5I am sorry for the long wait, but I hope you enjoy this concluding chapter. I also hope you are okay with the Coronavirus mess going on.
As usual, I don't own How to Train Your Dragon. Please enjoy.
A Bad Meeting.
As she walked away from her son, Valka felt nothing but regret, not only for the manner she had used on Hiccup but also the fact she had left her baby boy alone for so long.
Granted, she had to admit she had made the mistake of making an assumption which had proven to be wrong, and it had made her appear foolish since she had never mustered the effort to see for herself who her son took after the most, her or Stoick.
Finding out her child had been treated so badly, it had ignited the anger only a mother could feel. But Valka knew she didn't deserve to be called a mother, especially since she had only been one to the dragons who had needed her and not the boy she had given birth to.
No.
Valka couldn't blame Hiccup for being unhappy to see her, and to discover that instead of coming back to Berk and giving him what he had needed the most, which was a parent who was willing to give him some effort since Stoick, being the thickheaded Viking he had always been, was more interested in being the father of the tribe rather than take care of Hiccup, she had been more interested in believing her own assumptions which had started out much more innocently so long ago. But she found his mood swings a bit too much, even if she could understand them.
Tribe RUNT! What in the name of Thor and Odin had she DONE?!
Vikings were a single-minded people. If one of their own was different, they were usually outcasted, treated badly compared to the others, and while Valka had never encountered someone like that during her own childhood on Berk, she knew perfectly well what would have happened to that runt in the long term. The very thought of her son being in that position…
Thor, it was no wonder Hiccup was bitter, and not only towards the Hairy Hooligans and to his own father, but Valka wished he would give her a chance even if she understood the reasons for being bitter towards her in turn. Oh, Valka knew Hiccup was angrier towards the tribe more than he was her, but she hoped he would get over his anger towards her and find it within himself to forgive her. He wouldn't forget from what she had worked out from his mood, but he might - she hoped - forgive her in time.
Still, she was already killing herself for what she had failed to do for her own son. Valka made her way back to the part of the Bewilderbeast's nest she had taken for herself, followed closely by Cloudjumper. She felt her dragon nuzzle her gently when he sensed her melancholic mood. She turned and smiled sadly at Cloudjumper, petting him on the snout and feeling the delicate scales on his face.
"I've blown it, haven't I, old friend?" Valka whispered sadly as she thought about the years she had stayed far from Hiccup and hadn't been there to wipe away the tears on his face while Stoick ignored his sorrow.
Cloudjumper crooned sadly, but he did his best to make her feel better by pressing his face close to her own and nuzzling her. Valka chuckled, but it was a sad chuckle as she was face to face with her own regrets.
In truth, she had done her best not to think of her son too much since she had believed he had taken more after Stoick than her and it had only made her stay away from him even easier. She was also unsurprised by his decision to leave and explore beyond the archipelago; now that he wasn't bound by the rules and the duties of the Vikings, Hiccup would likely have wanted to travel, to journey to the lands beyond that only the hardiest traveller ventured to if they were well supplied for the long journeys out.
Valka had done the same, and she grinned in remembrance as she remembered those years she'd spent away from the nest when she hadn't been fighting against Drago. She knew only too well the temptation she'd had to travel widely, to see the world the way the dragons did, and see if there was more to the world than the archipelago. Valka wasn't surprised in the least Hiccup had wanted to leave, he struck her as the curious type. A kindred spirit if ever there was one.
Valka wondered how much Hiccup had seen, but her son was too guarded and upset to really tell her anything about what he had done although she had been rendered horrified and speechless when she had discovered Hiccup had ended the war, and she dreaded to think about the battle she knew he must have gone through in order to win.
Valka was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't notice Toothless flying Hiccup silently inside, although Cloudjumper did. The elder dragon grunted for a moment before he took in the body language of the youngling dragon, and the child of his rider. Cloudjumper had lived for a very long time, and since he had managed to avoid the worst of the call of the Queen which he had heard much like every other dragon nearest to that particular nest, since he had focused on the presence of the King of the nest he lived in, and he could see that his rider's youngling had calmed down and had used the time to think.
A large part of Cloudjumper blamed himself for the conflict between Valka and Hiccup since he'd had the power to take her back to the island he had snatched her from. Over the years, Cloudjumper didn't know when Valka had somehow convinced herself her child would be just like all the Vikings in the village. Cloudjumper had never been convinced of that since he had personally played with the child, and he could see, even from that age, the child wasn't the type of person to kill dragons. Oh, Cloudjumper was aware he could be wrong, especially since the boy at the time had been young, and unlike many of the other Viking children, he hadn't grown up with that insane instinct to kill dragons without a thought in his mind, no matter what he had talked himself into.
While he had questioned Valka's logic, Cloudjumper had not taken action when he could have done because he had sensed she didn't want to return, and over the years he had occasionally asked himself if he could have done more. It was too late now, but Cloudjumper knew the presence of her son had shaken Valka to the core. He subtly moved back, letting the younglings come deeper inside.
Hiccup, meanwhile, was watching his mother although he was more than aware of the presence of the large dragon. If there was one thing he loved about his life as a nomad, it was the prospect of encountering dragons he had heard of but had never seen before thanks to his ground-bound life on Berk.
But this Stormcutter….
Hiccup could tell thanks to his body language the large dragon was regretting not taking Valka anywhere near Berk.
He let out a soft breath. "Are you alright?" Hiccup asked, watching as his mother jumped and clutched her chest. He hadn't realised she had been so lost in thought.
Although she was annoyed he had sneaked up on her like that, Valka did her best to smile at her son. "Oh, I was just thinking…," she said.
"Oh, what about?" Hiccup asked, knowing that she had been thinking about him. She had been curious, upset, and hurt by what he had said and done, and while he felt somewhat ashamed of himself for throwing what was in his mind a tantrum, he needed her to see she had been wrong about him.
"About you, Hiccup," Valka whispered, looking down at her hands. "I was never there for you-."
"No, you weren't," Hiccup interrupted, not even trying to sugarcoat his words. "But at the same time….," he sighed and looked down at his hands. "I've had time to think, and while I can't be absolutely sure about what might have happened if you had come back, or if you had never been taken, I do know this; If you hadn't been there, I would likely never have listened to what you'd been trying to tell the Berkians for years about dragons. I may have been swallowed up by that stupid, short-sighted Viking philosophy of murder."
Valka went silent as she mulled over what Hiccup had just said. A part of her was pleased indeed that her son had inherited her intelligence instead of his father's. While Valka still loved Stoick, thought about him with affection especially since he had been terribly embarrassed and frightened when he had been so nervous and terrified he had messed up during their wedding, which showed just how seriously he had taken it, she was not blind to his faults.
Stoick believed in the Viking way of thinking. No questions asked, and she knew no matter how hard he tried, Stoick would not be able to think outside of the box, nor would he see what she had seen from the off about the Hairy Hooligans. Stoick and his father were both dedicated to finding the nest, and they had always taken large numbers of Vikings with them on those wasteful voyages which always resulted in a terrible loss of life, and she had no doubt Stoick had been so determined to destroy the nest following Cloudjumper snatching her away in the middle of that terrible raid, he had gone further and press-ganged every able-bodied Viking he could find, including teenagers who weren't properly experienced enough to go on the voyages.
Thor, she only hoped and prayed he hadn't been stupid enough to take newly wedded couples or women who had just become pregnant. If he had then the future of the Hairy Hooligans was in doubt, since with so few of them to keep the tribe going, one day there was a chance the tribe would go extinct.
"Yeah, I hated my childhood. I hated being picked on because I was the smallest, the weakest of my year group," Hiccup went on, and Valka needed to mentally shake her head so she could pay attention to what her son was saying, "But at the same time, I had to accept it. I did this for years, mum. I had no idea my father was taking advantage of my poor reputation in the tribe to send people off to their deaths," Valka stiffened as she heard that, hearing the way Hiccup's voice had darkened for a moment before he resumed his usual tone, but it told Valka a great deal, "but when I found out, I was amazed by just how easily I realised the tribe had no place for me. I couldn't have discovered that for myself if you had been there."
Although she sensed he had no malice in what he'd just said, Valka couldn't help but wince at the reminder. It still rankled and hurt her very much her son had been an outcast, much like she had, although unlike her son she had been capable of lifting weapons and fighting although she preferred a different approach to things.
"I wouldn't have found Toothless," Hiccup patted the Night Fury on the snout, and the dragon snorted affectionately back at him. Valka chuckled when she saw for herself how strong their bond was. "And I wouldn't have ended the war."
Valka became surprised when all of a sudden her son seemed to become sheepish. She wondered what he had to say at this point, and she listened carefully, wondering what he had to say.
"Is that offer still open? I can stay here?" Hiccup asked, sounding almost plaintive as he asked his questions.
Valka gasped. She hadn't expected Hiccup would take her offer/plea seriously, especially once she had listened to his history. Indeed, she had thought he would just fly off on his own rather than wanting to spend any time here with her. "You want to stay…with me?"
"You doubted I wouldn't consider it?"
"No," she said quickly. "It's just I expected you to leave quickly, that's all."
She hadn't meant to say that, especially so bluntly but she hadn't been able to check her words in time.
"Well, let's just say, I had time to think it over," Hiccup said, with a shy lopsided smile on his face. "I was going to travel the world, see what was out there, but I've got plenty of time to do that. In any case, there's so much I can learn here, with you."
Valka's heart almost exploded out of her chest with pleasure at what Hiccup had just said. She leapt to her feet so fast, Hiccup jumped back and Toothless' wings spread out threateningly for a moment before he realised that she meant no harm. Sheepish herself since she knew she could very well have been injured or killed by the Night Fury, Valka gathered her son up and hugged him tightly.
Hiccup hugged her back.
