[PLEASE READ THIS !]
I know it's not necessarily the most interesting thing in the world to read, but I'd like you to read it nevertheless.
I've got GOOD NEWS, and I've got BAD NEWS. So ? Which do you want to hear first ? The bad of course ! So, the bad news is this : I'm on holiday as of this day and must suffer a terrifyingly tremendous but true quantity of homework. Now, for the good news : I'm a terrible student and couldn't care less ( that is until the last day before school ), as a consequence, I shall be delivering before the week's end THAT ONE CHAPTER YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR where sh*t really hits the fan.
( If you're wondering why I'm capitalising so many words it's to catch the attention to all those who merely skim and DON'T READ THE TEXT ABOVE)
Thank you for reading ( assuming you really did...Huh ? )
Rant (finally ?) over
" No ! " Bawled Brash the Bold, leader of the Bashem Oiks. The arguments flooding the room died down a bit. " We should go for a nice, compact, fluid flanking motion. Not a dense frontal attack ! We'll get torn to shreds ! "
" Wow ! Yer' really are dense in yer' frontal aren't ye' ? " Muttered Mogaddon the Meathead, chief of the Meatheads. The entire table of chieftains fell silent, and immediately ceased their arguing. The broad man stood from his wooden chair which scraped against the stone floor, and reached over the table to yank the tattered map closer. He planted a thick finger right in front of the island of Dreki, more specifically, in front of Dreki's only beach. " What use is a frontal attack if there's only one landing point ? The rest of the island is surrounded with rocks and cliffs, each as sharp as those dragon's teeth ! " He snarled and pointed a finger toward's the hall's door. The candlelight made the one-eyed man look more impressive than usual, and all the sons that the chiefs had brought along to the war council now cowered silently besides their fathers. Though it was restrained cowering.
The man resumed his menacing citation of tried and tested military strategies : " We should attack them by surprise... At night ! " His voice grew in intensity. " ...and concentrate all our strength into one point, one choke-hold !" Here we heard him loudest " ...and send them back to the slimy pitiful dung-heap from whence they came !" His strategy sharing had turned into a war-cry " NOW ARE YOU WITH ME ?! " He slammed his fist on the poor map, the large round wooden table beneath it shook.
A chorus of manly approval rose " YEAH ! " followed by the voice-cracked grunts of unsure teenagers trying to reassert their masculinity before their fathers and the rest of the war council " Y-yeah ! " Then...There was of course Stoick the Vast, with his slow clap. His heavy hands thumped together, as sarcastic as it was unpopular. He muttered a " Watch this..." to Astrid Hofferson who sat besides him as an apprentice at the war council and stood. Another chair scraping against the ground.
" You forget my friends...That these dragon sympathisers won't fall for a surprise attack. " He lay both hands flat on the wooden table, and looked around, eyes meeting the gaze of all twelve leaders. He gave a pause for effect. " These madmen have the best of both worlds : " He held up two thick fingers " The flight and might of dragons, AND the mind of their masters." He brought the fingers up to his temple, nodding lightly. " Attacking them at night ? Pah ! We would only give them an advantage, they might be sleeping, but they'll wake up soon enough, and when they do, their dragons can see through darkness better than any human eyes can. "
" What's yer' point ? " Snarled Magaddon from across the table.
" My point is, if we attack them during the day, we have the elements to our advantage..."
" Such as ? " Questioned a brown-bearded chief.
" Such as better aim, we'll be able to see in the daylight. Or we could blind them by attacking at dusk, with the sun in our backs-..."
" ...-Just listen to the man ! " Interrupted Mogaddon, laughing. " We should attack in the night, when they're sleeping, like we've always done before. "
An agreeing symphony made itself heard. And then a second weaker mimicking one.
Mogaddon continued. " Our people have battled dragons and rival tribes alike for centuries, and it's always been the same method. Now we should drive them out, tomorrow, before it's too late !"
Another chorus of "Aye !"s followed once again by a chorus of " Um...Yeah...Aye !"s.
" We fight them, and destroy them. Simple. We can't lose. We outnumber them ten-to-one, and have battle-ready warriors just itchin' for a fight ! What are we ? We're Vikings !"
" Yeah ! Vikings ! " Sounded the war council.
" We fight dragons ! It's an occupational hazard !"
" Yeah " Yelled the chieftains.
Stoick waited for the din to die down, and frowned. " Fine." He muttered. " Let's be reckless if ya' want. But let's not forsake honour."
A few members at the table muttered agreements : " Yeah...Honour ! "
" Send them a formal declaration of war. It won't spoil the surprise."
Mogaddon shook his head in mock disbelief. " Ah Stoick...If you weren't such a renowned leader, I'd have taken you for a stubborn idiot."
The read-bearded chief of Berk stood up straight and set his helmet upon his head. " That's what we all are..." He muttered. " Idiots with stubbornness issues...Come on Astrid" And with that he walked towards the door, followed by the faithful Astrid Hofferson.
" Why did you do that ? " Interrogated Astrid as they walked down the steps of Dànor's hall towards the Berkian camp.
" Do what ? " Answered the Chief. His breath produced a puff of mist in the cold night air.
" Insist on a formal declaration ? "
Stoick stopped mid-stride and turned to look down at his apprentice. "Why do you think ? " He smiled.
" Well..." Started the girl, staring into the distance as she thought. " You didn't manage to get your strategy across to the council..."
" Yes..." Urged on Stoick.
" So...You didn't want to walk out without having imposed anything ? To keep your credibility ?"
" Not only ! " Laughed the Chief. " But that's it ! Well done !" He patted her on the back of the shoulder, hard. She tried to resist his meaty hands, tried to be tough and not flinch. But the man's strength nevertheless caused her shoulder to go flying forward and forced her to regain her balance on the steps. " You'll make a good Chief one day, or wife-of-chief. But for you it'll be the same thing ! " He laughed again.
She frowned, refusing to adhere to the joke. He didn't care.
" But there's one more thing..." He added. " A formal declaration is important. Do you know why the situation escalated so much ? Why the entire archipelago is massing up for an attack ? " He gestured around at the entire island, they had a wonderful view from atop the hill's stone steps. Indeed, all around shone lights from various camps, one for each tribe. The an entire portion of Dànor was simply covered in tents. In truth, all the Archipelago's warriors were here, preparing for the battle to come.
" Because the Drekians destroyed one of Dànor's scouts ? And because they've become allies with Dragons ?" She questioned sarcastically, it was obvious, everyone new why they were here. Even Snotlout. And he was always pretty clueless.
" Right ! And that was without any warning, no declaration of war, nothing ! It was savage, and dastardly ! Do you understand now Astrid ?..." His tone grew darker. " The honour, the customs..." He hit the side of his hand into his other hand's palm for every word. "... is the only thing that makes us different from those monsters." He pointed towards the dark horizon. " It's the only thing that keeps us apart...From them."
Astrid breathed slowly. She was nervous. Why was she nervous ? She shouldn't be nervous ! She's a Viking !
She shifted her position on her hay mattress and stared at the ceiling of the tent. Her moment of glory would be tomorrow. She closed her eyes and pictured it. The landing on the beach, the charge. She would be at the head, she was chosen by Chief Stoick. She'd taken her place as heir and apprentice to the Chief ever since his son disappeared. When they win the battle, she'll be showered in respect and honour for being in the first assault wave with the Berkian warriors. It'll be glorious.
It'll be glorious.
She remembered what her parents told her. " We're too old to fight, dear. And your brothers too young. But I know, that you'll make this family shine. We've been poor, we've been dishonoured. But ever since since you were chosen over Snotlout as heir and apprentice to the Chief, I knew that those awful days were over. Make us proud Astrid." They had both kissed her on the forehead, and she had punched her brothers to the ground. Then she set off to the docks, with nothing but her axe and a bag over her shoulder. And she never even looked back.
Now she was here.
Now she wished she had looked back.
Because when she'll come back victorious.
Berk will never look the same again.
Gobber hobbled over to the smallest campfire of the Berkian camp, zigzagging between the tents. There, he found his friend Stoick, sitting on a log besides a fire that seemed more like a candle in comparison to the man. The blacksmith set himself down with a tired grunt in front of his friend and met his gaze.
" So, what's botherin' yer' ? "
" Oh...Nothing." Chuckled the beast of a man. He cleared his throat. " I was just thinking about how strange it all is."
" What ? A village cohabiting with dragons ? "
" Cohabi-Wha ? "
" 'Living' with dragons..."
" Yeah, exactly." The red-bearded man picked up a stick and poked the ember of the small fire with little to no motivation.
" I heard they're led by a teenager as thin as twig." Chuckled Gobber, holding up his little finger, the only one he had left.
" Pah ! I've got better ! I heard they had a ship with three sails and twice the size of a barn that sails faster than the wind. Hehe..."
" D'ya' think it's true ? " Asked Gobber, amused.
" Not sure..." Muttered the Chief, he looked up from the fire. " but even if it is, they're very strange people. Unnatural."
" Yeah..." Muttered Gobber, analysing his friend's face pensively. " ...I think you got that one right...D'ya' think we'll win ? "
" Of course we'll win." Sighed Stoick. " We don't know what we're up against, but we'll win."
" So what's botherin' yer' ?"
" It's the cost, of that victory...That bothers me."
Hiccup woke up suddenly, flustered and disorientated. " Wah ! " He sat up immediately, he looked around his room. Toothless was missing. Something was different. Thin beams of morning light shone through the shutters. Then he remembered. He heard a feminine giggle behind him. He turned his head to see Aerika sitting at the table with a hot mug of something. She was still in her night-ware, though she wore a thick wool blanket draped around her delicate shoulders.
" You're funny when you wake up." She mocked, beaming elegantly.
" Hmpf..." Managed Hiccup as he threw the thick covers off. He walked over to her, bare-chested, and hugged her from behind, planting a kiss on her cheek. " What's that ? " He inquired, pointing at her mug of steaming liquid.
" Maiden's tea." She smiled fondly, looking back over her shoulder, amused at the boy's puzzled face. She expected him to realise by now, but he seemed quite clueless. " You know..." She urged on amused at the notion that he might not know what it was. " Maiden's Tea ? "
Hiccup shook his head, he didn't know what it was.
Aerika giggled again and brushed a strand of hair aside. " Maiden's tea : The tea for maiden's...For girls ! "
" And...Why is it only for girls ? " Mumbled Hiccup, raising a comical eyebrow. " It's tea." He stated, gesturing at the cup. " Men. can. also. drink. tea."
Aerika bit her lip. No one had apparently told him what 'maiden's tea' was. Ever. It took a great effort, but somehow she manage to pronounce the following without exploding in a fit of laughter at Hiccup's complete ignorance and bewildered expression. " I'm drinking maiden's tea..." She tried, snorting, but maintaining control. "...Because it helps prevent certain unwanted consequences, of what happened last night." She giggled again and waited for the penny to drop. Hiccup looked up and stared at the wall, thinking, he brought his affectionate hand from her shoulder to scratch his stubble. The sophisticated teen girl next to him could almost hear the cogs in his head turning.
Then his eyes widened with illuminating realisation. He stared at the mug.
" Oh... ! "