It was kind of a shame that nobody but Astrid and her mother would ever see this place.
Astrid liked a clean home, even if she'd never admit it. It didn't take much effort to clean, with only the two of them there and so much - so much - time on her hands. And the sunlight flowing through the cracks added a lot to the room - and Astrid too. She was a sunny weather girl. She never felt quite as pleased with life as she did on days when clouds only dotted the sky and the sun was free in the sky. Freer than she'd ever thought she'd really be. Astrid let a grin escape her usually solemn face. Tomorrow was her birthday. And freedom was the only thing on her mind.
She glanced out the window, biting her lip as her eyebrows clenched above her eyes. If only she could get out there. She stepped to the window, perching her fists on the window frame. The golden brown stone was warm from sun exposure, and somehow the heat felt like it was flooding the lean muscles of her arms. Leaning over, she gazed at the land below... the only piece of outside she had ever seen. She wasn't really a romantic-minded person, but there it was, a fresh, inviting green. Mom sometimes graced her with a flower. Astrid always said thank you, and as tough as she wanted to present herself, she liked those flowers. Anything with that natural green was a magnet. She'd tried to duplicate it with her paints, but somehow the exact hue could never be replicated, and despite the hours of practice, she wasn't much of a painter. Mom made that pretty clear.
Astrid twisted, groaning happily as her back snapped with the turn, and looked around her home - her tower. She'd painted all sorts of things, all over the walls and ceiling. Astrid fingered her hair. Mom said it was a blessing, but to Astrid, it only helped her as a healing power and a climbing rope. The rope made it easier to paint pretty much every inch of the place, and to just trapeze about the beams above her head. The healing aided her whenever she lost her footing. That happened less and less - Astrid was naturally agile, and she'd spent many hours balancing on the beams above to improve her grace. Mom thought climbing and balancing and twisting around was incredulously and indignantly unladylike - "Astrid, I can see straight up your dress!" - so Astrid had recently taken to such gymnastics only when Mom was out.
Which she was now. Astrid glanced out the window, towards the cave that served as an entrance to her little cove. Still no Mom. Astrid had questioned her about her doings - about any hint as to the outside world other than Mom's many horror stories and warnings - but Mom usually scolded Astrid harshly. What little information Astrid got came from the gifts her mother brought.
She twisted a bit more to see the little wooden clock above the window. It was already three in the afternoon. Mom had promised to be early today so they could spend more time together. Astrid had a plan, but at this point, she was getting too impatient to properly execute it. She perched on the windowsill, knees in a wide squat and toes curling on the stones. The sunlight warmed her dress and legs, and she sighed.
"I've cleaned, I've swept, I've polished, I've mopped, I've shined," she murmured to herself in a tortuously bored monotone. "I've read, I've painted, I've played guitar, I've knitted-" Astrid grimaced at that. "- I've had lunch, I've baked, I've sewn, I've made candles, I've played chess, I've climbed." She groaned at the ceiling. "I've read more, I've painted more, I've climbed more." Her gaze returned to the outside world. Despite her plethora of daily activities, she'd done this all before. The same things - every day. Nothing every changed.
Astrid wanted a challenge, an adventure - a chance to prove everything she already believed about herself. She could survive the horrors of the outside world. Better than survive - she could defeat them. She knew she could do it. Nobody would touch her hair. Thugs and ruffians would cower at her feet. The plague would halt in its tracks. Poison ivy would shrink into the ground. Quicksand would petrify itself in terror. If only she were allowed out there, she knew she would be fine. Her jaw clenched. She had to get out there.
Astrid couldn't spend all her days in this little corner, only hearing fragments of stories of the world beyond. She couldn't hide forever. She just- she just couldn't. That wasn't living. This cowering in a tower was not living. Being held back by fear and convention was not living. She didn't feel alive here. She needed to go.
Staring out the window at the great and dangerous world beyond, she grimaced in determination. "When will my life begin?"
If he closed his eyes hard enough, maybe they'd just disappear. And yes, Hiccup knew how stupid that sounded, but he was ready for an easy solution.
"Haddock!" As usual, no easy solutions. Hiccup could hear Snot and his gang bellowing his name from a few yards away. He quickly and quietly advanced to the next branch of the tree he was hiding in. All the adventures he'd been in recently hadn't given him any grace, per se, but his coordination skills had definitely improved. Hiccup would be on the ground in a broken mess of arms and legs if not. He clutched at his leather satchel, refusing to let his mind yet again drift onto the important contents of the bag - and the reason he was being chased by three very strong, very brutal, and very furious thugs. Focus was key.
If only he could escape to the borders. Hiccup scowled and mentally scolded himself. He had one great advantage over these guys, and of course he stationed it so far away that it nearly became a hindrance for all the effort to reach it.
Hiccup glanced down and tensed to see Tuffnut Thorston at the foot of his hiding perch. The long-haired criminal was searching the bushes for Hiccup. "I'll get you, Haddock," Tuffnut snarled. "That thing is rightfully ours, Pretty Boy."
"And we want it back," snapped an equally threatening low voice. Hiccup knew, from many run-ins with these particular adrenaline junkies, that the voice belonged to Tuffnut's twin sister, Ruffnut. They were the notorious Snotlout Jorgenson's cronies, and they enjoyed any command to beat up whoever annoyed their boss. The Thorstons weren't necessarily evil. They'd just quickly figured out that beating people up and fighting without abiding by military rules only existed in one career path. When they weren't doing inconvenient things like trying to kill him, he liked them well enough.
The boy in the tree glanced at his satchel and, for the thousandth time, cursed its contents. He had to have it. It was an infuriating but true fact. Just imagining the huge trouble he'd be in if a few thugs managed to disappear with it in their grasp was making the hairs on his skin bristle. Why did it have to be so difficult to obtain and keep?
He looked around for another tree he could hop into. He needed to escape these nutcases. Hiccup spotted a fairly sturdy-looking branch jutting out of a tree a few feet away from his current perch. The teen knew he wasn't athletic, but the fact that he was so lithe and skinny for his age allowed him to jumped farther than hefty people like Snotlout could. Sucking in a deep but silent gasp of air, Hiccup bent his knees. Focus, again, was ke-
"Hey, he's up there!" There was no time to plan. Hiccup launched himself into the next tree. He barely made it onto the thick wooden beam. Immediately, he picked out more branches, hopping from one to the other quickly as he could. He could hear the crashing footsteps and angry shouts of the terrible trio as they chased through the forest floor after him.
Hiccup knew this forest well enough. And even if Snot knew it too, nobody had any idea what was waiting for Hiccup at the borders of the kingdom. He could see it ahead, marked by a thin wooden fence somebody obviously only erected for aesthetic purposes. Though available sturdy branches became sparser and sparser, Hiccup was determined to escape. He stopped on a branch, took a deep breath, and let out a screeching, snarling roar. If his pursuers seemed surprised by his actions, they didn't stop to ponder their surprise. Hiccup tuned out their noise and listened. He grinned as low, burning growl responded, the kind of growl nobody noticed unless they were listening. And Hiccup was delighted to listen. Hiccup rushed ahead, chuckling confidently now. He would make it. These psychos, if he was lucky, would never see him again. Hiccup winced a bit at that thought. His luck had never helped him much in the past. Based on who Hiccup was as a person alone, he'd definitely most likely encounter them again. He clenched a hand around his satchel, felt for his precious cargo, and smiled. At least he had the crown. One step at a time.
He leaped onto the final branch, and grinned. He was now officially out of danger. Wrapping his arms and legs around an adjacent tree trunk, he shimmied up into the canopy. Switching over to a taller tree, he shoved a foot onto a small branch, gazing across the forest. A black blur soared toward him. Hiccup leaped off the tree and into the air. Within seconds, he landed with a hard thunk onto his best friend and only advantage.
"Hey Toothless," Hiccup said, scratching his cheerful dragon behind the ears. "Nice timing, as usual."
The obsidian-black dragon snorted, as if assuring Hiccup that his timing was nothing if not perfect. Hiccup rubbed Toothless' back and smiled. This – his perch atop his beloved dragon – was his favorite place in the world. This was where he belonged. Glancing around to check that nobody was noticing his huge scaly secret, he sighed happily.
"Alright, bud," Hiccup yelled over the wind whistling past them. "Let's find a place to rest, alright?"
The dragon purred in agreement. He jerked his large head to the slight left. Hiccup gazed forward to see a cluster of rocky mountains . . . with the tip of a tower pointing out from a valley between the rocky peaks.
Patting his dragon thankfully, Hiccup called, "Nice! We'll spend the night there too!" As his dragon turned towards the highlands, Hiccup briefly held the worry that somebody might live there. He immediately expelled the thought. To live in the middle of nowhere meant you had something to hide. And Hiccup knew that of everyone in this corner of earth, he was the only one with such colossal secrets.
Well. Everyone has to be wrong sometime, right?
"Astrid, darling!" Astrid snapped to attention, allowing a small smile onto her face. Mom was the only one she could talk to without sounding crazy. In one fluid motion, she leaped to her feet and twisted her hair around the hook hanging from the roof.
"Coming, Mom!" The girl watched as her hair tumbled down towards the grassy green expanse. Until tomorrow, the tips of her hair were the only part of her to actually feel the ground below. If she was more ridiculous, Astrid would actually be jealous. Astrid felt a small weight and tug as her mother wrapped the end of Astrid's hair around her foot, grabbed Astrid's locks, and tugged impatiently. Astrid grabbed her hair, careful to keep it from tugging at her scalp, and began pulling her mother up. When Astrid was younger and her hair shorter, her mother had used a trap-door in the floor to venture in and out of the tower. More recently, Mother had decided that was too inconvenient and demanded that Astrid fashion a pulley system with her hair. Astrid didn't mind, though her mother tended to make the end of her hair a bit dirty by stepping on it all the time. But it wasn't like she had so much extra time to wash her hair, right?
Finally, her mother stepped onto the platform and promptly embraced Astrid. Astrid hugged back. She didn't always agree with her mom. But she was still her mom.
"How you do that all the time," her mother gasped, pulling back and rubbing at Astrid's chin. "It must be exhausting, darling!" No, Astrid thought, I'm not the dramatic one. That title belonged to someone else.
Astrid flexed her arms in a somewhat covert manner, hoping her mother would notice the lean but well-developed muscles there. Maybe if Mom could see Astrid had gained strength, Astrid would have a better shot of venturing outside. "It's nothing," the girl assured her mother confidently.
The curly-haired woman's lip curled a bit as she gently whacked Astrid's head a few times. "Then I don't know why it takes so long," she said mockingly. Astrid's shoulders fell a bit, but she should be used to the ups and downs of conversations with her mother. Mom laughed. "I'm just joking, darling. Stop taking everything so seriously!" Astrid forced out a chuckle. All she had to do was ride it out. Her mother dragged her over to the large, oblong mirror in the corner.
"You look nice," Astrid announced. If she didn't compliment her mother quickly, the woman would launch into a rant of self-pity. Astrid didn't enjoy it at all, but whatever buttered her mother up for the big request was worth it.
"Thank you, dear," the woman said, examining her face for any new and unappealing wrinkles in her face. She pulled her dark cherry lips back to examine her gleaming white teeth. Combing through her locks, she plucked at the few grey hairs hiding in her long black hair. Astrid tried to be patient. This happened every day. Nothing ever changed.
Next was Astrid's turn. Her mother grabbed her hand and forced her a bit closer to the mirror. "Dear, do you know what I see?" Mother didn't bother to let Astrid reply, but continued. "I see a beautiful, confident young woman."
Astrid looked at her reflection in the mirror. She smiled a bit. It wasn't too often that Mom called her beautif-
"Oh look, dear, you're there too!" her mother shouted, elbowing her with a laugh. Astrid's smile faded. She should have known. Mother always told her that the teen's only redeeming feature was her lovely golden hair. The rest . . . Mother kind of chortled and sniffed at. Even her blue eyes. Astrid glanced at the mirror for a just-long-enough second. She liked her eyes.
Astrid's mother wrapped a delicate arm around her daughter's shoulder, pinching her cheek sharply. "I'm kidding, dear, I'm only kidding. You look alright. You'll look much better in your present." Astrid attempted a laugh. It didn't come out very well. The girl pushed away the sting of her mother's comments and firmed her chin.
"Well, Mother, I have something I really wanted to talk to you about," she announced.
Her mother flapped her hand in the air. "Dear, that can wait. I'm feeling rather tired." Astrid huffed at the implication.
"Of course, Mother," she said, oozing respect and care into her voice and expression. Astrid broke away from her mother and tugged the woman toward the rocking chair permanently perched beside the hearth. Astrid grabbed the familiar wooden hairbrush and stool from a corner, shoved her mother into the rocking chair, hopped on the step, and shoved the hair brush and her hair into her shocked mother's hands.
Taking a deep breath, Astrid launched into the eternally familiar song, spewing it out as quickly as she could.
"Flower, gleam and glow,
Let your power shine,
Make the clock reverse -
Bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fate's design,
Find what has been lost -
Bring back what once was mine,
What once was mine."
"Astrid!" her mom yelped, digging her nose into her daughter's locks as she tried to absorb as much of the glow the hair emitted as she could. "Why-"
"So!" Astrid said loudly. She would have to spit this out as speedily as she could before her mother interrupted. "So, as you probably know, my birthday is tomorrow, and-"
Her mother chuckled and poked at Astrid's nose. "Oh, no, dear! I distinctly remember - your birthday was last year!"
Astrid smiled to appease her mother. Through clenched teeth, she groaned, "That's the thing about birthdays. They're annual." Before her mother could offer any other comment, Astrid plunged on. "I'm turning eighteen tomorrow. As you can see, I'm not a little girl anymore." As she spoke, she flexed her muscles again - not so covertly this time. Her mother didn't seem to see the display, focusing more on Astrid's chest and making the girl flush with frustration. "I can handle myself. Now, instead of spending any money, I have a different request." She put on her most blindingly bright smile. "I want to go outside and see the annual golden stars."
"The . . . the what? I mean, darling, Astrid, what are you talking about?" The woman stared at her daughter. Astrid bit her lip in frustration. Mom knew about the golden stars. Every year, for years, Astrid had pointed them out to her mother. Every year, Mom pretended the golden stars didn't exist.
Mom frowned at Astrid. "Don't bite your lip, dear. It's already so scarred. Very unattractive." Astrid opened her mouth, letting her lip slide from between her jaws.
The teen girl pressed forward. "Every year, golden stars appear in the sky on my birthday. Only on my birthday. There's something about them – they're not natural. I know you've seen them."
Astrid's confidence faltered as her mother laughed and began examining herself in the mirror again. "Dear, they're only stars. That's all."
Astrid huffed. Her mother admitting the lights existed was a victory, but Astrid wasn't done yet. She raced over to a lever on the wall and yanked at it. The windows slammed shut, and instantly the ceiling lit up with Astrid's proudest accomplishment – the star map. For years, Astrid had charted the stars. Every star, every constellation, every comet, every movement was recorded on the ceiling. Astrid had carefully added intricate details over time. She loved it. It was, to be honest, her only true connection to the world beyond.
As her mother gazed up at Astrid's designs placidly, Astrid began speaking again. "These can't be normal stars. They only show up on my birthday, and . . . I want to know why." She raced to her mother's side, flipping the mirror so only the dark brown wood panel could be seen. Ignoring her mother's annoyed glare, Astrid said, "I can do this, Mom. I want to have an adventure. This won't be dangerous!"
"W-won't be dangerous?!" Mom sputtered. "Dear, Astrid! Have you not forgotten why you are here?"
Astrid tucked a rebellious strand of hair behind her ear impatiently. "Yes, yes, yes," she huffed. "The ruffians and thugs and poison ivy and quicksand and disease and bugs and men with pointy teeth-"
Her mother wrapped her arms around the now furious girl. "And people who want to use your powers for selfish reasons! I brought you here to keep you safe, darling. Don't you appreciate what I have suffered to help you?"
"Of course I appreciate it," Astrid insisted. Carefully measuring her next words, she bit her lip. At a scowl from her mother, Astrid quickly released her jaw and massaged her lips with warm fingers. If she continued, Mom might balk and might never let her venture outside. Or she just might give the three-letter word Astrid so desired. The reward was worth the risk. Astrid looked her mother in the eyes with all the confidence and respect she could muster. "Mom, I've been training. I can do this. I can go outside. I'll cover my hair, and I'll lie about my powers. If anyone gives me trouble, I can defend myself! I can do this."
Mom's eyes turned cold. Astrid felt small for a moment, before her natural assurance returned. Still, it stung when her mother whispered, "You cannot."
Astrid turned away, feeling her blue eyes leak tears against her will. She squeezed her lips together and breathed deeply. The urge to cry melted away. She clenched and unclenched her fists. Her palms felt sweaty from the nervousness of asking the request of Mother. Her star chart hovered above her head. It seemed to mock her. She would never escape. She would always be here.
From behind her, Astrid heard her mother let out a melodramatic groan. "Oh, now I'm the bad guy. Lovely," she murmured just loud enough for Astrid's benefit. Astrid's stomach twisted with slight guilt. Did she truly have the right to demand even more from her mother? She had already worked so hard on Astrid's behalf.
"I-I'm sorry," Astrid whispered, turning to face her mother. Mom smiled sweetly and embraced her daughter.
"Oh, dear, I love you ever so much," the woman crooned into Astrid's hair.
Astrid smiled at the familiar phrase. She replied, "I love you more."
Pulling back, Mother lovingly tapped Astrid on the nose. "I love you most," she promised. Astrid felt better. Her mother was so kind to her. She could change the subject. Astrid's mind drifted back to what her mother had mentioned earlier.
"So," Astrid said, smiling. "About that present . . ."
If there was one thing Mom loved almost as much as her own appearance, it was clothes. The woman pulled back, clapping delightedly. "Oh, thank you for reminding me! I found the loveliest dress in the market today. I said to myself, 'This would look best on my daughter!' I bought it on the spot!" She rushed to the basket she carried out with her each day, pulling a checkered blanket out and onto the floor. Astrid couldn't help feeling excited as she stared at the pale blue thing laying neatly folded in the basket.
"Mind you, dear, we can't afford a new dress, so this is second-hand, but it is in good condition and you can surely adjust any problems!" Mother grabbed the gleaming, soft-looking fabric and, with a dramatic flourish, thrust it into the air. Astrid felt her eyes widen as the long, beautiful blue dress flowed through the air. Her fingers stretched into the air and caught hold of the silky fabric. It was a dress Astrid couldn't have imagined. Forgetting her usual disdain of looking nice or obsessing over clothes, she twirled around with the dress pressed to her bosom.
"Mom," she said thankfully, "this is a really nice dress."
The older woman clapped again. "I just knew even you would adore it, darling!" Astrid chuckled with her. In her heart, the desire for adventure stirred. Wouldn't it be amazing to walk into town in this dress? All eyes on her, but nothing anyone could do about it. She wasn't giving up - not on anyone's life.
The mountains were farther off than Hiccup suspected. By the time they were within a mile of the peaks and the tower, Hiccup could sense Toothless' energy draining. "Good job, bud," he yelled to his dragon. The dragon gave him a wide, toothless smile.
Toothless was quite a dragon. His obsidian black coat was as reflective as glass and harder than any iron. It gleamed intimidatingly like the ocean to the west. The dragon was large by human standards, but not huge. From nostril to tailfins – of which he had one real one and one artificial one, on account of a treacherous accident - he only spanned two or three horses. His wingspan was larger and more formidable. Hiccup measured it at forty-eight feet, at least. The wings were batlike and mesmerizing. His head was oblong, like a more circular oval, with scales that almost gleamed blue in some lights. Toothless had bright green eyes, greener than anything Hiccup had ever seen, displaying a keen intelligence and potential for mischievous behaviour. Hiccup had figured that out on Day Two of the friendship, when Toothless had swung him around upside down by his left foot to get the fish out of his satchel. By far, however, Toothless' most interesting feature was his teeth. They were retractable. Most of the time, Toothless kept them hidden in his gums, giving him the appearance of an overgrown, scaly kitten. This appearance only intensified when he gave Hiccup – and only Hiccup – a wide and gummy dragon grin.
Some might consider it pathetic, Hiccup knew, that the teen's best friend was his dragon. But nobody did, because nobody knew. Hiccup had heard the stories - mass paranoia and panic that only ended in another dragon's head mounted to the wall of a castle as its flesh was served at the banquet raging below. Just the thought of Toothless gutted and lying on a platter made Hiccup sick. He took a deep breath and rubbed his buddy's scales. He was fine. They both were. Toothless, threw a knowing, comforting look back to his riding buddy. Hiccup grinned. He glanced up at the mountains.
"Hey, we're not that far," he shouted in relief. The morning had been strenuous – all that stealing and running and jumping and fearing for his life had sucked up a lot of energy. Hiccup stretched his arms into the air, yawning. He hoped whoever used to live in that tower had left a bed behind. Hiccup didn't even mind if there were some bugs. He'd slept on worse. All he wanted was to flop down on something soft. Pine needles only made good beds up to a certain point.
After several minutes, the pair finally soared above the tower. Hiccup paused to admire the lush green cove in which the turret was perched. Whoever had left here obviously had no appreciation for the true finer things in life. At least their leaving meant he could stay there for as long as he pleased. Hiccup smiled in satisfaction. He hadn't scored well in accommodations in what felt like a long time. The room atop the rotund stone column even looked spacious enough to house a dragon. Hiccup stretched a lean finger at a flat, flowerless spot just below the tower. He bent down, chest grazing Toothless' back so that the dragon could see where Hiccup was pointing.
The dragon hummed in agreement. Hiccup silently congratulated himself on choosing a successful landing spot. In his earlier days as a dragon rider, his choices had not been the wisest. Curving his wings downward to create a parachute-like effect, Toothless floated gracefully to the ground. The thump and disturbance associated with the landing no longer bothered Hiccup. Without pausing to orient himself, the teen slid a clasp from his belt out of a loop in the saddle and swung off his mount and onto the ground. The grass was as soft and silky as it had looked from the air. Hiccup looked around. He was no expert, but the way the beams of sun lit up the cove was pretty much magical.
He brushed dirt off his tunic and ran lean fingers through his feathery brown hair, sharing a satisfied, relieved grin with Toothless. "Nice job, bud," he murmured as he reached forward to scratch at Toothless' chin. Toothless wriggled in pleasure, his eyes rolling back joyfully. The teen chuckled and fell onto his knees to continue the massage. After what felt like a blissful pause in time, Toothless lifted his chin from out of Hiccup's reach as the boy began to yawn. He nudged Hiccup's head.
"Sorry, you're right," Hiccup agreed. He laid his palms on Toothless' side and pushed himself to his feet. He gazed up at the ivy-laced turret and scowled slightly. He couldn't see any stairs, platforms, or anything that could bring him to the top of the tower. He heard Toothless snorting behind him, no doubt amused at his flightless human's predicament.
The teen twisted to smile widely at his dragon. "Think you could give me a lift?"
Toothless responded by flopping down, curling his head into himself, swing his tail around his body, and blanketing himself with his wings. From beneath his wingtips, he offered a smug look that spoke volumes.
"Fine," Hiccup huffed without too much malice. He craned his neck to study the tower. The warm blocks of stone were curved at the corners, with some decay and careless building preserving holes in the rock. The thick vines trailing down the sides of the column provided a natural rope to climb. In all, it wasn't great, but not as bad as he'd thought at first. He was starting to understand why people might have abandoned a place with such challenging entrance procedures, Hiccup patted his satchel at his hip and ambled to the foot of the tower.
The ivy was thick-stemmed and slightly prickly. Hiccup wrapped fingers around the stalks, found footholds atop slightly loose stones, and began his ascent. It was surprisingly easier than he had expected. Maybe he was finally bulking up a bit? Yup, that sounded like a good reason. As he rose higher and higher, Hiccup sensed Toothless' anxiety. When he occasionally glanced down – because he'd gotten over any anxiety about heights a long time ago – he had to suck in chuckles as he watched his dragon planted directly below him at the foot of the tower. He smiled and called down encouragement and reassurance. These comforted Toothless slightly, and each occurrence seemed to pacify his nervous wriggling.
After half an hour of scaling the stones and vines, Hiccup finally wrapped his fingers around the large, jutting ledge of the window. He would have to let his legs hang in the air for a few moments in order to pull himself onto the windowsill. Again, his lithe, skinny frame actually helped. With a grunt, he swung away from the wall. Ignoring his dragon's panicky yelps from below, the teen gripped the window frame. With a fair amount of wheezing and mild cursing, Hiccup pulled his elbows onto the ledge. After that, it was a simple task to swing the rest of his body onto the ledge.
He paused to take a breath and stretch his now aching arms. Yeah. He needed a nap. Hiccup sneaked a peak at Toothless, and chuckled openly to see the dragon curl up in a particularly soft patch of grass, no doubt trying to pretend he had never worried or even gotten up at all. The teen twisted to look at the window. The shutters – almost doorlike – were swayed wide open. Hiccup hopped into the cool room. He heaved a sigh of relief and calm. Once he slid back down and assured Toothless there was room for a dragon, both could easily stay holed up here for days. At this point, a bed was optional. Now that he and Toothless were safe, he could drop down right here.
It was a welcoming idea rudely interrupted as sharp pain rammed itself into the back of Hiccup's head. He felt himself freeze, before darkness invaded his vision and he toppled to the cold stone ground.