Authors Note: I'm sorry I kept all you guys waiting. I really didn't mean to wait this long to post. This chapter has not been edited by my beta, and is a rough draft. Again, sorry it took this long.

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER HAS NOT BEEN EDITED. Changes will be made to this chapter. This is only a rough draft.

Enjoy!

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Chapter Ten - Blacksmith

Halvor critically examined the sword Hiccup had forged. He ran his fingers over the edge, grunted, and then swung it experimentally through the air a few times. Finally, he set the blade aside and turned to the boy waiting anxiously outside.

For a moment, neither spoke. Then the blacksmith grunted again. "It's a good sword," he admitted gruffly. "It'll be nice having an extra pair of hands to help in the forge. Especially after this last raid."

Hiccup's face broke out in a grin. "I won't let you down, sir," he promised. "When do I start?"

The old blacksmith threw him an old apron hanging from a nearby hook. "Now."

Hiccup put on the apron and immediately set to work. Halvor, satisfied that Hiccup was working, turned back to his own work, only sparing Hiccup a glance to tell him where the tools belonged or where he could work. Even though the forge was different to the one on Berk, Hiccup soon relaxed into the rhythm. All day long, he pounded on burning metal, sharpened blunted weapons and the familiar smell of heat and oil and sweat burned in his mind. This was something he knew he could do, this was something he was good at.

XXX

"I'm back," Hiccup called as he walked through the door of his new home. "Anyone home?"

There was a soft padding of footsteps above him and Leilah appeared at the top of the staircase. "Just me," she said.

"Not out and about?" Hiccup joked.

"No. I… didn't feel like going out today. Besides, I wanted to know if you got the job."

Hiccup nodded, his smile stretching from ear to ear. "Well, you are the first to know that you are looking at the official new Blacksmith apprentice."

Leilah pumped her fist in the air. "That's amazing. I knew you would get it."

"That made one of us," he laughed. "But I couldn't have gotten it without you're sister."

Leilah laughed in return. "Well, I'm afraid you'll have to wait to kiss her feet," she teased. "Tala's out hunting."

"Oh. Do you know when she's coming back?"

Leilah jumped down the last of the steps. "Well," she shrugged, "it won't be for a while. She and the other hunters are checking the dragon traps. They do this once every few weeks."

Hiccup frowned. Since he had arrived, he had yet to see a single dragon. "Dragon's attack you guys?"

Leilah shrugged again. "They do sometimes, but it's rare that we get dragons around here."

"Why do you trap them then?" He asked, curious.

"We have to. There's this person, Dragon Bloody-fist, or something. I don't know much about it though, you'll have to ask Talayeh.

Hiccup nodded, his curiosity growing over this Dragon Bloody-fist person. Why did he want the dragons?

"So how did the first day of work go?" Leilah asked, distracting Hiccup from his thoughts. He launched into the details and by the time Talayeh had arrived home later that evening, Dragon Bloody-fist had slipped from his mind.

XXX

Hiccup woke from his fitful sleep when the sun touched the land. He blinked blearily, the remnants of his dream beginning to fade away. It was with a start that he realised he needed to go to the Forge – and soon.

He threw on his clothes in record time and was out the door in five minutes with only a small piece of bread for breakfast. When he hurriedly entered the Forge, Halvor looked up at him from his station by the customer window. It was shut. The Blacksmith grunted, but he said nothing and turned to open the window.

Hiccup grinned a little in relief. He grabbed his apron off the hook and put it on, noticing how it was a little too big for his small frame and set to work as the villagers piled it on.

Afternoon was dawning on the village when a loud knock interrupted Hiccup. He wiped the sweat off his brow and looked towards the open window.

Usually it was Halvor's job to see to the villagers as Hiccup was only the apprentice, but he had been called away by the Chief.

Hiccup carefully set down the axe he was currently working on and went to the window. It was only one man, buff like the Blacksmith, not tall but not short either. He was tanned, like the few fisherman Hiccup had seen around, and he smelt of strong fish oil. He was holding an axe.

"How can I help you?" He asked the villager.

The villager didn't answer, but instead tilted his head at Hiccup. He was squinting at him. "You're that boy. The one from the sea," He said.

"Yes," Hiccup nodded. "I am."

The man smiled at Hiccup. "I'm Adjunn. Me and my son found you, brought you here. Didn't think you was going to make it, if you forgive me saying it."

"Oh," Hiccup said, remembering the name from when Alaine had told him.

"Tell me, what's your name, lass?" Adjunn asked.

"Uh, Hiccup. Great name, I know."

"Well, Hiccup, we were going to pass right by you if it weren't for that dragon hovering above you. A Thunderdrum, I believe it's called. I don't really know, dragons aren't my expertise. I'm just a local fisherman."

He coughed. "But, as I was saying, I decided to give it a bit of a look over. Olaf, my son, didn't want to. Thought we shouldn't get a dragon with only two of us but he went to check it out with me. But the bloody dragon flew off before we could get close to it, and that's when I saw you there, lying still in the sand."

"You were passed out cold, pale too. Me and Olaf, we docked the boat and ran straight to you. Thought you was dead, we did. There was blood everywhere – staining all over the sand, trails of it in the water and all over your back."

Hiccup bit his lip at this part, but continued listening to Adjunn in silence.

"We tried looking at it but there was sand stuck to it and we couldn't see past it. And we thought it best if our healer looked at it instead of us. We set sail for Hungalo immediately."

Hiccup let out a small sigh of relief. Alaine had told the truth – only she knew about the mark.

"Thank you," he said to Adjunn. "Things are really looking up for me here and it's all thanks to you."

Adjunn smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "It's no problem lassie. I'm just glad I could help." Then he laughed. "And it seems that you fit here in our village. Two Blacksmiths sure will make our life easier."

It was then he remembered the reason why he was at the Forge in the first place. He held out his axe for Hiccup to see.

"Can you sharpen this for me? I noticed it was a wee bit dull last night."

"Sure," Hiccup said. "Anything else?"

"Not for now," The fisherman answered. It didn't take long for him to sharpen the axe (it was only a wee bit dull) and he handed it back to its owner. Adjunn handed Hiccup a few coins and waved to Hiccup as he walked off. "I'll see you around, lass," He called over his shoulder. Hiccup waved back, a little awkwardly.

Hiccup resumed his work on the axe without fuss and the rest of the day passed by without too much hassle.

He got home after Talayeh. After having more than two weeks off and losing as much blood as he did, he was tired when he got home; his arms were sore from pounding metal and lifting large weapons. After a small supper he stumbled up to his room (Talayeh and Leilah's mothers' old room) and fell upon the bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

XXX

The next couple of days passed quickly for Hiccup. He was quickly setting into his new routine and as time went on, he began to regain his finer pints of Blacksmithing. Halvor, although he didn't say it, was particularly impressed by his growing skills.

With two Blacksmiths, the work was finished quickly and the weapons repaired easily. It was days after when any excitement occurred in Hungalo.

It was spotted around mid-morning- a dragon. The horn was sounded, but it was different from the war horn; this one was three short blasts followed by one long one.

Hiccup glanced up when he heard it. He had just finished a new sword and placed it on a rack when the horns sounded. Beside him, Halvor grunted, annoyed, and shuffled off to fish for something in one of the draws.

"What's that horn mean?" Hiccup asked him.

"Dragon," was all Halvor said. He pulled out a familiar weapon – a bola. He chucked it to Hiccup, who stumbled a bit under the extra weight and grabbed a few extra bolas himself.

They both ran outside. Already, Hungalians were crowed outside, armed with various weapons. Hiccup spotted Talayeh in the middle of the crowd and in the back he saw a cart with chains being slowly wheeled in. Beside him, Halvor threw bolas to random villagers. Taking his lead, Hiccup handed his own off to the nearest villager.

"Where's the beast?" A voice boomed over the noise. All chatter ceased and the full attention of the gathered villagers turned to the Chief.

"It was spotted flying from the South, heading straight towards us," a villager piped up from somewhere to Hiccup's left. Hiccup recognised her. He had seen her around a couple times; as part of the watch guard.

South. That was the direction Berk lay, and beyond that Helheim's Gate. But what business did a dragon have, flying so far from its nest?

"Only one?" The Chief asked.

"Yes," was the answer he received.

"You know the drill," Chief Vali roared. "We wait until it comes into shooting range. If luck be with us, the beast will land and we can charge then. If not, we bring it down with our arrows and bolas." The crowd cheered in agreement. "And remember, we capture it alive," He boomed over the roaring crowd.

The crowd began to move, marching towards where the dragon would soon be making an appearance. Hiccup soon lost Halvor and instead he struggled through the mass of bodies to find Talayeh. He found her a little way back from the warriors carrying long-distance weapons. Her sword was in her hand.

She turned when she felt his presence and looked surprised upon seeing him there. "Hiccup. Aren't you supposed to be at the forge?"

He nodded once. "Yeah. I was handing out bolas with Halvor and got swept away."

"There," someone cried. Hiccup and Talayeh both looked in the direction they were pointing. There was a black dot on the horizon. It was getting larger and larger, and slowly the dot took on the form of a large dragon, red with black stripes running across its body. From his distance, Hiccup could see the dragon, a great Monstrous Nightmare, sagging lower and lower, coming closer to the ground. It was making straight for Hungalo.

It was closer, close enough that it could now see the people waiting for it. It strained, trying to pull itself up, higher in the air. But the beast had already crossed into the range of their weapons, and with a tang! arrows were released from bows. A lucky arrow hit the unfortunate dragon in the underside of its right wing.

It roared in pain and its already weak wings flailed in the air. Its descent dropped further and continued to rapidly decrease as it struggled on.

That the dragon hadn't already attacked confused Hiccup. As a Viking of Berk, he had been taught from an early age that dragons always go for the kill. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Talayeh ready her sword.

When the Monstrous Nightmare was but only several metres above the nearest village house, the Chief bellowed. Abruptly, several of the villagers at the front raised their arms back and launched their bolas at the beast.

One wrapped itself around the dragon's legs. Another wrapped itself around the dragon's great big body and the third hit the beasts injured wing and wrapped around both of its wings. The beast, rendered unable to fly, fell and crashed into the ground where it lay unmoving.

Vali was the first to run to the downed dragon. Talayeh and Hiccup followed close behind him. It was alive; that much Hiccup could see. Its breathing was shallow and the rise and fall of its chest were weak. How long must it have flown without food or rest? The dragons on Berk, Hiccup remembered had never been taken down so easily, not even by their best fighters.

Vali motioned to four of the buffer village men. "Take it down to the Ring with the rest of 'em. We'll keep it there for Drago."

Hiccup tilted his head at the somewhat familiar name. Drago… Talayeh saw his gesture.

"Drago Bludvist." Talayeh said quietly beside him. Drago Bludvist… Where had he heard that name? It was buzzing around his mind, just out of reach.

"He is a man without reason; a mad man," she added further and, in the light, Hiccup saw her eyes burn. "All he wants is power, and power he shall get when he finishes his dragon army."

Dragon Army… Dragon… Drago Bludvist… That's it! Dragon Bloody-fist. Hiccup groaned inwardly. He felt like punching himself in the head. How could he have missed that?

"Leilah was telling me about him the other day. I forgot about him until now though," Hiccup told her. "She said you were working for him, capturing dragons."

Talayeh nodded, her lips pressed into a tight line. Hiccup asked his next question. "Why are the people of Hungalo working for him?"

She sighed, and her eyes fluttered close. "I had kind of hoped you would not ask," she admitted, "but you're one of us now, and you deserve to know the truth. It was a little over six years ago, and I was young but I can still remember that night."

Her eyes opened, and Hiccup could see a faraway light in them, as if she were seeing something from long ago. "The raid we suffered that night was great. Many were our losses and few our victories. Our spirits were low and our home, our supplies, were damaged. Smoke and ash filled the sky and the air around us."

Her eyes darkened. "He came then, wrapped in the hide-skin of a black dragon, mysterious and dark. He was unwelcome in our home, but soon we saw that he was not as alone as we had first thought. Dragons, armoured dragons surrounded us. They came crawling in from the shadows and descended from the skies. And I am sure that though we could not see, many hid in the cover of shadows. I can still recall the feeling of many poisonous eyes watching from afar."

She sighed, and the rage subsided from her brown eyes and warmth returned, though it was little at first. "Back then, we were not as strong as we are now and the Artakhs were stronger. When Drago made his offer, we accepted. Ever since then, we've been working for him, bringing him all the dragons he requires. In return, he supplies us with men to fight if we should need it."

While Talayeh had been talking, the four men had inched around the dragon and now had it surrounded. It was eying them warily and when one of the men took a step too close, it growled, a thin line of smoke coming out of its mouth.

It was trapped and cornered, but Hiccup knew that those were the most dangerous to fight.

The beast reared its head up. It opened its jaws wide and Hiccup could see the light in the back of its throat. He took a step back, but Talayeh had seen something he hadn't and side-stepped past the dragons line of fire. She raised her sword before her and deflected the sharp talon of the monstrous Nightmare before it could hit the unsuspecting villager. The force of the desperate animal sent her stumbling backwards. Her sword snapped under the pressure.

Vali bellowed once more and again, bolas were thrown at the dragon. The four fighters surrounding the dragon didn't wait for the dragon; they charged. They swarmed the dragon, pinning it down from all sides.

When the dragon was effectively pinned, the cart was wheeled in. The dragon was forced onto the cart and numerous chains were snapped around its neck, body and legs. A muzzle was thrown on next.

"Good job men," Vali called out as the dragon was carted off. "Drago will be pleased. Now back to work."

The villagers grumbled at the name, but they trickled off after the dragon, going back to their jobs. Hiccup rushed to Talayeh. She was on the ground, propping herself up on her elbows. "Ow," she groaned. "That was sore." She managed a smile as Hiccup offered her a hand.

"Thanks," she said, accepting it. He helped her to her feet. "Are you alright?" He asked and she shrugged lightly. "Course I am."

Then she looked around and groaned again. Hiccup tilted his head as she left him to pick up the two pieces of her sword. "Dammit," she swore. Then she sighed and looked at Hiccup.

"Come on, I think we'd better get back to work."

XXX

The excitement caused by the appearance of the dragon was dying down a few days later. Busy at the Forge, he hadn't seen much of Talayeh or Leilah since the dragon was captured. As far as he knew, the dragon was kept locked away in the Ring, where it would stay until Drago came to collect his next payment – of what Hiccup still didn't know.

He found himself thinking about the attack, how easily the dragon could've injured or killed someone, had it not been so exhausted. His brain whirled, remembering a weapon he had designed (on paper) back on Berk when he was younger. He had never given it much thought before now, but if he could make it work, it would really help Hungalo.

So that's where he found himself on a sunny afternoon, sitting down at a desk in the back of the Forge and looking over a hastily drawn sketch of the weapon he dubbed as 'The Mangler', when a knock came from the window.

Distracted, Hiccup jerked up. "Be right there," he called, shoving his chair back so he could stand. He spared a glance at his sketch, wondering how he could improve it, or make it. Lost as he was in his thoughts, he didn't notice who was at the counter.

"How can I help- Talayeh?" He looked up at the girl.

"Hi Hiccup," she greeted. "Busy?"

"Uh," he stammered. "No. Just working on some designs. What do you need?"

She held up her sword – or the two pieces that were her sword. "Can you repair this?"

Hiccup took it from her. "Yeah, no worries. When do you want it back?"

"Sometime soon. Just bring it home whenever you're done."

Hiccup nodded and placed the broken sword down beside him. Talayeh handed him the coins to pay for it.

"So, what are you doing now?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm free for the rest of the afternoon. I can't find Leilah anywhere… So I'm looking for a way to pass the time."

Hiccup ducked his head. "If you want, you can come in," he mumbled.

Talayeh grinned at him. "That would be great, thank you." She hopped onto the counter and swung her legs over the side.

"Careful," Hiccup said. "Halvor would kill me if he knew you were on his counter."

She laughed, but slid off the counter to follow Hiccup back to his desk. "Where is Halvor anyway?"

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't know. It's my time off. Haven't seen him since I came in."

She looked over his shoulder to see the design he was working on. "What's this?" She asked, fingering the paper.

"Oh, just, uh," he rubbed the back of his head, "some design I'm working on. It's nothing really."

"Nothing?" Talayeh said in disbelief. "Hiccup, this is really good. I didn't know you could invent. What does it do?""

He blushed at the compliment, but thankfully, Talayeh was busy staring at the paper and didn't notice. "Yeah, I started inventing back on my old island, but they didn't… Well, let's just say they didn't exactly appreciate it. I call this one 'The Mangler'. It launches bolas into the air. I thought it could be helpful in taking dragons down"

Talayeh looked up at him and smiled. "Well, I think Hungalo will be different. How does it work?"

He launched into a detailed explanation of how his design would work. As he talked, he lost his awkwardness as he started talking about something he was passionate about and missed the fleeting smile that danced across her lips.

When he finished, Talayeh looked outside and noticed how low the sun had gone. "I better go. Leilah will be probably be home by now."

"Aw," Hiccup pouted.

Talayeh laughed at his expression. "I'll see you later tonight, OK."

Hiccup walked with her out of the Forge. They stopped there, staring at each other. "See ya soon," Talayeh said after a moments pause. She started walking away from the Forge.

"See ya, Talayeh," Hiccup said back.

She stopped, spun around and shot him an impish grin. "Call me Tala."

Hiccup stood watching after her, even when he could no longer see her lean figure. "Tala," He rolled the name around his tongue. It felt nice.

XXX

The next morning, he saw Leilah on his way to work. He hadn't seen her for a while – not properly, at least. Last night, she barely came out of her room and dinner was tense, Leilah leaving at the earliest opportunity. He and Tala were worried about her.

"Leilah," he called, waving her over. She obliged him, albeit reluctantly. As she walked over, Hiccup noticed that she was limping and she was holding the right side of her stomach. "How have you been?" He asked. "I haven't really talked to you for a while."

She pressed her lips into a tight line. "Fine," she mumbled, so low Hiccup could barely hear her.

Inwardly, he frowned. Something was off… He asked her about it. "I'm fine," she shrugged him off. But there was an edge to her voice that hadn't been there before.

"Ok." Hiccup didn't know what else to say. She was brushing him off. "I'm always here to talk," he let her know.

She wouldn't meet his eyes. "Ok," she mumbled, quieter than before. "I have to go," she muttered, slipping past Hiccup. As she did, her sleeve slipped back and Hiccup caught sight of a bruise forming.

"Leilah, wait." Hiccup caught hold of her wrist and spun her around. Ignoring the look she sent him, he pushed her sleeve all the way back. Bruises dotted her arms, and Hiccup was willing to bet they covered more of her body.

"Leilah," his voice was gentler now. "Where did you get these?"

She tugged her wrist out of his hand. "Nowhere."

"Ok," he said, resigned. "But you should at least go to the Healers to get them checked out."

Her expression hardened. "I'm fine," she said stiffly and stalked away, leaving a confused Hiccup behind.

Right, he thought as she hurried off, a frown tugging at his features. Fine.

Throughout the rest of the day, he couldn't stop thinking about how strange Leilah had been acting. Those bruises, the way she was walking and holding her side… Hiccup had a sinking feeling he knew where she had gotten this hurt. He need to talk to Tala about it. If anyone could help Leilah, it was her.

Speaking of Tala, Hiccup turned his attention to her sword. The metal had snapped, clean in two. Hiccup could make another easily, but he wanted her new sword to be special, a way of him thanking her for everything. And Blacksmithing was one of his finer talents.

Unfortunately, his time to work on the sword became limited when the next morning, the Chief gathered every villager in the town square. Three people stood behind him.

"I'm presuming you all know about the secret passageway the Artakhs have been using to sneak inside our village?" Chief Vali started.

Nods and mummers of consent followed his words.

"Good," the Chief said. He raised his voice louder. "The Artakhs have no idea that we know about their secret entrance. We are going to use that knowledge to our advantage. We're going to surprise them. But I need every villager who can fight. Who's with me?"

A cry went up and Vali held up a hand. Silence swept through the crowd once more. A proud grin was on the Chiefs face as he looked out upon the people who would so swiftly follow him.

"Now then," the Chief continued, his voice suddenly underlining his authority. "I want all the villagers unable to fight at the Great Hall. The rest will split into two groups. One group will go to the forest where they'll wait, hidden in the tree tops behind where the Artakhs surround us. You'll be led by Elvin," Vali gestured to the man standing to his far left, "and the other group will be led by me. We're staying inside the village. When the enemy attacks, they'll be caught between two fronts. The Artakhs won't know what hit them."

The villagers crowed and this time, there was no stopping them. "Talayeh, Gunarr, Junn and Isla, I want to see you now." Then he addressed the crowd. "Hungalo, more will be arranged by tomorrow afternoon."

Satisfied he had told them all there was to know, he turned to wait for the four he had called to show. The crowd began to disperse and Hiccup followed them, managing to catch a glimpse of Tala, another woman and two males standing before the Chief. None of them looked happy with what Vali was saying.

XXX

As promised, the Chief read out the groups next morning. Hiccup, thankfully, would be manning the Forge while Halvor joined the Chiefs group. Leilah would be at the Great Hall where she'll stand guard with the other kids her age. Hiccup didn't hear Talayehs name called.

With Halvor at the Chiefs side more often than not and most of the work done thanks to the two Blacksmiths, Hiccup had the Forge to himself. He wasted no time on starting his project. He didn't need to worry about hiding it for she hardly came to visit the Forge. Hiccup assumed she was, along with the rest of the village, preparing for what was to come.

He had the sword finished in several days. It was a beautiful creation; perfectly balanced, molded from the best metal he could find, then polished until it gleamed and with hand-drawn designs Hiccup himself had carved into the blade. The handle was simple and plain, black in colour and with only a single picture carved into it; a single line going straight down with three lines crossing through it. He had caught a glimpse of it hanging from her corded, leather necklace.

The opportunity to present the new sword to Tala came the very next day, after he had finished showing his designs to the Chief for 'The Mangler'. Vali had been impressed with the invention, and had clapped Hiccup on the back, looking at the boy in quiet amazement. "We're lucky to have to here with us, boy," was all Vali had said. But the words hit Hiccup hard and he was reminded of what he had somehow managed to forget the few weeks he had stayed on this island he was beginning to call home.

Lucky to have you, the words echoed.

"Hiccup," a voice said and Hiccup was jerked out of his thoughts. He looked around and saw Talayeh waving a hand in his face. When she saw he was back to the present, she smiled at him. "Lost in thought?"

Hiccup thought again of what he had done. "Yeah I was." He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the dark thoughts and turned to Tala. "What are you doing here?" He saw that she was fidgeting with her corded necklace.

Talayeh frowned slightly. "I can't find Leilah again. She's been gone all afternoon. I was hoping you knew where she'd be."

Hiccup shook his head. "Sorry. But I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Maybe," Tala agreed half-heartedly. "What were you doing?"

"I was showing the plans for 'The Mangler' to the Chief," Hiccup told her. "He liked it."

"I told you he would," Tala said. "Your design was amazing and it could really help us out with the dragons."

"Which reminds me," Hiccup said. "Your sword is ready and at the Forge. I was going to give it to you, but I haven't seen much of you around lately."

She averted her eyes. "Yeah," she said. "I've been preparing for the raid."

Hiccup tilted his head at her, already leading the way to the Forge. "What are you doing? I didn't hear your name get called out."

She shook her head. "It didn't. The Chief assigned me and three others a different job." Her voice turned sharp. "But I'm not going to say what."

Hiccup held up his hands in surrender. "Ok. That's your business." They reached the Forge and Hiccup went inside while Talayeh waited by the window. He found her sword exactly where he left it; bundled in cloths on his desk. He unwrapped it from the cloths and headed outside to Talayeh.

She gingerly took it in both hands from Hiccup. She held the gleaming sword up vertically in front of her face and gave it a few test swings. The light caught the carvings and she raced them with her eyes.

"It's beautiful," she breathed. "Thank you."

She looked down and noticed the single symbol carved into the black handle. Her fingers followed the lines as her eyes flicked up to Hiccup curiously.

He felt the need to explain himself. "I, uh, saw it on your necklace. Thought you'd like it," he trailed off.

But Talayeh only smiled at him. One of her hands rose to rest on the leather cords of her necklace. "My father gave it to me when I was young. It was his people's symbols, meaning strength."

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

A single loud horn was blasted. Talayeh and Hiccup both jumped, startled by the sudden noise. "The Artakhs," Tala hissed. "The ships have been spotted."

The villagers were already separating into their groups and marching to their assigned positions. Talayeh cursed; she didn't have her axe, her sword sheath, or her daggers.

"Stay inside the Forge," she said to Hiccup and ran off in the direction of her home. Hiccup obeyed. Peeking out of the open window, Hiccup could see that the last of the Hungalians were in position. The group staying inside the village walked calmly and unhurriedly, intending to lull the Artakhs into a false sense of security. He couldn't see Talayeh anymore.

It was quiet. The Artakhs weren't invading like they usually did. Though now weary, the Hungalians inside the village didn't drop their facade.

Hours slowly ticked by, tension filled hours where the attack was waited for with baited breath, ye still there was no attack. The villagers were getting restless.

Eventually, the Chief ordered a few of the closer villagers, including Halvor, to join him as he checked out the secret passageway. They entered the thick canopy cautiously and were soon lost to sight.

Tension hung thick on the air as they waited for the Chief to get back. Hiccup found himself shifting from one foot to the other and constantly scanning the forest that surrounded the village.

He saw Leilah first. She was quietly slipping out from the forest, a different direction from where the Chief had gone. "Leilah," he called, wondering what she was doing in the forest and not in the Great Hall. "There you are."

The ten-year-old didn't meet his eyes, but instead side-stepped around him and continued on her path. Leilah didn't once look back at him.

XXX

Authors Note: So there it is. Chapter 10 is finally up. Hopefully, I can post the edited version of this chapter up soon. In the meantime, Read and Review :)

-Night Ryder711