Stoick didn't know what to say, should he even say anything? He looked towards Gobber to see if his best friend knew what to do but to only see Gobbers shocked face with his eyes slowly filling with tears. Even Stoick was about cry, he looked at his very alive son the same son he thought dead just a few minutes ago. He opened his mouth only to close it back again when not able to remember what he wanted to say. He did what he dreamed of doing for the past eight years, he closed the distance between Hiccup in a second and hugged him to make sure he would never lose his son again. "Uh... can't b- breath." Hiccup told his father while struggling to let air reach his lungs. Stoick quickly let his son go only to see all the guards had their weapons pointed towards him.
That's when the explanation hit Fishlegs like a Gronckel raming a Viking, it was so obvious he just blurted out, "You're the Emperor! Fishlegs looked towards Hiccup with eyes filled with awe and happiness. He eagerly waited for the former heir of Berk to respond to his discovery. Hiccup looked at him and when his eyes recognized he smirked while answering Fishleg's outburst, "Yes, Fishlegs I am the Emperor of the Draconian Empire." When Hiccup saw the other Berkians looking at the dragons and the guards with their weapons drawn he realized he had to make some introductions.
"Okay I think some introductions are in order, you all already know Camicazi and Alvin along with Dagur; Oswald the Agreeable's son and you all have already met Viggo, along with the chiefs of the other islands in my empire are part of my council there are a total of eight islands including Dragon's Edge which make up the Draconian Empire." Hiccup stated proudly. Hiccup was enjoying this, bragging to his former tribe members who thought he would never amount to anything to show them how he had surpassed all of them ten times over. A few of the Berkians started murmuring amongst themselves as his guards relaxed, he spoke again, "I will help you all retake Berk and am willing to provide you with shelter on this island till we defeat Grimmel on the condition that you all follow the rules I have put in place." "What are these rules exactly useless?" Snotlout asked trying to show that he was still better than Hiccup only to feel cold metal at his neck he looked around to see a girl with raven black hair staring him down with hatred and fury. "Call him that again I dare you... " the girl seethed out. Snotlout audibly gulped, "Heather stand down as well as you lot too, he's not worth the trouble." Hiccup said while looking at his guards. Heather slowly walked towards her brother, Dagur while still holding her axe in her hands. Hiccup knew Heather cared for him like a brother and would kill anyone who hurt him, but killing Snotlout would only cause more trouble than good so he decided to calm her down instead. "My rules are simple, seeing that you will be staying in the accommodation room at the castle; you are not allowed to enter a few rooms without permission, there is a curfew at 9 and the most important rule of all you will not hurt, injure or bring any harm to my people, our livestock and belongings or to the dragons. You lot anyways do not have any weapons but if any of these rules are broken, I will personally kill you myself. Am I clear?" Hiccup stated while looking at all the Berkians with a look that made even the strongest Vikings cower in fear. All the Berkians could do was nod and accept the terms they were given.
"All right so now that is out of the way follow me, I know you all have questions I will clear all of those once we reach the castle, stay close I don't want to go through the trouble of finding one of you if you get lost in the tunnels." Hiccup ordered the Berkians as he turned around climbing up the stairs of the dock leading to the entrance of the tunnel systems.
As they followed Hiccup into the tunnels they walked beside Dagur, Heather and Camicazi while Alvin and Viggo led the way while talking to Hiccup who was walking just out of earshot. Stoick knew that Alvin was against the idea of him staying at the castle, they were enemies after all it only made sense and he was trying to convince Hiccup the same as well. As they continued the steep climb Stoick asked the question he wanted to ask her the moment he had seen her on the docks, "So Camicazi, could you please explain what in Helheim is going on here?"
"Sure I'll make it short I will let Hiccup tell you the whole story himself but the short version is that Hiccup trained Toothless; the Night Fury and defeated the Queen of Dragons who was the reason behind the raids. Hiccup lost his leg during the flight and needed medical treatment and so Astrid knowing she couldn't come back to Berk came to Bog Island seeking help, my mother helped them and decided to join them after seeing the dragon's true nature. In the following years, the Berserkers and the Outcasts joined us and after a small war with the Dragon Hunters, Hiccup convinced them to change and soon Viggo became one of the closest allies to Hiccup along with a few new islands we had discovered outside the archipelago. We then fought and defeated Drago Bludvist who killed my mother. We had nearly four years of peace until Grimmel and his Dragon Trappers started attacking our ships and killing dragons when Hiccup declared war on them. That then brings us to the present day." Camicazi explained while smiling at the memories she had made on the adventures with her friends who were now pretty much her family. "And I am Heather, Dagur's younger sister." said the raven-haired girl.
"Yes, I remember you, you were just born when I had last seen you now you look just like your mother." Stoick told the raven-haired girl with a smile. That was when Ingrid Hofferson asked Camicazi, "Is Astrid alive, you told us that she brought Hiccup to Bog Island so is she still alive is she here?" Ingrid shouted with hope in her eyes and with tears brimming her eyes. "Yes, she is alive and has missed you three very much, especially Anna." Hiccup told the now-crying mother with a warm smile. "She is at the castle it's just a few minutes till we reach the village entrance, so you can see her in just a few minutes."
XXXX
Astrid took in a deep breath as she stood beside Stormfly; she was going to see her parents after eight years. She wasn't even sure if they would be happy or disappointed that she had run away from Berk, gotten married to the love of her life, trained dragons and given birth to a daughter who was the most precious being on Midgard for both Hiccup and Astrid. The little girl could now speak Norse very well and had the mind of her father and the personality of her mother. Zephyr had trained Toothless's Night Fury offspring whom she had named Dart. The girl being smart had all of her parent's friends wrapped around her finger they would do anything she asked and spoiled her to no end. She was now sleeping in her room which was honestly a little too big for a four-year-old.
Astrid stepped outside the large steel gates of the palace and made her way across the bridge connecting the enormous stone castle to the cobblestone path leading to the village. Many of the villagers bowed down to her as she walked down the street with a smile acknowledging the gesture when she saw the familiar faces of her friends. She made her way to Mala, Atali and Eret discussing and trying to figure out the reason they all had been called for an emergency meeting by Hiccup. Upon seeing her all three of them bowed slightly and Mala asked Astrid what was happening and where Dagur and Hiccup were. She quickly filled them in on what they knew as they made their way towards the town centre. She also asked them if her parents would be happy to see her.
"Look, Astrid if your parents truly are like how you described them to us in your stories then you have nothing to fear. And even if they get angry you still have all of us and most importantly Hiccup to stand by your side." Eret said trying to calm Astrid down. Astrid rarely told anyone except Hiccup about her feelings or fears and when she did confide with someone else it would always be her closest friends which were Camicazi and Heather and the other council members. Astrid trusted each one of them, she had changed over the years from a cold, untrusting strong shieldmaiden to a beautiful, sweet, caring and romantic woman who showed her emotions more openly and trusted people easily. This was all thanks to Hiccup's effect on her life; she loved him dearly for it. It shocked her sometimes how hard she had fallen for the now strong, handsome, intelligent dork. She thought as Stormly slightly nudged her hearing her rider's distressed behaviour.
"Thanks, Eret it means a lot..." Astrid's breath hitched as she abruptly stopped her reply when she saw Hiccup and Toothless leading the Berkians towards her. Astrid immediately recognized the figure of Stoick the Vast now who had bags under his eyes and had some white streaks contrasting his bright red beard. She then saw Hiccup's mentor Gobber who looked exactly the same as the day Astrid had last seen him and Fishleg's who was now bigger and had some muscle but still had some fat. She then noticed Snotlout and his gang, Dogsbreath seemed to have gotten uglier while the twins looked pretty much the same and Helga looked happier and a little more pretty and was walking very close to Snotlout who had grown in every physical aspect except in height which made her chuckle. She then saw her parents who looked very tired and had bags under their eyes as well as wrinkles all over their faces not to mention the bloodshot eyes of her mother as a result of her crying, no doubt caused by Astrid. She then smiled as she laid eyes on her now seventeen-year-old sister who looked as beautiful as Astrid; she wore the same spiked shoulder pads Astrid used to wear on Berk and had a red tunic with a plain leather skirt that had a skull at the centre. Anna's look was obviously inspired by the way Astrid dressed herself while living on Berk.
Astrid felt her heartbeat quicken as the group got closer and her friends and dragon stood behind her as a sign of support. When the group reached where she stood she heard her father whisper, "A- Astrid?" while her mother and sister pushed past Hiccup to hug her so tightly that Astrid felt her bones break, she was soon engulfed by her father too as her mother started weeping against her chest. Astrid felt a pang of guilt as she saw her family's reactions. Not knowing what to say she looked over at Hiccup who stood behind her father while smiling warmly at the sight before him happy that her parents were not mad at their daughter at least not yet.
She slowly walked back to rest her hand on her dragon's head while getting a full view of her family before looking at the ground while telling, "I know what you're going to say, how could I have run away with Hiccup and trained dragons? But I felt at that time it was the best option I knew if I had stayed or tried to convince you guys me and Hiccup would have been exiled for befriending dragons so that's why we ran away but I still missed you every day and I am so happy to see you all again." Astrid told her parents trying her best to hold back her tears while she continued, "You have every right to be mad at me after all I made you assume I was dead and I know that hurt you so shout..." Her statement was cut short by her mother hugging her once again while telling her, "We are not angry or mad just delighted to see you again we completely understand why you left, and are hoping we could hear what you have done in the past few years besides what Camicazi already told us." Astrid smiled warmly while letting a few tears trickle down her face and nodding before hugging her parents and sister once again.
Astrid then gestured to the purring dragon beside her, "This is my dragon she's a Light Fury and her name is Stormfly." Astrid told her parents proudly. As the Vikings looked at the village they were shocked; the houses were made of stone to offer more strength and resistance to dragon fire, and there were inventions like the pulleys at the wells or lanterns to offer light on either side of the pathways. Few of the shops were selling items and meat they had never seen before, it all surprised the Berkians more and more. They had never expected to see their former runt of an heir grow up to become the emperor of a dragon rider empire and to make the empire the most advanced and prosperous one in the archipelago. Hiccup had surpassed all the greatness they were expecting from Snotlout whom they had always thought to be more competent.
"This way we are almost at the castle, we can all have breakfast there while we answer all your questions." Hiccup stated wanting the Vikings to be as far away from his people as possible not wanting there to be a fight. He led the way back to the castle now alongside Astrid and their dragons slowly following behind them. As the Vikings followed the two runaways they saw more and more useful inventions all across the village which were clearly Hiccup's ideas, as the villagers offered bows to the Emperor and Emperess they looked down in shame realizing their mistake in not giving Hiccup a chance to share his ideas. The Berkians knew Hiccup was smart and had many ideas for inventions but they never gave him a chance to tell them as they thought it was very 'un-Viking like'. Now they realized if they had listened Berk might have been the strongest and most advanced island in the Archipelago.
As they all crossed the bridge they were shocked at the sheer size of the castle in front of them; it was made of stone, steel, glass and wood. It had many towers which had the Empire's flag flying from the top. The castle was placed around a lush green forest where they could see a large, pointy ice monument contrasting the green of the forest. There was a waterfall on one side of the castle which dropped into the ravine separating the stone castle from the village, the ravine divided the entire island into two unequal halves and it went as deep as the sea. As they walked into the courtyard in front of the castle gates they could see the advanced weapons on the walls of the castle where both humans and dragons guarded the giant stone monument. To the people of Draconia, the castle was a symbol of peace and strength while to their enemies it was a symbol of fear. It was designed by Hiccup in such a way that it would be impossible to destroy or capture the castle from the outside. And that's why the castle was made big enough to house all eight villages under the rule of the Draconian Empire if they had lost the other islands. The castle also had enough resources to hold its own for five years if a siege took place and the castle was surrounded. As they walked through the corridors to the Dinning Hall the Vikings marvelled at the height of the corridors, the number of rooms they had passed, the painting and riches lining the walls, the chandeliers and also thick long carpets lining the entire floor of the castle. When they entered the vast Dining Hall the Vikings all gasped as a tiny auburn-haired girl ran up to Hiccup screaming "Daddy!"