Extra long chapter! ( 2395 Words to be exact) Yay! Also, it is quite... how do I put this... sad/exciting/worring/happy/ecstatic/joy/loss/hopefullness/cuteness/wonder/curiousness/depressing/cliffhanger-y.
-Drago's pov-
"Outstanding..." I said as a fleet of forty ships sailed into my harbour, sixteen of the ships forming a support of a huge metal platform, which was in the middle, with tree-like bars to make it into a cage. Eret and Sawd were manning the fleet, 20 boats each, and standing proudly on the stern of their main boat, a smug smile on their faces. But, what I looked at more than anything was the huge dragon in the middle of the cage. It was much bigger than I imagined: the description which Sawd gave me before did it no justice. It is true the Bewilderbeast is the King, but this is the God of all dragons, and I owened it. It would do whatever I wanted.
All we had to do was train it - and make it realise that I was his master and that he should follow me. And then... then Berk won't know what hit them...
XxXxXxXxXxXx
A few hours after the safe arrival of my new secret weapon, Eret came to tall to me about Astrid.
"It's almost been 2 weeks - the venom we injected her with will begin to wear off. She needs to return today!" He told me.
"And what if she doesn't?" I asked in a gruff voice.
"Her memories will return." He said to me clearly.
"And what about her memories about us?" I asked, concerned that our plan will be destroyed by some petty girl and her dragon. She doesn't know about the alfa, but she does know about my hatred towards the Dragon Master and what use he will be to me.
"I am sorry to say that those memories won't go... she will remember everything she had heard and seen." He answered. I lunged forwards and lifted him up by his chin, squashing his cheeks and making him look at me.
"Then you better make sure she returns, or..." I said, leaving the threat hanging in the air. I realised my grip on him and he fell onto the wooden floor below me, coughing.
-Hiccup's pov-
I awoke from my unconsciousness with a groan and rubbed my forehead to try and get rid of my throbbing headache. I felt sweaty and hot and then I opened my eyes to find myself sitting against a rock wall in the cove, Toothless sleeping (like the lazy reptile he is) and soft purrs coming from him. I blinked the last traces of sleep from my eyes and stood to see a scene infront of me.
Astrid was tied to a tree, struggling and growling at a laughing Tuffnut and Ruffnut who were watching her struggling, laughing at every failed attempt to escape. Snotlout was gazing longingly in their direction and Fishlegs was reading a tattered brown book by the lake side.
"Why is she tied to a tree?" I asked Snotlout as I approached him. Without taking his eyes off the twins, he answered:
"Would it work?" He asked, mostly to himself.
"What?" I questioned him, unsure if I had heard him correctly.
"Would she say, yes?" He murmered again. I now realised his eyes were focused on Ruffnut who had doubled over in laughter, and his eyes hadn't moved off her the whole time.
"Yes to what?" I ask.
"Do you even think she knows I exist?" He continued.
"I hope so, you have been annoying her for 23 years! Although, I wouldn't put it past Ruff to ignore everyone..." I told him, "except her brother of course."
"Ahhhh!" Astrid screamed, pushing her full weight onto the thick and heavy ropes which bound her, which did nothing at all to the ropes. I heard a petrified scream behind me and then a splash - as Fishlegs's book fell into the calm water, sending ripples cascading over the clear surface.
"Astrid!" He screamed, "That was my favourite book..." He finished in a sad and quiet voice.
As he said this, Astrid stopped flailing her arms about and she closed her eyes, as if she was asleep. Ruff and Tuff stopped laughing and pretty soon everyone had crowded her, concerned for her health. Ruff lightly tapped her on the cheek, after about a minute of silence, but that only rocked her head to the side, so now she was facing the patch of grass between her and the group, however her eyes were still closed. Ruff hit her again, this time with a little more force, but still she didn't wake.
"Astrid?" I called as Tuff swatted her stomach lightly. Fishlegs had hurried to loosen the ropes holding her a little, and when he had done that he took out his wooden flask of water and tipped the contents down Astrid's throat, in hopes of reviving her.
Tuff punched her stomach this time, pushing Astrid against the tree before she fell forwards so only the ropes stopped her from hitting the ground.
"Astrid?" I called again. I walked forwards, and fearing the worst, I grabbed her wrist to check her pulse. The group held their breath - even the twins seemed to act like adults (A/N - I said the 'a' word). I changed my grip on her wrist to check again, maybe I was gripping too hard? Or too weak? Or maybe I wasn't in the right place? Even Toothless had woken up because of the change of atmosphere around him. I started to get frantic. I tried her neck.
"No..." I whispered, "No!" I shouted, as I could not find her pulse anywhere. I took a step back to veiw her abdomen, and I soon realised that that wasn't moving either. "Astrid!"
Even though I hadn't told the group anything, they knew what had happened - Astrid had no pulse. Astrid wasn't breathing. Astrid was dead.
"No! NO! Astrid! Wake up! ASTRID!" I shouted, cutting her free from her bonds with Inferno and she fell forwards right into my waiting arms. I flipped her over and put her on the ground so she was lying face up on her back. The gang had crowded around her, their faces so shocked that they stood their like statues not doing anything except watching. "ASTRID! PLEASE! Wake up! Listen to me! Get up! Breathe! ASTRID!" I screamed, thumping the ground with my fists and tearing up grass with them. Tears spilled from my eyes as I checked for her pulse once again, but she was gone... Astrid had gone... dead...
I fell into a weeping mess by her side, my legs drawn close to my chest as I hugged my knees like they were going to be chopped off in a minute. My heart felt as if it had been brutally ripped from my body and it felt as if my blood was gushing out by the barrel full, but not even that would hurt as much as loosing Astrid did. My mind was a mess; almost as if someone were stewing it and I felt as useless as a dead leaf. I tried to compose myself infront of the group, but whenever I thought of them, Astrid popped into my mind and I crumbled once again. Is this what she felt like when I left?
I opened my eyes a little, just to see a blurry image of Ruff and Tuff crying on eachother's shoulders; Snotlout who was trying to be brave, but failing and three tears trickled silenty down his cheeks; Fishlegs's eyes were red and puffy and his cheeks were stained with tears as he wasn't even trying to hold them in.
"Astrid..." I whispered, lifting my arm to move her hair from her eyes, "Please come back. I... I can't imagine a world without you in it... please, Astrid. Even if you hate me when you wake up, even if you don't know that your memories have gone, please just wake up. I need you Astrid, the gang needs you, Berk needs you, Stormfly needs you, so please, just come back." I finished. I lay my head in my arms and cried silently, the pain in my chest infecting the rest of me and spreading.
I heard a shuffling of footsteps beside me, and then a thud, thud, thud, and "Come on Astrid, come on." From Fishlegs, who I could only guess was trying to give her life again. We learnt that from Gothi at the age of 10, to push down on someone's chest to revive them as it helped a lot in battle, but I have never actually seen it being performed before, and I was glad that Fishlegs had remembered how to do it. I had certainly forgotten.
Then, everyone halted. No more tears were shed, and I lifted my head and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand before seeing what they were seeing. It was Astrid. Fishlegs was kneeling beside her, staring at her face, unbelieving what he saw. The twins's faces were wet, and their clothes as equally wet from tears, and they still held eachother as they looked at Astrid. Snotlout had wiped his three unwanted tears from his face and was acting like he had never been crying, but his eyes showed otherwise and he too was staring wide-eyes at Astrid.
Astrid was sitting up, her hands supporting her weight as she looked at the scene around her. She was alive! She was breathing! She was here!
"Astrid?" I croaked when nobody else said anything. She slowly turned her head to look at me, and when she did, a stone dropped in my stomach. Her eyes were so pale and faded that she looked like she had no idea what was going on.
"What?" She asked, her voice hoarse.
"Astrid, you're alive!" I stated.
"What? Who said that?" She asked, turning her head to look around her, however I was pretty sure that she couldn't see anything.
"I did, Astrid. It's me, Hiccup." I told her, the hopefullness falling from my voice.
"Hic-cup?" She questioned.
"Yeah, that's me." I told her. She seemed to have lost the hostality from before and she seemed distant, almost as if she wasn't taking in anything of what I was telling her. My eyes and cheeks had begun to dry and I stood up wobbily and walked closer to her; I could feel the curious and watchful eyes on my back as I knelt down beside her.
"Who are you?" She asked, "Where are you? Who am I? Where am I? What am I?"
"Slow down." I told her, my voice full of reassurance and friendliness, but hidden deep was the huge lump of despair and longing. "You are Astrid Hofferson and you are on and live in Berk."
"Berk? What's that?" She asked.
"You don't remember?" I asked she shook her head, "You don't remember anything?" Again, she shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Hiccup." Said Fishlegs from behind me.
"Nah, it's fine. She is alive and that is all that matters." I told him.
"But it's not fine." He told me. Deep down, I knew that too, but I had to be strong and positive, just like he told me.
"What should I remember?" She asked from behind me. I looked at Fishlegs, and he gave a reassuring nod towards me, then I turned to Astrid.
"Do you remember, when you first got Stormfly?" I told her.
"Who's Stormfly?" She asked, her eyes glazed with confusion and fear.
"Just listen, don't interrupt." I exclaimed, "Berk was under attack - fire everywhere. You went looking for dragons to rescue, and you found Bucket being attacked by a Nadder. You saved his life, then you stood up to the Nadder and you tamed the Nadder and named her Stormfly. You saved a man's life! And I have never seen a more perfect match between a dragon and a human than you and Stormfly. She is a beautiful sky-blue with gold-tipped spines and scales." I finished. She looked at me, her eyes filled with wonder and curiosity, so I continued. "Do you remember when we first discovered the dragon's nest? That was just after your first flight on Toothless and we became the first vikings to ever see the nest and to see the queen of the dragons. I will never forget that night, Astrid. It was a powerful night, but not just because we found the nest, but because that was when you first kissed me, right here," I said, poking my left cheek lightly in the exact spot she had kissed. "And do you remember the time when you found out who I truely was? We were in a cave and you were healing my wounds when I asked you a question which I can't remember. I remember that you answered something, then you told me that you had a crush on a boy before he was taken - that you loved me before I was taken and then-" I was cut off by Astrid's angel-like voice overlapping mine.
"You told me who you truely were." She answered, "I remember! I remember! I remember everything!" She cried, jumping to her feet and embracing me so tightly I felt like a lemon being squeezed. "I remember, everything..." she said calmly as her face fell. She had just remembered Stoick's words that night on the hill top and all those times she had tried to kidnap Hiccup and what the Hunters were planning - however she decided to keep it a secret so she wouldn't ruin the moment. You see, as well as getting her memories back, she kept the ones she had made while serving her time as a worker for the Hunters.
"Astrid!" Ruff howled as I felt a skinny pair of arms wrap around me and Astrid, then another and another and another, so in the end we were all embracing Astrid in our arms.
-3rd person pov-
Little did they know that Astrid hadn't remembered her memories because of what Hiccup was tellling her - she remembered them because 2 weeks was over and the potion injected into her veins was growing weaker. But, they got Astrid back, and non of them need to know the truth, right?
They also weren't aware of a pair of beady eyes which had watched the scene from the top of the cove wall, taking in every detail and realising now that Hiccup wasn't infact dead, and the beady-eyed person planned on going back to the village straight away.