The day the dragon riders were to leave for the war was here. The atmosphere in Berk had been tense ever since the day the horsemen left, and Hiccup was sure that one more day of waiting would have made him explode, so he was more than happy about the fact that they would be leaving any moment now.
He had spent every moment he had had to spare to plan his escape from his father's side during the past few days. He knew it wouldn't be easy and the chances of him succeeding were slimmer than those of him failing; Stoick had clearly kept an eye on Hiccup after their last discussion about the attack, and the prince was sure that one way or another the king would keep on doing that in the battle. Neither Hiccup nor Stoick had spoken about the prince's absurd idea since that dinner a couple days back, but he wasn't foolish to think his father had forgotten about it, just as he knew his father wasn't stupid to think his son had forgotten about it either.
Hiccup did know that he was being a reckless idiot for wanting to do it. If he died, there would be no heir to the throne. The future of Berk was resting on his shoulders and the entire kingdom would be doomed if something went wrong in his attempt to release their own dragons. Even Fishlegs had told him many times that he didn't have to do it, but it wasn't that. He knew he didn't, but the thing was that he wanted to do. For whatever reason that was, to impress his father or to prove himself even though nobody asked for it, even he couldn't say for sure anymore. He just had taken his plans about twenty steps too far and he didn't want to take a single step backwards.
Hiccup leant onto a stone pillar that had held no purpose. There used to be a mighty building that was part of the castle, but it had been destroyed before the prince was born. He observed the scenario before him. Everywhere was a chaos with all those people running around and preparing the remaining knights for the battle; even the knights that were to stay in Berk to protect the people from possible attacks were helping the servants. That view was both odd and nice – on the one hand, it was unusual for the knights to get down to the servants' level, but on the other hand Hiccup was glad to notice that he wasn't the only one that was willing to do that. He had always felt alone on that part.
"Ready for the battle, huh?" he heard Gobber say from behind him. Without turning around, he mumbled something that sounded like a "yes". In fact, he wanted to leave so that he could only focus on what lied ahead; all this fuss within the kingdom was making him unnecessarily anxious, and he knew that whatever Gobber was going to say to him in an attempt to comfort him wasn't going to help him with his nerves. "We are more skilled than Briral, there's nothing you need to worry about."
"I'm not worrying. Well, maybe I am, but isn't that what you're supposed to do on the eve of battle? It's not like I'm happy about bringing danger upon our men."
He didn't want to voice his opinion on the knights of Briral. It had been proven long ago that they were the best around here, and that was the reason why they had managed to snatch so many of Berk's dragons in their last attack. It was true that Berk had the best trained dragons, but a good knight on a best-trained dragon was always worse than a best-trained knight on a good dragon.
"Worrying is not wise, it makes things twice as worse. You just got to go for it and hope not to lose your other foot," Gobber replied and gently kicked Hiccup's right foot with a chuckle, apparently thinking what he just said was funny.
"Ha ha, right," he said in a very unenthusiastic voice.
Hiccup looked at his father's advisor from the corner of his eye as he was now next to him. He seemed to be observing the prince very intently as if he was trying to look for some specific emotion or expression that would give away Hiccup's thoughts. However, Gobber didn't say anything, he just put his large hand on Hiccup's shoulder and gave it a gentle pat before the prince could hear his footsteps going in the opposite direction.
Hiccup stood there alone for a minute, just staring into nothingness until he decided it would probably calm his mind if he was around Toothless. He wasn't allowed to take care of his dragon today as too many people were busying around in the stables. That kind of activity would have been exactly what he would've needed to get his thoughts off everything that could go wrong in his not-well-thought-out plan, so being denied of that was just perfect. The damned rules. When he was King of Berk, the first rule that would be changed was the one that said anything about only stable workers being able to take care of the dragons.
Just as he was about to leave the stone pillar, he heard a familiar and friendly groan near him. He turned in the direction of the noise instantly and saw Toothless and Fishlegs.
"He wouldn't stop looking for you so I brought him here, Sir," his friend explained. "He's now prepared for the journey, I took care of everything."
"Thank you, Fishlegs," Hiccup said as he petted his dragon's chin while smiling fondly at him. This would be the first time Fishlegs wasn't going to be by his side in a battle; they had previously agreed on it being an action to make up for the sneak outs. Fishlegs wasn't particularly fond of fighting, so being granted the permission to stay away had been like a birthday come early to him. "I think you should leave now, wouldn't want you to hang around here when we leave, or they'll force you to come with me."
His friend just nodded. Before he left, he made sure Hiccup was listening to him and said: "Please, don't do anything you will regret, Sir."
The prince looked down at Fishlegs and flashed his teeth at him. "I won't. I hope we will still see each other after the battle. If we have luck, we'll be back in a couple days."
He received a very weak smile as a response before Fishlegs started his journey towards the castle. Being around Toothless instantly lifted up Hiccup's mood and the dragon seemed to be feeling the same as he had his tongue out and happiness was glistering from his eyes.
It wasn't long until everything was ready and the dragon riders could leave. Everyone got in their positions, with the king and the prince being in the front and Gobber right behind them, and the dragons seemed to be bursting from excitement. Dragons were intelligent animals, and they definitely knew some of them would be heading to their deaths, but they also knew that some of their friends were not in Berk and that they were about to go rescue them. There was nothing a dragon wouldn't do for another dragon. Toothless seemed eager to leave, too.
"I hope the others have made it successfully through the mountains. We'll be in a lot of trouble if such a large number of us won't be there to fight," Hiccup said to his father through his helmet.
"They will," Stoick said with such confidence in his voice that it made even Hiccup feel a bit surer about it. "Where's your serving boy?" he then asked out of the blue.
"He's… um… he got suddenly ill and he was not fit enough to join us today."
"You're letting him slack off just like that? The boy's clearly lying."
"No, father, he isn't. There were… um… red spots on his face and… I think there was pus coming out of them as well. He would've just slowed us down and gotten himself killed had he come."
Stoick looked at him for a moment before he spoke: "Fair enough. But I assume you made it clear to him that is no reason to not do his other chores."
"Of course I did. Why does this suddenly matter so much to you?"
Stoick didn't say anything at that as Gobber interrupted their conversation. He was probably the only person in this kingdom to have the right to speak over a royal – mostly because he never did it unless it was necessary. Hiccup, however, didn't hear what Gobber was telling his dad because of how loud it was around them. Whatever it was, it made Stoick correct his posture on his dragon and give his son a signal that told him they were going to leave right this second. Gobber gave the rest the same hand gesture and soon they all were in the air heading towards the kingdom of Briral.
Being in the air, at last, gave Hiccup the feeling he was hoping for; all the worries and sulkiness were left on the solid ground. Even through his armour he could feel the gentle pressure of air and he devoured the feeling. For a short moment, he completely forgot what their destination was. When he did remember, what was different was that he felt a lot surer about himself and his planned mission. He was in his element in the air and he just knew he would succeed even though the plan was far from flawless. His father would be so busy patrolling his surroundings that he wouldn't surely even notice Hiccup gone until it was too late for him to react.
Things would turn out just fine.
Almost no one spoke during the journey. Because Hiccup was in the front leading their army with Stoick, he couldn't see any of the knights, but he knew the silence caused tension within them. It would be easier to handle a situation like this if they talked with each other and joked around. However, the sad fact was that since Stoick uttered no word, barely anyone else dared to do it either. His impact was so great, and sometimes the prince wondered if it was actually something to be proud of. Would he want the knights to behave like this around him? Definitely not, but his father had made it clear he was not "mature enough to understand what it takes to be a king" so maybe he just didn't know.
The prince snapped out of his thoughts once he realised that Gobber was flying right next to him, observing him carefully once again. He, too, was covered in armour so Hiccup couldn't tell whether he was judging him or just… looking. Being allowed to fly in the same line with the royals was one of the many things only Gobber was allowed to do. The prince had always wanted to know why the king trusted his advisor like no one else, but then again, he did know that once he was a king, he would trust Fishlegs as much.
"We're nearing Briral," Gobber told him, his voice was loud enough just for Hiccup to hear him, "Are you prepared?"
Hiccup smiled weakly at that although he knew Gobber wouldn't see anything through the helmet. "I've been trained to be prepared for events like this ever since I learned to walk."
Gobber didn't say anything, but the prince thought he probably let out a laugh or something like that. They remained silent for a little while until the advisor spoke again: "Just don't do anything stupid when we're there, will you?"
Hiccup snapped his head to Gobber's side and stared at him for a while before realising he was supposed to reply. He let out a half-nervous, half-faked chuckle, "Me? I would never."
It was sometimes creepy how well Gobber had learned to know him. They never spent much time together as Gobber was always busy with his duties to the king, but he had been around ever since Hiccup was born – getting to know Stoick's only child was unavoidable.
Now Hiccup wondered if his father was also suspecting him and made himself a quick mental note to observe the king for a while before it would be time for him to act.
Gobber said something, but his words were muffled by the wind. The prince just shrugged to make it seem like he had heard what his father's advisor had said, hoping it would be a reasonable response to whatever it was.
Once Gobber fixed his gaze back on what was ahead of them, Hiccup did the same. They were really close to Briral and he was certain someone had already spotted them and passed the word on to the king of Briral. The area looked similar to that of Berk's. Looking at Briral was almost like looking at your home you had been gone from for years, then coming back to see nothing was like it used to be. It had been a strange and uncomfortable sensation during the first battles Hiccup had gone to, but he had learned to push it to the back of his mind by now.
The prince looked to his father's direction and saw that he was fully concentrating on Briral. He kept looking at him for a moment until he concluded that if the king did suspect him, either he had forgotten about it or was concealing it really well.
Stoick made a quick gesture which signalled all of them that they would start looking for a landing spot. They all knew it would have to be close to the mountains so that they would be able to see whether the horsemen had already made it to Briral. Hiccup just hoped that the long journey wouldn't tire them too much and that they were still fit to fight.
It didn't take them long until one of the knights found a safe area to land on. It was situated near the mountains as well.
"Lit the torch," the king ordered after every dragon had set their feet on the ground. A knight hopped off his dragon and took the torch he had been carrying. It took him but a few moments to lit it, after which he started flailing it. All of them turned their heads to where the mountains lied, curious to see whether they were ready for the battle. It was beginning to be dark and everyone was hoping to catch a sight of a lit torch on the mountains. Hiccup could feel the excitement starting to build up in him. He would give about anything so that he could go and free their dragons right now. For the first time in his life, he didn't feel like revenge was the most important part, he knew that his task was going to be far more important than taking the lives of tens of people. He glanced at the knights and Gobber behind him, and a thought that this might be the last time he ever saw any of them crossed his mind. He had seen so much death in his life that being afraid of dying would feel silly. No man is worth your tears, was what Stoick had told him numerous of times. People would surely miss him, but they would live it down soon.
"They're there!" One of the knights shouted, sounding relieved, others started mumbling to each other as well. The prince fixed his eyes back on the mountain and saw the torch. Hiccup took in a sharp breath and he tightened his grip on Toothless' saddle. They were ready.
Stoick took a few steps forward with his dragon and turned to face all his men. The king had never been good with his speeches and he usually left them very short, and this time was no exception. "Fight with honour, to the death. I have faith in all of you, and you all have faith in each other. And most importantly; let us claim back what is rightfully ours."
The king's speech was followed by the knights shouting "long live the king" three times, after which they all set off again. Once they were in the air, Hiccup could see that those coming from the mountains had also started moving forward; for whatever reason, they were carrying a few torches that were lit. Those on dragons would arrive on the battlefield a bit later as travelling in the air was much faster, but that was part of their plan – Briralians would have no idea what to expect, at least that was what they all were hoping to happen.
They only had to fly for a short while until Hiccup could see knights on dragons coming towards them. He could feel his heart start beating faster and sense Toothless' restlessness. He quickly reached his hand out to touch the top of his dragon's head to calm him down a bit.
The prince took a last glance at his father; he knew he would have to leave right before the dragons would begin aiming their fire at the riders of Briral. And that moment was right now. Toothless was aware of their plan so he didn't fire his plasma blast at all but was ready to make a quick turn instead. Hiccup kicked the black dragon's sides gently to signal him that they would have to act now. They soared higher. Maybe it was his imagination, but he heard his father yell after him, but he didn't dare look back. He had no time to waste – if the rest of the Briralians were informed about Hiccup's actions, he would be doomed.
Hiccup could hear that at least two dragons were following him, and according to the sounds their riders were making, they were not his allies. His assumption was proved by a blast of fire that missed them only by a few inches. Toothless was taken aback and he let out an annoyed screech. Since the night was already upon them, they could easily make the trip to their dragons faster by disappearing into the night. Hiccup also knew that if he were to kill the men that were chasing him, others would surely notice their bodies falling from the sky and come after him. So there really was no other option for them but to disappear and hope it would be enough.
"Okay, bud, let's show them what you've got," he told his dragon that responded with a deep growl. Toothless sped up and in the blink of an eye the two knights of Briral were nowhere to be seen. The prince smiled in victory. "Good! Now, let's stay hidden for as long as we can, can't risk anyone finding out we are here. We mustn't fly in the moonlight."
Toothless let out another growl that Hiccup knew to mean the dragon had understood him. The clanging sounds of swords, roaring dragons and the battle cries started to slowly fade and moment by moment they were less distinguishable against the wind that filled Hiccup's ears despite the helmet he was wearing.
After a while, they safely crossed the thick stone walls of Briral. He knew he never gave his dragon enough credit for being so amazing at disguising them – there had not been a single dragon or Briralian in their way, which only meant that their mission was going unnoticed so far. The realisation of that added more fuel to the prince's system and it sent an exciting sensation down his spine; each passing second he was closer to succeeding in his task, closer to getting their dragons back.
Hiccup had no idea where the dragon stables could be as he had never in his life been on this side of the kingdom of Briral. He could see some villagers screaming and running around as they tried to rescue the small property they had before the Berkians were on them. The sight made the prince feel a certain sadness inside him, but he quickly brushed it off and moved his focus back on finding the stables. It was challenging to see in the dark though, there wasn't a lot of light within the kingdom walls and only a few people were carrying a torch or some other light source. He couldn't land and observe from the ground either, the prince knew they would be seen the moment they set their feet on land. Hiccup let out a deep sigh.
Then Toothless saw something and made his owner aware of it by shaking his body furiously, making no sound. Hiccup located the spot his dragon was looking at and saw a building that had to be a stable. He could feel his insides turn upside down from the sudden burst of nervousness and excitement that he felt. There was no "next move" in his plan he had made beforehand, and now it would be the time to improvise. There were no people to be seen around the stables which alone grew suspicion in Hiccup's mind – why would they leave their dragons unprotected? They must have realised that those were the main reason why Berk was on them this time. Was it a trap?
The prince shook the doubts from his mind. There was nothing he could do about there not being anyone in sight, all he could do was to go in there and hope for there not to be a great abundance of Briral's knights. Toothless landed silently on the grounds behind the stable and Hiccup hopped off the black dragon instantly. He walked really slowly towards the front, and his left hand was on the handle of his sword, ready to take it out of the steel scabbard.
When he was at the corner of the stable, he looked over his shoulder to see how Toothless was doing. The Night Fury was turning his head in every possible direction and the prince could see the fury in his emerald green eyes. When the dragon realised he was being looked at, he locked his gaze with Hiccup's and they shared a knowing look. Hiccup jumped out of the corner and saw instantly about a dozen knights. For the briefest moment ever, he felt a relief wash over him; he was expecting to face much more than that. The feeling soon faded away as the knights started shouting and ran towards him. The prince took out his sword, and after that, all he could focus on was the sound of swords clashing against each other and not dying. Moments like this were the reason why Hiccup was eternally grateful for his daily training sessions, he had mastered the art of multi combat a long time ago and knowing that he actually stood a chance at winning was really comforting.
He knew Toothless was backing him up as he could see a few bodies of knights he hadn't even touched on the ground.
"Why would the prince himself come here all alone? Want all the glory for yourself, huh?" one of the knights asked him and another laughed mockingly.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand," the prince replied as he blocked one of his opponents' attack.
"So it is just about wanting all the glory for yourself? Well, I am sorry to break this to you," the knights said in a mocking tone, smiling as their swords clashed, "but you shall not succeed."
And the second the knight had finished his sentence, something hit him from behind and he fell dead to the ground. Hiccup quickly turned his gaze to wherever the attack came from and saw a knight of his own with a crossbow.
"Fairfax!" the prince cried out with a mixture of joy, confusion and disbelief in his voice. After that he began fighting another knight of Briral. "How are you here?!"
"Heard you'd be wanting all the glory for yourself, couldn't let you do that, could I?" Fairfax responded and shot another arrow from his crossbow.
There were only two knights left, and soon they both were down as well. They observed the scenery for a while before they put their weapons down for a second.
"I'm so glad you're here," Hiccup said and hit the knight on his shoulder. "But how did you know I was here? None of our own followed me when I left the battlefield."
"Nah, Gobber told me to look after you – he knew you would try something. It's creepy honestly, how he knows everything. I didn't follow you, I just went after you when I noticed you had gone."
Fairfax was around Hiccup's age and he was his closest friend among the knights. They were a lot alike, but the prince had been taught not to become friends with the knights as there shouldn't be a close bond between a royal and a knight. Stoick had once explained it was because a royal had to be prepared to make hard decisions if a knight broke the code of Berk and dishonoured his title. Being their friend would only make it harder. That was why Fairfax couldn't be considered a real friend like Fishlegs.
Hiccup gave him a brief smile and they got back to their task. The stable doors were open, so they stepped in and saw many familiar-looking dragons. A warmth rushed over all tips of Hiccup's body and he felt like he could properly breathe again. After quickly explaining his plan to Fairfax, they started cutting the ropes that were around their dragons' necks, carefully checking that the reptiles they released were their own. Neither of them fancied the thought of bringing another battle upon Berk, even though deep down they knew that no matter what they did, the war would never end.
As the last dragon was released and flew away, Hiccup and Fairfax couldn't stop the massive grins from spreading across their faces. There was still a battle to be fought, but at least one thing was certain; they finally had their dragons back and Berk would be safe from other kingdoms' attacks for now. No one in their right minds would attempt to attack Berk when it was fully armed.
Things will start getting more interesting in the next chapter, so be sure to stay tuned ;)