Author's notes: ahhhhh I suggest not eating while reading this chapter if you're squeamish. There's some mild depictions of cannibalism in here.
Seriously. Don't eat.
"I told you to go left! What were you thinking?" Astrid threw her hands up as she slid off of Toothless's back, feet touching the ground with a sigh of relief. The test flight had gone about as well as expected. Hiccup hated to admit it, but Gobber's adjustments to his tail designs had probably saved their lives at least a couple of times. He waited for her to get off the Night Fury before he followed suit, running a hand through his hair and placing his free one on his hip as he rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"It wasn't my idea! That was all Toothless!" Said dragon gave him a look as though to say 'hey, don't blame me, you're the backseat flyers here' before wandering over to the rainwater lake, and Hiccup returned it with a raised eyebrow. "You should have leaned right when I said to." He shook his head. "Anyway, we're alive, right?"
"Barely." Astrid shook her head and turned her attention back to him, studying him curiously. It was during times like this that he seemed like an actual teenager, though now she knew that at the most it had been an act. She pursed her lips together, biting her bottom one before she crossed her arms before she glanced at the dragon. "Do you think he'll be able to fly to Outcast Island without a problem?"
Hiccup blinked at her before he turned his attention to Toothless, raising his hand to his chin and rubbing it. "Even if he could, we'd still have to take three dragons. I highly doubt he could carry all three of us." He looked at her out the corner of his eye. "What are you thinking, princess?"
She was quiet for a minute, weighing her options in her head before she started pacing, using both of her hands to elaborate. "On one hand we could storm their stronghold, but that would put Fishlegs in danger of being used as a shield."
"Father would have everyone expecting an attack from the air by now," he said, dropping the hand that had been on his chin to his chest where he crossed his arms. "And Fishlegs would be in the underground cells where we keep our dragons and prisoners."
"So an air raid is out of the question." Then she'd be better off leaving Snotlout and the twins out of this. Smaller numbers were probably the more ideal thing anyway, and they probably wouldn't want to work with Hiccup anyway once they learned that he'd been lying to them. Honestly, she was wondering why ishe/i was working with him, but then she remembered the blood pact that she'd made him take before the flight. She realized that he was watching her again and glanced up, noticing the look on his face. "What is it?"
"Why not follow through with my original plan?" At the expression she gave him at the question, he held up his right hand, unwrapping the cloth from around it to show her the slice he'd made earlier. The blood had stopped flowing, sitting just along the line and a pink tinge on the flesh around it. He hadn't cut a major vein or anything but it still unnerved her when she remembered the calm look on his face when he'd sliced himself open. "I was supposed to take you back to Outcast Island anyway. Why not use it to our advantage? I could make it seem like I was bringing you there to be captured, they'll probably put you in Fishlegs's cell, no doubt there'd be a celebration on my return. Once everyone's good and drunk I'll grab the keys and we can make it back to Berk before they wake up."
Astrid rolled the plan over in her head, frowning deeply. She hated to admit it, but that was probably their best bet. It certainly made sense to her, even if handing herself over to the Outcasts was...well, risky. For obvious reasons. As though he took notice of her expression at the thought, he shrugged. "Let's be honest - your chances of succeeding with Jorgenson and the twins are about as slim as Thor striking me down where I stand. They're warriors, yes, but they're not ready to go against Alvin's maurauders. The loudmouthed male twin would give the plan away in an instant and I highly doubt Jorgenson's Nightmare would obey him long enough to inot/i set itself on fire from what I've seen. The female twin I have some hope for but she wouldn't come without her brother I'm sure."
Hiccup started circling her, one arm tucked behind his back as he waved his free hand in the air. At her raised eyebrow, he raised his own. "Do you really think I've been sitting by twiddling my thumbs for the last two weeks? I've been observing the way you and your friends interact with each other and your dragons. You make a good team when you ido/i manage to work together but if you want to get Fishlegs out of there alive, you want someone who can navigate Outcast Island and get you in and out without a problem, not a bunch of sheep who can't be herded in the right direction."
Her shoulders sagged with a small sigh as she reached up to rub one, nodding at his assessment of the situation. "I guess you're right. Then we'll meet here in a couple of hours and fly there under the cover of night. That'll give us both enough time to get ready." After his nod of confirmation, she hesitated for a minute, looking like she was going to say something, before she started walking away from him, exiting the cove.
Once he was sure she was gone, Hiccup chuckled to himself, grin crossing his face as he shook his head, shoulders shaking with mirth. "My my, little princess, putting yourself in the hands of someone who's lied to you again and again. I suppose you're not as smart as I gave you credit for being..." Yes, he was back on the right track, and it felt good.
He ignored the nagging voice in the back of his head as he approached Toothless, preparing to take a test flight by himself. The Night Fury eyed him with a bit of distrust, but he remained where he was rather than go bounding off again, tail swaying side to side as the human got on him. He'd let him ride him, if only because at the moment there seemed to be no other option. He couldn't move the metal contraption he'd put on his tail in place of his missing fin on his own, so an alliance must be formed, much to his distaste.
Although he had to admit, he didn't like the way the boy's face changed when the female's back was turned. Best not to meddle in the affairs of humans, his mother had always told him, and with that thought, he took off into the sky again, this time with just the boy on his back.
They met in the cove as Astrid had suggested, as the sun was on its last few minutes. He didn't ask what she'd told her friends, but the expression on her face was an unreadable one as she tossed him a bread roll, placing two fish each in front of his dragons and tossing what looked to be chicken meat up into the air for her Nadder to snatch. He watched her curiously from where he leaned against Toothless, knees drawn up and resting his arms on them as he idly picked at the bread in his hand. He hadn't gained much of a taste for it during his time in Berk, finding it far less appealing when compared to ripping flesh from bone with his teeth.
"Said your goodbyes, princess?" Hiccup asked, standing from where he was sitting and brushing his hands off after feeding the remaining parts of the bread roll to his dragons, who seemed all too eager to wolf it down.
"I haven't told anyone where we're going if that's what you mean," she said as she checked she had everything in the satchel draped across her shoulder. Astrid glanced up at him, noticing he was dressed in his Outcast garb instead of the clothing that he'd bartered from other people, and she tried not to stare. The shoulder guards made him look bigger than he actually was, like a Terror puffing itself up to ward off bigger dragons. Now that she knew how skinny and underfed he looked underneath, she had to admit that the armor and chainmail made him seem far more intimidating than he actually looked with it all off.
"Then I guess we're good to go." He tugged at Toothless's saddle to make sure it was on tight enough before doing the same to Fenrir's, giving her a neck rub before he turned around to slide into position on Toothless's back, looking over his shoulder as he made sure that the connecting rod was still working. Turning his attention to look at Astrid as she checked Stormfly's equipment, he watched the way the rising moonlight fell on her face and shoulders as he waited for her to get on her Nadder. "We'll head around to the eastern side of Outcast Island. There shouldn't be anyone patrolling that area at this time of night. We'll walk to the compound on foot from there."
She nodded. "I brought some rope with me so you can tie me up, make it look like you caught me. We should work out a signal for when we're ready to leave and for when I can trust you again."
Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the last part, but he gave a small shrug. "How about if I call you princess? I'll be calling you dragon conqueror or Astrid around the other Outcasts. They'll be expecting me to walk like them and talk like them."
Astrid wrinkled her nose at the suggestion but she sighed, adhering to it. "Well I guess if we don't have anything else we can use that." She paused, tilting her head in his direction. "Why do you call me princess anyway? I mean aside from to antagonize me."
"I already told you that I was surprise when I first met you, that stories about you said you were ten feet tall with the strength of a dozen men." He shrugged. "Dragon princess seems far more fitting than dragon conqueror, don't you think?"
"There's just one problem with that," she replied, leaning in close to Stormfly's body as she prepared to take off into the sky. "I don't like being the damsel in distress."
Watching her leave the ground, Hiccup smirked a little before following her lead as Toothless launched himself into the air, positioning his foot in a way that opened up the tail fin as Fenrir followed suit, looking a little miffed that her rider wasn't riding her instead of the Night Fury. Unfortunately for Astrid, she might not have a choice but to be the damsel in distress.
The ride to Outcast Island was fairly uneventful, the two teens racing each other from time to time to see whose dragon was the fastest. Toothless outperformed Stormfly and Fenrir in every challenge, given that Night Furies were known for their speed and accuracy. For a moment it just seemed like they were two teenagers, dragon trainers or not. It was strange to think of himself as a dragon trainer, when just a couple of weeks ago he'd been killing them out of fun and defense. And yet now he controlled two.
But soon he'd control an armada. Either as Alvin's second in command or the leader himself, he had yet to decide which he liked better.
Hiccup directed Astrid to the clearing he'd told her about, the one that usually went unguarded. The dragons swooped down, folding their wings close to their sides as their riders dismounted. Astrid pulled the rope out of her satchel, handing it over to him before she looked at Stormfly, reaching up to rub the bridge of her muzzle. "Stay here okay, girl?" she instructed, hearing an indignant squawk before she clamped her hands around Stormfly's beak. "No no no, I need you to stay here. I don't want the Outcasts getting hold of you." Tilting up on her toes, she whispered into the Nadder's ear. "If I'm gone for more than two days, go back and get the others."
"Ready?" She lowered herself to stand flat on her feet before she turned around to look at Hiccup, who dangled the rope between his hands, moonlight reflecting off his spiked shoulder guards. Silhouetted, he seemed that much more dangerous, that much more imposing, like he had done that night on the rocks nearly three weeks ago. The shadows of his two dragons beside him didn't help matters much, and she thought she saw him smirk faintly. Astrid stepped over to him as Stormfly took a couple of steps back, the viking girl holding her wrists together and watching him bind them with the rope as she inhaled deeply, steadying herself.
She could trust him. He'd bound his life to hers, bound his tongue by his word. He couldn't lie to her.
The rope tight around her wrists, he gave a tug, pushing his index finger against the bindings to see if it would give way and when it didn't, he stepped back, tilting his head and studying her. Pulling the dagger from his belt, he stepped forward again only to have her back away before he reached his free hand out, taking hold of her wrists and pulling her in towards him, voice a whisper in her ear. "We need to make this look authentic," he purred, warm breath ghosting along her ear and neck and making her shiver. "Make it look like you struggled."
The dagger dug into her skin and Astrid gasped as it tore at her clothing, a red welt forming along her side. She squeezed her eyes shut, hearing Stormfly make a concerned noise behind her. "It's okay, girl, it's okay. I'm fiNE." Her head tilted back as her eyes opened at the next slice along her thigh. In battle she hadn't had time to think about weapons or tail spikes or fire cutting into her or burning her flesh. The sensation of the blade trailing along her left tingles in its wake, and she bit her lip. Her knees trembled but she steadied herself against him, bound hands grabbing onto the chainmail he wore, the tightness of her grip causing the metal to cut into her fingers.
It was a struggle to keep himself from getting itoo/i excited about this. Hiccup closed his eyes and drew in a breath as he felt her nearly collapse against him after just a few cuts. He chuckled a little breathlessly, smoothing back short hair away from her neck before he kissed the skin there. "Almost done, princess," he murmured into her ear, reaching down to take a fistfull of her shirt, tearing his knife into it before he pulled back, cupping her chin as he examined her, watching the way her face was flushed from keeping herself under control, moonlight dancing along her cheeks.
Opening her eyes to look at him, Astrid was almost afraid of the person she saw in front of her. Gone was the boy he'd allowed her to get to know over the last couple of weeks, replaced by the hidden monster who gained pleasure from seeing people suffer. For a second she almost backed out of the mission, before he stroked his fingers along her cheek and leaned in, pressing his mouth to hers and she hissed into the kiss as she felt the dagger being dragged down her left cheek to her jawline, causing her to bite his lip, which was returned a bit more aggressively before he pulled away, licking blood from his lip as he pressed his forehead against hers, tucking her braid behind her ear.
"You could make a beautiful Outcast you know, princess," he breathed out huskily, thumb drawing along the cut on her left cheek as he let her get her breathing under control. "A Goddess among men. We could rule the Archipelagos together."
Astrid closed her eyes, wondering if he was acting or not, the imagery in her head all too real as she steadied herself before drawing up straight, pulling her fingers out of his chainmail with a shake of her head, opening her gaze again. "My loyalty is to Berk and the dragons," she said, watching the way his face fell a little, though for the one fleeting moment she'd allowed herself to imagine it, she felt a strange need twist in her stomach before she batted it down.
So why was she entertaining the idea as he led her away from Stormfly by a short trail of rope that he hadn't tied her hands with, followed by Toothless and Fenrir.
They didn't speak until they reached a hill leading down towards the Outcast compound, when she started to struggle against him like she was trying to get away from him. Blood stained her clothes, and she lashed out at him only to get a harsh yank that made her sprawl towards him, his voice raising now that they were within hearing distance of the door guards.
"Stop fighting me!"
She jerked her head with the backhand to lessen the impact, glaring up at him as she watched the guards lower their crossbows out the corner of her eye when they realized who they were aiming at, falling back to the ground. "No! I will never stop fighting you for every minute of the rest of my life! I'd rather die than be controlled!" She stared up at him defiantly, biting the inside of her cheek and spitting blood into his face.
Hiccup wiped the back of his sleeve along his cheek where the blood had landed, faintly raising an eyebrow at her before he snarled, looking at the two guards with a growl in his voice. "You two!" he barked, yanking her along with him towards the door when she refused to get up onto her feet.
"Y-yes, sir?!" They were over to him in a flash, their weapons still drawn due to the two dragons behind him. He heard Toothless growl and lifted a hand to calm both parties down, noticing the questioning glances the guards gave each other. He shoved the hand holding onto Astrid's rope towards them, watching them jump at the almost violent action and he sneered inwardly. Lily livered fools.
"Take her to join her friend in the cells. I'm going to see father and announce my return." Watching them fumble with the rope, he stepped around them and started walking away, followed by Toothless and Fenrir before he called out over his shoulder. "I'll see you soon I'm sure, princess."
Alvin had almost lost his patience. He wasn't a very patient man to begin with, but with a feast of meat in front of him how could he be anything but mildly relaxed? An unmarked trader's boat had crossed into their waters, and of course cabin crew and their livestock was theirs for the taking, so says one of the few laws on Outcast Island. His teeth tore into the leg in his hands before the door to the great hall slammed open, making him raise an eyebrow and lift his head.
His son walked into the hall, shoulders straight and head held high like the proud Outcast he should be, not like the person he'd acted himself to be two weeks ago during their staged raid of Berk. His mouth was stretched into a dark, wicked smile as he twirled a satchel around at his side as he came up to the table, free hand coming up to sit on his hip.
That was when Alvin noticed the two dragons behind him and he had to relax his face before he gave away the almost maniacal glee that was bubbling to the surface. The Nadder he'd already been introduced to, but the black shadow behind him was undoubtedly a Night Fury. He leaned forward in his seat, uncrossing one leg from over the other as he stood. "Great thunder of Thor..."
"A Night Fury," Hiccup said with a gesture to his right. "The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Mine to command." The Night Fury growled, coming to stand protectively at his rider's side. "My infiltration of Berk was a success, father. The dragon conqueror is being sent to the cells as we speak and..." He twirled the satchel around before he flung it up into the air and over the table, landing on Alvin's plate and the flap opening, a book sliding out. "Their Book of Dragons. Every secret, every single little detail that they've sweated over and studied is in there."
The Outcasts in the hall stared as Alvin licked blood from his fingers before he reached for the book, opening the cover and scanning his eyes over it before a wicked grin matching the one on his son's face crossed his mouth and he chuckled before he broke out into laughter that seemed to echo around the cavern as he shut the book, placing it on top of the satchel and stood from his seat, walking around the table. With an unceremonious sling of his arm around his boy's shoulders, he spread his free hand wide, gesturing towards the Outcasts.
"My boy has come back to us!" The roar of approval that met his statement was almost deafening, the vikings stomping their feet before he held up a hand to silence them again. "With the dragon conqueror and the Book of Dragons in our possession, our aspiration to rule the Archipelagos from the skies comes one step closer to becoming a reality! My son has conquered a Night Fury! Something that no one, not even the dragon conquereor herself has achieved!"
Another roar of approval was silenced as Alvin began leading Hiccup over to the long table, and Hiccup realized what kind of meal was stretched out before him as his father placed his hand in the middle of his back before he reached into the carcass, pulling out a mass of organ covered in blood. He looked up at his father questioningly as he took hold of the heart with both hands when it was thrust to him, noticing the look on Alvin's face as he pulled his hand away. "And now he will eat this human heart to prove that he hasn't become weak during the time he spent on Berk."
The Outcasts in the room waited with baited breath as Hiccup looked down at the organ between his hands, an unreadable expression on his face. He hadn't known the person on the table, hadn't spent time with them or gotten to know them. Drawing the bloody flesh up to his face, the Outcast heir sank his teeth into the heart like a savage wolf, tearing his head away from it to the jeers and whistles and cheers of his tribe as he chewed and swallowed before tearing into it again, face covered from chin to nose in the same blood that dripped down his wrists.
He ignored the squirming sensation in his stomach as his father pulled away, walking back over to his seat and slumping down to watch. He ignored the memory of Stoick saying he was proud of him as he tore into the heart literally in his hands, ignored the noises his dragons were making behind him. Ignored the way his eyes kept searching the crowd for the friends he had made over the last two weeks.
He was home.
...Wasn't he?
The underground pathways beneath the Outcast stronghold were as numerous as they were many, Astrid realized as she tried to keep her wits about her, allowing the guard in front of her to lead her to the cells where they kept the humans. The sounds of dragons roaring and howling echoed along the corridors and she looked out the corner of her eye as she started to pass some. There was the Scauldron that Hiccup had mentioned, a Whispering Death, a Nadder, a Nightmare...several kinds of dragons she didn't even know the names of. She looked at them all with wide-eyed wonder as she passed them, before she was roughly shoved forward.
"Hey...!" She didn't have time to say anything else as one of her legs buckled out underneath her, making her stumble, twisting herself to turn around as the guard closed the doors to a cell, landing on her backside after tripping up. She glared at him but only got a scowl in reply before he walked away. Astrid pushed herself to her feet, looking around before she heard a familiar voice.
"Astrid?" She turned around on the ball of her foot, unable to contain the joy she felt when she saw him. There was Fishlegs, looking a bit worse for wear after nearly three days in captivity but still whole. Astrid watched him push himself up before she closed the distance between them, leaning against him as best she could with her wrists bound, causing him to jump a little at the sudden contact.
"You're okay! Oh thank Freyja."
"Astrid, what are you doing here?" Fishlegs raised an eyebrow before he reached forward to untie her hands, taking a good look at her. She'd obviously been in a battle of some kind, and recent too, if the cuts on her body were anything to go by. "Did he catch you too?"
She shook her head, reaching up to rub the wrist of one hand with a small wince. Damnit, he'd tied them too tight. She wriggled her hands at the wrists, getting blood flowing into them again. "Hiccup explained everything to me. He's the one that got me in here in the first place." At the shocked look on Fishlegs's face, she rolled her eyes. "I must admit, I had my doubts at first but..."
"Astrid, he's insane!" She looked up when her friend made the exclamation. He looked thinner than the last time she'd seen him - he probably hadn't been eating anything that they gave him - and he placed his hands on her shoulders, shaking her. "I overheard his entire plan! That's why I wound up locked in here! I saw him down on the beach talking with Savage and..."
"Legs, calm down." She pushed his hands away, taking a step back to study him before pursing her lips together. "He told me that your capture was Savage's idea."
"It wasn't! That's the whole point I'm trying to make!" Hearing the roars of the dragons, Fishlegs winced before he lowered his voice. "When he caught me he had Fenrir pin me to the beach. He said he'd kill me if I so much as screamed. Astrid, please don't tell me he killed Stoick."
"Why would he...?"
"It was one of the things he was going to do before he came back! He said...he said he was going to lead you to Outcast Island and slit Stoick's throat while he slept!"
Astrid glanced away from her long time friend, her brow furrowing before she shook her head. "I don't think he killed Stoick. I saw the chief at dinner last night and I met up with Hiccup a little bit later. He couldn't have been in and out and killed him in fifteen minutes." Could he? She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, chewing on it before she shook her head again. "No, I'm sure he didn't. I made him forge a blood pact and swear his life to me."
"You what?" Fishlegs looked at her like was crazy and in all honesty she might as well have been. She was certainly beginning to feel like she was. He pressed a hand to his face and ran it through scraggy blonde hair, waving his hands around in the air wildly afterwards as he spoke. "Astrid, you made an Outcast swear his life to you! A bloodthirsty, murderous Outcast! Why?"
"So he wouldn't lie to me anymore!" She threw her hands up in exasperation, moving away from him as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I made him swear to me because I was sick of him not telling the truth, I was sick of not knowing what was a lie and what wasn't."
"I hate to say it, Astrid." She turned around to look at her friend, watching him shake his head. "But you might have walked right into his trap."
Belly full, Hiccup had to force himself not to throw everything up. Berk's people lived on a chicken and fish diet, and two weeks of not eating human flesh seemed to have waned him off it somewhat. He took a swig of mead, gulping it down to keep it in his stomach as the other Outcasts around him celebrated his homecoming and victory. Behind him, Fenrir and Toothless sat looking down at their own meat offerings, the Night Fury nudging the plate with his forepaw. Hearing his Nadder trill questioningly, Hiccup looked at them over his shoulder from where he sat before he stood, crossing the room to squat in front of them.
"I know it's not fish, but it's the best I can do for now I'm afraid," he said, voice drowned out under the song that had started. Fenrir fluffed her wings and gave him a look while Toothless growled lowly and he reached out to stroke the tops of their muzzles. "We'll go fishing in the morning. There's a spot just off the coast that..."
"Boy!" With a small sigh and a roll of his eyes, he gave them a pat before he stood, turning his attention to where Alvin was looking at him questioningly. Turning sharply on his heel, Hiccup walked back over to the table, standing at his father's side questioningly as he tilted his head back to take another swig of ale. "What's the matter with those dragons of yours? They've barely touched their food."
"They won't eat human flesh, father," he replied as despondently as he could, trying not to show his worry. "Dragons eat mostly fish except for eel, you see. I know we aren't nearly as coastal bound as Berk but I was thinking..." He was cuffed around the head before Alvin slammed his mug down on the table.
"That's dangerous, thinking is. You know that," was the responding growl from the chief as his son raised his hand to rub the back of his head. "The dragons will eat what they're damn well given or I swear I will take it out on your hide, boy." Alvin stood from his chair, staring down at him. "This isn't Berk, son. We aren't weak and I certainly won't have the same lily livered fools in my tribe, and that includes those dragons of yours. They will be ferocious killing machines under my command!"
"Y-yes, father." For the first time in his life, Hiccup the Horrendous felt his heart thump from nerves in his chest and he stared up at his adoptive father. He didn't know why but some part of him was expecting Alvin to say he was proud of him like Stoick had, but when he didn't, he shook his head, turning away and wondering why he'd expected such a thing from Alvin the Treacherous. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to retire to my room."
He barely heard the reply before he stalked out of the room as quickly as he could, followed almost immediately by his dragons. Once he was in his room and sure that he wasn't going to be disturbed, Hiccup walked over to the makeshift bed and sat down on the end, pressing his hands to his face before he threaded his fingers through his hair, taking deep breaths as Toothless and Fenrir nuzzled him worriedly.
"I am an Outcast. I am an Outcast. I'm not a weakling from Berk."
Except he was.