Chapter Fifteen: Last Day

Stoick made certain that Trista was on the ship to the Berserkers at dawn the next morning. She held her head high, a sort of dignity emanating from her. She knew where she was going. She knew she wouldn't be returning. And she had accepted her fate.

If only the same could be said for the Hooligan chief. He had been up most of the night trying to convince his son to snap out of whatever had taken over. But Hiccup remained unresponsive. Even when he moved, usually to use the outhouse, he seemed dizzy. Like everything was instinct. He didn't seem aware of what he was doing. And with his owner in a catatonic state, Toothless had never been so depressed. Like Hiccup, he refused to eat or to sleep, instead deciding to curl up next to his human and try to be of some comfort to him. The young man acted like he didn't even know his own dragon. Stoick briefly thought of bringing in Finn to try to get some reaction out of Hiccup but he immediately quashed this idea. Finn would surely be alarmed at the sight of his father in such a state. With his granddaughter already broken, Stoick didn't want to risk the same thing happening to his grandson.

"Set sail." he said to the closest Hooligan once they had all boarded the boat.

As the coast of Berk slowly disappeared into the horizon, Stoick took a deep breath and wondered if things would ever go back to normal. And then, as the memory of his actions on the day his brother had died brimmed to the surface, he was certain that they never would.

Xxx

"Is Anna gonna tome home?" Finn asked Snotlout, gripping the man's hand very tightly on the way to the Great Hall.

"Of course she will. She's just a little sick." Snotlout explained, his stomach tightening as he prayed that the child would stop asking questions.

"Why tan't I see daddy?" the boy continued with slightly furrowed eyebrows. "Did daddy get sick too?"

"Yes. Your daddy needs to feel better and then you can go home." Heather said, giving his other hand a small squeeze.

For a little while, Snotlout and Heather continued to walk the boy to the designated location in silence.

"Is Anna gonna die?" Finn asked quite suddenly.

Both Snotlout and Heather stopped in their tracks and faced the small boy, looking horrified.

"Why would you ask that?" Heather gasped, rocking Inga with one hand so that she wouldn't wake up at the disturbance.

"Because evewyone is sad." Finn replied, sniffing loudly. "Why is evewyone sad? Din't they want Anna back?"

Snotlout crouched down so that he was staring into Finn's eyes. "Everyone is sad because Anna is sick. And they want her to get better. But she's home and that's what matters."

"Oh." Finn thought very hard for a second. "Ca-I see her?"

Snotlout and Heather exchanged a split second glance. "I think you should ask your mom." Snotlout said after a second's hesitation.

"Otay." Finn replied.

Snotlout stood up and led the boy to his mother, who was waiting in front of the Great Hall. Upon catching sight of her little red haired son, Astrid rushed forward, dropped to her knees, and embraced him. Finn could feel his mother's heart racing and wondered why it was beating so fast since she hadn't just been running around. After a very long hug, she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back so that she could see his face. She brushed his bangs out of his eyes and kissed his forehead.

"Why were you gone so yong, mommy?" Finn asked her quite seriously.

"We went out to go find Anna. Were you good for Uncle Snotlout and Aunt Heather?" Astrid asked, brushing his bangs away from his eyes again.

"Uh huh. They yet me pway with the Naddew and we had snacks and it was fun!" Finn said in a chipper manner, hopping up and down. "They yet me see the baby too and she was cute!"

Astrid exchanged looks with her son's caretakers, who nodded. Finn had been very well behaved, which made things a lot easier. With Adrianna in such a fragile state, the sight of her little son bright and happy made her want to cry again. She quickly prayed that she would see her daughter's smile once more, every bit as wide as the one Finn was giving her.

"Ca-I see Anna?" Finn asked, the smile becoming slightly less wide and his eyes showing a tiny bit of concern.

Astrid hesitated for a moment, her son's hands tightly clasped in hers now. She opened her mouth for a second, unsure of what to say but not wanting to alarm the poor boy by immediately telling him that he wasn't allowed to see his little sister. Finn's blue eyes widened, wordlessly pleading with her. She couldn't say no to those eyes. Not after everything she had gone through.

"Let's go over to the healer's and make sure she's awake, okay?" Astrid told him, gripping his hand in hers and standing up.

This was only partially true since she didn't want her son to see his father in such a frightening state. Perhaps if she could convince Hiccup to leave the house for a moment or to act at least somewhat aware of his surroundings...

Xxx

Trista was completely silent. For some reason, Stoick found this slightly unnerving. If he was sailing to his inevitable death, he would have tried to make a bit more conversation, if only to make sure he got out his last words. This suddenly made him wonder if he had left any last words for the people he loved most... had he? No... no he hadn't. Considering the multitudes of occupational hazards that came with being Berk's chief, he was going to have to make sure he could find a way to give his family and friends something to remember him by... just in case.

After nearly an hour out at sea, he finally sat down next to her. She didn't meet his eye but she didn't scoot away. He wasn't sure what to make of this but he wanted to talk to his sister one last time.

"I'm sorry." he said, staring down at his knees.

"Oh I'm sure." she replied, still not looking at him. "I suppose I should have known you'd be willing to kill for that obnoxious little brat."

"She's not... that's not the point." Stoick shook his head. He wasn't going to let Trista distract him. "I don't want to do this."

"You've said that."

"I mean it."

Stoick and Trista finally looked at each other. The chief suddenly noticed that the way his sister's ears curved resembled his granddaughter's... just a tiny bit. It was something no one would notice unless they were looking for it, and he certainly would never tell Adrianna of this fact, but it was a painful reminder of what he had to do. What he had to give up to ensure her safety. He knew he was making the right decision. So why did it feel so wrong?

"How did you train those dragons in secret?" Stoick asked after a long pause.

"Simple. I watched your son. I did what he did. They were just strays, really. Blaze was thrown out his family for his... his deformity. I suppose that's why..." Trista sniffed and shook her head. "You let them die."

"They hurt Adrianna."

Stoick knew exactly what Trista was going to say next but the words were still painful to hear. "Still playing favorites, I see."

"It's different."

"Is it?" Trista's eyes bored into the side of his head. "We're both related to you. Hel, I'm more related to you. I don't have any Hofferson blood." There was a long pause in which she didn't break her gaze, much as Stoick wished she would. "Is it because she wouldn't exist if not for you?"

"It's because she's innocent." Stoick mumbled to his hands.

"So was I." Trista said in a low voice. "That didn't stop our father."

"You're not innocent anymore." Stoick's eyes were still fixed on his hands but he could see Trista's face in his peripheral vision, still staring.

"Who's to say Adrianna always will be?"

Stoick finally looked up into his sister's eyes. "I will do everything in my power to keep her from turning out like you. Anything and everything. And not just because she's my flesh and blood. But because I love her. And that's something I should have said more often." he paused for a moment as Trista's eyes widened for a second. "It's something I should have said to you." he turned back to his hands. "I won't make that mistake again."

Xxx

Astrid led Finn to the healer's house in silence. They only paused for a moment so that the boy could pick a small purple flower for his sister (Astrid didn't bother to tell him off for picking it out of a neighbor's flowerpot). Finn was usually a chatty child but he seemed to have noticed the subdued atmosphere. This was especially obvious when they finally arrived. A small crowd of people were gathered around. Most of them were fellow parents, who had come to offer their condolences or ask how they could help. There was a small, sandy haired boy clutching a piece of parchment with a determined expression on his face. Something about how he stood out compared to all of the older Vikings caught Astrid's eye and she sauntered over to him and his mother.

"Do we know you?" she asked the woman.

"Not well. I think you're familiar with my son Gustav." she replied. "This is my youngest, Erick."

Astrid eyed the small boy again. At first glance, he looked nothing like Gustav but now that she saw him up close, she could see some subtle resemblances.

The woman continued to speak. "As soon as he heard Adrianna was back, he wanted to give her a picture he drew."

Astrid got down on her knees in front of Erick, who looked no older than five. "Did you know her very well?" she asked him.

"No. I just heard she was sad so I wanted to give her a happy picture." Erick replied very seriously, holding up the parchment.

Astrid was momentarily speechless. She didn't know how the boy had pulled it off, but the drawing was in purple.

"Anna likes purple. I think she'll like your picture." she said after a few seconds.

"I know. I saw her wearing the purple skirt a lot." said Erick with a small smile. "I hope she gets better."

"So do we. Thank you, Erick." Astrid stood back up to face his mother. "Would you mind watching Finn for a moment? I need to talk to Hiccup before I can let him in."

Erick's mother nodded and took Finn's hand. Astrid opened the door to the healer's house and entered the hallway leading to Adrianna's room.

Hiccup was still sitting outside the door, staring blankly at the ground. Toothless was still curled up nex to him. Neither human nor dragon even blinked when they heard Astrid enter. She walked over to her husband and got on her knees in front of him.

"You have to pull yourself together, Hiccup." she whispered. "Finn can't see you like this."

Hiccup's head jerked upward, his eyes wide with horror. He began to hyperventilate and try to stand up. It took Astrid a moment to figure out why he had reacted in such a way. She gently placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down.

"Finn is fine." she said, looking straight into his eyes. "He's just fine. But he wants to see his sister. And I can't let him in when you're like this. You'll scare him!"

Hiccup continued to stare at her. His breathing became less frantic and he relaxed slightly. Finally he nodded. Deciding that it was the best she could do, Astrid stood up and walked over to the door to allow Finn to enter the house.

The small boy made a beeline for his father and immediately threw his arms around him. Astrid tensed slightly but Hiccup gently placed his hands on his son's back. Something about his bright, happy son seemed to cheer him up ever so slightly. He didn't smile but he looked quite a bit more aware of his surroundings when Finn let him go.

"Ca-I go in?" Finn asked, his hand on the doorknob.

Astrid nodded and allowed the tiny boy to enter his sister's room. Hiccup's face fell back to the blank expression and he focused once more on the ground.

Xxx

It seemed oddly cruel that the sail to Berserker Island flew by in what felt like only a few minutes. These were the last moments Stoick had with his sister. He knew that, once they got to Berserker soil, his personal conversation with her would be over. But time has a way of moving faster when you want to cling to precious moments and they arrived at Berserker Island far too soon.

Dagur the Deranged was waiting at the dock, a small smile on his face. He had seen the Hooligan ships approaching and figured that it was about time the Berkian criminal would have been apprehended. The Berserker chief loved executions and this was going to be an especially fun one. Permission from Berk to execute one of their own... an opportunity like that didn't present itself very often and Dagur was not going to let it go to waste.

"So which one of you is it?" he asked as soon as the ship docked. "That one, isn't it? He looks shady." he said, pointing to Spitelout.

Before Snotlout's father could retort, Trista chuckled and stepped forward. "I believe you're referring to me."

Dagur stared at her for a few seconds before laughing gleefully. "Should have known someone like that could apprehend a Haddock!"

"Adrianna is three years old, Dagur." Stoick reminded him, his patience waning. "And it won't happen again, even if I have to train her every second of every day."

"Shall we commence? I don't like to keep the executioner waiting." Dagur rubbed his hands together, still smiling widely. "He's a little impatient."

Stoick took a deep breath. "Yes. We should get this over with."

The Hooligans and Berserkers alike crowded around Trista to keep her contained. She smiled serenely, almost like she was on her way to go shopping instead of to her imminent death. They arrived at the executioner's location very soon and a large man waited with a large axe. He smiled as they arrived, looking very excited.

"Not often that I get to execute a woman." he said with a chuckle.

"Allow me to have a word with Dagur." Trista said quite suddenly. "Last request."

"By our laws, she is permitted a last request." the executioner said reluctantly.

"Make it quick." Stoick said, pushing his sister toward his enemy.

Dagur and Trista walked off a little ways so that no one could hear them. Stoick's stomach clenched. He had no idea what his sister was saying to the Berserker chief but, whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Dagur looked positively delighted when he emerged, Trista in tow. And the smile on Trista's face was not in any way reassuring.

Xxx

"Anna?"

Adrianna looked up, her eyes wide with fear, but she relaxed when her brother strode into her room. He couldn't hurt her. He might do so once in a while by accident but he certainly wouldn't do so now.

She continued to stare at him as he walked up to her bed and deposited the flower on top of it. A tiny smile flickered onto the little girl's face, disappearing as quickly as it had come.

"Get bettew soon, otay?" he said with a small smile before turning around and leaving the room.

He saw his parents waiting outside and briefly wondered why they had not come in to greet his sister with him. But this question melted from his mind the moment it entered and he decided that it was a good time to go outside and play. Astrid took his pudgy little hand and led him outside, leaving her husband to continue to stare blankly at the door.

Erick was brought in a second later (he completely ignored Hiccup, which was definitely a good thing). His mother stayed in the hallway while the young boy entered the room.

"Hi, Anna." he said quite shyly. "I'm Erick. I heard you were sad. So I drew you a picture. In purple 'cause I heard you liked purple." he pointed to the simplistic drawing. "That's you on Toothless, see?"

Anna continued to stare at this friendly stranger... but he wasn't nearly as scary as the grown-ups. She allowed the boy to come forward and hand her his drawing. It was very nice and she did like purple. Another half smile appeared and quickly disappeared.

"Well... that's why I wanted to come over. Let me know if you... umm... wanted someone to play with." said Erick, blushing slightly and staring down at his little boots. "When you're feeling better. Okay. Bye, Anna."

When the door shut behind Erick, Anna briefly thought of taking him up on his offer. It was a really nice picture, after all. And he seemed so very nice...

Xxx

The time had finally come. Trista was pushed forward into the last position her body would ever take in life. Her bare neck was exposed. Yet she remained quite calm. It was like she had been expecting this moment for a long time. Well, Stoick thought, she probably had. His heart twisting, he stepped forward and knelt in front of his sister.

"Trista..." he said, his voice shaking. "I... I want you to know that I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Trista stared into his eyes and, quite suddenly, she believed him. Stoick blinked and turned to the executioner.

"Do it."

He didn't watch. He couldn't. But the moment a horrible chopping noise reverberated around the wood, a single tear rolled down his face.