Chapter 155
Hiccups POV:
It's been two weeks since I took Blanca with me on an underwater expedition as a date to get away from all the craziness that comes with the coming of the rain season. As expected, when we got back from our date there were some problems for me to deal with starting with some of the villagers who had come to my island wanting to make a deal with me, allowing them to stay on my island in exchange for things like livestock, furniture and food. I turned them all down though since my island was my own private sanctuary where I could get away from my past on Berk and besides that I knew if I let them onto my island, it'd be a nightmare getting them off it. Along with that problem my father had called me back to Berk to help finish preparations for the rain season since he wanted to try and avoid as many houses flooding as possible. Other than that, my dad requested that I visit him and my mom during the three weeks that make up the rain season since it's during this time everyone spends the entire time in the great hall for their own safety. He figured that me being with everyone in the great hall to show illusions of my past adventures to help pass the time since being stuck in doors for that long can drive anyone a little crazy. As for the shockjaw who I'd named Shocker, he'd made his own nest in my dragon's private stables in a corner beneath the water where he wouldn't be bothered that much and until the rain season I couldn't find him a job but I figure I could use him to help shed some light when in deep sea explorations.
Now it's been a week since the rain season began and, in that time, I've had to make multiple trips to Berk to help keep the people sane by showing illusions of past battles and places I've been to help pass the time. Each of these trips however were a major pain for me since whenever I did do this I had to deal with people pestering me to take them back with me to my island when I leave. Dealing with this every time I went to the great hall made it difficult for me to enjoy a simple chat with my parents and Gobber. I admit I was able to keep some people occupied by showing them some indoor games I'd learnt from around the world including dropping off some of the games I'd brought back with me from my trips. This kept most of the people busy when I was talking with my parents and also made sure that the fights were minimal when in the past rain seasons there'd be a fight every hour due to nothing else to do.
My parents didn't have it easy themselves being stuck inside with not only the crazies of the village but also their stir-crazy dragons who didn't like being cooped up for so long. My parents had a hard time keeping their dragons calm and not setting the entire hall on fire in their frustration but fortunately it wasn't anything a lot of sage fruit couldn't handle. They had me delivering two large baskets full on a daily basis to keep them fully stocked in order to prevent their dragons from acting up. Gobber despite having a dragon of his own however wasn't having the same troubles with Grump since he mostly just slept all day so all Gobber had to do was feed him some scrap iron from time to time and he'd be fine. My dad also had to break up the fights which he'd often get pulled into them himself and with my father being who he was the men would end up in need of medical attention. As I said before the games I brought back helped keep everyone busy but we're Vikings so fighting among ourselves was an occupational hazard.
Along with the trouble in the great hall, when I was able to do a checkup on the village the few times I'd been able to when the rain had calmed down I could tell that after the rain was done there was going to be a lot of repairs to be done. So far there've been two floods and seven huts have been casualties in the form of them being washed away over a cliff and into the ocean. Not as bad as one would expect since normally a week into the rain season we'd normally lose at least fifteen huts due to the flash floods. Fortunately thanks to the trenches leading to the ocean the damage wasn't nearly as bad as it would be normally so it meant less work for everyone when the rain season was over.
Now it was afternoon and I was lying down on a cline by the pool in just my pants enjoying the sun from the glass roof shining down on me, with my eyes closed after dealing with the people of Berk. They'd been driving me crazy once again with some demanding I take them with me back to my island so they could get out of the great hall. My dad was able to convince them to leave me alone but I could tell from the look on his face that he was truly getting annoyed with the peoples constant pestering. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by the feeling of gentle hands landing on my shoulders before massaging them making me smile before the familiar voice of my wife asked.
"Rough day with the people Hiccup?" I didn't open my eyes as I replied.
"You have no idea Blanca." I let out a sigh. "It's been difficult for my parents as well."
"Maybe we should go away for a few days and take your parents with us." I opened my eyes and looked at her. "It'll be nice to take a short family vacation to somewhere you've been before."
"I'm not sure Blanca, my dad doesn't like leaving the village during these times when fights are most likely to break out."
"Hiccup, you've told me that fights are rarely breaking out in the great hall these days thanks to you providing those things to keep them busy and with your portal door he can be back in minutes." She dug a little deeper into my shoulders loosening the knots that formed.
"I suppose that could work and I could leave one of my Scouters here to keep an eye out for trouble." She smiled down at me.
"See, things can easily be taken care of." I nodded while smiling.
"That open mind of yours is one of the many things I love about you." She giggled. "I'll invite my parents over for dinner tomorrow night and see what they say." I tried to get up but she pushed me back down.
"That can wait a few more minutes since you have a lot of tension in your shoulders and that shows how badly you need to relax a bit." I smiled at her and lay back down while closing my eyes.
"You're good to me Blanca." She just giggled and continued massaging my shoulders.
Nightfall the next day
It's been a day since Blanca recommended I talk with my parents about all of us going on a trip together for a few days and since then things have been quiet both on the island and the great hall. We'd just finished dinner with my dad claiming I'd done a good job teaching Blanca how to cook Viking cuisine since the yak butter parfait was delicious. Now we were all sitting down in the library, with my parents on a separate couch and Blanca on my left while we talked about how crazy people have been becoming during the rainy season but how much better this one was compared to the others thanks to me delivering things to keep everyone busy. It was then my dad let out a sigh before he said.
"It's nice to get out of the great hall, even if it's only for a few hours." I saw this as an opportunity to talk to them about the idea of a short vacation.
"Actually, dad we were hoping to talk to you both about that." He looked at me with a raised eye brow. "Me and Blanca were talking yesterday and we think it'd be nice if all four of us took four or five days away from Berk to have a little down time away from it all." My dad sighed.
"I admit, I'd enjoy it but I can't tell the people I'm going on a short holiday without starting a riot."
"Actually dad, I've thought about that and believe I may have a solution."
"I'm listening."
"We tell them that I was checking up on some allies and they want to renew a peace treaty and if you didn't go they'd take it as an insult." He stroked his beard.
"I admit that does sound good but I'll still have responsibilities here."
"That's what my portal door is for." He raised an eyebrow. "If there's trouble in the great hall I'll just bring you back through the portal to handle it."
"But how would I know if something's wrong."
"I'll one of my Scouters in the great hall keeping an eye out for trouble." Blanca then continued.
"And I've spoken to Verta, she's willing to drop by from time to time to make sure there's no trouble." He looked at both of us.
"You two really thought everything through, didn't you?" I shrugged.
"We like to be prepared." He chuckled.
"Just like your mother." He wrapped an arm around her. "When we were younger she wouldn't do anything without preparing in advance and going through every possibility." We all let out small laughs as my mom swatted my dad's arm while saying.
"I wasn't that bad."
"Yes, you were but it was one of the things I loved about you." She just rolled her eyes and sighed before leaning into him and turning to us.
"So where will we be going?" Blanca replied.
"We felt it better we discuss it with you first to make sure we'll all enjoy the trip." They nodded before we began discussing the places we could go to relax a bit.
2 hours later
I was lying in bed with Blanca sleeping soundly on my chest as usual while I stroked her hair and went over today's events in my head. Now however I was focused solely on what we all talked about after dinner and how we discussed where we should all go for a short vacation. We knew it had to be a place where my father's been before to create a treaty, somewhere there'd be little chance of me being roped into an adventure, a place that had enough room to house all of us and without a doubt somewhere we'd all be able to relax. In the end we all decided on Dunbroch to visit my uncle Fergus and aunt Elinor since they'd have space for us in the castle, it would be nice to have a family reunion, it'd be nice to see the family again and Blanca had been wanting to meet my other relatives. Tomorrow we'd be informing the village of our plans claiming it'd be to renew a peace treaty and how it was unavoidable hoping it would calm some of them down and I'd be talking to Verta about helping out in the great hall. The day after tomorrow we'd leave for five days for a little down time to help keep us all sane from our time stuck in the great hall. I let out a sigh knowing that there were going to be a few people who weren't going to be happy that my father was leaving for five days while they're stuck in the great hall. I'm just hoping that by making them think it'll all be business for my family and how if there were any problems my dad would be back in no time they'll shut up but knowing Vikings it wouldn't be that easy. I sighed knowing I'd need to just relax for now and enjoy the peace I have now since things were no doubt going to be rough tomorrow when my dad told everyone what's happening. With these thoughts in mind I drifted off into the sweet embrace of sleep.
1 day later
It's been a day since we all discussed our little vacation plans and, in that time, the only thing that's happened is a near riot in the great hall yesterday when my father let everyone know he'd be away for five days. There were a lot of angry yells from the people who were not happy that their chief was leaving them but fortunately I was able to make it clear to them that this was something we needed to do. Fortunately, they believed us when I told them it was strictly business and not pleasure and that my dad was called there when in all honesty my uncle Fergus didn't even know we were coming. What really got them to shut up though was me letting know I was going to keeping watch on them through eyes of one of my Scouters, how I'd bring my dad back if there was any serious trouble and how Verta would be dropping by from time to time to keep an eye on things. After that things calmed down a bit in the great hall with my father answering questions some people asked and preparing for the trip. Now everything was taken care of with my parents deciding to bring their own dragons with us in case of trouble which I'm hoping we wouldn't have on this trip but knowing my luck there might be some trouble but I just hoped it wasn't anything mystical.
Presently we'd all just arrived in Dunbroch through my portal door in the castle courtyard since I didn't want to surprise anyone by us just appearing in the castle. I looked around the courtyard smiling at the memories of my time spent here training and sparring with some of the local guards. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts when the doors of the great hall burst open as a man in a green kilt came tumbling down the steps groaning. He didn't stay down for long though since he immediately stood back up growling before charging back into the hall arms swinging above him. I smiled as I said.
"It looks like the members of clan MacGuffin are visiting." They all just stared at me but I just shrugged. "I recognized his clan by the color of his kilt but we'll have to discuss this another time." I lead them up to the open door and found the hall to be once again filled with members of the four great clans who were currently in a brawl before my dad asked.
"What in the name of Odin is going on here?" I just shrugged.
"My best guess is one of the clan leaders said something another leader didn't like and it grew into this." He raised an eyebrow. "This isn't the first brawl I've seen here dad." Blanca then asked.
"Shouldn't we do something?" I shook my head.
"No, it's best to let them at it until aunt Elinor breaks it up."
It was then someone was punched towards us but before he could reach he was able to bring himself to a stop right in front of me. He wobbled slightly before he looked up at me before his eyes widened and he asked.
"Hiccup Haddock, is that you?" As soon as my name was said all brawls seemed to pause as everyone turned to face the door making me chuckle.
"It's nice to see I'm remembered." This was met by a loud chuckle before the booming voice of my uncle Fergus from the back yelled out.
"IT'S NOT EASY TO FORGET A PERSON WHO STILL HOLDS THE RECORDS FOR MOST OF THE HIGHLAND GAMES AND TOOK ON MONSTERS THAT THREATENED OUR LAND!"
I rolled my eyes and walked in with Blanca on my left arm and Toothless on my right side while my parents walked behind us with their dragons waiting outside. Everyone stepped aside to let us through as my uncle walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder before he said.
"Welcome back lad." He then noticed my father and gasped. "Stoick the Vast, is that you?" My dad chuckled and held out his hand to Uncle Fergus's.
"Good to see you again king Fergus." Uncle Fergus chuckled and took my father's hand.
"Great to see you to you crazy old Viking." I could tell they were squeezing each other hand trying to make the other give in by the way their teeth clenched and faces were turning red before my mother Aunt Elinor walked on either side of them and simultaneously said to their respective husbands.
"Would you please behave?" I chuckled as both men let go as they looked down and said.
"Yes dear." My mom and aunt however looked at each other as my aunt asked.
"Valka?" My mom just smiled.
"It's nice to see you again Elinor." Aunt Elinor pulled her into a hug as she said.
"I thought you were dead." She pulled away. "What in the world happened to you." My mom just chuckled.
"It's a long story but to put it shortly I'd been taken by a dragon to nest where I'd spent years living with dragons, learning their secrets, saving them from hunters and more."
"We clearly have a lot to catch up on." It was then Merida said.
"It's nice to see you again Hiccup but what happened to your eye?" I smiled at her.
"It's nice to see you to Merida and as for what happened to my eye." I shrugged. "A demon lord who stole my god made weapons and ripped my prosthetic arm off when we first met blew up in my face when I forced all the power he desired to control into his body." Everyone stared at me for a few seconds with wide eyes before questions filled the hall as I tried to quiet them down but failed before Merida yelled.
"SHUT IT!" That got everyone to quiet down as I smiled at her.
"Thankyou." She just nodded. "Now I know a lot of you have questions but I ask that you please remain calm and save your questions until later since for now I believe introductions are needed." There were nods as the three lordsof the clans walked forward with their heirs but there was another two men with them wearing black kilts lined with red standing behind a black banner with a red axe symbol on it but before I could examine them however my father stepped forward.
"I am Stoick the Vast, chief of Berk." He then gestured to my mom. "This is my wife Valka." He gestured to me. "And you all either know or have at least heard of my son and heir Hiccup." There were cheers at my name before my Uncle Fergus said.
"Now let the introductions of the four clans begin." He gestured towards the crowd. "Clan MacGuffin!" Members of the clan yelled out.
"MACGUFFIN!" BeforeLord MacGuffin stepped forward.
"I am Lord MacGuffin, leader of clan MacGuffin." He then gestured to his son. "And this is my first-born son and heir." Young MacGuffin nervously held up a log and broke it in two before Uncle Fergus announced.
"Clan Macintosh!" Members of the clan yelled out.
"MACINTOSH!" Lord Macintosh stepped forward.
"I am Lord Macintosh, leader of clan Macintosh." He then gestured to his son. "And this is my heir and sire." Young Macintosh swung his sword around as introductions were made before Uncle Fergus announced.
"Clan Dingwall!" Members of the clan yelled out.
"DINGWALL!" Lord Dingwall stepped forward.
"I am Lord Dingwall, leader of clan Dingwall." He gestured to his son who just stood there staring into space. "And this is my only son and heir." Then my uncle Fergus said.
"Clan Loch!" The man at the front stepped forward.
"I am Lord Loch, leader of clan Loch!" He then gestured to a young man next to him. "And this is my son and heir Riptide." I don't know what it was but there was something I didn't like about these two or their men before my uncle Fergus gestured to me as he said.
"And as Stoick said, Hiccup Haddock." I sighed and stepped forward as I said.
"Well as my father and uncle pointed out, I am Hiccup Haddock." I gestured to Toothless. "This however is my nightfury and friend Toothless." He crooned and tilted his head while looking at the crowd before I gestured to Blanca with a smile. "And this beautiful white lotus flower is my beloved wife Blanca." Blanca blushed as she looked down before gently bowing to the crowd and said.
"It's nice to meet you all." There were a lot of stares at her most likely because they were having a hard time believing she was my wife.
"Don't let her gentle appearance fool you men, she's as deadly as she is beautiful." A man from clan Loch walked to the front laughingbefore he said.
"That pasty little thing is dangerous." He let out a laugh as I clenched my fists before his eyes landed on Blanca and a smile I didn't like formed on my face. "Have to say though, I wouldn't mind spending a night getting to know her better if you know what I mean." The men around him chuckled but what he said set me off so without hesitation I activated my ox flame boots speed mode while changing my prosthetic into its dragon claw form and charged at the guy slamming my prosthetic fist into his gut, throwing him back into the crowd which started up another brawl.
Nobodies POV:
The entire great hall was a mess with men everywhere fighting and the majority of the Loch clan trying to attack Hiccup who wasn't even breaking a sweat dealing with them. The sound of fists hitting flesh, wooden furniture breaking, people screaming in pain and bag pipes echoed through the halls as Hiccup threw a member of the Loch clan over his shoulder and into one man who was trying to get Wee Dingwall off his back. Hiccup then quickly turned around to punch a member of the McGuffin clan in the stomach making him bend over in pain before Hiccup slammed a karate chop into the back of his head. He then ran into the crowd looking for his next opponent with a smile on his face realizing he was having a pretty good time in this all-out brawl. He was then forced to duck under a flying member of clan Macintosh that was knocked into the air by the member of clan Dingwall who was pretty much a giant wall of muscle. Hiccup smiled knowing he might be able to provide a challenge and using the eye of the dragon to find his weak point and saw it was the legs. He smiled and charged at the giant slamming his prosthetic into the back of his legs making the giant drop to his knees before Hiccup jabbed him in a nerve point in the back of his neck bringing the giant down.
Seeing one of his clans' top warriors go down so easily a member of clan Dingwall charged at him with a mace raised high and ready to bring it down. Hiccup turned to face the charging opponent as he brought his mace down on him but he thrust his prosthetic up snapping the handle of the mace just beneath the metal ball. The warrior stared at the shaft of his now broken base as the ball landed in Hiccups real hand just before Hiccup launched his prosthetic fist into the mans stomach sending him flying back with the fist lodged in his gut. As he flew he slammed into two other brawlers from clan Loch and McGuffin sending all three into the wall groaning while Hiccup pulled his fist back into the socket. Before his fist could reach him however another man from clan Macintosh swung his fist at Hiccups face but he held up the metal ball of the mace in front of the fist. The clan member punched the ball and clenched his teeth in pain before he pulled his hand back screaming in pain gripping his hand, just as Hiccups prosthetic hand reached back into the slot allowing Hiccup to deliver a hard punch to the mans face. Hiccup smiled as he looked around at the chaos and smiled as he said.
"I'm beginning to enjoy brawling with other people." He then charged back into the fight, tackling another member of Clan Loch but while Hiccup was busy taking down men left and right Fergus laughed and turned to Stoick as he said.
"Your boy sure has some fighting skills." Stoick just nodded and watched as his son picked up a discarded shield and slammed it into the face of a member of clan Macintosh before throwing it into the back of a clan Loch's members head. "Come on Stoick, we can't let them have all the fun unless you're tiring in your old age." He then smirked. "old timer." Stoick growled and smiled.
"I'll show you old timer."
They both then dived into the brawl knocking over a few men as they did and soon merged in with the other men all fighting amongst themselves while the women sat there watching. It was after Hiccup shoved one of his rope arrows into the arms of one of the Loch clan members making a rope shoot out into the ceiling pulling the poor guy head first into it did Blanca turn to Elinor asking.
"Shouldn't we do something to stop the fight?" Elinor just turned to her with a straight face.
"Just follow our lead dear."
Blanca nodded as Elinor stood up from her throne and made her way into the brawl with Valka and Blanca following her as men stepped aside allowing them to pass. When they reached the end of the hall they found their husbands with the four lords of the clans in mid brawl with Lord Dingwall and Macintosh being held in a two-way headlock by Fergus. Stoick on the other hand was holding McGuffin in a one-armed headlock while continuously punching his face with his free hand. Hiccup however had Lord Loch in a headlock with his real arm while using his prosthetic arm drilling ability while his hand was in a fist to give Lord Loch the mother of all noogies. They all stopped what they were doing when the women broke through the lines staring at them as they held the visiting lords together. Elinor walked forward and grabbed Fergus by the ear before dragging him back to the front with Valka doing the same to Stoick each still holding the lords in their headlocks. For a moment Hiccup thought he was safe until Blanca following Valka and Elinor's lead took Hiccup by his ear and dragged him back to the front while he held onto Lord Loch. When they reached the front, the women let go of their ears while the men let go of each other before the ladies stood in front of them as Hiccup looked to his aunt Elinor and said.
"I'm sorry but one of them just- "She gave him a look silencing him. "Yes, Aunt Elinor."
Hiccups POV:
I made his way behind her with my father and uncle before Aunt Elinor announced.
"NOW FOLLOWING OUR LONG AGE TRADITIONS, WE ARE ALL HERE TO PARTAKE IN THE HIGHLAND GAMES." There were cheers through the hall at this. "THIS YEAR HOWEVER WE ARE HONORED TO WELCOME THE MEMBERS OF CLAN LOCH WHO UNTIL RECENTLY WEREN'T ABLE TO ATTEND THE GAMES." There were cheers from the members of Clan Loch. "THIS AFTERNOON THE HIGH LAND GAMES BEGIN AND TONIGHT WE HOLD THE CELEBRATORY FEAST TO CELEBRATE THE FIRST DAY OF THE GAMES WHILE ALSO WELCOMING NOT ONLY THE VISITING CLANS BUT NOW ALSO TO WELCOME OUR GUESTS." Everyone cheered at this. "FOR NOW, THOUGH PLEASE SPEND SOME TIME TO REST AND RECOVER FROM THE BRAWL!" Uncle Fergus then said.
"YOU BETTER DO THAT LADS AFTER ALL IF MY NEPHEW'S COMPETING IN THE GAMES YOU'RE GOING TO NEED ALL OF YOUR STRENGTH IF YOU WANT EVEN THE SLIMMEST CHANCE OF EVEN COMING CLOSE TO BEATING AT LEAST ONE OF HIS RECORDS." There were cries of outrage at this with many people claiming they'd be the ones to beat my records as I turned to my uncle and asked.
"Some of my records still stand?" He chuckled as Merida answered.
"All of your records still stand with men who are in the games training all year to try and break them but the only thing they've broken so far are some of their bones from over working themselves." I chuckled at this.
"Nice to know my legacy lives on." Blanca then walked up next to me and asked.
"Why didn't you tell me you hold records in these games?" I smiled at her.
"It's not that big a deal Blanca." My uncle Fergus laughed and turned to my father.
"Not a big deal he says?" He turned back to me. "You hold some of the highest records made in the history of this kingdom and you say it's no big deal?" My father then put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't even bother Fergus since considering what else my boys done in his life and the beasts he's fought against." My uncle Fergus turned to him.
"True since he's told me about some of the beasties he's fought against with some being in these lands but I'm guessing he's gone up against more since then."
I just rolled my eyes as my dad begun catching up with my uncle while my mom and aunt did the same as I turned my attention back to the lords and their heirs to see how they'd changed over time. The Lords all, pretty much looked the same except with a few streaks of grey in their hair while their heirs grew taller with facial hair coming in. It was then my attention landed on the leaders of the Loch clan and saw Lord Loch was as big as my father with a dirty red beard and hair.I noticed had three scars on his left eye but his eye is not damaged but he also had a prosthetic right hand with a design that looked like a metal skeleton hand.Along with his black Kilt with red lining he also wore a dark black shirt with a shoulder pad made with what I recognized as dragon scales. His son on the other hand was six feet in height and had the same muscle build as young Macintosh and wore a shirt made of what I recognized were the scales of a monstrous nightmare instead of wearing with a sword on his back. The thing that sealed my dislike for him though was the way he was looking at Blanca making me put a possessive arm around her making her just smile at me as if to tell me I had nothing to worry about. It was then Lord Dingwall walked up and asked.
"So, tell us lad, are you going to be taking part in this year's games?" I shrugged.
"Not really sure Lord Dingwall, figured I'd give others a chance to set their own records and avoiding crushing any more feet beneath a hammer." The lords and their heirs chuckled at this as Young Macintosh said.
"I still remember how with one single throw of the hammer you broke the old record and every bone in the poor guys foot."
We all chuckled at this and began talking while Blanca walked off to talk a bit with Merida but I kept an eye on both her and Riptide since I didn't trust him but I knew it could just be jealousy or the dragon skin he wore. All I knew to be true was that I didn't like them or the look Riptide was giving my wife and if he tried anything, then there had better be a doctor present because he was going to need one.
AN: Yes, I know this chapter wasn't very exciting or long but I assure you all that things will pick up in the next chapter with the high land games and something else happening but I won't spoil it for you all and no it's not a mystical beast he'll be facing. Anyway, remember to review kindly and stay safe during these troubled times and have a nice day.