They call me the Commander

Lagoon

It was the one she always used to hum while sharpening her axe, the song she was humming in his ear.

He pulled away and ran his hands along his eyes in a futile attempt to stop the tears.

"I'm sorry, you should be in bed. I- I-"

Astrid's eyes were soft and he looked down to avoid her gaze. "You what?"

"I- don't worry. Just, it's one in the morning, go back to bed."

"No."

"What?"

"I said no."

"What do you mean, no?"

"I mean, I'm not just going to leave you here, like... this."

"Like what?"

" You're sad, you look broken. I don't want to leave you like this."

"Are you seriously saying that to my face!? The first fifteen years of my life, you left me like this. Don't try it now."

"I didn't leave you like this. You weren't ever this bad."

"Oh but I was. I'm good at hiding my emotions, Astrid. That's why I am who I am now. Letting out all your emotions makes you weak." Hiccup breathed.

"Hiccup-"

"Astrid, no one ever cared about me, and no one's just going to start caring now because I'm sad or something."

"Who told you that?" Astrid whispered, feeling a little hurt.

"You really want to know?" Hiccup said, with a touch of anger rising in his words. "Berk. That's all Berk ever taught me. Not to walk, not to talk, not to lift an axe. Just that NO.ONE.CARES." He snapped.

"I'm sorry..." Astrid said in a small voice.

Hiccup's shoulders dropped and the anger vanished. "Gods, Astrid... I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Hiccup." Astrid said. "I'm really sorry that you feel that way, I- I really should have done something. But Hiccup?" She looked into the broken eyes of the man opposite her. "I care."

Hiccup froze. "You-you... c-care?" He whimpered.

Astrid smiled sadly. "Of course I do."

"I-" Hiccup couldn't say anything. He just smiled. When he got his voice back, he whispered, "Can I show you something?"

"At 1 in the morning?"

"Yes."

The auburn haired dragon rider took one of the smaller furs from his bed and flipped it over his shoulders. He unclicked the bolt of the wooden hatch and gestured for Astrid to come over.

When they stepped out, the cold air hit Astrid like a wave. It wasn't an I'm-freezing-to-death type of cold, but a pleasant... cool.

They edged down the cliff side, little rocks spraying off the edge as they stepped. When they got to the bottom, the moon was shining so bright that you didn't need a candle, torch or dragon to illuminate your path.

Hiccup took her wrist in his left hand and led her into a nearby forest of thick, green trees. Astrid was guided to a pile of boulders and stones.

"Rocks?"

"Hold on, miss impatient!"

He moved to the side, where there was enough of a space for them to fit through.

When Astrid looked over the scene in front of her, her jaw dropped.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Hiccup whispered.

It was a lagoon, almost perfectly circular with a pond in the middle. It's waters reflected the full moon in all it's glory. Climbing vines and plants snaked up the 10 metre-high stone walls winding in between the moss that adorned the trunks. The grass was short and green and blue flowers flourished under a winding tree.

"what is this?" Astrid breathed, taking in the beautiful scene around her. Even though the sun had not risen, the moon illuminated every corner of the lagoon like it was magic.

"Well, It doesn't have a name, and... you're the first person I've shown it to... apart from the dragons and I, this place remains untouched by Vikings."

"You mean it wasn't man-made?"

"Entirely natural."

A blue and white dragon, about the size of Hiccup's arm, launched itself onto Astrid's face, screeching and wailing.

"Ah! You stupid little-"

"Frostbite! Off! She's- She's a friend." The little dragon immediately pounced from Astrid's face and onto Hiccup's.

"Hey! Not on my face!" The white and blue creature scuttled off his face and into the water.

Astrid sat by the lagoon and looked at her reflection in the clear and shining waters. The moon was entirely spherical in the reflection the water made. She reached and touched the water, making it ripple around her finger. The little bumps of water contorted the moon's reflection into a bumpy image.

Hiccup's reflection appeared behind hers, gazing into it's own eyes.