His wrists were raw. The unpadded metal rubbed sores into Hiccup's skin. Hiccup woke up back in the pit. He felt oddly at peace, even with the events of yesterday. It wasn't the drugged kind of peace, either. Savage lowered himself into the pit. He had a wooden cup with him, and some food.
Hiccup rasped out, "I won't drink that. I'm not going to be drugged again." Savage scowled at Hiccup's lack of cooperation. "You don't have a choice. Your parents want you to be present at negotiations, and Alvin won't let you be there unless you're sedated."
Hiccup hesitated. His parents WANTED to be around him? Why? He had to find out. Hiccup glared at Savage. "Fine." Savage grinned in triumph. "You used to be so much easier to deal with. Why do you now insist on doing everything the hard way?" Hiccup shot Savage a look of pure hatred. "I got a taste of freedom."
---
Hiccup was once again dragged, sluggish, into the Great Hall. The Berkians were already there. Astrid looked relieved, his mother looked concerned. Gobber was busy making sure Stoick didn't charge Alvin. Stoick looked angry. It was a different kind of anger than Alvin's, though. Alvin's anger is greedy, sinister. Stoick's anger is for the good of others. Hiccup had only ever seen Alvin's type of anger on Outcast Island. Astrid had looked like Stoick when she was angry. Maybe all Berkians were like that?
Alvin was speaking. "Hiccup, we won't have any more... incidents, will we? Savage, is he drugged properly this time?" Savage smiled. "Yes, this time he's not faking."
"Good. Now, where were we..." The negotiations were tedious. It was about things like food and supplies, and they kept going back and forth. If Alvin got frustrated, he pulled a knife out of his pocket and started sharpening it with a whetstone. He just looked pointedly at Hiccup, and Stoick would immediately become much more cooperative.
Hiccup hated feeling trapped inside himself. He wanted to move, to speak! He didn't want to have to kneel there in a drugged stupor. Savage kept his foot on the back of Hiccup's leg, forcing him to stay in a kneeling position. It wasn't as if Hiccup could move- or could he? The drug was wearing off again. Finally! Hiccup fluttered his fingers at his side, revelling in their mobility. Unfortunately, Savage noticed Hiccup's fingers. "Sir! The drug's wearing off! The boy can move!" No! Why was he so stupid? He should have stayed stock still! "Put him back in his cell. I'll have a session with him tomorrow, to discipline what happened yesterday. His mother looked panicked. "No! Please, let him stay!" Alvin whipped around at her and snarled, "shut up! He's going!"
Savage began dragging Hiccup away. Hiccup struggled as best he could, but was making no progress. "Help" was all he could manage to get past his dry, cracked lips. He looked pleadingly at his parents, begging them to do something, anything. He knew what Alvin meant by a session, and it wasn't good. Stoick got into a shouting match with Alvin, but accomplishing nothing. There was no use struggling. Escape was impossible. Hiccup was pulled back into the underground tunnels, back to his gods-forsaken cell.
---
That night, Hiccup sat there. He was thinking. What had happened to Toothless? Was his dragon (yes, Hiccup already knew he was meant to ride the night fury) okay? He hoped so. He liked Toothless. Toothless had agreed to help Hiccup, even though they had only known each other for a few hours.
Hiccup was broken out of his reverie by the sight of two people jumping down into the cell. Hiccup shrank back in fear. "W-who?" Was all he could croak out of his aching throat. "It's us... Son." Hiccup's eyes widened as the two shapes moved forward and began unshackling him. He recognized his father, along with Gobber. They helped him to his feet. "Do you need help?" Whispered Hiccup's father. "No, I'll be fine." A girl with an axe peeked over the rim of the pit. It was Astrid. "Come on! Hurry! We can talk when we get to the ship!"
---
The four- no, five Berkians slipped across the docks to where a ship was docked. They hurriedly boarded, and the crew shoved off. Suddenly, an alarm bell rang and Outcasts ran to the docks. At their head was Alvin himself. By the time he got there, the boat was out of reach. "I'll get you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third!" Stoick scowled and stepped up to the bow. "You'll never hurt him again!" Alvin grinned. "Oh, I think I will!" Stoick shouted over the sound of the oars. "Over my cold, dead body!" By then, Alvin was almost out of hearing distance, but they faintly heard, "that could be arranged!"
---
Astrid had taken Hiccup belowdecks, where she was wrapping his wounds and giving him food and water. She offered Hiccup herbs to numb the pain, but Hiccup flat out refused, saying that he didn't want to be drugged. Astrid tried to explain to Hiccup that he'd still be able to move, but Hiccup shrugged her off, instead asking, "is Toothless okay?" Astrid sighed and nodded. "Yeah, he's fine. We didn't have enough room on the ship, so he had to stay back on Berk."
Hiccup nodded, relieved. Was he really free? Was it possible? Astrid seemed to know what he was thinking about. "You're safe now, Hiccup. We're going home!" Just then, Valka walked down the stairs hesitantly. Astrid excused herself. On her way out, Astrid paused and darted forward to kiss Hiccup on the cheek. "I'm glad you're alright."
Hiccup sat there, dazed, touching the spot where Astrid's lips had touched his face. His mother chuckled. "Well, at least I got to see your first kiss." Hiccup grinned and said, "Yep, Mom! Is that okay... Mom?" Valka had tears in her eyes. "Y-yes Hiccup. Mom is perfect." She embraced Hiccup. Hiccup hadn't ever had a mother's love. It was a new feeling, being loved, wanted, instead of just being a trophy or a tool. "I-I worried that I would never get to hear you say that." Valka looked ten years younger. Her son was safe.
Stoick walked into the room hesitantly, almost afraid. "Hiccup?" Hiccup smiled softly. "D-Dad?" Stoick's eyes filled with tears. "Hiccup, I'm so sorry. If I had listened, left someone with you-" Hiccup shook his head resolutely. "No, Dad. If you had left someone with me, they would have been slaughtered by Alvin's men. Don't think like that. You rescued me, that's the only thing I care about." Stoick hugged his wife and son. "Thank you, Hiccup."
---
Hiccup kept bonding with his parents during the three-day journey. He and Astrid talked as well. He eventually got up the nerve to tell Astrid that he liked her. Astrid immediately punched him, saying, "That's for taking so long!" And then she kissed him, saying, "That's for everything else." Hiccup grinned smugly. "So, does that mean you'll be my girlfriend?" Astrid rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course!"
Hiccup's Mom decided that she wanted to get Hiccup to put on some weight. He was still light as a feather. Unfortunately, Valka's food wasn't exactly... Palatable. Of course, Hiccup wouldn't dream of hurting his Mom's feelings, so he choked down the food alongside his father, who could hardly eat the rock-hard meatballs. Gobber put a stop to it when he said, tactlessly, "Valka, your meatballs kill more men than battle axes. Stop trying to poison Hiccup and Stoick!"
Hiccup explained his talent with dragons to his father. He was extremely nervous, but Stoick believed him without hesitation, mostly because he had met Toothless. They had very awkward conversations, but Hiccup knew his father loved him.
Hiccup was fascinated by the idea of a forge, bending metal and creating tools with fire. Gobber happily offered to teach Hiccup smithing, and Hiccup quickly agreed, looking like a kid at Snoggletog. Sadly, when Stoick told Hiccup that, Hiccup looked at him blankly and asked, "What's Snoggletog?" The only holiday the Outcasts celebrated was Alvin's birthday.
---
The ship approached Berk's harbor. Hiccup was nervous, not just because he worried about the villager's reactions, but because he knew that he still looked beat up. Three days wasn't enough time to heal fifteen years of hurt. Hiccup's face was still bruised, his wrists wrapped in bandages. He was thin and weak. Stoick walked up behind where Hiccup was standing at the rail, looking apprehensively at Berk. He seemed to know why Hiccup was worried.
"It's alright, Hiccup. Trust me, they'll understand. You're the first person to ever escape Outcast Island. They know that you can't come out of that without a few marks."
Hiccup sighed. "I know, but I can't help it. All my life, Alvin told me that nobody on Berk wanted me, that I was better off with him. I just hope he was wrong."
Astrid walked up and said, "Hiccup, of course he's wrong. You're one of the greatest people I've ever met." Astrid kissed Hiccup on the cheek and ran off. Hiccup just stood there, dazed. "Wow." Stoick just laughed knowingly.
---
The entire tribe was gathered at the docks, waiting for the ship. Spitelout was standing at the front of the crowd. As Stoick's brother, he had been acting chief while the others were away. The other Chieftains were also there, waiting anxiously to see whether Berk had allied itself with the Outcasts. As the gangplank was lowered, Stoick stepped ashore first.
"People of Berk! I have good news! We are no longer under the Outcast's thumbs! My son has come home!" Stoick moved aside to reveal Hiccup standing beside Valka on the gangplank.
The crowd went wild. The heir had returned! With Hiccup's freedom came their own freedom. The Berkians knew that if they agreed to the treaty, the Outcasts would slowly increase their demands, until they had sucked Berk dry.
The Berkians wanted to go to the Great Hall, to celebrate and hear about Hiccup's rescue, but Stoick refused, saying, "Hiccup needs to rest, and so do the rest of us. I'm getting too old for this! I will join you in the Great Hall later, but for now, my family and I will go home!"
Astrid gave Hiccup a small kiss and walked over to her parents, hugging them and assuring them that she was fine and yes, the heir was her boyfriend.
---
Hiccup walked through the door of his room and froze, stock still. "Hiccup? What's wrong?" Asked Valka.
"I-I remember Dad's hands, and you smiling at me. I remember that toy-" Hiccup pointed at his old stuffed Nadder that was sitting on the nightstand, an altar to the Haddock's lost son.
Hiccup's voice darkened. "I remember the sounds of screaming and fighting outside, and I remember a person dressed in black, who I knew wasn't one of my parents, grabbing me and jumping out the window."
Hiccup sat down heavily on the bed. "This is where it happened, isn't it? Where they took me?" Valka nodded sadly. She sat down next to her son and put her arms around him, drawing Hiccup into a comforting hug.
"It's alright now. Alvin will never go near you again."
A/N: Hello dragons and dragons-at-heart! I am not dead! Yay! Sorry, I've been very busy lately!