Chapter Five

"What do we do, Hiccup?" Astrid asked, nervously pacing back and forth in their cell with her arms folded. Latched to her ankle was a ball and chain, being dragged behind her.

"I…I don't know." Hiccup replied quietly, sitting on a bench and staring at the floor. His good leg also had a ball and chain locked on. "He really wants us to join him. At least to team up against Viggo." He pointed out, finally looking up at her. "He wouldn't have given us so many chances to decline unless he really wanted us to be allies."

"But that means we're giving up how many dragons?" She cried in angst. "I know they said they wouldn't hunt any, but think of how many dragons Viggo and Ryker have!"

"I know, Astrid, I know." Hiccup groaned, leaning back against the wall "I'm not blind to what we'd give up, but look at us right now. We may no longer be tied up on chairs; we're now locked in a cell with these." At that, he lifted up his shackled leg. "Not much better. Aside from that, even if Fishlegs and the others find us, what chance do they have finding us on this massive ship? Let alone fight against Talen and his men?"

Sighing, Astrid took a seat next to him, leaning forward on her knees. "I'm sorry, Hiccup. I should have never pushed you to attack the ship."

"Hey, why are you blaming yourself for this?" Hiccup asked, trying to comfort her. "I also agreed to attack them. I wanted to find out if there was anything about the Dragon Eye! I was caught first! I was the one that sprung their trap!"

"Ugh, you wanted to wait. I didn't." She growled, shaking her head in frustration. "I just wanted to get some action."

"And? That doesn't excuse me from agreeing to go with you. I've said no to you before." He countered, smiling at her. "Stop blaming yourself. It's our fault. We both messed up."

"Hiccup, this isn't helping us escape or making me feel better." She huffed while rolling her eyes. "I don't know what to do. Or think." Looking at him, she asked the question she had on her mind since being taken by the Marauders. "Do you think Talen's trustworthy? I feel like he's telling us what we want to hear."

"I thought of that too." Hiccup replied. "But honestly, what choice do we have? We're in no position to either negotiate, or escape. Even if we could get out, get armed, and find our dragons without getting lost on this ship; Toothless' tail is still destroyed. That Hunter made sure I couldn't leave if I wanted to."

"What if you took Stormfly?" Astrid began to suggest. "You could leave me and Toothless to go get-"

"No. That's not going to happen." Hiccup interrupted while instantly glaring at her. "Astrid, we know nothing about these Marauders. There's a reason why they're called that. Who knows what they'd do to you and Toothless if I escaped. Besides, I'm not going to leave you for the sake of just escaping. Even if I could get out of here and find the others, there's nothing I can do to get you back. This ship is a floating fortress. I'd need to get dad to help me with the Berk fleet. Even then, that's a risk. Talen and his men are obviously not scared of fleets or armies. They're attacking Viggo who has both!"

Astrid just looked down at the deck, her eyes furrowing in frustration. As much as she wanted to disagree with him, he was right. For now, it seemed that there were only two options; agreeing with Talen and giving up all of Viggo's dragons, or remaining as prisoners to him and the Marauders.

"I just wish we could do something to change his mind about taking the dragons." Hiccup groaned, leaning back against their cell wall. "Seems he's pretty adamant about not giving up any more than what he's already offered. I wonder why he wants us to be allies so bad? It's like he wants us as friends more than the dragons."

Astrid's head perked up, signaling that she was getting an idea.

"What now?" Hiccup asked, seeing her eyes light up at her thought.

"Hiccup, I think he will be willing to give up more. As far as dragons go." She quickly explained, turning to him with a slight grin. "I know you're not going to like my idea, but promise to hear me out before you say no, okay? It's kind of similar along with my suggestion of me staying here with Toothless, and you escaping."

Hiccup stared at her with concern, already not liking what he was hearing. "Fine, I'll hear you out."

"Let's agree to be partners with Talen, if he promises us to split half of all the found dragons with us." She began to explain. "We can release the ones that are given to us, and he'll be happy to have the few that he gets."

"Sounds great, but why would he agree to that?" Hiccup asked with a raised eyebrow. "He doesn't need to agree to that."

"He will if you promise to be an ally and help him defeat Viggo." She continued to explain "And Stormfly and I will remain here as prisoners until they get Viggo! I'll basically be collateral in case you don't live up to all agreements."

"No. I said that's not goin-"

"Let me finish! That way we still save a lot of dragons, you'll be free, and I'll still be able to help you. At least visit with you. He let us be with our dragons for no reason whatsoever; it'll be the same as right now. I won't be mistreated, hopefully; and after the end of this, I'll be freed and able to go home with you guys."

Hiccup stared at her angrily, still not liking it.

"Ok then, Hiccup, let's give up all of Viggo's dragons to him." She growled, narrowing her eyes as she saw his hesitancy. "Because we both know that's what we're going to agree to tomorrow. We don't have a Terrible Terrors chance in a Changewing nest if we stay here as their prisoners. If anything, we'll be used as bait for Viggo. It's either that, we give up all of the captive dragons, or we save at least half of them."

Hiccup thought long and hard about the suggestion. Resting his elbows on his knees, he slowly began to nod, as if coming up with his own conclusion.

"Listen, he really wants to be our allies. If we sell him this idea, we both know he'll treat me with respect and won't starve me. Unlike the Hunters." She pushed farther. "With how he's treated us recently, I wouldn't be surprised if he let me go help sometime during a fight."

"I just don't want to be pulled too far into his agenda." Hiccup replied quietly, not looking at her. "Men like Talen and Viggo are crafty. And usually have second motives. The more we give him, the more power he has over us later. And I'm thinking after the fight with Viggo."

Astrid looked down, knowing Hiccup was talking the truth. Sighing, she then suggested. "Maybe ask him. If he's as honest as he says he is with us, he'll not hesitate telling us. If he hesitates, well, I guess that's an answer."

Sighing, Hiccup slowly nodded. Looking up at her with worry, he asked. "Are you sure about this? Do you really want to do this? I don't care about a few extra dragons if I can't get you back. You're…special to me."

Astrid blushed at the small confession. Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she quickly looked away from him. "Oh, well, you're special too. I mean you're special to me to!" She stuttered, blushing even more so at needing to correct her meaning. Sighing, she the replied resolutely. "I'm positive Hiccup. I want you out of here. Because I care about you too."

Nodding, Hiccup then announced their plan, with a blushing face. "Then we'll try it. If he doesn't agree to it, we'll let him take all the dragons. We'll fight Viggo with these Marauders."

"Sounds like a solid plan." She whispered with a comforting smile. Shaking the chain shackled to her ankle, she then joked. "It'll be good to get out of this. I'm starting to get sick of being tied up and chained."

"Not gagged?" Hiccup replied with thick sarcasm, a smile growing on his face.

Laughing, Astrid slugged him in the shoulder, causing him to flinch in pain.

At that, the two sat on the lone bench of their cell, waiting for the morning to come.

"I can't believe it…she's prettier than the goddess Freyja." A voice called out, interrupting both Hiccup's and Astrid's sleep.

The bench they slept on didn't help with the task of waking up. Groaning, the two slowly opened their eyes to see two blurred Marauders standing in front of their cell. The sun was shining through the half window opposite of them, telling them that it was indeed morning.

As their eyes began to adjust to the light, they could see one was dressed as one of the regular soldiers, basic armor and had a mace and shield. The other looked like he held more of a rank. Having incredibly shiny iron armor, it was pretty obvious that he had it polished and rarely used it to battle in. It was trimmed with gold, and he carried a simple looking sword at his waist. Again, the two looked similar as far age went. The plain armored one was probably a little older, being taller and having more of a beard growing.

"Heh, can't believe we got that lucky to get her as a prisoner." One of them replied, a smile growing on his face. Turning to the other, he asked. "Is your father really letting you take her?"

Astrid's blood started pumping, as was Hiccup's. This was very different from how they were treated last night. And they didn't like where the conversation was heading.

"Do I need his permission?" The higher ranking one scoffed, rolling his eyes at the subject. "I plan on taking her right now. I've been bored with this trip, and this will definitely make the suffering worth it. Besides, after what some of their friends did to us last night, he'll probably be more than fine with me having my way with her. Get the keys, Elof."

"You stay away from her!" Hiccup shouted, standing up and getting in front of Astrid.

Astrid also stood up, glaring at their visitors. With what they were talking about, she didn't need a weapon to kill them.

"Oooh. I can tell she's going to be a feisty one, Mikael. Look at that glare!" Elof taunted, walking over and grabbing the keys hanging on a peg. "Might need some extra irons to keep her from misbehaving, though she has some pretty eyes."

"She does, doesn't she?" Mikael jested, smiling at the fire in Astrid's eyes. Walking up to the cell's bars, he asked. "What's your name, my pretty little Valkyrie?"

Astrid just narrowed her eyes. Cracking her knuckles, she simply waited for the door to open.

"Stop! Don't you know we're negotiating with Talen about joining forces?!" Hiccup quickly shouted, hoping to deter their two visitors and their intentions.

"And?" The one apparently named Mikael replied in an uncaring tone. "As far as I'm concerned, you're the one dealing with my father. Not her." Grinning evilly at her, he then said. "She's just one of our captives. To be treated as we see fit. Or as we'd like."

"Try." Astrid growled, her body tensing up and getting ready to throw down. Even with the iron ball chained to her ankle, she knew it wouldn't be enough to stop her from actually fighting Mikael.

"Elof, deal with the boy. I'll grab her myself." Mikael instructed, seeing Elof fumble with the keys.

"Yeah, sure thing." He grunted, finally finding the right key.

Hiccup and Astrid got ready to defend themselves as Elof slipped the key in the lock, only to see him scream in pain. "GAAAHHHH!"

With wide eyes, Hiccup and Astrid stared in shock as a spear seemed to grow out of his leg.

Collapsing on the floor, Elof continued to cry out in agony as the spear had been run through his calf and out of his shin.

Mikael whirled around while drawing his sword. "You!" He spat, seeing who it was. "What are you doing here? Go tend to the forge you mutt, and let a real Wrathen do what he wants!"

Hiccup and Astrid let out a breath of relief as they saw Teeth standing in the doorway to their room with two other marauders standing behind her. She was wearing her bone plate armor again, except without the helmet, it being strapped to her side. Ignoring her brother, she simply walked to the crying Elof and pulled out her spear.

"AGGIGGHG!" Elof screeched, flinching uncontrollably and unable to move at all. "Why?! Why would you do that?!"

"For betraying Talen Wrathen's orders." She yelled, spitting on the fallen marauder. In one smooth motion, she swung her spear at Mikael, striking his hand with the shaft and making him drop the sword. "You too, traitor."

"I wasn't doing anything with the boy! I just wanted her! Besides, they attacked us last night! I'm going to make them pay!" Mikael shouted angrily after being disarmed so easily and having his adopted sister stop him from getting what he wanted. Shaking his struck hand in pain, he continued to shout angrily at her. "Dad would be more than alright with it!"

Hiccup and Astrid glanced at each other in confusion. Who attacked them last night?

"You will call him Chief! Not dad or father!" Teeth roared at him, making him back away slightly. "I swear to the gods; he's told you to call him by his title unless in a private conversation! And besides that, Astrid is part of the group Chief Talen is trying to negotiate with. What you did was treason to him!"

"I don't take accusations or orders from you! You're not the chief yet, nor will you ever be!"

Not saying anything, Teeth walked up to her brother and drew her right hand back. Astrid smiled as she watched the Marauder's bone clad gauntlet slam into Mikael's face, splitting his lip and laying him out on the deck. "Think again, you wee babe." She snarled. "Even the lowliest soldier outranks you. You're a criminal. At least until Chief pardons you; if he pardons you after this. Your mum can't save you now!" Turning, she ordered the two men with her. "Throw them in the cell. They'll take residence in place of Hiccup and Astrid. Stay here and guard them in case anyone gets the bright idea to try and let them out." Turning to where Elof lay crying while gripping his leg, she added. "And get a healer to come help this whelp. If he dies, it'll be when Chief orders it."

Hiccup and Astrid watched as the two men went to secure Mikael and Elof, with Teeth walking to the door. Turning the key that was left in the door, she opened it up and walked in. Using the keys in hand, she knelt down and unshackled the iron balls from their ankles. "Come on, my father wants to show you something that happened to last night." She grunted, standing up and walking out of the cell.

Hiccup and Astrid quickly followed her out of the cell, seeing the two men drag the cell's new inhabitants. Walking out onto the deck, they continued to follow her.

"I'm sorry about that." Teeth apologized, turning to Astrid with a sincere expression. "Mikael doesn't represent us. He's only here because his mom wanted him to come on dad's last campaign to learn how to lead. She still thinks he's going to be made chief."

"No worries." Astrid replied with a grin. "I was actually hoping they'd make it inside our cell. I've been itching to burn some energy for a few days."

"I'm sure you would have handled Elof just fine." She replied, turning back to face what was ahead of her. "Mikael, though a pampered babe, can be tough. He's quite adept with a sword. The only reason why he didn't swing at me was because he knows my armor. He's tried to run me through before, and failed obviously."

"Then why does your dad let him stay with your clan?" Hiccup asked with a worried look. "I mean, if he's tried to kill you before."

"Because my dad loves his wife. Er, my mom I guess." Teeth growled, shaking her head. "If you couldn't tell, I'm not too fond of her. She's nice, but she never really cared for me. Not like Talen at least. If dad killed or banished him, her heart would break and he'd feel guilty. It's his only weakness. However, when I take charge, I won't have a 'weakness' like that. I'm not going to have any problem ending that pompous, arrogant, pig."

"Well, thanks." Hiccup called out, looking at Astrid with relief that Teeth and Talen were still trying to be friendly.

Walking towards the bow of the ship, Astrid and Hiccup kept on looking around to take in the size of the ship. In the daylight, it seemed to have doubled in size. The most impressive thing though, was how efficient the crew ran their posts and responsibilities. It was almost mesmerizing to watch them.

"So, Teeth…" Hiccup began to ask, making her turn to look at him. "What did Mikael mean when he said we attacked you last night? Did our dragons do something?"

Teeth frowned as she gestured to the other side of the White Wake. There were burn and scorch marks everywhere, with one mast badly damaged. "I think it'll be better to show you."

Again, Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other, unsure of what to think of what she meant. With some apprehensiveness, they continued to follow her.

"Right there." She pointed ahead. "I think that you'll see exactly what Chief wants to show you, as well as what Mikael meant about being attacked by you."

Hiccup and Astrid gasped, seeing what Teeth was pointing at. There, with their hands tied behind their back and on their knees in front of Talen, was Heather and Fishlegs. Behind them, tangled in nets, were both Windshear and Meatlug, looking around nervously at the Marauders surrounding them with spears, swords, and other assorted weapons.

"Hiccup? Astrid?!" Heather shouted, staring in a panicked disbelief. "They got you too?!"

"Heather? Whe- How-" Hiccup began to cry out.

Talen ignored the conversation. Turning to the guards standing next to Heather and Fishlegs, he just nodded.

Acknowledging the silent order, the guards then knelt down and sliced the ropes off.

Heather quickly stood up and rubbed her wrists, glaring at the man who untied her. Turning back to Hiccup and Astrid, who were now next to them, she yelled with almost an accusing tone. "What's going on? This maniac was telling us that you were negotiating an alliance with him and his dragon hunters?!"

"Well, yeah." Hiccup replied, rubbing the back of his head. "It's a long story actually."

"They attacked us last night." Talen began to say, interrupting the awkward conversation. With a frown, he turned to the ruined mast and a burned deck nearby "Did a number on us before we could finally take them down. It'll slow us in our advance on Viggo's position."

"Hiccup, what's going on?" Fishlegs asked with a mix of frustration and anxiety, staring at his friend in worry.

Sighing, Hiccup then began to recount the tale of their adventure. "Astrid and I were captured by the ship we told you we were planning on attacking. Don't need to go into details, but in short, we were on our way to Viggo. After a couple of days, the Hunters that had us were attacked by these guys." Hiccup then gestured to all of the ship. "That was yesterday. Obviously, they took us prisoner and questioned us."

"We learned that we have a common enemy." Teeth spoke up, taking over the story. "Viggo Grimborn. He's been harassing you and your dragons, and they broke a treaty with us."

"That's why I've been saying we were working on an agreement to work with each other." Talen added, looking down at Heather and Fishlegs. "I've been honest with you as I tried to tell you."

"Hiccup, are you insane?" Heather shouted with bulging eyes. "They'll just betray us! Every dragon hunter is the same!"

Teeth's eyes narrowed at Heather's accusation. "You're not helping your case. Rider." She growled, gripping her spear.

"Teeth, stand down." Talen ordered, seeing the situation tense up. Turning to Heather, he then said "You're wrong with that, and you can't say that I haven't been nothing but hospitable to you and your friend; especially when we captured you two last night. Had I not known you were Dragon Riders, I would have tied a rock to one of you and tossed you overboard for the simple act of attacking us. Lucky for you, I still want to be allies with Hiccup and you all."

Heather just stared at Talen, unsure of how to respond.

"Chief Talen, can I talk with them before we discuss a deal?" Hiccup asked, looking up at the silvered Marauder.

"Of course. I need to talk to Teeth about something as well." He replied, nodding in agreement. Watching the four dragon riders walk a short distance away, he then turned to Teeth and growled with disappointment in his voice. "You're letting your feelings dictate your thoughts. You can't afford to do that. Especially as a leader. That little outburst could have ruined any trust they had in us."

"More than what Mikael was going to do to Hiccup and Astrid?" She barked, glaring at her dad to challenge him on his observation.

Talen's eyes twitched in anger, hearing that Mikael did something that possibly jeopardized everything. "What. Did. He. Do?" He growled, visibly shaking with each word said.

"Guess." She scoffed, unbuckling her helmet from where it was hanging. Slipping it over her head and letting the black chainmail veil cover her face, she then growled with her muffled, disguised voice. "We had a blonde, beautiful, young warrior as a prisoner. Shackled and locked in a cell. What do you think he was trying to do?"

"He didn't. Tell me for the love of the gods he didn't touch her!" Talen gasped, now gripping one of his sword's hilts.

Teeth watched the grip increase, thinking she'd have to repair the pummel if he gripped it any tighter. Shaking her head, she quickly put his worries to rest. "I stopped him before he had his fool of a friend, Elof, open the cell. Elof's going to lose his leg because of what I did to him, if you decide to spare him. Both he and Mikael have been locked up in Hiccup's and Astrid's cell. I left two men to guard them until you decide what to do with them."

Talen just looked up into the heavens, gazing at the overcast sky. "Praise Odin…" He whispered, closing his eyes and grateful for the news. Looking back at Teeth, he asked. "Did you tell them that Mikael isn't part of us?"

"I did, and they didn't seem to hold a grudge." She answered, looking over at Hiccup and Astrid, talking to a very angry looking Heather and Fishlegs. "But had I not shown up when I did, I don't know what would have happened."

"I know I was lecturing you about controlling your temper, but you may need to tell me the same when I talk to Mikael." He groaned, shaking his head. "You are the obvious choice to preserve the Marauders, Teeth. You're just inexperienced, which will change with time."

"Thank you." She replied, smiling behind her chainmail veil. Though he praised her to others, such as elders and other leaders within the clan, he was incredibly tough on her, and didn't verbally praise her while she was present. At least, without a catch. It was a real treasure when he sincerely praised her.

Turning to watch Hiccup continue to talk to the new dragon riders, he then asked. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"If I had to guess, the reasons why they're letting us keep Viggo's dragons." Teeth answered, resting the spear on her shoulder while watching the Riders continue to converse. The new girl, Heather looked angry; and was yelling something at Astrid. "I couldn't' help but get the vibe that they wanted to agree. They just needed some time to digest the fact that they're giving up dragons."

"I too got that feeling." Talen admitted, nodding in agreement. "It's compromising their core principle and motive. It's not an easy choice."

"Have you ever had to do something like that?" Teeth asked, looking up at her dad with the emotionless helmet.

"I did. It was hard, but I had to." He replied with a small grin. "I had to give up my place as chief for a year. Right when we were making a name for the Marauders. And before I picked you up."

"I never heard of this!" Teeth exclaimed, shocked at the information.

"I was injured after stopping a small uprising on one of our islands, and was near death itself." He explained, turning to look at her. "A leader should always be there for his followers. No excuses. But, in order for the Marauders to progress, they needed to leave me back at home while they went on another excursion to quell another rebellion on one of the islands that was spurred on by the one that injured me." Looking at Astrid, who was busy arguing with Heather and gesturing to herself, he continued to explain his tale. "Gunjar was the one that took charge, and actually locked me away so that I wouldn't follow him. It was a tough lesson, but it taught me that some things are bigger than oneself, and need to happen or be pursued." Gesturing to Hiccup's group, he then connected the two situations together. "Hiccup doesn't want to give up the core principle of his character; the same as me when I tried to continue to lead the Marauders. But he recognizes that some things are bigger than him, and is willing to make that sacrifice needed to progress in the future."

"Them being prisoners helped too, I'm sure." Teeth replied with a teasing in her voice.

"Of course, though we never really treated them as such. Except last night. Even then, that was a security reason." Talen answered, smiling as Hiccup turned towards him. "I never wanted them to feel that way."

"I guess we'll see what they thought of that." Teeth huffed, watching the riders start to walk towards them.

"We're ready to talk." Hiccup announced, stepping up to Talen.

"As am I." Talen replied with a small smile. "Are you wanting to join forces and stop Viggo and Ryker Grimborn?"

"We are. But we have a proposal that we'd like you to consider." Hiccup answered, watching for a reaction.

Teeth raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant by proposal. Given, that was the only expression anyone could see with the veiled helmet.

"We would like half of the dragons found in Viggo's possession." He explained. Raising his hand to stop Talen and Teeth from saying anything or arguing the demand, he added. "In return, you have me and all the Dragon Riders' allegiance and willingness. We'll leave Astrid, being one of our most crucial and important riders, as your prisoner. Being collateral if we sway or deviate from the agreement. After the war is over, she'll return home with us."

Teeth wanted to reject the offer, but was surprised to hear her dad say. "Hiccup, before I accept, I'd like to talk to you alone."

Hiccup swallowed, unsure of what the conversation would entail. Nodding, he followed Talen away from the others and towards the bow of the ship. Standing next to Talen on the iron dragon head, he waited for Talen to start the conversation.

"Is Astrid, as a person, worth half the dragons Viggo has?" He asked, watching the bow break through a wave. "Answer me truthfully."

Sighing, Hiccup shook his head. "No. If you could measure her value, she's worth more than all the dragons that Viggo has and all that you could hunt to fill his ship."

Talen looked down at him in surprise.

"She's worth more than any dragon we could save." He continued to say. "I personally would rather put myself in her place, just so that she could be free. But I can't lead the Riders from here." Looking down, he let out another sigh, unable to make himself feel good about the decision.

"Do you care about her? Do you have feelings to her?" Talen asked, raising an eyebrow as well.

Hiccup quickly glanced up at Talen, shocked at the question. Trying to stop himself from blushing, he then said "Uh…Of-of course! She's been my friend through most everything."

Talen smiled, getting his answer. Squaring up to Hiccup, he then began to pledge. "Hiccup Haddock, I, Talen Wrathen, accept the terms of this alliance. You have my word as Patriarch and Chief of the South Sea Marauders, that we will uphold our end of the deal, so long as yours is also treated with the same level of respect and priority."

Shocked, Hiccup quickly asked. "One more question. Why do you want to fight the Grimborns? I know leaders like you usually have a second motive. What are you wanting out of stopping Viggo and Ryker?"

Smiling, Talen shook his head in some dismay. "You really are something, Hiccup Haddock. I guess if it eases your mind, I'll tell you. It's their area we want; the area where they were supposed to stay at. We sectioned off this part of the sea to keep the peace between our sides. He gets the far north, and we get the far south; leaving this area for smaller hunters. But with him coming down and controlling these waters, we're going up to take away that which they refuse to be content with." Patting Hiccup on shoulder, he continued to say. "As far as this area goes, I guess I'm willing to let you continue to control it. We'll take the far North Sea and the Southern Seas, leaving you with this section of the world. And forbidding any other hunter and crew from coming here."

"Honest?" Hiccup asked. "On your word? On your title as chief? And on your daughter's life?"

Surprised at the depth of commitment Hiccup was demanding, Talen nodded with an approving smile. "On Teeth's life, I will never come to war with you or your father's tribe."

Hiccup nodded, satisfied with result. "Well, Chief Talen, you got yourself some Dragon Rider allies. You have my word too. On Toothless' life."

Talen let a broad smile grow on his face, excited with the end result. They finally made an ally. Turning to Teeth, who was still stand-offish with the other Dragon Riders, he ordered. "Release their dragons. Even Astrid's. We have their word and I don't worry that she'll leave us until after our agreement has been fulfilled."

"You heard him!" Teeth roared, startling Heather and Fishlegs with her authoritative tone. "Take those nets off the Gronckle and Razorwhip! Take Hiccup and Astrid to the cages to get their dragons! If I see one sword drawn on the dragons or Riders, I'll personally throw you overboard after I run you through with a sparring sword!"

"Yes, Teeth!" The men shouted, running to complete the tasks.

"Teeth, I'm having Astrid stay with you, as well as all the other riders if they remain with us. You'll be her guard. " Talen continued to say, walking up to her. "Given what Mikael was trying to do, I feel better if she's with someone that would have no problem controlling him."

"But-" Teeth tried to protest.

"No buts. That's an order. You're watching and protecting her until Viggo has been dealt with." Talen ordered, not letting Teeth finish her argument.

"Yes, my chief." She growled, slightly shaking her head.

Heather glanced angrily at Astrid. "What happened? Who's Mikael?"

"Some punk kid that's Teeth's brother and Talen's son." Astrid huffed, shaking her head in anger. "Trust me, nothing was about to happen. I wasn't going to let it."

Before Heather could press the subject anymore, Talen then asked aloud. "So, why don't you tell me more about these two new riders? I know their names, but that's it."

"Right, so Fishlegs has been with us as long as we started riding dragons." Hiccup began to introduce "And he's very knowledgeable about dragons. I've grown to depend on him a lot actually."

Fishlegs just swallowed as the chieftain looked down at him. In a stutter, he extended his hand and said "It-it's a pleasure to actually meet you."

Talen smiled as he shook the nervous kid's hand.

"And this is Heather. She's been with us only recently, but is one of our top Riders."

Heather reluctantly extended her hand to him, still wary of him and the deal they had all agreed to.

Taking her hand and shaking it as well, he then gestured to something behind her. Looking to where he was motioning too, she was surprised to see Windshear's face right in hers.

"Ah! Windshear!" She cried, instantly pulling her into a hug.

Teeth, who had been otherwise watching the reunion and introductions, walked up to her dad. "Chief, I'm glad we've made some friends, but where are we sailing too?"

"Well, Hiccup? Where do you know of Viggo's whereabouts?" He asked.

"First we need to go to Dragon's Edge. Our home. I need to repair Toothless' tail, and get myself a new leg." He replied while looking down at his new stump.

"Wait, what happened?" Heather asked, now realizing his usual leg was missing.

"The Hunters that originally captured us threw it into the ocean." Astrid growled, shaking her head at the memory. "And they broke Toothless' tail so he couldn't fly away if we escaped."

"To Dragon's Edge it is then." Talen announced. "If you will, Hiccup, I'd like to introduce you to Gunjar; the White Wake's captain and cousin of mine. You can help him plot a course to your island."

"Sure. Be glad to." He replied with a shrug. "Fishlegs, why don't you help me draft a small map. Can you help us too, Heather?"

"Why? I'm not good at drawing maps like you or Fishlegs."

"You lived with the Dragon Hunters a while ago. You'll know where some of their key islands and operations are." He explained with a smile. "I think it'd help us decide where to strike first."

"Indeed. The more you tell us, the better chance we'll have to end this with a single battle." Talen cut in, nodding with approval. "Teeth, why don't you manage the forge today? When we're ready to strategize, I'll call for you."

Slightly bowing in acknowledgement, she then turned to leave the group.

"Hey, Teeth!"

Whirling around, she was surprised to hear that it was Hiccup that called out to her.

"After I'm done with your dad, maybe I can help you reinforce your armor? You know, with what we talked about last night."

"Oh! Uh…su-sure." She replied, being a little stunned at the offer. Honestly, she had forgotten about it completely.

"And I'll need to get a new axe." Astrid called out. "Think I can swing a few that you have?"

"I'll have to see what we have in our armory, but sure. I guess I can craft one if we need too." At that, she turned and left the group behind. For some reason, she felt hot, even embarrassed. Why? Shaking her head, she pulled off her helmet to let the cool air rush over her. It sort of helped.

As she walked into the forge, she set her helmet down on a single dresser. Next to it was a hammock. The forge after all was her bed room. Looking at a small mirror set on the dresser, she gasped as she saw herself. Her face was bright red!

"Ugh! What's wrong with me!" She growled as she walked over to bucket of water and splashed her face. Feeling instantly chilled, she then grabbed a mangled looking sword and thrust it into the furnace; all while simultaneously stoking the forge by pulling a rope attached to the bellows. As she watched the sword start to glow in the heat, she couldn't but let her mind wander into thoughts of their new allies. They…actually wanted to help her. Not just her dad, or the Marauders in general; but they wanted to help her too! At least Hiccup did. Even as the daughter of Talen Wrathen, no one before offered to help her with anything; well, except Grange. Everyone was expected to take care of their own problems and responsibilities.

Stewing in her thoughts, she stared at the bright orange glowing sword; thinking of how meeting these Dragon Riders will change the future.

Hey there! Just in case there is some confusion, I purposely made Teeth to be a girl. I know I should have said this last chapter, but here it is now! I tried to make it kind of a surprise by not really having anything reference that she was a girl. Can't tell if people liked that or not, but I enjoyed writing it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!