body back."

He saluted her and continued down to the crypt.

When Astrid reached the East Tower hall, she was tackled in a hug from her mother. "Astrid! Oh thank God you're alright!"

Astrid sighed in her arms and hugged her back. "Yes, I'm fine."

"I was so scared! When I finally got through to Eret, he said you were dealing with the ghosts! You're father told me all about what he saw down there…oh no! You're bleeding!"

"It's nothing." She assured.

"Nothing?! Look at you! You're covered in bruises!" She tugged her up the tower to her room. "Come on, we're going to get you patched up!"

Astrid looked over to Eret with a shrug.

"Glad to see you made it back in one piece!" He called after.

In the bathroom, Mrs. Hofferson dabbed a hydrogen-peroxide soaked cotton ball on her cheek. Besides the internal bleeding, she had survived the North Tower moderately unscathed. While she was being patched up, her father watched from the doorway, concerned about what had transpired in the Tower.

"Did it get you too? That…that thing?" Axel asked.

"Mildew? No. He frightened me…but because I was the Master of the castle, he let me pass. It was some of the others that got me."

"Others?" Her mom asked, horrified.

And so Astrid explained it all. Starting from the first day she saw the light on in the tower, to this very moment. She showed them Finn's journals and told them about Viggo. She kept most of the horrors of the Tower to herself, though.

"So, the curse is lifted now? No more ghosts?"

"No more ghosts!" She confirmed. "Now their bodies have been freed, the vikings will return to life." She paused. "Well, some of them. Some of the other bodies I saw down there weren't really…moveable."

Phillis covered her mouth with a little gasp.

"But it's alright. They probably feel like they won't live much longer anyway, right?"

Finally, the Hofferson's came back down from the Master bedroom, to see about two dozen, now clothed, resurrected vikings waiting for her.

"Well," stated Stoick, his arm around his wife. "This is all that's left. A lot of the folks that left early on…their bodies didn't make it. But I think they are happy like that. They've moved on."

Astrid smiled with a knowing nod.

"So, Mistress of the Castle, will you allow us to stay?" The chief bowed gallantly.

She chuckled. "Of course! But don't think I won't put you all to work!"

Stoick laughed loudly, giving Astrid warm, fuzzy feelings inside. "Wouldn't have it any other way, lass!"

It was just then that the small crowd started to part with gasps of fear and sadness. Finally, Hiccup emerged, still in his ghastly, skeletal form. He looked absolutely devastated.

"Son…where's your body?"

Hiccup choked out in return. "I…I don't know." He began to sob, and hide his face in his hands. "I can't find it…I can't find my body."