I don't own How To Train Your Dragon, I'm just a fan :)

Hand on my Heart

Chapter 13

The three of them sailed together for several months and Fishlegs was best friends with both Camicazi and Hiccup in no time. They stopped in places along the way and told different villages about the end of the dragon war and though they'd all noticed the dragon raids had stopped, not all were happy about the thought of integrating dragons into their lives. They did have some success with a few Viking tribes but others practically chased them off their islands. Camicazi always found some form of hilarious revenge on those tribes.

After four months of sailing, they decided to go back to the Bogburglars because Camicazi was seriously dying to start riding Stormfly so Hiccup had to have access to a forge. She was completely over her traumatic capture and loved Hiccup, Camicazi and Fishlegs. Toothless was completely used to her and Horrorcow now so he didn't try any of his mischief with them anymore. They spent a week with the Bogburglars and Hiccup made her a saddle and riding gear as well as new gear for himself as he'd grown again. He remade his custom legs while he was there as well. The only thing about going back to the Bogburglars – Cami and Hiccup had to hide their relationship. Cami's mother Bertha would never be happy about Cami getting married and would freak out about their deal. Hiccup wasn't happy about them being together in secret but he figured one day it would all work out. He got along swimmingly with Bertha so he wasn't too worried about it.

Camicazi managed to convince Axela to come with them when they left as the four of them had spent some time together and she noticed Axela and Fishlegs taking a shine to each other. After their week with the Bogburglars, they geared up their ship and left. It only took a couple of weeks for Axela and Fishlegs to get together and both Cami and Hiccup thought it was nice. Axela had initially been shocked when Cami told her that she was going to marry Hiccup eventually. Fishlegs was as happy as a clam. He'd never been so happy in his life. He loved their life on the ship and now he had Axela and it was just perfect. He understood why Hiccup had no will to return to Berk. This was what it was all about. Life was good.

The four of them sailed and sailed. In no time, Cami was riding Stormfly and the two of them were closely bonded. Not quite like Hiccup and Toothless, but then that would never happen. Axela was quite interested in riding a dragon too but for the time being, she was more than happy to ride with Cami, Hiccup or Fishlegs. They spread dragon awareness everywhere they went and after almost ten months of sailing, they came across a rather disturbing village. They'd stopped there as there was also a port but they were disturbed at the fact you could buy slaves there. Hiccup and the other three had no intention of staying there for long. They were just going to buy some supplies then move on... Until Hiccup saw something he would never forget. He'd been haggling in the market for leather when he happened to notice an older woman with red hair and green eyes and he thought he might fall over. She had shackles on her ankles, her skin was worn and sallow and he knew her. How could he not? She was working at a stall, selling material. He quickly paid the leather merchant, not caring that he got totally ripped off then he hurried over to the material stand. The woman looked at him and he saw there was no light in her eyes like he remembered. He noticed that nobody else was there, but he couldn't take any chances. So he whispered...

"Valhallarama?" He asked and her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. They were nowhere near Viking territory.

"How do you know my name?" She asked in Norse. They were somewhere off the coast of Germany so Norse wasn't commonly spoken.

"It's me. Hiccup." He said to her and her eyes watered.

"It cannot be." She said in disbelief.

"We all thought you were dead, mother." Hiccup said to her emotionally.

"I have wished to be dead instead of this every day since the ship went down... until today." She said shakily.

"I'll get you free." Hiccup whispered to her and her eyes widened.

"No, they'll kill you." She said worriedly and he shook his head.

"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." He replied and she looked at him sceptically. "Are any of the crew still here?" He asked and she nodded. "Is Hofferson here?" He asked her and she nodded again. "How many of your crew are left here?" He asked.

"Five others and myself. But there are other Viking slaves from other villages." She whispered.

"Any Bogburglars?" He asked.

"Yes, Bertha's sister and cousin are here." She said and Hiccup's eyes widened.

"I'm here with Bertha's daughter, Camicazi." Hiccup whispered and she looked stunned.

"You cannot allow any women with you to come to the village. They will be snatched." She said worriedly and Hiccup nodded.

"My crew are all still on the ship. Is this where you sleep at night?" He asked pointing to the hut behind her and she nodded. "I'll come for you tonight after dark when everyone is asleep. Don't worry, you'll be a slave no longer." He promised and he saw the first bit of hope in her eyes. "But don't tell anyone that... and don't scream tonight when you see how we're leaving this island." He said and she looked confused but nodded anyway. "I'll see you tonight." He smiled and she gave him a small smile and he grinned then darted off.

Hiccup ran into the woods near the village to where he'd left Toothless hidden in a cave. He hopped on his back and the two of them made a quick getaway without being seen. The ship was several miles out since Hiccup didn't want any of them near the slave port. He landed on the deck with wild eyes and Camicazi saw the look on his face.

"What happened?" She asked him worriedly and both Fishlegs and Axela watched him intently.

"They have Viking slaves! They have my mother." He said to them and they all looked ridiculously shocked. "They also have Bertha's sister and cousin who went missing." He said and Camicazi's face hardened.

"Well, what are we waiting for!" She exclaimed.

"No." Hiccup said and her jaw dropped.

"No?" She asked in disbelief.

"There are six Hooligans, at least two Bogburglars as well as other Vikings. If we want to get that many free, we're going to have to be stealthy about this. We can't just go in there throwing our weapons around." Hiccup said.

"Why not?" Camicazi exclaimed.

"Because there's seven of us and about three hundred of them!" Hiccup exclaimed back and she sighed. He had a point.

"So what do you want to do then, Hiccup?" Axela asked him calmly.

"After the port is sleeping for the night, I'm going to sneak back, free my mother and fly her here. Then she can tell us where the others are and exactly how many we need to get. Then I was thinking after we have all the Vikings, we'd set the village on fire from the sky." He smirked at them and the three of them grinned. "Our priority is the Bogburglars and the Hooligans so they're who we'll go after first." He said. "Cami, Fishlegs and Axela, you're staying here." Hiccup said to them and they looked horrified.

"What?" They all exclaimed.

"Toothless is made for stealth. Horrorcow makes so much noise. Stormfly won't take riders other than Cami and me and you all know that. You need to stay here and watch the ship. They're still Vikings, after all, they could totally make off with our ship. They've been slaves for years. We have no idea if they'll be remotely loyal to us, regardless if they are from our tribes." Hiccup said and they all glared at him because he totally had a point. "That and if I'm captured, the Hooligans will come after the Chief's son." He said to them and they all sighed. He had another point.

"Hiccup? You're going to have to kill the captors." Camicazi said and he gulped.

"Yeah, I know, Cami." He nodded.

Darkness fell and they sailed a little closer so they could watch for the village to be completely dark. Hiccup explained to Toothless what they were doing, which didn't surprise the other Vikings as he talked to him regularly. He kissed Cami then jumped on Toothless' back and took off. He kept Toothless high in the sky so they wouldn't be seen and they circled over the village. It was eerily silent. He was lucky that the shack his mother was in was on the edge of the village so he landed Toothless behind the shack, jumped off and told Toothless in a whisper to stay quiet and stay there. He snuck around the shack and looked around and he heard nothing and saw nobody. He went to the door and slipped inside. He noticed right away the two separate beds. He saw his mother lying on one and he saw that her eyes were open and she was staring at him worriedly. He put his finger to his lips indicating for her to stay quiet. He tiptoed over to the sleeping man in the other bed. He looked like a heathen so it was easier for Hiccup to do this. He pulled out one of his daggers then in a swift move he covered the man's mouth and plunged the dagger in his heart. The man woke up and Hiccup's hand muffled his dying noises. When he was dead, Hiccup removed the knife and wiped it on the man's tunic. Hiccup searched him and found a key. He went over to his mother and tried the key on her shackles and they popped off.

"Come, mother." He whispered and she nodded shocked that her son had just done that. He took her hand and peeked out the door and there was still nobody there. "You have to stay quiet when you see him." He whispered to her and she looked confused but nodded again. They slipped out of the shack and went around the back of the shack and her eyes widened to saucers when she saw Toothless. "He won't harm you." He whispered. "Trust me." He said to her pleadingly and she nodded. He led her to Toothless' side then he jumped on his back and strapped himself on. He offered his hand to her and she looked at him sceptically. "Even Stoick likes him, mother." He said to her and she looked shocked then took his hand and he helped her climb up on Toothless' back. "Hold on." He said and she held around his waist tightly. "Come on, bud." He tapped Toothless neck and Valhallarama closed her eyes tightly and gasped as she felt the rush of air. A few seconds later she opened her eyes and saw that they were mid air.

"This is incredible." She whispered and Hiccup smiled.

"I'll tell you all about him soon, mother." Hiccup shot a smile at her over his shoulder. A few minutes later, the ship was spotted and he started his decline. He landed on the deck which surprised her but Hiccup helped her climb off and he jumped off as well.

"Oh, thank Thor!" Camicazi exclaimed then hugged Hiccup tightly and he chuckled.

"Mother, this is Camicazi." Hiccup motioned to her.

"Hello, Camicazi, I'm Valhallarama." She smiled.

"I remember." Cami smiled at her sadly. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I am now." She smiled at Hiccup fondly.

"Chief Stoick is going to be so happy to see you." Fishlegs said to her.

"This is Fishlegs and Axela." Hiccup pointed to him.

"I remember you, Fishlegs." She said.

"Mother, I need you to tell me where the other Vikings are. We need to get Bertha's sister and cousin next." He said and she looked at him wide eyed.

"Hiccup... they will not be happy about being rescued by a man." She said and they all laughed.

"I'll send them a note with him." Camicazi said. "I would go but my dragon won't take other passengers." She said.

"Could the black dragon not carry you as well?" She asked Camicazi who then looked at Hiccup.

"What do you think, Toothless? Could you carry me, Cami and another?" Hiccup asked him amused and he growled at Hiccup who laughed.

"What does that mean?" Valhallarama asked sceptically.

"He's insulted that I even had to ask." Hiccup smirked and Cami giggled. "Fine, but Cami, you can't go all Bogburglar warrior princess. This isn't about honour or glory, it's about getting them all free. Once they are free, we can go get some revenge but until they're free, we need to be stealthy." Hiccup said to her and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, darling, I understand the concept of sneaking into a village in the middle of the night." She said dryly and they laughed. "I've been doing that since I was a child, while you were busy being a genius in the forge." She smirked at him and he chuckled then kissed her.

"Fine." He said amused.

"Are you two married?" Valhallarama asked them in surprised.

"Not yet." Cami replied and the surprise was evident on the Chief's wife face that she would be marrying Hiccup.

"So, I drew a map of the village earlier. Can you tell me where they all are?" Hiccup asked his mother as he took out the parchment that he'd drawn on. She was surprised at how accurate and detailed it was.

"You are going for Bertha's sister and cousin first?" She asked Hiccup and he nodded. "They are both here." She pointed to a large building at the other side of the village from where she'd been.

"How many people are there in that building?" Hiccup asked.

"Three men." She replied and Hiccup thought about that.

"Cami, you'll need to come on Stormfly. We can't have four people safely on Toothless but I can't silently kill three men and talk two Bogburglars into getting on a dragon." He said and they laughed. "They'll trust you, right?" Hiccup asked her and she nodded.

"I'll be Chief after my mother. They have to trust me." She said.

"Toothless, you'll watch out for Stormfly, right?" Hiccup asked the dragon who nodded. "You need to keep her quiet and still until we get back." He said and the dragon rolled his eyes as if to say 'do I look like a babysitter?' which made Hiccup chuckle. "If you do it then we can have lots of fun setting the village on fire." Hiccup sing-songed and Toothless dragon laughed then nodded. Valhallarama was shocked at the dragon's clear understanding of everything Hiccup was saying.

"So what's the plan?" Cami asked him.

"We sneak in, I'll deal with taking the men out and you talk the Bogburglars into being quiet and coming with us." He said to her and she rolled her eyes.

"All three by yourself?" Valhallarama asked Hiccup wide-eyed. Cami, Fishlegs and Axela laughed at that.

"You don't have to worry about him." Axela said amused.

"He has mad fighting skills." Fishlegs added.

"No, I don't." Hiccup blushed. "But I don't plan to be fighting anyone. We just need to get them out of there." He said.

Hiccup and Cami flew over to the village and surveyed the area and it was still eerily silent. They landed behind the building then dismounted. They peeked in the window and noticed that all three men were sleeping downstairs, so the Bogburglars had to be upstairs. They decided that Cami would help with the men for speed. They slipped in the front of the building then Cami went up to the one farthest away and Hiccup stood between the two that were close together. He could do it at the same time. He held up both daggers and Cami looked at him and nodded. Hiccup plunged the two daggers into their hearts then covered their mouths to muffle the noises while Cami covered the other's mouth and slit his throat. They heard 'what was that?' and stared at each other wide eyed. They couldn't have the Bogburglars alerting anyone to their presence so Hiccup motioned for Cami to go upstairs and she nodded. She crept up without making a sound and saw the two women and grinned. She hurried up the rest of the way and they gasped when they saw her. She could only be a Bogburglar with her wild hair and the way she was dressed and strapped with weapons. Hiccup searched the men and found a bunch of different keys.

"I am Bertha's daughter, Camicazi." She smiled at them and their jaws dropped. "Don't you think it's about time you ladies came home?" She smirked at them and they grinned.

"Oh, Cami! We haven't seen you since you were a little girl." One of them gasped.

"I know." She smiled. "But we need to keep silent. The village are asleep and we're doing this without them knowing. We'll have our revenge later." She smirked and the nodded. Hiccup hurried up the stairs after her with the keys and the Bogburglars stared at him. "This is Chief Stoick's son, Hiccup. His mother told us you were here." She explained and they smiled.

"So you got Val already?" They asked and both Hiccup and Cami nodded. Hiccup handed Cami the keys and she hurried over to them and unlocked them out of their shackles.

"Listen, you two. Our means of getting out of here will be a bit unconventional but you have to trust me." Camicazi said to them.

"How unconventional?" One of their eyebrows quirked.

"On dragons." She replied and their eyes bugged.

"You ride dragons?" They asked in disbelief.

"Yes, and the longer we leave them out there, the larger the chance we'll get caught. So we need to go." Hiccup said to them. "They won't hurt you. Bertha happens to love my dragon." He smirked at them.

"She does." Cami nodded amused. "You'll both be riding with Hiccup because my dragon won't let anyone but me and Hiccup ride her." She said to them and they glanced at each other sceptically.

"The dragon war is over. I promise." Hiccup said to them. "But we need to go." He urged.

"Fine, but Cami rescued us, not you, got it?" Bertha's sister said to Hiccup and he smirked.

"This isn't a rescue. This is just a group of friends going for a ride on dragons. We have no idea what you were doing here or how you got free." He said to them and Cami and the women chuckled.

"Smooth, Haddock." Cami winked at him.

"You understand our ways." Bertha's cousin said to him amused and he shrugged.

"I was trained by a Bogburglar. I learned a thing or two." He smirked and they smiled.

The two dragons landed on the deck. Hiccup had practically been squashed by Bertha's sister, her arms had been so tight around him.

"See? Not so bad?" Hiccup smirked over his shoulder at the two women.

"I think I'll stick to the sea." Bertha's cousin mumbled and he chuckled.

"The sky's not for everyone." Hiccup nodded in agreement. Camicazi hurried over and helped the two women off Toothless' back.

"Val. Thank you for telling them about us." Bertha's sister said to her and she smiled.

"Mother, where is Hofferson?" Hiccup asked holding out the map he'd drawn.

"He's in the barracks. He tried to escape." Val said and Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Wonderful." He muttered. "Right, well, he'll have to be taken last then since that'll cause a commotion." He said. "Who else?" He asked.

"Well, there are five other Hooligans, two Meatheads and one Murderous." She said.

"Let the Murderous rot." Hiccup said immediately and Val looked surprised.

"Really?" She asked as he was still a Viking.

"The last Murderous Vikings we met tried to rob us and kill us and they threatened to plunder Camicazi. Let him rot." Hiccup said darkly.

"Aye, agreed." Bertha's sister said with a nod and her expression was furious as well as the cousin's.

"So we'll get the Hooligans first then the Meatheads then lastly Hofferson then we'll decimate the village." Camicazi smirked at Hiccup and he nodded.

It took some convincing, but a couple of hours later, all the Hooligans and Meatheads were on the ship, except for Astrid's father.

"So what's the plan?" Chinstrap asked as they all stood around talking about how to get Hofferson back.

"A distraction." Hiccup replied. "The barracks are on the left side of the village so if we start firing on the right side, they'll have to run and put the fires out. Toothless and I can sneak in and get Hofferson while that's happening." He said.

"But what about us?" Moleskin asked Hiccup confused. "We were held captive. We want revenge." He said and Hiccup sighed.

"Yeah and that's great but it is of absolutely no use to us if you get captured while trying to take on a village of that size by yourselves. Once Hofferson is out, Camicazi, Fishlegs and I are going to ride out and set the whole village on fire from the outside in. I think burning to death will be a good revenge for those heathens." Hiccup said to him in a tone that meant he wasn't arguing.

"Does Chief Stoick know about this?" Moleskin asked him and Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him.

"If he did, the whole Viking fleet would be here. I came across my mother by accident and good thing too. I've spent years thinking she was dead." Hiccup replied.

"You aren't our Chief." Moleskin snarled and Hiccup smirked at him.

"No, I'm not. And I never will be." He said shocking the Hooligans, especially his mother. "But this is our ship." He said pointing between himself and Camicazi. "Cami is the captain of this ship and if you don't like the way we plan to do things, by all means, jump overboard." Hiccup glared at him and the man was stunned at his tone. "We will gladly take you back to your villages but let me remind you that you are on our ship, eating our food, so you either accept our plans or you get off and find your own way back to Berk." He said and the man looked outraged then he lunged for Hiccup. Hiccup headered him then spun him around while locking his arms behind his back. He swung his leg out and hit both of Moleskin's legs causing him to fall flat on his face. The other Vikings, except Cami, Axela and Fishlegs, were stunned at Hiccup's mad skills that knocked an enormous Viking man down and kept him disabled. "I might not be taking over after my father but I am still Chief Stoick's son. I wonder how he'll react when he learns that you tried to attack me when I only was trying to get you home after being held prisoner. I'm sure he'll be so pleased." Hiccup said amused. "Legs?" Hiccup called. "Get me some rope, will you? He's going to spend some time decorating the mast until he learns some manners." He said amused and all of the Vikings laughed at that. Being tied to the mast was a huge embarrassment. Fishlegs ran to the supply cabin and brought back a rope. Hiccup made quick work of it then tied him to the mast while Moleskin glared at him.

"How dare you." Moleskin seethed and Hiccup laughed.

"Careful or I'll feed you to my dragon." Hiccup smirked and Moleskin's eyes widened. He didn't have to know that Toothless didn't eat or hurt humans. Toothless snarled at Moleskin for effect which only made Hiccup laugh. "You hungry, boy?" Hiccup asked him amused and Toothless licked his lips. The other Vikings were wide eyed until they saw Camicazi, Fishlegs and Axela shaking with silent laughter. They understood then that Hiccup and the dragon were making fun of Moleskin and they ended up finding it hilarious too. He always had a temper problem and they were amused that a young man like Hiccup was teaching him a lesson.

"Who are you to threaten me?" Moleskin spat and Hiccup chuckled.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Hiccup said amused and winked at him. "You'll know who I am soon enough." He smirked then hopped up on Toothless' back. "Legs, let's go." He nodded his head to the sky. Fishlegs whistled then moments later the Gronkle wandered out of the cabin she'd been sleeping in and the other Vikings were surprised that there was yet another dragon on board. Fishlegs fed her a few massive rocks then jumped on her back. Hiccup patted Toothless then the two of them leaped into the sky and took off.

"Untie me." Moleskin said to the other Vikings angrily.

"Like that's going to happen." Camicazi said to him amused. "You see, you might have been gone for years but a lot has changed in the Viking world. Hiccup and his dragon single-handedly stopped the dragon war by destroying the cause of it. He is a Viking hero at home and if he thinks you deserve time on the mast then that's exactly what you'll have." She warned him and the others looked stunned.

"How did he stop it?" Bertha's sister asked.

"Well, it all started when Hiccup shot Toothless down..." Camicazi started.