Hello! How are you all this fine evening? I cannot believe there is only two days to go after this! Time really has flown by!
I am just popping in here to say thank you all so much once again for all of your support. It really means a lot and is fuelling me to keep going.
It's day 10 of Snoggletog, and we are back with part two of this three-shot. I did notice that quite a few of you have not had a chance to read yesterdays fic, which is absolutely fine! I do not expect you to read absolutely every one-shot I write (though if you have then thank you!!!) but as you could probably guess, I'd advise you to go back and do so prior to reading this one so that it makes sense!
I don't have much else to say, but enjoy folks! :)
.oOo.
Waking up on top of a mountain was not exactly where Hiccup expected to be. The once vast Greenland's now covered in snow, stretching as far as he could see. The sky was a bright blue colour, without a cloud in sight, and Hiccup couldn't help admitting that everything within his line of sight was rather beautiful.
And then a harsh shove in his back as he stood up propelled him forward, back into reality.
"Get a move on," Ryker prodded him with the blunt end of the spear again, and Hiccup momentarily lost all equilibrium, stumbling before catching himself, right on the verge of falling.
"And where exactly is it I am moving on to, if I may ask?" Hiccups words may have been polite, but you could tell by his tone of voice that it was snarly and that he meant business.
"No, you may not ask," Ryker whipped around and punched him in the face, and Hiccup staggered, momentarily in shock. "And that's what you get for doing so."
There was silence as they walked down the overgrown hill. The snow crunched viciously underneath their feet, and Hiccup felt as if there was a threat at every angle. The trees, now bare without their leaves, even seemed to be glaring at him as he walked by. Suddenly it was a lot harder to see the beauty in it all.
"Where's Toothless? What have you done with him?" Hiccup said after a few moments wait, until the questions leapt right out of his mouth before he could even attempt to suppress them.
Ryker growled. "He got away. Scampered as soon as we grabbed you. But don't you worry," A suspicious smirk overcame the hunter' face. "We'll catch him soon enough. As you well know, Hiccup, a downed dragon is a dead dragon, and thanks to you, your Nightfury is exactly that."
The hunter cackled and prodded Hiccup once again, apparently just for the fun of it.
What had he gotten himself into?
.oOo.
"Can you believe Hiccup actually left without us? Haha! What a muttonhead!" Snotlout remarked, but Astrid ignored him. They were well into their flight to Viggo's island, and Astrid was sick of people jibing at her about Hiccup not listening.
How could she not have guessed it before! Hiccup never listens! Thor, why couldn't he just have told her he was set on the plan. Then again, she had to admit that she was just as stubborn as he was, and probably wouldn't have gone along with it no matter what he said.
And that's when the island came into view.
Large and magnificent, just as she'd last seen it, it was a fortress of weapons and hunters.
There is not a chance in Valhalla that Hiccup made it passed all of those hunters. Astrid thought, just as the others must have, she noticed when all of their comments finally fell short.
"We need to get down there and find him," She spoke with confidence, determination prevailing. "This is Hiccup we are talking about here. He has cheated death more times than anyone. He'll be alright. But if he is down there, he'll need our help, and quickly," She took a short breath as she looked around herself, attempting to devise a plan. "Split up. Scan the ground. Leave no stone unturned. But whatever you do, stay out of the hunters' line of sight." She knew this would be impossible with the sheer amount of them versus the size of their dragons, but it was worth a shot.
They had to find him. And quickly.
.oOo.
"There," One last shove in Hiccup's back, and he heard himself let out an audible grunt of discomfort, making the Grimborn brother smile. "In you go. Viggo's waiting for you."
It had taken them at least an hour of trudging through the snow to get back onto level ground, and Hiccup found himself slightly lethargic as the pain in his back increased, and his shoulders tightened from the pressure of the handcuffs around his wrists.
He entered the building they were stood in front of willingly, knowing exactly what he was expected to do before he had even had it implied to him.
Walls towering high into the blue sky above, the stone building them clear and yet damaged by some obvious claw marks and burns. Lines of chains sealed the tip, tighter than usual to prevent all chance of escape.
Hiccup glanced around cautiously as he approached the centre, where a man stood, back turned, twirling an on-fire weapon around and around.
"I think you may find that that belongs to me."
Viggo slowly turned around, keeping Inferno alight, but steadying it, positioned right next to his head.
"I must say, Hiccup, it is a rather clever invention. How it lights up with such a steady flame amazed me. Though, I dare say it could still do with some polishing. A few extra tweaks, perhaps?"
Hiccup glared at him.
"It will be a fine addition to my weapons room nevertheless. Now, just as I have begun to see you as a rather worthy opponent for someone as good at Maces and Talons as I am, you have disappointed me, Hiccup. Here you stand in front of me, hands tied, with no dragon to protect you, no friends to protect you. You flew straight into my trap. And I did so see you as smarter than that." He began to pace. "Nonetheless, I cannot deny my amusement in which my plan is taking shape far earlier than I originally deemed. The excitement has been rather hard to contain."
Viggo whipped a keep from his pocket and clapped. Suddenly thousands of Vikings began to flood the benches and chairs which surrounded the arena, all chattering in anticipation for the events about to unfold.
Taking his sweet, sweet time, he loosened the padlock on the handcuffs securing Hiccup's wrists, and the young viking rubbed them gingerly as he noticed the red scars which had formed around where they had sat.
"Have fun, my dear friend. Perhaps I'll see you on the other side, yes?" He chortled to himself slightly and exited through a hole in the wall, which was immediately closed by a dragon-proof gate, which had the smallest of spaces between bars.
"Ladies, Vikings and hunters! This is the moment you have all been waiting for!" Hiccup glanced around as the crowd began to cheer. Viggo had taken his place on a throne built especially for him, Hiccup presumed. Trapped inside of an arena, where there was no doubts that at some point, Hiccup was going to become stuck with a deadly creature, its only aim to kill him... it reminded him so much of that time when he was fifteen, and he had been forced alongside a wild Monstrous Nightmare and told to kill it. Instead, he had attempted to train it, only to fail.
And he just knew this time was going to be the opposite. Let's just say, he knew that killing was an option which wasn't even on the table.
The last time, the only thing which had kept him alive had been Toothless. And now he had lost that lifeline too, he was unsure of how to feel, alone in the face of danger.
Toothless. Despite the critical situation he was stuck within, he couldn't help but wonder about his dragon's whereabouts and well-being. He knew Ryker was right about one thing; without him, Toothless was a downed dragon, and that was thanks to him in the first place. He just had to pray with every remaining inch of his life that he was wrong about him being dead.
A rattle of chains and the sound of the movement of wood snapped Hiccup back into reality once again, cursing himself for allowing his mind to get the better of him once again.
He had to focus if he wanted to remain with any chances of survival.
"The time has come for Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III to train the Snow Wraith and let us get the key for ourselves, finally giving us the answer to all dragon knowledge-"
Hiccup glanced up once again, and saw Astrid and Stormfly hovering above in shock, probably attempting to come up with means to get him out of there before the fight began. But Hiccup knew it was too late. They both knew it was too late.
"-and if he fails," Viggo continued, oblivious to the other dragon rider's presence.
"We watch the Snow Wraith kill him itself."