"Thora! Hey, wake up!"

I groan softly as my eyes crack open, taking in the person kneeling above me. Muscular fingers press against my throat, checking for a pulse, and I cough as I open my eyes the rest of the way. Eret comes in view, his face a mask of worry.

"Thora, thank the gods," he mutters, almost breathless. "Why are you all the way out here?"

I don't take a moment to think about what I'm doing before I lurch upwards and throw my arms around my friend, an overwhelming amount of relief washing over me. "Eret, you're alive," I gasp, hugging him tighter.

He blinks a few times, carefully returning the hug and patting my back. I don't blame him for looking weirded out. I'm not exactly one to instigate hugs.

"Uh...yeah, I'm alive," he says as I release him. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

I shake my head slowly, resting one hand on my head. "I...I'm fine. It's a long story."

"Come on, we've got to get you back. Berk has been sending out search parties for days trying to find you," he says, grasping my arms and pulling me to my feet. "We had people on night shifts, Hiccup even put on Toothless' self-flying tail so he could help scout around."

I choose not to respond, looking around and finally noticing that we're in the ruins of Hermaōr. Laying at the base of one of our stone statues is Nightstar. She lays on her side, eyes closed and limbs limp. I move away from Eret and walk to her side, where I kneel down and rest my hand against her flank.

My dragon snorts as her eyes open. I scoot back as she lifts her head, shaking it back and forth as she blinks rapidly. Her blue eyes meet my brown and I smile sadly.

"Nightstar?" I ask.

She makes a gurgling sound in her throat, but I can't help but feel a stab of disappointment when I can't hear her thoughts. Her ear-plates sag and she rolls onto her feet. We've got a mutual understanding, I can see.

"Ilia!" Eret hollers. He lifts his fingers to his lips and whistles. "ILIA!"

There's a rather large roar as Ilia's Shockjaw, Seaworth, comes into view. The large dragon swoops low to the ground, touching down and stamping his paws as some electrical shocks spark from near his mouth. Ilia slides off Seaworth's back, gasping at the sight of me.

"Thora! Oh honey, you're alive!" she exclaims.

Before I can protest, she scrambles forwards and engulfs me in a bone-crushing hug. I go rigid, despite being surprisingly happy to see her.

"Don't go disappearing like that!" she scolds, releasing me only to grab my shoulders and shake me rather roughly. "Everybody feared the worst, then Hiccup told just a small group of us about your deal—"

"I'm fine. I just really need to get home," I say as she finally stops shaking me. "It's been a long few days."

Ilia doesn't miss a beat. "Right, of course. Nightstar! Come get 'er!" she hollers.

Nightstar, surprisingly, obeys and gallops to my side. Ilia whistles to Seaworth and he too races to her side. Eret summons Skullcrusher in a similar manner. Once the three of us are mounted, we take off and head for Berk.

----------

I can hear the shouts before we even touch down. People on the ground are hollering and pointing up at me, racing around in different directions as they try to find whoever may need to know of my return.

As soon as we touch down, I dismount and scan the growing crowd for Hiccup, Destin, and Runa. Eret and Ilia climb off their respective dragons behind me, moving to my side.

"Mommy!"

I perk up, but it's not Runa or Destin that runs from the crowd. It's Loki, his light brown eyes almost teary and his shaggy black hair still tied back in a ponytail. Eret and Ilia grin and meet him halfway, both of them engulfing their son in their embrace. I smile lightly at the reunion, but my attention swiftly returns to my own family.

Wing beats sound from the sky before Toothless touches down, wearing his self-flying tail. He soars past me in a rush of air and tackles Nightstar to the ground in a flurry of Night Fury kisses. She purrs happily and returns the shows of affection. The four kids land behind them and tackle their parents, all of them clambering for attention from their mother.

My shoulders slump. Still no sign of—

"Thora!"

I straighten up. The sparse but growing crowd parts as Hiccup comes sprinting towards me, his face stricken with worry. He nearly trips over himself with every step, his metal "foot" slowing him down for once in his life.

"Hiccup..." I breathe.

In an instant, I too am running forwards. Within a few more seconds, I'm back in my husband's arms. He exhales shakily, holding me to his chest in such a way that I can hear the pounding of his heart.

"You had me worried sick! What happened? Are you alright?" he asks, pulling away only to start touching my arms, face, and hair. His touches are flighty and quick, never staying for very long.

I relax into his touch, taking hold of his wrist and keeping his hand against my cheek. His face softens, his eyes filling with even more relief. The sight of him, alive and healthy, is almost too much for me to bear all at once.

"How long was I gone?" I ask, my voice barely a whisper as I step closer to him, the top of my head reaching to just below his nose.

"A week! You just...disappeared! I...I thought that you..." He shakes his head as he hugs me again, pressing a shaky kiss to my forehead a second later. "Destin and Runa were so worried, and I don't even want to talk about Toothless and the kids—"

I lean up and press my lips to his, shutting him up effectively for a moment. Funny, I'm not usually one to be so forward in the presence of others, but hearing him talk, seeing him fret and stumble like the dork he is...it all reminds me of how much I love him.

I pull away, resting a finger on his lips. "I'll explain everything later, dragon's honour," I swear. When he's about to argue, I add, "I promise. Please don't argue right now."

"Hiccup! Is that Thora?" I hear Valka call out.

Hiccup turns around, facing his mother's voice as I perk up. Valka hurries towards us, Destin and Runa by her side. Destin is the first to notice me, his eyes widening and a grin breaking across his adorable face.

"MOM!" he screams, rushing towards me. Runa gasps and follows him, accidentally dropping her stuffed sheep.

I break away from Hiccup and run to them, my entire being bursting with adoration for my beautiful children. I reach them and pull them into my arms, my heart overwhelmed with love and happiness. I sink to my knees, kissing both their faces repeatedly and drinking in all I can of their young faces, the faces that didn't exist in that other world, that nightmare. I'm only faintly aware of Hiccup speaking to Valka and ushering the crowds away.

"You're alright? Nothing happened while I was gone?" I ask, looking between my son and daughter, touching their hair and faces lightly.

"Oh yeah, it was all good," Destin says, a cheesy smile on his face. "Not like I was worried about you. I was really brave and stuff..." He attempts to flex his arms and I laugh before kissing his forehead.

"I missed you, mommy," Runa whispers. "Daddy was so worried that he barely slept..."

I kiss my little golden-haired girl on the cheek, hugging them close again with both my arms. I shut my eyes, feeling so content I could cry. My babies, my kids, the ones I was stupid enough to forget about when I thought I wasn't important or that I shouldn't exist. I'm so foolish.

"THORA!" a chorus of voices exclaim.

I open my eyes, releasing my children and looking over my shoulder. Astrid, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout, and Fishlegs run towards me, Eret and Ilia trailing behind at a more leisurely pace.

Well, most of them are running. Ruffnut is pretty much waddling, Snotlout staying at her side and helping her support her baby bump. Even so, the sight of their well-fed, tidy, happy looking selves is almost too much to bear all at once.

Astrid throws her arms around me as soon as I get to my feet, nearly bowling me over with the forceful embrace.

"One week?! Night rides don't take one week!" she nearly shouts, releasing me and flicking my forehead. I wince, rubbing the spot.

"We looked for you everywhere!" Ruffnut and Tuffnut add.

"Don't ever do that again!" Snotlout demands.

"When Hiccup told us about your deal, we thought you might've been dead," Fishlegs admits. "Don't scare us like that..."

Ruffnut shoves past Astrid and hugs me, although her stomach makes that difficult. Even so, I pat her shoulders lightly as a weak form of comfort. Eret and Ilia join us, Eret's arm around her waist and her head on his shoulder. Hiccup and Valka stop conversing long enough to move back to the group.

"So, what exactly happened?" Valka asks, a slight smile on her face.

"Yeah! What happened?" Destin asks, his green eyes growing wide with wonder.

I don't answer right away, reaching up to touch the deadened gem of my necklace for a moment as I think over what I've gone through. I smile lightly.

"Well..." I start.