Author's notes: okay guys, we have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is, I bought a new laptop last week but after three days it kept going to the bios screen until the hard drive fucked up. I lost all I'd written of chapter twenty four (twenty seven on AO3) and a few notes on where the story was heading. The good news is, I was able to replace that laptop and am back writing. This loss is actually a good thing, considering I didn't like the way it was heading and it gives me the opportunity to rework it to a way I think will fit with what I had in mind without diverging along that path.
I've combined the last few chapters into one here because I felt like they were maybe too short to really be considered chapters. Enjoy :) And the next Interlude will be the last one.
A Thing was usually a meeting in which all the chieftains in the Archipelago would gather to discuss goings on in their tribes and treaties be extended if necessary, new partnerships forged and a general catch up.
It looked as though this Thing would be different from the normal ones, Astrid guessed as the trio dismounted their dragons, feeling her feet touch the ground of Outcast Island. Looking out the corner of her eye at Fishlegs and Snotlout, it was hard to tell if either boy was prepared for this. Fishlegs ran his hand along the side of Meatlug's head, something she presumed was for his own comfort rather than her own, and Snotlout took a deep breath before he squared his shoulders and started walking towards the entrance of the Outcast's great hall, Hookfang behind him. When they reached the door, neither of the Outcast guards made to stop them or attack, both warriors instead simply looking at each other and nodded before opening both large doors.
The great hall was vastly different to the one on Berk. Instead of a warm atmosphre, it was dark and dank, lit only by the stone hearth in the center as opposed to the brick-based one in the Hooligan's hall. Dagur the Deranged and Lady Tantrum of the Uglithugs were already there, conversing with their plus ones, and Hiccup was seated on what looked like a very old throne, conversing quietly with a hunchbacked figure in a cloak, Toothless sitting next to him at attention. All activity in the room seemed to stop and all eyes were on the freshly arrived trio, but most of all on their dragons. Dagur and Tantrum looked at each other before glancing back as an Outcast warrior stepped forward, clearing his throat.
"Announcing the arrival of Chief Snotlout Jorgenson of the Hairy Hooligan tribe and his accomplices Astrid Hofferson and Fishlegs Ingerman." With that said, the man retreated back to his position near the door as the hunchbacked figure next to Hiccup pointed one gnarled finger towards Astrid and murmured something to the boy before scurrying off into the darkness of the hall.
"Ah, good. We're all here." Hiccup stood from the old throne with a bit of a flourish, spreading his arms wide in a welcoming gesture as Toothless lumbered along beside him, languidly stepping down the small set of steps leading to the chair. "Welcome to Outcast Island and to, what I hope, will be the beginning of a new era for all of us." He inclined his head with a small shrug. "Unfortunately not all tribes were, ah, so agreeable and will as a result be missing out on such a historic day. I belive formal introductions are due to be made. My name is Hiccup the Treacherous, chief of the Outcasts."
Astrid let that information roll around in her head, watching him carefully. Renaming himself from the Horrendous to the Treacherous was a bold move, but then again, all chiefs of the Outcasts had been Treacherouses if she remembered correctly, starting from Thugheart and going all the way down to Alvin.
"Dagur the Deranged." The teen in question chuckled a little to himself, leaning against the side of the hearth and tossing a knife up and down between his fingers. "Chief of the Berserkers."
"Princess Tantrum O'Ugerly, chieftess of the Uglithugs." Tantrum smiled sweetly, and Astrid swore she saw Fishlegs swoon out the corner of her eye, nudging her best friend out of it subtly.
"Snotlout Jorgenson, chief of the Hairy Hooligans." Snotlout inclined his head in a way of greeting, somehow keeping himself calm even though on the inside he was nervous. The other three chiefs around him were all way out of his league that he couldn't even begin to compare, and all clearly as insane as the next, with Dagur leading the charge on that one if his title was anything to go by. Then again, his childhood friend hadn't ever been on the sane side of things.
"I had no idea we were allowed to bring dragons, Hiccup," Tantrum said once everyone had been introduced, settling herself into a seat that had been brought with the Uglithugs by the looks of it, considering it appeared to be of different make compared to everything else in the Outcast's great hall. "Are we going to be signing the alliance with their blood as our fathers did before us?"
Watching the way the three Hooligans stiffened, Hiccup chuckled a little, shaking his head as he lowered his hand to Toothless's neck, feeling the Night Fury relax. "I'm afraid dragons blood will be off the menu, my dear lady. No, these dragons are ridden like the horses the Romans are so fond of. No longer wild beasts but tamed with tricks used by the dragon conqueror herself." He gestured towards the end of the crackling hearth where Astrid stood slightly behind Snotlout, causing her to flush when attention in the room was directed to her. "But we will discuss that at a length later."
"Where's the fun in signing something with regular squid ink?" Dagur whined a little, leaning against the stone hearth with his back to the other chiefs as he continued to toss his dagger up and down before he threw it at one of the Outcast guards, landing directly above their heads and imbedding deep into the wall.
"All in good time, Dagur. For now, I'd like to focus on what I gathered you all for." Hiccup's hand left Toothless's neck as he tucked an arm behind his back, using his free hand to elaborate. "As you are all aware, this is to be an alliance between our clans, the birth of a new kingdom. For too long we've been at war, not only with the dragons but with each other, and while treaties are nice and simple, an alliance is far more appealing for what I have in mind for the Barbaric Archipelagos."
When the look on their faces told him to continue, Hiccup pulled away from the hearth, turning on his heel and walking away until he stopped partway to the throne, tilting his head before he turned back around to look at the other chieftains. "When I was young, my grandmother Excellinor told me of a prophecy. He who was cast out from his tribe shall gather together four others. Three heads on his hand, the dragon whisperer by his side, he shall rule the Archipelagos, the next great King of the Wilderwest."
Astrid felt a small chill run down her spine, shifting when he looked directly at her when he said about the dragon whisperer. So that was why he wanted Berk in on this alliance, because she wouldn't have agreed to sign up for it otherwise. Three heads was obviously in reference to Alvin, Spitelout and Stoick, but the four other tribes part was very vague it seemed. Then again, prophecies made by crotchety old women were rarely straight forward.
"And you believe that you are destined to be this great King?" Snotlout asked, raising an eyebrow as he shared a look with Dagur, scoffing a little at the prophecy.
"I was cast out from my tribe when I was a baby. I have the heads of three men on my hands." Hiccup spread his arms, gesturing around the room. "You are all gathered here are you not? This alliance shall be the beginning of my kingdom. A kingdom of the deadliest tribes known to viking kind." Well, except for the Hooligans, but that could be worked on he supposed. "An alliance forged in blood, by blood, is a promise well kept. The other tribes are plotting to oppose us, but with the dragon whisperer and Berk's Book of Dragons, we could have the upper hand, should war break out."
"I..."
"No." Five heads swiveled around to look at Astrid, who was leaning her hands down on the edge of the stone hearth, interrupting Dagur and causing him to make a face. Snotlout looked at her like she was crazy and she shook her head, leaning back up and glaring at him. "I won't let you use the dragons as tools of war."
"Astrid, what are you doing?" Fishlegs hissed beside her, tearing his eyes away from Tantrum to take hold of her arm to wrench her back, but she shook herself out of his hold. Snotlout facepalmed as she walked around the hearth to come to a stop right next to Hiccup, pointing at him with an accusing finger.
"This was your plan all along? To follow some prophecy an old woman told you years ago and lead us all into battle against tribes we've had peaceful relations with for centuries? To use dragons as...as weapons?"
Hiccup held up a hand, looking at her imploringly as he pushed a finger to her lips, silencing her. "I know what I'm doing, princess," he murmured, turning her away from the others with a quick smile thrown over his shoulder. "The dragons won't be tools of war, I promise you that. They will be our equals in every sense of the word. Grandmother said that my rule would bring peace to the Archipelagos, ending all the blood fueds. Don't you see that this is a great opportunity for our people?" His tone of voice was suddenly raised, and Astrid realized he'd intended for the others to over hear this part. "To unite as one under the same rule?"
"What would happen to the three of us?" Both Outcast and dragon conqueror looked over their shoulders when Tantrum spoke, gesturing to herself and the other two boys. "Being of royal blood, you cannot expect us to step down from our positions as chieftains."
"Ah, but I do not expect that from one such as yourself, m'lady." Hiccup turned around, making a gesturing sweep to the three of them, and Astrid noticed the tone of his voice become sickly sweet. "You would be Lords and Ladies of your own islands, free to do as you wish within reason. Any and all who oppose us shall be met with a force none of the uncivilized world has ever seen! With the dragons on our side, we could rule for centuries." With a pause, he spread his arms and bowed like a jester. "I'll allow you all time to think this over. Please retire to your quarters. The alliance will be signed on the 'morrow."
The unsaid 'this is my territory, any decision that isn't made in my favor will be met with consequences' hung in the air, but was understood. They were on enemy territory for sure, until the alliance was formed. The three chiefs and their guests were lead off and Astrid went to follow after Fishlegs and Snotlout and their dragons before her arm was taken hold of in a tight grip. The iron doors slamming shut echoed through the room as she turned to look back at Hiccup, whose fingernails dug into her arm.
"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed at her, his one eye narrowing and reflecting firelight from the hearth. When she jerked her arm away, he relented his grip, pulling his hand back and away to fall by his side as his other came up to his hip. "Speaking out of turn like that! Do you want to make me look like a fool?"
"I won't help you train dragons if they're going to be used for warfare!" she snapped, taking a step back.
"Do you know what the other tribes will do once they learn that we are going to make a kingdom, princess?" The word made her stop still in her tracks, frowning as she tucked some hair behind her ear. "They'll attack us! A group of tribes branching off and forming a kingdom, even a fledgling one, will invite them to destroy us while we're weak. With dragons on our side, we'll be able to survive that initial first encounter and show them how strong we are together."
Astrid looked him in the eye, searching it for the truth and her brow furrowing deeper as she came up with no lies. And, in a way, she knew he was right. If anybody caught wind of this before it came to fruition - and it sounded like he'd sent out invitations to most of the tribes to join the alliance but they'd rebutted the offer - a small kingdom would be attacked. "Then why gather together two of the most violent tribes in the Archipelago?"
"Wouldn't you rather have two of the most violent tribes in the Archipelago on your side rather than against you?" he asked simply, raising an eyebrow at her. Shaking his head as realization dawned to her, Hiccup placed a hand on her shoulder and kissed her forehead. "I know what I'm doing, princess."
Astrid made a face when he kissed her, looking up at him with a grim expression before she finally sighed and relented. "I hope you do." Not saying much else, she reached to pull his hand off her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze before she walked away from him to be led down the same hallway Fishlegs and Snotlout had been led through.
"So that's the girl." The hissing voice made Hiccup turn around to look behind him, seeing the hunchbacked figure from earlier sitting there, staring up at him through the cloak around them. "The one that ails you."
"Nothing is to happen to her, grandmother," he hissed back, turning around to face her fully. Beside him, Toothless growled, hackles raising before he placed a hand on the Night Fury's snout to calm him down. Glancing at his dragon, Hiccup turned his eye back to the old woman, watching her cautiously. "You said so yourself in the prophecy you told me as a child. I need the dragon whisperer at my side to build my kingdom."
The witch eyed him before she let a grim smile cross her face, wicked and filled with gaps between her teeth. "Ah, but you forgot the important part of the prophecy, my dear boy. The dragon of the messenger of the moon will restore the people of the village. The queen of war will seduce the king of evil."
"Are you suggesting that Astrid is the queen of war?" Hiccup rolled his eyes in exasperation and started pacing along the floor in front of the throne, hands waving in the air. "You heard her, grandmother. 'I won't let you use the dragons as tools of war'," he mocked in his best Astrid voice before he returned his tone to his normal one. "Bah. Women."
"You forget that people can be swayed, Hiccup," Excellinor cooed, closing the distance between them and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, turning him around to face her. "Don't you worry about a thing, dear." She pinched his cheeks between her fingers before he batted her gnarled hands away. "I'll take care of everything."
"So now what're we going to do?" Fishlegs watched Snotlout pace the room that they'd been lead to, noticing the way the other boy was chewing his bottom lip, arms crossed behind his back. He sat on the rocky floor next to Meatlug, who he was scratching underneath the chin. They'd been left to their own devices but he was pretty sure there was a guard outside their room should they even try to leave. By the looks of it, Hiccup wasn't taking any chances.
"I don't know!" Snotlout whirled around on his foot, facing Fishlegs with a small amount of confusion on his face before he threw his hands up. "Quit looking at me like I have all the answers!"
"You're the chief, Snotlout. Like it or not, you have to have all the answers," the larger viking said with a gentle reminder before he sighed. "Well, you already agreed to have Berk be part of this alliance in the first place. What's the next step?"
"Going through with it, obviously." Snotlout gestured to the door. "If I don't, we don't get out of here alive and the entirety of Berk would be under siege in a matter of days. I mean, I left the twins there but I think they'd do more harm than good in defending our village."
"He's played us into a corner," Fishlegs responded, standing from where he was seated and crossed an arm over his chest to rest his hand in the crook of his elbow, tapping his other to his chin. "It's like he's playing Hnefatafl[1]." He paused before he shook his head. "No, he's been playing that all along. Moving us all into place to create this...ideal kingdom he told us about."
Snotlout raised an eyebrow, lifting a hand to his head to scratch the back of his neck. Gobber had been teaching him how to play Hnefatafl in the hopes of improving his battle strategies to something other than 'charge and smash', but the end results were still on the cards. "You've played Hnefatafl before, Legs. What're our options?"
There was quiet from the Gronckle specialist before he spoke again, blue eyes flicking this way and that as he rolled it over in his head. Now that he was thinking about things in term of board games, he had a much clearer vision. "When you have everyone backed into a corner or taken like this..." His eyes widened considerably before he looked at Snotlout. "You sacrifice the Queen to make another strategy."
Surprisingly enough, Snotlout caught on, staring back at the other boy in disbelief. "He's going to give us no choice but to hand Astrid over." So it seemed like some of Gobber's teachings had settled into his brain. He crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his fingers against his forearm before he glanced back up at Fishlegs. "But did you see the look on his face when he saw only the three of us come in? He was counting on us to bring Ruff and Tuff as well." And he would've walked right into it if he'd brought them along instead of leaving them behind like Gobber suggested.
"So we have the beginning of our second strategy," Fishlegs continued for him, starting to pace himself. "With Ruff and Tuff back on Berk, he doesn't have all of us cornered like he was counting on. We can make a gamble with this that he's already making some changes to whatever plan he had when he had the three heads of the tribes he wanted to make an alliance with all in one place. If we go by the assumption that Astrid is the Queen piece here and not Princess Tantrum..." Which he was fairly certain was the right assumption given Hiccup's previous interactions with her. Fishlegs paused in his pacing, rubbing his chin. "There's more to the prophecy than he's letting on."
"If it's even true."
The door to their room opened and Astrid and Stormfly entered, the latter ducking her head and squawking, wings ruffling as the door was shut before her rider drew a hand up to rub her under the chin. Noticing the looks on Snotlout and Fishlegs's faces, she raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"
The two boys shared a look before the chief gestured for Fishlegs to talk. "Well, we think we've figured out the majority of Hiccup's plan for the duration of however long we're here."
Astrid pursed her lips together, frowning slightly. She couldn't deny that what he'd said to her after everyone had left the room had left her a bit weirded out, but that was probably because she was used to him acting a bit differently, however fake the acting had been in the first place. She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning to one side close to Stormfly. "Go on..."
"He's been playing us like a board game this whole time," Fishlegs started, elaborating with his hands as he turned to face her. "Ever since he washed up on Berk the first time. I'm not sure when his motives changed, maybe it was after Alvin killed Fenrir, maybe it was before then, but at some point in time, he started working us all into a corner. He's taken Berk's King and Rook - Stoick and Spitelout - and set up a Knight - Snotlout - to be disguised as the new King." There was an indignant 'hey!' from said teenager and Fishlegs hurried up with his explanation, flushing a little before he continued. "We think his next step is going to involve an ultimatum - handing the Queen over, by which we'll have to make a new strategy involving the Pawns back home - Ruff and Tuff."
Astrid tapped her finger to her chin. She understood most of what he'd just said, considering that she'd played Hnefatafl before. After thinking it over, she uncrossed her arms and put them on her hips. "So who's the Queen?" At the looks they gave her, she blinked owlishly at them before shaking her head. "Ohhh no. No!"
"Think about it." Snotlout gestured to her, placing his free hand on his hip. "He calls you 'princess', treats you differently to the way he treats everyone else, even before we found out that he was evil all along. He obviously holds you in high enough regard to consider you a potential Queen for this kingdom of his. Trust me, that's the only thing I agree with him on."
"Besides, you guys lived together for little over a month before...before Thawfest," Fishlegs said, placing his hand on Meatlug's head when she started sniffing her rider.
"Yeah, well, that was before..." Before he betrayed Berk when he killed Stoick and Spitelout. Astrid lifted her hand to rub the back of her neck, ducking her head when she remembered their conversation that night when he'd come back. Some part of him loved her, but he couldn't understand why or how. She wondered if that still held true even three months down the line. She glanced back up at the other two Hooligans, looking at both of them before she sighed and glanced away again. "He offered to make me his Queen before, back when I came to rescue you." She gestured to Fishlegs. "I told him then and there that my loyalty was to Berk and the dragons. Why should living with me for a month and a bit change that?"
"Well, it might be time to prove that loyalty." Fishlegs gave her a grim smile - appreciative as he was about it, he still remembered what had happened. "For now, you could act as our insider if he's willing to share information with you. Either way, we need to stop him. Before he's crowned King."
There was an uneasy silence that fell between the three of them before Astrid tucked her hair behind her ear, looking at Snotlout as she lowered the hand against her neck. "It's your call, chief."
"Argh, why are you putting the pressure on me?" Snotlout smacked his palm to his face before he dragged his hand down it, rolling his eyes with a small sigh. It was a bit of a rhetorical question by now, considering his position. He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed it before he raised his other hand. "We'll go with what Fishlegs suggested. I don't exactly like the idea any more than what you do, but he's probably got something else up his sleeve if we don't agree to sign the treaty. There's only so much Ruff and Tuff can do back on Berk if war breaks out due to us not agreeing."
Astrid crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face. "Alright. I'll go find him and put on the charms, I guess." With a bit of a mockingly sweet smile, she raised her hands to part her hair fluttering her eyelashes while the two boys sniggered behind their hands.
Hopefully this was going to be easy...
After wandering around and asking several guards, they pointed her to a certain spot on the island where their chief could be found at this time of day. Astrid tilted her head as she approached him, watching the way Hiccup shifted in his spot as he stared out towards the horizon. Toothless turned his head when her boot accidentally kicked at a small group of rocks, the Night Fury making a trilling sound in the back of his throat before he sat up straight, ears perking in her direction. She gave him a small smile, but Hiccup didn't turn around from the wall of rock he was sitting against.
Toothless shambled around to his other side, nudging him to break him free of his reverie. "Toothless, what are you...?" A low croon was his answer and a jerk of his nose in her direction found Hiccup turning his head, standing when he saw Astrid there. "A-Astrid!" Realizing where they were, Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "How exactly did you find this place?"
"One of the guards told me," she said, stepping forward and cupping one hand over the other in front of her as she followed where he'd been looking before glancing back at him. "Said this was your thinking spot."
"Well I guess it's not exactly a secret." He rubbed the back of his neck and then lowered the hand to place it on Toothless's head, glancing back out to see before returning his gaze to her, his eye softening. "I didn't think you'd want to talk to me after earlier."
She shrugged, giving him a small smile. "I'll admit, I acted out of turn back there. I'm not a chief so I can't exactly sway your decisions." Astrid reached up, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Nor will I have any say in this...kingdom you're building."
Hiccup reached to take one of her hands, pulling her towards him as his free hand trailed down the side of her face, taking hold of her chin. "You could." His lips quirked a little, not exactly a smirk but not exactly a smile either. "The offer to be my Queen still stands. Uniting our tribes would make us stronger while my kingdom is created."
"Ruffnut's dad said something like that when he tried to convince her to marry someone from one of the other tribes." Reaching up, she took hold of the hand surrounding her chin, turning it over to see the faded scar where he'd sworn his blood oath to her. Pressing her lips to it in a light kiss, Astrid glanced at him before she smirked. "Although Snotlout said something about you trying to woo Princess Tantrum over to your side with poetry. Should I be jealous?"
He laughed a little in embarrassment at that. "That was just to get her onto my side, not to have her as my Queen. There's a difference."
"Oh really?"
"Yes really." Hiccup gave her a slightly playful shove, even though it was only a small one, before he pulled his scarred hand from hers, cupping her cheek and running the pad of his thumb under her eye. "So what does that mean?"
"I'll be your Queen." Watching the way his eye lit up was kind of...amusing to say the least. She smiled, tilting her head into his hand. Fishlegs and Snotlout had been right. "On the conditions that Berk isn't harmed and that the dragons are treated as equals and not tools."
"How did I know you were going to say that?" He chuckled a little, shaking his head as he inclined his head over his shoulder to Toothless. "My warriors know that dragons aren't meant to be killed or used anymore, that they're sentient beings." Hiccup raised an eyebrow at her. "Didn't I say that you'd taught me more than I ever dared to imagine?"
"I thought that was a lie," Astrid replied simply, mimicking the look on his face.
"Touche."
"Sooooo..." She wrapped her arms around his waist, tilting her head as she rocked a little on her feet. "Now what?"
"At least I don't have to pay dowry." That earned him a hit on the arm, even as he grinned and took hold of her chin, placing a kiss on her mouth. "Well, you don't need to worry about doing anything Queenie yet, considering I don't have a kingdom as of right this moment. But..." Hiccup reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "...Would you consider moving to Outcast Island?"
"Mmm...I'll think about it."
"Very well then." He pressed their foreheads together, the corners of his lips quirking into a smirk, scarcely unable to believe his luck. There was no way what Excellinor had said about her was true. His kingdom would come in time, but for the moment he would enjoy stringing his Queen up in a new web of lies.
[1] Hnefatafl was a type of board game vikings would play, similar to chess. Nothing much is known about how the game is played other than that it's at a 2:1 ratio so I took some creative liberties and made it like chess while I was writing it up.