Yes, I took a lot of time to update, and I'm really sorry. This chapter is a bit of a cliffhanger and I'll be uploading the next chapter in the next three days or so...
~ On another note, to clarify Valka and Eret's relationship... Valka loves Hiccup she always did, she didn't come back to Berk cause she was afraid she might hurt Hiccup when he found out that she was a dragon rider as then he would be learning how to be a dragon killer. And when she found him again and realised how much he suffered because of Stoick and the other teens she stopped loving him. During her stay on Dragon's Edge after the battle with Drago, she sees Eret acting as a father figure and a person whom her son respects and admires and so she starts getting attracted to him. Not because of looks or cause she wanted to get over Stoick but because he treated Hiccup like his own son in a way Stoick never had ~
"Wake up, muttonhead!" Spitelout whisper-shouted to his son.
Snotlout groggily rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed, still trying to shake off the sleepiness. The full moon outside the glass window was the only source of light in the dimly lit room.
He saw the twins and Gustav standing against the large doors leading to the corridor, Dogsbreath and Mildew were standing behind his father while Helga was crouched next to his bed.
"Ok ok, I'm awake, calm down, I needed my beauty sleep," Snotlout told his father.
The twins tried their best to contain their laughter while Mildew held his head in his hands, and Spitelout simply rolled his eyes while motioning to his son to get ready for the mission.
Helga handed him his helmet and helped him put on his armour. While he picked up his sword, from beside his bed, he noticed a few of the Jorgenson allies such as Hoark the Brave and Ack the Bold, were also standing beside Spitelout and Mildew outside the room… Maybe they were helping the Jorgensons with the plan… he was furious that his father had not told him about the new additions to the group.
As Snotlout strolled, lazily, outside the room, followed dutily by Helga, the twins quietly closed the large doors of the Accommodation Hall and then locked it, stopping the Berkians from foiling their plan. Unbeknownst to them a few of the Berkians had already left the room completely undetected by the Jorgensons and their allies…
"All right, listen up, you bunch of muttonheads," Spitelout grumbled in a low voice. "This an important mission… a necessary mission… We all know the plan and the rendezvous point to escape, so do NOT mess this mission up! Am I clear boyo?" He asked his son.
As Spitelout spoke, Snotlout couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. This was his chance to prove himself, to show that he was more than just a hotshot Viking. All of them nodded and quietly sneaked away to do their part in the evil plan.
"Watch out Hiccup what is yours is rightfully mine… and I'm coming to take it all back…" Snotlout whispered to himself.
Snotlout stole a glance at the twins, who were grinning mischievously. Gustav looked determined, Dogsbreath seemed unusually serious, and Mildew was dutifully following along. Helga shot Snotlout an encouraging smile, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of confidence.
"Hiccup calm down everything is going to work out," Astrid told her husband.
Hiccup's mind raced with doubts and what-ifs, a cloud of uncertainty hanging over him like a storm.
"But what if the twins lied to us maybe it was an elaborate plan to lower our guard, to lead Zephyr out of the safety of the castle what if… what if?" Hiccup was broken from his rambling with Astrid's infamous death glare.
"Enough with the self-doubt, Hiccup," Astrid declared, her tone firm but reassuring. "You're the sharpest knucklehead I know. If things go south, I know you will come up with a plan to stop them… you never give up and it is one of the things I love about you… Zephyr is safe with Heather, Anna, and Fishlegs in the Dragon Nest. We've faced even worse foes before, Dagur, Alvin, Viggo, and Drago, and emerged victorious. We'll do the same this time."
Astrid's gaze locked onto Hiccup's green eyes, her unwavering confidence in him reflected in her expression. At that moment, the weight of uncertainty in Hiccup's mind was lifted and was replaced by assurance. Hiccup took a deep breath, grateful for Astrid's grounding words.
"I just hope you are right…" Hiccup said, "I know I am." Astrid stated without missing a beat.
Hiccup had ordered an increase of soldiers to be at the castle in case things did go south. The tunnels to the docks had been secretly blocked, to stop the Berkians from escaping. Hiccup planned all this up in the short time they had known the plan, it was a simple defence and counter-attack strategy.
They were to hide till the Rouge Berkians attacked and then catch them red-handed, with the element of surprise they were sure to win.
Astrid looked at Hiccup impatiently pacing across the room, Toothless and Sormfly were looking at the Emperor with worried eyes. A dozen armed royal guards were also hiding with them in Zephyr's room, waiting for the attack.
The room was connected to the Emperor and Emperess's bedroom. It made it easier for Hiccup and Astrid to protect Zephyr, in situations like this one…
Astrid subconsciously placed her hand protectively over her stomach, as she remembered the night before…
The moonlight lit the grass and flowers, in the indoor garden, making them glow mystically. The dew drops slowly dripped down the grass, they had recently been exposed to heavy rain which was a native to the 'Meridian of Mesiry'.
Astrid was walking with no destination in mind, the moisture from the ground slowly soaking into the fur of her shoes. Stormfly followed Astrid dutifully while being slightly distracted by the butterflies flying over the flowers.
Astrid was deep in thought when she heard a pair of footsteps behind her, her instincts kicked in and she quickly turned around on her heels while grabbing her axe, strapped to her back, and readying herself into a fighting stance.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! It's us your best friends please don't kill us!" Heather quickly screamed.
Camicazi just rolled her eyes at the frightened state of her raven-haired friend as Astrid lowered her weapon, an annoyed expression filling her face.
"What are you guys doing here?" Astrid asked them annoyed that her 'alone time for important thoughts' had been disturbed.
"To find out what is wrong with you, you haven't been yourself lately," Camicazi stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
The two friends had not been the only ones to notice Astrid's weird state of mind. She had started to slowly start sleeping during meetings or avoid talking to people as much as she could. Astrid's parents, Anna and Fishlegs had also noticed, not to mention her very own husband, Hiccup.
Not telling Hiccup that she was pregnant was harder than Astrid originally thought. Hiccup immediately noticed the change in her demeanour and tried to find out what was wrong. Astrid tried to play as nonchalant as possible but Hiccup could still see through her guise.
In the end, she resorted to devoting herself to her duties as general so she could avoid Hiccup's inquiries. It was difficult to avoid him, especially since they were with each other for most parts of the day, but she simply couldn't risk spilling the secret until the end of the war. She missed their late-night flights, but it was too big of a risk.
Heather and Camicazi were her best friends so it wasn't so surprising that they knew something was on her mind and wanted to find out.
"I'm fine… There's nothing wrong, I'm just tired from all the work, keeping the Berkians out of trouble and the war, now the coup led by the Jorgensons, it's just stressing me out," Astrid said.
To be fair it was the partial truth. The war, Berkians, the coup, Hiccup's parent's relationship, the dragon training program and her mission to rebond the relationship she once held with her parents was just too much.
To add to the mess, the problems never seemed to end and she tried her best to help Hiccup and spend time with Zephyr but it just exhausted her. It surprised her that Hiccup still smiled and made sure to goof off with Zephyr at the end of the day even after doing twice the work she had done, and therefore she blamed her tiredness on her pregnancy.
"Stop lying to us Astrid… we know you and Hiccup are doing a lot for the Empire right now, but that isn't the reason why you are acting this way, I can clearly see that, so spill… or else we might have to force it out you," Camicazi said with a smirk plastered on her face.
Astrid looked at her best friends and then at her dragon who had now diverted her attention from the butterflies to her best friends's dragons.
She knew she couldn't lie her way out of this one, and the two weren't going to stop asking her until they found out.
"Astrid you can trust us, we can help you with whatever problem you are facing," Heather said softly while slowly reaching out to her friend.
Astrid bit her lip and took a deep breath…
"I'm pregnant!" Astrid was never one to beat around the bush. She remembered the time she had told Hiccup she was pregnant with Zephyr… that had been some reaction…
It had been a hassle trying to figure out how to tell Hiccup. They had agreed, that if it happens, it happens. But she never thought that she'd be with a child so soon after agreeing to that, she heard the room door swing open.
Releasing her bathed breath, Astrid spoke first, "How was your day?"
She remembered hearing him respond in his typical manner, but couldn't think of what he'd said exactly. At some point when he'd finished speaking, he'd approached her position from behind, grabbed hold of her waist, and kissed the side of her head.
"What about your day?"
"I saw Grilda." She said, without beating around the bush, "And… I'm pregnant."
She remembered the feeling of his grip tightening around her waist, and it had taken all the courage in her to finally look at his face…
The shocked expressions of her best friends mimicked the ones she had seen on Hiccup that day…
"You are what?!" Both of them shouted. Astrid cringed at the sheer volume of the question.
"Keep your voice down!" Astrid quickly told them while moving her hands up and down to show her point.
"You are what?!" Heather whispered once again.
Astrid then told them about how she found out that she was expecting another child and the reason why she hadn't told anyone and kept the news to herself.
"So please promise me you won't tell Hiccup. I don't want to stress himself even more than he already is." Astrid begged.
"We won't tell him, we promise, but honestly Astrid I think you should tell him, he will worry but this is Hiccup we are talking about, he will worry about you even if you were not pregnant," Camicazi told her.
Heather and Camicazi, after a lot of arguing, and I mean a lot, had convinced Astrid to tell Hiccup. Astrid had returned to her bed to find her husband asleep with Zephyr sprawled on his chest with strands of her auburn hair between her lips. The view in front of her brought a smile to her lips.
Astrid's mind snapped back to the present, and she looked at her husband, who paced anxiously across the marble floor. Despite the pressing concerns, she couldn't help but notice how the moonlight accentuated his features, casting shadows on his armour that highlighted his muscles. His forest green eyes, usually filled with determination, now glowed. The deepness in his eyes was a contrast to how close he was to her heart.
Unable to resist, Astrid approached him, her worry momentarily replaced by a growing appreciation for the man before her. She looked into his deep, distant eyes and, without overthinking, closed her own and pressed her lips to his.
It took a moment for Hiccup to register the surprise kiss, but once he did, he kissed her back with equal passion The worries and doubts that had consumed him seemed to evaporate with the touch of Astrid's lips. At that moment, he found peace in the connection they shared.
As the kiss deepened, Hiccup knew Astrid had and always would support him, she trusted him, and that trust she placed in him was what he needed to boost his confidence, she was his backbone. Every choice he had made for the past eight years was to protect and support her and it had worked out pretty well till now.
Breaking the kiss, they locked eyes, a silent understanding passing between them.
"Ahem." The couple broke apart to see Camicazi smirking at them with Dagur, Alvin and Mala standing behind her.
Astrid was about to respond to the Camicazi's rude interruption when the door opened to reveal the twins.
"Snothat, Helga and Dogsbreath are in your room," Ruffnut said. Hiccup nodded, now all of this would be over in a few minutes and the Berkians would be a problem of the past…
Snotlout quietly followed Helga and Dogsbreath as they snuck into Hiccup and Astrid's room. Mildew and Gustav had successfully distracted the guards by telling them a rouge dragon, Fanghook, was setting fire to the adjacent corridor.
It didn't shock the trio that the room was as big as three houses back on Berk. Everything on the island was either bigger or more advanced, sometimes both.
As he followed his girlfriend towards a set of thick velvet curtains separating the bed from the living space, he saw a portrait of Hiccup with his wife and daughter, hanging on the wall.
Snotlout was quickly filled with pure anger, it angered him that the girl of his dreams was married to his loser of a cousin. It surprised him even more that Astrid had no objections to being with Hiccup. Both openly displayed their affection and support for each other and were always helping the other, much to the surprise of most Berkians.
They slowly moved the curtains to reveal an empty bed… wait, empty?!
"What the…?" Snotlout started.
He immediately tensed at the feeling of cold metal touching the back of his head. He slowly turned to see Hiccup holding a sword at his throat. He could see Astrid mimicking the action towards Helga in his peripheral vision. Their dragons were also growling behind them ready to strike at a moment's notice.
"Well, well, well, look who we have here if it isn't our little Snotface." Camicazi taunted. Dagur snickered and stepped aside to reveal the twins smiling at the success of their mission.
Quickly putting the dots together Helga was the first to react, "You two, how could you? How could you betray us? Both of you are traitors, no, all of you are!" Helga screamed at the people gathered.
Snotlout slowly raised his hands after dropping his weapon in surrender, he hated to admit it, but they had lost, they were clearly outnumbered.
"Traitor? No, you are the traitors, Hiccup welcomed you into our home even after all the bullying, after all the abuse, he forgave you… He gave you a second chance when you lost everything and when we didn't owe you a single coin. If anyone is a traitor it is you." Astrid replied while pushing the sword closer to Helga's exposed neck.
A dozen guards entered with Spitelout, Mildew in handcuffs, "Your Majesty, we caught these men in the corridors leading to the North Room." One of the guards addressed Hiccup.
The North Room was a room where all the plans, ideas, secrets and information from spies and traders were kept. The room held sensitive information, it housed plans for counterattacks and even the identities of spies placed in enemy territory, among other important things.
If Spitelout had taken those plans and information to Grimmel, the Draconians would have received a major blow. The spies would have surely been killed or captured.
"Take them to the dungeons along with the rest of the Berkians, we don't know whom we can trust, not even the twins know all the people who are involved in this betrayal so it will be better if we keep them all there until we know whom we can trust." Hiccup told the guards.
The guards nodded while leading the now-angry Snotlout and Helga to the dungeons. Toothless nudged Hiccup's leg seeking affection.
"Yeah, yeah, you were amazing bud." Hiccup chuckled. But a feeling of doubt still plagued Hiccup's mind. How were the traitors going to leave the island with the plans? They weren't going to be able to use the Draconian ships as they were constantly guarded… They had to have had another plan… But what was it?…
"Is it only me, or was this a little too easy?" Dagur asked, mirroring Hiccup's thoughts.
Camicazi was about to agree with him when Eret and Valka burst through the door.
"What happened? Is Zephyr okay?" Hiccup asked confused as to why his mother looked distressed. He had asked Valka, Eret and a few Dragon Riders to act as lookouts around the castle, to catch the Berkians running away while Viggo and Alvin were posted at the docks.
"No son, I don't think she is in any trouble… but when we were keeping an eye for any Berkians leaving the castle, we saw an entire fleet of Dragon Trappers sailing towards our island… Grimmel is here." Valka told her son with fear in her eyes.
Just to confirm her worry, a cannon shot was heard, just seconds before they saw it hit the cliffside. The next few minutes were complete chaos, as everyone followed the protocol in place for a surprise attack against the island.
The horn was blown immediately, and guards were running up the castle walls to man the long-range cannons, while the Dragon Riders were leading the villagers into the castle. Viggo and Alvin were already leading the warships to counterattack and stop the advancing fleet.
Hiccup was pissed, no he was furious. "Oh, they have done it this time." Hiccup seethed out and looked at Astrid. She nodded and smiled, showing her support.
"All right listen up, Atali and Mala help the ground forces evacuate the villagers and defend the castle walls. Dagur, go help Alvin and Viggo with leading the warships. Cami, Mom and Eret you are with me, we will lead the Dragon Riders in a counter-attack." Hiccup quickly ordered his people. They all nodded and quickly mounted their dragons, flying as fast as they could, following the plan Hiccup had laid out.
Astrid quickly kissed Hiccup as he mounted Toothless, "Stay safe, I need you Hiccup."
She looked worried and Hiccup chuckled to himself while smiling, "Ah you know me, I have a knack for surviving everything thrown my way… I'll come back, I promise." He told her.
"Keep him safe Toothless," Astrid whispered to her husband's dragon before mounting her own.
"I love you, Astrid." Hiccup told her, she smiled back at him, "I love you too." With that, she flew away to follow Camicazi and her mother-in-law.
"She is something isn't she bud?" Hiccup asked Toothless. Toothless answered with his signature warble before lifting off to follow his mate. Hiccup sighed he knew this was going to be a rough fight but he was going to win, not for himself but for the dragons, his daughter and his wife. Because that's all that mattered to him.
"Come on bud, let's try this one more time!"