Ch. 3
The Dragon Thief

'There they are,' Toothless said quietly.

My eyes narrowed as I looked down below into sea, directly at the ship sailing through it. There was no doubt that it was Eret's ship.

"We better get down there then," I said.

Toothless nodded shortly before picking up speed, Stormfly and Austen trailing just behind us. I knew it would not be long before Eret and his crew spotted us. Sure enough, I heard Eret shouting. He was too far away for me to understand, but I knew that he had seen us. My suspicions were confirmed when suddenly a net shot out, heading strait for me and Toothless. Said dragon swerved out of the way as I tightly held onto the saddle. Three more nets shot out at us, and Toothless avoided all of them with easy. We were very close to the ship by now.

"Reload!"

"Incoming!"

Toothless swiftly turned a bit and landed right on the deck of the ship, Stormfly landing right beside us. I took my helmet off my face and looked around. The crew had already started drawing their weapons, looking ready to fight us. But I just smiled. I was not worried about any of them. I had a plan and it was going to work. At least, I hoped it did. Suddenly Eret marched out from behind his crew, holding a sword in his hand.

"And here I was, worried we might turn up empty-handed," he said, pointing the weapon at me.

From the corner of my eye I saw Austen move, axe held ready in his grasp. But I held a hand up to tell him to stay down, and he froze.

"Nope. It's your lucky day," I grinned at Eret as I lifted my hands into the air. "We give up."

'What?' I heard Stormfly hiss.

Eret's smirk fell. He gave me a look of confusion as he raised an eyebrow, lowering his sword slightly. Still grinning, I placed my helmet onto the saddle and gracefully slid off of Toothless. There was a thud as Austen did the same.

"That's one Night Fury, one Deadly Nadder, and," I grabbed a net from the deck floor and threw it over Austen. "Two of the finest dragon riders west of Luck Tuk."

"Hey!" Austen protested when I took his axe and thrust it into Eret's arms.

"There yah go!" I said. "This oughta make the boss happy, right?"

Hicca, what're you doing? I heard Toothless ask in my head, but I ignored him.

"Excuse us, thanks," I said as me and Austen walked through the crew members.

"What're you doing?"

But I ignored Austen and pushed him down into the large built-in cage below deck. I stepped in after him and turned as I reached up to grab the metal door. There was a soft growl and I looked down to see Toothless standing in front of me.

'Hicca…?'

"Toothless, stay," I said.

Toothless took a few more steps as I closed the door, making soft chortles of confusion.

I've got a plan, I thought to him. Trust me.

"Oh, by the way," I called out to the trappers. "Dragons aren't big fans for cramped spaces, so they're just gonna hang out with you lot up there. But, don't worry, they won't be any trouble."

No sooner had I spoken before I heard Toothless yelp, and then start to growl. I cringed my neck to look through the metal bars and saw that the whole crew was now pointing all of their weapons at him. I reached up and slide the small metal latch open.

"Unless of course, you do that," I said, poking my head out through the smaller latch. "And I wouldn't recommend doing that either. Yah know, wooden boat, big ocean… How good is your swimming again?"

"Not good," one of the trappers admitted sadly.

I smiled as I lowered my head back down and closed the little door. I waited a second before I pulled out Inferno, pressing the button and lifting it up so that the blade shot out of the little gap in the door. I heard several of the men gasp. I retracted Inferno and slid the latch back open again.

"Oops!" I giggled, lifting the sword up for a nearby trapper to take. "Almost forgot. You can't have armed prisoners, can yah?"

"Hicca, what the hell's going on?" Austen hissed as the trapper took my sword. "How is this a plan?"

I waved an airy hand, telling him to calm down.

"Just what every dragon trapper needs," I called out to the trappers that were examining my sword. "One end coats the blade in Monstrous Nightmare saliva…"

One of the men pressed a button and green gas shot out and hit his face.

"…and the other sprays Hideous Zippleback gas," I continued, lowering down into the cage. "All it takes is a spark, and…"

I heard a small click, and ducked my head down before I heard the explosion. I waited a second before lifting my head up, smiling at them.

"Oh yeah, there you go!" I said.

The trappers started coughing, rubbing blacks smudge from their faces. Thick black smoke covered the entire deck of the ship, tiny cinders floating in the air. Suddenly, Toothless shot up onto his hind legs and started pawing at a large, glowing cinder that was floating in front of his face.

"See?" I said, trying not to laugh as I watched my boyfriend act like a total cat. "Once they see you as one of their own, even the testiest dragons can be trained. Right, bud?"

'Huh? Oh, yeah!' Toothless said distractedly, lowering down onto all fours again.

I giggled again. Then Eret ran at his men, snatching Inferno from his grasp.

"Give me that!"

He glared at his men before rearing his arm back and throwing the sword out towards the water.

'I got it!' Stormfly said before taking off.

"Thanks!" I called out.

"Enough!" Eret snapped, stomping up to me. "What game are you playing?"

Before I could answer Stormfly landed back on the ship, Inferno clutched in her large mouth. She dropped it on the floor by Eret's feet. Eret glared at her before picking the weapon back up and throwing it in the opposite direction. Stormfly squawked before taking off again.

"Who's playing games?" I asked, smirking. "Not me. We just wanna meet Drago."

Eret's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because I'm going to change his mind about dragons."

At this, Eret and his crew started to laugh. The laughter soon died once Stormfly returned and dropped Inferno on the ground again. Eret stared at the sword, then gazed up at Stormfly.

'Go ahead, throw it again,' she said, and she sounded almost playful. 'I dare you.'

I rolled my eyes and cleared my throat to get Eret's attention again.

"Anyway, yeah. That's why were here, and that's what we're gonna do."

"She can be really persuasive," Austen said, appearing next to me.

Toothless took a few steps toward me, nudging me with his nose. I smiled at him and put my hands on his head, petting him gently as I turned to look back up at Eret.

"Once you've earned his loyalty, there is nothing a dragon won't do for you."

'I can vouch for that,' Toothless said.

Eret snorted. "You won't be changin' any minds around here."

"I can change yours," I told him. "Right here, right now."

I reached up towards the petal on Toothless and pulled the lever, which caused the tail to shoot out. I looked back up at Eret, and was pleased to see that he had a hesitant, but curious look in his eyes, despite the glare on his face. I grinned as I quickly stood up and stepped out of the cage.

"Um, may I?"

But before I could say much else I was suddenly snatch by the arms by something big and was lifted into the air.

"WHOA!"

"Dragon riders!" I heard Eret shout.

Dragon riders? I quickly got over the shock of being snatched and looked up to see who it was.

"Hookfang?!"

'Surprise see me, squirt?' he said, chuckling.

"What? No, put me down!"

'Sorry, no can do. Your cousin's got orders.'

I groaned. "Snotlout, what are you doing?"

"See how well I protect and provide?" I heard him ask.

I heard a small groan, and I knew it was Ruffnut. How many of the others were here? Why were they here? Having had just about enough I struggled roughly with Hookfang's grip, trying to get out. Finally, I flipped myself up and kicked off, slipping through his grasp. I reached down to my ankles and pulled out the wings for my wind suit. I shot up slightly before I started to descend lower, heading back towards the ship. One of the nets shot out and nearly hit me, but I swerved out of the way. I descended lower and lower until I ran into the ship's sail. I grabbed the rope from the beam and grabbed the side of the sail, sliding smoothly down and landing back on the deck of the ship.

"Uhh, what're you guys doing here?" I called out as I slid my wings off.

"We're here to rescue you!" I heard Gobber say as he and Grump landed on the deck.

"Ahh, no thanks! I don't need to be rescued!"

"Enough!"

There was a loud thud as another dragon landed on the ship. I turned my head to see my dad slipping off of his dragon, Skullcrusher. He jumped down from the upper level and started to walk towards us.

"Well, didn't you just pick the wrong ship, eh?" Eret said as he marched up to my dad. "I am Eret, son of-"

But he was cut off as my dad put his large had to Eret's face and shoved him down next to Grump. Eret made to get up, but Gobber lifted the metal hammer in his left arm and hit the top of his head. Eret fell to the ground on his stomach and before he could move Grump shifted over and laid his body on top of him.

"Get this thing… off me…!" Eret gasped, panting for air.

"Anyone else?" Gobber called out to the other trappers, and when no one spoke he said, "That's what I figured."

I sighed, shaking my head. This was not going as I had hoped. I looked back up and was saw my dad marching straight for me.

"You, saddle up," he ordered. "We're going home."

I took a deep breath. "No."

There was a short pause. The other riders looked at me, surprised.

'Hicca,' Toothless said warningly.

"I'm not going home," I said defiantly. "Not until I've talked to Drago."

My dad clenched his fists, a look of anger etched on his face. He looked like he was trying and failing to not explode.

"Of all the irresponsible…!"

"Excuse me?" I snapped. "I'm trying to protect our dragons and stop a war! How is that irresponsible?"

"Because war is what he wants, Hicca!"

My brows furrowed as I looked at my father with confusion.

"What do you mean?"

My dad took a deep breath and sighed deeply, not saying anything for a moment.

"Years ago," he began. "There was a great gathering of chieftains to discuss the dragon scourge we all faced. In our midst came a stranger from a strange land, covered in scares and draped in a cloak of dragon skin. He carried no weapon, and spoke softly, saying that he, Drago Bludvist, was a man of the people, devoted to freeing mankind from the tyranny of dragons."

From beside me I saw Toothless shift uncomfortably, and I knew why. To this day there were some dragons on Berk who still felt guilty for the years of war between them and Vikings. Seeing as how Toothless caused most of the damage over the years, he still felt very guilty.

"He claimed that he alone could control the dragons," my dad continued. "And that he alone could keep us safe, if we chose to bow down and follow him."

At this, the twins, Fishlegs and Snotlout started to laugh. Even Austen let out a small snort.

"Stupid," Ruffnut muttered.

"Oh, good one!" Tuffnut said, wiping a tear from his eye.

I could not blame them, even I was tempted to laugh at this. I looked up at my father, and the look on his face made my desire to laugh vanish.

"Aye, we laughed, too," he said. "Until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried out, "Then see how well you do without me!" The rooftop suddenly burst into flames, and from it, armored dragons descended, burning the hall to the ground."

He opened his mouth to continued, but froze. What came next seemed to freeze him in his place.

"Dad?"

He didn't look at me, but bowed his head, eyes closed.

"I… was the only one to escape…"

Nobody spoke, nobody moved. The smiles the others had were gone, replaced with sad expressions. I looked up at my father's face, waiting for him to say something else. He took a deep breath and let it out shortly. He lifted his head, and a serious expression had appeared on his face.

"Hicca, I understand what you're trying to do," he said. "But it's impossible. Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with."

I nodded. "Maybe…"

"Hicca-"

"I'm still going to try."

I turned away from him and walked over to Toothless. He lowered himself slightly as I stepped up and swung my leg over him, sitting on my saddle. I looked up at my dad and saw him giving me an angry look.

"Just trust me dad," I said. "This is what I'm good at. And-and if I can change your mind, I can change his too."

My dad did not say anything, but looked at me with sharp eyes. I could tell he was not convinced, but I was not going to give him the chance to drag me back home.

"Come on, bud!"

Toothless quickly jumped off the ship and spread his wings out. I locked my feet into the petals and moved them around so that we could get out of there as soon as possible.

We have been riding out for almost an hour now. The sun is still high in the sky, but it's late in the afternoon now. When we had left I expected Austen to follow us, but he didn't. I remember asking Toothless if he knew why, and he said that they had stayed because my father had told them to.

'According to his thoughts,' he said. 'And his words, he's…he's had enough mutiny for one day…'

He spoke the last few words with caution in his voice, as though worried I would explode. I didn't, but I was close. As soon as I heard that m-word I could feel the blood rushing to my head as my hands formed fists while gripping the saddle. Mutiny? I thought sourly. Is he serious? I'm doing this to protect Berk and our dragons, and he's got the nerve to call mutiny on me?!

'Hey!' Toothless suddenly piped up. 'How about we go fly above the clouds? They're always pretty this time of day.'

"Sure."

I knew he was just trying to be positive. I knew he probably heard my thoughts and was trying to make me feel better, but I wasn't sure if it would work this time. Toothless leaned up and started heading straight through the clouds. Within a minute we were above them. He was right; it was pretty during this time of the day. The sun shined down on the clouds and gave them a soft, golden glow. But, not even flying through a sea of clouds was making me feel less angry. The frustration I was feeling towards my dad- a feeling I hadn't had in a long time now- was coursing through my veins and getting to my head. Mutiny… He called it mutiny…

I couldn't help it; I couldn't hold it in. I released the saddle, reared my head back and let out a long, angry scream, punching the air with my fists. It echoed around me and pierced through my own ears. I stopped screaming and fell back, laying along Toothless' back. I took several deep breaths, trying to regain the air I had lost from my outburst.

'Hicca,' Toothless said lowly. 'Love, I'm really sorry about what happen. But, please… I don't like it when you're like this…'

"I don't like it too much either," I said breathlessly. "I'm sorry, bud. It's just… my dad's being so impossible right now."

'I know, I know. But, don't worry. After this thing with Drago blows over everything will go back to normal, I promise.'

"Will it?"

'What?'

"It's not just gonna 'blow over', bud," I said. "Talking with him might not work, but we have to try. We have to…"

I stopped talking for a moment. I needed to try to change Drago's mind, and I needed to do it quick. But even if we got to him right now, there was no guarantee that he would listen to us. He might still go after our dragons, including Toothless.

'Hicca…?'

I sighed. "Don't worry, bud. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you," I patted his back. "I promise…"

I felt small vibrations as Toothless let out a low purr.

'That makes two of us.'

I let out a small laugh. I lifted my hands up and laid them across my chest as I looked up at the sky. My anger was leaving me now, and I was finally starting to relax. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, feeling the wind blow across my face. Then, I felt Toothless vibrating again, except this time he was growling.

'We've got company.'

I groaned irritably. Of course, my dad had followed me. And I had just calmed down, too.

"Oh, come on, dad!" I snapped as I sat up. "Really?! You're gonna start following me like I'm a…"

But I stopped talking. That wasn't my father I was looking at. In fact, I had never seen this being before. It was definitely a human, but they appeared to be dressed in some kind of warrior garb. They held a long staff in their hand, and they wore a warrior-like mask that was painted in bright and dark colors, same as the cloths. I blinked as I stared at the stranger. I just realized that they appeared to be floating through the clouds on their own, with nothing underneath. Then, they made a small movement with their staff, and they lowered below the clouds until they were out of sight.

'What do we do?' Toothless asked.

I gulped. "Okay… no sudden moves…"

There was a few moments silence. Suddenly, I heard a loud screeching, and something large leaped out of the clouds in front of us. I gasped as Toothless came to a halt, flapping his wings to keep us in the air. I looked up at the thing that had jumped out at us and felt my jaw drop. It was a dragon, one that I had never seen before. It looked to be bigger than a Monstrous Nightmare, and had twice its wingspan. But what really amazed me was the face that the stranger from before was standing on the creature's back with no saddle or anything.

'Hicca, what do we do?' Toothless asked, but I couldn't answer.

The large dragon circled around us, screeching as its rider stared at me. The dragon stopped in front of us, and suddenly its large wings split into four.

"Holy-!" I yelped, gripping the saddle tightly. "Hold on, hold on!"

The large dragon started to growl at Toothless, and he was speaking in Dragonese. Luckily for me, I had learned enough Dragonese by now to understand them.

"You dare cross our territory?" the large dragon roared in an angry, male voice.

"Leave us alone!" Toothless snapped. "You have no business bothering us!"

"You're the one who's trespassing, Night Fury!"

The two continued to glare and growl at each other. All the while the new dragon's rider wouldn't take their eyes off of me. Suddenly, I heard a loud screech from the side and I whipped my head aroud. I had just enough time to catch a glimse of a dragon before I was snatched up by the arms and yanked off of Toothless. I yelped as I was pulled away, and looked down. To my horror, I saw Toothless falling through the clouds and heading for the water below.

"TOOTHLESS!" I shrieked.

'Hicca…!'

There was a distant splash that sent chills up my spine. Toothless had fallen in the water. The fact that he couldn't fly without me and the water was deathly cold meant that he wouldn't be able to swim, and he wouldn't be able to fly out of it either.

The dragon carrying me flew up towards the stranger and their dragon. I heard more screeching, and I looked behind me. I was surprised to see that there was a large pack of strange, new dragons that I had never seen before. But I was too busy worrying about Toothless to care.

"Hey!" I shouted up at the stranger. "Hey, listen to me! You left my dragon back there! He can't fly on his own, he'll drown!"

The stranger didn't so much as acknowledge my voice and continued to look forward.

"Please!" I pleaded. "You don't understand! He's my boyfriend, I can't loose him!"

The stranger's head suddenly whipped around to stare at me. Even though they were wearing a mask I could tell that they were surprised. But they didn't say anything, and soon turned their head back around. I opened my mouth to try to scream at them- though it probably wouldn't have done any good- when we suddenly flew under an ice arch. I gasped when I saw what was on the other side. There was a small, rocky island, and in the center of it was what looked like giant spikes of ice shooting up in different directions.

"Oh, gods…"

The stranger and their dragon lead us towards the icy island. Once we reached it we flew through a small, surprisingly rocky entrance. The dragon carrying me went through a small passageway before suddenly dropping me. I yelped as I hit the floor and tumbled a bit before quickly getting to my feet.

Dragons; that was all I could think. I was in a small, dark area, and I was completely surrounded by dragons that I had never seen in my life. As soon as I looked around all of them appeared to be waking up and were closing in on me.

"Hey!" I shouted, looking around for the rider. "We have to head back for my dragon!"

There was a short growl, and I backed away as a large dragon started marching up to me, growling lowly. Okay Hicca, you're prepared for this. Just stay calm… I reached over and pulled Inferno from my belt. I clicked the button and the blade shot out, igniting instantly. The dragon stopped walking, and I took the opportunity to slowly wave it around my head, drawing its attention. After a few times I held the sword in front of me and the dragon's pupils widened, following the bright blade with its eyes.

'My friends, would you look at that!' he said airily.

There was a snarl from behind me, and I whipped around to see another dragon marching over to me.

'Who is this human?' he said. 'Why is she here?'

I retracted Inferno's blade as the dragon neared me. I leaned over and took a smoke pellet from the holder on my right boot. I ejected the used one, popped the new one in, then flipped the handle around before pressing the button. I spun around as the gas spewed out, forming a circle around me. I pressed a bottom button, and a spark shot out and ignited the gas, which flamed for a second before disappearing. I put Inferno back on my belt before straightening up. Slowly, I lifted my hand and walked towards the dragon that had spoken.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," I said. "I promise."

I continued to walk closer as the dragon leaned in close sniffing my hand. It let out a low grumble before leaning forward and pressing its snout to my palm. I grinned down at him before lowering my hand. I heard shuffling from me behind me, and I whipped around to see the rider standing opposite me. We looked at each other for a moment, and at the same time began to circle.

"Who are you?" I asked. "The dragon thief?"

The stranger didn't answer.

"Uh… Drago Bludvist?"

Still nothing.

"Do you even understand what I'm saying?"

The stranger waved their staff around before smacking the end on the ground. There was a screech, and I looked up to see another dragon flying in. It only took me a second to realize that it was carrying a waterlogged Toothless. The dragon gently dropped him to the ground before flying off. I stared as Toothless straightened up, shaking his soaked head.

"Toothless!" I ran forward and wrapped my arms around him. "It's okay! It's okay, it's okay!"

'Hicca?' Toothless chortled. 'Oh gods, Hicca! I'm so glad to see you!'

"I'm glad to see you, too, bud," I said, kissing his head. "You really had me worried there."

I leaned back to smile at Toothless. He gently licked the side of my face and chortled softly.

'C'mon, I couldn't let my companion have all the fun, could I?'

At this I heard whispering from all around us. At first I thought that maybe their were other people here, then I realized that it was the dragons speaking.

'Did I hear him right? Did he say 'companion'?'

'No dragon's ever had a human companion! Is it possible?'

'It must be, look at them.'

I ignored these whispered and hugged Toothless tightly, still happy to see him again. Suddenly, there was a flash of like and I sprang to my feet. One of the dragons had opened its mouth and lit its fire inside so it looked like a large, strange lantern of sorts. Then, one by one, all of the other dragons started doing the same thing, until the whole area was completely lit. Toothless stood up on his feet and stepped closer to me, growling lowly. The stranger looked at us for a moment, then slowly started to walk towards us. Toothless' growling increased as he protectively wrapped his tail around me.

'Stay close to me, Hicca.'

The stranger dropped their shield and staff and started crawling closer towards us. Toothless snarled at them as we both took a few steps back. The stranger lifted their hand up, and Toothless reared back, looking like he was ready to bite the hand off. A second later his eyes closed and he fell onto his side, groaning and purring like a newborn kitten. I took a step back and stared as the stranger petted the under side of Toothless' neck. What the hell just happened? Suddenly the stranger stood up and started reaching up for me. I raised my eyebrows as I moved back some, trying to avoid being touched. I didn't know what this person was doing but I didn't want any part in it. Then, just as they were about to touch my chin, they gasped. I stared at them, wondering what had happened. The stranger slowly backed away and crouched down, looking up at me.

"…Hicca?"

I blinked. The person had spoken, and their voice was surprisingly soft and gentle. The person raised their hands up to their mask, and slowly took it off. It was a woman. And older, but very beautiful woman. She had a heart-shaped face and brown hair that was graying in several places. She had a look of almost revelation on her face as she stared up at me.

"C-could it be?" she breathed as she stood up. "After all these years? How is this possible?"

My brows furrowed as I stared at the woman, confused.

"Uh, should I… should I know you?" I asked slowly.

The woman's face fell. "No… you were only a babe…"

I stared at her some more. What was going on? She looked up at me, and I saw that she had bright, forest green eyes like mine.

"But a mother never forgets…"

I blinked several times, staring hardly at her. Then, as realization came over me, I gasped. I started panting, feeling as though I were about to have a sezier.

"Y-you're…you're my…"

"Shh…" she hissed gently.

I gaped at her, hardly able to speak. She looked as though she were trying to say something. She glanced over behind her, then at me, a small grin spreading across her face.

"Come," she said, and without another word turned on her heel and ran.