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This is a short chapter, but I promise the next one will be longer.~ I hope you enjoy it!

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- chapter two -

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Darkness. Pain.

His mind was a hurricane of memories and hallucinations caused by the fever. The pain that was coming from his belly and thorax made he fall in unconsciousness everytime he was able to wake up. His hand was aching as well as his head, and the weakness caused by the loss of so much blood was keeping him still.

Hiccup didn't know if it was part of the hallucinations or if it really felt like something warm and even a little tasty was going down his throat sometimes, and if the feeling of something cold and wet almost constant on his forehead was real.

He tried to open his eyes, that were really heavy, when he felt that again. His confused gaze wandered until he found a person near him holding a big cup made of clay with both hands.

It was a woman, and she seemed to be on her forties. Her medium brown hair was braided on her backs and her eyes were an intense forest green. And something suddenly bothered Hiccup.

When his mind finally absorbed all the information it got, a weird sensation of nostalgia hit him. Did he know that woman? Who was she? And the look on her face... The young viking felt protected with her. He felt like he was lying on his own bed and being watched by someone who loved him dearly. That was quite weird, but he didn't care. He kind of liked that and the pain was making he unconsciously thank her for the good feeling he was having.

The woman took the cup to Hiccup's mouth again and helped him to drink the hot liquid in it. It tasted like green tea, but the consistency was thicker. And that was the last thing the boy made before being forced by the pain and fever to lose consciousness again.

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Notion of time became something foreign in Hiccup's life while he was unconscious.

Sometimes he woke up trembling and babbling nonsense things and his dragon's name, sometimes he groaned in pain for hours - no matter if it was day or night - and kept that woman helping him the whole time. He didn't know where he was and what happened to Toothless, and it made his delirious mind come to bad conclusions.

But he didn't want to believe that. He would hold any hope that Toothless was fine, that he survived and would be waiting for him with his toothless smile and his big feline eyes.

The dragon, however, was lying down on the ground near Hiccup's bed the whole time. He hadn't woken up yet, but he was receiving a good care, too.

He had lost too much blood and his injuries were aching a lot. Even though he tried his hard to save Hiccup and keep himself awake, his body still made he fall in a deep state of unconsciousness.

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One day, Hiccup woke up feeling a little better. The fractured rib and the cuts on his belly and hand gave him a break. They were aching, but he could handle it. And the first thing he did was to search for his dragon. "Toothless?" His voice was low and almost fading because of the weakness. He tried to sit on the bed - that was made of black wool and some thin boards on logs -, but a sudden and strong pain crossed his body, making him scream and not move again.

The next thing Hiccup heard was a dragon's growl followed by footsteps. That woman again.

"What happened?" She asked, concerned. Her velvet voice was low, but firm. "Are you okay?"

And the weird feeling of nostalgia hit Hiccup stronger now. He felt his whole body tremble as an urge to cry almost dominated him. He knew that woman. He was pretty convinced now. But that feeling... that mixture of sadness and the feeling that he forgot something. Someone. That woman, the way she looked at him. Hiccup knew it somehow. "You..." He tried to say something while holding his belly with his good hand under the blanket. "Who are you?"

The forest green eyes shook. The woman, for some reason, seemed a little distressed now. "You are in pain again. I will bring more medicial herbs." And, as fast as she appeared, she was gone again.

Hiccup tried to calm down by breathing slower. Maybe the fever was coming back and it made he feel those things. Or maybe he really knew that woman. He needed to think straight and discover what was going on there.

When he was feeling less pain, he looked around again. The place was some kind of cave and had a few objects in it. There were three big straw baskets in the right side of the cave, some clay pots and more wool folded near these things. There was also a small wooden table near the bed with more clay pots and three books, all with dark red covers, and what looked like a fire in the middle of the cave. The place wasn't too big, but it wasn't small, too. Hiccup looked to his left side now, and what he saw made his heart almost jump out of his throat.

"Toothless!" He smiled, although the concern was present in his mind. "Hey, bud! Toothless!"

But Toothless wasn't waking up. He seemed to be in a profound sleep. The injury was now tied, but it looked a little swollen. Hiccup was happy and relieved to see the dragon, and he hoped his best friend would be fine.

The viking sighed and closed his eyes again. But it didn't last long.

When he heard more footsteps coming from outside the cave, he opened his eyes again and tried to lift his head enough to look at the entrance. It seemed to be a sunny day, and Hiccup wished he could get out of that bed.

The footsteps became closer and their owner finally appeared. Hiccup was waiting for that woman, so he got surprised when he noticed who was there.

The Misterious Man with his mask, but no cape this time.

And he seemed to be as surprised as Hiccup. The man wasn't expecting to find the viking awake and the fact that he was now under his curious gaze made he step back a little and look to the side for a moment, as if he was searching for something or someone.

Hiccup tried to sit on the bed, but more carefully now. And he finally succeed. "Who are you and where am I?" His tone came out more demanding than he wanted.

The Misterious Man didn't move or speak. And that mask with black eyes and thorns made he look like a creepy statue.

Hiccup frowned. "Okay, so... I think you saved me and my dragon. So, erm, thank you."

And nothing, again. An awkward silence took over the place while the man stood there and Hiccup occupied himself in examining that misterious creature. The boy remembered that the man acted like a dragon in that ship, which just made his curiosity grow even more. Hiccup needed to discover who the hell were that man and that woman.

But, suddenly, the Misterious Man looked to the side again and this time he walked away, leaving Hiccup alone.

What the hell?

"I'm sorry for taking so long." That woman entered the cave again, now with a big pot made of clay under her right arm and a cup in her left hand. She got a little surprised to see Hiccup sitting on the bed and looked at him with a disapproving look on her face. "You shouldn't be forcing your body like this. Your wounds aren't completely closed yet." She gave the cup to the boy and walked to the sleeping dragon near him.

Hiccup just observed her. He was too intrigued about the situation and that person to say something. She was wearing a light brown tunic with black and dark brown fabric on her waist in what should be a skirt. She was also wearing pants under it and large boots. The clothes looked like the ones viking women usually wore, so Hiccup was sure that that woman wasn't from other region.

The woman put the pot on the ground and took out of it a small and wet cloth, putting it on Toothless' tied wound and rubbing it there very carefully.

Hiccup looked at that in silence while drinking that strange thing that tasted like green tea. And he kept it for a moment. "Is he going to be okay? He should have woken up by now."

"Dragons enter in a deep sleep when they get injuried. It helps them to cure themselves faster." She said without looking away from the dragon. "It will take some time, but he will be fine."

The boy looked at his best friend. He was happy to know that, but it still made his heart tighter to see him like that. "You know a lot about dragons, don't you?" And he only got a smile as a response to that. "How long have we been here?"

The woman finished what she was doing and washed the cloth again before putting it on Toothless' left wing. It was tied, too, but didn't look as swollen as his body. "Approximately two months."

Hiccup almost choked on his drink. "What?! I need to go back home. I- I can't stay here any longer." And tried to get up, but once again the sudden and strong pain kept him on bed, making him groan for a second.

The woman sighed and put the cloth in the pot again. She then stood up and walked to the boy one more time. "I can't let you go now. You and your dragon need to rest." She said, and took the cup - that was empty now - from Hiccup's hand.

The viking looked at her face. For some reason, he felt that he should obey that woman and that she really cared about him. Even though he didn't know her name. He felt sheltered. "Who are you?"

The woman walked again and put the cup on the table near the bed, and she stood there, looking at it. She stayed in silence for a moment and sighed before talking. "When you wake up feeling better, I will show you something. And you will know who I am."

Well, that didn't help at all. Instead, it made Hiccup even more curious. He never took his gaze away from her face. "Alright. And who is that other person with the mask?"

She smiled, and approached Hiccup again. "You will know him, too. Now, go back to sleep." The woman put one hand on Hiccup's nape and the other on his chest, helping him to lie down again slowly enough to prevent him to feel more pain.

"But I'm not sleepy." He protested, even though he left her help him to lie down.

She put her left hand on his forehead and ignored the almost pout on his face. "You are not running a fever. That's good."

The young viking couldn't hold back a small smile. Those two misterious people saved him and Toothless, and now this person was taking care of them. They could have died and Hiccup was really grateful for those people being there for them.

But he was also worried about where they were. He was worried about his father and wondered how and when he and Toothless could go home. And he really wanted to know who those people were. Hiccup was sure he knew that woman, and he would discover why he felt that way. No matter what he should do.

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In that night, Hiccup dreamed about his mother. He couldn't really remember her face, but the warm and comfortable feeling that he had in her arms as a baby never left his mind. He missed her so much... He missed what they could have done together, and the fact that he would never be able to change all the years without her hurt him more than his actual wounds.

The fever came back at some point and his belly started to ache really bad again. That woman still took care of him, with the help of the Misterious Man when Hiccup was unconscious.

For some reason, he was avoiding interacting with the kid. He seemed to... not being used to talk or look at other humans, which would make it harder for Hiccup to discover who he really was. And everytime he woke up, the man quickly put his mask again and walked away.

But the Misterious Man wasn't afraid of Hiccup. Not really. He was afraid of what would be the viking's reaction if he saw who he was. The man never left anyone but that woman know his real identity, and he was afraid that Hiccup would see him as something really abnormal or as a danger.

He couldn't understand why that boy's opinion was so important to him, or why he, above all the fear, wanted to get closer to him.

The Misterious Man finished cleaning Toothless' wounds and looked at the woman, who was now near Hiccup, sitting on the bed. "Valka, are you really going to tell him?" He asked with a little of concern on his voice.

She stayed in silence for a moment while looking at the sleeping viking near her. "He deserves to know everything."

Hiccup didn't know yet, but in a few days his life was going to change completely.