Chapter Thirty-Five: I don't search for trouble, trouble finds me! -Part 2-
"Try to get us out of this situation 'oh great master of escape'!" Hiccup hissed silently at Josh as they knelt in a giant marble throne room with a marble floor, walls and ceiling and columns and a marble podium with a marble throne on it.
It was so cold Hiccup could see his breath coming out in clouds. His throat hurt from breathing the cold air.
The guard that stood behind him hit him hard on the back of his head.
"Shut up boy." Hiccup rolled with his eyes.
"I'm working on it. Give me time to think." Josh said.
"And you too!" the guard said and hit Josh too.
"Don't hurt yourself."
"Ha ha."
"That's it, someone give me a gag!" the guard hissed.
Fortunately that was the moment where the queen decided to make her entrance. And gods above, was everybody who was royal pretty? Was that some kind of golden rule?
The queen of Baratellum was older, yes, but she still was quite beautiful. Her raven black hair was straight and the grey streaks had something royal and wise. Her face was hard, yes; her eyes were grey as granite but it still made her look majestic and in charge.
She was dressed all in black. Long black dress, black gloves, black veil, everything was black. Not his type of woman but she probably had been stunning twenty years back.
She walked quickly and sat down on the throne.
"Now" she said in a loud voice that was harsh and not so friendly, "What is the meaning of this. What are three boys doing here?"
Ulric stepped forward.
He bowed deeply and said in a bootlicker voice: "Your majesty, these boys broke the law. They insulted noblemen and ran away."
"With all due respect, he ran away! I help size him. And the blond idiot helped." Brutus interrupted the knight.
The guard again hit him in the back of his head. "You only speak if asked." He told him.
Josh snickered. "And you're still too!" Josh collected another hit on the head.
"Enough." The queen said before she turned back to Ulric.
"How was the nobleman?" "Me." "What did he do?" "He ran into me, insulted me, hit and punched me and ran away." The queen raised an eyebrow. "What did he say?" "Eat my pants, your majesty." The eyebrow rose higher. "I shall eat your pants? Sir Knight, are you well?" "No my queen. I mean, yes my queen, I am well. I didn't mean that you shall eat my pants. That was what that boy" he pointed at Hiccup "Said to me before he kicked and punched me." "Interesting. I shall think about him in a second. What about the other two?" "We found the blond arguing with him when we ran after him. They seem to know each other." "We are best buddies!" Josh confirmed smiling happily. "No we're not. We just met you idiot. No keep quiet." Hiccup hissed. "What did he do?" the queen asked. "He made stupid comments and said I was a princess." "You said that yourself!" Josh objected. "You said 'And I'm the princess' I was there!" "That was sarcastic!" Hiccup mumbled. "Then he should speak more clearly." Josh decided and nodded. "Also he doesn't seem too bright. Maybe we should just let him go. His stupidity is punishment enough." Ulric said with disgust. "Yes. Two of those upstarts are already too much for my nerves." The queen said dismissively. One guard howled Josh to his feet.
"Wait. I can't go without my best buddy!" Josh protested and squirmed like a fish out of the water. The queen looked at him rather cold. The name Ice-Queen popped into his head and it somehow fitted. It was cold, she was cold, she was kinda pretty and se as a queen.
"You can be glad I let you go this easily. Should I ever hear complaints about you again I will send you to the dungeons to teach you a lesson." The queen said coldly.
With that the guard dragged Josh away.
As Hiccup threw one last look at the boy he could swear that Josh blinked at him…
"…about the big one? What did he do?" The queen's voice called him back to reality. "When we caught the small one here he appeared with some other guys and demanded that we handed this one" Ulric pointed at Hiccup "over to them. Apparently he sought trouble with them too." "I didn't seek the trouble, trouble seeks me!" Hiccup protested with clenched teeth.
"Of course I refused." Ulric picked up the story, not caring about Hiccups input. "He started to become snobbish and started insulting me too. So I bought him with me."
"There seem to be a lot of people insulting you lately." The queen remarked and something close to a very faint smile tugged her lips.
Ulric started to stammer. "Well…that doesn't…it's not…I mean…I'M A KNIGHT!" "Yes thank you Sir Ulric, I know that." The queen said.
She stood up and came down the podium and stood in front of Brutus.
"I know you. People, lots of people, have giving me description of a boy your age and appearance that robs them, when they come to the town from the western forest. And what my knight said about your little group of helpers matches the descriptions perfectly. Do you plea differently?" she said, her tone again icy cold.
Brutus opened and closed his mouth like a fish and tried to say something but nothing left his mouth and eventually he stopped trying and burst out in tears.
"I'm sorry." He cried. "But we have no family and no home and no food. We only want to survive." "That doesn't justify what you did." "No. But please, don't harm me. The boys need me." "They don't." Ulric interrupted him. "I sent them home." "Most of them don't have a home, like me." Brutus sobbed.
Hiccup felt a bit awkward. This was the same guy that had laughed at him only hours ago and now he was on to his knees, crying like a baby.
The queen didn't care.
"Dungeons. Three weeks. To teach you a proper lesson. Then you are free to go. But should I ever hear about you robbing the people, I will sent the knights of Barn and then you will rot in the dungeons forever! Do you understand?" Brutus touched with his forehead the cold ground. "Yes…yes your majesty! Thank you…I…I won't do it anymore! Thank you!"
Hiccup rolled with his eyes. Spineless idiotic coward.
The queen obviously saw him roll with his eyes because she turned to face him.
"And what do you have to say?" she asked smoothly but cold. "Nothing your majesties. But for a boy who threatened my life only hours before I find it embarrassing that he's cowering now and has no backbone." The queen narrowed her eyes. "Are you implying that he shouldn't listen to me, his queen?" "I didn't say that. It's just that he should have the courage to face what he deserves with more self-discipline." The queen eyed him carefully. "Interesting words for a boy like you. You're definitely not from here. And yet you attack my knights and speak freely though it could cost you your life." I've experienced worse, Hiccup thought.
"With all respect, I only bumped into you're knight and imminently apologized. It was then that he pulled his sword and told me that he was going to kill me. It was self-defense that I punched and kicked him. Everybody in my position would have acted similar. No one just stands there and waits to be beheaded. I admit, the insult was maybe not appropriate and I'm willing to apologize for that. But not for anything else."
The queen slowly paced over to where he was kneeling.
"No, you won't, I can see that. Strange. You're not from here. But you don't come from the direct surroundings. Tell me stranger, what is your name and where are your roots?" "My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. I come from the Archipelago."
"A Viking. Haven't seen one of those in ages." The queen said, somewhat impressed. "Tell me, what are you doing so far south and alone?"
"I come with a mission that concerns all of us." "Speak." "I was chosen. Chosen to end a war that began many millennia ago. The gods of my homeland achieved a prophecy which told them that I was the chosen one to unite the seven nations of our world to prevent the darkness from rising and destroying all nine realms. Midgard, the earth, the planet where we live, would be the first and last to fall.
I come in this dark hour to seek your alliance in the upcoming war. Time is running through our hands like water and the final battles are coming closer. Please my Queen. I need you in this matter. Being chosen doesn't mean I can do this alone."
Hiccup was surprised how easy the words left his mouth and how confident and mature he sounded.
Everybody was looking at him with big eyes, some even a bit fearful. Even Brutus.
He hadn't even noticed but while he'd spoke he'd risen from the ground and stood now eye to eye with the queen.
She eyed him yet again. "Interesting indeed."
Was that all she would say?
Hiccup sighed.
The queen returned to her throne.
"Young Master Hiccup you are a curios person indeed. You come into my land, insult and hurt my knight, break the laws and yet you have the wits to ask for my alliance."
Hiccup could see Ulric smirk smugly.
"I like that." The queen added and now it was Hiccup who smiled and Ulric who sneered.
He stepped forward. "Your majesty. You can't really consider that. He's just a boy talking trash." "But why else should a Viking come here and cause so much trouble in one day?" "Maybe he's on holiday." Hiccup laughed dryly. "And that's more likely." "So what do you say we should do with him then Sir?" the queen asked. "Giving him the Slavemark* and make him cut stones until he dies." Ulric said and a mad expression glinted in his eyes. The queen now shook her head.
"Hush Sir Ulric. I want to ask young Hiccup something." The knight bowed and stepped backwards.
"Now Hiccup. What if I accepted and aided you in your mission. What would you expect form me?" "Mostly trust but also that you come when I call for you. Together we can do it. But for that we have to work together. Because we are all one. No matter what language we speak or which god we worship. And this darkness threatens us all. It doesn't differences between rich and poor, this nation or that nation. All it wants is to destroy. I ask you my queen to trust me that I will lead us all through this and that your soldiers and knights will fight for the life of everybody at the side of everybody."
A long time the Queen looked at him. She seemed to think hard.
"That was a nice speech Hiccup. I can see why your gods choose you. You would make a great leader. A good general and warrior. You can give hope with your words and you're persuasive. You would have me hooked, if not…" Oh-o now comes the big but, Hiccup thought.
"for the fact that I received a letter a few day back with a picture of you and Derandolias youngest princess, Princess Katrina. And a very…clear…letter of instruction what to do with you, should you show your face anywhere in the seven nations." The queen raised a few paper.
He tone became a bit softer.
"I see the honorable intentions behind your deeds. But are you doing it the right way Hiccup? How do you want to persuade the other leaders to follow someone who abducted a princess and nearly burned down the Kings palest? The others won't see the man that wants to safe us; they will see a stupid boy, which you are not. Think about it Hiccup."
Hiccup sighed and looked down. She was right.
"In my defense Kate abducted herself. She wanted to. And I didn't intend to burn down the palest or hurt anyone. But I was in panic; I needed to get out of there. They wanted to kill me for something I hadn't done." "We could argue back in forth for hours about that. Fact is Hiccup: You talk about this boy" she pointed at Brutus "And his absence of a backbone, where you still run when there is a problem at hand and your run drags unwanted consequences with it. I don't doubt your bravery to come and ask us to help you. But as soon as something goes not as you thought it would, you run. Literally. You need to learn to stand and face the problem. You'd be surprised what can happen."
Hiccup thought about her words.
If he had stayed, could he have convinced George that he hadn't stolen the book? Probably. But would that have changed his mind? Probably not. And he would still have left. And Kate probably would have come with him. And this letter would probably still have reached the queen. And he probably would still be kneeling here.
"Maybe your majesty. I will think about your words but right now I have other worries. What are you going to do with me?"
"I don't care you insulted or punched or kicked my knight. He's use to worse. I don't care about your insult. You'll probably will never come back here. And about the think with Katrina…" "Kate." He interrupted. "Ahm…sorry." "Kate…" the queen carried on "I can't say I can do anything about that either. I met the princess once. She's stubborn. And you don't look like a kidnapper. Be god, she probably would have overpowered you if you tried, you're a fishbone." "Gee thanks." "What I mean is that I won't do anything." "Anything? Not even…" "No. Consider me neutral until I see a good reason or…an acceptable reason to join your forces." Hiccup laughed and it sounded a bit mad. "The world is ending and you need a real reason?" The queen was now cold again. "I have people to lead and to protect. I will not play with their lives."
Hiccup nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."
The queen nodded.
"I hope we meet again. But I hope it will not be on the battlefield." "I hope so too. Thank you my' lady."
"Sir Ulric, would you please escort these gentlemen outside?"
Rubbing salt in wound are we, Hiccup thought as he saw the bitter expression on Ulric's face.
"Of course my 'lady."
Nobody said a word as they walked though the palest back to the entrance.
Ulric was stiff and grim, Brutus was still sobbing silently even though he tried to regain his compose. Without success that was.
And Hiccup was thinking about the queens words.
When they finally stepped outside Hiccup felt like he was back in the heat of the "Terrible-Death-Islands" or "Slim-Finger" or Kerala.
But in real it wasn't so warm outside. It was just frigging cold inside the palest.
Brutus made his way through the crowd but Ulric held Hiccup back.
Instantly Hiccup was on guard.
"Nice safe in there. But the queen won't always protect you. Like right now."
Hiccup couldn't even protest as the knight and two other dragged him into the shadows of the castle.
The two held him tightly as Ulric took something long and thin with a big and formed ending from his pocket and held it into a torch that hung from the walls.
"You know, I mostly agree with my queen. But she's a woman. She lets her feelings influence her decisions." "You're just angry that she didn't punish any of us." Hiccup coaxed.
One of the knights punched him in the stomach. Hiccup groaned.
"Maybe." Ulric said. "But that doesn't mean you don't get any punishment."
He took the object from the flame sand Hiccup recognized it. He'd seen it before and he dreaded it. And he knew what Ulric was about to do.
Reddish-orange blazed the hot iron in form of a snake-dragon that formed an 'S'. It was the Slavemark. Once turned or tattooed into the skin it was irremovable. It marked you as a slave, your whole life long. It made you the property of someone else.
"No." Hiccup breathed.
"Oh yes. This is the Slavemark. It's the same in the whole world. Everybody knows what it means. Say goodbye to your freedom."
What happened next was too fast for Hiccup to proceed properly.
He saw Josh running up to him, his…flute in hands (?) and calling out his name. The next moment strange tunes filled the air and Hiccup realized that Josh had started to play his flute.
And the strangest thing ever happened. The knights' eyes started to drop and the swooned.
The two that hold him collapsed and he fell to the ground, only in time to see Ulric stumble, falling towards him, and the hot iron still in hands.
Hiccups arms shot up but as Ulric crashed into him, he felt a burning sensation just above his right eyebrow and his temple.
He knew this kind of pain. Fire burning away the skin. His leg twitched.
He felt something hot and wet running down his face and into his eye, down his cheek, into his mouth and over his chin.
The next he was aware of was Josh kneeling over him, looking worried.
"Look, I got you out of danger." "A bit late you idiot." Hiccup mumbled. "You're hurt. Where should I bring you?" "How late is it?" "Nearly evening. The sun is about to set." "The woods…Kate…she'd there…waiting." "Okay. Now just hold on. I bring you there." "Thanks." "That's what friends are there for." "That is yet to be discussed."
Kate's Pov.: (didn't expect that, did you?)
Kate was looking at the sun while one foot rested in the stirrup of Nightlights saddle. She was ready to jump into action as soon as possible.
After she'd hidden in the barrels she'd slowly made her way back to their camp and the dragons.
Guilt had made it impossible for her to think clearly. She didn't want to abandon Hiccup but she just couldn't go on. So it was right that they had separated, right?
On the other hand, what if he was in trouble? He was always in trouble. He needed her. Her help.
She was about to fly on Nightlights back into the city and get him, when two figures stumbled onto the clearing.
One was half supporting, half carrying the other one.
Within seconds she had drawn her knives.
"Who's there? Show yourself." She demanded. "I'm armed." She added. "Easy." An unknown voice replied. "I bring your Boyfriend." "Boyfriend?" "Or brother or whatever friend he is to you. I bring Hiccup." The other guy said and stepped into the light of the campfire.
He had Hiccups arm slung over his shoulder and carried him over to her.
Hiccup was pale. She couldn't make out the right side of his face, it was covered in blood.
"By the gods what happened?" The guy grunted. "He was ambushed. The queen let him go and those coward knights couldn't take it. So they…did this. I wished I'd been faster." "What do you mean?" "Look for yourself."
He laid Hiccup softly down next to the fire.
"Hiccup, do you hear me?" Hiccup groaned and opened his left eye. "Katie. They…they did it. They…they marked me."
"What?" But the she saw it. The boy had taken a cloth and was slowly whipping away the blood.
That was when she saw the Slavemark, burn into the side of Hiccups head.
She gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth, tears spilling down her face.
"Oh Hiccup." She whispered and cradled his head carefully in her hands. "It's gonna be alright!" she sobbed.
He didn't answer. He just closed his eyes and fell into unconsciousness.
Kate looked at the newcomer.
"What's your name?" "Josh." "Does Hiccup trust you?" "I know everything. Well, nearly everything." "Do you trust him?" "He got me out of trouble. So, yes." "Will you help me?" "Yes." "No one can know of this, do you understand? This is a secret between the three of us!" "I understand." "Then pass me the water. We have a friend to patch up."
An: And Cliffhanger! Again. What will happen now? How will the Slavemark influence Hiccup and the people around him?
I'm bad, I know :-D Anyway, Review, please. I have to said, I'm pretty proud myself. Naw, just joking. Tell me what do you think. (Do you like Josh? I think every story needs the adorable idiot who can be really serious if necessarily and who is a really good friend!)
*From Cressida Cowls 'How to ride a dragons Storm' I'm not sure if it was the left or right side of Hiccups head but yeah, all Cressida Cowls, not mine.