Hiccup stood in the kitchen packing up the last of his supplies, while his new wife sat at the table finishing her breakfast.
"Do you really have to go?" Astrid asked, "And by yourself?"
"It's Haddock tradition," Hiccup explained. "Once a Haddock man is married, he must go on a soul-seeking journey to commune with the gods and ancestors. He prays for a successful, happy marriage. It must be done before the first anniversary."
"If it's that simple, why can't you just do it in the caves in the mountain?" Astrid wondered.
"Because Volund Haddock built a specific alter on a specific island to ensure total solitude," Hiccup answered. "Besides, I did the math for the distance between New Berk and Saman Island. It'll take about a month of sailing. I must remain alone on the island for a week. Another month to sail back. I'll be back just in time for New Berk's First Year Celebration."
"At least let me sail with you," Astrid pleaded. "You'll still be alone on the island."
Hiccup closed his satchel and threw it over his head. He knelt down and took hold of his wife's hand. "As much as I would love the company, I have to be alone from start to finish. I promise I will come back. I have more than enough supplies to last me. I can take care of myself."
He gave her one last kiss before standing up to leave. Once he walked out that door, he was on his own.
After Hiccup placed the last crate of supplies he had gathered onto his personal boat, he looked up toward the top of the cliffs and saw his wife and their friends standing there, waving him off.
He climbed into the boat, undid the ropes and pushed away from the docks. He took hold of the rudder and guided the boat away from the shores of New Berk. As he carefully navigated out of the bay, he imagined Toothless trying to come with him. He smirked at the thought of all his friends having to hold the dragon back to keep him from chasing after his rider.
Hiccup wished that were the case, but Toothless along with the rest of dragon-kind were safe in the Hidden World. There, no hunters could get them.
Hiccup sailed for several hours, before taking a break to eat something and give his aching hands a rest. He pulled out the sandwich Astrid made him along with a flask of water. He also pulled out his map and a spyglass.
The young chief scanned the horizon with the spyglass and checked his map. He decided he was right where he estimated he would be. He looked through the spyglass again and saw a ship just east of him. He couldn't make out who the ship belonged to but figured it belonged to a nearby island.
"Probably belongs to the Skirra's," Hiccup said to himself before taking a bite out of the sandwich. He continued to study the map as he finished his sandwich.
Before putting the map away, he looked through the spyglass again and saw that the other boat was getting closer. This time he could make out the symbol on the sail. It was one he had not seen in quite a few years. That ship belonged to the Dragon Hunters.
Hiccup got his boat moving again, trying his best to put as much distance as he could between himself and the Hunters' ship. He was certain that if he spotted them, they also saw him. He kept glancing at the ship through his spyglass and it seemed to stay the same distance from him.
The young Haddock wracked his brain trying to figure out what the Hunters were doing this far away from their home base, especially if all the dragons were gone now. He also had to come up with a plan to fight them off.
He made a mental inventory list, going down it to try and find anything that could help him. The only useful things he had were some various knives along with a bit of rope. He didn't have a sword, because the journey had never required one according to his father. It was a journey for the spirit, not for fighting.
Hiccup pushed the boat to go faster, but the wind was dying down and the sky was turning dark. He wouldn't be able to travel for much longer. If only he had a set of extra hands. Traveling at night alone, wasn't safe. Not in these waters, anyways.
The Chief scanned for the ship again, as he unfortunately brought the boat to a stop. The ship had also stopped in its place. He was certain they were following him now. He wondered, how long they would take before trying to catch up to him.
The young man set about gathering what little defenses he had and began making some booby traps. Once he was content with his handiwork, he took the remaining knife and headed below deck to catch a couple of hours of sleep.
On the Hunters' ship:
"His boat has stopped for the night," someone reported.
"Weigh anchor and bring this ship to a stop as well," the lead Hunter ordered.
"Aye aye, Skade, sir," several men said in unison.
"Keep an eye on that boat. As soon as he starts moving again, we close in on him," Skade stated. "Remember we need him alive. He's the only one who can tell us where the dragons went."
Hiccup woke up before the sun began to rise. He went above deck and maneuvered around his booby traps and took his place at the rudder. He set his knife by his side and took out his spyglass.
He set his sights on the Hunter ship. The ship was still in the same place it was when he went below deck.
"Just keep your distance," Hiccup said to himself, willing the Hunter ship to stay away from him, just long enough to complete his journey. After that, he'd make a plan and take care of the ship.
"He's on the move," one of the Hunters shouted.
"Raise anchor and head after him," Skade ordered. I want to close the distance between us within the hour."
The crew obeyed and set to work getting the ship moving again.
Hiccup did his best to focus on getting to Saman Island, but kept glancing back at the Hunters' ship. It was getting closer and closer. The ship would be on top of him in no time.
He had no real plan to fight them off. Just hope that his booby traps would take a few of them out. But he was hopelessly outmatched. They'd overpower him very quickly.
He thought about trying to outrun them and maybe reach the nearest island. There at least the battlefield would be even. On an island, he'd have plenty of places to hide, and just wait them out. Sure they'd probably torch all his boat and everything on it, but he was handy enough to build a raft and head home.
Unfortunately for him, the nearest island was at least a day and a half away. He'd never make it. Even if he dumped all his supplies, they'd have him before he could finish.
The closer the Hunters got, the more Hiccup wracked his brain for any kind of plan that could work. He continued thinking of plans until they were right next to him.
The one-legged man let out a sigh and shrugged. "When all else fails, Hiccup, play stupid," he said to himself.
He looked up at the Hunters as they readied their crossbows. All pointed at him. He provided them with the correct response to the threat, he waved. "Hey guys."
Hiccup pulled out his map. "I sure am glad you showed up. I seem to be lost. You see, I set sail a week ago to go fishing but got caught in a storm that blew me out here. Think you can help me? I just need some quick directions. I'd be happy to pay you in fish."
"Hiccup Haddock the Third," Skade's voice boomed from behind the armed Hunters. "Don't play dumb now. Surely you had a better plan than this. Pretending to be lost and all alone. Surely that Night Fury of yours is below deck, waiting for your signal."
Hiccup scratched the back of his head and pretended to look confused. "I don't know what you mean. I really am lost. As for having a Night Fury, I don't have one of those. Come to think of it, I haven't seen any dragons in several months. Have you?"
The Hunters looked at each other in confusion. Were they sure they had the right scrawny one-legged Viking?
Skade pushed through his soldiers and jumped over the edge of the ship onto Hiccup's boat. "Quit playing games, boy. Tell your Night Fury to get out here. Tell it to cooperate since you are both prisoners of the Hunters now."
Hiccup's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Toothless is gone, as are the rest of the dragons, in case you haven't noticed. Didn't you notice them all disappearing at once?"
"As a matter of fact we did," Skade answered. "It didn't take long to figure out that you probably had something to do with it. So tell me where they are and I might just let you continue on your merry way."
"I can't tell you where they are, because I don't know. They're all just, gone," Hiccup said. "Maybe it's time to find a new line of work. I hear elk hunting is all the rage these days."
Skade pondered this for a second, before drawing his sword and pointing it at Hiccup's chest. "I have a better idea. How about you board my ship and I won't sink this boat with you tied to it."
Author's Note: I wrote this story years ago, lost it, rewrote most of it from memory, and posted the rewrite only for it to flop. Earlier today, I found the original while going through an older phone. I managed to recover most of the story. I spent a few hours merging the original into the rewrite since both have elements I like. And now I'm sharing it here, hoping it will do better with the fixes.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'd love to hear what you guys think of it, so please consider dropping a review or just hitting that little follow button.
Until next time.
