Did anyone catch the Game of Thrones reference? (Yes, I know you did, YouDisloyalBastard and acw28... XD)
So... yea... thanks for the review in the last chapter, guys :) Oh! And the added follows and faves! Thank you all who added this story to their faves and followed it :D
Here's chapter 9, and I hope you enjoy :)
Souls of Dragons
Chapter 9: Preparing For War
"War?!" Hiccup shouted.
He followed Stoick through the secret catacombs, where the Hairy Hooligans were pulling their dragons inside the nesting area. Dragons and Hooligans alike began to crash in, carrying in supplies and their young, and Hiccup had to jump out of the way in order to not be trampled by anyone.
"Dad, you can't just say that and take off-" Hiccup insisted.
Stoick, as usual, wasn't listening to Hiccup. He pushed aside, and passed the hurrying Vikings. "Ground all dragons!"
"What? Why?!" Hiccup asked, chasing after his determined father. "Dad, if this guy wants war-"
"Seal the gates! Lower the storm doors!" Stoick shouted to a nearby Viking. The woman nodded, and ran for the gates. Another Viking cranked the lever for the storm doors, and the doors quickly shut.
Heather followed Beardhead, whom both stared at Stoick with bewilderment. Beardhead's eyes were wide, and full of questions. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait! What is happening, Stoick?"
Stoick was too busy ordering the Hooligans to answer the other Chief. Hiccup himself was preoccupied with following his father. Finna and Valka, sadly, were still stunned by the event, but followed Stoick's lead by helping people lock down.
"Come on! You heard the man! Lock it down!" Gobber shouted, who was waddling behind the small company.
"No dragon or viking sets foot off this island until I give the word!" Stoick shouted.
Okay, this is getting ridiculous, Hiccup thought. "Wait, because some guy you knew is stirring up trouble in some faraway land?" he asked.
"Because Drago Bludvist is a madman," Stoick explained, finally listening to his son. "Without conscious or mercy. And if he's built a dragon army... gods help us all." He faced a young Viking. "Hoark. Get them into their pens!"
"Aye, Stoick!" the young Viking, Hoark, replied.
"Quickly!" Stoick insisted.
Hiccup pushed himself through the swarm of dragons and Vikings alike, as Hoark and some men pulled the dragons into separate pens. The dragons sensed the anxiety of the Chief somehow and obeyed the Vikings' requests. "Well, why don't we meet up with his trappers, and talk some sense in Drago?" Hiccup asked.
Stoick shook his head. "No. We fortify the island."
"It's our duty to keep the peace!" Hiccup insisted.
The Chief of Berk had never looked so determined in his life. "Peace is over, Hiccup. War is coming, whether we want it or not."
Hiccup knew it was difficult to get through his father, especially when he was under the impression that he had to put his own chief duties before his son's thoughts. But Hiccup was determined to try. "Dad, if Drago's coming for our dragons, we can't wait around for him to get here. Let's go find him and change his mind," Hiccup offered.
Stoick frowned. "Some minds won't be changed, Hiccup." He turned back around and shouted more orders: "Secure the stable! Latch every stall!"
Hiccup huffed, in defeat. "Dad-"
Beardhead looked at Hiccup. "What's happening?"
Hiccup had almost forgotten about the Hysteric Chief. "A man named Drago Bludvist has an army of dragons," Hiccup explained quickly. "But Dad keeps insisting we can't talk to him." Did he sound whiny? Gods, he didn't mean to.
The Hysteric chief blinked. "Drago Bludvist?" he asked, solemnly.
Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "You know him, too?"
There was a tenderness to his face, which indicated his experience with the name must have caused him grief. "Sadly yes. My eldest brother, Woolshed, was the chief of the Hysterics many years ago, and he met him." He shook his head, and went to join Stoick.
"Uhh..." Hiccup couldn't help but say... what else could he say? "So… this Drago guy wants war…" he said to no one in particular. But it might have been for more himself.
"And he's coming for our dragons," Heather realized.
Finna frowned. "Well, I'm not letting them steal my dragon, they're gonna have to pry her from my cold dead hands." The Woolly Howl nuzzled her head against Finna.
Hiccup patted Toothless as well. "Don't worry, bud. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He ran over to where his father and Beardhead were standing, followed by Heather and Finna, with their dragons.
"Stoick, what's the best motive?" Beardhead asked.
"We hide, for now," Stoick explained. "Until I notify the other chiefs of the situation."
Hiccup frowned. "Dad, we can't just sit by." He thought about the fear that Finna portrayed when she spoke about Drago, and suddenly thought of the Valkyrie. How possessive the Valkyrie was with calling the dragons her brothers and sisters, and how she believed everyone was treating them as slaves. He didn't think that seeing her again would be beneficial, but what other choice did they have to stopping Drago, if they didn't gain her as an ally? "We can rally up the other islands, and speak to the chiefs."
Stoick shook his head once again. "Son, a chief protects their own. I am trying to protect this island, and this family. I'll let the other chiefs know but they'll do the same: protect their own."
Heather placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Hiccup, I think we should listen. If this Drago man wants war, then we should stay away from it."
Hiccup didn't listen to her. In his mind, he was already coming up with a plan. If he could just get out there, to where he met the Valkyrie, and convince her that he wanted to stop this man from enslaving dragons... then maybe she could see that Hiccup was her ally. And then they'd have the Valkyrie's dragons on their side, along with whatever made those huge ice sculptures.
He didn't think twice to jump on Toothless' back.
"Hiccup, don't."
Hiccup looked back and saw his mother. Her arms were crossed and she looked at Hiccup sternly. Shit. If his father scared him... Then his mother terrified him. He felt his face freeze. Finna and Heather backed up and allowed mother and son to speak.
"You know I can do this," Hiccup said, not moving from Toothless' back. "I can keep the peace between the races. I can convince Drago."
"I know, son," Valka said. "But you have a duty to the Hooligans. And Heather."
He expected his father to tel him this. Not his mother, the woman who convinced him at a young age that he was destined for something better. That his destiny was larger than all of Berk. Perhaps this is what she meant. He could unite all dragons and Vikings together. Against
"You want me to sit around and wait for this Drago man to attack us?" Hiccup asked. "What kind of plan is that?" When his mother didn't answer, he continued: "You know I am a peacekeeper. I need to show him that dragons don't need to be enslaved. That we treat dragons as family, and we would never hurt them again." He sighed. "Or… at least let me go to the Valkyrie to convince her to help us."
Valka thought. "If going to her didn't work… perhaps she will come to you. Then you do it, where you have the advantage of hundreds of dragons and Vikings on your side." She hugged her son, and joined Stoick.
Heather came up. "I have to hand it to your mother, it's a good plan."
The young heir didn't want to admit it, but he knew that his mother was right. It hurt him, nevertheless, but he couldn't argue with his mother. He was stubborn for sure. Valka was more stubborn than him by far.
Hiccup sighed. "I guess so."
But Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if the Valkyrie would ever come and help them, even after not convincing her that the Hooligans didn't enslave dragons. Hel, it took him even some time to convince all of Berk that dragons weren't bad. Did she know who Drago was, and was that why she seemed so... distrustful against him? Was that why the Valkyrie attacked him for owning Toothless? It was the only explaination; sometime in her life, she came across Drago Bludvist and saw how he treated dragons. That is... if he treated dragons like that. But what sane man (or really, insane) would treat dragons well in a dragon army?
He sighed. What was he getting involved in?
Finna was completely speechless.
Out of all the things that could've happened… she didn't expect for Stoick to shut down the entire island. But was he right? Was this Drago man really a war monger?
She got up from her cot and sat with the other young adults. Fishlegs was listing the types of dragons they had that could fight against Drago, while the twins fought over who would tell the next horror story. Snotlout was trying to get Ruffnut's attention by showing off one of his scars that he received from the previous Dragon Race.
To her relief, there were three other Dragon Riders who were not totally insane. She removed herself from the peering eyes of Tuffnut and joined the three younger riders. Just like her, they were all seventeen and eighteen years old (the next Dragon Riders, as Hiccup pointed out). They consisted of Gustav Larsen, the mini Snotlout; Adelaide Jorgenson, Snotlout's younger sister and Finna's cousin; and Brenna Hofferson, the best warrior in the group. In addition, there was also Lars Thorston, Ruffnut and Tuffnut's younger cousin; and Ragnar Brynjarsen, a healer-in-training.
"So… what do you think's gonna happen?" Brenna asked.
Finna shrugged, as she pulled out her hammer and started to clean it with a cloth. "Who knows? I doubt Dad's going to allow any of us to leave until this mess blows over." She shuttered. "If it ever blows over."
Adelaide huffed. "I only hope we aren't left to my stupid brother's leadership. I'd rather be led by Uncle Stoick."
Gustav stopped admiring his new beard in his reflection of a flask and gasped. "What's wrong with the amazing Snotlout? He's my inspiration," he boasted.
"Find another inspiration," Lars insisted.
Brenna grunted. "If you want inspiration, you should look up to Fishlegs or Hiccup."
Gustav smirked. "Why? Got a crush on them?"
"No," Brenna insisted, but her face went bright red.
Finna made a disgusted face. "Please don' tell me you've got a crush on my brother." She glanced over to where Heather was sitting: beside Hiccup and Fishlegs, as they tried to tell her some of their adventures after ending the Dragon War (yes, she eavesdropped…). "He's practically a married man."
Adelaide, Gustav, and Lars chuckled, while Brenna grew into a bright red in the face.
"At least you seem to like your future sister-in-law," Ragnar admitted, shyly. "And she seems nice, too."
Finna rolled her eyes. "I guess so."
She finally remembered why she didn't hang out with the Vikings her age: they were all too preppy. Well, Ragnar wasn't too bad. At least between the twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs (including her brother), they were all in the Dragon Academy. It wasn't for some time when Hiccup (with the Riders' agreement) that the younger teens be allowed to join. Finna, being one of the first Riders of Berk, she was automatically allowed to join (despite being only twelve when she chose Blizzard). It caused a rift between herself and the other kids her age but she didn't mind.
Sadly, this separated her from her fellow… yearlings, and further distanced herself from them. They all received dragons, but they could not become official Riders until Hiccup deemed it so. And, well… that was only a couple of years ago.
With less encouragement, she got up and left the small group of people her age.
"-And I think that the Tracker class should have a Rumblehorn as its sigil, since it's the first tracker dragon we've seen on Berk," Fishlegs was explaining to Heather when Finna joined them. Finna didn't exactly catch it, but she noticed how interested Heather was with Fishlegs' conversation. She gave him the same look that Hiccup did with that Valkyrie.
Finna hit Heather with the side of her hand. "If Fishlegs' bothering you with all his nerd talk of dragons, you can tell him," she said.
"No, I don't mind," Heather insisted. "I actually find his 'nerd talk' quite intriguing."
That would have made Finna puke on sight (because romance and gross but her mind was to her brother, who was staring contently at the wall. Toothless had his head nuzzled against Hiccup's lap, his legs crossed over on the cold ground of the cave. The Night Fury purred sadly against Hiccup, which caused Hiccup to gently stroke his nose.
"Hey, are you okay?" Finna asked. Her brother was never one to… well, not talk. He was known for his loud mouth. "Is it because Dad doesn't want you going to find Drago?"
Hiccup didn't answer.
Okay, he doesn't want to talk about it. Finna nodded. "Oh." She nudged him with her shoulder playfully. "Come on… it's not so bad. Look," she pointed to two men with cards, "there's euchre over there, and-", then to Gothi and five men with cards, "-poker- wait, I think Gothi's winning- oh! And there's stories-" Valka was with some children, telling them stories of what sounded like Hiccup's adventures,"-well... it's Mom's stories…"
Hiccup smiled, but it was small, and Finna noticed the dullness in his eyes. "You know... it may be simply an overreaction he could be having," she insisted.
It was just at that moment when Stoick walked passed them. Finna pulled Hiccup up to his feet, while Toothless slid off him and pushed him up.
"Hey, Dad?"
Stoick turned back to face his children.
"Could you… er-" Come on! You gotta cheer Hiccup up somehow! "-tell us why Drago's considered bad?" She then bit her tongue. "I know he is, from what the trappers say that he's doing, but what exactly happened that you know so much about him?"
Stoick sighed. "It's not a pleasant tale, Finn. All you need to know is that men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with."
Finna glanced back at Hiccup, who now was raising his eyebrow.
"What exactly happened, Dad?" Hiccup finally asked.
Stoick sighed once again. "Years ago, around the time when Hiccup was born, there was a great gathering of chieftains to discuss the dragon scourge we all faced. Into our midst came a stranger from a strange land, covered in scars and draped in a cloak of dragon skin."
Finna found herself lost in her father's words, picturing the atmosphere of a roomful of chieftains, where a large man in drapes hid within the shadows of his cloak. To her, it was a frightening thought.
"He carried no weapon and spoke softly, saying that he, Drago Bludvist, was a man of the people, devoted to freeing mankind from the tyranny of dragons. He claimed that he alone could control the dragons and he alone could keep us safe, if we chose to bow down and follow him."
For some reason… Finna found herself laughing. Hiccup chuckled, too, but not as loudly as her.
"Aye. We laughed too," Stoick agreed. "Until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried, "Then see how well you do without me!" The rooftop suddenly burst into flames, and from it, armored dragons descended, burning the hall to the ground. I… was the only one to escape."
Hiccup and Finna looked at each other, with bewildered expressions. Could… could Drago really be that terrible? Finna knew that Eret's threat was not to be joked about, but Stoick's confirmed his rationalization.
"Maybe..." Hiccup agreed.
"Son," Stoick warned.
"No, hear me out, Dad," Hiccup said. "There's someone who can help us."
Finna gulped. Don't be an idiot, Fishbone.
Stoick pinched the bridge of his nose. "Son, we must protect our own-"
"-but what if we had a bigger dragon army than Drago? Then we can at least defend Berk-"
"And for what, Hiccup?" Stoick demanded. "The loss of more dragons? Son, he wants the dragons. He wants to be in control, don't you see that?!"
Hiccup clenched his fists, the Haddock stubbornness shining through his face. "Dad, there's a woman out there who has a nest full of dragons! And if Drago gets there first, we'll all be dead!"
Stoick stayed silent. Finna could literally hear her father's breathing, which was rasp and uneasy. She only hoped that her father wasn't stressing himself out with different scenarios in his head. Gods, please calm him down.
"Is... that why you and Heather went out? To find this... woman?" His voice was barely a whisper; Finn didn't know if she should be relieved or scare.
Finna bit her lip, as she watched her brother show true fear on his face. She had only seen her brother reciprocate fear from only one man, and that was their own father. Here… there was no difference. Reluctantly, her brother nodded.
The Chief sighed, and did something Finna didn't expect her father to do. He walked away from them.
Finna glanced at Hiccup. She knew the best thing to do now was to stay quiet. She, of all people, knew that Hiccup wanted to leave and fly and just scream where no one could hear him. It was just the way he was; he harbored years of anger inside himself, and he was two seconds from exploding.
However, he never did. He merely patted Toothless' head, and walked back to his original sitting area. Finna watched as he ignored the conversations from the Dragon Riders, as though he was invisible to them. Just like when he was younger.
Strangely, the Valkyrie seemed to be lonely, too. Finna figured that she would have been the only human within a dragon nest for who knows how many years… wouldn't that become lonesome after some time? And Hiccup seemed to have understood this...
Maybe that's why Hiccup's so interested in her….
The young Haddock noticed it the moment Hiccup and the Valkyrie saw each other. Finna had been pretending to have been helping Heather collect her moonstone; she secretly was watching her brother communicate with the Valkyrie. There was a moment – a close, and gross moment- where the two of them were inches apart… closer than either have been to another human (not related to Hiccup, at least).
Finna saw the spark between them.
She knew her brother felt the spark.
Our only hope is that this Valkyrie felt it as well.
The night was unbearably quiet.
When no sign of Drago came up throughout the late afternoon, Stoick ordered that everyone stay inside their homes. The dragons, however, were kept within the pens. The Chief also had volunteers, in the numbers of ten, to watch out for any signs within the night (and rotate through the evening). Stoick wasn't making any chances of the dragons flying out, or Drago coming in.
Hiccup was miserable.
He could only stare at the ceiling, listening to the quiet night outside. Where that ceiling was… a roof stood over it. The same roof where, at dawn, would shake the dust clean off the ceiling and on his barely awake face. Where his dragon would demand his routine flight.
It was midnight, perhaps. Hiccup wasn't sure. He knew where his dragon wasn't: outside, right at the doorstep, sleeping under the stars and moon. No. Toothless was with the other dragons on Berk: in the closed, claustrophobic area where Drago couldn't get them. The pen. The pen that could not possibly hold every. Single. Dragon. But… the Hairy Hooligans somehow managed.
Typical stubborn Vikingness.
He turned his body on his side. Why his father locked up Toothless up as well… was beyond him. There's no way Drago could capture Toothless; and why? Hiccup immediately thought of Toothless' fin. Would Drago have any use of a Night Fury, despite its disability? Hiccup shook his head. Never to me.
Truthfully, he missed Toothless. This was the longest he had been away from him, and that wasn't including when Stoick and the rest of the Hooligans took Toothless to Helheim's Gate to destroy the nest. And yet… Hiccup's heart yearned for Toothless in the same amount. Obviously there wasn't the same amount of sorrow around it, as he had been disown by his father at the time and he felt truly alone. No, but he still felt alone in all of
I hope you're okay, bud, he could only think.
"Son, Beardhead's been asking about the proposal. He wants an answer from you about Heather before he decides to hand her to another heir."
Hiccup sighed as he finished eating his breakfast. "Dad, Heather's nice and all, but I don't want to get married."
Stoick laughed. "Son, you're thinking about this all wrong. Once you're married, you can live in your own house. And you and Heather can work together." He bent down slightly to his son's ear level. "And perhaps some grandbabies?"
"Gods, Dad!" The heir shouted, immediately jumping out of his seat.
Finna Haddock just so happened to have overheard the conversation, and her face changed from her usually freckled face to a light green. The next second she was yelling out the door and the distinct sound of her hurling up her breakfast. Hiccup felt like doing the same as well but nothing came back up.
Valka Haddock immediately stood up and stepped over to Hiccup's side. "Stoick, leave the poor boy alone. He's too young to consider marrying a younger woman," Valka intervened.
Hiccup bit in his breakfast and silently thanked his mother for the intervention.
To think, merely days ago… the only issue Hiccup had was that he was going to be betrothed to someone he barely knew… and all for a stupid peace treaty between the Hysterics and the Hairy Hooligans.
And look at how much everything had changed… Hiccup could only muster.
Now… he was feeling lonelier than ever. His best friend was caged up… Heather was with her father… Finna could barely speak to him… and the Valkyrie was out there…
Hiccup sighed, as the night continued to keep him aware. It was strange; how, after how ungrateful the Valkyrie was to see him… he could still admire her for her love of dragons. How… loyal she was. He scoffed. If she's loyal, then she should try to save her brothers and sisters here.
There was only one thing he could think to do:
"Uh… hey, Thor," he said, to the empty room. He kept his voice quiet, as to not alert his snoring father and sister in the rooms across from him. "Oh… and Odin. Freyja. Sif. And Loki… can't forget about him-" because that would be an utter disaster. "I… uh… I know you guys are probably… busy with… uh… things…" He sighed. "Look… I need help. Dad thinks we don't need help with this Drago Bludvist… but I think the Valkyrie can help."
He paused. "So… if you guys could give me a sign that… she can help… I would very much appreciate it." He waited again. "Thank you- oh, and please tell Finna that I didn't do anything inappropriate with the Valkyrie." I still don't know why she's convinced I slept with her or something…
Stoick sighed, as he placed his plate on the table. "Val, the boy is... well... hardly a boy anymore. He can't keep living here. I certainly didn't at his age."
"Right, because you and Alvin decided to camp in the woods trying to kill dragons," Valka huffed.
Stoick threw his arms in the air in exasperation. "It's what we did, Valka. Men at that age were hanging out with their friends and trying to kill dragons. Not helping around the house or crafting who knows what with Gobber."
"Well, now teenagers and young adults are riding dragons, Stoick," Valka shot back. "The times have changed, Stoick."
Stoick shook his head. "All I ask is to have Hiccup at least consider having a family!"
Valka's face was as red as her husband's hair. Whatever point she was about to make… Hiccup knew that Dad was going to regret unleashing the dragon. "Maybe he doesn't! I certainly didn't at his age-!"
"GUYS!" Hiccup shouted.
The three Haddocks stared at Hiccup with bewilderment.
"I am right here," Hiccup said. "I should be able to discuss my future with both of you. As a family, since this is my life we are discussing. If I'm going to be married to some girl for the rest of my life, I think I should be able to choose for myself. Especially someone who's gonna be leading Berk with me."
Stoick didn't change his face. "Son, we are doing what's best for you. And you can't possibly decide your marriage. You need to have a wife whose not only a good leader but a good partner. Preferably, a girl whose been trained in the chieftain family, and understands what it means to serving the people for their sake. You can't simply pick someone, son. You're too-" He stopped.
"What? Childish?" Hiccup accused.
Stoick stayed quiet for a moment. A moment too late. "I was going to say free-spirited," the Chief finally said.
But Hiccup didn't listen to whatever his father had to add. The young Dragon Master was out of the door before Stoick could notice what or how his son left.
"…Amen… I guess," Hiccup said.
He waited. For a split moment... he actually thought something would happen. Hiccup wasn't too in tuned with the Vikings' religion, but he knew that the Gods should be respected. But… he never actually practiced asking the Gods for anything. From when he was younger… he could remember being told that the Gods didn't always answer prayers the way people expected.
Gothi said… er… wrote… that they were temperamental, especially Loki: they only answered the way they wanted to.
But he couldn't just wait for an answer.
He sighed again. "This was a stupid idea," he said to himself. Why did I even bother asking them? Hiccup should have known better. He shifted his body again, now facing his window. Where the dark sky shined with the stars and the full moon… it was beautiful, but it was annoying now. It only reminded him that he was alone.
It wasn't two seconds later that something hit him in the head.
"Ow! What the-" He rubbed his head. "What in the nine realms hit me?" he asked, in a quieter tone. The last thing he wanted to do was alert his parents, or Finna. So he searched around him, hoping to have heard a tumble of some sort. Or something like a bang.
He glanced down at his arm, where a rock was.
Oh… that's convenient.
Tied to the rock was a slip of paper, tied with what appeared to be some rope. He untied the rope, and undid the letter. Opening it… he could tell that it was nothing of writing… but a symbol of some kind. It was line of some sort with a pointed end. Hiccup rotated the paper… and immediately caught on:
It was an arrow.
With a quick pace, he walked across the squeaky floor (and on one foot, mind you) and peered out the window. But all he could see was the vast grass of the island, and the water beyond it. He looked back down, straight to where the ground was, but there was nothing. Except for the houses past his home.
"If you know what's best, you'll stay quiet."
Hiccup looked back up and held in his scream, with as much strength he could muster. There hadn't been anything on the ground because the rock didn't originate from there, from whoever threw it. It was from the sky. Hovering about eight feet from it. In the air.
On a Deadly Naddar, with a hood raised, was the Valkyrie.
Okay... lots of Finna there... and is there another Hofferson? *gasps* and Gustav? XD
Don't worry. There will be more Hiccstrid in the next chapter (once I get it written...). I'm not sure when I'll be able to update... I had four days off last week, and I'm back to work tomorrow... so hopefully by August 25 the latest you guys will get another chapter.
Okay, I'll see you soon :) And don't forget to review and tell me what you think :)
