Author's Note:
**This chapter was REALLY long, so I broke it up into three parts. A word to the wise, it makes more sense read in order. :P
While I stick very closely to the HTTYD movie/TV show lore, I take liberties with the LoZ elements. Please read with an open mind, as if this were a new game.
New chapters on Wednesdays. The whole thing, 30 chapters plus Prologue, is written and will be posted!
The next room, though undecorated, was far from empty. Two stone blocks, one as tall as Link and the other twice that height, sat in opposite corners on the far side of the room. About mid-way up the wall, a ledge extended out a few feet and ran almost all the way around the room. Directly in the center of the room hung an elaborate chandelier. Metal filigree decorated flutes and trumpets and harps. A score of tiny windows sat recessed in the otherwise featureless walls. On the right side, two unlit torches flanked a raised platform upon which sat a solid stone door.
Hiccup touched the door. "There's no handle."
Link ambled up to one of the torches. Striking his flint rocks together, he ignited one torch and then used that to light the other. In the center of the platform, a chest appeared.
"Hey!" Hiccup grabbed Link's arm and pointed to the bracer. "That's how I found this! How did you know how to do that?"
"Like I said—" Link kicked the chest open with his boot. "—This isn't my first time." The lid popped open. Inside sat two beautiful bows. Link picked up one, tested the string, and slung it over his back with a satisfied nod.
What do you know, Hiccup thought. Items do come and go.
"No arrows," Link observed.
"Up there." Hiccup pointed above the doorway they had just entered to an alcove where a small chest sat.
"Good eye. Now just to get up to it." The chest was twenty feet up the plain wall.
Hiccup jerked his head up like he had an idea. "What about your hook chain thing? What you saved me with on the cliff?"
Link narrowed his eyes. "You mean the clawshot ?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"It broke."
Hiccup looked down and held his arm. "Oh, sorry."
"What? No, you didn't break it." Hiccup glanced up. "The shadow beast melted it," Link explained.
"Oh! Well, if you want to make a new one, I'd be happy to hook you up with some Gronckle Iron. That is some tough stuff."
Link sniggered. "Gronckle iron? You have some goofy names."
Hiccup feigned offense. "I have goofy names? Don't get me started."
"Okay, okay. Back to business."
Hiccup, still chuckling, looked around and then ran to one of the stone blocks and began dragging it over. Link followed suit, the smaller one being left, but was less successful. After straining for several seconds, he stopped.
"Hey, Hiccup?"
"Yeah?" A mess of chestnut hair poked out from around the taller block.
Link swallowed. "Could you help me?"
"Oh! Sure!" Hiccup bounded to the other side and began to push. The block lurched forward, and Link had to jump back to keep his toes from getting smooshed. Sure, Hiccup had a few inches on him, but Link definitely hadn't given this scrawny kid enough credit. And somehow, letting Hiccup help him—as if he had a choice—wasn't as painful as he'd thought.
With the two blocks in place, one stair stepping up to the next, the two clambered up.
"Your turn," Link said, gesturing to the chest.
Hiccup heaved the lid up, reached in, and produced not one but two quivers of arrows from the little chest.
Link stared at him. "Wait, are you…" He gestured towards his hand.
"A lefty? Sure am!"
Link suddenly remembered one of Hiccup's random comments from yesterday: that he'd noticed Link was also left-handed. Link had barely been listening. He smirked now and shook his head. "What are the odds of that?"
"What do you think these are for?" asked Hiccup, holding up the pair of quivers.
Link scanned the room. From the higher vantage point, they could see a much different version of the room. The ledge had been hiding the key. A smile crossed his face as he pointed past the chandelier.
"Gem." He nocked an arrow in the new bow. The chandelier, directly in the line of the gem, made the shot more difficult. He looked through the filigree to the tiny emerald beyond. He exhaled and let the arrow fly. It sailed straight through the chandelier and into the gem. The emerald turned blue. Immediately, a stone in one of the tiny windows on the east wall slid down revealing another emerald. Link nocked another arrow and fired. On impact, the second gem turned blue, but another window opened on the ceiling. Another arrow pinged off that gem. The boys heard the sliding of stone again.
Link's eyes darted around. "Where is it?"
Hiccup vaulted down to the first block. "There!" He pointed to a window, just as it closed. The revealed gems turned green again, and the windows closed, leaving only the original emerald. Hiccup realized the tiny windows were all around the room.
Link gently slid down the blocks to the floor. "Okay, this time after the fourth one, I'll jump down."
"Third," corrected Hiccup.
"Right, third."
Hiccup helped Link collect the scattered arrows. Before he handed them over, he said, "You sure you want to jump down?"
Link blinked. "Yeah, of course." Link reached for the arrows, but Hiccup pulled them back and gave him a knowing look.
"It's a long drop."
They held each other's gaze, both trying to read the other.
Hiccup continued. "Look, I know your ankle is bothering you."
Link sighed. "Yeah, so?"
"So… I don't know, isn't there something that could help with that?"
Link shook his head. "Potions are rare and for emergencies only. This is not an emergen—"
"Isn't there anything less rare?"
"No, I—" Link stopped short. "Did Saria put you up to this?"
Hiccup rolled back on his heel and shrugged. "Maybe?"
"Unbelievable."
"She didn't want me to nanny you, so she said you had to ask for it." Link turned away and groaned. "You know she's just looking out for you."
"I know," Link moaned. "Fine." He turned around and looked Hiccup in the eye. "What do you have?"
"Funny you should ask. I have no idea." He pulled out a green spiked fruit.
"AH!" Link recoiled as if it would attack him. Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the spikey but seemingly harmless fruit. "Durian," Link explained. "That's her favorite fruit."
"Well, if it does the trick." Hiccup held out the fruit.
Link's eyes suddenly twinkled. "Only if you take half."
"If that's what it takes."
"Alright." Link smirked mischievously. Taking the fruit, he tossed it in the air and sliced cleanly through the center with the Master Sword. He picked up the two halves and offered one to Hiccup. "It won't keep long."
Hiccup coughed. "Wow. That's… certainly a distinct smell," he said, using all his willpower not to pinch his nose. He was having distinct flashbacks to a certain disastrous drink Astrid had concocted a few years back. That was the only failure on her spotless record, and it was a spectacular failure. Poor Snotlout couldn't keep food down for a week after drinking it.
"Tell me about it," Link said, holding his own nose and taking a bite. "I have no idea why anyone would voluntarily eat this stuff."
"It's healing, right?"
Link nodded and munched away. "Minor injuries, yeah."
Hiccup squinted at the questionable fruit then nibbled the juicy flesh. He expected something gross to match the smell, but it was savory, like a meat pie, and also sweet… and creamy… His tongue couldn't figure out what it was tasting. Link laughed.
"What?" Hiccup demanded.
"You should see your face."
Hiccup took another bite and forced it down. "This is a cruel joke. And she seemed like such a sweet girl."
"Oh, she plays plenty of pranks, but this isn't one of them." Link tossed the empty rind. He shook out the injured ankle, jumped and landed on it. "See? It works."
"But at what cost?" Hiccup whined.
They laughed, looked at the fruit rind, and burst out laughing again. They laughed until their sides hurt, and they couldn't breathe. Hiccup realized he hadn't felt this good since he'd arrived. It had probably been a long time for Link, too.
Eventually, their breathing calmed, and Link wiped his eyes. "Okay, seriously. Let's finish this." Hiccup handed over the arrows, and Link climbed back up into position. Hiccup took a step and was surprised to find all the soreness in his stump had vanished. What do you know?
A moment later, the arrows started flying, hitting every mark exquisitely. After the third, the gem appeared near Hiccup. "Here!" he shouted.
Link jumped to the ground, landing without a hint of pain, and rolled. Spinning in a crouch, he hit the fourth gem. Another window opened somewhere above.
"There!" both boys said together but pointing in opposite directions. "Wait, what?"
The gems turned green, and the windows closed.
"Are you sure you saw one over there?" Link asked.
"Definitely." Hiccup threw his head back. "Ughh, this room!"
Link furrowed his brows. There's no way. I can't fire at two targets at— Realization hit him like a boulder. He walked to the first chest.
"Do you know how to use one of these?" Link asked, handing Hiccup one of the bows.
Hiccup suddenly went very still. He took the bow from Link and nodded. Every Viking, even a runt like him, learned to shoot as part of Viking funeral tradition. He had only been part of one funeral… and he had missed.
"Let's do it then." With that, Link climbed back up to the alcove and tossed Hiccup the second quiver. Hiccup caught it with his left hand, nocked an arrow, tested it in the string. The bow was lighter than the Viking bows. Squaring his shoulders, he aimed at a crack in the far wall. He breathed out and released. The arrow missed by an inch.
"Not bad," Link said.
"But not good enough."
"Keep your eyes open."
Hiccup's head jerked up. "What?"
"You're squinting. And pull your shoulders back a little farther." Link demonstrated from his perch.
Hiccup adjusted, aimed, and fired. The arrow struck the crack, sending a few fresh pebbles tumbling to the ground.
"Nice," Link said.
Hiccup retrieved the arrow and took up a spot where he'd be able to hit the last gem. At least, he hoped it'd be the last one. Thor, would they never get out of this room?
"Ready," Hiccup called up, mustering more strength than he felt. He heard the twang of Link's bow string. Saw one, two, three arrows zing across the room. Hiccup had his arrow ready before Link rolled to the ground. As soon as the fourth arrow hit the gem, two windows opened. Hiccup aimed, squinted. No! Don't squint! He heard the tink of Link's arrow against the gem. He released his arrow, and it bounced off the closing stone door.
He dropped the bow on the ground and threw his hands in the air. "I'm sorry. I can't do this."
"Hey, you only missed once," encouraged Link.
"No, I've never been able to hit anything."
"You just hit that crack."
"That was luck. They don't even let me handle bows at home."
"Why?"
"Because…" Hiccup tensed. His head twisted to the side as if the truth were trying to escape through the base of his skull. Then he exhaled, and his shoulders slumped. "'Cause I'm not strong enough. I've never been."
Link looked at the stone blocks they had hauled into position, then at Hiccup, then back at the blocks. He cocked his head to one side.
"Have you tried shooting with your right hand?" Link asked.
"No. Why would I?"
"Just try."
Hiccup switched hands and awkwardly loaded the arrow with his right hand, squaring his shoulders the way he did on his left, and anchoring his hand to his jawline the way his dad had shown him. Everything felt so unnatural, like wearing someone else's boot. But as he looked down the shaft, he realized the target was clearer; he didn't need to squint. He exhaled. Released. The arrow flew and stuck in the broken joint.
"There you go," Link said.
Hiccup looked down at the bow. "I don't get it. I'm left-handed."
Link shrugged as he retrieved the arrow. "It may be your eyes, not your hands. It never hurts to try both sides." Hiccup took the offered arrow, and Link put his hand on his shoulder. "Let me tell you a secret about archery. Only half of it is strength. The other half is heart. You need to have confidence that you're going to hit your target."
"It's hard to have confidence if you can't do it," Hiccup mumbled.
"Well then, let me believe it for you." He patted Hiccup on the shoulder. "You can do this." With a smile, he was climbing back up to position. Hiccup let the arrow sit listless on the string.
"You ready, dragon boy?" Link called down.
"Yeah, sure."
"That doesn't sound like confidence to me."
Hiccup rolled his eyes. Then, locking his eyes on his target, he pulled back on the string. "Ready."
They were off again. Hiccup aimed at where his target would appear as the other arrows flew about. One, two, three, four. The window opened. He corrected his aim and fired.
Author's Notes:
Special thanks to The Geek Apprentice for her research in Hiccup's dominant hand ( watch?v=raJgNyVD8U0&t=1s. She really went the extra EXTRA mile) and Cameron Hanes for his expertise in archery ( watch?v=pdipblQmgnw&t=420s).
Shout out to Jeannie and Chris for their differing experiences with durian.
As always, thanks to Ari Lewis and Luke for beta reading!