Will it be forever?

Chapter 23: The Boy

"I'm quite alright, thank you. May I ask what the two of you are doing out here?" I nodded towards the forge as I crossed my arms and watched Heather brush Henry's bangs away from his chubby face with a wistful smile.

Heather shrugged as another smile danced across her lips. "Well, someone here was feeling a little crazy this morning, so I though a little walk through the town would be good for him."

I narrowed my eyes at her for a split second before plastering on a false smile. "That sounds nice! What would you say to the the three of us going on a walk together later, as a family?"

Heather's eyes widened as she blinked rapidly in disbelief. "Wait, really?"

I let my thumb slide across Henry's soft, chubby cheek before looking up at Heather, my false smile still giving the illusion that I thoroughly believed her lies. "Of course! If we're going to be spending years upon years together as a family, I think it's in due time that we start really getting to know each other, right?"

"Yes, yes, definitely!" Heather beamed as she wrapped her arms tighter around the boy she balanced on her hip, which almost made me feel bad for acting like I gave a damn.

"Fantastic! I just have to go talk to Gobber for a minute, then I'll be right with you, okay?" I said in the most genuine tone I could muster at the moment, trying my best to suppress the anger I felt knowing that this woman had driven my wife away with her vicious lies.

Heather fluttered her eyelashes at me as she ran a hand over Henry's head. "Alright, we'll be waiting!"

I slipped into the forge, where I immediately found Gobber bent over one of his latest projects, a metal mask protecting his face from the sparks that shot from the glowing, red metal. I cleared my throat as I placed my hand on Gobber's shoulder, earning his attention without him accidentally launching a freshly made weapon right into my face.

"Chief Hiccup! You've come to help out in 'ere or what, lad?" Gobber asked as he threw away the mask and his other tools and turned towards me.

"Sorry, not today, Gobber," I threw a look over my shoulder to make sure that Heather wasn't listening in on our conversation. "I'm here to inform you of something very ... interesting I learned not too long ago."

I handed Gobber the roll as I began telling him all about it, the comparisons I had drawn between Henry and the boy that had been described in the letter and how fitting the timeline was to the situation we were in. It didn't take more than that to convince Gobber, who had already begun marching out to Heather before I even had the chance to finish.

"What are you doing, Gobber? Unhand me right this second!" Heather shrieked from outside the forge as Gobber apprehended her, his face a fiery red as I feared he would kill the poor girl for her actions. "Hiccup, some help, please?"

I stepped out of the forge and pulled myself together, putting on my sternest, meanest look as I gave Heather a cold look. "I'm sorry Heather, but you've officially been arrested for the kidnapping of a minor and you will be rightfully punished on Coast Island for your crimes."

"What? Hiccup, you can't —" I pulled up the scroll as I picked "Henry" up from where he had been sat on the ground. I waved the scroll in front of her.

"This is a scroll I, and many others have received, informing nearly the entire archipelago of a missing boy that perfectly matches the description of 'Henry', if that even is his name?"

Heather tore her gaze away from me as she looked to the ground. Gobber, who seemed to be tired of Heather in general, took a tight grip of her arm before hauling her in the direction of the docks, from where we would be sending both her and 'Henry' back to Coast Island so that she could receive her punishment, and Henry could be brought back to his rightful family.

Not too many hours later, many of the villagers had gathered at the docks to see the criminal shipped away and the young boy returned home. I exchanged a few words with the Berkian guards I had set to guard Heather until she was in Coast Guardian custody, before going back over to my friends to watch yet another problem leave Berk.

Tuffnut let out a sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Dang, I wish I had taken some notes from Heather while she was here, imagine how amazing the next Loki day could've been if she had taught the Thorston's her ways!"

"I couldn't have said it better myself, bro." Ruffnut nodded along to her brother as she patted his shoulder.

I knitted my brows tightly together as I watched the boat disappear on the horizon. "We can worry about Loki day another time, right now, our biggest concern is getting Astrid back."