The Return of the Dragons

Part 59 Hero - Astrid POV

"May the Valkyries welcome you and lead you through Odin's great battlefield. May they sing your name with love and fury so that we might hear it rise from the depths of Valhalla. There do I see my father, my mother, and my brothers and my sisters. They bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla... where the brave shall live forever." croaks Hiccup as Gobber hands him a bow as he did when Stoick died. I sniffle and sob with my own bow and arrow in my hands as we bid our daughter farewell. There she lies out on Hiccup's finest ship prepared for her ocean burial. Our chief lights his arrow and raises his bow to shoot the flame at his daughter's grave. He releases the arrow and lets it fly out over the water. The ship catches aflame and this gives us the signal to fire also. twenty little flames fly toward my daughter and they all land upon the ship and the whole vessel bursts into flames.

Then Hiccup completely breaks down and nearly falls over. I step forward and catch him. He holds onto me and we cry in each other's arms. "Oh Astrid!" He sobs. "I'm so sorry!"

"Shhhhh." I say running my fingers through his auburn hair. "It's not your fault! Oh, it's not your fault babe!"

"But it is!" he cries. "I should have been there to sacrifice myself for her and for Toothless! I should have been there Astrid! But I wasn't! And now she's gone!

Toothless comes up to us and shoves his nose up under Hiccup's arm and grunts consolingly. "Thanks bud." Hiccup sniffles and put's his arm around his beloved friend.

I hear another sniffle. I look over and see Nuffink sitting off by himself. Hiccup sees it to and I watch curiously as despite his grieving state he gets up and goes over to our remaining offspring.

"You okay Nuff?' he asks gently running his hand up and down the boy's back.

Nuffink snuffles a little bit and then with a sudden outburst, throws himself into his father's chest and sobs violently. "I'm sorry Daddy! I wasn't brave enough, I wasn't strong enough and now Zephyr's gone!"

"Oh Nuffink! Hiccup sobs. "It's not your fault! And Nuffink, listen to me." and he gets in front of the sobbing boy. "Don't ever tell me you're not brave enough because you are! I have seen nothing but bravery since you got here. It was you wo faced your fears and brought the dragons, it was you who confronted Raiko, it was you who learned how to ride a dragon without help! Don't you dare tell me you're a coward because that is not my son and I am proud to call you my son!"

Tears are forming in my eyes. Even in this moment of deep sorrow there is a spark of hope! We have a hero for a son and he is still here with us!

But then, then I hear something I never expected to hear!