Today was just an average day in Berk. Cold and gloomy; what else was new. Hiccup had been roaming around aimlessly until the town meeting. Everyone seemed to have a job, except for Hiccup. He was used to this though. He had always managed to get stuck with the least important jobs, which was not something that was helping his mood today. Last night he and Astrid had broken up the other night and she was already with Snotlout. Hiccup walked out to the cliff of Berk to think. He sat on the edge of the cliff, staring out into the ocean to watch the fishing ships come in for the meeting. Hundreds of muscular Vikings stomped off their ships, slightly waterlogged from their sea adventures.
Hiccup noticed something in the distance and squinted his eyes to get a better view, but it was no use. Just then Toothless flew in and landed gracefully next to his rider. Hiccup turned to smile at the black dragon and reached into the dragon's pouch attached to his saddle to pull out his telescope. Some of the trader ships were coming in too. They weren't due back for months.
Suddenly Hiccup knew why they were coming in. This had to do with the Scotts. The Vikings had been at war with the Scotts since before Hiccup was born. Honestly, he didn't know why they were at war with them he just knew he was supposed to hate them.
From the distance, there was a horn blowing signaling everyone in Berk to get to the town hall. Hiccup got up from his perch and balanced himself on his fake leg, with some help from Toothless.
The dragon looked at him expectantly.
"I think I'll walk buddy. I'll see you back at home, okay?" He said, patting Toothless's nose. The dragon nudged his hand lightly and took off into the sky.
After about 5 minutes of walking through the woods, Hiccup came upon the old town hall with Vikings still shuffling in. Through the crowd he spotted Astrid and Snotlout walking arm in arm, sending a knife through his chest.
He sighed and entered the building, taking a seat near the back.
"QUIET! Everyone quiet!" Stoick shouted.
Everyone fell silent.
"Right. Today, the Scotts have announced that their daughter is set to get married today. They're holding a competition to see who will win her hand."
Hiccup sighed, all this information seemed pointless to him. His mind began to wonder if there was some way for him to sneak out without getting caught.
Everyone else seemed to be enraged. Axes were being thrown, shouts of protest were booming through, curses were being tossed in every direction.
Hiccup buried his head in his hands. He didn't want to be here.
"ENOUGH!" Stoick shouted.
"What's the big deal anyway?" Ruffnut shouted, a few rows in front of Hiccup.
"Why do we care if some spoiled princess gets married or not?" Tuffnut yelled from beside his sister.
"We care because all the Scotts in that area are against us. The second their daughter is married they now have the army force to kick us out of our land!"
More shouts of protest followed.
"How do you expect us to stop this?"
"WE CAN'T LET THIS HAPPEN!"
"What do you plan on doing about this?"
Stoick threw his chair against the wall to silence everyone. "The only option we have is to attack Dunbroch before the suitors come. Now we need all available warriors over the age of 20 to stay in the hall to plan a strike attack."
All the teenagers in the hall quickly got out of the hall to leave the soldiers to talk.
Hiccup got home quickly, wanting to avoid any contact from people who knew about him and Astrid.
He opened his front door and was greeted by Toothless. "Hey buddy." He petted the dragon's head and went to get him his dinner.
After about 20 minutes, Hiccup heard Stoick and Gobber arguing and heading toward the front door.
"- He could handle it?"
"I don't know. But what other choice do we have? The tournament for the girl's hand will start in less than a month we have to do something!"
"Stoick, listen to me for a second. Even if he can do it, what then? What do you expect him to do?"
"We don't even know if he'll do it!"
"If he thinks it'll make you proud of him he will, and you know it!"
The loud footsteps stopped suddenly, followed by a loud sigh.
"Gobber… You know more than I do I don't want to send him. If they catch him they'll use him against us and drive us out of here. But Toothless is the fastest dragon on the island and he has the best chance of escaping. Hiccup is our only option."
Silence. Hiccup sat out in their main room and pretended he was busy with Toothless so they wouldn't suspect anything. He patted the dragon's head, and scratched under his chin when Hiccup heard his father's large hand push the door open.
"Hiccup, we need to talk." Stoick said, barely able to make eye contact with his only son.
"Sure, dad." Hiccup said, taking a seat on the floor next to Toothless.
Stoick motioned for Gobber to sit down, in case he needed back-up, "Hiccup… There… There's something… Something dangerous I need to ask you for."
Hiccup looked to Gobber, who wasn't making eye contact with him, "Um… Okay."
Stoick looked into his cupped hands, trying to find the answers there, "We need you and Toothless to go to Dunbroch to spy on their kingdom."