Chapter 25

Everyone from the castle was worriedly scrambling all over the plaza. Well, almost everyone. The triplets were nowhere to be found, but all the people knew that the girls were probably in the castle somewhere, thinking up a new sneaky plan to steal pastries from Maudy. However, no one cared much at the moment where the triplets were. No. What had the entire castle staff and the visiting nobility in a frenzy was the fact that Princess Hiccup was missing.

The moment it was discovered by her maid that the young royal Viking wasn't in her room, the search had begun. It had started as a small affair- a few guards searching around the castle. And when the guards couldn't find her, they employed the help of a few maids, who then pleaded with the cooks for for their help, and them with the launder maids, and so on until Queen Eleanor had realized that all her staff was running around the castle, and yet not one of them was doing their job.

She had confronted them about their laziness, the rest of the Scottish royals creeping up behind her. The maid had stammered the situation to the queen, but before Eleanor had a chance to tell everyone to let her seek out Hiccup by herself, her husband had jumped in and organized a very dis-organized search party.

The search had been going on for well over four hours, and Eleanor was beginning to lose patience with the incompetence oafs surrounding her. She sighed as she glanced discreetly to the walls. Those walls which separated her castle and the inner plaza from the rest of Eleanor's subjects. It wasn't safe enough to let them in. Not safe enough for the nobility, anyway. That was what her husband always said, every time Eleanor had urged him to let them tear down the walls.

Eleanor shook the thought away. Her main concern was Hiccup. It wasn't that Eleanor was concerned about the girl's safety. Because she wasn't. Not at the moment. There was no way Hiccup could have been missing for that long and not have been with her dragon. No, she wasn't concerned about Hiccup being injured, because there was no way Hiccup could be hurt while her dragon there to keep her safe. Eleanor, in fact, was worried that Fergus's search party would prove to be more effective than she had anticipated. She was worried that they would find Hiccup, with her dragon. And she was worried that they would kill first and ask questions later.

Eleanor silently sighed again in frustration and surveyed the area. If no one was looking, Eleanor could sneak out to the woods and grab Hiccup silently before she and Toothless were discovered. All she needed to do was make sure that no one was looking her way. She looked around as discreetly as she could. She just acted as though she were checking the area for Hiccup.

Fergus was arguing with McGuffin about something, and Dingwall and Macintosh were laughing at the two of them. Wee Dingwall was standing next to the wall Young Macintosh was leaning against. The two of them were talking, but only to each other, and were not paying attention to Eleanor. Some of the guards were taking a short break, and they weren't paying too much attention to anything, let alone the woods Hiccup was in.

Eleanor turned her head, looking for any prying eyes, and she happened to catch her son looking longingly at the forest. Maraud, Eleanor noticed as she saw him looking around in much the same way she was doing at the moment, had been acting peculiarly almost all morning.

He would glance anxiously over his shoulder before staring out at the forest. A dark look would cross his features, and then he would scowl at the ground before going back to whatever he had originally been doing. After a few moments, he would glance over his shoulder again, and the cycle would repeat.

No one was entirely sure what had Maraud doing such strange things, but Eleanor could pinpoint the exact moment he had started acting that way. It was directly after Hiccup had been announced missing…

Eleanor felt a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder. She quickly collected her thoughts before turning around to berate whoever had the gall to do such a thing to a queen. Eleanor took in a deep breath, but when she locked eyes with her son's icy orbs, she let it loose.

"You know where to go, right Mum?" Maraud mumbled quietly, glancing discreetly around him and his mother. Eleanor blinked before bringing her eyebrows to the center of her forehead.

"Go?"

"To find Hiccup!" Maraud hissed impatiently. "You know, don't you?"

"How do you-"

"I'll make sure no one goes looking for you, too," Maraud quietly promised, cutting Eleanor off. "Just hurry! No one's looking right now,"

He gently yet impatiently shoved his mother towards the woods, and Eleanor hurried to the cover the trees provided before she let the questions swirl in her mind. How had Maraud known about Hiccup being in the forest? If he knew where Hiccup was, why didn't he just go and retrieve her himself? Why did he even care about finding Hiccup, when he hadn't seemed to care much about her a few days ago? And how had he known that she would know where Hiccup was?

Eleanor quickened her pace while slowing her thoughts. She took it one step at a time. She wasn't like Hiccup, who could think of twenty problems at the same moment, and solve them simultaneously in a few seconds. No. Eleanor needed time for each question individually.

How had Maraud known about Hiccup being in the forest? Of course he had to have heard of her interest in the forest when she asked Fergus all sorts of questions about bears and Mordue at the dinner table, but how could Maraud have been sure that Hiccup was in the forest? Had he ever been in the forest with Hiccup before?

Eleanor carefully stepped across a slippery rock before picking up her brisk pace towards Toothless and Hiccup's hiding space. Toothless… Toothless! That was it! Hiccup had told Eleanor about Maraud's first ride on Toothless, and how ungrateful the little wench had been. That must have been how Maraud had known!

He knew that Hiccup was in the forest, and he knew the exact location as well. No one knew the woods better than her son. And the only reason Maraud hadn't gone to retrieve Hiccup himself was…? Because of his last encounter with Hiccup's dragon. Already the dangerous animal wasn't fond of Maraud, and for all his faults, Eleanor could be proud to say that her son was no massive fool. A slight simpleton? Of course. He was still a boy.

Speaking of boy, why was he so worried about his fiancée? Last Eleanor had checked with Maraud, all princesses were whiny, bratty, and useless. He had walked away from her with a red ear and a head full of angry words, but if there was anyone who wouldn't learn anything from one of Eleanor's scoldings, it would be Maraud. So, that begged the question: why did he care about Hiccup's well-being at all?

She thought back to the small looks her son had recently been giving the Viking girl when he was certain that no one was looking. Too bad for him that his mother had eyes on the back of her head. She had also seen the way that he blushed lightly whenever Hiccup was laughing, and she noticed how Maraud tried to show off his skills more often whenever Hiccup happened to walk by. And that, paired with the way he was genuinely concerned for Hiccup at her disappearance…

Eleanor smiled to herself as she avoided stepping in a pile of… she wasn't sure exactly what it was, but she would rather not step in. She knew that Maraud would grow up someday. And, she had also known that it would be Hiccup to make her son mature. And Hiccup had started to do just that. She had gotten Maraud to like him. It might not have been much maturing, but Eleanor would take what she could get from her brat son.

But… how had Maraud known that Eleanor would know where Hiccup was?

There was no time for Eleanor to ponder on that question, however, because she was already striding into the ancient arc of stones.

The first thing that Eleanor saw was a large, black figure. It was more like a black blob, and Eleanor almost ran back to the castle, thinking it was a bear. Then, the figure shifted, and Eleanor could see the outline of its wings. Not 'its.' His. Toothless's wings.

Eleanor immediately felt more at ease and walked confidently forward. She knelt by Toothless's head, and inspected the girl wrapped in his protective grasp.

Even though she had already known that Hiccup was safe with Toothless, it was a breath of fresh air for Eleanor to see the fact for herself. The queen stood back up, back straight. She sight in front of her warmed her heart. Hiccup was wrapped in the dragon's fearsome embrace, and Toothless was wide awake and alert for any signs of danger which might threaten his human.

It was at that moment that Eleanor realized the depth of emotion and trust the two beings in front of her actually put into each other. Hiccup trusted Toothless with her life- she had slept the entire night, Eleanor was sure, in the middle of the woods, wrapped in Toothless's wings. She knew somehow that, no matter what danger happened upon the two of them, Toothless would protect her. And Toothless, he cared. He cared enough to stay awake and still, even thought Eleanor figured that he was dying to get up and stretch his body. But still, he stilled his muscles and made Hiccup comfortable in his arms.

This, Eleanor realized, this is what Maraud needs to be for Hiccup. Is he even capable of this kind of emotion?

Toothless turned his large head to turn and look at her. His eyes were full of a warm kind of feeling. Eyes, the windows to the soul. Toothless had a soul, that Eleanor had been sure of ever since the flight she had shared with him and Hiccup. And right at that moment, all Eleanor could see in his eyes was love.

Is he capable of love? Eleanor couldn't help but to compare her son to the dragon in front of her. Both were strong. Both were lethal, if need be. Both loved freedom. But only one knew the true taste of it. Only one loved another being, which was not of their own flesh, to give his life for her. Only one knew how to love as deeply as that.

Toothless blinked at the intense look on Eleanor's face, and crooned happily. Eleanor wasn't sure what compelled her to be so spontaneous, but she reached out a vulnerable hand and placed it on Toothless's flat forehead. He was surprisingly soft, and comfortably warm. Yet, Eleanor could feel the tough leather-like scales which protected his insides from most any kind of attack. Gentle and yet rough. Maraud knew how to be brash and abrasive, but gentle…?

Eleanor cast all thoughts of her son out of her mind for the moment. She turned to Toothless and smiled.

"You've done a wonderful job protecting her. And for that, I thank you," Eleanor could feel the vibrations on her hand from Toothless's content humming. "But, it's late. Hiccup can't sleep this long again, or both she and you would be in danger,"

Eleanor wasn't sure how much of what she said actually translated into the dragon's brain, but at her words of warning for Hiccup's safety, Toothless stiffened up and his pupils tightened, giving him an almost rogue look. If Eleanor hadn't known that Toothless was harmless, she would have run at the fierce look in his eyes.

Toothless spread his wings with a small shudder, and Hiccup groaned.

"Already?"

The dragon growled, and Hiccup rolled begrudgingly out of his embrace. Eleanor couldn't help but to notice the strange contraption on Hiccup's right arm, and the pile of low-quality arrows in a pile by Toothless's hind legs.

"Oh," Hiccup said, with a yawn. "Good morning, Mum,"

The arrows and strange contraption were forgotten as Eleanor rounded on Hiccup.

"Come, come," Eleanor ushered, "We have to hurry,"

Hiccup turned to look at Toothless, and then back at Eleanor,

"Why?" Hiccup asked groggily. "What did I miss?"

"I'll explain everything on the way back to the castle,"

And the two women were off in the woods. Even thought Eleanor couldn't see him, she could feel Toothless's eyes following them, making sure that they were safe on their journey back. And she started to realize why Hiccup loved the dragon so much.

After her mum had forced Hiccup to clean up for the day and eat breakfast, and the two royal women had fed excuse after excuse to the worried men and women who had been looking for her all day, Hiccup finally relaxed.

After Hiccup lay stretched out on her bed, it had taken her all of ten minutes to groan in frustration. She was bored.

There was no way she could risk going out to see Toothless, not so early in the day. And it wasn't like the maids had ever let her help them with their chores. Eleanor wasn't teaching lessons as she was entertaining the guests, and trying to figure out how to understand what 'Princess' McGuffin said. So, there was only one option left for the Viking princess. The forge.

Hiccup walked into the smithy and immediately did what she usually did. She walked over and grabbed an apron, made sure that her hair was tied tightly enough that her hair wouldn't burn off, and asked McFeely if she could help him with anything. As usual, he just grunted that she should stay out of his way. At least he had stopped saying that little girls like her shouldn't be in the forge.

Hiccup just stood by a wooden bench for a moment, basking in the environment of the forge. She missed the comfort of the familiar sights, the high temperatures, and the musky scents. She missed being able to use her mind and stop her brain from feeling numb. Hiccup let out a small smile as she pulled out her sketch pad and started drawing out rough blurbs all the ideas swirling through her mind.

For a few minutes, she just drew, wondering which idea she should start building. She flipped back to the page she started on that day. Should she try to invent a suit of armor for Toothless? But it would be so heavy, and it would waste so much metal, and people would get curious about what she was building, and for what. Also, Toothless's hide was already impenetrable for the most part. Next.

Hiccup kept flipping through the book. Fire proof clothing? There were no fire problems in Dunbrough. Better systems for bathing? That would be a large project which would take up too much time, and people could bathe in the multiple streams and rivers around the area anyway. An absorbent devise to make mopping easier for the maids? That would just be boring.

Finally, Hiccup found the one she wanted to work on. She started, and kept working, even when McFeely left for the night, telling her not to mess with his forge. The sun was low in the sky, and all the wood looked like amber by the time Hiccup had finished with a prototype of a new prosthetic. She had two settings for it- one for land, which had more of a stable and flat bottom (for the less than stable ground surfaces she was sure to walk on), and one for the air, which was like a hook (so that the slightest movement that she made would cause some sort of movement from Toothless's tail). She was really excited about the new setting for the sky. She knew that Toothless used to be a much better flier than he was after she shot him down. And it had been Hiccup's goal for months to get Toothless back to that expert level of maneuvering in the air. The cool, unrestricting air. Hiccup sighed and started taking off her current prosthetic.

Maraud was leaning against the doorframe in the entrance of the blacksmith's. He hadn't originally meant to stay and watch Hiccup for so long (about… two hours), but he had gotten caught up in watching her. At first, he had just been on his way to the stables. In fact, as Maraud looked in his strangely tired arms, he found that he was still holding Angus's saddle. But, it wasn't his fault that Hiccup completely captivated him.

He had walked by earlier and glanced in. Hiccup had been in there, and Maraud only wanted to make sure that she was okay, that she wasn't too tired, or anything like that. Then, he saw how hard she had been working- enough to actually work up a sweat!- and he couldn't stop watching her. Whatever she was working on must have been really important, if she was willing to work for so long without any breaks, and if she still looked so happy while she was heating and molding and measuring. She had finally finished the… whatever it was, and she looked so proud of it.

Hiccup started to take off her prosthetic, and a small voice in the back of Maraud's mind told him to look away, and for a moment, he was really tempted to listen to that voice. But then he remembered that her stump wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. He had been around his father's missing leg since he was a wee lad, and he had already seen Hiccup's leg, or lack thereof, after he had shot her. So, Maraud kept watching.

She took off her prosthetic, and Maraud almost ran in to help her if she fell, but she stayed steady on her right leg. She quickly attached her new invention, (A new prosthetic, Maraud realized) and stood up on it. She tested a couple of things, like how she walked, jumped, and got up off the floor while wearing it. She mumbled a few things while scribbling notes into her notebook after each test. Then she did the tests again. She finally took off the prototype and put on her old one. Then she started to clean up.

It was then that Maraud realized that she was done. She would be walking out and seeing him there, in the doorway of the blacksmiths, watching her. And that wouldn't help her already horrible view of him. He started walking to the stables, but his mind couldn't wander too far from Hiccup.

First of all, she was gorgeous. She was as tall as his mum, and for a woman, that was plenty tall. Hopefully she didn't get to be as tall as her blonde friends, who were easily as tall as Maraud was. Then, there was her face. She had bright, intelligent green eyes, and a small, plump mouth. Her body was thin and lithe, but still filled out to perfection. But it wasn't just her looks which Maraud was attracted to.

The Viking princess was determined. He had just witnessed that as he saw her work tirelessly on her new leg, and on how firm she stood in her engagement to him, even though anyone would have understood if she called it off. She was feisty, and she stood up for what she believed in. She had proved both of those facts when she took an arrow for her dragon and yelled at him for trying to kill the monster. She was passionate. She loved with the same fire that Maraud was sure her dragon possessed naturally, and she showed that love and inner warmth to everyone.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third was determined, feisty, stood up for what she believed in, was passionate, and she hated him. What else was there to say?

Maraud silently smiled on his way to the stables. He really liked that girl.

Again, I gave up editing halfway through. Whoops! As for the wait: it's not like this chapter was hard, but school sure as Hel was. Just to clarify, Hiccup's invention is not a cross-bow. I actually made up whatever arrow thing she made. I'm almost 100% positive that what Hiccup's using to shoot arrows does not exist. To help y'all visualize it, I might draw it, but we'll see. Anyways, sorry about the long wait. Not much I could do about it though, sorry. Thanks for the favorites, follows, and I really miss those reviews! The more reviews there are, the more motivated I am to push out the next chapter faster. You don't have to review if you don't want to, but I do appreciate them. Also, while you're waiting for me to update this story, check out my others. I might be biased, but I think they're pretty dang good. Next chapter: I don't know if I should tell you cuz this author's note is already really long :)