So, here's something I couldn't resist doing when I saw the second movie. The man who killed Anna's family has been edited from the man with six fingers to... Well, you'll figure it out.

You guys are awesome, btw. Thank you so much for your awesome reviews! And yes, I know it's been a while. Again, as it turns out, real life takes up a lot of time. Things were much easier in High School. But thank you to those who have stuck with me.

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Here's the lullaby again. Enjoy!

Are you ready young one

For an adventure so great

Hold your sword before you

There's gold to find, don't be late

You are brave and strong

There is nothing to fear

Leave your smelly socks at home

Theres no need for them here

The sun has set, and the warmth with it

Feel the winter winds as you fall

The cold will suit you better

You're a Viking, after all

Through the Pirate's mouth

You'll find your luck abound

But beware the waters, dear

that you shall not drown

Through the darkness and into the light

You shall not be lost, nor will you fight

For with the dragon's head

You will find your strength, and you will find your right

~~~~~~~~~~a sexy line~~~~~~~~~

Tuffnut exhaled an impatient breath. The silence was killing him.

"You wanna tell me why you brought me out here, Anna?" He asked the Spaniard. "And, you know, why we're up here so high?" He felt incredibly uneasy on the top sail of the mainmast, and even though she had given him his shawl back, he was cold. He didn't care why she had drug him out of his cell in the dead of night. He just wanted down.

Anna didn't answer him right away. In fact, it was several more minutes of silence and her staring out into the dark ocean as she played with a small book in her hands before she spoke, though she didn't answer his question.

She took a deep breath. "A long time ago, I used to live with my father and brother on one of the southern isles."

Tuff had no idea where this was going, but he listened anyway. It's not like he could go anywhere.

"My father was a blacksmith," she continued. "We didn't have much, but we had enough. It was hard without my mother around, though. I took care of most of the house duties, and my brother." She frowned a little. "My brother was... Different. He needed help doing just the basic things, even though he was several years older than me." She shook her head sadly. "He never spoke a word, not one word in his entire life. But my father was convinced he was special. And... He was. We couldn't explain it but..."

She paused for a moment, thinking of an example, then turned to him. "This one time, he was up before anyone else in the village, making all this noise in the forge. My father said to just let him work, to let him do his thing. We all thought he was crazy but... That night there was a lighting storm, and he had made and put up these giant poles with metal on top all over the village." She shook her head again. "Not a single bolt of lightning hit any of our buildings. They all hit the poles. It was like... He knew. And he always did. He always knew when bad things were going to happen."

She turned away, but he kept his eyes on her. He never expected to find out anything about this mysterious Spaniard. He wasn't going to stop her now.

She sighed. "One night," she continued, "he wouldn't go to sleep. He was packing my bag and wouldn't stop, no matter what I told him. I didn't understand why he wanted me to leave, but then..." She drew a shaky breath. "That night, Vikings showed up. Vikings and... The biggest, mightiest dragon I had ever seen. One as big as a mountain." She shook slightly. "It breathed ice instead of fire and controlled all the other dragons with it. But, they were all in chains. And the man, the one in control of the Alpha, he had scars all over his face and a metal arm. He told our village to bow to him, to serve him as our Cheif and work for him as dragon trappers, or he would unleash the dragons on us all and destroy our village."

She was quiet for a moment. Tuff didn't push it. They were all rendered speechless when they had seen the beast at the dragon's nest. But he held a frown on his face. This sounded like something else entirely. And this man, was he some sort of dragon trapper? Controlling dragons on chains? Whoever he was, it didn't seem like too much of a worry. He was no match for their tribe of Dragon riders, he was sure. And it was so long ago, the man and his small army were probably dead by now. Then again, without Hiccup...

He dismissed the thought quickly.

Anna's voice was quiet when she spoke again. "I was the only one that got out. Raul made sure of that." He assumed Raul was her brother.

"I've been on my own ever since, and I've been searching for that Viking." She clenched her fists. "He killed everyone. My whole tribe. My father and-" she bit her lip. "And Raul..." She shook her head. "And since then, I've hated Vikings. I hated them all. I didn't want anything to do with a race that produced such a vial, disgusting man."

Tuff felt the need to cut in at that point. "You know, we're not all that bad..."

"That is the thing," she agreed, turning to him. "For six years I isolated myself, hating any Viking I encountered, blaming them all for the death of my family. But then I met this boy..."

Tuff raised his eyebrows. Now things were getting interesting.

"He was a Viking, or an ex-Viking, as he called himself. A Cheif's son, of all things." She shook her head in a way that almost pertained fondness, only making Tuff more curious.

Was she talking about... Thuggery?

"Anyway," she went on, "at first I hated him, but after a while, once I got to know him, I didn't anymore. He taught me that where or who someone was born as didn't define what type of person they became. So," she shugged, "we became partners. He taught me Norse and we searched for the metal armed man together."

"Then, about six months ago, he convinced me to join a larger group with friends of his that he'd known growing up. They talked about going on a treasure hunt undercover in a pirate crew."

Tuff's eyebrows shot up. That certainly explained some things.

"It sounded crazy," she went on, "but we needed the money." She sighed irritably. "Their leader was hard to get along with. A crazy blonde that I'd run into a few times before. She was still an active member of her tribe, a royal at that. The whole thing was difficult. I had to learn how to trust people again, to make friends..." She frowned. "But then I did. And all of a sudden, I had five people that I trusted with my life, that I could call my friends. I was convinced that was it, that it was impossible to trust anyone other than them, that things would get complicated after that, because how could you be completely loyal to more than a handful of people? But then... Then I landed on Berk."

She frowned. "I should have known better, but Camicazi's stories made me believe that the Vikings of your Isle were brutish and violent, like the man that killed my village. But... You weren't like that at all." She looked at him. "You weren't like that at all. You were all kind and, even though you were all Vikings of a supposed 'bloodthirsty tribe', I realized that your group... You were just like the six of us."

Tuff couldn't exactly agree with this. For one, he had no idea who her group was other than Thuggery and Camicazi. It was a real eye opener, though. Anna was a spy, but not for the person they all thought. She was working against Alvin, she and whoever else, and they were out to steal the treasure.

So... Did that still make her the bad guy? Tuff wasn't sure. Perhaps not as bad as Alvin and his crew but...

"And then... Then there was Hiccup."

Tuff looked at her, his expression suddenly hard. He didn't really want to talk about Hiccup.

"You all scared me at first with that Terror of yours. I feared that you were the same as the man with the metal arm. But you weren't. She wasn't." She shook her head. "Hiccup is the very opposite of what most leaders are, and yet she is exactly as they all should be."

Tuff frowned. Is...?

Anna went on. "She possesses a power that no one has ever seen before, one more powerful than that of dominating a dragon, but getting one to trust you. She doesn't believe in using her abilities for fear, but for peace." She smiled slightly. "And she gave me hope, when she told me about the beast. She killed a dragon the size of the one the metal armed man controlled, her and Toothless."

Now Tuffnut was really confused. "How did you hear about-"

"In a way," Anna cut him off, "she reminds me a lot of Raul. She's special in a way that not everyone understands yet. She was born different than the rest of us." She smiled again. "She was the one Grimbeard meant to find his treasure, and tomorrow she will."

Tuff felt like his heart stopped beating in that moment. Either Anna had gone completely crazy or... Or Hiccup was...

It was then that he noticed what Anna was playing with in her hand. Hiccup's sketchbook.

Was Hiccup... Alive?

"Tuffnut," Anna drew his attention. He met her now serious eyes with his panicked ones. "I need you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you."

~~~~~~~~~~a sexy line~~~~~~~~~

"Land Ho!"

Ari gripped a rope and leaned over the port side of the ship, as did most of the crew, to get a good look at the island.

It didn't look very large. He guessed it would take half a day's sail to round the whole thing, though he couldn't be sure not being able to see the other side. The entire island looked to be made of cliffs. Black cliffs, towering over the rocky waters below. As they got closer, it was evident that this was an isle of caves. Holes lined the cliff face. But where they were going, what they were all looking at, was far more impressive.

About two thirds up the cliff face was a massive skull shaped rock. The mouth was open, as were both of the eye sockets, leading into three caves. The mouth was the largest, and one of the eye sockets had a waterfall pouring out of it. And there was a path, a wide one, starting at the water and leading up to the mouth of the skull, making it easily accessible for ships.

It looked almost... Inviting. Too inviting.

He wondered what Hiccup would have thought of it.

"Would you just look at it?" He heard Alvin exclaim. He was about twenty lengths ahead of him, Anna by his side.

"This is it, Anna" he went on. "This is what we've been waiting for." He laughed. "Prepare the dragons and the prisoners. I want us all on land as soon as we're close enough." He started to walk away, but Anna stopped him.

"Captain," she said curtly. "I don't think that is wise."

He paused and spun around, an amused and slightly annoyed look on his face. He held his hook in his hand behind his back and stepped back toward her. "And why, might I ask, would it be unwise for me to pursue the treasure I've been searching for for years as soon as I have possession of the sword, the riddle, and I have found the island it is on?"

Anna was bold. "For one, you no longer have possession of the sword." Alvin's jaw went tight, but she went on before he could respond. "For another, the sun is setting."

Alvin sighed irritably. "And why would I care if the sun is setting?"

Anna pulled a neatly folded piece of parchment from her pocket. "The lullaby says 'Don't be late'. If it is true that this island is full of Skullions and we are going into a cave, perhaps we should take it's advice."

Alvin considered this. Anna stepped closer to him. Ari did, too, busying himself wrapping some rope as the pirates worked around him.

"Think about it," Anna told her Captain, leaning in close. "Play it safe and wait another night. Let the crew rest a gather their full strength. You have come this far, Captain. There is no point in risking it all over excitement."

Alvin stroked his beard. "Wise words, lass. You will make a good Captain one day." He leaned in even closer, his gaze horribly suggestive. Ari didn't know how Anna kept up her composure. "But perhaps for now we could settle for dinner in my quarters tonight."

Ari blinked when Anna came within an inch of his lips, a seductive smile on the corner of her mouth as her fingers lightly played with his coat collar. "Aye, aye, Captain."

With that, Alvin flashed her a smile and walked off, shouting orders at the crew.

Anna stayed where she was for a moment, her features dropping back into a blank expression, then looked directly into his waiting eye.

Her words rang in his head. "It would do you well to keep your eyes open."

He was starting to believe her.

"What are you looking at, Mr. Hofferson?" she asked him.

He wasn't quite sure anymore, but he had a feeling he would find out soon enough.

Anna looked away, going about her business. He watched her walk away, then went about his own.

Anna despised Alvin. That much he knew. Anna was also a manipulator, so the question really was who she was manipulating. Was she manipulating him, tricking him into thinking there was a rebellion in the works? Or was it Alvin, tricking him into staying on the ship one more night?

He didn't think it was him. Why would she? What would she gain from that? So that if he acted out Alvin would kill him? There was no point. Besides, Anna wouldn't do anything with Alvin that their eyes suggested willingly, would she? He shuddered.

But that also meant that, if she was manipulating Alvin, that she had a reason for wanting him to stay on the ship for another night. Why would Anna want the whole crew to sleep on the ship for one more night?

He intended to find out.

He couldn't catch her at all the rest of the day. There was nowhere to drag her off and question her without being seen. But maybe he could catch her before she went in or after she came out of Alvin's quarters.

The sun had just set. Most of the crew had already eaten and were in their hammocks. Anna's, which was next to his, was empty. Ari slipped out of his silently.

He crept out of the room and up the stairs. The deck was just up another flight. He didn't make it that far.

Huge, strong arms grabbed him and pulled him into the hallway. He couldn't even shout. A dark, chocolate brown hand with a cloth came over his mouth and nose to stop all sound. He struggled, but all too quick the sickening sweet smell in the cloth entered his lungs and slowed his movements.

The world went black.

~~~~~~~~~a sexy line~~~~~~~~~~

Alvin's quarters had been arranged to his demands. The food was hot, the table was set, and the candles were lit. Neither Alvin nor his guest were in yet, but someone else was about to be.

An upside down figure appeared outside one of the windows in the room. A sword slipped through the slit between the glass and the wood frame, unlatching the lock. A moment later, the window opened, revealing a certain blonde Princess.

Camicazi gripped the top of the frame and pulled herself in, righting herself in the process. She landed crouched on Alvin's desk silently with a sly smile.

It was almost too easy.

She untied herself from the rope and stepped down. She walked up to the table, pulling out the small pouch Ayla had given her. She hummed a little tune to herself and sat in Alvin's chair, slowly untying the pouch. She laughed a little to herself as she looked down at the white powder.

"I little for you..." She said in a sing-song voice, flicking the pouch a little over Alvin's plate. She brought it over his glass of rum next. "And a little for you..."

Satisfied, she stood up and turned away, but paused and, as a second thought, turned back and grabbed the bottle of rum next to his glass.

She pulled the cork off and took a swig, stepping over to his bed. She pulled a small jar out of her bag with a devious smile. She'd been waiting to use this for a long time.

She pulled back his furs and took another swig of the rum as she tapped the jar over the bed. She shook her head with a smile, wiping her mouth with her wrist. That was going to be fun to watch tomorrow.

She heard footsteps and voices not far outside the door. She closed both the jar and the bottle and shoved them in her bag, then threw the furs back over Alvin's bed before running to the window. She quickly tied her wrist around the rope and held on, swinging herself out the window and closing it, hiding behind the wood frame.

She stayed there a moment, peering over the side of the frame into the room. She watched Anna and Alvin enter the room. When they sat down, Alvin's back was to her. Camicazi moved further in the window so that her whole face was showing. She met Anna's eyes when Alvin looked away for a moment as he adjusted his seat. Anna shot her a warning look. Camicazi just smiled and threw her a thumbs up, then tugged on the rope twice before Hiemdall pulled out of sight.

She'd done her part.

~~~~~~~~~~~~a sexy line~~~~~~~~~~~

Even though she could barely speak a dozen words in Norse, Ayla was not one to be underestimated. She was a healer, master of all herbs and mixtures of natural elements, a skilled fighter, and she could cook a mean stew.

Glen didn't even see her coming when she dropped down from above and he recived a shap kick to the side of his head. A little something she picked up from her time in Rome.

He was out immediately, his massive body falling to the floor. It was a good thing the crew quarters were above the brig. Glen was so fat, anyone would have heard that had it been above them.

She placed a sticky, empty mug in his hand and snagged the keys from his vest. She patted his stomach as she walked away and approached the brig door.

Anna would be there within the next half hour, and Heimdall's night shift would be over in just over a full hour. She had to work quickly.

Her steps were silent, just as she had been taught. All of the brig were sleeping, all except the Grapple Grounder in the corner. He eyed her curiously and cocked his head to the side. She put a finger to her lips and held out a few blades of grass in the other hand, the same grass that was in Hiccup's book. She had recognized it right away. It cleared people's sinuses wonderfully when mashed with honey and hot water.

The dragon perked up immediately. She almost laughed to herself. That one-legged Viking had yet to stop surprising her.

The dark red dragon stayed silent for the rest of her time in the brig with the promise of the grass. She worked quickly. She pulled a small loaf of herbed bread out of her bag and broke it into four pieces, then placed them outside of each of the Berkian's cells. She took another half loaf, a plain loaf, and placed them outside Thuggery and Julian's cells.

After, she stepped up to the bars, pressed up against Snotlout's cell so she could get as close as possible. The Grapple Grounder leaned his head towards her and sniffed expectantly. She pulled the grass back out of her bag and hesitantly reached her hand through the bars. She almost jumped back when the dragon pressed his snout to her palm and purred.

She let out a near silent nervous laugh. The dragon just pushed further into her palm. She rubbed his snout a little and her purred harder. She smiled. It was nice to know that with a dragon words weren't nessisary.

She wanted to stay longer, but knew her time was running out. With one last pet, she left the dragon and slipped out of the room. She wasn't careful to shut the door quietly. In fact, she purposefully closed it quite loudly. She listened and, a moment later, she heard voices behind the door. She smiled. Good.

As soon as the Berkians ate their bread, they would be out within a quarter hour. That should be plenty of time. For now, she would wait in the Hole with Hiccup, Hiemdall, and Camicazi.

Her part was complete.

~~~~~~~~~~a sexy line~~~~~~~~~

"This is what I get for bringing on a cook with a language barrier," Alvin complained grumpily. "She never understands me when I tell her to leave the bottle on the table."

Anna groaned inwardly, then wondered what else Camicazi had taken or messed with while she was in there.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, Anna," Alvin drew her attention back as he and walked over to his desk.

"And what is that, Captain?" she asked, taking a sip of her own drink and falling back into her role. This is what she was good at; lying, manipulation, subduction. It's how she survived six years on her own, and it still helped now. This she could do, and this she could do well.

He opened one of the drawers in his desk and pulled another bottle of rum out, then stepped back towards the table. "That coat you're wearing," he nodded at her, sitting back down and filling up his glass again, "it's not yours, is it? Much to big on you."

She smiled. She'd expected this question from him weeks ago, and she already had her answer prepared. The coat she was wearing was much too large for her, meant for someone taller and with broader shoulders. She had to roll the sleeves up twice so her hands weren't covered. It was very obviously a man's coat. Alvin wanted to know who's.

She took another careful drink of her rum before setting it down and meeting his eyes, the smile never leaving her. "No, it's not."

He hummed in interest. "Who's was it then? Your father's? Before his death by the hand of the metal armed man?"

She shook her head, chewing her food before answering. "I'm afraid not. The sword was the only thing I got from him."

He raised a curious brow. "A lover, then? Didn't think you were the type for that."

Anna hid her suggestive smile behind her drink. "I'm eighteen years old, Captain. I'm bound to have had a few lovers by now, living this life."

He shrugged in agreement. "True enough. But none of them worked out, I see, otherwise you wouldn't be here." He gestured at the coat with his fork. "You steal his coat out of anger? Revenge?"

"Actually," she told him, "I was cold, so he gave it to me."

He smiled and laughed a little. "Well, that sort of young man is hard to come by. Also hard to beat."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you in competition with my past lovers?" She slipped the coat off her shoulders and let it fall onto the back of the chair. "Does this make you feel better?"

His eyes weren't on hers anymore. They traveled further south, taking in every suggestion that her thin white tunic left. Good. That would keep him distracted for a while.

"Oh, Anna," he chided in an unsettling way. "There is no competition for me." He leaned in close. "I could make you forget the names of all your past lovers with hardly any effort at all."

She leaned in as well, eyebrows raised and a smile on her face, resting her elbows on the table and holding her drink up. "Now Captain," she chided playfully back, "I don't think I've had enough rum for that sort of talk yet."

He sat back and pointed at her. "You're quite right," he agreed. He quickly downed the rest of his glass before picking up the bottle. She took the smallest sip of her own drink as she watching down half the bottle right there.

The rest of the evening went as so. Alvin drank and made several inappropriate comments, Anna pretended to drink and egged him on. Whatever drugs Ayla had concocted started working rather fast, however. Pretty soon, Alvin was half drunk and delirious.

She heaved him off his chair and led him towards his bed. He laughed as she set him down and tried to drag her with him.

"Not tonight," she purred in his ear. "Rest and gather your strength. Tomorrow we will celebrate your victory."

He murmured some dark promises under his breath as she pushed him back and righted him. She pulled off his boots while she was at it. Force of habit, she supposed. She always did that for Raul. She threw the furs on him before grabbing her coat and leaving.

She shut the door to his quarters with a satisfying 'click'. She pulled the coat around her leaned against the frame, breathing in the cold, salty air. There was no sign of Ari, so Hiemdall must have taken care of him before helping Camicazi. And now that Alvin was out cold for the next six-eight hours, it was time to put the rest of the plan in motion. She sighed and started for the brig.

She had one more job to do.

~~~~~~~~~a sexy line~~~~~~~~

A little Misfit reunion in the next chapter, then we're getting off this ship.

I hope you guys appreciate how closely I'm following the book, btw. For those of you who havent read it, well... you're in for a few more surprises. :)

It's going to take me a few days to proof, maybe a week depending on how class goes, but you should get the next chapter pretty quick.

Until then, let me know what you thought of this one?

Write on.

~StoriesOfAnInsomniac