A/N: HEY LOOK I'M BACK. WITH GOOD NEWS: I finally managed to distance myself from this fic and the anxiety its very existence were causing long enough to finish writing it. There are probably ten more chapters, but I have them all written and just need to finish typing and editing them. Do you know what that means?

WE'RE GOING BACK TO WEEKLY UPDATES, Y'ALL. Yeah, I know. ALSO I want to say that my anxiety about Persephone's existence has been so bad that I have avoided even reading most reviews that I've gotten for the past like, five months. So if you've sent me a review or pm asking a question and I never answered...that's part of why. I don't know if I'll be able to answer my huge backlog along with whatever comes in with this update, but I'll try if I have time. My life is the same chaos it has been since I opened my own business, so my free time is incredibly limited. I'm going to put some info up on my profile about ways you can help me be less broke if you are so inclined. Oh and hey: this is your daily reminder that everyone in this story is screwed up as hell and not making the best decisions right now. This does not equate to my hating any of them. I probably have other things to say but right now I just want to get this published and move on with my day.

I gave up on the chapter title okay, I just gave up.


Chapter 33: Calculated Risks and Bad Math

This night was the complete opposite of the night before.

Astrid had spent the previous night entwined in her lover's embrace-in her husband's embrace-diving into cool darkness together and making their own heat. Tonight, the heat came from burning trees and buildings.

Hiccup hadn't wanted her to come with him; after what had happened on Berk before he didn't want her anywhere near the island. But the swarm of dragons they'd seen heading towards Berk that night had been larger than usual, and with the wild dragons that had taken up residence with them loyally attempting to follow Hiccup and Toothless back to Berk, Hiccup had reluctantly let her come along if for no other reason than to try to keep those three out of the fight.

The conditions had been simple: she was to stay well away from the village, high up and far out of range of any weapons. It made her mostly useless; she could chase off dragons who tried swooping back down on the village after taking to the skies for more speed, but she could do little to interfere in the actual fight.

It was a disappointing end to her day, and a disappointing beginning to what would technically be her honeymonth. They'd shared a day of cuddles and kisses and laughter and generally shameless flirting, but all that felt like a different day than the chaos she now circled. Hiccup and Toothless were diving in and out of the fray, but Astrid found herself on the far edge of the village, too high for bolas or nets, trying to ward off a particularly determined Monstrous Nightmare. It was almost quiet this far out; the main conflict was concentrated in the center of town or over the eastern farms. Stormfly finally gave the Nightmare a good enough smack across the nose that it gave up and winged away into the distance. Astrid breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was doing some good out here.

She heard a disturbingly familiar thwack, and seconds later Stormfly screeched and they lurched. Astrid looked down to see a bola had wrapped around Stormfly's legs and tail, pinning them together. "Easy, girl, easy!" Astrid yelled, trying to hold tight to the saddle as Stormfly spun towards the ground, her wings flapping frantically in an attempt to right herself. Astrid looked for the source of the bola, and spotted Eret on a nearby hillside behind a strange looking device, similar to the ones she'd seen shoot nets, but smaller and sleeker.

Stormfly lifted the spikes on her tail and they cut through some of the ropes, but just then there was another thwack and a second bola ensnared her legs and tail, tangling around raised spikes and further throwing off Stormfly's flight. They were hurtling towards the ground, spinning quickly, Stormfly in a panic. Astrid held tight, trying to help Stormfly steady herself, but the weapon fired a third time and yet another bola wrapped around Stormfly's legs.

"Steady, Stormfly, steady! Steady!" Astrid braced herself as their flight spun out of control and they hit the ground, Stormfly grabbing at the dirt with her talons and flapping her wings in an attempt to regain her balance and avoid completely crashing. It was still a rough landing, but they'd had worse. Stormfly teetered on bound legs and tipped to the side, Astrid rolling off her back and down her wing onto the ground.

There were shouts, and Astrid looked up to see men and women running their direction. She scrambled to her feet, thankful this landing hadn't injured her like their last crash had, and was nearly knocked off her feet by Stormfly's wing. Her dragon was panicking, struggling against the ropes that bound her, trying to cut through them with her tail spikes and gnashing at them with her teeth.

"Stormfly, calm down, calm down!" Astrid tried to step closer only to narrowly miss another wing. Stormfly was trying to turn herself over, or else take off, or perhaps she was simply too panicked to keep still, Astrid wasn't sure. Stormfly's pupils were slits, and she wasn't listening to Astrid's attempts to calm her or get close enough to cut the ropes. Her knife was still at her side but her axe was still affixed to the saddle. "Stormfly!" She shouted again, knowing that her own panic would just magnify her dragon's but unsure what else to do. A smell hit her, and she noticed the ropes appeared oily, as if they'd been soaked in something. Something to keep them from burning probably, or…Hiccup had mentioned that some plant species could cause erratic behavior in dragons. If the trappers were using oils from those plants…

They'd landed outside the village but people were approaching quickly, and if she couldn't get Stormfly back in the air… "Stormfly you have to calm down! It's me, just let me help!"

"There! Get them, hurry!" Astrid turned to see the group of people, comprised of villagers and trappers, less than 20 yards away from them. Her eyes widened.

"Stormfly, we have to—" she turned back to her dragon just in time to see the wing headed right for her face.

Pain blasted through her forehead followed by a crack and an explosion of pain in her neck as the blow snapped her head to the side and she was knocked to the ground. New pain blossomed in the back of her head as she hit the ground and everything went white and red and blue and green and finally black.

…distantly she could hear shouting. Not again…she thought, even though she didn't even fully understand why she was thinking that. Not again what? Someone or something grabbed her and pulled her off the ground, jostling her neck and sending pain shooting from the base of her neck all the way up and around to the front of her head. She groaned, or at least tried to. Someone—she was sure now that it was a person—held her up until her feet were planted on the ground, although if she was standing under her own power or just being propped up by whoever held her she couldn't say. Her head throbbed in two different places and her neck hurt to move. The world was spinning, spinning, spinning….like it did when she was a little girl and spun in circles until she fell down and let the world keep doing the circles for her. She could see but nothing would stay still long enough for her to really see what was happening.

There was shouting, so much of it. And Stormfly was still screeching somewhere nearby. Hiccup. Where was Hiccup? He'd been on the other side of the island when she last saw him. Where was he now? Was he okay?

Was she okay? Astrid wasn't sure if she was walking or being dragged, but she and whoever had hold of her were moving slowly. She tried to what was going on, who was holding her, where even was she…was she still on Berk? That's where she'd been, right? Or had they left…Thinking hurt. Trying to remember details hurt. Her head was pounding and while part of her understood what was going on, trying to consciously think about it just made the pounding worse. They stopped moving just in time for her legs to give out from the lack of balance.

Astrid tried to focus her eyes on what was happening in front of her, but it was like being drunk and hungover all at once and the world wouldn't stay still long enough, spinning wildly in front of her like scenes in strips of tapestries. Finally a pass revealed a glimpse of Hiccup and Toothless, on the ground nearby with Hiccup dismounted and wielding his fiery sword. Hiccup….they were okay. They would be….why was he on the ground? She squinted, trying to straighten her vision, when the person holding her jerked her up and pulled her hair back, wrenching her neck and sending fresh pain through her whole head.

He said something, whoever was holding her, and she recognized the voice but through the pain could identify neither the voice nor the words. She felt something cold press against her neck. She tried to move and the object bit into her skin. She hissed in pain and closed her eyes. She tried to pull herself together, find herself so she could figure out what was happening and what she needed to do, but closing her eyes only tempted her into slipping into the darkness of unconsciousness. She swayed, the person holding her pulled her back and she pulled open her eyes.

Another familiar voice was saying something. Astrid tried to fix her vision on Hiccup. She made an anchor of his face; trying to hold to that one point while everything else swirled around him. She didn't like the look on his face. She didn't like that expression. That wasn't a good expression…..it wasn't good that she could see his expression. Why wasn't he wearing his helmet? Berk knew by now of course but why would he….the thing bit into the skin of her throat again and she saw his face twist with fear.

…somewhere, in the back of her mind, behind the pain and confusion, she realized what was happening. She couldn't put conscious thought to the fear that made her stomach lurch at that realization, but some part of her understood enough to make her try to call out his name, to try to tell him no, not to do this. Her lips moved wordlessly, the very thought required to try to produce sound sending pain ripping along her skull.

Hiccup looked…apologetic, maybe, as he lowered and extinguished his blade. Toothless roared but Hiccup lifted a hand to stop him, and Astrid watched in confused, uncomprehending terror, as the villagers converged upon him. She tried one last time to force her body into motion, only for the person holding her to pull her back. Her head hit a metal breastplate, and this time, when the inviting darkness tried to pull her down, she didn't have the strength left to fight it.

Xx

Pain and yelling woke her up. Pain caused by the yelling, to be more specific. Astrid blinked up at the wood ceiling and tried to make sense of the vast noise filling the small space.

"You could have killed her!"

"We were actively trying not to kill her, for the last time! All precautions were taken and everything went according to plan! Eret said she was fine when they landed. It was her damn dragon that panicked and knocked her out!"

"Will you two stop yelling?"

Small, cool hands curled under Astrid's braid and prodded gently at her neck. She was laying down, Astrid realized. On a bed, no less. There was a pillow beneath her, and a soft mattress. The small fingers inspected her neck and Astrid winced as they poked at something sore. One of the hands left her neck.

"She says it's not broken, thank Thor, just knocked out of alignment in a bad way."

"The wing hit her at an angle," said a new voice, a softer, less angry voice, from the back of the room. "Snapped her head to the side, probably gave her whiplash like hell. No wonder she's been so dizzy and out of it."

"Gothi says she's dizzy and out of it because she's got a concussion."

"Well, I mean, that too. But ma'am I've seen injuries like that happen to my men before a hundred times. Most make a full recovery in no time."

"You shot my child out of the sky, can you please just shut up?"

"Ma'am, I promise I knew what I was doing and I wouldn't have let her sustain serious injury."

The second small hand returned to her neck. They lifted her head just slightly off the pillow, and Astrid caught a glimpse of a wizened, wrinkly face before those small hands wrenched her head to one side with a crack she could feel all the way down to her toes. Astrid barely had time to recover from the surprise before her head was wrenched the other direction, her neck responding with an even louder pop. When the hands centered and rested her head back on the pillow, Astrid realized the pain at the base of her neck was all but gone and fading quickly. She exhaled, her whole body relaxing and the confusion starting to clear just a little.

"That sounded horrible," said a voice Astrid now recognized as belonging to her mother.

"Bet it felt amazing, though," chirped Gobber's voice. "A pinched nerve in the back of the neck can make you feel all kinds of awful. Gothi's had to fix me up before. Instant relief, that is."

"Hardly does anything for the concussion, though does it," snapped Ingrid.

"Gothi says she'll be okay after some rest, Ingrid. Which is good for many reasons."

"What's that look for?" And there was Stoick. Of course he was here. Of course this was something to do with him.

"I tried talking to him."

"And what did he say?"

"What do you think he said? He said he's not telling us anything until he knows Astrid is alright. He's furious at you."

There was a long moment of silence punctuated only by what Astrid could only blearily assume was Gothi puttering around the room.

"I'll try talking to him."

"After nearly killing his girlfriend? He doesn't even know if she's going to be okay yet, if you go in there I wouldn't be surprised if he actually tries to kill you."

A cold, damp cloth was placed on Astrid's throbbing forehead and she sighed in relief. This bed was so comfortable, and she could feel sleep calling her back.

"She'll be fine, it's just a concussion," Stoick muttered. "I'll try talking to him after he sees that she's alive and well."

Astrid found her arms and made an effort to sit up. The moment her head lifted more than a few inches off the pillow the world started spinning. Small hands pushed her back down and Gothi's wizened finger was suddenly wagging in her face. Astrid relaxed onto the bed. She was so tired, and her head still hurt so much. A hand found the back of her head and lifted it slightly, just enough to bring her lips to a mug of something warm and green and pungent. It tasted bitter but she was too tired to fight it. She drank down as much as she could. Gothi took the liquid away and poked her forehead in a gesture Astrid gathered meant she was supposed to stay put.

Gobber and Stoick were still talking, but their voices were getting farther and farther away. Whatever Gothi had given her, it was certainly helping with the pain, but also quickly putting her to sleep.

This night was already lost, she thought, might as well surrender to sleep as well.

Xx

Light was filtering in to whatever place she was in now and her eyes squeezed tightly shut in a futile effort to keep it out. But consciousness was finally returning, accompanied by a greater degree of lucidity this time, and at last she could think clearly enough to wonder where she was and what had happened. Most of her memory was a blur.

She'd been shot down, Stormfly had knocked her out, Hiccup had…surrendered, maybe? At some point she had been in Gothi's hut, being cared for. Astrid blinked her eyes open and groaned. She tried sitting up and felt her head give a dull throb. It still hurt, but not like it had last night. Last night? She hoped it had only been last night. For all she knew she had been out for days. She groaned again and rubbed at her eyes. The room came into focus. The cell came into focus.

She was sitting on a cot against a wooden wall with a high barred window. The space was maybe ten feet by ten feet. The walls on the left and right were solid wood planks for maybe seven feet, and then three feet of wooden bars which connected to the front wall of the cell, which was all wooden bars in a solid frame. There was a pillow and single blanket on the bed beneath her. To her left was a wooden partition connected to the side wall which ran parallel to the back wall and provided privacy for a chamber pot and water basin. The cot was more comfortable than she would have expected. The size and general nicety of the cell were not standard. This was the kind of cell reserved for high ranking or political prisoners. It had been a long time since it had been used, but she supposed it was some sort of good sign that they had placed her in here, instead of the typical small, dirty cell reserved for the common thief or drunk.

Still. She was in a prison cell. In Berk. Her head throbbed and she groaned again. She reached up to prod gently at the sore spots on her forehead and the back of her head.

"Astrid?" she looked up and saw Hiccup, uninjured, peering at her through the bars that separated her cell from the one to her left.

"Hiccup!" she leapt from the cot, stumbled as she was hit by a sudden bout of dizziness, then tripped her way to the floor in front of Hiccup.

"Careful, careful," he said, his arm reaching through the bars to catch her. "They said you had a concussion. Are you okay? How do you feel?"

Astrid grasped his arms tightly. "I'm alright. Mostly. Head still kind of hurts, but I think I'm okay. What about you? Did they hurt you?"

Hiccup shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

"And the dragons?"

Hiccup winced. "Alive, as far as I know. Last I heard they imprisoned them both in the Kill Ring. Along with three other dragons who tried to protect us when we were captured. Want to guess which three?"

Astrid's eyes closed and she sighed. "Those were the same poor dragons who were trapped on Berk before. Why didn't they fly away?"

"Loyalty," Hiccup answered simply. "Once you gain a dragon's trust, they'll do pretty much anything for you."

Astrid leaned in so she and Hiccup could rest their foreheads together through the bars. "So what all happened?"

Hiccup took a deep breath. "You were shot down," he growled. "Using my machine."

"Your machine?"

"The one I used to shoot down Toothless. The original was destroyed, but they must have found the blueprints and rebuilt it. Nothing else would have provided that accuracy or that range. I shouldn't have left my blueprints here. I shouldn't have let you come with me last night." He shook his head. "Of course my dad wouldn't risk shooting me down, but shooting you down to get my attention? I should have seen that coming. It's not even the first time they tried that plan, and we still fell for it."

Astrid stroked his face. "I don't think they were trying to hurt me when they shot me down. I mean, Stormfly and I landed alright. It wasn't until she hit me in the head with her wing that everything went sideways. And what else could we do last night? The alternative was doing nothing. We took a risk and it ended badly." She sighed. "They told you to surrender or they'd kill me, didn't they?" Hiccup's eyes squeezed shut and he looked pained. He swallowed before nodding and looking at her again. "You should have called their bluff."

"I couldn't have risked it. Even if they didn't kill you they could have still hurt you."

"But without one of us free there is no one to interfere in raids. The smarter thing to do would be to let them keep me, then come back and mount a rescue mission later, like we did with Stormfly."

Hiccup opened his eyes but didn't look at her. He was quiet for a moment, his hands stroking her arms. "Do you remember how hard it was for you to leave Stormfly trapped here? Wondering and worrying if she was okay? If she was even alive?" Astrid's stomach sank.

"Yes," she admitted quietly.

"Then how could you expect me to leave you here?" Astrid sighed in defeat. Leaving her would have been the strategic move, but the head and the heart don't always agree.

"I couldn't have," she said. "Gods know I would have done the same if it were you." She looked around the cells. "So. We're in jail, huh?"

"Yep." Hiccup looked around his cell, which from what she could see was identical to hers. "I helped build these cells, now I'm a prisoner in them." He chuckled dryly. "How times have changed."

"What's going to happen to us?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "After I surrendered my dad wanted to talk to me, but I refused to talk to anyone until I knew you were okay. I don't know what he wants or what they're going to do to us or the dragons."

Astrid pulled herself as close to him as the bars would allow. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together.

Hiccup kissed her forehead. "I'm so sorry, Astrid. I pulled you into this life. All of this is my fault."

Astrid shook her head. "Blame it on the gods, blame it on fate, blame it on destiny or on the village of Berk for bringing us together." She gave him a small smile and lifted the hand on which her wedding band gleamed. "But blame the rest on me for choosing to take on this life with you."

Hiccup smiled and they shared a brief kiss and a long, warm gaze.

"And besides," Astrid said, smiling. "If we had to it couldn't be too hard to break out of here."

Hiccup shrugged. "I don't know. I helped build this jail. It's pretty sturdy."

"There's always the human element. Get some guard to open the door, trick them, knock them out, run."

Hiccup considered this. "Not sure how far we'd get. We'd have to time it pretty well. And be able to get to the dragons and get them free. And then what? Even if we leave, this is never gonna stop."

Astrid thought for a moment, turning the facts of the situation over in her mind. "You're right. But maybe this is a good thing."

Hiccup frowned. "We're in prison. How is that in any way a good thing?"

"Maybe this is an opportunity for you and your dad to finally talk. I mean really, actually, talk." Hiccup opened his mouth to protest but Astrid pushed on. "Not yell at each other and argue like you've done every other time you've interacted, but really talk to each other. Hash it out. Whatever has happened you're still father and son. Maybe if you two could actually sit down and have a real conversation for once we could really get somewhere. Sort this all out, get Berk on a path to peace. Otherwise it's running and fighting forever."

Hiccup did not look pleased by this prospect. "My dad's not great at listening."

"Neither are you when you're angry."

Hiccup squirmed. "Still."

Astrid kissed his hands. "And if all else fails we'll figure out how to escape."

A door opened somewhere in the building. Hiccup pulled back and pushed Astrid gently away, silently instructing her to ready herself. They both backed into their cells, defensive. There was the sound of whistling, and then Gobber came into sight, lumbering down the hallway carrying a ring of keys. He stopped in front of their cells and sighed.

"Astrid, how are you feeling?"

Astrid shrugged. "I'm not dead."

Gobber nodded. "I'm so sorry, lass. You've no idea how hard I tried to talk him out of that. Or how much I did to that contraption to try to keep it from killing you." Gobber sighed, shaking his head. "Stoick hasn't been himself lately. Well, he's not been himself since the day he thought his son died." He looked at Hiccup. "And as you've probably noticed finding out his son is alive and basically a traitor has not helped matters."

"I'm not a traitor," Hiccup said firmly.

Gobber raised his eyebrow. "You hid a dragon from everyone, cheated your way through Dragon Training, disobeyed the orders of your father and your chief, pretended to be dead for five years, and came back saying you were at least partially on our enemy's side. It's arguable." Hiccup glared. "One way or another, boy-o, your dad wants a word."

"I don't want to talk to him," Hiccup snapped.

"Hiccup," Astrid chided, and he looked her way.

"Swear to Thor," Gobber muttered. "So damn similar it's no wonder they could never communicate."

"Just try, Hiccup," Astrid pleaded. "Please?"

Hiccup sighed, his shoulders falling in resignation. "Fine."

Xx

Stoick didn't look up as the prisoner was being escorted into the room. The small chamber off the Great Hall was meant for private diplomatic meetings. He supposed this counted, in a way. It was lit by a single skylight in the ceiling and a few low-burning torches around the perimeter of the room. Stoick stared at his hands resting on the table in front of him as the prisoner took his seat.

He'd finally managed to get some rest, and though he hadn't slept long, he'd slept hard. The exhaustion was still bone deep, but his head felt clearer. He felt more sane than he had in days and already was regretting the decisions he'd made.

But what other options had he had?

After ensuring the prisoner's chains were secured to the chair, Gobber and Hoark left them alone. For a long moment there was no sound in the chamber save the crackling of the torches in their brackets. Stoick took a deep breath and looked up at the young man across from him.

It was the closest, clearest look he'd gotten at the man who bore his son's face and name. Hiccup was watching him with a guarded expression. His eyes were as green as they had ever been, bright and beautiful. More green than his own and more vibrant that Valka's, though the shape of hers. His nose was undeniably his father's, set into a face that bore some of the squareness of his own in his youth, but with Valka's high cheekbones. His thin mouth was his mother's as well. Stoick noticed the old scar was still visible above his chin.

The square jaw was sprinkled with reddish stubble, just enough for a rogueish charm and to distinguish his age. The freckles were all still in the same places.

Older, matured, handsome in the aftermath of puberty, but undeniably Hiccup.

His hair had darkened; still a dark auburn, but the copper had turned to bronze, with flecks of Haddock red visible in the light of the afternoon sun. He had discarded some of his heavier armor and Stoick could see his build more clearly now. Still skinny as ever, but with broad shoulders and chest which seemed to balance his lean form. The things he did on that dragon no doubt required significant core and back strength, as well as powerful thighs. Hiccup got his build from his mother's side of the family, no doubt. Val's father had been built like that. Thin as a rail but made of all lean, corded muscle.

Stoick sighed again and reached for the jug and one of the cups in the center of the table. He poured himself a mug of mead. He reached for the other cup and filled it as well. "Want some?" He asked, pouring a second cup and pushing it towards Hiccup. Hiccup squirmed in his seat and stared at the cup like he didn't trust it.

"Um, no thanks." His voice hadn't changed; save for cracking less, and Stoick wasn't sure if that made things easier or harder.

Stoick took a large gulp of his own mead. "It's not poisoned."

Hiccup was still staring somewhat nervously at the mead. "It's not really poison that I'm worried about."

"Haven't got a taste for it?"

Hiccup half-chuckled. "Not having a taste for it was never my problem." He reached for the mug and paused with his hand around it, his brow creased in thought, before he pushed it as far away from himself as his chains would allow. "Better not," he muttered to himself.

Something Gobber had said picked at the back of his mind. "You had a problem?"

Hiccup's eyes met his, something like surprise at the question. "Uh," he shifted in his seat. "Yeah. Dulled the pain of being an outcast hated by everyone and believed to be dead by people who never cared about me to begin with," he said casually. He cleared his throat. "Sober now, though. But not like it matters." His eyes narrowed. "You didn't bring me here to talk about my drinking problem."

Stoick's lips tightened. He downed the rest of his mead. "You said you'd talk once you knew Astrid was okay. Well, she's safe and sound and recovering just fine. So. Are you finally ready to talk?"

Hiccup's expression instantly hardened into a glare. "You wanna talk? Fine. Let's talk. You could have killed Astrid."

"But we didn't. Gothi says she'll be fine."

"You still tried to kill her."

Stoick sighed and rubbed his head. "We weren't trying to kill her. Gobber modified that contraption of yours to sling bolas with much less force. The plan was to disrupt her flight path enough that the dragon had to land. Her dragon is the one who panicked and knocked her out. Our plan was just to bring her down and capture her."

Hiccup's expression didn't change. "And then threaten to kill her."

Stoick met his eye. "We had to get you to talk."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. The expression was painfully familiar. "If you wanted me to talk you could have accomplished that without shooting down my wife and threatening to kill her in order to capture me."

Stoick frowned. "And how would the conversation have gone if we met under peaceful terms? It would have been more of you telling us to give up and just give the dragons what they came for like you did in that letter?"

Hiccup's mouth twisted into a frustrated snarl. "I wasn't telling you to give up! I was telling you to chill the fuck out, something you clearly haven't figured out how to do yet! I had a plan to deal with the dragon problem, but I needed you to stop killing so many in order for it to have a chance."

"Stop killing them! Stop killing them!" Stoick knocked his chair over as he stood and began pacing back and forth in front of the table. "Stop killing them. We tried that once, Hiccup. Your mother tried that once. You know how that worked out for her."

Hiccup's expression shifted; for a second he looked calmer but conflicted, his brows drawn and his mouth a subtle frown, and for a moment he opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped. He closed his mouth and looked away.

"Mom was one person. It takes more than that to make a difference with something like that. There were too many other people still fighting for her to make a difference. No one wanted to listen to her. You didn't want to listen to her." Hiccup looked up. "You lost her. And you've been blaming the dragons for it ever since. You didn't listen to her. And maybe if you had, things would have changed a long time ago and she'd still be here." Stoick's hands balled into fists. "You lost your chance to listen to her, but you can still listen to me."

Stoick looked at the young man in front of him and tried to see his son. "There's only one way to end this," Stoick said, calm determination in his voice. "By ending the dragons. Maybe you tamed a few injured ones, but there are still thousands out there who don't care how many people burn." He spread his hands on the table and fixed Hiccup with a hard look. "Tell me where the nest is, and let's end this once and for all."

Hiccup shook his head. "I'm not telling you that. I can't tell you that."

"You claim they're being controlled by a queen. That you've seen it. So you've seen the nest."

Hiccup hesitated. "Yes, but-"

"So you know how to get there. Tell me."

"No. I can't. I won't let you risk that many lives."

Stoick leaned forward even more. "Tell me and I give you your freedom. You and Astrid can fly off on your dragons and leave this place forever."

"No."

"If you don't tell me, then you and Astrid will be tried for treason. If convicted, you both face a possible punishment of death."

Hiccup's face fell. "And if I tell you where the nest is, then I sign the death warrant for hundreds of Vikings and dragons. That's not a battle you can win."

Stoick sighed. "So that's a no. A final no. You've chosen your side."

Hiccup sunk into his seat, his eyes falling to his lap. He looked defeated. And yet, he refused to truly surrender. "Yeah. I guess so."

Xx