Hiccup's POV

Almost like I was programmed to do it regardless of where I am, my mind woke me up. I opened my eyes to a dark environment, resembling nothing close to a morning but I just knew that it was already morning. Just when I was about to get up, I sensed something in my arms, or someone. It was Anna, sleeping peacefully.

Last night was a terrible experience. The queen cried her tears out until there was no more left, forcing me to postpone my work with the devices. The guilt never left the queen, no matter how hard I tried to soothe her. I tried all the words there are in the dictionary but Anna remained feeling guilty of her actions. Eventually, I reached the point where I stopped saying anything to her and used my last resort, physical contact.

We used a sack of fruits as a cushion and scooched in to one another. It took its time, but the queen finally showed a sign of calming down. She kept on sobbing on my shoulder until she fell asleep. When she did, as gently as possible, I let go of her and continued my work. As much as an important person she is in my life, I had other things to take care of. I returned to her around two hours later after finishing my work. Two hours was a considerably fast time, since the sisters did bring me better equipment to work with. And here I am, waking up early, earlier than her.

I gave her hair a gentle stroke before hearing a loud grumble from her stomach. Poor girl probably never had a proper dinner. I have to get her something to eat. Maybe there's some food from last night. I gently stood up without disturbing her slumber. I opened the hatch above us, allowing a tiny bit of light to illuminate the hull in which we were in. Climbing my way up, I saw no activity whatsoever, but it was very much already morning, seeing from the sunlight behind the waterfall on the far entrance of the cave. Perhaps last night's battle really worn us out, hence, the loud snores.

I hopped off the boat and walked along the lines of tents the other guys have set up. My target was the cauldron Mrs. Hoffman cooked in. When I spotted the object, I noticed a small amount of charcoals still emitting heat from underneath it. I looked over the lip of the cauldron and jackpot; there is still warm stew in it. I grabbed a bowl from a pile of it nearby and poured some stew into it.

I rushed my way back to the boat, but stopped mid track when I noticed an absence of someone in particular on the mast of the boat. There was only the Sergeant. Cassandra?

I circled around the mast and found no trace of her, nor any sign of escape. A tiny bit of panic started to build inside me. I descended down to the hull and saw Anna already awake.

"Hey, Anna!" I called with a loud whisper.

"... Hey..." She replied weakly due to her sleepiness.

"Where's Cassandra?" I asked right away.

"Oh. Um, I moved her to her ship where her son is. Forgive me, I just can't..." she didn't finish her sentence as she merely looked down. I wanted to disagree with her decision, but seeing the state she's in, I let it slip by.

I sighed. "All right..." I knelt down in front of her. Within an instance, she picked up the scent of the stew. A grumble emitted from her stomach again, which she sheepishly tried to suppress by pressing her stomach.

"Is that for me?" She asked.

"Yes. Here. You didn't have any dinner, did ya?" I asked, handing over the bowl.

"An apple... that's about it. Thank you," she accepted the bowl and started eating the stew. I sat down criss-cross applesauce, merely watching the poor lady eating.

"You just woke up?" I asked.

She cleaned off some stain on her lips. "Right after I sensed nothingness within my arms," she giggled.

I rolled my eyes away. "Right."

"Is everybody else up yet?" She asked.

"Nope. We're the only ones," I answered.

"BURP—"

My eyes widened at the very queenly attitude of hers. "My god."

Inevitably, her cheeks became red afterwards. That's when I spotted the already empty bowl. I never even noticed that she was eating that fast! "You already finished it?"

"Yeah... I mean, it is Mrs. Hoffman's cooking," she excused.

"Do you want another bowl?" I grabbed her bowl but she gently pulled it away.

"I'll grab another one later. I want to help you continue with your work! You know how we always get stomachache when doing manual labor after a big meal," she explained as she rose on her feet.

"I've finished everything," I said. Anna gave me that 'wait what' look.

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me. Oh, let me show you this," I went over to the forging table and grabbed the object I meant. Her inferno blade. I handed it over to her.

She inspected it thoroughly. "You did something to it or something?"

"Retract the blade out," I instructed.

With a press of a button, the blade retracted out from the handle. It took her several seconds to figure out what I did to it. "You sharpened the edges?"

"Mhm. I think it's about time you use the entire thing, not just the tip," I replied.

For some reasons, she snorted to my response. I could only wonder why.

"Well..." she sighed, turning on the flame of the blade for a brief moment, "Thank you. It will certainly help me out. But um..." she clicked her tongue. "Hiccup, I don't know if I can do this," she said.

To be completely frank, I didn't see this coming from her at all. The looks on her posture screamed tiredness; her frown, her dropped shoulders, her slightly arched back. I knew that it was hard for her to take in, but to give up abruptly at a point we're so close was not something I expected from a person like Anna.

I made her sit down again on the previous sack of fruit. "What do you want to do?"

"I... I don't know," she blankly stared at the weapon she possessed.

I pondered for a moment. "Do you remember my teaching about how to sail on the sea?"

She looked up to me curiously. "I... remember most of it, yeah. Why?"

"Go back to Arendelle with Elsa and Nokk. I will catch you back in Arendelle once this is all done. If what the sergeant said is true, then your kingdom is in danger," I suggested.

From the looks of it, I don't think Anna took my suggestion in nicely. "What?"

"Return to Arendelle," I repeated. "With your sister and Nokk."

She frowned upon my statement. "No, I don't want to do that. I am not quitting this."

I pressed the button on her blade to retract it and kept it close to her chest. "Then close your heart to it," I said sternly. "The Lieutenant could have killed some of our people. It could've been my mother, or Eret, or..." I paused. "Elsa."

She took in a small gasp.

"Or yourself. Who knows?" I shrugged. "The point is, you are not allowed to feel for your enemy, Anna. I'm sorry, but there is simply no other way if you want to make it out of this," I explained blatantly while holding her hands firmly. We connected a gaze for a moment. I could still see a hint of uncertainty in her eyes.

"... I can only try," Anna said, firming her grip on my hands, and also finally showing a small smile. It was a relieving sight.

I returned the smile. "Good," I pulled her into a hug, in which she returned. I stole a kiss on her hair in our hug. I sensed her doing the same, but on my shoulder. Moments later, I let go of her, but she didn't do the same to me. She seemed so preoccupied with the physical gesture that she didn't know that I've let go of her. Only after I cleared my throat did she finally release me.

"Oh, check out my masterpiece," I said as I grabbed one out of the devices that I've made throughout the night. It was in the form of a mere tube with a grey metallic finish. Its small size fitted in my palm perfectly. On one end, there's a button to ignite the flame from the other end. However, its simplicity was something Anna seemed to be questioning, judging from her looks that screamed 'is that it?'

She took the object and examined it. "Neat."

"Press the button and hold it," I instructed. She was about to do so, but her finger was on the other end of the tube, so I gently removed it before she could harm herself. "And make sure you do not have your hand on the other end," I instructed again.

She smiled cheekily to me. "Okay."

Anna pressed the button, igniting a small blue flame, no longer than the tube in which it was ignited from. Anna looked at the fire in awe.

"Meet the... torcher! Yes, I just came up with the name seconds ago. Let's do a demonstration, uhh..." I looked around for anything made of metal that could be burned down for the sake of this demonstration. My eyes stopped at the most perfect object there was, Anna's bowl. It was made out of metal, and I'm sure Mrs. Hoffman wouldn't mind having one of her bowls cut in half. For science.

I took the bowl. "Cut this bowl in half!" I grabbed the bowl with two hands.

"You sure? Can't we find something else?" She asked as she looked around.

"Nah, I'm sure it's okay. Come on, give it a go," I said in full excitement. Still looking unsure, Anna aimed the fire to the bottom and moved upwards slowly. As if it was nothing, the metal melted down.

"Woah!" Anna spoke.

Gradually, she moved the fire upwards, cutting the bowl in half. Granted, this was a mere bowl, but it would be enough for our later job.

"Well, I guess I gotta grab a new bowl later," she chuckled slightly, turning off the fire on the torcher. "Cloudjumper... is that the name of the dragon?"

"Yeah. The one and only," I grabbed more of the torchers. "I'll wake the others up. It's time they know about this and... the other bit," I said, referring to our latest discovery about our enemy. Anna, on the other hand, was not entirely sure of what I meant.

"What are you referring to?" She asked.

I pouted. "Drago."

She breathed out an 'ah'. "Oh yeah... Does this change anything?"

I processed her question for a moment. "I don't think so. Well, look at the bright side! I get to get rid of him twice later."

Anna gave me a chuckle before she crossed her arms, pondering of whatever she had in mind. "Hiccup... how sure are you that we will achieve victory?"

It was a hard question. I took my time to really answer it. But before I could even come up with anything, Anna added more, "Yeah, we are sharpened when it comes to our combat skills. But, our number... Hiccup, we do not stand a chance."

"Well... we have the dragons on our side," I said.

"What if they only bow down to Drago?" Anna asked


"What if they only bow down to Drago?" Tuffnut asked. For a person like him, it was hard to believe that he actually came up with such question. And what were the odds that he asked the exact same question Anna did?

At the moment, I am briefing my people as they're enjoying their lunch. It took some time to gather them, knowing that they are Vikings, but I eventually managed it. I have explained the torchers to them, which pleased them, in a way, knowing that I was that well planned in this mission. The demonstration had also pleased them well, though Tuffnut almost cut his own helmet in half because of his recklessness. Sure, it was laughable, but his helmet was placed on his head, and we didn't want to see any bloodbath during mealtime.

Now, Drago Bludvist is our main topic. When they heard the name, they reached for their cups of water because of disbelief and shock, along with choking, obviously. It was a reasonable reaction, but their lack optimism was not something I found reasonable.

"Yeah, Hiccup... I mean, he once did assemble an army of dragons," Astrid said.

"Astrid?" I raised a brow. "Well, you didn't come along when we scouted the ground above. They are still the dragons we once knew! We get rid of Drago, and the dragons will be on our side, I bet that!" I said confidently.

Eret stood up. "I suppose if Drago is in the hands of Therondia, you'd expect he'd be fully protected by Therondia, am I right?" He asked. "Forgive me, Hiccup, but it will not be as easy as it sounds. Getting to Drago will involve penetrating through Therondia themselves, I bet that. And perhaps... the dragons themselves, too, if they are under the command of Drago."

I really wanted to counter the argument, but Eret is right.

"Hiccup, I genuinely had confidence. But now, knowing Drago is a part of our enemy, I'm not so sure anymore," Fishleg added.

I watched everyone in hesitance.

"And if, let's say, we come out of this successfully, what's next?" Astrid asked.

It was the very first time the question occurred in my mind. I never thought of what's next. Though, to be fair, I was even still abstract with my own plan to free the dragons. But it's not something that I could really call as an excuse.

I looked up to my listeners. "We will rebuild anew."

"With fifteen people? We're all there is, Hiccup. We're the only Berkians left!" Astrid argued.

I frowned to her. "My answer remains the same. Now let me ask you one question, and one question only; are you guys with me?" I asked. Neither of them answered. They merely looked at their food, as if they never even heard me.

"Then it begs the question, are you guys really Berkians?" I asked. They still remained silent, only occasionally glancing up to me.

"Because the Berkians I know are rock-headed, stubborn, and brave. Not the cowardice kind like this," I emphasized. "Or should I say, are you even Vikings?"

I waited for an answer. While doing so, I noticed Elsa making her way to my side. I looked to her curiously. She merely gave me a reassuring nod.

"If I may just add something..." She cleared her throat. "All of you should have faith in him. The guy defeated Drago previously, doesn't that give you any boost of confidence? And he did it because of you guys! Let's not turn him into a one-man army when we start freeing the dragons, okay?"

Everyone looked up to her. I could tell that she just earned their attention fully.

"I know it has not been easy for us. I mean, look at us, covered in patches all over ourselves and we haven't even started yet. And I will admit it, too, I have not been the most helpful ally. It's certainly outside of my expectations as well to see just how well and persistent Therondians can be in combat. But we, again, we," she emphasized, "Just defeated the entire crew of that ship!" She pointed to the massive Therondian ship inside the cave. Everyone looked at the ship and nodded down in agreement slowly.

"So, I'd say, we have the upper hand. Our whereabouts are still unknown and we know the island better than they do," Elsa convinced. Her confidence really aroused the others' as I began to see smiles on the faces of my people, acknowledging the ice queen.

"And to ensure victory more, again," she placed a hand on my shoulder. "Have faith in your chief. Raise your drinks to him," Elsa instructed. One by one, everybody raised their cups and rose on their feet. This was a pleasant sight to see. Elsa and I shared a glance briefly with a mutual smile on our lips.

"To Hiccup! And victory!" Elsa exclaimed.

"TO HICCUP AND VICTORY! YEAH!" Everyone repeated, giving an applause afterwards.

"Thank you. Ah, also, you are very much welcome in my land, Arendelle, as for what 'happens' next," Elsa said. Our listeners 'wohoo'ed at the offer. "Hiccup, anything else?"

"Oh, uh, no, that will be all," I replied.

"Will there be any scouting for today?" She asked.

"Oh yeah. The usual. Two guys will scout outside of the waterfall on a boat. We can grab one from the Therondian ship here. Eret, Astrid, you up?" I asked the two and they nodded.

"Good. And as for the ground above..." I was about to continue when I spotted Anna, who had just returned from her tent with a different attire.

"I will cover it," I gave Elsa a small smile. "That is all, folks. You may continue your lunch."

With that, they continued their meal. I sat down with Elsa and laid my back against the rock behind me.

"Hey, thanks for that," I said while smiling. A chuckle escaped my throat. "Had you not stepped in, I could've lost 'em," I sheepishly admitted.

"I know how hard it can be to really earn your people's loyalty. Even leaders make mistakes sometimes, you can't expect them to be perfect all the time. However, the best ones take full responsibility over their mistakes. You, kind sir, are no exception," she explained. Her statement touched me deep inside.

"... Thank you," I placed a hand on my chest. "Really, thank you—"

"WOAH! I'M ON FIRE!"

We turned to the source of the panicking and discovered Tuffnut had the horns of his helmet on fire. In his hand was the torcher, clearly the cause of the very comedy going on. I was about to rush over to the Viking but Anna was there to throw the helmet into the water, immediately putting out the fire.

"Phew, thanks! That could've gone bad," Tuffnut said as he turned on the torcher nonchalantly. Seeing so, Anna took the device away and turned off the fire.

"It's about to. I'll take this for now," Anna said as she approached us, irritation slightly sounding in her tone.

"Hey, did I miss something?" Anna asked, joining us.

"Well, you just saw the highlight," Elsa chuckled. "Geez, just what is Tuffnut?"

"The best Viking there is," I answered sarcastically. "Anna, have you eaten yet?"

"Yeah, I have. Hey, I think it's about time we check on Cassandra and Gideon. We still can learn a lot more from her," Anna suggested.

"Who's Gideon?" Elsa asked.

"The child," I answered.

"Ah, okay. Should I summon Nokk?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah, sure," I nodded, standing up on my feet but only to have Anna halt me by the arm.

"But... not in front of her son," she reminded as she eyed to the two of us. I sensed a hint of soft spot Anna had for the lady and her son. Though they are Therondians, I tolerated it.

"Okay," I nodded.

With that settled, the three of us made our way to the ship. Elsa's magic was still freezing the water nearby the ship, allowing us to approach it. Once onboard, Elsa looked over the railing of the ship to the water.

"What is she doing?" I asked curiously to her sister.

"You'll see," Anna said.

"Ah ohh~ oh oh~!"

The sudden chant was sudden, indeed. Her beautiful voice echoed through the cave. What followed afterwards was the answer to my question. Nokk jumped out of the water onto the deck. It was once again gracefully done. Elsa, technically being the closest thing to an 'owner' of the water horse, gave him affection in the form of pets.

"Oh, okay. Last time, she only whistled," I shrugged. "I guess this works, too. Too bad I can't sing."

Anna nudged my side. "Prove it. Sing me something to my sleep tonight."

I snorted. "Make me," I challenged her. "All right, could you two grab her while I make a quick setup for the 'interview' here..." I dragged a random nearby barrel as the sisters nodded to my request and descended down to the deck below. While doing so, I noticed Nokk giving me a judging look, though that was the only look the mythical spirit could make. Still, it grew uncomfortable, knowing what he's capable of.

Once I placed the barrels in their positions, three facing one, with the lone one for our fellow Therondian, I sat on the middle of the three. While waiting, I returned the stare Nokk was doing to me in the whole time.

"Hey," I greeted.

Of course, the spirit didn't reply.

"Ever seen a dragon before? You know, other than the Terrible Terror?" I asked randomly.

The horse shook his head as in 'no'. That instantly shocked me.

"What the f—"

I cut myself when I saw Cassandra walking past me nonchalantly. She sat down on the barrel right in front me. The sisters sat down on my right and left in the same manner.

Cassandra turned to the water horse next to her. "Cool horse."

"You're saying that as if you've encountered it before," Elsa commented.

"I have not," she smirked. "It's because I've seen more magnificent creatures before. This is no surprise."

That drew my interest. "Talk about magnificent creatures... Since you've seen more magnificent ones, are you talking about the ones Therondia have already captured? Are dragons not the only creatures they sell in their market?"

Cassandra raised her brow, giving a look that suggested that she could barely believe of what I was asking. "No. This was before I became a citizen of Therondia."

I looked at Nokk, who gave no reaction to the answer. Elsa nodded down in confirmation. Cassandra was telling the truth. So far.

"Explain became?" Anna asked.

"That is a private matter that I would not like to share," Cassandra replied. I looked up to Nokk to see for a reaction, but the horse gave none.

I leaned closer to Elsa's ear. "I thought Nokk could detect lies," I whispered.

"Lies, Hiccup. If she would not like to share the information, he will not react. A lie must be spoken first to be considered as one," Elsa whispered back.

It makes sense, irritatingly. "Very well. Cassandra, do explain about the human trafficking. Why this market, in particular?"

"I have zero idea of what you're on about," she replied. I found her lack of knowledge irritating.

"Just how long have you been a part of the kingdom?" I asked, sarcasm voicing my tone.

"As old as my kid, four years old," she replied.

"Then you should know something about the kingdom's economy! Your husband is a lieutenant, for Thor's sake!" I said.

"I really know nothing! Honest!" She gritted her teeth, finding me irritating as well. I looked up to Nokk, who, again, gave no reaction whatsoever. Just how clueless is this woman?

"All right, fine," I sighed. "But I suppose you know about the dragon trafficking market? The plan to capture and sell the dragons to a selection of kingdoms that requested these creatures?"

"... That, I know," she nodded. "Yes, we are going to sell them overseas. The whole Therondia are planning to move here. We are going to build anew on this very island. Selling the dragons will allow us to build our new kingdom."

Nokk gave no reaction again, indicating that this was the truth. I shared glances to the Arendellian sisters in suspicion.

"The whole Therondia?" Elsa asked.

"The whole Therondia," Cassandra repeated.

"Huh, as if the money from human trafficking was not enough to fund the building process," I mocked. Once again, she could not believe my statement, judging from her expression that screamed confusion.

"Lady Cassandra of Therondia, let me explain the whole human trafficking thingy. I seriously have zero idea how you have not uncovered the kingdom's possible number one monetary income source, since even a mere crewmate knows about this! Therondia have been selling people with titles or unique features to those who demand them. I was about to be sold in their kingdom, for being the chief of Berk!" I explained. After naming my identity, Cassandra turned surprised.

"Wait, you're the chief of Berk? Hiccup Horrendous Haddock?" She asked.

"Yes, I am," I answered.

"I... thought you were dead," she spoke.

"No, I'm not. Back to the questions. Cassandra, how are you this clueless when it comes to your own kingdom?" I asked.

She looked down to the floor. "I'm afraid it will involve telling private matters, in which I am not interested in sharing."

I hopped off my barrel, pointing my hatchet to my hostage. "I don't care."

Despite my sternness, Cassandra didn't flinch an inch at all. She didn't give any look that was close to fear or obedience. However, just when I thought I needed to threaten her more, a sigh escaped her mouth.

"Fine."

Hearing so, I hopped back on to my barrel. "Go on."

"... My boy, Gideon, has been my world ever since he was born. There has been nothing else that mattered more than him. He is my everything. If anything could explain the reason behind my so-called 'cluelessness' about Therondia and its economic resources, it's this," she explained. Almost simultaneously, the sisters and I looked up to Nokk, who gave no reaction to her statement.

"Why do you always look up to the horse after I say something?" Cassandra asked out of the blue, appearing to notice the rhythm.

"Oh. Nokk here can detect lies. If you lie about something, he will drag you into the water and drown you, unless you state the truth fast enough," Elsa casually explained.

Cassandra gulped uneasily. That was the very first sign of fear I saw from her. "Oh my god."

"Yeah, that's almost the same reaction I did when I first discovered it, too," I patted my knees. "So, you want to see your kid? Do not lie to us," I threatened. Right away, Cassandra palmed her fists, most likely having the urge to give me a punch. But she held herself.

"Hiccup," Anna called, grabbing my shoulder. "Let's not do... any of that. The threatening bit and all."

I held her hand. "Well, that will entirely depend on herself. There's no stopping for Nokk."

She stared at me for a second before sighing. "All right... just, be less threatening. I don't like it."

"All right, all right," I said softly. "Anyway," I looked back to Cassandra. "Didn't you, like, ever talk to your husband? You know, perhaps once he comes home from the castle, you ask him how his day has been and all," I asked.

"Xander and I were... distant, for reasons," she emphasized, conveying the message that she didn't want to explain what the 'reasons' were. "Hence... I only cried for the fact that Gideon lost his father, not for me losing my husband. The boy still loves his father, though Xander didn't return the same thing to him... as much as I hate to admit that. This is as private this interrogation ever gonna get!"

She crossed her arms, looking up to Nokk. "At least the horse knows where the line is."

Despite still wanting to know more, I felt content with her answer. "Very well."

"Cassandra," Anna suddenly called. "Forgive me for assuming ever so boldly, but I take it that... you're a person who is least Therondian a Therondian can ever get in my eyes. Would you agree to their kingdom's method in invading Berk to take away their rightful land?"

"What do you mean by invading?" Cassandra asked.

"Well, invading; the act of invation. Occupy, get rid of the natives, or in other occasions, enslave them, prioritize profit," Elsa answered.

"I thought this island was an empty piece of land," she casually answered. We gasped in disbelief.

"Did you even see the mess up there? The wreckage, the bodies, and all?" I asked.

"I... was never taken up there," Cassandra replied. "I've been inside the ship ever since I arrived here, which was only a week ago."

"Why didn't you come up there?" Anna asked.

"Xander wouldn't let me. Said they were still clearing off the dragons. After they're done, they will take me and my son up there," she explained.

"So you're saying that..." Elsa said. "The dragons are the real inhabitants of the island?"

"Aren't they?" She asked.

The three of us shook our heads. I could not believe this woman at all. To make it even worse, Nokk was not giving any reaction whatsoever, meaning that Cassandra was telling nothing but the truth!

"Then why did you think that I was dead?" I asked.

"I was told by Xander that a tribe called Berk used to occupy this land years ago. But then, dragons raided the island and no Berkians made it out alive," she explained.

"Talk about being deceived..." I muttered, looking up to her afterwards. Only before a sigh did I start my explanation. "Cassandra, I'll clear it out for you. Your husband, Lieutenant Xander, has been lying to you. First of all, no, Berk was still very much occupied by Berkians before Therondia arrived. Not dragons. It was months ago. One night, Therondia arrived under our awareness. Granted, as a terrible chief, I should've seen them coming. I should've set a defense mechanism that would notice us such arrival."

Remembering back the memory halted me mid-track. I could feel it on my chest, an old feeling that I felt way when I arrived in Arendelle.

"Go on," Cassandra said. I realized that I paused myself for too long.

"So... Therondia began their raid. They climbed onto the island by shooting harpoons to the top. They were very hard to remove since they immediately caught fire upon making contact. Soon, Therondian soldiers climbed their way up and began their slaughter on my people," my tone began to sound emotional as I progressed on. "I was left alive only because they wanted to sell me. But..."

I soon realized something. "Huh... why am I mentioning the details..." I spoke under my breath.

"How did you free yourself?" Cassandra asked curiously.

"Doesn't matter. The point is, first, Berk was raided by Therondia in cold blood. Second, the Therondia somehow learnt about the Hidden World. That's where the dragons come from, it's nine days away from here," I explained. "Gee, why are we the ones doing the explanation? We're supposed to be learning something from you!"

"I... never knew..." Cassandra said, stuttering slightly. "Chief Hiccup, I really don't know."

I didn't want to, but I had to. I looked up to Nokk, who was still giving no sign or anything. Her expression was genuine, she really meant every word.

"Well..." I waved an arm. "Now you do."

"How many of you were there?" She asked.

"Nearly a thousand. Dunno. There are only fifteen of us now," I muttered, looking down while resting my chin on my hand.

"And the fifteen of you are trying to claim back this rightful island of yours?" She asked.

"Our priority is the dragons," I answered. "We are going to free them. We are going to be victorious or just die trying."

"Why are they so important again?"

I frowned at the question, not wanting to answer it. "That's enough from us. You may return to your son."

"Actually, can we just stay in the cabin? If you still have doubts, you may lock us from outside. Just leave a crate of food and that will be more than enough," Cassandra requested. I exchanged glances to Anna and Elsa to hear from their sides.

"Please," Cassandra said. "There's barely any room for us to move about."

I looked to the sisters again, and they nodded. "Okay. I will get the crate. Elsa, take her to the cabin. Anna, take the son," I commanded. The two nodded to my command and got on with it. Anna followed my lead to the lower deck and went over to the cubicle in which little Gideon was kept inside of. I grabbed a random food crate and waited for Anna to finish unlocking the door. Once unlocked, she knelt down to meet his height.

"Come on, little fella..." Anna persuaded the boy. He seemed skeptical with her.

"Where's mama?" Gideon asked.

"I'm taking you to her, no worries," she answered. As if by magic, Anna earned his trust already as he allowed her to pick him up. The boy circled his arms around her neck to hold on.

"You're good with toddlers," I commented.

"Mmmm... Maybe," she responded. I merely chuckled at her as I made my way up the stairs. "And Hiccup?"

I stopped myself. "Yeah?"

"... Thank you for being patient with her," she smiled gratefully.

I stared at her for a moment. "Eh... I've faced worse," I said as I continued making my way up the wooden stairs.

Once back on the deck, I went over to the cabin where Elsa and Cassandra were. Once Gideon spotted his mother, he dashed to her and crashed himself into her arms, as if he's been separated from her for an eternity.

"Well, Elsa, Anna, Hiccup, thank you," Cassandra slightly bowed down.

"I don't remember my sister introducing herself?" Anna asked, grabbing her chin.

"She did. Literally seconds ago," she smirked. "Though your names weirdly sound familiar to me... Never mind. Here," she handed me a key. "As promised. Lock me from outside. If you want to."

"Okay. We will see you again later, I guess," I waved a hand as in goodbye while walking backwards to the door. Once the three of us were outside, I locked the door.

"Just to be safe..." Elsa grabbed the handle of the door and froze it.

I deeply sighed. It caught the attention of the sisters right away. "What are the odds that we ended up with the least informative Therondian there is?" I shook my head, still not believing my luck.

"At least she seems kind," Elsa crossed her arms, smiling slightly. "And Nokk didn't sense any lie at all. For a Therondian, she is innocent, as much as these two words do not together well, evidently."

"I agree," Anna added. "She's just a mother who's trying to protect her son, that's all."

"Still, that doesn't mean we should let our guards down," I warned. "I think I'll go scout the ground above for now. Anna, wanna come?"

She smiled at the offer. "Of course."

"This doesn't smell like a date at all, Hiccup," Elsa said, playfully nudging me by the arm.

"What do you mean? We are going to scout the ground, that's all," I pretended, but obviously giving it away that I had something else in mind as I glanced to the smiling Anna.

"Something tells me that you two are going to scout each other," she walked away with a smirk.

"Elsa!" Anna called in an embarrassed tone.


Indeed, I planned it to be a date/scouting mission.

The three of us were inside the elevator chamber to reach the surface of the island. Of course, the elevator was no longer there, hence, I brought Elsa to construct a new one with her own magic. After carefully instructing her here and there to design the simple elevator, we were finally done. Luckily, our brains were in sync as we were designing the whole mechanism. Kudos to her and her knowledge in designing.

"Looks... amazing, as always, Elsa," Anna complimented while looking at the brand-new elevator towering to the top of the island. It was designed to mimic the old design, but with improvements here and there to enhance safety and traveling speed.

"You sure this won't melt with your... perma, what?" I asked, walking onto the platform with Anna.

"Permafrost. No, it will not. Worry not," She nodded, giving the two of us a reassuring smile.

"All right," I grabbed the lever next to me which would take the whole elevator up. "I'll see you later."

"Be careful you two," she warned. With that, I pulled the lever, and the elevator started ascending. The only difference was the speed. Sure, it was only a touch faster, but it was better than nothing.

We sat down on the platform while waiting, looking up to the speck of light emitting.

"Just how tall is this island, Hiccup?" Anna asked out of curiosity.

"Perhaps... around four thousand meters from the water surface. I remember it took us days to really figure out the real number," I said. I mentioned the number as if it was nothing, but to Anna, it was something jaw-dropping.

"Four thousand meter?" Anna asked.

Now, there are two versions as to how tall it really is. I looked up on the fandom wiki, and an article said that it was 15 km tall, making it taller than our tallest guy, Mount Everest. But another source says that it is around 5-7 km tall. I went with my own version.

"Yeah," I chuckled. "Pretty crazy, right?"

"Well... the mere sight of the island already took my breath away. But the number, goodness me," she chuckled along. "And knowing that... there's an active volcanic activity underneath all of it."

I looked away, shrugging. "I don't know what to do with that. I guess I'll just have to live with it."

I laid my back against the railing of the platform. Anna scooched in and laid herself against me. However, in the process, she struggled a bit, since she had a shield on her back.

"This shield is making life harder," she said as she adjusted her position on me. Yes, we did bring our weapons. We were fully equipped because Thor knows what we might face later on.

"It just might save your life, though," I said, pinching her cheek a little. "Who knows? Maybe we will encounter Drago himself when we're up there. And you'll be thankful to the fact that you brought your shield along."

"Is Drago any good in combat?" She asked.

I stuck my bottom lip out. "The man literally only has one functioning arm. The other is a metal prosthetic, which only serves to balance his weight. So, hypothetically speaking, you have the... upper hand."

She rolled her eyes away at the joke. "You didn't."

I blew a raspberry on her head childishly. "I think I did, Anna."

"Stop it," she giggled, pushing me by the cheek playfully with a hand.

For what I thought was a brief moment, we shut our eyes as we waited for the ice elevator to bring us up. Later, I looked up and noticed that we were already nearing the top of the island. As Anna named it, the manhole, was already in reach.

"Anna, we're here," I gently shook her, awaking her.

"Oh, okay."

We rose on our feet and pushed the manhole. Being a person shorter than me, I gave Anna a boost as she reached for the ground. After she was through the vines and leaves covering the manhole, I followed her. Once I set foot on the ground, I breathed in the fresh air I long desired.

After scanning 360 degrees carefully, I concluded that the surrounding was clear from any Therondian. If it were not for nature giving us a very convenient towering chamber that reached the top and bottom of the island, we would have to search for other methods to reach the top of the island. By any stretch of imagination, I couldn't think of any. Flying? We had no dragons to fly on. Climbing? No chance of that. Using the elevator Therondia had built for themselves outside of the island? That is suicide mission.

I closed the manhole and made sure it's hidden away under the vines.

"Well, where do we go, Hiccup?" Anna asked.

"Hmm... yesterday, we went to the village. The village is actually only a sixth of the entirety of the island, give or take. So technically, we haven't seen the whole island. What better place to see the whole island from the Vantage Point?" I smiled, gesturing her to follow my lead.

"Sounds great. Do you have a name for the place?" She asked, following me through the tall vines.

"For what?" I turned to her.

"The Vantage Point. Heard from Eret that you named this area the New Raven Point. What's the name for the place we're heading to?" Anna explained.

"Oh. Well, Vantage Point," I shrugged. She did the same gesture after 'oh'-ing to the answer.

"How far away is it?" She asked.

"Hmm... Two hours of walking and climbing, max?"

I could hear her low groan. "All right. Let's go."

We progressed on with the journey. With the utmost awareness, we kept our profiles low all the time through the woods. Soon, I began to hear just I wanted to hear. The sound of water. It didn't take long as well until something bright and blue came into view through the lines of tress ahead of us.

"Do you see that?" I pointed forward.

She placed a hand above her eyes to try to look better. "Uhh... I can't quite make it out, what is it?"

I stopped her from walking. "Focus on your hearing. Do you hear that?" I asked again.

The sounds emitted from the woods varied from the sound of birds and bugs. However, it could be heard if listened very carefully; the sound of flowing water.

"Oh! A river?" She asked.

"Yes. Let's go," I took her hand and rushed to the end of the woods ahead of us. Once we reached the clearing, we took our times to adjust to the harsh sunlight above us, since we were so used to the dim lighting the thick woods provided us with. Within seconds, it all became crystal clear.

"Woah..." Anna's jaw dropped at the view.

The color palette of the view magnificent consisted of three main colors. The light blue of the wide river (which is so wide, people would mistake it as a lake), the brown of the towering cliffs on the other end of river, and the green of the trees on top of these cliffs. Four colors, if you count the white of the clouds above us.

Weird narration, I know. But bear with me (:

"Hiccup, this is beautiful!" She clapped her hands and covered her mouth with them. "Oh my god!"

"This is the Basin Point. You can kinda see how we come up with our naming, I suppose?" I smirked to her, walking to the edge of the river. I knelt down and gave my face a quick wash with the water. It's still the refreshing experience as ever.

"Uh huh, a word, sometimes has an association with the terrain of the place, and then 'point' after that," she knelt down next to me and did the same thing to her face. "Whooh! Cold!"

When I scanned the view ahead of us, I noticed an absence of man-made works, indicating that Therondia haven't done anything to this place. "It's a great relief to see that Therondia have barely touched this part of the island," I pulled her close by the shoulder and pointed to a towering rock on the other side of the river. "That's Vantage Point."

"That super tall piece of rock?" She asked. "Is there even a way to the top?"

"There's a path we made a long time ago. I think there's a possibility that Therondia have not found it yet, if we're lucky. Now, to reach the place," I pointed to the end of the river on our far right. "We circle the river..." Anna followed my finger as I skimmed it to the left slowly. "Hop over the path of rocks over that small waterfall," I skimmed my finger to the left more, "We enter a bit of woods. Then, there will be a small clearing, and we should be at the foot of the cliff by then."

She sighed deeply. "A very long walk, then."

"Correct," I stood up and helped her up afterwards. "Let's not let our guards down, though."


"What's the wildlife of this island, Hiccup?" Anna asked as she tried to scale over a tall ledge.

I pulled her by the arm, bringing her over the tall ledge. "Ufft... Hmm, boars, birds, bugs... the usual. What about the woods in Arendelle?"

"Wolves, bears, reindeer. If lucky, wild horses," she mentioned.

"Oh. I was expecting you were on the list," I smirked. The queen didn't welcome the joke nicely, judging from the frown. She pinched me hard by the hand. I whined in pain right away.

"Ouch ouch!"

"Wild enough for you, Sir Haddock?"


"Seriously? Twenty-five cliffs?"

I nodded. "Yeah! But Anna, watch your step!" I warned to the queen who was crossing the waterfall on slippery rocks. Once she was nearing me, she took a leap towards me. Fortunately, I saw it coming and braced for the impact. With open arms, I caught her.

"Wooh! Thrilling!" She said, dusting off the dust on my right shoulder.

"You're enjoying this a bit too much," I rolled my eyes away.

"And Vantage Point is the highest cliff of all?" She asked, proceeding with the walk once again.

"Nope. That would be Valkyrie Point, located on the other side of the island. But there's no way to scale it other than flying," I explained. "Thus, the name, Valkyrie Point."

"What's a Valkyrie again?"


"Well, you will have to taste the chocolate we have—"

Anna cut herself when she saw a movement from a large bush in front of her. "What's that?!"

The rattling inside the bush quickened and a wild growling emitted from it, and it apparently grew scary for her since she hid behind me. But it didn't stop there; as she climbed on my back, tangling her legs on my arms to keep herself balanced and pointing her sword to the bush.

As for me, I knew just how boars sounded like. So, by the time three baby boars revealed themselves from the bush, I was not scared at all.

"Stay calm, it can probably smell fear," I sarcastically said.

"Oh, just tiny piglets, haha," she hopped off my back. "Hello there..."

Out of the blue, the mother of the piglets revealed herself from the bush. Its size was something we were taken by surprise. And I have a bad experience with Berkian boars.

"Anna, this one can smell fear, run!" I took her hand and ran away.

...

"This walk is really telling me the fact that I'm getting OLD! I feel like my age won't be that long!" Anna whined around.

"Oh stop being so dramatic," I replied. "Besides, we're here!"

"Oh?"

Once again, we reached to a clearing from the woods. The wall of the Vantage Point rock was just ahead of us, very much within reach. I saw the wooden poles placed horizontally from the bottom to the top of the rock, acting as a ladder that bridged the foot of the rock and the peak.

"We climb from here," I pointed to the poles. "And my guess was right, apparently. I don't see any sign of recent climber. Nobody has been here."

"Okay then," she cracked her knuckles. "It's the same with climbing trees, right?" She approached the foot of the rock to meet the poles. She started climbing them one by one.

"Pretty much. Just minus the leaves," I followed her from behind. Since I was following her from below, it's safe to say that I enjoyed the view. But I kept it for myself.

Once Anna reached the top, she helped me with an extended arm to reach for me. I accepted the hand and she pulled me up with one go. Inevitably, I ended up in her arms.

On top, the circular space is relatively small, as it is roughly only four meters wide. There are only two trees. Their shadows provided us cool air and the tall grass underneath the trees provided us a hiding spot. There can't be a more comfortable and strategic place on the island to see the whole island.

"Feast your eyes with the view," I smiled.

Once again, her jaw dropped to the floor.

On the far west side of the island, I spotted the village. As I inspected the village more carefully, I learned that the Therodians had apparently expanded the area of the village by a tad by cutting the woods on the north side of the village. But other than that, the view was still very much the same when I last visited this place a year ago. We could see the Basin Point where the aquatic environments were like the giant river, small ponds, and waterfalls, and the New Raven Point where most of the greens were.

"Maybe Therondia really is trying to gain profit by selling the dragons," I clicked my tongue. "I expected to see the village being expanded, but apart from redecorating, they haven't really expanded the area for civilization," I concluded.

"Oh really?" She laid her cheek on her hand. "Well, that's good then."

"It is."

I sat on the tall grass, and Anna followed me. We merely laid down to one another while enjoying the breeze and the view. To make ourselves more comfortable, we removed our armor plates; from our shoulder pads, knee pads, arm piece, chest plate, and more, until we were merely left with our casual outfit.

When I looked to the right side of the view, I noticed Anna had already shut her eyes.

"One hour, that's it," I warned.

"Hiccup..." she opened her eyes by half. "Don't be so mean. Make that two."

To be fair, the walk also wore me out. A brief shut-eye was not something I could say no to.

I nodded down. "All right... two hours..."

I slowly shut my eyes. Once I was half asleep, my upper half collapsed to the ground.

Anna's POV

I opened my eyes ever so slowly to see a peacefully sleeping Hiccup Haddock. When I was about to get up, I noticed something sticky on the end of my lips. Drools. Lots of them. it could only mean one thing.

It was one of the best sleeps I've ever had in my entire life! I never thought grass would be such a nice thing to sleep on.

After cracking a few bones and stretching my unmoved muscles, I crawled to the edge to see the view again. It was still the same beautiful view of New Berk. However, I quickly noticed the change of the sun's position. It was already nearing the west. It could only mean one thing!

"Hiccup!" I turned back to him. "We've overslept! Wake up!" I shook his body.

"Hnghh... huh... what?"

"Wake up! We slept for too long!"

"Huh?" He bolted up and crawled to the edge of the rock. He looked up to see where the sun was.

He groaned. "Well, it is as you requested, honey. This is what two hours sleep looks like."

"Oh, for real?" I asked.

"Yes, dearie," he nodded as he grabbed his shoulder piece to put it on. "But boy, *yawn* was it worth it."

"Agree to agree," a chuckle escaped my mouth as I put on my armor pieces back. Once we're finished, I gave the view one final look.

"So... We head back?" I asked the Viking.

"On a different route. This route should be a tad shorter than the one we took to get to her," he said.

"So, there was a shorter route, after all," I smirked. "Well, I didn't mind the extra length though, since, well," I was sure I was blushing at this point. "I'm with you."

"Then we pretty much have the same idea, after all," he nudged me playfully as he walked over to the poles and descended down the rock carefully. After a space was available, I climbed down along the poles. Once finally setting foot on the ground, I cleared off the dust on my hands.

"Lead the way, Chief," I said.

"Aye, Your Majesty."

With that, Hiccup led me to a series of woods. It was a walk consisting of nothing but trees and whatever lived among them, and it lasted for an hour. We did stumble upon a pond, but that was it.

To keep the walk lively, I continued to harass the Viking with questions. The island and its content were something I was so interested in. Of course, we occasionally changed the topic to something else other than the island. But mainly, we talked about the island and Hiccup's experiences when he explored the island and its secrets, upsides, and downsides.

As we kept on, I noticed that it was getting late. The beams of light through the leaves of the trees were getting more and more yellowish, a sign that it was nearing sunset.

"It's getting late... We can't stay here for long, it's not safe," Hiccup said from behind.

I turned to him briefly. "Yeah..."

When I turned back around, that's when I discovered that I've stepped into a weird clearing in the woods. There was no grass nor vines in the area, just plain dirt.

"This is oddly... random," I commented while looking around at the environment.

"The soil... some people have done some digging. What could have they—HURK!"

"Hiccup?" I turned around and saw Hiccup running away into the vines and crashed himself there.

"Hiccup! What's wrong?" I rushed over to him, but on my way, I noticed something poking out of the ground. It was hard to make out with the dim lighting and its small size, but it was definitely someone's finger, slowly being eaten by maggots.

"HURGFF—" I heard Hiccup vomiting his stomach out from a distance. I quickly rushed over to his side and rubbed the back of his neck to ease him.

Eventually, he stopped puking and sat down on the vines, wiping his mouth with his hand. I thought that was it, but his breathing became uncontrollable within seconds.

"I-I-Is this... t-the g-grave—"

I placed a finger on his lips to seal them. "Shh... no need to mention the word."

"A-Anna..." He gripped my sleeves, pulling me closer. "T-That's..."

I cupped his cheeks, connecting our eyes together. "Hiccup, look at me. I'm s-so sorry, but there's nothing we can do..."

He began to break down even more, his breathing sounding more and more messy.

"Who's there?!"

I turned to the source of the call and spotted silhouettes of patrolling Therondians on their horses between the trees.

"Hiccup, we have to go, NOW," I whispered and pulled him up on his feet. When I pulled him along, he merely collapsed on his track. This attracted more unwanted attention as I saw the patrol turning the sound of Hiccup collapsing.

"THERE! STOP WHERE YOU ARE!"

"Hiccup, it's now or never!" I tried pulling him up, but he didn't help me at all. Only after a brief glance to the grave of his people did he finally stand back on his feet and start running with me.

We ran as fast as we could, but our speed was nothing compared to the speed of the horses. It didn't take long before one man blocked our path with his horse. We were about to break left, but another horseman blocked our path again. Hiccup and I were soon cornered, making us draw our weapons out. We pressed our backs to one another, waiting for a move from our opponents.

"Where have you been hiding, little guy?" One guy taunted.

"Oh look, a pretty one," another one taunted as he hopped of his horse.

"She doesn't seem like a Berkian. That shield is anything but Berkian," other man commented. "Though the cool flaming sword is definitely Berkian."

"Doesn't matter. We bring 'em to boss. He'll be happy to see this," the last man spoke. Luckily, the brief dialogue let us know that we were facing four of them. Almost like they were telepathically communicating to each other, the four leaped to us simultaneously. To dodge, I rolled away to an open space. Once behind them, I swept one of the guys on the foot, bringing him to the ground. I had no desire to kill, so I merely disabled the man by slashing my blade on his leg, particularly on the area that was not protected by his leg piece.

"ARGHH! You BITCH!"

Another man charged towards me with his shield. I barely anticipated this, so once making contact, I was sent flying a couple of meters away. However, I stood back on my feet right away after rolling on the ground. Even he briefly found the move surprising.

However, he took no moment and charged towards me again. When he was close enough, I leaped to the right to dodge him. I used his momentum to throw him away by grabbing him by the shoulder and aimed his path to a nearby tree, which he hit hard with his face.

"Anna!"

I turned to the source of the call and spotted Hiccup on a horse heading towards me. He extended his arm to catch me. On the perfect moment, I caught his arm and used it to swing onto the horse's back.

"How far away are we from the elevator?!" I asked.

"With this horse, probably within a minute or two. Can you take over? I don't know how to steer the guy," he said. As careful as possible, we switched seats while still galloping through the woods.

Finally, I placed my foot on the harness correctly. I watched Hiccup taking his seat behind me while carefully holding onto him tight. "Hold on..."

"Anna!—"

THWACK!

Out of nowhere, a branch hit the Viking mid-track.

"HICCUP!" I pulled the neck strap of the harness to slow the horse down. After coming to a full stop, I turned the horse around. That's when I discovered more horsemen were coming for the Viking! Hiccup apparently noticed the sight as well after recovering himself.

"Anna, GO! JUST LEAVE ME!"

Our distance was far because of late reaction, farther than the distance between him and the incoming soldiers, and that was most likely why he told me to leave him instead. However, I was not going to obey that, obviously. I kicked my horse and galloped my way to Hiccup on full speed.

Despite my speed, I saw right from afar the sight of Therondian horsemen charging towards Hiccup on their horses with their weapons drawn out, full jousting style, only Hiccup had no horse to ride on. One leading horseman charged to him with a long battle axe. Hiccup hid behind a relatively thin tree to avoid it, but the momentum built by the horse was apparently enough to break the tree. The impact sent the Viking flying. This was my opportunity.

With a short calculation, I hopped off my horse and caught Hiccup midair. Landing on the ground hard, I briefly checked him for any wound.

"Hiccup? Are you okay? Any cut or anything?" I asked.

"Nghh... Just concussion, I've had worse..." he said. I helped him stand up.

"NEIGHHH—!"

The horse I was riding on crashed itself into the incoming pack of horsemen, which gave us a room to move up and go.

"Can you run?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah! Let's go!"

We both ran for our dear lives while the Therondians behind us were struggling to recover from the heavy crash I just laid upon them. We ran and ran until it all became familiar. The trees, the vines. I could tell that we were already in New Raven Point. We ultimately reached the clearing we started today's scouting from. Hiccup rushed over to the spot where the manhole was and lifted the vines on top of it. Once he got it opened, I slipped in and him afterwards.

We both crashed onto the platform hard. I grabbed the lever and gave it a pull right away to descend.

"Find 'em! They have to be here, somewhere!"

We looked up and saw an obvious shadow of a man standing right on top of the manhole itself. Seeing so, Hiccup immediately pulled the lever of the elevator to halt the descend, since it made noise as we descended. We heard more and more men coming on horses.

Hiccup and I kept our breathing low and steady while watching the shadow of the man above our heads cautiously. From the movement of his shadow, we saw the man looking left and right for any sign.

"They must've gone deeper into the forest," he spoke to himself. With that, he walked away from the manhole.

We focused on our hearing senses to make sure that it really was safe to descend down again. There was the sound of horses neighing, men asking each other about our latest whereabouts, and of course, their footsteps. We waited until all of these noises go away.

"I think we're clear..." Hiccup muttered under his breath as he pulled the lever again.

"Phew, too close... but... now they know that they have intruders..." I turned to him worryingly.

"Doesn't change anything. We just have to be more cautious," he sighed. For someone who had just hit a tree while riding a horse and had just been hit on the back by a charging battle axe, Hiccup still sounded determined as ever. However, I soon noticed that it was a mere sugarcoat when his chin collapsed.

"Fuck me, how many bodies were there?..." he recalled to the latest finding we just found.

"Shhh..." I pulled him close and hugged him from the side. To return it, he merely grabbed my hand, entangling them.

We remained like this until we reached the bottom of the chamber. Hiccup was so preoccupied with whatever he had inside his mind that he didn't know that we had already reached the bottom. To notify him, I nudged him gently.

"Hiccup... We're here," I softly spoke. He perked up and noticed so.

"Oh, okay."

We stood up and hopped off the platform. My arm remained around his own, and my other hand on his shoulder, caressing it while making our way back to the base. Once we reached the base, Fishleg was there, waiting for us.

"Hey, you two! So what did you see?" He asked excitingly.

I waved a hand as in a 'no' to him. "Not now, Fishleg. Sorry!" I warned. The Viking immediately got the signal and nodded down. Some other Vikings wanted to hear the result of our outing as well as we walked, so I gave them the same message that this was not the best time to tell them. Luckily, they were understanding.

"Hiccup? Care to take the first plate?" Mrs. Hoffman offered while stirring the stew inside her cauldron.

"I think I'll pass dinner for now, Mrs. Hoffman, thank you," Hiccup politely said as he removed my arm around his.

"Anna, where's our tent again?" He asked.

"Oh, um," I pointed to the farthest end of the beach where the line of tents stopped. "There, the farthest one. It's green, has Arendellian embroidery. You can't mistake it from the others."

"Right... I think I'll call it a day. You can catch up later," he said as he walked away. He radiated a very obvious aura of sorrow, and I was not the only one who picked it up.

"What's wrong with him?" Mrs. Hoffman asked, pointing to him with her spoon.

"Oh... tough day," I answered.

"Tough day?"

I turned to my right and spotted my sister there. "Anna, what happened?"

Not just her, but other Vikings were dying out of curiosity. I looked at their faces that just demanded nothing but an answer. "Oh, all right. Grab your bowl, and listen to me."

...

I tried to end the story as soon as possible since I wanted to be by Hiccup's side, even if he had already slept. However, only around an hour later did I finally finish sharing to the Vikings about our story. Since Therondians now knew that they have unwelcome guests on the island, we had to come up with a different approach. We discussed and discussed, and I actually left mid-discussion because it was taking too long.

I approached the tent Hiccup was in and opened it. There he was, merely sitting down criss-cross applesauce while staring blankly at the ground and holding his pillow.

"Hey..." I entered the tent and sat next to him. "You okay?"

"I... I don't know... Wish I could just snap my finger and sleep," he snapped a finger, and of course, he didn't fall asleep just like he wanted.

"Awh, come here," I placed his pillow on my lap and made him lay down his head on it. I gently caressed his shoulder in a loving manner with one hand, and the other on his fuzzy hair. Seeing him this sad obviously saddened me as well, knowing that he was pretty much the complete opposite this morning.

"I hope the trip made you feel better?" He asked.

I raised a brow. "Come again?"

"The trip. It made you feel better, did it not?"

I placed a hand on my chest. "Awh, Hiccup. Of course it did."

"Good, because I don't feel like singing at the moment," he smirked. That gave me an idea.

"Well, I think I'll sing for you," I suggested. "How about that?"

He smiled again. "Sure."

I returned the smile with the same thing. I fixed his position to make him more comfortable. "Cuddle close, scooch in..."

I inhaled some air.

"Where the north wind meets the sea...

There's a river full of memory."

I began running my pinky on his nose line after giving his nose a 'boop'. His eyes began to struggle to stay open afterwards.

"Sleep, my darling, safe and sound

For in this river all is found..."


I was deep in my slumber when I heard footsteps walking here and there outside of the tent. I peeled my eyes open to a shadow of two people talking to each other just outside of our tent.

"A fleet of them?!" One said, which I assumed was Valka, judging from her womanly voice.

"A fleet of them, yes. They have returned from the Hidden World!" The other voice replied, which I guessed was Astrid.

Bwoah! Longest chapter EVER! What do you think? Too much filler? Haha, don'tyoudare. I guess when I plan to squeeze this much into a chapter, then this much shall be squeezed in.

Oh, and something tells me that "All is Found" won't be the only song I feature into the story (;

Thank you for reading!