Hiccup's POV

Everyone has set their tents inside the cave to call it a day. With two bonfires lit, it was safe to say that the atmosphere was rather cozy as everyone was enjoying each other's company while really embracing the fact that they're home. Well, almost home.

For the time being, Eret, mother, and I had some interrogation to do.

There he was, tied onto the mast of the Berkian ship so tightly. We tied the man so tight, he almost looked like one with the mast. I cracked my knuckles to intimidate the man. Well, it was more of an attempt, really. The guy barely batted an eye.

"Right, the rule is simple. You answer our questions honestly, and if not, we will torture you with unimaginable violence," I threatened. "Got it?"

He spat right in front of us.

"Fuck you."

Eret grabbed the man by the hair, pulling it hard. "Did you not listen, mate?"

I scrunched my eyes in annoyance. "Just when I thought you'd be the cowardice type when you gave up, you sure can act."

Mother grabbed me by the shoulder. "Let's just jump into the questions, son."

I sensed that she didn't want to be bothered by the man's rock-hard attitude, so I nodded and gave it a shot right away. "Have you discovered the Hidden World?"

For a blink of an eye, the man looked surprised. However, he hid it away. "Heh, what's that?"

"Do not pretend dumb. The Hidden World. The haven for dragons, your people are trying to capture them, are they not?" Eret repeated, banging his head against the mast to let him go. The man grunted in pain before he continued.

"Why don't you go up there and find out by yourself, you lil' bloodthirsty animals…" the man replied. Oh, the irony. The fucking irony. It was genuinely getting under my skin. I could hear my teeth gritting harder than ever. I pulled my hatchet from my belt and aimed it for the head when mother pulled myself away from the temptation.

"Hiccup! We need him alive!" She warned. Initially, I wanted to break free from her grasp, but I calmed myself instead. She was right.

I clicked my tongue. "You do realize that we can do as you say, right?"

"Or get captured in the process and have every each of you killed. Oh, can't wait until we really erase you from existence," the Therondian mocked. This one was too far. Within a blink of an eye, I threw my hatchet at him with full force.

THUD

A strand of hair flew onto the air after the blade of the hatchet landed right next to his head, planted onto the mast.

Both Mother and Eret were quite shocked to see my throw. I was honestly quite surprised as well, but I was more overwhelmed by frustration, there was barely any form of shock surfacing on me. This was going to be a long night.

"Hiccup?"

I turned around to see Elsa, concern on her face.

"Can I have a moment, please?"

I glanced to the Therondian, conveying threat in a brief moment before I walked to Elsa.

I sighed deeply. "What is it?"

"It's Anna… I think she needs you. She's in the cabin of our ship."

Oh, Anna. "But I have this to take care of. This stupid imbecile…"

"Let me take care of that," Elsa smiled reassuringly. "I know my ways to get information."

I raised a brow, doubting. "You sure?"

"Uh huh. I was the one who learned the Therondian's intention in raiding this land, remember?" She reminded. "Back in Arendelle, I interrogated men ten times more hideous looking than this lad over here. I got this."

"Oh yeah… true," I nodded.

"Besides, we have Nokk," Elsa reminded. Her remark of Nokk really made me understand that she meant business for this deal, seeing that Nokk literally almost killed me after lying about how I felt to Anna.

She cracked her knuckles and turned around, calling for somebody with a whistle. After that, Nokk jumped out of the water gracefully and landed on the boat. Elsa used her magic to turn the spirit into ice form before giving pets to him.

We both turned around with confidence. Mother and Eret looked unsure for a moment. The Therondian, on the other hand, was quite struck by the view of this creature that he had never seen before.

"Mom, Eret, I'm sorry, but Anna needs me for the moment. Elsa will replace me for the time being," I excused. "Don't you two worry. She will knock some lessons into that tiny head."

"I will try my best. Set him loose," Elsa commanded.

"You sure?" Eret asked.

"Yes. Nokk will play with him for a bit."

Despite still looking unsure, Eret nodded to the command and loosen the rope around our hostage. Within moments, the man was free, but he remained on his spot while keeping his eyes planted onto the mythical horse that was circling him.

"Tell me, sergeant," Elsa started. "Have you found the Hidden World?"

"I do not know what that is. How did you know my rank?" He asked. Nokk threatened the man with a stomp onto the floor. Eret, mother, and I were so preoccupied by the scene, we merely watched.

"I have done the study of my enemy, thank you very much," Elsa replied. "Now, last chance. Have you discovered the Hidden World?"

He smiled cockily. "I do not know, oh queen of Arendelle. You really shouldn't be here, I'd say."

"Well, someone has not been updated. You don't get to tell me where I should be, kind sir," Elsa looked up to Nokk, who was behind the man and gave him a nod. With his hind legs, the horse kicked the Therondian hard, sending him into the air. We watched him into the water and Nokk following him in a graceful manner. Everything about Nokk was graceful.

I turned to Elsa, who was crossing her arms proudly. "Elsa, you have to make sure he doesn't drown to his death. We still need him alive."

Her eyes widened. "Oh yeah. True."

With that, she jumped off the boat and ran on the water toward where the sergeant landed, leaving a trail of ices shaped in snowflake behind. Even she looked graceful while doing so.

"She got this. I'll take my leave for now," I excused to Mother and Eret. They both nodded.

I jumped from one boat to another. I walked to the cabin door and knocked the door. It was small, but I heard Anna responding from inside. I entered the room and there she was, sitting on her bed while staring blankly to the wall. It was initially hard to make out where she was, but the dim lighting by the candle she had put in the middle of the room on the floor helped me out.

"Hey, you okay?" I walked to her, sitting next to her afterwards.

"… I'm not, to be honest. I-I just cannot get my mind away from the fact that I ended a man's life by impaling him with the blade," she buried her face in her knees. My instinct made me envelope her with my arms, trying everything there was in the book to soothe her.

"He would've killed you, Anna," I whispered. "It was self-defense. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Still…"

Anna didn't continue her sentence. Seeing so, I shoved her arms together while giving her kisses by the hair. Soon, she placed her legs over mine while circling her arms around my neck. Her face was buried in the crook of my neck.

"… Did you kill any?" She suddenly asked.

"I did… probably two or three…"

She pulled her face to see mine. "I thought you wouldn't take one's life?"

I stared into her eyes that shouted disbelief at my statement. I took her arms off of my neck and held her hands in mine. I was about to explain something that she was probably going to dislike, so I had to take a deep breath before jumping in.

"You remember… back in Old Berk. When we were in the cove, Astrid showed up and told me that my mother called for me?" I asked. She nodded.

"Well… she taught me how to kill. For self-defense, of course."

"How to kill?" Her brow raised.

"Yes. She did. She always knew that I was not the kind of Viking who was willing to take a life away from a living being. She was the same kind, she admitted. It runs in the family. But if we were to take New Berk by storm, to kill would be… inevitable. So, she taught me how to kill," I explained.

"How did she do so?"

I was really hoping that she was not going to ask that very question. But she did. "There were actually sixteen survivors, Anna. Were."

"Okay. Where is this other one?"

"We left her be in Old Berk. She was an elder, severely injured by the leg from the raid. She had it amputated, but she was suffering from a very hot fever since they amputated it too late. Mother told me that she tried every medicine there was in the isle, but nothing worked. I… ended her life, at her request, to end her suffering," I explained. "I would not like to explain how I did it."

Anna processed my statement for a moment by remaining silent.

"You could say that… my motivation in my recent kills that I've made was her. Ms. Renwitt," I added with a slight chuckle, which faded right away.

"Of course, it was a different context, since it was not a kill I made for self-defense—"

I was cut when Anna crashed herself into me again, hugging me tightly.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

I chuckled sheepishly, running one hand on her back up and down. "Heh, it's all right. I thought I was here to cheer you up, baby girl?"

"Well…" She pulled away from me again. "The first time is always the heaviest, isn't it?"

"It is. Mother had a tough time as well whether to teach me or not, but for the sake of saving the dragons, she had to. It was her toughest call in her life, by far, to teach her son how to kill. I also had my time in processing it all after I did it," I explained. "You'll be all right, Anna. I'm here."

Once again, silence filled the air. There was only the sound of the waterfall from afar, but it was so far that I could only hear her soft breathing. I stared into the fire of the candle while keeping Anna close to me.

"… What's the plan for tomorrow?" She asked.

"We go up. See what's what. That's about it," I replied. "Well, of course, some will stay here to guard the base. I'll probably have Elsa and Eret, that's about it."

"I wanna go," she said, looking almost like she was pleading.

"Then… you shall go," I smiled. "Will you be all right? We're going to need you not inside your head."

"I won't be inside my head," she said as reassuringly as possible. "I promise."

I replied with a nod and a kiss by her temple, which she smiled to. Without my awareness, Anna pulled me into a kiss. It was passionate from the very start, deep, and hard. There was a moment where we 'pulled' away, but our lips remained brushing against each other's. The looks on her eyes; I have never seen them before. She smacked her lips onto mine again, her hand gripping my shirt and pulling it up as she made my entire weight collapse on hers. Everything I sensed from her; her hands on my bare skin, her lips brushing against mine, her soft moans, they demanded more.

I was only hoping nobody would enter the room abruptly.

Morning arrived. I could tell so from the window of the cabin that allowed sunshine land onto my closed eyelids.

I peeled my eyes slowly but surely. Of course, Anna was the first thing I saw. Her head was rested on my shoulder, a blanket covering her entire body except for her very shoulders, which were exposed. The queen was sleeping soundlessly. She was quite the soothing sight to see, to be completely frank. That is, until she flipped to the other side, away from me, leaving a stain of drool on my shoulder.

"What the fu—"

I bolted upright, cleaning off the drool off of my shoulder with the blanket. It was as hard to clean off as Toothless' drool. God knows what her drool is made of. It was a no brainer for me to rush to the bathroom to clean myself off.

Minutes passed, and I was as fresh as the morning dew once I came out of the bathroom, completely in a different attire There I saw Anna already awake.

"Hey! Morning, Your Majesty!" I greeted. She took her time to recollect herself before greeting me back.

"Morningggg… you've already washed yourself?"

"Yeah, I have. I just had the urge to… um, get prepared for today's trip," I excused. I didn't want to mention her drool. She seemed clueless about it.

"Mkay…" She yawned loudly. "How early do you want to go?"

"Uhh… we can take our time…" I replied.

"Alrighty then… why dun ya come here and cuddle? Come on babe, a cuddle is a must after a night like that," she blatantly replied while gesturing the empty space next to her. I chuckled uneasily, but she was right. It wouldn't hurt to give the girl some more affection. With that, I sighed in defeat and went over to lay down next to her again. Without being told, Anna scooched herself closer to me, setting herself in the exact position before I discovered the disastrous drool of her while wrapped by the blanket. However, her sweetness blinded me. I kissed her by the forehead, and it didn't take us long until both of us fell asleep again.

Well, I was merely asleep by half. Most of my senses were still on guard, and my skin sensed something wet on my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see what it was, and from the edge of her lips streamed down her drool.

"Okay…" I gently placed Anna's head on the pillow instead. I shook her shoulder slowly to wake her up.

"Anna… wake up."

She softly moaned. That's the moment my nose picked a particular sense on the air. Mrs. Hoffman's cooking!

"Anna, breakfast is ready!" I called. Her eyes opened slowly.

"… It is?"

"Yeah! Don't you smell it? It's Mrs. Hoffman's cooking!"

She sniffed a few on the air, and she immediately picked the scent I meant. "You're right!"

"Get dressed. I'll be waiting outside, okay?" I got myself up, but then Anna pulled my collar with a hand and planted her lips on mine. She planted a few more kisses before letting go, her blue eyes staring into my green ones while smiling.

"I love you, Hiccup."

The magic three words that consisted of eight letters very much touched my heart. It warmed me on the inside.

"I love you too, Anna."

I stole a kiss on her cheek and left the room to leave her be. On the outside, the scent of the cooking was much stronger. As if I was guided by it, I walked to the direction of whatever cooking was being prepared by Mrs. Hoffman. There I saw a bonfire with large bowl in the middle. It was half empty, since everyone was circling it, enjoying each's portion on a plate and talking to each other. Elsa spotted my presence and signaled me to sit next to her.

I nodded and grabbed a plate for my own. After grabbing a portion for my breakfast, I sat next to Elsa.

"You got her, tiger," she nudged me.

I didn't understand what she meant. "Sorry, what?"

"I could see why Anna 'needed' you," Elsa smiled dirtily, finishing her breakfast. Oh goodness, she knew. I blew a raspberry in defeat.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"I uh… came in and saw you two 'knocked out'. I knocked the door first, okay?" She said.

I chuckled. "Okay, okay. Well, yeah. I totally didn't expect to end the night like that, to be fair."

She rubbed my shoulder. "Chill, Hiccup. I know I can trust you."

I merely smiled before I continued with my breakfast. It didn't take long until Anna showed up in the circle to have her breakfast. We conversed, laughed, basically enjoying each other's company. Mid-conversation, I scanned the others and their portions. Most people were done with their breakfasts. Seeing so, I stood up and cleared my throat to gain their attention.

"All right. Good morning," I greeted.

"Morning," everybody replied in unison.

"We have finally arrived back to our rightful land. Of course, it was not the smoothest landing there was, since we had company last night. But, no one was harmed, and I'm more than glad to know that," I explained. My listeners nodded down in confirmation.

"Right. Anyway, we are here. Anna, Elsa, Eret and I will climb our way up to the top through the labyrinth to see the situation. The rest of you stay here; keep your eyes on the entrance of the labyrinth and the cave's entrance. They might not know that there's even a cave down behind the waterfall, but we best always keep an eye," I commanded. "Look after each other. They must've already known that eight of their men have disappeared, so stay alert. If we're compromised, we are done for."

My warning inevitably built nerves among them, but we were Vikings.

"That is all from me. Would anybody add something?" I asked.

Anna's POV

Here we go. A climb to the top with my sister, Hiccup, and Mr. Eret. I had myself geared up well; my shield on my back, my blade tucked on my belt, and my leather armor around me along with knee and shoulder pads. Of course, I was the only one equipped the most in the team; Elsa had her power, Eret only brought a sword, and Hiccup his hatchets. After bidding the ones we left behind farewell, we embarked on our journey with Hiccup on the very front, holding a torch.

The 'labyrinth' was not the one I had in mind. At first, there were staircases carved on the rocky path, but soon, they slowly disappeared, either eaten by mosses or other natural causes. I nearly lost my footing several times because of the slippery ground.

The labyrinth was also more like a cave; tight spaces everywhere, very minimum lighting, and very damp. The hexagonal rocks were not so helping in providing space on our path. However, I could see why the Berkians referred it as a labyrinth; multiple paths. We stumbled upon many cross paths, each with different altitudes and looks. However, Hiccup always seemed confident with his decision whenever we had to pick a path. But then it hit me.

"Hiccup?" I called.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Um… Did your people know about this labyrinth?" I asked. "You know… some might've run away to here."

Before he could reply, Eret accidentally kicked something metallic while walking. When he neared his torch to the direction of whatever he kicked, I gasped at the sight.

"Well, Your Majesty… there's your answer. The Therondians chased 'em," Eret answered.

It was a Viking's helm, stained in blood. I was so not interested in finding the corpse of the owner of this helm. I was still recovering from the tragedy last night, so I looked away and continued the climb.

Since we were climbing, it was inevitable for us to take steep terrain as we progressed on. I swore time was walking slower if we were to do something tiring, like this.

"How long until we reach the top, Hiccup?" Elsa asked.

"Just a moment…" He answered. Somehow, he didn't sound tired at all. I could only wonder how. And why.

Before we were going to take the steep route because of its obvious steepness, Hiccup and Eret stopped at a wall.

"Found something, boys?" I asked.

Hiccup only waved to me and Elsa to say to come over, not even batting an eye. They remained staring at the seemingly interesting wall of rock in front of them.

"See anything particularly interesting?" Eret asked with a smile. I scanned the wall thoroughly with the available lighting. I found nothing.

"Nu uh… I don't see anything," I replied.

"No wait, Anna—look," Elsa pointed at the wall. Closing one eye, I carefully looked to the 'thing' her finger pointed at, and discovered a line. My eyes followed the line and discovered what the fuss was all about; there was a door in front of us!

"You got good eyes, Elsa," Hiccup complimented. "Now help me with this."

Both Hiccup and Eret began to push the wall with their shoulders. Elsa and I joined force, and slowly, we sensed the wall moving. It really took the four of us to really move the heavy rocky door all the way, until we were inside a large round chamber.

It was hard to make out at first, but the chamber we were in was so tall, and on top, a tiny speck of light illuminated the chamber, though its light barely reached where we were. I assumed that speck was our way to the top of the island. It was almost like we were inside a tower!

"Let's close it first, ladies," Hiccup called. Seeing that the boys were doing the job on their own, Elsa and I helped them right away. After some good grunts, we closed the door.

"Wow… where are we?" Elsa asked, looking up above the chamber. I was about to ask the same thing, but I was so preoccupied by the amazing interior of the environment.

"We call it the Sky Crane," Eret answered, gesturing to what seemed to be an elevator with his torch. Only after he gave enough lighting to reveal it did we notice the mechanism the elevator towering to the top of the chamber, in which I was sure it reached the top. How convenient!

"We made this a long time ago, but never really used it since there was not much to see down there. Did you think we were going to waste our energy by climbing our way up?" Hiccup chuckled. "Come."

We stepped on the wooden elevator, old creaking noise sounding as each of us stepped on. It was not the most comfortable thing to hear since it only indicated that the mechanism was old.

"All right, hopefully we don't plummet into our death…" Hiccup hoped after closing the door of the elevator. With a pull of a lever, the elevator began to rise to the top. It was slow, but it was more convenient than walking.

There was enough space for all of us to sit down, so we sat down. It was the perfect time for a conversation, and Elsa seemed to have something to say as she rounded her mouth.

"Ah, how could I forget?" Elsa said, smacking her own forehead. "Hiccup, we haven't told you about the result of last night's interrogation."

"Ah yes. We have not," Eret added. "We received some interesting information."

Hiccup was drawn interested right away. "All right. Tell me."

Elsa sighed deeply before beginning. "The Therondians have… sadly, already got their hands on the dragons. So, do not be surprised if the first thing we hear once we reach the top is some dragon's cries."

Hiccup clicked his tongue, resting his chin on his hand. "Damn it…"

Eret continued. "The sergeant was not so informative due to his low rank… but it appears that the Therondians have this man whose specialty in dragons helped them lure the dragons out of the Hidden World. I don't know what it is, but it's working, apparently. Right now, as we speak, their ships are returning with more dragons, finishing the first wave. They are going to load all the dragons they have gathered on the island and return to Therondia to sell them."

"Do you not have any more information regarding this man and his specialty?" I asked.

Eret shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The sergeant never even saw the man himself, just rumors of him."

Hiccup processed everything for a moment. I looked up to see just how much we had progressed, and the speck of light still seemed small. We were still far away from the top.

"So… if they are finishing their first wave of shipment, does that mean there will be no ships at the entrance of the Hidden World?" Hiccup asked.

"Exactly," Elsa replied. "Every Therondian ship will have been here in a matter of… the sergeant said that they embarked back from there, the Hidden World, six days ago. How long do you think it will take them to get back here?"

"Six days…" Hiccup murmured. "It's a nine days boat trip from here to the Hidden World… So, three more days until we have all Therondians back here. If not, two."

We watched Hiccup pondering on his own while staring to the floor of the elevator. Elsa, on the other hand, looked a bit uneasy with herself, biting her bottom lip, as if she had more to say.

"Elsa, you're okay?" I asked.

She looked to me in the same manner. "There's one more thing, Anna… I'm afraid it involves our home."

Oh no.

"What is it?" I asked.

"The sergeant told me that… Therondia was going to send a fleet of ships to Arendelle for… 'diplomacy' matter within a week. This could very well be a threat," she paused, gulping nervously, "Of a war."

My stomach dropped at the disheartening news.

"We have to be there before they get to our home," Elsa completed. It was unnoticed, but Hiccup had his jaw dropped at the news as well. It was more than safe to say that we had two overwhelmed leaders on this very small platform.

The platform stopped abruptly. All of us looked above and discovered the 'speck' of light we had earlier was already in reach. I could see trees and grass and sense the much fresher air.

"We're here," Eret spoke.