Chapter 174

Hiccups POV:

It's been six weeks since my fight with captain Titania and in that time a lot has happened since that day starting with me shipping both Titania and all her men off to Outcast island. After I beat Titania me and Toothless began gathering up all of the men into the large room where I restrained them using my bolas. The only exception was Titania who I not only tied up but also hand cuffed, used ten bolas to wrap her up, put her in the cage and tied her to the back wall of the cage using a bola arrow since with her I didn't want to take any risks with her. Once all of the people in the room were all wrapped up, I summoned my ninja and had them guard all the men with Toothless while I went to gather the remaining men around the base.

This took a total of four hours since there were still a few men who were able to fight and weren't aware of their captains defeat so I had to deal with them before bringing them back. In these my Anubis and fallen Spartans came in handy with carrying them back and dealing with any of the remaining patrols who were still patrolling the halls. Once the men in the base were dealt with, we had to deal with those who were manning the catapults which is something I did with Toothless since the ladders to the top were kept at the top to keep them safe. Once they were all rounded up I had them all taken to my ship and put into cells except Titania who remained in the cage that was tied down in the middle of the prison to ensure she wasn't going to be a problem. It had to be four people per cell so it was a tight squeeze for them but I wasn't going to take the chance of sending out for help and risking the pirates who were still out there finding out that their base had been captured.

Once they were all locked up tight, I began loading up all the pirate's supplies, weapons and of course stolen merchandise into my ship's cargo and ended up filling it till it was nearly full but there was still room. When that was done, I used my ships ability to bottle all the ships including the traders captured ones since I didn't want to hear them complain about how I didn't get all of their belongings to them. I knew I could just release the ships from their bottles when we reach Berk as soon as we docked so there wouldn't be any complaining from the traders. As for the weapons I'd looted from the base I intend to give most of them to my smothering smokebreaths for their nest, Gobber the hobblegrunt to eat and the rest to Saber and Bandit for their armors. The catapults on the other hand were going to be given to the Berk guard since there have been requests for more catapults fearing possible invasions.

After everything was on my ship I took the pirates back to Outcast island while leaving behind my Scouter automatons to keep watch out for anyone else who might come and also set up a portal door so I could come back immediately if any pirates came back. For now, I just wanted to get all these men locked up tight so they wouldn't cause any more trouble for the world since I still needed to go back and raid the base of everything valuable. Getting to Outcast island didn't take long using my ship, only two hours to get there, half an hour to empty all the cells while dealing with men who tried to make a run for it and a medium chest of gold to thank Alvin for all the help containing them. I made sure to personally escort Titania to the solitary cell where I was assured that she wouldn't escape since it was the most secure place on Outcast island.

Once that was taken care of, I went over the various maps and charts I stole from Titania's office and learnt the various roots the remaining pirates were sailing, and different small time bases they used to dock. I spent five days attacking their ships and bases, looting them for all they were worth until there was no more room in my ships storeroom which fortunately was after I attacked the last ships. After dropping off the pirates on Outcast island I returned to Berk where the traders were waiting for me with all of their men I'd rescued.

When we docked, I didn't get a moment to even take a breath before the traders swarmed me claiming they'd received word from Alvin that the captain of the pirates was in lock up along with a large group of her men. They then demanded to know what took me so long to return, was their cargo safe, what happened to their ships and were there any remaining pirates who'd attack their ships. When I was able to get a word in I was able to explain that I didn't come back immediately because I was busy hunting down the remaining forces who were still on the ocean and I had all their stolen merchandise on my ship and would bring out their ships momentarily. They didn't understand what I meant with the ships until I pulled out one of them from my spiderpack with it still sailing in the bottle confusing them until I broke the bottle and threw it into the water and the ship burst from the water full size.

Sadly, this led to multiple questions from the traders who I was able to calm down claiming I needed time to release the rest of their ships and unload their stolen merchandise. This got them to back off and I was able to release the remaining ships before having my ship open to the storeroom and I began unloading the retrieved merchandise. I left the sorting of the merchandise and putting it all back on the correct ships to the traders since I had no idea where most of it went and it was a lot of work that I didn't sign up for. Once all the merchandise was unloaded, I was finally able to take a moment to breath and greet Blanca and Astrid along with my parents and Gobber all of whom wanted to know what happened.

I didn't get the chance to talk to them though before the traders pulled me away claiming they wanted to discuss a few things about our deal and thank me for doing such a good job. I could see right through this claim shortly after we began talking and figured out they were trying to make the deal better for them while also trying to get me to sign a new contract. They made it sound like this new contract was to simply show I'd be helping them out with crooks in the future along with handling escort missions and give them access to the bazaar. Now truthfully, I wouldn't mind this, but the contract wasn't for this as it would give them ownership of my ship, I'd be forced to act as their enforcer, and they'd have full control over the bazaar.

It took my father, Gobber and Spitelout holding me back from them or I'd end up breaking their skulls open for trying to con me like they tried to do to Berk when they first came. When I'd calmed down enough, I made sure they knew not to try and pull any more stunts like that or I'd drag them all to Rome and chuck them in the coliseum when the lions are out. This shut them up and allowed me the right to burn the contract before telling them that they were welcome to do business in the bazaar as long as they obeyed the rules and didn't try any of their tricks on the traders or there'd be consequences. I punctuated this last statement by igniting my prosthetic fist, making them all gulp and nod in understanding before they got back to work on organizing their ships merchandise and what ships they belong on. Wasn't all bad though since I was able to use this as leverage and get them to give Berk some of their merchandise for free which a lot of people were grateful for and I know the Berk guard was grateful for the new catapults.

That evening I spent two hours showing them all what I'd done in the pirates' base and when it reached the part where Titania made her offer to me Blanca and Astrid held onto me tighter. When it was over, as usual I had to deal with a lot of questions, requests for combat lessons, slaps of congratulations on the back and the usual problems that came with showing people my adventures. When it was finally done with it was time for everyone to return to their huts and time for me to take Blanca home but not before receiving a kiss from Astrid to welcome me back. When I got back to the island Blanca took me up to our bedroom and gave me her own welcome back and thanked me for turning down Titania's offer in a way only my wife could.

The following week I was busy with the traders who wanted to stick around to do a bit of business while on Berk and I did open up the bazaar so they also stuck around for that but I did have to keep a close eye on them since they tried to work out a partnership with the merchants. When this happened the first time, I took them to introduce them to Mirage who I ordered to make sure they didn't keep causing trouble for the merchants. This got them to back off for about a day and then they were back to their old tricks which ended in Mirage chasing them out of the bazaar and the merchants thanking her for it.

When that was done with, I was able to put Titania's swords in a glass case on a pedestal, crossed over each other with her coat folded up above them in the same case. I was then able to enjoy a few weeks of down time on my island just taking strolls, spending time with Blanca, using the training room to continue my ninja training and keep my kung fu skills sharp, sparring with the snake guardians, playing with my wolves, enjoying down time with my younger animals and dragons, reading in the library and anything that really caught my fancy. All in all, it'd been down time I'd enjoyed since it was rare for me to be able to just kick back and relax but I knew from past experiences I'd be pulled into another adventure soon enough.

Presently however I was sitting down in the bewilderbeast nest with both Lumie and Arctic at my sides both of which had grown over time and would soon be taking on responsibilities of their own. We were just watching the dragons fly around the nest making me smile at the sight since it'd been a while since I just sat down in one of the nests and enjoyed studying the dragons. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by the familiar voice of Astrid saying from behind me.

"We thought we might find you here." I turned to find Astrid walking up to me with Blanca next to her both smiling at me with Zhang Yong as usual walking next to Blanca as I shrugged.

"What can I say other than I enjoy studying the dragons."

"That's what started it all isn't it?" I raised an eyebrow before Blanca said.

"It was your desire to discover new dragons that lead you to travel the world and although it may not have been your intention you now have all this for your heroic deeds." I nodded and turned back to the dragons.

"I know I now have all this and taken on many beasts, villains and other things to get it but there are times when I really just want to get back to my roots." They giggled before Astrid said.

"Don't tell us you're planning on talking to your father about training you to become chief soon." My head snapped back to look at them hearing this as Blanca said.

"Hiccup we know you are heir to Berk and shall make a fine chief, but it does not seem to be the right time for you to take up the chieftainship."

"Ladies, I'm not talking about those roots." They each raised an eyebrow. "I'm talking about my dragon roots, where I discover new species of dragon to train and bring back to the island to help out and for me to study." I sighed and threw my head back. "The only problem is I think I've already discovered and collected all the dragons in the realm and the only other ones I can think of are most likely in other realms." I looked down and felt the familiar touch of Blanca's hands on my shoulders before she began massaging them making me moan in pleasure as Astrid walked up and said.

"Come on Hiccup, I'm sure there are more species in Midgard for you to discover." I opened my eyes and looked at her.

"Like where?" She turned to Blanca and then back to me.

"Doesn't the land where you and Blanca met have any dragons you can study?" Hearing this my eyes snapped open before I stood up and turned to her.

"Astrid you're a genius!" I pulled her in and dipped her while giving her a kiss before standing her back up and walking away with the girls following behind.

"Hiccup what did I do?"

"You reminded me of what happened in China when I met the gods of the land and what gifts they blessed me with besides the right to be with Blanca." Blanca then asked.

"Hiccup, what do the gifts you received from them have to do with new dragons." I stopped and turned to them.

"Among the gifts I was given were thirteen dragon eye lenses containing information on the species of dragon native to the land but when we first got back I got so busy settling into my new roles as a husband and leader of the snake guardians I forgot about them." They both nodded in understanding. "Along with this Blanca and I have been discussing another trip to China for a vacation since we do have a house in the forbidden city." Blanca then said. (AN: Chapter 141 guys.)

"It would be nice to visit my homeland again." She then turned to Astrid. "It would be lovely if you joined us Astrid as our home does possess two guest rooms so you shall have your privacy and it would be nice to have company in the house while Hiccup is out collecting dragons." Astrid smiled.

"I have wondered about the land where you two met is like." Blanca then said.

"I'll be happy to give you a tour if your parents allow you to come with us." She nodded.

"I'll talk to them when the day to leave has been decided." I replied.

"Sounds good to me." They both smiled at me. "Now if you both will excuse me; I have some dragon eye lenses to study." With that said I made my way out of the nest and to the house so I could begin using the dragon eye lenses.

2 weeks later

It's been two weeks since the day in the bewilderbeast nest where Astrid reminded me of the dragon eye lenses, I got from China and since that day I'd spent most of my time going through the lenses. It was from nine of these lenses that I learnt about the Tianlong, the Shenlong, the Fucanglong, the Dilong, the Yinglong, the Qiulong, the Panlong, the Huanglong and the Lóng Wáng. Each of these dragon species possess a serpent like body meaning they all had the ability to be maneuver their bodies in complicated ways making it easier for them to make their way through obstacles. Along with this I was also able to find the places they could be found, and I was not surprised to find most of them nested in places away from villages.

Those that were close to villages mostly just did their best to avoid the people since they preferred to live peacefully but that doesn't mean that they weren't powerful and were protective of their flocks and their homes. There were four lenses however that I could never unlock the secrets of no matter what I tried or which dragon I used, and I'd gone through every species at my disposal. These were the five lenses in the middle of the case surrounded by the other nine lenses with the jewelled one in the middle even though I'd tried every kind of dragon until I remembered what I was told how the lenses would only show what information they had when the flames of the dragons of china are used on them. This would allow me to unlock the information I was trying to discover and until then their secrets would remain a mystery to me but all this did was fuel my determination to find and train the dragons.

I spent a week in that room going over every single piece of information I could about the dragons that the lenses showed me, and I was impressed with what I found out about them. Sadly, Blanca and Astrid weren't as impressed with the information as I was since they were too busy worrying about the fact that I was so focused on my studies that I'd forgotten to eat at times. When this happened the first time Blanca forced me to show her where the dragon eye room was so that they'd be able to drag me out of it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and to get a little sun since the sun never shined in the room.

The next week was spent doing two thing and that is preparing for the trip and convincing Astrid's parents to allow her to come with us to China. They weren't too big on their little girl travelling with us to a place that is months away by dragon and would take even longer to get to by ship. I had to promise them that their daughter would be safe since most of our time would be spent exploring the forbidden city which is the most protected place in all of China and the city it was located in had guards patrolling it for trouble makers. They both agreed after I told them this and Blanca promised to accompany Astrid on her trips to ensure she wouldn't be bothered by the locals they gave in and agreed to it but not before her father made sure Astrid had her own room and I didn't peek on her. When he said this his wife slapped him while asking what kind of person did, he think I was since that kind of man is the last kind of man they'd ever allow near their daughter and how I'd always treated Astrid with nothing but kindness and respect.

Now I was standing in the portal room through the portal door and standing in front of the one leading to my home in the forbidden city with Astrid on one side, Blanca and Zhang Yong on the other side and Toothless with Stormfly next to him behind me. We all took a breath and made our way through the portal door before I smiled and looked around the familiar garden that was at the back of the house I had in the Forbidden City. I smiled and took a deep breath through my nose enjoying the familiar smell of Chinas air and turned to Blanca who had her eyes closed and like me was enjoying the smell of China's air with the sun coming down on her face. I turned to Astrid to see how she was taking to being back place in and saw she was looking around slowly before she saw I was looking at her as she said.

"It still feels so different from Berk." I nodded.

"I know, it always feels different when you come to a new part of the world after a while." She nodded. "Now we better drop off our luggage in the main room and then go let Chin Wu know we're in China and might be staying for a few weeks." Astrid raised an eyebrow.

"You mean the kid?" Blanca answered.

"He's the emperor of China and a good friend." Astrid nodded.

"Oh yeah, I remember seeing him from when we dropped off that crook who tried to kidnap him when he was a baby." We nodded as I said.

"That's the one." I turned back to the house. "Now come on, it's considered rude to keep the emperor waiting." With that said we took off to deal with things.

Ten minutes later

Me and the girls along with Zhang Yong were now in the palace throne room standing before Chin Wu who was on his throne and Ling Cho who was standing next to him, both smiling down at us as Chin Wu. While we were here at the palace Toothless and Stormfly had stayed behind at the house since we didn't want to cause a large scene by bringing them here and drawing attention. It was then Chin Wu held out his arms and said.

"Hiccup Haddock, the emperor welcomes you and your group to the Forbidden City." I lowered my head in thanks.

"You honor us with your welcome your majesty." I then gestured to Blanca, Toothless and Zhang Yong. "You already know those of my group." I then gestured to Astrid. "Including Astrid Hofferson, a friend who I offered to join us on this trip to visit your kingdom." He smiled.

"And as such she shall be treated as an honoured guest within the walls of the Forbidden City." I nodded in thanks.

"My apologies for her remaining silent your highness but she is still learning your language so please just know that I will inform her of what you have blessed her with." He nodded before Ling Cho asked.

"Hiccup, if I may ask, what is your reason for returning to our lands?" I smiled at him.

"I came back to do what I originally came here to do and study the dragon's native to these lands." He smiled.

"I was wondering when you would return to continue your studies on the majestic dragons of our lands." He stroked his beard. "Finding them shall not be an easy feat Hiccup, I have lived for many years and in my youth I traveled all across China to aid the former emperor in setting up trade routes and although I saw many wonders, dragons are not among them." I gave him a smile.

"Well that just makes my little trip all the more interesting now doesn't it?" he chuckled.

"I suppose that is true, but may I make this one request of you?" I raised an eyebrow. "Once you have trained the dragons of these lands please bring them back to the palace and allow me to ride one of them." Silence filled the room as everyone turned to him except Astrid who looked around confused.

"Did you just say you want to ride one of the dragons when the last time I was here you refused my offer of taking you for a ride on Toothless claiming that you feared your old heart would not be able to take it?" He sighed.

"When I was a boy I always dreamed of acting out one of the tales my grandfather used to tell me about mighty warriors riding upon the dragons of China and I was hoping to you might allow me to fulfil this old man's childhood dream before it is his time to pass on." I smiled.

"I'll be happy to allow you to do so Ling Cho but no more talk of you passing on since from what I can tell you still have a good few years left in you before you're ashes on the wind." He chuckled.

"Agreed." Chin Wu then said.

"Hiccup Haddock, the emperor has a request for you." I turned to him.

"Simply ask it your majesty and if it is within my power, I shall do what I can."

"Then the emperor would like it if you would stay for at least seven days before you embark on your journey so that we may discuss matters and catch up on things as the emperor is sure that you have embarked on many adventures but when you last came we did not have time to discuss them." I nodded.

"Indeed, it was a busy time for all of us with the need to capture Lan Zhizhu and bring her to justice." He nodded.

"And the emperor shall always be grateful to you for finding her as many of my people still feared her being out there and ready to cause more problems but now they can all sleep safely at night with her no longer being a problem with her safely in captivity and the treasures she stole back where they belong." I smiled at him before Ling Cho said.

"I believe the emperor is hoping you'd use your powers to show us of the adventures you have embarked on since your last stay here in the Forbidden Kingdom." Hearing this I chuckled since I knew that's what he wanted.

"Would it be alright if we did so later tonight as I would like some time to settle in which I believe is something both my companions would also appreciate." He nodded.

"Then both you and your companions are to join the emperor for dinner tonight so we may catch up on all that's happened since our last meeting." I bowed to him as I said.

"We would be honored to join you for dinner your majesty." He smiled and clapped his hands.

"Excellent then I shall send someone to collect you for dinner when it comes time but until then please enjoy your rest and settle down." We bowed to him once more with Astrid following our lead before, we all left to return to the house but as soon as the doors to the throne room closed Astrid turned to me and asked.

"What did you all talk about in there?" I shrugged.

"Nothing much." I turned to her fully. "He just wanted to welcome us back, ask what brought us back to China, what new adventures I've had and invited us to join him for dinner tonight." Her eyes widened hearing this before she looked down.

"I've never had dinner with royalty before." She then looked up at me with panic in her eyes. "Is there anything I need to know about these things like table manners and how to behave when it comes to the emperor." I chuckled while Blanca giggled as Astrid slightly begun shaking.

"Astrid, calm down." I took hold of her shoulders to make her stop shaking. "It's just think of it as a normal dinner with some friends and as for manners, I've seen your table manners and they are far better than those on Berk but although they need a bit of work we can teach you easily under an hour." Blanca then said.

"And if you are worried about the clothing that you shall be presented then do not worry as I have a few formal dresses you may try wearing and use one of them for dinner tonight." Astrid smiled at us.

"Thanks." We smiled at her before I said.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's get home and prepare for tonight."

Nightfall

I was sitting down on the platform floor sitting at the table in a black kimono with red lining and a red nightfury insignia on the back of it between my shoulder blades reading a book. On the lower floor was Toothless who was taking a short nap while Stormfly nested on the roof and Zhang Yong was sitting down on the floor while staring at the room leading to mine and Blanca's bedroom. The reason for this is both Blanca and Astrid were inside preparing for the evening with Blanca helping Astrid out in preparation for dining with the emperor. It was then the door opened and I knew they were done before I turned to see Blanca standing there ready to go.

She was wearing a pure whit kimono with light blue lining. What made this one different to her usual attire was this one was patterned with a white serpent coiling around her waist surrounded by flower patterns and the blue was lighter to the point where it was almost white. Her hair was tied up into a rectangular bun with a golden hair clip in the center of the bun and gold chains hanging from the sides with her hair going down and at the top of the buns center was her hairpin since she never goes anywhere without it. All in all, she looked as beautiful as the day I first realized I had fallen in love with her and it made me smile at the memory before I said.

"Blanca, you look amazing." She giggled.

"Thank you Hiccup but now why don't you tell Astrid how she looks."

It was then Astrid walked out and I felt my jaw drop but then again, I highly doubt anyone would be able to blame me if they were looking at what I was looking at. Astrid Hofferson was a standard Viking girl who would normally wear her fur and leather spiked skirt with metal shoulder guards and red vest with her blond hair tied back in a tight braid. Now if I didn't know her so well, I would've sworn I was looking at a completely different person since Astrid was beautiful before but now, she like Blanca could only be described as drop dead gorgeous. She herself was wearing a kimono but this one was a gentle ocean blue with white lining and the pattern of birds flying on it while her hair was let free and flowing down her back with a small braid going down the middle and the hair that covered her face was clipped to the side with a hair clip that had a blue sapphire imbedded in the body of a golden butterfly. It was then Blanca giggled and said.

"I think he likes it." Astrid giggled.

"I think you're right." She then turned to me.

"So, what do you think Hiccup."

"It feels like I'm looking at two versions of Freya herself." They giggled before Astrid said.

"Well we better get going as I doubt the emperor likes to be kept waiting." I nodded.

"That he does not."

With that said we left for an enjoyable dinner and I knew this was only the beginning of a peaceful week here in the Forbidden City before my trip to find the dragon species of China. I looked at the girls and knew I was going to miss them on my trip, but this was a journey me and Toothless needed to take on our own. This would give me and Toothless a chance to get back to our roots, meet new dragons to bond with, study, bring back to our island to the nests and then maybe I could study the four lenses that didn't answer to any of my dragons flames. Along with this it would give Blanca and Astrid time to get closer and enjoy some time to explore the cities marketplace, see the entertainment of the streets and other things. These were the thoughts that revolved around my mind as we walked out the house and began our journey to the royal palace to join the emperor for a relaxing dinner and a chance to catchup with each other.

AN: Hey all I know this chapter wasn't exactly all that exciting, but this week has busy at work for me and I haven't had that much time to think of that many exciting ideas for this chapter. The next chapter will have a few more thrills though with the dragons being discovered and trained after Hiccups tracked them down. When they've all been found and trained be prepared for a few surprises and a few new surprises. Till then please be patient and enjoy your day but please don't forget to review kindly since I do enjoy reading them.