EPILOGUE

One Year Later

"Stormfly NO!" Astrid shouted as she tried to get the dragon off of Eret. For some reason, the Nadder took great pleasure in using Eret as a hatchling or a pillow. The boat rocked due to the waves which caused Eret to let out a groan as he was squished further.

"GAH! Help meeee!!!" Eret managed to groan as he was tucked in further under the dragon.

"Oddly enough that is kind of cute," Atali observed while her Ladyship tried to scold the dragon.

"Atali don't tease Sir Eret so much." Astrid reprimanded. "I doubt you want a pancake for a suitor." At this Atali blushed. It wasn't supposed to be known by many but after Eret became a full-fledged knight of House Hofferson he started to try and woo Atali. The story about the knight, the maid, and the jealous dragon was still being giggled about.

"Speaking of suitors," Dagur, Captain of the ship they had boarded, approached them. "Lady Hofferson, your bundle of love is throwing up over the quarter-deck again. Dragon rider he may be but he has no sealegs."

"Thank you for telling me Lord Deranged." Astrid looked conflicted between a chirping Nadder and crushed Eret and the deck at the back of the ship.

"Go," Atali stated primly. "I will get this persistent creature off of Eret." Stormfly just warbled innocently.

Astrid left Atali and Lord Deranged to deal with the situation while she walked towards the back of the ship. She picked up the front of her blue skirt while going up a pair of steps. The first thing she noticed was Hiccup half bent over the side of the ship puking his breakfast out. The rather temperamental waves crashing into the ship did not make the situation better nor did the storm clouds hovering overhead.

"Are you alright Sir Hiccup? Perhaps you may need to lie down." Astrid uttered as she stood near him while the boat rocked.

"No no, I am fine," Hiccup managed to mutter. "I just feel like a flock of Terrors is playing tag in my stomach." More retching followed and Astrid slowly stroked his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, m'lady. This happens every time I sail."

"I thought Vikings were made for the sea. Lady Ruffnut had been boasting about that before she and Sir Tuffnut departed."

"Not this twig of a Viking apparently," Hiccup joked as he moved away from the edge to lean against the set of steps that lead up to the poop deck.

"Hardly a twig," Astrid said more under her breath as she looked Hiccup up and down, noting his lightly muscled physique. This caused Hiccup to blush and scratch the back of his head nervously.

"Perhaps we should get you to bed." She then uttered. Upon seeing Hiccup blush she added with a huff and a roll of her eyes "Alone,".

"I just wonder what is so important that Snotlout had to send a Terrormail requesting my immediate return." Hiccup grumbled. "He knows very well how rough the waters between the Kingdom and Berk get at the start of winter. Not to mention the weather."

"Well this is Snotlout we are talking about," Astrid replied as she and Hiccup walked towards his quarters. "You did leave him and the twins in charge of Berk while you helped us with the damage the former Crown Prince caused. In Gobber's words... what's the worst that could happen?"

"Did I ever tell you about the time the twins tried to shoot me out of a catapult?" Hiccup stated with a raised brow.

"You all were eight!" Astrid shrugged it off.

"This is the same twins that set fire to the palace gardens, caused an incident in the royal court involving foxes, tried to feed one of your suitors to a cow..."

"Well... uhm..." She hesitated.

"The Palace guards threw the biggest going away party I have ever seen. Those poor soldiers were so relieved when I asked the twins to help Snotlout out back on Berk." Hiccup added.

"I admit the twins are.... Unconventional," Astrid replied. "But still, they must have had a reason for calling you back. Look on the bright side," Astrid said as they had now neared Hiccup's quarters he was sharing with Eret. "You will get to see Toothless again," At this Hiccup smiled. He remembered how Toothless had decided to stay with his recovering mate once the rebellion was over.

"I know you miss him," Astrid laid a hand on Hiccup's arm.

"It was his decision. I'm not mad about it. Honestly, I would have done the same if you got injured." Hiccup told her. "It's just heartbreaking the diagnosis we received."

"Hiccup it's not your fault. None of us knew the long-term effects opium in dragons could have." she assured. "The bastard that did all that is rotting in prison now. There's even talk of executing him to preserve the peace between Berk and the kingdom."

"What good is that bastard's death when he made the Lightfury infertile?!" Hiccup growled angrily before slumping against the doorframe as the boat rocked. "They have three hatchlings already but I had gotten the feeling that they wanted more, especially with how Toothless acted."

"I think you need a rest now." Astrid said while ushering him inside the room. "Don't dwell on what's happened. We need to look towards the future for we never know what it will hold."

"You sound like Gobber," Hiccup joked.

"One of my mother's favorite sayings. I'm sure she'd have gotten along with your godfather as thick as thieves."

"Now you rest. It will do you no good if you puke out lunch and dinner as well. Especially since Lord Deranged insisted on cooking said dinner for us before we arrive at Berk tomorrow morning."

"Dagur is cooking?" Hiccup's brows raised. "Uhm... I'm sure I will be fine skipping dinner m'lady."

"Nonsense," Astrid placed her hands on her hips.

"But... but..." Hiccup tried to argue but he couldn't very well tell her that the ship's Captain was... well.... A bad cook.

"All the crew rave about their Captain's cooking. They boast that it is to die for." Astrid gushed while Hiccup muttered, "I don't think that that's a compliment."

The following morning as the sun peeked over the horizon the boat's passengers woke up after an.... Interesting... dinner. Astrid and Hiccup made their way towards the deck while clutching their stomachs a bit. Last night's dinner was... unique.

"Hiccup I apologize for not believing you about the Captain's cooking." Astrid whispered upon seeing the overly jolly Dagur behind the ship's helm. One of the sailors in the crow's nest called out "LAND HO!"

Hiccup perked up as they neared the island. He took Lady Astrid's hand and guided her towards the bow of the ship. The fog was still plentiful but as the ship neared Berk the island came into few and the rustling of wings could be heard. Astrid's eyes widened upon seeing the island her grandmother hailed from. The fog was parting as Hiccup said "This is Berk..."

THE END?

------

AN: Hi yall. I know the epilogue leaves a lot of questions unanswered but I felt that it was time to close off this book.

But never fear I have an announcement. I have started writing the three Lese Majeste short stories that will fill in all the blanks. So be prepared for the following stories to be published in the coming months (Work has me so tired).

1. Lese Majeste: Dragon Rising, which will cover Astrid's first time on Berk

2. Lese Majeste: Fractured Kingdom, which will cover the 1-year time skip

3. Lese Majeste: Echos of the Past, which will delve deeper into Mala and Dagur's relationship.