Author's note: Okay, so I should probably warn you that from now on, I will mix real locations with purely invented ones. I'm also using Gaelic vocabulary to give the story more depth. Just so you know. This chapter is dedicated to Miss Pookamonga, who knows why. :-) Also, I would like to point out that while I'm happy when people like this story enough to fave it and subscribe to alerts, I would be even more happy if those people could take the time to tell me why they fave it. It takes only a couple of minutes. I welcome any kind of review, as long as it's written politely. =D

I think that's all I wanted to say. I'm shutting up now. ^^

Warmth and softness surrounded him, embracing him in their comfortable aura. He did not know where they came from, but he certainly did not mind. Although he could not explain how he knew it, he understood he was slowly coming back to his senses, and it was only when he tried to move that he became fully aware of the several layers of fur that covered his naked body and of the bed he was lying in. His fingers twitched. His ears then perceived the familiar cracking noise and high-pitched whistle logs made when they were burning in the hearth. There was also a voice he did not recognize, quietly humming a tune he was not familiar with. Without opening his eyelids for they still felt incredibly heavy, Hiccup concentrated on his sense of smell, and his nostrils grew larger as they detected the floating, utterly wonderful scent of fresh bread and smoked salmon. He breathed in deeply, and his stomach immediately rumbled in both delight and protest.

Hiccup suddenly realized he was starving. Silently cursing the way his whole body ached, he frowned, willing his eyes to open. It proved to be a difficult task, for his eyelids seemed to be glued with the remnants of his sleep, which he knew had been agitated and filled with nightmares he had not even been able to escape from by waking up. Light eventually made its way to his eyes, and he found his vision was blurry to say the least. He knew rushing things was pointless, and so he patiently waited until he was able to clearly see the ceiling above him, from which numerous random items were hanging. He blinked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing, and found himself staring at a pair of wide, bright blue eyes. He let out a cry of surprise whilst his heart executed a brusque somersault within his chest.

"Hey there! It's about time you woke up!"

Had he been standing, Hiccup knew he would have jumped with fright. One of his hands dashed to rest upon his pounding heart while he stared of the child who was bending above him. He was smiling from ear to ear, and his blue eyes -that were not unlike Astrid's, Hiccup absent-mindedly noticed- seemed to shine with genuine joy. His cheeks were strewn with freckles, and the way his bright orange hair and eyebrows were flaming was enhanced by the glow of the fire. The child's forehead was almost hidden under wild bangs, and a small, tight braid framed the left side of his face. Hiccup guessed the boy had to be roughly eight years old. Ten tops. The child's enthusiastic voice rose in the air again as he briefly looked over his small shoulder to call for his mother, telling her "the man" was finally awake, and returning his attention to the stranger beneath him.

"Are you feeling any better now? My mom and I took good care of you, you know. What's your name? How old are you? Where do you come from? How did you end up here? How-

Hiccup laughed good-heartedly as he put his forefinger on the boy's lips to silence him.

"That's a lot of questions, and I could ask you the same ones."

The boy smiled sheepishly, rubbing his neck as if embarrassed. He opened his mouth again to speak, but before any words could be uttered, another voice cut in.

"Nolan, how many times do I have to tell you to stop being so nosy? Our guest has just woken up and you're already drowning him with questions. Would you just let him breathe?"

Hiccup sat up slowly, groaning through gritted teeth and scolding at the pain that engulfed his left leg even though he did admit that it felt much better, or rather less worse, than when he had collapsed onto the beach, the Gods only knew how long ago. The young Viking looked at the woman who strode along to where he and the boy were, drying her hands clean on the apron she wore in front of her blue dress. Her hair – which she had tied in a ponytail with both a headband of pale yellow fabric and a leather knot-, was the same bright orange as the boy's –Nolan, if he had heard correctly- and her eyes were the same blue. They sparkled with what Hiccup guessed was pure intelligence and mischief. She was rather small, and certainly not as slim as she probably used to be before she had given birth to Nolan and his potential brothers and sisters, but she did have one of the sweetest smiles Hiccup had ever seen. Her voice was high-pitched, extremely melodious, and judging by the tune he had previously heard, he was sure she was a great singer. She also wore two round, golden earrings that matched her pendant and contrasted with the green pearls that constituted her necklace. She had almost joined him when she unexpectedly slapped her forehead in remembrance before turning round and mumbling something about her forgetting her goods manners.

Hiccup smiled. She had not even told him what her name was yet, but he had already decided he liked her. She came back a couple of minutes later, holding a makeshift wooden tray that was collapsing under the weight of food and several beverages – some of them alluringly steaming. She set it down on a rickety table that had been conveniently placed beside the bed before sitting down on the edge of the bed, being careful not to bump into Hiccup's leg.

"Well, it is very nice and quite thoughtful of you to join us for breakfast, young man. Your timing's perfect! Go on, help yourself."

"I-uh…"

She laughed softly and reached out to place her palm against his forehead, smiling approvingly after a couple of seconds had gone by.

"Your fever is almost gone. It seems the herbs I made you drink have finally been efficient. You still need to rest though," she added whilst gesturing to Hiccup's left leg, "because that's a pretty nasty wound you've got there. I may need to change the bandages soon."

He remained silent for a second, looking at the woman and the boy beside him and wondering what he should and could reply, and eventually opted for the question that had been tugging at his mind ever since he had woken up.

"Thank you. But-uh…where is this place? And," he hesitated, not really sure whether he was being offending or not and sincerely hoping the second possibility was the right one, "who are you?"

She burst out laughing, and Hiccup felt relief wash over him as she did. She handed him one of the hot beverages she had brought with her, and he took a careful sip, not wanting to burn his lips, before feeling his eyes widen in delight at the discovery of the wonderful taste that filled his mouth. She wiped a tear of laughter away when she spoke again, her voice calm and collected and obviously amused.

"Oh, I am sorry. You must have been so confused! I should have told you straight away. Please forgive my lack of consideration. You are in the village of Teileann, on the north-west coast of Ireland. My name is Kiristi. Oh, and this scallywag here," she affectionately ruffled the boy's hair for emphasis and possibly good measure, 'is my son Nolan. He's the one who found you on the beach two days ago."

"Really?"

"Yep! And honestly," Nolan added as an afterthought whilst pumping his chest with pride, "God only knows what you'd look like if I hadn't!"

"Nolan!"

"What? It's true!"

"Some things are better left unsaid, Nolan."

"But-

"It's okay, Kiristi. I don't mind. It actually feels good to hear someone making jokes after…after everything. How can I thank the both of you?"

"Getting well as soon as possible would be nice. Although, telling us your name would probably come in handy, too."

The Viking chuckled. "I suppose I can do both. My name's Hiccup Horren-

"Your name's Hiccup? Like hiccups?" Nolan cut in as if he could not believe his ears. "You've got to be kidding us. That's a stupid name."

"Nolan!"

"No, I'm with him on this one. I never liked my name anyway. Where I come from, parents believe that the weirder your name is, the bigger your chances of scaring off trolls and other creatures get. Go figure."

"And where do you come from, Hiccup?" Kiristi asked softly.

He looked down. If he really was in Ireland, then telling those people he was a Viking might actually be a bad idea. It was highly probable that Teileann had had to suffer from Viking raids, and if that was the case, the last thing he wanted to do was stirring gloomy memories in Kiristi's and Nolan's respective minds. It simply wouldn't be fair, considering what they had done for him. On the other hand, they deserved the truth.

"My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. I was born on the island of Berk, and I am the only son of Stoick the Vast, mighty chieftain of the Hairy Hooligans tribe."

Silence settled in as Kiristi and Nolan looked him up and down, and he was already wishing he could have kept his mouth shut when the boy suddenly began bouncing up and down before jumping onto the bed and hugging him tightly, a huge grin spreading on his face.

"You're the Viking who tamed a Night Fury! The one the stories tell about! I knew you'd come here someday! I saw you! Didn't I tell you so, Mom? Didn't I?"

Kiristi nodded solemnly, a quizzical expression plastered all over her features. "Yes you did, sweetheart. Now, go fetch some firewood before we start freezing, please."

Nolan let go of Hiccup immediately, and jumped to his feet to run ever so excitedly towards the door. Hiccup glanced at the fireplace and then at the amount of logs that were neatly piling up in a small pyramid beside the hearth, waiting to be used. There was enough wood to last for several days, and Hiccup automatically deduced that Kiristi was only creating a diversion in order to remain alone with him.

"I'll be back soon!" Nolan joyously called over his shoulder before disappearing outside, the door slamming shut behind him. Kiristi turned to Hiccup, staring at him with narrowed eyes. He suddenly felt as if her pupils were piercing right through his soul, baring him until he was nothing but the sheer essence that was him. A shiver ran down his spine, and he unknowingly trembled under the intensity of her stare. Eventually, her eyebrows returned to their normal position and he released the breath he had been holding.

"There is no lie in your eyes."

"I wouldn't lie to you. What was that all about? What did Nolan mean?"

She sighed, and her shoulders slumped.

"Well, you see, Nolan is what we call a Dreamer. When he's asleep, he has the strange ability to glimpse events that are to happen in the future. He doesn't always remember them, though. As far as I'm concerned, his visions have always proved to be true. He's been blabbering for months about an amputated man, a tamer of dragons, whom the sea would bring to Teileann. I bet he never thought it would be Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III himself, though. And yet, here you are."

"Is it just me getting stupid ideas or is this some kind of a bad news for you?"

Kiristi let out a tiny gasp, astounded by the fact that the young man in front of her had actually seen right through her mask in a matter of minutes. She had been so sure he wouldn't notice.

"No. Well, yes. It's complicated. I've come to associate Nolan's visions with bad omens. It's just…the last time Nolan predicted something, it had to do with fishermen disappearing at sea. Two days later, my husband, Feren, and several other men set sail… And we never saw them again."

She was surprised when he shyly took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb across her older skin in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. "I'm sorry," he breathed, "I didn't mean to force you to remember this."

"It is not your fault. Thank you for caring, though."

He smiled a bitter, understanding smile, and Kiristi knew he was not telling her everything.

"Is Nolan the only family you've got left?"

She smiled. "No. There's Kiel, too."

"Kiel?"

"Nolan's big brother. He looks a lot like Feren did. I think it's both wonderful and heartbreaking, you know. Every time I see Kiel, I see Feren through him."

"I can understand that. And where is Kiel?"

"Oh, he's not here. All the men in my family have always been fishermen, but Kiel has never liked the sea like the rest of us. And he's always wanted to do something that would give him the opportunity to earn a better living. So, he enlisted to become a soldier. I didn't want him to do this, but of course boys will be boys and he wouldn't listen to me. He visits us when he gets the time."

He nodded, amazed by the cheerfulness Kiristi displayed even when talking about what she disliked. He remembered a question he had been meaning to ask her.

"Kiristi, if I may ask…"

"Yes?"

"Had you known I was a Viking, would you still have helped me?"

"I am a healer, young man. That means I help anyone who's in need. And for the record, I don't see how I could have known you were a Viking. You certainly don't look like one."

He couldn't help but chuckle.

"You wouldn't believe how often I get that." He remarked, making the both of them burst into laughter. Once they had quieted down, Kiristi stood up with every ounce of determination she could summon.

"I'll tell you what, Hiccup. Since I've burned your clothes- don't give me that look, they were completely torn anyway- I'm going to fetch you some new ones. Feren was about as tall as you are, so his former clothes should be a perfect fit for you. Eat at your heart's content while I look for them and for a suitable crutch. Then you can get dressed, and tell me what exactly happened to you. When we're done talking I'll ask Nolan to give you a tour of Teileann. Breathing some fresh air and walking will do you good."

"Sounds great. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Like I always say to Nolan, those who the sea chooses to spare are blessed, and it is our duty to help them."

Teileann was a fine village, located near the impressive cliffs of Sliabh Liag. It had a fine deep harbor and boat launching facilities with safe mooring. Everywhere Hiccup and Nolan went, traditional music was also being played, and Hiccup loved the sound and rhythm of it. Flutes, drums and harps rivaled each other in vitality and gave the village a cheerful atmosphere. The wind blew softly, peacefully, in a possible attempt to prove that it could be benevolent and agreeable as well as malevolent and dreadful.

Hiccup and Nolan had been walking together for a while, talking about everything the boy could think of, though it mostly consisted of how to tame and train dragons. Nolan had even asked an unexpected question about Hiccup's abilities as a blacksmith, and he had gawked in absolute wonder when the Viking had started to describe some of the masterpieces he had fashioned, Toothless's tailfin and Dagmar in particular. Talking about Dagmar had of course led Hiccup to talk – or rather to ramble- about Astrid, and Nolan had immediately noticed the sparkle of adoration that lit up the green eyes of his new friend.

It was almost noon when they decided to leave the beach they had wandered to so to go back to Kiristi's dwelling, where they would be able to swallow some food down and, in Hiccup's case, maybe even have a nap.

That was to ignore the arrival of the Ciar Knights. Their general, who answered to the name of Holin, had personally come to the harbor in order to see why its inhabitants still hadn't paid the taxes he'd asked for and he definitely intended to set things straight if that was what it took for those bloody fishermen to understand that he wasn't someone they could toy around.

He thought he had made this clear before, but apparently that didn't prevent the fishermen from blabbering about how difficult it was this year to make both ends meet.

Honestly, he was tired of the lame excuses the villagers tried to invent to fool him, most of them dealing with the lack of fishes they had been unable to catch. So what? If they were good enough to set sail and tread the waters where the fishes meant to feed their miserable families –the families he was supposed to protect against any attack – could be caught, then it simply meant they were too lazy and selfish and obviously lacked a fair amount of perseverance to meet their commitments and provide the city with the fruits of their work. And if they didn't meet their commitments, why in the world should he?

As far as he was concerned, he was only being fair when he ordered his men to sack Teileann and make an example of this place, even if his own second-in-command, the Captain Tiernan, had tried to make him change his mind, arguing that the villagers did not deserve such a treatment. Holin thought he really had to do something to help Tiernan toughen up a bit and stop trying to intercede on behalf of those scums.

Besides, Holin liked the way the fire ravaged the houses in front of him, their dwellers running in all directions to escape from the devastating flames. Then again, if they did escape from them, they had to face his Ciar Knights. Needless to say, that was a lost battle in itself.

It wasn't long before he could hear men trying to fight and defend themselves and their families –an odd urge he had never quite understood. In his humble opinion, it was far more convenient to keep oneself from getting imprisoned within the yoke of a family. Pushing his musings aside for the time being, Holin resumed his staring at the fiery show – he just loved to make such puns- that took place in front of his eyes.

Children, helpless and horrified, crying out in utter terror whilst women begged their black-armored assailants -who had taken it upon themselves to show them what real men were made of- to spare them, and the whole thing made Holin suddenly feel a familiar, natural urge. He decided that he would have to do something about his own needs once they came back to the city. Of course, said needs would have to wait until the Ravens' Tribunal was satisfied.

Suddenly, Holin heard something peculiar. He could have sworn a woman had just cried out something about getting away from here and keeping someone safe. His eyes narrowed, trying to find a rational explanation for this and they methodically began to scan the whole area. At first, he didn't see anything that seemed to be out of place in the raging inferno. And finally, finally, through the ascending wreath of ash and smoke, he spotted two figures – a man and a boy- running away in the distance.

"Captain!"

Tiernan made his horse step forward until he was beside his immediate superior, glad to avert his eyes from the slaughter that was taking place in front of his eyes and taking great relief in his earlier decision to assign another mission to Kiel. At least he was not there to witness this massacre.

"My General?"

Holin extended his arm, his forefinger indicating the place Tiernan had to look at.

"Get them."

When Hiccup and Nolan had come back from the beach and seen what was happening to the village, they had been left rooted to the spot. At least, until the boy had run off as fast as his legs enabled him, yelling for his mother whilst tears of panic had rolled freely down his freckled cheeks. Without his prosthesis, there was no way Hiccup could have caught up with the vigorous boy. The crutch Kiristi had given him could only help him stand and hop around.

His leg had not appreciated the physical strain, but Hiccup had known he had to get Nolan before it was too late. Remembering Astrid's training sessions, he had focused solely on his objective, ignoring both the pain in his leg and the ever-increasing amount of corpses the ground had been covered up with. Coughing and tears burning his eyes, Hiccup had eventually been able to grab Nolan by his shirt in the heartbeat of time before a soldier spotted the both of them. Hating himself for it, Hiccup had forced the child to keep quiet whilst he had started to look for a way to escape from Teileann. That was when they had suddenly seen Kiristi being taken away by two armored men. She had been beaten up, and possibly worse considering how torn her dress was, and Hiccup had felt the need to throw up in disgust.

He had not been able to prevent Nolan from screaming.

Kiristi had immediately searched for the origin of the noise, and the exact, terrifying moment her gaze had held Hiccup's had been excruciatingly painful. She had known what was at stake, and he had remembered her words about Nolan's visions being bad omens. He had been Nolan's latest vision. The last thing she had done before being dragged away had been to beg him to save her child. He had nodded, and their gazes had unlocked.

And so he had forcefully grabbed the boy's arm, ignoring his desperate protests. And they had started to run for their lives.

Hiccup kept forcing Nolan to run, and when he dared to look above his shoulder, he was panic stricken. A man, wearing a uniform and riding a horse, was rapidly gaining ground on them. The powerful beast had been put at full gallop, and it wouldn't take long for the rider, who had drawn his sword in a fateful promise, to join them. Looking around him, Hiccup saw no place where Nolan and he could hide. Sensing that something was wrong, Nolan stopped running and spotted the threat.

Hiccup pushed him roughly with his crutch, ordering him to go away. The child hesitated, still visibly shaken by everything that had happened. And just when the young Viking was going to hurl hateful words at the boy in a desperate attempt to make him flee, he felt something whiz past his cheek. Trying to make sense of it, Hiccup turned round just in time to see an arrow stick in the breast of his pursuer's horse. The animal toppled to the ground, emitting a loud neigh of pain and dragging its uncomprehending rider down in its fall.

Hiccup and Nolan both span round when they heard the distinct sound of another horse galloping at full speed towards them from the opposite direction. This new rider wore neither a uniform nor armor but brown pants along with a white shirt and a red hood. A sword hung at his belt, and both a bow and a quiver were strapped onto his back. Whoever he was, he had just saved the both of them, if only temporarily. He had to be on their side. Hiccup waited until the man draw level with them and then scooped Nolan up in his arms, shoving the boy into the rider's grasp.

"Take him away!"

"No! I don't wanna go with him! No! Hiccup!" Nolan protested, struggling with all his might. "Let me go!"

The rider didn't loosen his grip on the child, looking down at the amputated young man in front of him.

"What about you?" he inquired.

"To Hel with me! I'll manage! Just take him somewhere safe before it's too late! NOW!"

The rider's brown eyes met Hiccup's green ones for a couple of seconds, a precious time during which a silent agreement seemed to pass between them, and he simply nodded once before making his horse turn round and break into a gallop, the hammering of the beast's hooves punctuated by Nolan's cries. Hiccup watched until they disappeared behind the line of the horizon, and then dropped to his knees, heaving and finally allowing himself to vomit all the horrors he had witnessed in a matter of days. At least Nolan was safe now. Hopefully.

When he felt the tip of a sword press into his back, Hiccup knew who he would have to face. Looking above his shoulder, he was not surprised to see how angry his pursuer seemed to be. Forced to turn round so to face him, the tip of the sword now pointing at his throat, Hiccup studied his opponent. The man was about his height. His eyes, which glared venomously at him, were an odd color, a mix between grey and blue, and his hair, just like his goatee, were pitch black. Hiccup noticed the single golden earring his right ear sported, as well as the scar that separated in right cheek in two halves. His right eyebrow was also strangely cut in two by another scar. The most surprising thing about him, Hiccup thought, was that he looked nothing like the soldiers he had seen in Teileann.

"Who are you?"

Hiccup glared in return. "Tell me your name, rider, and I may tell you mine."

The man's eyes widened in surprise. Clearly, he was not accustomed to being challenged this way, let alone by a cripple. He replied nonetheless, appreciating the guts the young man had but not lowering his sword for all that. Little did he know that Hiccup was only trying to gain time and to think of an entirely fake name. He picked the first that came to his mind.

"The name's Tiernan. Yours?"

"Feren. Feren Rurikson."

Tiernan immediately pressed his sword against Hiccup's Adam apple, drawing a single drop of blood.

"You're a Viking."

"So?"

"I hate Vikings. They butchered my family and my village when I was little. That means I can't trust you."

"How original. But surely you're smart enough to deduce that I wasn't amongst those Vikings. Besides, I'm on my own and honestly, what harm could a cripple like me possibly do?"

Tiernan seemed to contemplate the extent of those words for a moment.

"Give me one reason why I should spare your life."

"I'm a pretty good blacksmith."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm a pretty good blacksmith." Hiccup repeated with a calculated smile. "Soldiers like you surely need the best weapons around, I presume? Well, I can make them."

Both men stared at each other for a moment, and Tiernan ultimately sheathed his sword.

Hiccup did not look back when Holin and the Ciar Knights took him with them to the city, where he would have to prove his previous statements. Holin had certainly not been pleased when Tiernan had informed him that one of the fugitives had managed to escape thanks to the help of one of the 'Thousand Wolves', but the general had almost graciously accepted the proposition of 'Feren Rurikson'. If the latter was telling the truth in regard to his skills in the smithy, then, the general had stated, he might even discuss the possibility of setting him free. But for now, Hiccup knew he was nothing but a prisoner.

Holin had also ordered Tiernan to remain with his men in Teileann for a couple of days to make sure no eventual survivor would escape. About thirty people from the village, including Kiristi, had been made prisoners too. But in their unfortunate case, Holin wanted them to face the Ravens' Tribunal.

The one thing that Hiccup had no idea about was that Tiernan had asked one of his most trusted men, Midel, to go with Holin and the Ciar Knights in order to keep Feren Rurikson under close scrutiny.