I expect Stoick to laugh in my face or demand an explanation on the spot. After all who am I to make such a request? But he doesn't do any of that.
"Very well. Everyone clear out."
And just like that all the vikings go home, albeit muttering unhappily. All except one. Mildew.
The riders ignore him, but Stoick glares at the old man. I wonder whst Mildew's game is, if it's true he works for Alvin. I wonder if Stoick suspects it.
We all walk up the hill to the chief's house and he ushers us all inside. I catch a glimpse of Windshear playing with her new friends before he closes the door. I'm hoping that becomes a regular thing.
Stoick sits in his chair in front of the hearth and gestures for the rest of us to sit. He is a man of few words and he is clearly waiting for me to start. The best place to start is the beginning.
"I don't know where I came from. I don't know who my real parents are. Alvin said I washed ashore Outcast when I was a baby, and I know now that may be the only time in my life he's been honest with me." I take a deep breath before continuing.
"I did grow up on Outcast, and my parents are in real danger. Alvin has been blackmailing me for years and in doing so, has prevented me from having any real friends. They may not be my birth mother and father but they raised me. They are my parents by all definitions of the word."
"You said they're not your real parents. So why do we have to save them?" Snotlout asks insensitively.
Hiccup and Stoick glare at him. Tuffnut looks lost. Fishlegs looks uncomfortable. Astrid and Ruffnut take turns smacking Snotlout upside his head.
"Point taken," Snotlout groans in pain.
My eyes travel all over the room while Stoick thinks on what I said. I hope he doesn't just dismiss it.
"Hiccup, you and the others have my permission to assist this young lady. In the meantime, may I request to examine that horn at your hip miss Heather? There's something familiar about it."
His request is quite odd. I've carried this thing with me ever since my own dad gave it to me.
I hand Stoick the horn and I catch sight of the seal on it. While Stoick examines the horn, my eyes wander the room again. This time they land on a pile of loose documents Stoick left on the table. The seal looks exactly like-
"I remember now," Stoick says.
"You were a baby," Stoick elaborates at the same time I blurt out, "Are you my dad?"