A few days after the procedure to remove the wooden splinters to give Hiccup and Toothless time to heal so they could move without hurting themselves, Cloudjumper gave the couple a tour of the castle. It wasn't as grand as the one Hiccup grew up in, but the library was spectacular, with not just books but other kinds of knowledge as well, and almost every room was equipped with a balcony so Toothless and other skinchangers could transition from dragon to human right outside their rooms. Other features also gave away clues about the previous inhabitants, like the rack for bridles, saddles, and other equipment for passengers. Hiccup asked in a whisper, "Should we come back later?" when he spotted a beautiful streamlined black saddle of supple leather. She'd chirped a yes back to him and they'd marked the location in their minds.

Now Cloudjumper was walking them down a large hallway with portraits on both sides, with the men on the left and women on the right, funnily enough. "Why are they arranged like that," the curious prince asked the guide.

"These are the past kings of this castle," explained the man. "Their queens stand opposite them."

"Oh." Hiccup looked closer at the portraits after that little tidbit and noticed how, with each portrait, the techniques seemed to get better, and the clothing style kept changing. "Which one was the last?"

Cloudjumper winced at the insensitivity. For all Hiccup knew, the older man could have been the brother of the last king. But he probably hadn't meant it, so Cloudjumper just answered the question. "He's at the end of the hall, although he's not the last of the kings," then he muttered, "if everything works out." Hiccup didn't hear him.

The trio stopped in front of the last painting, a remarkably well-made portrait of a thin but tall man in long black robes and a cloak of dragon skin. Hiccup immediately began asking questions. "Was he a changer?"

"Yes," the man answered. "In fact, all our kings were." He gestured behind him to the rest of the hall. "They sought out girls with the ability so it would carry to the next generation. The only exception was when one of their daughters married into a different royal family. That happened with this king's daughter, actually."

"I know," interrupted Hiccup. "You've mentioned her before."

"Then you knew the princess?" Come on, say it, begged the man internally.

"Yes." The prince of two kingdoms laid a hand on the frame of the portrait. "She was my mother."

Stoick groaned as he rose from the desk in his office and felt his spine crack satisfactorily. He motioned for one of the servants to come over and a young lad hustled to his side. "Tell Hamish I want to spar with him," ordered the big man. The servant scuttled off to deliver the message and Stoick stretched his limbs. Such a spar would loosen him up and relieve some of the stress he'd been under for the past few days.

When Hiccup came to him two weeks ago and said that he was leaving to go get Toothless back, Stoick had tried to get the lad to take at least a battalion with him. He was the last precious of Valka's precious gifts to him, and the one who most resembled her. But the boy had insisted that he go alone. "This is my fault," he had said. "So I'm the only one who has to fix it." And he'd left the castle without another word of argument.

Stoick had been so proud of him, still was, actually. Hiccup was finally showing the courage their family was famous for, so he had respected his son's wishes and not sent anyone after him, even though he'd been gone two weeks today.

The servant he'd sent with a message returned and told the king that his second son was waiting in the usual spot with an assortment of weapons. Stoick walked out of the room, through the hall and into the courtyard to cross to the training fields just outside the gate. But the moment he stepped out of the doorway, three soldiers crowded around him and started talking all at once. He waved his hands for silence. "You," he pointed at the middle soldier. "Tell me what's going on."

"Yes sire." The man saluted. "We spotted a dragon not far from here, sire. We think it's headed this way."

But the news was too late. Shadows covered the whole courtyard as the great beast swooped down into the space. It was a beautiful animal, with glistening black scales and huge wings. But before Stoick could give the order to subdue it, the creature brought its wing claws up to its head. With wide eyes, the king watched as the beast stripped off its skin like you would take off a shirt and tied it around his waist.

The young man who'd been a dragon only moments before walked up to Stoick and bowed. "King Stoick, may I have an audience?"

The big man picked his jaw up off the ground and answered the question. "Yes. Let's go to the throne room."

"With all due respect," answered the blond youth, "I need to return to my home quickly. Can we talk out here?" Stoick nodded and motioned for the boy to continue. "I have a message from the kingdom of your late wife, Queen Valka. Prince Hiccup has returned to the castle and we need to discuss whether or not he should stay there as the heir and rule over the people and dragons of our kingdom."

Well, that had definitely not been what Stoick had been expecting. Then one of the knights, Gawain, he noted, walked towards the ambassador and asked, "Would someone other than the king be acceptable for this? He does have duties here."

The youth looked at the knight and to the slight astonishment of everyone, smiled. "You're Gawain, aren't you? Prince Hiccup told me about you."

The knight was surprised, but recovered quickly and answered, "Yes. I'm flattered that he told you about me."

"Oh yes!" the boy nodded enthusiastically. "He said if anyone wanted to come as an ambassador instead of the king himself, I was to look for you. He also said I should bring back someone named Mark. Do you know him?"

The servant also stepped forward and introduced himself to the dragon boy and the three began talking. Meanwhile, Stoick called over Hubert. "I want you to go with them as my representative."

"But Father-"

"No," stoick silenced him. "You need the experience and I don't want to send Hamish. If you have any problems or are uncertain, ask Gawain. But I want you to be the one to have the final say."

The eldest prince bowed. "Yes Father."

"Good. Now go and start packing." The boy left the courtyard and Stoick approached the three men. "My son, Crown Prince Hubert will be going with you to negotiate. You may take these other two," he gestured toward Gawain and Mark, "if you wish, but my son is the one who will make the final decision."

"Of course, Your Majesty. When can they be ready?" The dragon youth asked.

"At the end of today. But first, I need some proof that you are who you say you are."

After the three representatives had packed and Stoick received a letter from Hiccup saying that, yes, he'd sent the dragon and was perfectly fine. The arrow fletching enclosed in the message gave it credibility, the same goose feathers with the iron arrowheads that only Hiccup used. Hubert, Gawain, and Mark climbed aboard the dragon and held tight to its spine ridges and the dragon tore off into the night sky. Whatever they found at the end, they hoped Hiccup would be a part of it.

I'll tell you who the servant is next chapter. Just know that the dragon is a dead giveaway and he's not very suited to being pushed around. For those of you who enjoy Fullmetal Alchemist and/or YuGiOh, I have a new piece. If enough people, say ten, like it, I'll continue it.

Please Review! I missed you guys yesterday.