Everyone, I am so, so sorry for the ridiculous wait between updates. I...lost my motivation for a while, due to personal issues, and being ill for a while, but the success of my newest work has me somewhat more inspired. Also, reading all your lovely reviews helped me, alot, and I really appreciate the support.
As I was writing, I noticed the publish date of Prince of Atlantis. It said September 2013, and it was that, with a shock, I realised this update marks the 10 month anniversary of this fanfic!
It has been a hard 10 months, and I have struggled to update, but I am so grateful for the support.
The long awaited smut chapter will arrive in the next few chapters! I blush so hard while writing it, but I promised smut, and there will be SMUT.
Let us not wait any longer. Onward with the chapter, I hope you enjoy it ~
Previously on 'Prince of Atlantis'
Filled with excitement and adrenaline, Hiccup looked up at Jack, mind full of endless questions. He was about to speak up, but Jack spoke up first, a slight frown making its way onto the prince's tanned face.
"You showed courage following me. And I thank you for coming here. But..." the prince sighed. "The reason I brought you here, Hiccup, is that...I need to ask you."
"Ask me what?" Hiccup began wringing out his shirt as he waded out of the pool, concern crossing his features.
"I brought you to this place to ask you for your help." Jack answered, taking a seat on one of the rocks lining the edge of the pool.
"My help? Why do you need my help?" Hiccup frowned as he sat down next to the prince.
A moment of silence passed, and Jack looked up to the cove's opening, the palace barely visible from below. Hiccup watched as the prince's expression went from happy, and confident, to solemn, and concerned.
"The city...its dying." Jack finally spoke up.
"What?" Hiccup's eyes widened.
"Atlantis...its dying."
Chapter 11- Tour of the Dying City
"The city...is dying." Jack repeated, facing down.
"Dying...how?" Hiccup spoke up, noting that Jack's smile had disappeared.
"When I was...a child...there was a blue light, above the city." Jack began. "It gave us power...like the power in our crystals. It kept us all alive."
Remembering a page from the journal, Hiccup's heart skipped a beat.
The heart of Atlantis.
"Our power source...my father told me. It kept us safe...but..." Jack sighed heavily. "My father decided to use it...to make weapons of war. Yet the power...was too great. It is said that the use of the power for the machines caused our destruction. At the time of the Great Flood, the crystal called my mother to it...to keep a part of the city alive. My father's greed...it led to our destruction. My mother...I never saw her again."
As Hiccup looked down, silenced, he took a deep breath, taking in what Jack had just told him. After a moment passed, out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup saw Jack trembling. As a prince, it seemed Jack was trying to keep his emotion hidden. Swallowing, Hiccup turned to face Jack, as the prince spoke up again.
"I told you...I brought you to this place, to ask you for your help." Jack turned to face Hiccup, a single tear falling down his face. "I cannot let this city die again."
"I will do whatever...whatever I can...to help." Hiccup spoke firmly, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder, inwardly freaking out at the gesture.
Jack's expression brightened, and the prince wiped away the single teardrop. With a new look of determination, Jack stood up, his snow-white hair glistening in the light, dappled by the shadows of the canopy of trees. The prince turned to face Hiccup, and held out his hand. Accepting, Hiccup also stood, before reaching into his satchel for the Shepherd's Journal, taking a deep breath before pulling it out.
Jack's eyes widened upon seeing the journal, and he immediately snatched it from the brunette's grasp. He began flicking through the pages, eyes darting around, fascinated. He then looked up, to face the confused Hiccup.
"You...you can read this?" Jack sounded stunned.
"Yeah...I..." Hiccup started.
"This." Jack shoved the open book in Hiccup's face. "You can read this?"
"Yes." Hiccup rolled his eyes, pushing the book back. "I can read Atlantean, just like you."
When Jack looked down at the journal sadly, expression darkened, Hiccup's eyes widened.
"You...can't...can you?" Hiccup's voice was barely above a whisper.
"No one can." Jack sighed, looking back up, journal still in his grasp. "This knowledge has been lost since the time of the Great Flood."
"I see." Hiccup frowned.
"What does the book say?" Jack grinned eagerly, tossing the journal back to Hiccup, who quickly caught it.
"Well...there's alot of information...Jack." Hiccup was growing less confident as Jack got closer, standing next to him, so close their arms were touching.
"We have time. Come, I will show you the city, and you...can share your knowledge with me." Jack smirked, grabbing Hiccup's free wrist, and pulling him along as he took off in a run.
The waterfall soon became a blur in the distance.
As the two wandered around the city, Jack's smile grew bigger, and the sparkle in his eyes brightened. As the prince showed Hiccup around the beautiful, yet crumbling city, the linguist would read Jack excerpts from the journal, detailed paragraphs of the city's culture, of the ancient ways. As the time neared the middle of the day, Hiccup found himself in the center of the journal, only to find a jagged page edge, as if a page were missing. As a frown appeared on his face, Hiccup closed the journal, much to Jack's dissatisfaction.
"Why have you stopped?" the prince nudged Hiccup playfully.
"We have two more days...I promise you, I will help, and I will tell you more." Hiccup reassured the prince.
"Very well." Jack rolled his eyes.
As the two walked through the city's market, Jack waved at all the citizens as he passed, often stopping to talk to the people. The prince's gentle, yet somewhat amusing manner, seemed to be popular with the people of Atlantis. Hiccup smiled as Jack spoke with the owner of a fruit stall. After a few words, the prince took up the woman's offer of two strange fruits, each a vibrant purple, with a peach-like texture. With a grateful nod, Jack returned to Hiccup's side, passing one of the fruits to the brunette. As the two resumed walking, Hiccup looked down at the fruit.
"It is the most popular fruit in the city." Jack bit into his fruit. He almost moaned as he bit into the fruit, the fruit juice spilling down his chin.
The noise was rather...
Shaking his head, Hiccup stopped, and held the fruit to his mouth. Closing his eyes, he bit into the fruit. As the flavor spilled onto his tongue, his eyes widened. The fruit was sweet, incredibly so, but the colorful flavor, a mix of pomegranate and dragon-fruit, was so good it nearly brought tears to the brunette's eyes. The fruit was soon gone, and Hiccup glared at Jack as the prince laughed at his expression. The two wiped the juice away from their mouths, and laughed for a moment.
The two were about to carry on, taking a shortcut down a side-street, when Jack noticed a silk stall.
Beckoning to Hiccup, Jack paused at the stall, nodding, and smiling warmly to the shop owner, an elderly woman. As Jack conversed with the elderly lady in Atlantean, Hiccup looked at the vast array of silks, in beautiful colors, vibrant blues, and deep purples. It was hard to believe the city was dying, but one look at Jack's strained smile told of the true fate of the city.
After a few minutes, Jack tied a green silk scarf around Hiccup's head, laughing at the brunette's confused expression.
"What is this?" Hiccup went to pull off the scarf, only to be stopped by Jack.
"It is a gift." Jack smirked as the two continued walking.
"Do I have to wear it round my head? The others will...find it...amusing." Hiccup sighed.
"Very well." Jack unwound the scarf from Hiccup's head.
Jack leaned in close, and tied the scarf around the brunette's waist, his head coming to rest on Hiccup's shoulder. As the brunette flushed bright red, Jack stepped back, raising an eyebrow at Hiccup's bright red face.
"It suits you." Jack smiled.
"Thank you...Jack." Hiccup looked down, admiring the beautiful silk.
"Prince Jyrrheniak!" a voice called.
Feeling something bump against his legs, Jack looked down, to see a group of young children looking up at him. Gesturing for Hiccup to do the same, Jack sat down, so he was at the children's height. The child who had called, had difficulty pronouncing the prince's name properly, for which the child was now embarrassed, looked up at Jack. Speaking, in Atlantean, the child smiled.
"Who is that man?" the little girl, with a beautiful, silk embroidered dress, asked, pointing at Hiccup with a chubby hand.
"This is my friend." Jack smiled proudly. "His name is Hiccup."
Hiccup waved shyly at the children, who were in awe of this strange man.
"He is from the surface world." Jack grinned.
The children gasped in wonder, eyes shining, and began to cluster near Hiccup also.
"He is learning about our city." Jack explained to the children.
"Woaaaah." a young boy, wearing green silks, looked up at Hiccup. "Your hair colour is strange."
"Why are you speaking to him?" a slightly older child, of perhaps six years old, frowned at the younger boy. "He will not be able to understand us."
Jack stifled a laugh, and Hiccup looked somewhat annoyed, but he grinned. Changing, Hiccup began speaking, once more, in fluent Atlantean.
"I can understand you." Hiccup spoke, stunning passers-by, and the crowd of children.
"You can speak...our language?" the six year old child's eyes widened.
"I studied it." Hiccup nodded.
"That's amazing." the little girl from before gasped.
"Thank you." Hiccup smiled warmly.
As the children quizzed Hiccup about the surface world, gasping at the tales of moving vehicles and 'trains', Jack turned to look at Hiccup. The bright expression on the brunette's face made Jack's heart skip a beat, and he felt a smile creep onto his own face once more.
"Now now, that's enough." a middle aged woman wandered over, her Atlantean perfectly pronounced. "We mustn't bother the prince and his guest."
"It's quite alright." Hiccup stood, his fluent Atlantean stunning the woman.
"I...I see." the woman smiled hesitantly. She turned to Jack. "Your majesty. This man's friends are with my husband, at our home. We would respectfully invite you to dinner this evening."
"That is very kind of you. I look forward to this evening." Jack nodded.
Just before the mother began to lead the children back to their parents, the littlest girl held up something, and Jack knelt down again, Hiccup following suit. The girl held up a bright blue flower, almost like a lily, and pushed it into Jack's hair, resting just above his left ear. She did the same for Hiccup, except she gave him a dark green flower, its petals shining in the light. Once the child seemed satisified with the flower placement, she bowed to Jack, before running off after her group of friends.
As the two young men stood, they looked at each other, and smiled.
"Come." Jack began pulling Hiccup along. "There is much to see."
As a blush began to turn Hiccup's face red once more, Hiccup smiled, and let himself be led along by the prince.
By Jack.