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chapter thirty-four
once, there were dragons

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    HE WAS NERVOUS. 

    He was very nervous.

    Hott found it ridiculous. He has fought warriors, flown mighty winged creatures and battled Gobber the Belch into a bathtub each week. He had his braids and he wielded his weapons━he manned the masts of plenty ships and helped build this villages foundations ... and yet, today, he's never been more nervous (more scared) than ever before in his life. 

     The wind was a little chilly━as it always was here, in New Berk. An island located close to the ends of the earth, standing tall above rock fortresses and hidden in the mists of Valhalla━where frostbite, hard bread and metal limbs were all the rave in the present fashions. But it was home. It was a close village where everyone knew everyone. They all knew the wild stories of how Gobber nearly lost his second hand after nearly being pushed by the Twins off the edge of his forge, or how Erik Frode once pushed his brother, Mak into a bucket of freshly caught cod just yesterday. They had fishing, tug-a-wars, hunting and beautiful views of the sunsets ... it was a haven of Viking wonders.

    The only problem he was yet to discuss that might just change your mind in visiting ... well, perhaps there were none.

     Hott Frode took a deep breath, his boots he polished just for today twisting in the shallow capped snow in the square. He fiddled with his rings and dusted off the sleeve of his fine tunic. He shook out his shoulders, a little weighed underneath the fur cloak his father had clasped onto him specifically for this momentous occasion. He fixed his grip around the hilt of his family's ancestral sword, grasping it tight at his hip to stop his hand from shaking.

    The entire square had been decorated for the event. Amongst all the Snoggletog celebrations━colourful shields hammered all around the square, over doors and fixed to the wooden leaves of their celebratory tree that towered from the centre━there were hanging vines of winter ferns, seasonal flowers of pure white were set out perfectly with pretty stones down the aisle and around the raised cobblestone he stood on. The mighty statue of Stoick the Vast witnessed today just paces from Hott; a set, protective scowl chiselled onto his face. 

    All around, every Viking of New Berk had gathered to watch. They stood in rows, huddled and bundled in winter furs and their best clothes. Children were sat on top of their parents' shoulders, the elderly grasped their walking sticks and some who hadn't arrived early enough to get a spot within the crowd, watched from the many walkways and household balconies. 

     At the very front, not far from him, Hott found his little niece giving him an excited wave, her flower crown dipping low over her auburn hair. He smiled and waved back to Linnea and she grinned, looking very much like a grown little girl in her furs and her pretty tunic. Though, she still needed to be held in her father's arms in order to see━and to make sure she didn't run off at the slightest distraction. Hott's sister gave him a gentle look that told him to breathe and so he did━though he was sure he didn't need to breathe in that much cold air. He shivered it all out, a little sheepish. 

     His father and his mother stood a little to his side. The rest of his family weren't far behind. His older brother Asrifth, and his two younger, Mak and Erik who were subtly fighting each other when they thought their parents couldn't see. In the second row were the rest of his friends: Gobber the Belch with a wooden bouquet of flowers instead of a hand clutched to his chest, Eret, son of Eret who stood stern and rigid (trying very hard to keep himself warm in the snow), Snotlout Jorgenson, who was already starting to gather a trembling lower-lip. There was Fishlegs Ingerman, who's braided beards had gotten even longer, and finally the Twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston, both in such identical outfits for today it was almost troubling. 

     He glanced back towards his parents. His mother gave him a sweet, reassuring smile as she tucked back her greying hair. Hott took another deep breath, clearing the cold air from his throat. He briefly met Gothi's gaze standing underneath Stoick's shadow━calm and collected as she waited like the rest of them. 

     Soon, the cool weather did not even matter to Hott Frode, for he knew he was starting to break out into a sweat. How handsome, he thought to himself bitterly. 

     But when he saw her, none of that mattered━his thoughts had become blank; Hott Frode forgot even how to breathe. 

    Astrid Hofferson made a face at him, amused and he didn't even have the mind to shut his gaping jaw. She blended in with the winter snow; her dress so white it seemed to be made from it. Gentle, it flowed down past her boots━tranquil like water. A shined, bronze belt clasped around her waist; wrapping around until it draped down the front of a sheer strip in her skirts where elegant patterns were stitched like a Deadly Nadder's tail. The cloak that draped her shoulders was a simple, soft white fur that matched the flower crown placed tenderly upon her blonde waves. She was beautiful━she was always beautiful, but right now, she looked as if she was a goddess from Valhalla walking this earth; right towards him.

    He was so stunned, it took him a moment to comprehend she was standing right before him━and Astrid bit her lip to hide her want to chuckle. She nodded to him and whispered sweetly, "You're crying."

    Hott quickly cleared his throat. He sniffled, wiping them away, "Am not," he argued weakly━but soon he chuckled out a beam of disbelief, taking her in from where she stood after all these years, his friend, his partner but most importantly, his equal.

     He was most definitely crying. He tried his very best to pull together a coherent sentence to tell her how wonderful she looked, but nothing came out. However the delighted, loving smile on Astrid's cheeks said to him she already knew. 

     "You all right?" she whispered again, cheeky. 

     "Shut up," he said to her with every breath of love in this world. 

     She held out her hands to him and he took them, taking a long, deep breath to recover his nerves. Astrid squeezed his clammy palms, unable to stop the tender smile as she watched her husband to be shake his shoulders and sniffle back even more tears. He nodded, "Okay," he told her. "Okay, okay, I'm okay. I'm ready. Are you ready? You're ready?"

     Astrid nodded, chuckling lightly. "Yeah."

     "Okay━that's, that's wonderful. You look wonderful━beautiful, I mean. You look beautiful━I━more than beautiful━"

     Gothi gently smacked her stick against his arm to make him stop talking, and he was thankful for it. Astrid continued to chuckle, squeezing his hands again and slowly, some of the nerves started to fall away as he locked her gaze; he began to relax, realising that very soon, she was going to become his home. 

     "You're okay," she gently told him and he nodded, taking a final deep breath. 

     The ceremony began. For the most part of it, it was a blur for Hott. He believed he had to be prompted throughout most of it, too busy watching Astrid's smile and her subtle looks. He thought he completely ruined it, but instead, for her, she beamed so brightly as if it was better than she had ever imagined it. The crowd was silent around them as they exchanged their swords and their rings━Hott's hands were shaking the entire time, so much that whenever she could, Astrid just kept holding them. But soon, holding hands was exactly where they needed to be as Gothi draped the flowers and leaves around them; binding their souls and their hearts as one for the rest of their days. A promise: that they will always love each other, that they will always have each other's backs━that they will give their hearts, their wisdom and their lives until only death could be the only thing that will pull them apart. 

    Gothi gently held her staff against their hands, and when she pulled away, their union was sealed with a loving kiss. Hott's nerves immediately washed away━every single one of them as he held the woman closer that was now his wife. A girl that hated him, and then she slowly started to see him as something more━and now, a woman who was proud of him with every breath she held, and he was proud of her. 

     All around them, the Vikings of New Berk erupted into a hooray of cheers. Astrid's parents were leaping with their applause, her father very much blubbering. Hott's siblings perhaps cheered the loudest (maybe they were holding a competition, he wouldn't put it past them). Linnea clapped her hands, laughing as she was bounced higher up in Hiccup's arms and was given a heart-felt kiss on the cheek by her mother. Asrifth was pressured into throwing the bouquet he held into the crowd, and the cheers got only louder as some tried to grab it. Though it quickly disappeared as his weak throw landed perfectly in the hands of Eret son of Eret, who stared at it, wide-eyed and shocked. He glanced around him before managing a sweet, little smile, deciding to hold it close with reddening cheeks. 

    Beside him, Snotlout burst into tears. He wailed, his head falling into his hands. Tuffnut sighed dramatically, holding a hand to his heart as he brought his friend into his chest, "Come!" he said with sympathy, "Come cry into my full, thick beard..." He rubbed Snotlout's back as he trembled with his cries. 

     Fishlegs was no better. He sniffled and he wiped at his cheeks. He whimpered and he sobbed, searching for someone to hug━and when he saw Ruffnut, grumpy and rolling her eyes at all the love and happiness, he threw himself onto her. She jumped, quite startled. Frozen, Ruffnut Thorston stood there with a blubbering Fishlegs on her shoulder ... until slowly, she started to thaw; a shy, but sweet smile formed on her face as her arms began to rise up to hug him back. She lied her head on his big fur vest and relented, "Okay," she said━as if this was the hardest decision of her life, but she had started to blush, "I guess you win ... I love sensitive guys..."

     Hott slowly pulled away and he gently set his forehead against Astrid's own. She smiled up at him. She reached out a hand to softly wipe a final tear that had settled on his cheek, "Welcome to being a Hofferson," she joked. 

     He gaped at her, mockingly offended, "Uh━no. Hofferson-Frode. We agreed: Hofferson-Frode, there is a conjoined little thing between those two names━"

     She just kissed him again, and the cries of New Berk only got louder in their celebration. Forgetting the rope of flowers and leaves, Hott wrapped his arms tight around his wife's waist and dipped her low, loving the sound of her laughter and giggles against his lips. And he knew, that if for the rest of his life, he would be known as Hott Hofferson (-Frode)... he was going be the happiest husband in the world. 

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10 years later

    THERE WERE DRAGONS, when Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was a boy. Ah, there were great, grim sky dragons that nested on the clifftops like gigantic, scary birds. Little brown, scuttly dragons that hunted down the mice and rats in well-organised packs. Preposterously huge sea dragons that were twenty times as big as the big blue whale! Some say, they crawled back into the sea leaving not a bone, nor a fang for men to remember them by. Others say, they were nothing but folktales to begin with ... but, you know ... he was okay with that.

     Their story, however long, or however fleeting it may have been, was special in the hearts of those who truly knew what had happened. It was special in the hearts of their children. It was special to remember and special to keep to themselves━that it was okay to let the rest of the world forget as long as they did not. 

     That is the story Linnea Haddock has been told since she could remember. 

     They had travelled by sea for a week now, at the very least. They left the shores of their home and started their journey to where the world was supposed to drop off its edge━where a god had fallen from the heavens right through to the centre of the earth and stayed there. Where underneath their very feet, the dragons still lived; hidden and safe ... protected and very ... very much real.

     She had anticipated the moment they would reach it from the day they had left. She had woken up after each night, exclaiming that she swore she heard a sea dragon roar. Swore she saw them fly in the clouds above or heard their talons scathe the side of the boat. Her heart had never once stopped pounding with anticipation ... but now, she was starting to grow tired. 

     Linnea Haddock rubbed at her eyes, pushing her mess of auburn hair out of her face. She knew her parents would never lie━she has seen with her own eyes the very dragons they told stories of, but after seeing days and days of an endless, ocean, horizon, even she had started to lose faith that they would ever arrive. Maybe her parents had forgotten where to go in the years past━maybe they were lost!

     She stood back up onto her feet; she was a skinny little thing━small for her age. While most Vikings at the age of twelve could now almost reach their parents' shoulders, Linnea still could be picked up for a hug in her father's arms (even if she spent most of it squirming and ordering him to put her down━because it was embarrassing in front of her cousins and friends!). She has always been told she looked very much like him; that she was her father's daughter. Linnea could never imagine that her father was a small, thin and weak twelve-year-old until she saw him stand next to her Grandpappi Frode. That was a comparison, definitely. 

     Linnea shivered a little in the ocean breeze, hugging her stomach as she returned to the edge of the boat. She had to stop, cursing to herself as her little brother flung past on little legs, laughing as he soared his toy Windstriker in the air over his head. "Woosh!" called out little Leiv Haddock. "Woosh! Muma━look at Zephyr fly!" He skidded to a stop in front of Linnea's mother, a mess of bright red, fiery curls, freckled cheeks and a red-tipped nose from the cold air. Leiv shook it up at Valkyrie Haddock who━in the years gone━seemed as if she had aged barely a day. But when she smiled down at her second born, one could see the crinkles starting to form at the corner of her eyes from years of laughter in her youth. 

     She crouched down, keeping her rambunctious son still as he continued to wave his toy in her face, "Don't run too fast," she scolded him lightly, "or you'll rock the boat!"

     "I need to be ready!" declared the seven-year-old, jumping back to hold out his arms as if he was prepared to fight the dragons instead. "I need to be ready to protect Zephyr against any monsters that might hurt him, Muma!" He flung out his arms to pretend he had wings. "Woosh━look, Muma━!" he started to run around the ship mast. "Look at how fast I can fly! Just like him!"

     "Stop it━!" Linnea grabbed the back of his fleece vest to make him slow down. He scowled up at her, grumpy and she copied him. "Do you want to scare off the dragons?" She hated how close they were in height despite their ages. 

    He blew a raspberry up at her, "Bossy Britches!"

   She just threatened as if she was going to attack him and rolled her eyes when her little brother immediately ran back to their mother. He passed the very edge of the boat where the youngest pair of eyes watched him go. They belonged to a young boy who hunched up, turning his head shyly back into his father's chest and holding on. Kåre Horrendous Haddock II sniffled and wiped his nose, staring out with bright forest green eyes that held the exact same gleam of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III's above his head. Unlike his siblings, his hair was very much a light, Frode blonde. He was a young, gentle soul, but as soon as his father glanced down at him with a smile, he was ready to help. He reached out his short arm, grasping his father's hand that pushed down the lever to drop the anchor into the sea━he grinned, proud of himself. He then reached up to try and pull on his father's growing beard. 

    The movement made Linnea hitch her breath━and just like that, her anticipation had returned. "Are we here?!" she whispered with excitement. "Are we here?!" she rushed to the edge and leaned dangerously forward, trying to squint through the mist ahead. "Dad━Dad, are we here?"

     She didn't wait to see his confirmation, she just ran straight to help her mother pull against the sail. "Is this it?" she asked her, fighting Leiv to be the one to tie the rope down. 

     Valkyrie Haddock just kissed her temple, pulling her in to give her a quick squeeze. "Quiet now," she said to her in a whisper. "The both of you," she added to Leiv who clung onto Linnea's hand. 

     Leiv held his breath dramatically to prove that he was listening. Valkyrie ruffled his hair sweetly. Slowly, she walked up to her husband, gently brushing the fur of his cloak to gather his attention. He sent her a smile, and Linnea could see something sad weigh down in his eyes. He passed Kåre off, and her little brother immediately latched around their mother's neck. He hid his face into her shoulder when their father brushed some of his hair out of his face.

    Then, he turned to the front of the ship. They all watched as Hiccup Haddock approached the bow, his shoulders tense and his brows furrowed. He took a deep breath, setting his hands down to lean forward and peer in through the fog. 

    "What is he looking at━?"

    "Shhh!" Linnea immediately chided Leiv. 

     He went back to holding his breath until his cheeks puffed out, clinging onto her hand tight and shuffling backwards to the point he had to look around her to see. All three children narrowed their eyes, trying to follow their father's gaze. 

     Linnea frowned, tilting her head as she started to see something on the other end; a silhouette of pitch black night. As the fog began to drift away, one silhouette turned into two: a blinding pure white light ... and then those silhouette's shifted into two figures sitting on the edge of a group of rocks. The black figure seemed to raise its head; slowly it tilted, and a pair of what Linnea could only describe as wings shifted against its back. At its feet, three more, little similar-shaped heads popped up to stare back at them. 

     Linnea heard her mother's breath hitch from where she hugged her into her side━her eyes widened, and her brows lifted; she looked filled with a sudden choking sadness, and yet wondrous hope. The eldest set her gaze then upon her father, and she watched as his shoulders tensed even more ... and he was silent, frozen in place as the fog continued to slip away and there━in the distance━were a group of dragons. 

    Amongst them a legendary Night Fury that had once been her father's. 

   Linnea jumped, holding her breath with sudden fright as the Night Fury leapt into flight. He soared up and down, folding his mighty, dark wings until in the blink of an eye, he landed, right in the figure-head of their ship.

    Her siblings all gasped and cried out when the boat rocked. Linnea latched tightly onto her mother, eyes wide and breathless as she gazed upon the Night Fury so close. She stared at its narrowed, striking gaze; she gaped at its slender, midnight-scaled body and watched the way it slunk down to stare at her father like a cat prowling in the night. 

    Her father stayed steady, his hand held out before the dragon. He watched the creature, slow and wary━and it watched him. 

    Valkyrie subtly ushered her children behind her━and even Linnea, who considered herself very brave and daring, hid herself behind her mother's fur cloak, not letting go of the firm grip she had on her arm. Her brothers both clung onto her legs and peered through the gaps of her fingers━all of them terrified, and yet unable to look away as their father approached the wild creature. Even their mother was anxious, keeping all three of her kids close━not too sure on what was going to happen after all of these years. 

     Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched her husband raise his palm higher towards Toothless━who's eyes only narrowed further; he looked nothing like the dragon they once knew ... he looked just as how he should be: wild and free.

    "Hey..." began Hiccup, trying very hard to hide the shake in his voice. He managed a little smile up at his old friend. "Hey there, bud ..." he held back his other, telling Valkyrie to keep herself and the kids back. 

      Toothless snuffled down the dragon-head further, his claws gripping the wood and leaving marks. His wings were flared, his tail was curling back━his hackles were raised, but he did not attack. The fins on the back of his head fell flat against his neck; his snout quivered, still just as curious as he's always been as he eyed the man with the distant scent of a boy so very familiar. 

    His gaze flickered to where Valkyrie huddled further away, and the narrowed stare he held seemed to lift ever-so-slightly━Toothless tilted his head, taking in the flowers woven into her braid, the auburn waves that fell around her cheeks and the brooch she clipped to her tunic bust: an engraved artwork of two dragons that was polished as if it was still brand new. 

    The Night Fury set his eyes back onto the man standing in front of her. He eyed his messy deep red hair, tilted his head at the thick beard hugging his chin━he shuffled onto the bow of the ship, gaze narrowed at his long, Chieftain fur cloak over his leather tunic ... until his eyes found a small, metal leg where his left foot should be. 

    Toothless's ears quivered. He hunched up slightly, starting to breathe heavily through his nose. He stared at the man━he looked so different ... he seemed to different, and yet ...

    He landed on the deck. Kåre whimpered a little and pulled his mother's cloak down to hide his face. 

    Hiccup did not move. He kept his ground; he kept his palm out━he watched his dragon slowly walk closer, and even to this day, the Night Fury stood broard, basking the Chief in his shadow. 

    "Hey, bud," he said again, soft and careful. He gazed up at the mighty dragon and set him a little, reassuring nod. "You remember me?"

    He continued to rise over him, standing tall on his hind legs. Toothless leaned his snout down, hesitant as he started to sniff at the edge of Hiccup's fingers.

    Leiv tugged his mother's leg, wanting her to do something. 

    "It's okay," she told her three children, hugging them all close as she crouched down to their height. She kept them close as they all hunched into her, desperate to hide. Valkyrie pressed her cheek down against her only daughter's head as Linnea buried herself into her shoulder. "It's okay..." she told little Leiv, grasping his waist when he ran behind her. "Dad's okay," she promised her youngest, Kåre as she tucked his head even closer under her arm ... "He's going to be okay," she reminded herself, her heart rising high into her throat. 

     Toothless got so close to Hiccup's hand, that there was a moment where if he wanted to, he could take it with one, swift bite. But the Chief kept his faith open━he wore it on the edge of his sleeve ... for he knew his best bud, even ten years later. 

    With a deep breath, Hiccup Haddock closed his eyes and turned his head away, holding his breath━his palm flinched when he felt the hot breath that puffed out of Toothless's snout. 

    He waited for something to happen━for the better or the worst. None of them saw the moment Toothless's gaze widened. They didn't see him fall back onto his hind legs━the dark depths of his pupils swelling out and his ears lifting up━the look he held the moment he realised who they were ... that the little boy from those woods had returned, all grown up. 

     Valkyrie frowned when she heard the thud, thud, thud! on the deck. She started to glance up, and her shoulders lifted when she finally saw━tears began to well in her eyes to see Toothless slam his tail against the boat; to see him dance on the spot on his back legs in uncontrollable excitement━

     And her children froze, shocked when they heard her laugh the moment Toothless flung himself forward, knocking Hiccup straight to the deck. 

    Hiccup wasn't expecting it. He cried out, flailing his arms as his dragon knocked the wind right out of him. Toothless roared━bright and happy; thrilled as he brushed himself up against his old friend. Hiccup laughed, falling backwards yet again. He held up his arms, trying to stop his dragon as he bounded around him━the boat rocked, water lapped; none of them cared. Valkyrie was filled with such wonderful happiness to see her husband in tears as he tried to push himself back onto his feet━only to be nudged back down as Toothless pushed his snout into his chest, giddy like a child. 

    Valkyrie slumped, relaxing against her hold on her children━she let out a long sigh, relieved as the two of them wrestled and played on the deck; and it felt as if ten years had never come to pass. 

     She squeezed them all, softly coaxing them back out. "It's okay," she told her children, grinning broadly. "It's okay━look! He's not going to eat your father!"

    Linnea was the first to glance up, and her eyes brightened with awe. She and her brothers all stared as their father hunched up and laughed, weakly fighting away the playful nudges and light hits Toothless made━trying his very best to sniff that beard away as much as possible.

    "Ha━ha!" let out Hiccup joyfully, cupping the dragon's snout; he clenched his eyes shut when Toothless licked his cheeks. "How━how's the tail holding up, bud? Ha! Probably could use some oil and a little fine-tuning, don't you think?"

    "Look," Valkyrie gently pulled Leiv into her side, pressing her cheek against his to try and soothe his terror. He hunched up, still a little unsure. "It's okay, bubba━they're friends!" 

    Kåre slowly peered wide, inquisitive eyes out from behind his mother's cloak. Just as he did, Toothless settled enough to finally look over, and a little, curious whine escaped his throat to see them. 

     They fixed on the eldest━and Linnea froze, locked in a stare into eyes that felt like something more ... like she was nearly staring into a reflection of herself; of her past.

     She shyly held up her hand. She sent Toothless a little wave.

    His ears quivered. Then, his gums lifted ... Linnea started to frown, transfixed as he began to ... smile at her?

     Hiccup smiled, too. He reached out his hand to her, "Hey," she glanced over, confused, "come here..." his eyes wandered over to the two boys watching on, "... you too, boys ..."

     Linnea didn't want to come closer. She stared at her father, wide-eyed. She became as stiff as a board, and it seemed her legs didn't move until her mother gave her a slight nudge━and she stumbled forward, hunched and terrified with her brothers clenching her leggings and furs in their palms.

     "It's all right," her mother nodded to her with a smile━her gaze was bright with a young mischief. 

     Linnea shook her head. She planted her feet down; she rooted them through the deck and to the bottom of the sea, not moving an inch closer to the dragon that watched her and her brothers curiously. "I'm not touching it," she argued. She felt a breath of hot air blow away her hair from her face from the dragon's nose. 

     Hiccup chuckled lightly. He shuffled close to her, slowly taking her hand into his, "It's okay," he promised her. "He won't hurt you. Toothless knows you, don't you, bud?"

     Having lost all control over her own legs, Linnea let herself and her brothers be led closer to the Night Fury; and she started to feel a little braver with her father at her side. Hiccup crouched down with them, smiling, "You remember little Nea, hey, bud?" he said to the dragon. "Though, she's not so little anymore now, is she?"

     "She is little," spoke up Leiv━suddenly trying to impress the dragon by making fun of his older sister.

     Toothless tilted his head at the sound of the little boy's voice, a soft warble settling in the back of his throat. He then huffed a little breath to tickle the youngest son's nose, and Kåre giggled, clutching the tip. 

     Linnea still didn't trust it. She tried to tug her father towards her so she could hug him━because deep down, she liked that he could pick her up just as he did when she was younger. But he just smiled and took her hand in both of his. "Hold your palm out," he instructed her, tender and understanding. She watched him press his own against hers; setting it straight and flat. "Like this." 

     He left her like that, under the stare of the big dragon to do the same with her brothers━and soon, all three children, huddled close, stood underneath the Night Fury's shadow; their palms and fingers outstretched. 

     "Mum," Linnea let out━long and pleading back over her shoulder. When she felt the shift of the dragon's shadow, she yelped and clenched her eyes tight, hunching up so she could hide her head into her shoulder.

     She waited for the dragon to eat her━for him to devour the lot of them ...

     Until she felt something sleek and warm rest against her fingers. She felt Leiv tense at the touch. Kåre flinched. 

     Soon, her curiosity became too much for her to fight. Carefully, Linnea peaked an eye open. Soon, the other followed━little Nea glanced up and her lips parted, a silent gasp stuck there at the sight of this dangerous dragon resting his snout against her palm; his eyes closed and his ears gently folded back. And there was this strange memory that struck her; so distant it almost seemed like a dream, of the same snout, the same scaly head, the same bright and kind eyes watching over her ... 

     Linnea, Leiv and Kåre all broke out into the exact same smile. 

    Smiles that soon turned into squeals as their parents scooped them up into their arms. Linnea laughed as her father picked her right up and set her onto Toothless's back. She gaped, lurching forward to hold on as he bent down to let Kåre follow, scrambling on with his father's help to then sit on her lap, bouncing up and down with giddy laughs. 

    Linnea glanced back when her father joined them, landing on Toothless's back with ease━almost as if he had never left. She saw her mother spin Leiv around in her arms, telling him, "Let's go find Zephyr!"

    "Yeah!" her little brother threw his hands up into the air. "Zephyr!"

    "Hold on, tight!" said their father as Toothless rose back up. Linnea continued to gap, wrapping her arms around her youngest brother. The dragon lifted his wings. Hiccup held his hand around his daughters waist, keeping her and her brother safe against his chest as the Night Fury launched into the sky. 

     She probably screamed━she didn't hear herself over the rush of the wind. It billowed against her clothes; it stung her cheeks and set her hair flying back━it twisted around them as they continued to rise higher and higher towards the clouds; she heard her father's cheers echo into the heavens. 

     Linnea's screams soon turned into cries of delight as this wonderful thrill filled her; she breathed it into her lungs and it spread down her limbs━and suddenly, she was buzzing ... she felt light, she felt crazed━she felt so undeniably alive with this taste of legendary freedom that made her feel as if she was about to take on the world. 

    Her brother squealed with delight as they tilted sideways and Toothless took them through clouds of yellow and pink━their father continued to hold them tight, closing his eyes just for a moment to feel the wind around him ... to feel the skies, and nostalgia warmed his heart━remembering the years of his youth with a gentle smile on his face. 

     Kåre threw his hands up as well, calling out Toothless's name each time they spun and they dived. Their cheeks were flushed from the wind, their eyes filled with the same love for adventure━same love for the impossible. 

     They burst through the clouds, they sent the ocean alive with bursting walls of water━Hiccup had never heard his children laugh with so much delight, testing the skies limits with courage in their hearts.

     Linnea held up her hands; she grinned, so light she wondered whether she had wings herself as she let her fingers run through the clouds above; and they tickled; the sky kissed her skin━she giggled, feeling as though she had ascended high enough into the gardens of Valhalla. 

     Something sleek and white lifted above the clouds with them. Linnea leaned a little to the side, staring, amazed at the the dragon that held the moon's fury instead of the nights. She peered at her sideways, and her scales seemed to glimmer as amongst them, were thousands of little jewels. The Light Fury purred, ducking her head underneath to check the three that had followed her. Kåre gasped and pointed at the three young hatchlings that joined them in the air. One dark with blue, curious eyes; the second nearly dropping down as he drifted off into a doze━and the final, a bright, shining white adventurer with eyes a bright green that came to hover just over Kåre's shoulder. He giggled and reached a hand up, the young dragon tapped his fingers with scaled paws. Linnea herself stretched her palm out to the girl with the beautiful, striking blue stare that darted past her faster than lightning. 

    A cheer echoed out behind her. She glanced back over her father's shoulder and exploding through the clouds came a flash of blue and white scales━the sun glared against gleaming yellow bursts; and with it, Linnea saw her mother's hair run wild behind her grinning face.

     Her father laughed as he tilted them down; a gust of wind the only thing that separated their shoulders and the tail of another dragon. One large and mighty━with wings that glimmered with the warmth of the afternoon sun. Valkyrie Haddock looked back over her shoulder from Zephyr's neck, chuckling with the same mischief she had when she was only just fifteen-years-old. Hiccup shook his head at her, smiling when Leiv managed to stand up on her knees, waving his arms back at his father and shouting: "DAD! LOOK AT ME! I'M RIDING ZEPHYR━!"

      (And the story goes, that when the ground quaked or lava spewed from the earth, it was the dragons, letting everyone know that they were still around━waiting for the rest of the world to figure out how to get along).

     Linnea laughed as they dived down to where her mother soared just underneath the clouds. Her father tilted them down━Toothless spun and she gasped, feeling herself and Kåre land, perfectly, behind their mother. Linnea held her tight, gazing around in awe as their father disappeared back into the soft, mountainous sea. Her eyes found that of the Windstriker's━Zephyr peered back, and he bounced his head, grinning to see her once again after all of these years. 

     The gaze wandered to the other side where Linnea saw her father reappear through the foam. Leiv rushed forward, keeping a tight hold of their mother's hand until their father pulled him upwards by his arm. 

    Leiv's legs kicked as he leapt out onto Toothless's back. He grinned, happy when his father hugged him tight against his chest, squeezing him before they took off once again. 

    Valkyrie smirked. She met their gazes that hovered right over her shoulder, "Let's fly, boy━!"

     Zephyr shot them up into the clouds. Linnea held on, the smile never once leaving her or her brother's face as they caught up with Leiv and their father━together, the family weaved through the sky; spinning as one towards the afternoon sun. 

     And yes, sure, the world believed that the dragons were gone━if they ever existed at all. But them Berkians, they knew otherwise. 

     And they will guard this secret until the time came when dragons can finally return in peace. 

THE END

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    a/n: I am a lot of emotions right now and I don't know how to express any of them. 

    I will have the snoggletog special as an epilogue and then I will write rtte in another book but ... 

    this still feels like a goodbye and I'm not okay. 

    I AM NOT OKAY-

    thank you all. thank you so very much for being with val since the beginning. you guys make this story just as special to me as she does; you guys are just as much of a part of it as any character and I love that. I love you all. 

     this was my first httyd fanfic, and that will always hold a special place in my heart. we have watched valkyrie grow from since she was a child until now, an adult with a family and I just ... i'm super proud of her as a character. 

    there is, of course, so much more of her story to discover and explore, and I can't wait for you guys to join me on that journey, as well. 

     but until then; until the epilogue ... thank you, with every breath of love from my heart;
           gem. <3