Author's Notes:
While I stick very closely to the HTTYD movie/TV show lore, I take liberties with the LoZ elements. Please read with an open mind, as if this were a new game.
New chapters on Wednesdays. The whole thing, 30 chapters plus Prologue, is written and will be posted!
The wind whistled through the canyon like the slow breath of a sleeping giant—a warm, dry breeze carrying the threat of another sweltering day. Link, Zelda, and Impa had set out from the shrine at daybreak. For the first time since waking up in this strange world, Hiccup was completely alone.
He stared at his reflection in the fountain, warbled by the gentle flow of water trickling over the edge. In his mind, he kept circling back to those dreadful moments: Link's betrayal, his fist flying of its own accord, Zelda stepping in just in time. He cringed at the memory. Ever since he had brought peace between his tribe and the dragons after generations of bloodshed, he had prided himself on his ability to be a peacemaker. But last night ...
He couldn't change the past. But what about the future? He was stuck here. Still. Without allies or answers, none that were helpful anyways. You can stay here and hide, and no one would blame you.
Hiccup kicked at the ground. He was so used to knowing what to do. Even when faced with choosing between the love and acceptance of his father and tribe and the safety of his dragon, he knew what to do. Why was it so hard this time?
Because I trusted him.
The realization stung like the blade of the Captain's knife, burning and lingering in his heart.
Was that it, he was just duped like the gullible fool that he was? No. Link hadn't meant to hurt him. He was just afraid ... and ashamed. Hiccup could relate. How many times had he hidden from his father for the same reason. Still, was it worth risking his life for the one who used him? Anger simmered in his chest like a pool of magma. It wasn't like him to hold grudges, yet it felt good. He craved the caustic feelings and despised himself for enjoying them, too. Snap out of it!
He splashed his face with water. As he wiped the drops of his face, a creature reflected in the pool caught his attention. Perched on the roof of the shrine, the small creature fluttered its vibrant green wings. A dragon! His eyes flicked up, and the startled bird flew into the blue sky.
Hiccup snorted. He should have known better. There were no dragons here, none that he had seen at least, but that didn't stop him from thinking of how much that bird resembled the Terrible Terror he had encountered the morning he flew into Loki's Triangle. It felt like a lifetime ago.
He took a deep breath. Had it been a mistake, following that voice? Zelda's voice? None of this would have happened if he had just left when Toothless urged him to. Toothless! Hiccup groaned. They'd probably be having the time of their lives back on the Edge with the other Riders if he'd just listened to him.
Like pulling on a loose thread, Hiccup felt every accomplishment in which he had taken pride come under scrutiny. His stump leg pinched against the prosthetic, reminding him of the price of bringing peace to his tribe. Had that been a mistake as well? What about moving to the Edge, or training the dragons to live amongst them—making new enemies at every turn? Berks's new dragon-loving ways were as foreign to the neighboring Viking tribes as a hairless yak, and it was drawing unwanted attention. Already things were escalating from minor offenses to outright attacks. It was only a matter of time before things got serious. He'd always been driven by his conscience. He had thought he was doing the right thing, but now ... Now I'm stuck in Hyrule.
The ripples in the fountain rolled from each droplet slipping from Hiccup's face. He stared at the wobbly reflection as Link's question floated into his mind: What would Astrid say?
A moment later he heard her the smile in her voice. "You're compassionate and selfless and brave to a fault."
His throat tightened. Who would I be if I abandoned them now?
Hiccup straightened, his head cocked to the side. It was that simple; no more second guessing. Let the world sling its worst at him, he had survived this long with his heart and soul intact, head held high, and nothing could change that.
He wiped the rest of the water off his face and raced up to the shrine three steps at a time. Behind him in the fountain's stream, a fresh bud popped open revealing the star-shaped petals of a blue and white flower.
/
A muddy-colored horse plodded down a narrow dirt road, hauling a cart that crushed the wild grass that grew on either side of the forest path. Jostling in the bumpy cart and doing his best to keep the horse steady, Arty tried not to think of his pathetic excuse of a hairdo. The garlic-shaped coif that was usually so well maintained now stuck out at odd angles like hay in a loosely tied bundle, and his luscious goatee looked no better.
"'Be an adventurer' they said. 'Get rich quick' they said. They said nothing about being scorched and battered and hungry and—"
Pum, as always by his side, sniffled and wiped his dirty nose with the back of his pale hand.
"I'm sorry, Pum," the Arty continued. "I know you warned me not to, but how else are we going to get our business started? Opportunities don't just spring out of nowhere. You gotta go and— Whoah!" Arty jerked back on the reins, and the cart ground to a halt. Getting to his feet, he shouted, "What do you think you're doing? You can't just run out in the middle of the road like that!" He eyed the young hooligan's strange metal foot.
"I need your ..." The boy gestured towards the animal. "... your mount." The boy planted his hands on his hips and lifted his chin.
Arty leaned forward. "The horse? You know how hard he was to catch? Wait," he waved a hand as if wafting a soup or collecting a thought. "Who'r you?"
The boy drew himself up a full six feet, straightening the tight blue uniform to its limits. The red Shiekah eye on his chest seemed to glare at them. "My name is Hiccup Haddock, and I am ... Well, that's a long story and not really relevant right now." Arty gave a light whip with the reins, and the horse took a step. Hiccup ran forward and grabbed the corner of the cart. "But if you give me your ... horse ... you'll be helping to save Hyrule!"
"Nope, we already did the adventuring thing. And may I tell you, we ARE NOT cut out for that kind of grueling, menial, unhygienic—"
Pum tapped Arty's knee. "We'd be heroes," he cooed.
Arty paused, then stroked his luscious beard. "We'd be famous."
"That's right," Hiccup encouraged.
Arty sat up. "One hundred rupees. Final offer."
Both Pum and Hiccup stared at him wide eyed.
"But I don't have—"
"Sorry, wish we could help," Arty said, coaxing the horse with a swat, "but we're not in this for chari— Hey, wait!"
The rude boy had grabbed a sword haphazardly stashed in the cart and was slashing at the grass on the roadside. Arty and Pum looked on, confused. After a full minute of hacking the foliage, the boy walked back with an armful of gems of all colors—red, blue, yellow, even a silver one—and dropped them into the back of the cart.
"Deal?" Hiccup asked.
They looked at the newly shorn grass and then at each other. Pum reached under the cart bench and produced a small wooden jar. Arty leaned toward Hiccup, scrutiny etched in every line of his business-savvy face.
"On one condition."
/
The pastels of morning light had given way to deep shadows of afternoon as Link and Impa waited under the trees of Finra woods. He leaned against the wall of the shrine, gazing at a fallen tree. In his mind's eye, he saw Hiccup trapped against the trunk by a trio of jellies. Link crossed his arms and let his gaze fall. Was that really only three days ago? Three days of going from complete strangers to friends. And he had thrown it all away. How could he be so dumb? That jab about Astrid, how did he think that could end well? He had been desperate, and decisions made in desperation were rarely well thought out. Maybe Link would die today in battle, or maybe they would defeat Ganon and find a way to send Hiccup home. Either way, the damage was done, another relationship lost by his own foolishness.
Impa cleared her throat.
"Yes," Link said, lifting his eyes.
"Time is of the essence."
"The Princess deems this to be important."
Impa rolled her shoulders back. "If we stop to awaken every fountain—"
"Only the ones on the way," Link corrected.
Impa let out a long sigh. "Talk to her. She'll listen to you."
"Talk to me about what?" Zelda said, joining them outside. A smile touched Link's lips. Then, through the open-air windows, he saw the silver cascade of water splashing into the basin. Though no fairies had yet appeared at any of the fountains they'd visited, it was still incredible to see these dry fountains bubbling with life again.
"It's nothing," Impa said, shaking out her legs. "Ready to move?"
Zelda looked down the road but took a step back. Link touched her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
Her eyes were a milky white, and the Triforce glowed on her hand. "It's just ... I have a feeling." Impa rolled her eyes as Zelda explained. "I feel like Hiccup needs to go with us." The color returned to her irises as the Triforce faded, and her eyes met Link's.
He nodded. "Okay, we'll go back for him."
"Link!" Impa interjected. "We can't go all the way back to the desert now."
Link took Zelda's hand and started toward the path. "The last time I didn't listen, it cost us the Kingdom." Impa blinked twice and then slowly dragged her feet behind them.
They had just started down the path when startled cries of birds and other creatures echoed through the forest. Link drew the Master Sword and placed himself in front of the Princess. The commotion drew closer, but the source of the racket was impossible to see through the tumultuous terrain. Impa drew her sword as well.
Finally, bursting over a boulder was a brown horse. Link held up his sword as the rider pulled hard on the reins.
"Whew! Found you guys!" Hiccup said from the saddle.
"Hiccup!" Zelda and Link said, rushing forward. Impa closed her eyes and sheathed her sword.
"Where did you find a horse?" Zelda asked.
"From these two salesmen. They gave it under the condition that I share their soup and say good things about it."
"Is it good?" Zelda asked.
"No idea, but they insisted."
Impa squinted. "Did one say everything and the other say nothing? Ridiculous hairstyles?"
"Yeah! How did you know?"
"Unbelievable," she mumbled.
Hiccup dismounted and noticed Link's eyes wandering anywhere but his face.
"Hey," Hiccup said. Link looked up, and Hiccup was smiling. Raising an arm in the traditional Hylian style, the Viking said, "To defeating Ganon."
Link blinked. Hiccup had every right to berate him, give him the cold shoulder, to not show up at all. And yet here he was, ready to risk life and limb for Hyrule. For Link. That's a hero. Link breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed his hand. "To getting you home." Hiccup shrugged with a smile.
Impa stepped forward. Her skin prickled at seeing the Sheikah eye on his chest. "Who gave you authority to wear that armor?" she asked shortly. Hiccup shrank back. The clothes, along with a map to the Castle, a sword, and a shield, had been laid out on his bed. He'd left the sword behind.
"I did," Zelda said. Impa stared at the Princess. After a moment, the warrior gave a curt bow and walked away.
Hiccup released the breath that Impa had frozen in his throat. "I don't mean to get in the way of—"
Zelda cut him off with the wave of her hand. "You need armor, and this is all we have."
"This is armor?" Hiccup asked, looking at the skin-tight uniform. Vikings didn't like to be encumbered by heavy metal plates or anything ridiculous like that, but even so, the blue fabric didn't seem much protection.
"Against blades and minor blasts, yes," Zelda informed.
"O—kay," he responded. "I'll do my best to avoid the major blasts then." The Princess chuckled.
Something over her shoulder arrested Hiccup's gaze. "Whoah! Is that ...?" He pointed toward the shrine. Dancing around the silver water splashing from the newly awakened fountain was a tiny ball of light.
Impa's jaw dropped. Link vaulted through the window into the shrine. Catching the light in one of the empty potion bottles, he held it up in the air. The iridescent wings fluttered and bumped against the sides of the jar.
"I can't believe it," he breathed as Hiccup joined him.
"Is that a fairy?" Hiccup asked.
"It's been so long." Link made eye contact with Zelda. She nodded and smiled.
As Link climbed back through the window, Impa said quietly, "Be sure to keep it on you. If you go down—"
Link was already tying the bottle to his belt. "I know. It'll revive me."
"No," she placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you go down, there's no hope for Hyrule."
He recognized the worry, the urgency in her gaze. He cracked a smile with more confidence than he felt. "I'll do my job if you do yours." Helping the princess into the horse's saddle, he began leading them back to the path.
"Wait," Hiccup said. The group turned toward him. "Are you just going to march to the Castle? Like that?" He gestured to the three of them. They looked at each other sheepishly.
Link turned to Hiccup. "What did you have in mind?"
Hiccup put his chin on his hand, then chuckled and said more to himself than to anyone else, "Something stupid."
Looking at Link, he said, "Ganon's expecting you. But he wants me."
"You aren't going to give yourself up."
Hiccup responded with a devious smile. "That's exactly what I'm going to do."
Zelda held her eyes closed for several moments, the Triforce glowing on her hand, before finally opening them. "I say, we trust him. What do you say, Impa?"
Impa crossed her arms. "Since when do we put things to a vote?"
"Link?" Hiccup asked.
Link kept his eyes on the ground. They wandered to the fallen tree. Finally, they looked at Hiccup. The mark of the Captain's knife was still pink and swollen on his cheek, but there was conviction in those green eyes. This wasn't the same terrified kid he'd rescued three days ago. And if Zelda trusted him ...
"I'm with you, too," Link said at last. "What do you need?"
Hiccup looked up, past the layers of leaves and twigs stretching like a vast ocean above him, to the sky. "I need to send some letters." In the distance, a very skinny man in very short shorts and a fez appeared.
Author's Notes:
Thanks to Ari Lewis and Luke for beta reading!