A/N: Now we come to some interesting things. Hope you guys enjoy and I do not own anything from How to Train Your Dragon. They belong to DreamWorks Animation and Cressida Cowell. I only own some OC characters that will be coming into this chapter.
It's Back Ch4: Secret Civilization
Third Person's P.O.V.
Stoick landed in the cove and looked around, not seeing Astrid and Hiccup anywhere, only something wrapped in a net. He landed Thornado next to what he now recognized as Stormfly who wasn't moving. He removed the net and the Nadder was still breathing thankfully and he gently nudged her.
"Stormfly?"
The dragon stirred and her eyes widened and she leapt up, tackling Stoick and roaring in his face, preparing to shoot him.
"Stormfly, no!"
Thornado pushed her off and when she realized it was just Stoick, she stopped attacking him and looked for her rider, squawking and flying out of the cove.
"Stormfly, wait!"
Stormfly continued and stopped at the beach, losing the scent of her rider, Hiccup, Toothless, and all the Berserkians. She pawed at the sand and Thornado landed next to her.
"They were kidnapped. Stormfly, let's get back to the village and we'll make plans to find whoever took them."
The Nadder wouldn't fly back and she continued pawing at the sand nervously, knowing it would be like a wild goose chase if she went to find Astrid and incredibly stupid to go alone.
"Alright, stay here and don't go flying off," Stoick commanded and took off as Thornado went as fast as his wings would let him.
They landed outside of the forge where Gobber was still busy cleaning up after Hiccup and sweeping up stray dragon teeth.
"What's wrong Stoick?" Gobber asked when he saw his friend with a worried look on his face.
"They're gone. They were taken."
"What?"
"I went to the cove and found Stormfly wrapped in a metal net, unconscious. When I woke her up, she nearly attacked me and then went to the beach and is waiting there. We need to call a meeting and everyone should be in the Great Hall eating supper," Stoick said, heading back outside the forge and to his dragon.
"Stoick, you said a metal net?"
"Yes Gobber, now let's go."
"Did this net look to be made out of older, more used metal?"
"Now that I think about it, yes, but we need to get to the Great Hall," Stoick said, frustrated.
"It must be Berserkians," Gobber said, "Ever since Dagur became chief, a lot of tribes that they traded for metal with won't trade with them anymore so their nets are usually made of the used metal and weapons out of the better metal they get from some trading."
They both hopped onto Thornado and flew to the Great Hall, bursting through the large doors. Everyone was silenced as they burst in and Stoick rushed to the center of the room.
"Berserkians have taken Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless. Astrid's dragon, Stormfly, was found unconscious in the cove in a metal net and freaked out when I woke her. Gobber has managed to classify that the net was made by the Berserkians and Stormfly lost their trail when she came to the water. I will take the dragon riders out on their dragons early in the morning to find the ship and I am putting Gobber in charge while I am away."
"Me? Stoick, I'm not a very good leader-" Gobber started but Stoick cut him off.
"Gobber, you have always stepped in when I was not here and you made a good chief every single time. Dragon riders, make sure to be ready at dawn at the beach," Stoick said.
"Why would Dagur want Hiccup and Astrid?" Fishlegs asked.
"He probably wants Hiccup to do something for him so he's using Toothless and Astrid as blackmail," Stoick explained, "but what Dagur wants Hiccup to do, I don't know. Get some rest, you'll need it."
Hiccup woke when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He yawned and stretched, wincing from the whip lash on his back. He blinked a couple times and looked over to see who shook his shoulder but was shocked to find it wasn't Astrid or Toothless. It was a girl around fourteen or fifteen years old with long blonde hair and big brown eyes. Hiccup yelped, waking Toothless and Astrid, who had fallen asleep on her turn, and causing the girl to take a couple of quick steps back.
"Who, who are you?" Hiccup asked, moving closer to Toothless who bared his teeth and growled.
"I should be asking you that question," the girl replied, "You are trespassing on an island where humans do not belong."
"Look, my name's Hiccup, that's Astrid and this, is Toothless. We're here because we were kidnapped and managed to escape and hide in this cave. We mean you no harm," Hiccup explained.
"Humans are still not allowed," she said, looking them over, "If you are looking for safety, I will talk to my people but you must remain here."
"Well, we weren't planning to leave anytime soon," Astrid said.
"What do you mean by your people?" Hiccup asked but the girl threw something down that created a cloud of smoke and disappeared, "That was strange."
"Really strange," Astrid stated, taking a sip from the stream.
"How come you didn't notice her in the cave? And how long was I sleeping?" Hiccup asked, sitting next to her.
"I, uh, accidently fell asleep," Astrid said with flushed cheeks, "Sorry about that."
"It's okay. All of this has been hard and exhausting," Hiccup said, taking a drink of water.
Toothless yawned and stretched, scratching the rock wall to sharpen his claws. For Toothless, the girl didn't seem like a danger but some people were very good at acting so he stayed cautious. Hiccup cleaned his face and stretched again, wincing.
"You okay?" Astrid asked, concerned.
"Just my wound," Hiccup responded, "It might need to be cleaned but we don't really have anything to clean it with."
Toothless came back with something in his mouth and dumped it in front of Hiccup and Astrid. It was a bunch of thick looking leaves with some type of thick juice in them.
"These are Sanitatum folia, or translated from Latin, healing leaves. The thick syrupy juice inside is great for cleaning wounds and if you eat the leaf and juice, it can be used to fight infections and certain sicknesses. Thanks bud," Hiccup said, hugging Toothless who purred from happiness.
"So I just rub some of this on your wound?" Astrid asked.
"Yeah, it'll sting a bit at first but it'll clean the wound and help with the healing," Hiccup explained.
Astrid removed the bandage and felt guilty. It was her fault that Hiccup had this lash from the whip. She took the juice from the healing leaves and was gentle when she rubbed it on. The leaves and the juice had a bitter smell to them and it made everyone wrinkle their noses. When she finished, she rinsed her hands in the stream and kept quiet, avoiding Hiccup's gaze.
"You okay?" Hiccup asked, placing his hand on hers.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Astrid, you aren't very good at lying," Hiccup commented, holding her hand, "Look at me."
Astrid raised her head and looked into his forest green eyes. He looked into her crystal blue ones and saw sadness? Guilt?
"It's my fault."
"What?"
"That you're hurt. If I had actually tried to fight-"
"Astrid, this is not your fault. I knew you weren't trying to hurt Toothless. Okay? You did not do this to me," Hiccup said, "Dagur is the one who hurt me so it's his fault. Don't go thinking that you hurt me. Were you holding the whip?"
"No."
"Then you didn't hurt me."
Astrid hugged him and he hugged back. Toothless came over and hugged both of them. They stayed that way for a few minutes until Toothless tensed up and growled at something near the back of the cave.
"What is it bud?" Hiccup asked.
A man with honey blonde hair and almost glowing green eyes stepped out from the shadows.
"Who are you?" Hiccup asked.
"I am Beren. You met Haleth earlier and she told us about you. She said you are hiding from kidnappers because you escaped."
"Yes Beren. I'm Hiccup, this is Astrid, and Toothless. Haleth said that if we were looking for safety, to stay here and she would talk to her people."
"When Haleth told us that you had a Night Fury with you and that it was your friend, we knew you had to be friendly," Beren said, "Dragons only trust the people with good souls, ones who plan to help this world. They will never work for the ones who plan to rule it or destroy it unless forced or their soul had been darkened."
"You seem to know a lot about dragons," Astrid pointed out.
"I do because my people help them; keep them safe from those who want to kill them. The last time the Elves checked, Vikings did not like dragons," Beren commented.
"Because I managed to change their mind," Hiccup explained.
Beren asked, "Was that how you lost your leg?"
"Yeah," was all Hiccup said.
"Let us go to the sanctuary," Beren said when he noticed he was going into uncomfortable territory, "I see you have an injury. We have healing elves that can speed up the healing process much faster than the Sanitatum folia."
"Alright, let's go," Astrid said and they followed Beren into the darker parts of the cave.
Beren came to the back wall and placed a hand on the wall. He began to whisper words in some language Hiccup and Astrid had never heard before. A glowing circle grew on the wall and showed a small village full of all types of creatures.
"How did you do that?" Hiccup asked.
"A gate created by the Ancient Elves from long ago to protect our kind and others, only accessible with an Elf's pulse and words every Elf knows," Beren explained, stepping through.
Hiccup and Astrid followed and Toothless went after, somewhat reluctantly. He smelled multiple smells, all from different creatures that he hadn't seen in years and it made him on edge. Astrid and Hiccup gasped from the beauty of the land and all of the creatures they had only heard legends of. Dragons of all different shapes, sizes, and colors walked or flew about, little fairies flew with great speed, unicorns and winged horses were relaxing in the grassy fields and their young played tag, griffins were flying or sleeping in trees, and mermaids and mermen played and lounged near the shores of a large lake.
"Welcome to Lainos," Beren said, "A sanctuary for all mystical creatures that are in need."
"So you protect all of them," Astrid said, "Do they all get along?"
"Sometimes they bother each other but we always solve the issue before it gets too far out of hand," Beren explained, walking down the path that led to the village, "Come, the Elf Council would like a word."
They followed and sometimes had to duck and dodge other creatures that came along. The creatures were happy and peaceful until the group passed them. They were unsettled by humans because humans hadn't always been nice to them. They came to the largest building and walked in, finding some Elves sitting down at a table shaped like a horseshoe. (A/N: I'm starting at the left end of the table and making my way to the right.) The one on the left end of the table had curly brown hair, brown eyes, and a red fox sitting in her lap, another female had light red hair, blue eyes, and a barn owl sitting on her shoulder, a female with wavy blonde hair, amber eyes, and a hawk sitting on her shoulder, another female with very light, almost white blonde hair, grey eyes, then an empty seat, a male with silver hair that was short and slicked back, shining blue eyes, dark brown tattoos that looked like flames covering his arms and crawling up his neck and stopped when they curled around his eyes, and a bird that looked like a falcon except it was much smaller with a more narrow and sharp beak and very bright blue and green feathers, a male with dark brown long hair in a braid, green eyes, and a horned owl on his shoulder, and the last one was a male with curly blonde hair that went to his shoulders and light brown eyes with a white fennec fox.
"This is the Elf Council. On the left end is Cuin, Mireth, Arvellas, Rovain who is the queen, Aran who is my son, Arthon, and Alagos," Beren said, pointing to each Elf when he said their name, "And you know me as Beren but I am also the king."
"Wow, uh, thank you Beren for bringing us here," Hiccup thanked, "and all of you for agreeing with him."
"Not all of us agreed on bringing adans into our home," the one named Arthon with the horned owl scowled.
"Arthon, these adans mean no trouble. They are friends with dragons. This one named Hiccup discovered that dragons really meant no harm to his people and convinced them," Beren said.
"What does adans mean?" Astrid asked.
"Humans."
"Haleth told us that you were hiding from kidnappers," Rovain said, "Why did they kidnap you?"
Hiccup looked hesitant to tell them.
"Their chief, Dagur, needed me for a prophecy," Hiccup said.
"What was the prophecy about?"
"That I can bring the Red Death back with the my blood," Hiccup said.
Almost all of the Elves gasped except for the queen, she remained quiet but didn't look surprised.
"This prophecy was told to me by my grandmother when I was just a young Elf. 'The killer's blood shall be the dead's breathe of life'," Rovain said and Hiccup shivered at the words that were from his nightmare, "You have already heard these words?"
"In a nightmare a couple nights back," Hiccup said quietly.
Astrid grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze and that's when they all saw the silver bracelet.
"Where did you get the bracelet?" Beren asked.
"Hiccup gave it to me. It was his mom's," Astrid explained, twirling the bracelet.
"Your mother was Valka?" Alagos asked, almost standing from his seat and waking his fennec fox.
"Yeah, I don't really remember her but I've seen paintings," Hiccup said, "My dad said she was taken during a dragon raid when I was just a baby."
"We made Stoick the Vast the bracelet when we heard he was going to marry her. It is a good luck bracelet to protect the wearer and their loved ones from death," Rovain said, "We have seen what good it has done. It even saved you, Hiccup, when you were born early."
The trio looked shocked that one little bracelet saved Hiccup when he was born. Beren nodded to Arvellas and the girl left, the hawk flying ahead down a hall at the back of the room. She came back with a woman but it was no ordinary woman. It was the one Hiccup had seen in the painting that was in the chest back at home.
"Mom?"
Valka looked surprised and she moved closer to the boy in a cautious dragon-like fashion, examining his face. Hiccup was too surprised to move or speak. She reached out and ran her finger over the scar underneath his bottom lip.
"Hiccup," Valka quietly said, a huge smile coming to her face and tears of happiness coming to her eyes.
She wrapped her arms around his small frame and Hiccup hugged back, still in shock.
"But everyone thinks you're dead," Hiccup said.
"Dragons are different than what Vikings think they are. They're very sweet creatures and the one that took me wanted me to help protect them," Valka said, "I'm sorry Hiccup that I left you but-"
"It's okay Mom, the dragons needed you but everyone back on Berk, they know dragons aren't bad!"
"What? When did this happen?"
"When Hiccup here became friends with a Night Fury and defeated the Red Death," Astrid said.
"Oh, Mom this is Astrid my girlfriend and this is Toothless," Hiccup said, gesturing to his friends.
"A Night Fury!" Valka exclaimed and kneeled next to the ebony dragon, "Retractable teeth, great eyes for night time, and he's your age."
Valka brushed the frills along the dragon's jaw and he purred. There was something comforting about the woman.
"He may be the last of his kind," Valka said as Hiccup and Astrid looked at the frills, "And what happened here, a trap?"
Valka gestured to the prosthetic tail fin and Hiccup chuckled nervously.
"Sorta. That happened when I shot him down and he got stuck in a cove, but he got me back," Hiccup said, gesturing to his prosthetic leg and rubbing Toothless' head playfully, "Huh bud?"
Valka was shocked but their attention was grabbed when Beren cleared his throat.
"Sorry to end your family reunion but there are more important matters at hand," Beren said as he sat down in the empty seat next to Rovain, "How did you get to the island?"
"Dagur's ship was coming to this island. He said they had to get something before we went back to the old dragons' nest," Hiccup said, "So when it was dark, we rode in some empty barrels and Toothless swam us to shore."
"There are more rules to the prophecy," Rovain said, "Dagur must spill your blood with a special stone found on this island only, a green and black stone called in lapidem autem caede et sanguine or the stone of death and blood. The last of its remains were thrown off this island by Elves who did not want it here anymore."
Hiccup and Astrid tensed and they all noticed. Hiccup pulled out the dagger and most of the Elves narrowed their eyes at the cursed stone.
"I found it on the beach when I was younger and a friend, my blacksmith teacher, helped me make it into a dagger," Hiccup explained.
"Father, we must destroy that rock!" Arthon exclaimed, standing from his seat.
"Aran, sit back down. You should know that the in lapidem autem caede et sanguine cannot be destroyed which was why we threw it into the ocean. All we can do is lock it up and never speak of it to any of the creatures," Beren said, "Please bring me the dagger."
Hiccup walked up and handed it to him. Beren took the dagger and handed it to Arvellas who walked down a different hall with a locked door.
"What are we gonna do now?" Astrid asked.
"Keep you here until Dagur and his men leave the island," Rovain said.
"Now the adans have to be here even longer?" Arthon complained, "All of the creatures here feel unsettled because of them!"
"They have gotten used to Valka, they can get used to Hiccup and Astrid too," Mireth pointed out.
"But Mireth-"
"I know you do not like adans very much but they are not all bad. This young man saw that dragons are different from what he had been told. Now he has made peace with them," Mireth said, "Give them a chance."
Arthon grumbled and his owl glared at Mireth's barn owl.
"Arvellas and Aran, show them where they will be staying and Cuin, Hiccup has an injury that needs to be seen to after they get settled in," Beren said.
"What?" Valka asked and looked Hiccup all over until she saw the lash on his back, "Who did this?"
"Dagur did," Hiccup said.
"I'm going to guess he also made you wear the outfit," Valka said angrily and Hiccup nodded, "Are we talking about Oswald the Agreeable's son?"
"Yeah, he became the new chief of the Berserkians and goes by Dagur the Deranged and he's been going after Toothless. Now he wants to bring back the Red Death so he can rule all the Vikings and dragons," Hiccup said.
They followed the two teen elves out the door and further into the village where there was a smaller hut type building. They walked inside and there were several smaller rooms.
"This is your room Hiccup," Aran said, gesturing to the second room, "And my beautiful lady, this is your room."
"What did you just call me?" Astrid asked, glaring at the Elf prince.
"My beautifu-" Aran started but Arvellas elbowed him hard in the gut.
His bird flew off his shoulder and into Arvellas' hawk's face, making high pitched cawing noises but the hawk just sat there. It then bonked heads with the smaller bird and it flew back, dazed, to his owner's shoulder.
"Are you okay Valaina?" Aran asked, rubbing the bird's head, "Alonnen is a big brute."
"He was only teaching your Humming Hawk to behave," Arvellas said, "Let us get you to Cuin so she can take care of your wound and then we will ask Muin if you can borrow some of his clothes. You are about the same size."
"Who's Muin?" Astrid asked.
"He's the son of Mireth and Arthon," Valka explained, "The girl Haleth you met earlier is the daughter of Cuin and Alagos."
"Are they the only Elf children right now?" Astrid said.
"They are the youngest and they share the same birthday. When they turn sixteen, their animal companion will come to them and stay with them for life," Aran said.
"Do they know what animal they'll get?" Hiccup asked.
"No, it is a surprise and those of royal blood get the more magical creatures," Arvellas answered, "Beren and Rovain each have winged horses and Aran has a Humming Hawk. Your animal companion has a very similar personality and the more you learn from each other, the better you work together."
"Sounds like mine and Toothless' relationship," Hiccup said, rubbing said dragon's head.
They came to a clearing where Haleth and a boy her age sat, playing with some fairies.
"Muin," Arvellas said and the boy with red hair turned his head and looked at them with large green eyes, "One of our guests has an injury that needs healing."
He nodded and stood. Haleth stood too and followed him to a small hut in the distance. The fairies they had been playing with flew in front of the three new people's faces, talking quickly in their fairy language. Toothless glared at the little people when they tickled his ears and tried to open his mouth. One sat on Hiccup's shoulder and many others were interested in Astrid, playing with her hair and trying to undo it from its braid.
"Knock it off," Astrid growled, not noticing as a couple started to put flowers in her hair.
The fairy on Hiccup's shoulder was now braiding his hair in little braids. By the time they reached the hut, Hiccup's hair was completely braided and Astrid had flowers everywhere.
"Shoo fairies," Arvellas said and they instantly dispersed.
Astrid pulled all the flowers out and dropped them to the ground and Hiccup tried to get the braids out but with little success.
"Do you need help?" Astrid asked.
"Just a little," Hiccup said and Astrid undid the braids with ease.
Muin combined different types of plants and liquids into a bowl and whispered a few words. The paste glowed for a few seconds before it went back to its normal color. He spread it over the lash and it healed in a minute, leaving a small white scar.
"That's really cool," Astrid breathed and Toothless smiled, his tongue flopping out.
"I can show you some more cool things," Aran smirked, putting his arm around Astrid's shoulders.
This time it was Astrid who elbowed him in the gut, leaving him winded.
"I think Valka can show us around," Astrid said, grabbing Hiccup's hand, "Will Beren mind us walking around?"
"Of course not," Arvellas said and they walked out the door.
"I might punch Aran," Astrid growled.
"You're not alone," Hiccup said and Astrid smiled, pecking his cheek.
The fairies from earlier came back but this time they had clothes for Hiccup. It was just a simple white tunic, brown pants, and brown boots.
"Thank you," he said and the fairies giggled.
They placed a flower crown on Hiccup, Astrid, Valka, and Toothless and flew off. Toothless went cross-eyed trying to see the new object on his head and they laughed when he fell over. They went back to Hiccup's room where he changed and then walked about Lainos. They came to the field where the unicorns and the winged horses rested and grazed. A little unicorn came running and ran into Hiccup, knocking the boy over. Toothless got angry and nearly growled and attack the little creature but Astrid stopped him. Hiccup petted the baby on the head and it blinked and ran back to its mom.
"Lots of the younger creatures have a bad habit of running into Elves or other creatures," Valka said and they headed toward the lake.
Mermaids and mermen lounged about on rocks or on the shore, chatting or napping. Hiccup and Astrid had always thought that merpeople never existed but now they knew that they were real. One mermaid with long black hair, brown eyes, and a violet tail spotted Hiccup and smiled.
"Hello, what is your name?" she asked Hiccup.
"I'm Hiccup," he answered, "And you are?"
"Dusk," she replied, flicking her tail, "I never get to see human boys."
"And I never get to see mermaids or mermen," Hiccup said.
"Do you know how to swim?" she asked and Hiccup gave her a confused look.
"Well, I can't because of my prosthetic," Hiccup said, motioning to the metal foot.
Dusk latched onto his arm and pulled him into the lake. Toothless roared and raced in after them. Astrid kicked off her boots and jumped in, following the dragon who moved fluidly in the water. Valka raced off to find one of the Elves. Toothless kept an eye on the purple flicking tail and swam as fast as he could. Astrid managed to catch up and pulled herself onto Toothless' back. The mermaid disappeared with their friend into a cave and Toothless squeezed into the entrance. They came out into a cavern where they could breathe and Astrid took a deep breathe. Dusk had Hiccup sitting on a rock next to her, and she was too close for both Hiccup's and Astrid's com fort. She all of a sudden bit Hiccup's arm and he winced, trying to pull away. Astrid glared and released a war cry before jumping off of the Night Fury's back and onto the rock next to Hiccup. She kicked Dusk off the rock and they both jumped onto Toothless' back. He swam back out the entrance with an angry mermaid following. She now had multiple rows of very sharp teeth, a dorsal fin, a dull ugly grey tail with peeling scales, grey skin, and eyes full of blood lust. She caught up to Toothless and bit his tail, sucking blood. Toothless roared and shot out of the top of the lake, shaking her off and flinging her onto shore. She hissed, smoke rising from her skin and leaving ashes on the sand. Toothless roared and hid Astrid and Hiccup behind him.
"Blood Mermaid," Beren frowned, pulling out his sword.
"What?" Valka asked.
"A Blood Mermaid. Mermaids cursed or created by dark magic. They suck the blood of other creatures. Merpeople bitten by a Blood Mermaid become one themselves, but humans and other creatures become terribly sick and die unless treated in time," Beren said and then noticed the blood running down Hiccup's arm and Toothless' tail, "Hell."
The Blood Mermaid was screeching and hissing, still smoking from the sun. She turned her brown eyes towards Astrid and screeched very loudly, her eyes narrowing. Astrid glared back and Dusk leapt through the air and pinned Astrid to the ground. She scratched at her with her claws and kept trying to bite her neck, missing by only inches. Beren jumped over Toothless and swung down, slicing her head off and sending black blood everywhere, including Astrid who was now soaked. She pushed the corpse off of her and stood on shaky legs. Hiccup hugged her and she hugged back.
"We have to get you and Toothless to Mireth and Arthon," Beren said, "You were bit."
"What?" Hiccup asked and noticed his dragon's tail bleeding, "Oh gods, Toothless."
Toothless whimpered and licked Hiccup's wound. They ran to the hut where Hiccup was healed earlier and Beren ran to the room where the Council was. Hiccup began to feel sick when they reached the hut and leaned against the wall.
"Hiccup?" Astrid asked, concern filling her eyes.
His head was spinning and he felt incredibly weak to the point where standing was a struggle. Valka helped lay him on a bed and they all got Toothless onto another. Toothless whined and wanted to be next to Hiccup but they held him back. Mireth worked on Hiccup and Arthon worked on Toothless, working as fast as they could.
"Their bodies' temperatures are going down," Mireth said, "Beren, get Muin."
The king nodded and raced out. Astrid stood by Hiccup, running her fingers through his hair and doing anything she needed to do and Valka tried to comfort Toothless but the Night Fury only wanted Hiccup to be okay. The red headed boy raced in and got to work, mixing things and getting supplies. Hiccup's body felt like it was on fire and his head was spinning but all he could think about was Toothless.
"Toothless," Hiccup mumbled, eyes slipping open and closed.
"Expélle eos de tenebris magicae (Rid them of the dark magic)," Mireth whispered over a two bowls of blue liquid and handed one to Arthon.
Hiccup and Toothless drank the liquid from the bowls and in a few minutes, their bodies began to return to a normal healthy state. Astrid and Valka breathed a sigh of relief. Toothless woke up, still a bit groggy, and crawled onto Hiccup's table and curled up around him, falling back into a peaceful slumber.
"They should wake up some time tomorrow," Mireth said, "Let us get you cleaned up."
Astrid looked down at her clothes and noticed she was still covered in black blood, now dried and smelling like ashes.
"Thank you," Astrid said to the three Elves and they nodded.
Astrid was led to her room where a nice hot bath was prepared and new clothes laid on her bed by the fairies. She washed herself well with the soap that smelled like roses and dressed in her new clothes which consisted of brown shorts that stopped mid-thigh, brown boots, and a green tunic with removable silver armor chest plate starting above her breasts and stopping at her hips.
"I like this," Astrid smiled and caught sight of the silver bracelet on the bedside table.
She put it on and looked at the door when she heard a knock. She opened the door to reveal Aran with a bouquet of flowers.
"I heard what happened," Aran said, "And I wanted to check on you."
"That's sweet Aran but-," Astrid started but Aran cut her off.
"I also got you some flowers," Aran began, "And your hair looks beautiful when it is down."
"Thank you Aran but I like someone else," Astrid said, absentmindedly playing with her bracelet.
"It is Hiccup, is it not?" he asked, looking a little sad.
"Yes Aran but you'll find someone who loves you back," Astrid said.
"I know but it does not mean that I cannot stop trying to woo you over," Aran said while walking away and Astrid groaned.
Arthon and Alagos came carrying Toothless and Valka was carrying Hiccup. Astrid opened the door to Hiccup's room and she laid Hiccup on the bed and the dragon was laid next to him.
"At least he's okay now," Astrid said and Valka smiled.
"Yes, I don't want to lose my son again," Valka said, sitting on the edge of the bed and moving the hair out of his eyes, "I remember how much hair he had as a babe. No matter how many times you would fix it, it would end up sticking out every which way and be a mess."
"It still does that sometimes," Astrid chuckled, remembering how many times she would see Hiccup walk into the Great Hall for breakfast and random pieces of hair would be sticking up.
"So is it true?" Valka started, "Are dragons really allowed on Berk?"
Astrid nodded and a smile grew on Valka's face.
"Was it because Hiccup killed the Red Death?"
"Yeah, Stoick finally began to realize that they weren't bad after Toothless saved Hiccup from being burned and falling to his death," Astrid explained, "That was how he lost his foot."
Valka was silent for a few minutes, taking in all the new information.
"Do you have your own dragon?"
"She's a Deadly Nadder named Stormfly," Astrid said, "She's mainly a light blue with some yellow here and there and a white belly."
Concern instantly swept over Astrid's face.
"I wonder if anyone found her. Dagur left her wrapped in a net unconscious when he kidnapped us."
"Stoick must have found her," Valka reassured.
"Hiccup is hoping Stoick finds Dagur's ship by the island and searches the island," Astrid said, "I know Stoick is searching for us, but I hope he doesn't get into trouble."
"Is he coming here by dragon?" Valka asked.
"Yeah, he has a blue Thunderdrum named Thornado," Astrid said and Valka laughed.
"The thought of Stoick actually riding a dragon is very funny considering he hated them with a passion."
Valka yawned and stood from the bedside.
"I'm going to bed. Goodnight Astrid," Valka said.
"Goodnight Mrs. Haddock."
"Please Astrid, just Valka," Valka said and left the room.
Astrid looked at Hiccup's and Toothless' peaceful slumbering forms. Astrid squeezed into the bed next to Hiccup under the covers since she didn't want to be alone in the other room and shut her eyes, falling into a peaceful sleep.
The teens and their dragons met with Stoick and Thornado at the beach and they took off, hoping to find something soon so they could get Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless back as soon as possible. Stormfly flew with them, seeming the second most determined out of everyone. They flew for hours and saw Dagur's ship at an island Stoick had been to only once many years ago.
"Lainos," he whispered, memories he had locked away came back fresh as if they had just happened.
"What are we gonna do Chief?" Snotlout asked, all the teens looking at him.
"They're getting off but they don't have Hiccup, Astrid, or Toothless with them so they must be searching for them," Stoick said, "We'll fly to the other side of the island so we're not spotted and split up. Avoid the Berserkers at all costs."
"Yes Chief!" the teens said and flew down to the other side.
"How did they escape if you three were on guard?" Dagur asked, nearly growling at the three Berserkers, "Unless you weren't doing your job?"
The three Berserkers cowered at their chief's glare and one took off running to jump overboard but Dagur pulled out a throwing knife and hit his heart, killing him instantly. The other two cowered even more.
"Feed these two to our dragon prisoners. Men, get ready to search the island," Dagur ordered and everyone bustled about, afraid to have a knife sticking out of their back.
A/N: Sorry this took so long guys but this had so much going on that I was trying to figure out how to put it all together and new ideas came along while I was typing so I added them in. I was also afraid that it wasn't going to be good enough because I have that constant fear that nothing I do is good enough so that's usually another reason some chapters take so long to be posted. Remember to leave comments on what you think so far!