Chapter 19
~ Astrid's POV ~

A dangerous silence tore through the island when the BewilderBeast and Eddval vanished beneath the waves.
Eddval's followers were leaderless, they stood statue still and said nothing, their eyes trained to the water sloshing around in the crater.

Hiccup was also staring at the water as though he was waiting for the man to spring back again.
He could feel something.

Hiccup turned to all of us and shouted to his silent army.
"This isn't over! Form your ranks, hold together!
Everyone moved into their groups and I walked up to him.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" I asked, my voice low and anxious.

Hiccup slowly lifted a finger and pointed to the wild Night Furies.
They were all glaring at us, surrounding us from every side, a blood-thirsty look in their sour green eyes.

I took a step closer to my husband hesitantly. "What are they staring at?..." I whispered, taking his hand in mine.

I heard Hiccup gulp.
If he was afraid, I didn't know what to feel.

"Us." He whispered.

Our entire army was surrounded and backing toward the crater in the middle.

These Night Furies were cornering us.

"Stand your ground!" Hiccup called out over the sea of frightened Vikings.

He took a step forward and the large Night Fury leading the others growled.

"Hey there boy...I'm not gonna hurt you..." He said softly, reached his hand out.
The dragon ignored his soft tone and leapt at him.

That was when Toothless attacked.

He and this large and beaten Night Fury launched into a bloody and lethal war.
The others dragons we had brought with us starting fighting another battle amongst themselves with the other Night Furies, this broke the agonising silence of men and Eddval's men charged toward us.

A last-man-standing war began.

It was us, versus Eddval's men,
And our dragons, against Eddval's Night Furies.
It was something unlike anything I had seen before, and something I never thought would happen.
These dragons were in for the kill.

Our numbers started to fall rapidly as these warrior Furies were taking our dragons lives as easy as it was to blow out a single flame on a candle.

"There's too many of them!" I shouted to Hiccup who was sitting behind me on the back of Stormfly when he pulled his helmet off, revealing the devastation on his face as our world fell apart around us.

"I know..." He muttered back down my ear. "Take me down to Toothless, I need to stop that fight." He continued, his eyes jumping to the Night Fury fight raging on the ground.

I nodded and glided down.
"What are you going to do."

"Probably something stupid..." He mumbled with a smile.

"Good. But you've already done that." I shot back with a grin.

He smirked and held our gaze for a moment. "Then something crazy."

With that, he slipped his helmet over his face and jumped from my dragon into the fight below.

I held my breath watching for a few minutes as Hiccup clung desperately to his best friend, the love he had for his dragon holding him steadfast to Toothless' saddle.
But, I found I couldn't watch, it was too much, so I turned and submerged into the swarm of dragon attacks taking place in the sky.

~*~*~*~
~ Hiccup's POV ~

My hands almost slipped several times but I couldn't let go.
I couldn't leave him to die.
Toothless had no chance against this Fury without the ability to fly.

Toothless was consumed with killing this dragon, I couldn't break him from that.
He wanted him dead and every time they released each other from the grip of claws and teeth to lick their wounds and sooth the pain for just a moment, they would jump right back in for another round.

"Toothless stop! This isn't you, bud, just let it go!" I begged, but Toothless continued to try and throw me off.

I remembered that time a long time ago when we discovered Toothless had a grudge with another dragon, a Whispering Death to be precise, and he wouldn't let me in then either.

The only way I distracted him from the kill was by putting myself in danger.

I was more important to him.

I crawled onto his saddle, the other dragons claws catching me and scraping across my chest.
The pain was paralysing, but somehow, I found the strength to go on.
I climbed onto Toothless' saddle and flipped over, kicking the other dragon in the eye with my metal leg.

The Night Fury winced in pain and it gave Toothless a chance to hold him back with a couple of plasma blasts.
It was then I made my move.

I leapt in between the two dragons.

When they stood tall this Night Fury was almost twice Toothless' size and quite a beast.
How Toothless had held on this long, I didn't know.

I held an arm out toward each of them, my fingers just inches from their noses. I could feel their hot breath brushing between my fingers and the anger driving them to keep fighting.

It was a truly terrifying moment.

We held there in the midst of the bloodshed and war for a few antagonising moments, my heart thumping dangerously fast in my chest before the wild Night Fury leapt at me.
I fell into a ball on the floor, my knees tucked to my chest and eyes right shut as I waited for the beast to kill me.

But it never did.
Instead, there was a painful, soul-shaking scream echoing across the island, then everything fell still, maybe even time.

I finally opened my eyes to see Toothless stood over the Night Fury, blood running freely from his claws like a scarlet river.

"Toothless...!" I cried, the guilt on my Fury's face as obvious as the evidence of his kill.

My dragon skittered back over to me and licked my hand.
I stroked his head softly and sighed.
"It's okay, bud...You were just protecting me like you always do." I smiled, bending down and letting him lick my face.

I laughed and sat back just as Night Furies started to gather around their fallen leader.
Toothless marched over, stood on the body of the dead Fury and roared fiercely into the sky.

Soon after the other Furies roared back and so did all of our dragons.

"It's all over now." I gasped in relief, my voice trembling.

It was only then did I think about the pain running through my body like rivers of lightning.

Slowly I crumbled to my knees, glancing down at the deep cuts and grazes across my body.
Some had even torn through my armour and into my flesh.

"Hiccup!" I heard somebody distantly yell.

That voice.
That voice that followed me everywhere.

Astrid dropped to her knees in front of me and grabbed both sides of my face.
She was a little blurred, but I could see her clear enough to see the tears streaming down her face and the mile-wide smile on her sweet face.

"We did it! We saved the Night Furies! We've done it, we've done it!" She kept saying, over and over again.

She was right. I had finally made my dreams come true.
I had found the Night Furies.
All my years of searching and now, it was all worth something.

My last thought was Toothless before I fell into a world of darkness.

~*~*~*~
~ Astrid's POV ~

Hiccup was so badly wounded that he collapsed unconscious in my arms.

Instead of doing anything, I simply cradled him in my arms, my heart jumping in my chest and a smile on my face.

"Hiccup...We're gonna be okay..." I whispered, ignoring that he probably couldn't hear me.
I didn't care. I needed to tell myself more than anybody.

I felt a hand on my shoulder so I looked up to see Solomon.
He smiled down at me with his brother and his two twin sisters stood behind. Slowly, he knelt down and took my hand in his.
"Let's get Hiccup to a safer place." He advised, with a glance around at the wild Night Furies stood quietly around.

I nodded in agreement, so Solomon picked Hiccup's frail body up and carried him to cover in a cave opening.
He rested him on the floor and a young woman ran over with a bowl of water in arms and a cloth.
She started cleaning the wounds when she suddenly stopped.
Her eyes were locked on something behind us.
I turned to see Eret behind, his eyes also locked on hers.

"Eret..." She gasped, tears flickering in her soft brown eyes.

His mouth slowly drooped open but he closed it again when no words came.
She dropped what she was doing and ran to him, throwing her arms around his shoulders and clinging tight.

"I thought you were dead!" She cried, her fingers clutching his tunic until her knuckles turned white.

He slowly put his arms around her also, a tear slipping openly down his cheek.
"I thought...you're alive?..." He whispered at long last, brushing her cheek with his fingertips.

She smiled and kissed him. "We are survivors. Remember?"

"I remember but...I thought you had forgotten me, I thought you were dead and gone forever and I would never get to tell you that I'm truly sorry...for everything."

"For what?...we made mistakes...they're in the past. Only new beginnings remain."

A weak half-smile broke out on his face and he laced his fingers with hers.

"Sonya Marie...I want this beginning to start with you."

"Hopefully not just me." She smirked, glancing to her left.
Out from behind the rocks crept a frightened-looking little girl, her dark eyes sparkling.

Eret's mouth gaped open and slowly he fell to his knees in front of the her.
"Sonya...She's beautiful..." He mumbled breathlessly.

Sonya knelt by him and the child scurried into her arms. "Mama, who's the strange man?" Avril Lia whispered into her mother's ears loud enough for us all to hear.
This brought a smile to our faces.

"This is your Papa." Sonya smiled proudly, placing a kiss on the child's forehead.

A shy smile sneaked over her rosy cheeks and she buried her face in her mother's shoulder bashfully.

Eret chuckled lightly and ruffled her hair. "What's her name?"

"Avril Lia, our daughter."

Eret smiled again, joy dancing in his eyes. "She's perfect."

He stood straight and turned to us where Solomon was soaking Hiccup's wounds and war scars.
"Will he be okay?" He asked, worry flooding his face. "He has a little'n to get home to." He half-smiled, with a quick and proud glance at Lia.

"He's going to be fine." Assured Solomon with a relieved smile.

A weight-releasing sigh echoed through us all as the news spread through awaiting Vikings and the hoard of standing men and women outside cheered loudly drawing a laugh from me.

"What should we do now?" Asked Gobber, walking in with a confident smile on his face.

"Stay here tonight." Shrugged Erik from behind the large Viking.

"We can't. There's too many wild dragons around and the conditions on this island are unfit for the wounded to stay here. Wounds might get infected." Warned Solomon. "If we can find enough ships, we can sail to the Robin's Crest and still have camp set up by dusk."

A round of nods confirmed the decision and salvaging of remains began.

I never left Hiccup's side.
I couldn't and no one tried to make me.

I was sat, staring mindlessly at his battered and bruised face, listening silently to his laboured breathing.
I held my breath every time his chest held for a moment before he would gasp and sputter.
It reminded me of when I had to wait for him to wake up after the attack of the Red Death.
He was semi-conscious now and every now and again I could see a flash of his green eyes for just a moment before he turned uncomfortably, or he would shudder with disturbance.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Avril Lia lingering in the corner, her hands hooked behind her back.

I looked over to her, offering her a smile. "Are you okay?"

She said nothing but instead slowly walked over and sat on the other side of Hiccup.

"Is he dying?" She quivered.

I inhaled long and hard before exhaling tiredly. "No. He's gonna be okay." I sighed, slipping my fingers around his.

She bit her lip and reached out toward his neck. She wormed her fingers behind his head and dragged out a necklace.
It had a small tooth attached to the leather string.
A Night Fury tooth just like the one Eva had.

I still had it in my pocket.
I never had used it for the purpose I had intended all that time ago.

I pulled it out of my pocket and held it near the one she was fondling around my husband's neck.

A smile broke out on her little face and she took it from me.

"You have one too!" She squealed excitedly, clutching at the tooth as though it were worth more than riches.

I chuckled lightly and put it around my neck. "It's not mine, it belongs to another."

"The one around Hiccup's neck is my one...I knew he was the Dragon Master, so I gave it to him for luck." She explained, sighing quietly.

"I see." I smiled. "Well, it looks like it was lucky. We won!"

She grinned cheekily and tucked the necklace back under his shirt.
"Yeah, you did."

Another pause of quiet held between us before Luca strode in and started packing away different things around us.
"Hey Avs, are you ready? Where's your Mam?" He asked, running his hand over Avril's head.

She scrambled to her feet and skipped up to him.
"Yup! She's outside helping tend to the sick people with Solomon." She said with bounce in her step.
He lifted her up onto his shoulder with a laugh at her excitable giggles and turned to me.

"The ship is ready for the wounded. The guys will be in with a stretcher for our hero in a minute."

I nodded briefly, never taking my eyes off Hiccup.

He knelt by me and rested a gentle hand on my arm. "Hey." He smiled comfortingly. "It's gonna be okay."

I smiled gratefully back to him and nodded. "I know."

He left and just as he said, Eret and Snotlout appeared with a leather stretcher on which to carry Hiccup out on.

I never left his side the whole time.
I was so happy and relieved and scared all at the same time that I didn't really know what to feel.
I just knew that I was okay, and I was safe, and more importantly, so was Hiccup.

~*~*~*~
~ Hiccup's POV ~

I opened my eyes to see a tent ceiling, my head thumping and my heart racing.
Perspiration was running down my face and I felt sick.

I could see, from my bed on a leather mat in the grass, through a slit in the tent door, a campfire blazing and the distant sound of people laughing and talking.

I stumbled weakly to my feet, aching pain jolting through me, and stepped outside into the cool night.

There was an entire field filled with tents and small, dying fires dotted in-between them.
A larger campfire stood stout in the middle and around it were my closest friends.
There was Astrid with Toothless asleep at her feet. Eret was sitting in the middle of she and Sonya, laughing as he munched on a biscuit.
Luca and Solomon were next, play fighting to make up for all the time they had missed to get on each other's nerves as boys.
Gobber was sat beside them with Snoutlout and Tuffnut on his left.
Ruffnut was slumped tiredly next to her brother and Fishlegs next to her.
I gazed over them until Astrid saw me and she stopped laughing.
She hurriedly ran over to me, worry on her face as I leant weakly against a post holding the tent up.
She hooked her arm with mine and held on to steady me. "Hiccup! What are you doing up! You should be in bed!" She snapped like an angry mother dragon scolding her baby.

I rested her hand on hers and smiled down at her. "I'm okay...I'm okay now." I assured her, squeezing her fingers gently.

She hesitantly smiled and reluctantly began to loosen her grip.
"I love you." I said softly, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"I know." She answered, her cheeks flushing.

The others gathered around us, every single one of them grinning.

"Hey..." I smirked, stumbling around and lifting my shaky arm into a right angle. "I would...s-swim and sail on...s-savage seas....with n-ne'er a fear of d-drowning.... And gladly r-ride the waves of life, if you will marry me."

She started to smile as I began and she held her arm up in the same position.
Gobber pulled his panpipes from his tunic and started to play and we began our dance.
I fumbled about, missing my mark because I was so weak and stepping out of time, drawing a laugh from Astrid.
The other Vikings around us started clapping and dancing of their own accord.

It was a beautiful moment.

When the last verse came into play and everyone sang the last note loudly I simply watched.
I held Astrid close to me, our foreheads touching, and I leant down, gently kissing her.
All those nights I had thought and dreamed of what I should have said to her, what I should have done for her when I had the chance.
Now I was here, in the moment, I had another shot at getting it right.
But somehow, as she always did, she had me lost for words.
So I simply stared at her, letting her take my breath away all over again.
Together we shared the silence.
We didn't need to say anything.

Being with her spoke more than enough for me.

~*~*~*~
~ Normal POV ~

Eret and Luca were on night watch duty and together so they sat by a small fire telling each other lame jokes for most of the night.
They were both laughing but stopped as soon as they heard it.

The wry and lonesome cries coming from the Granite Skull.
They both stood anxiously, their eyes trained to the island where nothing had moved since they had left.

"What is it?" Eret asked worriedly, in a weak hope that Luca might know.

Luca gulped solemnly and relaxed a little. "It's the Night Furies."

There it was again.
A weak wail, a loose, soul-wrenching sound that made them tingle from head to foot.
"I've never heard Toothless make that noise..." Eret whispered in vain.

"You wouldn't have."

"Why not?"

"Because they only make that sound when their leader is missing." Luca explained, his face pale in the moonlight. "The dragons used to do it when we took them from their herds."

"That Night Fury that Toothless killed...? Their crying for him."

"No..." Luca muttered quietly, "That one." He said, pointing to the edge of the cliff on their left where they could just distinguish the dark silhouette of a Night Fury.

"Toothless." Eret said, staring at the silhouette.

Before Luca could reply, Toothless released the most hollow, shriek they had ever heard in answer to the other Night Furies.

It was so broken and so shaken that Eret and Luca decided that if tears made a sound when they fell from your eyes, that is the sound they would make.

"He's calling to them." Eret added in a whisper.

Luca nodded slowly and turned to look at Eret, his eyes blazed, the flames dancing in them.

"They're calling him home."

~*~*~*~
Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it even though it was kinda dark and sad...but hey! Never mind! What did you think about Toothless killing another dragon? Or Eret and Sonya's reunion? What about Hiccup and Astrid's dance? And then Toothless crying for his herd at the end?
All your comments are appreciated! Thanks again!

~ Httyd_2014 <3