Opening her eyes, Hiccup woke up, greeted by the sight of the wooden ceiling above her, as well as the view through the window, where the orange, cloudless sky beckoned. Yawning, she smiled, turning to look at the side and noticing that Toothless was still fast asleep, his arms wrapped around her middle.
Consequently, she gaped at him for a moment, at his messy hair, which she pushed back from his face, the thick eyebrows in their relaxed position, and parted lips, on which sight she must have turned away her eyes, blushing.
Eventually, she sat up, and the moment she did, Toothless's arms tightened around her, bringing her closer to him. Instead of fighting that off, Hiccup stretched her arms, before leaning over Toothless and kissing his temple.
"Good mornin', love," she whispered, as he mumbled, sleepily. "I'll go for the walk."
"No," he murmured, pressing his face into her back, and hence, the gap of bare skin under her rolled shirt. "Just a minute," he added, muffled against her, sending a shiver down her spine.
"I'll go by myself; ya may stay."
"Stay with me."
"Toothless," she groaned, attempting to take his arms away from her, unsuccessfully. "I must go. I'm doin' the breakfast today."
"Can't someone else do it? Fishlegs, for example?"
"No, because it's my turn today, and it would be rude if I broke my own rules," she explained, gazing at him as his grip didn't loosen. "Toothless, please."
"Okay, okay," he agreed, letting go of her, and immediately regretted it when the warmth of her body left the bed. "Just don't be gone for too long," he yawned, laying his head on the pillow, still having some view of her.
"It's just a little hike, I won't be long," she replied as she changed her shirt, tilting her head towards him, noticing his stare. "What?"
"Ye're beautiful," he remarked, beaming brightly.
"And ye're makin' it awkward," she mocked, extending the material on herself.
"Great," he rumbled, narrowing his eyes at her. "Can I never say somethin' nice?" He snarled, lying on his side, turning away from her.
"Of course, ya can. I'm sorry," she apologized, stepping toward him and kissing the back of his head. "Thank ya for the compliment."
"Good," he commented, rotating to her, and witnessing her squirmed eyes and wrinkled nose, grasped her chin and shook it, teasingly. "Ya'd better go, otherwise, ya won't have time."
"Okay," she agreed, patting his cheek, before moving away. "See ya soon."
"Hey, wait a moment! Come here!" he shouted, as she turned around and walked back to him, and he quickly kissed her. "Be careful."
"I will. Sleep well," she added, beaming at him, and moved to the hatch on the ground, which opened to reveal the stairs she descended. "One more thin', honey," she began suddenly, being in the middle of them, and smirked when Toothless glanced at her. "Yer mornin' accent is adorable," she teased, before disappearing, closing the hatch.
Afterward, Toothless's face glowed with crimson, overcome by embarrassment. He threw himself onto the bed and covered his head with Hiccup's pillow tightly, feeling as if his entire body were burning with shame.
In the meantime, Hiccup went downstairs, where she observed the small table, from which she grabbed the apple from the basket lying on it, the bench, whose back was covered in soft, brown fur, and the entrance that opened from the bottom to the top.
After extending it up, Hiccup could've seen the panorama of the mountain, and inhaling soundly the warm wind that spreads the scent of the forest, she loosened. Incredible, how warm here was, while the Berk was under five feet of snow, she recollected and giggled, before closing the entrance and moving forward.
Through her hike, she could notice the seaside, and hence, the buildings surrounding it. Firstly, she saw the little hut, close to the stone cliff, but also at the edge of the water, covered by the herbs planted there by the owner that was Fishlegs who slept with Meatlug by his side, probably.
Gazing up to the top of the mountain, she saw another hut, which had painted the letter S on its top. The more she stared at it, the more sure she was that the black smoke floated over the construction. Instead of reacting, Hiccup gained on the pace, confident it was caused by the living there flammable dragon.
On her way, she crossed the wooden footbridge and could have caught a glimpse of the frame of their future training arena, as well as the stables and the highest-placed point of their base - the clubhouse. Rather than going straight there to prepare the meal, she walked in the direction of the forest.
However, before stepping into the mentioned space, she walked past another hut, the biggest, most colorful, and most chaotic of all of them. As she did so, Hiccup tripped almost twice, each time over one of Hideous Zippleback's tails, groaning and glaring at the mentioned dragon's body, sticking out of the building.
Eventually, she breathed out relief, when the trees surrounded her, ensuring her she was away from any problems that could have been caused by the group of people, who had forcefully dragged her along.
Even so, despite being inside the floral structure, hidden almost perfectly from anyone's seeing, Hiccup detected another hut, but this time also its owner. Patting Stormfly's side, Astrid prepared her for the flight, and while Hiccup attempted to wave to her, the girl flew off suddenly, making it impossible for Hiccup to be noticed by her.
Afterward, she focused on her main task, which was gathering the ingredients for breakfast for everyone. Through that, her ears could have caught the sound of blowing wind against the leaves, the noises of dragons, but also the racket of people.
At the sound of the last one, Hiccup stopped suddenly, wondering if her hearing had been good enough. Unfortunately, her apprehension turned out to be right, as suddenly, an arrow flew past her, barely missing her head.
Instantly, while watching her every step, she moved toward the boulder, from behind which she had a view of the entire beach here, and froze. There were people, armed people, who surrounded by the cages were hushing the dragons inside them, at once putting them into the ship nearby.
Upon seeing this, Hiccup's heart sped up, and while she thought it couldn't get any faster, she soon realized how wrong she was as one of the men drew their bows into a frightened Death Nadder in the air. Her body then worked almost instinctively.
Catching the glance of a crossbow positioned by the same rock she was behind, she took it swiftly, and while targeting the figure she froze, stunned. It wasn't fair, to take life for life, she understood, but snapped, detecting his smirk over the fact of setting his target.
She immediately pulled the trigger, and the man yelled in pain as the arrow pierced his foot, causing him to lose balance and miss the flying creature, which flew away.
It wasn't a moment when everybody started gazing in Hiccup's direction and she hid swiftly, analyzing her situation and possibilities. She was ambushed, the runaway wasn't even an option, and neither was a successful fight, she realized, stood up straight, turned toward her opponent, and just then, saw him.
His ginger hair and beard were cut the same way he was in personality, sharp and mad. His face, which was overtaken by rage, mixed with craziness, was directed towards her, showing his maniacal smirk. While that, his green, olive eyes bore into her, and he shouted suddenly.
"Hiccup!" He cheered, narrowing his eyes at her, analyzing her alike. "Long time no see."
"Dagur," she replied, raising her chin with pretended confidence. "Honestly, I hoped that long would last longer."
"How can ya? Myself, I'm really glad to see ya," he revealed and the realization dawned on his face, "and shocked. What are ya doin' here, Horrendous Haddock the Third?"
"Well, Mr. Son of Oswald the Agreeable-,"
"Nobody calls me that, anymore," he snarled, sticking out his chest. "Since becomin' the chief it's the Deranged. Dagur the Deranged!"
"Dagur the Deranged," she repeated, crossing her arms and snorting. "There were no more names that could've empathized how mad are ya?"
As his expression closed up, he threw a dagger at her, which she dodged, barely. "Any more remarks? No? Great, answer my question."
"F-Firstly, I would like to know what are ya doin' here," she stuttered, leaning her arm on the boulder, grinning awkwardly. "Is this kind of vacation from chiefin' for ya-,"
"I don't think that ye're in a position to ask questions," he stated, pointing around at his people, all of them armed. "What are ya doin' here?"
"If ya must know," she started, twisting her fingers to the redness, "maybe ya aren't, but I am on vacation."
"Vacation? With yer dragon friend?"
Hearing this, Hiccup's arm slipped, causing her chin to hit the stone and she straightened up, blinking rapidly at Dagur. "My; who now?"
"Come on, Hiccup," Dagur teased, looking heavenward. "Everybody knows that gossip. Hiccup Haddock, the daughter of Stoic the Vast, heir to the Vandals' tribe, future chiefness of Berk, brought peace to her village, killed the dragon the size of hundreds of men, and all of that while ridin' the most mysterious dragon known to mankind, the Night Fury."
"What?!" she sniggered, covering her eyes behind her hand. "Seriously, ya believe that?! I've never killed even a Nadder, much less some gigantic dragon!"
"I didn't, but now, seein' ya here, days away from yer village, fake laughin', after just defendin' these dragons, I may doubt my earlier burst of laughter, when for the first time I heard these stories."
"Defendin' dragons?"
"Weren't ya the one to shoot my man, who was targetin' one of them?" Dagur pointed out, as Hiccup's arm was grabbed by his man and dragged all the way, just to be cast under his commander's feet. "Do ya have an explanation for yerself?"
"I-I was targetin' the dragon myself," she retorted, gaping at the ground on which she fisted her hands. "It's just my terrible aim."
"Obviously," he ironized, grinning mockingly. "Since that, I guess the whole idea of Berk bein' the safe place for dragons is also a lie?" He continued and after watching Hiccup stand up grabbed her arm, rapidly. "Also, I believe that when I'll go, for the little visit to yer village-,"
"The gossips are true," she interrupted, staring straight into his eyes, calmly. "However, I would like to remind ya that while ya may have yer navy, we have hundreds of dragons, ready to destroy each and every one of yer ships, one by one."
"Ye've changed, haven't ya? Me too," he growled, while his jaw set. "Well, I hope ye've rested enough because we're finishin' those vacation of yers. Prepare for the sail!" He ordered loudly and his subordinates started running around, getting ready for the ship. "Just for yer information, once I'll see these hundreds of dragons, and hence, I'll prove that Berk broke the rules of our alliance, I'm goin' to kill ya, in front of yer father."
"Fuck ya, Dagur," Hiccup snarled, and grabbing her braid, Dagur pulled her towards the boat, forcing her along.
Afterward, the two of them stood on the deck, while Hiccup gaped at the island, nervously. "Don't worry. My people will take great care of yer Night Fury," he assured and observed his reflection in the water, analyzing his head. "How big is its head?"
Immediately, Hiccup stepped away from him to the side, hugging herself, gazing at the wooden panels. Fortunately for her, Dagur walked away and as he did she peeked at the island's woods, and inhaled, shakily. She wasn't worried about Toothless, and neither she should be about herself, she believed, straightening with hope, because he'll rescue her like he always does.