I have been writing like crazy and I am pretty satisfied by how this chapter worked out. Now there is a warning as this chapter is going to get a little graphic so if you have a weak stomach just don't read the flashback but it does provide some huge backstory to Hiccup. Expect things like this in the future. Read and review, or not. -starwarswiz
XXX
Astrid
To put it lightly the village was devastated. They had never seen a dragon attack so brutal, destructive, or deadly ever since landing on Berk. Houses scorched and charred and the people shaken and torn apart from the loss. Funerals were planned for tomorrow and dozens of people would be honored as the entered the halls of Valhalla. Hiccup was currently locked away in his own house after he turned up in the middle of the fight and ended up with two Night Furies.
There was initial anger at his sudden appearance but was quickly overshadowed by the monumental task of rebuilding the village. However Stoick and Gobber stopped everyone when Hiccup offered some pretty ingenious ideas to add while the village was open. Some still hated him but others only grunted and took the new plans as the only way they were going to get things done. You could obviously feel the anger towards Hiccup from the people but it settled when they discovered he helped end the raid and saved dozens of lives.
I couldn't have felt more relived when everyone stopped trying to kill him and only yelled at him. It was a start and if she could learn to live with him then so could everyone else. She was gathering some materials from the forge to help nail in support beams for a new house after the old one had completely burnt down. She was stopped however by Stoick.
"Astrid just the person I was looking for." he said.
"Yes chief?"
"I want you to take next watch on Hiccup. I can't have Gobber watch him all day, I need him here at the forge."
"Sure chief."
I sighed when he walked away, actually glad that I could get a break from the huge amount of labor I had put in. Spending a little time with Hiccup couldn't be that bad right?
I couldn't have been more wrong. His house was a mess as he moved around trying the contain to cramped up Night Furies in one tiny house. When I opened the door one hung from a rafter while the other was leaping around the room.
"Need some help?!" I yelled.
Hiccup quickly turned and rushed over and shut the door behind me before the dragons could notice. He sighed and slowly sank to the floor up against the door and put his face in his hands. Toothless noticed me and stopped hopping and came over to say hi and I smiled and rubbed his head. He then proceeded to go the back wall and lay down.
"Finally they calmed down." Hiccup said.
"How long have they been freaking out?"
"Since that one woke up and hour ago."
He pointed to the one on the rafters and couldn't help but smile and Hiccup's suffering.
"Its his fault he kept us in so long." the one said.
I laughed and Hiccup attempted to defend himself but I simply put and hand on his shoulder and shook my head at him. He sighed and slumped his shoulders and got up.
"I guess introductions are in order. Astrid I like you to meet Reylia. Reylia, Astrid."
"She seems nice." I said.
"Why thank you. At least a girl can see things I was beginning to wonder with these guys."
I laughed and she looked at me with a little bit of surprise then looked and Hiccup for and explanation. He scratched the back of his next and looked away from her.
"Yeah Astrid can understand us. So its really easy for everyone to talk."
She simply rolled her eyes and hopped down and came up to me. She backed me up to the wall and I looked to Hiccup but all he did was shrug and I glared at him. She looked at me and sniffed me and then sat there as if she was waiting for something. I slowly reached out my hand towards her nose and then held it just in front of her face. She stared at my hand and didn't move so I began to panic.
I thought that she might bite it off or blast me with fire. Tons of horrible scenarios played out in my mind and only then did she move and did something I did not expect. She pushed her head forward into my hand and I let go of a breath I was holding. Hiccup was smiling his goofy smile and looked over at Toothless with thumbs up. Reylia then proceeded to then into my touch and soon was pressing up against me and trying to smile.
I couldn't help but smile and laugh and then proceeded to scratch her neck and she began to purr very loudly.
"It seems you've made a new friend." Hiccup said.
"Hiccup you know what it was like for Toothless and every dragon has that one person who they can trust above everything else. Many dragons spend their lives without that person but the lucky few find theirs before they die." Reylia said.
"Its just like finding that special someone between people." I added.
Hiccup grew very red and Toothless made a noise that sounded like laughter. I smiled at his apparent discomfort but played it off.
"So what shall we do for the next few hours?" Hiccup asked.
"Tell me a story." I said.
"What kind of story?" he asked.
"How did you lose your leg?" I asked.
"Its a long story." he said.
"Well we have a few hours to kill." I countered.
"Alright but you asked for it."
—
XXX
Flashback
It had been a year since he fled from home and got away from the Romans, of coarse that was not his last tangle with them. He had been receiving messages from local dragons that the Romans had arrived and were terrorizing the area. He and Toothless were on route to a local village that had crude out for his help against them and he could see the small community.
"Bring us down in the square." he said to Toothless.
They quickly dropped and plopped down near a fountain in the middle of town. Off to his right there was market but it was completely empty and his left led off into the streets of the town. He walked down a few streets but he found no one. He called put to anyone who would answer but once looking for over an hour he returned to the square to Toothless laying there bored.
"Alright bud I guess we were a little to late. Let's go home."
"But you weren't late Hiccup, in fact you are right on time."
The Roman commander came out from a door at the edge of the square and walked towards him. No one followed him and he seemed unarmed. He smiled at me and stopped just a few feet away.
"In fact this village was full two days ago."
"What did you do?" I yelled.
"Nothing, we simply told them of an impending attack and they all fled and will return soon but we will be done here before that happens."
"What do you want?"
"That is a good question. Why would I go to all this trouble simply to show up unarmed and alone to speak with you?"
"You need something."
"Yes, there is a dragon much like your alpha but far more vicious and is destroying my scouting parties. I need you to give us dragons who will help us fight her."
"You still want my secrets. How about no."
He sighed, "I had hoped this would go differently but I see no other option. Take him."
Suddenly at least ten men hopped put and surrounded him and he saw Toothless get pinned by a metal net and he knew there was no way out. He simply raised his hands and and they cuffed him and then knocked him out.
The next thing that he knew was he was hanging in another room and a man stood before him with a clamp and a screw attached to it. The commander stood in front of him having no emotion on his face and he motioned for the man to proceed. He fixed the clamp around my left leg and tightened it.
"Now that your awake meet our most effective interrogation technique. If you cooperate you'll keep the leg but if not, well you can connect the dots."
I glared at him but he showed no emotion. Not like before, here he was a commander but back in the village he was trying to be a diplomat.
"First, how did you come across your dragon?"
"I shot him down and found him wounded in the woods."
"Impressive for someone as yourself but why is he still alive then?"
"I couldn't bring myself to kill him. I saw myself in his eyes, fear, uncertainty, and sadness."
"What happened next? How did you gain his trust?"
"It won't work for all dragons. He was different, every dragon is different and the way you go is entirely dependent on the dragon."
This time he smiled, "Not the most direct answer but it will suffice. So how did you go about your dragon?"
"That's for only us to know."
He frowned not getting the answer he wanted and he looked at the man. He then started to spin the screw and I could feel it dig into my leg and I yelled in pain. I could feel the blood run down my leg and I began to sweat.
"I'll ask again. How did you train him?"
"I'll never…tell."
The screw dug deeper and I could feel it hit bone and the crutch as it fought the metal. I screamed again and more blood came rushing down my leg. I shed a few tears and I could barely stand to stay conscious.
"One last time or your leg is toast. How did you train him?" he said with anger.
"No." I whispered.
The screw then broke the bone and came out the other side and the blood just kept coming. I couldn't tell if I was screaming over my crying. Before I knew that anyone had left everything slipped to black.
A few hours later I woke and some of the old torture devices were there but the screw was still in my leg and was throbbing. The whipped cracked and screams came out but it was a haze and sooner or later the man left me a bloody mess and barely aware of anything. I must have passed out as the next thing I knew there was a shaking and the chains in my cell rattled.
Lifting my head only small shouts came down the hallway and then another violent shake. This place clearly was under attack but from what was unknown to me. The door suddenly opened and the commander along with two men came in.
"It seems your dragon friends noticed your absence. But your coming with me."
The two men got me then and proceeded to drag me down a hall and then through a door. It was chaos outside as men were fighting diving dragons as the buildings came afire around me. I saw Toothless tied up on a cart with five men on either side of him. He saw me and struggled against the restraints but to no avail.
"Hiccup?" he pleaded in my mind.
I couldn't make a thought to respond but I looked up at him. There was a sudden screech and the hallway behind us went up in blue flame. It was the Night Fury from the last raid. Magna came into view and roared unleashing his wrath and began to tear apart what remained of the fort. Dragons soon began to target the men around me as they must have noticed them trying to get away with me.
The Night Fury suddenly landed in front of us and growled and its mouth began to glow blue. The two men holding me ran and the commander yelled at me but realizing his situation was lost so he ran. I couldn't reach Toothless and they disappeared with him into the woods.
"Toothless." I said weakly.
"Quickly we need to remove his leg before he dies…"
Everything just fell into darkness
—
XXX
Astrid
He was in tears and couldn't finish so I pulled him in for a hug and he grabbed onto me like his life depended on it. He remained crying for the next few minutes but slowly put himself back together. He released me and just breathed until he was back together.
"The next thing I knew," he continued, "I was missing a leg and Toothless was gone."
More tears began to roll down his face and Toothless came over and he leaned up against him and wouldn't let him go. Reylia nudged me forward and I placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.
"I had no idea but you don't have to carry the pain alone anymore. You have me now."
"Really? How do I know you don't hate me like the rest of the village?"
He looked at me with hurt in his eyes and a few tears still left. There was only one way I was going to get him to trust me and hopefully have him stay. I took his face in both of my hands and placed a powerful kiss on his lips.
XXX
Unknown
The ship ran around on the rocky shore and the mountain loomed ahead dark and ominous. But it made little difference to the commander this was where he began his rise. He hopped over the side and two solders followed him towards the huge opening in the side that lead to the depths of the mountain.
"Commander Caesar the queen awaits you inside." the hooded man said.
"Who are you?" he countered.
"Simply the guardian of this place and speaker of he majesty to humanity."
He motioned and they followed him into the dark depths of the mountain. The heat began to rise as the defended deeper and deeper and soon a huge cavern opened and a red glow lit the room. It went all the way up until it hit the hole at the top of the mountain. There were thousands of dragons resting on the cliffs all the way up the inside walls.
Her power had grown and the losses she suffered were insignificant compared to what she actually had. He internally smiled at what he now had at his disposal.
"Your majesty the Romans have arrived." the man said.
There was nothing but silence but the man gazed into the hole intently like there was someone talking that only he could hear.
"She welcomes her allies to her home and hopes her army is to your liking."
"Its is very impressive but the reason we have come is because my emperor has mandated the subjection of this area before winter falls. Time is limited as winter is nearly a month away."
He relayed all of what he had said to the hole and then more silence occurred but the dragons above him began to stir.
"She agrees and will move as soon as time permits but she has one condition. You can keep the boy but she wants the Night Furies."
"Perfect."