Sorrow
I double over in shock. How did this happen? How could I let myself be captured by vikings? I stretch my memory and try to recall what happened. I get flashes. Parts of images and words that don't make any sense. Needles shoot through my head. I suck in my breath waiting for the pain to pass.
I straighten up and shuffle to the door of the cell. Standing upon on my toes, I peak through the small opening in the door. I see a dark hallway and another cell across from me. I call out Toothless name quietly. Nothing.
Footsteps echo through the hall and I scramble back to the bed, curseing my prosthetic foot. Sitting down on the bed, I wait. Footsteps stop outside my door.
"Open it up." A gruff voice sounds behind the door. Creaking loudly, the door slowly opens. A buff vikings steps in and the door closes behind him.
The soft light from a lantern on the wall illuminates his face. Big scruffy beard filled with braids. Dark red hair tied behind his head. And fierce green eyes. His face is currently set in a deep scowl. The viking steps forward, looming over me.
I keep my face blank, void of all emotion. I suppose that this viking is supposed to be intimidating, but he isn't. There is something about him that draws me towards him. A connection that was hurried long ago seems to rise up out of ashes. Burning bright and fierce. Something in his light green eyes seems familiar. There's a pull in my stomach, like I should know this man in front of me.
"Lets make this quick shall we? We'll start with some basics. First of all, who are you?" I stare the man in the eyes but refuse to give him any information. He steps closer, leaning over me.
"Maybe you didn't hear me, who are you?" I keep my mouth sealed. The vikings leans back and stares me down. He pulls out a knife and starts sharpening it.
"That dragon of yours, he's a Night Furry isn't he? Very rare and valuable. Those dark scales would make a nice coat don't you think?" Taking in a deep breath, I reel in the desire to attack the man threatening my life long friend. "I would be able to withstand fire and blend into the night. Not sure I could give that up."
"Don't you dare hurt him!" Furry rises up and threatens to erupt. I jerk forward leaning in towards the man. "Do what you want to me, just don't hurt Toothless."
"The dragon? Don't worry, I won't unless you give me reason to. Now I will ask one more time. Who are you?" He puts the sharpening stone away and fiddles with the knife. Seeing no way around the question, I give him a name.
"Hernan"
"That wasn't so bad now was it." I lean back resting against the wall as I watch the viking. "Tell me Hernan, what are you doing with that dragon of yours? Is it your pet? Your slave? Or how a-"
"He is my friend." I hiss through my teeth. "And he is not a mindless beast. You are." The viking reaches out and punches me square in the jaw. I sit there stunned for a moment. My gaze wanders over to his and I see something swirling behind those eyes. Gathering a mixture of saliva and blood, I turn, spiting in his face. He reels back lifting a hand to his face, wiping away the mixture. Anger burns in his eyes. Flipping the knife into his belt he speaks:
"I can see that you are not going to cooperate. Gobber! Tell the men to have their fun." I hear a shout outside the door and a scream rises up. My blood curdles at the sound of Toothless pain echoing through the hallway.
"Leave him alone!" I jerk to my feet and move in as if to attack the viking. I run into a hand that pushes me to the floor.
"Perhaps we can come to an arrangement. You tell me what I want to know and I'll stop hurting the dragon." Hatred boils in my stomach. I spit out my next word. Every piece of that anger showing in that one word.
"Fine."
"Good. Now tell me, how do you control the dragon?"
"I don't control him. He is my friend. We have a bond, trust. And once you've earned his loyalty, there is nothing a dragon won't do for you." Laughter spills from the man.
"Let me tell you something, Hernan. Dragons are vicious beasts who don't care about anyone but themselves. They kill vikings everyday ripping families apart. Dragons don't have friends. They are just mindless beasts." Standing up, I face the man.
"Vikings aren't the only ones that are ripped from their families. It happens to dragons too. I assume that you have never felt that pain of losing someone you hold dear to you. That gut wrenching pain as you realize that they are gone forever. After all, you are a big, strong viking. You probably kill every dragon you see. Of course you don't know that pain. You could protect your family."
The viking shakes in anger. He takes one step, and shows me all his strength in one punch. I keel over holding my gut and trying to breath. The viking doesn't say anything as he walks out of the cell. I catch some words said by someone outside.
"How did it go Chief?"
"Not well."
"Well, at least…" I smile as the voices fade. I know who the man is and he is still clueless as to who I am. Exhaustion expands through my body. I'm exhausted of being grounded. I need to get out of this cell and up into the clouds.
I reach down and pull my boot off. Ripping off the sole of the boot, I grab a small kit hidden there. It is filled with different supplies designed to pick a lock.
I walk over to the small opening in the door. On my way over I grab the tools I need. Reaching through the bars I begin to work my magic.
Minutes pass before a sharp click rings through the hall. Easing open the door, I begin calling to Toothless. The hallway is clear and I travel through it unnoticed.
I check every cell looking for my best friend. Slowly, I come to the more heavily built cells.
"Empty. Empty. Empty. Dragon. Empty. Wait, Toothless!?" The door swings open with a small nudge. I cross the room in big, quick strides. Bending over next to him, I throw my arms around his neck.
"Im so glad to see you bud." I take a moment to soak in his presence. "Come on bud, let's find your saddle and get out of here."
"Its…not…that simple." He rises to his feet obvious pain in his words. And I see the gaping wounds oozing fresh blood.
"Toothless…" I am lost for words. How could I have let this happen to him?
"That's...not the...worse." He flicks his tail over onto my lap. I caress the jagged edge of where one of his tail fins used to be.
Shock. Sadness. Anger. Those are the first feelings to come to pass. For the second time in my life, I am truely speechless.
"It happened during the battle. The queen burned it to shreds, then the vikings tore the rest off." His voice becomes smoother. My head drops heavy from shame.
"Toothless, I'm so, so sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't insisted that we follow the pull you were getting. If only-"
"Its not your fault, Hiccup. We are a team and no one of us gets blamed." My head bobs in agreement. "Come on, let's find a way off this stinking island. I'm tired of the stench of viking." Helping Toothless up is a task in its self. But we manage to get him up and out the door.
"So, any idea how to get out of this place?"
"My guess is as good as yours. They dragged me in unconscious." I look at him funny, rolling my eyes.
"Maybe you could try your Super Sonic Awesome Thing to find us a way out."
"Oh ya!" Pain spikes in my temple as Toothless let's out his Super Sonic Awesome Thing. As the pain leaves, I am greeted by a massive headache.
"Think you could've warned me before you did that?" My hand rubs the side of my temple in small, soothing circles.
"I found a way out."
"Lead the way." My hand drops to my side as we begin down a corridor. I follow Toothless putting fasith into him and his passage out of the prison. Walking down a hallway, we stumble across a viking on guard duty. We all gape at each other. Surprised my the other's existence. I snap out of the trance first.
"Umm…Toothless, do you mind…?" He bounds over knocking the weapon out of the viking's hands. Then, faster than you can blink, the man is on the ground, unconscious.
"Thanks."
"Anytime." The rest of the walk is uneventful and we quickly approach a door that is shaped different from all the other doors.
"This it?"
"Yep. This is the one. I'm sure of it."
"Well why doesn't that ease my conscious?" I speak the words just loud enough for Toothless to hear. He doesn't move an ince.
Easing open the door, I peak outside. Night has fallen and the moon is nothing but a slim crescent in the sky. It's the perfect night to escape unnoticed. Not an owl hoot or the chirp of a cricket disturbs the silence.
"Come on Hiccup. Let's find a way off this island and quick! Who knows what your mom is going to do to us this time. And who knows how long we've been gone!"
"Aw, stop your whining. We will handle my mom when we get there. But for now, let's just focus on the task in front of us."
"Alright. But for the record, if you end up making me give the elders a massage all day again. I'm going to take you out to sea, leave you on an iceberg, and never come back." Laughter bubbles up inside of me.
"Noted. Now, lets go find the forge."
Author's Note: I'm so sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up. I was having some difficulty getting motivated as I didn't know how to continue on in parts. Its not quite how I wanted it to turn out but I like it nonetheless. In apology of the long wait I have made this chapter just a little bit longer. Extending it past where I was going to cut it off. Anyway thank you for all your support please continue to review. Have a wonderful new year!