Of the Northmost Winds and Skies

Chapter 40: Jackson says goodbye

Jack watched Jamie and Toothless disappear in the darkness before he took a steadying breath and turned to Hiccup.

"Let's go," he said, and started walking.

Hiccup looked like, if there had been a table nearby, he would've flipped it. At least given it a passionate attempt. "Go where?" he demanded. "Jack, what is going on with you?"

Jack bit his lip. He stared at his bare feet for a few moments, trying his best to meet Hiccup's eyes, but for some reason it was extremely challenging. He touched the mark on his face. "I can feel her power building up somewhere on this island," he said. "She'll be here. That's what F- Uh, I mean... The one I talked to said."

"And who was that?" Hiccup asked.

Jack glanced at him, then quickly looked ahead again. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh? Oh? We're there again now, are we?" Hiccup suddenly grabbed his arm, turning him around to face him. His green eyes blazed. "Jack. Answers. You promised."

For a moment, it felt as if Baby Tooth's magic was failing, because Jack promptly forgot how to construct a proper Norse sentence. He swallowed heavily.

"Do you... notice anything different about me?" he asked.

Hiccup stared at him. His eyes went down to his feet, then to his staff, and then tentatively back to his eyes. "Which song did we sing together?" he suddenly asked back, his voice quiet.

Jack raised his brows. "Do you seriously think the Snow Queen would've thought it a clever tactic to ask, 'do you notice anything different about me' if I were one of her puppets?"

"I'm almost entirely sure you're you, because the Snow Queen wouldn't know about your weird grudge against footwear," Hiccup said, "but it would still calm me down if you answered the question."

Jack's heart felt more like it was vibrating than beating. "'Not the Settling Kind,'" he answered. He tried fighting the smile creeping onto his lips, but it was futile. "I'd love to hear it again when we're done with this. And you didn't answer my question. Come on." He nodded for them to start walking again. The ground sloped upwards.

"Well," Hiccup said, gesturing exasperatedly at nothing in particular. "You definitely don't seem to be on the brink of death anymore. A good change, it's not that, but I'm just a tiny bit worried about how you achieved it."

"I told you," Jack said, ignoring the faint pang of disappointment in his chest. "I got help. Anything else, though?"

Hiccup sent him a weird look. "You..." he started uncertainly. "You seem nervous."

Jack smiled wryly. "I am nervous," he agreed.

Hiccup was quiet, waiting for him to continue. Jack tightened his grip around his staff.

"I met one of your gods," he said. "A goddess."

Evidently, this was not what Hiccup expected to hear. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Before he had the chance to ask which goddess, Jack continued:

"She wasn't what I... hoped she would be," he said quietly. "I hoped she'd be powerful, but she said this was something I had to do myself. All she could do was help me on my way. And she did. I sacrificed the shoes – sorry, please don't ask – which gave her enough magic to power the crystal and get my staff back. She... Well, the gods were the ones who brought me here. They left one of the crystals with us, so that we'd have a chance to find our way home."

"So you were right," Hiccup said. "The crystals will take you home. But... how? I never understood what it is you see in there. What happened just now, between you and Jamie?"