Hiccup had to cancel all his other responsibilities for the day, for he had to reserve all his brain cells for his plan on how to get Astrid Hofferson out of Berk without him, or anybody else, being caught.

First he needed to find Fishlegs. That turned out to be a much more challenging task than he had anticipated; there were so many places where his friend could have been in Berk, for he had many, many responsibilities as a servant. The prince searched by the river where the laundry was always washed, his own chambers, the stables…until he finally found Fishlegs polishing Hiccup's armour in the saddle room. Seeing him, the prince instantly remembered that his friend did tell him after the fighting practice that he would be spending the next couple of hours there.

Hiccup leaned onto the frames of the door with both his hands and Fishlegs looked up with confused eyes to see who had come to him in such a rush. When their eyes met, Fishlegs stood up in an instant after he saw Hiccup's alarmed face which meant serious business. The pieces of the prince's armour clanked loudly against each other as Fishlegs stood up from the barrel, and that ear-piercing sound made them both grimace for a second.

"What is it? Did you go see Princess Astrid?" his friend asked both worried and interested.

"No, not even close," Hiccup answered. He was still leaning onto the door frames with both his hands. "I need your help, it's about something very serious that I can't talk about here?"

"Alright, but how about your armour? Should I take it with me?" Fishlegs asked and pointed at the pile of metal with his hand that still had a polishing towel in its grasp.

"I don't care about that. I never even use that armour because it's very inconvenient when riding on Toothless. Just-just leave it there, I will order someone to put it back into its chest."

Fishlegs nodded in understanding – he must have realised that it truly was a serious matter they were dealing with now. Hiccup thought for a moment whether his friend already knew what this was about. He seemed to possess some creepy sixth sense with which he saw through the prince and could reel off words of wisdom after another. Fishlegs dropped the piece of cloth on the helmet and they dashed off. On their way to the safety of the castle walls, Hiccup seized one of the servants and told her to get the armour out of the way. The young serving girl only nodded and curtseyed, looking rather excited about the fact she had received orders from the prince himself.

When they were finally inside Hiccup's chambers, the guards closed the doors after them and for a short while the only sound filling the room was Fishleg's muffled panting from the fast pace and the climbing of many stairs.

"I have decided to help Astrid escape tonight," Hiccup said getting straight to the point. He found it useless to mince words in this situation; the sooner they started planning, the better.
The look on Fishleg's face made it clear that he hadn't definitely expected the matter to be this. For a moment it seemed as though he didn't believe what his ears had heard and he was frantically trying to come up with alternate sentences that sounded similar, but meant different things.

"Excuse me, what? Where on earth did this come from?" he asked, his voice high-pitched from the astonishment.

"Dad wants to kill Astrid in Berk and if that is to happen, it will mean war. I somehow managed to buy us more time, but we need to act quickly if we want to dodge the upcoming war."

"Bu…but what made you change your mind so abruptly?" Fishlegs asked, still in awe.

"Astrid was the one to plant this thought into my head," Hiccup admitted shamefully. "But only after talking to Dad did I realise how much more we will benefit from Astrid alive than dead."

"Okay," Fishlegs said very slowly. "Have you come up with something already?"

The prince gave his friend a grateful look; he always seemed to realise when it wasn't the right time to shoot unnecessary questions in the air. Then Hiccup quickly shook his head from side to another. "Not really, just feeble parts of a plan that aren't enough to become whole. The only thing I know for sure is that I will be needing your help, for we will also have to fetch Astrid's dragon while I am trying to help her escape from the dungeon."

"The cell guards need to be lured out of there," Fishlegs said instantly. "I don't believe they will let you past them with a prisoner, even if you're the prince."

Hiccup nodded in approval and started pacing in front of his king-sized bed. He stared at his feet as his mind was thinking feverishly. How could two people ever succeed from a mission that required at least three persons? One should be there to keep the guards away while the other one released Astrid, and the third person would have to get her dragon. Well, if it was her dragon. If the cell guards spotted Astrid sneak out, the warning bells would go off instantly and they would have no chance at succeeding.

"Third person, third person…" Hiccup repeated in a silent voice, mostly to himself. "Who could be the third person?"

"Is there anybody in Berk that you can trust this much? If you're caught, only bad things will happen to you," Fishlegs stated, sounding uncertain. He was standing in the middle of the prince's chamber and was staring at the prince as he paced around like a headless chicken.

However, Hiccup stopped walking in circles and sat down on the edge of his bed. The wooden chest in which his armour was stored had been dragged out from underneath the bed, so Hiccup placed his feet on it and pressed his head against his knees.

Think, think, think.

Did it matter so much who he'd choose as his third companion? If someone tattled to the king about it, it would be the prince's word against theirs, which would mean that they would be banished from Berk. On the other hand, Hiccup didn't want to risk anyone's position within the castle for this either, so it felt wrong to force one more person into meddling with the mess he was about to create.

"How about Sir Fairfax?" the prince heard Fishlegs suggest somewhere in the corners of the chamber. Hiccup raised his head and startled, for he was expecting his friend to be much farther away than just a couple feet from him. He had apparently spoken so quietly that it had sounded like he had been on the other side of the prince's bedroom. "He's the knight you trust the most, isn't that right? I'm pretty sure that he would be glad to help you."

Hiccup considered Fishleg's proposal for a moment. Fairfax was always ready for any kind of madness, but he had never acted against the king's orders. The knight seemed to appreciate Stoick a lot, and it would probably be difficult for him to be part of such serious treason. But, on the other hand, he might be the only person in the whole of Berk who might agree to Hiccup's raving mad idea.

Suddenly the prince's brain started working again. "You're right, Fishlegs. We must find him, now."

Fairfax was slightly reluctant upon hearing the request, but after a moment he had warmed up to the thought. Understandably, he had been wondering how things would change for them if they were caught. Sir Fairfax had, however, been immensely interested in why Hiccup wanted to save Astrid from her certain death. The prince had never shared his thoughts with anybody but Fishlegs, which was why his desire to avoid war was a complete surprise to the knight.

As night fell, Hiccup felt nervous to say the least. He was once again about to put himself in a situation where so many things could go wrong. He had never done anything so serious that would lead to being banished from Berk. He didn't know if his father would go that far, but he didn't want to block out that possibility from his mind. The prince found small and selfish comfort in the fact that at least he would be accompanied by Fishlegs and Fairfax if their mission was to fail.

Hiccup and Fairfax met on top of the stairs that led to the dungeon. Fortunately, the part of the castle underneath which the cells were located was almost always deserted and it was rare to run into another soul there, especially during the night time.

"Thank you a million times for doing this, Fairfax," Hiccup said in a quiet voice. "I know that you're risking everything for me, and I seriously don't know how to thank you enough."

"What's a life without a bit of excitement?" the knight said in a cheerful tone and patted Hiccup on his back. His face and voice became graver as he continued: "I just hope you know what you're doing and this will turn out to be the right thing to do."

Hiccup made a face at that. The right thing to do. He had no idea if he had chosen the right or the wrong path, but he couldn't turn back anymore.

Much to their favour, the staircase to the cells descended away from the eyes of the guards which meant that they wouldn't see them before they turned around the corner. Hiccup tried his best to descend the stairs at the exact same pace as Fairfax so that it would sound like there was only one person on the stairs. The prince even tried not to breathe too loudly; he didn't want to risk the guards figuring out that Sir Fairfax wasn't alone.

When Fairfax disappeared behind the corner, Hiccup stayed on his spot and waited until the guards' attention was completely drawn to the knight. The prince had dressed up in clothes as dark as he could find, and his hooded cloak would hide him well in the shadows. The problem was that those ancient stairs were lit up by torches and there were no shadows around him. He couldn't hide now, if one of the guards decided to check the staircase, he would be spotted.

They hadn't discussed at all how Fairfax was going to deceive the guards but he had ensured Hiccup that he knew what he was doing.

"Hey there lads," Fairfax said in a perky voice and Hiccup heard two forceful slaps against fabric, followed by two answers which Hiccup couldn't make a single word out of. "I have two duties here to fulfil, and you're exactly the right persons to help me with them. First of all, I want you to take me to our beloved prisoner, I have some things to say to her."

Hiccup immediately understood that this was Fairfax's way of drawing their attention from the stairs. He felt how the coldness began to travel through his body; he had accidentally taken a shoe with holes in it and the strong cross-draught was now encroaching through his right boot to the entire body. He deeply wished that this wouldn't affect his attempt to sneak to the cells.

Without suspecting anything, the guards led Fairfax to Astrid, and the receding voices made Hiccup peek behind the corner. He knew that he would have to act quickly if he wanted to succeed. He came out of his hiding as quietly and quickly as he could with his metallic prosthetic leg on the stone floor.

Fairfax and the two guards had apparently reached Astrid's cell, for the knight began speaking in a loud, mocking voice: "Well, well, who is it there? Are you enjoying yourself? Good service, delicious food and so on?"

Once again Hiccup couldn't make out what Astrid's response to Fairfax was, but it was clear that contempt and tiredness were present in her voice. The prince grimaced; if Princess Astrid was exhausted, it would only mean that she wouldn't be able to flee as fast as Hiccup would've liked.

The prince now saw the trio completely, and if one of the guards were to look over his shoulder, he would instantly see Hiccup and his plans would be ruined. Nobody should be able to connect him with this, which was why it was vital that his presence would remain unknown. To his luck, they always kept the empty cells unlocked, so Hiccup sneaked into the nearest cell and backed away to lean onto the stone wall where no light was shed. His heart was beating fast and he was unable to concentrate on what Fairfax was telling Princess Astrid. The prince soon realised that if he didn't pay attention, he wouldn't know when Sir Fairfax would attempt to get the guards away from the cells.

"I came here under King's orders. He wanted me to tell you that you will be executed as soon as possible. I heard rumours that your death will be a very painful one, but I am sure you knew exactly what you signed up for when coming to Berk," Fairfax said and chuckled smugly. Hiccup made himself a mental note to remember to compliment the knight on his impressive acting skills. If they made it out of this mission alive, that is.

"I couldn't care less what you're going to do to me," Astrid hissed. "But just so you know that my father won't rest before he's had his revenge for this."

Fairfax let out a sardonic laugh at that, after which Hiccup saw him walk past the cell the prince himself was in. Instinctively, he pushed himself even harder against the stone wall while avoiding moving his prosthetic leg. The guards were at Fairfax's heels and they looked rather uncomfortable.

"And since that's out of the way, I have a small task for you," Hiccup heard Fairfax lie to the guards in a low voice which made the matter sound very important. He also spoke quietly; Hiccup would've definitely missed the knight's words had he not been just a couple feet from the trio. "The king wishes for your presence at the Throne Room, he has something to say to you and he wishes to do it face-to-face. Let's not keep the king waiting, shall we?"

"But how about the prisoner?" the other one asked hesitantly, though Hiccup couldn't not notice the little hint of hope that was breaking through the guard's voice. Anybody would be glad to have an excuse to get out of this place that was clearly abandoned by Thor, even if it was just for a short while.

"I will stand guard here in the meantime. The matter seemed urgent enough so I will gladly lower my position for a moment so that the king shall have what he wants."

It was silent for a while. All Hiccup could hear was his uneven breathing and the rattling of the bars a couple cells away.

"Go on now," Fairfax said sternly, and the guards finally went off.

Hiccup listened as the two guards walked towards the stairs, took the first step, the second step, the third step…until all the noise coming from them was gone. The prince didn't want to waste a single second, so he tore himself off the stone wall and literally ran to the cell Astrid Hofferson was in. He rummaged his pocket for the key to the cell; if there was one upside of being a prince, it was the fact that he had a copy of every single key that was used within the kingdom.

"What the– " Astrid yelped in surprise. "Who are you?"

Hiccup realised he still had the hood on, so he took it off with his hand while his other one was clumsily trying to unlock the door.

"Can you see anybody, Fairfax?" Hiccup whispered loudly enough for the knight to hear it.

"No," he only said.

"You," Astrid said with no colour in her voice. "I thought you wouldn't come."

Hiccup looked up from the lock and his eyes met Astrid's who was standing right on the other side of the bars, next to the cell door. "Trust me, this is the last place I wish to be at the moment," he replied. The door was unlocked and the prince yanked it open. "Come, we must act quickly before they realise you've escaped!"

Astrid hesitated only for a split second before she nodded and they both rushed out of the cell. Next they would be facing the most challenging part; how to sneak the princess out under so many peering eyes.

"Sir," Hiccup heard Fairfax call out after them. The prince came to a halt reluctantly and looked over his shoulder. The knight was undressing his dark blue cloak which he then threw at Hiccup who caught it with ease. "So that you both can hide."

"Thank you, Fairfax," Hiccup answered gratefully and flirted the cloak over to Astrid. She put it on quickly and when the princess had the hood on, they were off again and ascended the stairs. Neither of them watched out for the stairs despite their poor condition, and luckily they didn't trip over.

There was nobody atop of the staircase. Hiccup heard Fairfax going up the stairs, but they didn't have time to wait for the knight.

"Come," Hiccup whispered loudly to Astrid and pointed towards the direction in which they should run. "Stay at my heels and avoid any kind of light."

Astrid let out a quiet laughter at that. "Do you honestly think that I've never lurked in the shadows? I probably do it more often than you do."

The prince didn't answer, for they had to move forward as silently as possible. When his prosthetic leg was making loud, echoing noises, Hiccup cursed his stupidity under his breath. Why hadn't he wrapped some fabric around it so that it would muffle the sound? Fortunately they would be soon out of the castle, after which they would continue on grass and gravel.

It all went surprisingly smoothly, and Hiccup started to feel suspicious because of it. How long would it be until the guards returned to the dungeon and noticed Princess Astrid's absence? He sure hoped that would happen when they weren't literally in the middle of Berk.

They ran behind some villager's house and leaned against its wall. Avoiding the windows, from which some light was reflecting on the grass, Hiccup walked to the corner of the house and peeked. He could see nobody.

"Well?" Astrid's voice said in a questioning tone. Hiccup just shook his head to let her know that there was no one.

That didn't mean they could go yet, though. He knew that there were guards around this part of the kingdom grounds, and they patrolled a certain circle. They couldn't leave their spot before Hiccup saw them disappear behind the stalls of the marketplace; their route would cross with the guards' route, which was why they had to wait. He had no idea how recently they had visited the part of the circle that Hiccup could now see, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

Astrid didn't know that, though, so Hiccup's heart skipped a couple beats when he heard her say: "Alright, let's go then."

"No!" he yelped almost shouting as the girl went past him. He grabbed her hand forcefully to pull her back to the safety of the wooden wall of the house. He could instantly feel how her hands were like solid ice from spending such a long time down in the cells.

When he pulled her from the hand, she wasn't clearly expecting that so she lost her balance and her body collided with Hiccup's who was leaning against the wall. They were so taken aback by the unexpected moment that for a few seconds they just stared at each other, their hands still intertwined. Astrid's eyes were widened from the shock and even though it was dark, for the first time Hiccup noticed that her eyes were blue. Her entire body seemed frozen to the core, the coldness radiated through the two layers of clothing they were wearing.

It seemed they both realised what was happening since they both backed away at the same time. Well, the prince couldn't do that because the wall was there to stop him, but he tried his very best to make sure that his hand would be nowhere near that princess anymore, so he put it behind his back.

"You can't do that without my permission!" he hissed at Astrid. "I am the one who knows this place like the back of my hand, and you need to follow my lead if you still want to be alive in the morning! What were you thinking?"

Astrid was silent during the time she situated herself next to Hiccup by the wall. When the prince looked at her face, he noticed she was trying to hide it behind the hood of the cloak. "I wasn't," she finally said in a quiet voice and Hiccup almost missed it.

"Why doesn't that surprise me at all?" he replied disdainfully. Stupid Briralians. No wonder their princess was currently at the mercy of their worst enemy.

"I always get so excited when sneaking out, I guess that for a second I forgot where I was and what situation I was in," she explained herself and sounded apologetic.

He sighed. If it was any other time, he would've made sure to lecture that girl, but since they really were in a rush, he didn't think it so important to do that. "Just…don't do it again, I still want to be a prince after tonight," he said in a serious voice. "We need to wait until the guards come and go, only then we can go."

The princess nodded in understanding. Hiccup peeked behind the corner again and to his satisfaction, he saw the receding backs of the guards. They were about 20 feet from the spot where they would be turning to the right.

"Okay, let's go slowly," the prince said, putting as much emphasis as he could on the last word without being too loud.

And they were off again. They sneaked behind barrels of fish, carts and they sought safety from the shadows of buildings. They stayed behind a broken cart that appeared to have some sacks of vegetables and potatoes piled up on it, which provided a perfect shelter for the two as they stalked the guards.

"What made you change your mind?" Astrid asked in a silent whisper. Hiccup tore his eyes off the guards and looked at the princess with a confused frown. "You know, about me," she added and pointed at her chest in case Hiccup didn't hear her.

"I wanted to avoid the consequences of executing you. And I guess you haven't done anything to deserve to die just now," Hiccup replied but he avoided looking at Astrid as he spoke.
"Will you be giving me my Stormfly back?"

Hiccup nodded slowly. "My servant will be bringing her to us. The path is clear now, let's go."

Stealthily they went on, dodging every possible rock on the ground to avoid making any noise. The guards were nowhere to be seen now, which meant that as long as nobody else crossed their path, they would have a safe passage to the next stop where Fishlegs would be waiting with Toothless and the dragon Astrid claimed to be hers.

They would meet near the underground tunnel that was a secret passage into and out of the kingdom walls. It was the only passageway that wasn't guarded and Hiccup knew of. When they approached said meeting point, Fishlegs indeed was there. So was Toothless. But the other dragon wasn't there. This was alarming.

"Where's the other one?" Hiccup asked his friend and looked frantically around in case the dragon was hiding somewhere.

"She wouldn't let me come close to her! I tried to do the hand thing you told me about but it didn't work, and I couldn't cause too much noise in case somebody was to hear me." Fishlegs said it all really, really fast and it sounded like he had been revising his words while waiting for the two royals to appear.

Astrid snorted next to Hiccup. "You clearly didn't try hard enough, how lousy of you," she said and crossed her hands across her chest. She looked at Fishlegs with a very threatening glare that made him back away a few steps. Toothless growled silently.

"You don't talk to him like that," Hiccup said crossly. The princess moved her attention to the prince and stared at him disbelievingly.

"But he's a servant, why do you care?" she asked as if Fishlegs wasn't there.

"Of course I care, and this makes me feel sorry for your servant, she must hate her life because of you," the prince answered dryly and walked over to Toothless who was still giving dangerous glares in Astrid's direction. When Hiccup glanced at the princess, she was just standing there in stunned silence, looking in between Hiccup, Toothless and Fishlegs. The prince then turned his attention to his friend. "We don't have time to go get her. So this leaves us with only one option."

"Which is…?" Fishlegs asked unsurely.

"She has to leave without the dragon," Hiccup stated simply.

"What?" Astrid cried out and Hiccup shushed at her. She lowered her voice: "I'm not leaving without her!"

"It's either that or certain death, it's up for you to decide," the prince replied.

"I would rather die than live another minute without Stormfly!" Astrid hissed and crossed her arms again. Hiccup rolled his eyes so hard they were probably close to falling off his eye sockets.
The warning bell rang. The sudden sound of it alerted them all, and it seemed as though they all realised the situation they were in.

"Now is your last chance, you either leave or stay here and be captured again!" Hiccup said hastily. He wanted to get out of here before anyone realised to look for Astrid from here.

Even in the darkness, Hiccup could see the hesitation in the princess' eyes. She looked sad and scared, also nervous and frustrated. Somehow all of those emotions could be read from her facial expression.

"Alright then," she said quietly, in a sort of defeated tone. "Let's go."

Without exchanging other words, they walked into the tunnel and Hiccup got on Toothless. He reached out his arm for Astrid to take so that he could pull her behind him. The second the princess was sitting on the Night Fury, he sprinted off as fast as he could. They couldn't fly in the tunnel, it was way too narrow to spread out wings.

"Close your eyes," Hiccup demanded and didn't leave any room for discussion.

"Why on earth would I do that?" Astrid asked confused.

"Because I don't want you to remember this route."

He could only hear her exasperated sigh, and since she didn't argue, Hiccup could only assume she had closed her eyes. He couldn't turn around to look as he had to concentrate on navigating through the tunnel. It would've been pitch black if it weren't for Toothless' plasma that he kept on shooting every once in a while to see where they were going.

Even in the tunnel the warning bell could be heard. Hiccup had never liked the sound of it, because hearing it could only mean that nasty things were happening in Berk. Now, however, he liked it even less because he was part of the reason it was ringing in the first place. The voices of knights couldn't yet be heard within the tunnel, but the prince knew it was only a matter of time that the kingdom was searched within its walls and they would also enter this dark, damp place. A few drops of water landed on Hiccup's cheeks from time to time and whenever they did, the sudden contact made him jump a little. Toothless galloped forward, and it wouldn't be long until they reached the end of the tunnel.

After a couple of minutes, they were at the end. The passage was sealed with bars that would prevent any intruders from entering the kingdom grounds, but the metal wasn't as strong and high quality as the one they used in the dungeon. It should be nothing that Toothless' powerful plasma blast couldn't handle.

All colour drained from Hiccup's face when he heard the knights inside the tunnel. He didn't know where they were, but since it was the first time the prince heard them, he could only assume that they were at the start, and the trio was at the end.

But the problem was that all the knights could recognise the sound of Toothless' plasma blast. It was impossible to tell whether they would hear the dragon shoot.

"They're on us!" Astrid said in a whisper.

"Yes, I can hear that," Hiccup replied. The end of the tunnel was right in front of them and they approached it at a steady speech. "Toothless, now!"

There was a bright flash of light and a big bang that ran in Hiccup's ears. The echo travelled along the tunnel and the prince was certain that the knights had heard the plasma blast, for the sounds behind them grew louder and it sounded as though they were moving forward even faster. Thankfully the bars were now gone for the most part and they had an open exit out of the tunnel.

The second they were outside, Toothless shot up in the air and Hiccup could hear Astrid let out a muffled scream out of surprise. Berk's borders were about a ten-minute ride from the kingdom walls, so it wouldn't be long until their mission was at its end. Hiccup was pleased by how smoothly it all had gone.

The prince turned around to look at Astrid. Her cloak was blowing in the wind and after a while, it was the only sound around them. The princess had her eyes fixed on the ground, but once she felt Hiccup's stare she looked up. Hiccup turned away and focused on what was ahead of them. He listened hard for any sounds of other flying dragons, and he wasn't sure if the absence of the shouts of Berk's knights made him more relieved or nervous.

He had a specific spot for landing in mind. It would be a mile from their borders and it was close to a path that would lead Astrid through the forest that would grant her a safer escape. He was also planning to use the forest to sneak back into the kingdom walls unnoticed and he could stay hidden there until he came up with a believable excuse as to why he hadn't been helping the knights to catch the princess of Briral.

It wasn't long until he saw the landing spot. He told Toothless to land which the dragon did without making any sound. Hiccup got off the Night Fury and waited for Astrid to do the same. When both their feet were on the ground, she looked at him with an expression the prince wasn't sure how to read. It seemed as though she was expecting something to happen.

"This is where Berk's borders end, so you'll be on your own now," the prince said and was already about to hop back on the back of his dragon. He wasn't intending to linger for long now that his task was finished.

"Are you serious?" Astrid said incredulously. "You think I am going to go to Briral by foot? It's half a day ride with a dragon, I don't even want to begin to imagine how long it would take by walking."

Hiccup wanted to argue and he had already opened his mouth and turned around, but he stopped himself before a single word was out of him. When he thought about it, he realised there was truth to the words the princess had said. Besides, there was no way she wouldn't be captured by the knights of Berk if she were to go on that slowly. Even now they probably only had a minute or two to spare until someone would spot them.

The prince's insides sank to the bottom of his stomach as he came to realise that the only way to get out of this messy situation was to dive into another, even messier situation. How was he ever going to explain this to his father? Prince of Berk and Princess of Briral gone during the same night, that would drive the king out of his right mind.

Hiccup closed his eyes. "For the love of Thor," he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Why me? Why does it always have to be me?"

"Well?" Astrid's voice said. She apparently hadn't heard his self-loathing, and Hiccup was very grateful for that.

He raised his head to meet Astrid's eyes. He sighed heavily as he said: "Alright then, I will take you to Briral."