A note before the chapter. For those that like listening to music while reading, I recommend either 'Once There Were Dragons' or 'Zelda's Lullaby' from Breath of the Wild or Age of Calamity.
With that out of the way, enjoy the final chapter.
Chapter 20-Farewell to Hyrule
Zelda walks into Hiccup and Astrid's room and looks around.
Two bags are on the table, containing Hiccup and Astrid's wingsuits, their Champion garbs, and Toothless's normal tail fin. The couple walk out of the bedroom and see Zelda, nodding greetings to her.
"Are you ready?" Zelda asks quietly.
Hiccup looks up from putting his dark green shirt in his bag and responds. "Yep, got everything out. Are you, the King, and Link ready?"
Zelda nods and walks out.
Astrid puts her axe on her back, picks up her bag, and glances at Hiccup. He grabs his back, smiles at her, and takes her hand as they walk out of their room.
Up at Stormfly's roost on Zelda's roof, King Rhoam, Link, Urbosa, and Terrako are waiting, alongside Toothless and Stormfly.
Hiccup puts his bag on Toothless's saddle, while Astrid straps her bag to Stormfly's saddle, and puts her axe in the weapon carrier where she normally puts her favorite metal bladed axe.
She then looks up at the soaring towers of the Sanctum, bathed in the late afternoon light and smiles sadly. Even though she and Hiccup are excited to return home, both are saddened to depart the wonderful kingdom of Hyrule.
Hiccup gets onto Toothless's saddle without a word, and Link hops on behind him. Astrid climbs onto Stormfly's saddle and helps Zelda-with Terrako on her shoulder-up, smiling upon noticing that the princess has Astrid's former Royal Broadsword hanging from her left hip. King Rhoam and Urbosa step close to the dragons as Zelda pulls the Sheikah Slate off her hip, taps the screen, and teleports the group away from Hyrule Castle.
Hiccup opens his eyes and is surprised to see that he's looking at the Hebra Mountains from a much closer distance than Central Hyrule, and looking at the snowy peaks from an elevated position. He then looks behind him and sees the wings of Vah Medoh, realizing that he's on the tail of the Divine Beast.
King Rhoam points to the wings before he and Urbosa head inside the Beast. Stormfly leaps up and flies over to the wing of Medoh, followed by Toothless.
The dragons land, with Hiccup, Astrid, Zelda, Link, and Terrako hopping off the saddles.
Revali is standing next to the main control unit, a neutral expression on his face. Urbosa and the King glide up an updraft from an opening to the interior of Vah Medoh using Paragliders. The pair land and set the gliders off to one side, approaching the others.
Zelda taps Hiccup's shoulder and points west. He and Astrid both look to the west, gasping at the beautiful sight of the sun nearing the horizon.
"See, I told you that you should see a sunset from onboard Medoh," Zelda says, a grin on her face.
Astrid smiles back, while Hiccup turns away from the sunset and walks to the other side of the wing. He looks out over Hyrule, the entire kingdom covered in late day light and long shadows.
Clearing his throat, Hiccup spreads his arms out and speaks. "This is Hyrule. It's so far south that the climate is pleasant almost all the time. The people are kind and creative, while the technology is amazing and powerful. If a threat arises, the people rally together, and united in their great power, are unstoppable!"
Astrid smiles at Hiccup's speech, a variation of his various 'This is Berk' speeches, but changed to fit Hyrule. Lowering his arms, Hiccup walks back over to Astrid and smiles at her.
King Rhoam steps forward and extends a hand. "Those words pretty much summed up our land, Chief Hiccup," he says in his deep voice. Hiccup takes the King's hand and shakes it, before the King continues speaking, "Once again, thank you for your contributions to Hyrule. It's been an honor to meet you, Chief Hiccup."
Hiccup nods to the King as he replies. "It has also been an honor to meet you, King Rhoam."
Next, King Rhoam walks to Astrid and shakes her hand. "Lady Astrid, it has also been an honor to meet you. I thank you for the help that you have given to Hyrule."
Astrid smiles before responding, "Thank you, King Rhoam. It's been an honor to spend time in your wonderful kingdom."
The King smiles at Astrid before addressing Toothless and Stormfly. "Loyal dragons, Toothless and Stormfly, you have my thanks for your services to Hyrule." Toothless warbles while Stormfly squawks, both acknowledging King Rhoam's words. He steps back, while Revali and Urbosa step forward.
The Rito Champion looks at the Berkians and dragons, a smile appearing on his face. "Your skills are impressive. It's been nice to meet you. Just don't appear out of thin air onto Medoh again!" Hiccup and Astrid smile at Revali's words, hearing the sincerity in them.
Revali walks back to his original position as Urbosa addresses the four visitors. "Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly. It has been a great honor to meet the four of you. Once again, I thank you for helping with the Molduga." Urbosa pauses, then focuses her attention on just Hiccup and Astrid before continuing, "Astrid, it was a joy to spar with you and keep honing your skills. Hiccup, your way with animals is impressive, and I'm certain that you can keep using those to benefit your tribe." Urbosa holds out her hand and shakes Hiccup's hand, before shaking hands with Astrid. The Gerudo Champion steps back as Zelda and Link approach.
"Like Father, Urbosa, and Revali have said, I thank you for your contributions to Hyrule, and it has been an honor to meet you," Zelda says, "As your friend, thank you for the fun times we had together. You also have my thanks for the sword and map that the two of you gave me."
The princess turns to King Rhoam and holds out her hand. The King pulls out a rectangular object covered in fabric and hands it to Zelda, who in turn holds it out to Hiccup and Astrid.
"Take this. It's mine and Link's parting gift for you," Zelda says.
Astrid takes the parcel, unwraps the fabric, and her eyebrows shoot up. Hiccup looks at the item and his eyes widen upon seeing the item. In Astrid's hands, she holds a large version of the picture that Clinton took of Hiccup, Astrid, Zelda, Link, Toothless, Stormfly, and Terrako the day before Calamity Ganon broke free. The picture is around twenty four inches by eighteen inches in size, and is bordered by a metal frame. On each corner of the frame, a design is engraved, with a Night Fury on the top left, a Deadly Nadder on the bottom left, a Silent Princess on the top right, and the Master Sword on the bottom right.
"How?" Hiccup manages to choke out, amazed at the sight.
Surprisingly, Link is the one who answers, "After Zelda lost her arm, but before she awoke, Purah and Robbie came to see her. I recalled your passing mention of wanting a physical version of that picture, so I gave them the Sheikah Slate and asked them to try to get a physical version from the picture on the Slate. As you can see, they succeeded in that task."
Hiccup smiles at Link as he responds, "Thank you, Link. I'm going to hang this in the main room of my house." Astrid gives her thanks to the Hylian Champion, then rewraps the framed picture in the fabric and secures it to Toothless's saddle.
Link offers his hand to Astrid and she shakes it. "Astrid, thank you for the sparring matches. Those were the most difficult matches that I've had in a while."
The blonde warrior grins before she replies, "I can say the same to you, Link. Take care." Link then shakes hands with Hiccup, and the two exchange farewells before Link says farewell to Toothless and Stormfly, then steps back.
Zelda looks Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly in the eye as she resumes speaking, "I will repeat an earlier statement which is that I am still really sorry to have accidentally brought the four of you to Hyrule. But I am delighted to be able to give you the opportunity to return to Berk."
The princess steps closer to Astrid before continuing. "Astrid, thank you for the flights with Stormfly, and the sword lessons. I know that you and Hiccup will ensure that Berk has a bright future, and you've brightened mine." Zelda holds her arms out and hugs Astrid. Mildly surprised, Astrid returns the gesture.
After they break the embrace, Astrid addresses the princess. "The pleasure was mine, Zelda. Thank you for being a good friend in an unfamiliar world. I also know that under your guidance and eventual rule, Hyrule will remain on the path to a bright future."
Zelda smiles at the statement, but Astrid can't resist getting in one last jab at the princess. "Maybe Link will also help you with that…"
Zelda's cheeks redden, causing Astrid to chuckle. After getting her embarrassment under control, Zelda smiles at Astrid, before walking to Hiccup.
"Hiccup, it was a pleasure to work on the anti corruption program for the Sheikah tech with you. I also want to thank you for helping me adjust to the loss of my lower left arm. Your advice and experience has really kept me from breaking down over the loss," Zelda says to Hiccup, the gratitude obvious in her voice.
He warmly smiles at her before he responds, "You're welcome, Zelda. It's always nice to help people who've been in a similar place to you. I know that you'll get the anti corruption program applied to all the Guardians some way or another. Hyrule will certainly prosper under your caring eye." The princess smiles at Hiccup's words, then holds out her arms and embraces him. Unlike Astrid, Hiccup expected the gesture, and hugs Zelda back. After a moment, they pull apart, and Zelda smiles at Hiccup, then walks to Toothless and Stormfly.
"It's been an honor to play with the two of you, and to ride you, Stormfly. Keep your companions safe," Zelda says to the dragons, while scratching their chins one at a time. Toothless warbles in reply, while Stormfly leans her head against Zelda's face, happily chirping. A tear drops from Zelda's eye at the gesture of affection from the Nadder, and she hugs Stormfly in return, giving the beautiful dragon a final scratch on the chin before stepping away.
Zelda looks at the Berkians and dragons, several tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Are you ready?" she asks in a quiet voice.
Hiccup and Astrid get onto Toothless and Stormfly's saddles, before Hiccup replies, "Yes, we are."
Terrako walks to Zelda's side and lets out a unique four note whistle. Small Sheikah letters start appearing around Toothless and Stormfly, forming a circle around the two dragons. Hiccup reaches up and grasps Astrid's hand as the letters begin to glow whitish blue. Within the circle, the ground begins to glow white, while outside the circle, a blue glow radiates out for about a foot.
Zelda steps forward, and smiles sadly at the four within the glowing circle. "Farewell, Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly. It's been great to meet you, and maybe we'll see each other again," she says, before her tone turns serious. "With the powers in my veins, I open a gateway to return you to your rightful time." After saying the words, she raises her hands-both natural and prosthetic-and points them at the Berkians. Her hands light up with a golden glow, as energy emits from them and flows into the glowing circle, strengthening the magic swirling around the Berkians.
Hiccup and Astrid see themselves along with Toothless and Stormfly start to glow white, causing Hiccup and Astrid to tighten their grip on the other's hand. Zelda watches as the white glow engulfs the four travelers, before their forms fade, leaving four orbs of whitish blue energy that are clustered together. The orbs then shoot off to the north-northeast, leaving a small trail of Sheikah letters.
Zelda walks to the edge of Vah Medoh's wing, followed by Link, who offers her his left hand. She smiles at him and takes it, watching the four rapidly shrinking orbs of light. "And now, as you return to Berk," Zelda quietly says, "May the light shine upon you for all time."
The Isle of Berk is bathed in a pinkish glow and long shadows from the setting sun. A little ways outside the village, an open area at the base of a ridge sits, with nothing other than some vegetation on it.
However, from the south-southwest, four closely gathered orbs of white energy hurtle towards the open area. They slow upon coming about a foot off the rocky ground, then glow brighter. The orbs expand into four figures, before the glow fades.
Hiccup opens his eyes and a massive smile appears on his face as he sees the familiar sight of the village of Berk.
Astrid gasps in amazement at the sight. "She really pulled it off," Astrid says breathlessly.
She and Hiccup hop off their saddles and embrace each other.
"Welcome home, milady," Hiccup says, his voice hoarse.
She kisses him on the lips in response, and he kisses her back. After they pull apart, Hiccup takes Astrid's hands in his as he lowers himself to one knee. "Astrid, milady," he says, "Do you want to get married before the year is up? As experience has just shown, abrupt life threatening things can come up, and we might not get away unharmed next time."
Astrid smiles warmly at him as she replies, "Yes, Hiccup! Yes! We should definitely tie the knot before life takes the chance away. I love you, babe."
Hiccup stands back up and grins at Astrid. "Perfect. I've been in love with you for forever, and as Zelda said, Berk will definitely thrive with us leading it." He gives her another kiss on the lips and she embraces him again, while returning the kiss.
"Shall we head home now?" Astrid says, her tone excited.
Hiccup nods and jumps back onto Toothless's saddle. "Of course," he replies.
Astrid remounts Stormfly and the Nadder happily squawks. Hiccup opens Toothless's Champion tail fin and the Night Fury leaps into the air, followed by Stormfly.
Hiccup and Astrid laugh as their dragons circle around each other, before gliding close enough for the couple to hold hands. Hands locked together, Hiccup and Astrid return to Berk, ready to lead the village to a brighter future.
So ends Dragons: A Breath Of Hyrule.
This has been a really fun story to write, and I hope you enjoyed it. I do plan on writing a sequel, which will consist of several short and medium length stories taking place after Hiccup and Astrid return to Berk.
Thanks for reading :)