I woke up again. It was morning. Toothless had his wing wrapped around me, just like he did on Crescent Island. The other dragons had arranged themselves in a defensive position around me and Toothless.
Crawling to the edge of the sea stack, I looked down. The ocean was beautiful, with a mist appearing a few feet above it. Like everything was alright, normal, peaceful.
I didn't know how I had gotten to sleep, but I felt more refreshed. I was still confused, though. Maybe I'd talk to Astrid about it.
A few minutes later, Toothless and I were soaring in the sky. The clear air helped me feel better about things.
We flew lower, skimming above the tree tops on Dragon Island. When we landed in a small clearing, I felt something give way with the stirrup.
I got off Toothless and started fiddling with the stirrup. A small connecting piece had broken off. That was no problem; I had more. I reached inside Toothless's saddle bag and grabbed a replacement.
As I replaced the piece, Toothless stiffened and looked alert. "What's wrong, Bud?" I asked him.
I followed his gaze to the edge of the clearing. I couldn't see anything. Toothless went to toward whatever he heard, investigating. He went into the woods several yards, so I could barely see him.
Without any kind of warning, I felt someone tackle me from behind. The person shoved me downwards, into the dirt. His strong grip tightened on the back of my neck, pushing my face sideways into the ground.
The pressure changed, and I was shoved over onto my back. I was looking up into the face of my cousin. Snotlout.
He straddled me, holding me to the ground. His larger frame and brawny muscles gave me no chance. He pulled out a hunting knife from his belt and held it above my neck.
"How could you do this?" he demanded. "Do you realize what you've done?"
"Snotlout, please. Let's- let's talk this over," I begged.
"What is there to say? You're a traitor to our tribe, to our village, to our family. You've brought pain and dishonor to us all! I hate you!" He moved the knife closer to my throat.
I looked Snotlout in the eyes. I could tell by their cold fury that he meant business. But still, they wavered for a second. His hand trembled, and he paused, staring at the knife for several long, terrifying seconds.
I heard a fierce growl coming from behind. Snotlout jumped up when he saw Toothless spring out from the bushes at the side. Toothless shot a warning blast by Snotlout's feet.
I could see Snotlout trembling as he tried to back up. There was a large tree behind him; he couldn't go any further. Toothless slowly advanced toward him, growling. He looked to the sides, but Toothless was too close to him.
"Stay back, dragon!" he ordered fearfully, holding out his knife at arm's reach. I could see him sweating fearfully as Toothless continued to growl at him.
"You ready to talk this out now?" I asked.
Snotlout scowled. "Fine. Just call off your dragon."
I walked over to Toothless and put my hand on him. "Here, Bud," I said. Toothless stopped growling.
"Now let's sit down and talk," I told Snotlout. He looked nervously at Toothless before slipping to the side and sitting down on a log.
I sat next to him. Toothless lay down in front of us, keeping a close eye on Snotlout.
We sat in silence for a minute, Snotlout refusing to look in my direction. I remained patient; I wanted him to speak first.
Eventually, still looking the other way, Snotlout blurted out, "At first, I didn't mind that you were gone." He paused. "After you, I'm next in line for chief, you know."
"I know."
"Stoick has been training me in the traditions and treaties a chief has to know," he continued. "And at first it was great."
"But then?"
"It's taking a toll on him, Hiccup. You can see it in his eyes, and in the way he carries himself. You betrayed him. You betrayed our family."
"I- I had to do it."
"Would you say that if you saw the way he sighs whenever someone says your name? Would you say that if you saw him slumped over whenever he's by himself? Would you say that if you saw Stoick the Vast wipe away tears when he thought no one was looking? Would you?!" he demanded.
"He sent me away," I said. "He wants nothing more to do with me. He disowned me."
"You made a choice!"
"A choice to protect my friends."
"What about the rest of your friends? What about your family?"
"Toothless is my family now. The dragons are my friends."
"No, Hiccup! I'm talking about your flesh and blood. Don't we matter to you?"
"Of course you do. But I can't abandon the dragons. They're not the monsters we always thought they were."
"Then who is?"
"I don't- I don't know. It- it- it's not as it should be. It's all a mess." I felt my eyes fill up with tears and angrily blinked them back. I saw Snotlout's face soften for a split second.
"You've brought dishonor on the Haddock clan, and even to the Jorgenson clan." His father, Spitelout, is Stoick's half brother, and he has a different last name. "You've brought pain to your father."
"He's not my father anymore. You heard him say that." Now, a tear rolled down my cheek. I didn't make a move to stop it. I didn't care anymore.
"No. He is your father. Nothing can change that. And I'm your cousin. Nothing can change that."
"Which is why you just tried to kill me," I said sarcastically.
"I was going to kill the person who wrecks havoc on our village and broke my uncle's spirit," he said. "But I looked into your eyes and I saw not just a rebel, but… my cousin."
"And that's why your hand trembled," I realized. "You weren't scared."
"No. No, I wasn't scared of spilling blood. I was just… scared of spilling my cousin's blood. I'm glad your dragon stopped me." He shuddered. "I'm supposed to be a warrior, not a murderer."
He paused, and we sat there in silence again. Then, he said, "Hiccup… come back to us."
"I… I can't. I'm in too deep. I can't back out now." I jumped to my feet. "I have to go," I said, my voice thick. "Here, Toothless. Let's go." With Toothless by my side, I ran away. When I looked back, Snotlout stood there, staring sadly after me.