Chapter 4

Hiccup stood in the middle of the Outcast's killing arena. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought her ribs were going to break. 'I don't know what else to do, but buy some time until Dad or Toothless or anyone comes for me.' She thought as she readied for the dragon to be released.

"Here's one that should be easy for you to train." Alvin sneered from above.

Hiccup readied for any dragon that might burst out of the cage. Once the doors were open, an angry Monstrous Nightmare exploded out of the cage and darted around spewing fire in every direction.

'Oh, perfect.' Hiccup thought as she calmly stood her ground and waited for the Nightmare to calm down and approach her.

Eventually, the Nightmare glanced at her and started to walk toward her the same way Hookfang had the day everyone found out about Toothless.

'Just keep calm and don't provoke it.' Hiccup reminded herself as she reached out her hand to show the Nightmare that it could trust her.

"Well, I'm waiting." Hiccup heard Alvin jeer getting impatient.

Hiccup did her best to ignore him and focus on the dragon in front of her. She got close enough to touch him, but just as she was about to touch him, he growled warningly, the same way Toothless had when she first reached to touch him. She remembered what she had to do to get him to trust her. She just hoped that the same thing applied to this Monstrous Nightmare. Sighing, she turned her head away and closed her eyes. After what felt like an eternity, she felt a warm snout press against her palm. She opened her eyes and, for a split second, their eyes locked. But once she took her hand away, she felt a strong hand grab her from behind.

"Well done, Dragon Conqueror." Alvin sneered as Savage held her back as he approached the Nightmare. "Who knew it was so easy."

"It's not." Hiccup said as the Nightmare set itself on fire and started to rampage through the arena. "It doesn't trust you. You try to get on it now, you'll be burned to a crisp." Hiccup said trying to stifle a laugh.

"How do we get it to trust us then?" Alvin growled as he approached Hiccup the same way he had when first found out she was the 'Dragon Conqueror'.

"You can't expect to them to trust you just because their calm, you have to earn their trust." Hiccup said as Alvin ordered Savage to let her go. "I can show you how, but you can't be in the arena while I'm doing this."

"You're bluffing." Alvin growled again.

"Maybe I am, but what other choice do you have? How many people do you know who know dragons like I do?" Hiccup said finally seeing a way out.

Alvin looked at her suspiciously and then turned to Savage. "Take her to her cell. We'll continue the lessons tomorrow." Alvin barked grabbing hold of the Nightmare and forcing it back into the cage.

Hiccup took a backward glance at the Nightmare as it looked back her with a look of fear in its eyes. "I'll get us out of here. I promise." Hiccup mouthed as Savage dragged her to volcano the Outcasts used as their Great Hall.

Once Savage opened the door to her cell, he shoved her in and slammed the door. "You'd better cooperate Dragon Conqueror. Alvin isn't known for his patience and he will not be happy having to wait to learn how to ride these beasts." Savage warned before slamming the door.

"Don't hold your breath. Before Alvin can learn anything, I'll already be gone." Hiccup muttered dusting herself off. 'I just need to figure a way out of this cell.' She thought looking around for anything that could help her. She then heard someone stand outside her cell. She looked as best she could out of the bars and saw an Outcast standing a few feet from the door to her left. 'Perfect.' She thought as she started to engineer her escape. "By tonight, me and all the dragons on this island will be free." She whispered as she rested against the back wall.

It was then she noticed some old iron robs and coils of rope in the corner. "Thank you Thor." She said turning her head up.

She started to tie the rods together as tightly and as firmly as she could and bend one of the more flexible ones into a hook.

"This is going to work. It has to. I have to get back home." Hiccup said hoping to dim any doubts she had about her plan.

Soon after tying the hook into place her eyes started to feel heavy. Eventually she gave in and let herself give in to the urge to sleep.

Hiccup could feel her legs growing tired, her heart pounding so hard she felt like it would burst if she kept going. But something was pushing her to keep going. She looked around her and something about her surroundings was so familiar to her.

"Hiccup!" Hiccup heard a woman cry out behind her. She turned to see her mother running toward her and when she reached her, she scooped her up into her arms and hugged her close. "Oh thank Thor I found you. Come on you have to hide." Valhallarama said in a hurry as she started to run for the barn.

"Why do we have to hide mommy?" Hiccup asked as she to her mother.

"The Outcasts have invaded our shores. Don't worry. I'll protect you no matter what." Val said she closed the barn doors. "Come on sweetie, we have to hide you somewhere in here."

Valhallarama looked around and saw the large pile of hay at the back of the barn. She ran to it and placed little Hiccup inside and cover as best she could so Hiccup could get out afterwards.

"No matter what happens sweetheart, do not leave this hay pile. No matter what you see or hear, do not move or make a sound. Everything will be okay. I promise." Val said she walked back toward the front of the barn.

Hiccup heard the door crash against the back wall. She couldn't help herself. She crawled out of the hay and hide behind a stall close to the entrance. Once she got a good view of her mother she crouched down listened to what was going on. She could see her mother and Alvin standing not far from the entrance. Val was kneeling down in front of Alvin with blood on her forehead and clutching her arm. She looked like she was in a lot of pain.

"If I tell you what you want to know, do you promise to leave the rest of the village alone?" Val pleaded with tears in her eyes. Alvin nodded. "It's me. Take me as your prisoner." Val said as she looked up at Alvin as if she wanted him to do it.

"I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today." Alvin said as he drew his sword.

Valhallarama tried to get up and run, but Alvin was too fast. He took his sword and drove it through her heart. Val gave a groan and fell to the floor as her blood started to pool beneath her. Alvin turned to leave and whispered something to Savage. Hiccup tried to listen but all her thoughts were on her dying mother. Once Alvin was gone and Savage with him, Hiccup emerged from her hiding place and ran over to her mother, tears streaming down her face.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Hiccup cried as she shook her mother as best as her little arms would allow her to. Valhallarama slowly turned her head and looked at her daughter. "Mommy please don't die. I need you, I love you."

"I love you too my precious girl. Don't worry, even in death you and I will always be together, in here." Val said as she weakly raised her hand and placed on Hiccup's heart. "I will be in your heart, and you will be here in my heart, always." Valhallarama said quoting the lullaby she had always sang to her every night. With that, Valhallarama breathed in and let it out and the light left her eyes.

"Mommy, please, please don't leave me!" Hiccup screamed.

Presently, Stoick walked in eyes wide at the sight. "What happened?" he asked as he came closer to his daughter and his wife.

"A big scary man killed her. He wanted to know something and when Mommy told him what he wanted to know he drove his sword through her heart." Hiccup sobbed.

Stoick looked at his daughter and then at the body of his beloved wife. He then turned to Gobber and ordered him to take her to Gothi. Gobber walked over to Hiccup and tried to calm her down to get her to leave. Hiccup reluctantly followed her future mentor to Gothi's hut where Gothi gave her a strange medicine. The next thing Hiccup knew she stared to feel very sleepy. Her eyes felt heavy and she eventually gave in to the urge to sleep.

Hiccup jolted awake and could feel the sweat running down her face. "That dream again. Why does it keep coming back?" she asked herself aloud. She looked out the window of her cell and saw that it was still late at night. "Not much time. I have to make my move tonight." She said picking up her rod and walking to her cell door. Just as she thought, the Outcast guarding her cell fell asleep. Hiccup moved her rod toward his belt and prayed that the hook would hold the keys. She managed to hook the keys onto the rod and carefully pulled the keys toward her. Every now and then the Outcast would groan and shift, but he never woke up. Once Hiccup had the keys, she reached out as far as she could and hoped that she could reach her lock. She heard the keys click and she had to put her hand over her mouth to keep her from crying out in joy.

Once she opened her cell, she walked as quietly as she could down the hall, staying out of sight and searching for a way out. It wasn't that hard to find the door, it was getting there that frightened her. Standing in the center of the Outcast Great Hall, Alvin and Savage stood near their center table.

"Are we sure this is going to work Alvin? She's a clever girl, she'll know if she's walking into a trap." Savage said.

"Exactly. If she figures she's walking into a trap, she'll stay put. She's too smart to think that escape will be so easy." Alvin said heading toward the hall. Hiccup squeezed into a crevice and hoped that Alvin would just keep walking.

'Please don't let him see me, please don't let him see me.' She pleaded loudly in her thoughts.

As she hoped, Alvin walked past her and down the hall toward her cell. Then she waited for Savage to follow. Once he was gone, she quickly and quietly made her way toward the door. The door creaked and Hiccup cringed hoping that no one heard it. Once out, she ran straight for the arena.