Chapter Four - Expectations
There was only the sound of the device slicing through the air. Then, a commotion rose up from the stables. Roars and high-pitched squeals filled the air as she continued to swing the pommel high above her head. The other dragons must be in that building, then. Excitement welled up inside her as she imagined Dragon's reaction.
It felt like far longer than it actually took until she saw his big green form flying towards them, a small spot over the horizon that steadily grew bigger. He was flying fast across the waters, and Jane suddenly realized he must think she was in trouble. After all, what other reason would she call him? She had specifically instructed him not to come unless she called on him, which would be in the event of an emergency. He must be so worried about her right now—wondering if he was going to make it in time. But surely he would forgive her for giving him a heart attack once he saw all the other dragons.
He didn't seem to notice, though. As he came closer he let out a roar, filling the sky above them with fire. With a giant swoop of his wings, he landed a few feet away and dug his claws into the dirt, skidding to a halt. He flicked his large green tail in front of Jane, as if to protect her.
"Hurt Jane and I shall turn you all into charcoal!" he roared, smoke coming from his nostrils.
Hiccup stumbled back, his eyes growing wide. Gasps of shock came from everyone standing around. Suddenly a commotion rose up from the crowd. There were so many shocked whispers and shouts that Jane couldn't distinguish what was being said. It was all one collective conversation.
"He can talk?" Hiccup asked, and Jane furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. What did he mean by that—of course Dragon could talk! With another snort of smoke from Dragon, Jane snapped back into the present. Dragon's large red eyes darted around the crowd, and he looked like he was seconds away from attacking someone.
"No, Dragon! Stop!" Jane cried, reaching forward to place a hand on his side. He turned his head around to face her, confusion in his eyes. "They have not threatened me."
"What? Then why have you called me here?" he asked, throwing his paws up in the air.
A grin spread across her face, and she gestured towards the black dragon that had curled himself protectively around Hiccup. "See for yourself."
He turned his head, eyes finally landing on Toothless. As their gazes locked Toothless growled at him, revealing a row of sharp teeth. For a minute there was silence. Jane took a few steps forward so she could see Dragon's reaction.
"Jane…Jane…" he said, pointing a claw at Toothless.
"Yes?"
"That is a dragon!" he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper.
She giggled. "Yes, it is."
"It is another dragon!" he shouted, giving a leap in the air. As he landed the ground shook, and a few Vikings tumbled over. Toothless's stance relaxed when he realized Dragon was no longer threatening Hiccup, and cocked his head curiously at him.
"Oh, you do not know how long I have been searching for others! Come here, you!" Dragon's paws shot forward and he grabbed Toothless, pulling him into a crushing hug. Toothless let out a sound of irritation as he was swung back and forth, legs dangling.
"How does your dragon talk?" Hiccup asked. Suddenly, his words finally registered, and she furrowed both eyebrows.
"Wait, do you mean to say that your dragons cannot talk?"
"I…well, I've never seen one talk." Hiccup turned to his mother. "Mom? Have you ever come across a dragon that could talk?"
"Never," she said, furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at Dragon. He was completely oblivious to their conversation; instead, he was spinning around in a circle, slinging Toothless back and forth. "How is this possible?"
"Dragon?" Jane called out, and when he didn't respond she repeated it a bit louder. "Dragon!" He finally turned to look at her.
"What?"
"Do you want more good news?" she asked with a grin.
"Nothing could be better than this, Jane. Nothing!" he said, still clutching Toothless like he was his lifeline. Jane could tell the smaller dragon was not very pleased with this.
"There are hundreds of other dragons here," she said. Dragon suddenly froze, his eyes growing even wider. His grip seemed to slacken, because Toothless was able to squirm out of his arms. He let out a snort before running to hide behind Hiccup.
"You big baby," Hiccup teased. "He only wanted a hug."
"Where are the other dragons? I must meet them all!" he said, looking around wildly.
"Calm down, you big lizard," Jane laughed. "You will get your chance to meet them."
Dragon smiled and turned back to Toothless. "Oh, I almost forgot! My name is Dragon. What is your name?"
"His name is Toothless," Hiccup answered, and Dragon sent him a frown.
"I was asking him, not you, short life."
"Dragon, were you not listening?" Jane asked, taking a step forward to place a hand on his giant arm. The perplexed look he gave her was the answer she had expected. She let out a sigh. "The dragons here cannot talk. Apparently you are the only dragon that can talk."
"You mean…I cannot talk to them?" he asked, his face falling. There was a tense moment of silence, where his eyes flickered over to Toothless, and then back to Jane. "But…but I have been searching for other dragons for over three hundred years!"
Jane gave him a sad look. "I am sorry, Dragon."
"No, the dragons can talk! I know they can!" Dragon took a step forward, lowering his head to look at Toothless. "I know you can talk, you just have to try." There was a palpable silence, where no one spoke. "Come on, you can do it, just say one thing," Dragon practically pleaded. Jane had never seen him this…well, desperate before. It broke her heart.
She took a step forward, wrapping her arms around her best friend. "Dragon, no."
His head dropped, and a moment later he walked away, pulling away from her embrace. He turned his back to her, large paws clenched into fists at his side. Then, he suddenly let out a roar, sending up a stream of fire straight above him. When he was done he bowed his head again, and Jane walked over to him. She gave him a pat, not knowing what else she could do to make him feel better. It must be rough for him, finally finding others of his kind, only to be unable to communicate with them.
"I am sorry."
"Why can't they talk?" he asked, gesturing towards Toothless.
"A better question would be, why can you talk?" Hiccup's mother asked, taking a few steps toward Dragon. "May I?"
"And just who are you?" Dragon asked glumly, crossing his arms.
"Oh, sorry," Hiccup exclaimed, gently tapping a hand against his forehead. "This is my mother, Valka. She's the dragon master here on Berk."
She laughed. "Oh, you flatter me. But Hiccup here knows a lot as well."
"Ah, so you think you are dragon masters? I will be the judge of that," Dragon said. He dropped down on all fours and slunk forward, nostrils flaring as he tried to intimidate her. Jane felt a chuckle escape her lips when Valka only smiled in response.
She dropped down, crouching as she moved forward, until she was only a few feet away from him. Then her hand moved forward, palm facing Dragon. It finally stopped right beneath his chin and she gave a scratch. Dragon's eyes suddenly rolled up to his head and a content smile slipped across his face as he collapsed to the ground. A deep rumble came from his mouth, almost like he was purring.
Jane felt uneasy. "What did you do to him?"
"Oh, nothing bad. Almost all dragons have pleasure sensors in the same spot," she stated as she stood up, running a hand over his long neck and belly as she circled around him.
When she finally got back to his head Dragon seemed to have recovered. "Oh, Jane, you have got to learn that trick."
She smiled. It might just do her good to learn that, especially when the large green lizard became irritated. All she would have to do is scratch him under the chin to calm him down. Valka lifted Dragon's large head with both hands.
"Now open your mouth," she said, and Dragon complied. Suddenly he let out a loud belch. Unlike the previous times he had done that to her fellow castle dwellers, Valka didn't stumble back holding her nose. It crinkled a little, but she laughed. "Well, he seems like every other dragon in nearly all respects…including dragon breath."
She pulled away and ran a hand down his snout. "I have always believed dragons could talk if they were taught, seeing as how their throats and tongues are similar to our own, but I have never seen such an example." She turned to look at Jane. "Has he always done that? Talked, I mean."
"Yes, though he has lived for over three hundred years, and I have only known him for eight of them, so I cannot say what he was like before that."
She gave a nod, a smile creeping across her face. "Of course." She gave Dragon another pat on the nose. "Have you lived alone all your life?"
He looked down, sadness creeping into his eyes. "Yes, ever since I can remember."
"You poor thing. Now you can be among your own kind," she whispered, rubbing his snout, and then turned to face Jane. "I can only guess that he never learned the language of the dragons because he was not taught. And living around humans must have forced him to learn their language instead. It's fascinating."
At the compliment, a grin slid across Dragon's face, and Jane was glad to see some of the happiness return.
"Hear that, Jane? I'm fascinating!" he said, flashing her a big smile. She gave a chuckle, and watched as he swung his head back to Hiccup. "Can I meet the other dragons now?"
"Um, sure, right this way," Hiccup said, leading them up the hill. "We had to put them in their stables when we saw your ship on the horizon. We never expected you to have a dragon of your own."
"Looks like both our expectations were wrong," Jane said.
When they got to the doors, they were already hanging open from when Toothless burst through them. The sight before Jane left her speechless. In each stall was a dragon—each one a different shape, size, and color. She had never dreamed there could be so much diversity among dragons.
Jane was nearly knocked over when Dragon pushed past her into the stables, nearly ripping open the door to the first stable he came to. He reached inside and pulled out a very large red dragon before crushing him against his chest in a hug. Suddenly the large dragon burst into flames. Jane let out a cry and took a step towards Dragon before she realized the flames weren't hurting him.
Dragon's eyes widened and he gazed down at the red dragon in amazement. "Oh, that is so cool—uh, or rather, hot!"
A fond smile crept across Jane's lips when saw she how happy Dragon was, even though he could not communicate with his kind. Despite the flames, Dragon hugged the other dragon even tighter.
"If you are done gawking at the dragons, might we see about the sleeping arrangements?" Gunther snapped, and Jane turned to fix him with a frown. Could he not be happy about someone else's good fortune for once in his life? "I have been rowing for the past three days, and getting little to no sleep this whole journey!"
Although Jane did not approve of what he said, she could definitely agree with the sentiment. Now that all the excitement was wearing off she could feel the tiredness in her bones—right to her very core. Her arms hung limp by her sides, and she barely held on to the sword that she had summoned Dragon with.
"Oh, of course," Hiccup said, scratching at the back of his head. He glanced over at Dragon, who was currently throwing open stall doors and grabbing random dragons into hugs.
Valka chuckled, taking a step forward. "I'll stay here with Dragon, go show our guests to their house, they must be tired."
With a nod, Hiccup turned and led them down a pathway. They came upon a small cottage with fresh paint and a newly laid roof. "Here you are. Dinner is served in the Great Hall just up that hill," he said, pointing to a large building with a dome shaped roof. "If you need anything, feel free to ask."
"Thank you," Jane said, not trusting Gunther to speak after his last rude remark. With that Hiccup walked away, heading back towards the stables. As soon as she and Gunther were inside and the door was closed, Jane spun around to face him. "That was very rude, Gunther. I understand your tiredness, but you could be a little nicer."
"Oh, and I might say that same about you, Jane," he shot back, narrowing his grey eyes. "About how you snapped at their chief earlier. Is it right to ask someone from another land to so easily accept the idea that a woman can become a knight? Your comment is more damaging to our cause than anything I have said." Spinning on his heels, he stormed towards a wooden door to their left.
"Gunther!" she called out after him, but he ignored her as usual. The only sound in response was the slamming of the door once he was inside. "Stupid biscuit weevil," she muttered under her breath.
Jane could feel sleep biting at the edges of her vision, and felt like she might drop down on the floor. Pushing aside Gunther's remark for the moment, she trudged over to the other bedroom and opened the freshly cut wooden door. She glanced over at the inviting bed, once again feeling tiredness wash over her like a current pulling her under.
As soon as her body hit the mattress, she fell asleep.
Hiccup sat at his father's desk, slumped forward. He ran both hands down his face, feeling his problems multiply by the minute. It was supposed to be easy—send a letter, get invited to their kingdom, and seal the deal. Right? Well now they had to house two envoys, who were to stay there for two weeks, and then after all that was done, they had to send them back on their merry way—hopefully with a good report. Oh, and to top it all off, Hiccup was pretty sure Jane didn't like him one bit.
Just thinking about their earlier encounter made him cringe. He hadn't meant to offend her—but being his usual self meant sticking his foot in his mouth at the worst possible time. It had come as a surprise to see Jane—a woman—in such a prestigious position as Knight, especially since his mother had told him that women weren't given important tasks—and that their natural place was seen as the house. Not that it would affect how she would be treated here—he had been happy to see other kingdoms were making progress! But then she had taken his surprise the wrong way, and now he was trying to figure out just how he was going to get a good report when she already disliked him. He wasn't sure what to make of her companion just yet, but he wasn't quite sure he liked the fact that Gunther reminded him of Snotlout—rude and obnoxious. Only time would tell. And then another surprise had come—the Kingdom had a dragon of their own…a talking dragon!
He knew it—they should have taken their chances with the Scots.
"Everything will be fine, son," he heard a soft voice say, and his head snapped around to see his mother standing by the door. She looked at him with such affection in her eyes—one hip leaning against the doorframe and hands crossed over her chest. "I remember your father sitting there many a nights—wondering how he would fix the problems that came with being a chief. You're a lot like him, though—you'll always come up with something."
Those words reminded him of what Astrid had said—"I know you'll figure out a solution. You're good at that."
"Yeah, but socializing isn't exactly my specialty, and Jane already hates me."
His mother chuckled, pushing herself away from the doorframe and walking over to him. "Hate? I wouldn't say that. You should have seen the way she looked at you after Dragon came here. There was clear admiration, even if there was a bit of uncertainty. I think she would give you another chance if you would just explain yourself to her."
"I tried, but she wouldn't listen to me."
"Sometimes the best way to get someone to listen is to apologize beforehand, and then explain yourself—even when you've done nothing wrong." She gave a shrug. "It may not be the 'Viking way' of doing things, but it can work wonders."
Hiccup smiled. "Well, I've never really been one to do things the Viking way."
When Valka reached him, she ran her fingers through his hair. "I know you didn't mean for it to sound like it did, but think about it from her perspective—she must be used to people bullying her for being a woman knight. If the mainland is in any way how I remember it, then she expects people to look down on her because she dared to be different."
"Yeah, I know the feeling," Hiccup muttered, remembering how the others had bullied him—before he became 'The Hero of Berk'—because he was different. Instead of fighting, he schemed. Instead of sharpening his axe, he sharpened his pencil. Instead of practicing his swordplay, he kept working on his inventions. "The next time I see her I'll apologize…and hopefully I won't stick my foot in my mouth this time."
Jane awoke to the sunlight shining in her eyes. She snuggled deeper into the mattress and buried her face in the pillow. It felt like she had been asleep for a long time, but when she opened her eyes she saw the sun hanging low in the sky, indicating it was late afternoon. She must have been asleep for a few hours, then. Sitting up, she let out a yawn and stretched. She felt well-rested. With any luck, they could begin discussing the possible alliance tonight.
At the thought of their mission, Jane frowned. Gunther's words from earlier rang through her mind, while her memory replayed the brief conversation between her and Hiccup. Now that her mind was clear and fresh, she felt ashamed of her rudeness. For once, that bog weevil had been right. She had been tired and irritable, and had let it cloud her judgment and possibly damage their cause.
It was in her best interest to stay on the chief's good side. If she was to make out his true character, she would have to get closer to him. Now that she thought about it, he had not at all been unkind to her. He had only remarked he did not think a woman could become a knight…but was that so surprising? When Jane first told her friends and family about her dreams, many of them had laughed at her—the very same ones who now rooted for her. Only Jester had supported her. But if she had been able to change the mindset of her fellow castle dwellers, surely she could change the mind of one chief. Besides, she had been tasked with this very important mission by the king himself. Even if the chief did not come to accept Jane as a knight, she would still treat him with respect and kindness. She would not fail her king. Jane knew the proper course of action—she must apologize. Then she could suggest starting over and move on from there. With any luck, she and Hiccup might become friends. He seemed nice enough, despite his obvious views towards her being a knight.
She stood and walked out into the main room of their cabin. The door leading to Gunther's room was still closed, but that didn't entirely surprise her. He would probably sleep until the next morning, and she was more than willing to let him. Any time away from his company was sweet relief.
Jane walked outside and glancing around to see if Dragon had returned, but he was nowhere in sight. He must still be at the stables, then. At the absence of her best friend, she felt a frown pull at her lips. She was happy for him, she really was, but now the truth of it all was settling on her—would he want to stay here, now that he had found so many others of his kind? The thought of losing him caused her breath to stall in her throat. No, she must not think about it. Sure, Dragon had been happy to see fellow dragons, but it was too early to make such assumptions.
Jane stood outside and looked around, as if seeing the island for the first time. She supposed she was, since she had been both too tired and too excited about seeing dragons to really get a good look at the land when she first arrived. It was so different now—there were dragons flying all around, and people going about their business. Jane saw some dragon's hovering over half-built rooftops, lowering down lumber and even holding up supporting beams while the Vikings hammered the nails into place. Elsewhere, Viking villagers were sweeping up shards of ice along the ground. And there—against the face of a mountain—were more Viking's working on a stone statue.
Shaking her head, Jane returned to the present—remembering she had a mission to complete. Her green eyes once again scanned over the land, trying to guess which house might be the chief's—if he was even home, that is. He might be out flying on his dragon, or…well, doing whatever it was he did, but she figured it was a good place to start. As her eyes roamed over the bumpy, hill-covered landscape, she realized all the houses looked relatively the same. There were a lot of dragon carvings and symbols on all the houses, along with paintings. They seemed to dominate the island. Dragon had spent so many years alone, when there were dragons here all along.
No, not alone. He had me, Jane told herself. Suddenly, she spotted the man from earlier walking down the trail. Quickening her pace, she caught up with him.
"Excuse me…" she called out, and he stopped and turned. "Eret, correct?"
"Yes." He stopped where he was and gave her a grin.
"Could you tell me where Chief Hiccup might be?"
He nodded, stroking his chin. "Last I saw he was at his house…" Turning, he pointed at a home situated near the top of the hill. "Right up there."
There! Jane thought. Up high on the hilltop was a house slightly larger than the rest of them. She had to squint, but she could make out an ornately carved dragon head above the doorframe.
"Thank you very much, sir," she said before making her way up the hill. In no time at all, she reached the front door. Taking in a deep breath, she raised her hand and—
Suddenly the door swung open, and she nearly jumped back in surprise, but years of knight's training had taught her to keep her calm in stressful situations; however, it seemed Hiccup had not received such training. A hand flew to his chest and he stumbled back. He let out a sharp breath when he realized it was only her, and let his arm fall back to his side.
"Oh, hi, Lady…uh, I mean Knight Jane. How are you feeling? Do you like your cabin?" he asked, eyes moving all over the place and looking at everything but her. Jane immediately realized he looked guilty, which made her feel even guiltier about her earlier words.
"Our accommodations are very nice. Thank you, Chief Hiccup," she began, but before she could say any more he gave a nod.
"Great. Um, well I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier." He unconsciously rubbed at the back of his neck—one of his nervous habits, Jane noted. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that. The thing is, my mom used to live on the mainland, and she told me that women there weren't exactly treated equally. Not that it's like that on Berk—I mean, my girlfriend Astrid is one of the fiercest Viking warriors I know, but I didn't expect…well, I didn't expect a female knight."
His words surprised her, and she felt both relief and shame bubble up inside her chest. "You mean, you are not at all opposed to the idea of a woman being a knight?"
He gave a quick shake of his head. "No, no way. The women on Berk are just as tough as the men…sometimes even tougher." Jane started to laugh, but then promptly stopped and covered her mouth when a couple snorts escaped her lips. Clearing her throat, she looked down at the ground. "What I said earlier was just me sticking my foot in my mouth."
"I have done that quite a few times as well," Jane assured him, still unable to look up and meet his gaze. All this time she had assumed the worst, and now she felt even more terrible about what she had said. "I came here to apologize for my rudeness earlier. It is no excuse, but I was tired and irritable, and I should not have been so quick to jump to conclusions. I would like it if we could start over."
She forced her eyes back up and saw to her relief that he was smiling at her. "Yeah, great idea."
As she felt all the anticipation and guilt leave her body, a new sensation took its place—hunger. Her stomach suddenly gave a rumble, and apparently it was loud enough for Hiccup to hear. With a grin, he nodded at the large building he had pointed out earlier.
"I was just heading to the Great Hall to get some dinner," he said, and nodded for her to follow as he led the way.
As soon as they entered the building she felt like she was home again. The same noisy clatter and indistinguishable conversation that floated from inside the castle, filled the air here. It was warm inside, and the smell of food swirled around. There were dozens of tables with wooden benches seated around them. Most of the Viking's from earlier today seemed to be gathered here for dinner. Hiccup led her over to a person who appeared to be the cook. He doled out exact portions of fish and them poured them both some soup in bowls. She took her food and then picked up a cup of mead before following Hiccup over to a table near the wall.
"I hope Dragon is enjoying himself. Did you see him at all after you left us? How is he doing?" Jane asked as she ate her fish.
"He seems happy. He took turns hugging each dragon. We had to put out a few fires when some of the more…uh, reluctant dragons put up a fuss."
Jane cringed. "I am sorry. You have to understand that he has spent almost all of his three hundred years searching for other dragons. We had all but given up hope, and now suddenly, there are hundreds of dragons!"
"It seems strange to think that a land only a few hundred miles away doesn't have any dragons. Here, they've always been a part of our life. It was only recently that we tamed them, though. We spent so many years fighting them."
"That is why Dragon did not dare come here. He believed that any dragon's here must have been hunted into extinction, and did not want to risk his life where there was little hope." As Jane thought about all she had learned, a question appeared in her mind. "What exactly did you plan to do about our supposed disbelief in dragons? Surely you did not expect to hide them all for two weeks?"
"No, we were going to try and break it to you gently." He gave a shrug. "And if all else failed and you went running for the docks, I would have had Toothless snatch you up and take you on a ride to change your mind about dragons." Jane raised an eyebrow at his plan. "Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but it worked on Astrid. She hated dragons like everyone else on Berk until she saw how amazing they could be."
"So kidnap actually worked?"
Hiccup laughed. "Yes. It's not like I had many options at that point."
"Thankfully, you do not have to resort to such measures." Jane took a sip of her soup from the wooden spoon. "I do not suppose it would be much different from riding Dragon."
"Actually, it would be a lot different. Toothless is much smaller, and much faster, for one. In fact, he's the fastest dragon on Berk." Hiccup leaned in closer. "Just don't tell Astrid I said that, I like to let her believe Stormfly is the fastest dragon here."
Jane laughed at that. "Dragon is pretty fast too. What makes you think he is not as fast as your dragon?"
"Size, for one. Toothless is built for speed and accuracy. He's part of the Striker Class, while your dragon is…I'd say the Stoker Class, but I can't say for sure until I study him."
Jane blinked in surprise. "There are different classes of dragons?"
"Yeah, I can show you the Book of Dragons sometime if you want to learn more."
"Sure, I would love too." Jane tried to return her focus to the food in front of her, but all the talk about dragons had her head swirling with questions. Scooping up the last spoonful of soup, Jane drank it and then turned to face Hiccup. "So just how fast is Toothless?"
Hiccup gave her a knowing smile, like he could read her mind. "Would you like to take a ride on him and find out?" He pushed his empty plate away and grabbed her hand, leading her out the door. "I was going to offer a tour of Berk anyway, and the best view is from up in the sky. We have a couple hours left before it gets dark."
"What? You mean right now?"
Hiccup gave a nod, and then let out a whistle. A moment later Toothless bounded up to them, and for the first time, Jane noticed a brown saddle strapped to his back. "Yeah. Come on."
He jumped up on Toothless's back and locked his metal foot into some sort of contraption connected to the saddle. Giving her an expectant look, he held out a hand, but Jane could only stare at it. She felt her hands go cold, but kept her expression neutral. Part of her wanted to ride Toothless, but another part whispered fears into her mind. She felt safe on the back of Dragon—they trusted each other with their life—but this was an unfamiliar dragon whom she did not know. The thought of riding him into the sky at neck-breaking speeds filled her with more nervousness than she cared to admit.
As if sensing her hesitation, Hiccup leaned in closer. "Trust me. We won't let anything happen to you."
As she glanced up into his green eyes, noting the sincerity and openness, she found her hand reaching out for his, as if against her will. His fingers wrapped around hers, and she swung herself up behind him onto Toothless.
And now we have it—a complete reveal...and then some! :) The next chapter should have a small bit from Gunther's viewpoint, since he'll be important to the story as well. Thanks to everyone for all the follows, favorites, and reviews—it's great to know this story has an audience!
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! :)