To the guest: I'm sorry that you didn't like the chapter. It's true that it was an ooc moment for Hiccup. I hope it didn't ruin your general enjoyment of the fic though!
Maro93: Welcome onboard! I hope you will stick around till the end! :)
"You are meeting her again in a week?" Fishlegs repeated slowly to make sure he had understood the prince.
"Yep. Well, in six days to be more exact," Hiccup corrected his friend.
They had spent the first hour of their morning going through everything that had gone down from the moment Hiccup and Astrid entered the tunnel to the moment he returned to Berk. Fishlegs had been holding his breath when Hiccup told him about how they had been almost caught in the cave, and Fishlegs couldn't believe their luck when it had been Fairfax to check that part of the massive rock. The prince had told his friend everything that Princess Astrid had revealed about Briral, and Fishlegs had clearly been surprised by how much she had been willing to share with her enemy. What had surprised him even more, however, was the fact that apparently the Hofferson didn't consider Hiccup her enemy.
The prince was standing behind the folding screen that he had in his chambers, changing his outfit. He had fallen asleep wearing the same dark clothes he had had on for nearly two days. He felt like everything that happened after his return to Berk was behind a dark, foggy cloud in the deepest corner of his mind and it made it difficult for him to recall every single detail of the discussions he had had with his father and Fairfax. He also didn't have the faintest clue how he had managed to descend the stairs to his chambers without injuring himself if he had been too tired to even change his clothes. However, he had got that 10 hours of sleep that he truly needed and now he felt he was ready for whatever the day was going to throw at him.
"Don't you think it would be better to, I don't know, release the dragon and let her fly to Princess Astrid? I mean, isn't going out there again a bit risky? Do you even know whether the king will let you go anywhere without a leash on you?"
"There's no telling whether she would return to Astrid if I did that," Hiccup responded as he pulled a white shirt over his head. It was really loose, and he realised he needed to place a belt by the hem, so he grabbed one that was hanging on top of the folding screen. "Besides, it's all planned out. Our meeting point will be midway, so it will only take one night. Nobody's going to notice a thing."
The prince had considered alternates to avoid leaving Berk again. In fact, he had spent most of his journey back home thinking whether giving Stormfly back to Astrid was worth it. After a bit of pondering, however, he knew that if he didn't do it, she would return to Berk because she just seemed like the kind of person who never gave up. She would most likely be captured again and Hiccup just knew that Stoick would be more than happy to execute her right on the spot. And that would mean that all his efforts to avoid war would be flushed down the nearby lake.
So there really was no option for the prince. Not that he could bring himself to blame Astrid for that – he would travel to the edge of the world for Toothless, so he totally understood her.
Also, he had promised she would get her dragon back. He would hate to be a person who broke promises willingly.
Fishlegs didn't say anything. When Hiccup was done changing into his white shirt, belt and black trousers, he walked to the front of the folding screen and looked at his friend. It was clear that he didn't like the thought of the prince disappearing again – he was probably still a bit frightened by the hearing he had to attend – and the many years of friendship told Hiccup that Fishlegs was at war with himself.
"You don't need to worry about it, I'm not going to make any mistakes this time," Hiccup reassured. There was no way he would risk anybody else's life because of Princess Astrid. It just wasn't worth it. And even though he couldn't remember everything that happened last night, he was aware that he was the reason Fairfax was now gone and he still felt terrible every time he thought about it.
The prince had many things on his schedule today. Firstly, he needed to take care of his prince duties, which involved training, training and a bit more training. He was pretty sure there was also a meeting with their neighbouring kingdom around midday and he would need to prepare a speech for that. His face hardened at the mere thought of speaking in front of important people.
Secondly, he needed to add a couple details on the very unfinished map of Briral before he forgot them. He now knew where exactly the river was and how far it was from the borders. The thought of finally making some progress with that map made him excited.
Thirdly, he had to start befriending Astrid's dragon, and he would need to be as sneaky about it as possible. Although he had always found dragons fascinating, he didn't show much interest in any other dragon apart from Toothless. Caring for them wasn't his responsibility, which was why it would be odd for him to suddenly spend a lot of time around a certain dragon, so it was yet another thing he had to keep hidden from everybody else.
When was he going to see a day when he could go about his normal life without all this secrecy?
But before he could take the first step towards that day, he needed to prepare that speech.
"Do you want me to write it for you?" Fishlegs asked as Hiccup made his way to the desk where he did all his writing.
Hiccup shook his head immediately. "It needs to sound like it was made by me. If I'm speaking someone else's words, they can't hear my voice in it. I'm not planning to make it long anyway, they should arrive in five hours and I need to have time to learn the speech as well."
Fishlegs nodded in understanding. "Anything else I can do?"
"No, let's just say I've dismissed you for the entire day if somebody asks. You can go," the prince responded as he sat down on the wooden chair that made a slight cracking noise upon contact. He took a piece of parchment and a quill out of the drawers and was ready to start writing until he realised that Fishlegs hadn't moved an inch from his spot. Hiccup looked up. "Seriously, have an off day."
"I've had two off days already," Fishlegs stated.
"Then have a third one. Just make sure you're present in the meeting, otherwise you can do whatever you want today. Future King's orders, so do as I say," the prince said and faked the commanding tone for the last bit.
Fishlegs sighed and smiled. He stood there for a few more seconds before he left the prince's chambers. The doors were slam shut, leaving Hiccup in complete silence. He pressed the other end of the quill against his lower lip as he thought of a way to begin his short speech. It turned out to be a challenge, for his mind was acting like a boomerang – it bounced from thought to another without much of a warning, and he couldn't concentrate on the speech as much as he should have. His mind travelled from the moments spent with the princess of Briral to his father to Fairfax and his stupidity to Stormfly to his speech, and the cycle repeated itself. It frustrated him.
He shook his head as if to rid himself of all unnecessary thoughts before he dipped the quill in the ink, already knowing that he would definitely not be impressing anyone with his speech.
The day went by surprisingly fast, and very much to Hiccup's dissatisfaction, Stoick had invited their visitors to stay for the night before going back to their own kingdom. That meant he had even less time to spend with Stormfly tonight as he was expected to socialise with the royal family. If something good came out of this, it was the fact that now he didn't need to dine alone with his father, and he could avoid his questions one more day.
It was late in the evening when Hiccup managed to squeeze in a moment to go to Astrid's dragon. As the dragon was currently seen as one of the knights' own, she was staying in the same stable as Toothless, so him going there wouldn't raise any suspicion.
First he checked on his own dragon and allowed himself a short while to scratch the Night Fury behind his ear. They hadn't seen each other all day due to the prince's busy schedule, so Toothless was delighted to see his human friend again.
"Hi there, bud, how are you doing?" Hiccup softly asked as he opened the stall door. He received a content growl as a response. "I'm sorry I can't stay for long, but I have some other things to do. I think it's better that you rest, anyway."
The dragon let out another growl that sounded very much like a bored 'yeah, yeah'. The prince knew that Toothless wasn't used to doing nothing for a full day, so the realisation that they wouldn't go flying tonight was probably a disappointment to him. But the Night Fury really needed to rest.
Hiccup spent a moment scratching his dragon from his favourite spots, just thinking and thinking some more.
What if Stormfly didn't let him come close to her either? Could the poison in the trap have changed her that much? He hoped not. Then again, he didn't know if what happened in the woods was out of pure luck or if that really was a way to get closer to that dragon.
The only way to find out was to go to her. He left Toothless and searched for the stall where Stormfly was staying in, and he was pleased to find out that she was there. Unlike many other dragons around them, she wasn't asleep. In fact, she was wide awake, eyeing the surroundings and seeming slightly alerted.
Before he opened the stall door, Hiccup looked around for any curious, prying eyes. It seemed that everyone had been dismissed for the day and he indeed was alone at that part of the stables. The prince inhaled and exhaled loudly to calm his nerves before opening the door and entering the small stall. His entrance wasn't missed by the dragon; her attention was instantly turned to him. Her eyes had a defensive glare in them, as if she was ready to fire at the prince if needed.
"Stormfly?" he said, making it sound like a question. "Is that your name?"
Although he had admitted to himself that the dragon was Astrid's – what was the point in denying it when they were going to lose the dragon anyway whether or not it was hers? – he hadn't expected the dragon to react to the name. Instead of looking threatening, she was now slightly curious though it was clear that she was still alerted. Hiccup couldn't tell if it was because of him or because of the unfamiliar surroundings.
He slowly extended his hand towards Stormfly's snout while watching her cautiously. At least the dragon didn't back away from him, so that was definitely a plus. Hiccup turned his head away, his heart beating wildly. He heard Stormfly breathe sharply through her nostrils and a growling sound erupted from her throat. The prince snapped his head in the dragon's direction and he noticed the dragon had backed down slightly, looking at him doubtfully.
"Hey, it's all right," Hiccup said in a low voice, trying to sound reassuring. "I'm not here to hurt you."
The way he spoke seemed to help; the dragon calmed down a little which made it possible for Hiccup to approach her again. He took a couple steps towards her with his extended arm, keeping his facial expression as friendly as possible.
He turned his head away again, just like he had done when he tried to befriend Toothless at 15. He waited. And waited. There was no threatening sound coming from Stormfly, so Hiccup mentally forced himself to keep his gaze on the ground.
He felt the dragon's snout on his palm and relief washed over him. They had taken the first step. He now dared to look up at Stormfly that had her eyes closed. Trying not to make any sudden movements, Hiccup took a couple more steps to be directly in front of the dragon's face. He ran his hand across her snout.
The prince's attention was drawn to Stormfly's hind legs. He needed to check if there was any visible injury that would finally confirm that the dragon was Princess Astrid's. He removed his hand from Stormfly's head and slowly walked towards her legs. The dragon instantly became more restless so the prince mumbled sweet nothing's to her as he bent down to take a better look.
He didn't know which one of the legs was injured, but he only needed to look at them once to see the clear markings that had to have come from something sharp that had bored into the poor dragon's skin. It didn't look like it had been treated for, and the fact that it hadn't healed one bit could only mean that Astrid was right in thinking that there had been poison in that trap.
Stormfly needed instant treatment. And there was only one person in the whole of Berk he could trust with this.
"Gothi, please," Hiccup pleaded the next morning.
When he had woken up very early, the first thing he did was to run to Gothi's hut and explain Stormfly's condition to her. She was the court physician, and she alone had the knowledge how to treat injuries, especially those with poison in them. Gothi didn't seem very convinced at first and was looking at him with narrowed eyes.
"I wouldn't ask if it wasn't really important. I know you're busy. But the dragon will die if something isn't done soon," the prince explained. "And I don't want to see a dead dragon if it can be avoided."
Gothi stopped leaning onto her staff and she walked outside of the hut, Hiccup following at her heels. She began drawing on the ground and the prince tried his best to understand the messages she was delivering to him.
"No, the other physician didn't mention anything about the injury. No, the knight that owns her hasn't been able to get close to her so he hasn't noticed anything. What's that supposed to mea– ouch! I'm sorry I am not fluent in your language like Gobber is! Oh, yes, I know you're busy, I already said that."
Gothi stopped drawing and they exchanged a look.
"I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important," Hiccup repeated, rubbing his head slightly where Gothi had hit him with her staff. "But the wound looks really bad. I can join you because I am the only one she trusts."
It really felt like the old woman was staring into his soul, trying to find out the real reason behind his sudden interest towards another dragon. The prince gave it his best attempt to look innocent and sincere, and that he only wanted the dragon treated for the sake of the knight. Sometimes Hiccup got the uncomfortable feeling that Gothi was able to read minds – her inability to speak made communicating really difficult, and it often felt as though the court physician understood more than what she let show on her face.
Before Hiccup realised it, Gothi was back into her hut and she was collecting some potions and herbs into her pouch. The prince's face split into a smile as the realisation drew on him.
"Oh, thank you so much, Gothi, thank you!" he said, relief colouring his voice.
The remaining of the week passed by both quickly and slowly. At times Hiccup wanted it to go faster so that he would be done with his secret mission sooner, but he also wanted the time to go slower because he didn't feel like he was making much progress with Stormfly. The treatments Gothi had given to the dragon were definitely helping, and the wound didn't look as nasty anymore. But the fact that the dragon was beginning to heal, she wasn't as cautious with new people as she used to be, which meant that the knight that was supposed to own her could also approach the dragon without difficulty. And with him spending a lot of time with the dragon, the number of times Hiccup could be with Astrid's dragon was decreased drastically since the start.
And the last thing Hiccup needed was for the knight to form a bond with Stormfly on the eve of his secret mission. Yet there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it without blurting out the words 'oh hey, that dragon is our archenemy's and I'm returning her to the princess, so stay away from her, thank you very much'. The secrecy was beginning to be really tiring and he was definitely looking forward to this evening when he would take off with Toothless and Stormfly towards that cliff.
Fishlegs, as always, wanted to offer his help to ensure that the prince's mission would be successful.
"If there's anything I can do, just tell me," he told Hiccup in the afternoon.
They were on their way from fighting practise and passing through the village that was next to the castle walls. There were villagers carrying wood and other building equipment as they were rebuilding their houses and market stalls that had been damaged in Briral's latest attack. It had been over three weeks ago, but it felt like it had been a decade. Hiccup couldn't recall a time when Berk had remained untouched for more than one week, so this was definitely a record. However, he knew that something would be coming their way soon – the silence did nothing but raise suspicion within the walls of Berk. So, looking at the villagers that were rebuilding their houses made Hiccup feel sorry for them, because they all knew they would have to do it again after Briral's next attack.
"This time I will be on my own. This is my own mess and I have to deal with it alone," Hiccup said. His tone left no room for discussion.
"If this is because of what happened to Fairfax–"
"Yes, Fishlegs, it's exactly because of that. I can't risk anybody else's life for something that doesn't concern them. I don't want to repeat my mistakes."
At the beginning of the week, Hiccup had decided to distance his friend from this mission completely, and he had been revealing as little information as possible. The less Fishlegs knew, the better. He didn't even know what time the prince would be leaving that evening.
His plan was to leave when the sun set, which happened rather early since they were already quite deep into the Autumn. That would mean he would return to Berk early in the morning, and if he were lucky, nobody would notice a thing. He was also counting a lot on the possibility that since it was just Stormfly gone, few would be suspecting anything. After all, it was the dragon that was supposed to be brainwashed by Briralians, so people would just assume she escaped.
He just hoped he was counting on the right thing.
That evening he had stayed with Toothless until everyone was gone from that side of the stables. It hadn't taken long for everyone to clear off, but it had felt like an eternity for Hiccup. He had then put the saddle on his dragon and proceeded to Stormfly's stall.
"Hey, there. I'm taking you to Princess Astrid, or do you know her just as Astrid?" he had said quietly, hoping that the mention of the girl's name would make it easier to get the dragon to come with him.
It had caused the reaction he was hoping for; Stormfly had instantly seemed much more awake and excited, and when Hiccup had opened the stall door properly, the dragon had almost knocked him over as she had sprinted to the aisle. They had managed to go past guards and everybody else, and they were now outside of Berk's walls and safely in the air.
It was wonderful to be up in the air again. Hiccup hadn't had much time for his dragon the past days as he had to be very closely by his father's side to make up for his uncalled-for escapade. It seemed like the king had forgotten about it for the most part, and the real turn happened when the blacksmith had finished the new bars for the tunnel entrance and they had been successfully installed.
Even though it was obvious that Stormfly wanted to get to her owner, Hiccup's instincts made him glance over his shoulder every now and then to check if the dragon was still with them. Stormfly turned out to be very good at flying silently – the prince rarely heard the flapping of her wings or any other dragon-like noises. Whoever had trained that dragon, they had done an impressive job.
They flew towards the cliff without taking any breaks. They would have some time for that when they were there, and Toothless could also rest when they were back in Berk. Also, the thought of this being the last night he'd be losing sleep because of Astrid Hofferson made Hiccup very cheerful and he was keen on getting to their meeting point. The quicker they were there, the quicker they were out.
The cliff was next to the sea and it was currently covered in thick fog. It was very easy to miss but Hiccup could just imagine how beautiful the view would be if it could be enjoyed during the daytime. There were many trees near the edge of the cliff, though most of them were beginning to lose their leaves due to the cold weather, but some of the pine trees were still standing in their full glory. The cliff was mostly covered in grass.
These were the quick observations Hiccup made before landing on the cliff. Astrid was already there, waiting with another dragon that was smaller than what Hiccup was used to seeing. Toothless barely got his paws on the ground before the princess ran towards them. She eyed the prince and his dragon for a split second until Stormfly made her appearance and landed on the cliff next to the Night Fury.
"Stormfly!" Astrid cried out, her voice cracking slightly. She was by the dragon's side before Hiccup could even blink. "My good girl! Oh I missed you so much!"
She hugged her dragon tightly by the neck. Stormfly was making some low but happy sounds and she closed her eyes as she pressed her head against Astrid's back.
Hiccup got off Toothless so that his dragon could rest for a while before they'd turn back. He wasn't intending to stick around for long. He took off his helmet as he approached the princess
"Her hind leg has been treated and it shouldn't be a problem anymore," the prince said. Astrid broke her hug with Stormfly to look at him. "And you were right, there had been poison in that trap."
Her eyes widened slightly and she quickly bent down to look at her dragon's legs. She ran her hand on them, looking for the wound that the trap had made. She then stood up and turned around to look at Hiccup. Her face was split into a grateful smile.
"I don't know how I could thank you for that," she said. "You probably saved her life."
"I didn't do anything," Hiccup corrected. He wasn't going to accept the credit for something he didn't do. "Her leg looked really bad, so something had to be done. Our court physician managed to cure it thankfully."
Astrid was still smiling. "If you can, tell your physician a million thank you's from me. How did your father react when you came back?"
The prince was surprised by the sudden change of subject. "He was relieved to see me, but it could've gone better," he said without getting to the details. That didn't stop his mind from diving into them, however, and the memories of everything that had gone wrong made him grimace.
"Same," Astrid replied. "Mine was really cross with me. He grounded me. I didn't think you could ground a royal, but apparently that's possible. I am not allowed to go anywhere that's not inside the castle," she continued and if she tried to hide the bitterness in her voice, she failed at it.
"What did you tell him?" Hiccup asked, suddenly alarmed. What if she had revealed that she had been captured by Berkians?
"That I was looking for Stormfly and got lost," she said and placed her hand on her dragon's snout. Stormfly let out a content growl. "What about you?"
The prince let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. "That I had talked to you in the cells and I realised you'd try to escape so I went after you alone."
Astrid nodded, moving her attention to Stormfly. She petted her head and they stood in silence for a while. Hiccup wondered if it would be appropriate for him to leave.
Before the prince could make any decision, a loud screeching noise erupted somewhere nearby. Both Toothless and Stormfly grew restless and their eyes darted everywhere, looking for the source of the sound. It reminded Hiccup a lot of the sounds that Stormfly was making in the woods when he was trying to track her.
"Was that a dragon?" Astrid asked, her eyes fixed on the trees and large rocks behind them.
"It has to be," Hiccup confirmed and tried to locate the sound.
It seemed to be coming everywhere and Hiccup wasn't sure if they were listening to an echo or the actual noise that the dragon was making. It was clear from the way their dragons were behaving that this mysterious creature was in desperate need of help.
"We need to find it!" Astrid said and got on the dragon that she came to the cliff with. Hiccup followed her lead and hopped on Toothless after putting his helmet back on.
"It sounds like it's been hurt," the prince stated and looked down at his dragon. "Do you think you can locate the poor dragon, bud?"
Toothless stood still for a moment, his head moving from side to another, listening to the screeching. Without much of a warning, the Night Fury launched himself straight upward and Hiccup let out a surprised yelp. The prince looked down and saw Astrid follow suit with the dragon, followed by Stormfly. They flew off the cliff towards the forest that they had passed a week ago. The sounds grew stronger and became easier to locate.
Would they be able to help that poor thing?
It took them a while to find the dragon. It was curled up inside a large cave, trying to seek for shelter. It looked big and if it was in a lot of pain, its movements could be very unpredictable and fatal to them.
"Any idea how we're getting closer to it?" Astrid shouted over the noises that the dragon was making.
Toothless and Stormfly were trying to get closer to it, and Hiccup hoped that their presence would calm it down.
"I guess the only way is to just walk closer and hope it won't kill us," the prince said. "You can go, I can handle this alone."
"But I want to help!" Astrid protested and took a couple steps towards the downed dragon. It had stopped being so loud, but it was still clearly hurt and feeling much pain.
Hiccup was about to say no, but he knew it would be no use. He hadn't known Astrid for a very long time, but it had been enough for him to realise that she didn't give up easily. So if she wanted to help, she would do it and the prince's opinion didn't matter.
What he said instead was: "Whatever. I suppose two is better than one."
The princess said something, but Hiccup couldn't hear her; the dragon had just made another loud screech just when she had started speaking. Wordlessly they approached the cave. Their dragons' presence had definitely helped the downed dragon calm down so that it was rather easy for them to get close to it.
"Its wings are hurt," Hiccup stated sadly as he held the dragon's unfolded wing in his hand. "Looks like it has been fighting another dragon. Look, you can clearly see the scratch marks. These wings are going to take a while to heal."
Astrid looked at the marks that Hiccup was pointing at and inhaled sharply. "Gods, what a poor thing. We need to help it."
The prince wondered what type of dragon it was. He felt terribly sorry for the poor creature, but also he couldn't help the feeling of excitement that he got from this moment – although he didn't know much about dragons, he wanted nothing more but to help the injured reptile before him. Could this be his chance to learn more about dragons?
"I could ask Berk's dragon trainers to teach me how to care for dragons, and also see what herbs and potions our court physician is using to treat injuries," Hiccup said as he stood up, his eyes still fixed on the dragon. They could've tried to do something now, but the chances to make things worse were too great and the prince didn't want to risk the dragon's life just because he wanted to experiment a little.
"That would be great. When are we coming back?"
"We?" Hiccup repeated and turned to look at Astrid that seemed as excited about the situation as he was. She just nodded. "I can do this alone."
"Didn't you just say that two is better than one?"
Oh. The prince was about to protest, but he ended up just opening his mouth and then closing it, opening it and closing it. He couldn't go against his own words, and it wasn't like he could stop Astrid from tagging along.
So he wasn't getting rid of her after tonight.
He sighed loudly and rested his forehead on his fist. "Every other night?" he suggested as he looked up again to meet Astrid's eyes.
"I hope that's not too long for the poor dragon," Astrid said and glanced at the exhausted creature next to them.
"There's not much else we can do for it. The distance's too long to come here every night," the prince said.
He also feared that he'd be coming back to a dead dragon. He didn't know how serious such injuries were and if the dragon could die from them. But if not the injuries, it would be its defenceless stage that would be the dragon's doom.
"So," Astrid began to gain the prince's attention. She succeeded in that. "In two nights it is, then? I hope we can both find something that will help ease that dragon's pain."
Before they left, they made sure to conceal the entrance to the cave as well as possible, but with most plants witted or leafless it turned out to be a challenging task. Eventually they gathered enough supplies to provide a slightly better shelter for the dragon, and after that they left for their own kingdoms. Hiccup couldn't believe that for the first time in his life, he was wishing that Briral would be closer to Berk. Why did it have to be so far away that even getting to the midpoint took about 6 hours?
But this time he would be happy to lose his sleep, because now that he was given a chance to learn more about dragons, he was more than keen to take it.
Fun fact: the ending of this chapter is the reason this story came to be. In 2017 I had an idea that Hiccstrid have their own dragons but they don't know much about dragons in general, and they find an injured dragon that they start helping. Then I constructed the rest of the plot around that. How I eventually made them each other's enemies remains a mystery lol.
Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter or the story in general!