He was finally left alone in the basement.

Pain. His cheeks hurt from the slapping, his whole body hurt from the punching and kicking he received from the pirates. He couldn't even move himself without feeling any pain. It was impossible. He wanted to cry but he did his best not to. He didn't want to cry in front of the pirates, because that will only prove that he is indeed weak, so he did his best to stay strong.

Hiccup was sitting on the floor with his eyes closed. He was exhausted and in so much pain. He actually wasn't sure if he could take it anymore. He needed to get out of here. He knew he was in a ship, so there was no way of escaping, but he thought that maybe he could jump out of the ship and swim to an island and hope his friends would find him there. It was risky but he was going to try anyway. Right now, he would do anything to get away from the pirates.

He painfully got up and ran as fast as he could to the deck. He was quick enough to avoid being caught by the pirates along the way. He was almost there. Just a few more steps and he would be able to jump out of this ship. But unfortunately someone grabbed him before he could. It was the leader. He fought. He tried kicking but it was no use.

"Did you really think you could escape? How stupid of you boy." The leader said with a laugh.

"I didn't want to do this but I guess you leave me with no choice." He yanked his prosthetic off and threw it in the sea.

"Now you can't escape!" He laughed evilly.

No. Now he can never escape. He is officially stuck in this ship until his friends find him. Great.

The leader grabbed Hiccup and threw him into the basement. Hiccup landed on the floor facing down, and before he could get up, the leader got on top of him with a knife in hand. He froze and started to panic.

"Let this be a lesson to you. Never try to escape again." He creepily whispered into Hiccup's ear.

He lifted Hiccup's tunic up, pointed the knife to his upper back and stabbed him.

Hiccup shot up in bed, eyes wide and breathing fast. Another nightmare... a flashback. Suddenly, he started to cry. He just wanted the horrible nightmare to stop. It was simply too much for him. He was tired of crying, too, but he just couldn't control himself and that annoyed him.

After awhile, he finally stopped crying, and that was when he remembered the stab wound on his upper back. The leader only wanted to teach Hiccup a lesson, not to make him bleed to death, so after he stabbed him, he got his men to clean his wound. That reminds him... he needed someone to check his wound, to see if it is healing. But then he remembered that nobody knew about the wound. He sighed. He thought for a moment and decided that he would tell Astrid about this. Astrid is his girlfriend and he knows he can trust her. And of course he won't tell her everything that happened yet, because he still wasn't ready, but he was going to take it slow.

It was evening, so his friends were probably back in their huts. He decided to look for Astrid in her hut. He got up and knelt down in front of Toothless who was laying on the floor.

"Toothless, bud... I'm going to Astrid's hut to talk to her. W-will you come with me? I... I'll feel safer if you walk with me." He told him. He was still scared. He was afraid to be all alone. As long as someone was with him, he will feel safer, which is why ever since he was rescued, he wouldn't allow Toothless to leave his side.

Toothless cooed at him and got up. He rubbed his head on Hiccup before walking towards the door. Hiccup smiled.

"Thanks, bud." He said warmly. He got up and followed Toothless to the door and left.

He was now outside Astrid's hut. He was nervous. Really nervous. He has no idea how Astrid would react, but he knows he can trust her. Astrid trusts him, so he can trust her, too. He knocked on her door. He heard footsteps from inside, and the door opened.

"Hiccup? What's wrong?" Astrid asked. She could tell he had been crying.

"Can... can I come in?" He asked her softly.

"Sure, Hiccup. Of course." She answered.

Astrid moved aside for Hiccup and Toothless to come in before closing the door. When Astrid turned around, she saw him standing beside her bed. He looked like he was thinking about something. Toothless went to the corner of her room to lie down.

"Hiccup? Is... everything okay?" She asked.

He didn't know how to say this, so he decided to ask something else first.

"Um... where is dad?"

"Your dad already left... in the afternoon." She answered.

"Oh... okay." He said softly.

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke again.

"I... I need to talk to you about something."

Astrid nodded and gestured him towards the bed to sit.

"So... what do you need to talk about?" Astrid asked him.

He closed his eyes and paused for a moment.

"It's okay. Take your time." Astrid told him and rest her hand on his.

Hiccup looked up and smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. He can do this.

"When I was captured, I... I tried to escape. But I... failed. I was caught by one of the pirates, and he... he stabbed me... to teach me a lesson." He spoke and looked away, feeling ashamed.

Astrid was shocked. She doesn't remember seeing any stab wounds on him. So she asked him.

"Where? Where were you stabbed?"

"My upper back." He answered.

That would explain why she didn't see the wound. She didn't lift his tunic up all the way so she must have missed it.

"Oh my Thor. Are... are you okay? Are you in pain?" Astrid asked worriedly.

"I'm... I'm fine, Astrid. The pirates cleaned it for me because they didn't want me to bleed to death. But... but I was hoping you could check... to see if it is healing."

"Of course, Hiccup." Astrid nodded and replied.

Hiccup turned around and lifted his tunic all the way up. Astrid looked at his back closely. The wound was healing. It looked painful but it was healing.

"Does it hurt, baby?" She asked.

"Yeah... it still hurts a little."

"Well... it's healing, so you don't have to worry." She said with a smile. And then she checked his body. The bruises were fading. That was a relief.

"Your bruises are fading, too. That's good!" She said happily.

Hiccup smiled and pushed down his tunic. He turned around to face her.

"Thank you, Astrid." He said with a small smile and grabbed her hands.

"Can... can you keep this between us? I'm still not ready for the others to know yet. Please?"

"Of course. This is between you and me. I'm glad you told me this, Hiccup." She said.

He smiled and hugged her tight. She hugged him back.

"Can I stay here tonight Astrid?" He asked softly. Astrid smirked.

"I would love for you to stay, baby." She said.

They cuddled and eventually fell asleep in each other's arms.