Indi strapped his shield onto his back and walked through the halls. He had exchanged his leisure clothing for his black armor, the white skeletal design gleaming in the early-morning light. As he rounded the corner, he saw Brynn walking the halls, her hand on the pommel of her sword. Indi nodded. As they approached each other, Indi gripped her upper arm and leaned in to put his mouth near Brynn's ear.
"Any news?" he muttered.
"No," Brynn said. "I'm thinking of getting Owen to take Blue around to find them."
"Agreed... weren't there supposed to be guards posted outside Anna's room?"
"Mhm," Brynn said. "I don't know where they were."
Indi pulled away and raised an eyebrow. "Were they paid off?"
"Either that or killed," Brynn said.
Indi snorted softly. "I'd put my coins on the former. The little shit doesn't seem like he'd be able to handle a sword against two trained soldiers. But, being the Marquess, he'd have access to money. I'm sure he would have a fair amount of gold at his disposal."
Brynn nodded. "What do you think Queen Elsa is going to do?"
"Oh, I'm sure she has a few ideas," Indi said. "I also have a few ideas of my own... I'm sure Sleuther could take a few rounds out of him."
"Oh, I'd love to see that," Brynn said darkly. "Especially with those stingers of his."
Indi nodded. "Have you seen Emerald and Copal?"
"Yes, actually," Brynn said. "I saw them near Lapsus."
"Is she still in the courtyard?"
Brynn nodded. Indi thanked his friend, then strode on through the castle. He passed by the hallway that led to Elsa's office, where he saw frost creeping out from beneath the door. The guards that were posted there were inching away from the ice crystals. Indi frowned, & walked on.
Turning the corner, Indi forcibly gripped the door handles and yanked them open. He strode through the halls, & and walked through the open doors that led to the courtyard. The dragon riders were gathered near the fountains, their reptilian companions standing guard. Lapsus snarled from her spot beneath Anna's bedroom window, then barked deeply as a reindeer carrying a blonde man came clattering into the courtyard. Copal and Emerald darted into the air, shrieking.
"Is she okay?" Kristoff said worriedly as he dismounted from Sven. "I came as soon as heard."
"She's being examined," Indi said.
The light clicking of small shoes reached Indi's ears. He turned, & saw a young servant girl walking up to him. The girl curtseyed, and Indi dipped his head.
"My Lord," she said. "The queen wishes to speak with you and the Dragon Riders."
"Of course," Indi said, as the Indominus Furies landed. "Let's go, guys."
"Master Kristoff," the girl continued. "The princess would like to see you." The large blonde man nodded and walked off. Indi noticed the haste in his step.
As Indi led the Riders into the castle, he turned to Hiccup. "Bring Toothless."
"What?" the one-legged Viking said incredulously.
"It's a show of power," Indi said. "Normally, I would bring in Lapsus, or maybe Noctem, but my raptors are in the paddock with the others from Owen's squad, and Lapsus is too big."
Hiccup nodded. "Come on Toothless, come inside." The Night Fury bounded through the doors, inquisitively investigating everything in sight.
As Indi strode through the castle halls, Copal and Emerald strode beside him. Turning the corner, Indi strode up to the door & knocked.
"Sir Indi," Elsa voice said with a slight edge. "Come in."
The young knight opened the door and stepped inside, the riders walking in behind him. Toothless remained outside in the hall, sitting down like a large cat. Indi looked around the room and saw the Duke and Duchess of Ceopic standing to the side, their heads hung in shame. The duke's son, the Marquess of Ceopic, was shackled in chains and had two of Elsa's soldiers on either side. Indi immediately scowled and held out two fingers to the side, signaling his Indominus Furies to be on guard. A large map of Arendelle and the surrounding areas hung on the wall behind Elsa.
"Your Majesty," Indi said, bowing. Elsa tipped her head respectfully.
"Sir Indi," Elsa said. "I have a mission for you."
"What is it that you will have me do, Your Majesty?" Indi said, conforming to the appropriate dialect.
"I need you and the Dragon Riders to go on a reconnaissance mission to Weselton," Elsa said. "It has been revealed to me that Anders here has been in league with the Duke of Weselton. It is imperative that we find out what the goings ons are there. He refuses to say more."
"I'd be more than willing to loosen his tight lips," Heather said. A thud on the roof from above signaled that a dragon landed. They watched quietly as a large head black-horned dragon appeared from above, the scales on the top of the head a deep red.
"Thank you, Miss Heather," Elsa said. "I'll take that into consideration, should my soldiers fail to extract more information."
"What's the plan?" Astrid asked.
"Sir Indi, Dragon Riders of Berk," Elsa said. "I need you to spy on the Duke of Weselton. Take every precaution to avoid detection."
"Where are we going?" Indi asked.
Elsa turned to the map & pointed to a smaller island off the coast of Arendelle. By ship, it would be a day's journey. By dragonback, it would be substantially less time.
"Gladly," Indi said. "Hiccup, locate your father. Get ready, and mentally prepare yourselves. We leave at sunset."
As Indi pulled the strap of Sleuther's saddle tight, Elsa came up to him, striding up with graceful steps befitting of a queen.
"Sir Indi," she said.
"Queen Elsa," Indi said as he rose, before going into a gentle bow. "Come to see us off?" Stormfly squawked and rattled her spines.
"Indeed," Elsa said, folding her hands in front of her, interlacing her fingers. "I wish you all safety in your mission."
"And may Odin watch over you," Stoick said from his spot on Skullcrusher's back.
Indi climbed onto Sleuther's back, and the dragon shook his head. "Let's go," Indi said, cracking his neck. "We'll be back by nightfall tomorrow. And Brynn..." The young woman stepped forward. "Look after things while I'm gone. Queen Elsa, I request a set of armor. I might need it when I get back, depending on what we find."
"I'll see what I can do, Sir Indi."
Indi bowed as deeply as he safely could while on Sleuther. The dragon rolled his eyes, and extended his wings upwards. "Up, Sleuther!" The dragon sprang upward, followed by the rest of the dragons & their riders. As they leveled out, Copal and Emerald came up on either side of him.
Indi gripped the handles on the saddle and leaned forward. He snarled, and Sleuther shot ahead, with a familiar Night Fury beside him.
Elsa watched as the knight flew off with the Dragon Riders. She stood there for a moment, before turning on her heel. She strode back into the castle with purpose. Turning the corner, she went to her office and shut the door. Taking out a piece of paper, she picked up a feather, dipped the end of the quill in the inkwell, and began writing.
Glancing down, she saw Yeager settle down in the little nest she had made just for him.
She set her brow and set to work. She pulled out a sheet of paper, a feather pen and an inkwell. Dipping the quill into the ink, she began to write.
She wrote of the crime that was committed that stole the princess' innocence. She wrote of the accusations towards the Marquess of Ceopic. She picked a time and date for the trial, and signed the paper at the bottom with "Queen Elsa of Arendelle."
Indi hung onto the handles of Sleuther's saddle, the dragon racing forward. The sun had finally set, and a cloud of stars had appeared overhead. The Riders flew in silence; a slight snoring caught Indi's ears. He turned to see Snotlout asleep on Hookfang, the human drooling all over one of the dragon's horns. Hookfang rolled his eyes, and flew on.
"This is nothing new," Astrid said as she guided Stormfly over to the Triple Stryke. Indi suppressed a hearty burp, only to hear a very loud belch come from the Monstrous Nightmare, which woke Snotlout.
Toothless let out a throaty laugh. Indi looked ahead, and saw a dark mass on the horizon. As they got closer, Indi could make out several glowing lights moving around the streets of the the town.
Indi smirked. "Alright, so here's the plan: Hiccup and I will fly in and look for where the duke lives. You guys look around and see if you can find anything of importance. I'll join up with you once we locate the duke. Take Emerald and Copal with you, Astrid."
Astrid nodded and had Stormfly peel off, leading the riders and the Indominus Furies off to a forested area.
"Let's go," Indi muttered, and the two Strike Class dragons glided on. Toothless and Sleuther flapped their wings softly. Indi gripped his shield and guided Sleuther over to a dark grove of trees, Toothless following just behind. As the two dragons landed, Indi and Hiccup dismounted.
"Let's go," Indi said. Striding off with Hiccup at his side, he looked around. He saw a few torch lights far down a street, more than likely from the guards that patrolled the town.
Indi felt Hiccup nudge his arm, and saw the Viking point to a large manor. The building was surrounded by a wrought-iron fence, tall bushes, and small trees.
Indi grinned, and jogged lightly back to Sleuther. As he mounted the dragon, he turned to Hiccup and whispered "Watch our backs."
Hiccup nodded, and strode over to Toothless and began checking the mechanisms for the Night Fury's prosthetic tail.
Sleuther extended his wings and took flight gently, gliding silently over the roofs of the town. Silently flapping his wings, Sleuther came to a gentle hover at a window that led to a room that was on the third floor Indi stood on the dragon's back, and peered into the window. Squinting inside, he saw the Duke of Weselton sitting at a table. The man wore a green-embroidered suit, a pair of thin, wire-frame glasses sat perched on the Duke's large nose.
"So, Mister Von Schwicke," the Duke said. "Have you enjoyed your stay?"
"Oh, yes," Von Schwicke said as he sipped a red drink from a wine class. He gestured to the duke, who sat back in his padded chair. "I also enjoy the women you have here as well."
The Duke of Weselton smiled and nodded.
"Was your plan involving the Princess of Arendelle successful?" Von Schwicke asked.
"It should have been," the duke said. "I'm currently waiting for my man to respond to my letters."
"Are you positive it worked?"
"Oh, I'm certain," the duke said with a dismissive wave. "He was a hot-blooded male, & I'm sure he could get it done. The Princess should have a bastard child inside her at this very moment."
Indi's blood boiled, and he gripped his sword. "Sleuther, fire." The dragon snarled softly, and shot an explosive fireblast at a tool shed near the wall that surrounded the manor. The shed ignited with a bang. Peering inside the window, Indi saw that men had dashed from the room. He smashed the window with the edge of his shield and climbed through the broken glass. He rushed over to the Duke's desk and began rummaging through the drawers. After a few moments, he found what he was looking for. He ran towards the window and dove out. As he started to fall, he looked up and saw a Triple Stryke dive down. Indi reached up and let Sleuther wrap one of his tails around Indi's arm. As Sleuther shot back up into the air, Indi was set onto the saddle. As he grabbed the handles on the saddle, the dragon shot off.
Sleuther flew over the grove of trees where they first set down, and hovered. After a few moments, the other Dragon Rider's flew up on their mounts.
"Did you get what you needed?" Astrid asked.
Indi held up the paper and nodded. "Yes. Let's get back to Arendelle. The queen will want to hear this."
Elsa gripped the paper hard, reading it over again for the third time. The sheet quivered from the force Elsa was exerting on it. After a moment, the queen set the paper on her desk, before turning to Indi.
"Sir Indi?" Elsa said, staring at the young knight hard.
"Yes, my queen?" Indi said.
"Prepare for battle. Your armor will be ready at dawn."
