Hi guys! First off let me just say how dissapointed I am in myself for not uploading another chapter in like 1 1/2 months. Honestly things just came up with school and other stressful stuff that I just didn't have the time to do this. But I decided to make it up to you guys and make this chapter really long. I hope I did a good job guys and I hope you enjoy it. The following chapters will be lengthy as I am trying not to draw this out and have a bunch of pointless chapters that don't further the plot. With that being said, let me just say that while you guys may be perplexed with the direction this story will take, I assure you it will make sense in the end. I want to explore some culture and develop some themes and this direction will help that. Please let me know what you guys think of it. I love y'all's feedback!
Chris stared in silence as he watched the argument unfold. He certainly didn't expect the female dragon, Windwalker, to certainly leave dramatically, breaking it off with her now ex-mate, Tenor.
Not a word was spoken. The only sound was Tenor crying. Chris looked upon his broken form. The black dragon hid his face under his paws. Re and Aurora were silent. Serenity would have been silent too, yet she was crying too.
Chris' face twisted into one of annoyance. He scoffed. Aurora picked up on her son's new demeanor.
"What's the matter?" Aurora asked.
She was greeted with silence as Chris walked up to Serenity who was standing away, crying and silent. Serenity looked up when she saw her husband walk up to her. She sniffled as he came close, wondering why he looked upset.
"What's wrong?" Serenity asked, fighting back the tears.
"You, is what's wrong." Chris responded. Serenity tilted her head in confusion.
"What do you…" Serenity said softly.
"Why are you crying?" Chris asked flatly.
"B-because they were fighting a-and arguing." Serenity stuttered.
"So you are telling me that the problems of two other dragons personally affect you?" Chris asked, confused.
"Well, it's just that...that they shouldn't do that."
"They shouldn't do what exactly?" Chris pressed.
"Chris what are you doing?" Re asked.
"How else should they solve their problems?" Chris asked.
"It's just, I don't like fighting. It's horrible. You know why I don't like it." Serenity responded, touching the faint scar on her cheek.
"Yes I'm aware of your childhood. And?" Chris answered.
Re and Aurora looked at each other, befuddled.
"What do you mean 'and?'" Serenity questioned.
"I'm saying if you don't like the negative, the fighting, the arguing, the bad, whatever it is, you shouldn't be here, near dragons!" Chris exclaimed.
Serenity pulled back from shock. "What do you mean?"
"I'm saying that you act like a child when it comes to adult situations. Whenever someone argues, even when it's a small one, you start tensing and become anxious. Whenever two dragons are sparring….SPARRING, you get really nervous and look like you wanna throw up. Sparring is suppose to be physical. How else would they be able to defend themselves?" Chris berated.
Serenity was starting to cry again. Re saw this and decided to intervene.
"Chris that's enough." Re stepped in.
"No it's not!" Chris shouted back as he faced Serenity again "She needs to stop acting like a hatchling."
"I can understand how one can be scared, I get that. But you Serenity, you act like everything is out to get you, afraid of the world. You look away when things get bad and cry and whine and run to daddy for comfort, hiding under your dragon's wing, or you faint. You always run to the dragons for comfort, letting them deal with your problems for you. You let them shield you from the world, being content in your bubble. Well wake up Serenity, what are you going to do when they are gone, huh? Who's going to protect you then? You can't even defend yourself! You get scared and run away and hide. That's all you ever do, and someone else has to look out for you because you seem incapable of doing so on your own."
Serenity's mouth dropped in sadness, covering it with her left hand as she gripped her stomach with the other. She felt sick.
"You always were delicate, too delicate. Any little bad thing that comes your way, you act like it's the worse thing in the world and say it's because of how your birth family treated you. Well GROW UP SERENITY. So what you got mistreated badly? Deal with it! No what anyone says, you have let your past influence you. You let your fear and your anxiety dictate your life, running away when something bad happens, or crying or whatever. You always do that, acting so damn sensitive to everything around you. Grow up Serenity. You need to stop living like that. If something bad happens to you, there is no point in just taking it and crying about it and letting it run its course. You stand up to it, you fight back, and you never let it control you. You become strong instead of remains docile and submissive. Nobody wants a person like that. Nobody wants a weak person, a hatchling like you."
Serenity's heart was slowly tearing apart. She was shocked and confused and scared. Why was Chris acting like this? This wasn't the Chris she knew and loved.
"Chris that's en-" Aurora growled but was cut off by her son.
"No. You need to stop shielding her when the good gets ugly. She is not a hatchling."
"On top of that you can't even defend yourself. Instead you just let it happen to you and cry about it afterwards, complaining you are used to it. If you can't accept the fact that bad things are always going to happen and stand up when things go bad, then I don't know how you are going to survive in this world. In fact, you shouldn't have, considering all I just said. However, like myself, we were spared by the dragons. Yet, I can defend and take care of myself. You can't. You always need a dragon to do it for you."
"You are just...confusing. You hate violence and fighting, yet you associate with dragons who do that naturally. I don't know why you help others when you can't even help yourself." Chris said with finality.
Serenity's heart shattered at that point. Everything went hazy. Tears were flowing at that point and she sank to her knees as she couldn't find the strength to support herself.
"Chris! Look what you did!" Re snarled, coming face-to-face with his son.
"What? I was telling her the truth, what she needed to hear, I wasn't insulting her." Chris retorted.
"I can't believe you!" Aurora said, disgusted.
"Look, don't believe me or not. We all know at least half of that is true. You can't keep being protective of her. She has to learn to stand on her own two feet, and I don't mean that literally!" Chris shot back.
"That's your wife for Draco's sake. You hurt her Chris. And furthermore, I don't like the tone you are using against your father and mother!" Re growled.
Chris' eyes narrowed. "Don't ever refer to me as yours. You don't own me. And it's not possible for me to be your son. It's not normal. I'm human. You are dragons. It's just…" Chris fumed. He shook his head as he started walking away.
"And where do you think you're going?!" Re roared, sparks flying out of his mouth.
"I can't deal with this...just leave me alone." Chris said as he stormed away.
Re and Aurora would have followed him, but they had bigger concerns. Two of their family members were emotionally distressed and need comforting. Re went to Serenity and Aurora to Tenor. They both wrapped a wing and nuzzled their respective person.
"It's okay Tenor. I'm sure she will come back. It's all just a big misunderstanding. It will be over soon." Aurora said softly.
Tenor kept on crying, oblivious to his friend's comfort.
'Everything will be over soon.' Tenor thought as he opened his eyes and tried to calm himself down.
'I hope it's a misunderstanding.' Aurora thought as she patted his back.
"There there Serenity. He is just talking nonsense. He doesn't remember anything. That's not Chris. He will remember everything soon." Re cooed as he nuzzled her face.
Serenity was deadly quiet. At that point, she ran out of tears and was calming down. "You're right. Thanks Re." Serenity said softly. At that point, something inside her changed.
Just then, Eret and Skullcrusher landed quickly and approached them. The Draconians all looked toward the newcomers.
"Oi, uh, sorry if I'm interruptin', but Hiccup needs you all to meet 'im at the Mead Hall immediately." Eret said in his thick accent.
"Why?" Aurora asked as she got up.
"We have foreign ships upon the horizon, and they brought a whole fleet with them."
Aurora and Re looked at each other before the king sighed. "I'll go. Stay here with them."
Aurora nodded as Re gave Serenity one last nuzzle before spreading his wings and following Skullcrusher and Eret, leaving Serenity with her dragon and the Queen.
Hiccup was standing in the hangar, a thoughtful look on his face as all the Vikings and dragons around him were rushing past. He looked up when Eret and Skullcrusher landed with Re in tow.
"What's the problem Hiccup?" Re asked.
"I just got word from some scouting dragons that there are so ships coming from the northeast and are due to hit Berk in about one hour." Hiccup informed.
Re looked over at Toothless. Something seemed off about him. He had a hardened look on his face as he stared at the ground. He looked a bit solemn. Re couldn't figure out why but decided not to press it.
"There sigil is unlike anything I have seen before and their ships are oddly shaped. They aren't Berserkers, or Dagur, or any other dragon hunter that I know of. Point is-"
"We don't know who they are or what they are capable of." Re deduced.
"Exactly."
"So what do you propose we do?" Re questioned.
"Normally, if I knew who they were like a neighboring tribe, I would welcome them with open arms. However, they are strangers to these waters. Mapping their trajectory, they are headed for a straight shot here. I thought they were just passing by but they haven't changed course, so I'm assuming they are intending to land. I'm going to give us the benefit of the doubt and treat them as dangerous. The riders are guiding the rest of the village to hunker down just in case they decide to attack us." Hiccup explained.
"Very strategic of you. What's my role in this?" Re asked.
"I need you to be there as an intimidation factor."
"How so?"
"I'm going to present the village as if there were no dragons at all and ask why they are here. If they get hostile, I want you and Toothless to shake them up a bit. Don't hurt them, but scare them. You think you could do that?" Hiccup detailed.
Re glanced at the Night Fury. "Sure we can do that. Let me explain it to him."
"Hey Tooth, Hiccup wants us to scare away the enemy if they become hostile." Re explained, however it seemed the Night Fury alpha wasn't paying attention.
Toothless was in a benumbed state of sorts. Everything around him phased him as he was consumed with heartbreak and defeat. In his head, Toothless kept on ramming his head into a boulder over and over again, lashing at himself for being so stupid. He shouldn't have said that. He couldn't believe he did say that.
"'She's mine', like that didn't creepy at all." Toothless mumbled.
He crooned softly in sadness. Everything for the most part was going, smoothly. Not necessarily smooth, but it wasn't going bad. He felt confident that perhaps in another week or two he was going to ask her how she felt, of course after presenting her with the biggest fish he could find. He had to impress her! Even though most of his attempts haven't really been working. And now he ruined it all by saying that one stupid line! She was gone now. There was his one chance of finding someone like him. Someone he could call a mate. Someone he could love. Maybe he was destined for this. He was sure that he was the first dragon ever to befriend a human and it was basically taboo back then, they did it anyways and grow close enough to be brothers. Perhaps this was the universe's sick way of getting even.
Toothless sighed. Who was he kidding? Hiccup basically befriended every dragon he met. If it was forbidden, then no dragon wouldn't even go near him, even if curious! Toothless' head started to hurt from the copious amount of thoughts flying around in his head. All he knew for sure was that his crush…as much as he didn't want to admit it, the one dragon he had his eyes on was gone and he didn't know where she is.
"Not like she wants to see me after that." Toothless murmured defeatedly.
"Toothless!"
Said dragon picked up his head and turned to the new voice. It was Re and both he, his rider, Skullcrusher and his human were looking at him.
"What?" Toothless asked.
"I said would you be willing to do this? You know, scare some humans away like we used to back before dragons and humans befriended one another." Re responded.
"Oh yeah." Toothless glanced down real quick before looking back up. Of course we can."
Re relayed the answer to Hiccup before turning back to him. He wanted to say something but Hiccup interrupted them.
"Alright, let's get going. We don't have a minute to spare." Hiccup declared as he jumped up onto Toothless' saddle and departed with his dragon. Re spread his wings and flew off in a different direction.
The waters were silent as 3 Roman longships docked into the ports of Berk. Made of a light wood, these ships had a curved wooden tail on the sternpost while the stempost had the wooden head of a sea dragon. The sails were vertically striped red and white in thick bands. The oar ports were lined with red and blue shields. Oars jutted out from the strakes of the boat. Unlike the other 17 ships that were docked further out into the sea, these 3 had flags atop their masts.
With one foot on the railport, between two shields was a light tanned foot. Shielding itself from the wood was a dark brown, leather sandal which weaved together and danced around his foot and ended halfway on his shin. The back part of the sandal also had a thicker strip of leather that went halfway up his shin. The same sandal was on his other foot as well. The man was wearing a red, woolen tunic under his metal shoulder plates, chest armor, and tanned, fit physique. Clipped to his shoulders was a long, flowing red cape. He wore a leather belt that was separated with gold and silver connectors alternatively. It sheathed his dagger on his left hip while it housed his long sword on his right. Lastly, there was a thick, rectangular groin protector hanging in that region, beating gold rivets forming rows and columns on the silver metal. He had his metal helmet with a red, feather mohawk lining it under his right arm. Whenever in battle, it would cover his short, brown hair and matching beard as well as most of his hardened face. It didn't cover his mouth and deep blue eyes. He was in the center ship as they ported. As head commander, he always had to be in the lead ship alongside his strong, yet lower-ranking brothers.
Alastair was silent as he surveyed the high cliffs of the village. It was very hilly and most of the houses were built on different elevations. He glanced at the wooden dock and how it snaked up the cliff side and branched out to different sections. It was quiet. Too quiet.
"Be on your guard. This village seems either abandoned or hiding. Either way, that is not good for us!" Alastair bellowed to his brothers. The rest of the armada gave grunts of affirmation as they relayed the information to the rest of the fleet.
Alastair jumped over the boat and landed on the docks with a resounding thud. His head snapped up to the cliff above as he thought he heard a shift. He quickly dismissed it and walked warily up the ramps, twisting and turning as he picked the way towards the middle of the village.
When he reached the top of cliff he was taken aback by the site. He was greeted to the sight of a grand crowd of burly, hairy men and women. They all wore dark colors and most wielded axes and other vicious looking weapons. He counted heads and lost count after one hundred or so. He glanced back to the small crowd that was comprised of the men in their head ships and subsequently followed him. He and his other commanders were on top of the ground as the rest were still on the ramps, still as they waited for the next signal from their superior. These people were also on higher ground so coupled with the fact that they were also in the tight, cramped space of the dock ramps, they were at a disadvantage. He calculated that with the other seventeen ships out at sea, he could take the village easily but first he had to do this diplomatically.
His eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on a lone, tall, and slender man with long, brown hair. He had leather armor on and had what looked like a weirdly shaped prosthetic leg. He was a couple of steps forward from the crowd and had his arms folded. Alastair noticed that some of the crowd glanced at him before glancing back at his group. Alastair could only assume that this man was their leader.
Alastair too separated himself from his group. He took about 3 steps forward before standing up straight.
"Greetings! My name is Alastair and I am the leader of this fleet. We hail from the vast and powerful Roman Empire that is many moons away. We wish to find one of own as she is a traitor to the country and must be punished as so." Alastair announced.
The crowd as well as the man looked at him and murmured amongst themselves. The thin man looked at his crowd before facing Alastair and giving him a shrug. The Roman leader read his body language and his confused expression and realized that they didn't understand him.
"Well that was worth a try." Alastair sighed. "Bring out the translator!"
The Roman crowd parted as a shorter man with thin, gray hair emerged. He stumbled a bit on his grey robe tied with a golden chord as he made his way near Alastair. The timid man glanced up at the unblinking face of his commander before facing the foreign crowd.
Hiccup was confused as a smaller man appeared beside the tall, foreign man. His focus on the latter was disrupted as the short man spoke a myriad of random noises and guttural noises. It was much more weird and random than the language the taller man used. He was perplexed by his actions until his ears caught the phrase "Hello." His ears perked a bit as the man spoke his language
"Hello? You speak our language?" Hiccup answered back. The man's eyes brightened a bit as his stature relaxed a bit.
"Yes I do. None of the others can speak various languages like I can because they are not scholars like myself. I am an interpreter." The man humbly responded in a subtly squeaky voice.
"Well, alright. Who are you, and who are these people?" Hiccup gestured to the crowd ahead of him.
"Oh yes, my sincerest apologies. My name is Nadir and I, as well as the rest of my party, are from the great Roman Empire. I am translating on behalf of the affairs and concerns of the lead commander, Alastair. We apologize if we may have disturbed you all. May I ask who we are addressing?" Nadir smiled and nodded slightly.
"My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and I am chief of the Berkians located on the Isle of Berk in the Barbaric Archipelago. This is my village and these are the villagers." Hiccup declared.
Nadir nodded and relayed it to his commander. Hiccup frowned slightly when he saw Alastair pull back and glance at him confused before speaking to Nadir again.
"Alastair says you have a peculiar name and that he didn't expect a man of your...physique to be a leader." Nadir chuckled nervously.
Hiccup scowled. He rolled his eyes as he heard Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and Snotlout snicker behind him.
"I get that a lot. Anyways, what are you guys doing here?" Hiccup asked.
Nadir leaned back as he took in Alastair's words before translating. "We have come looking to apprehend a criminal. We have followed her trail and she has come along this direction. Have you happened to have seen this girl?"
"Well I can't answer that unless I know what she looks like."
The Romans murmured to themselves in their dialect before Alastair gave a bellow and gestured with his hand in a forward motion. A soldier with leather armor came forward and handed Alastair a scroll. Alastair unrolled it and showed a detailed sketch of a woman who looked very familiar to Hiccup.
The Berk chief scrunched his brow in confusion before turning his face to the crowd, specifically his fellow dragon riders. They glanced at each other and talked amongst themselves.
"We haven't seen this person before. I haven't had any reports about a girl who fits this description." Hiccup said flatly.
Nadir regarded Hiccup with a neutral expression and relayed what he said to Alastair. Alastair looked up at Hiccup while he spoke.
"Interesting. My scouts have said that with this being the only island within a 100 mile radius, she had to have dropped by. So either, you really don't know what's happening on your island or you're hiding something from me." Alastair thought out loud.
Hiccup frowned. "Well from my point of view, you either have bad scouts or you are wasting your time trying to get an answer you want out of me."
"So you aren't lying to me are you? Because you seem like a wise man, Hiccup. Wouldn't it be foolish for you to sacrifice the welfare of your people for one little, tratorious girl? It would be a shame if I found out you lied to me and your village would have to suffer because of that. My men and I have been traveling far and wide for this girl and you should give us any information that relates to her. I mean, you are telling me that you were able to see our ships coming from the horizon but didn't catch the ship of this girl? Seems very unlikely to me." Alastair explained. His deep voice, coupled with the sharp, foreign diction he was using gave him an eerie ambiance behind him.
Hiccup's face scowled a bit. "Was that a threat?It would really be a shame if you threatened me and my village. I I hope that wasn't the case. You do not want to get on these villager's bad side. And no, I haven't seen this girl. Why would I lie to you? If she is so important to you all, how did you come to lose her in the first place?" Hiccup argued.
"Her importance to you is none of your concern. And I'm not threatening you. All I am saying is that it would be unfortunate if you lied to us and your village had to suffer for it. Just so you know, those catapults on my ships have a very long range and can deal heavy damage. Your choice." Alastair growled, however Nadir's voice seemed to be a bit shaken as he translated it.
Hiccup stared at Alastair before turning back to his friends. He glanced at them as they gave him nods while others shook their head, especially Fishlegs.
"Tell me Alas-whatever your name is. Have you ever heard of dragons?" Hiccup asked.
Nadir looked stumped at the question and looked back at Hiccup questioningly before translating to Alastair. The commander's face shifted as well.
"We have seen those flying beasts, and have conquered them easily!" Alastair boasted.
"Oh have you now?" Hiccup asked with a bit of sarcasm now.
Alastair grimaced. He didn't know where this conversation was going and he didn't like it one bit.
"Look I don't have time for-"
"Our village was plagued with dragons a few years ago. They kept on stealing our livestock and destroying our village. However, I made peace with them and now they are our friends." Hiccup stated.
Nadir was baffled as he hesitantly told Alastair. When the head commander heard this, he busted out laughing. Nadir laughed on nervously.
"Dragons? People? Together? I never took a chief to be a fool. Then again, your people and your way of life are barbaric." Alastair spat. Nadir looked down as he interpreted that last part.
The rest of the village looked enraged. Some started yelling and others raised their weapons. Alastair placed his hand on his pommel but stopped when Hiccup raised his hand, silencing his crowd.
"You see. There are two things you need to know about Berk. First, never insult my people. Not only is it rude, but I can't stop all of them if they want to rip your head off. Two, we have…" As he started that statement, a cacophony of roars filled the sky in a thunderous chorus. The Romans were on high alert, as they tensed up and raised their shields and spears up above them. Alastair shouted at them to get in a tight formation, although his command was somewhat drowned out by the roars. As they formed up, the most shocking thing happened.
Hundreds of dragons fell from the sky and dove towards the village. A myriad of black, yellow, green, red, and blue scales covered the sky and converged on Berk in an aerial tsunami. Dragons big, small, tall, and wide perched themselves on rooftops while others were more comfortable on the ground. All were baring their fangs and flapping their wings in angst. All that could be heard was growling and snarling.
Alastair looked on in shock as monsters encircled his troupe. He looked back and some of his men were saying prayers and were wobbling on their knees. He looked back at his fleet near the bay. He tried to send a signal but it looked like they weren't responding. In fact, he noticed some where sinking and were kicked by flames. His eyes widened as 3 more boats sank. As he focused more, he realized that some silhouettes were buzzing around and flaming his ships.
"Dragons!" Alastair muttered. His mind was jumbled as he was surrounded by the flying beasts. His face went blank as he heard a roar that silence all others. He turned around and was greeted with the sight of a black, sleek, and very angry dragon. It had piercing green eyes that could rip apart your very soul. It sauntered down the middle of the crowd as the dragons and Vikings parted to make room for him. His mind was thrown for a loop when he saw what looked like a saddle and other mechanical things rigged to the dragon. Said black dragon stopped when he was right next to Hiccup and snarled fiercely, crouching low. Alastair's world turned upside down when Hiccup extended his hand to pet it before mounting it.
"Dragons make excellent companions. Not only are they kind, loyal, and smart, they can be really protective of their nest. And Toothless here, doesn't really like you. If I were you, I would take you and your fleet and leave Berk and never return. The dragons you see before you are just a fraction of the ones on our side. And you don't want to anger a dragon, trust me." Hiccup declared valiantly.
Alastair looked at his men, Hiccup, the remainder of his fleet, and back to Hiccup. His eyes shot to Nadir as he elbowed him in the side. Nadir jumped as he was pushed forward. He looked back as Alastair started speaking before beginning to translate.
"You w-will not see the last of us. You have made a grave mistake threatening the R-R-Roman Empire." Nadir translated. Hiccup felt that that was a threat but Nadir's scared tone made out it as nothing but a squeak.
Alastair bellowed a call before his men scurried down the ramp and back to their boats. Nadir gasped as he realized he was being left behind and hurried along to catch up. As Alastair deported the docks and sailed back to the remaining ships, he glanced back up the cliff. His eyes narrowed on Hiccup as he and his tribe glared back down at them from the edge of the cliff.
"I will make you pay, Hiccup Haddock III." Alastair swore.
Hiccup let out a huge sigh as the last of the Roman ships disappeared over the horizon. Shouts of 'we did it!' and 'Vikings rule!' rang out over the crowd as the Berkians bellowed out cries of victory, followed by the copious roars of the dragons.
Hiccup dismounted and was soon pelted on the arm by none other than Astrid.
"Ow! Jeez what was that-" Hiccup complained but was soon lip-locked with his wife.
"Do I ever need to give a reason to kiss you anymore?" Astrid smiled as she pulled back from the kiss and met Hiccup's stunned glance.
"Uh, no, but for the punches, kinda…" Hiccup exhaled.
"Just be grateful we don't have Hagen here and he is safe. I thank the Gods your mom was willing to take care of him when the going got rough." Astrid said.
"Yeah. My mom only really gets involved when the livelihood of dragons are at stake and had no qualms staying behind when I told her we were going to overwhelm these Romans using a surprise attack." Hiccup explained as he wrapped his arms around his wife.
"Yeah. I just hope we don't have to deal with these Romans again."
"I'm sure we won't. If they come back, we will be more than ready." Hiccup smiled as he leaned back in for a kiss.
"I must say, that is a very interesting way of showing affection Astrid." Kassandra said as he went up to them. "Women never really make contact with men in that way. They only do so in an area down south." Kassandra smirked.
Hearing that sly remark caused both Vikings to blush and separate from each other.
"Oh no need to stop being fruitful!" Kassandra laughed.
Her laughter was cut short when a roar came followed by the form of Re landing next to them.
"Well that was fun." Re said as he tucked his wings back in.
"A-anyways, thank you for telling me about the Roman ships." Hiccup thanked.
"Roman ships? What do you mean?" Astrid asked.
"Oh yes. When I told the village about the ships that were coming, Kassandra asked about them."
"I only did so for I feared the men from my lands were coming back to capture me, and I was right. Before I hid, I had to tell Hiccup what he was going up against." Kassandra spoke "The Roman Empire is strong, there is no doubt about that. However, the same cannot be said about their naval force. Those ships are built to withstand other enemy ships. They are not designed to fight dragons. A small flock of dragons could easily sink a fleet of 15 ships."
"I couldn't have said it better myself." Hiccup commented.
"Ah yes. The information was very useful. I expected more of a fight but they didn't have anti-dragon weapons. Still, it was nice giving them a scare!" Re chuckled.
"Yeah, you were right about them wanting to capture you. I wouldn't worry about them coming back. Now knowing their strength, I think they won't lose a threat of they choose to fight us again. And that leader really was annoying and cocky, more so than Snotlout usually is." Hiccup added
"Who was their leader by the way?" Kassandra asked.
"Some guy named Alastair."
Kassandra's face darkened. "Did you say Alastair?"
"Yes. Why? Do you know him?."
Kassandra just stood there with an expression of pure shock. "That...that was my brother...
Everyone turned to look at her.
"Your brother?" Astrid asked, skeptical.
"Short brown hair, beard, blue eyes…" Kassandra listed. Hiccup nodded slowly
"I can't believe he actually came out to capture me and bring me back home. Boy, he must be as mad as Zeus to actually come and find me. He rarely takes matters into his own hands. Now I definitely don't wanna return now." Kassandra said solemnly, having a far look on her face.
An uncomfortable silence ensued
"Well, anyways, I plan to go with Snotlout and Eret so that I can help with the logging. Not that I have much of a choice in the matter." Kassandra asserted.
"Okay. Do that." Hiccup agreed. The chief turned to the Dragon King. "Thank you for leading the charge."
"Oh, no worries. It was nice to get back into action again." Re smiled before he spread his wings and left. A few seconds later, Kassandra left to do her task. As Kassandra left, Hiccup couldn't help but notice the scowl on Astrid's face.
"What's the matter?"
"Do you still think she can be trusted?" Astrid inquired.
"I think so. She's been working as hard as the rest of the Vikings here. From what I have seen and from what our friends have told us, she puts 100% effort into her work. If she didn't honestly want to stay, she wouldn't have done so. It seems she genuinely wants to stay here as a citizen. I have told her of the other places in the Archipelago and she seems content with ship wrecking here." Hiccup remarked.
"That's good and all but I don't know, Hiccup. I just have a bad feeling she is hiding something, that's all." Astrid said with uncertainty.
"I think you are just worrying too much."
"Need I remind you of the Heather Incident." Astrid countered.
"Okay but that was different. Heather didn't have much of a choice. Her family was on the line and don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same if you were in her boots." Hiccup responded.
Astrid was silent as she looked away. "Look, it's just a gut feeling okay. I could be wrong, but that's just how I feel."
"And I don't blame you for being so protective of the things you love. That's one of the many reasons why I love you." Hiccup grinned.
"What are the others?" Astrid purred.
"It's a pretty long list."
"I don't mind sitting and listening to your poetic words." Astrid feigned a lovely sigh as she drooped into her husband's arms and threw her head back dramatically.
Hiccup laughed alongside his wife for a good while. While all that occurred, they failed to notice Toothless leave their presence.
The Night Fury was sulking as he walked in the woods, passing trees and bushes without a care. The sight of Hiccup and Astrid showing affection really bothered him today. He couldn't explain it, but it just made him sick.
His mind drifted back to Raeya. Gosh, he wished he could do something, talk to her. However, he didn't know what to say. Let alone, he couldn't even find her at the moment.
"What am I supposed to do?" Toothless asked to no one in particular. His mind dwelled on his options before a boulder appeared out of nowhere. He blinked a couple of times before he realized how far he was. He realized he was on the other side of the island. Well, truly he was about halfway. He was near a outcrop of rocks near the northern shore of Berk. It was about one minute away if he ran. He temporarily forgot what he was doing before he realized he walked in the woods to forget about Hiccup and Astrid's affection. Toothless rolled his eyes as mentioning it brought the awkward feelings he felt. He gazed up at the orange streaks, mixing with the soft blues of the sky. Toothless realized he would have to turn back soon.
"Help!"
Toothless went on alert as heard a faint cry. His ears perked as his eyes darted all around. Things suddenly became awfully quiet. His ears twitched when he heard a subtle shuffling to his right. His thick muscles tensed as he sprang forward and dashed through the woods. Sometimes when the terrain became difficult to traverse, he would jump from tree to tree to avoid being slowed down. When he got near the coast he stopped to assess the scene in front of him.
A group of men were tying up Chris. A few others were scattered around the beach. He was moaning under his gag and struggling against his restraints but to no avail. Toothless looked quickly at their armor and ship and realized they were the same men he and Hiccup faced a couple of hours ago.
Toothless roared loudly as he sprinted out of the tree line and fired a plasma blast at the group, sending all of them flying a few feet away. 2 men approached from the right with their spears raised. Toothless quickly head butted one into the other, knocking them both out. Another 3 swiftly rushed to the left and Toothless countered them with a tail swipe. He looked around and was about to fire a plasma blast at the ship before he felt 3 sharp pains in his neck. He grunted and tried to get a view of what hit him but his vision blurred quickly. He shook his head as he head became heavy. He whined as his feet became wobbly and stumbled to his right. He tried to keep his eyes open but realized he was losing that battle. The last thing he saw was a blurry grey-and-red form approaching his head before his vision blacked out and his form dropped upon the yellow sand.
Gallus smirked as the dragon slipped into unconsciousness. He picked up his spear and used it to nudge the dragon near its neck where three darts were jutting out against the black scales.
"Man! These dragon tranquilizer darts are very handy! I'm glad we traded with those dragon trappers awhile back!" Gallus explained as he held up the blow dart tube in his other hand. He wore similar armor to Alastair, only he didn't have a cape. He had sandy blond hair and was built like an ox.
"Gallus, what are we to do with the dragon?" A foot soldier asked him.
Gallus turned and faced the soldier. "Bring it back to the Empire alongside the man. He can easily be bought and sold as a slave and I'm sure the arena would love a new beast for its gladiators to fight against." Gallus grinned darkly.
The foot soldier nodded as he got a few others who were recovering from the dragon attack to help him tie up the dragon and begin hauling it towards the ship. Gallus heard a muffled grunt to his right and looked to see what it was. He chuckled as he saw the struggling form of Chris trying his best to wiggle away, barely moving a few feet. Gallus marched over and placed his boot on Chris' back, immobilizing him. He leaned in close as he locked eyes with the fearful gaze of Chris.
"Don't worry. You will love it back in Rome. Not only will you enjoy being a slave, but you will be an excellent trading chip for Kassandra. She will be mine, at any cost." Gallus smirked before stabbing Chris with an extra dart. A few moments later Chris was knocked out.
"Sir, what about acquiring Kassandra? I thought that was what we're here for?" another foot soldier asked him as they finished hauling Chris and Toothless into the hold of the ship, chaining them below.
"We were, until we found out they had dragons living amongst them!" Gallus seethed. "We couldn't just barge in there and take her during our recon yesterday! Are you stupid? That's suicide!"
The soldier shrieked under Gallus' gaze. "I'm sorry sir, I was just wondering why we have a man and a beast in the hold."
"Gosh, I feel sorry that you were not properly educated. Since we are clearly outmatched, we have to get them to play on our terms. That means that those two are our hostages. We take them back to Rome where we are stronger there and use them to get Kassandra back. If not, we use them as slaves. If they get rebellious, we just punish them or kill them. It's not that hard to understand." Gallus scoffed as he rolled his eyes.
"Now let's just go before these barbaric savages come looking for these two." Gallus commanded as he approached the stern of the ship. He smacked his spear against the two chains that trailed off into the water. Immediately, the chains tightened and the water around it jostled before dragging the boat through the water quickly. Two Tidegliders were chained underwater and tugged the boat across the ocean back to familiar waters, far away from the shores of Berk.