Chapter 31: Once And For All

Hiccup

As I slept that night, I couldn't help but let the thought of meeting my family for the first time in forever haunt my mind. Inside I felt completely terrified, so terrified that it made me feel sick to stomach and it wasn't a great feeling. It haunted me all night which made it difficult for me to sleep but eventually the thought drowned my brain into drowsiness and sleep took over my body. As the sun shined its way outside my hut I knew that was the signal to get up and be ready to leave for Berk. This moment in time though however, I couldn't find the energy to push myself out from the bed I lay in. I could feel my heart hammering inside my chest as the nerves started to take over my body. I accepted all the effort everyone was going through to make this event come true, but now that the moment had come, the moment I had dreamed for my whole life, I couldn't find myself to let it come true in a way I didn't want to confront the truth anymore. I wanted to stay in this dark room for as long as possible and delay the possibility in meeting my parents. Through this darkness, I found Toothless make his way towards me with his eyes diluted. As he looked my way he highlighted his caring nature and through his eyes he could tell that something was wrong as they looked sorrowful when they connected with my own. He nuzzled his head against my face slowly producing a small lick as his way to try and make me feel better. "I don't think I can do it Toothless, I can't meet them...I just can't."

"Yes you can Hiccup," My head diverted to the figure standing on the lower level of my hut. I pushed myself up higher in the bed so I was in a full sitting position as I heard light footsteps make their way up the stairs before waltzing carefully towards me and taking a seat on the edge of the bed. As I made contact with the sparkling sapphire eyes of hers I felt calm as the sea and knew from this moment on I would find the courage to do what was best. Astrid shared her warm smile with me while holding out her hand for me to take which I did willingly but with a slow tendency. Her fingers curled within my own and the texture of her hand was soft and smooth which made me feel comfortable letting my nerves subside for a moment and I didn't let myself hesitate to curl hand fingers back round her own. "I know you can meet them Hiccup. The way your feeling is natural. Anyone in your position would be feeling the exact same as you but deep down you can do this." I shared a small warm smile back at her but then contradicted my actions with a shake of my head and say "I've waited my whole life for this Astrid, what if something goes wrong? What if everything you found is wrong and they aren't my parents? What if-," she cut me off by placing her finger on my lips with her spare hand and laughed which sound sweet and melodic "Forget the what if's Hiccup. Trust me this is your family and when you meet them, you will know just like they will. So...do you trust me?"

With those words I felt my eyes flicker just mirroring her eye actions and as I looked deep inside them I couldn't see a dark hole but instead a reassuring light in front of me and I knew that I could trust her. She slowly pulled herself up off the bed we were both sat on slightly dragging me with her as some sort of boost to get me to move. I did the rest of the weight lifting myself of the bed. Before we departed to the downstairs I suddenly wrapped my arms round her and held onto her tightly burying my head into her shoulder mumbling "Thank you for everything," she didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around me straight sway and as she did an electric pulse sparked its way through my entire body sending a rush of adrenaline through me which I hadn't felt before. "You don't need to thank me Hiccup. Now let's reunite you with your family. Your real family," we tore apart and shared one more locked smile with each other before clasping our hands together and ran downstairs ready to depart for Berk. As we headed outside, a cold breeze suddenly hit the pair of us which sent goose-bumps trailing through my body but thanks to tunic Aryan gave me, the feeling wasn't as cold as I was used to since the green one I used to wear was completed tattered and destroyed due to the treatment which was inflicted on me.

I destroyed the image inside my head and jumped on top of Toothless just as Astrid jumped on Stormfly; the pair of us shot up into the air and caught up with the others as quick as possible. The feeling of being back in the air was unimaginable, the cold wind which slapped against my face was the best feeling I could imagine. It didn't bother me that it was so cold all it made feel was freedom. I knew I could share the same feeling on land but in the air the idea of freedom felt different, I knew that I could appreciate it more because I knew that up here there was easier chance to escape if I needed to run again. Thinking too much with me being lost in my thoughts, I forgot about the reason for my journey so when the island of Berk appeared in the distance the thoughts of worry started to creep back in and I could feel my heart to stammer once again but made me bring Toothless to a halt in the sky. His groan was loud enough for the other riders to halt their dragons in the sky. Each of their heads spun to look at me in unison and each of their eyes were full of sorrow but most of all they didn't know how to react. They didn't know how I was feeling, I mean how could they, they've never had to do this they know who their family is so this felt heart wrenching for me. "Hiccup, it's okay," I looked over at Astrid as she brought back her reassuring look in her eyes by also keeping her mouth soft and caring to convince me further.

I nodded slowly before all started flying back towards Berk without a hesitation of stopping this time. I could hear the hesitation of stammer within my breathing followed by the shaking of every single bone inside my body. Toothless finally made his feet land lightly on the island of Berk. The sudden of people around me sent a shudder of shock and adrenaline in me and this time it didn't feel good. As soon as all the eyes of the people landed on me the murmurs would start and ring through my ears which made me feel like I was about to explode. Everything that was being thrown at me started to make me feel quite dizzy and I hated it, I wanted to leave because I knew this was all a bad idea. All the buildings surrounding me made me feel claustrophobic making the dizziness pass around my body at a quicker rate and now I could definitely see my heart banging outside of my chest. I slid off Toothless cautiously but kept hold of him especially when he kept himself close to me. The sudden hold on my shoulder made me jolt but when I looked to my side to see Astrid stood there everything I was feeling came to a halt; it all disappeared and the feeling of calm passed back through me and I took deep heavy breaths as she headed me away from the crowd starting to form and to place me in front of the home at the top of the village.

To me the place seemed almost deserted from the rest of the village and there wasn't many people in the area to make me feel desperate or a prize to be looked at. "Stay here for a second," so I did as Astrid said and stayed where I was put. The feeling with her gone made me suddenly feel alone and I wanted...I needed her back even though I knew the others were still positioned behind me. The sudden creak of a door in front of me caught my attention so my eyes diverted that way. Through the door I saw a woman walk through and step into the open followed by man behind her. The woman had long auburn hair which fell down her back neatly and almost held together in a strange braid. She was slim in her figure and she had bright emerald eyes. The main behind her was bigger in size but didn't have a threatening look to him. He had a huge vibrant orange beard with small braids connected all the way round at the end of it. He too had emerald eyes and when I looked at each of them I saw a connection, I felt something inside me spark but I found I couldn't move in my spot nor could I remove my eyes off the pair of them. They moved towards me slowly but the woman was almost at a quicker speed in her step at she came towards. I felt my heart banging harder than ever as she came closer to me but I wasn't afraid of her and it seemed she didn't either but she did seem cautious and nervous as she came towards me.

I never lost eye contact with her I kept my sole focus on her because I didn't want to miss a moment. I could feel that my eyes were wide open as I looked at her with anticipation also with a hint of sadness connected with it. She raised her hand slowly towards my face and I couldn't help but flinch slightly after everything I'd been through and she noticed by retracting it slightly. We both relaxed our states and this time I let her move her hand forward towards me. As she did so, I felt her hand make contact with my cheek and she smoothed away the tear which feel from my eyes which I didn't know had fallen. She looked at me deeply and created a wide smile on her face as she looked at me and I knew that she felt the connection between us just like I did especially now that it was stronger the closer she was to me. As I looked upon her I could see it, I could see everything appear clearly to me now if I imagined the dream in my mind she would be the female figure playing with me as a child and everything felt as clear as day to me. With the smile she shared, she couldn't help but let the tears come out of her eyes. I mirrored her actions as the tears were also streaming down my face; I heard her voice break as she cried "Hiccup...?" and I knew this to be true, I knew this was my mother for sure this time. My head nodded at her as I spoke with a crack in my voice "Mom?" as I spoke she ran her hand through the side of my hair until it landed around my shoulder and round my back until she pulled me close into her and wrapped both her arms around me as I buried my head into her shoulder wrapping my arms round her with no hesitation.

I couldn't stop the tears falling now they just kept coming and coming because the feel of her arms wrapped around me was genuine and through it all I could feel the smile on her body especially through the tears I heard her crying. "Hiccup...is that...is that really you?" I looked up from my mother's shoulder and looked at the looming figure which stood behind the pair of us. He too now seemed familiar in my dream and I could see him to be figure which came home that night. As he stood here, I knew him to be Stoick and he was the same man I saw the first time I was on the Edge but it was hard to believe that this man was my father. My mother pulled away slightly to look round at her husband with tear stained eyes but didn't let the distance between us slip away. I nodded at the man's question as he too smiled warmly at the pair of us and wrapped his arms around the two us and held on tightly as I did the same to the pair of them. Here...right here was the moment I yearned for my whole life and the image I will never forget. As I held the hug with my parents I tightened it burying my head with the pair treasuring the moment for as long as I could.