Chapter 65

Hiccups POV:

It's been ten days since I met Rooney and, in that time, not much has happened besides me getting some comfortable new shoes and a better understanding of the fairy folk of Ireland. Rooney and me had become decent friends so he'd drop by from time to time to share a drink and a good talk with me. It was thanks to these talks that I learned that most leprechauns just wanted to be left alone and as long as I don't go after their gold then I really had nothing to fear from them. Most of the fairy folk were like that and just want to be left alone but there were others who enjoyed causing trouble and misery for the people who lived in Ireland but their bodies begin to rot away as punishment to those that did. As for the reputation that I had gained among the fairy folk that Rooney talked about me gaining I now knew why I had a bad feeling in my gut about it. Apparently, word of me being a great hero along with how strong I was had spread to some of the female species and many of them were wanting to see if they'd have better luck then the mortals in capturing my heart.

He warned me to mainly beware of the ocean waters where the merrow live and to beware of both the males and the females for different reasons. Some of the females were looking to make me their mate and they would do that by trying to bewitch me using their music. Many men had fallen to this fate and at first things are fine until they begin to long for their homes under the waters and spend the rest of their lives as entranced captives to the merrow. There were a few who escaped but none of them ever made it back to land since they'd be hunted down by the angry and killed. I knew I had nothing to worry about falling under their control since I was immune to all forms of magical mind control thanks to my gift from the Arabian gods but Rooney did warn me to be careful and if I encounter one to swipe their caps and they'll be at my mercy. The males on the other hand were out for my blood out of jealousy since it was well known how hideously ugly they were and because of this the female merrow refused to take them as mates so they kill human males out of jealousy. Now they wanted me dead since apparently the female merrows were often talking about me and how they can make me their husband.

It was nightfall and I was sitting down at the table with a drink in my hand and Rooney sitting down in front of me with his own drink in hand as we both laughed, having a good chat about life and joking. He joked about how I was never going to have a peaceful life if I continued saving people and fighting monsters. I rolled my eyes at this since I could never avoid fighting monsters that were tormenting innocent people. Then came the issue of my remaining two wishes that we discussed with Rooney telling me all I needed to do was wish for it and it would be mine and that includes any girl I wanted but I told him that I was happy with my life and there wasn't anything I currently wanted that I didn't want to earn myself. He informed me that I could let him go along with the wishes bust said I should wait until the day I leave Ireland to decide. We agreed about that but I doubted there'd be anything I'd want to wish for in that time since I planned to leave in a few days. Our conversation was ended when there were a few knocks on the door. As expected Rooney vanished to avoid being detected and chased down by anyone for his gold while I got up and walked up to the door to see who was there. I opened the door to see an elderly man with Connor who looked as if he had seen a ghost that was coming to devour his soul. I looked at both of them before I said.

"Evening Connor and what bring you here at this time of night?" He didn't look happy.

"You're going to want to sit down for this Hiccup." I didn't like the sound of that but never the less I stepped to the side and let them both in.

1 hour later

I was once again sitting at the table but this time Connor and the elderly man named Dermot had just left and what they said to me before they left lead to more than a few shocks. For example, the man was only twenty-five years old and was the sole survivor of an attack on his village by two spirits. He didn't get a good look at the spirits and all he could remember was hearing an inhuman screech causing a lot of people to drop to their knees covering their ears to try and block it out. Then some horrific thing flew down attacking people and smashing houses with its claws as it let out its blood-curdling screech. When that ended there was a single woman in white robes walking through the village singing as some light flew from the people who had come out and soon enough everyone was leaving their houses in some kind of trance. Then some light flowed out of the people as they rapidly began to age and then rot away leaving nothing but mutilated corpses. The same light came out of Dermot making him age to the point where he looked now and he only survived because the building he was hiding in collapsed but he was lucky the rubble only trapped him instead of crushing him. He came to the village to ask me for help in dealing with these spirits before they could hurt anyone else and destroy any more villages. I told them I'd need some time to do some research on what these spirits were before I did anything and try to figure where to search for them. I then heard a small jingle sound and knew that this meant Rooney was back so I didn't look up as I asked.

"So how much of that conversation did you hear?"

"I heard enough lad and by the sounds of things that village fell victim to the 'Glostic Sisters'!"

"You know them?"

"My cousin was married to one of them before she murdered him." He looked down at this.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He looked up.

"It's alright lad since it was a long time ago but you're going to need to know about them before you can go up against them." I poured myself a drink.

"Start talking my friend."

2 hours later

I was once again up in the air looking out at the stars but as I did this I was going over everything I learnt about the Glostic sisters who I now know are named Banshee and Siren due to what their abilities were. Apparently, their father was a farmer who lost his wife once saw a woman on a cliff who he believed to be his wife but when he went to see her he blacked out and woke up with two infants who felt were his daughters. The eldest daughter always did the hard work but was scorned by the village because of her short temper. The younger daughter however was shy but always kind to those she met so the village adored her and commented that she'd be a very beautiful woman one day. When they became adults, their mystic abilities developed and that's when things began to go really bad for a lot of people. The eldest lost her temper to a drunken man who touched her the wrong way and let out a scream that shattered both the man and the several houses while the younger sister sung as she gathered vegetables drawing a group of shepherds who were leading their sheep back to the pens. As they got closer though they began to rapidly age and shrivel up until they collapsed behind her giving her the biggest scare of her life. When she got home she found her sister arguing with her father about how she had caused so much destruction with just her voice and wanted her never to use her power again. The younger sister then told her father about what happened and agreed with him on never using her powers again since it frightened her but her sister told her she should use her powers. That night the elder sister murdered their father in his sleep and while the younger sister wept for her father the elder dragged her outside by the hair claiming they were going to make the world their own.

Years passed before they found peace among the fairy folk and became wondering spirits which the leprechauns had given shoes to both that matched their souls. The elder sister got her shoes made by her leprechaun husband before she stabbed him in the heart with a rod of iron while the younger one got hers as a reward for saving a leprechaun from a trap. They were then both hung for the elder sisters' misdeeds and that's when they became spirits with their powers reaching new heights. The elder sister took the name Banshee because of the destruction her scream could now cause while the younger of the sisters was given the name Siren when a deaf man saw her use her powers and yelled it out at her. As Banshee began her reign of terror she learnt the consequences that all Irish spirits must deal with when doing evil acts and began rotting, which got worse as it spread. When she went to see if her sister was rotting to she found her sister was fine and when investigating her throat, she found sustenance that healed her rotting. From that day on she would drag poor Siren around to every village she terrorized to drain the youth and life force from the people before giving it to her and if Siren refused Banshee beats her with a whip, cattle prod or a stick with a piece of iron stuck to it. One-night Siren was able to escape while her sister slept but after a month of running she collapsed on the side of the road where she was found by a kind man who brought her unconscious form back to his home to make sure she was alright. When she came to she never spoke and wrote down on paper what she wanted to say in fear of her power. Eventually the two wed and had a child but the happy times didn't last as Banshee eventually found where she was living and slaughtered Siren's family while she was out gathering fruit and vegetables.

That's all Rooney knew and it was then I made my next wish for a way to track them down to which he gave me a gold compass telling me I just needed to think about who or what I was looking for and it would lead me to them. That compass was now in my hand leading me to Siren who I hoped I'd be able to convince to come with me instead of her sister. I was hoping I could take her back to my island where she'd be safe from Banshee and maybe be able to find peace with her life. It was then I saw a village but this one was destroyed a long time ago but the compass was telling me I could find Siren down there. I then saw a young woman with long blond hair in a pure white robe walking through the village. I knew this to be Siren so I had Toothless take us down a little bit back so we didn't spook her into using her power. I signaled Toothless to hang back while I tried to talk to Siren but when I was able to catch up to her I saw she was approaching a woman with black hair in a dark purple robe and holding a metal collar. I could tell these women were the Glostic sisters. I watched Banshee hold up the collar before she said.

"It didn't have to be this way sister." She growled. "That man would never have died if you hadn't run and that repulsive child would never have been born to be slaughtered." With my eagle eye I was able to see Siren beginning to tear up at this.

"Please don't hurt anymore sister and don't force me to do this."

"You have no choice in this matter sister!" She held up the collar. "There's no chance of redeeming yourself for all the lives we've taken together." I chose this moment to enter and began running towards them as I yelled.

"DON'T LISTEN TO HER SIREN!" They both turned to face me. "THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE TO REDEEM YOURSELF BUT NOT IF YOU LET HER FORCE YOU TO DO WHAT SHE WANTS YOU TO DO!" It was then I reached them with Banshee glaring at me before turning to Siren as she said.

"Don't listen to him sister, he's just saying that so you'll let your guard down allowing him the chance to capture and use you." I glared at her before turning to Siren.

"She's the one who wants to use you, just like she's always used you to heal her and slaughter innocent people." I gave Banshee a quick glare before turning back to Siren. "I want to help you redeem yourself and help you get away from those who want to force you into abusing your abilities." Banshee then yelled.

"HE'S LYING!" She then let out one of her sonic screams at me but before it could reach me I held up my eagle shield blocking the scream from causing any injuries but I could still hear it and it succeeded in pushing me back two feet before I pulled my shield down.

"Is that all you got you old hag?" She just let out a scream before tackling me to the ground as I used my shield to hold her back before she turned back to Siren while holding me down.

"What are you waiting for sister?" She turned back to me. "Drain him dry!" I pushed her off a bit giving me enough room to speak.

"Don't listen to her Siren, you don't have to do what she says." She shoved my shield down before turning back to Siren.

"I'm your sister Siren and if you don't help me you'll lose the only family you have left." I pushed her up again.

"Don't listen to her Siren!" Banshee hissed at me. "She's not your family!" She pushed down hard on my shield.

"SHUT UP!" I shoved her back.

"She's taken away your father, home, your freedom, the man you loved and your baby." Banshee tried to slash at my head with her claws but I leaned my head to the side and barely dodged it. "Now She wants to take away your freedom and with it and with it not only your chance at redemption but your chances of finding peace with your life." Banshee shoved me down hard yelling.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR SISTER?" She shoved me down and gave me a glare that could have made flowers wilt. "DRAIN THIS WORTHLESS HUMAN OF HIS YOUTH AND LIFEFORCE SO WE CAN MOVE ON!"

It was then Siren began walking towards us and when she stood over us I feared this would be my last moments of life. I saw Banshee give me a bone-chilling smile before I closed my eyes waiting to hear her song that would signal the end of my life and the lives of so many others. I heard the song but instead of feeling my life drain out of me I heard Banshee scream.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I opened my eyes to see Siren draining the life out of Banshee and only stopped to say.

"TAKING BACK WHAT YOU FORCED ME TO STEAL!"

She then continued to sing and all I could do is watch as Banshee face slowly rotted away leaving something that would give me nightmares. After a few seconds I was able to push her off me as Siren continued to drain her of all her power leaving a mangled, rotting body that would make the rotting corpse of a blood eagle and that's saying something. When she finished she dropped to her knees crying and all I could do was sit down next to her and pull her into a hug, allowing her to cry into my armor. She wept for over an hour before she finally pulled away and asked.

"Do you really think there's a way for me to redeem myself after all the wrong I've done?" I gently wiped the tears off her face.

"If you regret what you did then there's always a way and I know a good way to start." She smiled at me before I helped her up before I put my arm around her as we began to walk away but as we did I stepped on the collar Banshee had for Siren so I picked it up and looked at it. "I know exactly what to do with this monstrosity." I felt Siren begin to shiver in fear. "And it's not going to be put on anyone." I brought my fingers to my lips and whistled to summon Toothless who came flying in making Siren hide behind me in fear so I turned back to her. "Don't worry, he's a friend." She just peeked out from behind me as I tossed the collar up in the air and said. "Toothless, plasma blast!" He fired at the collar destroying it, making Siren smile before I helped her onto Toothless after assuring her it would be all right and then we were off.

As we flew across the night sky I learnt a bit more about Siren and how she simply wished to be reunited with her husband and baby in the afterlife but feared it would never be because of what she had done. I asked her if she could return what she had taken and when she told me she could I knew of one thing that could help her on the path to redemption. We arrived back at the village where I'd been staying an hour before sunrise but before Siren could ask me what we were doing there I put a finger to her lips and told her she'd understand. I lead her to Connor's house and knocked on the door and was soon greeted by an annoyed Connor. He looked from me to Siren and raised an eyebrow to which I just replied.

"Get Dermot out here and you'll understand." He nodded and walked back in only to return with a tired and confused Dermot who took one look at Siren and jumped back. "Easy there, Dermot she's here to return something that she was forced to take from you." Siren smiled at him before she began to sing as a blue light came off her and onto Dermot who was quickly getting younger and when Siren stopped singing Dermot looked to be twenty-five again before I turned back to Siren. "Siren, I believe you've taken the first step to redemption." She smiled at me.

"Thank you Hiccup for giving me a chance and showing me a way to redeem myself." She began to walk away gesturing for us to follow her before we made it to one of the cliffs where she took off the silver pendent around her neck that had the Celtic symbol 'Tjr Awen of the Three Rays of Light' and placed it in my hands. "Thank you for this chance Hiccup."

She then much to my shock pulled me forward and gave me a full on the lips kiss that lasted a full minute before she pulled away. Before I could talk to her about it she stepped back to the cliff and held her hands out and began singing. Soon the blue light began shimmering off her body. Soon after the blue light covered her it began to sink into the ground. She then began to float off the ground just as the sun began to rise. It was as the suns light touched her skin her entire body evaporated into the grass before a large light blue shockwave passed all of us and a small patch of blue, yellow and white flowers began to bloom on the ground where she sung. I knew I'd need to talk to Rooney about this but first things first; I turned back to Connor and Dermot giving a sheepish smile as I said.

"I guess I have some explaining to do." They each looked at me for a moment before they both asked.

"You think?"

2 days later

I was sitting in the green fields overlooking the village with Toothless curled up behind me napping. It was times of peace like these that I truly savored since the only other place I seemed to be able to enjoy this is on my own island or in my vacation homes. Even then though those times were short lived since on the island I had something to deal with when it comes to my chores and when in my vacation homes these times would be interrupted by someone wanting to talk to me. In those cases, it was normally some girl wanting to get close to me, their father trying to hook me up with them, some warriors wanting to test themselves against me or some men who were jealous of all the attention the girls were giving me. With all of those things to deal with these moments of peace were rare for me so I had to enjoy them while I could.

As I lay there my mind drifted back to Siren who I hoped was now in the afterlife with her family. When we arrived back to the village we learnt what that shockwave she let out had done. It healed all the sick and injured in the village, made all the flowers bloom, improved the crops making it look like it'll be a bountiful harvest, gave the elderly new strength that made them feel young again and grew a patch of flowers where she passed on. It was in this patch I put a large stone slab and carved in her story for future generation to read so they'll know the sad tail of Siren and the pain she suffered in her life. I figure it was the least I could do for her after all the pain she suffered the least I could do was make sure her story was known and how she died redeeming herself for all the horrible things she was forced to do by her sister. I also did this so people would stop bugging me about what happened but unfortunately for me all it did was get the attention of more women who now saw me as a fierce warrior but also a man with a gentle heart. Connor told me that it was a valued trait in a man for him to be a fierce warrior when in battle but a kind hearted and gentle with his family and friends so in the eyes of the women I was the perfect husband. Despite the lack of peace, it got me I was pretty happy since it also got me up to my eyes in food and freshly baked pastries.

I was leaving tomorrow though and I couldn't say no to the extra rations for my trip but I wasn't on planning to go home yet. There was another land nearby that I wanted to check out since I couldn't set up a portal here in Ireland since I didn't have the blessing of their gods. I shrugged it off knowing that the gods work in mysterious ways so it best not to question it. Besides I planned to go to Scotland next to check out their land and take in a bit of their culture before I went home. Maybe visit England to see how things are done there since they're all so close together it would be nice to take in a bit of each of their cultures while I was close to the different lands and cultures. I looked around at the fields and had to say I was really going to miss them since they were just so peaceful and I was definitely going to miss them. I just needed to enjoy these magnificent green fields while I could since I admit the great planes I had back on my island were beautiful but these fields had a little more variety in green. I just hoped I wouldn't be running into any mystic beasts for me to fight with. I then laughed at the thought knowing that I would face some sort of monster no matter where I go. I rolled my eyes at the memories of everything I've gone through not just here in Ireland but in all my travels. Had to say it'd be nice if I could just visit a new place and not have to deal with any beasts, warriors wanting to test themselves, insane sorcerers wanting to control the land and no insane fan girls doing their best to earn a place at my side. I closed my eyes and just let out a sigh enjoying this chance to enjoy the peace while it lasted.

Morning

I was standing in front of my ship with Connor, Seamus, Dermot and a group of other people standing before me to see me off. Rooney had already said his goodbye to me when I was leaving the cottage and had given me a single gold coin for all I had done for Ireland, avenging his cousin and for giving him a true friendship with no strings attached. For a leprechaun that sort of thing was hard to come by since their life style choice of living in solitude didn't offer them much companionship and those who tried to be friends with them were more often than not after their gold. He told me it would make sure no other leprechaun could cause me any trouble and was a bit of extra luck. Knowing how much a leprechaun's gold meant to them I wanted to return it but before I could he vanished. It was then Connor walked forward smiling before he said.

"You've done a lot for Ireland Hiccup and I don't think we'll ever be able to thank you enough for it."

"I was just trying to do the right thing like anyone else would do."

"Now don't you go saying that lad since not that many people would do what you did and those who do wouldn't be coming back alive and for that we're sending you off with a few goodbye presents." He gestured to one of the men holding a wrapped-up bundle to come forward and when he did I recognized him as one of the men I played hurling with. "These are so you can remember the games of hurling you enjoyed in the fields." The wrapping came off to show ten hurling sticks and a sliotar, which I smiled at before they loaded them onto my ship as Connor gestured a woman holding a book forward. "We wrote down the recipes for all our pastries in this book since we know how much you like them." I smiled at it.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to gain a few extra pounds when I get home." He chuckled before he gestured another man with a wrapped package in their hands forward. "I know you got that fancy star sword of yours but at times it doesn't hurt to have a little Irish luck."

Thecovering was removed to reveal a two-handed Irish sword with the Celtic symbol for luck engraved on the pommel. I picked up the sword and gave it a few swings before nodding and turning back to him and saying.

"Thanks for everything Connor!"

"It's my pleasure Hiccup and feel free to come back anytime since that cottage of yours will be waiting for you." Seamus then walked up.

"Be sure to tell my cousin Gobber I said hello the next time you see him lad."

"I will be sure to do that after my he and my dad are done demanding to know what creatures I had to fight here in Ireland." We all laughed at this before I boarded my ship and set sail for Scotland.

AN: Hey all I know this chapter is shorter than usual but I wanted Hiccup to do one last battle with an actual Irish myth. I hope you review and keep them kind or keep them to yourselves. A special thank you to Rogue Deity Master for helping me research the old legend of the Glostic Sisters. As for the next chapter it will have to wait till next week when tomorrows poll comes out but, in the meantime, this is your last chance to vote if Hiccup loses his arm and gets a new prosthetic arm from the gods that has multiple functions including grappling hook, rotating blade, possibly a flamethrower and more or keeps his regular arm. Vote tonight because tomorrow afternoon it goes down.