Another two months later (real time, of course. Not time in the story. I'll let you know about those timeskips when they come up)…and here we are. Time for Hiccup to learn more about this village where he has awoken.

Review Replies:

VictoryD: I'm sorry that it's not quite "soon" but here's the next chapter.

TomBoyBookGirl: I'm sorry that the update was not quicker, but here's the next chapter.

Noctus Fury (anonymous): Actually, this is not the island that Hiccup was supposed to journey to. Recall, that this island has no problems with their dragons. Here's the next chapter.

LuniaWolfe: They didn't swim away because, well, for one thing, Hiccup can't swim. The prosthetic combined with rough waters (not to mention that the waters would be super cold—much too cold to swim safely) would not make for a safe experience. Good question, though!


Chapter 33: Revelations

Hiccup could not believe what he had just heard. "You made peace with the dragons on your island?" He had always thought that he had been the first human to ever bond with and train dragons, but…how long had these villagers been at peace with their dragons? "When?"

The masked woman laughed once again, somehow amused by Hiccup's confusion and curiosity. "It's been quite a while, actually. Almost twenty years."

"Almost twenty years?" Hiccup was floored. Berk had struggled with the war against dragons for centuries and the inhabitants of this island (although, Hiccup was still not quite sure how far away this island was from Berk) had been living in peace with their dragons for a fair amount of time now. In a way, hearing this new information also made Hiccup feel a bit dejected. All this time he had thought he was the first human to bring about peace and an end to the dragon war, but that was far from the truth. "I…I don't understand. How is this possible?"

Hiccup could sense the woman's smile behind her mask. "You're not the first one to show compassion to the dragons. I've led this village for twenty years and, in my spare time, I've taken it upon myself to learn the ways of the dragons that call this island home. You're not the first one to figure out that the key is to place complete trust into the dragons, create bonds with them. It is true. You are not the first to successfully train a dragon."

"I don't understand. You figured all this out and then what? All these years, dragons were raiding islands and there were numerous fights between humans and dragons. You can't tell me that your miracle techniques ended that on this island," Hiccup continued. He had hoped that this woman would give him answers, but everything she said just confused him more.

"No, it did not solve everything. However, those raids stopped recently. Now, it truly is peaceful here on our island."

Of course the raids stopped! Hiccup could feel himself start to grow irritated. All this time while his tribe had been fighting, there were others out there who could've helped to bring about an end to the war! His gaze hardened. "Still, during all those years of raids, you and your villagers knew how to train and bond with dragons. There were villagers out there struggling with the effects of these raids. You all could have helped them. Lives, both humans and dragons, could've been spared. Yet, you kept this all to yourself!"

The woman's mask remained as emotionless as ever and her voice gave no indication of her feelings toward the subject. "I know you feel that what we did was a selfish thing, but we here on this island are not ones to involve ourselves in the affairs of others."

"At the cost of those others' lives?" Hiccup shouted. He was quickly losing patience and that usually didn't happen. It no longer mattered that this village had saved the lives of him and his dragon. How many lives had been lost because of their inactions? Hiccup did not want to spend another moment in this village. Struggling, he tried to rise from the bed, but the woman saw through his plans.

"No, you cannot leave yet! You still need to heal!" Keeping Hiccup in her sights (although, he was not sure of the visibility radius of the mask that she wore), she called for assistance. Someone appeared in the shadows and the masked woman immediately instructed them to bring the healer.

By now, the masked woman was doing her best to hold Hiccup down on the bed. He continued to struggle because he'd rather return to Berk for treatment (although, he had not yet thought about how he would fly away in a hurry with Toothless's tailfin still in shambles) than stay among these people and their heartless leader.

"You need to calm down," the woman instructed, trying to still Hiccup. "You still have lasting effects from your time spent on the island. Until you recover, it is unwise to fly."

"I…don't…care," Hiccup seethed, angered by the resistance and strength this masked chief showed.

The girl who had left to retrieve the healer returned. "The healer has come, Chief Valka," she spoke.

Hiccup's resistance immediately lessened as he was hit with a double shock. First, he recognized the chief's name. He couldn't say for certain where he had heard it, but he was cerain that he had heard it before. Who is she? Second, if he would not have been struggling so much, he would've recognized the girl when she stepped from the shadows. Still, when she spoke, he immediately knew her voice. "H-Heather?" He knew that she recognized him, but she kept silent.

Next, from the shadows, came the village healer. She was short, maybe just a slight bit taller than Gothi. "You called for my assistance, Chief?"

The Chief, Valka, beckoned the healer closer and whispered instructions that Hiccup could not hear. What are they planning? As Valka continued to hold Hiccup down, he watched with interest as the healer mixed a solution of herbs together in a small dish. What is that? Is it some sort of medicine? Within minutes, the healer's work was complete and she stepped closer to Hiccup with the herb mixture.

As the healer approached, Hiccup caught whiffs of the mixture she held; its smell radiating soothing comfort. What is that? Hiccup wondered briefly again, but he refused to ask.

"I'm sorry," the healer spoke softly as she approached, "but you need to relax."

"Uh…what?" Hiccup answered, his speech softly slurring. Hiccup may not know what herbs were in the mixture or what the mixture was supposed to do, but he did know one thing. He felt sluggish and his mind felt clouded. As if from a distance, he felt Valka release him. This was perhaps his only chance to race away from this place, but he couldn't. It felt as though he was weighed down, but he couldn't bring himself to panic about it.

Without resistance, the healer forced Hiccup to drink the herb mixture and it wasn't long before he started to feel tired. There would be no fighting sleep, Hiccup knew, the pull to just close his eyes and drift deep into oblivion was just too strong. He let himself relax and drifted into the sleep that beckoned.


I don't know about you all, but I don't really like this chapter. I'll let you all be the judge, but…I don't know…I just don't think it's the best.

Coming Up Next: Despite all of Astrid's pleadings to not give up hope, Chief Stoick regretfully hears none of them. It's been too long with no sign that Hiccup was alive. It would be a dishonor not to grace Hiccup's name with a Viking funeral.

Thank you all for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky!

Posted: August 13, 2015