I Own Nothing

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Chapter 26

On the Run

Hiccup, Astrid, and their dragons flew rapidly and swiftly crossed from Berk to Black Forest of Germany and into the Alps. Winter had already descended in these regions. The only spots in the Black Forest that looked black were the sections of pines and firs that had no snow on them. Aside from this, the forest was pure white. Snow fell heavily night and day, the wind howled at times, especially when they got into the Alps, and the skies were almost always gray and cloudy. It was fortunate for them they had fire breathing dragons, because the humans were freezing half the time. And yet Hiccup was satisfied with the weather.

"I almost pity any mercenary trying to follow us through this weather," he laughed one night. They had to brush snow off of them every few minutes and the dragons, who were both asleep after a hard flight, were almost buried under the snow.

Astrid was partly pleased, but also partly unsettled by what was going on. "Are you sure this is the honorable thing to do?"

Hiccup's smile vanished. "What do you mean? You volunteered to come with me, remember?"

"Yes, I volunteered to come to look after you and protect you, but are you sure you made the right decision?"

"It's a bit late to have second thoughts, isn't it?"

"I just feel uneasy about leaving Berk. How do we know Viggo won't make some move while we're here?"

"It's me he's after," Hiccup said, "He put the bounty on me, not on Berk,"

"What if we're doing exactly what he wants? I know Berk is strong, but if he did try something and I miss it because I'm out here and my mother gets hurt—well," she made an effort to be smile and her tone became forcibly lighter, "Well, no sense in worrying about what we can't help, right? So where exactly are we going? You've been pretty vague about it."

"We're going to the Isle of Night,"

Astrid's eyes widened. "I thought you said this was not about exploring!"

"And it isn't. My plan came to mind first and I picked the location when I was developing it. But hardly anybody knows where this island is, it's far from the Archipelago, the weather will probably be a bit warmer, and I figured, since I'll probably never get another chance, I might as well make the most of it."

"Never get another chance?"

"Yeah. I assume Dad will make me Chief officially once we get back. He was planning to do that right after the wedding celebrations, but Viggo escaped and then this came up. But I don't doubt he'll make me Chief the next time I'm on Berk." He looked uncomfortable about it. Astrid knew he still felt insecure about being Chief and did not like giving up his perceived freedom, and he knew she knew this. They both knew there was nothing new about this subject to talk about.

Suddenly Hiccup shifted his position. "Astrid, tell me truthfully: do you think we did the right thing? If you say no, we can turn around first thing tomorrow."

"I thought you were convinced this plan would work!"

"And I was, but when I hear my wife expressing doubts about it, I start to wonder if she's right and if maybe I should have gotten a second opinion first," he said seriously.

"I don't doubt the plan itself, Hiccup, I just wonder if we could have tried something else instead." She thought a minute. "But honestly, I think you were right to get away from Berk for the time being."

Hiccup smiled. "We'll go to the Isle of Night, spend a day or two exploring it—I don't expect to find much, and someday I'll probably send Fishlegs to take a closer look—and then we'll make for home as fast as possible. I imagine we'll be back on Berk within 3 or 4 weeks."

"And what if we do find something? What if we find Night Furies?"

Hiccup was trying not to get his hopes up. "If we do, then I'm going to try and persuade them to side with us. If they're anything like Toothless, a flock of Night Furies would be a very valuable asset."

"It certainly would shock and scare the hunters," Astrid agreed.

Hiccup smiled and shook snow from his hair. "So this little excursion is not just for thrills and exploring. We're also looking for potential allies. Obscure and unlikely allies, yes, but help can turn up anywhere,"

"And then we take care of Viggo. Got any plans?"

"Several. And if our friends do their parts, we'll have no trouble putting them into action. I hope." He shuddered, "Planning scares me a bit sometimes. There's always a fear of 'what if this goes wrong?' or 'what if it's just what the enemy wants me to do?' Maybe I'm just overestimating Viggo's abilities, but a man who's managed to succeed despite all the odds being against him isn't someone to be taken lightly."

Astrid smiled, "Hiccup, if you're worried about Viggo's abilities, I know something that he is absolutely terrified of."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"You,"

Once they crossed the Alps, in miserably wet weather that offered few opportunities to see spectacular landscapes, they made their way into eastern Italy. Almost as soon as they did, the snow levels gradually became lower and lower, and the air became noticeably warmer, by default, for it was still cool. They still ran into rain, but even that began to cease the further south they went.

From the south-easternmost end of Italy, it was a three day crossing over the Mediterranean. Hiccup had wanted to travel through Egypt, but thought the location was too well known and too predictable. So instead they went straight south and camped amidst a massive series of stone ruins in the middle of a desert. Here and there a few olive trees stood. They were completely alone amidst the wide and fairly flat landscape.

There was no snow anymore, not any hint that some would come soon. The air was much warmer. The sky near the horizon was golden yellow, while the upper part was a deep blue. A few bright stars were appearing, shining like little crystals of ice.

Hiccup gestured to the ruins they were sitting in. "This was once a Roman city named Thysdrus. The citizens revolted against one of their emperors. Loyal troops put it down, and the city never really recovered. And over in that direction is what's left of the city of Kairouan. You can see its remains more easily from the air."

"Is that Roman too?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup smiled bitterly and shook his head. "The Romans haven't controlled these parts for centuries. From what I've heard, it's the Arabs and the Berbers who fight for dominance here now. I've never actually been this far west in Africa. The revolt of Thysdrus is mentioned in some of the histories I've read. That's why I chose to come this way. I learned about the Arabs and Berbers, and Kairouan from Toothless eavesdropping on local caravans the last time we were in Africa. People talk a lot, you know."

"Yes I do know," Toothless grumbled humorously, "I live with one who doesn't shut up!"

"Poor Toothless," Stormfly chuckled.

Astrid pointed to the south. "What's that?"

Hiccup pulled out his spyglass and grinned. "Well I'll be. That's one of those Roman arenas. Here, take a look. They held their races and death matches in them." As soon as he handed Astrid the glass he pulled out his journal and began to sketch.

This was more impressive than the castle she had seen. The castle had just been stone walls, but this was stone walls with gaping holes intentionally knocked into them, and shaped to form a giant oval. It looked like long and curved rows of arches were piled on top of each other. Through the arches she could faintly make out rows of stones, which were clearly meant to be seats for spectators. For a person who had lived only in buildings made of wood, the fact that people centuries ago had built such a structure out of stone was incredible.

"Those Romans built well," Hiccup remarked when she told him this. "I've seen roads that they built nearly a thousand years ago, and they're still useable."

"It's such a shame that they're all gone," Astrid said, "that all that's left are ruins and abandoned buildings. Is that what's going to happen to Berk one day?"

"It's what happens to everything sooner or later. Nothing really lasts forever." Hiccup said soberly. "It makes me wonder what's so special about people like me and Viggo, that makes us create so much trouble for everyone, when in a few decades we'll both be dead and forgotten."

"If you cause trouble, it's because you're trying to do the right thing and people won't let you," Stormfly said.

"The right thing for whom?" Hiccup asked with a rueful smile. "Certainly I'm not doing the right thing for Viggo—although it could be if he'd just let it be so." He added roughly, "He could have settled down somewhere and lived a peaceful and prosperous life. He didn't have to put a bounty on me."

Astrid suddenly pointed. "I see people! At least a dozen of them are by the ruins of the arena!"

Toothless looked up sharply. "They might be bandits. Stormfly, watch the north and west, I'll take the south and east."

Hiccup took the spyglass from her, looked a bit, and then shook his head. "We're not sticking around to find out. Let's mount up and fly west—and stay low." He did not want to be seen by anyone if he could help it. Back in England, gossip and reports about the Witch Incident had helped Adoncia recover their trail. None of them wanted to have another incident that might help mercenaries or Viggo find them.

"Did you see their skin?" Astrid asked as they flew. "It was brown! I've never seen anything like it. Are they just all sunburned or something?"

"No, I believe their skin is naturally that way," Hiccup said, "Adoncia had darker skin than yours, remember?"

"I only saw Adoncia in the middle of a battle. I didn't have time to study it. And her skin wasn't as dark as theirs is. Why do you think they look that way?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Well, you know how certain colors reflect light and heat better than others? I'd say—and this is only a theory—that for people who live where the sun and heat are a lot more severe, having darker skin helps them stay cool."

Astrid was fascinated. "So if we stayed here for the rest of our lives, our skin would end up like theirs?"

"Possibly. Do you want to test the theory?"

She would have hit him except they were too far apart for that. "I'm quite happy living on Berk, thank you!"

"I wonder why humans don't have skin colors like us," Stormfly remarked, "I've never seen a blue human before,"

"Maybe they do exist somewhere," Toothless said, "why not? Fish are blue, birds are blue, dragons are blue, reptiles are blue; why can't humans be blue too? Or red, or green, or any other color out there?"

"That would be weird," Astrid snorted, "a green human!"

"Does the color really matter?" Hiccup asked, "They're still human."

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, you're a philosopher," Astrid said lightly.

Maybe he was. Being amidst timeless sands of the desert and walking around ancient ruins did make him feel philosophical. Yet no matter where they went, he never forgot the fact that somewhere out there a man wanted him dead. He had been a wanted man before, but this time it felt different, because every time in the past he had simply evaded the danger by moving to another place and never going back. This time, sooner or later, he was going to have to return to the place of danger.

Back on Berk, Stoick was uneasy about a lot of things. They had heard nothing from Hiccup, and while that had been expected, it did not make him feel any better. He could only hope that in this case no news was good news.

As if Hiccup and Astrid being gone was not enough, within two days after their departure Snotlout and Hookfang disappeared. Nobody had any idea where he had gone or why, and the search parties had all returned empty handed. Stoick could only hope that Hookfang had joined in a nesting migration and Snotlout had gone with him. It was the less worrisome explanation.

And then came something very disturbing, to put it mildly. One morning Stoick was making a trench through the fresh snow on his way to the Plaza and discovered a box that had not been there the night before. When he opened it the first thing he found was a piece of parchment. On it was a sketch of a Maces and Talons game, depicting one player being clearly one move away from winning. And then he looked down and saw a severed head inside the box. It was the head of the man who had tried to kill Hiccup in his room.

Stoick at once ordered patrols to increase their frequency and cover more area.

Viggo's fleet of ships had just reached Calais and was undergoing repairs and modifications when he decided on a slight change of plans. He made his decision when some new intelligence was brought to him.

"So the boy Snotlout Jorgenson was seen passing through the area just a few days ago. Interesting. No word of where Hiccup and his dragon have gone?"

Ryker shook his head. "For all we know they vanished into thin air!"

"But perhaps the Jorgenson boy knows." Viggo mused, "Even if he does not, he'd be more useful to us a captive than free. One ship will change course and go after him. Heather will go with them to help them track him. Oh don't worry, brother, she will have no choice but to go along with this and help us. If she does not, she will pay the full penalty, just like that nameless man whose head she dropped off at Berk. Make that clear to her. She either helps us and thrives, or hinders us and is crushed. That is good business sense."

Astrid stepped barefooted through the sea and made her way to the sandy beach. She had never once been in water that was warm enough to relax in, and as she felt it splash against her lower legs, felt the warm air wafting lightly on her arms and face, and felt the warm sand between her toes, she felt incredibly languid and tranquil.

"If I stayed here for long I'd forget all my training," she remarked wistfully. That was doubtful, because during their evenings she had often spent time sparing with Hiccup, so he could adjust to his new swords.

They had reached the island cluster called Canaris. The island she was wading her way towards was where they were camping on. It was not the true location of the Isle of Night, which they had overshot intentionally. Hiccup had wanted to have a look at the islands first before heading there. He had not wanted to startle anybody that might be living on the Isle of Night.

Astrid could not see the Isle of Night from where she was, for another island was blocking the view, but she would never have guessed a place called 'Isle of Night' was located in such a bright and sunny place. The glittering sea was robin's egg blue which seemed to merge with the sky. The few clouds were pure white. When she thought about what weather Berk was probably experiencing and how cold it was, she found it highly amusing. Who would have thought that during this time of year she would be wading through a balmy ocean towards a balmy island?

She got on Stormfly and they flew back to their camp. The island was not all sandy beaches. In fact, the majority of it was mountainous and forested. According to Toothless, it had been made by volcanoes, which accounted for the fertile soil and spectacular landscape, which contained many sharp ridges and ravines. There were trees all over the place. Palm trees were along the coastline, while the forests were made up of trees Astrid could not identify. Most of them were covered in moss and had no leaves on them, leaving them to look like legs of giant spiders forcing their way out of the earth. There were a lot of ferns too in the area. After being in the desert, it was strange to be in a place that was so green.

They had set up camp near a stream that ran down the slopes, making its way to the ocean. The water was drinkable and the stream was not so noisy that it kept them awake at night. Being in a forest near a source of water on a warm day increased the humidity. Any locals, who had been thus far unseen and undetected, would not have noticed it at all, but the Vikings found a considerable difference in temperature compared to what they were used to. And this was a bit of a problem, as the winter clothes they had been traveling in had increasingly become just extra baggage. So Astrid arrived at the campsite and saw Hiccup had taken his sweaty shirt off. It still sent a chill up her spine to see how many scars were on his back. And to think she had once believed getting scars was fun!

"See anybody?" he asked.

"Not a soul," she replied. "We must be the only living creatures within leagues of this place." She slid off of Stormfly and sat down next to her husband. "Watcha sketching now? More plants?"

"Actually, it's a picture of us," he showed her, somewhat hesitantly. "Or it will be, at any rate. I've only drawn most of you and some of the background so far.

Astrid was amazed by the quality of the drawing. "Did you draw this from memory?"

He looked embarrassed. "Not entirely…it's not done yet, anyway. I made your left arm too long and your lips are a bit too thick—and your nose, I mean, do you have any idea how hard and annoying noses are to draw? I've done so many portraits that were ruined because the stupid nose looked more like a claw than a—"

She kissed him on the cheek. "It's fine, Hiccup."

"People say that all the time, but I don't like to aim for anything less than perfection when I'm creating," he looked up at her and put a hand on her arm, "after all, when I chose who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I didn't aim for anyone but you." These words might have sounded silly and flowery, but he spoke with such earnestness that Astrid found them deeply touching.

Their eyes met.

"Stormfly, Toothless, why don't you two go patrol the island for a while?"

"But weren't you two were just doing that?" Toothless asked, looking confused.

Stormfly gestured with her head, "I think they want to be alone,"

The Night Furies eyes bulged and he was running into the tropical forest as fast as he could, with Stormfly flying right behind him.

Now that they were alone, Hiccup pulled his wife to him and kissed her fiercely as they wrapped their arms around each other.

Toothless had been walking laps around the island for a while. Stormfly was doing the same thing, only in the air.

"How long do you think we should keep doing this?" Stormfly called down at one point.

"I have no idea. We should probably wait until sunset, just to be safe." So he wandered around again and again. Since this was supposed to be near the Isle of Night, he tried to use his Beta mind powers to sense the presence of any other dragons. He knew that Betas only really sensed the presence of dragons that belonged to their own nest, but he was hoping to sense the presence of the Alpha. He knew one of the last known Alphas had been a Night Fury, and he had been told that the Alpha had mind powers over every dragon on earth. So, when they had drawn near to this place, he had wondered if he would be able to sense the Alpha. It was just a fancy based on hope more than facts, and it was proving to be nothing more.

He froze. Now that he was focusing, he did sense the presence of another dragon. It was some distance off but he could sense it, and he knew who it was.

"Hookfang?" he exclaimed. He at once sent out a summoning command, a command the Red Death had frequently used. Stormfly had felt it too and joined him.

"What is it? Did something happen?"

"You're not going to believe this…" he pointed to the sky and they waited. A few minutes later the Monstrous Nightmare soared into view.

"Toothless, Stormfly," he said casually.

"What in the name of the Alpha are you doing here?" Stormfly exclaimed. "Has something happened?"

"Not exactly—"

"Is Snotlout here too?" Toothless asked.

"Oh yeah, we're camping on the island over there. He wasn't on my back, so when you summoned me I left him behind. He's probably very confused and angry right now. Are your humans nearby?"

"Yeah…"

"Great! I'll go grab Snotlout and we'll join you!"

Toothless grabbed him. "Oh no you won't!"

Astrid lay on her back and played with a fern. "I wonder how many children we're going to have," she said airily.

"A dozen?" Hiccup asked with equal lightness.

Astrid raised her eyebrows.

"I was kidding. But 3 or 4 doesn't sound too unmanageable,"

"Sons or daughters?"

"I don't really mind," he said, "but I'd prefer at least one of each,"

"Good. A lot of Vikings want only sons, but I'd rather have a daughter,"

Hiccup smiled at the thought and kissed her again.

"We're going to get dirty rolling around on the ground like this,"

"Then we'll go swimming later," Hiccup replied.

"Well it doesn't feel very romantic when my back is covered in dirt and there are little rocks digging into it!" Astrid laughed. "What should we name our kids?"

Hiccup snorted. "Just not 'Hiccup'! If I have my way, nobody is ever going to have that name again! And I am not having any child of mine grow up thinking they're a 'mistake'!"

"Well, if I had a son, I'd name him 'Olaf'," Astrid said seriously, "Or Finn,"

"Olaf Haddock. Finn Haddock." Hiccup smiled, "I like it,"

"And if you had a daughter, what would you name her? 'Valka'?"

He shook his head. "No. Mom might be disappointed, but…I've always thought 'Solveig' would be a lovely name. Of course, we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves, aren't we? I mean, you're not even pregnant!"

"Give it time," Astrid said happily, "Sooner or later it'll happen,"

Hiccup repositioned himself so that he was looking directly into her eyes. He looked very serious. "Just promise me something. Don't let me be like my own father was. If ever you feel that I'm not spending enough time with our kids or not supporting them enough, shout at me and hit me and do whatever it takes to get me to be a real father to them."

"I will," She said before she kissed him again. "Don't worry, Hiccup. Our children will think you're the best father in the world. Just like I think you're the best husband in the world."

"You do?"

"Do you think I'd ever aim for anything less than perfection? I am Astrid Hofferson, remember."

Toothless carefully made his way towards their campsite. He could hear laughing and the rustling of leaves, but could not see anything.

"Um, Hiccup?" he called. The sound of movement stopped but he had to call a second time to get a response.

"What?" For once, Hiccup did not sound pleased to communicate with his dragon. He did not even use Dragonese.

"We've got company,"

He heard movement again, but it sounded different. "Hunters?" he heard Astrid cry. "Where's my axe? Hiccup, get off my shirt—"

"No, it's not hunters, it's…well, it's Hookfang and Snotlout,"

"What?" Hiccup exclaimed. Toothless could see him approaching now. His clothes and hair were much disheveled, but he was as alert as ever. "What are they doing here? Where are they?"

They looked up and saw Hookfang coming towards them, this time with a very confused and angry Snotlout on his back.

"Hookfang, you're supposed to be obeying me, and I say take us back!" they could hear him yelling, "Do you hear me? Back! Not this way! Not this—hey, it's Toothless and Hiccup! Hi guys! See, Hookfang, I told you we should have looked over here first!"

"Sure you did," the Nightmare muttered as he went in for a landing.

Snotlout hopped off his dragon with all the spring of a horse race champion. "Hiya cousin! And where's Astrid? Ah, there she is! Nice to finally catch up to you! You have no idea how—"

"What are you doing here, Snotlout?" Astrid demanded. Hiccup flinched at her harsh tone, which matched his own mood, but Snotlout seemed oblivious to her anger.

"I thought since you guys were going off on a little trip I'd come along!" he said happily.

"How'd you find us?" Hiccup asked sharply. The whole point of this was for their enemies to lose track of them. If someone like Snotlout managed to find them, who else might manage it?

Snotlout smiled at the question. "Relax, cousin. I know you really wanted to visit the Isle of Night, so when you disappeared, I figured you'd be heading here. I knew where to go because I saw the map when we were using the Dragon Eye."

"We left a few days after you, but he got us lost a few times," Hookfang said, to explain why Snotlout had only just arrived even though he had taken a more direct route.

Hiccup stepped forward and grabbed Snotlout by the arm. "What were you thinking? Is this some little holiday to you? What if someone followed you? You may have just given away our location!"

"Oh come on, Hiccup, there's nothing to worry about! I didn't tell anybody I was coming here and I didn't see anybody following me!"

"Did you actually look?" Astrid retorted.

"Of course I looked! I'm not stupid, you know!"

"I'm considering debating that," Hiccup muttered in Dragonese.

"What shall we do with him?" Astrid asked.

"Well we can't let him leave or he might give away where we are!" Hiccup growled, "Now that he's here, I guess we'll have to let him stay with us,"

"Hey, would you guys talk in Norse? You know I can't understand Dragonese!" Snotlout snapped.

Hiccup gestured behind his shoulder. "The campsite's back that way. Bring your stuff."

"I am so glad he didn't find us a little while ago," Astrid scowled, "And Hiccup, we are not doing that again as long as he's around."

Hiccup quite agreed with her.

Nobody was very happy that evening. Hiccup and Astrid were both very displeased and annoyed by what Snotlout had done and made small effort to disguise it, and what displeased them also displeased their dragons, which made Hookfang eager to be anywhere else. Snotlout in turn quickly grew annoyed at the resentful feelings towards him. There was little talking that night, and everyone was short and sharp when they said something.