Hiccup stayed awake that night, afraid to go to sleep. He lied awake in his bed, the moonlight gazing down on his bed. Toothless lying on guard, but sleeping soundly. Hiccup pulled down his sleeve to reveal the mark that had long stopped glowing at midnight.
N.
What could it mean?
Hiccup traced his fingers along the letter. The indentation his current concern. What as he to do? What could the letter mean? Hiccup only sighed as he rolled to his side and pulled the cover above his head.
He didn't want to sleep tonight, but he had to. He'd have to face him sooner or later. Hiccup looked up at his headboard, and stared at the shadows adorning the little stuffed Nadder. Hiccup reached up and cradled the dragon in his hand.
He stared at it, angled it to the side, then the other. Then he smiled as he brought the stuffed dragon close to his chest and snuggled down into the quilt. He closed his eyes.
This only night, was the one night Hiccup felt like he slept well. He felt protected.
He was back in the woods, but this time, it was a completely different world. There was sunlight, green leaves covered every inch of the once skeletal remains of the trees. Sunlight polluted every spec, every nook of the land. Green grass tickled Hiccup's bare feet as he walked in a field of wildflowers.
A cool breeze brushed his hair out of his face. Gentle compared to the vengeful gales that thrashed his face that night with Hadrian. Hiccup brushed his bangs out of his face was he looked out. There was the cliff that Hiccup would recognize anywhere. Beautiful blooms of white, yellow, violet, and pink cover every inch of it.
Hiccup dares himself to walk closer and sees imprints of a foot and a flat metal one. Hiccup places his prostatic leg, and it's a perfect fit. Hiccup backs up and the sound of fluttering wings startles him. He looks and sees a white dove fluttering from the grass on the hill. It hovers in the air for a brief second before flying around a large oak.
Following its trail Hiccup jogs over to the tree and watches as it leads two more down the hill and into a valley. As Hiccup follows, more and more continue to join the flock. Hiccup tries to think of why he would dream of white doves. He remembered something about it in school.
White doves represent purity.
Hiccup couldn't help but laugh since his dreamland had been deeply poisoned by the cruelty that is Hadrian. As he followed the doves, suddenly, he came to an abrupt stop. He came upon an entire flock of them. Thousands of birds just sitting on the grass. They suddenly scatter and a single bird flies over to a weeping willow.
Following it, Hiccup sees natural stares embedded in the sides. Like they were growing out from the side. The veil of vines was parted by several braches. Suddenly Hiccup sees a white outline. The minute the dove landed on her hand, a strange ripple washed over her body and it's like she became real. Physically real. Her hair in two separate Viking-styles braids, her tunic covered by her breastplate and a skirt stopping just below her knees. She peered down at Hiccup.
"Mom?" he whispered.
But then she started walking away.
"Wait!" Hiccup called.
Hiccup ran towards the tree and up the steps. Dandelion seeds scattered from their buds and rode the winds as his feet disturbed their position. Vines substituted as a railing as Hiccup struggled to rush up.
He needed to see her.
Hiccup had just reached the top of the tree when he saw her standing there. She was about to take another step when he called.
"No wait! Please." He begged. And she stopped, but she didn't turn around. "Mother, please help me."
She was quiet for a moment. Still petting the dove. "I will always be there for you my child." She slowly turns. "But help, I'm afraid I cannot give."
"He's back. And he's become more powerful than ever. You have to tell me how to stop him." Hiccup said.
"Nothing can be done. The promise of his birth was absolute." She says in a calm voice, but her face was sadness and concern.
"I don't believe you. There has to be a way." Hiccup says as he walks closer.
The feeling protection felt so well. Under the protection of his mother, and her light, made all his problems deteriorate so he could think clearly.
"I don't want him inside me." Hiccup pleaded. "I don't want him hurting anyone I care about. He threatens to drive me to the point where I might even free him."
His mother dismisses the dove and it flies off into the horizon. She walks closer and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. The softness and gentleness of her gesture was something Hiccup rarely experienced and was close to even forgetting.
Hiccup's eyes cloud with tears and he pushes himself into his mother. He wraps his arms around her torso and buries his face into her stomach. She smelt of vanilla and cinnamon. He sniffles as he feels her stroke his hair in a comforting motion.
"I don't want to help him." he muffles into her tunic. He turns his head, resting his cheek. "I'm . . . afraid of him."
"There, there my child. You will find a way." She coos to him. "You always do."
Hiccup clutches fistfuls of her tunic as he tries to choke back sobs.
"I miss you mom." He cries. "I feel so, alone."
"You forever had the love of your people, Hiccup. Even after knowing what you had become, and what that will bring." She tells. "But you must know, the one person who can stop him, is you."
Hiccup looks up to her she smiles and cups his head, wiping away tears with her thumbs.
"But how can I stop him?" Hiccup asks. "I'm afraid of him. And he controls this entire place."
"In your mind, Hiccup, you can take control." She says.
"But how does he do it so easily?" Hiccup asks.
"You must learn to control within your dreams, Hiccup. Only then will you be able to stop Hadrian." She says.
"Oh great, more riddles." He sarcastically says.
His mother only laughs and kisses his forehead. "You'll find a way, Hiccup. After all you got our smarts from me."
"Not Dad?" Hiccup asks with an amused smile.
"You think the man who's as stubborn as a bull is smart enough to figure out half the things you do?" she asks laughing.
Hiccup laughs as he gives his mother a hug. Then, chills crawl up his spine, Hiccup's palms begin to sweat. Hiccup pushes off his mother and looks around. Hushed whispers echo in the valley. The grass slowly rots into a sickly brown. The weeping willow's vines fall off the branches and fade into ash that gets lost in the breeze.
"You need to go Hiccup." His mother tells.
"I would if I knew how." Hiccup said walking in a circle. Looking for him.
"You need to learn how to control your dreams." His mother's voice began to fade.
"Mom?" he turns and finds his mother, vanishing. "Mom!"
"Find a way Hiccup." And then with a simple blow of a gust, she was gone.
"Mom!"
"What a pity." He said, and Hiccup froze. "So sorry she had to leave so soon."
Hiccup turned and he materialized out of the suddenly fog that crawled in. behind him, the skeletal remains of the forest are in view.
"You're like a disease." Hiccup spit.
"You're making this much more difficult than this needs to be." Hadrian says.
"You're driving me crazy!" Hiccup shouts.
"I know, that's the point." Hadrian snickers. "You're the only one who can see me. If you want to prove to everyone else that I'm real, then set me free."
"Never gonna happen. I'd rather lose my insanity then set you free. Having you spread you virus everywhere." Hiccup argued.
Hadrian only replies with his mocking laughter. "You really are a stupid boy. You clearly don't know the limits and measures I'm willing to go to in order to free myself from this place."
"You sound like Snotlout. Not stopping until you get what you want."
"I'm nothing like that insect. I'm much more impulsive." Hadrian smirks. "But I have to admit Hiccup. All that time dwelling in your mind, and yet I had no idea that you housed such dark secrets."
"What are you talking about?" he asks.
"Things in your mind that not even you knew were there. Secrets. Dark secrets. And it's these things that'll help me break free and reclaim what it rightfully mine."
"My body was never yours. It's nothing but a housing space for you. And I will remove you." Hiccup promises.
"I'm amazed how close-minded you are, Hiccup. You have so much more going for you." Hadrian says.
"What?"
"The way I will break free is through you. You're not just a person, you're my portal."
Then Hadrian zips to Hiccup and grabs his biceps and the familiar torturous burning happens again. Hiccup screams as the pain lasts longer than before; and by the time it was done, Hiccup dropped to the grass of ash.
He pushed himself on his numb arms and finds two more burn marks. On his right arm, and A was burned with the N from before. And on his left, and I was etched into the skin. What could all this mean?
"Today, is the day it begins." Hadrian says. "You knew this had to be coming. It is going to happen." Hadrian grabs Hiccup's arms again, but just holds him there. His lips draw close to Hiccup's ear. Hiccup clenches his eyes shut and grits his teeth. "And no matter what you wish, no matter where you go, no matter how you squirm. There is nothing you can do, to stop it."
Hiccup eyes burst open and he screams before slamming the crown of his head into Hadrian's nose and pushing himself away. Hiccup bolts off running down deeper into the valley and doesn't dare himself to look back.
There's no place to hide. All the trees are dead and there are no caves that Hiccup can see. Maybe he could try and imagine one. Hiccup closed his eyes and just thought, Cave, cave, cave! Hiccup opened his eyes and didn't see anything.
But suddenly out of the mist a fist came and plowed into his face. Hiccup bolted back and tumbled through the dirt until he came to a brutal stop by Hadrian's foot. Hiccup felt the air leave his body and he curled into a ball as he tried to wheeze air back into his lungs. Hiccup looked out ahead and saw a small pool of water. Hadrian materialized behind him.
"I won't wait forever, Hiccup." Hadrian declared. "You can't run away from me."
"I can try!" Hiccup yelled.
And suddenly, two heavy pieces of the ground rose up and enclosed on Hadrian. Hiccup watched as the sides stretched across one another, enclosing him in. vines from the ground rose up and stretched and wound around the two boulder-like pieces and Hiccup stared in 'aw' as thorns poked out like the spines on a Nadder's tail.
"How did I . . ." Hiccup whispered to himself, but the question disintegrated in his mouth.
Hiccup? Someone called.
Hiccup's head jerked from side to side, looking for its origin. There was only the gray skies and charcoal black clouds.
Hiccup? It repeated.
Hiccup turned back as the boulder exploded in a cloud of smoke and dry dirt. Hadrian looked to him in shock. He was slightly breathless. Hiccup had only stared into his eyes as a knife of blue lighting cut into the sky and in a flash, Hiccup was back in bed.
He screamed as he thrusted forward, his face dripping with sweat. He was shaking and his thighs were moist with perspiration. His heart rate scared him as he placed his hand over his chest. He swallowed thickly as he tried to calm down. The quilt trembled as Hiccup's legs struggled to find their range of motion.
Hiccup felt the drops of sweat trickle down his forehead to the ridge of his nose and across his cheek. He closed his eyes as the realization of him being back, safe and sound his room settled in. His hand rested in the nape of his neck. Toothless was gone and Hiccup remembered he scheduled an early appointment with Gobber.
"Hiccup?" someone called and Hiccup startled.
"Astrid?" he called.
"Are you up there?" she asked. "Your dad sent me saying he needs you at the docks in a little while."
"Okay." He replied.
"Are you okay?" she asks and Hiccup could hear her footsteps bounding up the steps.
"No! Don't come in here!" he screams and he hears her tracks halt.
"Why?"
"Because, I'm, not decent." He lied.
"Oh, okay." She replied and her steps deteriorated. "I'll see you back at the deck."
Once Hiccup heard his front door shut, he released a heavy breath. He pushed aside the covers and found the stuffed Nadder kicked to the foot of the bed. He cautiously picked it up and tentatively placed it back in the circle out cut of his headboard.
It didn't take until a breeze cut through the skylight in his roof that Hiccup realized he really wasn't decent. His shirt was off. He looked all around and saw it lying in the middle of the floor between his and Toothless' bed.
Hiccup approached it, but when he picked it up, it burned him. Hiccup dropped it and flinched back clutching his hand. It had steam coming off of it from the burn. And yet it didn't set the wooden floor on fire. Hiccup gazed at his shirt and saw it had holes in the upper bicep.
His heart stopped. He rushed down to the bathroom below and looked into the reflective surface of the metal propped on a wooden board. Hiccup nearly broke down crying when he saw the marks burned into his skin.
"No." Hiccup whispered. He dropped to his knees and began to cry.
He made himself stop after the first few tears. He can't break, not yet. That's what Hadrian wants. And besides, Hiccup needed to meet everyone at the docks. And will not show up with evidence of his weak will.
Hiccup stood up and wipes his eyes and cleared his throat. He wipes his face and decided to just suck it up. He washed his face and his hands and looked again in the mirror. How was he supposed to cover these up? His one tunic was destroyed, and he didn't have another one.
Fine. He'll just have to compromise. He ran back up to his room and pried open his closet. He found the cloak Gobber gave to him last year for Snoggletog. It was summer months so it would look suspicious, but Hiccup needed to do it in order to keep the secret. The only silver lining is that the marks weren't glowing like before.
Hiccup pulls on the cloak and leaves the house. After speed walking down to the docks, Hiccup managed to find his father and Gobber waiting. He snaked his way through the small crowd and tried to avoid getting noticed by his friends.
He managed to walk up to his father, but it was Astrid's call that made him realize he was standing next to him.
"Hiccup! There you are." She says as she strolls up. "Feeling better?"
"I guess." He answers.
"Well, that's an interesting get up." Gobber said.
Stoick turns and Astrid looks at him and Hiccup can feel his cheeks bloom red.
"Are you alright son?" Stoick asks.
"I, I'm fine. I think I'm just coming down with a bug." He said.
"Well, you certainly don't look to good without guest. But then again this could be an improvement." Snotlout suddenly interjects.
"Snotlout . . ." Astrid says in a warning tone.
Snotlout simply rolls his eyes and pays attention to the oncoming boat.
"So who are we waiting for?" Hiccup asks.
"A visitor." His father replies.
"Well, that I know." Hiccup said sarcastically. "But who?"
But just as Hiccup asked, the boat had docked. The moment the first passenger stepped off the ship, Hiccup's heart fluttered. There standing before him was the girl who's beauty was beyond compare. Raven locks of charcoal hair, iris skin, and eyes of emerald green.
Her hair pulled over one shoulder and braided down. The patches on her tunic and the little horn carrier strapped to her waist. When she looked to Hiccup, she smiled. Like a breath of spring. Stoick gave Hiccup a slight shove forward of encouragement.
"Hey Hiccup." Her voice was soft like summer rain.
"Hey Heather."