Mousedom: Dangers & Dragons (part 4)
"Well, looks like you've been busy."
"Huh?" Hiccup looked up as Astrid pulled Stormfly up next to Toothless on the cliff top. "Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, that's me. Uh, very busy. Keeping... uh.. Keeping watch for... for Alvin and the Outcasts."
"Uh-huh," Astrid said, looking at him slyly. "Or too busy for certain house-guests?"
"What?" Hiccup yelped. "I-I-Wha-No! I'm not-."
"I know you're not," Astrid said, tired of him stammering for an answer. "But you're trying to be."
Hiccup mouthed at her like a fish for a few minutes, trying to think up a defense, but nothing came to him. Namely because it was true. It wasn't that this Prince Stephan was nasty to be around or anything. Actually, when he thought about it, Stephan had been nothing but courteous for the entire week. If nothing else, he'd only been to eager to join in every activity.
Somehow Stephan had won over Tuffnut and Snotlout with how handy he was with a sword. Then he'd made himself a friend to Fishlegs just by actually listening when the larger boy started relaying everything he knew about dragons. Ruffnut and Astrid had applied themselves to being around whenever the prince was alone, just to get smiles from him. They'd each taken him flying, teaching the prince how to befriend a dragon exactly how Hiccup had taught them, and Stephan had apparently been flying Stormfly with Astrid merely holding on and calling directions occasionally.
It was driving Hiccup nuts. How could one guy have such a big effect on everyone? Ok, two guys. Stephan's father was causing just as much of a stir, but the King was a pro at avoiding affections that he didn't want. Prince Stephan, not so much.
"He's here for another week, you know," Astrid said after several moments in her own thoughts.
"I know," Hiccup acknowledged with a nod. Currently it was the bright point at the end of the tunnel for him.
"Well, you could at least try getting to know him," Astrid said, folding her arms. "He is staying at your house, after all."
"Yeah, I know."
Giving him a narrowed look that must have been a reminder that she could (and probably would) beat him up, Astrid nudged Stormfly forward into a dive over the cliff side. Kinda out of instinctive reaction, Hiccup leaned forward in the saddle to make sure she was able to pull out of the dive. Which she did, of course. She was actually one of the best riders in their group.
"You're sitting with us at dinner," she informed him and flew away before he could say otherwise.
~~°o°~~
Stephan wasn't sure what he should be doing. He'd never visited with Vikings before, even in the EPCOT. Visiting with Vikings from outside the Disney Empire was probably even more different. But he staggered along with customs that he'd been taught ever since he was little, which at least made no one irritated with him. Except for, maybe, Hiccup. The older ladies on the island loved his father, fluttering their eyes at him and baking special goodies for dinner. But they also doted on Stephan, all cooing and such when he'd lend a hand with something typically considered mundane. The girls were more his following, though, and more often than not he was in the company of Astrid or Ruffnut or both.
Little girls were the funniest, though. They'd come up with tiny handfuls of wildflowers and homemade... things, which they'd bashfully hold out to him and then hurry off in a flutter of giggles when he thanked them. Which at least assured him that they weren't to different from the little girls he had to deal with back home.
The men were similar too, after a while. Every morning, since it was his routine, Stephan found himself waking up with the dawn and being the only one besides his father who was actually conscious. So, just like at home, King Philip would draw him outside and a little ways away from the village to practice swordplay. It didn't take long for the men of the island to catch on to this and decide that they'd like to watch or even participate. By the end of their first week, Stephan and his father were lengthening their practices to include local pairs in this strange looking arena that Tuffnut claimed used to be for battling dragons.
Prince Stephan believed it, though he much preferred viewing the dragons as some form of extra-large pet instead of a beast to fight. On that front had done fairly well with the dragons so far. One of the plusses of so much fawning, he guessed, was that merely saying that he'd never been on a dragon had gotten him lessons in just about everything dragon related-from flying to feeding to showing affection-until he was probably the most dragon-educated person that would ever return to the Disney Empire.
The only dragon he hadn't spent much time with was the one he was probably the most wary of-Toothless. Though, not for lack of trying. Every morning he and the Nightfury would share a few moments, which were simply spent with both analyzing each other, before King Philip emerged from the house to lead the way to the arena.
By the time they'd get back for a late-ish breakfast, Hiccup would be gone for the day and Toothless along with him.
"It's a Hiccup-thing," Astrid had explained one breakfast when he'd accidentally mentioned it. She cast a calculating sour look towards the hall door, then she gave him a smile. "Don't worry, I'll talk to him."
Stephan gave her an awkward nod of thanks, feeling ill at ease with Hiccup already. Had he done something wrong without realizing it?
That night at dinner, after a day spent racing with his new friends, Stephan was amazed to see Hiccup walking towards them through the hall. Not only that, but he sat with them too. Right across from Stephan, actually. Though, really, the rest of the teens hardly seemed to notice as they went on telling their stories of battle scars.
Prince Stephan glanced over at Astrid. What exactly had she said to him?
The blonde merely smiled and went back to contradicting everything Snotlout said.
"Uh, hi," Hiccup said, sounding a little sheepish and uncomfortable.
"Hello," Stephan returned, giving an uncertain smile.
"Do you, uh, mind if I sit here?" Hiccup asked.
"No, not by any means," Stephan answered, relieved. "Please do."
Hiccup returned the uncertain smile with his own that matched, then the two boys were quickly drawn into their friends' conversations.
~~°o°~~
A while later, while sharing stories about how Hiccup and his friends used to train in the arena, Stoic and King Philip arrived as they laughed about Fishlegs against the double headed dragon. But a distinct feeling of dread went through Stephan as his dad put a hand on his shoulder.
"It sounds as though you're all having a wonderful time," Philip said with a smile.
"We are," Astrid agreed for the table. Hiccup and Stephan nodded in agreement.
"That's wonderful to hear," Philip said. "But... we might need to leave earlier than we'd originally planned."
Stephan looked up at him with large, disappointed eyes. "What? Why?"
Philip gave his son an apologetic smile and cuffed the back of his head affectionately. "Two reasons," he said. "Your mother and sister think they might not need to do as much in Paris as they originally thought-." He smirked as Stephan rolled his eyes. "And two, your Aunt Odette's gone missing."
"Again?" Stephan asked, looking moderately concerned but not surprised. A reaction that made the other teens fight their amused reactions.
"It seems that way," Philip said sympathetically. "I've told Derek that we'll be on our way in the morning."
Stephan deflated, nodding half-heartedly at the plan. The sentiment was echoed in the faces and groans of the five or six other young teens at the table.
Stoic placed a hand on Stephan's other shoulder, then looked at Philip thoughtfully. "Would this be the family of Queen Uberta?"
Philip nodded and looked at the viking leader curiously. "You know them?"
"I know of them," Stoic corrected. "They're a day or so's travel over the boarder in Bluthia. Some of their trade routes go to the mainland with jams and such. But my point is-why don't you let the boy stay? We'll watch out for him-it's not like he can get off the island without someone knowing-and we'll fly him over to that lake castle of their's before your wife knows."
Stephan looked up at his father hopefully and eventually the king smiled and nodded. "Alright," Philip said, ruffling his son's hair. "It sounds like a plan."
"Yes!" Stephan and his new friends cheered.
"But I better hear that you were on good behavior, Stephan," Philip cautioned good-heartedly.
Stephan nodded sternly, then quickly went back to talking with the island teens.
Philip smiled and shook his head. At least the boy was fitting in. If it weren't for the fact that Stephan was the only heir to their corner of the Empire, Philip would have been tempted to let him live a life like the one these vikings had. After all, it wasn't as though Stephan was lacking in female attention here (that blonde one wearing a spiky helmet kept making eyes at the young prince), but sadly duty had to come first.
~~°o°~~
Hiccup honestly found it a little strange the next morning, after King Philip left. He and the team had pulled the ship half way across the sea, with Stephan riding along with Astrid on Stormfly. The prince, normally quiet anyway, was practically mute for the hours it took to fly out and back. Then he quickly disappeared to the cliff top overlooking the direction of the mainland.
Which Hiccup only knew because he found the prince there when it was close to dinner time. It felt like he was interrupting when he landed Toothless a few yards away. Especially when Stephan barely glanced back at him when he started coming closer.
"So, uh," Hiccup said slowly. "So... you—you flew pretty well today."
The prince glanced up again momentarily before he looked back at the sea. "Thanks."
Hiccup nodded, then rubbed the back of his head. "Soo... I was thinking... Tomorrow... maybe I'll show you how to fly on Toothless."
Stephan stared at him. "Really?"
"Yeah," Hiccup said, trying not to regret his decision. But if he ever wanted Astrid to stop glaring at him, this had to happen. "You can use my old saddle-from back when I had both feet."
The prince gave an awkward little laugh, but nodded. Hiccup gave another slightly lopsided smile. Maybe this would be an okay thing.
~~°o°~~
After breakfast the next day, Stephan followed the young Viking towards the smithy. It didn't take too long to find the old saddle, buried beneath a dozen of Hiccup's other projects. Then he helped lug it back up the hill to where Toothless was playing behind his family house.
"So, uh, I just need to remember how this went on," Hiccup said, setting the old saddle on the ground. Whether or not it was out of excitement, Toothless moved his tail, lightly hitting Hiccup in the face. "Wha-Toothless! Hold still, buddy."
He turned to glance at the dragon's face, expecting to find the large reptilian creature watching him curiously as he always did, but was surprised to find his dragon curiously sniffing towards Prince Stephan. And the prince was a good three or four feet away, just letting the dragon come to him instead of advancing.
Fighting the urge to mutter in his dislike of this idea-or letting Stephan near Toothless at all-Hiccup quickly worked at getting the saddle's buckles figured out. He was working on the last buckle when Toothless jerked to attention, then let out a low growl.
Wondering what their royal guest had done, Hiccup looked up with a frown. But Stephan was still rooted to his spot, the only difference being that one of his hands was extended forward, and Toothless was looking around the sky anxiously.
Hiccup gave up on the buckle and got to his feet. "What is it, Bud?"
Toothless gave a short rumble of an answer and continued to search the sky until his ears twitched toward the south. Hiccup and Stephan followed the dragon's gaze too. And Hiccup's jaw dropped.
A large dark speck was growing steadily closer and giving off a strange, shrill metallic noise as well as the sound of really large wings. Toothless balked and let out a cry.
"Hiccup!" Astrid's voice reached them only moments before she did, sliding off Stormfly's back and landing with an agile thud. She looked back over her shoulder at the growing speck. "Its some kind of air ship," she reported. "It looks like a large ball or something!"
"A dirigible?" Stephan wondered, earning him confused glances.
"Do you think its more visitors?" Astrid asked, turning to Hiccup again.
Hiccup shook his head. "Dad didn't say we were expecting anyone while the Disney royals were here."
"What should we do?"
Suddenly back in his on-again-off-again title of "Defense Leader," Hiccup squinted at the encroaching aircraft as he tried to form a plan. There were, honestly, very few who came to Berk on peaceful terms. So it wasn't hard to guess that this was a "non-friendly", the fact that they were coming by air, though, that was worrisome.
"Get everyone to their dragons," he said finally. "I'll go find Dad."
"And Stephan?" Astrid asked pointedly, glancing at the taller boy beside them. Stephan looked to Hiccup.
"He's with me," Hiccup said after a moment or two. If nothing else, at least this way he could keep the prince from going all "valiant" and trying to help them fight (if that was indeed the case). That, and he didn't really have time to get the correct saddle back on anyway.
Which meant Stephan was about to have his first time flying with Toothless as they raced off to find the hunters.
Astrid nodded, either realizing that it was futile to argue or just too time consuming to press further, and mounted Stormfly again. "We'll find out what they're up to."
Hiccup nodded in thanks, Astrid really was the best help he had for these things. Another thing he loved about her. She nodded back and Stormfly took off, swooping down towards the rest of the village.
"C'mon," Hiccup said, moving towards Toothless again. "You're going to have to steer."
"What?" Stephan halted mid-step, looking at Hiccup with wide eyes.
"I don't have time to get the other saddle back on," he said firmly. "Its easy enough, I'll tell you what to do."
The flicker of fear that Hiccup was surprised to see in the prince's eyes quickly turned into determination as Stephan nodded and stepped forward. After a few short instructions and reassuring Toothless, Hiccup had Stephan urge the dragon into take-off.
One thing he could say, when they were finally airborne and heading towards the forests, teaching a new driver on Toothless was probably the most difficult thing he'd ever done. And Hiccup silently vowed never to do it again.
Luckily the prince was a fast learner and after a few near crashes, Stephan remained a little shaky but at least he was able to steer.
"Where are they?" Stephan asked over the wind.
"I dunno," Hiccup answered. It was beginning to feel like he could search the entire forest and never find his dad. "They should be just pas the eastern-Woah!"
Giving a roar of alarm, Toothless lurched and nearly threw his riders, making both boys cry out.
"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted. "What-."
Hiccup gasped as some sort of laser narrowly missed them.
"Stephan! Steer into a dive," he shouted. "Tilt your foot forward!"
Prince Stephan did as he was told and Toothless raced towards the ground. Another round of fire sprayed through the air, narrowly missing them. Hiccup managed to guide Stephan through each of the maneuvers, but it still wasn't the same as being the one steering.
He'd nearly gotten them back to the village when one of the lasers came too close to Hiccup for comfort. The one after it, though, rocked them like an explosion and soon they were careening towards the ocean.
"Toothless! Pull!" Hiccup shouted.
A brief glance came from the dragon, but then Toothless turned in the air and fired one of his sonic blasts at the airship. It hit the side and created a billowing firey cloud that singed a bit of Hiccup's hair, but it didn't stop their pursuers.
Giving up on the idea of fighting while falling a split second later, Toothless moved to get beneath the two boys. But before he could catch them, Hiccup felt as though he'd been slammed into a wall, with Stephan right alongside him. He groaned in pain, wondering if they'd managed to fall onto a boat or something, but the strange greenish light around them assured him that this wasn't land. Actually, through the green glow he could see the ocean still a good ten feet away, where Toothless was now crying up at him as he swam in circles.
Then the ocean started to fall even further away. Hiccup's stomach lurched. "Toothless," he shouted. "Toothless, go find Astrid! Find Dad!"
One final roar cut through the air, but then Hiccup and Stephan were being pulled away even faster until they were sucked inside the airship's open door. The green glow faded and dropped them onto the metal floor, where the two boys scrambled to sit up.
"Welcome aboard!" a thick accent greeted them.
Hiccup's mouth fell open in disbelief. Standing in front of him was that nutcase from the mainland of Dreamworks-Mr Grue. Along with his daughters, the blonde one and the little one who looked like a scallion. And a good dozen of these weird little yellow creatures in over-alls.
"And say good-bye to Berk," Grue said.
A/N: Enter the Grue family! :D Oh, c'mon, you knew I'd pull them in again lol What can I say? Mashing things together is a favorite pastime of mine ^_^