Winds of Change

Chapter Eight

Hiccup looked at the beautiful,woman standing across from him. Blonde hair, smiling blue eyes. Hiccup's heart swelled within his chest. 

An old woman said a few things in a different language, Hiccup only recognizing a few of them. The woman kicked Hiccup on the shin, and gestured to the woman across from him. He pulled the woman into his arms, and kissed her. The crowd cheered. They broke apart. 

"How does it feel to be a married man, Hiccup?" the woman asked.

"I could ask the same of you, Astrid."

Astrid bent down, and the old woman drew a symbol on her forehead. Astrid stood up and faced the crowd of people. "Now you're the chief's wife," Hiccup teased. "How does it feel to be in charge of so much food?"

"As long as I don't cook, the tribe will live."

Hiccup and Astrid laughed, stepping off of the pedestal, and walked through the crowd. Hiccup could see Toothless and a blue dragon, both grinning. Hiccup laughed. This was definitely worth the wait. 

The wedding parade went all the way up a hill, to a large-ish house. Hiccup,swept Astrid off her feet, and carried her inside. He set her down, and she closed the door, grinning.

"Your father would be proud," she said, guiding Hiccup over to the largest brazier. They sat down, and Astrid started braiding small parts of his hair. 

"I know, Astrid," Hiccup said, looking at his new wife. "I know."

* * *

Hiccup awoke to filtered light covering him. Where he was was hot and stuffy. He I clenched his hands from bear fur, and stood up, gently lifting Toothless' wing off of him. Wait. He hadn't gone to sleep with the wing over him...

"Toothless?" Hiccup said, cupping his dragon's face in his hands. The large dragon opened his eyes, pupils big and round.  He yawned, and Hiccup felt like weeping out of joy. His dragon as alive. 

Björn yawned, and tried to say something in Bear. "I'm not Merida," Hiccup told the bear. Björn rolled his eyes, as if saying, "Obviously."

A western wind blew in, and several leaves dropped to the ground. Hiccup looked up. "We've got to find them," he said, "but how?"

A breeze came in, with several leaves dancing on the wind. A shadow covered the sun, and Hiccup looked up to see a gigantic goose descending from the sky. It landed not far from where he and the two animals were, and a woman slid off. She was average height, with long brown curly hair. She smiled when she saw him.

"Hello, Hiccup," she said. "Walk with me."

He stood up, and followed her. She held out a hand, and he shook it. "Katherine, or as I'm more commonly known, Mother Goose." They started walking.

"You're a legend," said Hiccup. "Why are you here?"

Katherine smiled. "I believe I can help with a couple of things."

"Things like what?"

"Your friends are safe. Or as safe as they can be in their current circumstance. Rapunzel is getting weaker by the second, so we must hurry so you can rally your forces."

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he said. "Though I don't suppose you have any ideas on how to get Rapunzel out of --"

"The Nightmare State?"

"Yeah."

Katherine sighed. "It was in the first Guardian War that Pitch Black kidnapped me and put me into that selfsame sleep, mostly to keep me away from the battle. I was only there for a few weeks, but that was enough. I still have nightmares about that sleep." She shuddered. "But, yes, I know how to get Rapunzel out of it."

Hiccup nearly walked into a tree. "How?" he asked eagerly.

"The Kiss of Good Night," said Katherine. "I take it you've heard of true love's kiss?" Hiccup nodded. "Well the Kiss of Good Night is a hundred times more powerful than that. In my opinion, true love's kiss is shallow, made only potent by lust, and not love. The Kiss of Good Night is a kiss that parents give to their children before they go to sleep. It protects against Nightmares, and gives the child hopes and dreams."

The wheels in Hiccup's head were spinning out of control. "You mean..."

"There is a catch."

"Of course there is," sighed Hiccup.

"If her parents were still alive, then it would work immediately."

"But they're dead."

Katherine nodded. "But if there is someone who really, truly, loves Rapunzel, then that would do. Do you know anyone like that?"

Hiccup grinned. "I definitely know someone like that."

"Good. Now that brings us to the second problem."

"Which is what?"

"After what happened two years ago, Pitch Black moved his base away from the center of the earth."

"How? Last we saw he was nothing but shadow."

Katherine shrugged. "I haven't had any contact with Spirits since the Last Battle."

Hiccup sighed. "I'll figure it out."

"No, you don't."

Hiccup turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"I've already figured that out. You're going to have to get yourself kidnapped by Pitch's forces. They'll  put you into a Nightmaric State, of sorts. You will have to figure out how to get out on your own," said Katherine

"What do you mean by that?"

"Hiccup. People underestimate your powers, and what you can do with them."

"Making leaves change color and fall is important?" Hiccup asked, raising his eyebrow.

Katherine smiled softly. "You said it yourself. Making leaves  change. You and your dragon are both shape shifters, changing your shape. Changing seasons. You are the Guardian of Change. Do you understand?"

"Um... No. Not really."

"It will make sense in it's own time." She looked up at the sun. "I must go, but know this: Change is a powerful force. Learn to control your winds. Do not worry, for your path leads to Sola." Katherine patted Hiccup on the cheek. "I must go, Kalash gets worried when I'm gone for too long. Think on what I've said, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. I hope we will see each other soon."

Katherine walked back to her giant goose, Kalash.

"Why did she keep talking about change?" Hiccup wondered aloud. "Change this, change that..." An idea popped into his head. "Change my approach..." Something that he had heard about fifty years before popped into his mind.

Winds in the east. Mist coming in, like something is brewing, about to begin. Can't put me finger on what lies in store, but I feel what's to happen all happened before.

A grin spread across Hiccup's face. He had a terrible plan, but it was a plan nonetheless. He started sprinting back towards Toothless. It wasn't far, because him and Katherine walked for only a short distance.

Jumping on his dragon, locking his left foot into place, he signals for Toothless to fly upwards. "Anywhere you want, Bud," he said. "Just fly."

Bounding into the air, the large Night Fury spread his wings mid-jump, and flapped upwards with such force that it nearly made Hiccup go flat. Whooping for joy, Hiccup and his dragon soared into the horizon.