A/N: I'm back for another chapter! Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites so far and I'm glad so many of you are enjoying the story! This chapter is a bit longer than the past few ones and I've got to say it's one of my favourites :)

It might also be good to note that this chapter contains ideas that could be considered headcanons regarding Maces and Talons strategy that I probably got from BeyondTheClouds777's story "S2E1: Skeletons in the Closet", though I know other stories that have it too. If you're looking for another good story to read, I do recommend it but you don't have to to understand this chapter. Anyway... enjoy!

Chapter 7

Hiccup's urge to ask about Viggo's behaviour dwindled when the Grimborn returned, acting normally and with a brand new tunic and leather armour in tow. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent trimming the clothing down where needed – and it was needed. Given the limited nutritional value that Johann's prison food provided, Hiccup hadn't exactly put on weight over the past months. It took a while, but eventually, they got it to fit and Hiccup was able to transfer his belt and sheathed weapons onto his new attire.

The distraction of clothing, however, had allowed the sun to set while the new bed they had been making for Hiccup was still missing a leg – which led to another discussion as to who would be sleeping in the only usable bed. And since Hiccup's determination was no longer limited by exhaustion, Viggo eventually gave in and used it while Hiccup slept on the rug on the floor downstairs.

Several days followed relatively uneventfully after that. Together, Viggo and Hiccup finished making the bed and set it up in a corner on the ground floor of the hut. Then they proceeded to make another chair so that they wouldn't have to use the stool when eating together. Hiccup spent an afternoon tweaking his prosthetic leg, studying the Zippleback gas mechanism that Viggo had added to his Inferno prototype and working on how to adjust his own sword so that an additional canister could be attached. They were adequately kept busy until came a day when Hiccup woke up and realised there was no more woodwork or inventing needing to be done.

When he heard Viggo coming down the stairs that morning, he was already up. He wasn't doing anything in particular, but he had noticed that in the opposite corner of the room, on top of a pile of logs, lay a box-like shape covered in a small rag. He couldn't help wondering what it was and whether his suspicion was correct.

"Good morning," Viggo greeted as he reached the ground floor, before opening the door to the house and walking out into the forest clearing.

"Morning," Hiccup answered, following him outside to where Stormchaser and Freedom lay under the wooden shelter they slept under. They greeted their respective dragons when something caught Viggo's eye.

"You're not using your crutch," he said with a smile, looking at the prosthetic that Hiccup had been unable to wear until now. "Is your stump healed?"

"Yeah," Hiccup said. "The swelling and pain have finally settled down," He paused and shrugged. "It's nice to have my own two feet again," Viggo nodded in understanding, then suddenly looked alarmed as his stomach growled loudly. Hiccup burst out laughing.

"Might I suggest we catch some fish for breakfast?" Viggo said, unable to stop a smile.

"What do you say, Freedom, do you think we can be faster than Viggo and Stormchaser?" Hiccup smirked at his dragon, who immediately perked up at the sound of a challenge.

"Are you quite sure about that, Hiccup?" Viggo had a good-humoured smirk on his face as he mounted his Skrill but by the time he was settled, the younger rider was already up in the air, laughing into the wind.

Hiccup won the race easily and while Viggo might have pointed out the unfair advantage he had had, he was too focussed on his empty stomach to bother. Within a few minutes, the two were sitting outside on the rocks with the fresh fish cooking over the crackling fire.

"So," Hiccup began, the mysterious box in the hut imprinted in his mind. "What do you normally do around here, besides making furniture?" Viggo momentarily looked up from the flames.

"Not much really," he replied, shrugging. "I've taken Stormchaser on flights exploring, though not every island is hospitable to me. Not that I blame them. It might take a while for me to gain the trust of the archipelago. In a way I don't need to, what with living fairly isolated like this. I've also explored the forest, found a höggormr or two,"

"A what?"

"A venomous snake. They only bite when they feel attacked, but it's something to watch out for near the spring," Viggo paused. "Actually, there is something I haven't been able to do in the months I lived alone..." He looked up at Hiccup, who was already smirking.

"Was that a Maces and Talons board I saw inside?"

"It was indeed," Viggo was now smirking too, sitting up straight as he read the challenge in Hiccup's eyes. "Something I managed to pick up at the Northern Markets. The merchant seemed a little suspicious of me but even if he did recognise me, he didn't comment on it. I don't think I have to ask whether you'd like to play," He offered a cooked fish to Hiccup, who took it, the smirk never leaving his face. Viggo raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that as a yes."

After they had finished the fish and cleaned up, it didn't take long for the game board to make its appearance and be set up on the table inside. From the moment Viggo set it down, he could see all playfulness leave Hiccup, as he looked over the board with a serious expression.

"The Viking chief starts," Viggo said, nodding expectantly at Hiccup. The Rider didn't look up but made his move in silence. The Grimborn frowned, a strategy forming in his head.

It was a good number of moves later that Viggo raised an eyebrow as he started to realise what Hiccup was doing. His opponent was playing brutally but carefully, taking time to think and then making unexpected offensive moves. Viggo had tried to initiate conversation or make comments several times, but Hiccup was unresponsive.

Some moves later, however, he didn't bother trying to start an exchange anymore. His look of amusement had turned into a frown. Not just because of the ruthlessness with which Hiccup played, but also the success he was having with it. The Grimborn was finding himself being backed into a rather precarious situation.

"You do realise that ruthlessness is not a strategy, I hope," he said in an effort to keep a strong façade. But maybe that was a lie. Maybe that was Hiccup's strategy. It would make sense, given how Hiccup seemed to be willingly sacrificing pieces to gain ground. It was working – but that, Viggo realised, was because he wasn't used to playing against someone who played like him. Of course, Hiccup had proved himself to be a worthy opponent during their feud, thinking strategically to the point of rivalling his own way of playing. But Hiccup had always played carefully in a different sense, unwilling to make sacrifices. Now, Hiccup had essentially switched their roles – which meant that if Viggo wanted any chance at winning, he would need to play differently, the way that Hiccup had played and beat him multiple times.

If Hiccup noticed Viggo's sudden change in strategy, he didn't let on. The frown on his face showed no sign of moving and Viggo had to give the boy credit for having such a poker face. It didn't show confidence or weakness, just determination.

Only a few minutes later, though, after Viggo had carefully placed his pieces in what to an untrained eye would seem an utterly confusing formation, Hiccup's mask of impassivity started to waver slightly. The Grimborn remained calm, glancing between Hiccup and the board as he figuratively turned the tables, pushing Hiccup into the defensive with all of his pieces – never putting any in harm's way, trying to think like Hiccup would have, like Hiccup should have now.

When he was finally cornered, Hiccup leaned back in his chair, eyes still trained on the board. Viggo didn't gloat but simply watched Hiccup's expression. He hoped that the irony of the victory would be evident. They had practically switched battle strategies.

"Checkmate. You know, Hiccup, when the world is driven towards ruthlessness, sometimes it is the man with the opposite strategy who has the key," the Grimborn said carefully, trying as much as he could to not sound patronising. "You showed that to me. While I may have thought differently in the past, I do not believe that any lack of ruthlessness I may have previously alluded to is a weakness. Compassion is not your downfall." He studied Hiccup's face but wasn't able to gauge anything. The Rider was still staring at the board, frowning. Viggo could only hope his words didn't fall on deaf ears.

"How about a rematch?" Hiccup said suddenly, rising sharply from the chair and walking behind Viggo to the other side of the room. The older man raised an eyebrow, not having expected that. He shrugged, leaning forward to set up the game again.

"Alright," he said. "Would you like to play the role of the Marauder this time?"

"Catch," came Hiccup's reply and Viggo was only just quick enough in turning around to catch his sword the Rider had thrown at him. He frowned.

"You want to play Maces and Talons with swords?"

"Why not? We played Maces and Talons over Heather before, didn't we? It's just another way of playing the game in real life," Hiccup answered with a straight face. Viggo rose from his chair, looked down at his fire sword, then back up at the young man in front of him.

"Just sparring, correct?"

"Of course."

"First to disarm his opponent wins?" Hiccup nodded. "Alright then," Viggo agreed. He had to admit that despite having played in real life many times as leader of the Dragon Hunters, the idea of Maces and Talons in the form of sword fighting was a little out of his comfort zone. That took away most of the strategy, he thought, making the scale too small and the possible moves limited. Either way, he and Hiccup went outside into the clearing and raised their swords – both unlit.

Hiccup, once again, showed no sign of casualness as he eyed Viggo. This, the Rider thought to himself with determination, would reveal whether the time he'd spent in his cell pondering and mentally rehearsing had yielded any benefit. It was only sparring, yet he felt self-applied pressure as he contemplated his first move.

He didn't have any more time to ponder, however, as Viggo struck first. Hiccup was quick to defend himself and the two swords clashed loudly against each other. He could already feel that this fight was different from the last time – after Viggo's fake terror mail had lured him onto an uninhabited island. Then again, Viggo hadn't been trying to fight that time, he had just wanted to talk. Other than that, the two of them had never really engaged in one-on-one combat, not like this. Viggo had always had enough goons to do the physical fighting for him while he fought with his brain. Now it was time to combine the brains with the brawn – or at least, as much as they both had to offer.

It didn't take long for Hiccup's instincts to kick in. He had had enough practice with the sword for muscle memory to have built up, but now he didn't want instincts. He wanted to play Maces and Talons, to find the unexpected moves. So when Viggo swung his sword in his direction for the third time, he didn't block it, but side-stepped – allowing the man's own weight to throw him off balance. The Grimborn was quick to recover, however, and he met Hiccup's swing with force. The Rider pushed as hard as he could, then suddenly let go and ducked. But when this second attempt to make Viggo stumble failed, he figured it was time for a different strategy.

He waited for the older man to steady himself and then they were facing each other, both panting. Hiccup struck first this time, going for the feet. Viggo blocked him and Hiccup wasted no time to aim for his head, then for the feet, then for the head again, in a circular motion, leaving the Grimborn struggling to manoeuvre quick enough. Hiccup might not have much muscle, but he did have agility. And it was the cunning player in Maces and Talons to use any opportunity presented to him.

Hiccup could see Viggo's exhaustion as he swung at the feet again. The older man jumped to avoid the blow and the Rider, whose eyes were constantly on the sword, saw a chance, struck the sword and with a flick of the wrist, disarmed him. Both men looked down at Viggo's sword lying a few feet away from them as they caught their breaths.

"Impressive," the Grimborn said eventually, looking up at Hiccup. "Though even the best swordsman can be beaten by a trick he doesn't know." The Rider raised an eyebrow mirthfully.

"Are you doubting the outcome of the fight?" he asked, slightly disbelieving that Viggo was talking like a sore loser.

"I am merely observing that one fight alone is not always representative of one's skill."

"So, you want a rematch?"

"Perhaps."

"How about I ditch my sword then?" Hiccup suggested, sheathing his sword and pulling out his dagger. Now it was Viggo's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"You want to fight with daggers?"

"No, you can keep your sword," the Rider answered and Viggo's other eyebrow shot up.

"What are you trying to prove?" he said, eyeing Hiccup suspiciously. But Hiccup only met his gaze with innocent eyes.

"I'm not trying to prove anything. Are you up for it?"

"As you wish," Viggo shrugged, appearing to drop his questions. Hiccup smiled, not looking quite so serious after his last victory. He was genuinely curious as to who would win this one. And with that thought, he charged.

His dagger met Viggo's sword with another loud clang. The sword had the advantage of being longer – giving more leverage – and was easier to swing from a distance. Viggo was clearly using this advantage as he pushed Hiccup's weapon away and swung at his feet, forcing him to jump and dodge. He remembered, however, that he still had a free fist. While holding Viggo's sword at bay with his weapon he threw a punch at his stomach. Viggo dodged and came back for another swing and when the two weapons met, Hiccup slid his dagger down the length of the sword and then twisted upwards, causing the weapon to fly upwards out of Viggo's grip. Hiccup watched the sword in triumph until, much to his displeasure, Viggo managed to catch it again. The Rider found himself scowling when the Grimborn looked at him with a smug smile.

That was the moment something, some switch deep within him, flipped. His left fist clenched around the dagger in his hand as Viggo reestablished his grip on the hilt of his sword. Using gravity to help the swing, he brought to sword down towards Hiccup's head. Viggo was a good couple of inches taller than Hiccup, though the Rider had never really paid much attention to that until it was working against him now. He quickly brought up his dagger to block the blow, but he found his right knee buckling at the force. He growled, fighting to not crumple under the weight, but he was now kneeling under Viggo's sword with not much chance of rising again.

"Give up, Hiccup?" Viggo asked. It was malice-less teasing, just like what a friend like Astrid might have said to him when she won a fight just like this. But in the heat of the moment, with the image of Viggo smirking down at him still fresh in his mind, Hiccup wasn't fighting against a friend but an enemy. To his ears, Viggo was mocking him. A wave of hidden anger boiled in him, bubbling up to the surface. He rolled out from under Viggo's blade, causing the man to stumble as Hiccup grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back until he cried out in pain and dropped the sword. Perhaps it was merciful that Viggo couldn't see Hiccup's face as the Rider delivered a sharp kick to the back of Grimborn's knee with his prosthetic. Only then did he let go, watching as Viggo crumbled to the floor.

It took a few seconds for reality to dawn on him again and his victorious smile collapsed. Viggo was panting, groaning even, and Hiccup was fairly certain he could see red staining the fabric at the back of his knee. A pang of guilt stabbed him.

"Oh, Thor, Viggo, I-I'm sorry," he stammered, cursing at himself in his head for letting himself go like that. "I didn't m-mean that, I-I don't know what came over me, I-" He trailed off and watched as Viggo warily glanced up at him, then at the arm he'd twisted. And Hiccup did the first thing his brain thought of. He ran.

Not caring which direction he was running, he sprinted out of the clearing and into the depths of the forest. He never looked back, not even sparing a glance at where Viggo slowly rose to his feet and watched him flee. At some point, Hiccup realised he wasn't sure whether he was running away from Viggo, his own actions or the version of himself that had just hurt Viggo. And not just in some nightmare state of delirium, but fully aware. His sense of reason had been overridden by some anger, some ruthlessness, he hadn't realised he had.

As he slowed down to a walking pace, panting from exertion, he wondered whether he'd just blown any chance of a substantial friendship with Viggo. He was the only friend he had at the moment, the only one he was sure wasn't dead. He shouldn't be letting his emotions get the best of him.

It had been the smug smile, he realised as he walked out of the forest and onto a beach – the same beach he had seen from the cliff several days ago. It had been that smug smile that had thrown him off. He had seen it so often on enemies – and had so little contact with friends – that his first instinct had been to see Viggo as a foe. In that moment, with adrenaline in his veins and anger hidden deep inside him, the notion of a competitive grin had come across completely differently.

He sighed as he sat down on the sand, watching as the waves rushed up towards his legs and then retreated. The sound was relaxing. It was a glorious day. So why did he feel so dark inside?

When the thumping sound of footfalls came from behind him, he instantly recognized that Freedom was approaching. The dragon had enough of a bond with him to stick around and not seek some other place to live out his days, but Hiccup had tried to graciously avoid deepening their relationship any further, leaving Freedom to occupy himself on the island most of the time. It felt wrong to bond with another dragon knowing that he hadn't been there to save Toothless. But he couldn't deny wanting some comfort at the moment.

He tried to smile when Freedom nudged him from the side. It was so like his dear Night Fury but while it hurt, it was familiar enough to be reassuring. No matter what he had just done, this Monstrous Nightmare didn't think he was a monster.

Freedom rumbled softly, drawing Hiccup's attention. He looked up, seeing concern in the dragon's eyes. He smiled sadly in reply but it clearly wasn't enough for the Nightmare, who stomped into the incoming waves of the ocean. He flung his tail around, splashing Hiccup with water. The Rider chuckled, shaking the water out of his hair.

"Stop it, Freedom," He tried to be stern, sure that he was not in the mood for this at the moment. But the upward tug of his lips must have betrayed him because Freedom did it again. "Freedom, stop," he said again, but he was laughing as he shielded his face from the water. Another splash came and in fake frustration and just a slither of reluctance, he got up. "Fine," he tried to say between giggles. He kicked off his boot and ran into the water, kicking the water as hard as he could to splash the dragon. But Freedom flew up to dodge just in time, then landed heavily next to him, the impact causing more water to splash Hiccup.

"Hey! Unfair!" he shouted with indignation as Freedom laughed at him. He tried again to splash the dragon again, but he stopped when he saw the frightened eyes of the Monstrous Nightmare. "What? Do you not like water?" He was confused, it had been his idea to play this game. But then Freedom took off, flying in the other direction. "Freedom!" he called after him, sighing as he watched the dragon race into the distance. But he stiffened when he heard a harsh voice behind him and realised that it wasn't the water Freedom had been scared of.

"Hands behind your head!" the unfamiliar voice demanded. Hiccup whirled around to see a Hunter holding a crossbow and another walking quickly towards him, fist raised.

He hardly had time to open his mouth before the fist collided with his head and sent the world spinning.

A/N: Hehehe, it feels good to throw a cliffhanger into the story again. Sorry, not sorry. Either way, it's time for some action again ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, let me know your thoughts in the reviews and I'll see you on the next one!

~httydfangirl123