Chapter 1
Voices, muffled voices reached his ears, they sounded unfamiliar, and something started the warning-clocks in his mind. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing shadows next to him one was dangerously close, fear flashed thru his body, and his vision got clear and all pain seemed to disappear and the fever was not a problem; as he shot up from the bed, seeing a knife on the bedside table, grabbing it before crashing into the wall: opposite side of the room pointing the knife at the people. That stared at him in shock.
"Where am I?! And who are you people?" he asked in a cold tone, a blond woman stared at him startled for a second before she lifted her hands in an unthreatening way.
"You're not in condition to stand up; please we are trying to help." She looked at him with worried but calm green eyes. A growl then reached his ears and a black panther moved on the ground, the pupil's small, and teeth visible. He quickly pointed the knife to the panther instead, making it growl more loudly.
"Before you ask for people's names, aren't you supposed to tell your own first?" a tall brunette asked, placing his hand on the panthers side, making it stop growling and taking some steps back sitting down, still looking at the boy with untrusting eyes. The boy was silent for a moment, the knife now pointing at the taller man who had moved towards him.
"Jack, my name is Jack." The boy said and made it clear with his glare not to get closer. "Where am I and who are you?"
"My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, and I'm the captain of the Night Furry." The tall brunette said, he then gestured to the panther, "This is Toothless, he's friendly once you won his trust. That is Rapunzel." He gestured to the blond woman. "She's our doctor and made sure you didn't die on us." Jack glanced hastily to the blond before returning his eyes to the captain, not lowering his guard the slightest, pirates were not to be trusted; he'd been taught that the hard way.
The captain made a gesture to a red-haired woman who stood with arms crossed over her chest and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the woman.
"I am Merida, first born decedent of the northern clan: Dunbroch, and the best sniper there is." She said her accent easy to hear. The brunette sighed closing his mouth, before gesturing to the last person.
"This is Aster, he was the one that brought you up on the ship; he's the weapon maker." The dark tanned man nodded making the blue-greyish hair wobble.
Jack looked between all of them, and the panther, was he to trust these people? Something in the captain's eyes told him he could, but it spoke against everything he'd been taught about pirates.
The pain then suddenly returned with full force, the knife trembled in his grip, as he lost balance for a moment. He heard the blond call out to him, what she said he couldn't hear, the world started to spin and he heard how the knife clattered against the wooden floor before one of his knees grew week and hit the floor hard, and before everything turned black; he saw the brunette jump forward, to catch him before he hit the floor.
And he found himself thinking only one thing as he lost conscious.
These pirates are weird…
Hiccup looked down at the boy; he was making a grimacing face due to the pain. Hiccup lifting him up in his arms and walking back to the bed laying him down again, placing the blankets that had been thrown around as he'd dashed up from the bed. Rapunzel sighed and observed the wounds again, not so much damage done to them, to her relief. She just had to change the bandages at the leg.
"I think it would be better if we're not so many in here, just me and Rapunzel." Hiccup said as Rapunzel stood up finished with the new bandage.
Merida sighed taking up the knife from the floor and giving it to him holding in the blade.
"Ay, but keep this away from 'im."
"'e was scared; like a cornered animal." Aster said looking at the boy who had relaxed a bit, before he nodded to Hiccup and left the room followed by Merida, Toothless walked up to the bed giving away a growl at the boy.
"Toothless this applies to you to." Hiccup said and got a growl in reply; Toothless were not happy with the choice, he did not trust the boy, but after a bit of growling and glaring, he did as he was told Rapunzel looked at Hiccup.
"If he gets worse call for me okay…"
"I will." Rapunzel smiled and left the room.
It didn't take long before Jack regained consciousness again, but this time he didn't bold up from the bed, too tired to move and he felt a bit groggy.
Hiccup sat at the side of the bed sketching in his block with a coal pen, he hadn't realized it, but he had been drawing Jack. He looked to the side once he felt that he was being watched. He saw the brown and blue eyes of Jack look at him in a tired way.
"Hey, you made quite a racket earlier." He said there he sat on the bedside table closing the block and turning his face to the boy. Jack looked away with a tired moment, time had finally caught up with him, and if it hadn't been for Rapunzel's medicine he would probably been squirming in pain due to the wounds.
"Haddock… was it?" Jack asked in a hoarse voice looking up at him with feverish eyes.
"Yes, but my friends can call me Hiccup." A weak smile grew on Jack's pale lips more at the left side.
"Hiccup… it's a funny… name…" Jack mumbled as he started to fall asleep, his breathings slowing down. Hiccup gave him a weak smile, and made the piece of cloth wet again before placing it on top of the boy's head again, before he left the room.
Rapunzel were the only one that stood outside, she had a worried look on her face; that she tried to hide but failed a bit. The setting sun coloured the world in a warm colour, the clouds were flushed pink. And the sky grew darker. The first stars were already visible.
"How is he?" she asked looking inside before Hiccup closed the door.
"He's sleeping." Hiccup smiled at her before he looked around "Toothless!" he called out, the panther looked down from the higher deck where the helm were placed, head between the flat wooden bars of the fence, tilting his head in question. "Can you keep an eye on Jack for me?" a growl was his only reply. "Come on bud." A louder growl and a snarl before Toothless pulled his head back with an irritated breath thru his nostrils, making it clear he wanted nothing to do with the boy. "What's with him? He's even more edgy; then he was when Merida joined." Hiccup sighed moving some fingers thru his locks at the side of his head. Rapunzel chuckled and smiled.
"It takes time to trust, and counting in fact that boy pointed knife at Toothless makes it harder." Nicholas voice suddenly said, making the two youngsters turn around. He smiled at them. "How long did it take for him to trust you captain?"
"About a week…"
"He will trust; it will just take time." Nicholas smiled "Don't force it. The dinner's ready."
"So how's the kid doing?" Eugene asked as he stabbed a piece of meat with a fork. They all sat in the galley of the ship.
"He's sleeping right now." Hiccup answered, taking a bite of the newly baked bread.
"I wonder how he ended up in the water with those wounds…" Merida pondered moving her fork around the plate stabbing it randomly at the plate; missing the food completely.
"Merida…" Rapunzel said giving her a sighing smile.
"Who knows why not ask 'im once he wakes up." Aster said leaning back on the sofa he sat on, against the left wall of the galley. He crossed his arms over his chest. Not planning to eat anymore. "By the way, Hiccup, what are ya planning to do with 'im once he's gotten well again?" Hiccup looked at him, before shaking his head.
"I don't know… It depends on what he wants… and also it's quite a journey to get to another island where there's a city, we don't even know where he was going; before he ended up in the water."
"That true." Nicholas said, "Second's anyone?" some of them nodded, and Nicholas filled their plates with warm food again.
"I won't trust 'im till Toothless does." Merida said standing up, making the chair scrape against the wooden floor. "I'm going to sleep, good night." Merida walked to the wooden door, to the left; that was under the stairs, it closed silent behind her.
The others looked at each other, before one after another they returned to the two bedrooms. The boy's room were to the right while the girls were to the left.
Merida and Rapunzel shared room, it was not as big as the boy's but enough for them both; two hammocks hanging from bow to stern in the small room. Rapunzel's hammock was purple with the sun symbol; from her home in the south, Merida had her clan's colours and pattern on hers: purple, green, light blue, black and white that went crossing over each other in a repeating pattern.
A round window gave them faint light; the windowsill under it had a vase of flowers, some worn books; belonging to Rapunzel, and a wooden bear statue, belonging to Merida. The windowsill also functioned as Pascal's sleeping place; if he didn't curl up beside Rapunzel's head. Right now the green chameleon slept in the light of the setting sun.
"What do ya think of the wee lad, Punz?" Merida asked as she took of her coat and clothes, changing to her night dress; a long white flannel shirt, with loose arms that grew tight at her wrists, she changed her pants to a pair of dark green tights, so that if she were needed on deck during the night; she didn't have to worry about the wind making her lower regions shown to the rest of the crew.
Before laying down in her hammock; pulling the blanket up over her chest, and crossed her arms behind her head, closing her eyes.
Rapunzel shrugged her shoulders taking of her necklace and changed to a nightdress but even she wore some pants under it.
"He must have been freaked out when he first woke up. But I hope he will be fine. Also I find his eyes cute." Rapunzel giggled.
"You fall for men to easily Punz." Merida muttered looking at the blond woman who was grinning as she lay down in her own hammock.
"Oh yeah?" she smiled a smug smile at her
"What?" Merida stared at her, feeling a cold sweat starting over her body. She knew it was a bad Omen when Rapunzel smiled like that.
"Nothing…" It didn't make Merida feel any better she sat up on her elbow almost glaring at the blond woman who tried to keep a straight face.
"Rapunzel." Merida muttered out.
"Well you may already know that I like both." Rapunzel lied down on her hammock.
"Both?" Merida was lost, she had not been on the ship for so long so all the crewmembers secrets that most of the rest knew, well; she didn't know all of them. Rapunzel's face grew into a big grin.
"I like both." She said again looking at Merida, who just stared at her, her confusion written all over her face. Rapunzel gave away a sigh before sitting up a bit. "Both, Men and Women, I like both." Merida felt her cheeks grow hot at the look in Rapunzel's eyes.
"Oh." She hastily retreated her eyes; from Rapunzel's, receiving a laughter from the blond woman that lied down on her hammock again.
"Don't worry, I lean more towards boys."
"Allot towards Eugene, right?" Merida said grinning smugly at her. Rapunzel sat up rapidly, making her hammock wobble before stilling, her face burning red.
"How did-" her voice was pitched before she slammed a hand over her mouth glancing towards the wall that separated their rooms. "How did you know?" she whispered out in a hissed voice after she removed her hand.
"I'm not blind." Merida grinned. "Ye have a crush on him don't ya?"
"Maybe a tiny one…" Rapunzel mumbled out.
One night and day had passed since the crew of the Night Fury had saved Jack from the water; the boy had been awake, but Rapunzel had forbidden him from leaving the bed with a threat of a frying pan, Jack had not felt the need to move, even if he got bored, when he did he started to study the cabin with all the stuff and furniture inside.
Toothless walked across the deck watching out in the night for other ships, the night was calm and one after one the lights on the ship went out, leaving the stars and the moon the only light source in the late night. The sails were recessed and the anchor dropped. The ship swayed in the calm ocean breeze. Toothless yawned and stretched his body, before shaking himself and took another walk around the ship. Noting, everything was still and clear, he sat down at the left side of the ship, looking up at the stars. A creaking sound then reached his sensitive ears. His head snapped down and he peered towards the sound. The door to the cabin was opened slowly. Toothless growled a bit when he saw the boy moved out from the door. He was halting and had his hand on his head.
A calm perky breeze stroke his face and made his brown locks flutter, he opened his eyes slowly; stars everywhere, he had never seen such a clear night sky in his entire life. His eyes opened wide and he lowered his hand from his head as he turned it to the sky walking halting out on deck staring at the sky, and the masts shadows were tall and dark. A growl from his side made him flinch and turn his head; to find himself staring at a pair of green eyes that glowed in the light from the moon, Jack gasped and in pure instinct he stumbled back from the panther, losing his balance and landed hard on his rear, staring at the panther; with a slight hint of fear in his two coloured eyes.
Toothless growled glaring daggers at the boy. He did not trust him. He walked towards Jack; who backed away till his back hit the railing.
Jack tried to remember what the panthers name was. He could have sworn he'd heard it, what was it?!
"Tooth… no. That's not right…" he tried to remember, pressing himself up against the railing.
The panther only got closer growling. "Toothless!" Jack then cried out, the panther stopped looking at him with big eyes. Jack had his eyes squeezed shut and his head was turned away, but when noting happened he slowly opened his eyes looking at the panther that now sat down scanning him with glaring eyes. Jack looked at him, seeing the knowledge in the panther's eyes; they were old, showing that the panther were older in mind then in body.
Jack slowly lifted his hand reaching for the panther's face. Toothless eyes fell on his hand, a growl left him before his teeth reflected the moon as he growled a big louder, Jack stopped his hand pulling it back, the panther then snarled at him before disappearing into the shadows.
Jack took help from the railing to get back to his feet. He had planned to go back to the cabin, but the stars and mirror like ocean made him forget it.
"Did Rapunzel not tell ya to stay in bed?" the Pooka's accent suddenly spoke behind him; making his head snap around, causing a bit of dizziness, before his eyes landed at the tanned man.
"Aster…" Jack said not sure why the man was awake nor up on deck.
"Looking at the stars?" Aster walked up to the railing at Jack's left side. Jack looked up at the tall man. Aster looked down at him.
"Ah… yeah…" Jack looked back out over the ocean.
"Trouble sleeping?" he asked looking out over the ocean as well.
"Not really…" damn it, why did this feel so awkward? "What about you?"
"Me? No. I'm on night's watch." Aster crossed his arms on the railing looking down at the boy. Jack looked up at him.
"What?" he asked irritation in his voice. Aster chuckled but did not answer; he smiled before looking out over the ocean again.
"You better go to sleep." He said placing his hand on Jacks head ruffling the brown locks, getting a complained groan from the boy, before he walked along the railing; to take a patrol around the ship. Jack glared after him before a wave of tiredness washed over him. He halted back to the cabin and with a grunt lay back down in the bed, he fell asleep right as his head landed on the pillow.