Somebody to Love
Chapter Three: Race the Wind
By: BourbonCowboy
It had been two years since Astrid had broken Hiccup's heart. He had not dated anyone since, despite the many lovely young Viking women his mother presented for his approval. Hiccup filled his time with the expansions for Berk, training new dragon riders, and when time allowed, exploring. It was a cold, winter's morning. Hiccup walked, leaning on Toothless for support over the icy path as they made their way down to Gobber's shop to resupply prior to a scouting trip. His mother, Valka, walked beside him to receive last minute instructions. "The new sheep pen should be completed in the next couple of days. Just make sure you walk the entire perimeter of the fence before they move the sheep over there. The new dragon rider recruit class is coming along. Just make sure Astrid has everything under control there. I think that's it." Hiccup said, waving at Gobber and picking up the bag the blacksmith had left for him at the door. Valka frowned as she watched her son go thru the pack of weapons and ammunition. "What are you running from, Hiccup? Does sight of Astrid's growing belly really fill you with such anger that you must race off towards the edge of the world so close to the baby's arrival?" Hiccup felt the usual tingle of annoyance at mention of Astrid but shrugged it off. "No, mom, it's not the baby. Honestly, this pregnancy was easier than her first one right after we'd broken up! I just…" Hiccup turned and looked out towards the ocean. "I need to go. You'll be fine while I am gone. You've stepped in as Chief more than once over the years. The expansion of Berk is going great. Trader Johan should be on the way with the merchant ships any day now. The weather is great, it's not even snowing!" His metal leg slipped on a patch of ice and he caught himself on Toothless' saddle. "Well, the weather's good by Berk standards anyway. It will be fine." Valka just nodded and watched silently as her son slipped into Toothless' saddle, slid his prosthetic leg into its hook, and the two wounded warriors took to the sky. Valka watched them go until she could no longer see them, then whispered "I hope you find what you are looking for soon, my son."
Hiccup and Toothless had been flying for two days when they caught sight of the ships. Hiccup took out his scope and used it to study the ships from the safety of a cloud bank. "Merchants. It's Trader Johan! Want to say hi, Toothless?" Toothless made a chuckling sound in his throat and dove out from behind the clouds. The wind whistled off his scales as they plummeted. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh as the people on the ships began to run about at the sound. Screams of "Night fury!" reached them even before they broke the cloud bank. Toothless landed with a thud on Johan's barge and Hiccup pulled his helmet off to smile at the merchant. "Oh! Chief Hiccup!" Trader Johan exclaimed, one hand still clutching his chest. "I did not expect to see you so far out from Berk. Off exploring again?" Hiccup's smile grew wider. He always felt more carefree away from Berk. "You know it. Those maps you gave me back in the fall have been a great help." He tugged the aforementioned maps from a pocket of his armor and rolled them out on a barrel. Hiccup used his finger to trace some small islands south of Berk. "I've already explored these islands. And the ones further out west and east. But look! At the very bottom of the map. What do you suppose that is?" His finger caressed a blue-flame creature hovering over what looked like another large island – possibly larger than Berk! Johan stroked his beard as he studied it. "Yes, Master Hiccup, I had noticed that odd drawing when I obtained the map. I believe the man who sold it to me said it was a 'will-o-the-wisp', a mythical creature said to lead one to his Fate." Hiccup considered that for a moment. "The person you got the map from, had he ever seen one of these wisps? Has he been to this island?" Johan laughed, "He claims to have been there. Strange fellow, he was. No shoes on his feet in the middle of winter! His skin was practically blue from the cold but when I offered him some warm clothes he just smiled and said something like 'where's the fun in that?' Like I said, very peculiar fellow. But yes, he said he had been there and to the lands further south as well. I knew this map would be of particular interest to you and I see you're making good use of it." Hiccup's heart felt like it had stopped at Johan's words. This stranger, the one who had given Johan the map, had been to the island of the blue wisp…and to lands further south! 'I knew there had to be more!' Hiccup thought. He noticed Trader Johan watching him and cleared his throat. "Yes, thank you, Johan. The map is very interesting. But I don't know that I would have the time to venture so far from Berk." (He trusted Johan, but it was never a good idea to broadcast that the Chief may be away for months on some expedition.) "Tell me, Johan, where did you meet this stranger? The one who gave you the map?" Johan pointed to an island northeast of Berk and gave Hiccup some advice on how to locate it from the air. Hiccup thanked the merchant and hopped back on Toothless, who had been busy playing with a dragon toy while Hiccup talked. "One more thing, Johan." The merchant looked at Hiccup expectantly. "What did he want for the map? You said he wouldn't take shoes or clothes." Johan laughed, "The oddest thing. He wanted a broken wooden staff that had recently come into my possession. The thing was garbage and I tried to talk him into a better trade, you know I'm an honest man. But he said how he had lost a staff very similar to that one and wanted it for nostalgia. Can you imagine? A priceless map for a broken staff."
Hiccup and Toothless waited on a nearby island inhabited primarily by Tiny Terrors until the flotilla of merchant ships had moved on. The sun went down and the moon and the stars appeared. Hiccup roasted fish on a stick while Toothless enjoyed them raw. "What do you think, bud? Do we fly south? Further than we've ever flown before. Not knowing if there's even anything there at all…" he looked south across the grey waters of the ocean and imagined he could see a blue wisp beckoning him to follow it to his Fate. Hiccup sighed and turned his gaze north, towards home and more familiar territory. "Or do we fly north and try and find Johan's informant? The person who gave Johan the map might be able to give us more information." Toothless nudged his friend with his snout in a comforting gesture. "That's the thing, isn't it? If we go north we won't have time to fly south. We promised my mom we wouldn't be more than two months. If we fly south, we don't know what we're getting into." Hiccup's gaze flicked upwards to the moon. "I wish I knew the right thing to do." Hiccup stood up and brushed off his pants. "Well, let's go. Maybe we can track down this Jack Frost quickly and still have a chance for that southern trip. If not, Fate will just have to wait!"
No sooner had they launched into the air did Hiccup hear a voice. "Did someone say Jack Frost?" Hiccup and Toothless let out identical cries of alarm. Toothless flipped around and fired a plasma blast at the specter floating in the air behind them. Hiccup just held on as his dragon rolled. He patted Toothless' back and looked around for the spirit. It had to be a ghost! How else was he flying without a dragon? "Were you looking for me perhaps?" the voice said again, this time at Hiccup's elbow. Hiccup's eyes went wide. This had to be Jack Frost, he fit Trader Johan's description to a T. The young spirit had hair white as fresh snow and icy blue eyes. His skin was so pale it too seemed blue and he wore peasant clothes and had bare feet. In his hands, the spirit held a long wooden staff. Hiccup had a moment to think the spirit must have fixed it, since Trader Johan had definitely said that the staff he traded for was broken in half. "Jack Frost?" The specter winked at him. Winked! "Did you get my map, Hiccup?" Hiccup nodded, feeling Toothless rumble beneath him. The dragon was not too pleased by this apparition. "Hiccup, I have a question for you. Have you often dreamed of a far off place where a hero's welcome would be waiting for you? Where the crowds would cheer when they see your face? And a voice keeps saying this is where you're meant to be?" Hiccup's mouth continued to gape open as he stared. "Hmm…wrong movie, I guess." Jack muttered to himself. "Okay, here's the thing! A hero's strength is measured by his heart. Are you with me? No? Let me try again. When the cold winds a-calling, and the sky is clear and bright, misty mountains sing and beckon, leading you out into the light. You must ride, you must fly. Chase the wind, and touch the sky!"
"Maybe we should take this back to the ground?" Hiccup asked, if only to get the strange boy to stop singing. He watched in astonishment as the specter continued to float on his back past Toothless' bared teeth. Jack Frost grinned a sly grin and winked. "Race ya there!" Jack flipped over and went into a steep dive towards the island they had just vacated. Not to be outdone, Toothless did a barrel roll and dove as well. "Oh boy!" Hiccup grit his teeth and held on tight. Of course, instead of landing Jack led Hiccup and Toothless on a wild race. They dodged around one island, careened off the next, looped a third and zoomed back towards a fourth. Toothless chortled in amusement and even Hiccup stood up in the saddle to whoop. How long they flew, Hiccup didn't know. All he knew was that they travelled farther and faster than he had ever gone before. When they stopped though, they were someone completely new. Hiccup slid off Toothless' back, his one foot landing on green waving grass. Directly in front of him was a dense forest. Beyond that, he thought he saw rolling hills. The island stretched on and on, far bigger than Berk. "Where are we, bud?" Toothless shrugged and wandered off to explore.
Jack Frost landed silently beside him. Hiccup looked at him. "What are you? Where are we? What is this place?" Jack leaned on his staff and smiled that mischievous smile again. "All excellent questions. I, as you already know, am Jack Frost. The Man in the Moon made me a Guardian. But that's a story for another time. More importantly, the Man in the Moon knows about your recent…shall we say trials? Tribulations? Anyway, normally he's a pretty subtle guy, Manny is. But me, I never really developed that soft touch. I'm more of right now kind of guy, you following me?" Hiccup nodded, though he wasn't sure any of what the spirit said made sense. "Okay good. So here's what's up! The wisps have been calling you for years! But, being a good son and a good leader, you couldn't just up and run off to explore every chance you got. I thought if I sent you a map that would get you here, but you're a cautious fellow. All's well that ends well, anyway. You made it! We're here!" Before Hiccup could ask where exactly here was, another voice spoke. "It is not time yet, Guardian."
The voice belonged to a stunning woman dressed all in blue, with blonde hair that fell just to her shoulders. For some reason, Jack seemed surprised to see her. Who knew you could sneak up on a spirit? "What do you mean it's not time yet? I've been working on this for years!" The Blue Fairy, for she could be no one else, crossed her arms over her chest and sniffed. "Silly Guardians. You never consider the bigger picture." She waved a wand Hiccup had not previously noticed and a small mirror appeared. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. Chief of the Hairy Hooligans. You seek your Fate in the Outer Reaches of your realm, not knowing what draws you. Not knowing what higher power directs your Fate. I know that you have suffered loss and that more than anything you want to be a good son, a good chief. You have already accomplished so much. If you truly want to learn the best way to help your people, take this mirror." Hiccup glanced at Toothless who shrugged. Hiccup reached out and accepted the mirror from the Blue Fairy. "Uh…thanks?" Secretly he wondered if he had eaten some bad berries and this was all a very elaborate dream. The Blue Fairy chuckled. "Take the mirror back to Berk with you. Jack will teach you to use it. If you allow yourself to believe, a great adventure is coming to you...if you are brave enough." The Blue Fairy disappeared in a blink, leaving nothing but moonlight in her wake. Hiccup glanced at Jack Frost who was staring off into the distance with a frown. Jack shook his head. "Well, Hiccup, I guess we have to adjust course. I didn't realize our timeline was off. How long is Valka watching over Berk for you?" Hiccup was startled, but answered "Three months." Jack nodded. "I can work with that. Hop on that dragon of yours and hang on!" Hiccup and Toothless exchanged another look. This time Toothless looked eager. "Where are we going now?" Hiccup asked the Guardian. Jack waved his staff and a cold wind blew from behind them, lifting Toothless' wings and dragging them along in its wake. "I'm taking you where all the great leaders go to learn from the best. A place where magic runs rampant, yes wild in the streets! Haha! It's a place where even time bends to the will of the Once and Future King. Camelot."
Author's Note: Thank you everyone who read and reviewed. The three super obvious songs that made their way into this chapter were "Go the Distance" from Hercules, "Touch the Sky" from Brave, and "Arabian Nights" from Aladdin. I'm having a blast writing this and I hope you enjoy reading. Next chapter will shift the focus back to Merida and what she does now that she has a magic travelling mirror. - BourbonCowboy