Author's Note: To the guest comment, let's go with no. Skade was not aware that he was left-handed. Because even back then it wasn't common and usually "corrected" because of superstitions.

The days passed in a blur for Hiccup. He tried keeping track with tallies, but when one of the Hunters saw him do this, they decided to mess it up by adding more to what he already had. After that, it became impossible for him to count the days. As best he could figure, they were about two weeks into the journey.

Most of his initial injuries were healed enough that the pain was manageable. He'd also acquired a decent stockpile of bones, bandages, and a couple of tonics. It was getting harder to keep them hidden as the pile grew. He used his tonic to cover up the bones and tonics. The bandages were laid on top.

As far as his captors were concerned, it was a makeshift pillow made out of trash. They didn't bother with it because it looked pitiful, which was funny to them. Hiccup tried to act like he wasn't upset by the insults, but sometimes it proved difficult.

He wasn't sure when, but at some point, one of the Hunters came in and took his prosthetic leg. He thought about asking for it back, but he was pretty sure they tossed it into the sea. So now he was forced to hop or crawl to get around. On his good days, he could manage hopping around. But after some of the more intense sessions, he'd have no choice but to crawl back to his cage.

It was humiliating to be treated like an animal, and his captors knew it. They had the chief of the Hooligan Tribe, Master of Dragonkind, to do with as they pleased. Hiccup was just glad that no one from Berk was here to see him. He was glad Astrid wasn't here to see him. If he ever got out of here, he swore he'd never tell another soul about how degraded he was.

At least once, maybe twice a day, Hiccup couldn't tell anymore; he'd be dragged out of his cage regardless of what time of day it was and taken to see Skade. During their time together, Skade would take his anger out on him. The beatings weren't as bad as the first one, but they still caused damage. If Hiccup behaved during these sessions, Skade would let Jorn tend to him. But if he said something sarcastic or unpleasant about Skade's mother, he'd be doused in freezing cold water and sent back to the cage without care or food. The longest, as far as he could tell, was three days.

However, today was different. Skade seemed angrier than usual. Hiccup had never seen anyone look so red they were almost purple.

Once Hiccup was bound to his chair, Skade picked up a blade. The hunter said nothing as he thrust it into Hiccup's thigh. He quickly pulled it out, before his prisoner could react and repeated the process with the left thigh.

Hiccup groaned as he held back a scream. "What the Hel? I came in here expecting a beat down, not a stabbing!"

Skade stayed silent as he pulled the blade out. He picked up a cloth and shoved it into Hiccup's mouth, tying it in place with a piece of rope. Next, he picked up a smaller, sharper blade and placed it over a candle.

As the blade heated up, he grabbed hold of Hiccup's tunic and ripped it off with the ease of tearing parchment in half. Once the blade was burning hot, he took the tip to the captive's exposed skin and began to draw a symbol into it. The symbol of the Hunters. He was branding Hiccup as their property.

Hiccup's groans were muffled by the cloth, as his skin blistered from the burning blade. After Skade finished his artwork, he took the still-hot blade and jammed it into his victim's forearm then quickly pulled it out.

The Dragon Hunter tossed the blade to the side and ripped the cloth out of the young man's mouth. "Now that we got that out of the way, why don't you tell me what's really on that island? Because I doubt it's actually dragons."

"How am I supposed to know?" Hiccup retorted in return. "I've never been there."

"Well, a little birdie told me at a port stop that Saman Island is sacred to the Haddock Clan," Skade seethed. "The island hasn't had a dragon on it since your ancestors killed enough of them that the beasts started avoiding it. I should have known better when you caved after the first day. You'd never betray your precious dragon that easily."

Hiccup cocked his head to one side. "I've always been told I was a terrible actor and couldn't lie properly. I must be getting better if I fooled you for this long. It's been what two weeks, and you just now realized it?"

"Three weeks," Skade supposedly corrected. "You're going to pay for misleading me. Then you're going to tell me exactly how to find the damn dragons." He picked up another knife, brandishing its serrated blade close to Hiccup's face. "Do I make myself clear?"

Hiccup gulped thickly and did his best to brace himself for what was to come. His plan had failed. Now he had to come up with a new one and fast. The Hidden World was several months away. By the time his tribe figured out he was missing, it would be too late. Any chances of finding him would be nonexistent.

"Very well," Skade sighed as he set the knife down and picked up a whip. "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way."

Astrid stood on the cliff, overlooking the docks. Everyone was down there trading with the ships that had come in. She thought about heading down as well, but she didn't feel like it. She had an unsettling feeling that kept her from moving.

Every day since her husband had left, she found herself watching the waters. Her gut kept telling her something was wrong. Something had happened to her husband. She'd gone to Gothi and Gobber for advice and perhaps something to ease the queasiness. Instead of advice, she left with a bunch of herbs and tonics to take to help with her pregnancy.

She placed her hand on her growing belly. It was still small enough that she wasn't showing yet. From what Gothi could tell, she was a little more than two months along. By the time Hiccup came home, it would be hard to hide.

For a while, she tried to convince herself that it was the pregnancy making her feel this way because her body was adjusting and changing. No, something was wrong. Something had happened to Hiccup. She'd thought about holding a council meeting, but that would run the risk of revealing her pregnancy. Hooligan law forbade anyone outside the midwife or healer from knowing about it until the husband knew. It was considered a bad omen. Normally, the husband was told a few weeks after finding out to ensure the pregnancy was holding. Afterward, it would be announced to the tribe, and a celebration would be held.

But she couldn't tell her husband. He was gone, and she didn't know if he was coming back.

Author's Note: Sorry for such a short chapter, but if I made it any longer, I'd ruin the surprise. Can't have that, now can we?

Anyway, don't forget to follow and review. Let me know if you can guess the surprise.

Until next time