I've taken a few days off from writing just to rethink the next chapter(s), so that's why the updating schedule seems longer than the last few.
Review please, helps me find out my weaknesses in writing, and motivates at the same time, so why not take a few seconds/minutes to write me a review?
I wasn't exactly happy with the last chapter, as the ending didn't kind of make sense, but what's done is done, so let chapter 11 commence!
Chapter 11
"Not only was this boy associating with this Thor-forsaken beast, he was n-…" The chief paused for a second, looking sick as he strained out the last few words. "-nestling with it!"
"So what! Toothless is my friend!" Hiccup blurted out, regretting it immediately as he felt a wet rag be forced in his mouth. Hiccup struggled to get free, but his hands were constrained together and his shoulder was in a vice grip by the much larger man behind.
The town meeting hall was in a state of shock, appalled that a boy would have such a disgusting bond with a dragon, a Night Fury no less; one of the most dangerous dragons that had been plagued on mankind!
Hiccup glanced over, and was horrified at the way they treated his Night Fury; he was shacked and chained to the bottom of a steel barred cage, and his mouth was covered with a metal muzzle. The poor dragon didn't even have enough room to struggle!
"A sickening thought, I agree. And what's more sickening, is this here." Tilgaurd waved his hand and one of his appointees brought in the saddle. "This was found near the campsite where this wretch was initially found. It's assumed to be a device for the boy to sit on the beast's back."
"Are you saying the boy rides this monstrosity?" A man in the room cried in outrage.
Another man stepped up from the line of tall Vikings standing beside Tilguard. The man wore an apron and large leather gloves, and a clearly definable scar was implanted on the left side of his cheek. "Not just that, I noticed that there were pedals attached onto the saddle, hooked up to control cables that led to the back of the Night Fury." He spoke in a definite, almost technical voice.
The same man then walked over to the cage, allowing Toothless to give him a murderous stared as he passed by. Ignoring this, he proceeded to the hind section of Toothless with a probing look on his face, examining even the tiniest features of the Night Fury. "The pedals and cables, along with the fact that this Night Fury is missing half its tail suggests me to hypothesize that the boy has a valuable contribution in the dragon's flight. That would explain why the boy is such of a great importance to the Night Fury."
"That makes no sense!"
"Why would anyone want to help a dragon? Especially what they've done to us!"
Men and women began to blurt and vocalize their thoughts on the matter in an outraged fashion, demanding answers why anyone in their right minds would ever help a dragon, considering their attacks and savage actions amongst the tribes among the area.
Every word of hatred and contempt, whether directed towards him or his dragon, stung him with every syllable, and every word feeling like a punch to the gut. He felt so weak, so helpless… The young Viking desperately wanted to explain, explain how the dragons weren't so bad, just merely misunderstood! They were just acting his way because of their fearsome queen… But alas, nothing could be heard from the boy except for traces of muffled speech.
"Alrigh'! That's enough!"
The room immediately silenced under the thunderous roar of their chief.
"There is no possible way that a young man born under the tutelage of any Viking tribe would ever aid a dragon in such a despicable manner! This Night Fury, and possibly others, must have the ability to bewitch humans. This would be why no one has ever seen one of these devils and returned to tell the tale!" Tilgaurd explained, feeling fully confident and one-hundred percent sure of himself.
A buzz on conversation suddenly arose in the crowd, and every man and woman questioning the possibility of this.
This is ridiculous! Toothless doesn't have magic! Hiccup thought as he struggled to pull his hands free from the knot, but to little progress before the guard behind him gave him a painful smack on the head. Hiccup hung his head in defeat, questioning if these people will ever let them go home.
"The only way to free this boy from the Night Fury's control-"
Hiccup instantly snapped out of his musing by the chiefs words. The boy brought his gaze up towards Tilgaurd, with time seeming to go by with a painstakingly slow pace as the chief pronounced each word.
"-is to break the link by-"
Wait, he isn't suggesting… No, no!
"-killing the Night Fury."
They're going to kill Toothless? Hiccup's heart skipped a beat upon picturing such a horrifying thought. He needed to tell them! Explain the insanity of their words and prevent such a terrible fate from befalling on his beloved dragon! Hiccup resisted the man behind him with all his strength, but instead, it felt as though he was shackled to a wall, and he was resisting a pair metal handcuffs.
"Hey, chief, I think the boy wants to say something." The man said, gesturing to Hiccup with one free hand while still holding him under a secure grip.
"Yeah, let's see what he has to say about all this" A women from the crowd yelled. Hollers of agreements quickly followed, the villagers wanting to hear the full story of the boy before assuming such a ludicrous assumption about dragons having such powers.
Hiccup felt a sense of relief wash through him. He was going to be finally given a chance to communicate, the chance to save his Night Fury from these bloodthirsty Vikings. This rush of relief and hope suddenly deflated with the chiefs next words:
"If the boy is still under control of the Night Fury, and I am sure he is, then his words would be useless. He would be influenced by the devil to clear its name, maybe say 'it saved me once!'" Tilgaurd laughed mockingly. "His true words will appear once the dragon has released his control over him and that can only be established one way."
The young Viking felt as felt as though he was going to be sick; his stomach ached and his back was drenched in sweat. Even if they let him speak, even for the whole day towards everyone in the village, none of his words could be believed. Anything said that was even slightly positive about the dragons would be considered 'influenced' and that'll even strengthen their resolution to kill Toothless! "There's no way out!" Hiccup silently screamed in the back of his head.
The young Viking turned his head in Toothless's direction, and their glares met. Toothless seemed to have known his fate, because he looked uncharacteristically defeated; his ear flaps were bent to the side in sadness, and his eyes, they seemed to be saddest he'd ever seen in Toothless! It wasn't the bout of sadness and demoralization presented after his crash on Berk, this was… different. Probably because back then, Toothless had nothing to live for, except for feeding the queen. But now, he had the freedom of flight, the companionship of a human, and free will! And he knew that it was all going to be taken from him by the blade of an axe. Hiccup couldn't bear to see his dragon in such a depressed state…
"Tomorrow, the beast will be slain, and until then, the dragon will be kept in the arena under watchful guards to ensure no chance of escape." Tilgaurd finally concluded. "Any disagreements?"
"Where will the boy be kept…?" The closest man near Tilgaurd inquired.
"In the same room as well, but under much more humane conditions." The chief assured, not wanting villagers to think of him as a monster. "Any other comments?"
Not a single hand stirred from the crowd. No one thought it would've made a difference if the dragon was killed or not. After all, it was just a dragon and many more had been slaughtered before it! Seeing this, Tilgaurd quickly turned and dismissed himself, walking towards the back door of the hall with a confident and overly sure gait. A different man in the line immediately stepped forward and cleared his throat, bringing the attention of the crowd towards him. "-Uchem-, Alrigh'. Everyone go home, the meeting is now adjourned."
The side doors opened and the sea of Vikings poured out of the meeting hall, leaving only a few guards, himself, and Toothless standing on the raised platform in front of the hall. Two the guards went to push Toothless's cage, while Hiccup was shoved into a walking movement, and was lead out the back door and into the village square.
As Toothless and Hiccup were herded towards the arena, many villagers stopped on the side of the road to look at the boy, some giving expressions of empathy and pity for the 'possessed' boy, and others a look of disgust. Hiccup did his best to ignore it and keep his eyes directed to the front, but he couldn't help feeling judged, and scrutinized as he was pushed by.
The guards eventually stopped them in front of a large, steel plated door, covered by rows of rivets. One of the guards who pushed Toothless's cage stepped up and turned a small bolt on the wall, prompting the massive door to swing open. Inside was what you would expect for an arena; a large ring, with smaller metal doors scattered along the circumference of it, where no doubt, other dragons were held in captivity.
Multiple bouts of dragon roars, and the sound of thundering slams against stone repeated themselves from within the arena, sending chills up Hiccup's spine. If this was a few months ago before meeting Toothless, Hiccup wouldn't feel anything different upon entering the arena and hearing such sounds, but now, seeing how dragons are now seen as companions rather than enemies, brought a sense of guilt back into the boy for the way his own people had treated dragons in the past.
"Say your prayers beast, because this arena will be the last thing you'll see." One man scoffed, bringing Hiccup out of his thoughts. This earned him a snarl from the Night Fury, but the man stayed resilient and never flinched.
They were again lead past another door inside the arena, until they stepped into a small room, dimly lit by a number of torches hung on the walls. One of the three Vikings left and brought in a much smaller cage. The other man untied Hiccup's hands and pulled off the rag covering his mouth, leaving Hiccup rubbing his sore wrists in agony where blisters began to form. The boy looked up and saw one Viking standing next to the cage, holding it open.
They couldn't, be…
"Get in." The man commanded, breaking Hiccup's thoughts.
"Tilgaurd said that I was to be in a more humane condition!" Hiccup cried in outrage, offended that they would even suggest he be treated like a wild animal!
"I'll throw in a pillow and a blanket, happy now?" He snapped back. Hiccup noticed a sword leaning against the wall beside him, and quickly stepped into the cage in fear of what might happen if he did not comply.
"At least the cage doesn't smell like dragon droppings, like you do…" Hiccup muttered faintly.
The man holding the cage apparently heard this and brutally slammed the metal door shut, before giving Hiccup a hostile glare. The young Viking swiftly turned his head and stared at a wall in the distance, whistling nonchalantly. He then heard a click as he turned around to see the man securing the door's steel bolt into place. Behind him, he saw Toothless in his own cage. Although the poor Night Fury was put into a bigger cage with his chains removed, his most likely uncomfortable steel muzzle was still left on.
The dragon looked at Hiccup sadly, feeling sorry for both him and his rider. Hiccup returned this with a slight smile of his own, assuring him that everything would be just fine. Toothless didn't share the optimism that Hiccup displayed, and gloomily laid his head on his front paws. All of a sudden, some spongy object was thrown at the young Viking, smacking him dead center in the face.
"Hey, what was that for!" Hiccup angrily snarled.
Toothless quickly propped his head up, growling loudly in tandem with Hiccup's outburst. The dragon wasn't too amused at how these pesky humans were treating his rider.
"Quiet down beast!" The man roared back. Toothless didn't lessen his ferocity for a moment, leaving the man slightly shocked at the Night Fury's reaction over this certain boy.
Curiously, Hiccup bent down and picked up a green pillow, which apparently the man threw at him. As he stood back upright, he realised there was a blanket, hovering a few inches in front of his face. The blanket was held by a hand placed into the open cage door. Hiccup snatched it from the man, not really happy about the treatment he was getting, considering he was suppose to be 'possessed' by a monster.
"Ungrateful wretch." The man berated before walking away with the other guards towards the arena exit. As they passed by, Toothless bounced up out of his sleeping position and snarled at the men, eliciting a jump from each of them out of surprise. Hiccup couldn't help but break a smile, amused how even though his dragon was muzzled and suppressed, he could still strike fear into others.
After the men left the room, and locking the door, Hiccup immediately began scanning the walls, searching for anything that would aid him in an escape. But to his disappointment, the walls were mostly bare, holding nothing except a few torches in places he could never possibly reach. Although he noticed lengths of rope lying here and there, but what use could they possibly be on a metal cage? Hiccup dropped down onto his blanket in a defeated fashion, before turning his head towards Toothless.
"Don't worry bud, I'll think of something…" Hiccup assured.
The dragon perked its head up and crooned loudly, hoping that Hiccup was indeed right.
The young Viking believed that with everything going on, he was never going to be able to fall asleep, but, within a few hours, every torch in the room had burned themselves out, and both dragon and rider were out like a light.
****LINEBREAK***
The Night Fury was snoring away in a not particularly pleasant dream, before an odd noise called him awake. The dragon lifted open an eye and scanned the walls, curious to find out what odd noise was. Minutes had passed, and the noise had not repeated, possibly he was dreaming it…? Probably, the Night Fury decided.
Satisfied that nothing was out of the ordinary, the dragon shrugged and placed his head back onto his paws, urging to go back to sleep. Suddenly, a clearly definable click echoed throughout the room, snapping the Night Fury awake. The dragon traced the mechanical sound sourcing from the room's entrance as it quietly creaked open, where a tiny streak of light shined in through the crack.
There, a man appeared, bringing forth a loud snarl from the Night Fury's throat. This wasn't just any human, this was him.
OH NO. THEY ARE GOING TO KILL TOOTHLESS AND HICCUP CAN'T STOP IT?
D:
So, read and review, and tell me what you think. (Sorry for the long delay, I just needed to figure out how I wanted to do the plot more)