Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD
Chapter Seven – Wearing Down
True to his word, because he didn't want to find out what would happen if he failed, Hiccup filled the vial with Toothless' saliva (the dragon thought it was weird, but he let Hiccup do it anyway) and gave it to the surgeon. The man was thrilled, informing him that his wounds were scarring faster than anything ever seen, and attributing this to the healing properties of Night Fury spit.
It was true that Toothless' licking his wounds helped them scab over and begin healing; but the true reason for his fast recovery was the heart bind. Toothless explained that because their life forces were entwined, a little bit of his strength was flowing through the bond to Hiccup, helping the human's body heal faster. Toothless had nothing to do except sleep, eat and relieve himself; he had plenty of energy to spare, even if most of it was going to waste in the cage.
Hiccup desperately wanted to set his friend free to fly. It galled him to have to wake every morning before dawn, get looked over by the surgeon and then be forced to do mind-numbing chores or wait on Hauke. He was always on the lookout for an opportunity to steal some keys and release all the dragons; their best chance to escape was still to get a ride home with their fellow captives.
At first he'd been afraid that the other dragons still wouldn't trust him; but it seemed they'd all heard about his attempt to help the Sail-Back drake, who said his name was Libon. Between the fact that he treated them with more kindness than they'd expected from a human, and that he was the first human to ever heart bind with a dragon, the dragons came to trust him more.
The real difficulty that Hiccup had was that the hunters just would not leave him alone. Whoever was sent to fetch him in the morning (it was someone different each time) would 'keep an eye' on him for the rest of the day. If they caught his attention wandering, they'd cuff or kick him and tell him to get on with his chores. Angered by the indignity of it all, Hiccup couldn't resist insulting them in his head or under his breath. If he insulted them to their faces, he'd be hit.
He tried to tell himself that he was just biding his time. That the plan he formed would be foolproof, one the dragon hunters would never see coming. Hiccup sustained himself with thoughts of what he was going to do when he got home. Hug his father. Kiss Astrid. Joke with Gobber. Tell Fishlegs what he'd learned about dragons. Have a friendly spar with Snotlout. Get pranked by the twins.
This would happen. He and Toothless would go home. They had to. He could only imagine how heartbroken everyone was, believing him dead. Despite how things had been, Hiccup was loyal to Berk. It was why, despite talking about it, he'd never simply flown off with Toothless. Now things were better, and he had a duty to return to his tribe…though whether to lead them, or the dragons, he still wasn't entirely sure.
For now, he would play along with Hauke's game. A few days after being whipped, Hiccup was brought out on deck, where chain nets had been spread out from the rigging to the stern, creating a makeshift tent-like cage. "It's high time you started proving your worth" Hauke remarked when the hunter assigned to watch him led Hiccup over, "by training these dragons for battle."
"Battle with whom?" Hiccup asked incredulously. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hand being raised to cuff him, and instinctively ducked away. "Sir" he added quickly, spitting the word as if it were poison. Hiccup adamantly refused to call Hauke 'master', and so far he'd managed to get away with just 'sir'. Although he hated calling any of them that; he did not respect these monsters.
Hauke replied, "With other dragons, mainly."
"But dragons already know how to fight other dragons! What do you need me to train them for?" Hiccup demanded. Hauke declined to answer; instead he motioned for his men to put Hiccup in the ring. They shoved him into a cage that had one side cut away, and locked the door behind him. "Don't I at least get a shield or something?" he protested, given he was basically defenceless.
"Did your parents teach you no manners?" Hauke questioned rhetorically. He looked at his son, who had come to watch but wouldn't meet Hiccup's eyes. "Adulfr, what do you do if you want something?"
"I ask politely and don't complain if you say no" Adulfr replied solemnly, without meeting his father's eyes either. He looked as if he'd gotten no sleep.
"Precisely. Now, let's try that again" Hauke said to Hiccup, as if to a disobedient child. "If you say, 'please may I have a shield, master?', I might consider it."He gave Hiccup a pointed look; the young man ground his teeth and clenched his fists. I hate this, I hate this, I hate this!
"Forget it. I'll manage without one" he refused, turning his back on Hauke and stepping forwards. The dragons liked him, or at least tolerated him. Surely they wouldn't deliberately attack him. The first two dragons to be sent into the ring were both Nadders - no, wait, Spike-Tails. Hiccup was trying to think of the dragons with the names they gave to themselves. It felt more respectful, and they deserved it far more.
After so long in the darkness of the cages, they squinted and hissed at the light. They screeched viciously at the hunters, breathing plumes of white-hot fire that splashed and sparked off of the metal nets. The hunters ducked, patted out their singed clothes and hair, and yelled insults back. Then one of the Spike-Tails, a green drakaina named Emrel, spotted Hiccup. She bristled, spikes raised.
"It's okay" he said hastily, holding his palms up to show he wasn't holding any weapons. "It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you. Uh, please don't hurt me…" Hiccup tentatively approached Emrel, and the yellow drake, Topaz. It was hard to stay in both their blind spots, so he didn't try. They eyed him warily and circled him, tails batting from side to side, ready to strike in moments.
*What are you doing in here?* Topaz demanded.
"Uh…they sort of want me to train you. To fight" Hiccup admitted, before quickly adding "But I don't want to! It's just…I don't think I have much choice, so could you maybe, y'know, play along?" he asked tentatively. Slowly, Hiccup reached out to them, keeping his gaze between them instead of looking at one or the other, watching them from the corners of his eyes.
"Are you sure you don't want this shield?" Hauke inquired casually.
Without looking back, Hiccup replied coldly, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."
"I'm not sure if that's brave or foolish. Probably the latter; not many people would want to be defenceless when trapped with angry dragons" Hauke remarked. Hiccup was about to point out that the Spike-Tails weren't angry, at least not at him, when he heard the creak of the cage door opening. A hunter threw something in; a large chunk of fresh dragon root.
Eyes wide, Hiccup looked back at the Spike-Tails, both of whom were staring at the root with slit pupils, nostrils flared. "Oh, no. Guys, c'mon, don't- Argh!" He was forced to duck as the dragons charged past him, almost trampling him in their lunge towards the root. In seconds they devolved into mindless beasts, jaws snatching at the root as if it were a hunk of meat and screeching wordlessly at each other. The worst part was that he knew Topaz and Emrel were good friends.
Hiccup began to edge around the perimeter of the cage, trying to give the maddened dragons a very wide berth. It would have been easier if not for the hunters, who hollered and rattled the chains, agitating the Spike-Tails even more. Emrel looked up and spotted Hiccup, who froze like a rabbit in front of a fox – her eyes narrowed and she leapt forwards, mouth gaping.
He dived out of the way of a blast of fire, scrambling away towards the cage door. Emrel chased him, trying to drive him away from her 'prize'. Topaz started dragging the root away; Emrel spun around and flicked spines at Hiccup as she charged after the other dragon, the two of them snapping and clawing at each other. Flattening himself, Hiccup barely avoided getting skewered. "Let me out of here!" he yelled, banging on the inside of the locked door with his fists.
"Well, perhaps if you ask politely I'll consider it" Hauke replied calmly.
Hiccup glared at him. "Let me out! Please" he said desperately, "If you don't they'll kill me! And if I die, Toothless dies, and there goes your present to your crazy boss." It felt good to turn the tables for a moment and try to manipulate Hauke for a change. The man couldn't risk him and Toothless dying.
"What an insufferable brat you are. You do realise that if you and the Night Fury did perish, I would simply bring the dragons I still have to Drago? Your deaths would be an inconvenience at most" Hauke countered. "You know what to say to be given a shield or be allowed out of the cage. Either say it, or face the consequences" he threatened.
Hiccup did know what he was supposed to say, but he refused. He looked back at Topaz and Emrel, who had torn the root to pieces in their squabbling. They were going to seriously hurt each other if someone didn't stop them. With one last defiant glare at Hauke, Hiccup ran towards the dragons. In unison, they both turned and screamed at him, caught off guard by his sudden movement.
Keeping up momentum, Hiccup ducked and rolled underneath Emrel as she lunged at him, jaws snapping. He came up and jabbed his fingers into the underside of her jaw, in her 'sweet spot'. She collapsed, and he used her bulk as a shield against Topaz, staying in the Spike-Tails blind spot before also diving under his jaw and firmly scratching the bundle of nerve endings to make him slump bonelessly to the ground. Hiccup panted with the adrenaline rush.
The hunters booed and complained that it wasn't as entertaining anymore. Ignoring them, Hiccup tightened his peg – the stupid thing had come loose – and carefully gathered up the pieces of dragon root. He carried them over to the cage door and demanded, "Let me out of here so I can toss this in the ocean."
Bluntly, Hauke refused. Frustrated, Hiccup protested "You want me to train these Nadders? I can't do that if they're not in their right minds! Either you get rid of this dragon root and give me a shield, or let me out so I can do it myself."
"I will, when you show some respect and call me master."
"Never."
"Then the Nadders can tear you to shreds for all I care. Oh, it seems they're waking up" Hauke noted, looking past Hiccup at the two dragons. The effects of scratching their sweet spots had worn off and they were getting back to their feet. It was only a matter of time before they smelled the dragon root he was holding and came after it – and him. "Say it, and I'll let you out."
Emrel and Topaz noticed the root and advanced, salivating and hissing. Hiccup drew back instinctively; his back pressed against the hard metal of the cage door, aggravating the lash marks. "Argh!" He cried out in pain and vexation; unfortunately this only riled the Spike-Tails up even more. They both roared and lunged forwards, cornering him in the cage that formed the door of the larger chain-net tent. The only reason they couldn't get to him was that they were too large to both fit through the gap. They snapped at each other and at Hiccup.
Heart thudding, Hiccup yelled "Let me out!"
"Say the magic word" Hauke demanded, far too calmly. The hunters watched on with undisguised glee, clearly hoping to either see him get torn to pieces by root-mad Nadders, or hear him beg. Hiccup hated to do it, but he couldn't stay in there – he'd be killed – and he wouldn't throw the root to Emrel and Topaz for them to kill each other over. Oh, but he hated, hated, hated how Hauke was treating him like a puppet with strings to be pulled!
"Please let me out!"
"Wrong word. It's two syllables, it's not that hard" Hauke mocked. His men laughed; some of them jeered at Hiccup, calling him dumb as a dragon.
"They're not dumb!" he shouted back; although it might have been "I'm not dumb!" He knew perfectly well what the 'magic word' was. He just couldn't bring himself to say it. The very thought made him physically recoil; he'd lost almost everything except Toothless and his self-respect. Of course, then Hauke had to make the one threat he knew Hiccup couldn't ignore.
"Perhaps we should put the Night Fury in there" the cruel Chief suggested, "so he can defend his precious human – or attack him for the dragon-root."
"No!" Hiccup cried out. He struggled with himself for a few moments, swallowed his pride and the bile rising in his throat and choked out "Master, please let me out of here!"
The door behind him opened and Hiccup was dragged out by the back of his tunic. He staggered and barely managed to keep from dropping the dragon root. Thankfully, nobody stopped him from rushing to the side of the ship and throwing the root overboard. Hiccup then followed that up with a donation of vomit, gasping and dry heaving. The constant pitching of the deck didn't help.
Before he could catch his breath, rough hands grabbed him and hauled him away from the bulwark, pushing him to his knees in front of Hauke. The motion made his head spin and he clamped his hands over his mouth. He just knew that if he retched now they'd make him clean it up. Once he was sure he wasn't going to throw up again, Hiccup looked up at his tormentor. He tried to glare defiantly, but it felt like more of a pained grimace.
Hauke then did the last thing he expected; held out a tankard and asked him, "Do you want a drink?" Without thinking Hiccup reached for it, but Hauke pulled it away. "Ah, ah, ah. Ask nicely" Hauke scolded, as if Hiccup were a child. "Didn't anyone ever teach you manners? You know what to say" he prompted.
Hiccup bit back a groan. He didn't want to give Hauke the satisfaction…but his throat was parched, and his mouth tasted of sick…Just say it he told himself, trying to work up the nerve. Just get it over with. He…he probably wants me to refuse. So he has an excuse to let them…beat me up. I'm doing this for me, not him. He just had to say two little words, and he'd get a drink and not get beaten.
It was still so damn hard to make himself say it. "M-master, please, can I have a drink?" he forced himself to ask. It made his stomach curl, the way Hauke smirked, pleased to see him begging like a dog. The tankard was handed to him and he forced himself to sip from it, clinging to the shreds of his dignity.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
He nearly choked. Why can't they just give me a break? He didn't have to ask what that meant. He knew. He just had to say the word. Just one little…demeaning, wretched word. Here goes nothing. Hiccup stalled a few more seconds by having another drink, but he knew Hauke's patience would only last so long. "…Thank you, m-m" – he had to force down another wave of nausea before he could get the word out. "Master."
Gods, what was wrong with him? Since when did he grovel like this? "Good boy" Hauke nodded, patting him on the head as if he really was a dog. Hiccup flinched. The hunters laughed at him, and he wished they'd all go jump in the sea. "Stand up" Hauke ordered. Hiccup obeyed; only because the deck was hard, and his knees were getting sore. Not because he was Hauke's…he was a Viking, not a thrall!
Hauke declared that Emrel ("the green one") had won the fight. The hunters dragged her out of the net ring, muzzled her and chained her up near the prow. Topaz was forced below deck. Then they brought out two Sail-Backs; Libon and Crusher. Once the dragons were released into the cage, they started circling each other, stamping and flaring their wings aggressively.
*You got to fly yesterday. Let me win this time!* Crusher demanded, snarling.
Libon growled, *Fine, but when they put you back below don't start whining about how much your flank hurts!*
As the Sail-Backs sized each other up, Hiccup realised what this was all about. The dragons were made to fight each other, and the 'winner' of each fight was made to pull the ship. It was utterly barbaric, and it made his blood boil. Then he remembered there were eight dragons – three Spike-Tails, two Sail-Backs, a Chin-Spike, a Fire-Scale and….. a Swift-Wing. "You're making Toothless fight?!"
His outburst was met with disdain from Hauke, who calmly replied "What makes you think that?"
"Hey, sarcasm is my thing" Hiccup retorted. His 'escort' for the day raised a hand to strike him, but Hauke shook his head. Then he struck Hiccup, sending the young man reeling. Then he grabbed Hiccup by the throat and squeezed.
"I wonder if you'd be so witty if I tie dragon root to you and throw you in the ring with the beasts" he threatened, glaring as Hiccup struggled in his grasp. "Apologise for your insolence, thrall" Hauke ordered, squeezing harder.
Hiccup gasped, clawing desperately at Hauke's thick wrist and fingers. He choked out "S-s-sorry!"
"Sorry, what?"
"S-s-sorry, muh-mah-aah…" Hiccup's eyes widened in terror – he couldn't breathe! Hauke released him at last and he stumbled back, clutching at his neck and wheezing. "S-sorry, m-master" he heard himself say. What was wrong with him? Hauke wasn't his master! I'm not a thrall. I'm a Viking. I am a Viking!
"Apology accepted. Now, was there something you'd like to ask me?" Hauke inquired, far too politely. Hiccup wanted to glare at him defiantly, but he was still trying to catch his breath. Besides…though he hated to admit it, Hauke frightened him. The man could cause him untold suffering at any moment and they both knew it. Hauke was not his master or his owner but he was in control.
"If…if you make Toothless fight… I want to watch" he insisted. He didn't want Toothless to face that alone; and if Toothless, if they, were going to be hurt he'd like to have some warning. He managed to force out a "Please, master." It galled him to be so submissive, but there was no other way to get what he wanted.
Hauke smiled cruelly. "I suppose, since you asked nicely. But in the meantime, follow me" he ordered. Hauke led Hiccup below deck to another unfamiliar part of the ship – an armoury. It was stiflingly hot, and worse still, there were four Gronckles – no, Rock-Tails – chained up in there, being forced to make Gronckle Iron. There was no end to the cruelty and inhumanity aboard the Black Death.
"You've figured out, I assume, that the dragons fight in pairs, and the victor of each fight is rewarded by being allowed to fly for a while" Hauke commented. "Of course we can't have them flying away, so in return for their reward they tow the ship when the winds die or blow against us. It's quite changeable."
Hiccup frowned. "What about them?" he questioned, gesturing to the dull-eyed Rock-Tails. Before he could stop himself, he flinched in anticipation of a blow and added, "Sir." It was easier to say the one-syllable word than the longer, more demeaning one, but he hated that he felt the need to say either.
"Oh, they get to fly too, sometimes. Usually if one of the other dragons is injured. But I didn't bring you down here to play nursemaid to the Gronckles. I have a more important job for you." They were standing on opposite sides of a table; Hauke lifted off the cloth covering it. Hiccup gasped. Underneath was Toothless' spare tail-fin, the one that had been in the saddlebag. He'd completely forgotten about it. Without thinking, he reached out to touch it.
"I have no doubt the Night Fury is a fierce fighter, and will probably win his battle" Hauke continued, "which means he'll have to fly. You need to modify this fin to allow the dragon to fly alone. And to dye it black…although, we'll imprint Bludvist's insignia in red."
In a rush of insight, Hiccup knew that this could be the chance he'd been waiting for. Taking care to keep his expression neutral, he murmured "I understand…master." Tell him what he wants to hear. Make him think I'm complying. Don't let on. It was easier to say that word, if he told himself it was part of the plan, part of getting the better of his captor.
"Good. Oh, and before you get any ideas; when the Night Fury isn't flying, I will be taking the tail-fin for safe-keeping. And I don't need to remind you what will happen if you try to use it to escape, do I?"
Ignoring Onarr's voice in his head ("Some punishments leave scars you can't see"), Hiccup replied, "Yes…master." It wasn't a lie; he remembered the threat clearly. That wasn't going to stop him from trying – how could he not?
Hauke left him to it. Fortunately, he remembered enough of the first auto-tail design to replicate it with what he had available. Hiccup tried to modify it so it would be comfortable for Toothless; they had talked about that first winter together, and the dragon admitted that the auto-tail had not been pleasant to wear for long periods. Though that wasn't the reason he disliked it so much.
As he worked, the nearest Rock-Tail sniffed curiously in his direction. *Strange. A human that smells of dragon?* she remarked. Her chains clanked as she shuffled closer to Hiccup. His escort…no, warden…kicked at her. "Get away, dumb beast!" he grunted; she snarled at him.
"Leave her alone!" Hiccup exclaimed, "She's not doing anything!"
"Exactly. It's not making metal. Get back to work!" another hunter yelled at the poor Rock-Tail, jabbing her with a spear. She rumbled sadly and trudged back to the piles of limestone, sandstone and iron ore that were four of the key ingredients of Gronckle Iron. It tore Hiccup up inside that he could no nothing to help them – at least for now. When he and Toothless escaped, they would bring their friends back here to blast open this accursed ship and free everyone.
Adjusting the tail-fin for solo flight didn't take long; then the hunters dyed the crimson canvas black, drying it quickly with the bellows. Finally, they printed a silhouette of Bludvist's insignia onto it – a stylised but disturbing image of a Fire-Scale with a sword through the skull.
It looked familiar, and Hiccup suddenly realised he'd seen it before; both on brands used by Viggo's hunters, and worn by Krogan. Were they all under the employ of Drago Bludvist? A chill ran down Hiccup's spine. Was that why Hauke knew so much about him? Because he knew Krogan, and the riders nemesis had told him about Hiccup?
With the modified fin in his arms, Hiccup was led back to the deck. Emrel was harnessed to the port chain at the prow; Crusher and one of the Chin-Spikes were chained at the stern. The hunters forced the last two dragons under the nets; the juvenile Fire-Scale who's name was Blaze, and Toothless.
When he looked up and spotted Hiccup, Toothless bounded over and pressed his snout against the taut chains. Hiccup rushed forwards and knelt in front of the nets, poking his fingers through the gaps to stroke as much of the dragon as he could reach. "Hey, bud. I'm sorry about this" he murmured.
Toothless crooned reassuringly, only to snarl when a hunter dragged Hiccup backwards by his collar. "Is the tail-fin finished?" Hauke demanded.
Hiccup sighed. "Yes…master" he answered, reluctant though he was to say that word. He despised Hauke and the other monsters, but he hated himself too. For giving in so easily, when he'd sworn he would fight to the end.
"Very well. Command the Night Fury to fight" Hauke ordered, nodding to Hiccup's warden to release him. Hiccup took a few cautious steps towards the chain net, meeting Toothless' gaze and declaring, "I'm sorry, Toothless. They want you to fight B- the Nightmare, and if you win they're gonna make you tow the ship." The dragon's eyes widened as they landed on the tail-fin in his arms. "We're both gonna be in trouble if you don't, so just do your best, okay? And…and good luck" Hiccup finished, with an encouraging nod.
Blaze whimpered and cringed on the other side of the ring. *Fight? I don't want to fight!* he whined, flames rippling across his hide. The hunters muttered to each other. Hauke frowned deeply. "I told you to command the Night Fury to fight" he repeated, "now do as you're ordered, thrall – or I will do it."
The sight of Hauke beating Toothless with that club flashed through Hiccup's mind. His ribs and welts twinged at the memory. Taking a deep breath, Hiccup turned back to the dragon and instructed, "Toothless, battle ready!"
Straightaway, Toothless rounded on Blaze and assumed his quintessential arched back, spread wings stance. Growling deep in his throat, he stalked towards the cowering Fire-Scale with pupils slit and fangs bared. In an attempt at intimidation, Blaze flamed up and spat a gout of liquid fire at the Swift-Wing, who blocked the scorching stream with a wing and bellowed.
*Stay away from me!* the poor young Fire-Scale shrieked, trying to flee from Toothless to no avail. As they circled each other, Toothless told him apologetically, *I don't want to hurt you…but I need to make this look good.* He suddenly lunged forwards, feinting around a second burst of fire, and leapt right at Blaze, snapping and snarling. Blaze thrashed and tried to buck him off.
The bloodthirsty hunters whooped and cheered; Hiccup watched the struggle with bated breath. He hated it when Toothless was forced to fight, and it was worse now that – Blaze's tail whipped through the air and struck Toothless, knocking him away. Hiccup felt a spike of pain through his left shoulder and had to bite back a wince. Toothless rolled to his feet and shook himself vigorously.
He gave Hiccup an apologetic look, and began to fight smarter. He baited Blaze, lithely dodging all of his fire blasts until the Fire-Scale had run out entirely. Then he used his weight to force Blaze's horns to the ground. The juvenile dragon went limp, and Toothless threw his head back to let out an ear-splitting roar. Hiccup couldn't help but feel relieved. "Good job, bud" he murmured quietly.
The hunters armed themselves with shields and moved in to separate the dragons. Toothless rounded on them and summoned fire into his jaws, sending a blast at the cluster of monsters. Most of it was deflected by their shields, but it still left them reeling. "Wait!" Hauke commanded, before rounding on Hiccup. "Make the Night Fury stop attacking my men, or he will be punished" he threatened, "and you wouldn't want him to suffer because of you, would you?"
Hiccup flinched. "No…master" he admitted reluctantly, before looking over at his dragon. "Sorry, bud. You heard him…cos, y'know, you can understand every word we're saying" he said pointedly. "You just need to let me put this tail-fin on you. So you can tow the ship." Was he being subtle?
Toothless blinked, and relaxed his aggressive stance. He took a few steps forward, only to recoil and snarl again when the hunters advanced with the muzzle and chains. "Wait!" Hiccup cried out. He turned to Hauke and insisted, "He doesn't trust any of you." And I don't blame him. "He only trusts me. Let me put the tail-fin on him…master. I can do it properly."
Hauke regarded him coldly for a long moment. "You may put the tail-fin on the dragon…after he's been muzzled and harnessed" the hunter-chief decided. He motioned for his men to continue; Hiccup cried out in protest and rushed forwards, only to be held back by the warden. Despite Toothless' best efforts, they tripped him up with bolas' so he couldn't retreat, blocked his fire blasts and strapped a muzzle around his jaws.
Then they dragged him to the prow and harnessed him to the chain on the starboard side. Only when he was restrained did Hauke allow Hiccup to approach him, but the young man forwent putting on the tail-fin in favour of embracing Toothless first. *Sorry about your shoulder* the dragon whimpered apologetically. The pain had already faded, and he bore Toothless no ill will.
"It's okay. You did really well in there, bud; I'm so proud of you" Hiccup praised, with a warm smile. It didn't reach his eyes though. We were so close…he'd thought, if he could just get the fin on Toothless, he could mount up and they'd be away quick as the wind…but now that the dragon was chained, they couldn't make a quick getaway. Why does Loki hate me? I'm friends with the twins!
With no other choice, he fastened on the tail-fin. "Right, see if that works" he murmured as he stepped back. Toothless flexed his living fin. The prosthetic one moved with it in tandem. "Is it okay? Not too uncomfortable?" Hiccup fretted.
"It doesn't need to be comfortable" Hauke said dismissively, "It just needs to keep the dragon in the air. Make him fly."
"But the wind is still blowing north!" Hiccup protested. Of course, that just had to be the moment that the wind changed direction. The sail snapped and fluttered as it went from being pushed forwards to being pushed back. "Oh, great. Now even Njord hates me" he groaned. The hunters set about rolling up the sail and the chain nets; one of them blew a horn, and the other three dragons took to the air. Hiccup reluctantly gave Toothless the 'fly' signal; his other half moaned regretfully at their lost chance and took off from the deck.
He had to go back to all the other stupid chores after that. Hiccup expected Onarr to grouse about having to do more work whilst he was "off playing with the dragons" or something, but to his surprise it appeared that someone else had been doing his share. Onarr didn't say who, but Hiccup had his suspicions. He was also being much less hostile, but in a stiff, awkward sort of way. As if someone had threatened him into being nicer to Hiccup…
In the end, it was only about an hour before he had to abandon the chores. Hiccup doubled over with a cry, clutching at his ribs, as a bolt of pain jolted through him. It was familiar, and he just knew – they were striking the chain that Toothless was chained to, they were hurting him! His warden grabbed him by the elbow to haul him up; Hiccup drove his elbow back into the man's gut and tore himself away, running as fast as he could to the nearest pulley-cage.
Incredibly, he managed to get into the pulley-cage and flip the latch from outside. He hauled on the rope as fast as he could, and emerged onto the deck at – well, it would have to be the stern side. Fortunately there weren't too many hunters on deck, and none of them appeared to have noticed him yet. Hiccup began to edge his way along the deck, crouching behind crates, gritting his teeth against the jabs of pain that came every so often.
His heart thudded. Any moment now, someone was going to shout – "Oi, thrall!" – that. Cover blown, Hiccup made a desperate rush for the starboard side of the prow. The hunter – oh look, it was Beater, what a surprise – turned away from the chain and swung the club at Hiccup instead. Dodging it, he yelled out "Stop hurting him!"
The hunters were surrounding him; Beater reached out to grab him, only to groan as he was flattened to the deck by… "Toothless!"
Hiccup's delight quickly gave way to alarm; his dragon had landed, but the other dragons hadn't, and the ship swerved. He lost his balance and staggered into the side of the ship, but everyone else was falling over as well. Seizing his chance, Hiccup scrambled onto Toothless' back, and his friend took to the air once more. Of course they didn't get very far, what with the chain and all, but when Beater struck the chain, the metal rod jerked and hit – Hiccup's peg. "Ha!"
The chain split in two, and each end was attached to hooks on the harness over the shoulders. The whole harness was locked in place with a padlock on the back of the neck; Hiccup tugged at it with all his strength, wishing he had the key to unlock it. Abruptly, Toothless jerked beneath him. "Whoa! Careful!"
*It's not me!* Toothless protested, *They're trying to pull me back. Take the muzzle off!*
"Good idea!" Hiccup reached over to unbuckle the leather muzzle and pull it off. He flung it into the sea and Toothless ducked his head beneath him to fire a blast at the hunters trying to drag him down. They scattered, and he quickly charged another blast. "Try and break the chain!" Hiccup prompted, still struggling with the padlock. Toothless aimed his next shot at the metal chain, but it was dragon proof, of course, and it failed to break.
A sharp whistle of air cut through the sound of Toothless' frantically beating wings; before Hiccup could react, he felt thinner chains wrap around him, pinning his arms. He struggled, only to be yanked backwards off of Toothless and fall for a few seconds before the chain snapped taut. Hiccup smacked against the side of the ship, getting a load of fresh bruises, and groaned in pain.
Toothless roared and tried to catch him, but no sooner had Hiccup been wrenched from his back than the hunters catapulted bolas' at him, just like before, that tangled and snagged on his wings. Unable to stay in the air, Toothless dropped like a stone, plunging right into the freezing ocean. The chain he was still harnessed to dragged him along in the ship's wake, floundering.
"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out, struggling as he was hauled back up onto the deck. He fought the hunters grasp and leaned over the side, looking down in horror at Toothless fought to stay above water. "Pull him up!" he yelled at them, "He's gonna freeze! He'll die!"
To his utter disgust, the monsters just laughed. "Are you kidding?" one of them asked, "This is hilarious! Paddle, dragon, paddle!"
Hiccup grabbed the chain with both hands and heaved with all his might, but just as with the harness padlock, he might as well have been trying to shift a whole tree, or a boulder. Hands fell on him and he held on tighter, digging his foot into the side of the ship and resisting with all his might. "Let go of me!"
"That's enough!" Hauke's voice rang out sharply. "Get the Night Fury out of the water. We still need him" he ordered. Hiccup was shoved aside, and scrambled out of the way as the hunters set to work heaving Toothless back up onto the deck. He leaned over the edge to watch, heart in his mouth. Then a movement further out alarmed him even more. There was something in the water, and it was heading right for Toothless. He was about to yell a warning, but then -
"Chief! There's a Scauldron there!"
"The dragons' thrashing must have lured it in. We have no time for it, though; keep pulling in the Night Fury. We'll have to let this one go" Hauke decided. The hunters continued heaving on the chain to drag Toothless out of the ocean, but it was slow going. The Scauldron was advancing quickly, and with his mouth wet, Toothless wouldn't be able to fire a blast to defend himself.
Just before it reached Toothless, when he was halfway out of the water, the rippling silhouette of the Scauldron sank deeper beneath the waves and disappeared. A tense few moments followed…and then Hiccup doubled over with a pained scream, feeling as if he'd just been stabbed in the gut with a million searing hot skewers.
His scream was drowned out by Toothless' shriek, as a blast of scalding water launched him out of the ocean and he fell, thrashing, with a great thud onto the deck. "Toothless!" Still clutching his stomach, Hiccup staggered over and collapsed next to the dragon, who was sprawled on his back and trembling. Fishleg's voice echoed in Hiccup's mind. "A Scauldron's hot water blast can rip the scales right off a Screaming Death."
Whispering and Screaming Deaths had the toughest scales of any dragon; if they could be injured by a Scauldron's blast, other dragons wouldn't stand a chance. On Toothless' belly was a perfectly round patch of skin, weeping blood and covered with bits of scales that had literally been blasted to pieces, raw and abraded. It looked as painful as it felt. "Oh, gods, Toothless, no…"
The monsters were surrounding them. Hiccup spread his arms as if he could protect Toothless with his smaller body and gave a snarl worthy of any dragon. "Stay away from him!" he yelled. He couldn't let the monsters near, they'd just hurt him and Toothless even more, it was all their fault, them and that wretched Scauldron, how dare it attack Toothless, he hadn't done anything wrong!
"Chief, what're we gonna do with 'em?" one of the hunters inquired.
The one who had laughed at Toothless replied, "They were tryin' to escape, weren't they? You know what that means – the whelp gets to spend the night with us. You like riding dragons, yeah?" he leered at Hiccup, "I got summat else right here you can ride" he said with a lecherous grin. Hiccup cringed. He'd already suspected what Onarr had been so frightened of, and now he'd failed to get away, and they…they were going to…
Toothless rolled and heaved himself to his feet, hacking up seawater. He coiled himself around Hiccup and snarled at the monsters threatening his other half. Especially the one who had made that last comment; he didn't know exactly what it meant, but he could tell it was nothing good. Toothless tried to summon his fires, but they just wouldn't light properly, and the monsters could tell.
"Keep your depravity to yourself" Hauke snapped, before instructing "Get the Night Fury back in its cage and replace it with one of the Gronckles from the armoury. You, fetch the surgeon and have him tend to the dragon's wound. And you, do your bloody job and make sure the thrall actually finishes his chores."
Hiccup pressed himself closer to Toothless and protested, "I'm not leaving him!"
Cold-hearted, Hauke glared down at him and declared, "Then you won't be seeing him tonight."
"But Chief, you said that" –
"I said you could use him for your sick and twisted fantasies the second time he tries to escape! I know he's going to make another attempt; although now that he knows what's at stake, perhaps he'll have the sense not to try" Hauke mused. He glared at the hunter – or as Hiccup was starting to think of him, Creep – and insisted "Keep your hands and everything else to yourself for now. He's my thrall, not your toy. Do you understand?"
"…Yes, Chief."
Toothless' mouth dried at last, and he charged a plasma blast, aiming it at the scum who wanted to hurt his other half. The rest of them aimed arrows at him. "No!" Hiccup cried out, struggling to his feet. "Toothless, hold!" Caught off guard, the dragon stopped gathering his flame and stared at his other half in disbelief. Hiccup looked at Hauke. "He doesn't trust any of you. He only trusts me. Let me help him. Then I'll finish the chores, I'll do whatever you want. Just please, let me help him!"
Hauke's eyes narrowed. "So be it; but the next time the Night Fury is made to tow us, we're putting the metal muzzle on. You have your precious rider to thank for that, dragon" he told Toothless, who snarled at him. "And I warn you, Haddock; you won't get a third chance. The next time you try to escape, you will fail, and I will let them do with you as they please" he threatened.
Hiccup gulped, terrified. Onarr hadn't been kidding – they really did – they really were going to…to…he couldn't bring himself to even think it. He banished the thought from his mind and turned his attention to mending Toothless' injury, desperate to ease the pain. After that…he didn't know. For how could he risk trying to escape, when failure meant a fate worse than death?
A/N: Well, that got darker. Now seems like a great time to mention that I took the lullaby Toothless 'sings' to Hiccup at the end of chapter five, reworked the lyrics and posted it on YouTube. Yeah. So if you want to hear my interpretation of what the song would sound like, just search 'lilac lyrics lullaby' on YouTube and it should be the first result ;)