Hiccup sat in the corner of the cell the Hunters shoved him into, pulling on the chain attached to his good leg. It had been several hours since they captured him. They just chained him up and then left.

He could feel the ship moving through the water. He could hear the Hunters talking above him. He could see the daylight fading away through the small holes in the hull. Aside from the sounds of the ship, he was completely alone with nothing but his own thoughts to keep him company.

"Maybe this trip wasn't such a good idea after all," Hiccup said to himself.

The young chief eventually fell into a restless sleep in the furthered corner of his cell. His dreams were disorienting switching between past battles, saying goodbye to Toothless, and what might lay ahead as a prisoner.

He woke up to the sound of the cell door creaking open. Before he could fully wake up and see who it was, he was doused in a bucket of cold water.

"Get up, boy," the Hunter ordered. "Skade wants to see you."

Hiccup stood up and watched as the Hunter undid his leg shackle. The Hunter then cuffed Hiccup's hands together and dragged him out of the cell. He was led to the far end of the ship where the captain's quarters were.

The Hunter opened the door and shoved Hiccup inside. Sitting at a desk was Skade, he was sharpening one of the many tools he had laid out. A few feet in front of the desk was a chair with two chains attached to the front legs and one bolted to the floor in front of it.

"Let me tell you how this is going to go," Skade started. "You are my prisoner and you will remain that way until you tell me where the dragons are. The only time you will be allowed out of that cell is when I decide it's time for a little discussion. You'll be fed once a day. No one will talk to you, look at you, or do anything with you unless I say so. Do you understand?"

Hiccup said nothing and just glared at the man.

Skade set the dagger down, stood up, and walked out from behind the desk. He grabbed Hiccup by the tunic lifted him off the ground and threw him across the room. "This is your one and only chance to tell me where the beasts are. I suggest you take it."

Hiccup sat himself up, staring at his captor. "I don't know where they are. I've already told you this. The tribe woke up one day and they were gone. We spent weeks searching and found no trace of them."

Skade picked his prisoner up again with one hand and pinned him against the wall. With his other hand, he punched Hiccup in the jaw. He then dragged the dazed man over to the chair and sat him down in it. The captain set to work hooking the chains to Hiccup, making sure he was securely bound.

"Let's get started then, shall we?" Skade said. "Maybe a well-deserved beating will loosen that tongue of yours."

He grabbed a hammer off the desk and brought it down onto Hiccup's right shoulder. The young man bit back a scream as his right side vibrated with pain. Skade repeated the process with his left hand. Hiccup bit back another scream as his hand curled in on itself.

Over the course of the next few hours, Skade used a variety of blunt-force objects and beat Hiccup with them. Soon the prisoner was covered with bloody bruises and swollen joints.

Skade set down his club and leaned against the desk. "I think we've accomplished quite a bit today, don't you?"

Hiccup weakly lifted his head, only for it to fall back down against his chest as he let out a small groan.

"I'm not without mercy, you know," Skade offered up. "Just give me a sliver of information and I'll let the healer bandage you up and get you a hot meal. I'm sure you're thirsty and starving."

Hiccup pondered his offer. Maybe he should tell him where the Hidden World was. He didn't have to give an exact location, just had to get the ship near enough to call for Toothless. But he'd betray Toothless's trust. Not to mention any survivors that made it home would tell everyone the location. Or he could give misinformation and guide them to Saman. At least there, he'd have a bit of an upper hand. That is if he was in any condition to fight by then. That was a chance he'd have to take.

"Okay," Hiccup replied hoarsely. "I have an idea where some might be."

Hiccup sat in the corner of his cage, with his knees curled up against his chest. It hurt to sit in this position, but it was by far the least painful. He stared at the small crack in the hull that was letting the last of daylight shine through. It would be dark soon and he'd be shrouded in darkness.

He doubted the hunters would give him a candle. He was their prisoner and would treat him as such. No luxuries unless their leader said otherwise. One of the luxuries had already come and gone. A healer by the name of Jorn. He only knew the name because one of the Hunters shouted at him for taking forever. He'd given Hiccup the best care he could have given the circumstances and even slipped him a tonic as he was leaving labeled 'Sleep'.

The other luxury was supposed to be a hot meal or at least edible food, but instead, he'd been given a plate of scraps. He tried picking through it for something to eat, but it was all bones and rotten fruit. He'd tried eating some of the good parts of the rotten fruit, but in the end, his stomach protested, causing him to throw up.

Before they came and took the plate away, Hiccup hid some of the bones in his vest. He was hoping that if he started collecting what little they gave him, he'd be able to fashion a weapon of some kind and escape. If he remembered the layout of Hunter ships correctly there were at least two small boats stored at the bottom of the ship. If he bided his time and learned the schedules of his captors he could get out here and sail back to New Berk.

With his new home covered in complete darkness, Hiccup slowly unfolded himself from his curled-up position and took off his vest. Every bit of movement hurt and he had to bite his lip to keep from screaming in pain. He removed the bones and tonic from its pockets and hid them in a corner. He wasn't going to take the tonic out of fear that it wasn't what it said it was. Instead, he'd hold on to it hoping to use it against his captors.

Next, he removed his prosthetic leg, put it up against the wall, and leaned his back against it as he lay down. He positioned himself facing the cage door so that he could watch and listen for passerbys. Carefully, he folded the vest up into a makeshift pillow and rested his head on it.

As he lay there, he thought back to his conversation with Skade.

"It's a sacred island," Hiccup said. "About a month away from here. It's called Saman. It's a sacred island for my tribe. I found some old journals that said one of the first chiefs trapped some dragons and released them on the island. So I decided to go looking."

Skade studied the man. "How do I know if you're telling the truth?"

"You don't," Hiccup stated. "You sank my boat. All the information was on it. You only saved the map because I was holding it. Now you only have my word to go on."

"That's unfortunate for both of us then," Skade replied. "Because until I see a dragon, you're going to hand over all the information about that island you have tucked away in that head of yours. You'll draw me a map of that island if I so wish."

Hiccup let out a weak chuckle. "That's not happening any time soon. You broke my hand, you damn idiot."

Skade responded by grabbing a fistful of Hiccup's hair, lifting his head then punching him in the jaw. He let go letting his prisoner's head drop as he walked away to get a guard. "Take him back to his cell."

Hiccup stifled a yawn as he tried to stay awake, but eventually, his battered body and overwhelmed brain demanded proper rest. Well as proper as it could get given the circumstances. Giving into his body's demands, he closed his eyes and drifted off into a restless sleep.