"I was wrong, you know," Valka said. "About Cami. She wasn't angry at me running off. She was just worried. That's all."

Hiccup opened his mouth to say something, just because he felt like he should. His mother's words turned over and over in his head, mixing all together into a single shapeless mess.

"She was a good friend," Valka said. "I wanted to explain to her. I did! But, in the end, I…"


"Hey, Valka?" Cami said. "Can you tell me what's wrong? For real, this time? Please?"

Valka was back on the docks, barely able to see under the cloud-filled night. The rest of Berk was still partying in the Great Hall, celebrating Camicazi's victory. Valka had expected Camicazi to be there. She hadn't meant for Cami to find her here.

"Hogsbreath said you ran off," Cami said. "He said you looked really upset, too. He said you were crying." She sat down hard next to Valka, her legs swinging over the churning sea.

Of course I was crying, Valka thought. I've just lost three of my closest friends.

She would never be able to look at Cami the same way. She could still see Camicazi running Sharptooth through without a single thought. She could still see Cami extinguishing the light from Stoker's eyes, drenching herself in blood that was not her own.

"Come on, Val," Camicazi said gently, patting Valka's shoulder. "Talk to me."

Valka hadn't expected this. She'd assumed Cami would be furious, for ditching her on her special day. She'd thought that would feel bad, but this felt so much worse.

Valka looked shakily towards Camicazi's face, eyes still wet with recent tears.

There was so much she wanted to say, just then. She wanted to scream at Camicazi, to call her a murderer, to demand she go away and leave her alone. She wanted to hug Camicazi, and admit the truth, and hope that she would listen instead of judge.

Valka started at that thought. Camicazi frowned, noticing the change.

Could Valka really do it? Could she try to show someone the truth? Would Camicazi, of all people, listen to what she had to say?

"I'm sorry, Cami," Valka said. "It's just…what if there's another way? Besides fighting?"

"Wait, really? This again?" Camicazi didn't sound angry — just mildly confused. "That's what's bothering you so much?"

Valka nodded wordlessly, looking away.

"I'm tired of seeing people killed, Cami," Valka said. "I mean…what if this never ends?" She rubbed her eyes. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? This was supposed to be your special day and I just…"

Camicazi chuckled, and then pulled Valka into a loose hug.

"Hey, it's okay," Cami said. "Besides, it's still early! Why not come back with me, to the Great Hall? They're letting us drink mead in there, Val. Mead! That's sure to cheer you up!"

Valka looked up at her long-time friend and forced a smile, even as nausea churned in her gut. "Y…yes. I'd like that."

She wouldn't tell Camicazi the truth. She couldn't tell Camicazi the truth! No matter what had happened, she could never risk losing her tribe!

She pushed herself heavily to her feet; Camicazi got up far more quickly, practically buzzing with energy.

"Come on, let's go!" Camicazi said, her familiar grin returning. "They've already started in there."

They moved swiftly side-by-side, away from the docks and then through the village, with Camicazi talking excitedly the whole time. Valka listened while only somewhat taking it in. Camicazi had been nervous before the fight, she said, but it had been so much easier than she'd thought, and she could hardly wait to take a Nightmare head in a raid…

Mead, from what Valka had seen, made people happy and numb. Perhaps mead, just then, was exactly what she needed.


"She didn't last a month," Valka said sullenly. "After that ceremony, it wasn't even a month until Cami…" She bowed her head, exhaling slowly.

Hiccup's mouth quivered. He'd suspected something like this. He'd never heard of Camicazi, so Camicazi had to have died before his time. Death had been an occupational hazard back then, never far from a Berkian's mind.

"What happened?" Hiccup immediately regretted asking, but Valka answered before he could say more.

"She fought a Nightmare." Valka spat out. "In a raid. On her own. Stoker had made her overconfident. She never realized that Stoker had been…"

Hiccup shook his head, finding himself grateful to have not gone down such a path. He remembered his own fight with a Monstrous Nightmare, and he remembered Hookfang as he'd been in that arena: starved, scared and feral, as monstrous as Berk believed. Then Hiccup thought of Hookfang as he was now: rough and proud, affectionate in his own way, though only sometimes willing to show it openly.

"I never went back to the Grotto, after that," Valka said.

Hiccup looked up sharply, jolted out of his thoughts.

"It just felt…wrong, after what happened," Valka said. "Instead, I just…existed. Going through my days, surviving through raids. But I wasn't living. Not really."

Valka sighed hard, hanging her head.

"I just…wanted it to be over, Hiccup," Valka said. "The raids. The fighting. The blood. I'd had enough. I'd had enough of all of it…"


Valka quivered, her heart thumping in her chest. "I can't do this," she said to herself. "I can't do this…"

She'd been asleep in bed, dreaming of earlier and better times, only for a warhorn to blast her into cold hard reality. It was nighttime, and a raid was upon them. Valka had dressed hurriedly, grabbed a sword, then charged out with the rest of her clan to defend their home.

All around her was chaos now. Her clan house was in flames, and Vikings fought dragons wherever she looked. Berk was a battlefield without order or reason, filled with the roars of dragons and shouts of vikings, with fires fanned by the chill wind.

A couple of sheep huddled behind her, and they were why she stood in place. And right in front of her, silhouetted by the flames, was the wonderful and terrifying sight of a prowling Deadly Nadder.

"I just…can't do this…"

The creature's eyes were slitted, and it moved towards her with a low stalking gait. It had its tail up, its tail-spikes raised and ready to shoot. Valka backed away as it approached, holding her sword out in both her hands.

Valka hadn't been thinking when she left the clan house, and she hadn't grabbed a shield in her haste. The Nadder could blast her at any moment, and there'd be nothing she could do. Her only chance was to attack now and pray she caught the creature off-guard.

But Valka couldn't bear wounding another dragon. She'd wounded dragons before, and she'd hated it. But not this time, Valka knew. Even if she got the chance, she wouldn't take it. She'd seen too many people hurt or killed already, human and dragon alike.

She could roll out of the way, and leave the Nadder to take the bleating sheep. But that would be cowardly, and Valka had been enough of a coward already.

She could try to run away with the sheep. But the Nadder would be faster than any of them, even on foot. And Deadly Nadders could fly, besides.

There was no way out for her here. Everyone was fighting their own fights, and no-one was coming to save her. She had to fight, and yet…and yet…

"I don't want this," Valka said. "I don't want any of this..."

She relaxed her hands. Her sword dropped to the ground.

"I just…I want…"

She stepped forward blindly, her shaking arms held out in front.

She could hear the battle raging around. She heard the battle-cries of men and women mixing with the shrieks of dragons. She heard cries of terrified livestock, gusts of icy wind, the crackle of burning buildings…and confused-sounding chirping, right in front of her, from a dragon sure to attack at any time.

It was such a foolish thing, to drop her guard like this. The Nadder would surely kill her for such stupidity. She probably even deserved it…

Firm talons wrapped around her midsection, and Valka yelped.

"Hey, no, what are you…hey!"

The Deadly Nadder simply ignored her. It flapped its wings steadily, flying her higher and higher, taking her away from the violence and the fire. Valka grabbed one of its legs, silently praying it didn't drop her, helpless to do anything but to wonder what the Hel she'd been thinking when she—

The Nadder abruptly turned her upright and deposited her onto soft ground, its wings beating rapidly. Valka stumbled as she landed, but she remained standing. Then the Deadly Nadder landed right in front of her, looking closely with a single eye as though inspecting her for damage. It turned its head, chirped, and smiled a dragon-ish smile.

Valka backed up a little, feeling far too stunned to react.

Dragons always went for the kill, people claimed. She'd known that to be a lie, not so long ago. Now, she again remembered what a lie it was.

"Th-thank you," she said quietly.

Then she looked around.

She was on a cliff, overlooking the village. War and flames still raged down below. But up on this cliff, she was safe, and that was why the Nadder had brought her here.

The Deadly Nadder took wing then — but away from the village, Valka was pleased to note. She watched it leave, and she kept on watching until it disappeared into the night.


Hiccup remembered something then: a small blue toy Nadder, knitted by his long-lost mother, which he had lost as a baby only to find years later.

"Mum, was it…a blue Nadder, by any chance?"

Valka nodded slowly. "Yes, it was. I couldn't really see his color that night. But I saw him again, just a few days later, when he…"


She never went to the Grotto anymore. She couldn't face the Grotto, after Sharptooth and Stoker and Cami. But Berk's forests were enormous, and there were many other places there to go — quiet and peaceful places, free of Vikings' bustle and voices.

The woods were Valka's escape now. Whenever there wasn't a job to be done, she went there.

Valka kicked a loose stone, watching it tumble across the uneven ground. Sunlight streamed down from tall trees. She'd walked all morning, losing track of the time. She would need to go back soon, however little she wanted to.

Her shoulders slumped at the thought.

She could hear the sea, so she moved towards it. She quickly came out onto a tall cliff, with the sea waving gently down below. The sun was further across the sky than she'd realized, and she would definitely need to return before long. But Berk carried so many bad memories for Valka now. It was so very tempting to just stay away and let the day go by.

She heard wings — heavy wings, dragon wings. Talons clasped around her arms, and Valka screamed and struggled hard. Then it struck her that she was dangling high over the ocean, and she forced herself to be still and quiet. The dragon — a blue-scaled Deadly Nadder — beat its wings steadily around her. The Nadder looked down at its catch and smiled an upside-down dragon smile.

"What the…you again?"

She'd recognise this Nadder anywhere. This was the Nadder who had spared her life in that raid a few days earlier, who had flown her to safety when she'd dropped her sword.

"Why…how…what are you doing here? How did you…HEY!" Valka went, as the Nadder rolled through the air. "Hey, no, don't do that. Put me down. Just put me down and—"

The Nadder suddenly backwinged and flung Valka up high, making her scream again. It chirped merrily, and it dove after her when she started to fall.

"Oh gods," Valka went. Her heart hammered, and cold wind buffeted her clothes and face. "Oh gods, oh gods…"

The Nadder caught her smoothly around her torso and then pulled up, chirping in a friendly-sounding way.

Valka breathed hard, relieved to no longer be falling. "What are you doing?" she shouted, as the dragon ascended again. "How did you even find me?"

The dragon looked down at her and chirped again, its head slightly tilted. Then it looped through the air and dove sharply towards the ocean, its talons still closed tightly around her midsection.

This time, Valka didn't scream.

She wasn't sure why she kept quiet. She wasn't sure why she wasn't scared, all of a sudden. But somehow, she just knew the Nadder would pull up, that it wouldn't harm her, that it was only playing.

Valka was flying. She was flying, like a dragon.

The dragon leveled off above the ocean waves, and then it turned back towards Berk. It pumped its wings once more, taking them higher and then higher still.

It looked down at her and grinned with wide and friendly eyes.

Valka returned the gesture, smiling a dragon-ish smile.

The Nadder cooed, looking delighted, and pumped its wings some more. It tossed her up high again, and Valka squealed, yet this time she felt entirely safe. She turned in the air, falling fast head-first with her arms near her sides, imagining herself as a diving dragon…then the Nadder caught her just as expected, closing its talons around her body, pulling up gracefully into a steady glide.

"Okay, you're…you're pretty amazing," Valka said.

The Nadder looked down at her, chirping repeatedly.

"And you know I'm talking to you, don't you?" Valka said. "I do wish we could properly understand each other…"

The Nadder rolled, and Valka threw her arms out as it spun her around. Then the creature shifted its grip on her and descended towards the same cliff it had taken her from, her legs dangling towards the ground.

The Nadder slowed into a hover and placed her down. Then it gave her a final chirp, before speeding off over the forest.

Valka giggled as she watched it depart

The fun, for now, was over. But somehow, Valka just knew it would happen again. She was smiling, she realized — a genuine smile, for the first time in a long while.


"He kept finding me after that," Valka said. "Every few days, when I was somewhere away from the village, he'd just grab me and start flying me around."

She chuckled, though there was a sad quality to it.

"I think he saw me as a toy, as much as anything," Valka said. "But he was a friend, too. He loved my reactions to it all. And I always felt so alive up there. So free."

Hiccup swallowed as his mother talked. This, he presumed, was the Nadder his father had killed; this was what had led to his parents' marriage, and what had led to him in turn.

"I hoped it would continue, son," Valka said. "And it did, for a time. But, in the end…"


"I'm going to have to name you, aren't I?" Valka said.

Her Nadder friend warbled and preened a wing, looking most pleased with himself.

They'd just had yet another wild flight. She'd been walking along some cliffs, half-expecting to be plucked up into the air. And then she had indeed been picked up, and she'd flown like a dragon with her arms out wide for what felt like hours.

She still wasn't sure how he kept finding her, but she was hardly about to complain. Deadly Nadders were excellent trackers, clearly — yet another thing that no-one else on Berk knew.

He'd placed her in a clearing in the woods, with some large rocks in the middle. She leaned against one, catching her breath. It had been a long and exhilarating flight, and she was pleased to be having a rest. But already, she could hardly wait to take to the sky again.

Her friend chirped at her, nudging her cheek with his snout. Only then did it occur to her that he hadn't yet flown off like he usually did.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Valka said.

But nothing seemed to be wrong. He nudged her again and then stepped back, keeping a single eye trained on her face.

"Mmm?" Valka went. "What are you…"

She began to reach towards the creature, without really thinking. Then he gave her a dragon-grin, and Valka understood.

He was letting her touch him, showing her his trust.

Valka nodded solemnly, closed her eyes, reached towards him…

Something whipped through the air and struck the Nadder. The Nadder screeched and fell.

Valka's eyes shot open. She saw a bloody axe buried deep in her friend's neck. She saw the light already draining from his eyes. She heard running footsteps, the chief's son calling her name…

Valka blinked rapidly and let a few tears fall, silently mourning another friend.


"He'd been taking a walk," Valka said quietly. "He thought he'd saved me. He thought he'd done such a good thing. That was the worst part of all."

She was shaking by then. Hiccup almost wanted to reach out to her, yet something continued to hold him back.

"He still does, I take it?" Valka said, flashing him a humorless smile.

Hiccup nodded slowly, not quite able to meet her eyes. Valka sighed.

"Well, I suppose I've only myself to blame," she said. "I never did tell him the truth, after all. But then, would he even have listened?"

Hiccup's mouth opened wide, numerous potential responses clashing in his head.

"I'd have been thrown out of the tribe if he knew, at least," Valka said. "And then…I'd have been alone, Hiccup. All alone."

Hiccup closed his mouth. There was nothing he could say to this, he decided, even though he wanted to say so much.

"So, I acted thankful. So very thankful," Valka said. "And then, things just happened, so quickly. The engagement. The marriage. You. I went from being a nobody to being Chieftess. Everyone was so happy for me."

"But you weren't," Hiccup said, feeling a deep sickness in his gut.

"No, son. I wasn't."

Something warm pressed against Hiccup's arm. He turned to look, and found himself looking straight into Toothless' wide eyes.

"Mrr?"

"Hey bud," Hiccup whispered.

Toothless nudged him and settled down close by, and Hiccup threw an arm around Toothless' head. Then he heard a low keen, and he looked towards his mother. He found Cloudjumper laying next to her, nuzzling her gently; Valka leaned into it, her shoulders relaxing.

Hiccup hadn't wanted the dragons with them for this. He'd wanted this to be between him and his mother, and no-one else. But he was glad to have them here now.

"Cloudjumper…gave me an escape," Valka said. "I was so scared when he grabbed me. I knew he wouldn't hurt me, but I had no idea where he was taking me. But then he brought me here, before his King. And I…"


Valka was a failure as a mother. She was a failure as a Viking besides.

Even with her baby at risk, she had been unable to kill a dragon — a dragon who had been right over her tiny baby, because of Valka's own carelessness!

Valka had paid for her failure. She'd been grabbed by the very dragon she'd failed to slay — an enormous four-winged dragon, with vicious talons yet with gentle eyes — and she'd been carried through the night, far away from all that she knew.

Now she was amongst dragons. She could hear them all around her, chittering and clicking. She couldn't see any of them, because the four-winged dragon was covering her with a wing as though to protect her. He'd set her down on the ground near a wide lake within an icy nest, and Valka had huddled beneath the offered wing.

Her heart thumped rapidly. She had no idea where she was. She wanted only to go home. She needed to get back to her baby, to Hiccup! He was still so small, and he needed his mother!

Then the four-winged dragon lifted its wing, and Valka blinked at the sudden light. Then she saw it: the largest dragon she had ever seen, with a spiked crested head and enormous tusks.

She gasped and backed away, thinking to flee for her life. Then that wing from before settled on her head, its touch almost impossibly light. The wing's owner looked at her and purred, looking at her with those same gentle eyes.

Please don't be frightened, he seemed to be saying. You're safe here, he seemed to be saying.

Valka straightened herself, her breaths slowing and evening out. Then she looked at the giant dragon again.

His eyes looked gentle also. His scales were snowy white, and he breathed slowly and deeply. He rumbled rhythmically with every breath, standing in the water and making no move to draw closer.

The giant dipped his head and flicked his eyes downward, beckoning her to come.

"I…I…"

The four-winged dragon purred again, nudging her forwards with a different wing while dropping into a deep bow.

Only then did it strike her that the nest was near-silent now, save for giant's rumbles and save for the waterfalls at the edges of the lake.

She looked around. It was daytime, and she saw that this nest was beautiful beyond compare. It was green all over, abundant with plant-life, the ever-present waterfalls cascading in the distance. And there were so many dragons, of so very many sizes and colors. Every one of them seemed to be looking at her, several tilting their heads curiously.

She took a deep breath, and then she stepped towards the towering white dragon.

This was these dragons' leader, she reasoned. It couldn't be the leader of the dragons back on Berk, because it was far too peaceful for that. Wherever those dragons came from, this was a different place — and a safe place.

The white dragon blew a puff of refreshing icy air across her face, and Valka's remaining fears eased.

This was a gentle giant, who would not harm her. The smaller dragons answered to this giant, so they would not harm her either. She'd been accepted. Already, she was welcome here.

Then the four-winged dragon purred once more, lightly nuzzling her hand. She scratched at the scales on his head, and he smiled a dragon-smile.

She was safe here.

She could be free here.

She needn't pretend to be a Viking here. She needn't hide who she truly was. She needn't remain trapped with a man who loved her, who was a good man, but who she could never truly love back.

But Hiccup, her baby…

…would be better off without her, she decided. She could have gotten him killed in that raid, and there were plenty of other women on Berk — women who were proper Vikings, women whose friends didn't die from being around them. Let them care for her son, she thought. Let her son grow strong without her holding him back. Let her son become the Viking that Stoick so fervently wanted.

Valka, from now on, would play no part in little Hiccup's life.

She blinked and sniffed, some tears building behind her eyes. But she was smiling too, and she knew her decision was made.

She looked back to the giant dragon — the alpha dragon, the undisputed king of this nest. The four-winged dragon — already, she planned to pick a name for him — offered her a reassuring croon. He'd bowed to his king when presenting her, she thought, so perhaps she should follow his example.

Valka closed her eyes, got down to one knee, and bowed deep.