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Chapter 3:
-Older Hiccup-
With the match postponed, Hiccup followed Stoick through the village. Behind him, he could hear the crowd whispering about him.
"How did he get here?"
"Do you think he will really stop the dragons?"
"Look at his leg! I'd bet my best yak that he got it in a dragon fight."
Hiccup shook his head and took a quick glance at his prosthetic. While he did get it in a fight with a dragon, he knew that the villagers would not want to mess with that specific one had they actually knew about its potential.
Arriving at the hall, Stoick held the door for the other three, giving a small frown at him as he passed.
"Hiccup…"
He flinched and turned, his heart pounding as he thought Stoick had figured him out. Thankfully Stoick was addressing his younger counterpart, who stood outside on the steps.
"…go back to the house. I know you were hoping to show your skills off today for me, but it looks like we will have to re-schedule the match."
Hiccup saw the young teen want to say something, but the boy instead kept is mouth shut and nodded. Stoick watched the boy climb down the stairs before he turned and closed the door.
"Now where were we…?"
-Younger Hiccup-
Hiccup wanted to tell his dad that he didn't want to fight a dragon, but wisely noted to stay quiet. The stranger was the immediate priority ad he did not want to have an even angrier Stoick handling the situation. Making his way back to the house, he was suddenly grabbed by an annoyed Astrid.
"Just because the match was cancelled does not mean this is over."
She glared at him before shoving him out of the way.
"I will prove that I am the best dragon warrior."
Hiccup sighed at the retreating back of his crush, wishing that he had Toothless.
-Older Hiccup-
Hiccup sighed at the pacing figure of his father, wishing that he had Toothless. The man was visibly debating with himself, glancing occasionally at him. Gobber sat on a nearby bench, visually inspecting Hiccup's armor from afar and failing badly at being subtle about it. Gothi on the other hand was simply sitting next to the fire pit, watching the chief's display with an unperturbed look.
Stoick growled before walking up and sitting down next to Gobber, throwing his axe onto the table. Gothi got up and walked over to stand next to them. Taking his cue, Hiccup sat down across the table, placing his own sword opposite the axe.
-Stoick-
He glanced down at the object. A metal tube with a stylized dragon at one end, it looked like the hilt of a sword, yet it held no blade. Obviously it had to be a weapon of some sort, but what was more surprising was the man's action.
Normal vikings kept their weapons on them even when talking to their own leaders, yet the man placed it on the table as per the chieftain protocol of disarmament before negotiation. That was only done in talks with allied chiefs, to show that they meant no harm between tribes. Stoick looked up in slight confusion.
-Hiccup-
He mentally slapped himself when he realized what he had just done. The look Stoick gave him was pretty justified. Not even solo vikings, those without loyalty to a tribe, disarm themselves for a foreign chief. Hiccup just declared himself a leader of his own people, or at the very least the heir of one.
As a former heir, he already was used to the old protocol, even more so considering it was the first move when taming a new dragon. By the time he gained the status of chief, it was all instinctual.
Stoick was the first one to speak.
"So you say that you can stop the raids?"
Hiccup, relieved that his father did not question his mistake, nodded in reply.
"A few years ago I had discovered the location of a dragon nest and the reason why they attack villages."
Stoick frowned. How could this young man find a nest when countless before him couldn't?
"The dragons are under the control of a massive queen."
At that both Stoick and Gobber sat straighter.
"And do ye mean by queen, lad?" Gobber asked.
Hiccup glanced at him.
"There is a massive dragon, larger than any you have ever seen. Nearly the size of a mountain and the strength to crush one, she is in control of the entire nest."
Stoick took in the information.
"So this…queen…controls the dragons? That still doesn't explain why they attack us."
"Something as large as a mountain requires a lot of food. In order to feed her, the dragons attack to gain enough food that they don't get eaten themselves. They are scared, and even if they want to leave, she can control them by a crooning she sings."
Gobber nodded, somewhat understanding.
"So you're sayin' that she is like a siren. Leads men who hear her song to their doom, or in this case, dragons."
-Stoick-
Stoick felt his blood boil. So it was this…monster of a dragon is responsible for all of the attacks, the raids on their food supplies. He almost felt sorry for the dragons under her spell…
The chief quickly stopped himself. NO! There was no way he will feel sympathy for the emotionless, scaly devils. They were the ones who actually attacked the village. They were the ones who stole his wife from him. They could have easily disobeyed the queen, to ignore their orders. Stoick, in his blind attempt to justify his hatred of dragons, conveniently forgot the stranger's talk about the queen's hypnotic croon. To think that Valka was some meal to a giant beast….
"How…." He began, catching the attention of the group. "How do you propose we can take care of the dragons? We can't even find the nest."
-Hiccup-
"I propose instead that you let me train the students at your academy."
Hiccup felt he was pushing it, after all from their perspective he was a stranger. But if there was any chance to get rid of the Red Death, than dragon riders would be the best bet. To his surprise however, Stoick nodded.
"That can be arranged."
Author's Note: Thanks again to my readers. Not sure if I made Stoick a bit OOC, and I know I'll have some trouble with the accents so forgive me when I butcher them, especially Gobber. Please read and review!