Chapter 19-Honorary Champions
"Hm… Yep, I can do that for yer," Credo says after looking at the sword, "Yer have a drawing that I can base the engraving off of?"
Astrid nods, pulls a piece of paper out of her pouch, and hands it to the blacksmith. "How much will it be?" she asks, one hand still in the pouch.
The blacksmith frowns, scratching his dark brown beard as he ponders for a moment. "That'll be two hundred seventy Rupees," he says, looking back up at Astrid. She grabs two silver Rupees, a purple Rupee, and a red Rupee, and hands them to Credo. He smiles as he replies, "Thanks Miss Astrid, I'll have this done in an hour at most!" With that, he walks into the forge and puts the Rupees in a strongbox before laying the sword on an anvil.
Astrid yawns and walks outside, sitting on a bench. She is at the Hyrule Blacksmith Guild, located in the Rauru Settlement, a small town about two thirds of a mile northeast of Hyrule Castle. With her and Hiccup's approaching return to Berk, she had felt that she should give Zelda something as thanks for her hospitality. She had decided to give Zelda the Royal Broadsword that she'd been using during her time in Hyrule, and had brought the weapon to the blacksmith to sharpen it along with giving the sword a small modification.
Fifty minutes later, Credo calls out Astrid's name and she walks back into the blacksmith building. Seeing the blonde warrior, he holds out the sword and Astrid takes it, inspecting the modifications. Satisfied, she grins at Credo as she addresses him. "Thank you very much, Credo. It's just what I wanted."
The blacksmith smiles back as he responds. "Sure thing, Miss Astrid. Always happy to help."
Astrid returns the sword to the scabbard hanging from her belt, bids farewell to Credo and heads back to where Stormfly is waiting.
Accompanied by Link, Zelda walks down the stairs to her courtyard. She's wearing a modified version of her research outfit that has the left sleeves end just below the stump of her arm. In the past four days since she had woken up, she does a daily walk around the castle to get some exercise. Hiccup has also been helping her with adjusting to no longer having her left arm.
Toothless and Stormfly land in the courtyard, startling Zelda. Hiccup and Astrid hop off their saddles, with Zelda noticing that the young chief has a cloth wrapped bundle in his right hand. He sees Zelda and points to the gazebo in the courtyard, before heading to it, followed by Astrid. Intrigued, Zelda and Link quicken their pace to see what the Berkians have for them.
Hiccup puts the covered object on the table before addressing Zelda. "Morning Princess. Astrid and I just got back from the Ancient Tech Lab with something for you made by Purah and Robbie with some help by myself. Have a look." He moves the covered bundle closer to Zelda, then sits back.
Zelda unwraps the fabric and quietly gasps upon seeing what was covered.
On the table is an eighteen inch long cylinder made of Sheikah tech. One end has the claw of a Guardian, but modified to have five fingers rather than four. The other end has a leather cup padded with fabric and several loose straps attached to it. After looking at it for a moment, Zelda realizes that it's an arm, more specifically a left arm meant to be strapped onto a shortened left bicep. She picks it up and notices that the bicep part of the prosthetic rotates downwards, thanks to a joint several inches away from the padded cup.
"Thank you," she says, looking at Hiccup and giving him a warm smile.
He smiles back and holds his hands out. Seeing the motion, Zelda hands him the arm, and he takes it.
Holding it in front of him, he addresses Zelda. "As you noticed, there is a joint where the elbow would be on an organic arm. This joint has a similar range of motion to your elbow, and you can lock the joint by pressing this button," he says before indicating a glowing orange circle on the joint. "If the joint is locked, just press the button again to unlock it."
Zelda nods in understanding, impressed by the feature
Hiccup then points to the hand shaped Guardian claw of the arm before continuing. "The hand can be rotated manually and the claws can flex as well. There is also a second hand that's being made for specifically holding things like the Bow of Light or a sword. The hands are swappable and I'll show you how to do that once the second hand is ready."
Zelda looks at Hiccup, her smile even bigger. "Once again, thank you so much. You outdid yourself with this."
Hiccup's cheeks redden and he nervously grins as he replies. "Purah and Robbie made the arm itself, so you should be thanking them. All I did was make the cup and attachment straps."
Zelda grins and places her hand on Hiccup's shoulder before she responds. "Then I'll thank them as well, but you still helped, so you do deserve a thank you from me. Now I'm going to try this on!" Still grinning, Zelda takes her hand off Hiccup's shoulder, grabs the prosthetic, then walks up the stairs to her room and disappears inside.
Link, Hiccup and Astrid all follow Zelda up the stairs, but wait outside until she is ready. After several minutes of waiting and hearing some muttered curses, Zelda's raised voice comes through the door. "Hey Astrid, can you come help me fasten the straps please?"
Astrid voices her acknowledgement, before slightly opening the door and slipping inside. Hiccup and Link wait outside for another moment before they get called in.
Hiccup grins as he enters and sees Zelda with the prosthetic arm attached to her stump. The princess has taken off her blue and white shirts, leaving her in a sleeveless white undershirt. Above the top of the prosthetic, a leather strap wraps around her upper bicep, while a second strap runs up to her shoulder and splits into two straps that run across her upper chest and back before connecting underneath her right armpit.
Seeing the boys entering, Zelda raises her left arm, prosthetic included and runs at them. She has rotated the hand ninety degrees to the right and locked the elbow joint in a slightly bent position, giving the appearance that she is reaching out to grab them. Chuckling, Hiccup and Link run away from the princess, leading her on a chase around her room. Astrid laughs at the sight, happy to see Zelda doing well.
Toothless warbles upon seeing Hiccup brushing his shirt, despite having done it numerous times in the past few minutes. The pair of them, along with Astrid and Stormfly are at the entrance of the Sanctum, waiting to be called in. For the occasion, Hiccup is wearing his dark green shirt rather than his normal brown shirt, while Astrid doesn't have her axe or sword-though she does still have her two concealed daggers.
One of the doors of the Sanctum opens and a Royal Guard pokes his head out. "Alright, we're ready. Walk to the Triforce on the floor, then stop," the guard says in a low voice before closing the door.
After a moment, both doors open and the Berkians walk in. Hiccup and Astrid walk beside each other, Hiccup on the left and Astrid on the right, with their dragons following them.
Both Hiccup and Astrid's eyes widen as they enter the Sanctum and see all five Champions, Zelda, a representative from the Gerudo, Rito, Zora, and Gorons, plus the senior knights of Hyrule all present on the audience floor. The knights and representatives stand on the southern portion of the floor. Meanwhile, Zelda and the Champions are standing in a half circle below the throne and the staircases leading up to the throne, while King Rhoam himself is seated on the throne.
Zelda and Link stand right beneath the throne, with Urbosa and Revali to their right, while Daruk and Mipha stand to their left. Hiccup notices that the princess is wearing her formal royal blue and white dress, which he hasn't seen since the first few days of his time in Hyrule. He does notice that she is wearing her new prosthetic, indicated by the Guardian claw where her left hand would have been.
Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly walk to the large mural of the Triforce on the floor and stop, looking up at the throne. King Rhoam rises and walks to the balcony in front of the throne. He clears his throat, before addressing the room. "Welcome Champions and warriors. I'd like to thank you for joining me here today. Before you stand four warriors who've shown their prowess on the battlefield." The King gestures with one hand to the Berkians before he continues speaking. "They are Chief Hiccup Haddock, Lady Astrid Hofferson, Toothless the Night Fury, and Stormfly the Deadly Nadder. These four individuals from another time not only helped in the recent battle with Calamity Ganon, but have also helped out across the kingdom."
King Rhoam pauses, takes a breath, then resumes his speech. "Chief Hiccup, Lady Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly. For your skill in battle and contributions to Hyrule, I bestow upon you the title of honorary Champions. In recognition of your new status, my daughter and commander of the Champions, Princess Zelda, has a gift for each of you."
The King stops and nods to Zelda. She steps forward, followed by Link, who grabs a large covered bundle. Hiccup and Astrid barely notice the detail since they are shocked at being named honorary members of the Champions.
Zelda pauses a few paces away from the Berkians and addresses them. "As you have seen, all five of the Champions have a special garb and as honorary Champions, you each get one. These were all handcrafted by myself and have a prayer of protection bestowed upon them." She turns to Link, who hands her some long pieces of fabric and locks her prosthetic's elbow joint in a bent position, before she walks up to Hiccup.
"For you, Chief Hiccup Haddock, I give you these wings for your wingsuit," Zelda says in a formal tone, holding out her hands.
Hiccup's eyes widen upon seeing a pair of wings made from several pieces of lightweight leather dyed Champion blue. White trim identical to the trim on the other Champion's garbs runs along the edge that goes from the wrist strap to the leg attachment point. On one wing, Hiccup's crest is painted near the right angle of the wing. He takes the wings and bows to Zelda. She smiles back before walking to Astrid.
Link hands Zelda a second object, which Zelda presents to Astrid. "For you, Lady Astrid Hofferson, I give you this tunic," the princess says, holding out a folded tunic.
Astrid takes it and unfolds it to see the full design. The Champion blue tunic is sleeveless and has a tight collar, similar to some of Astrid's tunics. She smiles upon seeing that the white trim around the collar forms the shape of a double bladed battle axe, similar to how the while trim on Link's tunic depicts the Master Sword. Astrid bows to Zelda, who gives a smile in return, before moving onto Toothless.
Hiccup gasps upon seeing the unmistakable shape of the next item that Link hands Zelda to give to Toothless.
Addressing the Night Fury, Zelda continues. "For you, Toothless, I give you this tail fin." She hands the fin to Hiccup, who opens it. Like the wings, the fin is made from lightweight leather dyed Champion blue. Outside of the color being different, the tail is identical to the one that Toothless is currently wearing, even having Hiccup's crest painted on in white. White trim runs along the edge of the fin, save for the part that touches Toothless's tail. The Night Fury warbles happily and gives Zelda a gummy grin. Despite the formal air, Zelda chuckles at the gesture, before taking the last item from Link.
After walking over to Stormfly, Zelda continues speaking. "For you, Stormfly, I give you this scarf."
She holds up a long stretched half circle shaped piece of Champion blue fabric bearing white trim along the circular edge, and with a white emblem of a Deadly Nadder in flight. Stormfly inspects the garment and squawks her approval as Astrid takes the garment from Zelda.
Having finished distributing the Champion garbs, Zelda and Link return to their place beneath the throne as King Rhoam resumes speaking. "That blue is a symbol of the Royal Family that has been passed down for generations. It is an honor to receive garments of this color, and I trust that the four of you will take good care of them. As the King of Hyrule, I thank you once more for your contributions to our kingdom, and wish you well for your future travels."
The King finishes speaking and smiles at the Berkians as he starts clapping. In quick succession, Zelda, the Champions, and the assembled senior knights break into applause. Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly look around, smiling at the cheering Hylians and at each other.
Later that afternoon, the Champions, Zelda, and honorary Champions are gathered in the gazebo in Zelda's courtyard.
All four Berkians are wearing their new Champions garbs, with Stormfly's scarf fastened around her neck, while Astrid has left her red vest in her room to fully show her new tunic, though she still has her shoulder armor. Hiccup is wearing his wings, but unconventionally. Since the wings aren't sewed into a flight suit yet, he has the bottom of each wing tucked beneath the straps holding his knee guards in place.
He and Astrid are talking with the Champions about the Dragon Riders.
"So Little Chief," Daruk says, "Outside of Tiny Valkyrie, who are the other Dragon Riders?"
Hiccup smiles at the nicknames, since true to Zelda's prediction, the cheerful Goron Champion has given nicknames to Hiccup and Astrid.
"Well, there's Fishlegs, a nice young man who is an expert on dragons and prefers peace to war," Hiccup says in response to Daruk's question. He takes a bite from one of the sliders made from Tabantha Wheat bread, with the one he grabs having Hearty Salmon between the bread slices.
While Hiccup eats, Astrid takes over telling the Champions about the Dragon Riders. "Then there's Snotlout. He's got an overinflated ego, frequently complains, and thinks he's a huge hit with women, but isn't. The last members of our team are Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston. They are chaotic, cunning, dumb yet intelligent Loki worshipping twins that love blowing stuff up and who both have an absurd amount of pain tolerance."
All four Champion's eyebrows shoot up, causing Astrid to smile before continuing. "What I mean is that the Twins frequently bang their heads together while wearing their metal helmets, hit each other with maces or other weapons, and frequently have explosions go off in their faces."
Astrid's smile widens as dead silence follows her statement, with Urbosa, Mipha, and Revali looking at her and Hiccup with startled looks and wide eyes.
A crunching sound interrupts the silence, and nine pairs of eyes turn to stare at Daruk, who is eating a slider-made from various types of rock. The Goron Champion sheepishly smiles, and they all return their attention to Astrid.
After a moment, Revali speaks, "I mean, that's just asinine! How do you two deal with it?"
"Sometimes a hard glare from myself or Astrid will deter them, with Astrid being more successful. But, in the more common event that they don't stop, we do our best to minimize the damage that they cause. It doesn't help one Thorsdamn bit that their dragon, a Hideous Zippleback, which has two heads, enjoys causing chaos and that Zipplebacks specialize in controlled explosions," Hiccup says, with both exasperation and cheerfulness in his voice.
"So they should never be allowed anywhere near Hyrule?" Mipha asks.
Hiccup gravely nods as he replies, "Yep. Especially if they figure out how to use the Sheikah tech. Though in their hearts, the Twins are good, along with Snotlout."
Astrid takes a bite of a gourmet meat slider and her eyes widen as she chews it. "Thor, that's good!" she says, turning to Zelda. "What recipe is this?"
Zelda smiles before answering the question. "It's called the Ceremonial Platter. The only other time it was served was at the Champions inauguration ceremony four years ago. The original recipe was destroyed during the Calamity, but we recreated it afterwards. It uses the finest ingredients from each region and suits the tastes of all the Champions." Hiccup nods, tossing part of the salmon from his slider to Toothless, who eagerly eats the fish.
The sound of rocks being crunched catches the attention of all the Champions and they look at Daruk, only to see that he has no rocks in his hand. Zelda then turns her attention to Link and clears her throat. Link looks up, a half eaten rock slider in his hand, and his face goes bright red upon realizing that he's the center of attention. Everyone chuckles and turns away, much to the Hylian Champion's relief.
Hiccup clears his throat and all eyes turn to him. He pauses for a moment before he addresses Zelda. "Princess, you've been extremely kind and accommodating to myself, Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly during our time in Hyrule. As thanks, I have a gift for you."
He walks over to Toothless, pulls something out of the saddlebag, then returns to the table. Astrid moves the Ceremonial Platter aside as Hiccup places the item on the table, and unfolds it. The Champion's eyes all widen upon seeing that the thing Hiccup unfolds is a map of Hyrule.
He steps aside as they all cluster around the table to look at the map. Zelda gasps in amazement as she notices that the map is entirely hand drawn, and the location titles are written in both Hylian and Berkian letters. Like the map of Hyrule on the Sheikah Slate, Hiccup's map is topographical, but most of the key man-made landmarks around the kingdom, including Hyrule Castle, Akkala Citadel, the Temple of Time, the three sacred springs, and all fifteen Sheikah Towers are drawn as if one was looking at them from the ground, while the various towns and settlements across Hyrule are marked with house icons. Also included are little drawings of the four Divine Beasts, the Great Deku Tree, a Molduga at the Southern Oasis, Sand Seals near Gerudo Town, and some of the other wildlife that lives in Hyrule. The map is colored in light shades accurate to the terrain, whereas the Sheikah Slate's map is colored in varying shades of brown based on elevation.
"Thank you Hiccup. I-it's amazing," Zelda says in a quiet voice, marveling at the detail.
The other Champions voice their agreement, all studying their home regions. Daruk is happy to see that Hiccup did draw the Goron statues that overlook Goron City, while Revali is pleased to see both the distinct pinnacle of rock that Rito Village is built on and the Flight Range. Urbosa smiles at the fact that Hiccup got many of the ruins across the Gerudo Desert, while Mipha is surprised that Hiccup included some of the unique foliage present around Zora's Domain.
As Zelda scans the map, some pale green-blue on Mount Lanayru catches her eye, and she looks closer at it. She frowns upon seeing that the pale green-blue patches are the distinct crystal like formations of Mount Lanayru, which in actuality are more of a pale bluish gray. However her confusion vanishes upon noticing something drawn next to the mountain. In the sea off the east side, a white creature with two long tusks, a crest of spikes, a sleek build, and rearing up on its hind legs while roaring is drawn. Scrawled next to the creature is a question mark. Zelda chuckles and looks at Hiccup, her eyes asking an unspoken question. He nods in reply, confirming Zelda's guess that the creature is a Bewilderbeast.
Astrid unties her Royal Broadsword from her belt and holds the sheathed weapon up, clearing her throat. Zelda turns to look at her, and Astrid speaks. "Zelda, I also have a gift for you in thanks for your hospitality. Please take this sword."
Zelda takes the sword from Zelda and looks at it before replying. "No offense Astrid, but are you just giving me a sword that's identical to other Royal Broadswords in the land?"
Astrid smiles, and shakes her head. "Draw it and flip it over," she responds.
Zelda goes to draw the blade, but stops, remembering that her prosthetic can't hold things. Seeing the problem, Link steps forward and takes a hold of the scabbard, giving Zelda an encouraging smile. She smiles back before drawing the sword and flipping it over.
A quiet gasp escapes her upon seeing the small changes to the sword. Right above the crossguard, but below the blade, there is a hexagonal gray plate where the crest of Hyrule is normally engraved in gold. However, on this sword, the Hylian crest has been replaced with an engraving of a Deadly Nadder, done in gold. Additionally, a small section of the light gray trim at the base of the blade has been replaced with two Hylian letters, which Zelda recognizes as an A and a H. She then flips the sword over to inspect the other side. While the gray plate still has the Hylian crest, two more Hylian letters are engraved in a spot identical to the ones on the other side, except that these letters are a Z and a H.
Astrid smiles at the princess before speaking. "Three days ago, I took it down to the Blacksmith Guild to get those engraved. The AH stands for Astrid Hofferson and the ZH stands for Zelda Hyrule. I figured that since your father's surname is Hyrule, that yours must be as well."
Zelda looks up at Astrid and smirks as she replies. "Well the AH could also stand for Astrid Haddock." Both Astrid and Hiccup immediately blush, causing Zelda, the Champions, and even Toothless and Stormfly to laugh.
After managing to get her laughter under control, Zelda resumes speaking. "Astrid, this is beautiful. I wasn't sure if I was going to continue training with the sword due to my injury, but with you giving me this sword, I'll keep training."
Astrid gives Zelda a warm smile before responding. "That was what I was hoping you might do. I'm sure Link and Urbosa will help you improve on the basic skills that I taught you."
"That we will, Little Bird," Urbosa says, placing a hand on Zelda's shoulder while Link nods, smiling at the princess.
"Hey, I have an idea," Daruk cheerfully says, "Why don't we take a picture of us with Little Chief, Tiny Valkyrie, Toothless, and Stormfly?"
Revali immediately frowns, while Urbosa grins, and Zelda slowly nods. "That's actually a good idea," she says cautiously, before her tone turns firm, "But please do not shove us all together like you did last time."
Daruk makes a sad face, but nods. Zelda looks at the guard at the base of the stairs to her room and sees a familiar face. "Clinton," she calls out, "Can you come over please? I have a special request."
He walks over to the group and after greeting Zelda and the Champions, he addresses the Berkians. "Congratulations for your achievement, Chief Hiccup, Lady Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly."
They all nod acknowledgement, and the Royal Guard turns to Zelda, awaiting her request. "Remember several weeks ago that you took some pictures of myself, Link, and our honored guests?" Clinton nods, then Zelda continues. "Well, can you take a picture of myself, Link, our honored guests, and the Champions, please?"
Clinton grins as he responds, "I'd be honored, Princess."
Smiling, Zelda pulls the Sheikah Slate off her right hip, hands it to him, then beckons to the others to follow her. For several minutes they debate on who stands where before making a final choice. The Berkians stand to the left, while the Champions stand to the right, with Zelda and Link in the center. To show off his wings, Hiccup has his right arm stretched out to touch Toothless's neck, while his left arm is on Astrid's shoulder. Toothless curls his tail around the couple, with his new Champion blue tail fin in its expanded position, while Stormfly stands behind Toothless, her Champion scarf visible on her neck. Unsurprisingly, Daruk is behind everyone, and standing to the right of the dragons. Urbosa stands behind Zelda, with Mipha next to the princess, and Revali standing next to Mipha.
Clinton holds up the Sheikah Slate, adjusts the zoom of the camera rune to get everyone in the frame and they all smile as he takes the picture. He snaps a couple more, then hands the Sheikah Slate back to Zelda. Smiling warmly, she thanks the Royal Guard, who bows in acknowledgement, before returning to his post at the base of the stairs to Zelda's room. Zelda grins upon seeing the picture and holds it out for the others to see. They all grin as well after seeing the picture.
Hiccup looks up at the low sun and estimates that there's around an hour of sunlight left, and an extra hour before it gets dark. "Hey Zelda," he says, catching the princess's attention. "You want to go gliding now?"
She thinks for a second before nodding. He looks at Astrid and Link, and they both nod as well.
Fifteen minutes later, Hiccup and Link riding on Toothless alongside Astrid and Zelda riding on Stormfly, are soaring high above Hyrule Castle. All four are wearing their wingsuits, though Hiccup's still has the original plain brown wings. Due to her prosthetic, Zelda already has her left wing deployed, with the elbow joint locked so her prosthetic arm is straight. Toothless and Stormfly are still wearing their Champion garbs, with Toothless's Champion tail fin working just as well as his usual one. Hiccup isn't surprised, since Zelda did mention that she had started work on the garbs before the Calamity broke free, meaning she most likely studied the tail fin Hiccup made before making the new one.
Hiccup slides his prosthetic forward, locking Toothless's tail fin in glide mode, unclips his prosthetic and switches it to walking mode for an easier landing. Meanwhile, Link takes the Master Sword off his back and straps the scabbard to the saddle. Hiccup looks at Astrid and she nods.
"Alright, we ready?" He says, addressing the whole group.
Link grunts in agreement while Zelda nods. To everyone's surprise, Link is the first one to jump off, plummeting downwards. Zelda chuckles as she and Astrid jump off Stormfly, with the Nadder diving downwards after the girls and Link.
Seeing the others all dive before him, Hiccup shrugs and falls off Toothless, heading towards the shrinking dots of his girlfriend and friends.
Shooting down, Hiccup hears the shouts of joy from the others and smiles. He sees Astrid pull into a crouch, and pull open her wings with a whoosh of air. Zelda and Link quickly follow suit, their descents immediately slowing. Hiccup slips his arms though the loops on his legs and swings them outwards, deploying his wings.
He gasps in amazement at seeing Hyrule bathed in late day light, while being a ways above the highest tower of Hyrule Castle. Looking around, he sees Astrid to his left, while Link and Zelda are to his right, with Stormfly and Toothless gliding behind them. They veer south, gliding over Castle Town and the northern parts of Hyrule Field. As the ground grows closer, the group swings back north, towards the castle.
They swoop over the main gates of Hyrule Castle and over the main courtyard, with the soldiers cheering at the sight. Approaching Zelda's courtyard, Hiccup raises his wings to create more drag to slow down, with the others following suit. He lands in a crouch, followed by Astrid and Link. Zelda throws her legs out in front of her, and lands in a skid, managing to keep her balance. Toothless and Stormfly gracefully touch down after the princess and take a drink from the pond in the courtyard
The Champions all run over, grins plastered on their faces. "Little Bird, that was incredible," Urbosa says, amazement in her voice, while Mipha and Daruk give similar compliments.
Revali walks up to Hiccup, Astrid, Link, and Zelda, inspecting the wings before addressing them with admiration in his voice. "I'm impressed. These are well made and they work great from what I observed."
Urbosa, Daruk, and Mipha all stare at the Rito Champion, surprised expressions on their faces. Even though Revali has lost some of his arrogant nature, they are shocked to see him react with admiration to the fact that Link-whom Revali used to see as a rival-and Zelda have a way to glide without a bulky Paraglider.
Revali sees their faces, shrugs then looks away. Hiccup, Astrid, Zelda, and Link chuckle at the interaction before heading inside to change.
A little bit later, the quartet stand on the bridge from Zelda's room to her study, watching the sunset. Toothless, Stormfly, and Terrako are with them. They had bid farewell to the Champions several minutes earlier, though Urbosa remained at the castle while the others returned to their homes. Link, Hiccup, and Astrid are back in their normal attire, while Zelda has changed into her casual research outfit.
"I can't believe that we're going to be home tomorrow," Hiccup says in a quiet voice.
"Yeah, it is hard to believe," Astrid adds, her voice also quiet, "We've had so much fun here."
Zelda looks at them for a moment before replying. "We have. But I bet you'll be glad to be home, right?"
The Berkians nod, and Astrid speaks, her voice still quiet. "But saying goodbye is always hard."
Both Zelda and Link nod at the statement.
"You know," Zelda says in a tentative voice, "Maybe Link and I could come visit you on Berk if I find out more about the nature of my and Terrako's time powers."
Both Hiccup and Astrid look at her, with Hiccup slowly nodding. "Yes, that would be nice if it doesn't screw with the Calamity's seal," he replies.
Zelda shrugs before continuing. "It was just an idea, it might not even work. Right now, let's just enjoy the sunset."
Astrid wraps her left hand around Hiccup's right hand and smiles at him. He smiles back and they look out towards the sun, right above the distant horizon. Zelda gently takes Link's left hand in her right, and gazes westward, while Link smiles at the gesture.
Without another word, they all watch the sun sink behind the horizon, staying there for a while as the sky darkens, enjoying one last night together.
The next chapter will conclude this story...
Couple notes for the chapter
Credo the blacksmith is based on his appearance in Age of Calamity, and the price that Astrid pays for the engravings is the same price for removing a seal from a weapon in Age of Calamity.
The design that I refer to as Hiccup's crest is the horned skull design that he has on his right shoulder pad in HTTYD 2, his casual tunic's right shoulder pad in HTTYD 3, his shoulder pad in the epilogue of HTTYD 3, and on Toothless's tail fin in HTTYD 2 and 3.
Hiccup's map of Hyrule is in the same art style as his map of the Archipelago from HTTYD 2 and 3
Hope you enjoyed, and see you in the next chapter :)