It was evening when Hiccup was back in Berk. Despite his attempts at staying awake, he had dozed off a couple of times but was almost instantly jerked awake by either Toothless or a sudden sound that he had heard somewhere. He hoped that his father wouldn't question him for long, because he really needed to get some sleep in his head and he hadn't really thought about what to tell Stoick.
He just couldn't come up with any reasonable excuse as to why he had disappeared without a trace. Everything he thought of sounded stupid or unbelievable, sometimes both. Hopefully the king would ask him questions that were easy to answer without going into too much detail. However, deep down Hiccup knew that was just wishful thinking and he would need to come up with something before stepping in front of his father.
He had chosen to return home using the most common route that Berk used when they were on their way to Briral. That way he could keep an eye on a possible army of Berkians in case his father had decided to go after him and Princess Astrid. There had been no sign of anybody during his journey though, which gave Hiccup a slight relief; that made the prince surer about the fact that everyone was still within Berk.
When Hiccup was coming closer to the gates that would lead him inside the massive and stony walls of his kingdom, he could distinguish some men shouting his name, letting everyone know their prince was back. Hiccup saw with his mind's eyes how some guards were already sprinting towards the Throne Room where the king was sitting to deliver him the news, and the mere thought made his insides turn.
Maybe he should've given himself a bit more time to prepare himself?
Doing that was too late now though, for he was already inside the walls of Berk and surrounded by tens of guards and knights, asking him whether he was alright or hurt and where he had been. After a quick scan through them all, Hiccup could see how relieved they all seemed to be to see him alive and safe.
The prince tried his best to answer as many questions as possible without revealing a single detail about his act of treason. One of the guards offered to take Toothless to the stables, and since Hiccup knew he wouldn't be going near his dragon tonight, he told the Night Fury to follow the guard's lead. As he watched the dragon's receding back, he spotted Fishlegs standing a few feet away, looking at him with alarmed eyes.
Hiccup looked at the men that were still surrounding him. There was something that his friend wanted to tell him but couldn't do that because of all those knights and guards that were trying to get more information out of the prince and offering their services to him.
"That'll be enough, thank you," Hiccup said. "My servant will take it from here."
He left the mass of people behind him, and to his surprise nobody followed him. Hiccup walked up to Fishlegs who still hadn't stopped staring at the prince. That look on his face could only mean that something had gone terribly wrong back here while he was gone. He felt uneasy just thinking what it might be.
"Fishlegs, what's wrong?" Hiccup asked the moment he was standing next to his friend. He didn't even bother concealing the worry in his voice.
They began walking towards the castle, subconsciously avoiding bigger crowds to make it easier for them to talk.
"Sir Fairfax has been banished from Berk," Fishlegs said sadly.
"What?!" the prince cried. "What happened?"
"He was found guilty of releasing Princess Astrid. The two cell guards told Stoick what had happened between then and Sir Fairfax, so it was two guards against one knight and all the evidence traced back to him. There was nothing he could do."
Hiccup ran his fingers through his hair. "This…I can't believe it. Oh, gods, this is so messed up."
"He has until midnight to leave, and he returns on pain of death."
Hiccup felt horrible beyond words. He had caused that; he was the reason the only knight he could trust with anything was banished from Berk. How could have he been so inconsiderate? He had known that involving him could turn out badly, so why hadn't that stopped him from doing that? If he had given himself a couple more hours to think, he would've surely come up with a plan that only required two people, or just one; Fishlegs' life had as much worth as anybody else's, and he had also risked a lot by helping the prince out.
"That's not everything, Sir," Fishlegs said nervously. Hiccup instantly looked around at the mention of 'sir' and saw a couple guards standing within earshot. "The king questioned me yesterday."
Hiccup tried to act as though hearing this didn't trigger 20 alarms in his mind. He turned his head slowly to face Fishlegs again and his friend was looking at him with an apologetic face. Oh no.
"What did you tell him?" He asked in a low voice, hoping that it wouldn't be heard by anybody else.
Although he didn't know for sure if there was a real reason for him to start panicking, it was slowly building up inside him as he watched his friend whose expression told him a whole lot about what was to come.
Fishlegs spoke in a whisper so Hiccup had to lean in to hear everything: "I told him that you've been talking to Astrid in the dungeons and something she was telling you had made you suspicious. That's all I said I knew."
"You told him I've been talking to her?" Hiccup repeated and his mind was racing. This would mean no good.
"You know how bad I am at keeping secrets under pressure," Fishlegs said apologetically. "But I didn't tell any details, so at least that's something, isn't it?" he continued with a glimpse of hope in his voice.
The prince didn't say anything. He looked into nothingness as he thought hard. How screwed up was he? Sure, what Fishlegs had told his father wasn't very detailed and it didn't hint at the nature of their conversation in the cells, but that didn't stop him from being terrified to meet the king.
"I am seriously very sorry," Fishlegs said, acknowledging the seriousness of the situation.
Before Hiccup could answer, someone called his name.
"Prince Hiccup," the knight shouted, sounding very important. "The king demands your presence in the Throne Room this instant."
Hiccup closed his eyes for a few seconds and sighed loudly. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, so he just nodded, and thankfully that seemed to be enough for the knight because he left him alone.
"Good luck," Fishlegs whispered, still wearing that apologetic look on his face. "It'll be fine."
The prince nodded absent-mindedly; his thoughts were drawn to what was possibly waiting for him behind those sturdy wooden doors. He wasn't cross with Fishlegs for what he had done because he was fully aware of how threatening Stoick could be when he wanted information. His friend wasn't used to it, and a common villager's life was always at risk in such situations. If the king had caught him lying, Hiccup would've probably come home to a headless Fishlegs.
Yet he didn't feel like saying anything to his friend when he made his way into the castle, leaving Fishlegs behind.
He was gaining curious looks from everyone he walked past, some of them were paying close attention to his clothing that was nothing like his usual attire that the Berkians were used to seeing on him. The prince wished the walk to the Throne Room would've lasted a while longer to have a couple more minutes to clear his thoughts. At least the bombs that Fishlegs had dropped on him had woken him up, so he didn't need to worry about that anymore.
As usual, the doors to the Throne Room were opened by two guards, revealing a pacing king and a frowning advisor. When Hiccup entered, Stoick snapped his head to the side and stopped walking around.
"Son," he said quietly, relief clear in his voice. He closed the distance between them and hugged Hiccup.
If the moment wasn't so nerve-racking to the prince, he would've questioned his father's reaction, but now he was just grateful that the king was happy to see him again, even if his way of showing it was to break a few of Hiccup's bones in his crushing hugs.
"Dad," Hiccup said. His voice was barely audible though as his face was now hidden behind a lot of beard.
"What happened?" Stoick asked as he broke the hug and looked down at his son. "Why did you disappear like that? And on the same night as Princess Astrid?"
Although there was slight confusion evident in his voice, there was also that demanding tone that told Hiccup that they were handling a serious case here and if the prince said something wrong, his father would be furious with him.
He decided to say what his father already knew: "Princess Astrid requested to see me in the dungeons, so I went down to see what she had to say."
It was hard to keep his voice calm, and he wished he could have some of that talent that Astrid possessed when it came to keeping emotions at bay.
Stoick looked disappointed. "I did hear something like that, but I was hoping it wasn't true. Why did you visit her?"
"Because she asked?" Hiccup suggested, trying to calm his nerves. His father didn't seem to find it amusing. "I wanted some answers," Hiccup then said honestly.
"And did you get them?"
There was a moment of doubting silence between them. The prince wondered how close to the truth his response could be without revealing too much. Stoick's eyes that were soft a moment ago had now hardened and they were fixed on Hiccup's face with a piercing look.
Hiccup realised he had been silent for too long, so he quickly recollected his thoughts before he gave his reply: "No, I did not. I wanted to know why she was here and what her intentions were, but she didn't tell me anything."
"And did you find out why she wanted to see you especially?" Stoick asked, now rubbing his beard in thought and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
The prince knew that he could say literally anything that brought Astrid into bad light and the king would buy it, so the first thing that came to his mind was what he said out loud: "She tried to find out our next move on Briral. Of course I didn't tell her a thing."
Stoick snorted. "Well, it didn't matter much since one of our own was an ally with her, so he most certainly told her everything."
"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked acting as though his friend hadn't just told him what had happened while he was gone with…
He didn't dare think about it in his father's presence. The prince had a nasty tendency to change his facial expression according to his thoughts and he was afraid Stoick would be able to read him like an open book.
"Sir Fairfax helped Princess Astrid run away. But don't you worry about that, he has already been punished accordingly."
"Sir Fairfax would never do anything like that," Hiccup said harsher than he intended. "I would trust him with my life."
"The evidence speaks for itself. Once you are King you will find it better to not trust anybody but yourself. And that leads me to another question that I have for you."
Hiccup waited for his father to continue.
"I have trusted you with an important task, and that is to lead our knights in a matter of great urgency, so why did you neglect your responsibilities, and where have you been ever since Princess Astrid escaped?"
"I…when I was down in the dungeons, something kept telling me that she was going to try to escape, so when the warning bell went off, I wanted to stop her as soon as possible but I couldn't get to her."
Hiccup was surprised by how easily he could lie to his father. He didn't think he sounded nervous at all and now he just hoped he could maintain that until when the king would dismiss him.
"You couldn't get to her?" his father parroted and furrowed his eyebrows. "She was by foot and you were riding your Night Fury. How in the name of Thor is it possible that she slipped through your fingers?"
Oh damn. "She had a dragon, the one she came to Berk with," the prince said, hoping his father would buy it. "Apparently she was lying about him getting away when she was captured. I'm not proud of what happened but I clearly underestimated Princess Astrid."
He had no idea where all that was coming from. He would need to start thinking what he was about to say before he said something that would upset his father or give him away.
"So you found it fitting to break the bars that were blocking the entrance to the tunnel, and that way granting a passageway to anybody who wishes to enter the kingdom? Do you realise that we had to lower our defences in the castle because we need guards to the entrance until the blacksmith forges new bars?"
"Oh, gods, I'm so sorry, Dad," Hiccup said and ran his hand over his mouth. "I was trying to hit her."
He felt like a total screw-up. His intention never was to cause any harm to his own kingdom, and the worst part was that he had done that because of a princess he should want dead.
His mind travelled back to the conversation they had had when they were sneaking out of Berk.
"What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't."
Neither was he, apparently.
Before Stoick could say anything, Gobber, who had stayed in the background until now, cleared his throat loudly and walked up to them. He was carrying a notebook that he slammed shut and the sound echoed off the walls in the large and rather empty Throne Room.
"Everything the boy has done, he has clearly done it with Berk in his best interests, don't you think so, Stoick?" he said and looked at the king with an expression that Hiccup couldn't read. "We all make mistakes, and we should be grateful that this one wasn't fatal to anyone. I think you've questioned our prince long enough and it's time to let him rest."
Stoick stared at Gobber for a moment and didn't say anything, but it was clear that he was thinking on his advisor's words. Eventually he nodded, looked at his son and said: "Gobber's right. You're dismissed for the night. We still have a lot to discuss, so let us dine together tomorrow evening to unfold everything."
Hiccup felt a rush of relief wash over him. "Alright, My Lord," he said and bowed down slightly.
His father raised an eyebrow at his son's unusual formality but didn't seem to think that much into it. Hiccup turned around and walked towards the doors that were once again opened for him. As he walked in the corridor, he could heard them slam shut, which meant that the king wouldn't hear him run.
So he broke into a run, because the next place where he needed to be was Fairfax's bedchamber. It was located on the third floor, so the prince had to climb up over 70 steps. A couple maidens were ascending the stairs and they looked after him curiously, just what everybody else seemed to be doing tonight. Supposedly a prince's disappearance was a massive thing so even the servants heard about it.
He finally reached the third floor. Slightly panting, he found the door he was looking for and once he found it, he gave it two loud bangs and waited. It took but a couple seconds for the chamber door to swing open and reveal Sir Fairfax behind it.
"Fairfax," the prince breathed out. "I was just told what happened, and I am so sorry."
The former knight didn't say anything; he just stepped from the doorway and motioned with his hand for Hiccup to enter. Fairfax looked so different in casual clothes – the prince was used to seeing the knights in their armours as they were always required to be wearing it.
"I didn't plan for it to go this way," Hiccup continued as Fairfax didn't say anything. "I swear."
"But you knew something could happen, didn't you?" he said. There was barely any emotion on his face and the prince couldn't tell if Fairfax was angry with him or just…sad.
"I– yes. I know it was stupid of me to treat our friendship so poorly. I took you for granted."
"But we aren't friends, you once told me that," Fairfax stated and there was now a sad smile on his features. Now it was Hiccup's turn to not say anything, so the former knight took it as a sign to go on. "I am sorry, too. But it was my decision to help you, and it is I alone that is responsible for this. Don't be too hard on yourself, Hiccup."
"I seriously didn't want any of this to happen to you," Hiccup said. He wanted to make sure that Fairfax understood that.
"I know. But it did and there's nothing we can do."
There was a silence between them. Fairfax walked towards his bed where all his belongings were laying. There was almost nothing.
"At least you weren't executed," Hiccup said in a low voice. He didn't know if he had the right to speak like this now; even though Fairfax thought that the blame was on himself alone, the prince knew he was the only reason why they even had to go through this conversation in the first place.
That just was such a Fairfax kind of thing to say to make Hiccup feel better about it.
"Honestly? I would've preferred that," Fairfax stated simply as he put his items into a medium-sized belt pouch. "I have nowhere to go and I have to start a new life as an outcast since no kingdom is going to take me in after committing treason here. My life will be constantly on the line from now on. I'm sure the king was aware of that, which was why he chose to not kill me. This way I will suffer more greatly."
Hiccup felt like shit. He wished there was something he had done. Was it cowardly of him to not tell Stoick that it was his fault that it was him and not Fairfax that had committed treason? Probably.
He could no longer change the flow of the events in the Throne Room, so all he could do was say: "Once I am King, your banishment will be lifted and you're welcome back to Berk. When that happens, I will find you."
Fairfax attached the pouch to the belt he was wearing and lifted his head up to look at the prince. The corners of his mouth rose slightly. "I am looking forward to that, then."
The former knight walked past Hiccup and approached the chamber door that was standing ajar. The prince stared at the floor and drummed his foot against it silently.
Before Fairfax exited the room, he looked over his shoulder at Hiccup. "By the way," he began. The prince shot his head up from the floor. "For what it's worth, I've had time to think about what you were aiming at, and I truly believe in the kingdom that you will build when your time comes."
Hiccup smiled at him. "Thank you, Fairfax. It truly means a lot."
With that, Fairfax left the prince alone in the bedchamber. Hiccup stood there for a moment, collecting his thoughts and thinking on the words that Fairfax had said to him.
He didn't know for certain what he wanted for the future of Berk, but at least there were some that already saw the type of king Hiccup would become. Knowing that made him feel better.
Hiccup also exited the chamber and made his way towards his own. He was ready to get a couple of hours of sleep before he started with a task he knew very little about.
He needed to befriend Stormfly for the journey they would be taking in a week.
Yay, Hiccup called Stormfly by her name for the first time! :D
Thank you so much guys for your continuous support, it truly means the world to me. I always update around midnight, and nothing makes my mornings better than to wake up to some reviews from you. Thank you so much :')