Author's Note: Hello, hello, readers! I have returned with the newest installment of The First 21 Years of Grey Bergman. We are now seeing Grey at 9 years old, and she gets into a bit of trouble… Also, it's the Fall Festival on Haligan Island! My fellow RPers will know what I'm referencing, but in our sequel, there is a holiday known as the Fall Festival to celebrate the changing of the seasons.

Disclaimer: I only own Grey Bergman, her parents, and other secondary characters. I do NOT own anything related to the How To Train Your Dragon franchise.

Chapter 10—Age 9: Finding Grey (Fall 1033)

"Okay, now, we knead the dough like this," Ingrid said as she began kneading and moving the dough in the flour.

Nine-year-old Grey couldn't help but giggle as she joined her mother in kneading the dough with her. "This feels weird, Mommy," she said. "It's all sticky."

Ingrid chuckled at her daughter's comment. "Don't worry, little Grey," she said. "You just need to keep working through the dough."

"Why do you call me 'little,' Mommy?" Grey asked. "I'm 9 years old."

Ingrid chuckled yet again. "It doesn't matter how old you get," she said fondly, "or how big you get, you will always be my little Grey."

The little girl giggled as she and Ingrid continued to work the dough. "When's Daddy coming back?" Grey asked after a moment of silence.

Ingrid smiled fondly at Grey. "He should be back soon, my darling," she replied. The older her daughter got…the more inquisitive and curious she became, and that was what made Sven and Ingrid proud of her but also somewhat worried, which was normal as they were told. Grey was their only child, and Ingrid and her husband didn't want anything to happen to her. She had trouble keeping a baby before Grey was finally born, and Grey was a miracle to them, especially after she survived the awful disease at only three years old. They promised themselves and each other that their daughter would always be safe. However, Ingrid pushed those thoughts to the side for now. Grey was there in the Great Hall with her…perfectly safe.

"Mommy, why don't you go hunting like Daddy?" Grey asked as they continued to knead the dough.

The healer smiled. "Well, because I don't know how," she replied. She thought about all the times Sven had tried to teach her how to hunt when they were younger, but she ultimately decided on hunting. "And I like helping our people more than hunting," she added.

"Do you think I could do both?" Grey asked innocently. "I mean…I want to be a warrior like Daddy, but I also want to heal like you." The 9-year-old loved the idea of fighting with swords like her father…the second-in-command to the Chief, but…she also loved the idea of helping the villagers…the warriors who would fight for their home.

"My little Grey, you can be whatever it is you want to be," Ingrid said. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but she was worried when Sven and Hroar agreed that Grey would be named as Hroar's successor as Chief that Grey would not show interest in becoming Chief. However, so far, she had expressed interest that would suit the qualities of a Chief, and that made Ingrid and Sven overjoyed.

"Thanks, Mommy," Grey replied smiling.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Ingrid said. "Now, what do you say we put this dough over the fire?"

"Okay," Grey replied.

Mother and daughter placed the bread dough over the fire, and Grey stayed a safe distance away from the fire and watched the dough rise slowly but surely. Sure enough, the doors of the Great Hall opened as Sven walked in with Hroar, the teens, and a few other soldiers carrying the catch of the day.

"Daddy!" Grey shouted as she ran to Sven, who picked her up hugging her tightly.

"There's my little Valkyrie!" Sven said laughing.

"Come and see," Grey said as Sven put her back down. "Mommy and I made some bread for the party!"

"Oh, did you now?" Sven said as father and daughter walked over to Ingrid, who embraced him and kissed him on the cheek.

"How was the hunt?" Ingrid asked.

"Terrific," Sven said with a smile. "Hroar the Young and the others did a fantastic job. They are on their way to becoming great hunters."

Grey couldn't help but smile listening to her parents talk about the hunt the adults went on with her father and the Chief, and she felt so proud of her friends. They had been training and preparing for this day for so long as she could remember, and it motivated her more and more to do the same. She looked over and saw the group skinning the game for what would be their meal later during the festival. She used to follow Hroar and his group around when they were just teenagers, but as she got older…so did they, which led to them taking on jobs and performing more duties to the village. It wasn't that they didn't want her to; it was just that there was not as much time to do so, which made being practically the only child in the village harder.

"Why don't you go over and say hi, Grey?" Sven suggested jolting Grey out of her thoughts. "I know they would love to see you."

The 9-year-old looked up to her parents only to see their encouraging smiles, and then she looked back at the young adults before turning back to Sven and Ingrid smiling and nodding. "Okay, I'll be right back," she said before darting through the crowd to the opposite of the Great Hall. Each one of the villagers said their hellos to her, to which she happily replied. However, she kept her sights focused on her friends. "Hey, guys!" she shouted cheerfully as soon as she saw them standing at a table.

Hroar the Young turned around only to see a certain 9-year-old running toward them, and a huge smile splashed upon his face. He quickly knelt down and caught Grey in a hug. "Hey, Grey!" he said cheerfully. "How are you, kid?"

"I'm great!" the young girl said excitedly. "You should see the bread my mommy and I made together! And my daddy said that you guys had a great hunt today!"

Hroar the Young laughed at Grey's energy. "We sure did," he said. "We're definitely going to eat well tonight, especially with the bread you and your mom made."

Grey looked past Hroar only to see the Chief helping a few of the villagers move the game back to the kitchen, where it was to be prepared for the feast. She could only imagine what it was like to bring down such a huge animal to be eaten by a whole village. She had always wanted to be a part of it, but everyone had been telling her that she was too young.

"I wish I could go hunting like you and Dad," Grey said after a moment of silence. "I want to take on huge animals and bring them back for a feast."

Hroar chuckled. "I know, kid," he said gently nudging her shoulder, "but I promise, as soon as you're old enough, we'll all take you on a hunting trip."

Grey's smile widened at the thought of Hroar, Magnus, and the rest of the teens helping her father teach her how to hunt and taking her on trips. "How long would that be?" Grey asked eagerly.

"Probably, when you're our age, kiddo," Magnus said walking up to Hroar and Grey.

Grey's face fell before she pouted and crossed her arms. "But…that's so far away," she said looking down at her feet. Suddenly, an idea came to her. "I know! I'll go ask my mommy and daddy! They'll let me go if I ask them! I'll be right back." She just missed the teens trying to tell her that that wasn't a good idea, but before they could, she had disappeared back into the crowd to go back to Sven and Ingrid.

It didn't take Grey long to find her parents exactly where she left them, and sure enough, they were talking to Chief Hroar. Surely, her parents would let her try hunting today, especially after the teens had a chance to try it out. A smile widened on her face as the young girl walked up to them.

"Hey, Mommy, Daddy, Chief Hroar!" Grey said happily alerting all three adults to her presence.

"What is it, little Valkyrie?" Sven said as he wrapped an arm around his young daughter.

"Can one of you teach me how to hunt?" Grey asked excitedly.

Both Ingrid and Sven's faces fell as the Chief bit his lip observing the scene between his dear friends and their young daughter.

"H-Hunting?" Sven asked. Why was little Grey suddenly interested in hunting?

"Yeah, Hroar the Young and Magnus were just telling me about it," Grey replied, "and I really, really want to try! Can I? Can I? Please, Daddy! Please teach me! We can go right now!"

Sven chuckled and shook his head at Ingrid before turning to Grey placing a hand on her shoulder. "Little Valkyrie," he began, "I understand you want to hurt, but you are too young. You're only 9 years old, and Hroar the Young and the others are much older than you. You're going to have to wait, I'm sorry."

Both parents felt their hearts break at the sight of the utter disappointment on their daughter's face. "But…but…I want to learn now," she said. "Why can't you teach me now? I could do it, Daddy!"

"Grey," Ingrid said sternly, "listen to your father. You are far too young to learn how to hunt right now. You will learn when you're older."

"But, Mommy—"

"Grey!" Sven said slightly more firm. "You are making a scene. Stop it."

"No!" Grey said stomping her foot.

"Grey Hertha Bergman," Ingrid said sternly, "if you do not stop this nonsense, you will be sent home with no party."

"That's not fair!" Grey shouted. "I'm not a baby! I—"

"Grey!" Sven suddenly shouted making Grey freeze as her glare dropped from her face. "That's enough! You are to march home and go straight to your room now!"

"But—"

"No, you embarrass your mother and me and did not accept our answer. Go home to your room, now!"

Tears formed in Grey's eyes as she glared at her parents before she turned…and made her way out of the Great Hall not paying attention to the questioning looks some of the villagers were giving her.

As soon as the doors closed, Ingrid and Sven visibly deflated. The healer pinched the bridge of her nose trying to stop the headache coming on, and the Chief's general sat down in a nearby chair placing his face in his hands.

"You both did the right thing," Hroar said. "She'll cool off and understand. She's a smart child."

Sven sighed as he ran a hand down his face. "I hope so, Hroar," he said. This was not new. As Grey continued to grow older, like any other child, she tended to act out from time to time, and usually, they would end up with an argument and Grey being sent to her room. However, after some time, Sven and Ingrid would talk to her, and things would get better with apologies, hugs, and kisses, but that still didn't make these moments any easier. The hurt was always the same, but their daughter needed to learn to respect her parents and to understand that they knew what was best for her.

Grey sobbed into her pillow as she kicked her legs on her bed. She couldn't believe how unfair Sven and Ingrid were being. All she wanted was to learn how to hunt like the teenagers. Why couldn't they see that she wasn't a baby anymore? She was nine years old! Why wasn't she considered old enough to learn how to do anything? There was a part of her that felt awful for yelling at them, but she pushed it down. It was mostly their fault for not listening!

"Stupid Mommy! Stupid Daddy!" she sobbed at the top of her lungs. She sat up and punched her pillow over and over as rage filled her body. "Stupid! Stupid!" She flopped back down on her face in her pillow as her sobs turned into sniffles and hiccups as she hugged herself. She could feel herself calming down and getting tired, but angry. "Stupid Mommy…stupid Daddy…they're mean…mean dragon…poopheads."

Her heart broke as she said that about her parents, but she shook it off with a glare. No, she shouldn't feel bad. She should be mad at them, right? Right! Then she sat up when an idea came to her. What if she proved herself to her parents? What if she went out into the woods and hunted something to bring it back to her parents?

"Maybe I have to show them that I'm not a baby anymore," she said aloud to herself with a small, determined smile on her face. "It will be a great surprise for Mommy and Daddy." She jumped out of bed and walked over to her window. The village appeared to be in the Great Hall…perfect! Nobody would see her! "I can probably sneak in and out before anyone notices."

The young child ran over to her bed and quickly stiffed a pillow under the blanket…just in case her parents decided to come back early. This way, they would think that she was sleeping in bed and not bother her. With that, she grabbed her wooden sword and ran downstairs. She slowly opened the front door, and she peeked her head out trying to see if anyone would see her.

"All clear," she said to herself. "All I have to do is find something to hunt and surprise Mommy and Daddy." Just the thought of the surprised looks on her parents' faces when they would see her dragging in a deer into the Great Hall thrilled her.

She slipped out of the front door closing it behind her, and with one last look around the village, she smirked to herself and ran through the somewhat empty village into the forest with her sword at her side.

The party seemed to commence around Sven and Ingrid, and they hated every minute of it as it was just another painful reminder that their young daughter wasn't there to enjoy it with them. Normally, every year ever since she was 5 years old, Grey would have the time of her life running around, dancing, and playing with the older children. Now, she wasn't. She was stuck at home all because she decided to act out and embarrass them. They briefly considered trying to stop her from leaving and bringing her back, but that was quickly pushed aside as they agreed that she needed to learn. Sven and Ingrid were her parents and knew what was best for her. If they agreed that she was too young to train and hunt, she needed to accept that, but that didn't stop the pang in their hearts when they saw the empty chair in between them. It hurt even more when the barmaids passed out the plates of food.

"Here is Grey's food," the barmaid said, "if she's hungry."

"Thank you," Sven said quickly. It had been about an hour since Grey was sent home.

"Maybe we should bring it to her," Ingrid suggested. "She's probably hungry by now. We don't have to let her come back…just talk to her and make sure she eats."

Sven sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew his wife was right. Grey was home alone probably hungry and clearly not able to prepare food for herself. He leaned over and kissed his wife on the lips. "You're right," he said. "You stay and enjoy yourself. I'll bring her food and talk to her."

Ingrid smiled and nodded as she watched her husband pick up Grey's plate and leave the Great Hall.

It didn't take Sven long to get back to their house, and he quietly entered the house so as to not startle his little girl. He slowly crept up the stairs to Grey's bedroom, and sure enough, he saw a lump on the bed hidden under the blanket. Sven sighed as he continued to walk up to the bed.

"Little Valkyrie," Sven whispered to the lump, "I brought you some food…in case you were hungry."

There was no answer from the lump on the bed, which only made Sven sigh. Grey was obviously still angry at him and Ingrid, which was somewhat expected, but perhaps, he could talk to his child and bring her back to the festival. He set the plate on the floor by her bed and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Grey, sweetheart," Sven said gently, "can you come out from under there? Daddy wants to talk to you. Mommy and I love you so much, but you have to understand. It's because we love you that we want what's best for you and that we don't want you doing certain things yet. Training and hunting…it all takes time, and it's best to do those things when you're older."

Again…there was no answer…or movement. This made Sven furrow his eyebrows together. Usually, Grey would slowly emerge from her hiding place, or there would be some type of movement. Something didn't seem right…at all.

"Grey?" Sven tried again gently placing a hand on her back. "Little Valkyrie?"

There was no answer again, so Sven furrowed his eyebrows together even more. The second-in-command slowly pulled the blanket away…only to find a pillow on his daughter's bed. He gasped at the sight. He looked around the room for any signs that Grey was by chance trying to play a prank on him, but it was empty and quiet.

"Grey?" Sven asked aloud.

No answer.

Sven got down on his knees and looked under the bed only to find no one under the bed. "Grey, are you under there?" he asked. He looked up and around the room again. He looked in her toy chest and behind her chest of drawers, but there was no sign of his daughters anywhere. The man's heart began to pound in his chest as he ran downstairs to his and Ingrid's bedroom and opened the door only to find it completely dark. "Grey, little Valkyrie! Where are you?" Sven exclaimed.

All his shouts for his daughters were left unanswered. It was official. Grey was gone! His baby girl was gone, and judging by the state of the house, she must've run away. In his panic, he quickly ran out of the house not even bothering to close the front door of the house and made his way back to the Great Hall.

"Ingrid!" Sven shouted as he burst into the Great Hall and ran over to his wife.

He saw the healer look over at him with a small smile only to turn into concern…when she saw how panicked he looked…and when she didn't see their daughter with him.

"Sven, what—?" she asked as she slowly stood up with her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and concern.

"Grey's missing!" Sven replied grabbing her lightly by the shoulders.

"What?" Ingrid asked quickly. "What do you mean she's missing?"

"I went back home to give her the food and talk to her," Sven said in a panicked voice, "and I went into her room and she wasn't there. She was nowhere in the house."

"Where could she have gone?!" Ingrid asked.

"Sven, Ingrid, what is it?" Chief Hroar said walking up to his two friends.

"It's Grey, Hroar," Sven replied quickly. "She's missing. I went to our house to give her food, but she wasn't there. She must've been there for a while because I found a pillow under her blanket, but now he's gone."

"Oh my gods," Ingrid breathed as her heart began to pound, The very thought of her baby girl…her little Grey out there somewhere, and the last thing that happened between them was an argument.

"Alright, alright, let's not panic," Hroar said despite his very own panic increasing inside him. Grey was always like a niece to him, and the idea of that little girl disappearing was troubling. "She's a 9-year-old child, and this is a small village on an island. She couldn't have gotten far. Come, let's go outside, and we can talk more there. I can even get my dragons out."

Grey looked all around her marveling at the dense forest. She had rarely been in the forest outside of Haligan Island Village…aside from the times her parents took her on a picnic, but the village was always within sight. However, now, Grey continued to wander farther and farther from the village. She wanted to prove herself, and to do that, she needed to go deeper into the forest. It seemed to go on forever, and…the trees…everything seemed so much bigger without her parents. While it scared her a little, she was even more determined to prove herself to everyone, so she held her wooden sword tight in her hand.

"Okay, now, I just got to find a deer or some kind of animal to hunt and to bring back to Mommy and Daddy," she whispered to herself. "I'm a warrior…a hunter, and I can do anything I want. I'm strong, and I'm brave."

As soon as she said that, a brisk wind blew through the trees causing her to shiver from the chill.

"Wow…sure is cold tonight," Grey said as she continued to press on. "I wish I had a cloak or something."

She looked up at the sky and could see that the sun was setting. Soon, it was going to be dark, and she silently prayed that she found something. She refused to give up though. Grey was going to do whatever it took to find her first kill.

Hroar, Ingrid, and Sven met up in the plaza, and neither one of them had smiles on their faces or a certain little girl with brown hair and eyes. They had left the festival to search for Grey in the village. Each of the three adults split up to cover a certain area and asked around. The soldiers by the docks informed Hroar that they did not see Grey by the docks, which meant that she definitely did not leave the island. Neither did any ships leave port. Sven and Ingrid each checked the village, but there was no sign of their daughter.

"She's nowhere in the village," Ingrid said shakily with tears in her eyes as she gripped Sven's arms. "There's no sign of her. Practically everyone was in the Great Hall. They wouldn't have seen anything."

"There were no reports of Grey or boats leaving the island," Hroar quickly interjected, "which means that she's still here somewhere."

"Well, she wasn't in the arena," Sven said thinking back on the places he looked. "What about the watchtowers?" He was trying his hardest to remain calm for Ingrid, but it was getting harder and harder to do just that.

"I asked," Hroar replied. "No sign of her."

"Then, that leaves…" The Chief's second-in-command turned to the dense forest behind the village.

It didn't take either of the adults to figure out why Grey would wander into the forest…based on the last conversation they had with her.

"Oh my gods…Sven…she's going to hurt herself…or worse," Ingrid said with panic ringing in her voice.

"Alright, alright, let's not panic, my dear," Sven said as he placed both hands on Ingrid's cheeks. "She's a small child. She couldn't have gotten too far."

"Yes, but the forest is huge with animals…and dragons," Ingrid retorted. "She doesn't know how to defend herself yet."

"Which is why we have to act now if we want to prevent that from happening," Hroar quickly said holding his hands up to once again calm Sven and Ingrid down. "Sven, grab something of Grey's. The dragons can use it to track her scent in the forest. Ingrid, you and I will grab young Hroar and his friends to help the search. The more ground we cover the better."

Grey immediately ducked behind a tree as soon as she spotted two deer near the river that rushed through the island. They had their backs to her, so there was no way they would see her coming for them. The little girl smirked to herself as she readied her wooden sword. She didn't have any weapons…real weapons…like swords or bows and arrows, but she was going to have to make with do. Weren't warriors and hunters supposed to improvise? She could've sworn she heard her father saying that to her mother once.

"The mighty hunter has cornered her prey," she whispered to herself with a smirk. She slowly tiptoed to get closer, and then, she let out a battle cry as she leapt forward. Unfortunately, this alerted the deer, and they quickly jumped across the river causing Grey to fall to the ground. "OW!" She groaned in frustration as she propped herself up on her elbows. She looked down only to see small scrapes on her knees. "Stupid deer…you're lucky you're cute." The young girl stood up and dusted herself off before grabbing her sword again glaring at the direction the deer went. "I can't give up. I have to prove myself. I'm a warrior, and I'm not a baby anymore."

She looked up and saw that the sun was setting still and that the sky was growing darker. Nervousness began to set in as she turned around. She could barely see the village through the foliage. She was getting too far from the village…too far from the safety of her home…her parents. Guilt tugged away at her heart again as she thought about how her parents would probably find the pillow under the blanket. Although, she hoped that they would just assume that she was sleeping, and with that thought, determination came back as she looked at where the deer took off across the river. With that, she moved to the edge of the river and jumped in swimming across fighting the current until she grabbed a nearby rock and used it to climb on the other side. Her clothes were soaking wet, but she didn't care…until another gust of wind came through the trees causing her to shiver.

"Okay…maybe swimming…w-wasn't the best idea," she said to herself as she kept going. "The sooner I find the deer, the sooner I can go home."

Hroar and his friends didn't hesitate for a minute to join in on the search for Grey. In fact, a few more villagers, who heard about the young girl's appearance, didn't hesitate to join as well, which relieved Sven and Ingrid immensely. The more people helping, the more ground they could cover in the large forest. As soon as preparations were made, they all set off into the forest in search of Grey. The dragons flew overhead with Grey's scent in hopes they could spot her from the air.

"Grey! Grey, where are you?" Ingrid shouted as she and Sven walked through the forest as Sven used a torch to light the way.

"Grey! Little Valkyrie, please, come out!" Sven shouted into the darkness using the torch to light any area of the forest. "Little Valkyrie!"

There was no answer again, which only increased both parents' fear and anxiety.

"Grey, please, say something! You're not in trouble, sweetheart!" Ingrid shouted with even more panic in her voice. "We just want you to come home!"

Sven groaned in frustration as tears formed in his eyes. "Why didn't I go back sooner?" he asked aloud. "I would've seen her leaving and—" He stopped when Ingrid gently placed a hand on his shoulder making him turn to her, and he could see tears in her eyes as well.

"We'll find her," she said.

Sven took her hand into his and gently kissed it before they turned their sights back to the forest ahead resuming their search for their daughter and shouting his name.

Grey was now lost…hopelessly lost. She wandered through the dark forest in search of the deer and couldn't find any sign of them or any other animal that she could hunt. She was thinking about turning back to cross the river, but could she? Did her parents even notice that she was gone? Were they still angry with her? Would they be ashamed of her? More ashamed of her? The guilt increased tenfold as she thought about how she yelled at her parents all because she wanted to go hunting. Why didn't she just listen? Now, she was cold, alone, hungry, and frustrated. Another gust of wind blew through the forest yet again causing her to shiver and to sneeze.

"Oh, great…" Grey said to herself as she stood up against a tree and slid down to the ground hugging her knees to her chest. "This stinks…" She sniffled as tears formed in her eyes both out of frustration and sadness. "I wish Mommy and Daddy were here."

"Grey…"

"Grey…where are you?"

The little girl perked at the two voices in the distance, and she furrowed her eyebrows together as she strained her ears for the voices.

"Grey! Little Valkyrie!"

"Grey, where are you sweetheart?"

"Mommy?" Grey asked in a whisper. "Daddy?"

"Grey! Grey! Little Valkyrie!"

A small smile made its way onto Grey's face as she recognized her father's voice. She couldn't believe it! Her parents were actually looking for her, and she wanted so desperately to go home and to be with them. At that moment, she didn't care if she was in trouble for running away. She just wanted to go home. With that, she stood up and looked around for any signs of Sven and Ingrid.

"Mommy! Daddy!" she shouted. "I'm here!"

"Grey!"

"Little Grey!"

She smiled even wider! Her parents sounded like they were close by. "Mommy, Daddy!" she shouted again as she ran back where she came from toward her parents' voices. No matter what, the voices of Sven and Ingrid always brought her comfort, even now. She always loved the sounds of her mother and father. "I'm here, I'm here!"

The little girl ran as fast as she could following the voices, and soon enough, as she ran back the way she came, she heard the sound of the river rushing by and saw a light of a flame—a torch across the river.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Grey shouted as she laid her big brown eyes on two very familiar figures. "I'm here!" As soon as she saw them, all the anger and sadness were forgotten, and she didn't care that she was grounded and told to leave the festival. She felt horrible for how she acted, but that was overshadowed by the happiness she felt at seeing her mother and father.

She saw the figures perk as they saw her running toward them, and huge smiles splashed onto their faces.

"Grey! Oh, my little Grey!" Ingrid shouted with joy.

"Little Valkyrie!" Sven added.

Without thinking much of it, Grey jumped in the river and swam across as fast as she could before Sven practically yanked her out of the water and into his and Ingrid's arms. "Mommy! Daddy!" she shouted with glee.

"Oh, my little Grey!" Ingrid said with tears in her eyes as she planted kisses on Grey's head.

"Thank Gods, you're safe, little Valkyrie," Sven said through tears of his own kissing Grey on the head as well.

"Mommy, Daddy," Grey could only say as tears streamed down her face.

"Sweetheart, what happened to you?" Ingrid asked as she pulled back so that they could look at their daughter. "We were worried sick about you!"

"I'm sorry, Mommy," Grey said sniffling and shivering slightly. "I-I was so mad, and I…I just wanted to try to go hunting and show you that I'm not a baby anymore." She looked down. "But I got lost…and couldn't catch a deer." I didn't mean to worry you guys. Are you…are you still mad at me?"

"No, little Valkyrie, we're not mad at you," Sven quickly replied placing his fingers under his chin lifting up her face so that she was looking at him. "We love you so much. No matter what you say or do, you're always going to be our baby."

"That's right," Ingrid added.

"Really?" Grey asked.

"Absolutely," Sven replied. "You can do something so horrible, and we would still love you so much, little Valkyrie. We're not happy with what you did and how you acted, and we will most definitely talk about what happened later. But for now, we are just so glad that you're safe."

"I'm sorry again for running away, Daddy," Grey said wiping her tears away feeling the love and adoration her parents had for her…just as they always did and always would do. "I didn't mean to make you worry. I'll never do it again. I really do love you guys."

"We know, Grey," Ingrid said running a hand through her hair, "and we love you too so much."

Grey smiled as they pulled her into a group hug again feeling the safety, the warmth, and the love that always came with it.

Author's Note: Annnnnnnd that's a wrap, boys and girls! I hope you all enjoyed it! Up next, Grey is 10 YEARS OLD, and a certain dragon of hers makes her first official appearance in this series! Don't forget to leave a review! Thanks, guys! See you in the next chapter!