Okay, this is my THIRD update today. Glad you all seem to be enjoying it so far. It's about to get REAL REAL soon, so don't worry. :) Shout-outs:

AnimeAngel: Seriously. Someone fire that healer! Ugh. And yep, don't get on Astrid's bad side. No good. No good at all. XD! And have some more virtual popcorn if you like, and I'll even throw in a free virtual can of your favorite soda! :D

Wanli8970: Tension is building...*squeals with anticipation* I can't wait to see how this all fills out! :D

xFaerieValkyriex: That'd be cool, but since this is in Astrid's POV, that'd be hard to do. Future fanficiton, though! :D And about the healer...let's just see if Toothless is hungry. XD!

HideousZippleback: Oh, wow. You read chapter 10 and are already interested in the rest of the story? THAT'S AWESOME! :D Thank you for your encouraging review! Reviews make me so happy! :)

The sound made by the oars whenever they emerged into the water was almost painful to listen to. Each time the oars dropped into the sea, I was constantly worried we would hear a "There they are!" and then get attacked by some of Drago's barbarians.

Nonetheless, I was doing this for Hiccup and Berk. Hiccup had given literally everything he had in the war, and now it was my turn to do the same.

But was I ready?

I had brought a grappling hook secretly. I would throw it to the top of the ship and then climb aboard and find that cure, no matter what it took to get it. And then Tuffnut and I would poison the water and get us an advantage.

It was the perfect plan.

If...if Hiccup didn't die before hand.

Wow, I thought to myself. I couldn't believe there was actually a high chance Hiccup wouldn't survive. Just from what Valka told me, it sounded pretty bad, and the fact that the healer clearly stated he wasn't going to live was even worse.

But I would try. I would try. I would try. And I would succeed. I wouldn't fail. I wouldn't give up.

Tuffnut and I continued to row towards the enemy ships, taking great heed not to get spotted. Apparently, no one was on any of the decks. There was one ship larger than the others; Drago's ship, where he and his best men were.

We sailed right up to the ship, just a few feet away from it. It wasn't too high up...I could quite possibly throw the grappling hook and make it...

"Help me out, would you?" asked Tuffnut in annoyance.

"Oh, right," I said dumbly, taking a bucket and gently dumping it overboard. I almost retched at the smell of it. If the poison itself didn't kill Drago's men, the stench of itcertainly would.

After we dumped the buckets of poison overboard, it was time for me to make my move. Before Tuffnut decided to head back to Berk, I whipped out the grappling hook and swung it. Then, I tossed it up. I made it on the first try.

I yanked on the rope to make sure it was secure. To my delight, it held steady. Perfect. This was going just per...

"What are you doing!?" Tuffnut whispered to me harshly.

"I'm finding the cure for the poison, and you're not stopping me," I said stubbornly.

"I won't," said Tuffnut. "But I'm coming with you."

"No, you have to stay with the boat," I said. "I'm doing this for Hiccup. It's personal."

"Maybe it's personal for me, too!" said Tuffnut. "One of Drago's men did hurt my sister, after all."

I wanted to protest, but he had a point. Tuffnut smirked and dropped the anchor overboard.

"Well?" he asked. "Are you going to start heading up there, or not?"

I turned back to the rope and began climbing up it as if I were climbing up a rock wall. I pressed my feet to the side of Drago's ship and kept the rope wrapped firmly around my hands. I was like walking up a wall, almost.

When I got to the top, I made sure the deck was clear. Relieved to see that it was, I pulled myself over the side of the ship and tossed the rope back down to Tuffnut. While he was climbing, I took a look around.

The deck was covered in ropes and barrels filled with probably water. Tuffnut did say they had water as part of their provisions. I also saw baskets filled with bread, but I didn't see any fish on the deck.

Good,I thought. No fish here. At least I know there's a chance that poison will work.

The mast of the ship was vast.

[Stop giggling, Hiccup, I'm not trying to rhyme]

It was about as thick as a giant redwood tree and not really much shorter than one. It was smoothly done, but at the same time, rugged looking as if it had been in service for generations.

The sail was solid white and so thick it would probably take a sword to cut through. It made me feel suddenly small and helpless.

Tuffnut pulled himself onto the deck, stood up, and walked over to me.

"What now?" he whispered, but at that moment, the hatch leading below deck opened, letting light stream onto the deck.

"We hide," I said simply. Tuffnut and I raced over and hid behind some of the barrels, hardly even daring to breathe. We heard the footsteps of one of Drago's soldiers, getting closer, and closer, and closer. And then I realized it wasn't just one set of footsteps, but two.

"Ahh, I told ya it was nothin'!" said one soldier.

"Huh, I thought I heard something," said the second soldier.

"Eh, quit yer blabberin'!" snapped the first soldier. "If we don' get bac' to the meetin', Drago won't allow us to fight those pesky Berkians."

"Oh, right, then let's go," said the second soldier.

I looked to Tuffnut, and we exchanged knowing glances. We would have to infiltrate that meeting, see what Drago was planning, try to see what we could learn and get back to Berk with.

The footsteps started back up again, and then the light emanated from the hatch being opened once more. The sound of footsteps descending stairs reached our ears, and then the light faded.

Tuffnut and I emerged from our hiding place and raced over. I pressed my ear to the floorboards, but I couldn't hear anything.

"We have to go in there," I said. "It could be the only chance we have."

With trembling fingers, Tuffnut and I opened the hatch, and slipped below, closing it silently behind us.

In front of us spread a well lit stairway leading to the below deck of the vast ship. Tuffnut and I walked down as quietly as we could, wary if someone were to spot us. When the staircase ended, I peaked behind the wall and saw Drago and a bunch of his men standing around a wooden table. On the table sat a lit oil lamp, map, charcoal pencil, and dagger.

I quickly pressed myself and Tuffnut against the wall. We couldn't risk being spotted.

"Alright, listen up," said Drago. Oh man, his voice was awful. I hated listening to it, especially when he was mad. "As soon as the cease fire ends, we will spread out in different groups around Berk, surrounding it. We will divide into four even groups, each group taking one compass point around the island."

"How dare you-" I hissed.

"Shh," said Tuffnut.

"Sir, what about the Chief of the Berkians?" asked one of the soldiers. "What was his name? Sneeze?"

"Hiccup," Drago corrected. He let our a wry laugh that pounded against my eardrums. "Don't worry about him. By the time the cease fire is over, he'll be dead."

"No," I whispered. "No no no no no..."

"But sir, how can you be so sure?" asked someone that looked like he would be Drago's second in command by the way his armor was perfectly polished and one not.

"The blade I used was poisoned," said Drago. "Fast moving poison. He'll be dead by tomorrow, or possibly later tonight if all goes well."

The men around the table erupted into cries of joy. I was horrified. Tuffnut tugged my arm, motioning to the stairwell.

No. No way I was leaving this ship without the cure for that poison. I looked to Tuffnut, and he obviously read my expression, although he didn't look too happy about it to be sure.

"What if he recovers from the poison?" asked the soldier who was on the deck with us earlier; the one who had thought he'd heard something.

"No way," said Drago. His voice was filled with so much confidence it was almost terrifying. "You don't justrecoverfrom Bluestard poison."

Bluestard, I thought. So I guess that's what the poison's called.

"The only cure, is this," said Drago.

He had me at "cure".

I watched as he pulled out a small vial of thick, syrup like liquid and set it on the table. I caught a whiff of it as Drago popped the cork off. It was even worsesmelling than the Berkian poison we had dumped into the water.

"What IS that!?" shouted one of the soldiers, holding his hand over his nose, so his voice sounded nasally, and would have been humorous hadn't our situation been so grave.

"The only cure for Bluestard poison," said Drago. "Comes from a rare flower that only blooms once every hundred years. The nectar from the flower is the same as in this bottle." He screwed the cork back in and set it off on a bookshelf to the side.

"That is a brilliant plan, sire," said one of the soldiers. "A most brilliant plan. But why didn't you just use it on all the Berkians who were hurt? Why not put Bluestard poison on all our blades?"

Drago glared horribly at the soldier. "Do you think I am ignorant?" he hissed. "Bluestard poison is even rarer than its cure. You don't just find it, or buy it. It comes from a rare kind of tree sap, mixed with other exotic plants. I only had enough to use on Berk's pathetic Chief."

I needed to get that cure. Slowly, I got on my hands and knees and began to crawl towards the bookshelf. I heard them talking around me, but they didn't notice me. As quickly as I dared without making too much noise, I got over to the bookshelf, and reached my hand towards the cure.

Come on, come on, I told myself over and over again. Come on just a little bit further now...

I wasn't going to give up. I reached up, and just barely managed to grab the small bottle. Then, I stuffed it in the pouch on my belt and crawled back over to Tuffnut.

No one noticed me.

As soon as I was back with Tuffnut, I stood up, and we raced to the top, opened the hatch, and ran out.

"That was way too close," Tuffnut whispered frantically as we began climbing back down the rope to get back to our boat. "We are notdoing that again."

Something told me if I had to do it again, I would have.

We both took our oars and began rowing back to Berk. When we docked on said island, Snotlout and Fishlegs ran over to us. I thought they were greeting us, but they were doing anything but that. Their faces were filled with worry and dread.

I suddenly remembered what Drago had said: Fast moving poison. He'll be dead by tomorrow, or possibly later tonight if all goes well.

"Oh no," I said out loud in a harsh whisper. "Oh no no no no NO NO!"

Tuffnut and I jumped out of the boat, not even bothering to moor it to the dock. Snotlout and Fishlegs finally caught up, panting.

"Astrid, you have to come, NOW!" Snotlout ordered. "Hiccup is dying!"