Epilogue

                                    

                                          
   Alaya's head hung.  Her neck and back ached she watched the rippling water slowly rise to meet the beach, then pull back with a hiss of distaste for the rocks it met.
                          
   For a moment, Alaya thought she saw the water ripple more than usual but shook her head to clear her vision.  She'd imagined boats coming to meet her before, she'd even hallucinated her family and friends.
                          
   Who knows where Allen is now.  Alaya's breath shook, and she took a deep breath in and out to clear her mind.  She didn't want to think about him right now.
                          
   But, with nobody nearby to distract her from her thoughts, Alaya's mind simply circled back around to the other thoughts she'd constantly pushed out.  This wasn't odd, however - in fact, it was a routine that was quite familiar to her.  She constantly tried to find someone to talk to or something to do, to distract her from her own mind, but whenever she needed a break, her thoughts seeped into her brain, leaking memories of pain and agitation inside.
                          
   Ripples crossed the water.  She shook her head to clear her mind, but they were still there.  Stronger and stronger they came, until finally, she looked up.
                          
   A small boat made the last paddle and rested on the beech.  Alaya stared at the man on it, her eyes dim.  She didn't care.
                          
   But, when the man got out of the boat and turned toward her, his light blue eyes lit up.  "Alaya!"
                          
   "Who are you?"  Alaya asked.  Her gaze crossed over him - his clothes were torn and covered in mud and dirt (as was he), his skin was tanned and sunburnt in some areas, and his black hair seemed to stretch from his head down to his chin, giving him a sort of mane beard.
                          
   "I'm Snotlout!  Don't you remember me?"  The man said.
                          
   "Oh."  Now she recognized him - the hair, his clothes, his eyes.  This was Snotlout.  She was sure.  "Hey, Snotlout."
                          
   Snotlout blinked at her, his eyebrows pressing together in confusion.  "Hey, are you okay?"
                          
   Alaya snorted.  "I've been better."  She understated.
                          
   "How long have you been here?"  Snotlout asked.
                          
   "About five years."  Alaya mused, staring at the sun.  "I think."
                          
   "Five years!?  Alaya, what are you doing?  We need to get up, get Hookfang and the others, and kick some flier butt!"  Snotlout said.
                          
   Alaya chuckled, shaking her head slightly.  "No.  It's safer here."
                          
   "Only for you!  Look, you can sit here moping around for the next ten years, or you can get up and help me fight.  I didn't row all the way here just to find out that you've given up."  Snotlout said, his tone determined.
                          
   Alaya laughed, a loud, sad laugh.  "You don't get it, do you, Snotlout?"  Her vision blurred as tears leaked at the corners of her eyes.
                          
   "Get what?"  Snotlout said.
                          
   "We lost!"  Alaya said, a grin on her face.  "We tragically, miserably, lost!"
                          
   "Then we have to get back up and win."  Snotlout said.  "We can't mope around about every time we lost a battle.  Where are the other Riders?"
                          
   Alaya choked a sob, still laughing, still grinning.  "The Riders are dead."  She chuckled.  "All of them.  Dead.  Who knows where the dragons are?  Berk has been taken over.  Stoick is dead.  Hiccup is dead - they're all dead, Snotlout!"
                          
   Snotlout stopped, disbelief and shock flashing in his gaze as he stared at her, mouth open.  "No.  No, no, no, they have to be alive!"
                          
   Alaya shook her head, chuckling.  "You must've seen the scorched beach, Snotlout.  The blood?  The flames?  The embers?"
                          
   Snotlout's eyes flashed.  "No.  At least Hiccup got away!"  He said, turning back toward his boat.
                          
   "Hiccup died!  Amber betrayed us!"  Alaya said, standing up and grabbing his arm.  
                          
   Snotlout twisted away, turning to face her.
                          
   "Amber betrayed us, and now we're living with the consequences,"  Alaya said.
                          
   Snotlout stared at her, his breath shaking.  He looked like he didn't want to believe her, but knew it was true.  After a moment, wiping away tears from his eyes, he finally spoke again.  "What do we do now?"
                          
   "Snotlout, what can we do?  The moment we step off this island, we're dead.  Any dragon that goes too far never comes back - there's nothing we can do to fix this!"  Alaya cried.  "None of this would've happened if I hadn't listened to my gut and followed the whispers, why look to me for advice?"  She hissed, turning away.
                          
   "Alaya, I know it seems lost, but maybe we can fix this."  Snotlout said.
                          
   "How?  How, Snotlout?  How can we fix this?"  Alaya turned back to him, fury blazing in her gaze.  He flinched back.  "We can't even fly too far without vanishing, and islands not controlled by Drago and Krogan are so far between we'd die before even getting anywhere within sight, seen by fliers or not."
                          
   Snotlout stared at her.  She knew what it felt like for him - to have everything crashing down onto him all at once, every hope he'd had for the last five years crushed underneath the weight of reality.  Alaya inhaled, her breath shaky.  "There's nothing we can do but sit and wait for them to get us next."