"What do you think, bud? Stealth or frontal assault?"

Toothless growled in reply, glaring down at the arena in which the timberjack was being held. The large dragon's mass could be seen through the bars of a cage built into the side of the arena.  

The Sun was sitting on the horizon, casting long shadows across the village and giving the evening an eerie, surreal atmosphere. Hiccup frowned, conflicting emotions threatening to rise up in him. This was the first time he had been back at Berk since he ran away. Part of him was angry that it still looked exactly the same, that life in Berk had gone on without him. Another part of him felt content that he was free from the confines of this small island. And yet, a small piece of him filled with nostalgia; regret even. Hiccup quickly shoved that feeling down. This was Berk, the place where he was rejected and cast aside. This was the prison he escaped from all those years ago. He refused to feel anything but contempt towards it. 

Drawing out his spyglass, Hiccup scanned the arena and its surroundings. No guards. This set him on edge. Wouldn't the vikings be on guard in case of an attack on the island?

Toothless shook his head in impatience, smacking his rider with an ear.

"Ow!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Okay, okay, let's go. Stealth it is."

Hiccup mounted the night fury, and Toothless shot into the sky. Quick as a shadow, Toothless drifted above the arena and dove between the chains. They landed and Hiccup ran to the large cage built into the wall of the arena. Through the bars he could see the timberjack, two deadly nadders, a gronkle, a hideous zippleback and a monstrous nightmare. Hiccup reached up at the side of the cage and pulled a large lever, lifting the portcullis. Immediately, the zippleback and monstrous nightmare took off, fitting themselves between the chains at the top of the arena and soaring into the night. The timberjack crawled out and remained on the ground. He was too big to escape through the roof, so Hiccup would have to open the gate. The gronkle waddled up to Hiccup and licked his arm before bumbling out and over the ocean. 

Hiccup glanced back into the cage, noticing that neither of the nadders had moved. 

"Go on. You're free now," he told them. The blue nadder shuffled its wings, but stayed put. The gold nadder squawked at him. "Why aren't you going? Go on, get out of here!" Hiccup insisted. Why wouldn't these dumb dragons listen? They were free to escape from this deathtrap of a village. Hiccup huffed a sigh, and was about to attempt to coax the dragons out with a fish from one of the barrels in the arena, when the hairs on the back of his neck rose. 

"Wh-who are you?" someone asked behind him.

Hiccup's eyes widened and his shoulders tensed. The voice was soft and feminine with a rough undertone. It was unique and distinctive. It was a voice that Hiccup had not heard for 5 years. He turned around slowly. His heart leapt to his throat. Astrid.

She was beautiful. Golden locks framed her face, then cascaded over her shoulder in an intricate braid, wisps of gold coming to life in the fading glow of the Sun. Her face was more defined and structured than when he last saw her all those years ago. Her eyes stared at him, an eclipse of blue colour swirling around inside. She was beautiful. 

But she was not the same.

The more Hiccup studied her, the more he noticed the changes. Her skin was pale, her eyes sunken with bags. Her jawline was a little too defined to be healthy. She was skinny and frail, her clothing hanging off her limbs like curtains. She had her arms wrapped around herself protectively as she stared at him in suspicion. 

Hiccup realized he had been staring, and cleared his throat. "That is none of your concern," he stated, his voice shaking. 

Astrid glanced behind him at the open cage. "What are you doing?" She edged around him, moving towards the cage. 

Hiccup straightened his posture, pushing aside his feelings. "I'm freeing these dragons. They deserve to be free, not trapped by some ruffian vikings and tortured to death." Toothless growled and Hiccup placed a hand on his head. 

Astrid froze, about halfway to the cage. She glanced from Toothless to me, to Toothless again. "Is-is that a night fury?" 

Hiccup felt a sudden impulse to reveal himself and pull Astrid into his arms; to embrace her and tell her everything; to cry on her shoulder and tell her "I'm back and I'm staying." But he didn't. He couldn't. 

"Yes. Now let me free those dragons, and I'll be on my way."

Astrid's face hardened into a glare. "You will not touch Stormfly." She reached over and grabbed a pair of long daggers from a conveniently placed weapon rack behind her.

Hiccup frowned, drawing his own sword. "Stormfly?" he asked. 

Astrid moved between Hiccup and the cage, backing up towards the nadders. 

"What are you doing?" Hiccup asked incredulously. She was a viking. Those dragons would kill her! He expected the nadders to attack, but what happened next shocked him. The blue deadly nadder crept up behind Astrid. "Look out!" he warned. But there was no need, for the nadder simply shadowed Astrid, squawking at Hiccup and baring its spikes menacingly. Astrid placed her hand on the side of the nadder's head. 

"Y-you're not-"

"You can't have my dragon!" Astrid interrupted. 

"But you-"

"No!" Astrid yelled. "You can't take her! Stormfly, spine shot!" She pointed at Hiccup. The nadder, Stormfly Hiccup presumed, flicked its tail back, preparing to skewer him. 

Toothless growled and jumped in front of Hiccup, blocking the shower of spikes with his dark wings. Hiccup recovered from the shock and jumped on his night fury. He locked eyes with Astrid one last time, before Toothless launched himself up and through the chains above the arena. Toothless released a plasma blast, breaking open an intersection of chains to create a big enough hole for the timberjack to retreat through. 

Hiccup glanced back towards the arena. "I'm sorry, Astrid," he whispered. Toothless warbled, sensing his rider's sorrow. "It's okay, bud," Hiccup said, placing a gloved hand on his dragon's head. "Let's go home."

The pair drifted around to the far side of the island. Hiccup could see the timberjack in the distance, making its way North to the safe haven. Hiccup sighed. He didn't understand this feeling he had in his chest. It tore at him, sending waves of pain through his nervous system. A single tear slipped down his face, and he removed his mask to wipe it away. 

As they passed over a forested region of the island, Hiccup glanced back again. His eyes widened as they beheld a net coming at them at high speeds.

"Toothless!" he shouted, but he knew they would be too slow. Just as the net wrapped around Hiccup's body, the force of its velocity pulling him off Toothless and into a free fall, Hiccup pulled a lever on Toothless' saddle, allowing him to fly on his own. Toothless dove after him. "Go!" Hiccup yelled at his dragon. "Get mom!" Toothless growled, but pulled up to dodge a second net that had been fired. 

"Go!" Hiccup shouted one last time. The last thing he saw before hitting the trees was his night fury, his best friend, winging his way North.

Then blackness.

***

"Where is that boy, Cloudjumper?" Valka huffed. "I swear he's trying to make me worry."

Valka sat atop Cloudjumper's back as they circled the glacier, scanning the darkening horizon. Two of the shockjaws Hiccup had taken to retrieve the wood had returned, each carrying a bundle of tree trunks. But there was no sign of Hiccup or the other dragons that had gone with him. 

Valka sighed. Her son probably took a detour to one of Toothless' favourite islands, a native home to wild yaks. That dragon could never get enough to eat. 

She was about to head back inside to condition the wood the dragons had brought back and wait for Hiccup, when Cloudjumper rumbled. 

"What is it?" Valka peered at the Southern horizon. There. A small black shape grew in size as it drew nearer to the glacier. With silent decision, Valka held on as her dragon dove to meet the approaching dragon. 

When they were close enough to see what it was, Valka was confused. It was the third shockjaw that had gone with Hiccup, but it wasn't carrying any wood. Valka scowled, a sinking feeling growing in her chest. Hiccup would never be so careless as to forget to send the dragon back with its cargo.

As the shockjaw soared past, winging its way towards the glacier, Valka's resolve hardened. 

Something had happened to her son, and she was going to figure out what.

A/N

AHHH, I'm a horrible person! I'm so sorry for not updating for so long! I got distracted and honestly forgot this story existed for the better part of a year. Thanks to everyone reading despite the author's awful updating habits. I promise to work on this story more often, and I will be sure to upload the next chapter within the next few weeks! 

Again, sorry and thank you!

~ Savvy