Hiccup blinked up at the ceiling. An unfamiliar tingle prickled along his limbs, like the faint buss of static electricity. Somehow he'd skipped over his normal waking-up routine of rolling around and stuffing his face into his pillow and had just opened his eyes.
What happened? He asked himself.
Suddenly, like a jolt of electricity to his brain, the images of his dream seized him. He sat frozen, clutching the blanket beneath him. his eyes scanned the room.
"Toothless!" he cried as he sprang up to a sitting position in his bed.
And straight ahead, laid his dragon. Sleeping peacefully, as if nothing had ever happened last night. Hiccup tossed the covers to the side and hustled over to Toothless. His hands hovered over the Night Fury as it breathed. Nothing seemed to be wrong. No scars. No blood. No bruises.
Hiccup gently petted Toothless' head and the dragon's eyes fluttered awake.
"Oh thank Thor." Hiccup said as he exhaled in one long rush that turned into a laugh at the tail end. But suddenly Toothless sprang up from his bed and roared in fury. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Toothless!" Hiccup said to his dragon.
Toothless' wings were spread open and his teeth were bared. Eyes reduced to think slits. He peered around the room until he found Hiccup sitting by his bed. Toothless jumped down and nuzzled deeply into the crook of Hiccup's shoulder.
"I missed you too, bud. Thank Thor you're okay." He said, and Toothless cooed in reply. "But what happened last night?" Hiccup asked, but he wasn't sure if it was to Toothless or himself. "You saw. You remember, right?" he asks Toothless, and he barks in reply. "Well, I guess it was nothing more than a dream, but how is it possible we had the same dream?" he asks.
Toothless just nudges closer to Hiccup, as if destined to make sure nothing like that happens again. Hiccup gets up from his spot next to the stone bed, and makes his way downstairs with Toothless.
Cold white daylight streamed in through the front-door and skylights. Hiccup managed to find some warm yak milk and a day old cod for Toothless.
Hiccup's lips had barely made contact with the rim of the mug when Gobber came barging in through the door. "Hiccup!" he called.
"Hey! Gobber!" Hiccup said in irritation as the yak milk now tainted his pants. "Hasn't anyone told you to knock?! What, were you raised in a barn?!" Hiccup snaps.
Gobber stands there for a moment, in shock at Hiccup's outburst. He NEVER spoke to anyone like that. Never. Hiccup, realizing what he just said, clamps his hand over his mouth.
"I-I, I'm so sorry Gobber. I don't know where that came from." He apologized.
"Had a rough night I'm assuming?" Gobber asks, not even taking the slightest insult. Hiccup was glad.
"Uh, I guess." He stammers. He ruffles his fingers in his hair as Toothless licks up the remaining milk from the wooden floor. "So what's up? Did you need something?"
"Actually, your father sent me to get you." He says.
Hiccup's head perks up. "What's up?" he asks, suddenly intrigued.
"The village was robbed last night. Your father wants everyone in the Great Hall."
Hiccup's heart stopped and he bolted for the door, leaving Toothless and Gobber in his wake. Gobber calls his name, but Hiccup was too focused on getting to the Great Hall.
He bounded the steps and yanked open one of the ginormous double door. He slows to a trot and stops a few feet away from the fire pit in the epicenter of the Hall. His father stood at the head while other intimidating Vikings bordered behind and around the pit. Hiccup's heart sank when he saw Astrid next to his father. That could only mean one thing.
She was the witness.
The only silver lining Hiccup could find was that she didn't seem scared, but more rather on edge. Astrid's not one to scare easily.
"Astrid!" he called and he mounted the steps and joined her at his father's side.
He didn't know why, but he felt the strange need to hug her. So he did. She didn't protest, in fact, she even hugged him back.
"Glad you could join us son." Stoick said as he gestured Hiccup to his seat next to him.
Gobber came up behind Astrid as Hiccup sat down. His cheeks a fair pink, nose running and huffing and puffing breath. "Gods Hiccup. Those skinny legs of yours sure can carry you I you have the energy."
"Sorry Gobber." Hiccup replies as he sits down next to his father.
Stoick calls the meeting into order and the men gather around. Those who couldn't find a spot around the pit took seats on the many available wooden tables scattering around the Hall. "Now, Astrid, tell us what you saw last night."
Astrid stood up, surprising Hiccup with her confidence. "I was feeding Stormfly for the night, and as I was giving her the last one, I saw someone move out of the corner of my eye."
Hiccup leans on the edge of the pit as Astrid went on. "He was quick and fast. His entire cloak was pitch black. And he didn't even make a sound, he was so stealthy. He hopped on some of the barrels and then the roof, and then was gone." She finished.
"Gobber?" Stoick called as he switched from witness to witness.
Gobber gets up and reaches into his brown leather vest and pulled out the dagger. "We recovered this from the scene. It's very new and well carved, and in the right or wrong hands, can be very lethal." Gobber explained as he held the knife high enough for everyone to see.
Hiccup leaned forward to get a better view. It was a very lethal looking thing. A straight-edge blade made from strong surgical stainless steel. The wood and brass handle add strength and a comfortable grip while you cut, and the full tang construction offers strength and durability.
Whoever it belonged to sure had experience at knife throwing.
"We asked the owners of the home if they heard anything. They said they didn't hear anything but a quiet tap. Thought it was just rain." Gobber says.
"That's another thing!" Astrid interjects. "The guy was so quiet. He barely made a sound."
"Then of course a family came to us and said something was stolen and here we are." Gobber finishes.
"What was stolen?" Hiccup asks, joining in the conversation.
Astrid stands aside as Fishlegs walks up, cradling the Book of Dragons in his hands. Hiccup's heart sped up and bolts from his seat to Fishlegs. He stops at the head of the stairs and Fishlegs, almost on the verge of tears, holds up the book.
Hiccup flipped through it, it seemed fine, but when he reached a certain page, he stopped. The pages containing information of the Changewing were gone.
Ripped out with merciless force. Leaving nothing behind but the end result of spiked paper and small bits of parchment scattered all along the next page which was about a Whispering Death.
"So, do we have any leads on who it is?" Hiccup asks.
"Not yet." His father replied. "But we'll keep looking. The only thing we know for sure is that they were looking for information on the Changewing."
Fishlegs sniffles. "Oh hey it's okay Fishlegs. We can do it again." Hiccup promises to the boy who's passion is dragons.
"It's not that, Hiccup." Fishlegs says as he wipes his eye.
"What?"
"I just feel bad for you." he says, causing Hiccup to reply with a confused look. "I mean, all of your hard work, ripped away. You worked so hard on all of these pastures. I just feel bad."
Hiccup smiles gently. He places a hand on Fishlegs shoulder. "It's okay Fishlegs. I can do more. Besides, m drawing skills have gotten better. I was going to do some modifications anyway." Hiccup says nonchalantly in an attempt to calm Fishlegs.
Fishlegs smiles and wipes his eye again. "All right. That concludes this meeting." Stoick says as Hiccup dismounted the steps. "Everyone keep a sharp eye out for anything or anyone suspicious."
With that everyone began to file out. Hiccup was just about to reach out for the brass handle, when he suddenly remembered. He jogged over to his father who was conversing with Spitelout. Once he was finished, he turned his attention to Hiccup.
"What's wrong Hiccup?" he asks.
Hiccup tried to swallow away the icy lump that formed in his throat. "D-dad," he stutters.
"Yes, son? Are you alright?" he asks, placing a steady hand on Hiccup's shoulder.
"Did I . . . what happened to me last night?" Hiccup asks.
Stoick's face flooded with relief at his question. He rose and pondered his thoughts for a minute. Stroking his crusty braided beard. "I remember you and toothless went into the woods after Gobber's training session in the Academy."
"Right. Anything else?" Hiccup urges on as Toothless walks up to his side.
"Well when it got late, Tornado and I went looking for you. We found you two by the flowers near the cliffside." His father concluded.
"Anything else?" Hiccup urged on. Hoping his father would say something to verify what he and Toothless both experienced last night.
"Nope. Nothing. You two were just passed out peacefully in the flowers. Guess Gobber went too hard on you now huh?" his father said with a laugh.
Rage and fury enveloped Hiccup. He wasn't sure what was more irritating. That fact that he was found sleeping, and unharmed. Or the word peacefully. The one word that was the very opposite of what he had witnessed. The one word that made it seem like it was nothing more than a rough day, when really, it was hell.
He was attacked! He knew he was. And Toothless was a witness. There's no way what he saw, what he felt was just a dream.
"No!" Hiccup screamed in fury. It echoing through the highly acoustic Hall. Eyes darted to him and his father, but Hiccup didn't care. "That's not what happened! I was attacked! I was attacked! Toothless was tied up and dragged off! I saw it! I saw everything!" he yells.
What was wrong with him? Was he going crazy?
Was it really just a dream?
The only thing keeping Hiccup rigid was the fact that Toothless witnessed and felt the pain and fear too.
"Hiccup?"
Hiccup looks up and sees his father's eyes, filled with worry. Filled with concern to help his son. His son whom he probably now thinks has gone mad. He extends a hand. Hiccup drew, back, his arms huddled against his body, his fists balled into tight knots beneath his chin. He could feel himself shaking.
This couldn't be for real, he thought. This couldn't be happening.
Hiccup's eyes blurred, tears were coming. He tried to choke back the sob, but they were overpowering. He began to get his own little dose of hiccups. He looked around, eyes still glued to him. His father still holding a hand of comfort.
Hiccup whirled around and bolted for the door. He heard his father call his name, but he busted though the doors and ran down the steps. Tears streaming down his cheeks, nose starting to congest. Toothless, a few paces ahead of him, came in close to his side, and as if by instinct, Hiccup hopped aboard and the two flew away from the deceiving eyes.
They landed in the Cove, where Hiccup walked his way toward a weeping willow. His throat flapped in and out like a frog as he choked away the sobs. It was difficult since he could feel himself falling apart with every croak.
Like each one was sending a fissure through his body. Tearing through his body until he completely shatter into a millions pieces. His sobbing goes on for, he doesn't know how long. But by the time he's done, his nose it stuffed and red. Eyes dry to the point where no amount of blinking can rehydrate them, and his face tingling from the tears.
He buries his head into his arms that rest on his knees. After a few more minutes, he feels a nudge that lifts his elbow, letting in daylight for the shortest amount of time. He doesn't need to know who it is.
Hiccup lifts his head. "What's wrong with me Toothless?" he asks.
He wipes his eyes with the heels of his hands. Toothless' eyes furrowed into a worried look, a frown adorning his scaly dry lips. He coos to his owner, comforting him in the only way he can. Toothless tires to smile to cheer Hiccup up, but before he could even finish, Hiccup lowers his head back into the fabric of his sleeves.
Toothless sighs through his nose and gets up and circles hiccup a few times before settling down next to his owner. His poor, broken owner. He opens his wing and Hiccup naturally scoots back until his back is pressed against the scaly texture that it Toothless.
The dragon lowers his wing and Hiccup wipes away a tear on his cheek. "Am I going mad?" he asks the dragon.
Toothless looks and coos once more. Hiccup bats his emerald green eyes and nestles back into Toothless' shoulder. He'd never felt so alone, and so grateful all at the same time. Hiccup rolls to his side, he feels Toothless' breath from his nose braise through his hair. Blowing it out of his face.
The feeling of Toothless' forked tongue gently lick away a tear brings the most comfort Hiccup's felt. He relaxes his body as Toothless' wing blocking the sun mimics the night.
The last thing Hiccup hears is a gentle hiss before dozing off.