I will save you

Chapter 17: The Flower

Hiccup's POV

"What is she saying, Gobber?" I asked, brows furrowed as I clutched onto the weak hand of my sick wife.

Gobber followed the movements of Gothi's staff intently, deciphering her scriptures in his head as I followed nervously, hoping to understand any of it myself. Gobber's brows drew closer together as he slowly shook his head. "Gothi says that she's caught a disease, a disease Gothi has only read about once a very long time ago."

I glanced over at Gothi for confirmation and felt my face fall as she nodded grimly. I turned to look at Astrid, who was having another one of her violent coughing fits. I fished up a rag from my pocket and wiped away the blood at the corners of her mouth with my brows furrowed as I blinked away the tears that were building up in my eyes. Gods, I was going to lose her.

Suddenly, Gothi pulled out another pouch of sand and spilt it out over our bedroom floor, Toothless eyed her suspiciously from where he was laying beside the bed, as the older woman began drawing in the sand.

Gobber quickly scanned the drawings before turning to me with a wide smile. "Hold on, Gothi says there is a cure!"

"There is? Where can we find it?!" I urged Gothi, a spark of hope igniting in my chest.

"Hold on, boyo, she's ... ah. Well this isn't looking very promising." Gobber said, one hand resting on his back as he scratched his chin, earning a smack to the back of the head by Gothi.

"What do you want me to say? It's a flower that grows every 100 years!" Gobber grunted, gently massaging the spot where Gothi's staff had hit his head.

Again, Gothi wrote something in the sand, pulling Gobber down by his ear to make sure he saw it properly. "Ah well, it looks like it isn't so hopeless after all, the flower is actually in bloom this year!"

My eyes widened as I raised my brows. "It is? Hold on, did we actually just get lucky?"

As I felt my hand being squeezed lightly, I glanced down to find a pale Astrid attempting a smile. I grinned as I pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Perfect! Where can I find it?"

"Um ... " Gobber picked up a piece of parchment from my desk and began replicating what Gothi was drawing in the sand. "It seems to be located on a small island not too far  from Fireworm island. According to Gothi, it can only grow under very specific conditions, but due to that, it doesn't wither before the weather grows colder."

"Alright, so where on this island will we be able to find it?" I asked Gobber, a little impatient to get up and go get the damn thing.

Gobber cleared his throat as he glanced down at Gothi. "Gothi says it should be located in the shallow end of a pool of fresh water. And seeing as there is only one such thing on the island, you shouldn't have a hard time finding it."

"Perfect!" I shot up from bed and began stretching my limbs. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

"You're not ... you're not going anywhere without me." Astrid croaked, using the little strength she had left to slowly get out of bed.

"Are you out of your mind Astrid? You can barely stand on your own!" I replied firmly, making sure that she understood that I was dead serious about it.

"I don't care, Hiccup ..." She took a pause to breathe, but as soon as I saw her knees wobbling, I rushed over to catch her before she tumbled to the floor. "I-I'm coming with you."

"Astrid, please, I can't bring you! You should be here, resting in bed." I spoke softly as I brushed the loose strands of hair away from her damp forehead.

Gobber cleared his throat. "Uh, actually, lad, you should bring her with you. Gothi fears she won't make it through the night at the rate this illness is wreaking havoc in her body."

"Alright then. Toothless, Let's go!" I gestured for my dragon to follow as I scooped Astrid up and carried her down the stairs.

***

The sun was setting on the horizon as my eyes desperately searched the dark waves for a sign of the island. It hadn't been long since we had passed Fireworm island, and I was beginning to worry.

A soft coo came from Toothless, who was clearly feeling my distress. I gave him a small pat on the side of the neck, thanking him for trying to make me feel better.

Astrid was fast asleep on my shoulder, something of which she had been for the duration of the flight. A heavy weight felt like it had been attached to my heart, dragging it down with every second that passed.

I felt my stomach turn. Gods, how I felt like something bad would happen. I quickly attempted to push all thoughts of doubt aside and decided to focus on my goal instead.

Soon after, a small island came into view, perfectly matching the image Gobber had drawn for us back at the house. We circled around the small island for a moment, looking for a small body of water, and as it came into view, I motioned for Toothless to land there.

Toothless' feet met the ground so softly I could barely feel him land myself, but regardless of Toothless' incredibly cushioned landing, Astrid woke from her slumber. "Are we ...?"

I nodded as I carefully slid off Toothless, carrying Astrid in my arms. "Yeah, I just need to find the flower and then we're good to go."

I gently placed her down by a large rock, allowing her to rest there as I searched for the plant. I walked over to the small pool of water I had seen from above, which seemed to have been formed by a small waterfall that came from inside the mountain that made up most of the island. I searched along the bank, several times, and I was growing more and more desperate with each time I had to search it over again. Toothless cooed softly as he walked up beside me, sensing my agitation.

"What do I do if I don't find the flower, bud? I can't lose her!" I whispered to my best friend who nuzzled his head against my leg. I patted his head with a half smile plastered on my face. "Thanks for the support, bud."

"H-Hiccup? Did you find it?" Astrid's weak voice rang through my ears. I turned to her with a faltering expression, about to reply as Toothless suddenly let out a hiss, his pupils turning into small, black slits as he bared his teeth and stared intensely at the tree line.

I furrowed my brows, trusting my dragons instinct as I made my way over to Astrid.

"What's happening?" She whispered, trying to make sense of why we were focusing so much on the tree line.

And then we saw it, a familiar figure making their way out of the forest, a grin plastered on their face as they held up the exact thing we were looking for. "If it isn't the Chief and Chieftess of Berk themselves. Looking for something?"