Chapter Text
Five months later:
Hiccup stood at the edge of an ice-covered cliff, staring at the setting sun. His first day as Chief was coming to a close. Old injuries ached as the adrenaline of the past few days began to wear off. Astrid had insisted he go see Gothi, but he chose not to. There were other Vikings that needed her help.
As he turned to walk back to the village, he saw his mother watching him. He studied her for a moment as tidbits of distant memories flashed through his mind. Despite the gods' attempts to wipe his memory of what he did, he still remembered. At first, he thought the memories were from a dream he had while in a coma. But the more time went on, the more the memories began to become clear.
He never told anyone about the memories. If he did, they might think he'd gone crazy or that his head injury was causing him to have delusions. No, he knew he had to find his mother. He'd gotten close when he and Toothless found Itchy Armpit. They'd just missed her by several hours. Eret put a kink in his plans, but thankfully everything worked out like it was supposed to. He still found his mother. Well, she found him.
Since reuniting, he'd been debating telling her about his soul mission. Originally he was going to keep it to himself, but given everything that had happened, he'd changed his mind. Maybe it would help bring them both some comfort as they dealt with their recent loss.
"Hey, Mom," Hiccup greeted. "You okay?"
"As well as I can be," Valka answered. "You?"
"I've had better days," Hiccup admitted. "I think I have something that will help us both though."
"Oh really?" Valka asked, raising an eyebrow. "What might that be?"
"A story I haven't shared with anyone," Hiccup answered. "Let's head home and I'll tell it."
Valka seemed intrigued by what kind of story her son had to tell that would help them with their newfound grief. As they walked in the direction of the Haddock home, she took the time to study him. As he walked his steps seemed heavy, as if he was fighting his body to keep moving. Made sense it had been a long couple of days with very little time to rest. His left arm seemed to just hang, swaying back and forth as they walked. Yet he continued to use his right arm just fine as he fidgeted with his armor. He winced with every step, regardless of which leg was used. Had he been injured in the battle and not told anyone? Was he feeling sick? What was wrong with her son? Her dormant mom instincts kicked in at full force.
As they reached the Haddock home, she placed a hand on her son's shoulder, to stop him from going inside. "Hiccup? What's wrong? Are you sure you're okay?"
Hiccup gave her a look of confusion. "I'm fine. Why?"
"The way you're moving," Valka stated. "It doesn't seem right. Are you sure you're okay? Were you hurt during either of the battles?"
Hiccup let out a small, uncomfortable laugh. "No, Mom. I wasn't hurt. It's just been a very long day for me. Come on. Let's get inside and I'll start a fire before telling you the story."
Valka reluctantly agreed and let her son open the door to what was once her home. He led her to the family table before turning back to fill the hearth with enough fresh wood to get a decent blaze going.
With the hearth now warming up the place, Hiccup began to take off his armor one-handed. Valka couldn't sit by and watch her son struggle, so she stepped over to him to help. "You say you're not injured, yet you act like it. What's wrong?"
"I wasn't injured fighting Drago and his army," Hiccup sighed. "I was injured fighting Johann several months ago."
"Johann?" Valka asked as she removed his right shoulder pad. "The tradesman? Why were you fighting him? Did he not offer a fair trade or something?"
Hiccup shook his head. "No, he was the leader of the Dragon Hunters, alongside someone named Krogan. Him being a tradesman was just an undercover thing."
"Must have been quite a shock," Valka noted as she began unbuckling his arm braces.
Hiccup shrugged. "It was, but we got over it pretty quickly. He needed to be stopped before he hurt more dragons and people."
Valka said nothing as she continued helping her son remove his armor and protective leathers. Pretty soon he was wearing just his tunic and pants. She stepped back and watched as he managed to remove the tunic with his one good arm. She let out a small gasp as she saw the many scars that covered his body. Some old, some new, big and small.
"What happened?" she whispered, as she felt more guilt rise up within her. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch the scars. She should have been here to protect him.
Hiccup looked down at his body taking note of the scars he could see. "Most of these are from practicing stunts and battle tactics. The rest is from various battles. Too many to count. At least for now."
Valka's eyes eventually landed on the scar on Hiccup's left shoulder. It appeared to be the freshest of all the scars. The skin surrounding it was an angry-looking kind of red. No wonder he was having issues using his left arm, he was still healing from whatever or whoever hurt him.
Against her own wishes, she reached out and placed a gentle hand on her son's shoulder. Regret quickly washed over her as Hiccup flinched away, hissing in pain.
"I'm sorry," Valka apologized, pulling her hand away.
"It's okay, Mom," Hiccup promised. "It's just sore. A bit of willow bark tea along with some sleep and I'll be fine."
"How did this happen?" Valka asked.
Hiccup sat down at the table in his chair, gesturing for her to sit as well. "It's a long story, but the short version is; that Johann got mad that I was in his way of getting the King of Dragon's egg and stabbed me and tried to bash my skull in. If Toothless hadn't shown up, he would have killed me. But that's not what I wanted to talk to about." He paused for a second before continuing. "Well, it kinda is. It's part of why I need to tell you something important. You see because of the injuries Johann inflicted upon me, I was in a coma for nearly two weeks-"
Valka listened as he told her of his trip to Valhalla and how he was tasked with finding her. At first, she thought about interrupting and asking if he was sure it hadn't been an elaborate dream of some kind. But then he described the day she spent caring for several injured baby dragons after rescuing them. He had found her but couldn't reach her.
"Helgi said I wouldn't remember, but I did." Hiccup finished. "It took a while to piece it all together and start my search once I was healed up enough. I thought about telling someone about it, but everyone was so concerned about my head injury, I didn't want to risk not being believed. You believe me, right?"
Valka was quiet for a few seconds before answering. "Of course, I believe you. Something similar happened to my father shortly after I married Stoick. He was badly injured during an attack and found himself visiting Valhalla. He didn't go on a quest like you, but when he woke up, he could describe family members who had passed on before he could meet them. Older villagers confirmed his descriptions. I guess it runs in the family."
Hiccup gave his mother a tired smile, relieved that she believed him. "I'll be sure to warn Astrid of this obscure ability if and when we have kids."
Valka let out a laugh. "I'll back you up if she doesn't believe you." She stood up after regaining her composure. "But in the meantime. Let's get you up to bed. I'll go see Gothi about getting some willow bark and maybe a salve to put on your shoulder."
Hiccup didn't argue as he let his mom help him up the stairs to his bed. Once he was lying down and in a semi-comfortable position, Valka began to head back down. Before she could reach the first step, the young Chief called out. "I really am glad you're staying, Mom. Dad would be glad as well."
"I'm glad to," Valka agreed giving her son a small sad smile. With that, she headed down the stairs and out the door to get supplies for her son.