I Love You to the Edge and Back (A How to Train your Dragon Fanfiction)

Chapter Nineteen: Journey to Goodwing Island Pt. 1

"Are you all packed?" Astrid asked. She was adjusting the straps on Nightfire's saddlebags.

"Just about. Just need to grab something," Hiccup replied.

"What is it?" Astrid asked.

"The dragon eye. These people have information, might as well store it somewhere."

"What if someone like Greta steals it?" Astrid asked.

"They won't," Hiccup assured his wife. 

"How do you know?" Astrid asked.

"I just do. Trust me on that," Hiccup replied.

"Okay," Astrid sighed.

"Alright, all set. Merida, will you be okay taking care of things?" Hiccup asked. He had mended things prior to the couple leaving for Goodwing. They had resumed the sibling bond, and were as close, if not closer, than before.

"Yes," Merida replied, rolling her eyes. "I got this."

"Okay, okay. Do you need anything before I go?" He asked the people gathered in the square.

"Son. Go spend this time with Astrid. If she needs anything, I can help," Valka said. She had started thinking of Merida as the daughter she never had.

"Thanks mom. But, really. If you need anything, we can always turn back, don't be afraid to T-Mail," Hiccup replied.

"Let's go, Mr. Chief," Astrid said. She dragged him to where the dragons were waiting to take off.

"Hey, don't call me that!" Hiccup complained.

"Just deal. I thought you couldn't wait to go," Astrid replied.

"Well, now I'm on the cautious side. You saw what Greta did," he said, referring to the attacks days prior. He was rather uneasy since the attacks. Who knew when the next ones were going to be.

"Yeah, I know," Astrid replied, mounting Nightfire. She would ride Stormfly, but she needed to bond with Nightfire.

"Okay, all set?" He asked.

"Yep," his wife replied. With a final wave, the couple, now in the air, whooped and hollered as their dragons soared.

"That was exhilarating!" Astrid said, breathless from their flight. She sat down on a log as Hiccup prepared to set up the tents.

"Yeah. Now you get why I love Toothless so much. Just wait until I get you faster tails. Then you'll really soar!" Hiccup exclaimed. Toothless rolled his eyes as Hiccup uttered those words, 'now you know why I love Toothless.'

"Thanks, I can't wait," Astrid replied. She took out her knife, and began whittling a stick to pass the time. She tossed it into the brush when it snapped.

"You know what I can't wait for?" Hiccup asked. He stuck a wood post through the fabric into the moist ground. 

"What's that?" Astrid asked. She instinctively covered her ears as Hiccup brought the mallet down on the post. The repetition of the bang! bang! bang! was rather loud, even to Astrid.

"Us to really start our new lives together," Hiccup said after he was done abusing the wood. He was going to say something about Goodwing. Then he realized he's been coming up a little short in the saying sweet things to Astrid in the past couple of weeks. Saving all of the Archipelago kinda does that.

"Yeah, me too," Astrid replied. "This, Goodwing Island, do you know much about it?" Astrid asked. The question really hadn't occurred to her until now.

"I know we have to go Southeast, that's it," Hiccup replied. He sat down, having exerted all of his energy into making sure they had a place to sleep.

"So, I'm setting up the pot for food?" Astrid asked, seeing the red blooming on his face.

"No, no, I got this," Hiccup replied.

"Hiccup, you'll wear yourself out so much here, you won't be able to make it to Goodwing."

"If you insist," Hiccup replied. He sat down on the log by Astrid.  Before she could move a muscle, he was out cold. Astrid sighed, and got Toothless's attention.

"Toothless, put him in the tent," Astrid instructed the dragon. He complied, dragging Hiccup into the tent by his metal leg. It proceeded to pop out every once and a while. "You don't get the concept of a metal leg, do you boy?" Astrid asked. It took Toothless awhile, but eventually, Hiccup was safe inside the tent.

No use in making food now. Hiccup's asleep, Astrid thought, crawling in. She snuggled up to Hiccup, wanting to share body heat. And, she did feel safer next to him.

Why is the sun always so bright? Astrid asked herself as she crawled out of the tent early the next morning. A nauseas feeling overcame her, and as usual, she ignored it. The sun was just peeking over the mountains in the distance. The two dragons were hanging, upside down, from a nearby tree, sleeping like bats.

"Morning Milady," Hiccup said, setting the two kabobs on the skit (I think that's what its called). Astrid jumped, not realizing he was right there.

"Morning babe," Astrid replied after the scare rolled off her back. I'll get you sometime Haddock, Astrid silently vowed.

"Sorry about last night. One minute I'm on a log, the next, in a tent. I really do feel bad," Hiccup said.

"Oh don't worry about it. I'm fine," Astrid assured. Her stomach grumbled, as if to say, "I'm not fine."

"Don't worry, these are almost done," Hiccup replied. He took them away from the fire to cool.

"Your not having anything?" Astrid asked.

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm still full from our wedding feast," Hiccup accounted. He smiled that lopsided grin that sent Astrid's heart to the sky.

"I see," Astrid replied, knowing it was a joke. He's been in that mood lately. Honestly, she could get used to it.

After they were done eating and talking, Astrid doing the eating and Hiccup doing the talking, they packed up their things and left, heading Southeast.

After nothing interesting for awhile, the pair encountered what appeared to be a dragon, in the water. Hiccup pointed to it, and they both descended. Astrid flanked Hiccup, taking a defensive position.

"Wait, its an Island," Hiccup said.

"Okay, so what now?" Astrid asked. She loosened her grip on Nightfire's saddle.

"We camp out on that island over there," Hiccup said, pointing to a Northernmost Island. "I have a feeling that this is Goodwing."