Valka's song: a quick write
Posted: 01 Jul 2014, 16:31
Valka's song! A quick write...enjoy!
It was nearly a week since the young Chief had returned home. The rebuilding of Berk was underway and on track, with some dragon racing interspersed during the day to keep spirits high. Hiccup was kept away most hours of the day, ferrying lumber back and forth on Toothless, settling minor disputes, working fervently to get the townspeople’s houses repaired and insulated before Horrendous Hail season began. When the end of each day finally came, the young Haddock was too exhausted to do much besides hope that sleep would come easily and he’d be ready to tackle the next day of new chiefing duties. He thought of his father often, his grief not quite sinking in yet. He expected it would in due time.
Valka had spent all week in the forge with Gobber, working overtime to get the armory restocked and weapons repaired. Hiccup was able to teach her some of the skills he learned from Gobber over the years, and she gained enough prowess with a hammer to be of some assistance. She valued the time to think alone in the heated small work space, not quite feeling up to attempting conversation with people she hadn’t seen in nearly twenty years.
Upon returning to the Haddock house, Hiccup had insisted that Valka take his father’s bed, as he still preferred sleeping in his room upstairs and didn’t feel right sleeping where his father should be. She instead returned to sleeping underneath Cloudjumper’s wing at night, not having been able to return to her marriage bed without her husband beside her.
Sleep would not come to Valka that night. She silently climbed up to her son’s bedroom and perched on the edge of his bed. He slept soundly, his chest rising and falling softly. In that moment, she did not see a new chieftain of Berk who had recently reached manhood...she saw a child. Her baby. She gently smoothed the wayward strands of hair on his forehead, softly kissed him there, then tiptoed silently back down the stairs. Instead of letting her thoughts and grief overwhelm her, she gently climbed atop Cloudjumper and flew out into the starry sky, hoping that a nighttime flight would calm her. Wordlessly, Cloudjumper carried her to the top of Raven Point, one of the highest places on Berk. She sat on the edge of the precipice, her boots dangling into oblivion. She felt a velvety wing around her and gazed up fondly at her dragon companion. He studied her with golden eyes for a moment, then tucked his head underneath his other wing for a brief nap. Valka gazed around admirably at the beauty of Berk at night, and wondered if souls residing in the Halls of Valhalla could hear her from here. Viking and dragon sat silently for a long time, when finally a quiet song escaped her lips.
I fly and flail on wailing winds,
With ne’er fear of falling,
I gladly rode the winds of life,
When you married me,
Now scorching sun, nor freezing cold,
Can stop you on your journey,
But I did promise you my heart,
To love you for eternity.
My dearest one, my darling dear,
Your mighty words astounded me,
What I’d give for one more mighty deed,
To feel your arms around me.
I’d accept your rings of gold,
Let you sing me poetry,
You kept our son from every harm,
I wish you were beside me.
To love and kiss, to sweetly hold,
For the dancing and the dreaming,
Through all life’s sorrows and delights
I’ll keep your love inside me
I’ll fly and flail on wailing winds
With ne’er a fear of falling
And gladly ride the winds of life
If you will stay with me…
It was nearly a week since the young Chief had returned home. The rebuilding of Berk was underway and on track, with some dragon racing interspersed during the day to keep spirits high. Hiccup was kept away most hours of the day, ferrying lumber back and forth on Toothless, settling minor disputes, working fervently to get the townspeople’s houses repaired and insulated before Horrendous Hail season began. When the end of each day finally came, the young Haddock was too exhausted to do much besides hope that sleep would come easily and he’d be ready to tackle the next day of new chiefing duties. He thought of his father often, his grief not quite sinking in yet. He expected it would in due time.
Valka had spent all week in the forge with Gobber, working overtime to get the armory restocked and weapons repaired. Hiccup was able to teach her some of the skills he learned from Gobber over the years, and she gained enough prowess with a hammer to be of some assistance. She valued the time to think alone in the heated small work space, not quite feeling up to attempting conversation with people she hadn’t seen in nearly twenty years.
Upon returning to the Haddock house, Hiccup had insisted that Valka take his father’s bed, as he still preferred sleeping in his room upstairs and didn’t feel right sleeping where his father should be. She instead returned to sleeping underneath Cloudjumper’s wing at night, not having been able to return to her marriage bed without her husband beside her.
Sleep would not come to Valka that night. She silently climbed up to her son’s bedroom and perched on the edge of his bed. He slept soundly, his chest rising and falling softly. In that moment, she did not see a new chieftain of Berk who had recently reached manhood...she saw a child. Her baby. She gently smoothed the wayward strands of hair on his forehead, softly kissed him there, then tiptoed silently back down the stairs. Instead of letting her thoughts and grief overwhelm her, she gently climbed atop Cloudjumper and flew out into the starry sky, hoping that a nighttime flight would calm her. Wordlessly, Cloudjumper carried her to the top of Raven Point, one of the highest places on Berk. She sat on the edge of the precipice, her boots dangling into oblivion. She felt a velvety wing around her and gazed up fondly at her dragon companion. He studied her with golden eyes for a moment, then tucked his head underneath his other wing for a brief nap. Valka gazed around admirably at the beauty of Berk at night, and wondered if souls residing in the Halls of Valhalla could hear her from here. Viking and dragon sat silently for a long time, when finally a quiet song escaped her lips.
I fly and flail on wailing winds,
With ne’er fear of falling,
I gladly rode the winds of life,
When you married me,
Now scorching sun, nor freezing cold,
Can stop you on your journey,
But I did promise you my heart,
To love you for eternity.
My dearest one, my darling dear,
Your mighty words astounded me,
What I’d give for one more mighty deed,
To feel your arms around me.
I’d accept your rings of gold,
Let you sing me poetry,
You kept our son from every harm,
I wish you were beside me.
To love and kiss, to sweetly hold,
For the dancing and the dreaming,
Through all life’s sorrows and delights
I’ll keep your love inside me
I’ll fly and flail on wailing winds
With ne’er a fear of falling
And gladly ride the winds of life
If you will stay with me…
Beautiful...
)
That was sad and nostalgic! Well-written!
