No I don't own How to Train Your Dragon… and yes Hiccup, Astrid and everyone else is going to show up… if I do this right… either next chapter or the one after so thank you for your patience. Please read and review I could really use the feedback thanks.
Chapter 7: Only Getting Started.
The weather was holding up as they made their way through the clouds and sky. It was just past high noon when a rumble could be heard. Looking behind her Skullette glanced at Gunnar with a raised eyebrow. "Hungry?" she questioned. He nodded before she turned around to start looking for a spot to land.
Not long after, she spotted an island in the distance. "Look, there's the Island. We need to land away from the Village, so we'll go to the North side of the island."
"Sounds good to me. Then we can get some food in our stomachs." Gunnar said with a grin. Skullette couldn't see it, but she could hear it in his voice.
They quickly landed and after reminding Nightingale to not wonder to close to the village, they made their way to the mead house.
They first made their appearance with the chief and he allowed them to stay a few nights before going on their way, though he did warn them no to cause any trouble.
"Thank you sir, actually I was hoping to find someone." Skullette said. She explained her situation leaving out the dragon part and merely telling him that she had 'disgraced' her step father who wanted to control her and so she ran away.
"Yes, I see your problem. Unfortunately, no one in this village has fought with your island. I'm sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck in finding them though." He encouraged as he got up and left.
"Well that was helpful." Gunnar said sarcastically.
"At least we know they aren't here. But didn't he seem, I don't know… off to you? Like he's hiding something." Skullette asked.
"A bit, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Come on let's go get some dinner." Gunnar encouraged while leading her up towards the dining hall.
They made the long trek up to the dining hall. The village was much like their own but instead of big burly men and women that Vikings are, these people were slender and didn't have many weapons. It's no wonder that this wasn't the village they were looking for.
"Do you think we will ever find my Father and brother?" Skullette asked as she opened the door of the dining hall.
Before Gunnar could answer there was a roar of laughter and cheers all around them. "Silence, Silence my friends! Now I know that the time is coming for our festival but we must first choose our girl! Now if all the un-betrothed women will step up on this table!" a young man no older than 20 years of age pointed to the table beside him. He was brown haired, brown eyed and slightly rugged and had a slight build as if he were a guard or blacksmith of only a year.
Skullette was pushed on to the table along with some other girls who didn't seem to like being put on display. The men all cheered while hooting and hollering. Skullette looked out at Gunnar with a confused look. He understood and quickly asked one of the men beside him. "Excuse me, but what festival? And what's going to happen to the girls?"
"We offer a virgin to the Dragon on the other island as a means of protection from dragon raids every year. Then we hold a festival to celebrate the year's protection from the dragon." An older man of about 6' 10" said. He had a white beard and soft blue eyes that showed years of wisdom.
While Gunnar was talking to the old man Skullette was on the table watching as the men cheered or booed for a girl to be chosen. She quickly whispered to the girl next to her when she knew all eyes were on a brunette three girls down from her. "What are we doing up here?"
The girl waited a moment to make sure no one was watching them. "They are choosing a girl to be sacrificed for this year's protection by the dragon. He saves us from the raids each year and in return we sacrifice a virgin to him."
Before Skullette could ask anything else the man's hand went over the girl's head which gained a louder cheer than the others but still gained a few boo's by a group of young men in the far corner of the crowd.
Then the man's hand fell over her and there was an ample applause from the crowd. Only one man booed and that was Gunnar. But his boo was over powered by the cheers of the men. Terrified she looked to Gunnar for help only to see him look around at all the men who were cheering and return to her face with a worried expression.
"There we have it men! Our girl for the Festival!" The man behind her said to the crowd. The other girls got down while Skullette was forced to stay on the table. "She will be dressed and prepared for the Sacrifice by the other women for tomorrow night when the Dragon will come and take her! Lead her to the Chamber of Sacrifice! No one is to speak with her until the Festival where she will be placed at the stone Alter and Sacrificed to the Dragon!" more cheers filled the air as Skullette was placed on a woven chair and marched past Gunnar who was calling her name over the crowd.
She was moved from the Hall, through the town and to a small house that was decorated with Dragons and Girls in a kneeling position. It was a small house made only for one person and barely used. There was only one door and small slanted windows for air to circulate from.
"Here our Virgin will stay till tomorrow night. No one is to come to her chamber until the festival, where she is to be moved to the altar." The man said holding up a torch so he can be seen by all. Gunnar was in the back of the crowd of men while they cheered.
Skullette was led into the house after the speech and left alone. Inside was a small bed, a fire place, a cooking pot, some food to cook and mead to drink. She placed the Fire wood into the pit and lit it with the stones that she found next to the wood. After getting a decent flame she settled down on the log and held her knees to her chest. How was she going to get out of this one?
Gunnar was making his way back to where Nightingale was to wait out till night fell. When he arrived Nightingale noticed that Skullette wasn't with him and he had a worried look on his face.
"Nightingale, Skullette has been chosen by the village to be a dragon sacrifice. And before you start growling at me for not stopping it, I tried but the crowd over powered me. I couldn't stop them. But we need to get her out of that Sacrifice house and get the Hel out of here." He said in an almost panicked tone.
Nightingale growled softly trying to calm him.
"You're right, this is no time to panic. Right now we need a plan. I need to wait till night when I can sneak in and get her out of there." Gunnar said more calmly. He started pacing trying to think of an idea of how to sneak her from the other side of town and back to Nightingale without being seen by anyone.
The Night Fury growled while pushing a bag toward the pacing young man. She managed to get his attention and indicated to the bag. He bent down and looked inside. He found a book with all kinds of plants and recipe's in it. Even drawn pictures of what the plants look like and descriptions as well. "This is perfect! Thanks Nightingale, now let's see if we can't find something that can help Skullette." He flipped through the book looking for anything that could help.
Skullette was poking the fire as she sat on the log, wondering as to how to get out of this situation. "If I can't escape, then maybe Gunnar can get me out." She tried to reason to herself, trying not to think of all the things that could happen to him by the older and stronger guards. Suddenly, she heard music from the outside. It was soft and intimidating at the same time but something about it seemed to enchant her and make her listen so closely that it was all she could hear. (Mordreds Lullaby – Heather Dale)
(Humming starts)
Hush Child,
The darkness will rise from the deep,
And carry you down into sleep,
Child,
The darkness will rise from the deep,
And carry you down into sleep.
Guileless son,
I'll shape your belief,
And you'll always know that your fathers a thief,
And you won't understand the cause of your grief,
But you'll always follow the voices beneath.
(Girls chant)
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Only to me.
The girls of the village were marching to the Sacrifice house to prepare Skullette for her last day on earth.
Guileless son,
You're spirit will hate her,
The flower who married my brother the traitor,
And you will expose his Puppeteer behavior,
For you are the proof of how he betrayed her Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Only to me.
Hush child,
The darkness will rise from the deep,
And carry you down into sleep,
Child,
The darkness will rise from the deep,
And carry you down into sleep.
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Only to me,
Guileless son,
Each day you grow older,
Each moment I'm watching my vengeance unfold,
For the Child of my body,
The flesh of my soul,
Will die in returning the birthright he stole.
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Only to me.
Hush Child,
The darkness will rise from the deep,
And Carry you down into sleep,
Child,
The darkness will rise from the deep,
And carry you down into sleep.
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Only to me.
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Loyalty,
Loyalty, Only to me.
As the song ended, the girls stopped in front of the Sacrifice house and entered before closing the door quickly and quietly behind them.
The group of five girls circled Skullette, who was now coming out of her daze from the song. "What's going on?" She asked looking from one girl to the others. She recognized a few of the girls from before. One was the redhead she had spoken to before on the table. She couldn't see her face because each girl had a mask on, a simple mask that showed no expression.
One of the younger girls gestured for her to sit down in the only chair in the room. Not one to stand being denied an answer she refused to do anything they asked. "I want to know what the Hel is going on. All I know is that I'm being sacrificed to a dragon I owe nothing to so you people can live worry free for another year? And am I going to get any answer to anything that is going on?" Skullette nearly yelled at them.
The girls looked from one another in what would seem to be confusion but no one could tell behind the masks. Finally the redhead from before stepped back outside for a moment. No one spoke or moved while she was gone, and when she came back, she indicated for Skullette to sit in the chair. Instead of moving, her jaw nearly went to the floor in shock. "No! I didn't volunteer for this like you did."
The girls again looked to each other for a moment before the redhead looked back at Skullette and shook her head while indicating with her arms the other girls. Skullette took a moment to understand what she meant. "None of you volunteered for the voting?" the girls nodded to her.
Unbelievable. The men sacrificed the young girls against their will. Girls that could one day bare them children. "So let me get this straight. The men bring young girls they know or believe to be virgins up to a table and they all vote on who should be Sacrificed?" they nodded. "And because I'm the outsider, I was chosen to save you girls from being the Sacrificed." More nods. "Has anyone ever escaped the Sacrifice house before?" The girls shook their heads sadly. "Great." Skullette said sarcastically. "Let's get this over with then."
Skullette reluctantly sat down in the chair as the girls surrounded her and started the preparations for the Sacrifice.
Gunnar and Nightingale were finishing the, what Gunnar liked to call, sleep sticks. It was a mixture of strong scented plants boiled down together to make a wax like stick that was so strong when smelt it makes a person pass-out. But the only way to make them smell was to burn them. (A/N: think of it as an incense stick with an anesthesia effect to it)
"Alright Nightingale, you wait here. I'll be back with Skullette, and I also made sure that everything was packed, so be ready to take off when you see us." Gunnar said calmly. The sun had set hours ago so most of the village should be asleep anyways.
After gaining a nod from the Night Fury, he made his way back to town with a hand full of sleep sticks. Over his face, he had a few of the left over bandages so that he didn't breathe in the smoke from the sleep sticks.
When he arrived in town he kept to the shadows so if anyone was still awake they wouldn't see or hear him. Back in Gurand he was known as Gunnar the Steadyfoot for his ability to move from one part of town to another without anyone noticing him... and for his grace and cunning while hunting. He mostly used this skill to sneak away from the other teens that annoyed him, but now his skill will be put to the test. Free Skullette from the Sacrifice house and get back to Nightingale without being caught.
So far no one had seen him and most of the village was asleep. He scurried around one of the houses and kept to the shadow on the fire lights from the people making patrol. For not having to worry about Dragon attacks these people sure did keep a close watch out for danger. He shrugged it off at the moment as being cautious and made his way to where Skullette was being held.
When he was only two houses and a road away, he stuck one of the sleep sticks into a torch and quickly lit it before moving to the next house and doing the same to that torch while one of the guards had his back turned.
Finally he got to the Sacrifice house but the door was being guarded by two strong guards. Thinking quickly he moved more into the shadows and reaching up to the torch he stuffed one of the sleep sticks into the torch and quickly went around the house to the other side to do the same to that torch.
"Do you smell something?" the first guard asked looking to his companion for some indication as to what that smell was.
"It wasn't me." The second one said defiantly.
"Not that, this is different. It smells like… like… li…" The guard passed out on to the floor soon followed by the second guard who landed on top of the first.
"That was easy." Gunnar said quietly to himself before making his way inside and closing the door behind him. "Skullette?"
Skullette was poking at the fire when she heard the door open and she quickly ran behind the bed so that if it was the girls again they would have to fight with her to get her out. But when she heard Gunnar's voice she popped up out of her hiding spot and nearly ran to him. "Gunnar, thank the gods. I thought you were one of the girls coming to make some changes to my outfit or something." Skullette said letting him go smiling.
She wore a white simple dress that went to her feet. A rope belt around her waist and her hair was up in a tight braid with a woven tiara like head piece with flowers flowing from the head piece through her braid. "How did you get in here?"
Gunnar showed her the last of the Sleep sticks before grinning. "Borrowed a little recipe you wrote; very handy. How did you come up with it?" Gunnar asked.
"I'll tell you on the way, but those don't last as long as you think we have to go... now." Skullette said hurrying to the door with Gunnar on her tail. They quickly made it past the sleeping guards and past one of the Patrol guards before finally making it to the woods. They nearly ran the entire way to Nightingale. The Night Fury nearly pounced on Skullette when she saw her unharmed.
"It's good to see you too but we need to get out of here. Those Guards are probably waking up as we speak and when they find me gone, the whole village will be looking for us." Skullette said grabbing her bow and quiver while Gunnar grabbed the two bags handing one off to Skullette before they hopped onto Nightingale and made to the sky.
Just as the edge of the town came into sight they could see the guards running around yelling. "And that is our cue to go North. Come on Nightingale; let's get as far away from here as we can." With an all too happy growl she complied and they made their way North and away from the crazy village.
The sun was just rising when Skullette noticed an island ahead of them. After riding almost all night Gunnar was nearly asleep and Skullette wasn't far behind him. As for Nightingale she was ready for a very long nap after all of the excitement from the other island. But there was one thing she was sure of. Skullette gets into too much trouble and it needs to stop.
When they landed, no one bothered to make camp. Skullette passed out on the ground after laying her quiver and bow down next to her pack and Gunnar didn't even bother to do that much; he just leaned up against a tree and fell asleep. Nightingale laid down next to Skullette and covered her with one wing to keep her warm the dress she was in was not very warm and she could easily catch cold again.
Later on that morning, Nightingale awoke to the sounds of twigs breaking and footsteps through the trees. Picking the sleeping Skullette up with her front legs, she glided quickly over to a large group of boulders and laid low.
Gunnar, who had awoken to Nightingale taking off, just caught a glimpse of a figure when an arrow shot out of nowhere and pinned his shirt to the tree he was laying against. When he went to reach for the arrow another arrow shot out and pinned him completely against the tree.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" A slender man said. He was tall and had on thick clothing but you could still tell that he was slender but still strong looking. He had a black beard that went past the first three buttons of his fur coat. His black hair went past his shoulders and his eyes nearly matched the color of his hair.
"What do you want?" Gunnar asked, not intimidated by him.
"I could ask you the same question lad. What's someone like you doing all the way out here on my island?" He demanded more than asked. His stare was strong and intense but Gunnar didn't even blink.
"What I do is my business. Now let me go." Gunnar was more agitated than anything at the moment. He didn't like being pinned against anything, nor to have someone in his face that he barely knew let alone smell the person.
"I don't think I will." He said with a grin before turning around. "Take him to town he can be lunch for our new pet." He stated with an evil laugh.
Two men with bows and quivers on their backs came up to Gunnar and tied his hands together behind his back and forced him to follow the man with black hair. One of the men grabbed his pack before following quickly behind.
Skullette, who had woken when the man with black hair was speaking to Gunnar, was shocked to see him pinned to a tree. As she watched him being taken away, she noticed none of them noticed her things that were on the other side of the clearing.
Turning to Nightingale she had a determined look on her face. "I have a feeling this is a trap. We can't let them get you and we can't leave Gunnar here. So here's what we're going to do."
Gunnar was led to a wooden cage and locked inside. His hands were still bound but that wasn't really the problem. He was being lifted into the air over a large dome cage that was dug into the ground. As his cage stopped above the middle of the dome structure, a door down in the rock wall of the cage opened and out stepped a dragon that was all too familiar yet looked magnificently different from any of the others he had seen. A Monstrous Nightmare, it was midnight blue with green eyes that are eerily similar in color to Gunnar's own eyes. Its spines where jagged but slender and would blend in nicely with the night sky.
"That's your pet?" Gunnar yelled at the man with black hair. He was sitting on a large stone chair looking from the side of the dome.
"Yes he is. Paid quite a price for him. The people that caught him for me asked if I wanted it dead or alive. Why would they kill a specimen like that? Besides, once I get him trained, I can conquer so many villages." He laughed before waving his hand in some gesture to proceed.
From the other side of the cage, out stepped a man with a shield and a whip. He looked wary of the beast but proceeded as instructed. The whip came down on the Dragons front legs making slight indents in its scales. From the position Gunnar was in, he could see the pain in the dragon's eyes as the whip hit the same or close to the same spot many times over the next few slashes. Not being able to take it anymore, the Monstrous Nightmare spewed fire at the man with the whip, only to get another slash but this time harder on the back.
"Stop It!" Gunnar yelled at him then turned to the man with black hair. "Can't you see your hurting him?!" This magnificent creature was being punished for nothing. How cruel was this man?
"Yes but in order to tame him, he must first be punished so he knows what to expect when he does something I don't tolerate." He grinned up at Gunnar while the dragon roared out in pain again.
Another roar sent Gunnar over the edge. He couldn't stand by and watch as the Monstrous Nightmare is being tortured. He started struggling with the rope on his wrists and banging around in his cage making it swing from side to side. That is until the man in black said something to make him stop for a moment. "Now, now. We wouldn't want your little girlfriend to see you in a crazed frenzy, now do we?" he asked with a grin on his face. He knew about Skullette.
"What are you talking about?" Gunnar asked confused.
"I know all about you traveling with the girl and the black beast. We saw you early this morning. And just wait till her father hears that she's back. Of course, he won't get her till I have had my fun. It might even do her some good, make her learn her place. Under the man and to always do his bidding." He was smug and cruel; bastards like him didn't deserve to live.
"Don't you DARE touch her!" He screamed at him. "If you so much as touch one part of her, I'll tear out of here and let that Dragon eat you!"
The man just laughed at Gunnar thinking his talk was nothing more than an empty threat. "What can you do from in there? Even if you did get your hands free, you are all the way up there over the dragon's den." He called off the Man with the whip and went elsewhere claiming to need a nap before the girl arrived.
"Skullette, don't you dare come after me." Gunnar prayed while still struggling with the rope. One thing was for sure, how was he going to get out of the cage after he was free of the rope?
A hooded figure made their way through town un-noticed by anyone. They blended into the shadows of the setting sun and kept their head low as they walked. Soon they reached a door with two guards standing watch. The figure took out a stick of something and lit it before rolling it toward the guards and waited. A moment later there were two thumps and both men were asleep. Quickly the figure moved past them taking the keys as they went and slipped inside before anyone saw.
Inside, the figure could see Gunnar hanging from the cage. His hands now free and using the rope to try and grab a nearby cage that was near a staircase. The Figure could see the Dragon's head move around as it observed Gunnar.
Thinking quickly the figure found the crank to the cages and turned it so that Gunnar moved to the staircase and away from the dragon cage.
Gunnar looked down when he felt the cage move again. Looking around he spotted the figure and smiled slightly. Once the cage stopped at the stairs the hooded figure made their way up the stairs and unlocked the cage.
Once out, Gunnar looked at the hooded figure for a moment before realizing who it was. "Skullette, what are you doing here?" He whispered warningly at her.
"Saving you, what does it look like I'm doing?" Skullette whispered back as they ran down the stairs.
"You don't understand this is a…" before he could finish his sentence a bunch of guards came out of the walls, spears, axes, and hammers in hand. They surrounded the two teens making them go back to back with each other. "…trap." Gunnar finished gritting his teeth.
The man with Black hair stepped out from behind one of the guards and grinned at the two making Gunnar stand in front of Skullette protectively. "Well, it seems that didn't take long. She is beautiful; no wonder you threatened to kill me after I told you what I planned to do with her."
Skullette looked over Gunnar's shoulder and glared at the man. "Who are you and what do you want with us?"
"Mind you, she does need some teaching but I'm sure I can beat some manners into her before handing her over to her father." The man in black said stepping closer to them grinning evilly. He ignored Skullette's question completely as if she hadn't spoken which didn't sit right with her.
Stepping around Gunnar she glared at the man. "I said, what do you want with us?" She nearly yelled at him.
Faster than anyone could blink he slapped her across the face and had a look on his face that would stop even the bravest of men in their tracks. "You will not speak unless spoken to!" He yelled at her.
As she backed up into Gunnar's arms from the force of the slap and more out of surprise than fear, Gunnar took the knife she kept in her belt spun around her and grabbed the black haired bastard by the arm. Swinging him around so his left arm was twisted behind his back and the knife was to his throat. He growled quietly into the man's ear with such venom it made the man grow still. "I told you before. You lay one hand on her and I will feed you to that dragon."
The guards pulled in tighter ready to attack if something were to happen to their leader. "Tell them to back off and clear the way. Or they will share the same fate as you are." Gunnar threatened.
"Back off." He called to his men. The guards looked around before slowly backing off and letting the teens through while Gunnar dragged their leader to the door of the dragon's cage.
Skullette moved ahead of them and opened the door to the dragon's cage, allowing Gunnar and the man with black hair in before closing it and locking it behind them. She followed Gunnar and the man toward the dragon. The men stopped half way but she kept walking toward it.
Talking softly she placed her hand out to the dragon. "It's okay. I won't hurt you. No one is ever going to hurt you again." As she stepped closer the Midnight Blue, Monstrous Nightmare sniffed her to make sure she was speaking the truth. She had no weapons on her, no helmet with horns, no whip either. He growled softly at her as he came closer to her. "That's it. Everything is going to be alright now. That bad man isn't going to harm you ever again."
As Skullette calmed the dragon, Gunnar spun the man around and held the knife to his throat point first. They stood face to face with Gunnar's back to the dragon, Stepping away from the man, he glared at him and spoke threateningly. "Tell her father that no matter where he goes, no matter how long it takes, we will never surrender to him. And any plans he may have for us will fail."
He was right next to Skullette now on the Nightmare's back and Gunnar was at its wing. After giving him a warning look he climbed up on to the dragon and sat behind Skullette. Looking back over at the man he grinned, "Thanks for the dragon."
Skullette let out a long loud whistle that made Gunnar cringe a little. A moment later Nightingale came screaming out of the dark and blasted the cage open with a single blast. The area was covered with smoke as the Nightmare took off into the night followed by Nightingale.
"So what are you going to call him?" Skullette asked as they flew over the ships in the harbor of the island and out to sea.
"Mostro de Notte. My father used to say that about the Monstrous Nightmares when they attacked. I figure it's a fitting name for him. But we can call him Notte for short." Gunnar replied while patting the side of the dragon's neck.
"Alright on to the next island, but let's not meet any more villagers. Every time we meet someone we find trouble." Skullette said with a sigh.
Gunnar grinned slightly at the back of her head. "Fine by me."
Alright, that's it for this chapter… the next one will be up soon. And guess what… Hiccup and the Crew are all in the next one. Yay! I want to thank those who have been holding out till now. I know this should be about Hiccup and Toothless and everyone on Berk but this is such a nice way to expand the group. Please review and tell me what you think. Bonus points to who can tell me the English translation of the name of Gunnar's dragon, and which language it is.
