in this entry: we see how some of the berkians feel about Hiccup's sudden acceptance
Entry 95
For the first time in years, my father had me attend a town meeting. And let's just say, not everyone was exactly happy with it.
I remember a lot of meetings when I was between six and ten. I think that was the period when my dad was most adamant on making me the perfect future chief. But as things got worse, and more people began to disregard the idea that I would ever be a good heir, he stopped bringing me. But today, he asked that I join him again. I agreed, but on one condition: that Toothless also be present.
...Which is how I ended up at the council table with a dragon seated behind me.
Everyone else were regulars: Dad, Gobber, Spitelout, Hoark, and Phlegma. The issue at hand: fishing shortages.
Apparently, the dragons have been fishing in the same spots as our fishermen, and we haven't been getting as big a yield. Now, I immediately had an idea of how to fix this problem: just have the dragons fish WITH us, to combine our catch. But simple solutions are never so simple for Vikings. Plus, I'd never spoken at a meeting before; I didn't think I was supposed to.
So, I listened to the other five at the table fight with each other for half an hour. Hoark and Spitelout suggested we get rid of the dragons, which my dad and Gobber opposed. Phlegma's specialty is plants so I don't even know why she was there. Gobber suggested we build more offshore fishing spots, which my dad said would never last with the wild ocean patterns. Hoark suggested the dragons could be emergency provisions, which led Toothless to get aggressive and my dad to threaten him banishment from the table. Gobber and Spitelout got into a fistfight at one point for no apparent reason, and all the while, I just sat there with a hand over my face, wishing these people would stop and think for a moment.
"What about you, Hiccup? What do YOU think we should do?"
I snapped back to attention. Had my father just asked ME for input? I blinked, trying to think of the best way to put my (admittedly obvious) idea.
...When Hoark spoke. "Why're you asking HIM? It's not like anything he could say would be useful."
Almost like a reflex, I bit my tongue. Responding never did any good in situations like this, and it was always easier to just take it silently.
My dad did not.
"Hiccup is Berk's future chief, and as such, we will take his suggestions into consideration," he said in his Authoritative Voice.
"Besides, he's got some brains up there," Gobber added. "More than you, that's for sure."
But Hoark wasn't finished. "Since when did we start taking advice from the runts? In all my time on this council, that's the one thing we agreed on."
My father had a look on his face that I hadn't seen in a long time. The look he usually reserved for defending my mother. "Then you'll be pleased to know that, by order of the chief, you're relieved from this council."
The two men locked eyes for a moment before Hoark stood and left the table. Before he was completely gone, though, he said one final thing. "Just know I'm not the only one who thinks that. Just because he saved us doesn't mean we've forgotten everything else he did." And then, he left the Hall before my dad could say anything else.
The meeting ended a little abruptly after that. I think I'll tell my dad my dragon idea later, but right now, I'm just grateful. When we got home, Dad told me that what Toothless and I did was the single bravest thing any Berkian has ever done, and those men don't know what they're talking about. He said again how he wished he could change the past, and that he's trying to make up for it. And… he hopes I know how proud he is of me.
Honestly, I can take a few people still thinking I'm worthless. I lived with that idea for so long that I actually started to believe it was true. I still fear for the future, and what I can do to be the chief Berk deserves, but I also have a heck of a lot more hope. Because if my dad finally sees me for who I am, then maybe... that's all I really need.
Until next time…
-H