I'm dissatisfied and at the same time so proud of this chapter. It's fast, it's intense, and even though it might be random, it has taken this story right to where I want it! Please enjoy and don't kill me!

Trap

Flynn had two things; a good horse and a sense of urgency. North had been gone for a full day, everyone knew, understood even, that the man had gone to find his son. And Flynn was burning to go after him, if unable to convince him to return then to help him find Jack.

Oh, and he also had Snotlout at his bar spurting half-broken nonsense in between cursing and drinking.

"Mildew was so mean. My Hookfang. Astrid was there. I heard Hiccup. I don't get it."

"I understand," Flynn said, hoping he sounded convincing. In his ears nothing made sense. He figured some of the words that Snotlout spoke at random were names, since that was a thing in this village, but he wasn't paying enough attention and didn't really care either way.

"I don't get it," Snotlout said for the third time. By his side Dogsbreath was already downed by the alcohol.

Flynn sighed, irritated, and looked straight at the tattooed man. "Tell me about it."

At that, Snotlout suddenly looked up. His eyes were wide and glassy and he stared at Flynn as if he'd never seen him before.

"Where did everyone go?" the man asked, and Flynn was shocked to see this big bully look so helpless. "Hiccup was gone. We were looking for him, but then the dragons just took off. And I saw Hiccup… He disappeared… into the Night Fury…"

Flynn glanced into the room. There was happy chatter and clinking of mugs like always. More subdued than it had ever been, but still present.

He leaned on the counter, into Snotlout's space, hoping to pull him back out because the other was withdrawing into himself. Because Flynn trusted his instincts, and they were currently shouting at him that this was somehow important.

"Where did this happen?"

Snotlout looked up, but he was still very much gone, lost somewhere inside the maze that was his madness.

"At the place where Iduna shows the way."

Flynn leaned back. Iduna was a local goddess or other form of entity. The original villagers worshipped a plethora of different gods and goddesses, and as an innkeeper, Flynn and his parents had taken the time to learn about them. But Iduna wasn't mentioned amongst the more common ones.

But Iduna's Outpost had been mentioned once before. Someone had said before that North Overland had taken the old road to Burgess, but had taken a wrong turn.

The old road to Burgess circled the mountains, and it started right at North's farm.

Now Flynn at last had a good horse and a destination.

Astrid was guarding the door to Jack's room again, half asleep. She felt like she'd been in a bad mood for a while. Strange. She should be happier like everyone else. Jack seemed to genuinely want to help them. He appeared to care about Hiccup. That should be a good thing.

But she and Bunny were still taking turns guarding Jack's door at night. Of course Bunny was heartbroken over Easter, but the years had made his reasoning twisted. After depending on Easter for so long, Astrid wasn't all that surprised the vase had become somewhat obsessed with guarding Jack, because what else could he do? Where else was he supposed to aim his aggression and fear and who else was there to provide support.

Hiccup could only do so much for them.

Astrid hated it.

She hated the curse. Hated the toymaker that had come and ultimately brought Jack here. She hated Jack too. She had to hate someone. She had to be angry at someone. Hope was too cruel. It just hurt and caused paranoia. But anything was better than the emptiness that had been eating away at her for ten years.

Even though seeing some life return to Hiccup's eyes broke Astrid's heart further.

"Oh, Astrid. You're here?"

The candlestick looked up, startled and still dazed with sleep. Jack was in front of her. But she was tired. Maybe she was dreaming?

"What are you doing up? What's the time? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

The human fidgeted in front of her. At least Astrid thought so, she wasn't really looking. Her eyelids were so heavy.

"I was sleeping, but something woke me up and I couldn't go back to sleep. Can I take you with me for a nightly stroll?"

It took about three seconds for Astrid to register that Jack had come with a request. "Huh? Sure."

"Thanks!"

Jack hesitated, and then he grabbed Astrid by the foot.

"What are you doing?" the candlestick asked sleepily.

"Well, you're a girl. I don't want to touch any… sensitive areas."

The candlestick let out a huffing breath. "I wish your father had been that considerate. You know what he did? He stuck his finger right up between my legs! I haven't been so humiliated since I woke up like this!"

It was a sleepy rant, and Astrid didn't realize what she said. She didn't notice Jack's burning face either.

"I'm… terribly sorry. Dad was really clumsy when he was here."

"Uh-huh. Like how he killed Easter. I was there, you know. The toymaker held me like a weapon, and I saw her. When she started to fall. But she was a figurine made of clay. Even if she turned to catch herself, there was no way she would have survived. And that man didn't even notice someone died right beside him. He just saw Hiccup and he tried to hit him with me. Good thing Hiccup can roar. Did you know? When Hiccup roar we freeze. Good thing. It gave him time to knock the toymaker out and take him away. I was placed on the floor. Right beside Easter. See my arms? All I could use them for was spread light over the mess. I wish I couldn't. It hurt. And then you came around, and I just saw Easter lying there in pieces."

Jack stared at the candlestick in his hands. Astrid had never spoken a lot before, and now he wished she would stop. It was still his father she talked about, and Jack hated hearing about this incident. It hurt more each time.

"Astrid?"

"Huh?" the candlestick looked up at him and squinted. "What? Jack? Why are you up?"

So she really had fallen asleep.

"Do you hate me?"

The blue eyes imbedded in the wax of a candle widened and Astrid shook herself. "Hate you? I…"

She looked away, and Jack knew.

"I can't even apologize," he said, feeling his eyes burn. "I can't imagine how you feel, I really can't. But he's my dad."

"What? Hey! What did I say?!"

Jack shook his head and started down the corridor. He remembered something that hadn't really mattered before. There was a window at the top of the main building.

"I guess you were talking in your sleep. You told me about Easter and the night she died."

Astrid was awake now. At first she just felt cold horror, but she'd always been a woman of action, and it had always been her who had been Hiccup's rock and shoulder to lean on, so she pushed all those distracting feelings aside.

"So? Where are you going now? You already knew it was a mistake of your dad to come here."

Jack's expression pinched. "You're right; it was a mistake. And he wasn't even the first. Dad's not at fault to begin with, is he? What's his name again? The one who caused all this in the first place?"

At first, Astrid was perplexed, but then the fear struck her like lightning.

"Jack, where are you going?"

The teen slowed and looked around. He'd been around here with Gobber a few times, just looking around and making himself familiar with the castle. But he couldn't remember if he'd been shown a way to higher levels.

"The attic," he answered quietly.

"No! Jack, please! Don't do this! Don't go there! I don't hate you, I promise! Let's go down now."

Caught by surprise by Astrid's sudden desperate pleading, Jack stared at her. "Why? It's locked, isn't it? Hiccup didn't even sound all that concerned about it."

"Of course he said it like that, Jack! If he'd said it any other way it would have made you curious! How long do you think we've been here?! We've had a lot of time to think and a lot of people to think about after everything went wrong. Don't you think we've been herding you?! You know not everyone here is happy about your presence!"

The metal in Jack's hands was getting warm from the tremors going through Astrid's body. She was clinging to him now, begging, and in his mind Jack could see a woman kneeling on the ground pulling at his clothes with desperation.

He licked his lips. Maybe it had been a bad idea. But Jack still couldn't let the thought go.

"If I don't go there, if I leave the attic alone, will you tell me something else?"

The candlestick stared at him, incomprehensive. Somehow she'd turned into a mess. The small part of her that was still rational understood that her mental state was the result of ten years of screaming, begging and pleading to deaf ears. To suddenly be answered when she expected to be ignored, Astrid's thoughts kept going and fell out of her until everything in her mind was silent. She was a shell without any thoughts left. Just a pathetic candlestick.

Candles spread light. Light show the way.

"It's that way."

The human stared at Astrid, confused and frightened. Something had changed in her. She appeared to have broken in his hands, even thought she was still intact.

'Is this how Hiccup feels?' he thought. 'Is this what he's been experiencing for ten years?'

Clenching his teeth, Jack looked up in the direction Astrid had pointed out; a wall covered by a tapestry. It wasn't the first time he'd seen something like it. Gobber had once shown him a shortcut to the kitchen through the servants' hallways. Those entries were all hidden in strategic places, made for servants to move unhindered and invisible.

Jack hadn't used the shortcut at that time, because dark, cold and narrow hadn't been any more inviting than it was now, especially when Astrid was still in an unnervingly unresponsive state of mind. But at least the light from her was comforting.

The teen set foot on the first step.

The mountains were unforgiving. North had never thought about it, but in the dark of night with clouds still covering all light from the sky, he felt how tiny a human he really was.

It had been a warm day full of haze and he worried he might have gotten off the trail at some point. He should have been going uphill for quite a long time, but the ground had been suspiciously flat all day.

But North's father had been a survivalist. He'd taught his son how to make temporary shelter by building a house of sorts made of hard packed snow. It was tight, and without fire it wasn't warm by any means, so North bundled up, covered himself completely by a wool blanket, and settled down. He didn't put his tools and equipment down. Everything but the skis and poles were still strapped to his person.

"Don't worry, Jack. I'm coming to save you."

The upper level of the castle was unkept, more so than the lower levels. There was a large dragon that blocked the corridor, frozen in a determined crawl with its head low, using the hooks at the ends of the large wings to grab at the wall and ceiling. Right by the dragon's head there was an open door.

"Seems like Hiccup needed a way around you, dragon," Jack mumbled to the statue.

Jack walked through the doorway, casting only a quick glance at the door that hung there looking as dead as a door ever was, waving Astrid around to cast light on everything. There wasn't much here. The room he'd entered was smaller than even his room back in Berk. It fitted a rotten mattress on the floor and a small drawer that looked none the better. A few tiny stone dragons littered the bedspread.

One wall was broken, the rocks and debris collected in a neat pile beside the opening.

"How often does Hiccup come here?" Jack asked Astrid without really expecting an answer. Looking at the dust though, it hadn't been all that recently. Still, he couldn't help but notice the stone dragons were the only objects here that were completely clean and whole.

Walking through the next room that looked no different from the first, and from this room they got out behind the stone dragon. Astrid started trembling terribly in his hand.

"What is this place even?" Jack asked.

"Since you're asking," a voice spoke, startling the human.

A green, mouldy tapestry was smiling at him in a way that made Jack want to keep a safe distance.

"This is where guests like you normally don't come. Master is quite mean like that, you know. But the people in charge has always favoured some groups of people and pushed others away."

It was an old woman's voice that spoke, but just like with everything else, that was all gender identification Jack ever got.

"Hiccup still comes here," he protested, waving a hand towards the dragons. "It's not because he doesn't care that this place has fallen into this state."

"Is that the impression you have of him? Oh, that boy was always so cunning. Smart people are the most dangerous type. Why don't you go that way? You'll see the true face of our dear master."

Jack looked down the dark corridor. Outside of the light circle from Astrid, he couldn't see anything at all.

"Hiccup."

The candlestick's voice was small, like a scared child, and that was definitely a quiet cry for help.

Jack's heart was pounding. He shouldn't be here. He should go back. Yes, he should.

Squaring his shoulders, the teen actually did turn around to leave, only to see the door slam shut.

"Please boy, don't be so rude. We haven't had human company in ages," the tapestry cooed, her voice sending shivers down Jack's spine.

"Are you related to Pitch Black?" he asked, because this feeling was so similar to the one the gravedigger always caused.

"Black!?" the old voice cawed, a sound that could be a laugh, right before her face turned thoughtful. "Black, Black? Hm, I can't say I recognize the name. Does he live here?"

That was a question Jack felt no inclination of answering, because if she didn't know the gravediggers of Berk she wasn't from there to begin with. Instead he turned towards the stone dragon blocking the way. He was slim and flexible. He was certain he could squeeze his way past the obstacle.

"Rug, block the way!"

Jack squeaked when suddenly the mat underneath his feet moved, causing him to fall when it pulled itself across the floor and covered the stone dragon.

Jack sprung up on his feet like an angry wasp, holding Astrid up at the tapestry. "Why are you doing this?! What do you want?!"

"We want company, of course. It's cold and lonely here."

"That's no reason to keep me here against my will."

"Oh? Are you saying you didn't come of your own volition?"

Jack grit his teeth, seething, but the rotting textile looked happy.

"Are you saying you are not Master Dragon's prisoner?"

"Are you saying you're a curtain because you want to be?" the teen hissed back.

The happy face on the pattern immediately darkened. "This is his fault!" she spat. "This would never have happened if he had just joined our cause!"

"You're the ones who involved the Enchantress!" Astrid spoke up, and her voice was strangely level. "Don't you even dare to blame this on anyone other than yourselves and her!"

Jack was immensely happy to have the candlestick back to her senses.

A loud click and thud resonated through the corridor. Jack turned towards the sound, eyes wide and Astrid in front of him.

"Walk that way," the tapestry urged, some excitement seeping into her voice. "Walk that way, boy."

But Jack backed up. He had a very, very bad feeling.

"WALK THAT WAY!"

Something pushed against Jack's back, forcing him forward with such force he fell, and was still pushed across the floor. He held Astrid against his chest with with both hands. She was screaming now.

"Hiccup! Hiccup! HICCUUUUUP!"

"What's all this noise?"

Jack struggled to stand, skin burning in several places, trying to see, but Astrid's candles had gone out.

"Astrid! Light!"

But the candlestick was silent and frozen stiff. Jack almost couldn't breathe. The darkness was compact and there was something here with him and Hiccup had warned him not to come here.

A loud, metallic clink penetrated the darkness, rooting Jack on the spot. He knew that sound; the sound of a chain and something else. That clipping metal on metal meant to break bones.

Hiccup had warned him.

"Someone's here," the new voice spoke again, a low baritone that had Jack think of a grizzly bear.

The teen was barefoot. He'd worn a pair of socks when he left his room, but they must have come off. He knew because he couldn't feel anything between the warm soles of his feet and the stone cold floor. The sound of clapping metal against metal came again, much closer to him than before, and Jack quietly stepped back, hoping to find a wall or something behind him to press against and breathe as quietly as possible.

A metallic cackling echoed in the space.

"I know you're here. Come on out."

"Boss, is there a human?"

Jack stopped breathing altogether when more voices joined in, sounding excited like dogs before a hunt. There were more than one dangerous thing here. Hiccup had only ever mentioned the beartrap, but he should have realized from the tapestry that there were more than one enemy here.

Without warning, Astrid flared to life, and right before Jack's face was a monster made of metal and teeth.

"We haven't seen humans in a while, what brings you here, little daisy?"

Jack was too faint to answer. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the shiny metal teeth.

"Is he here to break the curse?" another voice asked.

"Doesn't he know it can't be broken?"

"Oh, I love romantic fools!"

Snickering pounded against Jack's ears along with his own heartbeat. He was still holding Astrid in front of him by her foot, as if that was going to protect him. Distantly, he thought of the witch doll; his stinky protection against wild animals and wished he had her with him now. She'd smelled so absolutely awful last time he saw her. It had snowed since. Maybes she was still where he'd left her.

But there were other ways to get wild dogs to hesitate.

A scream tore out of Jack's mouth and he waved Astrid in the face of the trap and jumped aside as far as he could.

The light went out, and Jack turned and dashed. Behind him he heard confused commotion, but of course without light Jack didn't come far before he ran head first into a wall.

"I heard him! He's this way!"

Astrid flared so much she roared. "STAY AWAY, OUTCASTS!"

In the light Jack saw the metal jaws come at him with a grin through the flames and he screamed in fear.

Just then the entire corridor shook from a deafening impact. Astrid fell, the trap turned away, and then the hallway filled with a whistling sound.

"NIGHT FU-!"

The explosion of light blinded Jack, and the heat that hit his face made him curl into a ball.

"You missed! Say goodbye to this precious human!"

Jack looked up. He thought he saw a bear lean over him to take a bite, and he closed his eyes again, screaming.

A roar like nothing he'd ever heard echoed through his entire body, and then there was only the quiet sparks from the flames.

Peeking through his arms, Jack saw Hiccup's feet. They moved right past him and grabbed the trap that was suddenly immobile, but it was still conscious. Jack knew, because it had eyes that glared hatefully at the dragon.

"This is what you always wanted me to do, Alvin. I'm granting your wish, be happy."

And with those words, Hiccup tore the trap in two.

The fire was dying. Jack could no longer see any of the other things that had chased him. Only Astrid stood before him, back to him, candles burning quietly.

Hiccup threw the halves of the broken beartrap aside, the sound of them hitting the floor making Jack flinch.

The dragon marched away, leaving the teen there on the floor with the silent candlestick.

"Exellinor."

"Master Dragon," spoke the old voice of the tapestry and spat. "What gives me the questionable honour."

"Something I was too soft-hearted to do before, but ten years is a long enough time to grow heartless, even for me."

"You, heatless?" the voice cackled hysterically, but it turned into a scream when the dragon didn't waste time and set her on fire.

Jack heard her curse, and then it stopped.

Hiccup's footsteps walked slowly over to him. "Come, let's go back now."

Jack was still curled up on the floor, dressed in only a nightshirt and a coat, he hurt from several wounds and from running into the wall. The fear and relief and an unexplainable wave of disappointment suddenly came to a head.

He started crying. He just lay there on the floor, holding himself as sobs and wails tore through him in waves. He couldn't even think beyond the tight ball in his chest that felt like it was trying to suffocate him.

"Jack please, you can't stay here."

That just made him cry harder, curl tighter in on himself. Now, at this moment, more than anything, Jack needed Hiccup to hold him, comfort him, to do anything but stand there.

And then, as if Hiccup heeded his needs, Jack heard a quiet "I'm sorry" and felt Hiccup's arms around him, pulling him towards his chest. He felt himself get lifted up by an arm under his bum, a hand gripping his thigh. Jack still cried, couldn't stop, but as he placed his arms around Hiccup's neck, the tears were as much relief as sadness and shame. He couldn't look at the carnage he'd caused. Because all of this was his fault. He'd forced Hiccup's hand. He'd forced him to kill. And now he was holding Jack close, walking quietly back down. But there were dragons here too. Hiccup would have to come back to this place at some point, to lovingly brush dust and dirt away the same way he did with all the other dragons in the castle.

Would he place these remains in the west wing too.

In between sobs, Jack tried to apologize, or maybe explain something he didn't understand himself. But Hiccup hushed him.

"You're safe now, Jack. Alvin's gone, he can't hurt you."

"Hurt you…" Jack said and again tried to talk through his tears. "I hurt you. I didn't… wasn't…"

Jack chocked on a sob when Hiccup suddenly spit fire. They were in the sitting room. A safe place. Jack's crying intensified again.

"I'm sorry! Don't leave me!"

Hiccup stood still. "Me? Why would I leave, Jack?"

"I… mistake. I'm sorry… I wan… thought I…"

Slowly, Hiccup sat down and placed Jack on his legs. Whatever Jack had wanted to do and why he'd gone to the upper floor didn't really matter to Hiccup. He was far too happy he'd arrived before the pieces of him littered the upper floor. He was also both shocked and disappointed that Astrid had been with Jack, and she probably knew it. She was in a state of shock herself. Bold, brave Astrid. Hiccup couldn't hold her, didn't know how to comfort her. He didn't know what to do for Jack either.

The friends were gathering, attracted to Jack's cries.

Ida nudged Hiccup with a towel and he accepted it with a grateful nod, at the same time communicating with her eyes for the teapot to do something for Astrid. Ida nodded subtly.

"Here Jack, dry your tears."

The dragon was perplexed to find Jack was reluctant to let go of him.

"Don't… don't leave me alone."

"Jack, I'm not leaving. Here, dry your face, you look awful."

Jackson really didn't want to loosen his grip on the dragon. Didn't want to give him the opportunity to push him away.

Like his little sister had done.

Like his mother had abandoned him.

"I'm so sorry. Don't leave. Don't hate me. I won't do it again. I…"

The towel rubbed his face roughly, half because of Hiccup and half because the towel itself got a little impatient and annoyed.

"Jack, look at me," Hiccup said firmly and tilted the boy's head up.

He really did look awful. His face was blotched and red and he'd hit his head, the area already swelling and forming a bruise. Hiccup hated himself, but gentle hadn't had any effect.

"You need to calm down. Go to sleep. You can tell me what you want to say in the morning when you're at least cohesive."

Jack's lip trembled. His body was still shaking. He grabbed the towel and pressed it against his burning eyes.

"Stay with me," he pleaded. "Tonight. Don't leave me alone tonight."

He heard a deep sigh inside the dragon's chest, and he thought he felt his muscles relax slightly under the scales.

"Of course. I'll be here when you wake up."