Good afternoon my lovely friends, or good morning, depending on what time and what place you are in of course,
Here's another update for you guys. Did you know I'm almost at 200 pages? When I hit 200 pages in ROTDR, I had close a 40 chapters! Granted, these chapters are all twice that long, sometimes even more! But 200 pages you guys, that's still a lot.

Anyway, I hope you like it, please review, I absolutely love it when you do that, and tell all your friends!

Enjoy!

Chapter 25. Closing In

He traced the line he had drawn on the map and shook his head. He knew the time to sail for Berk was drawing near, but he wanted to put it off as long as possible. At least until they had found the nest that was said to be in these parts. He traced another line on the map, this one going the opposite direction, but immediately he shook his head, erasing it.

"We searched that..." he growled lowly, "it's not in the north... then where is it... where is it!"

"Sir?" Mutt asked as he entered, "is it really that important that we find the nest before we take Berk?"

"I"m not taking ant chances with these people Mutt," Drago growled, "they have dragons on their side. I want to be prepared for anything. I need more dragons... I need to find the nest!"

Mutt nodded quietly, coming over. "I have your medicine sir," he said, "for the pain?"

He glanced at the small bottle the young man had set on the table and nodded curtly. He gently touched the red and swollen stump of his arm. He didn't want anyone to know that the pain in his arm had become unbearable.

"Thank you..." he said, quickly downing the bottle's contents. "Mutt my boy, can you bring me the Berkian?"

"The prisoner sir?" Mutt asked, but Drago shook his head while he grabbed his dragon skin cloak.

"The other one. The one we found adrift."

"Certainly sir, but sir, I doubt he knows where the nest is," Mutt said.

"Maybe..." Drago mumbled, "don't forget, he has been drifting for months. And he lived on this... island..."

He jabbed the red cross on the map. Thick, black letters underneath labeled it as Berk, and he glared at it with hatred.

"I'll fetch the man for you sir," Mutt said with a short bow, "it may take some time, you send him to another ship."

"Yes yes, I remember," Drago mumbled, waving at him dismissively, "just hurry."

Mutt left and he sighed deeply, sitting down once again. He studied the map intently, tracing lines and erasing them, crossing islands off the list and adding others. Eventually he became frustrated and got up, staring out the small window.

"Where did you hide it..." he mumbled, "where...I will find it... you can't hide it forever. I found you, I can find the nest you were protecting... "

He turned around, glancing at the mask that was on his wall. He let a finger glide over one of the long horns, chuckling darkly.

"You did a good job protecting it..." he grumbled, "but now that you're gone..."

He turned to the map, about to draw another line when the door slammed open and a sweaty, panting soldier tumbled in. he growled, already reaching for the dagger that was laying on the table, getting in increasingly annoyed when the man was gasping for breath instead of telling him why he had so rudely invaded his personal space.

"Well!?" he eventually demanded, "what are you doing here! And you better have a good reason or I'll feed you to the dragons!"

"Sir!" the man yelped, straightening his back, "the prisoner has escaped, sir!"

"He... what?" he asked, not believing what he heard, "he escaped!? How could that happen! You useless moron! You," he pointed the dagger at the trembling man, "get me the rider. Fast."

The man looks down, shuffling nervously and Drago growled.

"Speak up! What is it now!"

"Sir... the rider is gone too... sir..."

For a moment Drago just stared at the man, who grew increasingly nervous the longer his leader's dark stare was upon him. Drago slowly walked around the table, the dagger in his hand, and he stood over the man, glaring at him coldly.

"What did you just say?" he asked, his voice low, "I must have misheard you. I believe you said that the rider was gone as well? But that wasn't what you said, was it?"

"I...it was... sir..." the man stammered nervously, "we've looked all over sir... they're nowhere to be found. A...and sir... we're missing a dragon too... one of the..."

Before the man could answer Drago had thrust his arm forwards, driving the dagger into the man's chest. He twisted it, the man's eyes wide with shock as he sank to the ground, the blood quickly pooling around him.

"Better not be the White Night Fury," he growled as he wiped the blood of his blade, using the dying man's own tunic, "she's too important for my cause..."

He stepped over the man, ignoring his gurgling breaths as he walked out, slamming the door. He stomped up the stairs and onto the deck, the men present there freezing when they saw the dark look on his face. He glared at them, pacing for a bit, before turning to them.

"It has come to my attention that you imbeciles have let the prisoner escape," he said, watching as some of the men grew nervous, "and that those same idiots have somehow managed to lose my rider, and a dragon! Now, I will spare your miserable lives if any one of you can tell me this. Is the Night Fury still here?"

"She is sir," one of the men said, stepping forward, "he took a Nadder. The honey coloured one?"

"Did he now..." Drago said, walking closer to the man, "well... lucky for you then... isn't it..."

The man gulped and looked down, stepping back. Drago growled a little, turning to the rest of the crew.

"No more waiting!" he shouted, "we sail for Berk, now! Alert the fleet, ready the dragons!"

The men mumbled and nodded, cheering when he repeated his words. Hurried footsteps rushed over the deck

"Sail out!" he shouted, "let's crush them."

0-0-0-0-0-0

She sighed deeply as she watched Hiccup sleep. It had only been a day since he had returned with Wrenlou, and he had been sleeping ever since. The last time she had seen Wrenlou he was still under the influence of the drug Drago gave him. She hadn't gone back since, and Stoick had ordered that no one was to go near the cell he was being kept in. they had still no idea what Drago had given him, and if there was an antidote to it. She sighed again, restless while Hiccup lay unconscious. She was so caught up in her thinking that she didn't notice the heavy footsteps that came towards the door. She only noticed when it opened and Stoick came in, his face concerned.

"Any change?" he asked, sitting next to her.

She shook her head, looking down. "He's been asleep the whole night. I suppose that's good... he needs his rest."

"I heard you went to see Wrenlou last night," Stoick said, "how was he?"

"He... threatened to kill me," Astrid said, "whatever Drago did, it doesn't just wear off. I hope it's not permanent..."

Stoick nodded, opening his mouth to say something, when Hiccup groaned. They looked at him, Astrid moving closer, taking his hand.

"Hiccup? Can you hear me?" she asked softly, "Hiccup?"

He groaned again, opening his eyes a little, looking up at her.

"As... Astrid...?"

"It's me... I'm here..." she whispered, stroking his hair, "it's okay..."

"N...no..." he said, trying to sit up, "it's not o...okay...Drago... he...he's coming... here... He knows... everything..."

"Shh... we know..." she said softly, "we're preparing the village for war. Our scouts told us he's at least a week away. His army may be big, but it is slow. We have time to ready ourselves. Lay down... rest... get your strength back."

"W...where's Toothless..." Hiccup asked, looking up at them, "i...is he..."

"He's safe," Astrid assured him, "really. I believe he's downstairs."

She looked at Stoick and the man nodded, understanding her unasked question. He stood up and walked down the stairs, and not much later the door was flung open and Toothless raced in.

"He's been pretty miserable lately," Astrid said, watching how the dragon ran around the bed to Hiccup's other side to nuzzle his arm, "he was worried, just like I was. And he missed you."

"I missed him too..." Hiccup said, rubbing the dragon's nose, "I was afraid that Drago..."

She shook her head. "He wanted to go and find you, but we managed to convince him he would only do more harm if he got captured too. He hasn't been eating anything though. Not since you disappeared."

"It was Wren..." Hiccup mumbled, "he took me... Drago and his stupid drug... Is he still... Where is he?"

"He's in prison..." she said, looking down, "he's still under the influence of it. I don't even know... if it will wear off..."

"There's an antidote," Hiccup said, "Drago gave it to him... I just... don't know what it is..."

"We'll worry about that later," Astrid said, taking a bowl of soup, "you have to eat something. And then the healer will change the bandages."

He groans a little, but nods, pushing himself into a sitting position. She helped him, fluffing the pillows and tucking them behind his back. She then took the bowl again and started feeding him the soup, careful not to spill anything. While he was eating the healer came in, setting her supplies on the bedside table.

"It's good to see you awake," she said, smiling, "how are you?"

"I've been better..." Hiccup said, "but I've been worse too. It doesn't really hurt that bad."

"What's because you have a lot of painkillers in your system at the moment. You'll have to stay in bed for a few days," the healer said, "so you can get your strength back, recover some."

He sighed, opening his mouth to protest, but he cringed when a sharp pain shot through his back, and decided not to argue. Astrid put the bowl aside, sighing a little.

"Alright..." she said, "we need you to lay on your stomach."

He nodded a little and turned onto his stomach with some help from Astrid. She made sure he was comfortable, then she and the healer started to take the bandages off.

"It's healing nicely," the healer said, "with a few days you should be well enough to get ready for war. Astrid, can you put this on the wounds?"

"Of course," he heard Astrid say, then he felt her hand on his shoulder, "stay still okay? It may sting a little, but it is to prevent infection."

He nodded, and he heard how she opened a bottle. He expected a cold liquid to be poured on his back, but it was a pleasant warmth. It stung in the wounds, but soon numbed the pain that flared up. He groaned at first, but then relaxed, looking at Astrid from the corner of his eyes. She caught him watching her, and smiled at him, cleaning her hands.

"Does it hurt?" she asked, "it looks like it does..."

She looked down on his back, seeing the welts and cuts criss crossing his skin. Most of the larger cuts had been stitched, a few small beads of blood pushing their way out between the thread. There were dark bruises covering his torso, his chest as well as his back and even some on his arms. She knew he had been punched in the face, as there was a large bruise on his left cheek. There were some smaller cuts, little scrapes from where his back had been forced against the wall. Now that she looked at the wounds closely, she noticed that some were different. Some looked more torn, larger.

"It's not so bad now," he said, laying still as the healer bandaged the wounds again, "and it was much worse after Rome anyway..."

She nodded quietly, finding the wounds bad enough as they were, and she found herself unable to imagine what it had been like after Rome. She waited until the healer had left after giving her some more instructions, and when she was alone with her future husband, she sat down next to him, tucking the blanket around his body.

"Hiccup..." she started, hesitant, and he looked up at her, "why... why are some different?"

He frowned, a puzzled look on his face. "Different? What do you mean? What is different?"

"The... wounds," she said, taking his hand when his face fell, "some are different..."

Hiccup looked down, tears gleaming in his eyes. "Wren..." he whispered almost inaudible, before breaking down in tears. He buried his face in the pillow, his body shaking.

Astrid frowned, looking down on him. "Wren...?" she mumbled, "wait... do you mean... Wren did this to you?"

He wailed, not answering, curling up further as if he tried to hide from the world. She stared for a moment, horrified, then she felt her anger boil. She stood up, her fist clenching.

"If he hurt you," she said, looking down on Hiccup, "he'll pay..."

"N...no..." Hiccup snuffled, looking up, "y...you don't understand..."

"Oh I think I do understand," Astrid hissed, "Toothless, don't let him out of your sight. Not even for one second. I'll be back."

She turned to leave when a hand grabbed her arm and when she looked back at Hiccup, she saw that he was holding her arm, looking at her pleadingly.

"Please stay..." he whispered, his voice trembling, his face wet from tears, "please..."

She took a deep breath, relaxing her hand and pushing her anger to the side. Then she came back, sitting next to him again, stroking his hair.

"Alright..." she said softly, "I'll stay... move over Dragon Boy... let a pregnant woman rest."

He snuffed and smiled weakly, carefully moving to the edge of the bed to make room for her. She pulled her boots of and set them down, slipping under the covers, wrapping an arm around him. She wiped the tears from his cheeks, kissing the tip of his nose gently.

"It'll be okay..." she said softly, "you'll see. It will be okay..."

"How..." he whispered, "how... Drago is coming... Wren is under his influence, Snowflake fights at his side. He can control dragons somehow Astrid, he just... he has a massive army... we will be overrun."

"But we have something he has not," she said.

"If you say that something is me I might slap you," he grumbled.

She chuckled a little, lightly flicking his nose. "I wasn't going to. No, I mean dragons who choose to fight with us, dragons who are our friends. We have friends, family and loved ones to fight for. What does he fight for. What drives him. What made him the man he is..."

"Honestly? I don't know..." Hiccup mumbled, "no one ever told me... Drago himself certainly didn't say anything about his past. I have no idea what made him go this mad... or why he wan't to control the world so bad. And I certainly don't know why he hates dragons, or dragon riders so much."

She was silent for a moment. "A lot of villages have suffered under the dragons raids," she said eventually, "maybe his village was raided as well. Do you think that's the reason he hates them?"

"I dunno..." Hiccup mumbled, shivering a little, "I don't..."

She gently kissed his forehead, wrapping the blanket around him. "Go to sleep love," she said softly, "you need to recover. If Drago is on the way you're going to need your strength."

He nodded a little, snuggling close to her as he closed his eyes. She stayed with him, listening to his breathing, staying until she was sure he was fast asleep. Then she slipped out of bed, rearranging the blankets around him snugly and pulled her boots back on. She was determined to go talk to Wrenlou again and get some answers.

"Stay here okay Toothless?" she said softly, rubbing the dragon's black scales, "and when something happens, you come and get me.

As she walked out of the house she let her anger flame up again, her fist once again clenching. She walked towards the prison, stopping to catch her breath before she confronted Wrenlou.

"Miss Hofferson," one of the guards, a young man she knew as Björn, stepped forward, giving a small bow, "I must advice you that it isn't wise to enter. He's still not back to his normal self."

"I have to talk to him," she said, straightening her back, "I have to. I understand this is hard for you, he did save your life after all, but I have to speak with him."

The man looked down, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair, then he glanced at his partner. The other man shrugged and opened the door for her, and Björn nodded, stepping aside as well.

"Be careful Miss Hofferson," he said, "don't go into the cell. He's... savage."

She nodded curtly to the two men and walked in, going straight to the last cell, standing outside the door. She glared at the still figure opposite to her, waiting for him to notice her. It took a while, but when he did his eyes darkened and he slowly got up, walking over to the door, the chain around his wrist stopping him half way.

"If it isn't the lovely Astrid," he sneered, his voice cold as ice, "what can I do for you today, Milady."

She shuddered. The way he used Hiccup's endearment for her had shivers running down her spine. She composed herself, telling herself he wouldn't see her weakness, and took a step forward, one hand grasping the metal bars.

"You whipped Hiccup," she said, and it wasn't a question.

He raised an eyebrow, studying his fingers, almost as if he was already bored with her. "Did I?" he retorted, "and what if I did... why do you care..."

"He's your friend!" she said, "you said you'd never hurt him!"

"Oh boohoo," he said, glaring at her, "I did... I hurt him... I whipped him... and I whipped him good... you should have heard his screams... he squealed like a little girl. It was absolutely glorious."

She gasped, shocked by his words and he cast her a glance, his mouth splitting in a savage grin. Suddenly he was close to her, pulling the chain as far as it would go, and she was unable to look away from him. His eyes were wild, dark, the grin that of a mad man.

"I'd do it again if I could," he said softly, his voice a mere whisper, "and the next time, I'll do twenty... thirty... a hundred! And by the gods, will it be wonderfully bloody..."

"You won't touch him again!" she yelled, "you hear me!? I won't let you!"

"Oh I wouldn't be too sure about that, sweetheart," he chuckled, retreating to the back of the cell, "Drago will come, and when he does..."

She didn't listen to the rest he said. She turned and left as quickly as she could. Her heart was pounding in her chest, almost as if it was trying to break free from the confines of her ribcage. Her head was spinning with his words, and she couldn't shake the feeling the look on his face had given her. She had no way of knowing if what he said was true, she didn't know how far the influence of the drug went, and if it was even Wrenlou saying those things or if it was still Drago speaking through him.

The guards called her name but she ignored them. She hurried back to Hiccup, desperate to make sure he was still safe, still asleep with Toothless at his side. She pushed the door to his room open, sighing in relief when she found he hadn't moved, that he was still asleep. She leaned against the wall, just watching him while she tried to forget Wrenlou's words.

She slowly walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed. Toothless crooned softly and she looked at the dragon.

"It's gonna be a massacre Toothless," she said, "we'll have to use everything we've got, or we'll all die..."