I Own Nothing
All Rights Reserved
Whew! This chapter was originally two much longer chapters, but after some complaints and my own desire to get the story moving, I decided to combine the two together and severely trim and compact it from 33 pages to 14.
Please read and review! Constructive Criticism is appreciated, but please maintain your courtesy.
Chapter 5
The Newest Dragon Rider
The day had come when the Defenders would arrive at Berk, and Astrid went to fetch Hiccup. When she made it up the stairs to his room and opened the door the first thing she saw was his body walking around with no head on it!
"All right Hiccup, what are you up to this time?"
"Pardon?" he asked innocently. It was the sound of his voice all right but she saw no lips producing it. Toothless was laughing loudly from the rock slab he slept on.
"Would you mind telling me what happened to your head?"
His hand grabbed something unseen and pulled it upwards, making his head reappear and his hand vanish. He grinned at Astrid's reaction. "When a Changewing loses its scales, those scales retain their color changing properties for a few days. One of our Changewings was molting yesterday, so I took the shed scales and stitched them together. Want to try? Here!" he tossed her the sack and held up his looking glass for her. Sure enough, now she was headless.
"Could you turn completely invisible this way?" she asked eagerly. That would be so beneficial in a fight.
"Theoretically yes, but practically speaking it's unlikely. But who knows? Maybe when I get back we'll give it a try. But let's keep this between ourselves, all right? We don't want the Twins getting any new ideas. Now…um, where'd you put it?"
"Right over—" she looked around the floor. "I thought I set it down—"
"Yeah, that's the other drawback to this thing. Oh leave it, it'll reappear later. Now, what's up?"
"Gustav was on patrol and spotted the Defender's ship. It'll be here in about an hour. Stoick wants you to be present when they arrive."
"Of course he wants that," Toothless muttered.
Astrid held up a hand, "Don't tell me—he said 'of course he wants that,'"
Hiccup nodded approvingly. "You're getting better. Soon I won't be able to keep anything secret from you!"
Astrid put her hands on her hips. "Why? What haven't you been telling me?"
"Oh—well…" Hiccup grinned nervously as he tried to shrug.
"Ooooh, this is getting interesting!" Toothless grinned.
"You know I can get anything out of you if I want to." Astrid said with a dangerous smile on her face.
"Oh really? And just what are you going to do to me?"
Astrid suddenly pushed Hiccup to the floor and pulled his metal leg off.
"Hey!" Hiccup tried to grab it back but fell over. "Ouch!" Astrid leapt onto him and they wrestled around on the ground.
"The Dragon King against the Valkyrie of Berk! Locked in combat to the bitter end! Who will come out triumphant?" Toothless cheered.
"You're no help at all!" Hiccup groaned. He and Astrid were now rolling around laughing and halfheartedly trying to continue the fight. The next thing either of them knew he was on the floor and she was lying on top of him, her faces just inches from his. For a minute they just tried to get their breath back.
"Are we getting a little carried away here?" he asked at length.
"Maybe."
"If my Dad comes in right now—"
"Yeah, yeah," she got off of him.
"Then again, one kiss isn't a crime," he pulled her towards him and their lips met.
"I love it when you do that," Astrid smiled when they parted.
"I should hope so. Now give me back my leg!"
"It's your own fault!" Astrid laughed as she handed him the prosthetic. "Seriously though, Hiccup, we shouldn't keep secrets from each other. I haven't kept anything from you." Except for one thing, but he had specifically asked her to keep that from him.
"I was kidding, Astrid."
"Were you? You did keep your knowledge about this unknown dragon rider from me for a year,"
Hiccup sat up and looked at her seriously. "I didn't keep that a secret. I just didn't see the need to trouble you about it, and we had more important things to think about. Look, Astrid, I keep a lot of my thoughts to myself—it's a very old habit—but if any of them ever become important I would tell you at once."
She kissed him on the cheek.
"I guess that's her answer." Toothless remarked, giving Hiccup one of his trademark grins.
Feeling a bit more lightheaded than usual, Hiccup went to work putting the flight gear on Toothless. Then he went over to a lever, pulled on it, and the entire wall went down like a drawbridge.
"You and the theatrics,"
"Oh you be quiet!"
"Mind giving me a lift?" Astrid asked, "Stormfly's cleaning herself at her stable,"
"Certainly, Milady," He mounted Toothless and held his hand out to her. She climbed up behind him and the Night Fury leapt off the tilted wall and soared over the village. Astrid shouted something gleefully as she clung to Hiccup's shoulders, which made him blush with delight. Sometimes, Astrid thought, it was nice to be on a dragon and not have to worry about steering it. You could enjoy the view more easily.
They headed for the docks, where Stoick and several others were waiting, along with Stormfly. Once they got close enough, Hiccup slid off Toothless and leapt into the air, releasing his leather wings that allowed him to glide downwards. Astrid took over steering the Night Fury. Hiccup soared through the air and landed gracefully right in front of his father.
"Ta-da!" he said, taking an exaggerated bow.
"You could have walked, you know," Stoick said, shaking his head.
"That's too mundane," Hiccup grinned as he straightened his clothes and hair, "do I look presentable now?"
"As much as you ever do,"
"Meaning you look handsome as always," Astrid said as she joined them.
"Handsome?" Toothless snorted.
"Stow the flirting, you two," Stoick said, "We've got visitors coming,"
"How do you think they'll react to Berk, Chief?" someone asked.
"They'll like it—I hope," Stoick said, glancing at Hiccup.
"Here's one thing I don't get," Toothless remarked after a pause, "why don't we just go after this Eye ourselves and leave these people alone? Why do we need to travel with somebody we don't know?"
"I'll tell you why," Hiccup replied, "because if we want to be sure whose side these Defenders are on, we need to interact with them and probe them. And if it turns out they don't want to be our allies, we'll already have a hostage available."
At length the boat arrived. Only five Defenders disembarked. The rest remained crouched on deck with loaded longbows visible.
"There's no need for those," Hiccup called to them. "If we had wanted to kill you we could have blown your ship to pieces hours ago."
"Hiccup," Stoick warned, but the logic of his statement seemed to reassure the concealed Defenders. They did not reveal themselves or put away their weapons, but they relaxed slightly and pointed the arrows at the deck. Queen Mala came forward, flanked by three hooded Defenders who were clearly bodyguards, and a fourth Defender who stood behind her.
"I am the Queen of the Defenders of the Wing," she said formally.
"I'm Stoick the Vast, the Chief of Berk," Stoick replied, nodding his head. "Welcome to my island. Does your ship need provisions or repairs?"
"We have enough, thank you, and our ship is perfectly seaworthy." Her words implied that if the Berkians wanted a fight it would not be against starving men and a leaky ship. She turned her cold gaze to Hiccup and nodded. "Dragon King." She gestured to the person standing behind to her. "Heather, stand beside me. Dragon King, this is Heather. I have chosen her to accompany you, as we agreed upon."
Hiccup eyed the woman. She seemed to be a few years older than him and roughly the same height. She had black hair and pale green eyes, wore silvery armor, and had a large axe strapped to her back.
"Hello," he said. She gave a stiff nod.
"I fully expect you two to work together completely and professionally," Mala said, "And Dragon King, if there are any attempts to take advantage of her in any way, I have given her full permission to castrate you."
"Point taken," Hiccup replied. He heard several men behind him gasp. "Has my accuser returned yet?"
Mala frowned. "Unfortunately not. I do not know what could be delaying her."
Stoick cleared his throat. "Perhaps Hiccup should take Heather to meet her dragon? Queen Mala, will you and the rest of your men come with me please?"
Mala nodded to Heather and she followed Hiccup. But as soon as they were off the docks Heather stopped walking and put her hands on hips, frowning at him.
"Yes?" he asked uncertainly.
But just as she was about to speak her mind, Toothless walked right up to her and started sniffing. "Um…what did I do?" she asked uncertainly.
"Nothing, he's just getting familiar with you. Now bud, be nice and don't scare her,"
"She smells funny,"
"She's been at sea for several days; of course she's going to smell funny!"
"Stop that," Heather said sharply. "If you must talk to him, I'd prefer you use Norse. Now look, since we're going to be travelling together, let's understand each other and get a few things clear. First of all, I'm in charge. Secondly—"
"May I see your axe, please?" Hiccup interrupted.
"What?"
"Your axe. May I have a look at it, please?"
"Why?" she asked suspiciously. "If you think without it I'm helpless you are—"
"You really need to relax," Hiccup interrupted again, "all that tension isn't good for you. And I'm not trying to disarm you; I just want to have a look at the weapons that are going to keep us alive on this little excursion."
"Oh," Heather slowly took off her axe and handed it to him. It had a black hilt and a blade with several deep grooves in it, making it look like pointed teeth. Hiccup examined it carefully and pushed a button. The axe suddenly split, rotated, and became a staff with an axe blade on either end.
Astrid whistled. "I could use an axe like that."
"Remind me when Snoggletog gets closer," Hiccup smiled. He handed the axe back to Heather. "Can you use it?"
"Would Queen Mala have chosen me if I could not?" she smirked. "Now show me what weapons you're bringing with us."
Hiccup pulled his shield off of Toothless's saddle and put it on the ground. Then he held up the hilt of Inferno. What he did not pull out were two knifes contained in different pockets, a bag of combustible powder, two vials of Naga-Raja acid, another knife and a picklock hidden in his prosthetic, a retractable blow dart pipe and darts, a file and picklock in his belt, his flight suit, a bag full of arrow heads and twine, and his gauntlets, which contained flammable Zippleback gas.
Toothless watched in amusement as Heather tested the shield on her arm, "feels solid," she observed, "nice and light, but durable, very good for offense and defense, I approve," She now took the hilt of Inferno and looked uncertain if this was meant to be a joke, "so…where's the blade?"
"Push that button there," Hiccup instructed.
She did and at once the blade leapt out and burst into flames.
"Whoa,"
"Yeah, how many enemies expect that to happen?" Astrid remarked.
Heather private decided every Defender ought to get one somehow. Perhaps if things went well the Dragon King would show them how to make such swords.
Hiccup spotted a green dragon approaching as he put the sword away. "Ah, this is Shamrock, a Treejumper. He's agreed to be your dragon."
Shamrock came over and carefully sniffed Heather like Toothless had. "She doesn't smell like a dragon killer," he observed, "that's a good sign,"
Heather looked at the green dragon uncertainly. Astrid gently took her hand and carefully led it towards the Treejumper. But before the two could make contact Shamrock sneezed and backed away.
"Oh come on, Shamrock! You've turned down Spitelout, Gustav, Bogbread, and now Heather?" Hiccup exclaimed.
"I just don't feel comfortable about this, all right?" Shamrock said crossly. "And why should I bond with her if I'm probably going to be leaving after a week or so? I'll carry her a while, fine, but that's it."
Hiccup turned to Heather. "Sorry, he…well, I'm not sure how to say this gently…he doesn't want to bond with you."
"Why?" Heather asked, uncertain if she should feel insulted or not.
Hiccup sighed. "You're not the first person he's declined to bond with. He had a bad experience the first time he let a human ride him, and he's been a bit uneasy about humans ever since."
"Especially after what happened later," the Treejumper said bitterly.
Hiccup sighed again. "I should have known that. I'm sorry for sounding exasperated with you, Shamrock."
"Oh, it's all right. It wasn't your fault it happened." But Hiccup's eyes glazed over as he remembered. Toothless decided to change the subject to something more pleasant, so he went up to Heather and gave her a great big lick.
"Gah! Heather, I am so sorry, he doesn't normally act like this!" Hiccup cried.
"What did I do?" Heather shrieked as she tried to wipe the saliva off her face and clothes.
"Nothing, he was just trying to be friendly! Toothless, what's the matter with you? You nearly scared a guest half to death and you know that doesn't wash out!"
"I apologize for nothing!"
This had to be one of the strangest ways to greet a new traveling companion, but at least she did not take it too badly.
Stoick took Mala and her bodyguards first to the main part of the village, and they saw the homes that, Stoick informed her, dragons had helped build. It was a bad way to start. Mala was disgusted by the knowledge that Dragons had been used in that manner, and her subordinates shared their Queen's disgust. While Stoick insisted they had helped the Vikings in this, from Mala's point of view they had been used like beasts of burden. The sight of the stables served to only confirm this notion. And when they reached Mead Hall, Mala had nearly had a fit when she saw the metal impaled dragon hanging in on one side of the room, but Stoick quickly explained that they only kept it there as a valuable relic made by their ancestors. He drew her attention to a newer decoration hanging in the opposite corner: a metal Viking riding a dragon. And hanging halfway between the two was a gold and metal chandelier with the word "Berk" engraved around it.
"So we have the representation of the old ways there, the one representing the new ways there, and the two of them have made Berk what it is today." Stoick explained. "That old relic is just a reminder of what life used to be like for us, and from there we remember how bad things had been." It had been Fishlegs's idea to do this.
Mala was still not pleased or impressed but sat down in silence.
"You should know," Stoick said at length, and with firmness, "I don't like my son going on this, especially after you've accused him of theft and threatened to wipe out my village,"
She answered, "Much as I detest this plan, allying with people who enslave dragons, and the idea of using dragons for transport, I must make do with what I have. I want the Dragon Eye back. He offered to retrieve it, and I agreed." After a lot of discussion and conditions, at any rate.
"And how do I know you won't use its contents to harm Berk?" Stoick demanded.
"We have had it for centuries. We could have used it for that any time we wanted to, but we did not. And I know you won't use it to harm us because you, sir, will never see nor touch the Eye. The Dragon King will return it to us at a place of my choosing, and you will not be present for it." That had been one such condition, for the Dragon King had asked a similar question at Green Island.
"He could always make copies of the information before returning it," Stoick said. He suspected Hiccup might do just that, though not for the purpose of conquest.
"And that is one reason why Heather is going with him. She will see to it that he does not. And from what I have been hearing recently, the Dragon King is not at all like the Head of the Dragon Hunters,"
"Oh? And what do you know about the Head of the Dragon Hunters?" In fact, Stoick did not even know who that person was, but he did not want to sound stupid.
Mala considered. "We do not know much for certain. Our latest source did not even give us a name, but described the man as a viper, always lying in wait and watching until the mouse gets one step too close. He begged us to kill him once he said this. He was terrified his leader would learn he had cracked and come after him."
"He preferred death over the chance of seeing this man again?" Stoick marveled, "that kind of fear isn't inspired easily." He could not help but feel a slight tremor in his bones. Then he shook his head. They had survived against Bludvist, had they not? And whoever this Hunter chief might be, he was as much a human as Snotlout Jorgenson was.
"Well," he said eventually, "if what you said about this Eye is true, I agree it would be best to keep it safe. I still don't like it, but I won't stop them from leaving." He cocked his head. "Hiccup told me your thief had a dragon with four wings, is that true?"
"Yes?"
"Just wondering what kind of dragon he's going up against."
Heather and Hiccup were checking over the supplies she would be bringing. They were sitting in a warm patch of sunlight outside of the stables, with Astrid watching and making suggestions. On her advice Hiccup left to fetch an extra strand of rope. Toothless had gotten bored with all of this and was taking a nap. Shamrock had returned to the dragon stables to clean out his loft. Stormfly had gone with him.
Unexpectedly they heard a loud clatter from nearby. Heather at once leapt to her feet, whipped out her axe, and assumed a defensive stance. Astrid merely stood up and walked over to the source of the noise, shouting "Ruff! Tuff! We've told you a hundred times you're not allowed to fight in the armory!" She went inside and dragged the two mischief makers out by their feet.
"Heather, meet Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorsten. Consider it a blessing if you Defenders don't have an equivalent to these muttonheads."
"We were just choosing weapons and he wanted the mace I picked out!" Ruffnut pouted.
"No, you wanted the mace I picked out!" her brother shot back. They tried to slap each other but Astrid held them further apart. Heather was especially amused by Astrid's bored expression.
Fishlegs caught up with them. "And just think! Five minutes ago they were congratulating each other for pulling another stunt on Mildew! Now they're—oh, he—hello," he had noticed Heather and was suddenly struck dumb by her loveliness.
"This is Fishlegs," Astrid explained. Heather gave a nod and Fishlegs turned reddish. He looked kind of cute that way, Heather thought, and then she mentally slapped herself to not think like that.
Having heard the commotion of the Twins scuffle and spotted his friends, Snotlout now arrived with Hookfang. "Hey, anybody know why Mildew's—and who is this drop dead gorgeous person?"
Said person stared at him incredulously. Unlike Fishlegs, she did not find him cute in the slightest. Naturally Snotlout misinterpreted her expression. "Please don't be embarrassed, you're hardly the first woman to be struck speechless by my amazing good looks and raw Viking power—though you're certainly the best looking!"
Astrid scowled. "Snotlout, if you keep it up, you're going to drop dead." She saw Fishlegs looking like he wanted to say something but was too embarrassed, and she face palmed. "You too, Fish?" she said in Dragonese, not wanting to make the conversation any more awkward for Heather.
"Well, I'm just…I mean, it's—it's not every day we meet new people! I'm always just a little shy about meeting new people!" he spluttered.
"Yes, so am I! Who are you, O lovely new person?" Snotlout asked, pushing Fishlegs aside so he was closer to her.
"I'm Heather," the young woman said warily. They shook hands—after Snotlout and Fishlegs had a quick scuffle to decide who would shake hands with her first. Astrid growled at both of them.
"Hey, I was just trying to be friendly and—"
"—and to tell Heather that if she needs any help around here, we will be more than happy to oblige her!" Fishlegs burst in.
"We?" Snotlout repeated.
"He's right, I will be more than happy to oblige her!"
Heather did not know whether to laugh or not. "I'll keep that in mind,"
"I will too," Astrid growled, "now scram, you two! Go find Hiccup!"
"Where is he?"
"Scram!" She shook her head as the two boys left. "And you two Muttonheads can clean up the mess you made in the armory! Toothless, will you—oh Odin's Ghost—Toothless, wake up!" she kicked the Night Fury in the side.
"WHAT?" the dragon jumped out of his siesta.
"I need you to watch these kids put the armory back together, and make sure they don't make things even worse," she said in a tone that permitted no appeal or protest.
"And I'm supposed to be a Beta," Toothless mumbled as he complied, "nobody but the Alpha's supposed to give me orders!"
Astrid shoved her hair out of her eyes. "Now, where were we? Oh yes, sorry about Snotlout."
"Is he always like that?"
"You have no idea," she groaned, "you know, I always thought it would be nice to not be the one Snotlout was flirting with for a change, but I don't think I could wish such a thing on any woman,"
"I can think of one," Toothless said darkly, "but she'd probably enjoy it and flirt back. Oh thank goodness, my human's coming! Hiccup, you can watch these two and I can go back to my nap!"
"Hiccup, you like causing destruction, you understand!" Tuffnut cried.
"Have pity on us poor Disciples of Loki who are being forced to clean up the work done in His honor!" Ruffnut pleaded.
Hiccup turned to Astrid. "Did I miss something here?"
"Just the usual," she yelled over the racket. The Twins had started banging swords together in protest of being forced to clean up.
"Guys, stop that—hey! I spent a week making that! You two put those things away right now or so help me there'll be no Mildew pranks for a month!" Hiccup shouted. Sniffing and moaning, the Twins complied. "And Toothless, if you make them hurry up you'll get to go back to sleep sooner,"
"Fine!" the Dragon growled, barring his teeth. The Twins went to work at once.
"You waited a bit longer to get me on a dragon for the first time," Astrid remarked as Hiccup adjusted the straps on Shamrock's saddle. Heather was sitting on Shamrock and watching.
"I had to be certain about you first," he replied.
"And you're certain about me already?" Heather asked with raised eyebrows,
"No, but since we're supposed to leave tomorrow I don't have the luxury of time," he said, "all right, it's quite simple. Just hang on, give Shamrock directions when you want to, and let him do the rest."
"As always," Shamrock muttered.
"If these dragons don't need any assistance to fly, why do you people ride them?" Heather asked.
"Because some dragons do need assistance to fly, because it builds a bond between humans and dragons that they'd never have if we kept them apart, and because it's too much fun," he grinned, "ready now? Let's go!"
The first sensation Heather felt was her stomach seemingly inflating. Her head jerked around a bit and her body suddenly felt weightless. She grabbed Shamrock's neck a bit harder than he would have liked. They climbed upwards, not high enough to reach the clouds, but still enough that to fall would be fatal, a fact Heather was none too comfortable realizing. Then Shamrock spread out his wings to their fullest reach and began gliding. Heather at last was able to take some deep breaths and calm her racing heart down.
A little distance ahead was Hiccup and Toothless. They watched with amusement as Heather's expression changed from nervousness to a broad smile as she looked around.
"Well, we did it again, Bud!"
"How could we fail to?"
"Now do you see why we fly on dragons, Heather?" Hiccup called.
"This is—" she could not think of the superlatives. She had already guessed what flying would feel like, but this defied all her expectations.
Hiccup suggested they fly around the island a few times so she could start getting used to it. Down below them Mala was watching through the optical scope Stoick had handed her.
"Well?" he asked, "what's happening up there?" His eyes were not as good as they once were and he could not make out details without aid.
"She seems to be enjoying herself," Mala frowned.
"And what's wrong with that?"
"A dragon should not be treated like some pet for children to play with, nor—"
"Do you see the dragons complaining about it?" Stoick interrupted.
Mala had to take another look. "No," she said reluctantly.
"Exactly. They don't mind in the slightest,"
"That's because you've made them so docile they do not know what is good for them anymore." She muttered to herself. Stoick heard it.
"Maybe," he said, "but tell Toothless he can no longer fly with Hiccup and you'll see just how 'docile' he can be," Maybe they should take her flying. He smiled as he thought of how she might react. His son and Heather flew over the island to the eastern side and out of sight. Several dragons flew after them, calling playfully.
Living on a moderately sized island meant exposure to unpredictable ocean weather. Conditions were often as changing as the sea itself. It could be lovely one hour and pouring rain the next. And high winds could suddenly change direction or come out of nowhere. A strong wind came barreling from the north and swept into the group of dragons. For most of them it only threw them off a little, and Toothless hardly even noticed it. But for one Gronkle, who's wings had been bruised and strained a week back, the suddenly change was more than he could cope with. He had been flying near Shamrock, and when the wind changed he was suddenly blown right into the Treejumpers neck!
Shamrock was thrown sideways. Heather slid in her saddle and screamed. The Treejumper tried to regain control but he was dazed and winded and ran into a Monstrous Nightmare. The Nightmare instinctively swung her tail and got Heather in the chest. She would have gone flying off Shamrock had she not been securely strapped in. Still, the wind had been knocked out of her and the two of them rolled and flailed around like leaves in a windstorm.
As soon as he saw this, Toothless shouted for the group to break up. Then he and a Hotburple swooped downwards and grabbed Heather and the Treejumper to steady them. Gently the dragons helped their friends glide down to a clearing in the woods. Once they touched down Hiccup leapt off Toothless, rushed over to Heather, and began undoing her straps. "Are you all right?" he asked anxiously as he helped her dismount.
"I think so," she gasped, clinging to his arm.
"I'm really, really sorry, we don't normally—"
"Fine, I—" she looked very pale. She staggered forward, and then doubled over and threw up.
"Not quite the reaction we were hoping for," Toothless sighed.
They helped her lie down and gave her some mint leaves from Hiccup's medical pouch. Thankfully they were in the woods, so nobody else had any idea of what had happened. Hiccup could easily imagine Mala accusing him of attempted murder. But to his surprise, once she recovered a little, Heather flat out told him that she was going on this mission and asked him to keep quiet about this little accident.
"You sure?"
"Of course! It was just an accident, I'll be fine!" Heather tried to stand but felt a little woozy so she gave up for a few minutes.
"Just why do you want to go on this so badly?" Hiccup asked.
"I only joined the Defenders some 10 months ago. If I succeed on this mission I will become a true Defender. I won't be a mere Initiate anymore," she rasped, "I'm not staying back because of an accident and some stomach pains,"
Hiccup frowned slightly. "Why would they send only an Initiate on a mission this important? Wouldn't it be better to send someone with more experience?"
"Queen Mala herself has called me the best Initiate she has ever seen," Heather replied proudly, "she has full confidence in me. Besides, it's customary for those who are ready to become a complete Defender to go on a dangerous and important mission. How else can their worth be determined?"
"Why'd you join the Defenders in the first place, if you don't mind my asking?"
"How'd you befriend a dragon, if you don't mind my asking? Where I came from nobody liked dragons, and I always assumed it was the same for all Vikings."
"Oh? And where do you come from?"
"Is anybody actually going to answer a question?" Shamrock asked. He had emerged from the accident with a load of growing bruises on his head and neck. Toothless was licking them.
"You do realize you just asked a question yourself, right?" Toothless teased.
"And so did you!"
Heather at last got to her feet, with little trouble. "Look, see? I'm fine! Let's head back!"
"You sure you're up to it?" Hiccup asked doubtfully.
"Yes, now let's go, before they start to worry."
Night came slowly for Hiccup. He was all packed and still had plenty of time to spare. So he and Toothless went to the forge. He wanted to plan out his latest idea and Toothless loved napping in the warm environment, although in this case Hiccup did not intend to actually make anything.
"Isn't it a bit late to start work on a new project?" the dragon asked.
"You know me Bud, I can't wait when I get these ideas," he replied as he started sketching. He had in mind two swords that could connect at the hilt. With practice, at one moment a fighter could have two swords and then stick them together and have a staff with blades on each end. He had gotten the idea from Heather's axe.
Gobber came in and joined them. "Yer the one man on this island ah let use the forge when ah'm not around," he remarked as he put on his hammer limb. Hiccup might have planned to not make anything, but Gobber had work to do.
"That's because you taught me how to treat it properly," Hiccup smiled as he examined the hilts of some unfinished swords.
"Aye. But if yer gonna be chief, ah best start trainin' someone else. Ah can't go on fereva, ya know, an' ya won't git ta be the smith much if yer also chief, so it's best ah get a new apprentice,"
It was hard to think of Berk without Gobber. He had been there for Hiccup during his childhood when nobody else was, and the notion of Gobber having another apprentice, while certainly a sensible one, did not really please Hiccup.
"So when're ya gonna be Chief?" Gobber asked eagerly, "I'm gonna git a fresh pair of undies fer the occasion!"
"Thank you for the courtesy, Gobber," Hiccup said dryly. He gave the smith a half hearted smile. "You know, that's one thing I've often wondered. Why did Dad make me your apprentice if I was never going to have time for it once I was Chief?"
"Cause it kept ya outta trouble, taught ya an important skill, and ah imagine 'e always thought ah'd git someone else later," Gobber said.
Hiccup snorted, "Kept me out of trouble? Gobber, it just gave me a new outlet for causing trouble! Remember all those inventions I built that nearly destroyed the village? And now here we are again, you working on swords and me working on some new invention designed to put holes in a living creature for the apparent good of Berk. The only difference is there's a dragon snoozing in the corner."
"Trying to snooze, you mean,"
The conversation halted as Gobber went to the sharpening wheel. They had both learned a long time ago there was no point in trying to talk over the noise. So Hiccup went to feed the Fireworms that lived in the furnace.
The door flew open and Stoick the Vast came in. "Whew! Well, Mala has called it a day. And that girl Heather's really impatient to get going. A bit too impatient, if you ask me. I almost think it's suspicious, but Mala is pleased to see her so eager,"
"Ah've never seen a more icy woman. Ya sure know 'ow ta pick 'em, 'Iccup," Gobber added.
Hiccup told them how Heather would become a full Defender if they succeeded on this task. Stoick looked at him sharply and asked something he had been wondering since they had gotten the Defender's message. "How do we know this isn't just an elaborate trap to kill you? She could easily do something in the wilderness and call it an accident and we'd be none the wiser."
This time Toothless opened his eyes. Gobber put his hammer arm down. Hiccup, however, looked calm and simply nodded. "I've thought of that. But if they really wanted to kill me, why didn't they just shoot me during the Dragon Race?"
"Some people get too creative with death traps," Stoick pointed out, "remember what you told me about that man Nero?"
"Yes, he tried to kill his mother with a ship designed to sink. She swam to shore and they found stabbing her worked just fine." Hiccup said with a grim smile "Dad, I'm not blind to the risks of this, but Mala seems like the type who would just kill me instead of wasting her time with some grand scheme. And if someone is waiting to ambush us, well, we've got some surprises of our own, haven't we?" He sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Boy do I get exhausted from all this secrecy and deception."
"Just go over your plan with me one last time, all right?" Stoick said.
Hiccup shook his head. "Later." Everybody on Berk was aware somewhat about was going on, but only a trusted few knew the first destination and nobody knew exactly what would come after it. Hiccup wanted it that way for the time being. The loudmouths, like Gobber, had been told at different times that Hiccup was going to India, Italy, Scotland, and Atlantis, among other places, and had been encouraged to share this knowledge. As for the Defenders, Mala had readily agreed to secrecy, but she had likely taken some of her people into her confidence.
"You're placing lots of trust in your mind—and testing my patience as a parent and a Chief." Stoick growled, "This is a really poor travel plan, I think,"
"My mind helped a dragon fly again and ended a 3 century war," Hiccup said, "And I can't help it if I'm keeping this close to the chest. Do you think we want word getting around and letting this unknown thief know we're coming after them?"
"But ya'll send messages, right?" Gobber asked anxiously, "an' if ya git inta trouble ya'll let us know, right?"
"Yeah, I'm bringing the Terrors Sharpshot and Tetry with us," Hiccup said quickly. They had established a series of codenames for places that only Stoick, Astrid, Hiccup, and Mala and some of her people knew about. "Look, let's stop worrying about this, all right? We shouldn't be careless, of course, but worrying about every possible 'what if' will only get us so far. Frankly, I think this is going to be fun,"
"Fun?" Stoick repeated incredulously.
"Of course! I'm about to go on a little excursion into Thor-knows-where to recover a lost device and get the answers to questions! This is going to be fun!"
"Ya always did 'ave a strange sense o' wot 'fun' is," Gobber chuckled.
"A funny sense of what 'fun' is, you mean," Toothless laughed.
The morning sun had yet to throughout the Archipelago and that included the castle in one of the very eastern corners, overlooking a fjord. There the night was waning but not noticeably. The place seemed as dark and as gloomy as the long arctic winter.
"You are certain the Dragon King is involved in this?"
"Sí,"
"Excellent. Then he will find us the Eye and bring it back to us. You will maintain your cover until he does, and see to it we learn where the rendezvous point will be. Understood?"
"Sí,"
"You sound unenthusiastic, my dear. Do not tell me you have grown tired of the task I gave you? Do not tell me you might be thinking of backing out? That would be most ungrateful and unwise of you. And do not forget, you came to me offering your services and begging for medicinal help."
"I just wish you would let me have a little more excitement."
"I, like any sensible employer, have placed you in a capacity that I deemed you were suitable for. That is what makes good business. However…does Mala expect you back soon?"
"Yes. But I can always tell her I was captured by hunters, imprisoned, and barely managed to escape with my life. She'll believe that."
"Good, good. Then I have an idea that will please you. I do not want the Dragon King to fail or die. Our future, for a change, now depends upon his very success. However, I do not object to anyone else in his entourage being taken care of. Therefore, you will go after these Dragon Riders who are retrieving the Eye for us. What you do then is your affair—as long as the King and his Night Fury survive. Should either one of them die prematurely—"
"I get the idea,"
"Excellent. Then get going. And please return the Nadder in one piece as well. Its skin will not sell for much later if it is damaged."
"Yes sir,"
"And please don't get yourself caught or killed. I can easily replace you, of course, but it is bad business to let an asset die before it has fulfilled its primary purpose, and it is an issue I would rather not have to deal with."
She left the room and made her way down the stairs. Upon them she encountered Draccus Grimborn, who followed her.
"Have you just come from him?"
"Sí,"
"What did he want from you?"
She smirked at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"I'm a member of this business and his brother! I think I have a right to know what's going on!"
"Your brothers don't seem to think so," she replied, and then stopped and smiled, "but perhaps he could be wrong?"
"Of course they're wrong! I'm a useful person! I could be a lot of help to them if I was just given the chance! Perhaps I could even do better than them."
"I'm sure you could,"
"Of course I could," he lowered he voice, "Just answer me one thing. I assume he called on you to give you a new job? Does it involve the Dragon King?"
She smiled slightly and nodded.
"Whatever he ordered you to do, I can make it worth your while if you don't do it. I'll give you double whatever he offered."
Her smile widened. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Of course, we should keep this between the two of us,"
"Of course. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going. Perhaps when I get back we can celebrate our new partnership in a more appropriate setting—and you can give me what you promised."
"That can be easily arranged," Draccus said slyly.
Author's Note: In response to Mana's review, your idea of having Throk, as opposed to Heather, accompany Hiccup makes sense, except I did not know anything about him until Season 6 came out, and by then it was way too late to make such a radical alteration. It would have meant a 20+ chapter rewrite. I know Heather being one of the Defenders is not in canon, but I've taken a lot of liberties already and from the very beginning I was adamant about getting her into this. She's a little stiff at first, but she lightens up once she and her companions get to know each other better.
Next Chapter will come out on March 25!