So sorry for the late update. I just moved apartments and school just resumed. Time is INCREDIBLY scarce as of now. Here's chapter two! Hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Two

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

"What the…" Matt thought to himself, slowly stirring from where he lay "What is that?"

Looking up and towards where he was hearing the tapping, he remembered where he was at. Seeing the room, the bed, and the remains of a fire in the fireplace, Matt let out a long sigh and rested his head back on his flat pillow. He remembered where he was at, and was loathing it. Hearing the door creek open, Matt looked back up to see a person standing in the doorway.

"King Bruvos wishes you to come to breakfast. I will be waiting outside to take you to him." The stranger said, surprised to see Matt sleeping on the floor.

"And if I don't go?" Matt asked, glaring at the stranger.

"That is your choice. But the dining hall is the only place you can eat; as well as you're only allowed to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner." The person replied shrugging. "That is what King Bruvos told me at least."

"Fine. I'll be right there then." Matt said angrily. Rolling over, he picked himself up from off the floor. Standing up, he promptly stumbled as he put weight on his leg. Looking down at it, he silently cursed at himself. In the event of wanting to go to bed and thinking about Berk, he forgot to that he left his brace on. Pulling the lever to deactivate it, Matt then limped over to the where the person waited for him "Well, lead the way I guess."

The walk in the hall way during the day allowed Matt to notice small details with the trophies mounted on the walls. Under each head was the name of the person who killed it. Surprisingly, only a few had Bruvos' name on it. "Great." Matt muttered to himself "So everyone else here hunts dragons…"

It was a pretty quick walk, or limp for Matt. Following the person to a loft in the great hall room, he saw Bruvos and another person sitting at the table. As soon as Matt showed himself, Bruvos instantly smiled and gestured for Matt to sit down next to him. "Come Matt! I'm sure after that voyage your probably pretty hungry."

"Thanks…" Matt replied softly, not wanting to accept the fact that he was hungry. Reluctantly taking the seat next to Bruvos, his leg instantly felt relieved; finally able to actually rest without the brace. Looking around for his food, Matt was surprised to find that the person who guided him to breakfast was also serving him breakfast. Waiting until the person left, he then asked Bruvos "I thought you said you never kept your people as slaves?"

They're not slaves, they're paid servants." Bruvos corrected, taking a bite out of some eggs "They weren't able to have a place of their own, so I let them live here. In return, they keep the place clean and I also pay them some spending money."

Matt just nodded, staring at his plate. With an assortment of meats and some eggs, he slowly reached for his fork and began to take a few bites of his breakfast.

Bruvos smiled as he watched Matt eat, to which he quickly pointed to the other person sitting with them. "Matt, I'd like you to meet Auger. My son. He usually comes with me on my trips but not the one where I picked you up."

"Honored to meet you." Auger said smiling, standing up to shake Matt's hand "My dad wouldn't stop talking about you since he's been home." Auger looked a little older than Matt. He wore a similar armor plate as Bruvos, but instead of being engraved with gold, it was engraved with silver. His hair was a shaggy brown. He even had a long enough beard that he had tied a knot in it. Also like his father, he wore a sword that was strapped to his waist.

Matt didn't say anything, or stand up to receive Auger's gesture. Instead, he asked "So…do you know why I'm here?"

Standing there awkwardly, Auger began to say "Well he told me that you, and everyone where you come from, ride dragons; and that you'll help us learn how to train them as well."

"Ah see," Matt quickly said, dropping his fork onto his plate "I'm not going to help you do that though."

"He also mentioned that you're going to be…difficult to persuade to help us." Auger replied, sitting back down.

"That's right. I will be." Matt huffed back "I don't even know why I was chosen for this. I might be a trainer, but only for one or two kinds of dragons. Hiccup is the Dragon Master."

"Hiccup?" Auger asked quizzically "I…I didn't even know that was a name!"

"Yes it is a name, and he's also chief of Berk." Bruvos answered, cutting Matt off "And I'm sure that he'll be coming here very soon to try and get Matt back."

"Hopefully sooner than later." Matt said with venom in his voice "Assuming that I'm still alive 'till then."

"I never meant any harm on you." Bruvos quickly replied "Nor will I while you're here alone. But, my threat is still real; if Hiccup and his fleet show up before I can train my own dragons, you will not be going back to Berk breathing."

Matt just stared at Bruvos. He hated him, but couldn't do anything about it. All he could do was stare at him.

"Why not trade Matt for Hiccup?" Auger asked, looking at his father "If he's better than Matt at training him, why not just wait and negotiate? Maybe even negotiate that they teach us in exchange for Matt?"

"I'll talk to you about it when we're alone Auger." Bruvos quickly answered "I don't want to give Matt any more idea's than what's going through his head."

"Gee. Thanks." Matt said, not taking his eyes off of Bruvos.

"So…what dragons can you train?" Auger asked, pouring himself some wine "It sounds like you can train at least a few of them."

"What makes you think I'll tell you that?" Matt retorted, looking back at Auger.

"I did ask nicely." Auger replied, glaring back at Matt. His demeanor was darkening, which oddly comforted Matt. He knew Bruvos was trying to manipulate him to help teach them, and it frankly bugged Matt that he wasn't really treated like a prisoner. Of all the times he was captured, this was the most uncomfortable for him.

"Auger…" Bruvos said warningly. Auger immediately backed away, returning his attention to his drink.

Shaking his head at his son, Bruvos turned back to Matt and followed up with "I don't think it would be too much to ask what dragons you did train. I mean, it's not like we would know what to do if we had them."

"That just drives my point even more." Matt replied, leaning his chair on two legs "Since you don't know what to do with them, why do I need to tell you?"

"I guess I could put a time limit on you then." Bruvos said methodically, thinking of a way to make Matt cave in. "We'll just capture a random dragon and throw you in a cage with it."

Matt just stared at him angrily, trying to think of a comeback. Finally, after a few seconds, Matt simply replied "Well, I guess I'll just let it kill me. It sounds like that's going to be the end result regardless."

"Not if you tell us what to do." Auger cut in, staring at Matt with narrowed eyes "You'll be allowed to go home in peace."

"No. You're completely wrong with that." Matt quickly shot back, glaring at Auger "I'll be going home, but not in peace."

"Why? Because you taught someone how to train dragons?" Auger asked loudly, obviously annoyed by Matt's resilience to teach them.

"No." Matt replied coldly "It would because of the fact that I taught you, your father, and your kingdom how to train dragons. That's why. I have no problem teaching people, it's who I teach. The last person I taught almost killed me and my fiancé!"

"Auger! That's enough! Go find your sister!" Bruvos shouted, slamming his fists on the table; causing both Matt and Auger to quickly look at him. Auger shot another angry look at Matt and then promptly stood up to leave.

Watching Auger walk away, Bruvos sighed and said "I'm sorry Matt. I was never serious about that threat."

"I'm sure you weren't." Matt replied, folding his arms and leaned back in his chair "Just like you weren't going to take me here to begin with."

"I'm serious Matt." Bruvos reaffirmed "I was just getting frustrated that you wouldn't even answer some simple questions after all the hospitality I've shown you."

"You call this hospitality!?" Matt quickly asked, staring at Bruvos with fire in his eyes "You took me from my friends and family against my will, and you have the guts to call this hospitality!? You're trying to bribe me! We both know that!"

"I promise that I'd never do anything to harm Berk if you just give me your knowledge!" Bruvos said, putting a hand on his heart "I know that if we can train dragons, my village would prosper tenfold!"

Matt just glared at him. Wanting to say something back, Matt just shook his head and grabbed a piece of bread. Stuffing it in his mouth, Matt stood up and limped towards the stairs.

"Would you like to tour the village?" Bruvos asked with some desperation in his voice. Watching Matt leave was a huge sign that Auger damaged whatever amount of trust Matt had in him.

"I can look out a window if I want to see it." Matt said, not turning to face Bruvos "I'll be in my room if you ever decide to let me go; either to Berk or in this life." Limping down the stairs of the loft, Matt began to make way towards his room. His blood was boiling with rage. Walking by mounted shield on the wall, Matt clenched his fist and drove it into hanging shield. Pain shot into his wrist as the shield didn't even budge. Grasping his arm that flared up in pain, he quickly resumed to hobble to his room. Walking in the door way, Matt saw that his bed was already made. Still not wanting to give in to the plush bed that was given to him, Matt just sat down against his bed. Still holding his arm, he looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes.

"I'm so tired…" He whispered to himself, letting the memories of home flow back into his mind. The thought of Heather caused a small tear to roll down his eye, making him quickly wipe it. He just wanted to go home. To be with Hiccup, Astrid, Wasatch, Heather, everyone that he loved.

Before he could think too much about her or Wasatch, he heard a soft knocking at his door. Angry, Matt opened his eyes, expecting to see Bruvos standing there. Instead, he saw a girl standing there. She had to be at least 19. Maybe even 20. She had a white headband around her brown hair that she let down to her shoulders. Her face looked as if she was full of energy as she smiled broadly at Matt. Wearing a plain looking steel chest plate and steel plated gauntlets, she gave Matt a quick wave with her hand.

"Hi there!" she said leaning against the door "You must be Matt! The dragon rider!"

Matt frowned when he heard this. Apparently Bruvos was telling everyone who he was. Not saying anything, Matt just slightly nodded at her.

"Wow…that's amazing!" She said excitedly. Looking around a little awkwardly, she then asked "Can I come in?"

"Not my place, so I don't care." Matt whispered hoarsely, shrugging his shoulders.

Still smiling, the girl walked over to Matt. Sitting down cross legged in front of Matt, she then asked "So, what do you think of this place so far?"

Matt shrugged again, whispering "I haven't seen anything other than this room and the great hall. So far, not to impressed."

"Really!? Where else have you been that's bigger than this place?" the girl asked, looking at Matt with a shocked and even more excited expression.

Matt just let out an angry sigh, burying his head in his hands. Growling a little bit louder, he said "Is that why I'm here? To answer people's questions?"

"No! That's not what I meant!" the girl quickly responded, realizing that she may have irked Matt "I…I guess I was meaning…" Her voice trailed off. Thinking for a second, she the sighed and said "Ok, I guess I did mean to ask you questions. I didn't realize that you were bombarded with questions before I met you."

"Since Bruvos took me, that's all that's been happening to me." Matt whispered back, not taking his head out of hands.

Staring at Matt for a few moments, realizing that he was depressed, she then said "Ok, how about this then. Since your new here, you can ask me ANY question you want and I'll try to answer it the best I can."

Matt slowly lifted his head up. Looking at the girl, he was slightly confused at her. She seemed to be sincere, unaware of what Bruvos was trying to get out of him. At first he didn't want to talk, still angry with what happened at breakfast; but this might be the first time in a long time that he might have someone to actually have a conversation with. And not about training dragons.

Deciding to start out safely, Matt said "Ok, I'll agree to that. But I'm not bound to answer all of your questions…deal?"

"Uh…ok?" The girl replied, confused at the request. Shrugging her shoulders, a smile returned to her face as she said "So go ahead! Ask me anything!"

"What's your name?" Matt asked, relaxing his body a little bit.

"Lydia!" the girl responded "My name is Lydia. I'm Bruvos' daughter."

Matt's face quickly darkened. This was his second kid. He should have guessed that. Sighing, out of both frustration and out of desperation to talk to someone, he decided to ask another question; this time on a more serious note.

"Ok Lydia, who is your dad? I mean besides being king here. Why does he act the way he does?" He asked, stretching his bad leg so that it would continue to relax.

"That's…kind of difficult for me to answer…" Lydia replied, looking down slightly "Really though, he just brings people here to give them another chance at life."

"There's got to be more to it than that." Matt pressed, trying to learn as much as he could about Bruvos.

"Well, he does it not only to be kind." Lydia added, looking at Matt in the eye "He gets a loyal and faithful people. They all love him for releasing them and giving them a richer life."

"What about those who had a good life before? I mean, I'm sure that some of the people here had some family or friends back where they came from." Matt grilled again.

Shrugging, Lydia said "I don't think I know the answer that you're looking for. All I know is that everyone here is completely loyal to him." Then giving a soft smile, she asked "Do you have family? Are they still alive?"

Willing to give an answer to her, he said "Yes. I have a…" Matt paused for a second to try and describe his and Hiccup's relationship. "I have a brother. He has a fiancé. I also have a fiancé as well. On top of that, I have a lot of very close friends."

"Really!?" Lydia asked with wide eyes "And my dad still took you here? Does he know about it?"

Matt was confused at this. Apparently, she was the only one that Bruvos hasn't told anything about him. Nodding slowly, mostly out of confusion, he then explained "Yeah he knows…I'm surprised that he didn't tell you. He's told everyone who I am and what I know."

"I'm sorry." Lydia said softly "I haven't talked to my dad since last night when he went to bed." Then throwing on a wider smile, she asked "So…can I ask why my dad brought you here? Or is that a question that you're not going to tell me."

"Well, you know my name. And that I ride dragons." Matt said leaning his head against the bed "That's pretty much it. Your dad wants me to teach him how to train dragons."

"Oh…I didn't know that was why. I thought he just picked you up from some slavers." Lydia said, looking down again "I didn't know that you were taken from your family."

"I was taken by some slavers. That was where your father met me." Matt explained, looking at Lydia "But I was freed by my friends. After that, Bruvos basically held one of our dragon's captive in order to exchange it for me."

"I'm sorry…" Lydia whispered, staring at Matt "I had no idea my dad did that."

Wanting to change the subject, Matt then asked "Ok, my turn. Since you already knew everything about me, why did you want to ask me some questions?"

Smiling again, Lydia explained "I love hearing about places. I can never go anywhere with my dad and I always have to have a guard with me whenever I leave the village. When I heard we had a new visitor, especially with your back ground with riding dragons, I wanted to ask you what your life was like!"

Staring at the cross legged girl, Matt finally let a real, relaxed smile grow on his face; the first time in a very, very long time. She was genuinely interested in him, and not trying to get something out of it. Still not ready to open up completely to her, he then asked "Why won't your dad let you go with him on trips?"

Lydia's smile slowly disappeared as she took a deep breath. "I don't know exactly why, but I have a guess."

Matt brought himself to sit straight up. He could tell that he might have asked a sensitive subject.

"When I was really little, dad and my mom went on a sailing trip; Auger was with them as well. Dad tells me that they left me with my grandparents." Lydia's face grew a little darker as she began to dig into the memory. "I don't remember much other than seeing my dad and Auger walking off the ship crying. Dad then took me and set me on his lap and proceeded to tell me that mom was missing at sea. A storm washed her away."

Matt just stared at Lydia. He didn't know what to say after hearing that story. "I'm…I'm sorry to hear that…" He whispered quietly, not wanting to look at Lydia in the eye.

"It was a long time ago. I've pretty much got over it." Lydia replied, forcing a smile back on her face "I didn't really get a chance to get that attached to her."

"So…because of what happened to your mom…your dad doesn't want you to explore." Matt said, putting the pieces together "I guess that makes sense."

"Yeah, but I want to see what the world is like!" Lydia quickly replied, a hint of angst in her voice "That's why I wanted to ask you a few questions. If I can't see anything for myself, the next best thing I can do is ask the people who have seen things!"

"Your dad sounds really controlling then…" Matt said, still thinking of the story "I mean, it kind of matches up with how's he's treated me. I'm a free prisoner really; which sounds a lot like your situation."

"It's just how he's always been. Even Auger doesn't have that much more privileges than me." Lydia quickly replied, defending her dad "And he's dad's favorite."

"Still sounds like a real charmer to me." Matt threw in, leaning against the bed again.

"I hope you'll get used to him." Lydia said, shrugging her shoulders "There's a reason why I still love him."

Matt didn't say anything, he just kept on thinking of Bruvos and trying to put together if he really was a bad guy. The thought quickly made Matt shudder. "No. He is a bad guy. He took me from everything I knew and loved. There is no good in him." He thought to himself.

"Tell you what; I have another deal to offer." Lydia said, beginning to stand up "How about you tell me about your home and more about yourself, and I'll show you the village. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to walk outside of the village walls!" Extending her hand out to him, she then asked "What do you say? I mean I guess my dad could show you around instead."

The thought of Bruvos dragging him around made Matt shudder. Looking up at Lydia whose face was beaming at him, he slowly reached up for the hand. "Deal. You're the first person who actually wanted to talk to me without an angle."

Smiling, Lydia jerked Matt up in one smooth motion. As soon as he landed on his feet, his bad leg shot a quick jolt of pain into his body.

"Errgghh!" Mat grunted, grasping his leg with his one free hand "A little more gentle next time, ok?"

"Why? What's wrong with your leg?" Lydia asked, confusion written over her face.

"Well, it's a good thing we have a walk ahead of us. It's a long story." Matt said, grinning in order to mask the pain that was slowly dying down.

With a confused look still on her face, Lydia just shrugged and said "Well, I'm ready to hear it! But please! Can you first describe your home? I just want to imagine what it looked like while you tell me your stories!"

Smiling, Matt let Lydia lead him out of his room. "Fine. Have you ever heard of a place called Berk?"