Today Humongously Hotshot woke me up and told me very quietly, "We are getting out of here. Come with me."

It has always been my dream, to get away from the palace and since I met him it has changed into a dream of him coming with me.

And now that the day was finally here, all I said was, "I knew you'd come for me."

I wanted to tell him a million little things: I love you, for one. I missed you, for another. Kiss me now, you idiotically brave hero.

But then was not the time for that.

So he pulled me onto his dragon's back. I wrapped my arms around him and after a few hours of silence, I finally asked him, "Why did it take you so long to get back to me?"

I knew he would come back sometime of course, and better late than never, but I was still curious.

He hesitated. "You can't tell anyone this, ok? But…I didn't REALLY complete the quest."

I laughed. "Oh, how wonderful!" I slid my arms around his waist. "You have no idea how tired I was getting of this stupid quest Father was making every fiancée complete!"

"But wait a minute, won't Father get cross and try to find you?"

"I left five pots of honey by his bed."

"But you said—

"I didn't complete the quest—"

"Yeah, that."

"But Hiccup's weird little friend did."

"Hiccup?" I drew away from him. "Who's Hiccup again?"

"The heir to the Hairy Hooligans," he informed me.

"The one who had the friend that was sending me the love poems," I recalled suddenly. "And he stood up for his friend! Yes, I remember that."

"Yeah, he was the one who originally got the honey, but…he gave it to me."

"Really?" I'd never heard of a fiancée showing kindness to another before.

Humongously nodded, there underneath the stars.

I was silent, thinking of the boy I knew so little about.

His name had been…Fishlegs?

I reached inside my pocket for the poem of his I had stuffed in there and pulled it out.

The starlight shone off it, just light enough to see by as I flicked it open and the Berk Bog-rose tumbled out.

I grabbed it by its thorny stem just before it dropped down.

Humongous reached out and steadied me. "Whoa, Tantrum, stay safe. We've barely been gone two hours."

I nodded at him and drifted to sleep on his dragon's back.

Our wedding was hurried but happy, just the two of us, no father to walk me down the aisle, just us, repeating our vows like two people madly, crazily in love.

Which we were.

I didn't even carry a normal bouquet like most people did. There were wildflowers growing near our wedding area, but I refused them and simply used the Berk Bog-rose as my single flower.

He tucked it into my long red hair and kissed the petal, then a strand of my flaming locks and took my hand.

"Tantrum UG-erly," Humongous said quietly, "I swear to you I will forever be faithful, loyal, honest. I would not be able to wake up in the mornings without you, or breathe without you. You gave me a second chance at love. I owe you everything."

Time for me to say my vows.

"Humongously Hotshot," I said quietly, "You are my one and only true love. Wherever our hero work takes us, I am ready to go there, for I am going there with you. I would follow you to the ends of the earth and kiss you there. I love you. And after this day, may I never be called Tantrum UG-erly again! May I merely be called Tantrum Hotshot!"

Loud and defiant were my words and they echoed all around the boggy beach.

I kissed him.

There was a silence.

Then I began singing, very softly.

"I have never cared for castles, or a crown that grips too tight,

Let the night sky be my starry roof and the moon my only light.

My heart was born a hero, my storm-bound sword won't rest,

So I left the harbor long ago on a never-ending quest…"

My voice had always been terrible but it was carried away by the wind and sounded almost beautiful.

Later that same week, I watched a Messenger Dragon carry off my letter to Hiccup, Fishlegs and his little blonde friend, Camicazi.

Humongous had written most of it, but I had added a postscript directly to Fishlegs:

"Dear Fishlegs,

Thank you for the rose. I wore it at my wedding."

I watched the Messenger Dragon until it became one more little speck on my golden horizon.