A/N: Yay! Another update! Surprised, weren't you? Term ends in a few weeks, and hopefully I'll finish this thing up soon.

I need to give a warning for a bit stronger of language in this chapter than I usually put out in my fics – just one word, maybe two. But just so you know!

((I should probably apologize in advance because reasons but I won't))

Looking back on it, Astrid really didn't know why they'd even bothered.

They didn't know the layout of the ship. They didn't know how many guards were on board. They had no idea where Hiccup was. They were three idiotic rescuers plunging headlong into enemy territory, blinded by fear for another.

They were captured within ten minutes of being on board.

It was the metal lining of the ship that proved to be their downfall. Walking stealthily on a ship on a quiet sea is hard enough, walking stealthily on a deck covered in loud, echoing metal is nearly impossible. When the guards came for them, Stoick and Astrid put up a valiant fight. Toothless was pretty useless in the fray. Although he did put in a good punch at one point, he took too long to be surprised at himself and fell to his attacker shortly thereafter. It took three men to take down Astrid, and half a dozen to restrain Stoick. But eventually, all three were disarmed, bound, and dragged below deck. Just before the hatch shut over them, Astrid glanced up at the dark night sky. She only saw Ru because she knew to expect him here. His outline, only just darker than the clouds behind him, remained in its place. She wondered what he would do, what he could do.

What in the world had they gotten themselves into?

Once below deck, they took the three immediately to a large room that may have been the galley, although it was hard to tell. Most rooms in the ship appeared about the same, only this one had many long tables bolted to the ground. Shortly after they arrived, a man burst into the room, surly, mad, and apparently in charge. When he saw Stoick, after a flicker of surprise, he smiled slowly.

"Stoick the Vast," He said, surprised, and not quite laughing, "Stoick the Vast? Chief of the Hooligan tribe? Mighty leader of Berk, leveler of the seas, dragon's bane? He comes alone to retrieve his son? Ha!" Lech let out a bark of laughter, and looked around. "I'm almost insulted, I am. I was expecting Berk itself to follow me out here - I've heard how you dote on that boy – and your only son!" He waved his hand incredulously. "Oooh, Stoick," Lech drew out, coming over to drape and arm across one of Stoick's massive shoulders (his arm wasn't long enough to reach the entire way) "I'm disappointed, you know."

"What have you done with him?" Stoick growled.

"What, with your scrawny brat? Well," Lech shrugged casually, slinking off Stoick's shoulder, "we have a sort of… arrangement, you see. He'll be a valuable employee, once I break that stubborn streak of his. But we're not here to talk about him, Stoick, after all, you're here now, and what on earth are we going to do with you?" Suddenly, a thought struck, and Lech looked around. "How did you get here, anyway?" He squinted thoughtfully, and turned and said something to a thug standing nearby. The man snapped to attention, nodded, and left. Lech tutted his tongue and turned back to his guests. "I've told them to guard the port ladder, apparently they weren't listening," He said sourly. "It's no matter if you took a boat or swam all the way – wouldn't put it past you lot, although you look awfully dry for swimming. You didn't take your dragons here, did you?" He squinted at them, and ordered another guard to search above deck. "Hmmph. Find 'em, if you did," He said, glancing them up and down. "But the fact is, you're here, and what shall we do with you?" He paced in front of the captives, fingering the sword that hung at his belt. "I'm not a man of blood, truly." He shrugged in mock modesty, "I'm a lover, not a fighter. But my love for you extends only to gold, see. So, Stoick, you're in luck. After I hit the continental market, let your people mourn their chief a bit, I'll think I'll ransom you back. A Viking chief can turn a handsome profit, can't he?" He smiled as if this were supposed to make Stoick feel better, and turned to Astrid.

"And you are…?" He asked. Astrid looked like she wanted to spit on him, but didn't. She tilted up her head fiercely, determined to say nothing. "Oh, no, let me guess," Lech smiled, pretending to pick his brain. "Hofferson… Astrid, was it? The dear Hiccup's beloved girlfriend." He glanced her up and down in a horrible way. "Can't imagine how he got you," Lech reached out and brushed his fingers along Astrid's jaw. He couldn't know it, but he was a hairsbreadth away from losing those fingers. If there weren't armed guards standing all around them, Astrid would've loved to bite them right off his hand. Stoick was practically shaking with rage. "Not really valuable in gold," Lech said, almost to himself, "But you're valuable to Hiccup, and he's a stubborn bastard. Some leverage might come in useful. Hmmm," he hummed, looking at her again, "or maybe I'll just keep you." Bonds or no, Stoick almost did attack him, then.

Now, he came to Toothless, and the smugness washed from his face. Here was a wildcard.

"And you," Lech eyed Toothless, "who are you?" He glanced back at Stoick and Astrid, who'd remained resiliently silent throughout the interchange. "The great Dragon Tamer draws his father and his lover to his rescue, but who are you?"

Toothless held his tongue. Stoick managed to not look over at the boy, but Astrid couldn't help herself, glancing nervously out of the corner of her eye. Lech saw the look and squinted. "What is your name?"

Astrid and Stoick held their breath, but Toothless didn't hesitate. "Æðelin," he said. Stoick and Astrid both frowned in surprise - surprise that did not go unnoticed.

"Æðelin," sneered Lech, eying the tense Vikings to his side, "And who gave you that name?"

"My mother and father, when I was born." Toothless answered easily. It wasn't a lie.

"It's not a Norse name," said Lech.

"It's Celtic," Toothless improvised. Hiccup hadn't been the only one learning about his brother's world.

"Hmmm," Lech peered up in Toothless' face, nose nearly brushing against the man's cheek. "Hair's dark enough for it, anyway. And what business does a Celt have on Berk, gallivanting off to save the hope and heir of the Hooligan tribe?"

His questions were getting more ridiculous, more intrusive. But this was Lech's ship. He was in charge, and the Vikings had no way to challenge him. Now, Toothless was scrabbling for an answer.

"I am the Haddocks' slave." He said uncertainly.

"Hooligans don't keep slaves," Lech glared, eyes icy daggers.

"A bond slave; Hiccup saved my life, I am indebted to him."

"How did he save your life?" Lech was right in his face, now, and Toothless took an involuntary step back.

"He... Freed me."

"From who?"

"The- um, dragon."

"Dragon?" Lech laughed, "a Celt, enslaved by a dragon? You expect me to believe that?"

"I-yes,"

"What dragon?"

"Wh- the Qu-, um, a... Big dragon," he was beginning to sound nervous.

"And how did you become enslaved to this big dragon?"

"I... She... She drew me in... imprisoned me,"

"She?" Lech laughed, "got personal, did we?"

"I-I, ehr-"

Lech snatched out a hand and seized Toothless' collar, his face transforming into a snarl. "You're hiding something boy, spit it out!"

Toothless sputtered and glanced helplessly at Astrid. "I- didn't – I'm not, I'm,"

Astrid would regret her outburst for weeks. "Toothless, don't!"

Lech's head snapped over to her, his eyes piercing like a hawk on a distant meal. "Toothless...?" He hissed, and glanced at Stoick, who'd closed his eyes in regret. Silence fell on the room like an axe. "Toothless?" He said again, sharper, turning back to Toothless. Slowly, accusingly, Lech said, "…Toothless is the name of his dragon."

Toothless squared his shoulders, trying to be brave. "Yes," he said, "it is."

Lech's eyes squinted hard, flaring for a moment in mad interest.

"Are you?" He said, voice very low, "a dragon?"

"That would be impossible," Toothless said, trying to put feeling behind it.

"No," Lech said, hungrily, "only very, very improbable." He stared into Toothless' eyes, searching, predatory. "How long?" He asked softly. Nonplussed, Toothless didn't reply. Like lightning, Lech's hand shot out and wrapped around Toothless' throat, choking the breath out of him. "How long?" He demanded again, teeth bared. Toothless' eyes widened in terror, his mouth forming gross noises around the tongue that was gagging and choking him. Lech laughed. "Not long enough to learn the frailty of our bodies, I see." he growled spitefully, and clamped down harder, shaking. "How long?!" He yelled.

Toothless scratched at the hand around his neck, gasping and red-faced. "Six... Six months," he choked out.

"How?"

"I….I don't….. know," Toothless' face was red, lips darkening. "Jus… wokeu' li' thus," he struggled. Lech let go, and Toothless fell to the floor, clutching his throat and coughing painfully.

"Six months!" Lech laughed, almost in disbelief. "Just woke up like this! So you are a dragon, a dragon, in a human body?"

Toothless, still coughing on the floor, could not answer, but glared up at Lech with all the bitterness and rage he could muster behind his tortured breathing. Lech was staring at him like man stares at a rare jewel lodged in the bedrock. "I have heard… whispers. Legends. I never believed that they would be true." Lech bent down and grabbed Toothless by the face, turning his chin this way and that, scrutinizing like a buyer inspects a prize racehorse. "And I have heard of you – Toothless – the last Night Fury of Berk." Slowly, Lech began to laugh. It was not the sort of laugh you would hear after a good joke; It was a laugh fueled from within, borne of greed, and malice, and a hint of something mad. "A very pretty penny you will make for me, Toothless. The Romans have never had a dragon gladiator before. The Arabs would hear you as a prophet – the Eastlanders would all but worship you. All for a price. And oh, what a price." He smiled, dropped Toothless' face, and stood. After a long moment staring greedily at his new prize, he said something to the guards. They took Toothless by either side and dragged him away.

Astrid wanted nothing more than to scream, to rip of her bonds and challenge this man to a death duel, to rip off his hands and skewer his heart for the insults he'd dealt her and her family. But Stoick's silence stopped her. Stoick was not a man to hold his peace when he'd been insulted. In fact, Astrid had never seen him stay quiet under pressure ever in her life. So when Stoick said nothing, and stood as stock still as a statue, Astrid was so surprised that she made herself follow suit.

With Toothless gone, Lech looked suddenly bored. He glanced at the Vikings, grimacing. He grunted something else at the remaining goonies, and they seized Astrid and Stoick from behind. "I'll deal with you two later," he told them, "Or else find some other use for you in the meantime." With that, the Viking chief and shieldmaiden were dragged from the room, deep into the dark hold of the metal ship.

Hiccup had been picking his brain for ideas for hours, now. He had no idea what to do. He was supposed to tame these dragons, but he knew he couldn't offend the dragons like that without being eaten. He couldn't turn the dragon's against Lech, or Lech would kill him. He couldn't stage pseudo-taming because the dragons would not all cooperate with him. In fact, the dragons were being no help whatsoever. They'd agreed not to kill, maim, or eat him, but they remained cold and hostile in a 'not-killing-you-yet' sort of way.

One of the younger dragons, a more docile gronkle, had been the only one who actually spoke with Hiccup the entire time. He'd explained that the dragon who'd threatened to eat him earlier was a nadder who'd been tortured and starved to the point of insanity. He ought not to blame her, although stay away from her. There was also two monstrous nightmares, some continental nadders, something called a whiptail (this one was a baby), some changlings, a juvenile timberjack, three other gronkles, and of course the night fury.

Hiccup couldn't stop looking at the fury. It was so tall. Similar proportions to Toothless, only… bigger. He couldn't see any details about it in the dim light, just the glowing, piercing yellow-green eyes that watched him like Toothless had in the earliest days. But these eyes were older and wilder. Hiccup could not tell if the dragon was angry with him, or curious. He tried not to stare for too long.

According to the gronkle, they were being kept in the huge cell all together because the ship was running low on space. A few of the dragons had been moved from smaller cells in order to give more dangerous or larger dragons space in the single rooms. Here, the newest captures were lumped into a huge cell normally meant for the monster-sized dragons. It was a huge space, tall and wide, all metal and chains and only a small grate at the top for air. Hiccup's sighs echoed off the walls as he tried to think how in Valhalla he was supposed to get himself out of this one.

"Do you hear that?" Hissed one of the changlings, "A redblood comes this way!"

"Three redbloods," said another – one of the nadders? "They drag something – someone with them."

Hiccup turned on the spot, preparing himself for another angry dragon to tumble into the cell. The guards outside fumbled with the lock, and the door creaked open. A form shot into the room and fell to the ground. But this one wasn't a dragon at all – it was a human figure sprawled out on the ground. But not just any human.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried, jumping forward to help his friend up.

"Owww," Toothless moaned, rubbing where his knees had hit the floor.

"Toothless, what are you doing here? What happened?"

"Come to rescue you, of course."

Hiccup chuckled. "Fine job of it, so far." Toothless grimaced. "Just you?"

"No. Your father and Astrid too."

Hiccup's face fell. "Are they…?"

"Not hurt, if that's what you mean. Just captured. It was stupid to try," He said, looking down. He was blinking his eyes furiously, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark. "Ugh, I swear, these human eyes are going to drive me mad…"

"What is it? Food? Food?" said Insane Nadder.

"No, it's another redblood prisoner," said Timberjack.

"Keep your scales on," Other Gronkle Two.

"Does he speak our tongue too?" teased Nightmare One.

"He might do," said Toothless irritably to the cell, "and I resent the food comment, bloodbrother."

There was an excited stir as the dragonese rolled flawlessly off of Toothless' tongue. Several of the dragons roared in outrage, or surprise.

"Bloodbrother!" Insane Nadder shouted, "Like hell, redblood!"

"But he speaks as us!" said Gronkle Three,

"Another!" Siad the Whiptail, little eyes darting between Hiccup and Toothless,

"He does not speak in the reblooded voice like this small one does," hissed one of the continental nadders.

"That is because I'm not redblood," Toothless growled, annoyed that he couldn't see the dragons to whom he was speaking. "I am a greenblood – a dragon, only in a human's body."

"A dragon? In a human's body?" Asked Nightmare Two incredulously, "I've never heard of such landshit."

"Burn your tongue!" Said a matronly gronkle.

"It is true," Hiccup cut in uncertainly – he knew that as the only actual human in the room, he would probably be ignored, "This is the one of whom I spoke, my dragon brother, he taught me how to speak Dragonese."

"I could have hardly taught you as a Dragon," Toothless added reasonably, to Hiccup but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"That's not possible!" said one of the changewings.

"It is entirely possible," quipped Toothless, surprisingly calm and in-charge of himself, though Hiccup could tell that he had to work at it. "Only forgotten for a long time. It is a movement of the Old Magic. A stirring of the ancient kinship between greenbloods and redbloods. Or so I am told. The Behwearft. Or, as the Vikingr might translate it," Toothless glanced at Hiccup, "Umbreytingu."

Silence.

"Behwearft?" croaked a particularly old nadder, "That is a very old word, and a very young voice that says it." The elder rustled in his spot.

"He's lying!" growled the young timberjack.

"How could he be?" rasped the nadder reasonably in reply, "He speaks our tongue without flaw from the mouth of a human, and he knows magic beyond even my years. If he is not a Behwearft among us, he is a prophet."

That shut them all up. Toothless blinked against the dark still. Hiccup's eyes had adjusted only just enough to see faint outlines here and there – Toothless was still functionally blind, save for what eyes he could see glowing dimly in the dark.

"Behwearft," rumbled a low voice - the night fury. "So the old tales are true?"

Hiccup expected Toothless to affirm the question in the authoritative tone he'd been using all along, but instead, at the sound of the other dragon, Toothless let out a shrill, startled noise. After an awkward moment in which his surprise echoed off the metal walls, Toothless swallowed and said, in a small voice that wasn't authoritative at all,

"Who was that?"

The dragons shifted to look at their leader. Hiccup could tell they were confused.

"Why do you wish to know?" rumbled the leader, perplexed and suspicious.

"You are a night fury," said Toothless. "I cannot see you, not through these human eyes. But I know you are a night fury."

"I am."

"I am a furyn as well," Toothless said, somewhere between sheepishness and excitement,"Well. When I'm not… like this." Hiccup wondered if Toothless had forgotten about other dragons entirely.

"Really?" asked the leader in interest. "I have not met a clansmen this far west before."

"You wouldn't. I am the only one, to my knowledge."

"But you recognized me by my voice?"

"I know you. Your name is Rædwit."

The night fury stirred loudly in his chains, coming closer. "Do I know you, Behwearftes?"

"No," Toothless said hastily, backing a step away, "You did once, but… It's been so long, I can't say that you do."

"What is your name?"

Toothless swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing nervously. "I have taken the name Toðléas in recent times," He said, "But years ago, when I was with my clan, I was called Æðelin."

There was a pause.

"…Æðelin? Æðelin of the eastern cliffs? Of the SuÞecg Weyr? He… died. We lost him. Years ago. Decades."

"Lost, yes. Died, no." Toothless admitted softly.

Rædwit reeled, chains clattering, wings tapping the floor in surprise. Everything was very, very still. Rædwit in shock, Toothless in fear, and everyone else in a reverent sort of curiosity.

Eventually, in a raw tone that bespoke no authority except that of a very shocked, very touched soul, Rædwit said, "…Nephew?"

Astrid and Stoick were put in a cell along one of the hallways. At first it looked as though they'd be put into one of the dragon cages, but apparently they were all occupied. Instead, they were put into a barred cell, half of which was being used for storage. Astrid was rummaging through the crates, looking for something they could use to escape. Unfortunately, their cargo cellmates consisted entirely of dried meats and grains. Well, at least they wouldn't starve.

She huffed and sank down next to Stoick. She was furious. At herself, at the guards for seeing them, at Hiccup for being captured, at Lech for being a disgusting creep.

"Aye," Said Stoick in reply to her huffs. For all their differences, over the years Astrid and Stoick had begun to foster a strange sort of mental link where battle and strategy were concerned.

"If we hadn't-"

"I know."

"We should have-"

"Yes."

"Ugh, I'd like to just take his stupid fat head and-"

"Me too, lass."

Astrid sighed, and looked down at her hands in her lap. Ashamed, she said, "I shouldn't have said his name."

Stoick looked over at her, and very awkwardly laid a hand on her shoulder. He didn't tell her how he felt guilty for being subdued, for being silent, for playing it safe to keep himself alive. Now all three of his children were in danger. "Don't beat yourself up, Astrid," he said, while his internal father kicked the chief in the gut, "We'll figure it out. You heard 'im. Toothless and Hiccup are valuable to him. He won't hurt them."

He prayed.

Hiccup was stiller than the day he'd first approached Toothless, afraid that if he even breathed wrong, he'd ruin it.

His uncle. Toothless' uncle.

Skies above, what were the odds?

It was the strangest reunion that any of the onlookers had ever witnessed. An uncle who'd thought his nephew had been dead for over twenty years, a nephew who hadn't seen home since his boyhood. One wide-eyed, one practically blind, one a dragon, the other a human (temporarily) both prisoners on the same wretched ship, surrounded by a motley crew of dragons and one human, and neither quite sure what to say to the other beyond how in the nine realms are you here?

Toothless was choking on fear and unbidden tears. He was so happy to see his uncle, to hear the voice of his kin, but like this? After all that had happened? After all that had changed? Lost, imprisoned, enslaved, handicapped, human? He was terrified of what Rædwit would think of it all, once he learned. But Rædwit didn't ask, not at first. First, he drew himself toward Toothless as far as his chains would allow and begged the other to come closer. When Toothless' hand touched the smooth dark scales, he cried. He tried to hide it, and it would've been easy in the dark, if only he could stop sniffling so loud, if he could keep his aching throat from keening quietly as he tried to reign in the ancient emotions racing back. Rædwit said little, only that heavens, it was him, and great northern winds, he'd thought he was dead.

Eventually, the stories came out. Rædwit explained that he'd been flying along the Kindelline, as was his duty, when he'd received a warning of dark human vessel hunting its way along the coast. He'd gone to confirm its existence before he raised the alarm, but he'd been spotted. He hadn't been expecting the humans to actually shoot at him – in his experience, humans were either too scared or two peaceful to actually attack any dragon, let alone a night fury, but his pride brought him down hard onto the metal deck. And here he was.

Next, he launched into an excited ramble about the weyr. He spoke of Toothless' parents – yes, they were both well – and his siblings – apparently the littlest had grown into a magnificently huge beast – and the rest of the clan, and the good hunting season they'd had, and the new nesting grounds, and the forest – the forest – the humans had logged about a third of the trees intermittently and now weaving through the new gaps was the newest sport of the youth (Wooddodge was the inventive name) and oh, his parents would be absolutely beside themselves if they knew that Æðelin was alive, that he was here, they would be so excited when he came home.

Home.

Toothless must've looked uncomfortable at the notion, because Rædwit sobered and asked, somewhat awkwardly, what on earth he'd been doing all these years.

Toothless blinked, a bit nonplussed. What had he been doing? Doing? Where to start? Eyes now just adjusted enough to see outlines, he turned toward Hiccup's silhouette, "Hiccup?" he asked. Hiccup had been watching silently for a long time, but now looked up. "…help me?" Nervously, aware of every move and twitch and sound he made, Hiccup came over and stood with Toothless in front of Rædwit's towering form.

"This is Gicpa," Toothless told his uncle, "He is my brother. And he is a dragonheart." Rædwit's eyes flicked to Hiccup with interest. He did not question, but his gaze was intense. Toothless bowed his head. "We both are, in fact." He said, surprisingly calm. Rædwit looked back at his nephew, eyes full of sudden alarm and curiosity. Slowly, he set himself down on the floor, head still high, eyes bright.

"Tell me," he said.

Toothless did.

The two humans sat across from the fury, and Toothless talked. And talked. And talked. He had Hiccup explain quite a bit, but the poor Viking was out of his depth, so scared of making a bad impression. He didn't realize that Rædwit had never quarreled with humans. He didn't think of the fact that Rædwit had never had the opportunity to speak with one before, that he might be impressed by that alone. But this, this was more. Rædwit looked at Hiccup intently, eyes almost hypnotic in their intensity.

"They call you Æðelin as well?" he asked quietly at the end, hours after they'd begun speaking. They'd been talking for so long, several of the other dragons had drifted into sleep. Pink morning light filtered through the grate above them, and they all finally got a proper look at each other, just barely.

"They do," Hiccup said. Rædwit smiled a dragon smile.

"Rightfully so," he said, and bowed his head slowly, so slightly that Hiccup hardly noticed. But Toothless' face broke into a grin. After another moment, another look between uncle and nephew, dragon and rider, Viking and fury, Rædwit stood, stirring his wings gently. "And so, Æðelin," He addressed both of them loudly, his voice waking the other dragons in a rousing way. "Called dragonfriend, speaker and peacemaker. You have stirred magic so deep only the stars may remember it. There is magic afoot, if we are to pass through that door alive." He squared his eyes on Hiccup. "What do you need us to do?"

It'd been a rough night, trying to sleep on boxes, mind plagued with guilt and what-ifs, but the morning light made it worse. Men started moving around the ship, and Astrid could only watch. Useless.

"What do you think Ru is doing?" She'd whispered to Stoick at one point. The chief had shrugged.

"Hopefully, either returning for reinforcements, or staying put until the time is right."

"How will he know the time is right?"

This stumped Stoick for a moment. "He's a sharp one. He'll know."

It may have been true to some degree. But it was not comforting. Astrid sighed. Stoick stared silently out of the cell bars, wondering to himself what they'd done with his son.

The plan was shockingly, wonderfully simple. Because Rædwit was the de facto leader in the group (Hiccup wondered if this natural authority was a night fury trait, and made a mental note to ask Toothless about it later) and had decided that Hiccup was worthy of not only trust, but respect, the dragons were now all attentive to whatever he said, and as Toothless had pointed out, glowing with pride, Hiccup always had the best ideas.

He wasn't sure it was the best, but the idea that Hiccup had settled on was this: when Lech came to check on Hiccup's progress, most of the dragons, about two thirds of them, would pretend to be tame. Hiccup thought it would look a bit too miraculous if all of them were trained overnight, so he'd selected a few of the dragons – the insane nadder, one of the nightmares, the timberjack and a gronkle, to all remain 'rabid' and 'wild' as a piece of show. The rest would obey Hiccup's every word and act as docile as could be. It would be demeaning, yes, but it would help them get out. When Lech came to inspect their 'tameness', Hiccup would insist that he was still working on the rabid ones. Lech would be pleased (gods willing) and they would keep up the charade in a series of stages for several days until they got to the continental markets. Once they were all out in the open, they would make their move and escape.

It would have to be good enough.

Hiccup's gut was unsettled as the hours ticked on, as he waited and waited and waited for Lech to appear. But eventually, he heard footsteps approaching, and the lock on the door turned. He whispered some last words of encouragement to the dragons, and the door opened.

"Rise and shine," Lech sing-songed, coming in behind three of his men, who held swords and shields at the ready. "How is the mighty dragon whisperer faring?" He sneered. Hiccup glanced at the guards and then at the 'untamed' dragons. One of them dutifully spat flame out at the guards. Hiccup yelled as though he were surprised, and told one of the 'tame' dragons to stand guard in front of the untamed ones to protect Lech and his guards.

Lech's eyebrows raised. "I see," he said, mouth corners climbing in a slow smile. "right under your thumb, eh?"

"You have nothing to fear from them. Well, save for these… stubborn ones." Hiccup glanced at the 'untamed' ruefully. "I'm still working on them."

"Very well, very well," Lech said, almost as if the leniency was sincere. He studied the 'tamed' dragons, amused at their helpless, slave-like stillness. "Make them sit," he said, eyes hungry. Hiccup frowned fractionally, but turned and relayed the orders to the dragons. They were obviously trying not to feel too put upon, and did as he said. Lech laughed when the dragons obeyed. "And that one, the red one," Lech said, pointing to a monstrous nightmare, "Make it breath fire."

Hiccup relayed the order. The nightmare let out a small burst of flame. Lech laughed again, like a toddler with a toy.

"They do whatever you want?" He asked Hiccup, smiling in glee. Hiccup nodded silently. Lech laughed some more. He nodded to the guards, talking in their language. He gave some sort of order to one, and the guard left. When he returned, he was pulling a chain behind him. At the end of the chain was a very old, thin, crippled dragon, a species that Hiccup did not recognize. Its wings had huge holes in it, and the nobs of its spine pressed bony ridges on its back. It looked frightened.

"Alright then," Lech clapped his hands together, aside himself with excitement, "Then tell them to feast."

Hiccup and Toothless froze on either side of the cell.

"What?" Said Hiccup.

"Feast!" Lech said, spreading his arms, gesturing to the poor creature leashed on the chain. "This one used to power the steam boilers below, but he's practically dead now, and damn useless. Dragon fodder, I'd say." He shrugged. The dragons in front of him all shifted, affronted, insulted.

"You can't do that! They'll never!" Toothless broke in, scandalized.

"Do whatever he says!" Lech roared, mirth disappearing in an instant, replaced by fury. "Now!" He yanked on the chain and dragged the poor creature up into the cell. It was shaking on its feet, terrified because it understood Norse. "Tell them." He said quietly to Hiccup. Hiccup couldn't react. His eyes were wide, mouth agape. He glanced down at the frail dragon body before him. After Hiccup paused for too long, Lech yanked on the chain again. "Tell them!" he yelled.

"Please," the dragon whimpered as the metal collar dug into his hide, "Please, I'm old, and dead, but please… please spare my heart from this…" he looked around at his kin, shaking like a deer. "Please…"

Hiccup looked back up at Lech, aghast. The captain ticked his head to the side, waiting. Hiccup's heart was beating fast. He looked at the dragon again. His heart wrenched.

The game was up. He couldn't. They couldn't. "No," He said, suddenly, firmly. "No, I refuse."

Lech raised his eyebrows, turning an ear. "What?" He asked, incredulous.

"I will not. I promised to tame your dragons. I did not promise to have them killed, to make them cannibals."

"You tame them," Lech said through gritted teeth, "So that they do whatever I damn well tell them to do!"

"Not like this!"

Lech opened his mouth to yell, but struggled against his restraint for a moment, and ended up snapping it shut again, glaring venom at Hiccup like a cobra waiting to strike. "You control them by talking to them," he said, evenly, thinking it all through in his mind. His eyes flickered to Toothless. "But you are not the only one who has that talent."

Hiccup's eyebrows twitched downward, and he glanced at Toothless. Toothless had not moved, but was staring at Lech with horror and anger. Lech watched him glare, unaffected. "Dragons… Dragons, I know. May not be able to tame them, but I know how to make them hurt." He squinted at Toothless. "You may be in a human's body, but I know you have a dragon's heart. Selfish. Thankless. …Reasonable. Hmmmm…" He didn't' smile, but something in his expression shifted, and he looked pleased. His eyes flicked back to Hiccup.

"You, on the other hand…" he said dryly. Lech thought to himself for a moment and stepped back, drawing himself up to his full height, disappointed eyes never leaving Hiccup. He glanced at one of his guards, and gave a quiet, foreign word. The guard said nothing, but stepped forward resolutely toward Hiccup, sword and shield still in hand.

Hiccup hadn't worked it all out, but Toothless had seen the change in Lech's eyes. He knew what was coming. "No!" the fury roared, diving across the cell toward Hiccup.

"Æðelin!" Rædwit screamed.

In the instant when the guard raised his sword, Hiccup finally realized what was about to happen. Toothless appeared. And as he did, everything in Hiccup's world came crashing down.