Helga walked down the well-worn cobblestone path, eyeing every dragon and the people of Draconia wearily. It had been a month since they arrived at the home of the flying 'devils', and she hated it. Not just because of the dragons but also the people especially the Empress; Astrid Hofferson the prettiest girl on Berk now might be the prettiest in the entire Archipelago. The years away from Berk had done her body good along with her husband. Every girl from Berk was falling head over heels for Hiccup and it annoyed her that Astrid had been able to tie the knot with him and not her. Astrid always beat her in every way may that be beauty, strength, or intelligence and now she was happily married and had a stunning daughter, she was even able to beat her in the game of life. It annoyed her to no end, she had always been the blonde's shadow and during Astrid's death she had become popular but now it was clear that she was destined to always be behind the blonde trying to claw her way above her but ending at the bottom.
If that wasn't enough Snotlout had become distant from her, obviously because of Astrid. She knew he was trying to get rid of Hiccup and take Astrid for himself and this pissed her off even more. She now knew he was dating her for her beauty and popularity and not to be with her for her personality. To be fair Helga herself would have chosen to be with Hiccup if she had known how handsome and powerful he would have turned out to be, but at least she had accepted her defeat… Snotlout had the ego of Ymir and decided he would overthrow Hiccup, humiliate him before killing him and then Astrid would see how strong he was and marry him… 'Stupid' was the nicest way to describe that plan. She knew it would not work but she had joined the plan just so she could at least kill Astrid and regain her honour. Mildew had also joined but because he didn't want to ally himself with 'fire-breathing demons'. Spitelout had joined and was leading them as he wanted to have the power to lead the tribe and now as Berk had officially become a part of Dragon's Edge he had to kill Hiccup and then his offspring so she couldn't claim the throne through the blood right. Others like his lackeys and even a few villagers and 'mini-snotlout' or Gustav had rallied behind them. Now they were just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Snotlout walked confidently back towards the castle while his friends walked loyally beside him, smirking as he imagined the plan his father had explained take place. It was a brilliant plan in his mind, his mind, the plan was to be taken place this night while the guards will be focusing all their attention outside the castle and the oceans around the island. After all, why would the guards be keeping watch inside the castle they know their people were very loyal people but what they didn't take into consideration was the loyalty of the Berkians.
The plan itself was very straightforward, Spitelout would be distracting the Berkians, Mildew and Gustav distracting the guards in front of Hiccup and Astrid's room. Snotlout and Helga along with Dogbreath would go in to kill the Emperor and capture Astrid so Snotlout could have her to himself. The twins were in charge of killing the princess. If everything went according to plan Snotlout and Spitelout would become the new royal family of the Draconian Empire by sunrise. The plan was amazing in the eyes of the idiotic Vikings and only in the eyes of said Vikings because if they thought about the plan for a little more time they might remember that Hiccup wasn't just some random Emperor but the Emperor of the Draconian Empire which meant he had a dragon who had much stronger senses than humans and would defend his best friend at all cost. And thus Snotlout had a plan now he just had to see it through.
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Astrid had a horrible feeling in her stomach as she ran to the adjoining bathroom to her bedroom to empty her breakfast. She was sitting on the edge of her bed thinking to herself while slightly panicking. What if what happened last night wasn't physical sickness? Once was just a regular random occurrence, but twice was a pattern, right? She certainly wasn't feeling ill—no fever, cold sweats… could this be morning sickness? Was throwing up twice after two meals normal? Obviously, dinner yesterday hadn't been in the morning, but she knew it was common to have trouble keeping food down during the early stages of pregnancy. She'd felt some unusual discomfort here and there over the last few days, too, but it hadn't worried her. She'd also been unusually tired lately, especially in the evenings. Then something else hit her. She counted up her days on her fingers, grimacing as she realized. She hadn't bled in well over a month. Astrid nearly face palmed, thinking back to certain nights and on which of them 'certain activities' had occurred. By her count now, she should've started bleeding about a week ago. What could possibly have been so distracting for so long that she didn't even notice? Hiccup. Hiccup had been so distracting, as he often was. Astrid let out the most ridiculous-sounding whimper, a keening she meant to use to scold herself for being so reckless. It was unlike her. An anxious tremor shook her entire body. "Oh, gods." That's all she said before getting up and practically running towards the healer's room in the castle.
It was on the first floor so it could be accessed by the tribe easily and as Astrid ran down the flight of stairs closely followed by a very worried Stormfly, towards the main section of the castle she couldn't help but be worried because she and Hiccup had talked several times. They had been… careful. Bringing a child into the world was an enormous commitment they knew that after all they had Zephyr, and while Astrid didn't doubt for an instant that she would love a baby that was part her and part Hiccup, she just wasn't ready. They weren't ready. They couldn't have another child especially in between the war. Hiccup already had his hands full with the war planning and keeping the Berkians in line and throwing a baby into the mix would end up in a disaster.
She'd been drinking that tea recipe religiously, specifically to prevent a surprise of this magnitude. Now, it wasn't one hundred per cent effective but it was close enough. Close enough that she was willing to take risks, like locking her legs around Hiccup when he really should be pulling away. Okay, so maybe she enjoyed that a little bit. Before she freaked out about anything, though, she needed a second opinion. Steeling herself, Astrid stood on her feet again and meandered over to the healer's door. Before she could think twice and convince herself otherwise, she cracked her knuckles against the door, going still and listening. She heard the sound of shuffling feet on the other side of the door before it swung open, revealing Grilda. The elder woman leaned against her staff, looking Astrid up and down."Uh… hi, Grilda." Astrid managed, ears growing hot with embarrassment. "Can I come in?"
Grilda nodded and stepped aside, allowing Astrid to enter the small hut. The shelves were lined with countless bottles of medicine, each marked by a label filled with scrawled runes. Grilda asked Astrid to sit on the chair placed at the centre of the room facing the old healer. Astrid did so as her dragon curled up around the legs of the chair, Astrid nervously thrummed her fingers together, and Grilda stood next to her, "What seems to be the problem?" Grilda asked. Astrid gulped, averting her eyes from the elder as if the truth were something shameful. "Well, I… I think that I might be pregnant again, Grilda." The healer blinked and nodded gesturing for her to continue, "I've been nauseous and tired the last couple of days. And I'm fairly confident that I've missed my moon's blood." Astrid said "It's the same feeling I had in the months before Zephyr was born. Grilda stroked her chin with a tiny finger, and she waddled up to Astrid and began examining her. It was a quick inspection, and in moments Grilda smiled and said, "Congratulations Empress you are indeed with a child… it looks like it is almost two months into your pregnancy and knowing you and your husband it will turn out to be the most kind-hearted, intelligent and beautiful child to be born in Midgard." Astrid slightly smiled and nodded as she thanked the healer while leaving. Astrid remembered the healer telling the exact same thing to her and Hiccup when they had come to see if Astrid had been pregnant with Zephyr.
She was scared, she was very scared. They were in a middle of a war for Thor's sake, Hiccup is already pushing himself and throwing a child into the mix would only stress him out even more. She didn't want that, she won't be that selfish… and of course, she's Fearless Astrid Haddock she could handle being pregnant for a few months without help. Hopefully, the war will be over by the time her belly starts to show… and honestly how hard could it be? She had already been through this once, the second time has to be better right? But Zephyr was planned, they were living in peace no problems had been occurring but now with the rising threat of Grimmel, she couldn't just not help with the fight. She was too stubborn and headstrong for that, and the only way she could take part in the war being pregnant would be if Hiccup or anyone for that matter didn't find out. So she had a plan, she would wait till the war was over and won to break the news to her husband.
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Freedom that's what she felt every time she flew. She had been flying with dragons for twenty-two years, but it made her feel the same thing every time. As she flew on the back of her Stormcutter she frowned clutching a scroll she had received the day before, it stated that the people of Berk had been found by Viggo in the ocean after their island had been attacked by Grimmel. They were now being treated as refugees at Dragon's Edge. The duo cut through the air easily, covering the distance as fast as Mjolnir. Valka clearly remembered her ex-husband even though it had been twenty-three years she remembered how much she used to love the boar-headed chief. After all, they had a child together, who had grown up to be more like his mother than his father, a direct contrast to what she thought he would become.
She regretted leaving Hiccup alone with Stoick, once she learnt of the abuse and torment he went through every day living on Berk she knew she should have been there helping him grow up and taking care of him. She was more than happy that he had forgiven her, she was proud of the man he had become. She personally loved Astrid, she knew the young blonde had been a monumental part in helping her son grow. As she had grown close to her daughter-in-law she had grown a big liking to her. Valka gave Astrid advice all the time, she even helped Astrid throughout her pregnancy.
But after twenty-two years of having no family or relationship of any kind she was overjoyed that she now had a son, a daughter-in-law, a granddaughter and a boyfriend, Eret was about thirty-nine years old, kind-hearted, strong and never backed down from helping anyone or anything. He also was a huge ally to Hiccup giving him knowledge and advice as well as being loyal and a good friend to the young Emperor. This is what she loved about him and was the reason she fell in love with him.
Even though it had been three weeks since she had seen any of them, she was helping small packs of dragons in the south migrate through the Dragon Trapper territory unharmed, she wasn't returning for pleasure even if she really wanted to but was actually returning to help Hiccup fight against Grimmel. She had received a letter from him that talked about his concerns about the war and more importantly the arrival of the Berkians. That's what scared her because she was like her son and daughter-in-law, a runaway. They would feel betrayed and it just unnerved Valka by the thoughts of how they would react to the news of her being alive. Hel! How would Stoick react to learning that she was alive and in love with the Chief of the Night Owls? Even if she was scared, that wasn't going to stop her and give her ex-husband and his tribe a talking-to, for treating her son the way they treated him for so many years. The thought brought a smile to her face.
Over the years of living with her son, she had learnt that her son was a natural leader, very intelligent and the only person she had ever known to come close to defeating his intellect was Viggo. He always cared for everyone and everything and had a curious nature which would get him in more trouble than helping him. While living with them she met Eret who played the role of the mole in the war against Drago. As she got to know him she learnt that under all that muscle he was actually a kind-hearted, humble and intelligent person. He advised Hiccup and sometimes even to Camicazi on how to lead their people as chiefs. Both of the young leaders relied on him, Dagur and Alvin on learning how to lead and due to that help they have become the powerful leaders they are today. While Heather and Viggo helped in planning war strategies and secret information passed among enemies Astrid was Hiccup's main support system. Valka knew her son trusted and loved Astrid more than himself and knew if he ever needed anything she would be there in an instant trying to help him in any way she could. Valka thus grew a strong liking for all of them and personally liked the candid and ferocious attitude of Astrid.
Ever since she joined her son's Empire and helped him in missions and administrating the Empire while also fighting alongside him in the last war against Drago. She had become a powerful and respected member of the council of the Draconian Empire. She also made a promise the day she joined the council on Hiccup's request to never leave or run away from Hiccup or his family ever again and she wasn't going to do that now just because her past had decided to visit her. Hiccup needed her and she was going to help him with her life if needed, that was her plan.