Chapter Twenty-Seven

Clarice watched from a window set in the wall of the tower's spiral staircase as Hiccup walked out through the front gates with a pack thrown on his back. She, no, the whole kingdom had always ridiculed him as the weakest royal, but she wondered if the other princes would have the courage to just up and leave like that, without armor or guards to fight someone probably much stronger than themselves. Toothless just helped him show that off.

She looked down at her left palm. After last night, she felt like such a fool. Dancing was meant to be something wonderful between her and her husband, but all she'd done was hurt him. And then Hiccup, someone she almost despised, had come to her rescue and spoken sense to the king when he'd been ready to rip her wedding ring off her finger and throw it to the next available maiden. She would have left him or Toothless to their fate if that had happened to them, but he'd turned around and helped her. And she had done nothing to deserve that.

She wiped at her eyes and looked back out the window, seeing his small back in the distance, a spot of the tawny fabric he'd used for his pack growing smaller by the minute. "He loves you, Toothless," she said to the empty air. "I don't know what you did to deserve that kind of love, but I wish you could tell me, so I could try it." Her gaze lingered on the windowpane until she could bear it no longer and stood up, walking back up the spiral staircase to her small study room.

Hubert stood below, just out of sight of the window but within hearing range. And his wife's words bit deeply into his conscience. If his wife was so unhappy with her marriage to him that she cried at the thought of a loving couple, what did that make him as a husband? He may not love Clarice as deeply as Hiccup loved Toothless, but that didn't mean he had no feelings for the girl. No, he needed to find a way to express his feelings. Hubert went to find his remaining brother. Perhaps he could help.

"Honestly, I'm having just about as much luck with Sophia as you are with Clarice," Hamish replied as he fired off another arrow. Hubert had finally tracked his brother down on the archery training grounds and asked him for advice about his situation with Clarice. He hadn't given anything particularly useful, so far.

But he wasn't giving up just yet. "You had a better time at the ball, and she seems to be taking Hiccup's departure better than Clarice. Is there anything you might have done?"

Hamish notched another arrow but paused in thought before bringing the string back to his ear. "Well, I did take a piece of advice from Gawain just before Hiccup and Toothless showed up." He pulled back the arrow and fired. "Why don't you go grab a bow yourself? Could get some nice practice in."

The elder sighed. He was beginning to understand why Hiccup never tried to hold a conversation with Hamish. The boy couldn't concentrate on anything that didn't involve weapons. But he tried to steer his brother back onto the subject of women and advice. "What did Gawain say to you?"

"Well, he said that even if Hiccup didn't admit that he was scared, Toothless would help him not to be without making a big deal out of it." Hamish relaxed the string and let the arrow dip from firing angle as he thought about that for a moment. "It worked too. She stopped being so nervous and I didn't have to fight with her about it. I'll have to ask him for more advice later."

"Thank you, Hamish. And if you tilt your elbow a little closer to you back, you'll get more power."

The second prince tried the suggestion and the arrowhead completely buried itself in the target. "Hey, you're right!" He turned to thank his brother, only to find that the man had already run off in favor of trying to find Gawain.

The knight turned up in the armory, polishing the rust from one of their finer swords. When he saw the prince, he said, "Beautiful, isn't it?" He held up the sword and let Hubert admire the sharp, perfectly balanced blade. "It was one of the last your brother made, a prototype for his own. I can remember all the hours he put in to get it just right." He returned the weapon to his lap and picked up the polishing cloth again. "Now what can I do for you?"

Hubert cleared his throat. "I heard that you gave Hamish a bit of advice about dealing with Sophia yesterday, and I was hoping you had something that might help me."

The man didn't look up from the blade as he answered. "I only told your brother how Hiccup would have handled the situation. But I saw so little of them that I don't know nearly as much as some."

"Surely there must be someone I can ask for help."

Gawain looked up at the prince in front of him. The man's eyes were wide and desperate. "Tell me, why are you asking me this now?"

Hubert hung his head. "I heard Clarice saying that she doesn't think I love her. I need to change that."

The knight didn't bother asking if he did in fact love the woman. They were married. Love wouldn't change the fact that they were bonded for life, although it could change how that time played out. He decided to simply answer. "I do know one person who might be able to help." He put aside the polishing cloth and looked the prince straight in the eye. "Mark, Hiccup's servant, saw those two on a daily basis. He might have picked up a ting or two from the couple that might help you."

"Thank you," replied the prince before he rushed off to hunt down yet another person. And this one better be able to help him.

Mark was surprisingly easy to find. Repairing the damage done to the bedroom by Hiccup's frantic packing, he was relieved when Hubert showed up and provided a distraction. "Sire, is there something you needed?"

"Yes," said the boy. "Sit down. I need to talk to you."

Thor almighty, what have I done now? Thought the tense servant as Hubert sat him in one of the chairs at the table and took his place across from him. But his fears relaxed when the prince slumped. "I need your help."

"What about, my prince?"

"It's about Clarice. I heard her talking about Hiccup and Toothless earlier, and how she wished I loved her the way that Hiccup loves Toothless."

"Sire, I'm not sure what you're asking me." commented the servant.

Hubert sighed. How to say this… "What did Hiccup do to make Toothless feel loved, and how can I do the same thing for Clarice?"

Ah. So that was the problem. Mark thought about all the times he'd seen Hiccup and Toothless together, and a pattern popped out in his mind. "Sire, how do you and Clarice wake up?"

Hubert's head came up as his confusion grew. "What does that have anything to do with it?"

"Well, if Hiccup wakes first, he doesn't get out of the bed until Toothless also wakes, and they greet each other in a variety of ways, usually involving laughter. It's really quite sweet. After they wake, they get dressed and have breakfast with each other before spending the rest of the day going about their duties, together." He gave the prince a hard stare. "What are mornings with Clarice like?"

The prince flinched inwardly. He didn't have mornings with Clarice, his schedule didn't allow for it. His servant woke him at the crack of dawn and he got ready for the day alone, eating and leaving after giving the servant his wife's schedule for the day. He didn't see her again until lunch.

Mark watched as his words ran their course in the prince's mind. When Hubert thanked him for his advice, the man nodded and added, "They did occasionally have a nice dinner, just the two of them. You might want to try that sometime."

Hubert smiled. "I believe I will. Again, thank you." And he left the room with a heart much lighter than it had been that morning.

Someone recently told me that I tend to neglect my supporting cast. This is my attempt not to slip into that trap. What did you think of Hubert and how I'm building his character a bit more?

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