Chapter Three

Part One – Abduction

Eight days earlier, evening,

Leanne sat in a corner of the crude 'hut' their captors had first built, and than shoved them into. Thom, her two- year- old son, sat in her lap, while she did her best to reassure him that they would be ok; it wasn't easy, since she could barely convince herself of that.
Slumped against the wall facing them sat her fifteen- year- old daughter, Lara; she was shaking, slightly, and had barely spoken since the three of them had been dragged out of their beds, their home, and their village, in the early- hours of that morning.

Flashback: It had been a morning like any other; up until the moment their front door had been kicked in. The crash had woken both her, and her husband; then came the shouting and footsteps... Then they heard their daughter cry out in surprise.
The next thing Leanne knew, she had Thom in her arms, and they and Lara were being herded out of the house, and across the village, towards the ocean. When she glanced back, she saw two men holding Thommen, her husband, and the Chief of their tribe, back; while a third man, clad in elaborately embroidered robes, spoke to him…
Ever since they had been bundled onto first one of two small rowboats, than hustled onto the boat that waited just offshore, Leanne had been praying for a miracle; but, so far, nothing had come of it.

A flicker of motion, and a startled gasp from Lara, shook Leanne out of her thoughts. She looked towards her daughter, and her eyes widened: a Terrible Terror had swooped in through a gap in the roof, and landed a few feet to Lara's left! A second later, the small dragon had tossed a scroll case at the girls' feet, them moved a little to one side.

Lara picked it up, hesitantly, than her jaw dropped. She glanced, uneasily, at the dragon who had brought the case, then hurried to her mother's side; holding out the case for her to see. Leanne's reaction was much the same as her daughter's: the side of the scroll case bore the likeness of a black dragon, curled up inside of a red circle…
It was the personal crest of the new Chief of Berk, known to many as the 'Dragon Master'.

Leanne held up a hand for silence, and, for almost a full minute, they listen for any sign of voices or movement outside of the hut. Then she nodded to Lara, gesturing for her to keep her voice down as she read.

Lara unsealed the case, and unrolled the scroll. Then, her voice little more than a whisper, she read, "'One hour after delivery is confirmed, expect loud noise to the west; distraction. When clear, leave structure; move to eastern forests. Two visible paths: Mother and son take rightmost, most direct route. Daughter, take left: Terror will return to guide; make sure you are seen, at safe distance. Necessary, I'll explain later; Extraction team standing by. – Hiccup. PS: To confirm, tell the dragon who brought this; she'll understand you. Also return scroll to case, and case to her; Leave nothing behind'."

For almost a minute, there was silence. Then Lara frowned, "How could the dragon 'understand', though?"

Another voice, soft, and feminine answered, projecting into their minds. 'Because they gave us knowledge, Hiccup and Toothless: The Peacemakers.' A brief pause, 'You must decide quickly; time is short, and there is more at stake than you know.'

Leanne and Lara exchanged a look, and a nod; both knew that this was their best chance. While Leanne spoke to Thom, telling him how important it was to be quiet; Lara returned the scroll to the case, and handed the case back to the Terrible Terror. The moment she had, the Terror shot through the whole it had come through, and vanished into the night.

Part Two – Rescue

One hour later;

An hour later, there was a sudden 'BOOM' from the westernmost side of their captors' camp. Shouts filled the air, accompanied by the sounds of footsteps, as the guards rushed to determine the source of the commotion.

Once 'their side' of the camp had quieted, Lara and Leanne, the latter carrying Thom, bolted out the door of their hut, and charged towards the forests to the east of the campsite. As promised, they saw the start of the two paths; extending into the forests and, a moment later, the Terrible Terror who'd brought the scroll rejoined them.
Before she could speak again, they heard a shout from behind them: "THE HOSTAGES ARE ESCAPING! THERE; INTO THE TREES!" This set off a chorus of other shouts, and the sounds of men approaching grew louder.
Lara and Leanne exchanged one last look, and bolted down their separate paths.

As Lara ran, the Terrible Terror flew above her, telling her which way to turn whenever the paths split. After only a few minutes, she understood the plan: Their captors would expect them to stay together, and seeing her would convince them that they were on the right track. Moreover: the path, or paths, split off, and crisscrossed so often, it would be impossible to tell which one she was on from 'a safe distance' away… And the trails lead in so many different directions; the resulting search area grew exponentially larger, the longer they were free!

Twenty minutes later, the Terrible Terror said 'This way … careful; it's steep!' The dragon led Lara off the trail, down a short, slope, and into a small hollow. When she looked up, Lara saw her mother, little brother, and four pitch- black dragons.
A moment later, the black dragons closed their eyes again, each turning in a different direction, their ears twitching to zero in on any sound.

A few minutes later; they a shout, "SHE CAME THIS WAY, I'M SURE OF IT!"

Another man snorted, "You were 'sure' about the last three paths, too… Two lead us to back to camp, the long way; and the third was overgrown by wild thorn bushes! Bah… I say we go back and search the other path… Girl must've known the area: lead us down here as a decoy, and doubled back to rejoin her mother and the brat… Pity; girl was a pretty one, eh?"

"You dimwitted dolt," a gruff, heavily accented voice said. "Don't forget: If you had stayed at your post, this never would've happened!"

"Lord… Lord Blackthorn! I… I only meant…" the man stammered.

'Lord Blackthorn' grunted, "Don't waste my time with excuses; just be grateful I thought to send my other boat to hold the base of this peninsula, on our way down! We have the only food, the only boats, both of which will be under guard night and day… They have no way to escape: We'll find them eventually, and when we do, bring them to me."
There was a chorus of 'sir, yes sir's; then Lord Blackthorn continued, "I will be waiting at the camp. You, you, and you; come with me: Search the hut where we put them, see if they left anything behind."

Ten minutes later,

Ten minutes after the voices and footsteps had faded to silence, the Night Furies seemed to be satisfied. 'They're gone,' one said. 'Now we move.'
Feeling a little uncertain, Lara clambered onto the back of one Night Fury, while her mother and little- brother settled onto a second. Once they were ready, the four dragons rose into the sky, gaining altitude until they were indiscernible from the night itself.

Early morning; 7 days before the Council of Chiefs,

The sun was just beginning to rise when the island of Berk appeared on the horizon. They could see the distant outline of buildings, as well as the distant shapes of dragons moving to and from the island.
As they drew closer; one of the Night Furies said, 'Good; we didn't miss it!'

Lara frowned, "Didn't miss what?" She could've sworn the dragon smiled at this, but she couldn't be sure.

'Hiccup and Toothless, the first Rider-Dragon pair, always start their day with a morning flight. It's… well; see for yourself!' The Night Fury tilted her head a little to one side, and nodded.

Leanne, Lara, and Thom turned in the direction the dragon had indicated, and their eyes widened: Another Night Fury was making its way away from the island. As they watched, it plummeted towards the ocean; and sped beneath the tail of a whale, moments before it vanished into the sea! As the dragon rose back into the air, swirling and spinning, they could just make out the figure on its back.
The dragon shot skywards, until it hovered several thousand feet above the ocean. Then the rider leapt out of the saddle; and plummeted towards the waves, far below! As he fell, rider and dragon rotated around one another. Then the rider did… something, and a set of glider wings extended to either side! For a full minute, Rider and Dragon flew, side by side.

Then they seemed to notice the new arrivals, drawing steadily nearer. The dragon moved below him, and the rider retracted the wings, settling back into the saddle, a moment later. As the distance between them narrowed, they began to see more details: the rider was clad in black from head- to- toe, over which he wore some sort of 'riding- outfit', which must also have contained the mechanism for his glider. A helmet, fashioned in the likeness of a Night Fury's head, hid his face from view. Last of all, they saw the red and black insignia they'd last seen on the scroll case delivered by the Terrible Terror; displayed prominently, on his right shoulder.

As Toothless pulled up along side them, the rider, who could only be Hiccup, reached up, and removed his helmet, placing it on the saddle in front of him. His face was narrow and solemn, framed by dark brown hair. He turned to the nearest Night Fury, "Everything went smoothly?" His voice was soft, relaxed, and he sounded entirely unsurprised to see them.

This time, Lara was sure the Night Fury did smile, 'Your plan worked perfectly, as usual.'

"A plan is only thoughts and words: It is the execution that makes it perfect… Well- done, my friends." As Hiccup spoke, Sneaky settled onto his shoulder. "And you, Sneaky; Astrid will be pleased." He turned his attention to the humans, then, "I would say 'welcome to Berk', but technically its still three miles away, so I think I'll wait until we're a little closer."

"Thank you, for saving us," Leanne said, in a rush. "I… I thought… I wasn't sure if…" Her voice faded to silence, as though she didn't want to put 'those thoughts' into words.

Hiccup inclined his head in acknowledgement, "I'm glad we were able to help, though the credit must go to the Night- Fury Colony," he gestured around them, "and the survivors from the Shivering Shores' patrol- fleet… You did see the letter their Chief sent, yes?"
As he spoke, the Night Furies continued to make their way towards the island.

Leanne nodded, hesitantly, "It came the day before we were taken, but it never said anything about them taking hostages…"

"It was buried; the Shivering Shores' men wouldn't have seen it, either." Hiccup admitted. "In a nutshell: the Kraken banners belong to the thirteen 'Kraken Lords'; the other crests on the sails, mentioned in that letter, belong to tribes they've conquered, subjugated, and absorbed into their own ranks. I guessed they might be using hostages to keep their 'new recruits' in line, so I asked the Night- Fury Colony to send patrols, like this one, to keep an eye on the other villages, in case they tried to take more."

No one spoke for several minutes, than Lara said, "But… that can't be right: They never tried to make Father turn- over control of his men; they just took us and went!"

Hiccup was silent for a moment; "I think what they were looking for, in this case, was leverage over a northern- chief… A chief who would sit- in on the Council of Chiefs." He turned to face them, "A chief who could then give them a complete itinerary of our plans: numbers, positions, deployment strategies, rendezvous details… The kind of information they could use to pin down our own forces, so they could move-in and gather enough … incentive to force unconditional- surrender."

"Oh, gods…" Leanne breathed. She turned to Lara, "As they were bringing us down to their boat, I glanced back, and saw one of them talking to your father… to Thommen!" She turned to Hiccup, but seemed at a loss for what to say.

"I expected as much," Hiccup said, a small smile on his face; "In fact: that's why I added the 'two paths' direction to that scroll I sent you."

Lara's eyes widened, "I get it: The path I was on kept splitting off, and crisscrossing; I'd have gotten lost a hundred times if … Sneaky, is it?" The Terrible Terror inclined her head. "If Sneaky wasn't there! They'll have to search each path, thinking that we're getting further away with every wrong turn they make!"

Hiccup nodded, "And, since the three of you are safe, now," he turned to Leanne, "I imagine your husband will be willing to 'falsify' his report, a little? I have a few… suggestions."

Leanne's shoulders slumped in evident relief, even managing a tired smile. "He'll want to do a lot more to these 'kraken- lords' than falsify a report, but it should do for a start."
As she spoke, the Night Furies began to make their descent towards Berk, which was now below them. Even from their height, they could see a crowd of people, and dragons, beginning to gather.

Part Three – Summer

The following morning, Leanne, Lara, and Thom awoke refreshed, and almost- entirely recovered from their ordeal.
Once they, and the other villagers had eaten breakfast; Hiccup and Astrid showed them around Berk. It was incredible, but the most 'exciting' thing happened as the second hour of the tour was drawing to a close.
They had arrived at an open, grassy field, where a number of wild- dragons had stretched out, basking in the light of the sun; and were making their way through the midst of them. The dragons, for the most part, seemed to find the new arrivals interesting enough to watch, though they themselves stayed where they were.

Then a youngish Deadly Nadder, with scales as green as leaves on trees, in the middle of summer, trotted up to them; examining Lara, curiously. The girl pulled back, uneasily, "What… What does it want?"

Hiccup held up a hand, reassuringly, "She just wants to say 'hi'." He smiled, "We've been guarding our knowledge of dragons very closely, the past five years; because too many people viewed them as potential- weapons, not as the incredible creatures they are… It was my intention to begin sharing that knowledge, once the opportunity arose, and now seems as good a time as any."

It took Lara a moment to process what Hiccup was saying; then her eyes widened, "How?"

"The key to forming a connection with a dragon is 'trust'; the dragon needs to trust you, and he or she needs to know that you trust them." He gestured to the Deadly Nadder, "She trusts you enough to get this close, now you need to prove that you trust her… Hold out your hand, it doesn't matter which one, like this," he showed her, and continued, "If she believes you're sincere, she'll make the final step in forming the connection."

Lara nodded, to show that she understood, and held out her hand. Off to one side, Hiccup said, "If you're worried, or scared, don't try to hide it; let her see it, and trust her not to…"
The Deadly Nadder lowered her head; resting its forehead, lightly, against Lara's palm. Then she raised its head, blew a gentle current of warm air through her nostrils, and nuzzled her snout against Lara's cheek. A single word resonated through their minds, 'Friend.'

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, "Well… that went well." Next to him, Astrid nodded in agreement. Turning back to Lara, he added, "You should pick a name for her, when you get the chance."

Almost without realizing it, Lara whispered, "Summer."

'Summer,' the dragon said, thoughtfully, than she nodded. 'Warm, green… I like it.'

Part Four – Council of Chiefs

Great Hall of Berk; Present day,

Once the assembled chieftains were, at last, ready to discuss the threat that faced them, the Chief of the Shivering Shores officially declared the council underway. The chiefs, sat around a table that had been dragged into the center of the Great Hall. Sitting on benches, along the walls and in rows to either side, sat their guards, and villagers from Berk.
This wasn't, strictly speaking, 'traditional', but they made an exception; seeing as word of the enemy had already spread as far as it had, and a secret council would only lead to rumors and speculation, which would only complicate matters further.

Once the traditional formalities had been observed, the Naming of The Chiefs and Tribes, and so on, the Chief of The Shivering Shores called his son forward, to deliver his report in person. Once he had, his father asked if any of the other chiefs had questions they wished to pose to his son, who had been present at this first encounter.

Hiccup rose to his feet, "I don't have any questions, though I do have important information on a related encounter; news that will have a profound affect on someone at this table, and a plan to resolve our… situation."

One of the other chiefs at the table scoffed, "You're still a boy! How could you possibly do any of those things? Any one of us has more experience than you!"
A ripple of annoyance moved through the villagers gathered in the hall; Hiccup merely glanced at them, and the crowd settled. Several of the chiefs took notice of this, before returning their attention to Hiccup; several of them appeared thoughtful.

Hiccup smiled, "I've risen to my position more recently than the rest of you, true; but experience has less, I think, to do with the years one has lived, and more with what they've experienced, and learned, from them. Besides: Age and appearance will rarely give you the full measure of a person; whereas their accomplishments can speak volumes."

"You do have a… notable reputation, from what I've heard," The Chief of the Shivering Shores mused. He glanced around the table, "Lets hear him out, I say… Worst case, we add a few more minutes to our meeting." There was a general murmur of agreement, at this.

Hiccup began by describing the two ships that bore the Kraken- crest, and the man who introduced himself as "Emric, of The Thirteen Kraken Lords"; how Emric had cited a connection to Drago Bludvist; and how he, Hiccup, had ended their discussion, on that note.
"I have also discovered a hidden danger; detailed in the letter we all received, calling us to this meeting; one I have already taken 'precautions' against." Then, Hiccup explained the true meaning of the 'two banners', seen on the enemy ships.

Shouts filled the hall, as he concluded the description, and it took several minutes of bellowing for the Chief of the Shivering Shores to restore order. Once he had, he took several deep breaths, and turned back to Hiccup. "You said you have 'taken precautions against this danger': Explain."

"Normally, I would have gone through the usual channels before making this kind of decision, but time was against us, and a delay might well have cost us the war … Once I realized the full scope of the threat, I sent Night- Fury patrols to all northern villages, to monitor for any such attempts."
A rumble of angry mutters began to move through the room; before they could drown him out, Hiccup continued "AND, they found one."

The angry mutters died as quickly as they had begun, and Hiccup described the format of the operation. He concluded by saying, "The 'hostages' were recovered safely, and arrived here seven days ago. I kept this operation secret because the successful completion of this rescue, was also the most sensitive phase of the battle- plan I mentioned."

"You mean… they're safe?" the words exploded out of a chief who had, up until that point, remained stone- faced and silent.

Hiccup smiled and raised an eyebrow, "Leanne, Lara, and…"

"Thom," the man finished. "Gods be good; I want to see them!"

"Of course," Hiccup said, nodding. Turning around, he called, "Would someone show our guests in?" Several people moved to do as he'd asked, and Hiccup turned back to the chief who'd spoken. "By the way, your daughter's made a new friend; I hope you don't mind." Three minutes later, Leanne, Thom, Lara and a Deadly- Nadder, with scales as green as leaves in summer, entered the Great Hall of Berk.
A tidal wave of startled exclamations filled the room, at the sight of Summer.

Once they had faded to silence, Hiccup continued, "The arrival of dragons on Berk, as part of our daily lives, has changed the way we live, in ways beyond anything you can imagine now. Personally, I've always believed that such a change, on a larger scale, would benefit all of us; though the actions of certain parties; most notably: The Outcasts, and The Berserkers, both of whom expressed considerable interest in this knowledge; made it … 'unfeasible', at the time. Now, however," Hiccup shrugged. "Well… Suffice it to say that the matter will be … 'open to discussion', once we have dealt with the current threat."
The current of murmurs in the room, angry only a few minutes before, became excited; a sense of awed wonder settling on the group.

Finally, the Chief of The Shivering Shores again turned to Hiccup, "So… You've delivered on your 'important information on a related encounter'; and 'news that had a profound effect on everyone at this table'… I believe this brings us to your plan?"

Hiccup's eyes gleamed; he took a moment to glance around the hall, than he began to talk.

A short time later;

It had taken Hiccup just fifteen minutes to describe his plan, in full detail, to the assembled Vikings. The silence that had followed had gone unbroken for almost six minutes.

Finally, the Chief of The Shivering Shores turned to his eldest son, and said, "If I ever start talking about attacking Berk, you grab the nearest shield, whack me over the head, and tell me to come to my senses – That's an order."
His son, who looked as though someone had just whacked him over the head with a shield, merely nodded; his eyes still fixed on Hiccup.

To Be Continued…