章 22: Chapter 22: Trust is broken
 
The entire armada of Stoick was scattered on the sea shore. It was sheer luck that none of them had died in that conflict. After the failed invasion on the island and Night rider's threat, they were left with only one option. To leave the island. But there was one problem. During the battle, the Dragons had badly damaged all of the ships. After examining the damage it was concluded that the ships needed a lot of repairing before they could set sail. What made it worse is the fact that more than half of their men were badly injured. They weren't in critical condition, but weren't capable of doing any hard work either.
In the midst of all this, Stoick was sitting on a large rock. The events that had transpired some time ago had taken a toll on him. He just sat there, his shoulders slumped, not looking towards anywhere particular. He could still see his encounter with the Night rider, who turned out to be his supposed dead son. He could still see those green eyes staring right into his eyes. He could remember the burning hatred and anger behind those eyes.
"Stoick." The sudden call broke him out of the train of thoughts.
He looked up to see it was Gobber, who was looking at him with concern.
"Ya okay?" Gobber asked.
"Honestly Gobber….. I am not." Stoick admitted.
"Still sulkin' about getting beaten by tha' vigilante?"
"It's not that Gobber….." Stoick said "I saw his face. It was Hiccup."
"What!?" Gobber exclaimed.
"What do you mean Stoick! We all know the traitorous runt died 5 years ago! You really expect us to believe that!?" Spitlout exclaimed.
"Well, I caught a glimpse of Night rider's face too. And he kinda looks like Hiccup." A Viking suddenly said and some others also supported him, who claimed to have seen Night rider's face.
"But this doesn't make any sense. Hiccup died years ago. How can he be Night rider?" Spitlout protested.
"It is true Spitlout. Night rider is none other than Hiccup." Astrid suddenly said.
Stoick looked up to see Astrid and her friends approaching him.
"You knew?" Stoick asked.
"I did. I tried to tell you Stoick. All of us did. But you didn't listen and instead locked us up." Astrid said, with a hint of anger in her voice.
"That doesn't matter! He's a traitor!" A Viking suddenly exclaimed and Spitlout along with some others supported him.
"Hiccup isn't a traitor! He is the reason why there are less Dragon raids now! He killed the queen of the Dragons in Hellhiem's gate! He spent 5 years stopping Dragon human conflicts! He is not a traitor. If anything, he is a hero." Astrid proclaimed.
This made many of them go silent as they stared at the young shieldmaiden in front of them. Spitlout was going to say something, but Snotlout cut him off.
"What she is saying is true dad. We all have spent a long time with Hiccup. We have seen him trying his best to bring peace between Vikings and Dragons." Snotlout said.
"Can you believe this lad? Huh! Dragons are nothing but vicious mindless beasts!" Someone said,
They all turned to the source of the voice, who turned out to be none other than Mildew. Seeing the old man, some of the Vikings audibly groaned.
"Oh, great. Who let him on the boat?" Tuffnut groaned.
"If they were mindless beasts Mildew, then you wouldn't be alive to speak." Astrid said.
"Those Dragons have killed hundreds of us!"
"And we killed thousands of them!"
"It still doesn't matter. Making peace and befriending those filthy creatures isn't the Viking way."
"It might not be the Viking way, but it surely is the more effective way."
Stoick just listened to all this as many thoughts came into his mind. He liked the idea of going to sleep every night, not worrying about Dragons attacking them. But the solution wasn't something that he had in mind. Stoick always believed that the only way to have peace is by killing every Dragon in existence. The idea of making peace with Dragons and befriending them was against everything he had learnt to believe. It was the gravest treason. And yet the proof was in front of him. His supposed dead son, Hiccup had befriended the Dragons and according to Astrid, he has been trying to make peace between men and Dragons. Stoick contempted the idea.
"Astrid." Stoick called out.
Astrid looked at her chief and saw him looking at her with hope in his eyes.
"Is it truly possible to befriend Dragons and make peace?" Stoick asked.
"Yes chief." Astrid calmly replied.
"Stoick! You seriously can't think about this!" Mildew exclaimed.
"Quite Mildew! The last time I checked I was the chief." Stoick said as he got up on his feet, shutting up Mildew.
"Chief, I know it sounds unbelievable. But please, believe me. We can achieve peace this way. It's the best option, Stoick." Astrid said.
"Yes chief. Hiccup had taught us a lot about Dragons. Even taught us how to ride one." Fishlegs meekly said.
"What!?" Some of the Vikings asked in shock.
"Oh yeah. Dragon riding." Ruffnut grinned.
"The best thing you can ever experience!" Tuffnut said.
"Hiccup taught us how to tame and train a Dragon. He even got us our very own Dragons, with whom we all had bonded. Believe me chief. This is the way." Astrid said.
"Do ya think 'Iccup will do tha' for us, lass?" Gobber asked.
"Hiccup was ready to make peace with Berk. But I am not sure now. Stoick, you have injured Hiccup's Dragon. He really cares for the Nightfury and they share a brother-like bond. He is angry right now. But I think I might just be able to talk with him." Astrid said.
And then she proceeded to leave.
"Astrid, where are you going?" Ingrid asked.
"I need to go to Hiccup mom. I know he is hurting. And he needs me now." Astrid replied, concern lacing her voice. She then ran off.
(Sometime later)
Astrid was getting more and more worried as she searched for Hiccup. She first went to his house, but he wasn't there. She had checked every single place, where he could have been, but he wasn't at any of them. She ran towards the last place that came to her mind and when she stopped, she found herself on the cliffside where Hiccup and she would often hang out. She looked around for a while and finally found the person she was looking for. Hiccup was standing on the edge of the cliff, looking at the horizon. His back was facing her.
"Hiccup!" Astrid called out as she ran towards him.
Hiccup slightly twisted his head, indicating that he heard her.
"Hiccup. Thank Thor I found you. Are you okay?" Astrid said as she got close to him.
"You know Astrid, maybe I would have liked your concern, if the situation was different." Hiccup said without looking towards her.
"Hiccup, I know you are angry about that battle, but listen to me. I have talked with Stoick, he has agreed for pea-" Astrid managed to say before Hiccup cut her off.
"I am not talking about that, Astrid." Hiccup said.
"What? What are you talking about then?"
"You know, even with those Dragon hunting weapons it wouldn't be easy for Stoick to break through the defences around my island. And he couldn't have taken down the Dragons that easily….. unless someone told him about the defences around the island." Hiccup turned around to look at Astrid as he continued "Snotlout isn't smart enough to do the job, nor are the twins. And Fishlegs almost never leaves the house. So that leaves me with only one suspect. You."
Astrid felt her heart sink as Hiccup glared at her. She could easily see the hatred and betrayal in his eyes.
"So all of that we've been through, all those feelings, were they all lies?" Hiccup growled at her.
"No-No Hiccup. I do, I do love you…" Astrid tried to defend herself.
"THEN WHY DID YOU BETRAY ME!?" Hiccup yelled at her.
"I-I.." Astrid whimpered, but wasn't able to come up with an answer.
"You played with my heart, you broke my trust Astrid. Get out of here. Because the next time I see you, I will kill you." Hiccup coldly told her.
Hiccup then proceeded to leave but when he passed Astrid, she suddenly caught his arm. Hiccup stopped and looked at his hand and then looked at Astrid. She looked like she was on the verge of breaking down. He looked into her eyes and saw guilt and regret. She looked at him as if she was pleading for a second chance. But what Hiccup did was unexpected. He pulled his arm out of grasp with ferocity. Giving her one final glare, Hiccup walked away from there, not once turning to look at the girl he once loved.
Behind him, Astrid crumbled on the ground. Tears were freely falling from her eyes. She was utterly devastated at Hiccup's rejection.
"I am sorry Hiccup. I am sorry…." She mumbled as she sobbed.
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