WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS NON-CONSENSUAL SEX BETWEEN A MAN AND A NEWLY-TURNED-THIRTEEN YEAR OLD, AND TRIGGER CONTENT. IF THAT SUBJECT MATTER DISTURBS YOU, STOP READING.
A/N:Not beta-read so sorry for the mistakes…
Things get progressively darker from here on. If rape, genocide, and torture aren't your cup of tea; please leave. Things go downhill from here, and there are things done that may count as brainwashing or moral degradation. This will feature desensitization. What will Hiccup be desensitized from? Experiences that would be considered as traumatic to a child soldier.
On another note, River's speech improved since he lived in a place using a language he hasn't perfected. It's a good time to practice, no?
Also…This would be before the following: theThird Crusades where Vikings are running out; before the Kamakura period also known as the Shogunate, in the middle of the Song dynasty which established paper money and banknotes and the first permanent navy; also, around this time Korea was lacking an emperor so it was under the military lead of Choe Chung-heon. Civil wars in Korea, and Jin dynasty fighting with Song and —yeah, lots of shit happened in this period.
Some time skip, and it gets darker and edgier. On another note… I'M A MONSTER!
Beneath the Surface
Void
Hiccup washed the soot and grime around his face and hands; he waved Gobber a goodbye before running off to the general direction to Ishi and Kasui's house. No food stores were out in the open, ever since Ishi had requested a piece of land dug deep enough and filled it with food stores for fermentation. Burying food wasn't unusual in Berk, but it was rare during the warmer months. It was effective in hiding stores though.
He can now openly carry the parchment that will soon turn into a codex that River gave him. It contained a few weapon designs, a few personal notes on experimental compounds, and a few snippets of his daily life in Berk. It had been four years ever since the foreigners' arrival and they seem to be adjusting well to the village, and they all managed to defend themselves from dragons pretty well.
Hiccup already had terrain training down along with scaling and leaping incorporated with stealth. They finally moved to hand-to-hand combat, weapons exercises, and projectile training—which included bows and arrows, throwing knives, and poisoned darts. Stone and Glaze may have differences in their training, but his progress remained the same.
Then there were the times that their seniors would be pulled into bigger missions, and Glaze would be the only one left to teach him. Sometimes though, their lectures turn into different directions that would be far from anything resembling formal lessons. What Hiccup enjoyed though, were strategic lessons.
Hiccup was walking at a lazy pace, following the path back to the village. James was right next to him, hands inside the pockets of his trousers.
"How do you destroy a military kingdom with killing just one person?"
"Um… depends. What sort of army are we talking about here?" Intel also turned into an important aspect, and Hiccup appreciated people not charging headfirst into battles without proper information and a full-proof plan. There were also taught scenarios that these situations were scarce, but that was where tactical improvising came in. "What type of army is it? What's the chain of command, how many people are the higher ups, who are the higher ups, and which officer these people look up to?"
"Gah, why did River had to teach you how to ask questions?" James was grinning though. "Alright, here's the chain of command: there are four divisions, and each one has its own general. They answer to a minister of defence, the ruler of the kingdom, the prime minister, and to the heir of the throne. The elderly of the population prefer the prime minister over the ruler, the current generation are banking their hopes on the heir to the throne, and the next generation wants the prime minister to be replaced by the minister of defence."
Hiccup nodded when James paused. The older boy continued.
"One general has the largest army, but they are very disorganized. The other two generals' divisions are fiercely loyal, but these two are at odds, so the people under them are at odds too. As for the other general… they are the most effective, the best of the best, but they're small and they're more likely to stab one another in the back in a bid for moving up the ranks. If there's anyone who hold the most influence amongst the four, it's the defence minister."
"Okay… bad army, easy to disrupt but the country isn't going down any time soon… What about the economy? Who handles those stuff… Wait! That is a trick question!" Hiccup frowned at the taller boy. "You can't topple a kingdom just by killing one person! You need to take down multiple key figures and—" The redhead snapped his mouth shut, a contemplative expression on his face. "You could kill the minister of defence and take everyone else hostage."
Hiccup was getting good at gathering information too, but he has yet to learn how to pick up on certain key words and reading between the lines.
James laughed and ruffled Hiccup's hair. "Alright, explain."
"Next generation looks up to the guy, so take him out and the next generation wouldn't know what to do. You topple the defence too, and you get to shame the other important figures and bam, a ruined kingdom. This is theoretical, right? Because it's much more complicated than that. "
James simply hummed in reply. Neither felt like going back to the village soon, it was a little too early to rest. There was an appreciated silence between the two, further highlighted by the light breeze and rustling of leaves.
"So, how what brought you to the Order?" Hiccup asked out of the blue. "I sorta… saw River and Stone take someone out and then they asked me to go back the next day to replace the guy. I saw no harm there, so yeah."
James gave him a strange look and an annoyed expression flashed in the boy's face. "I was recruited, which was why I'm here and that's what you only need to know." He scowled and glanced away. "What made you stay in the Order?"
"Well… I thought; there was no harm in joining, right?" Hiccup didn't look up; his cheeks were a little red from embarrassment. "Well, I'm usually ignored and stuff so there wasn't any harm, right? It couldn't be that—"
Hand gripped his shoulder and Hiccup's back slammed hard on the tree. A shock of pain exploded from his back and into his arms, and the fingers digging on his shoulders. He could feel fingernails trying to pierce through the cloth and into his skin, and hot and laboured breath just above his head.
"You had a choice!" Glaze's face was contorted in anger. His eyes were bright with rage and his mouth was pulled back into a viscous snarl. "You could have… You didn't have to do this!"
Hiccup was paralyzed in fear, shock and bewilderment held him in place. This was the first time he had seen the older boy to be so angry. The usually dull brown eyes were feverishly bright with a madness that possessed him from an otherworldly force.
"No one will appreciate you, no one will ever be thankful for the things you will do for the good of others!" Glaze took a ragged breath. "You will desecrate the dead, violate the living, you will do atrocities and atrocities will be done against you until there's nothing left! You say that Stone and River believes that you have the strength to be a Night Walker…"
Glaze let the words sink in; Hiccup wanted the older boy to stop talking because it was confusing. Hiccup only knew that their seniors did a lot of horrible things, if it was for the good of the world… It wasn't that bad, right? Glaze must be exaggerating; the boy didn't seem to like him very much even if he proved himself to be intelligent and quick to learn. Though, Glaze was warming up to Hiccup, right? Why the sudden change? Was it something Hiccup said?
Hiccup's throat burned and his chest hurt. Tears prickled his eyes and made his vision blurry, and there was still pain echoing from his back when Glaze slammed him. Hiccup clenched his eyes shut, afraid that the older boy would hurt him in another way.
"They're lying." A mirthless laugh escaped the brunet's lips. "They will tear away everything that makes you human until there's nothing left but an endless void. They'll break you, they'll destroy your spirit, they'll tear your heart out of your chest again and again and again. You'll be nothing more than an empty puppet that couldn't do anything for himself and you'll only good for following orders like a mindless anim—"
"Please stop…" Hiccup's voice was a harsh whisper, and it seemed to drain the older boy of anger.
"I… Hiccup…" The teen swallowed audibly, loosening his grip. Hiccup dared a peek to see that the furious stance Glaze was now a defeated slump. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
The older teen pulled Hiccup into a tight and desperate embrace, chanting apologies into the younger boy's ear.
"I'll protect you, I promise."
A chill ran down Hiccup's back.
Hiccup was surprised to find a ship waiting for them.
It was his first mission and he was a few parts nervous, a few parts excited, and plenty of parts sick. Their objective was simple: poison a castle's food stores.
They were out in Berk in the middle of the night, and Hiccup had to wonder how the Hel they all would be back in the morning. There were no, thankfully, dragon raids tonight, so they were very much safe from prying eyes. On the other hand, the answer to Hiccup's question was answered in the form of a looming… ship.
It used sails, but there were enormous cloths tied on masts with blazing infernos stored inside stoves beneath them to make them float. The design was similar to the ship Stone bought, except it was larger and there were plenty of smoke coming off them.
Hiccup could only gape at the airship, he almost dropped his notebook. He had been sketching while waiting so he had it out, now that their ride was there, he hid his possession inside his kit. Since they were in the deeper and higher parts of the island, the ship won't be noticeable, that and the smoke made it look like a dark storm cloud from afar. Rope ladders fell from the edge of the ship and Glaze nudged Hiccup to start climbing up. The younger grabbed one of the ropes and heaved himself up, whoever was up there did half the work and pulled them all to the ship's deck.
"Whoa." This was the first time he had seen other operatives besides the three with him. They all worse thick clothes that covered their mouths and noses, tied with strings at the corners. There were also differently coloured armbands with numbers that denoted rank, and symbols that showed their specializations. There was a man with a hand on the steering oar, a few men scaling the masts to adjust the sails, and operatives exchanging scrolls and equipment.
An armband was handed over to Hiccup and he tied it around his left sleeve, noting that it was a garish yellow with a symbol that made him a tenth rank initiate with no specialty yet.
"Change his specialty to inventor." Hiccup's eyes widened and he started patting for the place in his robes where he stored his notebook. He scowled at Glaze who waved it cheerily then handed it over to someone with a higher rank. It was hard to make out the features of other people in total darkness.
The cloths were actually respirators to keep the smoke out of lungs, and one was handed to every newcomer.
"We will be dropped in a port in Brittany, we will be infiltrating the Château des ducs de Bretagne, and poison the inhabitants' food supply. The opposing Duke is favourable to the Order's goals, but there will be no assassinations. It's only a simple sabotage mission, an introduction for our new initiate." Hiccup nodded and tied the respirator around his face.
"Alright, so Glaze and I do a diversion while you and River…?"
"We carried several powders made from a compound of holly, mistletoe, and several other chemicals that will easily contaminate their stores. Nothing fatal, but it is a guarantee that their chambers might be in for a mess."
"Ew."
"It couldn't be that bad, there were missions worse than this." Glaze handed him a new band. "After your first solo-mission, you get your call name. I suggest doing something out of the norm to get a very unique one."
Hiccup sighed. "So my temporary call name is?"
"Whatever, we'll just wave for you without saying your name."
The mission wasn't very exciting, per se, but it was fun nevertheless. They were given cleats and the mission was over in less than an hour. They all managed to return to Berk some time before the sun rose.
The blood between his fingers were turning into a dirty brown, drying and crusting on his skin; it felt a lot like syrup but smelled a lot like iron. The slick sensation of plunging his hand through soft flesh still made his nerves tingle with a strange static; like gutting a fish with his bare hands. He could still hear the squelching sound of a hand intruding a chest cavity ring in his ears; it reminded Hiccup of honey squeezed out a container and the snapping of stone. A horrible acrid stench came next, it smelt a lot like rotting meat, and it was very, very—
"River… Stop. Let's stop, please… I'm going to be sick." Then Hiccup was jostled back to reality, green eyes rapidly and blearily blinked away tears. Bile rose inside his throat, and the redhead turned to his side and grabbed the offered bucket from Glaze.
"We were almost done, but it was a considerable distance from your last mental imagery." River crossed his arms and waited for the ten-year old to finish purging whatever it was in his empty stomach.
'In a state of meditation, there is this practice called mental-conditioning. Mental conditioning plus loosing unwanted reactions to it is called desensitization. The participant would picture a certain scenario with varying degrees of extremities of detail until the subject no longer shows any reaction to worse-case scenario situations. It's very necessary so that you wouldn't freeze in the middle of a mission.'
Hiccup started dry-heaving into the bucket. This went on for a few minutes, and then Hiccup started purging whatever fluids his digestive tract that could be puked out. After taking deep breaths, Hiccup finally managed to calm down. Glaze already had a mug of (thankfully clean) water for him.
The sixteen year old rubbed soothing circles behind Hiccup's back as the younger tried to catch his breath and calm his body; he was smiling without any hint of mirth. "I think that's enough for today River. Hiccup is strong, but he has limits too."
The older man remained quiet before nodding, standing up from his seat with a tired sigh. "We were making good progress, but I understand that despite our initiate's potential, he could not perfect this in eight sessions. We will continue tomorrow."
Hiccup could only nod in acknowledgement; he turned to Glaze and smiled gratefully, mouthing a silent 'thanks' to the brunet. Said brunet shook his head and helped him up from the elevated bed.
Ishi's house was strange in design. It had plenty of halls divided by partitioning and the layout could be changed by moving these pieces. The design made the cold air come in easier, but there were several hearths that kept a few rooms warm to sleep in. If looked from above, it was a lot like a large and wide wall, with a courtyard in the very middle.
"Stone has already prepared your tonics and you can pick them up by the fermented food stores." Glaze still held his hand when they left the room, pushing the paper door open and then shuffling out into the house's courtyard.
The air was chill and the pomegranate trees were all in bloom, it was already late at night so most of the people were asleep. Their only light came from the moon, but instinct made the two keep to the shadows. The two quietly made their way to the entrance, but Hiccup broke when they neared the threshold.
"James… did you go through that too?" Both knew what he was referring to.
"I… yeah — everyone does once ten. The first mental image given to me was drowning someone," James paused, letting his words sink in. "I don't know if you'll ever meet my old instructors —their call names were Moon and Gale— and well, since operatives that got a name are taught how to train initiates so there wasn't much a difference except for personal choice of what experience they want you to picture. It was… it took me a while before I could actually watch a ship full of people drown and not blink."
Hiccup bit his lip, unsure on what to make of that. He couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong here, but he guessed that he was far too entrenched in whatever their seniors taught him so he couldn't exactly turn back now.
The redhead didn't want to head home yet, and James looked restless. "How were you initiated?"
That was a story the older boy had yet to share, and James usually dodged the question whenever Hiccup asked. This time, the brunet seemed willing to tell his tale. "My family was from Wales, my father was a Knight Hospitaller but he died on a journey on the way home. As for my mother… We were on a journey to Jerusalem but bandits attacked our caravan. They… violated her, and they were about to turn to my sister—"
"You have a sister?" Hiccup snapped his mouth shut when James gave him a withering glare. "Sorry, go on."
"Then the Dune Riders came. They're the Saracens operatives to keep peace in the Holy Lands. The Order took me and my sister in, and here I am."
A refreshing breeze blew, and the smell of pine and the chirping of crickets eased the ache in their bones and the wear in their veins. There was a quiet lull of connection between the two; their similarities lied in the very same organization that prepared them for horrors they were about to face —about to commit. However it was more like an older brother leading his younger brother into a battle, teaching him the ropes and guiding him to have a better outcome.
"Hey, it's late. I'd better take you home."
Hiccup's teeth were clenched tightly as he scaled the stone wall in total darkness. His objective was clear: get in, steal the weapon plans, wait for Glaze, and then get out. River would be waiting in a boat that would lead them back to the Island Port before he would be escorted back to Berk in an airship. It was his first mission without River or Stone to supervise, and he would rather not fail this.
The initiate pulled himself up on a window ledge and checked to see if there were guards around. Thankfully, there was nothing that suggested the presence of one and the room he was observing was swathed in total darkness. He concentrated in the near total silence if there was any outside, and judging by the time between steps and the number of intervals: there were two patrolling the area. Hiccup sneaked inside the room, not making a single sound. He grabbed a flint stone and a small candle from his pack, crawling his way to a part of the room far from the door and window to keep his presence concealed. He took a map provided next and checked over the castle's plans.
The castle was five floors in total, around three hundred meters in length and five hundred in width. There were several rooms that were lidded with traps and Hiccup was glad he ended up in a clean one. His destination was a floor up and fifty meters away from the nearest stairwell. It wouldn't be hard to locate.
"Alright Hiccup, don't screw this one." He blew the candle and stored his items back in his pouch. He checked the window outside and peeked over the position of the clouds in sky. In the distance, he saw three puffs of smoke rise and knew that it was the signal for Glaze to start his diversion.
No longer a minute later, a guard sounded the alarms and metallic footsteps started clanking around the hall and into where Hiccup guessed Glaze started a fire. It was a controlled fire, but it won't be spread just yet.
There was still the fear of it spreading, but Glaze was a senior so Hiccup shouldn't worry much.
"Loki help me," he prayed quickly before pushing the door open, wincing when it groaned in protest. He opened it wide enough for him to slip through and then pushed the wood close. On another hand, even if most of the people from the organization he interacted with didn't believe in Gods, Goddesses, or even a single God, Hiccup won't be quick to forsake his own Gods yet.
There were beams on the ceiling, which was good. The ceilings were high enough and the space between the horizontal beams and the stone were large enough for him to stand. Even if there was no one to see him, it was best to remain careful and hidden. The initiate ran up the wall and reached for a beam, and now he hanged from one with both of his arms holding on to the wood. Swinging his body a little, Hiccup pulled himself up and perched on the wood in total silence.
"Here goes." He jumped towards the next beam without making a sound, testing his weight against the support. Satisfied that it would hold his weight, Hiccup switched to leaping towards each one in quick and successive motions. It took him a few minutes before he reached a window that was just a floor below his intended location. Hiccup's heart fluttered when he almost slipped down the smooth stone. He breathed out a sigh of relief through his respirator before grabbing on a ledge to scale the walls.
Looking up, he could see an orange glow reaching for the sky and smoke billowing to the opposite direction. There were the distant shouts of men and the crackling of fire, but judging by the diminishing heat, Hiccup's time was running out. Taking a deep breath, he began climbing up the weathering stone, kicking a pair of closed windows open to see a hastily abandoned room with a wooden table with piles of weapon plans at the very centre. Torches were mounted against the wall, bathing the stone room in a warm light.
"Steal the plans…" the redhead muttered, piling the sheets of parchment and then rolling them carefully. He hid each one inside his pack and then took a deep breath.
Hiccup glanced around before nodding to himself and stepped back on the ledge. He climbed out of the window and scaled up until he reached the walkways of the fortress. He looked down to see the majority of the castle's inhabitants were busy in trying to kill the fire. Strangely, it didn't seem to be growing nor dying. Hiccup scanned the courtyard until he managed to make out a lithe figure stealthily scaling up the walls.
'Must be Glaze…' Said operative finally made his way to the walkway. The older male didn't seem to be keen on moving anytime soon, but what he did next threw Hiccup completely off-guard.
The teen bought out three large packages from the sack tied securely around his back, and then set them on fire before throwing it back at the blazing inferno with sickly yellowish smoke coming from each. Instinctively, Hiccup sucked a breath.
'He's going to kill them…' Strangely enough, there was a strange sense of detachment to that realization. Was it because of River during training? The younger teen knew that he should be sick, but he felt nothing at all. Except for a pang of guilt, but the fact that his partner was about to commit a mass murder didn't disturb Hiccup, and the lack of disturbance unnerved him. There was no honour to this, even if some Vikings pillaged and fought unfairly, they wouldn't blindly destroy a great number of people just to ensure victory. Maybe except against dragons, but killing every person was just… not done.
Sure there would be slaves, but what about the innocent ones? In one way, there were things worse than death, but shouldn't these people have a second chance?
'Some things just must be done, and even if some are unwilling to do it… It is our duty to perform these things, because we are the only ones who have the strength and the will to do so.' River's words echoed ominously and Hiccup had to tear his gaze away from the blaze.
Soon enough, the barks of orders turned into pained screaming. The acrid stench of smoke was filtered through the respirator, and a morbid curiosity to train and know how much burning flesh reeked almost made Hiccup remove the protective cover.
"Let's go." Glaze's deep voice almost made him jump in surprise. The hood concealed Glaze's hair and kept a shadow around brown eyes, hiding whatever emotion he felt as of the moment.
Hiccup glanced back down to see most of the people trying to slam the fortress' enormous wooden gates open, but they wouldn't even budge. A cacophony of screams echoed in the air, desperate cries of help and retching sent a shiver down Hiccup's spine. Still, the guilt and disgust would not settle. There was something mesmerizing about watching people die from the smoke or fire, and it took Glaze a strong tug to have Hiccup tear his gaze away from the arson.
"Alright."
The two disappeared into the night.
James had been tense for the last two weeks, he never let Hiccup out his sight nor did he let the younger alone with Stone and River. The two had been making subtle hints to his seduction lessons beginning once he turned thirteen, and whenever the two would make mention, James would shift closer to him with an air of protectiveness. Not only that, James would sometimes go out of his way to keep him out of Stone's strange house. On the times that Hiccup found himself in Stone's home, James was quick to accompany him when he wasn't inclined to leave.
James won't say what was troubling him, but he seemed very adamant about Hiccup receiving seduction lessons. Hiccup knew what it meant, but judging by the older boy's actions whenever it came up…
Hiccup was terrified on what could happen. The older boy's uneasiness rubbed off on him, and he couldn't help but be uneasy too when he'd meet their seniors' gaze. Whatever it was that troubled James whenever the older looked at Stone or River, Hiccup couldn't see it because he had yet to see the two truly let their guard down.
Then River began acting strange.
It wasn't noticeable at first, but when a few small things became frequent, it unnerved the soon-to-be thirteen year old boy. When Hiccup would have trouble with his calligraphy during their lessons, River would guide his hand to perfect the stroke while Hiccup's back was snuggled to his chest. There was the time when River took his measurements for a new robe, and the older man's hand lingered around his inner thigh. Sometimes, River's smile held a different emotion to it whenever they met eyes, and the way the older man would say his name set shivers running down Hiccup's back.
The boy really wanted to tell James about that, but it felt like he would be giving away a terrible secret. James was already worried for him as it was; Hiccup didn't want to burden the older boy any more. The teen was doing his best not to leave Hiccup's side, and Hiccup was thankful.
Three days before his thirteenth birthday, James and Ishi had to migrate to the mainland to receive supplies from Saracen traders. Now he only had River for company, besides Gobber and Stoick.
James and Ishi left in the middle of the night, so Hiccup had no idea until he turned up in Ishi's house.
"It was an emergency mission. The Dune Rider commander was discovered, and he needed a temporary refuge. They will return in a week," was River's explanation on the matter and didn't elaborate any further.
Then his thirteenth birthday came. River told him not to show up until night. When the sun was down, that was only when Hiccup returned to whatever lesson River had for him.
Hiccup fiddled his sleeves as River led him to the study where they usually conducted their lessons. Only a candle on a holder was their only light source, and Hiccup couldn't help but feel that the small light cast ominous shadows across the older man's face.
Right when they reached the hall that would lead them both to the study, River started leading him to a different direction. Hiccup's heart started beating erratically in his chest.
"Are we not having lessons?" Hiccup asked; brows furrowing as the older man led him deeper into the house.
River turned to him with a thin smile. "We are still having lessons; however the nature of this lesson is... fit for somewhere else."
Desperately, Hiccup wished that James was here with him. There were horrible implications surrounding River's intent, but Hiccup couldn't bear to walk away. An uneasy feeling welled from within him as they passed through screen doors until they were in the hall where the inhabitants' rooms were found.
"River—"
"No need for formalities, call me Kasui here." There was a strange note to the older man's voice. Hiccup wanted to run, he was terrified but for some reason, his feet still followed his superior. Time was now an obscure concept to Hiccup as River led him to what felt like a maze of paper doors and halls.
"What… What am I learning today?" Hiccup swallowed, a bitter lump stuck in his throat. He needed to run, and he was ready to run when he felt ice-cold hands grasp his arms. Hiccup's breath hitched when River slid the door to his room open with a bare foot. His heart pounded a tattoo against his ribs at the sound of wood sliding across wood.
"Don't worry Hiccup," a shudder ran down the boy's back. "Our lesson is a combination of physical and mental application, it will be painful, but…I promise; I'll take good care of you."
"River—Kasui, I… can I skip this? Can't James teach this to me?" Hiccup tried tugging his arm away from the taller male, but the grip around his hand was strong and painful. The redhead couldn't stop the whimper escaping his lips when River pulled him inside the room silently, throwing him towards the mattress on the floor with a dull thud.
Hiccup landed on the bed on his knees, he was quick to twist his position that he was facing River back and then he scrambled back to keep the distance between him and the older man. The sound of his back hitting the wooden wall almost made his heart stop in pure terror. River set the candle on a nearby table, and it felt like an eternity when the larger man turned to Hiccup.
"I'm going to teach you what to do so that it would be better, alright?"
Hiccup shook his head, his eyes wide with tears forming around the edges. "Please… No. Don't."
River ignored him, opting to pull the sash off his waist and dropped it on the floor. Hiccup's back pressed further to the wall when the older assassin began sauntering towards him, slowly discarding his robe. River wore nothing underneath the plain garment, and Hiccup could only stare at the older man's very much red and very much lengthened manhood.
Hiccup let out a terrified sob when River knelt a few feet in front of him, an eternity seemed to have passed when River was oh so painfully near. Flight or fight took over, but flight won when River quickly snatched his wrists and held them above his head.
"I'm going to do a few things just for you Hiccup, alright? And you're going to enjoy it, and maybe we'll start enjoying these things together." Hiccup shook his head furiously, biting his lips hard just not to whimper in fear. With his other hand, River wiped the tears trailing down Hiccup's cheeks. "Don't cry, don't cry… Everything's going to be alright."
Hiccup cried out when a pair of cold lips met his, and River took that as his chance to slide his tongue in and began exploring the insides of Hiccup's mouth. His cries were muffled by River's mouth, and the hand around his wrists tightened hard enough that Hiccup felt like his bones might break.
And it burned.
The older man's skin was so cold that it set a shameful fire pool in the pit of Hiccup's stomach, and his skin was feverishly hot compared to River's. Another hand slipped inside his shirt and then caressed over the flat pane of his stomach, tracing over the skin kept smooth artificially until it reached one of the boy's nipples and began rubbing it teasingly. Burning horror and disgust filled Hiccup when pleasure ran down his spine at the contact, and his revulsion increased when he felt himself finally respond to River's kiss and his back arch to close the gap between their bodies. When River pulled away, embarrassment coloured Hiccup's cheeks when a needy sigh escaped his lips. Hiccup's breaths were short and air didn't seem to fill up his lungs fast enough.
'The body reacts in certain ways depending on stimuli, the body reacts in certain ways depending on stimuli, the body reacts in certain ways depending on stimuli,' Hiccup chanted to himself mentally, desperately believing that his body was only acting this way because of River's touch, not because he wanted this.
'But what if you do like this?' The horrible thought wormed its way through his mental mantra, and bile rose in Hiccup's throat.
"See? You're getting the hang of this… I'm going to make you feel better, alright?" River lifted his shirt with the hand playing with his nipples and then pulled it over Hiccup's head, but the older male didn't remove it completely. Instead, River made a makeshift bind with his tunic so that his arms remained immobile and numb behind his back. Hiccup could taste blood, his teeth biting hard on his lips just to muffle his desperate cries. "Shh, this will be over soon."
"Please, stop… I'd do anything, just stop. Please!"
River placed a quick kiss over his forehead, and then a tongue licked Hiccup's left lobe and teeth began nipping the soft skin teasingly. Both of River's thumbs continued caressing his nipples, rubbing and then pinching the sensitive flesh which elicited pleasured moans from Hiccup's lips that left the boy lightheaded. River smirked in his neck and then moved to kissing soft, pink lips that belonged to a child at least twenty years younger than him. Hiccup's moans and breathy gasps were swallowed by lips larger than his own, stealing his breath and something deeper away. When River pulled away, Hiccup was gasping for sweet, sweet air. Sweat covered almost every inch of his body, and his hair stuck to his face in thick and damp clumps.
Hiccup froze when he felt River's hands began to trail lower on his body, caressing and memorizing every inch of skin the cold fingers touched. River paused when he now held Hiccup by his waist, the boy felt like his limbs were made out stone and he wanted to struggle against the unwelcome touch. River licked his lips and began pulling down the boy's trousers tantalizingly; Hiccup managed to regain control of his muscles and he started squirming in vain hopes to deter the man in his endeavours. If there was something his movement did, it seemed to have made River more excited. A shudder ran down Hiccup's back and the cold seemed to have stirred his loins into waking, much to his repulse. Hiccup clenched his eyes shut, unable to bear this burning humiliation, even if he could barely think in his situation.
"Hiccup, hey." Fingers clenched his hair, and Hiccup gasped in shock and pain. "Look at me Hiccup, this is important. You need to learn how to give others pleasure and how to pleasure yourself in the throes of passion with another."
Hiccup shook his head; a fresh wave of tears fell from his eyes. He gasped again after a much more painful tug from River.
"Open your eyes Hiccup," the man hissed. Not wanting to anger his instructorfatherteachersenio rmurdereragain, Hiccup quickly complied. "Good boy."
Hiccup trembled when River caressed his cheeks once more, then River's hands moved over his mouth and finger pressed over his lips. "Lick them. Don't suck, I have lubrication, but I will prepare you first for the worst before we move on to something lighter."
The redhead opened his mouth tentatively, and he almost gagged when a slender digit intruded on his bruised mouth. He sucked in a breath and then swirled his tongue over the finger, coating the digit with saliva. River moaned, his other hand held Hiccup's leg in a bruising grip. Hiccup wanted to throw his head back, but there was a—now two fingers in his mouth. His cries were muffled as he continued to lick River's digits, disgust and revulsion burning him to the very core.
Then River pulled his fingers out, and Hiccup felt shame when he tried reaching for the digits with a wanton moan. Hiccup was panting and there was a deep exhaustion settling in his bones, and he wanted nothing more than to stop.
He gasped in shock and pleasure when he felt the soft pad of River's forefinger trace his cock, a jolt of pleasure run down his spine from the contact and his hips grinded forward, desperate for contact. Now a hand gripped Hiccup's hardening dick, stroking the growing erection slowly at first and then it began increasing in pace. Hiccup mewled, mind in a haze of pleasure and ecstasy. His pupils were blown, and his green eyes were dark with lust and pleasure.
Hiccup came, and shame and self-revulsion flooded the boy. He glanced away, unable to look at the man who filled him with such disgusting yet pleasurable feelings.
"There, there… We're almost done." Then River began to shift, Hiccup panicked. The boy shouted when his legs were positioned around River's waist, and now a hand was rubbing the cheeks of his exposed ass.
"Kasui! Please! Stop! I learned already! Please! No more! No more!" Hiccup cried out, struggling uselessly against his binds. River kissed his forehead to soothe him, but it was useless.
The same cold hands spread the cheeks to his ass and then—
"Ah! Ah! Aaaah!" Hiccup jerked forward, and River supported him with another hand until his head was nuzzled into a pale and slender neck. River began murmuring sweet nothings to his ear as his damp fingers began stretched his entrance. Hiccup could no longer muster the strength to cry out or sob, his mind trying to shut itself down just to save him from the inevitable violation.
Red hair was splayed over creamy skin, tapered fingers ran down his back and then another finger entered his puckered hole. The digits went in deeper, all the way up to the knuckle, Hiccup pressed to the older man closer by instinct. If he could curl into himself and block the world away, Hiccup would.
The fingers stretching his muscle open disappeared, and burning flesh pressed close to his ass. Then River pushed his erect cock in.
"You're so tight," River murmured to his ear.
Hiccup cried out at the intrusion, feeling something tear away in humiliation and violation. He started struggling to pull away, but strong hands kept his hips steady. Then he threw his head back with a scream when River's member pushed deeper. It was so hot, so painful, but there was a shock of pleasure flowing from the action. His breath hitched when he felt River's cock buried deep inside him, from tip to base. Then he felt River pulling out and a strange sense of reprieve flooded Hiccup, even if the shame and repulse burned him. A sigh of relief was about to escape his lips when it turned into a shout of pain and surprise.
River began to thrust into Hiccup, inside Hiccup. Each slap of flesh burned the child with revulsion, his humiliation and disgust grew as the man fucked him senseless. How could River do this to him? Hiccup trusted the man! But…
Hiccup's nails dug into his palms as River pounded into him, his green eyes were clenched shut as he tried to muffle his sobs. He was begging for anything, anyone to stop River. It hurt. It hurt so much.
A floodgate released and then there was pain and pleasure unlike any other. White blinded his vision as something hot and bright came over Hiccup in a burning flash. There was a hot and sticky mess inside, and the urge to scrub himself clean, to scrub himself raw burned.
River pulled out, and some of the man's seed followed the now limp member. A gaping emptiness gnawed on Hiccup, starting from the very place where the older man tore something vital and cherished away. Hiccup was tired, and he wanted to sleep. And he was cold, the need to be held close and simply feel that all of… this wasn't pointless and meaningless. Even with just River, the need to be comforted and protected welled up in Hiccup.
He didn't make a sound when his clothes were tugged off, his arms finally free. Both of his legs were adjusted and now Hiccup was lying on his back, nude and freezing.
Green eyes widened when he felt River moving away, leaving him alone.
"River?" He tried pushing himself up, even if self-disgust and hatred burned him for reaching out to the older man, Hiccup gave all his strength to shift into a sitting position. "Kasui? Whe-where are you going?"
Fresh tears blurred Hiccup's vision when he saw the older man picking up the discarded rope and sash and began to redress. Something raw and sorrowful caught Hiccup's throat, and the ravenous void grew. The best Hiccup could do was lie on his side as he watched River leave him, abandon him.
"Wait! Please! Don't… Don't…"His voice was grating against his own ears, and the hand reaching for the older man fell limply to his side. He felt the walls pressing in on him, the cold air bought no comfort, and his limbs were almost paralyzed. "Don't leave! Please, don't leave me alone!"
River made no indication he heard Hiccup's pleas. Without another word, he left the room. The door sliding shut echoed with finality and solitude.
All alone, Hiccup could only cry himself to sleep.
Snotlout Jorgenson prided himself with a bit of observation. He does notice when Hiccup was being a screw-up again or when he was doing something that left a big mess. He wasn't the sharpest axe in the forge, but hey! He does know when something was wrong.
Sometime around five years ago, Hiccup started… fading, to say the least. It wasn't that bad, really. Like Hiccup can become part of the back-drop whenever the scrawny kid wanted to be, and Hiccup was fast.The first time Hiccup managed to outrun them through sheer speed and grace was surprising as Hel.
Though, seeing Hiccup was starting to get rare these days, especially when those foreigners chose to live on Berk. Ishi was nice to everyone, and no one believed that she and her husband were thirty-five and thirty-nine. Seriously, no one had skin that clear, flawless, and without wrinkles. They didn't even have freckles!
Then there was their kid, James. The older teen was weird, always staring and always judging! He didn't even look that strong, but he probably had some magic or Jotun powers or something. The guy managed to beat a larger Viking in hand-to-hand combat! With oneblow! James was as thin as a twig, so it was definitely magic!
Then there was the staring creepily at Hiccup thing. Sure, Snotlout may tease his cousin a lot, but Hiccup was still family and he had to stick together with the redhead sometimes, right? Since it was already established that James was a creep for Hiccup, it was alright to say that he would get the willies when James would get touchy-feely with his cousin. Seriously, ew. Can't the guy get his hands to himself?
Though, it was funny when he sneaked off in the middle of the night to see James leaving with Ishi to a trip to the moorlands with an expression on his face that reminded Snotlout of someone who had his puppy kicked. Nothing much happened, maybe except Snotlout can breathe better when there wasn't a creep hanging off Hiccup's shoulder like a leech on bloody flesh. The first three days were fine, Hiccup still disappeared, and all was fine.
Until a week later.
The twins caught a cold, and Astrid was helping out with her parents with whatever they did. He didn't really want to hang out with Fishlegs, so all he was left with for today was tormenting Hiccup.
It turned into a game, finding Hiccup, over the years. The boy learned to hide well, and a good lot of the village appreciated the lack of endeavours for attention. It was a little… missed, since it bought out some noise every now and then. So from Hiccup the Useless, it turned to Hiccup the Sneaky. Then there was the Hiccup the Swift, or Hiccup the Silent. What's with all the 'S's though?
Today, however, Hiccup was easy to find.
And it looked like there were dark clouds gathering around the boy. Strange, Hiccup didn't look like he wanted to play hide-and-seek, but that was fine with Snotlout. He was looking for the redhead anyways.
"Hey Hiccup!" Hiccup was walking down the path to the docks, probably waiting for his creep boyfriend. Snotlout knew his cousin heard, but his cousin was ignoring him. No one ignores Snotlout Jorgenson! "Hey! Listen when I'm talking!"
Hiccup sighed exasperatedly and turned on his heel. There were dark marks around his eyes and his usually bright green eyes were… dull. Snotlout shook his head, the sky was grey, and so it must be the light or something.
"What do you want?" Whoa, did Hiccup catch the cold or something? If so, why the Hel was he out instead of resting?
"Hey man, you sound like you had nadder spikes in your throat." Hiccup gave him an annoyed glare. Huh, that was out of character too. "You sure you're okay? Aren't you supposed to be in bed or something?"
Something flashed in Hiccup's eyes, and the smaller boy turned on his heel and continued on his way to the docks.
"Whoa, if you like, die, then your dad would put my head on a pike because you're sick and you're not supposed to be out."
Hiccup sighed exasperatedly. "Leave me alone Snotlout."
Snotlout didn't like being told what to do, so he marched over to his cousin and overtook the skinnier teen. He scowled at the lanky redhead. "Hey look, I know I'm a better Viking than you, but I have a brain too. As much as I want to leave you alone so you could disappear and I would be named chief, your dad might end up blaming me if you die, so scram and go home."
"Why do you even care?" Hiccup crossed his arms and kept a sceptical expression. Alright, not cool. Hiccup was that quiet weirdo that couldn't hurt a fly, but this kid? It felt like someone took Hiccup in the middle of the night and replaced him with… whoever this was. The cold shoulder, and there was just something mocking behind green eyes that totally looked out of place when it came to Hiccup. Seriously, like, what the Hel?
Deciding to just end this… whatever this was, Snotlout rolled his eyes and moved to push Hiccup back to his house. The scrawny kid was probably weak so it won't be that hard taking him home, right?
There were only a few things that scared Snotlout, one of them included receiving the ire of his father on a few times. As a Viking, he shouldn't get scared easily, so he really shouldn't have almost pissed his pants on what Hiccup did next. 'Scared of Hiccup' shouldn't exist, because it was like saying dragons were cuddly, and there were just things that just didn't go together.
So, on the moment that Snotlout made contact with his cousin, Hiccup… went berserk, and that was saying the least. Oh boy, Snotlout wondered if he was sick too, because Hiccup doesn't snarl. Period. And Hiccup wasn't supposed to know how to wrestle someone into a merciful position that with just a snap of the neck, you're dead. That and his cousin's expression would have a dragon flying home, because it just wasn't that natural to see so much rage in someone as scrawny and weird as Hiccup.
"Don't touch me." Snotlout had to wonder if Hiccup was part reptile at the moment because hissing like that was creepy as hell.
"Okay! Okay! You got me!" Snotlout managed to groan out, tapping the earth to signify his surrender. This was embarrassing; thankfully, there wasn't anyone much around the docks to see him in a very, very bewildering position. "You could let go of me now!"
A few shuffles later, Snotlout was free and Hiccup sneered at him before walking away. Once the scrawny boy was out of sight, Snotlout shifted into a sitting position, staring at the direction where his cousin disappeared.
"What the Hel was that?" he asked out loud.
Maybe he was sick and dreaming, he should head over to the village elder for medicine.
James didn't bother with setting down the ramps; he jumped down on the docks and bolted for the village.
Stupid River, stupid Stone, stupid Seduction lessons—he needed to get to Hiccup. He needed to see Hiccup, to make sure the younger was okay.
'Please, don't let me be too late.' James didn't bother greeting anyone who welcomed him, his mind and body focused to a single person: Hiccup.
He didn't think twice when he pushed the entrance to the Ishi home open and started pulling door after door in search of River. The man wasn't in home, but there was a note in his room that said that he was out in the sea fishing.
James felt like he was flying when he suddenly found himself heading over to the forge, and then he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the door open and Hiccup working inside. Though, it was best to be sure.
A strange sense of dread fluttered in his heart as he walked closer to the building, his stomach churned with apprehension. James clenched his fists and bit the inside of his cheeks as he approached his junior. Hiccup's back was turned as he worked on a sword, but there was something strange about Hiccup's posture.
"Hiccup?" The younger paused in his activities then glanced towards him.
James' heart sunk, and horror and revulsion coloured his expression.
There were dark marks around green eyes, but what distressed James was apathy in those once bright eyes. He knew that look only too well; it was the first thing he would see whenever he looked in a mirror after all. Something vital and something important was torn away from the younger boy, now all that was left were shattered pieces and a broken child.
"Oh. You're back. Kasui is out fishing, so he won't be back until sundown. Any reason why aren't you helping Ishi with your belongings?" James felt sick.
Oh, how he wished that he didn't understood why Hiccup was so nonchalant. He couldn't even look at Hiccup in the eyes, he couldn't even bare face the younger boy right now.
"I'll protect you, I promise." Those words sounded so hollow in his ears now. Where was he when the person he had taken into his wing as someone to protect needed him the most? Somewhere in France and following order like an obedient dog.
He swallowed a choked sob and stepped inside the forge. He was trembling, and he knew that Hiccup would be averse to touch, but he understood and he was sorry and he wanted to let Hiccup know that he was there and he was sorry and he should have been there when Hiccup was violated and used and abandoned and—
"James?" His heart stuck to his throat, Hiccup shouldn't sound so scared and so lonely. He was sorry, he was so sorry.
A hammer dropped to the floor and Hiccup was pulled into a pair of thin, but strong arms. There was desperation and understanding and a whole lot of other emotions in that embrace that made both reel from the suddenness and shock of it all.
James hoped to convey what he felt in that hug, he wanted to apologize to Hiccup for not being there, but he could only grieve for the loss of something profound.
Neither had no idea how long they stood in that position, trapped in an embrace that will serve to comfort them for now.
Because in the near future, things will go far worse.
TBC
A/N:I am sooooo sorry Hiccup! D: I DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT TO YOU BUT IT WAS IMPORTANT
At this point on… I'm sure you want to kill River, so I'm setting up a poll in my profile to see how you want him to bite the dust.