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Chapter 16

•••Hiccup POV•••

"Y-Your son? N-not possible. It's impossible." I stuttered. Stoick reached out to grab me but I jerked away. Astrid tried to do the same but I freaked out and flew away. I ended up on the complete other side of the island, I landed in a cave hidden pretty well by weeds and vines and set up a small camp there. Toothless nudged my head slightly.

"I don't know bud. The dragons have always been my family. I never even knew my parents. And now I find one of them living on this island." I said. I heard wings flapping above the cave and so I scuttled deeper into the darkness. I heard my name called out. My name. The only thing I could remember about myself when I was taken in by the dragons. I watched as Stormfly landed by the entrance of the cave. Hopefully the forest smells kept her from sniffing me out.

"Hiccup? Are you here?" Cried Astrid. Her black silhouette on the back of Stormfly jumped down and surveyed the area. I covered my face, not wanting to make any sound. Should I reveal myself and let Astrid take me back to the village? Could I convince her to leave me alone or let me fly home? Should I just stay quiet until she leaves? All three options buzzed around my head.

"..."

"Let's go back Stormfly. It seems that he's home for good." Astrid sighed.

"Wait don't go!" I suddenly cried out. Surprised at my sudden outburst I covered my mouth to not speak again.

"Hiccup?" She asked looking around. I didn't say anything for a minute before I gave up.

"I'm in the cave behind you." I said surrendering my position. Astrid moves the vines and weeds out of the way as she entered the cave.

"Hey." Was all she said.

"What a coincidence huh. I never would've thought." She added.

"But you knew, didn't you? You didn't look at all surprised when we found out. Neither did Gobber." I asked. Astrid nodded.

"Gobber figures it out on the boat when I showed him the pendant. I didn't completely believe him at first, but then Stoick-I mean, your dad-confirmed it. And now that I know, the more it makes since. Your strange sort of Berkian accent, your name, your looks even." She explained. I stayed quiet.

"I know it seems hard to believe. You were raised by dragons, you lived with dragons all your life. You never even knew your parents. But now is your chance, your chance to find out who you truly are, where you came from." Astrid said.

"You want me to talk to Stoi- my dad. I do want to know. I do! But I don't think I'm ready." I replied. Astrid grabbed me by the tunic and pulled me in planting a kiss on my lips. It wasn't even five seconds before she pulled away. Toothless rolled his eyes but let out a chuckle at my face, so did Astrid.

"You're ready. Trust me."

•••

The walk back to the village made me anxious. As we got closer my stomach seemed to churn even more. Toothless walked behind Astrid and I nudging me every few minutes seeing if I was okay. I smiled at him each time assuring him that I was just a little nervous.

"We're here." Astrid said from ahead of us. At the village entrance was Stoick, he was leaning against a house and holding his helmet instead of wearing it. He looked over and noticed us emerging from the woods.

"Stoick? What are you doing waiting here?" Astrid asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I didn't want to...to lose you again." Stoick mumbled.

"Stoick-I mean, D-Dad-can I t-talk to you." Stoick beamed when I called him dad. He grabbed my shoulder.

"Of course. We can talk at home." He said. I nodded and walked with him. I made sure to ask Astrid to take Toothless to the arena before we left. When we got to the house Stoick sat me at the same table I was at earlier today.

"Can you tell me about what happened before I was...taken?" I asked. Stoick nodded. He looked at me and smiled.

"You were born a wee little thing, smaller then a terrible terror. Your mother and I loved you no matter. You were our son. You were a year old when your mother was taken during an attack." He pointed at my chin.

"The dragon that took your mother also gave you that scar." He explained. I ran my finger across the tiny, almost invisible, scar. I remember the day I discovered it on my face. It didn't bother me too much because it was just a tiny little thing. It didn't stop me from wondering where it came though. I was always curious about it.

"The attack was deadly. There were new dragons we had never seen before. One of those dragons broke into our home. Valka ran in to save you and I followed. The dragon had Valka cornered so I jumped in. It set fire to the place, I had to save you. I was too late to save your mom and she was carried away. I should have been there sooner, she could never kill a dragon." Stoick said. I nodded. I understood how she felt. Dragons aren't dangerous, they're a beautiful species that are just misunderstood.

"It wasn't even a week later that Alvin attacked and captured you. We all thought that you were dead, thrown off, his ship. Alvin had known what had happened to Valka. He knew that we wouldn't be ready for a surprise attack. We were though." Stoick chuckled.

"Alvin saw that his side was losing. So he did the worst thing imaginable. He took a hostage. You." He finished.

"The was the last time I saw you and look at you now. Ground up and training dragons! You really are your mother's child. So now tell me. What happened during the seventeen years I missed?" He asked. I could tell that he wanted the story behind my missing limb.

"Then I'll start from the beginning." I replied.