Chapter 234

Hiccups POV:

It's been two weeks since we got back from our trip to Arabia and that time had been pretty peaceful with me and my family just returning to our normal routines. The only difference is I'd been practicing with my new equipment using my training mirror to practice fighting opponents with my new prosthetic attachment and long scimitar or stealing from enemy strongholds using the bells, the map and my new grootslang shadow coat. It's from this training that my skill with these items has increased and with it, my ninja stealth and infiltration abilities have grown to new heights with me learning that when in large shadows like those of buildings I could also move as fast within them as I do when my ox flame boots are in speed mode making the outside seem to be standing still. Along with this I learnt I could only use the shadow tendrils when I was outside the shadows and extending my own so when I was in the shadows, I have to rely on either my shadow pendant or bandage bands to pull in enemies who were far away. As for the items that get pulled into my coat, like arrows or throwing knives, I could have them thrown from any part of the shadow that I extend so my range got a bit better but it would take a lot more practice.

Of course, I couldn't just spend all my training time in only my training mirror, testing out these new abilities since doing that would only get me so far due to fact that I was using bases I'd raided in the past. It was because of this I'd taken up bounty hunting again but I'd mostly focus on taking stolen property retrieval and rescue missions for those who were kidnapped since the stolen items or victims are often kept in bases that I can infiltrate. Once I'm inside the base I can practice my stealth skills, test out my new gear, all while finding my target and placing them in my shadow or spiderpack depending on if it is a kidnap victim or a stolen item. I'd also grab the leader of the group and those who worked under them since they often had bounties on their heads and even if they didn't, I'd still feel better knowing that they're in the custody of the tribe that put up the bounty to begin with. Along with this, once I'd gathered all the crooks up, I'd loot their base of all the food, livestock, equipment and anything of value before destroying the entire base so no other crooks could use it.

My constant success in these missions and bringing back the crooks who are responsible for the problems, my reputation in the world of bounty hunting had grown which was both a good thing and a bad thing. It was a good thing since I got a lot more respect from the other people in the bars I visit to check the bounty hunting jobs so less problems with them, the crooks I go after have begun to fear me, I could take on bigger jobs with higher pay and more. Sadly, there were also more than a few problems like how some of the guys at the bars wanted to challenge me to show how tough they are, crooks began coming after me at the bar before I could go after them, I'd get jealous looks from guys at the bar and other such problems.

If that wasn't bad enough, whenever I go to one of the bounty hunter bars to get a new bounty, I'd get requests from groups to become a permanent member claiming it would help them hunt down their targets but I could tell they wanted me to do all the work and share the rewards with them. Some of these groups also had female warriors who were attractive and as expected, they weren't above trying to use these women to try and convince me to join but these girls were nothing compared to my wives. To make my lady problems in this case worse is I had to deal with women selling their bodies trying to cozy up to me whenever I went to the bar. This wasn't anything new though since those women were always hanging around bars to try and get in with the bounty hunters who make a lot of money after jobs but now it was a lot worse for me.

Another thing to happen that is both good and bad people had begun seeking me out personally to do jobs for them which is both a good thing and bad thing for me. It's a good thing since the jobs were always high paying and good training for me since they were always tough and against powerful foes with a lot of forces so nobody would take them on. Sadly, the bad things that come with this is the clients would often come when I was enjoying a drink at the bar or some down time on my ship and along with this, not all the clients were real and were really with crooks who wanted to lure me into a trap to get rid of me. Their traps weren't that hard to deal with and I was able to capture multiple crooks, so these kinds of jobs had their upsides for me since I was at least able to make the archipelago a little safer for my family.

Now I was out in the great plains of my island with Toothless behind me, Twilight on his back with both watching me as I stood there next to Brant who was on my right side. My son was armed with a gronkle iron bow in his hand with a bow string made from my prosthetics thread that had been braided together to form a bowstring that wouldn't break easily but also not cut his fingers. The reason we were out here today was so I could teach my son proper archery since he's come far in close quarter combat but there will be times when it's better to keep your distance when fighting and for taking down, fleeing foes. I'd already set up a few targets in the distance for him to shoot at and had finished correcting his form and watched him load up the first arrow of the day. Brant pulled the bow back and took aim before letting the arrow fly until the tip of the arrow, imbedded itself into the first outer ring of the target. Brant growled in annoyance as I kneeled down next to him and asked.

"Do you know where you went wrong?" He turned to me.

"I should've aimed better?" I shook my head.

"There's more to archery than just aiming son." I ruffled his hair. "When you truly want to hit your target in the right spot, you have to do more than just aim at it if you truly wish to do damage to them." He looked up at me. "You have to feel the wind since no matter how weak it is, it will have an effect on your arrows path of flight and you must block out all distractions but above all have faith in both your weapon and yourself." I stood back up and placed a hand on his right shoulder. "Remember these things when you aim your bow and you will succeed." He nodded. "Now try again!"

I stepped back and watched him go through the motions and smiled seeing the look in his eyes as he released the arrow and watched it fly until it hit the target, dead center. I smiled at the sight and turned to my son who was smiling proudly at his achievement until the sound of wings flapping caught my attention and turned to see Astrid flying down on Stormfly with Chara squealing in joy, sitting in front of her. She dismounted and helped Chara off who ran up to greet us as I chuckled while gently lifting her off the ground and saying.

"There's my little princess." She giggled as I gently put her back onto the ground and turned to Astrid. "So, what brings you here milady?" She smiled at me.

"What, can't a woman just want to come and see how well my husband's training of his son is going?" I smirked at her to show I didn't believe her. "Alright, I just didn't want to spoil your good mood with some news that I know you're not going to like." I sighed.

"What's the bad news Astrid?"

"Your dad wants you back on Berk to discuss some things."

"Why do I get the feeling you know what it is he wants to talk to me about and know I'm not going to like it one bit."

"Because he did tell me, and I know you well enough to know you are not going to be the least bit happy about it." I sighed.

"What's he wants to talk about?"

"In a few days, we're going to have a visit from some members of an ally tribe who are coming to renew a peace treaty."

"Please tell me it's not one of the tribes that brought a bridal candidate." (AN: Chapter 147)

"I would but I prefer not to lie to you." I groaned.

"Which tribe is it?"

"The Mooncutter tribe."

"And that means Chieftess Luna will be coming and with her she'll most probably be bringing her bridal candidate, Stella."

"I remember her, she was always looking down on all the other girls of the tribe." She groaned. "Her being here is going to be such a headache."

"Let's just hope Chieftess Luna brings Nocturn and Umbra, they at least try to keep her under control."

"Now those two are people I can both respect and get along with."

"Yeah, I got along with them and Umbra was able to help me avoid falling into any of Luna's traps to ensnare me."

"Well this time you've also got me to watch your back." I smiled.

"And I also have you to do this." I pulled her in and kissed her full on the lips before pulling away.

"I have to say that I like doing that a little more than the other thing."

"As do I and as much I'd love to do it some more, I better not keep my father waiting since he's going to want to go over the traditions of greeting a visiting chief." She nodded.

"You go, I'll watch over the kids." I smiled and nodded before I turned to Brant.

"Brant, keep training with your bow while I'm gone and remember what I told you about how to take aim." He nodded.

"Got it dad." I then walked over to Toothless, giving Chara a gentle kiss on her head before I mounted Toothless and we took off.

2 hours later

I'd been sitting with my father in the great hall discussing what was to come and I already knew what was coming was going to be one massively big headache. We'd gone over everything I'd have to be present for such as welcoming the visiting chieftess and her companions, join them for the signing of the peace treaty, share a drink of the ceremonial feast with them and see them off when they leave. The reason for this is my father had received a message that was to be handed over to me and after reading it I found it to be a warning from Umbra who wanted me to know Stella was coming with them. To make matters worse she's heard about how I'm willing to take more than one wife and is now more determined to show me that she should have a place at my side as a wife and had been going over multiple strategies on how to win my heart. These strategies meant I'd have to keep my guard up and talk to my family about keeping their guards up around her since there's no telling what she'd be up to since when it comes to girls like her, they'll do anything to get what they want. It was then my dad brought me out of my thoughts by saying.

"Son, I know you're not looking forward to dealing with that Stella girl again but just do me a favor and try to remain civil with her." I nodded.

"I'll try but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to keep the girls calm since neither of them are fond of her or how she treats people." He nodded.

"Just try to keep convince them to stay calm for just a few days." I raised an eyebrow.

"Blanca I can handle since she's normally calm but you expect me to tell my wife Astrid, the woman who has the magic of a leopard and trained under the tiger master Xiao Chi who is known for his temper, to remain calm during a visit who constantly belittled her and our village?" He nodded.

"I know I'm asking a lot with this, but we want to keep good relationship with the Mooncutter tribe so just try." I nodded.

"I'll try but it won't be easy." I stood up. "Well I better do it now since the longer I wait to tell her, the worse she'll be." He nodded and began making my way towards the door.

"Good luck son!"

"Thanks dad!" As I walked out, I muttered. "I'm definitely going to need it." I knew this to be true as Astrid was not going to be happy.

10 minutes later

I'd gotten back to the island and told the girls about what was coming in four days and what Umbra's letter had told me and my predictions about Astrid not being happy about it has just been proven correct. Now I was expecting Astrid to let out a roar or scream of anger while swinging her axe around like when I came out on top in dragon training but instead she just let out a growl and walked into the training room to use the mirror. Now most people wouldn't be concerned about this since it could be seen as Astrid simply wanting to channel her anger into some training, but I know my wife better and went after her.

This brings us to now with me sitting on a boulder that was part of the scene the mirror had created which was a rocky terrain full of dragon hunters who were attacking Astrid. What I was watching was not a battle though but a one sided massacre since Astrid was beating them senseless with her fists and the unlucky ones got her leopard claws and although I know they aren't real people, I couldn't help but feel sorry for them. It was then the final hunter was taken down and Astrid was breathing heavily from exhaustion, so I hopped down from my place on the boulder and walked up to her as I asked.

"Feel any better?" She looked at me and shook her head.

"No, just sweatier and more tired."

"Astrid, I know you don't like Stella and she may have plans, but we've got to keep good relationships with the Mooncutter tribe and unfortunately that means we'll have to deal with her for just a few days." She growled before letting out a huff.

"Fine, but I want that woman nowhere near the kids." I smiled.

"Now that is something I can happily agree with since knowing her, she might try to use them to get to me and we both know how I feel about using those I care about." I clench my fist as my blood boiled at the thought as she smiled.

"I love it when you get that fire in your eye." I smiled at her before she grabbed me by my coat and pulled me into a kiss and then pulled away. "Reminds me why I fell in love with you."

"And apparently makes me more irresistible than before." She just giggled and punched me in the upper arm.

"Come on, it's best we get out of here and see how everyone's doing since I'm sure Brant is still practicing, and I don't want him overdoing his training again."

"Yeah, even though I've told him that he needs to know his limits when it comes to training since if he pushes himself too hard in battle it could mean defeat." With that said we left the mirror to check on everyone.

Nightfall

The day had been pretty relaxed after my meeting with Astrid since after that the only thing to do was get on with my day and see what it offered, starting with checking up on Brant. As expected of my boy, he was still practicing his archery skills and although he had improved, he still had a long way to go before he was near an expert. However, it was because of his improvement in skills I intend to take him wild boar and rabbit hunting in the morning to help hone his skills by shooting moving targets. It would also serve as a good chance to teach him some tracking skills along with how to preserve the meat for longer time when on long trips to save it for later and when we get back I could teach him how to dry the meat and tend to the pelts.

Besides that, I also took some time to enjoy a solo flight with Toothless over the island a few times and of course spending some quality time with my daughter by playing with her in the garden since it's her favorite place on the whole island. Recently though she claims to have been playing with someone she calls 'the flower lady' claiming it was a nice lady who has flowers in her black hair and always sinks into the flower beds when someone else is coming. Me and the girls chalked it up to an imaginary friend she made which is normal for kids her age but I couldn't deny the feeling of being watched when I was playing with her or just taking a walk in the garden and along with this I could often feel a presence that seemed familiar. I'd always shrug it off as me just being paranoid before continuing on with my day with whatever it was, I had going on at the time since I'd felt it for only two days now.

Presently I was in bed with my wives on either side of me as we all enjoyed the sweet silence of the night but while they peacefully slumbered, I was staring up at the ceiling while mentally going through everything I was going to have to do with my dad the next few days. It was mostly gathering up the boars for the feast, setting up decorations, working on the welcoming speech and a few other things like that but they would still take time meaning less family time. I sighed knowing that this was all part of my training to be the next chief of Berk and when I actually became chief, I'd be busier than this everyday with all that I'd have to do. I sighed knowing this was something I'd have to worry about at a later time since it just made these days of peace with my family all the more precious. With this in mind I allowed myself to fall into the realm of sleep but as I did, I couldn't help but feel as if someone was watching us.

Nobodies POV:

Outside the window leading into the bedroom a single vine with a white flower looked into the bedroom before the vine pulled back down slowly returning to the ground but not before unwinding around the arm of a cloaked figure. The figure pulled their arm back into their cloak and smiled sadly as they looked up at the window leading into the bedroom before they said.

"Rest well beloved." They then walked back into the garden and slowly sunk into the earth before a small flower sprouted where she once was.

4 days later

Hiccups POV:

It's been four days since I learnt of the coming visit of the Mooncutter tribe and those days had been pretty busy for me since I had to spend every day with my father, helping him with preparations for the arrival of the visiting chieftess and those accompanying her. I'd spent my days capturing boars, hanging up decorations, going over the do's and do nots when it comes to the visitors, working on my own speech that I was expected to give at the great hall and other such things to prepare for the arrival. Of course, I'd been busy with my own preparations, making sure to put up a few of my scouter automatons around the village since I wanted to keep an eye on Stella so I knew where she is, so I could avoid her and get an idea of her plans to get closer to me. With those in place I felt a little more comfortable with her being on Berk and also summoned my ninja with the order that at the very least, one of them were to be watching each of my family members at all time and to warn them about Stella coming towards them.

Now I was standing on the docks with my father and Toothless at my side while the ships belonging to the Mooncutter tribe members and approaching fast. I stared at the ship with a knot growing tighter in my stomach since although I had been with my father to meet visiting chiefs before these chiefs were normally easy to handle but this was chieftess Luna who was known to be a skilled negotiator and to make matters worse there was also Stella, one of my stalkers. It was then the ship finally docked and the gangplank dropped before someone announced.

"PRESENTING THE HIGH CHIEFTESS OF THE MOONCUTTER TRIBE, CHIEFTESS LUNA!" The man stepped aside to reveal chieftess Luna with Nocturn and Umbra at her sides before my dad held out his hands.

"AS THE CHIEF OF BERK, BOTH ME AND MY SON WELCOME CHIEFTESS LUNA AND THOSE WITH HER TO BERK!"

"THANK YOU CHIEF STOICK!" She then smiled.

"Well now that all the formalities out of the way, how have you been Stoick?" My dad smiled at her.

"I've been fine Luna and not that I don't like small talk but we best get to the Great Hall to get down to business." She nodded and made her way down the gangplank with Umbra and Nocturn following her with all of us making our way to the great hall to handle the official business of the peace treaty.

3 hours later

It's been three hours since the arrival of our guests and that time has been spent going over the peace treaty in the great hall but it was also spent catching up with old friends to see how things had been since the bridal candidate meeting. As expected, our guests were all curious about what adventures I'd been pulled into since they'd been hearing things about my new adventures from traders but wanted to know the difference between what was true and what was false. With every adventure I told them about, I had to show them some of the more exciting parts of my adventures like the battles I went through and the foes I faced followed by a demonstration of every one of the gifts I got. I knew that this wasn't going to be the last time I'd have to do these demonstrations since the ones who came with them were most likely going to ask for demonstrations of my gifts which is understandable since they were pretty cool.

Now my dad and chieftess Luna were discussing things while me, Nocturn and Umbra stood at the sides and enjoyed our own conversations about what's been going on with our own lives. From what I could tell things had been going pretty well for each of us with the exception of Umbra now needing to deal with multiple suitors who would not stop coming after they found out what she looks like under her shroud. She claimed that she now wondered if it was right for her to take off her shroud in the first place since she'd begun mi ssing the peace she often had before she showed her face to the world. We all had a good laugh at that before Nocturn asked.

"Hey Hiccup, if you don't mind me asking, is it true you have kids now?" I nodded.

"Adopted but I love them both as if they were my own blood." They smiled as Umbra asked.

"What are their names and where are they now?"

"Their names are Brant and Chara and right now, they're back on the island since I didn't want them to have to deal with all this boring business, but they'll be at the welcoming feast tonight."

"Well you better make sure they're watched closely since Stella might try something with them to get closer to you." I groaned while looking down in annoyance.

"I knew it, this often happens with my fan-girls always trying to get to me through my family." I looked back up. "It's why I warned them all to keep their guard up around other people since you never know who might try what in order to get to me." I growled. "Really makes my blood boil." I took a breath. "Sorry, I've had to go through this a lot and it's gotten on my nerves for a while." Nocturn then said.

"Don't worry Hiccup, we'll do our best to keep Stella away from both you and the kids." I smiled and nodded in thanks before we continued with our talks about what's happened in our lives.

Nightfall

I was in the great hall, sitting at a long table with my family, my parents, Berks council, chieftess Luna and all of her people for the welcoming feast. The cooks of Berk had gone all out to prepare the food and serving a wide variety of foods for everyone to enjoy and it was easily some of the best food I'd ever had on Berk since it actually had flavor compared to the normally tasteless food we ate. Still though despite the great food being served for this meal, I was not able to truly enjoy it since it was impossible to enjoy a meal when just five seats down, Stella was staring at me with a seductive smile despite one of my wives being on either side of me. I took this as a sign that the coming days are going to be an absolute nightmare for us since I could see the determination in her eyes along with the ambition, meaning she was planning something and that made me nervous. For now, though all I could do was try to ignore it and get on with my meal but it was not going to be an easy thing to do since I could feel her eyes on me.

3 hours later

I was back on my island with my family, now in bed after an hour-long fun time in bed with my wives who also noticed the way Stella was looking at me and felt the need to give me an enjoyable time just to rub it in her face. I wasn't complaining about it though but it was hard to fully enjoy it with the knowledge that for the next nine days, we'd be forced to deal with her whenever we go to Berk and in my case, it was going to be a daily thing to help out my father with the visitors. I didn't like it but I would be chief one day and that meant I'd need to know how to properly handle things when we've got allies visiting the island for one reason or another. Still this knowledge was not going to make my days any easier for me since I'd need to keep my eyes on my family to make sure Stella doesn't cause them trouble, my dad to see how to handle negotiations, Stella in case she tries something and my island in case some of the Mooncutters let their curiosity gets the better of them. Along with all this the arch for the bazaar had been opened up before the Mooncutters arrived and traders had begun pouring in with many of them asking for the use of one of the houses and as expected the houses filled up quickly and those who couldn't get one went with tents. Either way I was happy since there were a lot more traders than usual since they all found out that they could stay a lot longer meaning they didn't have to do a rush job and could take their time setting up and taking things down which was a major pain for them in the past. I let out a sigh knowing things were not going to be easy for the next few days but for now all I could do was get some sleep and see what the next few days bring.

3 days later

It's been three days since the arrival of the Mooncutter tribe but it felt like three months due to the actions of Stella and her companions who accompanied her to help her in her attempts to ensnare me whether it be directly or through my family. In my case I would claim my father needed me or I was needed in the bazaar to get out of talking to her and had begun accompanying my father all day to try and ward her and her friends off. Sadly, for my family things were not as easy since Stella and her friends would try to cozy up to my wives and offer to babysit the kids but they could tell they were just trying to use them to get to me and were hoping that by getting close to the kids, Stella would seem like a mother to them. This is the reason Blanca had begun staying on the island to help train the snake guardians, Astrid stayed on Berk helping with training the riders, I had Brant continue his training on the island under the supervision of my ninja and Chara was always with a member of the family to keep her safe.

Besides that, I've also been pretty busy keeping things in order at the bazaar with people breaking out in fights over the prices being too high, who has the best bargains, where they can find things and other such things. The most common problem I had to deal with is calming angry wives after they punched their husbands for the way that they were looking at the dancers who were performing on the streets but who could blame them with what the female dancers were wearing. Of course, I then had to do my best to keep the wives from killing the performers for trying to seduce their husbands, but they calmed down a bit once I explained that the outfits were part of their culture. They didn't accept this though and I had to buy each of them a carpet to calm them down enough not to kill the dancers and get them more interested in the products being offered around the bazaar. What made me nervous these days though was what Stella was up to since she'd been quiet the last two days and if there's one thing I've learnt in my travels, that is when foes are most dangerous so I kept a close eye on her using my automatons and I did not like the look in her eyes.

Now I was in the great hall enjoying a celebration with members of both tribes to celebrate the official signing of the peace treaty that was signed earlier today. I was busy dancing with Astrid around the fire in the middle of the great hall alongside multiple other couples with all of use enjoying ourselves. It was then I looked at Blanca and couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight to see Chara with her head in her lap and her bunny in her arms while Brant was talking with some of the other kids his age. I turned to Astrid and said.

"Maybe its best we get Chara home and into bed." She nodded but when I saw Brant, I couldn't bring myself to take him away when he seemed to be enjoying himself. "You girls stay and keep an eye on things, I'll take Chara back and tuck her in for the night."

"Are you sure?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I don't have the heart to take Brant away from his friends when he's been so focused on training lately and I feel a lot more comfortable if both you and Blanca were here incase Stella tries anything." She smiled.

"Good idea!" With that said I walked over to Blanca and let her know what was happening making her give a gentle smile before she gently cradl ed Chara in her arms and passed her over to me and once she was securely cradled in my arms, I made my way through my portal door and we were gone.

10 minutes later

I smiled down at the sight of my little girl cuddling her bunny under the covers and snuggled into the bed, so deep into her sleep that she didn't even know we moved her. Seeing how she was now comfortable, I poured her a cup of water for if she got thirsty later in the night and blew out the candle on her bedside table and silently made my way out of her room, closing the door as I left. Knowing my little angel was safe and comfortable in her bed now I figured it would be best to go down to my private room and enjoy the peace and quiet with a book. I smiled at the thought and began making my way down the stairs but the minute I got to the bottom of the stairs all thoughts of a quiet night in were ended when the sound of multiple screams came from outside the front door.

Wanting to be prepared for what was out there, I released my crystal spear while activating my leather chest plate and rhino helmet before rushing out the front door to see what was happening but stopped and stared in shock at what I saw. There was a group of seven men who were wrapped up in wooden vines and branches that were hanging from the trees that lined the path leading to the house. I knew this wasn't my doing since I never shot a forest arrow into any of these trees meaning something else was controlling the trees and it wasn't me. I was brought out of my investigation by the sound of small footsteps from behind me and turned to see Chara walking out the front door with her bunny being held against her chest with her left arm while she rubbed her eyes with her right and asked.

"Daddy, what's going on?" Before I could reply, a man armed with a knife jumped out of the bushes and leapt at her but multiple vines launched out from the ground, grabbing him and pulling him down as a large one wrapped around Chara, lifted her up and passed her to me.

"What in the world?" I was still ready for a fight until Chara patted my cheek.

"It's alright daddy, she won't hurt us." I looked down at Chara.

"Who won't hurt us?" She pointed in a direction and I could see a figure standing in one of the flower beds.

"The flower lady." Using the eye of the dragon to see who this flower lady was my eyes widened in shock but I got over it and felt it best I handle this now rather than later, I kneeled to the ground and gently placed Chara down.

"Sweetie, you don't worry about a thing and go back to bed while I handle this alright?" She let out a cute little yawn and nodded.

"Alright daddy." She then turned around and made her way inside as she said. "Goodnight daddy!" I smiled.

"Goodnight princess." When she was gone, I turned back to the figure and with my arms crossed. "Care to tell me how long you've been able to return to your human form Hadasa?"

The figure walked out of the shadows to reveal the women who was turned into a flower, Hadasa or as Chara had begun calling her, the flower lady. She was wearing a forest green belly dancer outfit with a flower pattern stitched onto it using lighter green material and yellow beads while there were light yellow flowers in her hair. Her hair looked as soft as the petal of a rose while her eyes shined like freshly blooming white flowers in the light of a new day's sun rising in the distance. Basically, she was as beautiful as the day that she was taken away from me and now that fate had given me a second chance to be with her, I was not going to waste it. I was then brought out of my thoughts when she answered.

"About eleven days now." I nodded and began walking up to her while pulling my spear back into my prosthetic and silenced my armor.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid." I stopped in front of her.

"Afraid of what?"

"That you would be angry with me from what I did last time."

"Hadasa, we went over this before you became a flower, it wasn't your fault and I don't blame you for what you did." She looked down with tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"But I still can't let go of the guilt and I did not want to come between you and your happy life with your wives and children."

"Chara told you about them?" She shook her head.

"I may have been a flower, but I was still able to hear your words and that of those around me." I gently placed my real hand on her cheek.

"Then you know I honestly fell in love with you and never stopped while my wives will welcome you with open arms." She leaned into my touch as I used my thumb to wipe away the tears. "Hadasa, just give us a chance and you'll find life can be so much better when you have others to share it with." She smiled as we leaned towards each other and shared a gentle kiss and when we pulled away. "I already lost you once and I am not going to lose you again." She smiled and allowed me to slowly pull her into my embrace but sadly our moment was ruined by the sound of sniffling and turned to see one of the bandits in the trees quietly crying before he noticed us and said.

"Sorry, but I always cry at romantic moments." Hadasa and I just chuckled before I fully turned my attention to them.

"It's alright but why don't you tell me what you were all doing on my island in the first place."

"We were hired to kidnap the little girl and take her back to the ship with the Chieftess Luna's niece Stella." I raised an eyebrow.

"And who hired you exactly?"

"I don't know, none of us do other than the captain who's back on the ship."

"Where's your ship docked." Before the man could reply another man stuck to the trunk of a tree yelled out.

"DON'T TELL HIM!" All eyes turned to him. "You know what the boss will do to us if we tell where he and our ship is." I walked up to the man and smirked.

"It seems you fear the wrong person." I turned my prosthetic into its dragon claw form while igniting my hand. "Your boss is nothing compared to me." He gulped before he told me where the ship was, making me smile. "Thanks, but don't think you'll be let off for planning to kidnap my daughter." I released my coats shadow prison on the ground and spread out around till it was right beneath every one of the men before I turned to Hadasa. "Could you let them down?" She nodded and had the trees drop the men, but the second they touched the ground, they were pulled into the shadow shocking Hadasa. "We'll talk later because right now, I have a ship to capture but, in the meantime, could you watch over Chara?" She smiled.

"As if she were my very own child." I smiled before I took off down the path, towards the docks to release my ship to make capturing the ship of the kidnappers a lot quicker.

Half an hour later

I was making my way to the great hall and I was not the least bit happy since after capturing the remainder of my would be kidnappers were caught, I had spent a short amount of time interrogating their captain who sung like a bird after using my prosthetic's nightmare ability. What I found out was something that made my blood boil to new heights and ruined any joy I had of reuniting with Hadasa since my family being put in jeopardy was enough to ruin any good mood. I slammed the doors open causing an echo to go through the crowded great hall and all attention to turn to me as I marched in before my father walked towards me and said.

"Son, we have guests over and this is no way to-" I cut him off by grabbing him but the beard and pulling him down to eye level.

"Quiet!" I then pushed him back and everyone knew better than to get in my way as I made my way over to chieftess Luna. "Where's Stella?" Stella then walked out of the crowd.

"Here I am." I turned to glare at her as I allowed my coats shadow to expand and push out the leader of the group who was sent to kidnap Chara, with his arms tied behind his back and pointed at her and asked the man.

"Is she the one who hired you lot." He quickly nodded before I stood him up and shoved him to Spitelout. "Lock him up in the Berk dungeons!" He nodded before I turned to Stella but Nocturn stepped in front of her and asked.

"What is going on?"

"A group of men was captured on my island with that guy being the leader of the group who told me they were hired to kidnap my daughter who claim to have done it under Stella's orders." I then turned to Stella. "But for some reason you told them to take you to." She slowly backed away.

"That's ridiculous, I would never do that." I snapped my fingers and Iron appeared next to me shaking his head.

"You're lying!" Before she could reply, I held up my hand to silence her. "Save your excuses, my ninja can tell when someone is lying so why don't you just save us all a lot of time and tell us what you were hoping to do."

She began to mutter in fear before I unraveled my eyepatch to reveal the eye of the dragon glaring at her and she burst into her explanation of her plan to share a cell with Chara and bond with her while stopping a few punishments she would get. She was then going to break out of her cell with Chara and escape with her before coming back to the island to return Chara to me and I'd be grateful enough to give her a chance and have an easier time thanks to Chara who would stand up for her because they bonded. As soon as she finished, I was ready to kill her since her plan involved using my daughter and possibly scarring her for life both mentally and physically. I was brought out of my thoughts when a hand landed on my shoulder and I turned to see chieftess Luna standing there with an apologetic look before she said.

"Hiccup, I cannot tell you how sorry I am that this happened and you can rest assured that Stella will be punished to the highest degree when we return to the island but for now she will be confined to her quarters on the ship." She then turned to two of her guards. "Take Stella back to the ship and make sure she stays in her quarters." They nodded and took her away before Astrid and Blanca walked up to me with Astrid saying.

"Perhaps it best we call it a night and get some rest." I nodded.

"That sounds good since there's something we need to discuss." They nodded before we grabbed Brant and took off, but I was wondering how to explain Hadasa to the girls but knew they'd understand how things are and be willing to give her a chance.

AN: And that brings an end to this chapter and I am sorry for the late update but with the late post of the last chapter, I could only finish it off and post it today. I also feel it only right to warn you all that the next chapter might come in late due to the fact that my family is going away at the end of the week meaning less writing time so the next chapter might not be out till next week. By the way, I'm a little hurt that the last chapter only got 3 reviews so here's hoping this chapter gets a few more but until then, stay safe, review kindly and have a nice day.