A year had passed since the fire, but ever since, Hiccup and Astrid had grown even closer. Hiccup made sure to make every moment count. Truthfully, he was terrified by the incident. Their lives could be stolen away in a blink of an eye. He started taking Astrid on more and more dates, although most of these consisted of scouting around the Edge or patrolling along the beach. Every now and then, they would take a flight, just the two of them. In fact, it had become routine. Every other week, they would take a trip to a nice, secluded island east of the Edge.
It was Stormfly's turn to fly the couple. Hiccup rubbed Toothless's neck as he said goodbye. He hated to have to leave him behind, but it had become a rotation. Toothless had flown the pair last time.
"I'll see you soon, bud." Hiccup smiled as Toothless nuzzled him, as he turned to join Astrid on Stormfly.
As they took off, Astrid turned around a gave a smile to Hiccup, which he returned. They didn't get to do this often enough, did they? They intended to visit a nearby island and relax, enjoying each other's company.
Hiccup was already holding onto Astrid's waist, but he decided to dig his fingers into her stomach. He laughed when Astrid let out a yelp and proceeded to lightly punch him in the shoulder.
"Aww, is someone a little ticklish?" Hiccup smirked.
"Very funny, Hiccup. If I wasn't the one with the reigns, you'd so get it." Astrid tried to sound serious but it didn't come off very convincingly.
"Well, while you are the one in control, I guess I'll just have to pass the time…" Hiccup smiled deviously, proceeding to tickle her further.
"No- wait, Hiccup, Ahhh! HAHAHA-" Astrid shrieked and reeled over, earning a jolt from Stormfly, evidently annoyed by her unruly passengers.
000
Viggo looked at his men's handiwork and smiled, satisfied. It was a convincing set-up. His hunters, the struggling dragons, and the fires. The poor couple was too predictable. He'd been tipped off by one of his men that the pair had been traveling to the island each week for their little dates.
It was almost a shame that they wouldn't have each other much longer. Viggo honestly thought they would've known better than to be so predictable. Ah, perhaps that's what love did to people. Clouded their thought processes. Lose control of themselves. He smiled. Their relationship only brought out their weaknesses. Hiccup would crumble if he lost any of those he held close. Astrid was too brash, not thinking before acting. Her hard-headedness would be her downfall.
Viggo felt a tinge of wistfulness. The riders and he shared many memories together. But today was a big day. He meant for this to be the finishing blow. Rather, the beginning of the end for the riders. Without Hiccup and Astrid, the dragon riders would be finished once and for all. Viggo took his position in hiding, waiting for the pair to appear.
000
Upon arriving at the island, the couple let out a sigh of relief. Many of their favorite memories were on this island. From the time they had gone cliff jumping to when Toothless had thrown the two off his back into the lake, they had had their fair share of fun dates.
Suddenly, a horrible shriek pierced through the air. They noticed smoke rose in the distance and the cries of injured dragons echoed across the island.
Hiccup glanced at Astrid. Astrid nodded in understanding, and the trio took off towards the smoke.
000
"There!" Hiccup pointed to the Deadly Nadders that were trapped in cages. Nearing the ground, Hiccup rolled off Stormfly and bolted towards the cages and freeing the dragons. Astrid and Stormfly wreaked havoc on the hunters nearby, dodging arrows and firing spikes.
As he ran, he couldn't help but feel as though something was off about the situation. The hunters seemed surprisingly calm. Sure, they were running about and yelling, but they didn't seem afraid. Almost like they thought everything was under control.
"Alright, that's the last of them!" After freeing the last Nadder, Hiccup ran towards a rendezvous point to get picked up. Astrid directed Stormfly downward; all of a sudden, a boulder came flying and slammed into Stormfly, throwing Astrid off. She rolled across the sand, somersaulting into a fighting position and drawing her ax. Stormfly screeched, tumbling into the nearby forest.
Hiccup sprinted to Astrid's position and drew Inferno. The pair stood back-to-back, encircled by hunters prepared to fight. More hunters hopped out from behind the bushes, each drawing a sword.
Hiccup lashed out at one of the hunters. The hunter dodged almost too slowly, astonished at Hiccup's speed. The hunters yelled and charged Hiccup. Hiccup parried their attacks and lunged out, countering attacks left and right. Astrid was doing the same with astonishing agility, knocking away hunters with her ax.
The duo maintained a good strategy in the fight, watching each other's backs. Suddenly, Hiccup heard a familiar dragon cry. Stormfly. He glanced back and saw a hunter kicking and abusing the Nadder. And Hiccup saw the fire in Astrid's eyes and wished the poor hunter luck that his end would be quick and painless. Astrid bolted toward the hunter, leaving Hiccup by himself, surrounded by hunters.
"Uh….Astrid!" Hiccup was getting nervous. Sure, he couldn't blame Astrid for protecting her dragon. But leaving her flank in battle was inadvisable. And something didn't feel right. The hunter was abusing the dragon almost as if he wanted to provoke Astrid. But that would mean…. Hiccup became intensely alert.
"ASTRID! Stop!" Hiccup dodged attacks, breaking free and chasing after Astrid. She was now sprinting full speed toward her target, ax in hand. The hunter looked terrified at first, but then smiled. He waved and retreated as several hunters jumped out from their hiding spots in front of him. Astrid came to a halt to face the hunters and yelled in frustration, unaware that another masked hunter had emerged from behind her, ready to drive his sword through her.
Hiccup roared in anger and dove in front of the hunter, attempting to block with his own sword.
He gasped as he felt a sharp pain emerge from his abdomen. He looked down. Blood. His hearing grew cloudy; he thought he had heard Astrid scream, but he wasn't sure anymore. He looked down and saw the sword's hilt up against his stomach. He dropped his sword as he staggered and fell to his knees.
"Hmm, not my target. But so predictable." A familiar voice observed in triumph.
Viggo viciously ripped his sword out out, kicking Hiccup to the ground with a grunt. Astrid crawled over to Hiccup's motionless body, cupping his face in her hands.
"No! Hiccup, look at me!" She felt her eyes begin to water. She grabbed her ax and stood ready to kill Viggo and any hunter who dared to fight her.
"Dear Astrid, do you really want to take your chances? Wouldn't it be wiser to surrender and protect Hiccup from any more harm? I won't let these hunters hurt him. If you would allow me to." Viggo smiled.
Astrid grimaced. She hated to swallow defeat, but he was right. If she lost the fight, Hiccup would be all alone. She lowered her ax. Some of the hunters took it as a signal to go in for the kill.
"No!" Viggo stopped them. "Leave her alive. We'll need her to answer some questions for us." Viggo smirked and resumed to talk to his men.
Astrid glared at the man. She couldn't let them take Hiccup. But she needed help. She noticed a particular Nadder poke her head out. While the men were distracted, she motioned to Stormfly to get help. The Nadder understood and moved quietly to take off. She looked back at Hiccup and gasped as Hiccup's wound seemed to be turning green. She looked back at Viggo's sword; its bloodied tip was lined with a green substance. What had he done to Hiccup?