He had grown, Astrid thought as she and Camicazi took their turn to eat at the table. Hiccup used to barely reach her height, but now he was a good forehead taller. She wondered if he had noticed. He also seemed more confident but distant as well. She turned to look down at her miserable meal. He had barely spoken to her and every time he did she just snapped at him. She felt terrible every time, but she also couldn't help it. He was no longer her friend. There were only three chairs so she, Camicazi and Thuggory ate together.

"So what made you turn into a Bog Burglar?" Thuggory asked when he caught her trying not to look in Hiccup's direction.

"Why wouldn't she?" Camicazi snapped glaring at the larger boy, "Hooligans are pathetic after all!" she made sure the others heard her. Fishlegs rolled his eyes at her and Dagur glanced to see if Hiccup would do something. A wicked smile coming to his lips; he hated the Bog Burglar and he was sure Hiccup would come too very soon. He was outnumbered here, but if he could get Hiccup on his side, then not even the ferocious Astrid would be able to stand on his way.

But to his disappointment, Hiccup didn't even turn his head away from the barred window.

"I wouldn't go that far," Thuggory said trying to patch things up, "Hiccup and the rest of the Hooligan trainees took down two gigantic dragons. You should see the bones of those things"

Dagur greeted his teeth. He absolutely hated Thuggory. The moment he had tried to launch at Camicazi, he and Hofferson got on his way demanding to stand down or they would hurt him. Even he couldn't stand on his own against three accomplished fighters.

"Whatever" Camicazi had seen them already, but still couldn't believe that scrawny boy was behind it. She hadn't seen his face the day she burgled his home, and had sincerely since then forgotten all about him. He wasn't anything especial; actually he looked as ordinary as any other fish in the sea.

"Her mother is a Bog Burglar," Hiccup said turning to face them leaning on windowsill, "that's all"

"How would you know that?" Camicazi sneered at him.

"My father agreed to let her go," he said before looking at Thuggory "so she is not a traitor. She was given the right to choose"

"I don't need a Hooligan to defend me, especially not you" Astrid snapped before she could stop herself. Hiccup frowned at her and she felt her guts clench again.

"Fine," he said turning back to the window. His mind wondered again how Toothless was.

Fishlegs looked back and forth between them. Now that he knew what had actually happened it all made sense, but he wondered what changed a few days ago to create this breach between them. Astrid looked down at her food with a frown she could not hide and Hiccup was trying his best to hide how much her words hurt him. When it was their turn to eat he wondered if he should try to talk to Hiccup about it, but when he saw the way he poked at his food he could tell he was not ready.

"You should teach those Burglars a lesson," Dagur said stabbing his food as if it was an enemy, "that Camicazi has been stealing from every chief family, I bet from yours too. Who in the name of Hel does she think she is?"

"They are called Bog Burglars for a reason," Fishlegs said but Dagur acted as if he hadn't heard him at all.

"You should show her that she needs to respect your tribe. Especially that Astrid, can you imagine all the information she has given them? I bet Bertha is more than happy to have an excuse to start a war against your tribe with all that she has told her" and just as Camicazi, he was sure to make sure everyone else in the room heard him.

Dagur didn't really care for stopping the Romans' plan. Actually, he was looking forwards to it. There hadn't been any major war in a very long time and he believed that to bring his tribe to its former glory, they would need one.

"I am not hungry" Hiccup said standing up and then going to stand by the window again.

"Fine with me" Dagur growled and thought, even if he is a good sword fighter he is still soft and weak, then he went to grab Hiccup's plate but Fishlegs was faster. Dagur glared at him and in any other occasion Fishlegs would look for a place to hide, but he promised himself he would help Hiccup as much as he could. He took the plate to the gloomy Hiccup.

"You need to eat, or you won't have the strength to fight" he told his friend.

"Do you think my father listened to Speedifist?"

"I…" Fishlegs didn't know what to say. He trusted Speedifist but Stoick was a very prideful man and if he thought someone was challenging said pride he was more than likely caught only on that.

"Maybe he is already on his way here" he took his plate from Fishlegs and continued to eat, he didn't wish to worry his friend "he would forget about his pride for me, right?"

Fishlegs didn't say anything, but stood next to Hiccup as he stared towards the sea with hope.

"You are a bigger idiot than I thought if you really believe that" Camicazi said from the straw bed she shared with Astrid, "we should be looking for another way to escape instead of waiting for something that is never going to happen"

But they had tried it all already so no one offered any ideas. The one that had gotten the farthest was Astrid when she snuck between the legs of one of the guards and ran as fast as she could. She was able to hide in the kitchens for a while, but eventually was caught.

"I am not leaving without my dragon" Hiccup said, "has any of you heard about a black dragon recently brought?"

"Toothless?" Astrid's eyes widened. No wonder he looked so miserable. Hiccup cared for his dragon a lot and the idea of it being locked in one of those cages or worse was probably ripping him apart.

"We boarded a Roman ship yesterday, he helped us escape but got captured too" Fishlegs said to Astrid knowing she would understand what Hiccup was going through.

"We heard of a vicious dragon being taken down to the lowest dungeon, but that's about it" Thuggory said from his own bed.

"He is alive then" Hiccup couldn't trust Alvin's words completely so hearing someone else tell him that Toothless was somewhere not far made him feel slightly better.

8888

Back in Berk Stoick the Vast went over the letter once more. They were calling for him to give up his tribe in exchange of his son, something he could not do. Not just because he didn't want to, but because he knew the moment he gave in someone would shoot an arrow through his heart and take over the tribe. More than likely that would be Spitelout. He was a chief, so the moment he showed weakness he would lose all respect from his tribe. He could always marry again and have another child, he was not that old. Maybe this time the boy would take more after himself.

But I really don't want that, he thought, I love Valhallarama and I love our son who is so much like her. I want my hiccup son back and all his craziness. I want to catch him with his nose in the Dragon Manual trying to add more to it and chatting furiously with his dragon. I don't want to give him up.

But he had to; he suddenly found it very hard to breathe.

"A chief feels no pain, no fear, and no emotions from men with weak hearts. A chief is strong in both battle and as a man. A chief must get used to the idea that he will see warriors and dragons fall before his time" he said to himself in a mantra. Then remembered the time his father hit Thorch with a whip for tackling Stoick, though they were just playing around. His father told him he had to make the dragon respect him and make sure not to get attached to the beast for it was a simple beast that could be replaced.

Stoick looked at his dragon curled in front of the fire on his usual place. His flank still showed the scar the whip had created when his hide was still young and tender but that was the only one. Stoick had many more scars than his dragon though Thorch was the dragon he used the most for battle. He never allowed anyone to hurt his dragon and had never once thought of replacing him.

"Why are you looking at me like that you fat slob?" Thorch asked quite upset that Stoick hadn't listened to Hiccup.

Stoick stared at the angry dragon in surprise and then asked "you can kind of understand me, right?"

"When you aren't being an idiot" snapped Thorch at him.

"What should I do?" he asked and it was the turn of the dragon to look surprised.

Stoick watched his immense beast stand and walk a few steps to where a stool was and at top of said stool was the Roman helmet. Carefully Thorch picked the helmet and then placed it before Stoick in the table.

"What do you think?" the dragon said in a gentler voice.

He heard a knock on his door which almost made him jump from where he sat. Thorch laid before the fire again, as if nothing had happened.

"Come in!" called Stoick before Speedifist hurried inside with a letter. Since the boy was known to be the fastest runner in the tribe, he made sure to have him carry his messages.

"A messenger from the Berserkers just brought this sir," he said handing the letter to Stoick, "sir, I know is not my place, but I really don't think it was the Berserkers who took Hiccup" he had tried to tell Stoick this when he first gave him the letter from the kidnappers but Stoick got so upset that not even Gobber was able to calm him down until he had smashed at least four tables and countless chairs against the wall "they spoke really funny and Hiccup said to tell you it was the Romans" he stood back ready to be told to mind his own business.

"Hiccup did?" Stoick asked remembering their conversation from the night before and that morning.

"Y… yes sir!" Speedifist said feeling relief he was not being shouted at, "and sincerely, I don't think that's something Oswald the Agreeable would do"

Stoick opened the letter and unlike the previous one, this one did sound like Oswald. Stoick had written to the Berserker tribe leader with as many rude words as Bertha had used against him, but of course Oswald's reply was as polite as ever. He was asking to meet him for he had not taken his son, and actually his own son was missing. He received a letter that was supposed to be from the Meatheads saying they had taken his son, but he had already sent a message to Mogadon and was also hoping for a meeting with him.

Stoick looked at the letter of the kidnappers and then Oswald's. Stoick still felt very insulted by Bertha's letter, and he desired to make her eat her words and make her pay for her disrespect, but he also could also follow his son's advice and check if the Romans' were behind this.

"Tell the messenger to wait for my reply" he told Speedifist, "I won't be long"

"Yes sir!" Speedifist said before he hurried to keep the Berserker messenger from leaving.

As he left the house and run through the village towards the port he spotted Snotlout and his group glaring at him from the entrance of his home. Dogsbreath and Wartihog were idiots, so he was not that surprised they had stayed with Snotlout even after Hiccup showed he was more than he appeared. Heather, who he wondered where she was, surprised him slightly. He knew she was not stupid and that she knew Snotlout was bad news, but her dream of ascending in the social ladder blinded her. Speedifist had no way back into their good grace, but he was fine with that. He decided to take one of his short cuts behind a group of houses. He believed the chief would be doing the right thing.

"Watch out!" he was then tackled by no other than Tuffnut.

"What a hell man!" he pushed his friend off him. He didn't have time to play.

"He just saved your life dumbass" Ruffnut said offering a hand to both of them and helped them up. Then she moved to the side so that he could see an arrow lodged on the ground.

He looked up and saw no one other than Heather looking down from one of the roofs, a bow clenched tightly on her hand.

"We saw her sneaking around the chief's house. I think she was spying" Ruffnut said after the dark haired girl turned and disappeared from their sight.

"She is probably getting the rest," Speedifist said as a strange feeling invaded him, "I have to hurry" and he ran off as fast as he could. He could hear his friends running closely behind him; Tuffnut who was serious for once, and Ruffnut who kept looking back in case they were caught up upon. The feeling which he realized was fear left. He was not alone.

8888

Alvin stood before the darkest cell of the whole complex. In front of him was a dark figure chained to keep him from moving. The creature could only open his mouth barely to throw insults at him.

"Die you… Viking… I will chew on your…" Toothless wished he had the strength to form at least one blast, but they had kept him in the barest of rations.

"Your boy is here" Alvin said after the dragon became quiet, tired of trying to break from his bonds.

"Hiccup?" his eyes were wide and afraid.

"Now you behave, you wouldn't want me to hurt him, right?" Alvin laughed before he left the cell.

"Hiccup…" and he turned his head towards the very small barred window at top of his cell, "he came back for me"

8888

Hiccup sat by the window looking for a ship that might belong to his father. He had been like this for days. Fishlegs would push him into eating and resting, and Hiccup would comply most of the time, but still no one was able to get him stop looking outside. He always looked down at the courtyard hoping for a sign of his dragon. He had tried to ask the guards when they brought their meal, but they never answered and left as soon as they could, always looking at the other companions of the cell with fear and caution. He was sure it was something related to their previous escape attempts.

At times, he would imagine he was dragon watching with Toothless not too far watching him, making sure he didn't get into trouble. Sometimes he would feel Toothless picking over his shoulder trying to see his drawings even though he always showed them to him at the end of the day. At times Toothless would take a stick on his jaws and try to draw when Hiccup wasn't watching until he was sure it was a good drawing. Most of the time it looked like a child's drawing, but Toothless always had a story behind them. He wasn't sure the stories were all true, but he always found them entertaining.

"Move you stupid Hooligan," and then he would wake up and remember he was not dragon watching but locked up in a Roman tower, his dragon locked somewhere dark, and his father maybe raging war against other tribes.

Hiccup stepped to the side not looking to listen to another of her rambles about stupid Hooligans and how stupid boys were.

"Stupid rain," she growled before the water was blown her way by the wind.

For the past few days it had been raining to no end. Not even the soldiers that hated being cooped up in their barracks would come out under such terrible weather. The courtyard became a big muddy mess and the dragons became quiet as they were left alone. The ones on top of their cages opened their wings to keep the rest safe from the rain. One had to admit there was a strong comradeship among them.

"Would you stop it with the stupid plans?" Thuggory said as he sharpened his sword, "we will find a way out on Saturn's Saturday when they take us out of this place"

"They are not stupid!" Camicazi said indignantly, "here he comes!" and she rushed towards the door before climbing up to one of the rafters"

"What is she up to?" Fishlegs asked Thuggory who seemed to be among the sanest in that place.

"Only Thor knows" the other boy sighed.

"But it never gets boring" Dagur said taking seat on one of the available chairs to watch the show.

"Shut up or you will ruin it!" Camicazi said before she signaled to Astrid who only sighed before taking her place.

Everyone could tell she was not happy at all with this plan, but she had no other choice but to follow it. Not long after the guard that brought their food opened the door and handed the tray to Astrid.

"Excuse me," she asked stalling for time, "but would you please stand still for a moment?"

"I don't understand you girl," he said coldly before Astrid gave him a pleading look, "alright, what is it?" he spotted Hiccup, "what does she want?"

Hiccup shrugged trying not to look at Camicazi as she snuck behind the solder and moved to leave the room.

"You Vikings make no sense," he said ready to turn.

"I think she is feeling unwell," Hiccup said fast, "she has been sleeping most of the day"

"She looks fine to me" the soldier said looking at Astrid a little closer "don't bother trying to trick us again" and then he finally left.

"I can't believe that worked," Thuggory said, "how long do you think it will be before they catch her?"

"Not long," Dagur said, "there are also guards at the entrance of the tower"

And surely enough, a few hours later when they were being brought their dinner the guard told them Camicazi had been caught and put on a different cell; one that was small and with no light whatsoever. They were sincerely getting tired of her escape intents and would keep her there for three days.

Astrid was a bundle of nerves during those three days wondering how her sister was. Every time someone tried to reassure her she would snap at them. Hiccup didn't even bother to try. It was clear she was still upset at him.

"Enough you beast!" they heard someone shout behind their door before it was opened by no other than Alvin. He glared at Hiccup right away, "get it inside!"

He moved to the side to show a very tired looking and hungry Toothless being dragged by chains. The soldiers looked very nervous as they dragged the dragon inside.

"Toothless…" Hiccup said and was close to rushing to his dragon, but Fishlegs held him back.

"Get it to eat," growled Alvin as they dropped Toothless before them, "the Council wants it in top shape for the games"

As soon as they closed the door behind them Hiccup rushes to his dragon. Toothless looked as if he hadn't eaten in days. His ribs were visible on his sides and his scales lost a lot of their shine.

"Toothless! What have they done to you?!" Hiccup started removing the chains from his that held him as fast as possible, starting from the ones around his mouth.

"It worked?" was he the first thing he asked.

"What worked?" Hiccup asked as he worked on the rest of the chains.

"I told that bastard I wouldn't eat until he let me see you" laughed the dragon, "you are not the only one with crazy plans" and then he fainted.