Oh god guys, it's real. This is the last chapter.
See you at the bottom!

The king of Olissa did not take the news lightly, just as Princess Arleigh had anticipated. At first he thought it had been a very tasteless joke and that Hiccup just possessed a questionable sense of humour. In fact, he had told Hiccup off for joking about serious matters like this one, but when there had been no change in his expression, the realisation that the young king was telling the truth had begun to draw on him, and by the end it had looked like he would've given about anything for it to have been a joke.

Of course Hiccup had expected the king of Olissa to be angry – it wasn't everyday that such big deals were turned down, especially when Hiccup had shown no signs of disinterest towards the union in the past. The king of Olissa had made sure to mention that at least five times during their conversation that had been heated from his side and calm but nervous from Hiccup's side.

The king firmly believed that some other kingdom had made a far more valuable offer to Berk, and that was the reason why Hiccup had decided to retreat from the marriage. The king had also made sure to tell Hiccup that it was unheard of that a king put his heart before the needs of his kingdom, and hearing it said like that had made Hiccup doubt several times whether he had completely lost his mind.

It hadn't been easy to calm the king of Olissa down, and Hiccup was positive he hadn't exactly managed to calm him – he had just simply succeeded in making him give up his chant of 'what is it that the other kingdom has and we do not?'; 'twelve years of trust gone just like that!'; 'you are too young to make big decisions like this'; 'I advise you to turn to your most trusted advisor and consider what is best for your kingdom'; 'Olissa shall never forgive this to Berk'. Hiccup had given them the same offer he had suggested to Princess Arleigh; he would help them find another kingdom and Olissa could take land from Berk. In his rage, the king had refused the offer at first, saying he didn't want anything from Berk, and nothing Hiccup offered was good enough for him.

What finally made the king of Olissa accept his defeat was when Hiccup had told him that Berk would only be a burden to Olissa because they were lacking in supplies. After telling this to the king, Hiccup had cast a look in the direction where Gobber, who had been observing the scene before him with a horror-struck expression, was standing, only to see him look even paler and like he had seen a ghost. On Gobber's left side, however, there had stood Fishlegs who had perfectly contrasted the older advisor's emotions – Hiccup had never in his life seen Fishlegs look so happy about something.

So when the royal family of Olissa left, they had come to an agreement that Hiccup would send out letters to all of Berk's allies that he knew to have a prince without a princess, making sure he would talk about Olissa in the best possible light. Hiccup didn't think it was necessary – Olissa was rather popular on these lands, and its location was desired by many – but he had made a mental note to himself to go a bit overboard with the compliments in his letters. Land they didn't want because their kingdoms were located too far from one another for Olissa to benefit from it. However, Berk did have to give a fair share of its riches to Olissa, and meanwhile this damaged Berk greatly, Hiccup did think it was worth it if that avoided war. The lives of Berkians were way more valuable to him than gold.

It had been a week since the departure of the royal family of Olissa. Hiccup knew he couldn't postpone his visit to Briral much further, and it wasn't that he was avoiding it – there just were tons of things to do before he could leave. They had to finish the rewriting of the law before he could go, and when they were finally done, Hiccup had found out the answer to the question that had been nagging at him since Astrid had told him about her life in Briral; in Berk, the opinion of the queen or the princess didn't use to be as valued as that of the king or the prince, but it had still held some value, which meant that in the past Valka had been able to speak her mind freely. Although the law was better than he had dared to hope, he had still changed it, and now the massive law book of Berk clearly stated that the opinion of the king and the queen was to be valued equally.

Hiccup was going to leave Gobber in temporary charge, and he needed to organise everything in case he never returned from his trip. Every time he thought about the possibility of him dying, he realised just how stupid he was being, and how this was beyond the level of recklessness he had ever crossed. Gobber agreed with this wholeheartedly.

"You do realise what you're about to do?" he asked Hiccup as he walked behind him in the long corridor between the Throne Room and the entrance to the castle. "Why not order our herald to do it? Berk needs you more than it does him, and if things go badly in Briral, we would still have you."

"No, Gobber," Hiccup said, now descending the stairs that led to the courtyard. "I need to do this on my own. The king of Briral needs to see that I truly mean what I am going to tell him."

"And what is it that you're going to tell him?" Gobber asked. Hiccup couldn't see him, but he could hear the suspicious tone in his voice.

"I haven't entirely decided yet," Hiccup admitted. "I have a whole 12 hours to think about that."

They were heading towards the stables where Toothless was ready to leave. Hiccup had prepared everything in advance, and he would've already left if he hadn't forgotten his spare helmet in his chambers, which he then had to retrieve. He didn't want his face to get frostbitten. As he had walked back, he had encountered with Gobber that had tried to talk some sense into his head, but Hiccup was having none of that. Nothing could change his mind now, there was no way he was going to back away and let someone else do the work for him. If things went wrong in Briral, at least Berk would be in good hands.

Fishlegs was already waiting for Hiccup by the stables. He was standing next to Toothless and a guard that was laughing at something Fishlegs had probably just said. The cold air caused everyone's breath turn to clouds of steam and some stable workers were rubbing their hands together to keep them warm. The winter had been delayed this year, but when it kicked in, it really did kick in.

Fishlegs waved friendly to Hiccup who nodded his head as a greeting. The guard turned around and bowed down instantly as he saw his king.

"Everything should be ready, My Lord," he said importantly and motioned to Toothless with his hand.

"Thank you," Hiccup responded and put on his helmet. He had never worn it before so it had a strong, unfamiliar scent to it.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Gobber asked, though from the tone of his voice it was clear he already knew the answer.

"I have to," Hiccup said and walked next to Toothless. He adjusted his prosthetic leg so that he could fly with it and he placed his foot on the stirrup.

"Good luck," Fishlegs wished and took a couple steps backwards. "I'm sure it will go just fine."

Hiccup smiled at his friend. His optimism was a great change – everybody seemed to be only thinking about the worst outcomes, Hiccup himself included.

Gobber sighed loudly and shook his head. "I hope you're right about this. We will wait two days," he said, not elaborating further. There was no need for that – Hiccup, Fishlegs and Gobber had agreed that if they heard no word from Hiccup in two days, it meant that something had happened to him and a patrol would be sent to search for him.

Hiccup just simply nodded, not daring to say anything out loud as he wasn't sure he could trust his voice not to fail him. He didn't want people to know that this entire mission made him nervous. He had survived from worse things, but he had never before stepped in front of a bunch of people that wanted nothing more than to see him dead. Not knowing what to expect was what made him uneasy.

At least he had a chance to see Astrid again. Hopefully.

It had been so long since the last time he had had to fly all the way to Briral that he had forgotten how dull it was to fly for 12 hours nonstop. Hiccup had chosen to fly at night so he would be in Briral in the morning; if their king's schedule was anything like Stoick's used to be, he would most likely spend his morning away by doing paperwork, which would mean the king would be in the castle, which meant he would have time to have a conversation with Hiccup.

It felt strange to think about the king of Briral as if Hiccup knew him in person when in reality he didn't have the faintest clue how he spent his mornings.

He had made up his mind about two things. First, if he got the chance to speak with Briral's king, he would request peace. Ending the grudge between their kingdoms mattered the most. Then, secondly, if he succeeded in that, only then would he have the courage to play with fire and test his luck with marrying Astrid. The more he thought about it, the smaller his chances seemed; the king of Briral seemed just as stubborn as Stoick had been, and when Hiccup had told his father that there was a chance for their kingdoms to live in peace, he had found himself locked up in a cell. But how would he ever be able to find out what the outcome of his visit was going to be if he never did it?

When he got close to the borders of Briral, he held his breath and looked around himself. He didn't have to search for a Briralian for long as he could already see those guarding the borders. Had it been any other occasion, Hiccup would've disappeared into the sky with Toothless and tried to enter Briral without being noticed, but this time he needed to be seen and surrounded by those guards.

It wasn't hard to spot a black dragon in the bright morning sky, and soon Hiccup could hear the Briralians cry out something to the others, and they all focused their attention on the approaching duo. Hiccup assumed they didn't shoot because they didn't know who he was, and he didn't want to believe they wanted to kill somebody for no reason.

Toothless landed on the ground, his paws creating some crunchy sounds as they hit the snow. The guards recognised Hiccup the moment he was down, and in a heartbeat, he found himself surrounded by them and being pointed at by spreads and crossbows. Toothless growled at them threateningly, but stopped when Hiccup placed his hand on the dragon's head to calm him down.

"What are you doing here?" one of the guards demanded

"Why are you alone?" another continued.

One of them let out an exasperated sigh and looked at the guard next to him. "Are you an idiot? Of course he isn't alone, do you know who he is for crying out loud?"

"I am alone," Hiccup said, not sure if that was a wise thing to say. "And I've come in peace. I wish to speak with the king of Briral."

The guards stared. Some of them were gaping at him, the rest looked suspicious and like they didn't believe him.

"What is the matter you wish to speak with him about?" one of them asked, lowering his crossbow. Everybody followed his lead and lowered their weapons but Hiccup didn't think even for a second they weren't ready to shoot at him if he did something unexpected.

"I would prefer to keep that between your king and I, but I assure you it is a matter of great urgency," Hiccup stated, keeping any emotion away from his voice.

The guards cast looks between one another, and after what felt like forever they nodded reluctantly.

"It is the code of Briral to hear everyone out who wants to speak to the king, enemy or not," one of them with untamed beard said. It was obvious he didn't want to give in to Hiccup's will.

Hiccup couldn't stop the sharp intake of breath that he let out in mere surprise. That was it? He didn't have to convince them more? King Eirik had to hear him out?

The guards kept him and Toothless surrounded as they made their way through the snow towards the kingdom walls of Briral. They kept on glancing at Hiccup suspiciously, as though they were expecting him to suddenly fly away with his dragon.

One of the guards walked faster, and soon he broke into a run. Hiccup knew he was going to report his visit to the king of Briral who would then decide what to do with Hiccup's request.

There was no turning back now.

Walking inside Briral was like looking at Berk that was just differently arranged. Almost everything looked identical from the buildings to the people. Briralians stared at Hiccup, and he didn't know if it was because they didn't know him or because they knew him. He quickly scanned through the people that had gathered around to goggle at him, to see if he could spot Fairfax, but he soon realised it was no use – Fairfax had probably disguised himself so well that nobody could recognise him.

They came to a halt when they arrived at the courtyard. A guard told Hiccup to get off Toothless, and when he did as told, the Night Fury was instantly taken from him. Panic rose within him.

"What are you going to do to him?" he asked sharply.

"Nothing," someone answered but it didn't convince Hiccup at all.

Every inch of him wanted to go after Toothless, but he knew that his dragon would be able to defend himself and get away if they were planning to hurt him. The way they were handling him didn't look malicious, though that was probably due to the fact that Toothless made sure to keep everybody at a ten feet distance by growling and showing his teeth.

Someone cleared their throat next to Hiccup and he moved his head to the side.

"The king is waiting. You'd better not test his patience," the man said. Judging by his appearance he must've been a knight. His expression was very unfriendly and he was looking at Hiccup with slight disgust.

Hiccup allowed himself to have one more look at Toothless to ensure he was alright – he was – after which he closed his eyes, sighed and nodded and let the supposed knight and a couple guards from the border lead the way to wherever the king of Briral was at that moment.

He was in the Throne Room. Of course he was. When the doors were opened, Hiccup was met by the sight of the king of Briral sitting on his throne, wearing his massive crown. It was unusual for kings and princes to wear their crowns, but it was often done to show authority if an uninvited guest came to visit. That, added with the fact that the king hated Hiccup, was enough of a reason to wear it.

"Hiccup Haddock," he said in a sneering tone. He seemed quite amused to see his enemy standing there.

The king of Briral looked oldened by the many years of constant war, his tired expression got hidden behind the crown and fancy clothing he was wearing, but the closer Hiccup walked, the clearer it was that he must've been older than Stoick was.

"Your Highness," Hiccup responded and bowed down slightly.

The action earned a laugh from King Eirik. "Why so humble? There's no need for such pretence, we both know you don't mean that."

Hiccup opened his mouth, but his thought was cut off when the doors to the Throne Room were opened again and a familiar voice sounded behind him.

"Father, you received a let–" Astrid said, but her speech was short-lived and the sound of her footsteps died out.

Hiccup turned his head slightly to see her bewildered face as she stared at him mouth open. She was holding a letter in her hand. He felt a rush of warmth wash through him. It had been nearly two weeks since they last saw each other, and there had been no way for them to let each other know they were safe, so seeing her stand there in her dark green dress gave Hiccup's heart new strength and he suddenly felt readier to do this.

"Ah, Astrid, come here," Eirik chirped happily. Hiccup couldn't for the life of him figure out why he was being so happy.

Without breaking the eye contact Astrid walked past Hiccup, and she situated herself next to the throne. There were millions of questions in Astrid's eyes as she stood there and bored her eyes into Hiccup's head. Hiccup tried his best to pay more attention to the king than his daughter, but he couldn't help stealing quick glances every once in a while. He had never seen her in a dress and with her hair open, neither had he ever seen such a look of terror and confusion on her face. She was trying to figure out why Hiccup was standing there and if something had happened.

"Astrid, this is Hiccup Haddock the Third," the king of Briral stated and turned to look at his daughter. He slowly moved his head towards Hiccup again and continued: "I have never heard of a 20-year-old king. You must be terrified."

If Astrid didn't look confused a moment ago, she did now. The look she gave him was enough to tell Hiccup that her father had kept the news about Stoick's passing completely to himself. They exchanged a look, and the princess' confusion turned to sadness.

After the couple seconds that passed Hiccup turned his attention back to the king of Briral. "It is a lot to take in, Sir."

The king laughed. "With Berk being so weak, I am expecting to defeat you in no time. I mean, you must give me credit for letting you have time for mourning, but now that I see you standing on both your feet, I think I will make another generous gesture and let you know I am preparing your kingdom's doom."

"That might not be necessary," Hiccup said, hoping that the nervousness that was building up inside him wasn't too audible in his voice.

"Have you come to give in?" Eirik asked, evidently not sure whether to be amused or stunned by Hiccup's response.

"That's one way to put it," he said without breaking their eye contact. He could still feel Astrid's eyes on him, but he didn't dare to look at her. "I have come to make peace between our kingdoms."

King Eirik laughed once again. "You're joking."

"No, I am not, Sir. The grudge has gone on for long enough, and I don't wish to shed the blood of my or your people in vain anymore. As the king of Berk, I want to ensure that those living in my kingdom are safe from unnecessary war. I don't plan to attack Briral ever again, and I hope you are willing to return the favour."

The way Eirik was looking at Hiccup reminded him of the way the king of Olissa had looked at him when he had broken the news he wasn't marrying Princess Arleigh. There was the doubting, unconvinced gleam in his eyes and his eyebrows were frowned in thought.

"How can I be sure that you're not lying and this isn't your attempt to make Briral defenceless?" he finally asked, the mocking tone all gone from his voice now. He seemed to be taking Hiccup seriously, and it would probably only need a couple pushes in the right direction for him to accept Hiccup's proposal for peace.

"I am risking my own kingdom being here. Doesn't that prove that I am being serious about this?" Hiccup counter-questioned.

King Eirik didn't say anything to that, but he leant against the armrest of his throne and rested his head on his fist, looking interestedly at the younger king in front of him.

Astrid moved from beside her father, and both kings turned their attention to her. She rushed to Hiccup's side, and then turned to look at Eirik who looked taken aback by her action.

"Please, Father," she pleaded. "You need to see reason. What is the point in holding a grudge if the other party has no interest in doing that? Think about Briralians," she continued. When the king didn't speak, she kept on going. "Do you remember my friend, Heather? The daughter of the royal blacksmith. She's seen how much war affects the lives of Briralians because she lives among them, and she has told me they are living in constant fear. Every day they wake up not knowing whether their homes are turned to dust later in the day. Is that something you can be proud of? Think about it, isn't this a great opportunity to show Briralians that we care about them?"

Hiccup's chest tightened by the second. He knew she wasn't supposed to stand up against the king of Briral, but she had just done that, and on top of that, she had sided with Hiccup. When he took a side glance at Astrid, he saw the slight fear on her face that came from the uncertainty of what was going to happen next, but she still looked determined.

Astrid's speech was followed by a long silence. King Eirik was dumbfounded – he clearly hadn't expected the conversation to take such a drastic turn in Hiccup's favour. Although he didn't speak, he was thinking hard, that much was obvious from his facial expression. Hiccup didn't understand what there was to think about, for the answer was crystal clear; agreeing to peace was the only option. The king of Briral would have to be out of his right mind if he wanted to keep on fighting.

"I will consider it," he said at last, his voice sounding hoarse. After that he pressed his head against his hand and he rested it there for a while, rubbing his forehead in deep thought.

During King Eirik's lingering inattentiveness, Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other. Making sure her father didn't notice, she subtly intertwined their fingers and she squeezed his hand. Their hands were hidden behind the large hem of Astrid's dress, so the small interaction went completely unnoticed by Eirik. There were guards standing by the door behind them, but either they didn't notice anything or they didn't care.

Hiccup knew what was to be done next. The conversation about peace had gone so well he was afraid he was stretching his luck a bit too far. But he couldn't back away now; he had never been this close to truly being with Astrid, and he had to try and damn the consequences. He wanted to let her know about his plans before he told about them to her father, so after making sure he had her full attention, he mouthed 'will you be my queen' to her.

At first she didn't get it. Hiccup had to repeat it slower, and for good measure he also pointed at her at 'you' and himself at 'me'. When it finally sunk in, Astrid's eyes widened in surprise, but in a heart beat she was eagerly nodding at him and there was an excited gleam in her eyes.

They both cast a look at King Eirik who was still looking like he was trying to get rid of a headache. They knew what to do.

Hiccup pulled his hand away from Astrid's as he cleared his throat. His heart was beating fast and he felt a bit dizzy in his head. When he spoke, he hoped he could maintain that same serenity he had going a moment ago: "I am delighted that you took my words seriously. However, there is also another matter I would like to bring up."

Eirik raised his head and gave the younger king a weary look. "What is it?" he asked with very little enthusiasm.

Hiccup took a deep breath, locked his eyes with King Eirik's. "I have come here to court your daughter and to tie a union between Berk and Briral."

"No," he said in the coldest voice Hiccup had ever heard. "Never."

"But I say yes," Astrid said firmly and took a couple steps forward.

King Eirik blinked. He looked at his daughter as though she had grown three more heads. The way she was speaking to him clearly wasn't something he had gotten used to. "He is an enemy," he stated like that should close the case.

"He is your enemy, not mine, never has been and never will be one," she responded sharply.

He shook his head in disbelief. "Where is this all coming from? You don't even know him."

"What does that matter? You've been trying to find me a suitable prince to marry for years now, and I don't even know any of their names! Why should it suddenly matter whether I know him or not? And for the record, I do know Hiccup, and I love him."

Her father wasn't following anymore. "What do you mean you know and love him? You've never seen him in your life. Have you gone mad?"

"I haven't gone anything! There are many things you don't know about me because you're not letting me be myself in my own kingdom and you're making me hide who I am from you! I am not the kind of daughter you and Mother have been trying to make me! All my life I've tried my best to please you and live up to your expectations and I'm sick of it! I can't even have my own opinion in your presence, all I am allowed to do is silently agree with your decisions even if I feel nothing but rage in my heart! It's my life, Father, can't you let me decide what to do with it for once?"

The words came out of her mouth so smoothly it was clear she had been practising them for a long time, waiting for the right moment to release her rage at her father.

Astrid's unleash of anger had taken Eirik by surprise. He was no longer resting his head against his hand and he had clenched them into fists. He was giving angry glances to both Astrid and Hiccup, and Hiccup couldn't help feeling that the older man was blaming this all on him. He shook his head again. "I haven't the slightest idea what's gotten into you, but it's clear you're not in your right mind. If you were, you would understand I can't obviously allow it."

"There's nothing you can do to stop me from doing it," Astrid said. She had calmed down a little, but she was still angry and her voice was shaking slightly. "And if you don't approve of it, you're turning your own daughter against you."

"Are you so desperate for peace that you're willing to give me empty threats?" her father asked, getting more frustrated and angrier every second.

Astrid lost her temper again. "They're not empty threats! The only thing I am desperate for is happiness! I love him, Father, and you can't stop me from being happy once that's been offered to me! I can't let you take that away from me."

Hiccup wanted to say something, but he felt that he shouldn't interrupt Astrid now that she finally could speak her mind. He kept his eyes fixed on King Eirik, looking for any changes in his appearance. The older king still looked fretful, but if Hiccup's eyes weren't lying, it looked as though Eirik had begun to realise the situation he'd been put in; he could either give in and still have a daughter, or he could refuse and lose a daughter.

"So you're giving me no choice?" the king asked in an irritated, though defeated, voice.

"I am. I just hope you choose the right one," Astrid said, moving closer to Hiccup.

Eirik moved his attention to Hiccup. The way he was looking at him wasn't as malicious as before, but there was no friendliness in his eyes either. Astrid was now standing next to Hiccup, and she looked up at him, then back to her father. After what felt like an eternity, the king of Briral let out a deep sigh, shook his head in defeat and said in a very weak voice: "I don't want to lose my daughter."

Hiccup couldn't believe his ears. He didn't dare to believe them. Had…had King Eirik just given in? Had he just given his approval for Hiccup and Astrid's marriage? The two looked at each other. For a moment they just stared at one another with a blank expression, taking in what Astrid's father's words meant. Astrid let out an inhumane noise and threw herself into Hiccup's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and laughing happily into his chest. Hiccup placed his arms around Astrid, too, unable to stop smiling. This was happiness he had never felt in his life.

"Oh, thank you, Father, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Astrid chanted with tears in her eyes as they broke the hug and she turned to look at her father. She rushed to the king to give him a crushing hug. When her body collided with his, the force knocked his crown off his head and it fell to the stone floor.

King Eirik didn't know how to react at first, but then he awkwardly put his other hand around Astrid and patted her on the back.

"There are many things we need to arrange, still," Eirik stated once his daughter pulled herself away from him. "There is a lot of paperwork to do, and we need to figure out how we can benefit from this union. It will be months before anything can happen," he continued, saying the last bit while looking at Hiccup, as if he was planning to take Astrid with him right away.

"Of course," Hiccup responded as humbly as possible despite the triumph that was ongoing inside him. After all, he was a king and he needed to act like one. "I will do the best I can to ensure we get everything done as smoothly as possible. I cannot thank you enough for your generosity, Sir," he said and bowed down.

King Eirik didn't say anything at that. He gave Hiccup the most reluctant smile he had ever seen – it was probably difficult for him to treat Hiccup as an ally after so many years of hating his mere existence.

Both kings agreed on a date when they were to meet and sign the documents, after which Astrid escorted Hiccup out of the Throne Room. Once the door was slammed shut behind them, they pulled each other into a close embrace and attempted to kiss but it turned out to be impossible to do it properly because their smiles were too big and they couldn't help laughing. Eventually they gave up trying and just looked each other in the eyes with so much love.

"Gods, did that just happen?" Hiccup said in astonishment.

"It did," Astrid whispered, smiling from ear to ear. "It's hard to believe it but it did happen."

"You were incredible for standing up to your father like that," he said and put a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"And you were so brave for coming here and risking your life and entire kingdom for this," Astrid said and stood on her tiptoes to place a proper kiss on Hiccup's mouth.

"I love you," Hiccup said after the kiss was over.

"I love you, too," Astrid repeated.

"I can't believe we did it."

"Me neither."

They walked out of the corridor and Astrid showed him the way out of the castle. It seemed that almost everyone had already heard the news, for nobody was giving them questioning looks for walking so close to one another. The knight that had given Hiccup a disgusted look before was now looking at him a content smile on his face. Brighter times were ahead for Berkians and Briralians.

Toothless was waiting for Hiccup by the stables that Hiccup remembered from their last attack on Briral when he tried to save their own dragons. Although that had happened only a few months ago, it felt like a distant memory that had become foggy along the years. The Night Fury was beyond pleased to see his human, and to Hiccup's surprise, there was also another familiar face waiting for him.

"I told you love makes everything worthwhile," Fairfax said with a big grin on his face. He really did look different; he had gone all the way in with his disguise and he looked like a poor stable boy that had never in his life held a sword.

Hiccup returned the grin. "Would you like to come back to Berk, Sir Fairfax?"

The man let out a hearty laugh. "Can't say no to the king, can I?"

Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other again. The look they gave each other said more than a thousand words ever could. All this time they had thought there was no hope for them to find their way to be together, and now they were getting their happy ending in the best possible way. Both their lives had changed so much after meeting one another, and it wasn't just their lives that had changed – they had also changed as a person. Hiccup couldn't believe there had been a time when Astrid wasn't in his life, because now that she was in it, it felt as though that was the way it was always meant to be.

"Make sure Berk will be ready for me when I come," Astrid said, pulling Hiccup closer to her. "My king," she added in a whisper.

"I will, my queen," Hiccup replied and pressed his lips on hers one last time before getting on Toothless and helping Fairfax do the same.

It didn't matter how many months it would take before Astrid could move to Berk. All that mattered was that they knew they were going to stay by each other's side for the rest of their lives.

Hiccup couldn't be happier.

the end

I can't even begin to describe the emotions I'm going through right now. When I quit writing this fic in 2017, I never believed I'd pick it up again. I was never planning to do it, but suddenly I just felt like doing it, and now we're here, at the end of this story. This is the first story I've written in English, so writing this was a real challenge to me. I've learned so much about the English language along the way and I hope to improve in the future.

I would like to thank every single one of you who has read this story, either the entirety of it, parts of it or just a couple sentences here and there. And those who've shown constant support to this story by reviewing, favouriting, following etc., you have no idea how much your support has meant to me. Thank you to everyone who's ever been involved with this fic somehow.

I have other Hiccstrid stories in mind, and I hope I get to start writing one of them soon. It's going to be a multi-chaptered fic with magic, proper lore and all that, and it will be written from Astrid's POV.

Thank you, everyone!