Finding you

Chapter 29: I just got you back

Hiccup's POV

"Oh my gods, Toothless!" I ran my hands feverishly through my hair as I remembered my dragon, who could not actually fly without aid. Zephyr had grown quiet as she kept staring blankly at the sinking ships caused by the fallen sea stack, probably hoping for her own dragon to pop out of the rubble at any second.

As the dust settled, I felt my heart slowly sink in my chest. I took a deep breath as my eyes burned with tears, realization finally dawning on me. Then a screech broke through the silence and both Zephyr and I shot our heads up in anticipation. Through the wall of smoke emerged a familiar, blue and yellow Deadly Nadder.

I watched as Zephyr slowly sank back, her spark of hope having been put out by Stormfly, whose saddle was worryingly empty. Once again, panic spread through me as I feared not only for the life of my dragon but the life of my wife and unborn child as well.

"M-mom?" Zephyr stuttered as she turned to me with a quizzical look. The world was spinning and I didn't know how much more that I could take when a purple blast blew right past me, snapping me out of my trance as I whipped my head towards the source of the blast. Flying out from the last remnants of dust and smoke caused by the falling sea stack, came a familiar night fury, who carried an equally familiar blonde on his back.

I could've wept with joy right then and there. Astrid had saved Toothless, she had been there for him when I had left him to die. As Toothless and Astrid landed, I found myself running towards them before wrapping them both in a vigorous embrace as I profusely apologized to my dragon for leaving him behind.

"I just so happened to notice you leaping off Toothless like some madman and as soon as Toothless could not keep himself up on his own any longer, Stormfly and I came to his rescue." Astrid explained after we all had the chance to calm down whilst she patted the night fury on his head.

"F-Firestorm?" Zephyr's eyes were glazed over as a look of exhaustion weighed down her features.

Astrid shook her head as she kneeled down beside the still-sitting Zephyr and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry, sweetie."

Zephyr leaned in to her mother's embrace and sobbed, I too joined in on the hug and for a while we just stayed on that sea stack, collectively mourning the loss of our daughter's dragon.

"How are things over on the island?" We had all pulled away from the hug as we decided it was time to find out what to do next.

Astrid cast a longing look over at Berk before turning back to me with a small smile. "Last I heard no ships made it all the way to the shore. We blasted them all off the map. It's finally over."

I nodded, somehow knowing deep inside that it wasn't over quite yet. "We should probably get back then. Who do you want to ride with Zeph?"

A sniffle escaped Zephyr as she wordlessly climbed atop Toothless, staring blankly into his saddle as she slouched considerably. Astrid and I shared a look of worry before we mounted our dragons and took off in the direction of the island.

The builders were already getting started on reconstruction when we landed in the middle of town square. The wounded had been moved up to the Great hall, allowing the rest of the villagers to move around freely without having to fear stumbling over a potential corpse.

It didn't take long for Zephyr slid off Toothless, eyes glued to the ground as she slouched like an old woman. "I ... I'll just go to the stables."

"Do you want us to go with you?" I offered, but Zephyr merely shook her head in response and began dragging herself away in the direction of the stables.

I made eye contact with my dragon before nodding towards Zephyr. With a quick nod, he and Stormfly both waddled after her, just to make sure that she wouldn't do anything stupid.

"I want guards patrolling the beaches, the docks and the outside of the village, alright? We want to make sure that none of them have managed to sneak in." General Astrid was back as she issued commands to our soldiers, who immediately complied and rushed off to fulfill her wishes.

"You know, you're pretty hot when you bark orders at people." I teased her, earning a snort in response.

"You're such a dork, Hiccup." She grinned at me before placing a peck upon my lips. "I hope that number 2 won't be half as cheesy as you are."

"Ouch!"

"Meh, you deserved it."

A laugh escaped me. "Any guesses to what the gender of the baby is?"

Astrid shrugged as she slithered her arms around my waist, locking me in by braiding her hands together behind my back. "As long as it's happy and healthy I couldn't care less."

"Oi, he'll be a strong, knuckleheaded, fearless and wise young Viking! He will bring honor to the Haddock name once more and erase his father's many misdoings!" I bellowed in my best Stoick the Vast impression.

A shrill laugh escaped Astrid as she looked up at me with those gorgeous eyes of hers. "You really are something, huh?"

The next couple of seconds seemed to stretch out into hours. I watched as Astrid's gaze slowly landed on something far behind me, right before her eyes widened and a look of sheer panic spread across her face. For a moment, our eyes met and there was a small window where time completely paused and I could see the deep sorrow that filled those gorgeous eyes of hers. With a swift movement, Astrid had switched our places, leaving her in the spot I had been standing merely a second before.

A low whistle rang through my ears and I had barely had the time to furrow my brows when a loud gasp rendered the rest of the world around us completely silent. Astrid's body pressed against mine as she clawed at my collar, desperately searching for something to cling on to in an attempt to steady herself.

I had failed to register the screams that came from all around us as Astrid grew heavy in my arms, forcing me to slowly lower the to of us to the ground. Not once had her eyes left mine, those ocean blue eyes that glittered in the faint sunshine as she gazed at me like she wanted to savor every little detail of my face.

In my state of shock, I had failed to grasp what was going on. Until my hands grew wet and strangely warm. I snaked my hand out from where it had been resting under Astrid's back and raised it to see what was causing that strange sensation. My breath caught in my throat at the sight that met me and I felt like I had just been punched in the gut.

Fresh, crimson blood coated my hand, running down my fingers and the rest of my raised arm. I couldn't breathe, no matter how hard I tried. Mouth agape, I turned back to Astrid, who was gazing up at me with eyes brimming with tears.

"I'm so sorry." She croaked before coughing up a cupful of blood, which sprayed all over my armor, but I couldn't care less. I blinked as the pieces of the puzzle finally came together. Someone had attempted assassinate me, but Astrid had spotted them and switched our places. She had taken an arrow from me, straight through the back.

I glanced at the arrow buried in her back as immense hatred filled me. How dare anyone attack my wife? How dare anyone hurt my family? My blood boiled in my veins as I grew an appetite for sweet, sweet revenge.

Finally, I let my focus slip out of the little bubble we had created and to the world around us, where frantic screams for healers filled the air as horrified Berkians watched the gruesome scene ahead of them. I turned my focus in the direction from which the arrow had come and found five large Vikings busy beating up the Berserker assassin that had somehow managed to slip past our defenses.

"Mom!" Zephyr exclaimed as she fell down beside us. "No, no, no ..."

I found my gaze returning to Astrid, whose previously ocean blue eyes no longer glittered with that beautiful sparkle of life and whose skin had grown dangerously pale as her full, unrestrained weight rested in my arms. Once again, I struggled to breathe.

Astrid was dead.