I Own Nothing
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Chapter 14
0.002 Leagues Under A Lake
The Riders held a council on a snow bank.
"I'd always thought it was possible the Eye would have been thrown into the sea, but I'd hoped our culprit would have kept it in a secret cave or something," Astrid remarked.
"Well, I suppose Queen Mala will understand. I don't like it, but at least the Eye is somewhere safe, and that's what this task was all about," Heather said slowly, "we did all we could be expected to do. I can't see how we can do more. I suppose we should start preparing to head home and give them the news."
"And just give up?" Snotlout returned indignantly, "Just like that? Come all this way for nothing?"
"I don't like it any more than you do, but how are we supposed to find a box underwater?" Heather snapped.
"Find a Scauldron! Or any Tidal Class dragon! That Bewilderbeast seems capable of swimming: let's ask him to find it for us!"
"There aren't any Tidal Class dragons around here!" Fishlegs interrupted, "No dragon here except the Bewilderbeast is made to stay submerged for any length of time—and why on earth would he agree to do that for us when he and Hiccup's mom are the reason it's underwater to begin with? And even if he did agree to help, how's a Bewilderbeast supposed to pick up a box? He'd crush it first without meaning to!"
"That Dragon Eye's indestructible, isn't it?" Tuffnut countered, "Didn't you Defenders try all kinds of things to destroy it and nothing worked? Obviously you weren't making use of the Thorsten's Destructive Capabilities, but I'm sure you tried your best. The point is: if it's indestructible, the Bewilderbeast can't crush it."
"He could still crush the chest and scatter the contents underwater. That would just make things even worse." Astrid retorted. And she doubted the Defenders had ever tested the Eye's indestructibility against a Bewilderbeast.
The dragons were discussing how to recover the box as well. Stormfly and Hookfang were at once ruled out when it came to swimming. Hookfang, due to his fire attributes, avoided getting wet as much as possible and refused point blank to dive into the lake, while Stormfly's body was not suited for diving. Barf n' Belch were deemed unreliable even without the Twins on their backs. Meatlug's bulk and Windshear's metal were more likely to drown them than help them recover anything, which left Toothless. He could swim and probably withstand the cold waters, but he would still have trouble picking up a box. Heather informed them that the box only had a large iron ring on one end for a handle. She demonstrated with her hands a circle that had a four inch diameter.
"I'm willing to try, but I don't know how I could pick it up, assuming I even find it," Toothless said.
"Did we come all this way to be thwarted at the last minute?" Hookfang asked morosely.
Hiccup had sat through the discussions looking thoughtful. Astrid could almost see the wheels in his head turning, and she felt a surge of pride and confidence. If anybody could work out a way to retrieve a box from the bottom of a lake it would be her future husband. How she loved the sound of those last three words!
Some thought made Hiccup's eyes light up. "That just might work. Yes…if we could just…" he pulled out his journal and quickly began to sketch. "Add this—no, no, put it there, that way the arms are free—the flame won't last long, of course, but we'll have to make—"
There was an unspoken rule among them to not break his train of thought when he was designing something. It was a rule Snotlout forgot about because he loudly demanded that Hiccup let them in on the plan and know what was to be done.
"What? Oh, right, yes…ok…" he looked over his sketched and gave directions rapidly. "Fish, Valka said she threw the box into the lake. I need calculations for how far it could have been thrown. Give it your best estimate."
"You need a radius and general location?"
"A what?" Ruffnut asked. Hiccup ignored her and nodded.
"Right…Ruff, Tuff, once Fishlegs has a search area worked out, I want you to take a rope and measure the water depths. Snotlout, I want you to collect lots of sand and fist sized rocks—especially lots of rocks. I'm going to need to borrow Hookfang and Meatlug, and…yes, Stormfly, I'll need you too: I highly doubt there's a forge here. Astrid, I need you to get all the blankets and spare clothes we've got—anything you can find that will keep a person warm. Heather, help her out. Put everything in a corner by our campsite."
"Right, but what are you going to do with all of this?" Heather asked. She had to ask twice because Hiccup had gone back to his sketching and was unresponsive at first.
"Hmm? Oh. Well, if I do this right, we're going to send a human deeper than—this will have to be at least a third higher than the water—sorry, we're going to—no, this has to be—" he walked away sketching and talking to himself.
"Well, that's the last we'll be seeing of Hiccup for the week," Astrid laughed. "C'mon, let's get the stuff he wants,"
Astrid was not far from wrong. Hiccup spent nearly 6 days using a makeshift forge in one cave that had an opening in the ceiling. During that time he only left the room for flights on Toothless. He took his meals as he worked and irregularly, slept by his work space and irregularly, and anyone who wanted to talk with him had to go to him, because he would not leave the cavern until he was finished. They heard the hammer going day and night. Sometimes it would stop for hours and then start up again in the middle of the night and wake everyone up. Hookfang and Stormfly provided him with the heat he wanted, while Meatlug gobbled down rocks to produce the metals. At one point he sent her to tell the other Riders to bring him a candle and a lantern, mentioning in one of his bags he carried the pieces for a constructible lantern. As all of his bags had so many pockets it took them over an hour to find what he wanted. And all the while the hammering went on, accompanied by him shouting directions to the dragons or himself.
"Is he always like this?" Valka asked Astrid one evening.
"Only when he's got a project going,"
"And how often does he have these 'projects' going?"
"No idea. He usually never tells anyone what he's working on until it's finished. He saves time that way."
Valka shook her head with a rueful smile.
Astrid continued. "It's funny, the way he goes about it. He gets frantic when he can't find something to write on. When he's scribbling down his plans, his brain is moving so fast that he's already correcting his sketches before they're finished. He never thinks about himself when he's building these things. Personal safety, possible injuries, they mean nothing to him—he'd test an invention even if he knew it would throw him out a window—or worse. And when you try to drag him away from his work, he still can't stop thinking about it, unless you try really hard to distract him." Astrid smiled fondly. "And yet he almost always agrees to stop work if Toothless or I ask—unless he's doing something extremely delicate, but we leave him alone if that's happening."
"Doesn't it worry you he might take this kind of work too obsessively?" Valka asked.
"It did a little, but then I realized something. Once Hiccup becomes Chief, he won't get much time to invent anymore. So why not let him enjoy it now, while he still can, before he has to give it up?" Astrid looked at Valka uncomfortably. It felt weird to be around her. This was her future mother in law and they knew virtually nothing about each other. Did she even know about her and Hiccup?
"Um…Mrs—Valka? I'm sorry, but I don't know what to call you,"
"Valka's fine. I'm not sure I have the right to use my last name," Valka's face fell. "I wanted to come back so much, but I always felt it would do no good. Either I would have stayed and lived a lie, or would have had to leave my family outright. It seemed better to let them believe I was dead until I had something worth bringing back to them."
"Much as I hate to rub the guilt in, Hiccup needed you and so did Stoick," Astrid said.
"Do I detect self-reproach in your tone?" Valka asked.
"Yeah," Astrid said. If they were going to be related she might as well know the gist of their lives. "You've probably worked out that Hiccup didn't have an easy childhood."
"I have, though he won't tell me much except in hints,"
"We all abandoned him," Astrid said, "or we bullied him. I'm glad I can say I never did that, at least I don't think so, but I sometimes wonder if ignoring him was worse."
"Why did you ignore him?" Valka asked. "I don't want to accuse you, I just want to understand."
Astrid thought a moment. "I wanted to be the best. Looking back, I don't know what I wanted to be the best in or what that even meant—I guess I just wanted to excel in everything I could. I felt my families honor was compromised and I had to restore it. And anything or anyone that threatened to damage my reputation had to be avoided. Avoiding Hiccup meant avoiding blame for his mistakes." She shook her head, "and when he first returned, you know one thing I've noticed? He didn't care what anyone said about him. I mean, the Jorgenson's insulted him all the time and he either insulted them back or just ignored it. And it made me realize something: my family's honor was only compromised because I believed it was. My family was already as honorable as any other, only I didn't see it. I was trying to fix something that didn't really need fixing. I should have known people would have teased us regardless of what we did. That's what friends in a community do. Heck, that's what we do all the time to each other! But we still stick together when it matters most. I wasn't like that when I was younger." She scowled, "I was vain, self absorbed, so interested in being the perfect Viking that I forgot what it meant to be a good person. And while I won't give Hiccup the whole credit, he did help me snap out of this mindset. He helped me realize there was something beautiful in this world more important than what people say about you," she looked at Valka nervously.
"Have you ever told him this?" Valka asked at length.
"Not exactly in words, but I like to think I do with my actions. You see, Valka… pretty soon I'm going to be your daughter-in-law."
Valka's eyes widened slightly. "My—good heavens! You and Hiccup—?"
Astrid just smiled.
"He didn't tell me any of this," Valka said sadly.
"I imagine he was waiting for the right moment and it didn't come," Astrid said quickly, "Or maybe he felt I should be the one to tell you,"
"Maybe," Valka said doubtfully. "All right then, if you are going to marry my son, I suppose we should do this traditionally." She drew herself up. "What kind of dowry can you offer my son?"
"A good one!" Astrid said earnestly, "We have a good house with good furnishings and property, the Hofferson's have a solid reputation on Berk, we're well off, we're tenacious fighters, and we—"
"Can you give him sons?"
"Can I—excuse me?"
"That's what Stoick's parents asked me. I don't mean o-fence. But since we're talking about it…"
"We haven't really discussed children much," Astrid blushed. Nevertheless, as the wife of the Chief, it would be her sacred duty to provide him with heirs. "I've never doubted I'm…fertile,"
"Yet your parents only had you. Why didn't they have more children?" Valka asked. The reason was a tragic one. During the long wars with dragons, pregnant women and children were especially vulnerable during raids. Consequently, many couples did not have as many children as they might have wanted. Over the years many women had been shocked so badly by the most violent raids they had suffered miscarriages. Giving birth at any time was dangerous, but the stress and anxiety of a dragon attack, not to mention the physical danger, could easily make a pregnancy fatal for both the mother and child. Subsequently, even as their need for future warriors grew more urgent, many couples had opted to take the risks as few times as possible.
Valka understood when Astrid explained this to her. She knew it herself perfectly well. She just wanted to know if Astrid was aware of it. "Then you understand you risk death if you have children,"
"Yes. But since there's peace with dragons, it won't be as bad as it used to be." She added brightly.
"You also understand everyone will expect you to give him children. And they'll expect sons,"
"Well…I don't know about that," Astrid said carefully. "A lot of Berkians didn't mind the fact that I was going to be the next Chief for a while. I think most wouldn't mind what the sex was, so long as they were capable of leading." After all, Hiccup the boy had been a weakling, while Astrid the girl had been a born fighter. Sex did not determine ability. "Besides, I doubt Hiccup would mind." She suddenly imagined them cradling their first child and a broad smile came to her face. Oh Gods, she wanted to get this mission over with and get married.
Valka was not convinced by what Astrid said, but at the same time, what did she know about Berkian temperament these days? "So, a good dowry, a good name, a good chance of producing heirs—as far as I can I approve. Just answer me one last question: do you two actually care about each other?"
"Of course we do!" Astrid cried.
"Are you certain?"
"How can I doubt it after what we've been through together? I'm not saying I can't live without him, because I know very that I can, but I don't want to live without him. He needs me. And I need him. I love your son, Mrs. Haddock, and there's no other man in this world I would rather have for a husband. And I'm honored he wants me to be his wife. I know it's not really Viking custom, but it's not against Viking custom either."
While Viking law meant both sides had to agree to the match, generally speaking love between spouses only began after their wedding, not before it. Love between unmarried people was not usually encouraged, though it was certainly not illegal. Still, who did not enjoy the romantic charm of marrying for love? Valka certainly enjoyed the notion, as that was what had happened to her.
"I'm glad to hear you say so," Valka smiled, "And while I can't really judge, I hope you can…I hope you give my son the love he needs,"
"I can and I will. And anyone who doubts it will get a black eye," Astrid said confidently.
Heather came over to join them. She groaned as she sat down. "He's at it again! He'll be hammering all night at this rate! I tell you, Astrid, if he channels this kind of enthusiasm and energy into the Chiefdom, you're going to have the greatest Chief in history,"
"But not at the cost of his friends and family," Astrid said, a little sharply. Stoick had put so much enthusiasm and energy into the Chiefdom he had neglected his only son in the process.
Toothless, who had left the makeshift forge cavern to get some fresh air, overheard some of these last remarks and snorted. "I don't think she needs to worry. He swore to me that if he ever had children, he would give them the childhood he never had. I imagine he'll care more about keeping that promise than running Berk. I just hope he has time for me," he looked back to the forge cavern with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
When Hiccup revealed his work to everyone at last, they were not impressed. Rather, they were all confused. The project that had taken up so much time appeared to amount to some socks tied to a rope, a lantern, and a cylindrical knight's helmet attached to two very long pipes. He did not let the lack of enthusiasm curb his own, however, and displayed his work with a great deal of excitement.
"Now, for a person to search underwater, there are five major problems confronting us. First is getting deep enough. Since humans tend to float in water, I need something to weigh me down, yet also something that I can dispense with at once should anything go wrong, and something that will keep my hands free for other uses. And so we have this," he picked up the socks, "The toe ends are tied to the rope, which is then slung over my shoulders. These will be filled with rocks, with the openings pointed downwards and pinned shut. Now, strings will be attached from the pin to my pants. The rocks will weigh me down, but if I need to dispense with them I pull on the strings, the pins are pulled out of the socks, and the rocks fall out."
Everyone had to admit it was clever, but a bit underwhelming after the weeklong anticipation. Hiccup moved on to the next problem.
"The second problem is a matter of visibility. Thanks to Fishlegs we know approximately where the box is located, and thanks to the Twins, we know the general depth of the area is roughly 10 meters. Obviously at those depths it's going to be murky. To offset that, the recovery expedition must be done on a sunny day, and to even the odds, this lantern is watertight. The candle won't burn for very long, I'm afraid, but it should be sufficient. Now, to keep the arms free, the lantern will be attached to a ring on the diver's chest."
Everyone nodded again.
"Now the third problem is staying warm. For that, Heather and Astrid have gathered all the furs and clothes they could find. This also means the dives will have to be fast, because even with extra layers it's still going to be freezing. We'll be lucky if anyone stays underwater for a quarter of an hour. What we'll do is take a section and quickly search it, come up for air and warmth, and repeat the process until successful. Hookfang will see to it the diver gets warm once they surface.
"The fourth problem is the obvious one: air. Now, this helmet here is water proof, and has been fastened to this vest. I've cut a hole in the front and covered it with a glass plate, for visibility."
"Will that be secure?" Fishlegs interrupted.
"Glass can withstand considerable pressure. Anyway, these two pipes are over 20 meters long, so there's no risk of water getting in through the openings. They're attached to the back of the helmet and point upward, connecting the diver's head with fresh air." He grinned, "these pipes will also solve the fifth problem: getting to the right location. Obviously if these dives have to be fast, the diver can't waste time walking to the search area. Meatlug and Barf n' Belch will grab the upper ends of these pipes and carry the diver through the air to the right place, then lower them into the water. They will then stand by to pull them out if needed, for with these pipes opened to the air we can also communicate with them. Put all of this together and that box is as good as found! Any questions?"
"Yeah," Snotlout said loudly, "exactly who's gonna do this?"
"I am, of course,"
This sparked an instant uproar. Snotlout wanted to do it because he was tired of not getting the important tasks. The Twins both wanted to do it because of the risk. Fishlegs saw one reason for why Hiccup wanted to do it: he would be perhaps the first man in history to walk underwater. That was a distinction Fishlegs did not want to pass up either. Astrid was against Hiccup risking his life so willingly. Heather did not much care who tried it so long as someone did and yelled for silence. And all of the dragons supported their Riders, except Toothless, who agreed with Astrid.
They finally settled the question by drawing icicles. Tuffnut had the shortest. The other boys were convinced he secretly broke his icicle to make it the shortest, but nothing could be proved and the girls would hear no further arguments.
They had to wait until mid-afternoon for the weather to clear. While waiting they prepared Tuffnut for his mission. They put so many layers on him he looked like a big fat bear, much to Snotlout's amusement. It was hard not to laugh when he tried to walk around.
"I can barely move my legs and I can't put my arms down!"
"You wanted to do this," Hiccup reminded him.
"You didn't include the full dress code in the job description! This is a violation of my inalienable rights as a Dragon Rider and a Loki Disciple!"
"Would you rather we violated your rights to privacy and threw you in naked?" Snotlout sniggered.
"You'll thank us for all the clothes when you get underwater," Hiccup added, "now, let's get the helmet and pipes on you. And remember, Tuff, you're doing this for us, mankind, and science, so try to act dignified and remember to make observations to record for posterity."
Because he could not stand up with 20 meter pipes attached to his head, Tuffnut had to lie on the ground while they attached the helmet and make it watertight. The lantern was attached to his chest, but they would not light it until the last minute.
"And remember this too, Tuff. We don't expect you to find the box on the first dive. You're just to start looking for it and make certain everything works. And if there are any problems, be sure to—"
"Hiccup, the sun's coming out and there aren't any clouds around it now," Astrid called to them.
Hiccup gestured to Meatlug and Barf n' Belch. "Pick him up,"
"Wait a minute! Be sure to what?" Tuffnut screeched. His voice echoed through the pipes.
"Be sure to take a deep breath and scream," Snotlout sniggered.
"Seriously?"
"Actually, yes," Hiccup said. "Scream for us to get you out of the water. Oh, don't worry, Tuff. Have some faith in my ability to invent!"
"How many times did you test this before showing it to us?"
"Well, since I'd intended to be the first person to use it…"
"You never tested it, did you?" Tuff groaned.
"Nothing beats experience."
Tuffnut suddenly laughed. "Let's do it! This is gonna be so cool!"
The two dragons grabbed a pipe and lifted Tuffnut into the air. Hiccup took Tuffnut's usual place on Belch's neck. They then flew in low over the lake and made their way to the search site. The others were sitting on the shore, armed with blankets and towels. Astrid was right: there were no clouds about to block the sunlight. The time had come. Fishlegs quickly lit the lantern and sealed it shut. Then the dragons lifted Tuff into the air again and carried him over the ocean. At Hiccup's command they slowly lowered Tuffnut into the water.
"Remember, Tuff, you're doing this for us, mankind, and science!" Hiccup yelled into the pipe as best as he could.
"I know!" Tuffnut yelled back impatiently. Hiccup felt a wave of relief. The communication method worked.
Hiccup might have wanted to record this for posterity, but Tuffnut soon lost interest in doing so. He had been hoping to see something like the Kraken or a sea serpent, or even some kind of bug-eyed undersea dragon. But all he saw was a murky blue-gray mass in every direction. Now and then a sudden movement caught his eye but he could not turn his head very much. His lantern soon went out, but its usefulness had been negligible.
The deeper he went the stronger the pressure around him grew. He felt like he was being slowly squeezed. The water seemed to pound on his helmet as if it was a drum. The extra clothes were getting soaked and soon the chill of the water began to settle in. Tuffnut normally would not have blamed Hiccup, who after all had done what he could with what he had, but at this point he mentally criticized Hiccup for creating an imperfect design.
Slowly they lowered him to the bottom. Now things became more interesting. Tall fanlike weeds rose from rocks and swayed gently, like hung up laundry in a light breeze. The ground seemed to be literally made of nothing but pebbles. Every time he took a step his foot half disappeared into the debris, and a small cloud of silt rose around his leg. Now and then he saw solitary fishes. Most were steel gray, and to him they all had a clueless expression that went well with their opened mouths. He imitated their expressions.
"Tuff, how's it going?" Hiccup shouted down.
"Fine—I think!" Now that he was on the bottom he felt a bit better. He still felt the pressure and the cold, but he was slowly getting used to them. And now he could see why Hiccup had been so interested in being the first underwater. It was as though he was on another planet. True, aside from the many weeds and the fish there was little to see, but everything moved so strangely that he could not help but be excited.
Before he moved onto the business at hand he made certain the pipes were doing their job and tried to feel if any water was leaking in. Once he was satisfied he started searching for the box. It was not easy to move around, for the dragons still held onto the pipes. At first they tried to move him around, with him shouting directions, but after a few botched attempts somebody, most likely Hiccup, though he could not hear too clearly, ordered the dragons to let go but keep close. Even though he could now move anywhere he pleased, moving underwater with giant pipes attacked to his back and head was incredibly cumbersome.
Up on the surface the others were waiting anxiously.
"How's he doing?" Ruffnut called to the people on dragons.
"For the fourth time, he says he's doing Fine," Fishlegs called back. Then to Hiccup he said "don't you think he's been down there long enough?"
Hiccup glanced at the sun and leaned towards the nearest pipe. "Tuff, how's it going? Have you found anything yet?"
"Fine,"
"Right, well, I think that's enough for the first dive. Shall we pull you out now or wait a few more minutes?"
"Not yet, just let me—wait a minute, what's that?"
"What's what?" Hiccup called back, trying to suppress a wave of excitement.
"I think I—yes! I see something!"
"It might just be a rock," Fishlegs reminded them.
"No, it's—just let me turn a little and I—oh no,"
"What?" Hiccup asked.
"My helmet's leaking."
The excitement in Hiccup was punctured at once. "Pull him out," he ordered.
Tuffnut heard the order and shouted back "No, wait, I see the box! It's right in front of me! Just give me a minute!" He had tried to turn his entire head and the helmet's seam had cracked. Cold water was trickling down his hair and collecting around his neck. But the box he saw was only about four meters ahead of him. "I'll get it, just hang on a minute!"
"Tuff, we'll find it on the next dive,"
The water was halfway up his neck now. He started staggering forward but the faster he moved the faster the water came in. Maybe Hiccup was right. There was no sense in almost drowning like this, right?
But would Hiccup or Astrid give up with the objective so close?
"No, don't pull me out, it's not up to my chin yet, just give me another—"
Up above, Hiccup swallowed and gave him the benefit of the doubt. "All right, but I'm counting down from 30 starting now."
"That'll do," he hoped. The leak was getting larger. The water was up to his chin. It stung his skin like crazy, and why did it have to be so darn cold?
But the box was less than a meter away. He slowly raised his arms. It felt like he was playing Blind-man's Bluff.
"…13…"
"I can do this, I can do this!" He went into a squat and fed his hand around the iron ring. He had it! And only then did he become aware that the water had reached his mouth. He could not speak now without his mouth filling up. All he could do was to wait for Hiccup to finish the countdown. The water was climbing its way up to his nose. He inhaled at the last second and hoped it would be enough.
"…2…1…pull!" Hiccup shouted.
Tuffnut at once felt himself being lifted through the water, much more quickly than the descent. But he was still underwater, so the water in his helmet was still rising and he still could not breathe.
He inhaled. He could not help it, it had just happened and a bunch of water went into his nose. He could not help the reaction either and opened his mouth to sneeze and spit, and so a bunch of water went into his mouth. And then suddenly the pressure was gone and the murky gray water was replaced by white snow and a blue sky. The dragons flew him to shore so quickly he felt like a kite. They planted him on the ground and Ruffnut seized his helmet and tore it off.
"You stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid—" she shouted over and over as her brother coughed and gasped.
"I got the box," he gagged.
"You almost drowned!" Ruffnut shouted. He had rarely seen her look so scared.
"But I got the box," he repeated weakly. "And I'm freezing cold!"
Astrid and Heather helped him to his feet and began pealing the wet clothes off of him, while Fishlegs threw a towel around his head.
Hiccup said sternly. "Tuff, you did a really good job—but if there is ever a next time you are not to nearly drown yourself!"
"Oh well," Tuffnut groaned. His teeth were chattering now. An ignited Hookfang had been sitting on a rock, so they guided Tuffnut over to it and set him down on it. "Ohhhhhh, this is better than a hot bath!" he sighed in relief. By now he was stripped to his under garments.
Once they were certain he would be all right, Hiccup went over to the chest. "So," he mumbled, "now we finally see what we've all nearly died recovering," Unlocking it with an iron key Heather had handed him, he raised the lid and looked inside.
Valka was stumped. She had only gone along with Hiccup's recovery project because she did not believe it would actually work. And yet it had on the first try!
"We should have dropped it into the middle of the Atlantic," Cloudjumper said.
"He probably would still have found it," Valka replied, half sadly, half proudly.
"And do we let them keep it? You know we stole it in the first place to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Are we just going to let them fly away with it now?"
Valka swallowed. Stealing from the Defenders had been one thing, but to steal something from her own son? He would know at once who had done it, and it would destroy what little relationship they had started creating. "We must discuss this with the Bewilderbeast."
Snotlout peered over Hiccup's shoulder and could not conceal his disgust. "A fancy copy of your spyglass thing. Oh, wonderful! We came all this way and risked death who knows how many times for this?"
Heather quickly came over and had a look. "That's right, Snotlout. Count up the lenses. There should be 24."
"What's this Snow Wraith tooth doing here?" Hiccup asked curiously.
"It's the Key. That's the only way to make the Eye work." Heather replied, "Oh and I didn't just tell you that,"
"Of course," Fishlegs quickly agreed.
"There's one thing I'm worried about," Meatlug said to Toothless, "everybody's been saying how this thing should not fall into the wrong hands. Wasn't it safe enough where it was? Don't you think recovering it is the opposite of keeping it safe?"
"It's only temporary," Toothless assured her, "and who knows? Perhaps this'll lure the most prominent hunters into the opened."
"But the Hatchling opposes us killing unless it's for self defense! And I oppose it too!"
"Imprisonment would work just fine. But if he tries what I'm thinking about right now, it will be in self defense," Toothless said in a tone worthy of Queen Mala.
"How exactly does this work?" Hiccup asked eagerly, picking up the Dragon Eye. The scientific side of him had been very active today. He wanted to examine everything, make sketches in his journal, perhaps even dismantle the device, study each component, and reassemble it. It was like there were hundreds of secrets to discover and he could not wait to get started.
Unfortunately, Heather counted up the lenses, took the Eye from him, and shut it in the box, albeit reluctantly. "Her majesty said that nobody was to use it," she said.
Hiccup was indignant. "I just wanna have a look!"
"No," Heather said, but she hated to say it. "Queen Mala's orders were—"
"We won't tell her!" Snotlout exclaimed. "She'll never know!"
"That's rich, considering just a minute ago you thought this was useless."
"Don't call it that," Hiccup said with unexpected sharpness.
"That is pretty much what Snotlout implied, Hiccup," Fishlegs said timidly, "And I agree, if Heather thinks orders are worth following…"
"Don't you want to have a look?" Hiccup exclaimed, "Think of what we could learn from this, Fishlegs! Information only accessible by using a dragon! How'd anyone manage to make such a thing? Heck, I could probably spend all week just examining the mechanisms before I ever looked at what it contains!"
"Hiccup," Astrid interrupted, "Heather had her orders, and we're bound by diplomacy and friendship to respect them,"
Hiccup looked at her for a minute and then shook his head, as if to ward off a trance. "Sorry, Heather. My…scientific curiosity got the better of me. On the other hand…I really wish I could find out where the Isle of Night is." He looked regretfully at Toothless.
"I'll talk to Queen Mala about it, but I doubt it'll do any good." Heather said. "And remember, that requires every lens, and I don't know if she plans to retrieve the final one. I don't even know where it's hidden."
A much improved Tuffnut and his sister joined the group. "So…now what?"
Authors Note: I just want to make one thing very clear: NOTHING in this chapter was inspired, in any way, shape, or form, by Season 6 of Dreamworks Dragons. It was finished weeks before Season 6 was released and much of it was thought up months prior. So you can imagine my surprise and delight when I saw the episode "Dire Straits." My first thought was "they stole my idea!" I got a good laugh out of it.