Epilogue

7 months later

Astrid looked out of the large bay windows that one of the corridors in the palace offered. Below her, she could see the front courtyard and the gilded carriage and procession that awaited her. So many things had changed in the last five months.

For one, Lars' armada never made its assault on Berk. Valka and Gobber along with the Berkian fleet had been able to intercept them in the Inner ocean, much to their surprise. The casualties were kept at a minimum as well and as the citizens of Berk returned from their evacuation they got to see their Queen drag Lars by the scruff all the way to the palace. The surviving soldiers and sailors from Lars' fleet were kept in the brigs of the Berkian armada or near the harbor in warehouses turned prisons until it was decided on what to do with them.

Duke Jorgenson was also apprehended after his rather prickly fall in the rose bushes and placed in the dungeon along with his co-conspirators that Marchioness Stormheart and Captain Heather had arrested. Spitelout and Lars' cells were directly opposite to each other and the guards reported that they had been yelling and insulting each other for several days in the beginning. The insults varied but seemed to be very creative.

Dagur, as expected, had a near coronary at seeing his flattened rose bushes. The shrill shriek of "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY MINIATURE ROSES YOU DEVIL WOMAN!" caused even Stoick to wince. The gardener certainly didn't appreciate Spitelout landing on his prized roses. Dagur was still salty about his maze hedge as well so the glares Astrid received that week alone could have melted armor.

Furthermore, the Southern Isles had been effectively without a ruler as Queen Mariabelle had been granted asylum in Berk and Lars had disposed of his siblings quite successfully. Astrid had heard that the 8th Prince had been the longest to survive but he too eventually succumbed to the poison he had been fed. To say that Mariabelle had been depressed the last few months was an understatement. She had wept for both her children and her step-children. The large Royal family had been wiped out by the ambitions of just one and the Kingdom had been in disarray. A civil war threatened to break out as distant family members sprang out of the woodwork to try and claim the title of King. Stoick had stepped in then, producing the charges the previous King had incurred in his court along with those of the late Princess to effectively annex the territory under Berkian rule.

The many nobles had protested but in the end the charges stayed and they had to abide by the treaties set within the Archipelago centuries ago. The King also made an effort to placate the people of the Southern Isles by returning their sons to them that had been held as prisoners of war. The really surprising part in all of this was the former Queen herself. Mariabelle petitioned Stoick for the position of governor of the annexed territory, stating that it would be better for the people of the Southern Isles to have one of their own to advocate for their rights as the integration process continued. She returned shortly after, which was three months ago, along with Sir Throk to their home.

With the capture and sentencing of several prominent members of Nobility that co-conspired with Duke Jorgenson a power imbalance was created within the Kingdom. It took another month of investigating the heirs to those titles to see if they had any ties to the failed coup before they could claim their family's mantle. Only two territories were fully seized when it came to light that the heirs also had been in on the plot.

The trials for Spitelout and Lars were held separately within the same week and were last on the docket. Lars was convicted on several counts of murder, regicide, treason and several other crimes the court officers later uncovered. He was stripped of his title as prince and given a life sentence that would be carried out in the coal mines of the Southern Isles.

Spitelout had similar charges levied against him, treason and attempted murder were the most serious though and since he never actually killed anyone unlike Lars his sentence was a bit lighter; stripped of his titles along with 25 years exile from Berk and any of its territories.

After the trials both Lars and Spitelout were hauled away. Snotlout who had now taken over as Duke came to say goodbye to his father at the docks but things had seemed noticeably stilted between the two. Spitelout had bit his tongue when he had found out Snotlout had been in on the Queen's plan along with his wife and now the two barely looked each other in the eye.

Five months after the near-coup, things had settled down a bit until there was a whole new flurry of activity; Wedding planning. Both Hiccup and Astrid had settled on a Fall wedding and as the season was approaching things picked up again. Mala had been designing the cake, Dagur was making the bouquets and table placements, Heather was checking the security of the venues and Gobber had actually designed her wedding dress. Her Ladies-in-waiting all exclaimed that it was drop-dead gorgeous but all Astrid could really remember from the fitting was that it didn't need a corset. THANK THOR!

The two month wait was excruciating for Astrid. Between sending out the invites, the dress fittings for both her and her ladies, and doing seating arrangements because some people should not be placed at the same table lest a brawl break out, she was actually letting her nerves get to her. The night before the big day she had probably worn out her plush carpet with all the pacing and now here she was, dressed in the most gorgeous wedding dress she had ever seen, 'Thank you Gobber!', her mind supplied, while adorned with the finest jewelry including a very beautiful diadem, a water drop design that boosted diamonds at the top and dark blue sapphires at the bottom, courtesy of Valka and a very lovely light blue and white Calla Lily cascading bouquet delivered by Dagur and all she wanted to do was crawl back into her bed and flop like a starfish on the plush pillows to catch up on her sleep.

Astrid took a deep breath and started walking again. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Atali had wanted to say something but stopped. 'Screw sleep' her brain muttered. This was going to be a wonderful day. Her mind, which had been in the gutter recently, supplied several images that she could do to Hiccup once he was her husband and even sleep wouldn't get in her way. Her Ladies-in-waiting held her long Chapel train as she descended down the grand staircase and made it into the Palace foyer. The servants who were staying at the palace were in the foyer, ready to see her off and Astrid smiled. This was really happening.

Getting out to the courtyard caused Astrid to squint slightly as the sun shone in her eyes. Gobber had forgone the veil because he was of the opinion that the bride seeing where she had to go was important and that Hiccup might Plasma Blast him if Astrid walked into a pillar. You see, the bridal veils were usually made of thick material that wasn't at all see-through. Usually the bride would be escorted all the way up to the altar by either a knight or a male relative. Astrid saw the carriage that would take her to the venue and frowned slightly. She thought that this would be a challenge as the Chapel train was quite long but her Ladies-in-waiting already had a system for it and they joined her in the carriage while not wrinkling the train with ease. Astrid was very impressed.

Captain Heather was at the front of the procession and when she got word that Astrid and her ladies were in the carriage they set out through the streets of Berk. In the carriage Astrid fiddled with her engagement ring a bit and then looked down at her attire. Her dress was a long-sleeved one made of lace but Gobber had opted to add a deep V-neck neckline. The top of the dress had hand-sewn pearl beadings into it that created intricate patterns while the hemline and train were made of tulle, which had been a recently imported product. Gobber had shouted in joy when the material had been delivered to the palace. She remembered being bodily dragged to the fitting room to find use for the new material. The layers of tulle over the initial fabric made the skirt not so wide, as was the fashion now, but instead gave it a sensual look.

After leaving the palace the carriage made its way through the more affluent parts of Berk first where many Noble manors were located. There weren't many people there but once they got to the more populated part of the Kingdom Astrid actually winced at the volume level. looking out of the carriage window she saw the huge crowds that were gathered along her route to the church. Nearly all of the people of Berk lined the streets and waved at the passing procession. Now she knew why Heather had been so fastidious with security. Knights lined the streets as well to make sure order was kept and the biggest crowd was near the church. Astrid actually gulped. She had honestly not expected such a big turn out.

The carriage stopped precisely in front of a plush purple carpet that had been rolled out from inside the church. Heather, who had dismounted Windshear was the one to open the carriage doors and escort Astrid out on the carpet with Atali and the others following behind with the train. The crowds cheered as they got a glimpse of Astrid as she and her procession made their way into the foyer of the church. There was another set of doors that led to the main hall where the wedding would take place but in the foyer she saw Stormfly with a basket of flowers held in her beak and Toothless who had a silk pillow with the wedding rings resting on top in his maw. Both dragons were giddy when they saw her and as the double doors opened Astrid took a deep breath as the wedding ceremony was officially starting. Stormfly and Toothless went first and she walked into the main hall when the usher announced "Please stand for the bride!" A whole new adventure awaited her.

The End

AN:
Vala: "GET BACK HERE YOU DEMON BIRD!" (Tries to swat the Porg with a mop as it flies near the ceiling)
Harry: "MAH PORG!"
Vala: "Your Porg ate all my tiramisu!"
Harry: "It was just some cake....." (Tries to stop the swatting)
Vala: "It also drank all of your coffee..."
Harry: "MAH COFFEE!"
(Porg meeps innocently while on a sugar and caffeine rush)