Chapter 30

"NO! NO! It's not possible! THERE IS NO WAY! NO WAY!" Spitelout screamed in disbelief and reeled back after he had been unceremoniously placed upon the settee while two knights kept their eyes on him and hands on their sword hilts. "Marchioness Stormheart was in league with the Southern Isles! She's the Golden Eagle! It's all her! ALL OF IT!"

Hiccup supposed that now that his uncle had shown his true colours there wasn't much else to do than try to mitigate the blame to shorten any sentence he might receive. Alvin had joined the group while Stoick told the story and the Minister of Interior handed the King a scrap of paper. Stoick read it for a moment and then smiled. "Well it looks like the knights you bribed have aided the Marchioness in an escape."

"If the Marchioness has escaped then why do you look so smug?!" Spitelout countered before the truth of the matter hit him.

It was the day after the garden party and several people had seated themselves in the parlor while going over some maps and other documents. Stoick had some of the confiscated letters in his hands and the forgeries Valka had commissioned.

Valka and Nikora were both sharing a bottle of wine as Stoick perused the documents and while Gobber was eyeing Mala's famous biscuits that had been placed on the table.

"This is….. concerning. Why didn't you bring it to my attention earlier?" Stoick asked his wife.

"There wasn't anything concrete," Valka stated. "I only investigated Spitelout a few months ago when rumors surfaced that he was arranging a marriage for his son." The Queen frowned now. "It was odd, the arrangement at least. The only thing he could have wanted from the Hoffersons was access to their exclusive shipping lanes. Now I am glad that Snotlout didn't marry Lady Astrid. Lady Camicazi holds a tight leash over her husband and the household and is amicable to work with us." Stoick frowned. "Think of it, with the shipping lanes he could smuggle in Thor knows what. Baroness Hofferson's side of the family is meticulous with shipment record keeping but the Duke's status alone once affiliated with their family would mean he could smuggle anything into our Kingdom. Anything…. And they would be unable to stop him."

Valka took a sip of her wine when Nikora jokingly mentioned that she must have had quite a shock when Hiccup chose Lady Astrid as a fiance.

"Shock would be an understatement," Valka huffed. "Though I can't fault Hiccup. Haddock men have always been attracted to strong independent women." Here Gobber stifled a laugh as Stoick blushed.

"Let's get back to the topic at hand for a moment," Gobber stated as the King shot him a relieved look. He had already experienced Valka and Nikora's conversations multiple times, most of said times ended up with him blushing more scarlet than his beard at the topics the women discussed became racier and racier the more alcohol was consumed.

"The letters are definite proof that Spitelout is colluding with Lars Westengaard to take the throne for himself." Gobber stated. "Why haven't we arrested him yet then?"

"Because we have bigger fish to fry," Valka stated. "If Spitelout is colluding with someone outside the Kingdom then he will also have support from within."

"And we are hoping to get to those supporters with this," Nikora said while tapping on a particular document. "Lars stated that he would be sending an associate to Spitelout in order to help him achieve his goals. Someone called the Golden Eagle. Mala already confirmed that this person is a ghost. No one knows what he looks like and those that see him don't live long. Spitelout is to keep this person from being persecuted at all costs but the only way for him to identify the man according to this letter is through a password. Which we know is 'Change comes like a river runneth'."

"At least that is according to us," Valka laughed. "Lars isn't concerned about keeping this Golden Eagle safe but Spitelout doesn't know that. The forged letters clearly state that if any harm should come to the 'associate' then Spitelout can forget gaining the throne of Berk."

"So you plan to have an inside man replace the original inside man?" Stoick frowned. "You do realize that this person will likely be ordered to assassinate us."

"That is why I have asked Nikora to do it," Valka stated. "Mala's spy network has all eyes and ears open for when this Golden Eagle will make his move. So far they are suspecting a guard under Alvin's command named Grimmel. He will be either arrested or dispatched and Nikora will take his place without Spitelout and Lars being the wisest."

"Once I am captured after my so-called assassination of the Royal family I will use the codeword in front of Spitelout." Nikora stated. "It will be imperative that the Prince and his fiance as well as at least one Minister be in on this plan. We wouldn't want anyone acting of their own accord at this point."

"I'll have a talk with Hiccup and Astrid." Stoick stated.

"And I can have a discreet chat with Alvin. He'd be more than happy to play along." Gobber added.

"So both of you are expecting Spitelout to play his hand when Nikora uses the codeword." Stoick nodded in understanding. "He'd want her safe or the deal with Lars will be off. Meaning he will use his supporters to break her out of custody."

"Exactly. Heather is already aware of the plan and will be following the prison convoy with some of her most trustworthy knights in stealth. They will continue to follow until Nikora meets up with Spitelout's supporters who would smuggle her out of the Kingdom. Where they will promptly be arrested."

To say that Spitelout looked both as pale as a ghost and green with nausea was an understatement. He now knew he had played directly into his sister-in-law's hands. He had kept his focus on Stoick, who was somewhat brash and would have acted immediately if he found out, thinking he was the biggest threat. He had totally forgotten about the Queen and her scheming ways.

"But you still have the armada to contend with!" Spitelout said as his eyes narrowed. Lars' armada was vast and they would reach Berkian waters soon. Berk's own fleet was far greater but the timeframe wasn't enough to deploy all ships at this point. If Lars managed to succeed and take the Palace then Spitelout would still have his chance.

"No we don't," Astrid said with a frown. "That armada won't ever reach the Inner ocean." She said it so matter-of-factly that Spitelout had to do a double-take. Astrid was of course referring to the part of the ocean between the Isle of Berk and the Meathead islands. And while the Meatheads didn't particularly have a close relationship with the Berkians, aside from trading produce, they wouldn't have wanted a foreign fleet of ships invading their waters either.

"Huh?" Was all Spitelout managed to utter in his bewilderment as Astrid actually rolled her eyes.

"Astrid I think his brain stopped working," Hiccup stated as he looked at his uncle's flabbergasted expression.

"Well tough luck." Astrid huffed. "You'd think he'd question that with King Stoick being alive and all, where the heck the Queen and Gobber were. When your mother approached us I was honestly expecting to deal with a much smarter foe." Hiccup winced at the burn while Spitelout looked like he had sucked a lemon.

AN:

Vala: (Walks in at Harry nearly drooling on the computer over a certain actor in black leather) "Should I be getting the drool bucket again?"

Harry: "I can't help it! I like Bad boys in leather!"

Vala: "Drool bucket it is,"

Harry: "Don't act so innocent! You needed a barrel!"

Vala: (rolls eyes) "At least with a barrel I didn't need to mop the floors constantly." (-_-)

Harry: "Ha Ha Ha"

Vala: (Sets Porg in black letter jacket on keyboard)

Harry: "I said bad boys not bad birds!"

Vala: (shrugs) "It's all I've got!"

(Porg meeps)