CHAPTER 5

Traveling by sea serpent was not the most comfortable way to travel, but it was definitely fast. Sometimes, Hiccup would catch sight of whales, but it would only be for a few moments before they sped past them, cutting through the water like a hot knife through butter.

They didn't run into any ships, amazingly. Hiccup was afraid to know what the serpent could do if they did.

After a day of traveling, they finally spotted land. And after that, It took only ten minutes for them to reach the shoreline.

The sea serpent bade them farewell as he and Brom made their way up the coastline and into the grassy lands.

Hiccup tugged the cloak tighter around his body, but he was aware just how awkward he looked with his wings hidden underneath. It looked like he had two people hiding underneath with him, not to mention the tail that still stuck out and trailed behind him.

Brom, thankfully, had not chatted much. Hiccup didn't know wether to feel grateful, or guilty about it.

The journey took them a couple days on foot, but soon they were climbing a great mountain in the middle of the night.

Apparently, traders often came this way, so traveling at night was the smartest course of action for Hiccup and Brom.

The mountained leveled out somewhat as they reached another well worn path and began to follow it up, but Hiccup had paused.

On the other side of the mountain was a large fjord, and at the edge, on the base of the mountains, stood a city with a large castle.

Hiccup had never seen a castle, especially not like this one. He stared, fascinated at the architecture of it, how different it was to what he was used to.

"Come on, we're almost there," Brom called, having noticed Hiccup had stopped. Hiccup blinked and moved again, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the castle.

He wished he could visit it…

He finally tore his eyes away from the city in order to climb further up the mountain. Finally, after about an hour of walking, they reached an area not dissimilar to the valley of trolls back on the island, only… smaller.

Hiccup had expected it to be bigger, if the troll king was here.

Brom rolled into the center of the small area and unfurled, calling out.

"Troll king! Troll king! We request an audience!"

The stones all around them began to shake and tremble, and then roll towards them. Dozens of trolls unfurled, all looking up at the two of them with large eyes.

Hiccup immediately heard whispering and mutterings, which made him shrink back.

The sea of trolls parted as a large stone rolled forward, and an old troll unfurled. He was decorated in the same mossy clothes as the others, and a crown of grass like a mane of hair surrounded his head.

"I sense dark magic," the troll king murmured. "Boy, come here. What has happened to you?"

Hiccup grimaced, slowly walking forward.

"A wizard… put a conjoining spell on me," he said, pushing back his hood to reveal the draconian ears where his real ears should be.

"And then he was turned to stone for eight hundred years," Brom added helpfully. "He used to be a viking!"

Hiccup grimaced more deeply as he heard the various gasps from the trolls. The Troll King surveyed him carefully, before motioning for Hiccup to kneel. He did so, and the troll king took his hands.

"Hmmm…" the troll king stared at them, in a similar way to the one elder had all those years ago. "I'm afraid… I cannot reverse this spell. The magic has ingrained too deeply inside of you, such an act is completely irreversible."

Hiccup's heart nearly stopped.

"Wh… what?" he croaked, drawing his hands back. "Irreversible? But… I thought you would…"

"Had you come to me the day after you transformed, possibly," the king said somberly. "But as it is now… I'm afraid there is nothing I can do."

Hiccup swallowed down a lump in his throat, hopelessness looming over him once more.

"But," the troll king said. "There is a way for you to… appear normal."

"Appear normal?" Hiccup muttered thickly, confused.

"It's a simple illusion charm," the king said, picking up a pebble and rolling it between his fingers. Suddenly, it turned into a beetle in his hands. Hiccup flinched.

"It is still a rock, see," the king explained, rolling the beetle in his hands. "It only merely looks like a beetle. I can do the same with you."

"Grand Pabbie, where—whoah, what the hell?!" a voice suddenly cried. Hiccup shot to his feet, bristling at the voice, and was horrified to see a young man at the edge of the valley, staring at Hiccup with a similar gobsmacked expression

"Kristoff, welcome back," the troll king said with a smile. "This is…" he paused. "I do not believe I know your name, young man."

"Uhm… Hiccup," he croaked slowly, still staring at the young man, which he soon realized was not much older than he was. But his heart was pounding.

"What happened to you?" the teenager asked, approaching, but Hiccup flinched and took several steps back. "Woah, hey, I'm not gonna hurt you," Kristoff said quickly. "I live with these trolls, they're my family."

Hiccup paused, glancing around and then back at him.

"Are you… uhm… were you… cursed, too?" he croaked.

"Nah, just an orphan," he shrugged, but couldn't tear his eyes away from Hiccup's ears. Hiccup felt his cheeks heat up and he tugged the hood over his head to hide them.

"Kristoff, it's rude to stare," a troll berated him, whacking his leg. Kristoff yelped.

"Ow, sorry!"

"As I was saying," the troll king spoke up, "I can give you something that will keep your form hidden. But you must wear it at all times. The moment you take it off, you will become as you are again."

Hiccup nodded fervently at the troll king. The troll king produced a strange circular object from inside his cloak, and whispered a spell. Then he tied it to some twine, and handed it to Hiccup.

Hiccup took it, and pulled it over his head, the pendant settling on his chest. Immediately, he felt something akin to ice water pouring over his body, making him shiver.

The tail was suddenly gone. The cloak on his shoulders was sitting normally, as if there were nothing underneath him but his own back. The claws on his hands were gone. His hands looked…

Normal.

Hiccup let out a sob of relief, mixed with grief.

His hope of sending Toothless off to Valhalla was gone, completely. He would have to endure… this.

"Thank you," he croaked, meeting the troll's eyes.

"Of course, my boy… now what is it you were telling me about being a viking?" he asked curiously. Hiccup swallowed hard, finding it difficult to explain, so Brom stepped in and told the Troll King everything, about the wizard and how he had been conjoining animals, and that the wizard had petrified Hiccup to preserve him, but the spell had eventually worn off.

Hiccup was relieved that he didn't have to explain it. He didn't think he could bear talking about it out loud…

The troll king listened, slowly nodding.

"Yes, I see," he murmured. "Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to send you back in time, either. Time is too powerful for us trolls to reverse. What happens… happens. It is the law of nature, of time. A river cannot be reversed."

"Then what am I to do?" Hiccup whispered, having expected that answer. "I… I don't know what to do."

"He could stay with us," a troll suggested. "Kristoff here could have a brother!"

"Wait, what?" Kristoff blinked.

"Perhaps," the king mused. "Kristoff could help show Hiccup this new world, introduce him to it. Arendelle is not far from here. It is a small kingdom, but a wonderful place to live."

"What if we introduced him to the king?" the troll that had whacked Kristoff's kneecaps suggested. "We helped him with you-know-what, after all."

"No, I believe the king already has much on his hands," the troll king shook his head. "Kristoff. Would you mind helping Hiccup?"

"Uh… I mean, sure," Kristoff shrugged. "I'm not really a people person, but… I'll try to help out."

"There. It is settled, then," the troll king smiled. "Why don't you take him to your cabin, Kristoff. Hiccup could use some rest."

Hiccup slowly stood up, privately agreeing with the king. He felt utterly exhausted, drained from the journey and the disappointing news. The only relief he felt was the fact that he looked… human again.

"What do you think, Sven?" Kristoff squinted, and to Hiccup's surprise he realized he was talking to… a reindeer?

"I don't know, he smells fishy," Kristoff said in a deeper voice. Hiccup blinked.

What the hell?

"But he needs help," Kristoff pointed out to himself. "But he's got scary wings," he added in a deeper voice.

"Don't mind him," a troll pipped up by Hiccup's feet. "He has a strong connection with Sven. Thinks he can tell what he's saying, and talks for him."

"...Oh," Hiccup said uncertainly. "I see."

"I can, too, tell what he's saying!" Kristoff said defensively. "It's just a thing I can do! Come on, my cabin's this way," he waved, beckoning Hiccup forward. Hiccup reluctantly followed, figuring that a somewhat-crazy guy who talked to reindeer was better than a maniac wizard.

The reindeer snorted uneasily around Hiccup, who couldn't blame him. He was uneasy around himself.

The cabin was not far away, located between two large rocks. It was small, but seemed cozy enough.

"Soooo… uhm… sounds like you've had a rough time," Kristoff spoke up awkwardly as they entered the cabin.

"You could say that," Hiccup grunted, pushing back the hood of his cloak. Warmth greeted him from a fire place. There was only one bed, but there was also a large bed of straw on the other side of the small cabin.

"You can take the bed," Kristoff offered. "I'll sleep with Sven."

"You don't have to—," Hiccup stopped short as the reindeer squeezed its way through the door and walked straight for the bed of straw, settling down with a happy groan. "...that… oh."

"I spoil him too much, but it's fall and it's starting to get really cold out there," Kristoff mentioned, tossing some gloves onto a small rickety wooden table. "And he's a baby when it comes to sleeping in the cold."

Sven made a loud complaintive noise.

"I'm not a baby, I'm just scared of frostbite!" Kristoff said in a deeper voice, then rolled his eyes. "You have fur, you big baby."

Hiccup stared, his heart squeezing with pain. He was suddenly reminded of bantering with Toothless in a similar way…

He swallowed down the lump in his throat and quickly turned away, taking off the cloak and setting it on the bed.

"I bet I could help get you an apprenticeship in town," Kristoff was saying. "I currently work in the ice trade business, but I don't think that would be something up your alley."

"Ice trading business?" Hiccup looked up, confused.

"Yeah. We cut up large blocks of ice and sell them," he said. "Pretty profitable, especially in the summer."

Hiccup stared.

Who in their right mind would want to sell ice? That couldn't be a real thing. Especially coming from someone who had lived his whole life where it snowed nine months out of the year.

Kristoff didn't seem to notice his confusion as he bent over the fire, tossing some more logs into it.

"Soooo… what kind of name is Hiccup?" he asked curiously, standing straight.

"What kind of name is Kristoff?" Hiccup shot back, crossing his arms.

"Sorry, I was just curious. Never met a viking before," he apologized. Hiccup sighed, hanging his head.

"It's fine… Hiccup is just my name," he grunted. "You should hear the other names. Snotlout. Fishlegs. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Ast…" he stopped short, closing his mouth sharply.

"Wow, your name actually sounds normal compared to those," Kristoff chuckled, sitting next to Sven. Hiccup plopped on the bed, shrugging.

"I guess."

It was odd. Sitting down, he didn't feel the tail or the wings getting in the way, yet at the same time he could still… feel a presence, almost like an itch that wouldn't go away. He supposed that was because they were still there, just… hidden by magic.

"Soooo… How old are you?" Kristoff spoke up again.

"Fifteen," Hiccup grunted. "You?"

"Fourteen, actually," he said. "I kinda thought you were thirteen."

"I'm just short," Hiccup muttered.

"So… I heard a little bit, but… did the dragon the wizard combine you with… was it your pet?"

"He was my best friend," Hiccup whispered, finally looking up at him. "Like you and your reindeer."

Kristoff seemed to pale and he looked at Sven, wide-eyed.

"Holy… I can't even imagine… I'm so sorry."

"I'm going to go to sleep," Hiccup grunted, lying down.

"Right, yeah, sorry. I'll let you sleep. Uhm, goodnight."

"Night." Hiccup closed his eyes, grateful the conversation was over. He hated that all it took was one mention of Toothless, and he would feel horrible all over again.

Arendelle was a very nice city. The streets were clean, there were no open brawls, no dragons swooping overhead. The people where were polite and… friendly.

Hiccup stared at the houses as they passed by, sitting next to Kristoff in his sleigh as Sven pulled them along, trotting happily.

"This… this is a nice place," he commented.

"Yeah," Kristoff shrugged. "I guess it is."

He pulled the sleigh to a stop and hopped out, heading for the back so he could pull the large blocks of ice out.

"There are some shops around town, I'd visit them and see if anyone is offering an apprenticeship," he told Hiccup, who had followed him of the sleigh. Hiccup nodded and walked off, looking around curiously.

He constantly checked to make sure the pendant was still there, hidden under his tunic. He didn't like the twine holding it on his neck; he needed something sturdier, something more reliable. But for now, it would have to do.

The first few shops he entered were for clothes, or different foods. The clothes shop was strange, the fashion style so different than what Hiccup was used to. It was similar to the clothes that he was wearing, the ones that the trolls had given him, but seeing more of them… he couldn't look away.

He was astonished at how many colors they were. Each fabric seemed to be dyed with some rich color, ones he had never even fathomed before. He couldn't recall ever seeing such a hue of red before, except perhaps once on a dragon, or plucked from the sky at dusk. Pink, the store owner had called it, and had given him an odd look when he had asked.

Knowing he would be useless at that apprenticeship, he had moved on to a few other stores, until finally he reached one where a familiar smell of burning wood and smelted iron met his nose. He walked to the back, where an older man was banging away at a strip of red hot metal.

"Excuse me?" Hiccup called over the clanging. The man jumped, nearly dropping his hammer.

"Geez, boy, you nearly scared the living daylights outta me," the man grunted. He was bald, and was sporting a very spectacular mustache. "What can I do you for?"

"I was wondering if you were looking for an apprentice?" Hiccup asked. "I know my way around a smithy. I was an apprentice for one since I was seven."

"You?" the main raised an eyebrow, clearly judging his scrawny frame and not believing a word. "And what happened to your old master, eh?"

"He… uhm… he died," Hiccup grimaced.

"Ah. So you decided to find fortune elsewhere, eh? Arendelle's an odd place to look, but…" the man set down his hammer and straightened his mustache with two blackened fingers. "What's your name, boy?"

"Uhhh, Hakon," Hiccup said. Kristoff had told him that no one would believe him if he said his name was 'Hiccup'. It sounded too 'fantastical', in his words, whatever the hell that meant. But Hiccup went with it. He was hiding everything else about himself, why not his name, too?

"Where you from, Hakon?"

Hiccup froze. Crap, where should he say he was from?

"Uhm… North of here," he said at last.

"North? The hell is north of here?" the man squinted. "You mean Kingsboro?"

"Yeah! Kingsboro!" Hiccup lied. The man grunted, raising a thick eyebrow.

"Odd. Didn't even know they had a smithy up there. Alright, what are you skilled at making?"

"Swords, knives, sometimes cutlery, arrows," Hiccup counted on his fingers. "Chains, mallets—"

"Hold on, hold your horses there, boy," the man interrupted him, giving him a very odd look. "I mean anything useful."

Hiccup stared.

Useful? Were the things he stated above not useful?

"Like cookware, door hinges, bear traps," the man elaborated.

"Oh! Yeah, I can make those," Hiccup nodded quickly.

"Alright… here," the man picked up his mallet and handed it to Hiccup. "Make me something simple, like… I dunno, a frying pan. I'll watch ya. If I like your technique, I'll take you on as an apprentice."

Hiccup nodded and quickly set to work, finding the right pieces of iron and putting them in a smelter.

The tools that the man used were slightly different than what he was used to, but the idea was all the same. Blacksmithing was a universal skill, it seemed.

The man watched him closely as Hiccup worked, but Hiccup wasn't sure if he was doing something wrong to him or not. He decided to ignore him for now, focusing on the task at hand.

A few hours later, he was beating the pan into a rough shape. When he got it to where he wanted it, he dunked it into some water, smoothed it out some more, dunked it again, before presenting it to the blacksmith.

"Hmm," the blacksmith studied the still steaming pan. "Very rough, but effective. Also, it seems you were taught by someone extremely old school, but you certainly know your way around a smithy. You start in the morning," he decided.

Relieved, Hiccup set the pan down, exhausted. He was covered head-to-toe with soot, but that was something he was quite used to.

"You have a place to stay?" the blacksmith asked as he put some tools away.

"Yeah, I have a place," Hiccup said.

"Good. Get here bright and early, alright? Seven AM sharp."

"Seven what now?" Hiccup blinked.

"Seven AM. In the morning," the blacksmith raised his eyebrow again. "You know how to tell time, don't you?"

"Uhhh…" Hiccup gave a hapless shrug. "I mean, I can get here at dawn…"

"...Boy, do you mean to tell me you don't know how to tell time? What the blazes do they teach you in Kingsboro?" the blacksmith demanded, pulling out a strange circular device. He showed it to Hiccup, flicking it open to reveal a strange dial of sorts with two hands.

Hiccup flinched when he realized it was moving.

"Is it magic?" he demanded.

"What? No, it's a watch, you daft boy," the blacksmith retorted. "It tells the time! It's got coils and springs inside, making it go. The two hands tell you what hour and minute of the day it is."

Hiccup stared, utterly astounded. Was he sure it wasn't magic?

"This hand says it's currently seven in the evening, and the right hand indicates that it's seven-thirty," the blacksmith explained. Hiccup marveled at the little object.

"Where can I get one of these?" he asked.

"Blimey, kid, you really don't know nothin' about nothin', do ya?" the blacksmith grunted. "There's watches you can get at the general store for about a pound."

"A pound?" Hiccup echoed, confused again. "A pound of what?"

The blacksmith gave him another incredulous look.

"...Money. A pound. You know, sixpence, coppers, pennies, pounds?"

"Oh! Oh, right, of course," Hiccup cleared his throat awkwardly.

"You're not from Kingsboro, are ya?" the blacksmith demanded, crossing his arms. "Where are you really from?"

Hiccup hesitated, before slowly replying.

"An island, far north," he said, which was true. "But… uhm, kind of… cut off from civilization. My…. grandfather was the one who… taught me this," he lied, gesturing to the smithy.

The blacksmith narrowed his eyes.

"Alright…" he finally conceded, walking off. "Seven am. Sharp. If you're late, you're fired."

"Yes, sir," Hiccup nodded before quickly walking off to find Kristoff in his sleigh.

Kristoff was waiting for him, half-asleep. He gave a small start as Hiccup clambered up into the sleigh beside him.

"How'd it go?" he yawned.

"Fine, got a job at the blacksmith," Hiccup said, wiping some more soot off his face.

"I can tell," Kristoff snorted, snapping the reins. Sven trotted off. "Do you think they'll let you stay there?"

Hiccup paused, looking at Kristoff.

"I… I can ask," he said. "I'm guessing you would rather not have me stuck in your bed, huh?"

"Kinda, yeah. I mean, I'm fine as a temporary thing, but like… man I need my solitude, you know? I'm not a people person," Kristoff shrugged.

Hiccup nodded, sinking into his seat.

Would anything stay the same? Maybe this job would offer some sort of stability, where things wouldn't be constantly changing under his feet, faster than he could process…

"...Do you know how to use money?" Hiccup asked him, trying to distract himself from melancholy.

"Huh?"

"Money. How does it work here? I don't know about your currency."

"Oh. Uhhh," Kristoff squinted, and did his best to explain it. Hiccup listened attentively as he explained about pounds, fiftypence, and the like. Kristoff gave him a few coins to look at, but told him very firmly it was for educational purposes only and that the money was still Kristoffs.

Hiccup studied the strange coins, turning them over in his hands.

"Why do they call it a pound when it doesn't even weigh a pound?" he asked curiously.

"I have absolutely no idea. I think it's… worth a pound of something?" Kristoff guessed. "Worth a pound of ice, maybe?"

"What is it with you and ice?"

"Ice is my life! Don't judge me," he complained. "This is why reindeers are better than people, you don't get judged for your career choices."

Hiccup snorted, shaking his head.