After a day and half of the flight, the group of dragon riders made it back to the Edge without further delay. Stoick, Gothi, and Fishlegs greeted the dragons and their riders on the landing pad for the stables.
Stoick ran to help get his son off of the Deathsong. Jorn followed. "He's been unconscious for almost two days. His wounds need to be cleaned and bandaged."
Gothi, Stoick, and Jorn headed to Hiccup's hut. As they walked, Jorn filled them in on his injuries. "His right leg, foot, ribs, and left collarbone are broken. Cuts all over including his stump. A stab wound to the right thigh. Bruising. The list goes on."
Stoick gently placed his son on to his bed and stepped back to let the two healers treat him. He didn't know who the other one was, but it was clear he had been taking care of Hiccup for the past week.
"We need to give him his medicine. I used the last of what he had about forty hours ago," Jorn mentioned as he removed the bandage around the kid's stump.
Gothi nodded and took a vial out of her bag. Jorn tilted Hiccup's head up so she could pour it down his throat.
Once, Stoick was positive Hiccup was going to be okay, he walked out of the hut and met the worried faces of his friends and Ryker.
Fishlegs had filled him in on the whole Ryker ordeal. He resisted the urge to throw the man into the sea. It was his fault Hiccup was so badly injured.
"How is he?" Astrid asked.
"He'll live. Gothi and that man are working on him right now, "Stoick explained.
Everyone was gathered in the clubhouse, waiting for news on Hiccup. Just how bad was he? What did Johann do to him? Will he be able to recover from round two?
A couple hours later, Jorn and Gothi walked into the Clubhouse. Everyone looked at them with hopeful eyes.
"He's going to be fine," Jorn announced. A collective sigh of relief filled the room. "But he has a long road ahead of him. Johann caused him so much agony that his brain has barely begun to process it. Trying to decide what memories to keep and what memories to suppress is difficult. As for his injuries, he's not getting out of bed any time soon. Broken ribs, collarbone, leg and foot, a stab wound, gashes on his stump. I plan on keeping him asleep for the next couple of weeks. Give his body time to heal."
"You plan on staying?" Snotlout asked.
Jorn nodded. "I know the kid's injuries better than anyone in this room. Gothi and I have discussed this at length. She's needed on Berk. And taking him to Berk is not an option. Having him the air on the back of a dragon is dangerous."
Gothi stood next to the man, nodding in agreement with everything he said.
"I get that you don't trust me, I don't blame you," Jorn said. "I betrayed the Hunters to save Hiccup. If he had been dragged on to Stinger Island, he would have much had worse done to him. I couldn't have that."
Astrid stepped forward and gave Jorn a tired smile. "Welcome to Dragon's Edge, Jorn."
Hiccup woke up briefly in his bed on Dragon's Edge. Before he had a chance to remember, a vial touched his lips and cool liquid ran down his throat.
The only words he heard. "Just go back to sleep, kid. You need to rest for a while."
Hiccup found himself falling into a deep slumber and didn't fight the pull.
Jorn set the vial down on the nightstand and sat back down in his chair. They had been at Dragon's Edge for three days and Hiccup showed no signs of healing. His wounds bled through the stitching, turning the bandages crimson red. The bruises remained the same dark ugly purple they were when first inflicted.
He heard footsteps coming up the stairs; he turned his head and saw that it was Astrid, Hiccup's betrothed.
"How is he?" Astrid asked.
"He just woke up again and I put him back to sleep again," Jorn answered. "Other than that, no change."
Astrid sat next to Hiccup's head and started running her fingers through his hair. "Don't worry. Hiccup is tough. He'll find a way to get through this."
In the corner, Toothless purred in agreement.
Jorn shook his head. "I've seen men the size of his father break under the pain Johann caused. The fact that he is still breathing is a miracle. He refused to break. He was in constant mind-blowing pain and he still refused. Tough isn't the word I would use."
"What word you use?" Astrid wondered.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say Hiccup was a god," Jorn admitted.
Astrid studied the man. He was in awe with Hiccup's willpower, but he was also tired. He'd been awake for Thor knows how long.
"You look exhausted. You're no good to Hiccup if you run yourself into the ground. I speak from experience. Why don't you go wash up in the stream and get some sleep? I'll watch Hiccup for a bit." Astrid suggested.
"Do you know what needs to be done? How to change bandages and clean wounds?" Jorn asked.
"Been doing it a while," Astrid answered. Jorn gave her a pointed look. "How about this: if anything goes wrong, I'll come and get you. Deal?"
Jorn sighed. She was right he was exhausted; how well could he treat the kid if he was dead on his own feet? "If anything happens, I want to know right away."
Astrid held up her hand in promise. "I'll get you if anything happens."
Jorn stood up and stretched his tight muscles. "If he wakes up again, try to get him to have some boar broth, before giving him the tonic. His stomach can't handle solid foods quite yet."
Astrid nodded. "No problem."
Jorn walked down the stairs and left. Astrid removed the covers hiding Hiccup's bandaged wounds. She had never gotten a good look at Hiccup since they found him and Jorn flying toward them.
He wasn't wearing any clothing aside from a pair of skivvies that rested just above the wound to his right leg. His chest and stomach were entirely wrapped in bandaging. His left shoulder and right forearm were wrapped as well.
Her eyes moved down to his stump. From what she understood, not only had Johann taken his fake leg, but he cut into the scarring, the most sensitive part of it.
She remembered watching Gothi doing her best to stitch the remaining part of his lower left leg together. She had lost count after about a hundred stitches. Gobber later told her that Hiccup had 213 stitches holding his leg together. So much for someone so small. But all the damage caused by the inferno and Toothless grabbing him, it was amazing he didn't lose more of his leg.
Astrid felt tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. It was hurting her to look at him like this. Johann did much worse this time around.
The warrior quickly wiped the tears away and forced herself to continue looking at Hiccup's injured body. His right leg and foot were in a splint and was wrapped up tightly in more bandages keep him from moving the broken bones.
Higher up, his thigh was wrapped tight. Johann had stabbed him just above the knee. Both of Hiccup's legs were damaged. It would be weeks, maybe even months before he would be able to walk on his own again. He would be laid up in bed, unable to do anything but recover and be waited on hand and foot.
Astrid pulled the blankets over Hiccup, covering up his battered body. She sat back down and watched his chest rise and fall.
Hiccup once again entered the world of consciousness. He opened his eyes and looked around. Yeah, he was definitely in his hut. He hadn't dreamed that.
He groaned as the pain hit him like a Catastrophic Quaken. He let out a groan.
He heard something or someone to his left move. He turned his head. All he could see was a familiar skirt. Astrid's skirt.
"Astrid?" Hiccup croaked.
Astrid knelt down until she was eye level with her betrothed. "Hiccup, how do you feel?"
"Like I just went through round two with the Red Death," Hiccup answered. It hurt to move his lips.
Astrid stood back up. "Let's try to sit you up some, so you can drink some broth."
Hiccup helped Astrid as much as he could to sit himself up, but it hurt to even try. They settled for just propping his head up enough so Astrid could spoon feed him.
"How did I get here?" Hiccup asked after a few spoons of boar broth.
"You don't remember?" Astrid asked in return, worry plastering her face.
"Last I remember was waking up in a cage realizing that Johann had peeled off a part of my forearm," Hiccup the wincing at the memory.
Astrid continued to feed him the broth while she explained the lengths Jorn went to rescue him. By the time she was done, the bowl was empty.
"Hiccup, he saved you," Astrid finished. "He risked his own life to protect yours."
"I owe him mine then," Hiccup figured.
Astrid shook her head. "All you owe him is getting better. He said so himself."
Astrid grabbed the tonic off of the nightstand and pressed it against Hiccup's lips. "Here. Drink some. It will help with the pain and let you sleep."
Hiccup obliged. Within a couple of minutes, the injured man was sound asleep once more.
Johann watched his men returned to the ship empty handed. This was the fifth island they'd checked in just a few days. He wanted them found. He wanted to hang Jorn up like a piece of meat and force him to watch as he made Hiccup suffer endlessly.
The villain took out a dagger and stabbed the railing in frustration. How dare they escape right under his nose!? He'd already taken care of those incompetent guards. Now he just had to find Jorn and Hiccup.
They couldn't have gotten far. Hiccup was in no condition to run and hide. Jorn also didn't have enough supplies to treat the menace for more than a few days. They would eventually be found.
Ryker sat in the corner of the Clubhouse, watching the other Riders discuss what training they should do today. He didn't understand how they could train when their leader was lying in a bed unconscious.
"Ryker," a voice called pulling him from his thoughts. It was the guy with the Gronkle, Fishlegs.
"What?" Ryker asked.
"I asked if you and Minnow wanted to join us. We're going to go over attacks from the water," Fishlegs said."They might be helpful later on."
Ryker scratched the back of his head. The Riders wanted him to join in on their training? "Sure. Minnow might have fun being around other dragons."
Jorn woke up in the temporary hut the Rider's had given him, feeling refreshed. That had to have been the best sleep he'd had since before Johann was thawed out.
He stood and stretched, before reaching for his tunic. He had done away with the armor the Hunters had given him. He wasn't one of them anymore. Hiccup had opened up a whole new world of possibilities when he managed to get Garff to let them ride on him.
Jorn thought of the Deathsong that was curled up outside the kid's hut, waiting. The dragon had taken a liking to Jorn after watching him treat Hiccup. He wondered if Hiccup could help him learn how to ride him. Once the kid was recovered, of course.
He could fly from island to island, helping tend to the sick and injured. Maybe teach other healers to ride dragons. He could start a program. Healers Without Borders, or something like that.
Once he was dressed, he sauntered out of the hut and headed to the Clubhouse to grab a quick breakfast and relieve Astrid.
Astrid looked up from the book she had grabbed off Hiccup's desk when she heard Jorn walking up the steps.
"Did he ever wake up?" Jorn asked, looking at his patient.
"Good afternoon to you too," Astrid replied with a smirk. Clearly, Jorn had forgotten some manners while working with the Hunters.
Jorn blinked and looked at Astrid. "Oh, yeah. Good afternoon. Sorry."
Astrid let out a small laugh. "Don't worry about it. And yes, he woke up. I gave him the broth and told him what you did to get him away from Johann since he couldn't remember. He's been asleep for a few hours. What's in that tonic, by the way?"
"Valerian, Lemon balm, and this plant I found on Breakneck Bog. Well, it's more like a weed, really," Jorn answered. "I find that it helps relieve pain, relaxes the body and mind. It can also cause great hunger of not mixed properly."
"Sounds addictive," Astrid pointed out.
"It can be. I plan on weaning him off of it after he wakes up," Jorn assured. "Did he say what his last memory was?"
"Something about peeled skin. I didn't quite understand," Astrid answered.
"Johann used a blade to peel of a section of skin from his forearm. Hiccup slept through the process, but it was quite a shock when he woke up," Jorn explained. "The sight of missing something such as your own skin can be earth-shattering to a lot of people. Not Hiccup though. He acted like it didn't even bother him."
Astrid fell silent. Hiccup was a strong man, but to have something like that done to him. It was horrifying to think about.
"As you said, Hiccup is tough," Jorn consoled.
"I know. What Johann did to him though. It's worse than what he did six months ago," Astrid said. "Hiccup spent a month in a coma due to the blood loss. After he woke up, he was angry and full of rage. It took weeks for him to finally open up and tell us what happened in those caves. He was finally getting better. Then he went down into that stupid cave, at Gothi's request. Seeing Johann blink nearly sent him back. He's spent the past month trying to hide it, but he was scared. He was nowhere near ready to face Johann again. To go with Ryker and willingly be tortured all for a zero to slim chance at killing Johann, was, was, I don't know what it was."
Jorn watched as the young woman poured her heart to a man she hardly knew. She was so scared of what the future might hold. She didn't know if the Hiccup she knew and loved would come back to her or not.
The healer placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "He'll come back. I promise."
Astrid wiped away any evidence that she might have been crying. "I hope you're right."
Jorn decided it was time to change the subject. "Before you head out, can you help me change the bandages real quick?"
Astrid stood up. "Sure. No problem."
The two worked in silence as they discarded the old bandages, cleaned the wounds, and bandaged them. They worked as if they had been doing it for years. Jorn was impressed with how careful and gentle Astrid was with Hiccup's injured body. The girl would make a great healer. She was someone who could tend to the injured on the battlefield and continue to fight at the same time.
Astrid studied Jorn. He looked at Hiccup as if he was his own son. After less than a week together, Jorn had already risked his life to protect Hiccup while keeping him alive. He treated Hiccup with such respect; it was hard to believe that he worked for the Hunters.
All this made Astrid wonder if Jorn had a family of his own waiting for him, but she remembered something Heather told her. Healers weren't allowed to have a family to call their own if they worked for the Hunters. That way, nothing could be leveraged against them if they lost a patient or refused to treat someone.
Maybe the man did have a family at one point, lost them, and joined the Hunters knowing he had nothing more than his life to lose.
Author's Note: Yep Jorn discovered weed. You read that right. No, I do not smoke it. I had several customers and co-workers who have. Most of which are good friends. Most of them only do it for recreational purposes or to help deal with the stress of a high-end restaurant.
Speaking of which, I won't be unemployed for much longer. One of my co-workers/friend took to social media after the public firing about how wrong it was. She included my name and email address. I've already had several job offers. I just need to sort out which ones are real and which ones aren't.
Anyways thank you for the continued support. I love waking up in the morning after posting a chapter to find that you guys have reviewed.
Special thanks to Draconicbeing2.0 for being an amazing beta reader and friend