Chapter Four

A/N: Later in this chapter I make a reference to the Berkians speaking Norse. That is because in the books, that's the language they speak. (I'm assuming it would be the same in the movie/TV series but I felt it wouldn't be right to say they speak English since they obviously wouldn't.)

Also, I basically googled the Latin words for this chapter so they're probably completely wrong. Sorry...

LONG CHAPTER! Woot woot~

In response to...

The Wolf Raven: Yay, thank you~ :D And LOL! hand-to-claw combat has returned! XD

Tasermon's Partner: Lots of good questions (which I'll do my best to answer in the coming chapters). And yeah, I love to imagine what it would be like if Astrid taught some of the lessons...my headcanon is that she's just super rough about it. XD

Thanks to everyone who reads & reviews, I really appreciate it! 3

"Whoever is after me, might be after you as well..."

Hiccup shivers as those words leave his father's mouth. He can't help but think back to just a few hours ago. That very assassin had quite literally bumped into him. What would he have done if he knew who Hiccup was...? Would he have tried to-

"Don't worry, sir." Astrid says, interrupting Hiccup's thoughts. "The other Riders and I will keep an eye on him while he's not at home. And I'm sure Toothless won't let anything happen to him either."

That earns her a satisfied snort from the Night Fury, who bristles his wings and growls deep in his throat, as if to look more threatening and protective.

Stoick nods, smiling half-heartedly. "Thank you, Astrid. I appreciate your help. Now, I've got to head over to the prison to oversee the interrogation. I'll let you kids know when we've heard something." With that, Stoick turns and heads for the doors of the Hall, not wanting to miss his meant-to-be killer's interrogation...

Hiccup watches him go, his stomach still all tied up in knots. The mere thought of someone wanting to kill his father is enough to make him sick. What would the village do without their Chief? What would he do without his father...?

Hopefully, he won't have to find out anytime soon...

At that moment, Hiccup couldn't have guessed what would happen over the next week. But it would be enough to throw his beloved island into a torrent of chaos, enough to make him hire that very assassin to kill the Chief, himself... And it all starts exactly one week after their encounter in the Great Hall...

It's early morning. The sky is still a pale shade of vanilla, streaked with pink clouds and the sun is only a faint glimmer of orange on the horizon. The air is brisk, Berk having once again receded back into its normal, bitter temperature. But Hiccup and Toothless are used to this and don't even seem to notice it as they soar above the island.

The young Viking is smiling contently, his auburn hair rippling in the wind as Toothless takes a sharp nose dive toward the ocean, roaring excitedly as they rocket toward its churning surface. Hiccup smirks at his best friend and his muscles instinctively tense as the Night Fury's wings snap open, whipping up a harsh mist as they suddenly level off.

It's been a week since the assassin was caught and while he refuses to say a word, despite the 'interrogation' surely taking place within the prison, Stoick is sure of a few things. This man isn't from anywhere in their archipelago, his accent is too foreign. Meaning either whoever wants Stoick dead went to very extreme lengths not to get caught...or they, themselves, are not from any of the nearby islands. But that begs the question: if they aren't from the archipelago...why would they want the Chief dead?

Hiccup's previously happy expression fades as these thoughts assault his mind, dampening his spirits almost immediately. He just wishes the guards would get something out of that assassin already so he won't have to worry anymore... He just-

Wack!

"Hey!" Hiccup protests, flinching as Toothless smacks him with his ear again. The look on his dragon's face is threatening. As if saying, 'don't ruin our flying time by thinking about that stuff!'. He sighs and nods his head, petting Toothless's side. "Thanks, bud...I know I shouldn't worry so much."

The Night Fury coos at him and switches his attention back to flying. He wouldn't want to crash, after all. But he already knows what Hiccup is going to say before he's said it and so he starts banking off to the right, in the direction of the village.

Hiccup, once again distracted by his worrisome thoughts, tells him anyway. "Come on, bud. Let's go back...I promised Astrid we'd go to the Academy today and we're already late, by the looks of it." He says, motioning to the bustling road below him.

But then he realizes...

Everyone is moving in the same direction, toward the docks. From this high up, he can see the port just by craning his neck a little. And what he sees there is highly confusing.

"What...is that?" He wonders out loud.

The ship is unlike anything he's ever seen before. Many times larger than any of his father's and built in an odd shape. And the flag that is blustering on the mast... He's never seen it before. Even Toothless is intrigued by the massive boat's presence, sniffing the air as they fly closer. They don't even smell familiar, so unlike the scent of Berk he's grown used to...

"Take us down, buddy." Hiccup suddenly tells him. "I want to get a closer look at who that is..."

When the two friends eventually find a place to land among the curious crowd, Hiccup slides off the saddle and motions for Toothless to stay put. It will be easier for him to get through to the front alone. And when he does break through...he finds himself staring at a very...strange sight.

The foreigner is dressed up in long, flowing robe of deepest shade of red. The tunic underneath is a stark white and lined with golden buttons and a black brooch. His blonde hair is slicked back over his head and accented by a golden circlet on his broad forehead. Standing beside him on the tip of the ship is another man dressed in much simpler clothing, but is also more familiar to the Vikings.

It's armor. A style Hiccup hasn't seen before but armor nonetheless. He is also wearing a sword on his hip and a dagger on his thigh. The two odd men are speaking together in hushed voices, their black eyes scanning the crowd below them.

"Hiccup...?" A familiar voice whispers in his ear.

He turns, relieved to find Astrid suddenly standing beside him. "Before you ask, I have no idea what's going on. All I know is this guy just suddenly showed up and no one seems to know who he is..."

The Viking girl nods, her blue eyes narrowing at the ship. "He obviously isn't from around here." She comments, noticing his weird get-up and unfamiliar ship. "Has he said anything?"

"Not that I heard." Hiccup tells her. "But Toothless and I just got here a few minutes ago." Then, as if he heard them talking, the foreigner lifts a hand into the air, drawing all the attention back to him. When he does speak, it's in an accent so thick they have to really strain to understand him. Wherever he's from, they obvious don't speak Norse. Or at least not fluently.

"Attention, people of Berk!" He shouts over the roar of the crowd. "It's come to the attention of the High King of our growing empire that your island has recently lost its Chief..."

Hiccup stiffens. Wait...what?

The Hooligans seemingly explode at that. What does he mean they've lost their Chief? Most everyone saw Stoick this morning! He's still very much alive!

That's when a sickening realization enters Hiccup's mind... One that pales his skin and almost knocks the breath out of him.

"And we are very sorry for your loss...but consider this a blessing!" He continues shamelessly. "For our High King has decided to grant you fortunate people access to our prosperity!"

"What is he talking about...?" Astrid whispers, glancing sideways at Hiccup. But her curiosity is killed on the spot when she notices the outraged look on her friend's face. "Hiccup?" She asks, touching his arm. "What's wrong?"

"As of now, this island is under the custody of myself and my men! I will be acting as Chief from now on and go-between with the empire!"

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" A familiar voice shouts from the crowd. Gobber shoves his way to the front, waving a hooked arm at the man. "OUR CHIEF IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE AND THERE'S NO WAY WE'RE GOING TO BE TAKEN OVER BY THE LIKES OF YOU!"

This sends a shocked tremor over the foreigner's men. The Chief is still alive? But how?

"Hiccup...?" Astrid whispers again, growing concerned when she notices the way he grinds his teeth together in fury.

"He's the one..." He snarls.

"What...?"

"He's the one who sent the assassin after my father." Hiccup growls, his fists clenching. "That's why he thought he was dead...his 'High King' told him to take over Berk so he hired an assassin to kill my dad!" He doesn't even calm down when Toothless squeezes his way to his Rider's side, sensing the boy's rage.

"Gods..." Astrid breathes in horror. Both teens turn back to Gobber, who is now shouting furious obscenities at the other man. At this point, he is so red in the face and angry he has to be held back by the crowd.

"I need to find my dad." Hiccup tells her. "With this guy being here, who knows what danger he might be in now!" But before he gets the chance to-

"DRACO!" Someone on the ship shouts. And Hiccup doesn't need to speak their language to know what that must mean. By the way they immediately shift their gazes to Toothless and begin drawing their swords, it must mean 'dragon'.

And in that instant, Hiccup's fury is replaced by terror as three archers appear on the deck, aiming their arrows at Toothless...

"NO!" He screams in desperation, instinctively moving between the enemy and his dragon. "DON'T HURT HIM!"

The archers look to their leader expectantly. They're positive he'll give the okay to fire at will... But he doesn't. Their leader raises his hand and then lowers it again, eyes narrowing at Hiccup and then Toothless.

"Non mittet in eam..." He says in a firm voice. And with looks of confusion, the archers lower their bows. When he speaks again, he's looking directly at Hiccup. "Who are you, boy? How is it you've got that dragon under control?"

Under normal circumstances, Hiccup would have thought his out response more carefully...but now, he's so angry at this man he's doesn't care what he thinks. "My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, heir to Berk's throne and son of Stoick the Vast. And the only reason this dragon isn't already blowing your ship to pieces is because he's been trained. By me. Because that's what we do here. We train dragons." His expression is hard when he growls, "And we're not afraid to use them to defend our home."

He can almost feel Astrid's pride in him at his words. Spoken like a true Viking! She folds her arms over her chest and grins smugly at the man, who is still staring at Hiccup as if trying to decide if he's lying or not...

But it is true that the beast isn't attacking them...so it must be the truth. These people train dragons...? The High King sure didn't anticipate that. It's going to be tougher to take over this island now that the Chief is still alive and they have dragons on their side.

But this kid... The foreigner named Ymir smirks at Hiccup. He'd heard that the Chief had a scrawny, runt of a son...but he'd been under the impression that the kid was the quiet sort. Certainly not this cocky little loud mouth!

Now this does present an issue. He decides. Nothing worked out as planned...but we can't just back down. Can't afford to look weak in these people's eyes. So there's only one thing to do...

"Well, it is very nice to make acquaintances with you, Hiccup. And it's very... interesting to know you people have dragons tamed... But there's obviously been a miscommunication. So I'd like to have an audience with your father personally. Just to get some things straightened out..."

The teen bristles. "What?! There's no way-"

"Of course you can have a meeting..." Oddly enough, it's Gobber who steps forward to invite this stranger in their home. "This way to the Great Hall." He sneers, a malicious look on his bearded face.

And at that moment, Hiccup really does hope his mentor loses his temper again and decides to show this son-of-a-half-troll what it's like to mess with an angry Blacksmith with a hook for a hand...

But right now he's got more important issues to deal with. Like finding the other Riders and warning them of what's going on. If things get messy, they might need to fight back...

A/N: It's not often that I say this with total confidence...but I really like this chapter! Not sure why...I just do. And I hope you guys did too!

Don't forget to REVIEW and let me know what you thought! :D

Also...

#SassyHiccup XD