Jack's plane touched down in Berk, but he remained frozen in his seat, his mind reeling from the vivid dreams he couldn't shake. Each detail was burned into his memory, and no matter how much he wrote them down, they felt too real. Elsa lingered in his thoughts, but he knew Sebastian was with her, so his mind was consumed with what had brought him here.
He jumped into his car, driving straight to Gothi's small, secluded hut. Knocking on the door, unsure how to get her attention, he called out, "Gothi?"
"Enter," came her gravelly voice.
Jack hesitated but opened the door, his mind racing. "Hi, Gothi, it's me-" How could she even hear him?
She stepped from the shadows, her small figure glowing in the dim light. "Jackson Frost Overland, I've been expectin' ye," she said, her voice both eerie and knowing.
Jack froze. She knew his middle name, no one did. His heart pounded. "How do you-"
"I've seen things ye wouldn't believe," Gothi interrupted, tapping the floor with her cane. "But enough of that. I've got answers, boy. Ask yer questions."
Jack sat down, feeling both lost and entranced. "How...how can you talk?" He struggled to find the words. "If this is a dream, I swear I'll lose my mind."
Gothi chuckled, the sound harsh. "I talk just like ye, Jackson. I save me words for those who matter." She poked his leg with her cane, her grin widening. "And ye matter."
Jack's throat tightened. "And how do you know my middle name?"
"I've lived longer than ye can fathom," Gothi replied with a glint in her eyes. "I know things. Now, stop doubting and start listenin'."
"Yes, Madam Gothi."
With a smirk, Gothi raised her cane and smacked his head. "Call me Gothi!"
Jack felt as though he was losing grip on reality "Sorry Gothi I've been having these dreams…these memories. Elsa and I...different places, different times. I'm so confused, Gothi."
Gothi studied him for a long moment, her sharp gaze piercing through the dim light of the room. Jack could feel her assessment like a weight on his chest, yet there was something comforting in her silence. Finally, she spoke, her voice measured and deliberate, each word heavy with the weight of years of wisdom.
"Dreams, you say? Or perhaps memories…or perhaps both," she mused, her voice rough, like the wind on the sea. "The past, the present, and the future oft' twist together for those whose fates are bound, like the knots of a sailor's rope. But make no mistake, Jackson Frost Overland," she emphasized his full name, sending a shiver down his spine, "what you're seeing is no mere dream."
Jack's pulse quickened, but he forced himself to keep his composure. "Then what is it? What does it all mean? And why…why now?" His voice betrayed his uncertainty, the depth of his confusion bubbling to the surface. "All this pain...when I'm finally happy."
Gothi rose from her chair, her cane tapping on the floor like the rhythm of an ancient song, and moved toward him. The air grew thick as she spoke, her words slow and deliberate. "You and Elsa, yer hearts, they've been tethered through many lifetimes, boy. This isn't the first time yer souls have met, nor will it be the last. The dreams you see? They are the whispers of fate calling you both. You've been through this before, and ye will again."
Jack's chest tightened as the weight of her words pressed against him. "But…this is impossible. We've only just started...started this life together! How can it be something that's…been going on for ages?" he asked, voice cracking with disbelief.
Gothi's eyes softened, though her face remained stoic. She stepped closer, her cane tapping once more on the floor, as if to emphasize her next words. "Because, Jackson, yer love for Elsa runs deeper than the roots of the oldest trees. Ye've loved her before, in ways ye cannot remember. This bond, it's older than the stone under our feet. And now…it has returned. Ye are not here by chance."
Jack stumbled back, his thoughts crashing like waves against a rocky shore. "So…this is fate?" he asked, his voice small, unsure.
Gothi closed her eyes, her voice rich with the weight of ages as she began to speak, her words slow and deliberate. "Long ago, there were two children, Jackson and Elsa, chosen by the Gods to walk a path together, bound by fate across many lifetimes."
Jack shivered, the chill of her words creeping down his spine. "I knew it…there's something more to this." His voice trembled, barely audible.
Gothi's gaze never wavered, and she continued, her words carrying the depth of centuries. "They were orphans, poor and forgotten by the world, yet the love they shared was fierce and true. They had naught, no food, no home, but each other. And that was enough. They suffered hunger, days without food, yet they never faltered. At 17, they found work, just enough to feed them and a roof to shelter them. They had little, but they had everything. At 19, they wed, with only two friends by their side."
Jack's chest tightened as the weight of her words sank in. "And then?" he breathed.
Gothi's voice softened, as though recalling a wound that had never fully healed. "Two years later, Jackson was struck down by a sickness, a common flu. He passed, leaving Elsa broken, heart torn asunder. She lingered for a time, but in the end, it was her grief that took her, her heart shattered beyond repair."
Jack's throat burned, his heart aching with every word. "I…I don't understand." His voice cracked as tears welled up in his eyes.
Gothi stood slowly, her cane tapping softly on the floor as she moved toward the window. She paused, letting the stillness settle before she spoke again. "Their love, boy, it was powerful. Stronger than anything the world could throw at them. Even the Gods, mighty as they are, could not deny it."
Jack's heart was heavy, his mind struggling to grasp the weight of it all. "But that wasn't fair to her…to live alone like that, for all those years." His voice cracked, and tears flowed freely as he lowered his head.
Gothi closed her eyes, as if remembering a pain that was too old to forget. She nodded solemnly, her face twisted in a grimace. "Aye, it was cruel, and I've seen many lives torn apart by love such as theirs. But it was her love for you that kept her strong. Even as she lay on her deathbed, she prayed for a swift end, to be with you once more. And when she passed, her smile, it was a sight to see. Peaceful, full of hope. She believed, truly believed, that she was on her way to meet you."
Jack's heart slammed in his chest as the truth hit him like a storm. He wiped his tears away, suddenly filled with clarity. "She was reborn, and I found her. But the dreams…she was a princess, and I was a knight."
Gothi nodded slowly, inhaling deeply, as if drawing the very air of the past into her lungs. "Aye, that was your second life," she said, her voice thick with the weight of centuries.
Jack's brows furrowed in confusion. "Second life?" he asked, his mind still reeling. "There was more than one?"
"Aye, more than one," Gothi replied with a somber nod. "In the second life, ye both were blessed with strength and fortune, riches beyond measure, and families who cared for ye. Elsa was of royal blood, and ye, a knight of high renown. The Gods, in their mercy, could not be cruel again. What was denied in the first life, they granted ye in the second. Yet, despite the wealth and power, yer love for each other remained unchanged." She paused, her eyes glimmering with ancient wisdom. "But even in that life, obstacles arose, and ye had to fight once more to be together. But in the end, ye did."
Jack's heart sank, the pit in his stomach deepening. "But there was another tragedy, wasn't there?" His voice was shaky as he wiped away the tears that had begun to fall. "I feel it…here," he said, pressing his hand to his chest. "I've always felt it."
Gothi sighed deeply, her frail hand reaching out to rest against the cold glass of the window. Her fingers trembled slightly, a deep weariness in her bones. "Aye," she murmured. "It was the cruelty of men that brought yer happiness to an end. After ye were wed, ye chose to live in seclusion, far from the prying eyes of the kingdom. But one noble, greedy and power-hungry, tracked ye down. He sought to end yer lives because the heir to the throne had married a knight, a common man. It was a blow to their precious order. A marriage without royal blood threatened the balance of power, and so they set their sights on ye both."
Jack's breath caught in his throat as tears fell from his eyes, each one a drop of grief he couldn't hold back. He choked on the words, his voice raw. "Who…who died? Who was it this time?" His gut twisted, knowing what the answer would be but dreading it all the same.
Gothi's eyes darkened as she spoke, her voice low and steady. "It was ye, Jackson. The noble found ye, and an arrow was loosed. It struck true, and ye bled out on the earth. As for Elsa." She paused, her voice breaking. "Elsa lived. She...her heart shattered, again. She wept by yer grave, and in her sorrow, she took her own life. She could not bear to be used or live without ye, and so she followed ye into death."
Jack's heart shattered as the full weight of her words sank in. He felt the grief of a thousand lifetimes pressing on him, the sharp sting of loss biting deep. "But…why? Why couldn't she come back? Why couldn't we both?"
Gothi's gaze softened with an ancient sorrow. "Because she took her own life, and the Gods, mighty as they are, do not look kindly on that. They did not allow her to return, and because ye were two souls bound so closely together, yer own soul refused to reincarnate without hers. It was a punishment, and a cruel one. She suffered, and so did ye."
Jack trembled uncontrollably, his body shaking like a leaf in a storm. Despite feeling as though he might faint at any moment, he clung to the desperate need for answers. "So, is this our third chance at life? Why were our childhoods so empty? What was the reason for our rebirth? Twice wasn't enough? Why do we have to endure this again?"
Gothi gripped her cane, steadying herself as she took a slow, deep breath before responding. "Jack, not every life is filled with joy. And ye were never meant to be reborn. It was her own doing, taking her life, and yer soul resisted the fate that the Gods set for ye," she explained, her voice steady but heavy with the weight of her words.
"Then why?" Jack whispered, his voice breaking with grief and confusion, his body trembling with the weight of his sorrow.
With a grunt, Gothi rose, her weathered hand resting on his shoulder. "This time, it was the mercy of the Gods for someone else."
Jack looked up, his gaze locking with hers, searching for more. "Who?"
"Someone special."
The room was thick with silence, the air heavy with the secrets lingering between them. "Who else could it be? Every dream, every memory, has always been just her and me. I…I never saw anyone else-"
"If this is too much." Gothi's hand reached out, steadying him, her eyes kind but firm.
"No," Jack gasped, desperation thick in his voice. "I want to know! Tell me, Gothi, please." He dropped to his knees with a soft thud, his body wracked with the need to understand.
"As ye wish," Gothi said, her voice quiet yet resolute. She gripped the windowsill, bracing herself before continuing. "There was another. A friend, who loved ye both with a heart full of loyalty. That person, a part of yer soul, the one who shared yer joy and sorrow, who was yer best friend and partner in crime, when ye and Elsa died, they were taken too."
Jack's breath caught in his throat, a sudden realization flooding him. "Someone died…because of us?" His hand scraped across the wooden floor, balling into a fist as his chest tightened. "Who?"
Gothi's voice remained unwavering as she continued. "This friend, this soul, pleaded with the Gods for another chance at life. It was their love, their grief over losing ye, that moved the Gods to act. Maybe they would've shown mercy anyway, given the tragedy of yer fate, but this person…their plea was heard. They begged the Gods to bring them back to ye, or not at all. Touched by the love they had for ye and the pain of yer loss, the Gods granted their wish. And so, ye were reincarnated."
"Who is it?" Jack's voice was raw, filled with a hunger for answers.
"Someone who loves ye both, endlessly," Gothi replied, her eyes avoiding his, a shadow of secrecy in her gaze.
"I need to meet them," Jack insisted, his voice desperate. "I need to thank them. You know everything, Gothi...please, tell me."
"I cannot reveal the secrets of another's soul, Jackson," Gothi said firmly, though her eyes softened. "But when the time comes, ye'll know. When ye meet them, when ye hold them in yer arms…ye'll feel it. Ye'll know."
"Could it be Hiccup or Astrid?" Jack's voice wavered with the hope of clarity.
"Aye, they were yer companions in the first life, yer closest. Mayhaps it's them again." Gothi's voice held a knowing hint, as though she was playing a game with him.
"But I don't feel anything…not with them," Jack said, shaking his head, the mystery still gnawing at him.
"Maybe I'm wrong," Gothi said, turning her gaze away. "Maybe ye're not meant to feel anything yet…or maybe it's not them."
Jack saw through her; he knew a lie when he heard one. "You know who it is, Gothi," he said, his voice hard with realization. "You're lying."
Gothi gave him a sly smile, but there was a flicker of something hidden behind it. "Aye, maybe I do. But I won't say. It's not mine to share."
Jack sighed, his heart heavy with the uncertainty. He gathered his courage and, with a voice thick with sorrow, asked, "Will we have a happy ending this time, Gothi? Will we?"
Gothi paused for a long moment, her eyes distant as she closed the window with a soft click. She turned and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I cannot say for certain."
"So, you don't know," Jack murmured, a quiet ache spreading through him.
Gothi stepped closer, pulling him into a tight embrace, her weathered arms wrapping around him with a warmth that spoke of age and wisdom. "We can only hope, son."
"I want a happy ending," Jack whispered, his voice cracking.
Gothi held him close, her voice a soft whisper against his ear. "Don't we all?"
Well, who do you think that soul is?