Long Lost Heir

Chapter 12

Heather's P.O.V.

I saw Hiccup walking through the village, looking dazed. He was probably wondering if he'd seen "Plasma" from anywhere. I wonder if he recognized her as Tawny. "Hey, Hiccup," I greeted, walking up to him.

"Hi, Heather," he says, not breaking stride as I join him.

"So, notice anything about Plasma?" I ask.

"Was I supposed to?" he counters.

"I'd think you would. She looks an awful lot like a daughter we lost about 15 years ago...," I hint before walking toward the Great Hall. I saw the girl when she was unconscious, and instantly recognized her. She hadn't changed much in these last 15 years, although she was much more beautiful and mature. I had Shayla find out her name, wondering if Berk had given her a different name than her father. "Thork, Leize. Meet me in the cave," I order as I pass the Person of the Wings and Blacksmith. The men exchange a glance before running off to gather the others. I mount Windshear and she flies me to the back of the mountain, landing in the cave we had meetings in. A few minutes later, I was joined by the other People of the Wings. "Friends, my fellow villagers," I started, earning their attention, "Tawny has returned to us." I was met with shocked gasps.

"Where?"

"Does Hiccup know?"

"Is she okay?"

"Does she remember us?"

They pounded me with questions, my heart dropping as I thought of the answers. "She is in Shayla's hut, recovering from being half-starved, dehydrated, and sunburned. Hiccup does not know; he doesn't recognize her, as far as I can tell. Far from okay, goes by the name of Plasma, and does not remember us," my words were greeted by more gasps, filled with sorrow and longing.

"We have to tell them!" Thunder shouted from the back of the group.

"No! Do you know how mad Hiccup will be?! He'll chase her off the island before she can realize who he is!" Leize snapped.

"But they need to be reunited! Hiccup's been miserable for the last 15 years!" Thork countered.

"Yeah, he lost his wife, and then became unbearable when those stupid, heartless Berkians took his youngest daughter!" Skyla backed them up.

"Everyone calm down!" I shout over the arguing voices. They all stopped and looked at me. "I want to tell them as much as any of you. But we can't. You know how hard Hiccup is on himself for letting his old village get a hold of Tawny. If we told him she's back, who knows what he'll do." They exchanged glances before murmuring in agreement. "And even worse, think about how scarred Tawny will be, when she hears that she was kidnapped to kill dragons, when she has her father's love for them. She might have a break down. You all must understand that by keeping this from them, we are protecting them. I don't think anyone here would want Tawny to be banished after we just got her back."

"Tawny was my best friend," a new Person of the Wings, Niki, said as she pushed her way to the front, "And I can't stand the fact that she doesn't know how close she is to finding her father. But I also don't want to have to go through losing her again. I vote we don't tell them." I hold up a finger to make a tally.

"She was like a second daughter to me. Her father is one of my closest friends, often helping me in the forge," Leize speaks up, "I still have the first ax he helped me make. Tawny was the only thing that kept me going when my daughter told me she didn't want to be a blacksmith. Both have done so much for me, despite how young she was when she was taken. I don't want Hiccup to over react and get rid of the thing that we shared a greater common love for. You have yourself another vote for silence." I put up another finger.