Runaway Viking

Part 4: Return

Hiccup's POV

Once I had received the message from my father, I thought about what I should do. I ran away from Berk and it's people for a reason, and those reasons still existed, as far as I knew. But it was my home, whether I liked it or not. It was the place I had been born, the place I had grown up and the place where my father still lived. I couldn't just let it fall into the hands of Drago Bludvist, so I accepted his alliance, as long as I did not get anything in return. I didn't want anything from them. I was doing it for myself, as much as for them.

Another reason I was doing it was because I wanted to see Astrid again. I hadn't seen her for 5 years, and I really missed her, more than I thought I would.

I had grown up in the 5 years I'd been gone. I was no longer the runt I had been. I now stood at about 6.2 ft and had upgraded my armour. I wear a mask that covers my whole face, concealing my identity. Most people know me as the "Dragon Master". I also had, unfortunately, lost my left leg after a battle with the Red Death, but I had gotten used to it, having made myself a prosthetic instead.

I left for Berk a few days after sending my acceptance, with my Dragons in tow. The place where I lived, known as "The Edge", was about a day's journey from Berk, so it wouldn't take too long to get there.

When I did arrive, I decided not to make my presence known immediately, but to camp out in the woods for a bit before arriving for real.

I made camp at the cove, the place where I had befriended Toothless. He recognised it immediately and began to bounce around happily when he saw it. I laughed. He really was a big puppy dog.

The cove was too small to hold all of the Dragons, so I left them somewhere else, further into the woods, planning to check on them at least twice a day.

I then asked Toothless to stay in the cove, while I went to the village to have a look around. It was night time, and because the Dragon Raids had stopped, no one should be around.

I snuck in quietly, my black, dragon-scaled armour good for blending into the darkness. The village hadn't really changed much, from what I could see in the dim lighting. The forge was still the same, though it housed a lot less weapons than when I had last been there. My father's house, the house I had grown up in, still stood in the same place, proud and tall.
Once I had finished looking around, I headed back into the woods towards the cove. Surprisingly, I found someone ahead of me going in the same direction. I crept up behind them.

"Hello, milady. What might you be doing out so late?"
Astrid jumped at the sound of a voice behind her. She turned around. I still wore my mask.
"I could ask you the same question," she replied, smoothly, regaining her composure, "Who are you?"
I smiled beneath my mask. She was still as feisty as ever.
"Well," I said, "Around this archipelago, I am known as the 'Dragon Master'."
She looked surprised.
"What are you doing here then? I thought you were only arriving tomorrow.
"I decided to take a scope of the land first," I replied, "so I came a day early and made camp in the woods for a night. Would you like to come with me?"
She looked at me skeptically, "Alright."

I led her through the woods towards the cove, even though she already knew the way. When we got there, Toothless came bounding up to us, seeming to have recognised Astrid. She seemed to recognise him as well.
"Toothless!" She laughed, "what are you doing here?"
"He came with me," I replied.
Astrid looked at me in surprise. I smiled at her, and slowly took off my mask. She stared at me for a moment longer, before a look of recognition crossed her face.
"Hiccup!" She cried, sling her arms around my neck in a hug, "You came back!"
"I said I would, didn't I?"
"What took you so long?" she exclaimed, punching me on the arm.
"I did have quite a few things happen," I explained.
"Like what? Besides becoming the "Dragon Master"? And how did that happen?"
"It's a long story," I replied, "it's also how I lost my leg." I gestured to my prosthesis.
"You lost a leg?!" She exclaimed
"I also stopped the dragon raids."
"Seriously?"
"Yes," I said, chuckling, "I'll explain it all to you. If you'll sit down?"
She sat down,with me sitting down besides her, and I began to explain.

Once I had finished, Astrid looked at me in amazement.
"Wow, you really got up to a lot while you were gone, hey?"
"I suppose so," I shrugged, "I'm just sorry I didn't come to see you sooner."
"It's alright," she said, "I understand."
We sat in silence for a bit.

"What are you going to do," Astrid asked, "About your dad?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, everyone here thinks you're dead."
"What?" I cried, "Why would they think that?"
"After you left, Stoick noticed that you were missing." She replied, "He mounted a huge search party. When they couldn't find you, everyone believed that a dragon killed you."
I sat in shocked silence.
"They had a funeral for you," Astrid continued, "Afterwards, your dad wasn't seen for months. He didn't speak to anyone, didn't come out of the house. The only person he would talk to was Gobber. He eventually recovered about a year after you left. He's a lot sharper now, harder and more closed off. He hasn't been the same since you left. You were wrong about no one missing you. Everyone has missed you, especially your dad, Gobber and I."

I was shocked by this news. When I left, my father had only been proud of me because I had done well in Dragon-training. Otherwise, I was just a nobody, who always messed everything up wherever I went. Gobber was the only one I thought would actually care, besides Astrid that it is. So I was surprised that I had been missed by the others. I thought about what I should do, and made my decision.

"Astrid?"
"Yes?"
"Could you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Could you wake up the village and have them meet somewhere? I think it's time they met the Dragon Master."

1123 words