A Place to Call Home
Chapter 4
"Argh!¡ I can't stand it!" One-Eye hissed as he took two cushions with his claws and covered his ears in an attempt to block out the music. "If I hear one more note I'll staple my ears!"
Voltaire rolled his eyes as he accommodated the plush cushions the Monstrous Nightmare had scrambled out of place. "Why don't you use the earplugs, then?"
"Glump got ahead of me."
"What did you expect?" Nighthawk snapped from his usual resting place, his tail twitching in irritation. "He is a Goblin. You know his kind is very sensitive to music."
"They'd have to be, with those big ears of theirs. "Shack chuckled, lying on top of a cat bed ('borrowed' from Heather's cat) with his belly facing up. "I mean, I bet every sound they hear is triplicated ten times with that size of ears."
"Don't make fun of their ears! Would you like Glump or Muk to make fun of your odd-eyes?" Voltaire hissed
"Hey! Don't mess my heterochromia in this!"
"Speaking of Glump and Muk, have you ever wondered where they came from?" One-Eye inquired, finally taking the cushions off his ears when the music momentarily stopped. "I mean, Muk did say they came from the Scafell Pike, but those whip scars on his back don't seem to be injuries obtained from rock cuts."
Nighthawk didn't say anything. He did now know where they had actually come from, the place they had escaped from, but Muk and Glump had asked him not to tell the others. He was a dragon of words. If they asked him not to tell, he wouldn't. And he also knew about both their emotional wounds…
Maybe they used to live in mines. I think Silk once said that human miners were starting to capture Goblins and forced them to work at their mines."
Voltaire nodded. "That would make sense."
"Speaking of Glump, where is he?" Shack yawned, speaking in a casual tone.
"He is in Snowdrop' cave. I asked him to pick up Snowdrop's toys, since someone is keeping me busy." Voltaire turned to look at One-Eye, who took a few seconds to react.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked in confusion.
Nighthawk rolled his eyes as he got back to sleep.
Glump, meanwhile, picked up small rubber balls and biting sticks from around Snowdrop's small cave. He didn't mind picking up her toys, but he did wish she was a little more organized with her things. Ah, but he could never get angry at Snowdrop, no sir! She was like a little sister to him. Muk saw her as some kind of niece, but he was not as open on it like Glump was. As the Goblin placed the last of the balls on Snowdrop's wooden box, something else caught his eye, on Snowdrop's straw nest. A worn-down, quite dirty stuffed dragon. It was colored a dull copper brown, with two patches on its body and one on the left wing. Glump walked towards Snowdrop's bed and picked the stuffed dragon up, holding it in one hand.
"Hi again…" he said, talking to the doll like it was alive. "You're all alone too, it seems…"
Waves of memories coursed through the Goblin's mind as he stared at the doll.
Look, Helfer! Look what daddy made for you!
Glump's eyes started to water. He held the dragon doll close to his chest and closed his eyes shut, his ears drooping to the sides of his head as tears formed in the corners of his eyes to finally roll down his cheeks. He had not thought about it for a long time, but Snowdrop's doll brought him painful memories.
"Glump?"
The Goblin's ears straightened up, and he quickly wiped his tears away as he quickly but discretely hid the plush dragon from sight as he turned his head around. Shack was standing on the entrance, giving the Goblin an odd look.
"Were you… Crying?" the Terrible Terror inquired
"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!" Glump tried to sound natural, but it did not work.
"What do you have there? Is that what I think it is?"
Letting out a sigh of defeat, Glump gently put the dragon doll back on Snowdrop's nest. Shack cocked a scaly eyebrow and flapped his wings to hover next to the Goblin, staring at the doll curiously.
"Snowdrop's doll? That old thing is what is making you teary-eyed? Voltaire found it two years ago in the props, remember?"
Glump nodded grimly. "Yes, I do."
"Wait a second… you are not wearing the ear-plugs? It seems you can perfectly hear me."
Glump grinned. "Let's just say I don't have as much of a distaste for music as Muk does. I actually like music, but if he finds out…" Glump sighed in dismay. "I would never hear the end of it!"
Shack nodded. "You like music? I thought Goblins hated it."
"I did hate once, until…" Glump stopped in mid-sentence.
"Until?"
"It's… nothing. I don't want to talk about it."
Despite his curiosity getting the better of him, Shack decided to respect the Goblin's decision. Besides, he didn't want to get on Glump's bad side –Yes, he has a bad side-, especially since he was practically larger than him. Even Muk was wary not to make his friend angry; while Glump was usually friendly and friendly, when angry he became a completely different Goblin.
"Hey, Shack. Muk has been saying that the humans are starting to suspect something is going on in the Opera House, is that true?" Glump decided to change the subject.
"It has, I'm afraid." Voltaire joined in the conversation, having overheard when he was on his way to check on Glump. "Mildew and the stable boy, Hiccup, have realized that there are rations of food going missing, not to mention that Muk's pranks on Mademoiselle Heather are making her suspicious that someone is harassing her."
Shack started to laugh. "As if! The idea behind harassing is to peek at attractive ladies, not ostriches trying to pass for humans."
Glump joined him, having to support on the wall to keep himself on foot. Voltaire's serious look remained unchanged, however.
"I don't find the finny part in all of this! If One-Eye hears this, he'll become hysteric!"
"Voltaire, everything makes One-eye become hysteric."
"Anyway, guys, I don't think we should worry about it. We have tons of traps for intruders." Glump added. "The only one who knows how to avoid it, apart from us, is Stormfly."
"Well, you two, I think the performance is about to end. We should go and wait for the others to return." The Skrill sighed in dismay and dread. "I hope Muk won't try to do one of his 'pranks' today."
The end of the performance was met with the audience standing up and clapping at Mademoiselle Astrid's performance, some going as far as to throw roses and flowers at the singer as a show of admiration and praise. Not even Heather's performances were met with this much praise and ovation, something which the Prima Donna saw with contempt an jealously, secretly fearing the blonde would replace her as the lead singer. Because of this, she tried to make Astrid's life as miserable as possible.
Ruffnut and her brother, Tuffnut (who wore a normal musician black suit with a black bowtie, and his blonde hair properly combed and tied into a ponytail) were new, so Hiccup took it upon himself to tell them about the way the Opera House worked. Fishlegs eventually joined the tour, his shift being covered by a young lad named Pierre, and Snotlout reluctantly tagged along (if that meant being away from the dragons). Soon, the newbies' ears had been flooded with countless rumor of mysterious creatures living in the Opera House, but no one had ever seen them. However, dragons' food disappeared, as well as some props, not to mention that in the past four years animals often went missing, mostly sheep and hens, only for their rests to appear someplace backstage.
They heard them first by a few stagehands, grumbling over who would go fetch various props that were being kept below stage. They all complained about the creatures and how they feared their wrath would bring an end to someone's life… for the first time. Antoinette and the other dance girls also had tales. They had been passed on by Gobber, the Orchestra's Maestro who seemed to be the Opera's chief storyteller. It was through these girls that Ruffnut and Tuffnut learned about said beings cloaked in mystery, seen by few but heard by many.
Mademoiselle Astrid, however, never let gothic romantic sensibilities run ramped, and thought realistically. She assumed it was simply an animal that had snuck inside and always managed to escape from the humans' eyesight. Heather refused to listen 'made-up tales from low employees', but ever since the incidents occurring against her started to occur, she believed they were pranking her.
But unfortunately, Ruffnut, like most of the other girls, were falling over Count Dagur.
In fact, it seemed everyone, save for Madame Gothi, Francois, Hiccup, Snotlout and Astrid, were taken by the Count's charm and handsome smile. Mildew fell over himself to please him, Heather constantly flirted with the young man, and the girls of the dance were in a constant state of giggles whenever he was present.
Right then, the Count was discussing about the 'rumors' spreading around the Opera House in Mildew's office. Dagur refused to believe such nonsenses, as he called them, and for the past for years he had attempted to fins a logical explanation in order to calm Mildew's fears, but to no avail.
"For the last time, Mildew, there is no such thing as ghosts!" Dagur hissed like a snake about to strike. "Someone is trying to make fools out of us!"
"And how do you explain the missing animals? The stolen food? The awful accidents falling unto Mademoiselle Heather! Someone is the cause of it, I know!"
"Please! Somebody might be sneaking into the stables and stealing the animals under that stable boy's nose! And the stagehands might be attempting to get back at Mademoiselle Heather for her harsh treatment and horrible tantrums!"
Mildew was panicking; Dagur noticed when the old man started to comb back his gray hair. "But monsieur, we have called for the police numerous times, and none of the officers on guard were able to catch any person on the act!"
Dagur would have yelled in fury and frustration if he were not in the Opera House.
Hiccup, meanwhile, decided to end the tour at the stables, where he introduced Ruffnut and Tuffnut to the animals, but mostly to the dragons. The twins nearly jumped when he introduced them to Toothless, for they had never seen a Night fury, and less one with so good proportions and well-cared for.
"Wow! I bet you paid much for him!" Tuffnut commented as he examined Toothless's legs.
When Toothless perked up his ears, offended, Hiccup spoke before the dragon could strike. "No, I did not buy him. I found him when I was small, we've been friends ever since."
"I bet many people would buy him for a very good price." Ruffnut added.
Snotlout groaned as he leaned against on of the wooden poles. "He could, but he doesn't want to! I keep telling him that if he sold that dumb Night Fury, we would be able to live in the lap of luxury for the rest of our lives, but nooo! He says he's attached to him! HE didn't even accept Count Dagur's proposal!
"Proposal? What proposal?"
Hiccup sighed, but Fishlegs responded the question. "See, when Hiccup and Toothless first came here, Count Dagur was instantly interested in buying Toothless. He has a collection of rare dragons, and he offered Hiccup a great sum of money for the Night Fury, but Hiccup refused the offer. They've been in bad terms since then."
"How could I ever think of selling my best friend to him? He would sell his dragons to the Devil just for money!" Hiccup retorted sharply, making Snotlout flinch.
Stormfly stared at the humans' argue about Dagur's morality. That was the kind of human Nighthawk would like had he not been abused so much by the Gypsies. The Poisonous Whiptail, and the other dragons, got a very bad impression of humanity during their stay at the Carnival, and it would be very hard to make them think otherwise.
"They're talking about Dagur again?" Hookfang whispered to her from his box, speaking in the Dragon Language due to the presence of the humans. "I think they'll eventually make a whole gossip column for him in the papernews."
Barf peeked his head from his own box. "You said it wrong." Belch was next. "It's newspaper."
Hookfang rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What are you? A dictionary?"
"Hey, speaking of which, did Astrid get that angry when Snotdumb ran into her?" Fishlegs joined the conversation
"She was fuming like me when I do not get my favorite fish, I tell you!" Hookfang chuckled.
"I have a feeling she'll show up here in any minute to yell at both Hiccup and Snotdumb."
Suddenly, Stormfly's pupils became slits. "Speak of the devil." She whispered. "Here she comes."
"Hiccup!" Astrid's sharp tone as she walked into the stable, back in the dress she had been wearing earlier that day. "I need to talk to you and that pea-brained cousin of yours now!"
"Well, I think you don't need us right now, so…" Fishlegs grinned nervously while he dragged Ruffnut and Tuffnut away. When Astrid spoke in that tone, she was going straight to business.
Before Snotlout could rush to Astrid's side and attempt to flirt with her, Hookfang quickly kicked him into one of the empty horse stables, while Meatlug made her way over there in order to prevent him from interfering in the talk. Toothless perked up his ears and stepped back as Astrid made her way in front of Hiccup.
"Listen here, pal!" she snapped, pointing her finger at Hiccup's face. "I'm not tolerating that idiot running into me like that! If it ever repeats again I swear I'll have him fired!"
"Don't worry, Mademoiselle Astrid. It won't happen again." Hiccup shot a small glare at Snotlout, who was attempting to push Meatlug out of the way. Despite the obvious differences in size and weight.
"Out of the way, you mutant ox!" he was saying.
Astrid's fuming temper cooled down, and she calmly yet coldly stared at Hiccup. "Well, if that's all you have to say, Hiccup, I'll be going."
Toothless, however, quickly got his tail in the way of her feet, making the young lady trip; in a fit of instinct, Hiccup quickly reached out and caught her by the waist before she could fall into the dirty hay. Toothless, Hookfang and Meatlug grinned, while Stormfly rolled her eyes and Barf and Belch shook his… their heads. Astrid looked up, and her temper flared up like a tigress.
"What are you doing?! Let me go!"
"But Mademoiselle-"
Astrid narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Let. Go. Of. Me."
Seeing he had no other choice, Hiccup did as he was told… Astrid fell into the dirty hay for, staining her dress with dragon dirtiness. As she stood up, she looked venomously at Hiccup.
"Look what you did, you idiot!" she snapped, making Hiccup hold up his arms in self-defense.
"What?! I just did what you told me!" he said, freaking out discretely as she stamped her foot on the ground and walked away. Toothless frowned and smacked Hiccup's head with his wing before turning away.
"What?" Hiccup inquired, turning to look at the Night Fury with a confused look. "I did what she told me!"
Silk and Muk watched with amusement as the carriage pulled away. They couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation. The sight of the handsome Count Dagur Derangé being annoyed by an old man was extremely comical to the Changewing and the goblin. Muk leaned against the ghastly stone gargoyles he was hiding behind while Silk was peeking his head and long neck from behind a dragon statue, the two of them laughing for a long time, not caring if anyone heard them; they were too busy preparing for the opening gala of the season.
Indeed, the Opera hadn't been this entertaining since… Well, since before Heather first places her overgrown foot on the stage. That's what Muk liked about Astrid too; she was so unlike the others. Despite Dagur's compliments and good looks, she saw past the whole façade and would have none of his bullying, even though she would never openly speak it outloud in public. She was intelligent and courageous, outwitting Dagur and standing up to Heather.
His smile faded at that thought. True, the girl he had found himself in love with was different compared to the squealing dance trollops. But she was still a pretty face that would cream at the sight of him should he reveal himself. He hardened his jaw and drooped his ears to the sides as he thought about how often he would come to see her while she was alone in her dressing room. He supposed the whole ordeal began when he heard her singing for the first time. At first he found her physically attractive, something he had never done with a human, and eventually he saw her interact with other people. She was a sweet, kind, refined young lady with a hot temper, just the type he liked.
Silk felt a grin on his lips as he recalled the count's displeasure at Mildew's insistence of the 'evil spirits' lurking around the Opera House. Dagur did not believe in 'ghosts', he was far too 'rational' for such things. However, the Changewing knew how greatly upsetting it was for the man to receive such reminders of their existence. His grin grew wider as he thought that one day soon, Dagur would get the 'scare' of his life.
The bells of Notre Dame sounded the hour, reminding Silk and Muk that it would be getting dark soon, and Snowdrop always went to sleep exactly after the sun went down. Voltaire would kill them if they went back late.
However, as the two turned around to go back to the dark passage they had come from, they noticed Snowdrop was missing. It was not very hard to spot her in the dark due to her albinism, but that did not mean she would not occasionally sneak away from Silk and Muk in order to satisfy her curiosity.
"Snowdrop?" Silk called out to her gently, and grew worried when she did not reply.
"Perhaps she grew tired of waiting for us and went back to the lair." Muk suggested.
"Voltaire is going to kill me if she doesn't show up!"
"Come on, Silk! It's not like she has not memorized the tunnels leading down to the lair after all the times she has gone through them with us!"
Oh, how wrong he was.
IT was dark inside the passages. Darker than the velvet black curtains that hid the backstage world. Snowdrop was slowly beginning to regret her decision to sneak away from Silk and Muk in order to explore a little. She had always seen Muk peer into a room through some leaks on the walls, and she was dying to find out what he was spying at. But the dark pathways she was walking through had no light, and her night vision was not yet fully developed, so she was having difficulty in finding her way. Ah, but it was too late to turn back.
"I wish Oney was here…." Snowdrop whispered, her paws reaching out to touch… anything really. "So this is how he sees with his bad eye…" she whispered to herself, not liking it one bit. She continued a few more steps before sighing and stopping herself. This was foolish, damn foolish, and Muk and Silk would get mad at her. Best that she turn around and head back-
"Ow!" Snowdrop stumbled backwards after hitting the hard surface. Did she just walk into a wall? But… How could that be? She had just come from that direction, all she had done was turn around…
"Strange." She muttered, rubbing her head and attempting to side step the wall or hard object she had hit. The problem was… there was no where to side step. "How?" She kept trying to go around the wall, but it was as if the wall just kept going on! "What's going on?" she asked, her little voice rising with panic and her ears perking up as she attempted to move again, but kept coming in contact with a hard unseen barrier.
Snowdrop turned a different direction, hoping somehow she could find her way back… but it was too blocked off. She was completely stunned. She knew there wasn't a wall there before, but somehow… it had appeared! It was like… she was slowly being boxed in…
"HELLO?" she cried. "CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?"
Silence
"MUK! SILK! I NEED HELP! I'M TRAPPED!"
Footsteps. She heard steps slowly approaching. "Hello? I'm stuck, can you-"
The footsteps paused. Snowdrop's ears perked up as she listened closely, but not a sound was being made. "Hello?" Faintly at first, but growing ever so slowly, was the sound of heavy breathing. Snowdrop swallowed a rather large lump in her throat, her paws trembling. "H-h-hello?"
The panic started when she felt hot breath over her head and neck, and when she looked up to see if Silk had finally found her, she froze completely when she realized she was staring not into Silk's purple eyes, but into a stranger's green eyes.
Toothless was walking back to the stable when he heard someone calling out. Most of the stagehands and employees, Hiccup and Snotlout included, had gone home, while the dancers were up in the Opera's dormitories. He was backstage, looking for something to nibble on when he head a little female voice coming over from one of the Orchestra pits. Like all Night Furies, his curiosity got the better of him and took a peek into the pit. He was surprised to find a Night Fury hatchling, but she was unlike any others he had ever seen. Her scales were a pale white, her eyes a ruby red. As he sniffed her, he caught the scent of stone. As soon as she felt his hot breath, she looked up with terrified eyes; she did now know if she could trust him, or if he was friendly. Toothless leaned into the pit to try and sniff the rest of her body, but she stepped back in fright, her ears against her skull. The first thing he knew about hatchlings was that they were very sensible to yelling; it frightened them and made them feel threatened, so it was not an option. Hatchlings needed to be handled with care and love, which meant to be as gentle with them as possible.
"Hello there." He spoke softly. "How did you get here, little one?