A/N: Hello, all my lovely Dragonites! I'm back with another chapter. I apologize for last week. I usually give a debrief at the end with a hint of what's to come…but I was so exhausted after work last week that I barely held my eyes open long enough to read over the last chapter before I posted it!

(So if there were any typos, I apologize. I'll probably go back and check it later on.)

For now, hope you find Chapter 18 tinted with mystery and intrigue!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the HTTYD characters. I only own my OCs, the plot, and my choice of words. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 18:

Artifact Noise*

WHILE Gothi worked on Tolveig's leg, Hiccup led Ailee to an alcove outside of the interrogation cell where they could speak privately.

"Ailee, I saw your reaction when Tolveig mentioned that artifact," Hiccup said, looking her square in the eye. "What was he talking about?"

"Hiccup," Ailee sighed, wringing her hands. "I told you in there, it's ancient history. It's nothing but Ankarian folklore. A children's bedtime story."

"Sounds like this Sidrak person thinks it's real," Hiccup muttered.

"Oh, the artifact is very real," Ailee answered with a wave of her hand. "It's the legend surrounding it that's in dispute."

"So what's the legend?" Hiccup asked.

Ailee turned away. "Hiccup -"

"No, Ailee," Hiccup cut in, grabbing her arm. "You may not think this is important, but I do. If we're going to help you, you have to trust us with information. The more we know about Sidrak, Ankari, and Artesia, the better equipped we'll be to help you. Clearly, this legend is important - even if that's all it is. But if Tolveig thinks there's something to it, we shouldn't ignore it. What's the harm in just telling me the legend?"

Ailee dipped her head for a moment, then sighed and turned back to face him. "The full legend is too long to tell you right now. It would take a pretty thorough knowledge of Ankarian history to understand it. But I can tell you this: The artifact has existed since the early days of Ankari. It's a crystal amulet crafted by the royal artisans and was offered as a gift to Baldur."

"Like, the Baldur?" Hiccup asked. "The god of light?"

"Yes," Ailee nodded. "Legend has it that Baldur was so pleased with the offering that he blessed it with supernatural powers. But these powers were only available to a select few Vikings - those whom Baldur had deemed worthy."

"What kind of powers?" Hiccup asked.

Ailee shook her head. "No one really knows. Ankarian legend tells of a handful of larger-than-life Vikings who gained the strength of nine dragons, incredible resilience to flames - even breath of fire."

Hiccup frowned. "In the legend, what happens if someone tries to use the artifact who isn't deemed worthy?"

Ailee bit her lip. "Once, an Artesian spy attempted to steal it and was so overwhelmed with the power surging through it that it killed him instantly. All that was left of him were his boots."

"What does Sidrak think he can accomplish with this mythical artifact?" Hiccup asked. "Unless he's one of the chosen few, he won't be able to use it."

Ailee's face tightened. "That's why I said it's not important. He can't use it."

"Humor me," Hiccup pressed. "Let's say Sidrak could use the artifact. What would he do with it?"

Ailee shook her head. "So many horrible things..."

"And who is Sidrak exactly?" Hiccup asked. "The king of the Artesians?"

Ailee breathed a bitter laugh. "They certainly worship him as if he were a king." She looked Hiccup dead in the eyes. "But he is no king. He's a rebel and a traitor to the real crown."

"The Artesian king?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There is no Artesian king," Ailee said. "And no Ankarian king, for that matter. Not anymore."

Hiccup frowned. "Then…?"

Ailee sighed. "There is only the Wisperian king. He rules over both Ankarians and Artesians."

Hiccup tried to put those pieces together. "I don't understand."

Ailee blinked at him for several seconds before she finally seemed to surrender. "After centuries of feuding, Ankari and Artesia were united by the marriage of two nobles from each tribe. They became the king and queen of the new tribe - Wisperia," Ailee explained. "But there were some members of both tribes who didn't agree with the union. Most Ankarian dissenters hold onto their animosities silently. They're not happy about living alongside Artesians, but they try to get along with them - or at the very least avoid conflict with them. Artesian dissenters are significantly more vocal - and more violent."

"Like Kiln's father," Hiccup said. "The one who killed the queen?"

Ailee's eye twitched and she stared up at the ceiling. "Yes."

Hiccup cocked his head. "So Sidrak's goal is to…what? Dissolve the peace between the two tribes? Kill all Ankarians?"

Ailee met his gaze again and shook her head. "His end-game intentions are unclear. But I have my own suspicions."

Hiccup gently touched her arm. "Such as?" he prodded.

Ailee threaded her fingers through her hair and turned away. "I suspect he wants to be king."

Hiccup lifted his chin. "Then, why kill only the queen? Why not the king, too? And surely, there was an heir?"

Ailee shuddered. "Because the queen was Ankarian." She paused with a heavy sigh. "And the king is Sidrak's brother."

The words hung between them like smoke, choking off his response. It was considered taboo in Viking culture to kill a relative - especially a close relative. That was, in part, why Heather had been unable to kill Dagur after finding out he was her brother.

Ailee faced Hiccup and continued. "As for an heir, there is one. Sidrak attempted to kill her, too. She survived, but just barely." She swallowed hard. "Sidrak isn't naive. He knows that the Ankarians won't surrender to his leadership easily - especially since he killed the Ankarian queen. He wants to force the king to surrender the throne to him." She winced. "Er, at least, that's what I suspect he plans to do. Of course, the artifact would make his conquest infinitely easier. Who's going to argue with a man who wields untold power granted by the gods?"

"So Sidrak wants this mythological artifact that hasn't been seen for centuries and that he may not even be able to use," Hiccup said. "He's probably plotting to overthrow the king and take the throne for himself. And he's placed a price on your head for…whatever reason." He studied Ailee closely. "Why you? Where do you figure into this plot?"

Ailee swallowed hard. "I don't know."

"I think you do," Hiccup pressed. "And I think it has something to do with this children's bedtime story."**

Ailee looked at him, and though she tried to hide it, Hiccup noticed a flicker of panic in her eyes. "All I really know is that if Sidrak wants the artifact, he has a plan for how to use it. Which is why it's best to let it stay buried."

"But according to Tolveig, they may have already found it," Hiccup reminded her.

"I don't think so," Ailee shook her head. "Tolveig was only trying to rile me. Or maybe trick us into finding the artifact and digging it up for them. If they haven't found it yet, we can't take the chance of leading them to it."

"Do you know where it is?"

"No."

"Could it have been hidden on Castaway Island? Tolveig said that's what they were looking for in the caves."

"I really don't know, Hiccup," Ailee said. "The Ankarian king buried it over a century ago and only he and his loyal captain of the guard knew where. But both of them are long dead, so there is no one alive today who knows its location." She bit her lip. "Besides, if they have found it, they can't do anything with it. It's useless. Nothing more than a decorative paperweight."

"What if -?"

The door to the interrogation room creaked open and Tolveig limped out. Spitelout and Hoark flanked him and Stoick followed him out.

"See that Tolveig is placed back in his cell," Stoick ordered. He turned to Hiccup and Ailee. "Come on, you two. Let's go see if any of the Riders have found that no-good Sorrel."

Ailee seemed all too happy to leave the discussion and she quickly kept pace with Stoick. Hiccup followed, shelving his numerous other questions for later. The information he had just learned was enough to keep him up tonight, pondering. As they exited the prison, Astrid and the others were just returning from their search.

"Astrid?" Hiccup said, hopefully. "Good news?"

Astrid frowned and shook her head. She turned to Stoick. "We looked all over the island, Chief. No sign of Sorrel or his accomplice."

"We couldn't find any strange Monstrous Nightmares, either," Fishlegs added. "It looks like Sorrel must have escaped."

"No." Ailee's shoulders slumped and she looked at Hiccup. "You can rest assured he'll be back. Maybe not to free Tolveig and the others, but to exact revenge on you and your father."

Hiccup frowned. "He still wants to capture you, too."

Ailee looked at her feet, tracing grooves in the dirt but she didn't say anything.

"Don't worry yourself about Sorrel, lass," Stoick said, cracking his knuckles. "We'll be ready for him next time."

Hiccup opened his mouth to say something else and jumped as Gothi grabbed him by the wrist and started examining the cut on his hand.

"Hey, Gothi," Hiccup said with a nervous laugh. "That's, uh, that's nothing really. I just, uh, cut myself trying to get out from under the stable."

Gothi frowned, already pouring some sticky, oily salve into the area. It stung and Hiccup bit back a wince. She quickly wrapped it up with a cloth, leaving his fingers out, and wound the remainder of the cloth around his wrist to tie it off. She looked him up and down and used her staff to tap lightly at his prosthetic.

Hiccup backed away, trying desperately not to limp. "It's fine, Gothi. Really. I have some of that honey salve at home if I need…to…" He trailed off as he realized that he might not have anything at home. He scratched behind his ear. "Well, uh, a-actually, Gothi, I, uh, I might need some more of that since my house…you know…"

Gothi rolled her eyes and reached into her pouch for a new vial of her special honey salve. She handed it off to him and then moved to check on Ailee's arm. Gothi twisted her lips in disapproval and changed the bandage for what had to be the third time in less than a day. She adjusted the arm back in a sling and wrote something in the dirt.

Ailee arched a brow at Hiccup. "Um, do you mind translating? I don't speak Gothi."

Hiccup glanced at Gothi's scribbles and grinned. "She says, 'I can fix a broken bone and bandage a wound, but I have no cure for impulsive teenagers who insist on doing stupid, dangerous things when they should be resting and healing.'"

Ailee's cheeks reddened. "Sorry, Gothi," she said with a sheepish smile. "I don't mean to be difficult. Thank you."

Gothi tapped her lightly in the head with her staff before shambling off toward her home.

Ailee rubbed her temple, chuckling. "Is she always this cantankerous?"

"Only when she cares," Hiccup said with a smile.

"All right, you two," Stoick said, rocking back on his heels. "I suppose there's not much else we can do here tonight. Dragon Patrols, get back in the skies. Ground Patrols, resume your marches. Everyone else, go back to bed."

There was a pause as everyone but Hiccup, Astrid, Stoick, and Ailee dispersed. Stoick placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "We'll find some bedrolls and sleep in the Great Hall in front of the hearth. You too, Ailee."

Ailee nodded.

As Ailee followed Stoick toward the center of the village, Hiccup caught Astrid's arm. "Gather the rest of the Riders and meet me at the docks at dawn. I'll bring Ailee. We need to discuss some things in light of Sorrel's escape."

A/N:

FOOTNOTES:

*Artifact noise can be applied as a medical term for the accidental noises made when a doctor or nurse accidentally bumps the stethoscope when listening to a patient's heart and lungs or when clothing brushes against the stethoscope. The extra crackling sounds are called artifact noises.

**I'm curious. Does anyone think they have Ailee figured out? I mean, I won't tell you if you're right. You'll have to wait for her secrets to unfold just like everyone else. But I wonder if I'm on the right track. Am I too obvious? Too predictable? What do you think?

THIS IS A REAL QUESTION! ;P

This chapter was one of my favorites to write! (Still not my ultimate favorite scene - that will be the next chapter.) There are many interesting things that start to come into play here and admittedly, most of them still won't make a lot of sense yet.

For now, enjoy the mystery…

Chapter 19 - Phantoms: Coming next weekend! And as always, thanks for reading!

Much love,

- Josie West