CHAPTER 3
"For the love of all things green and growing, give him some space!"
"But mamaaaa, he's part dragon!"
"Will his skin burn if I touch him with my fire crystal?"
"NO! Don't you even think about doing that, Torg, put that fire crystal away this instant before I confiscate it!"
"Pryn is sitting on his head."
"PRYN!"
"Sorry, his ears are just so—,"
"EVERYONE OUT! NOW! I MEAN IT! SCAT!"
Not for the second time that day, Hiccup was woken by a barrage of voices—only this time they were much squeakier and louder than before. His eyes cracked open to see a bunch of tiny strange creatures scrambling away from a larger creature.
Trolls. He remembered now. He must have passed out while they were carrying him away from that… that place.
The older troll huffed in annoyance, her back facing Hiccup.
"Little pests, can't they see he's trying to sleep…" the troll muttered. Hiccup recognized her voice to be the same female troll from earlier. The female turned, sighing, and ambled to a small pot next to a mossy wall. Hiccup blinked. He was in a sort of cave, big enough for him to maybe sit up in. The walls of the cave were filled with indentions, like shelves, holding numerous clay pots and herbs. Hiccup realized a moment later he was lying on a soft bed of moss.
In all honesty, Hiccup didn't like the fact he had gone from one room full of magical pots and things to another. He slowly lifted his head, glancing around him. The entrance wasn't far away, and past it he could see a bright, morning sky.
"Oh, for the love of—they woke you, didn't they?" Hiccup jolted, realizing the female troll had caught sight of him wide awake.
"Oh, I—uh, no I was just—um… where am I?" Hiccup asked, his voice still hoarse.
"In my humble little apothecary, in this proud little village I call home. Don't worry, you'll be safe here," the female troll smiled at him kindly. "We have enchantments all around this village. The wizard won't be able to find you here."
Hiccup slowly tried to sit up, wincing from the pain his muscles screamed at him. A moment later he dropped back down, dizzy.
"Hey, now, take it easy, a conjoining curse is rough on a person," the troll advised. Hiccup blinked up at her, his brow furrowing. "It's a miracle you even survived."
"Um… wh-what exactly… what happened to me?" he whispered. "What did the wizard do to me? What—why—why did he…"
Toothless. Tears sprung up in his emerald eyes as the horror of his situation settled in Hiccup's mind.
"I don't know why, but I do know what," The troll said, laying a hand on Hiccup's forehead. "Just calm down, and I'll tell you what I know."
"Calm… calm down?" Hiccup croaked, "Calm DOWN?" He lurched to a sitting position, anger flaring up inside of him. "I've just been magically conjoined with my dragon and I'm sporting wings and a tail and claws and—LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED TO ME! LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO TOOTHLESS! AND YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN?" he screamed, his voice raising higher and louder as he became more and more hysterical.
"Getting worked up won't change anything, so please just relax," the female troll said without batting an eye.
"HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO THAT?!" Hiccup screamed. He moved to stand up, but his head knocked against the low ceiling hard. He crumpled back to his knees, holding his head in his draconian hands.
Surprisingly soft hands gently took his own, squeezing them.
"There, there," the troll whispered. "It's all right. You have every right to be upset. Perhaps I was being a bit brash. If you need to let it out, let it out. It's all right… It's all right…"
"Can you—," Hiccup swallowed, lifting his head, "Can you fix this? Can you… change us back to normal? Toothless and I?"
The female troll's face fell slightly, and slowly she shook her head.
"I… I can't," she said softly. "A conjoining curse is… extremely complicated and powerful. And rare. The only person I know who might be able to help you would be our village elder. He might not be able to change you back either, but he might know of something or someone who could."
Hiccup felt his hope return like a small bubble; fragile and shaking, waiting to be popped, but it was there. His mind's eye returned to the wizard, and all those animals he'd captured and conjoined…
"Why did he do it?" he asked softly, his green eyes searching the troll's grey face. "Why…"
"I don't know for certain, but all of us trolls know that wizard is… rather unstable. He was exiled here nearly thirty years ago, most likely because of his madness, but we never knew the true reason."
"Oh…" Hiccup swallowed, "What—what… what exactly is a conjoining curse? What does it do?"
"I'm afraid I'm not one to answer that question in full detail, the knowledge I have of that curse is limited. If you want to know all about the curse, I suggest asking our elder."
"I see… can I see your village elder?"
"Soon, I promise. How do you feel?" the female troll asked. Hiccup rubbed his arm.
"Still… sore. Really, really sore all over, and now my head hurts," he said, rubbing the top of his head where it had hit the low ceiling.
"Here, I've got something that will make you feel better," the troll started to dig through her assortment of pots and vials, mixing them in a small bowl. Hiccup felt his stomach twist in knots at the prospect of drinking a potion, especially after his last ordeal with one, but he realized he had no reason to not trust her. All she had done was help him, and the only thing he had to go by about trolls were the stories he'd been told of since his youth—which, so far, weren't very accurate. Perhaps, he thought, trolls were also like dragons. Misunderstood and misrepresented.
"This will make you feel better," the troll held out a small stone cup of a strange chunky liquid that gave off a rather unpleasant odor. Hiccup immediately recoiled.
"What is that?" he asked, wrinkling his nose.
"Nork Root, goat milk, Bumry berries, and a bunch of other plants and herbs you probably wouldn't know of. You're smelling the berries, they don't smell very nice when they're crushed, but they'll help you with your aches and pains," the troll smiled. "Drink it and I promise you'll feel better." Hiccup hesitantly took the cup and put it to his lips, taking a small sip. He immediately gagged and spat out the small amount that had landed on his tongue, completely disgusted.
"That tastes like rotten fish mixed with dirty socks," he coughed, wiping his mouth.
"Do you want to feel better?" the troll asked, her hands on her hips.
"Well, yes, but—,"
"Then drink. Plug your nose if you have to, you won't feel better by not drinking it. As my ol' Grammie said, 'The more you complain, the more you'll feel pain.'"
"Your grandmother sounds nice," Hiccup muttered under his breath before lifting the drink to his lips again. He took a deep breath and threw his head back, gulping down the contents as quickly as possible with his eyes screwed shut. A few seconds later the cup was on the ground and Hiccup felt very close to throwing up again.
"Very good! See? Not so bad," the troll smiled, taking the cup and setting it aside. Hiccup gagged again.
"Yeah, sure—cough—not so bad," he swallowed, the horrid taste still in his mouth.
"By the way, I never introduced myself properly," the troll said, putting small pots back where they had come from on their shelves. "My name is Prui."
"Oh… nice, nice to meet you," Hiccup said awkwardly. Prui smiled, dusting her large hands off her mossy garb.
"You're probably hungry, aren't you?" she asked. Hiccup's stomach churned uncomfortably at the thought of food.
"Um… actually I think I'm good," he muttered.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm not hungry," he rubbed his queasy stomach.
Suddenly a small stone rolled into the apothecary. It bumped against Hiccup's tail.
No, Toothless' tail, not his, he corrected himself at once.
The stone came to a stop. Hiccup reached over to pick it up when suddenly the stone unfurled, and he found himself facing another much smaller troll. He jerked his hand back in surprise, staring at the little creature.
"Hi!" the little troll waved, "I'm Pryn!"
"Pryn, I told you to wait outside!" Prui scolded the little troll without giving Hiccup a chance to reply.
"But he's awake now, and I wanted to talk to him!" Pryn whined.
"He needs his space, go play with the other—oh for the love of…" Prui had to hold in whatever curse that had almost escaped her mouth, for she found herself facing at least five other little trolls, all who were crowded behind Pryn.
"Pleaaaaaase can we talk to it?" one of the smaller trolls pleaded.
"It's a he, not an it!" another shot back, "Can I pet his tail?"
"I wanna touch his wings!"
"What's your name?" Pryn was looking at Hiccup with wide, curious brown eyes. Hiccup hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Um… Hiccup," he said. "My name's Hiccup."
"Isn't 'Hiccup' the name they give human runts?" the troll that had asked to touch his tail spoke up.
"Torg, don't be so rude!" a third elbowed Torg.
"I was just asking," Torg shrugged.
"Ignore him, my name is Vyri! " The one that had elbowed Torg smiled.
"I made this bracelet for you!" Pryn piped up, holding out a small collection of sparkling crystals and gems strung together awkwardly on a piece of twine.
"We made the bracelet, I helped," Vyri huffed indignantly.
"You only found the two emerald pieces, I still made it!" Pryn shot back.
"Hey, hey, kids please," Prui raised her voice to be heard above the loud chatter, "Hiccup needs his rest, dear ones. Come back at another time."
"Can I show him the bracelet that I made him first?" Pryn whined. "I worked hard on it."
"Alright, but the rest of you go. And don't come back until I say you can!" Prui shooed the rest of the little ones out of the little cave, all of them squeaking and chattering. Pryn held up the small bracelet to him, and Hiccup gingerly took it.
"Thanks," he said softly, studying the little crystals. Pryn beamed.
"The red ones are fire crystals, I thought you might like them because you're half dragon," she said proudly. Hiccup felt his insides clench, but he gave the little troll a tight smile.
"Okay, Prui, that's enough now. Time to go," Prui ushered Prui away from Hiccup and out of the medicine cave. Once alone, Hiccup glanced down at the bracelet. It really was pretty, but…
Half dragon.
The words echoed in his mind. Hiccup's claw-like hands curled around the bracelet, pain lancing through his heart as the nausea returned.
"Here," Prui took the bracelet from him. "I'm sorry... You know how children can be. She meant well, though."
"Yeah," Hiccup said shortly, looking away with a scowl. Prui looked at him sympathetically, walking over and patted his leg.
"May I ask you what you were doing here on this island?" she asked. "Where is your family?"
Hiccup gave a small start at the mention of his family. His heart sunk like a stone.
"Berk," he whispered, looking away. Prui raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Berk? Isn't that place famous for fighting dragons?" she asked. Hiccup let out a humorless scoff.
"It sure is."
Prui studied him carefully.
"That dragon…"
"I don't. Want. To talk. About it," Hiccup said through gritted teeth, his hands clenching into fists.
"I'm sorry," Prui said at once, instantly making Hiccup feel guilty. He grimaced, glancing at her.
"I… I'm sorry," he croaked. "I just…" tears swam in his eyes. "I just want this curse to be reversed, for Toothless to be okay. I…"
"Ah, the boy is awake."
Hiccup jumped, startled by the sudden unfamiliar voice. In the entrance of the cave stood an old troll with probably the biggest nose in the whole village. He shuffled forward, followed by several other adult trolls that Hiccup vaguely recognized as the ones who helped to rescue him.
"Elder Morg," Prui greeted him with a smile. "How do you do?"
"My bones quake. There's going to be another storm, soon," the elder replied, stopping by Hiccup's foot. He looked up at Hiccup, surveying him carefully. "How do you feel, young one?"
"I…" Hiccup glanced at Prui, who nodded encouragingly. "I feel sick," he said, turning back to the troll elder. "Really sick. And still sore…" although now that he said that, many of his aches and pains had lessened greatly. Perhaps that strange concoction was useful after all.
"Mmm, nausea is unsurprising when dealing with a conjoining curse to the degree you were subjected to," the elder sighed. He took Hiccup's hand and studied it carefully. "It is amazing you even survived."
"Can it be reversed?" Hiccup whispered, daring to even hope. The elder did not answer for a while, still studying his palm as if he could read into Hiccup's very soul with it.
Finally, he cupped Hiccup's hand with the other and patted it gently.
"Maybe," he said. "But… highly unlikely. The only one I know who could have the power to reverse this is our king, but he lives far, far away from here. And even then, I do not know if he would have the power to reverse such change to this magnitude. This was no simple curse that was placed on you, this was a spell of permanent transformation. Such spells bind to the body so deeply, it is ingrained into the very fabric of your being," he explained softly.
A block of ice had formed in Hiccup's stomach, radiating a cold he'd never felt before. He swallowed hard, fighting a lump in his throat.
"Is my dragon dead?" he croaked, unable to keep the question down anymore. "Is Toothless dead?"
The elder's eyes saddened.
"I'm afraid so," he whispered. Hiccup bit down hard on his tongue to keep himself from sobbing, but he couldn't stop trembling. Prui quickly rushed over and rubbed his back, trying to comfort him, but Hiccup hardly noticed.
"Such… dark magic," the elder continued, "Combining two bodies in such a way… combining the body is one thing, but it is the mind where the battle must be won. Two consciousnesses cannot exist in one body, so either one must willingly release or both must fight for it. Often, both die."
Hiccup let out a strangled sob, pressing his hand to his mouth to try to muffle the sound.
"Elder Morg, please, the boy has been through enough," Prui pleaded.
"If—if the curse was reversed, could Toothless come back?" Hiccup croaked thickly, needing to know.
Elder Morg looked sadly at him.
"No magic can raise the dead," he said softly. "Even if your bodies were separated, I'm afraid nothing could bring your dragon back."
Hiccup closed his eyes, feeling close to fainting. He could hear Prui ushering the elder out, but he didn't care.
He didn't care about anything anymore.
He felt numb. Was he even crying? Tears were still streaming down his face, but no sobs rose with them.
His best friend… Toothless… he was gone…
The owl stared at the dome of magic surrounding the valley that was home to the trolls. Its feathers ruffled as it surveyed everything, nothing escaping its sight.
It knew the boy had come here. This was where the trolls were hiding him. His master would be arriving soon…
"Hiccup, please, try to eat something," Prui urged, nudging a bowl of hot broth towards him, but Hiccup refused to acknowledge her. "Hiccup," she sighed, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know… I know you're suffering. I know you're in pain. Just eat a little bit for me, alright? Then I'll leave you alone.
Hiccup stared at the cave wall, still not replying to her.
Prui gave a sharp jab to Hiccup's shoulderblades. He yelped in pain, finally sitting up and glared at her.
"Eat," she said sternly. "If you eat, then I'll leave you alone. But if you don't eat, I'll continue being a pest. Understand?"
Sourly, Hiccup grabbed the bowl of broth and gulped it down, not caring that it was hot. He finished it in seconds and slammed the bowl down.
"Now leave me alone," he snarled.
"Alright," she took the bowl and walked off with it. Hiccup stared after her before slumping back on his bed of moss, feeling sick of himself and everything.
It was as if his mind couldn't accept the fact that Toothless was dead. His best friend… gone. But every time he even glanced at his own body, he was forcibly reminded of the horrible truth, staring him in the face.
Toothless was gone and he was never coming back.
He would never be able to return home, not like this. Not as a monster.
He would never see his father again. He could never travel the world like this, either.
It was then that he realized he had never truly meant to leave home forever. Not really. Yes, he had run away… but a small part of him had known he would go back some day.
But now… if his own people saw him like this, they would hunt him down, think he was a demon of some sort…
What was the point of life, then? Why eat? Why breathe?
A familiar owlish shriek pierced his ears, making his hair stand on end. He sat bolt-upright, his heart pounding.
"He's back," he gasped.
"Settle down, he's not—"
"He's back! That's his owl!" Hiccup cried, interrupting Prui. "He's here!"
Before Prui could answer, a troll suddenly rolled in the apothecary.
"The wizard is at our borders," he said, looking alarmed. "And he's taking down our defenses!"
"What?!" Prui gasped. "Hiccup, stay here! We're going to try to stop him," she commanded and quickly rolled out of the cave with the other troll.
Hiccup's panic skyrocketed. He couldn't just sit here!
He crawled out of the cave and scrambled to his feet, looking around wildly. He took in the strange almost circular valley that was the troll's home, the different caves that jutted out of the hillsides, before spotting the wizard at the far end, waving his staff.
A strange rippling effect seemed to be traveling through the air, emanating from his staff. Hiccup stumbled back and tripped over the large black tail and he sprawled on the ground.
"Get back in the cave!" a troll shouted at him. "You need to hide!"
But suddenly the sky seemed to split open. A blinding white crack running above their heads, and then fading away.
"The defense spell is down!" Hiccup heard someone shriek, but before he could even move, the wizard was in front of him. Just as he had appeared before, out of thin air.
He looked down at Hiccup with a mad gleam in his eyes.
"Thought you could escape from me, did you?" he wheezed. A troll barreled for him but was stopped by an invisible wall surrounding Hiccup and the wizard.
Hiccup was frozen solid, staring up at the old man as he trembled in fear.
"You are perfect," the wizard croaked. "You must be preserved! You are mine! Mine alone!"
He raised his bony finger at Hiccup, a strange light collecting around it.
"MINE!"
Something bright and powerful hit Hiccup's chest, knocking him flat on the ground. His whole body began to seize, every muscle bunching up. Agony filled Hiccup's body and he tossed his head back, but he was unable to scream. His lungs wouldn't work any more.
He forced his eyes to open, and he saw that the wizard had somehow teleported them back to his hut. Back in the place it had started, as if he had never even escaped.
He couldn't move. Every part of his body was locking into place, going numb.
He forced his hand up, trying to roll over to push himself up, but to his horror he saw something white crawling up his arm, until it completely coated it and locked it into place.
He was being turned into stone.
One eye suddenly went dark, and Hiccup felt the cold numbness crawl for his other eye, the last thing that was left. Slowly, his world went black, the last thing that he saw was the wretched, smiling grin of the wizard.