zenith
(n.) the highest point, culminating point
You stared with goggling eyes at the boy in front of you, the shock never leaving your features even after seconds ticked by. Erland uttered a simple hi and gave a short wave while you were still comprehending his presence here. Though you stopped the intense gawking and broke off the trance after noticing a sharp axe clutched in his hand.
Your mind started racing, wondering that's the real reason Erland was here and you were desperately hoping that it wasn't for something malicious. Maybe he wanted revenge for being treated unfairly and he caught you when you were the most defenseless so you tried to pull the door as discreetly as possible. But in the end Erland still noticed that and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"What-What are you doing here?" You asked anxiously, not able to stop your eyes darting back and forth between Erland's face and the axe he's holding. He must've noticed your eyes shifting occasionally and followed your gaze to where you were looking. Erland's whole face softened when he realized what was causing your distress.
"Oh my gods, (Y/N), I'm not here to hurt you." Erland said with utter disbelief laced in his voice. He took a step forward after that, seemingly trying to prove a point and even if his words sounded reassuring enough, you were still cautious and started closing the door even further.
"(Y/N), I came to apologize." Erland breathed out and you stared at him askance, not fully believing him with that weapon in hand.
"And this is just a gift! Don't worry!" Erland exclaimed speedily, from the tone of his voice and the honesty in his face, you could only assume he was telling the truth. Even so, it wasn't enough to make you let your guards down.
"I know this might seem a little surprising-" Erland began but then his voice trailed off when the sound of thrumming footsteps started echoing loudly through the island and you both turned around to find fuming Hiccup approaching fast.
"You." Hiccup's voice came out as a hiss when he arrived in close distance. "What are you doing here?"
The glare on Hiccup's face was so deadly so much so that if looks could kill, Erland would be long gone. The moment you and him locked eyes, a shiver ran down your spine when you saw the burning hatred hidden behind his narrowed eyes.
Erland let out a sheepish laugh and rose his hands in defense. "Wow, calm down Hiccup." He said, attempting to diminish the situation in a joking way.
But the stern expression on Hiccup's face didn't shift a bit and then Erland spun around fully, now fixating all of his attention on the brown haired boy instead of you. "I came to say sorry Hiccup. A-and I brought a gift!"
Erland hurriedly handed Hiccup the axe he was holding and watched as Hiccup just looked at the metal object without batting an eye. He remained completely unamazed by it and slowly, the smile on Erland's face began fading.
"How...considerate." Hiccup finally uttered a response with a slight scowl and his reaction wasn't something unexpected. Of course he didn't take liking to the gift because axes weren't really Hiccup's cup of tea. And you could only assume that Erland just randomly picked this weapon and gave it to Hiccup without putting much thought whatsoever.
"Also I don't need your apology. Now leave." Hiccup said coldly, shoving the axe back to Erland's chest and pushing past him without seeing the shock that crossed Erland's face in a flash.
"What? I walked miles on the frozen sea just to come here and apologize to you and this is how you repay me?" Erland scoffed bitterly. When he said how he got here, you couldn't help but wonder whether that was a lie or not. Because the water was frozen solid after all and boats could hardly move in it.
"I don't care how you got here and I definitely don't care about your pointless apology." Hiccup replied with a harsh tone in his voice, he had his eyes narrowed dangerously at Erland who was clenching his fist and looked like he was going to burst with anger.
In all honesty, from the looks of it, you were expecting another fight to start between the two of them. All the glaring and the thick tension that was increasing with each passing second made it easy to believe that one of them would strike soon. Surprisingly though, Erland seemed to act on a whim and calmed down.
"What will it take for you to forgive me then?" Erland asked tiredly with a sigh.
"If you go away." Hiccup replied instantly like he has been waiting for this question for ages. Vexation found its way back to Erland's face and there was no doubt that if this conversation continues, it will turn into an argument very quickly. So you decided to step in before things escalate to a more serious degree.
"Hiccup, just give him a chance..." You said, curling your arms around his hand in a reassuring manner and then pursed your lips when Hiccup's cold stare was turned to you.
He was ready to deny but then you added a supplicate 'please' and it made him consider his answer. For a while Hiccup's eyes darted from you to Erland as he debated what to to and it looked like he wasn't going to accept, but then he sighed and finally replied. "Okay, fine."
When he said that, a small smile appeared on your lips, but then it faded when Hiccup continued speaking.
"Even though you were the one that said you wanted nothing to do with him." Hiccup said and crossed his arms leaving you short of words and for that you only remained silent about his comment because it was true.
"So uh, thanks for the gift Erland, I'm sure Hiccup would find a good use for it." You changed the theme by taking the axe from Erland's hand, hoping that this would distract him from Hiccup's statement.
"Yeah, in the trash." Hiccup murmured a remark and you shoved his side, shooting him a pointed look.
Hiccup didn't even care he only looked back at Erland with a serious face.
"What's the real reason you're here?" Hiccup questioned, squinting his eyes at the sandy coloured boy who only rolled his eyes in response.
"I already told you Hiccup, I came to apologize for hitting you that day..." Erland awkwardly trailed off. "I just lost my control and acted on impulse, I'm very sorry."
You were in dilemma at what to think about that, whether to trust him or not. Hiccup, on the other hand, didn't seem to put much thought and nodded in response. "Sure, I forgive you."
When he said that, you were genuinely surprised and Erland seemed to be as well, his eyebrows arched up after hearing Hiccup's seemingly earnestly response, but they fell back when Hiccup added another comment. "Now leave."
And that was enough to convince Erland and you that his reply was nothing more than a feigned one.
"If that's what you want so bad...I guess I'll just walk back to the island on foot, maybe die if the ice breaks..." Erland sighed sadly as he took slow steps away. But even if you weren't in good terms with him, you still didn't want him to get frozen out there so you called out for him.
"Erland wait. I'll give you a lift." You said and watched as Hiccup snapped his head in your direction.
"What? He's obviously trying to get you to pity him so he can use you." Hiccup narrowed his eyes at you, but you waved him off and whistled for Crystal. There was a burst in the distance and all of you watched the two dragons coming out of the stables and running towards you. When they arrived you watched as Hiccup's eyes traveled from you to Erland with a cautious look.
"Wait, (Y/N)." Hiccup spoke up and you rose a brow at him. "Before you go, at least let me give you the present."
Even if this was a bad timing, you still wanted to get your present since you had been waiting for it since yesterday. So you turned to Hiccup and tried to conceal the smile.
"Happy Snoggletog." Hiccup said happily, handing you over a thin, long, wooden box you noticed he was carrying earlier but you were too busy dealing with Erland to care. Now though, you took the box with a wide grin. You were too excited to just set it away and see what's in it later, so you grabbed the cover of the box and opened it right away.
You stared in amazement at the multiple objects placed inside. There was one blue bow and a dozen ot arrows, they were both standard and made from wood but the one thing that distinguished them from an ordinary set of archery equipment were the metal tips on the ends of the arrows that were painted to look like the head of a Stealth Strike.
(Thanks JevxtraQueen for the gift idea uwu)
"Thank you!" You exclaimed and pulled him in an embrace. This set will come in handy considering you had lost your previous bow and arrow and couldn't find them anywhere. You mentioned this to Hiccup a few weeks before and it was nice that he remembered enough to make it into a surprising gift.
And since Hiccup gave you his present, it was an unspoken rule that you had to give him yours. It was your turn and you pulled away with a smile, but when you noticed Erland was also present there, your smile turned into an unsure look. Your eyes traveled to the small box you left on the table, but the gift inside was something that you didn't want Erland seeing again.
It was the dragon lens you two found and if he sees that 'worthless treasure' again, there's no doubt that he'll be asking a lot of questions as to why you still kept it. While you were contemplating what to do, the two boys were staring at you and you knew you had to make a choice soon.
"I-I'll go get your present now." You laughed awkwardly as you jogged up the stairs. Once you were on the second floor, panic spread instantly and you paced left and right trying yo think of what to give Hiccup. You peered from above, worried that they had might've taken the box and opened it. But Hiccup and Erland were standing there ignoring each other by looking opposite ways and thankfully the box was left untouched.
You started rummaging through the cabinets in hopes of finding anything, but the only thing that could pass as a gift was a journal and ink you bought recently for yourself. Considering the current situation, you might have to get another pair because this was the closest thing you could find that could even count as a present.
So you pursed your lips and hid the journal and ink behind your back as you walked down the stairs. Your stomach knotted as you neared Hiccup and guilt slowly trickled through you just by imagining the disappointment on his face when you give him the gift.
"Um. Happy Snoggletog..." You awkwardly said and held out the two objects in front. You were expecting a scowl to cross Hiccup's features but instead his whole face lit up when he looked down and a broad smile spread on hie lips.
"Oh my gods (Y/N) , thanks! How did you know I needed this?" Hiccup said enthusiastically and took the journal and ink in his hands. He looked so excited over a simple book and you could only imagine how thrilled he would be when you give him the actual planned present.
"Magic." You replied, rolling along with his enthusiasm. Hiccup paced a soft kiss on your lips and instantly there was a huff from the side.
"Really? You like a bunch of papers stacked together more than the axe I worked so hard to make?" You both looked at Erland who had his arms crossed and watched the two of you with a displeased look.
"A rock would be a better gift than your axe." Hiccup said in response, the happy expression on his face long gone and replaced by a cold one. You let out a sigh at his stubbornness, feeling fed up with their constant snappy comments going back and forth.
"Well you know what? Fine!" Erland seethed. "I tried being nice but looks like you don't even care-"
"True." Hiccup interjected and Erland grit his teeth furiously, looking like he was doing everything he could in order to suppress the urge to scream in anger.
"Okay (Y/N) let's go. It was obviously a mistake I came here." Erland said, sending one last glare at Hiccup before going to Crystal who was watching all of the bickering unfold. You followed Erland and even after having your back facing Hiccup, you still heard him saddle up and that made you turn around with a curious look.
"I'm coming with you." Hiccup said before you even asked. You didn't mind that at all and only nodded, Erland though, burst into laughter.
"First you don't want to see me and now you're coming with us? Make up your mind Hiccup." Erland rolled his eyes.
"I'm only coming because I don't trust you alone with (Y/N)." Hiccup replied and thankfully Erland didn't say anything and the bickering stopped at last.
Crystal and Toothless lift off simultaneously and headed to Rocksmond island. The trip to there was problematic to say the least, most of the time Hiccup and Erland were bickering like little kids and if they weren't doing that, then nobody would be talking and there would only be an awkward silence to fill in the space. And you didn't know which one you preferred more.
You regretted not getting a coat to keep you warm from the crisp air that was cutting through like blades. You exhaled a shaky breath and watched as it clouded up in the cold air. You tried to keep your teeth from chattering, but it was too hard due to the freezing weather.
"So why are you two all fancied up?" Erland spoke out of nowhere and surprisingly it wasn't a witty remark or something mean.
"It was Snoggletog yesterday, we were in Berk at a celebration." You provided a brief answer, not caring enough to continue the conversation because of the way Erland has been acting up.
"Oh cool." Erland replied shortly after and you expected that to be the end of the talk, but instead he kept speaking with a more quiet tone. For a second you wondered why, but then you processed what he said and understood the reason. "You look beautiful by the way."
Erland was the last person you expected to compliment someone so that left you dumfounded for a moment until you gathered your wits to utter a reply. "Um, thanks." Your voice came out as a sheepish murmur and looked back at Hiccup to see if he had heard. But thankfully he was staring up ahead and probably didn't heard a thing.
"I really thought this would work." Erland sighed and you hummed in response, trying to keep your demeanour of complete disinterest.
------
You grew bored shortly, staring at the grey sky and frozen water for hours was definitely not fun. But something dark blue in the far distance captured your attention and it made question start to pop.
You squinted your eyes to get a better look, but you weren't able to distinguish what it was. In size it looked massive and you didn't knew whether Crystal had increased her pace or the thing was moving very fast in your direction.
"Uh, Hiccup? What's that?" You anxiously called out to the auburn haired boy that turned around to face you. Hiccup then followed your gaze and after seeing the thing ahead, his face scrunched up in bewilderment.
"Lets get a better look." Hiccup said and with one swing of Toothless' wings, they stormed ahead. When Crystal did the same, you heard Erland try to suppress his whimpers from behind and you couldn't help but snicker.
You glided through the wind with rapid speed, the wind harshly hitting against your face and making it red. The coldness was making all of your muscles slowly stop working properly.
Though after nearing and inspecting what the thing was, your heart dropped to your stomach in one millisecond. There, sailing in the water was a gigantic ship that was covered with blue metal from top to bottom, it had numerous contraptions on the upper deck ranging from slingshots to boulder throwing catapults. The people on board all looked up in your direction and started yelling, running around and supposedly going to their positions.
The ship was cutting through the frozen water like it was a piece of paper and you couldn't wrap your head around how it was even moving forward. But you stopped pondering when after spotting a very familiar woman standing proudly on the ship with her hands on hips.
"Indrix." You breathed out.
"Get them!" Indrix yelled loudly and your eyes widened at her order. A rain of arrows were immediately fired in the sky, all with green tips that would undoubtedly send Crystal plummeting towards the water if one of them hits her.
Crystal was able to evade them by spinning around, but unfortunately you weren't holding onto anything that made slip away from the saddle with a look of horror. You were now falling from the sky with an ear piercing shriek, your arms and legs flailing in every direction as you hoped that it would somehow slow down the descending.
"Crystal!" You shouted in fear, seeing the frozen sea nearing and no sign of your dragon coming to the rescue. You weren't even looking where Crystal was, the only thing your eyes were fixated on was underneath and how you could be soon crashing through the ice. You closed shut your eyes, expecting a harsh impact, but instead you felt two scaly paws wrap around your arms and lift you above.
You pried open your eyes and to your surprise the paws holding you weren't navy blue, instead they were black and after looking up you were met with Toothless' toothy smile.
The relief only lasted for a second because suddenly a large net was thrown over Toothless and he struggled to stay afloat. All of you were pulled to the ship and you could hear Erland yelling your name as he and Crystal flew towards you.
But after looking around and assessing the situation, seeing as how many archers there were, the chances of them not being hit was very slim.
"No! Don't!" You shouted back and Crystal came to a halt with a confused face, Erland on the other hand, gripped the saddle forcefully in order not to fall off the dragon due to the sudden stop.
"Go get help!" You added and watched as Erland stared with a reluctant expression, probably debating what to do in this situation. But after another set of arrows were fired, Crystal took actions and started retreating backwards. She turned around and flew away speedily but not before taking one last hopeless glance back in your direction.
"What was that for? He should've freed us!" Hiccup complained with a tinge of annoyance in his voice.
"Do you want all of us to get captured?" You shot back. "Because that's what would've happened if they tried and then nobody would know where we are."
"We'll be long gone even if he finds help. How will anyone find us?" Hiccup asked, but you didn't have time to reply because the crew finally stopped dragging you on board and you were now facing smug looking Indrix.
"That was a wrong move (Y/N)." Indrix laughed and as if on command so did the other people around her. Toothless didn't wait any second and fired a blast to cut the rope, but that only backfired and hit him back in the face. The puff of grey smoke was the thing that followed along with Indrix's snicker.
"Dragons. Dumb as ever." Indrix said.
"You wouldn't be saying that if the net wasn't here." Hiccup retorted like he has taken personal offence from her remark and to that Indrix just shrugged.
"Well too bad." She replied nonchalantly and then looked at the guards. She nodded at them and it seemed like they had a silent agreement because the guards started approaching you and they began dragging the net away.
"Let us go." You sneered at them but they did nothing except move forward in silence. You were no long able to see the sun after entering the inside of the ship where the hall was dimly lit. You asked numerous times where they were taking you, but each time you were greeted with no response.
Until finally the guards opened a door that led to a large empty cell and left the three of you there before leaving with a harsh slam of the door. You instantly jumped forward to try to cut the rope, but even after pulling, twisting, stretching it left and right, nothing worked.
Toothless attempted to bite it with his teeth, but the rope could withstand even the Night Fury's sharp teeth.
"What's this even made from?" Hiccup asked, taking the net and inspecting it closely. You all stopped moving when the door opened and it revealed Indrix standing on the other side.
"I hope you're enjoying my hospitality." She said with a fake smile and you couldn't help but grunt at her words. "You should enjoy it while it last because you're not going to be here for long."
Your eyebrow arched up at that. "What's that supposed to mean? Where are you taking us?"
"You're gonna wait and see." Indrix grinned, she threw some small rectangular box inside the cell and spun on her heels before leaving. Upon hitting the floor, the box instantly started letting out green gas that looked similar to a Hideous Zippleback's.
Of course inhaling it in small doses wouldn't cause anything, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it would be a totally different situation if it was a large mass. Which it currently is, because the gas has been expanding through the whole room and since there weren't any windows, the gas stayed in the same place and only traveled from the ground to the ceiling.
No matter how much you wanted to hold in your breath, it was near impossible not to inhale for more than thirty seconds. And once the gas passed through your nose, you immediately broke into a coughing fit.
Each time you drew in a breath, the gas only clogged your throat to the point where it felt like nothing was entering your lungs. Your head was pounding so rapidly and your heart was hastily thrumming against your chest.
Hiccup was in the same condition, coughing repeatedly while Toothless was desperately trying to ventilate the place by swinging his wings, but if anything, it only made it worse.
When your vision was starting to become blurry and and you felt dizzy even sitting, you knew it was too late. Not a second later, you were enveloped in blackness and hitting the hard floor was the last thing you remembered before fully blacking out.
-----
You slipped in and out of consciousness multiple times, feeling yourself getting carried somewhere. Even though you were aware of your surroundings for only a couple of seconds, it wad still enough for you to hear some bits and pieces of someone's conversation.
Erland did his job perfectly. He lead us straight to them! Now all its left for me is to...
You recognized the excited voice belonging to Indrix, though when you tried opening your eyes, it felt like bricks were pulling them down and you only managed to catch a glimpse of the blue metal floor before passing out once more.
-----
The second you awoke, all of your senses returned in a second and with that, the throbbing pain on the back of your head. It stung like a hive of thousand bees, making you twist around in hopes of lessening the agony, but it didn't help.
You pried open your eyes and was met with the exact same thing when they were closed, complete darkness. It was pitch black in the beginning, but when your vision started adjusting, you noticed a figure sitting on the opposite side. You blinked a couple of times in hopes of seeing better in the dark and it helped in a way, you were able to see that the person was Hiccup.
"Hiccup?" You managed to called out, your voice raw and hoarse like you haven't been talking for months.
"Hey Hicc, are you awake?" You tried again. Even speaking required a lot of energy and it was unusually exhausting to ask the question, so much so that you were out of breath by the time you finished. But nonetheless, a reply never came.
You wanted to go towards Hiccup and check up on him, but only when you attempted to move did you found out that your wrists and ankles were firmly tied with a rope. A deep sigh spilled past your lips as you fell back to the wall. This was exactly like Indrix's prison, no windows, no light, no nothing, just absolute darkness.
There was a strong jab on your head, like something had hit you from inside. It made you hiss in pain, but you bit your lips and suppressed it.
You tried calling out for Hiccup a bunch of times, but it didn't work and you were fearing the worse. Why wasn't he waking up?
As minutes passed by, the pain started to reduce and the dizziness slowly faded away. You never stopped attempting to wake up Hiccup but he didn't show any signs of consciousness, the only thing making you sure he was still alive was his uneven breathing.
Your thoughts came to an abrupt stop when out of nowhere, the doors sprung open with a bang.
The loud and sudden movement made you flinch and instinctively leap to the side in surprise. When you looked up, there was a buff man standing at the door, his piercing brown eyes staring down at you with a serious expression.
The two of you held eye-contact for a while and the more you examined his face, the scarier it got. A long scar stretched from his eyebrow down to his eyes, making his face look more grotesque than it already was. But you stopped thinking about his appearance once he started advancing towards you with fast steps.
"N-No. Go away." You started crawling back to the corner, fear slowly seeping through your veins. Your heart started pounding when your back hit the wall and there was nowhere left to go.
The man cut the rope binding you yo the wall and lifted you off the ground without much effort. You started yelling at him to put you down right away, albeit the man still kept walked to the door. You called out for Hiccup, hoping your voice might wake him up, but he still remained knocked out in the corner without moving a muscle.
The man slammed the door and started walking Thor knows where with you over his shoulder. You hit him repeatedly to let you go, but it seemed like he wasn't affected the slightest and your hits were like feathery taps. Once you accepted the fact that hitting him wasn't doing any damage, you started looking around the place and trying to figure out where you were.
Looking left and right, you noticed that there was no metal in sight, meaning that this was definitely not Indrix's ship. The walls and floor were made out of standard wood and that only made you wonder what actually happened while you were unconscious.
Hundreds of question started popping in your mind. Where were you? Who was in charge in this ship? Where were they taking you? What next?
While you were too busy contemplating those questions, the man knocked on a door and awaited for an answer. There was a muffled reply from inside saying come in and after that, the man opened the door. This time though, he did it gently without much force, which was fairly surprising considering he wasn't this careful with the doors at the cell. But there was no doubt that the boss was in the other room and that's why he was this considerate.
The man placed you on your feet and you glared daggers at him, completely ignoring the other person sitting behind the table. That is, until they spoke up.
"So we meet again, (Y/N)." Your heart stopped the moment you heard the man's voice, you could distinguish his rough and gravely tone anywhere and it simply made your blood run cold.
"Ryker." You uttered, spinning around on your feet to face him. Ryker, who was previously sitting in his wooden chair, now stood up and started walking towards you with an intense stare. Usually you were easily intimidated and looked away, but this time you kept his gaze and stared back with a matching expression.
"What do you want from u?" You asked.
"I would've said the Dragon eye but that's already taken care of." Ryker slightly shrugged his shoulders and you furrowed your eyebrows. Confusion flooded your mind as you were pondering what he meant by that until finally you decided to ask.
"What's that supposed to mean?" You questioned and squinted your eyes just a bit.
"It means, Indrix is already on her way to get it for me." Ryker responded and you let out a huff, trying to suppresses the laughter from showing in your tone.
"Yeah, good luck with that. There are dozens of islands, how will she ever find ours?" You countered with a triumphant smile, thinking that there was no way they could find the Edge, but once Ryker gave a reply, you realized just how wrong you actually were.
"She doesn't need to. Erland led her straight to it." And in that moment you remembered how you got yourself in this mess in the first place and how you played right into their trap. So this was all just a carefully thought out ploy.
Your mind then drifted to Erland and how he still got Crystal with him. Anxiety instantly started knotting in your gut, wondering where they were now. Maybe Erland trying to save you was just an act to lure you into thinking he might actually go and search for help. But now after seeing how the situation was, that scenario seemed most likely.
"Her ship will be blown up before she even comes close to our island." You idly boasted, knowing well that what you were saying was far from the truth. Even if the gang was back on the Edge, the dragons' fire power would be no match for Ingrid's steel ship, they would probably not even make a dent in it.
"You can give yourself false hopes as much as you want." Ryker said and then got a little bit closer to your face, his eyes dangerously narrowed as if he was staring at your soul. "But know this, I will not rest until the Dragon eye is in my hands."
You scoffed at his words. "Well then, sorry to burst your bubble but it looks like you're never gonna rest."
Ryker cracked a ghastly grin and didn't make any further comment, but the look on his face was enough to make your blood curdle. Ryker began walking towards the table and you straightened up.
"What are you going to to with us?" You asked, somewhat afraid of his reply. But before Ryker could say anything, the door opened with a harsh slam and a red head waltzed in.
"Rykie! Why didn't you tells us the guest is here." The person spoke enthusiastically and after taking a close look at them, you remembered it was the same guy from the last time you encountered Ryker. You were struggling to recall his name, but didn't need to.
"Dagur. How many times do I have to tell you not to interrupt me in my business?" Ryker's annoyed voice boomed in the room and while they were too busy arguing about who's the boss in this ship, another girl walked in and the two of you locked eyes for a moment before she looked away.
"Helen?" You murmured and watched as the black haired girl shifted her gaze back to you, an offended look crossing her features.
"Its Heather." She corrected and you nodded in acknowledgement. Before you could ask her anything, Ryker called the buff man and you glanced at him only to find him making a shooing movement with his hands. Without any warning you were forcefully grabbed and yanked over the man's shoulder, this took you by surprise and you let out a gasp.
"Let me go! Where are you taking me?" You protested and only earned a laughter from everyone in the room. Their menacing looks only made your
blood boil even more, but the only thing you could do in this situation is helplessly watch them as you were carried away.
"You'll pay for this." You sneered at the guard who only rolled his eyes and didn't make any comment. After reaching the cell, the buff man opened the door and practically threw you inside like you were a rag doll. A groan left your lips when you harshly landed on the floor.
"(Y/N)!" You heard Hiccup exclaim and snapped your head in his direction. Relief washed over you instantly after seeing him up and awake.
"You brats better get used to this place, you'll be seeing it for a very long time." The buff man said before closing the door. Your eyes remained on Hiccup as the light from outside was slowly disappearing and dimming his features until the cell was pitch black once again. There was a loud click as the door locked and not a second later Hiccup spoke up.
"Where are we?" He questioned impatiently.
"On Ryker's ship. I have no idea how we got here." You replied with a sigh. "And also Indrix is on her way to the Edge."
"Wait, what? But its completely unguarded." Hiccup gasped incredulously, a tinge of fret hidden in his voice. He kept talking about all of the bad things that could happen when she arrived at the Edge and with each thing mentioned, you drowned in guilt even more.
"Ugh, okay stop! I know that all of this is my fault." You exhaled an exasperated breath and Hiccup stopped talking.
"(Y/N), I never said anything like that." Hiccup replied with a more calmer tone.
"But you were thinking it, yeah?" You said with a forced chuckle. "I know it was wrong from me to tell Erland to go get help and I'm sorry, I should've known better. And it turns out he was working for Indrix all this time. His apology was just a facade."
"I knew it!" Hiccup's frustrated voice came from the side. He was right all along. "You never should've trusted him."
"Yeah, who knows where Crystal and Erland are right now..." Your head sunk lower as multiple scenarios played in your head, all bad thoughts hazing your mind.
"(Y/N), listen. We'll get out of here and find Crystal, I promise." Hiccup's reassuring words provided no security whatsoever and you could only hope they weren't just empty words.
"But what if we don't get out of here? What then? What if nobody finds us and we're stuck here forever?" You countered, seeing how the chances of that happening are the more higher.
"You worry too m-" Hiccup stopped talking when the two of you heard the metal clicking of the keys opening the door and a second later it sprung open. The light from outside blinded you for a moment, but you were able to distinguish the person standing in front of you and it was clearly not the buff guard. Instead it was Heather who walked in with a serious expression. She placed a wooden plate in the middle of the ground and you stared boredly at the single bread placed on it.
Dinner. Fun.
"Listen carefully." Heather whispered with an assertive voice and that made you look up with an arched brow. Heather glanced back and forth between you and Hiccup and you both gave her confusing looks. You were expecting her to just turn on her heels and leave, but instead she stepped further inside the cell.
"The key to this door is in the bread. When you hear a tap on the wall, you'll quietly walk out of here and go to the third door on the right. That's where Toothless is, you get him and bust out of here. Am I clear?" Heather spoke so fast, perhaps fearing that someone might catch her doing this. But you were more fixated on what she was talking rather than to worry of her getting caught.
"Wait, why are you helping us?" You couldn't help but ask the burning question that piqued your curiosity the moment she started speaking about the plan.
But Heather completely dodged your question and just repeated her last sentence with a more demanding tone. "Am I clear?"
You bobbed your head speedily and earned a nod from the black haired girl as well. She crouched down and pulled out a sharp knife, your eyes widened in fear and before you could even process what it was for, Heather started cutting the ropes on your wrists and then moved to the ones that were tied to your ankles.
"Heather, you don't need to work for Ryker anymore. Come with us." Hiccup said from the other side. You watched as Heather's face softened at his words, she glanced at him and for a split second it looked like she was seriously considering his offer, but then the serious expression returned and she went back to cutting the rope.
"I can't...Not now anyway. I need to sort things out." She replied reluctantly and straightened up.
"Now remember, tap on the wall, third door to the right, blast out and head south." Heather clarified once more. She was closing the door but then threw something towards you. You weren't able to see what it was, though you somehow managed to awkwardly catch it and realize it was a key.
Heather closed the door and a loud clock followed after she had locked it. You twirled the key in your hand for a moment, pondering what they could be for until Hiccup spoke up.
"What did she give you?" He asked and it clicked right away that it was the key for the chain bound around his hands.
"A key. Hold on." You replied and began blindly walking to Hiccup with your arms stretched forward in case a wall is there.
There wasn't a single shine of light to help you guide yourself so you left it all on your senses. When you finally found him, your hands traveled to the metal lock and you unlocked it effortlessly.
"Thank you." Hiccup said gratefully.
-----
You expected to be on stand by for a minute or two, but it felt like more than half an hour passed since Heather left.
"Why do we have to wait? We have the key, we can just bust out now." You said with a whine. The impatience was getting the best of you and it was too boring to sit around and do nothing when you have all the means to escape.
"Yes we can, but we'll wait for the signal." Hiccup replied and you rolled your eyes, even though he couldn't see. But perhaps he was right in a way, maybe there were more guards out there now and the chances of getting captured were larger.
So the two of you remained silent and waited for any sound. Time passed slow and you weren't sure how many minutes have gone by, but then there was a soft, rhythmic tap that repeated once or twice.
"Is that it?" You asked, unsure whether this was the signal Heather was talking about. Though when the tapping began again, you knew it wasn't just a coincidence.
"Lets go." Hiccup muttered and unlocked the door. He opened it carefully, but it still creaked enough to be heard from the other side of the hall and it made you grimace and wish the door to be opened faster. Hiccup and you slipped outside and followed Heather's instruction, you counted until you reached the third door and Hiccup flipped through the set of keys.
He continuously tried them in the lock, but with each time that it didn't work, your heart sank lower and lower until the fear started creeping in. You looked left and right in distress, thinking that someone might walk pass and see you two but then after a moment, Hiccup finally opened the door and you both walked in.
Toothless' head shot up and a glimmer of hope shone in his eyes. It pained you to see him locked with chains preventing him from moving and a wide muzzle covering his snout. Hiccup wasted no time and rushed to his dragon while you stayed next to the door and kept guard.
You restlessly tapped your foot on the ground and pursed your lips as you were listening to Hiccup try and unlock the chains but none of the key seemed to fit.
"Come on, hurry up slowpoke." You ushered him, nervousness finding its way in your voice. Hiccup only replied with an agitated 'I'm trying' and then continued unlocking the chains with a more faster pace. The anxiety you felt was minimum compered to when you heard laughter echoing through the hall and hard footsteps approaching.
You closed the door and slammed your back against it, fear quickly replacing all the calmness on your face. "Hiccup I swear if you don't open those chains right now-"
"Two more and we're out." Hiccup interjected hurriedly.
You let out a sigh and concentrated on the guards outside, their footsteps were getting louder which meant that they were walking in your direction and that only made you even more fearful. For a moment it felt like they were going to stop in front of your door but instead they kept walking further and there was no doubt that the people were heading towards the cell. You heard the harsh slam of a door being opened and a loud gasp following afterwards.
"They're gone!" A panicked voice shouted from outside which meant all of assumptions were true.
"What do you mean they're gone?!" The second voice shout and the two men outside instantly began bickering and you heard them run off to somewhere, probably to report back to Ryker.
"(Y/N), lets go." You heard Hiccup say and turned around to find him already saddled up on Toothless. You murmured a relieved 'finally' before walking towards them and climbing up as well.
Toothless fired up a plasma blast that it blew up the whole wall. When the sea came into view, Toothless spread his wings and flew out of the ship without a care in the world. Fortunately for you, nobody was quick enough to process the escape and the arrows they shot were too out of range to hit Toothless. Instead the crew on board concentrated more on leaving the now sinking ship.
Half of the ship was in flames and people were scampering left and right trying to find escape boats, some even jumping in the cold water. Toothless didn't go too far so you were able to spot angry looking Ryker storming out of the head office. He shouted something but it was undecipherable so you just turned around and let out a sigh, glad to have gotten out without any obstacles.
-----
Toothless soared through the morning sky, occasionally flipping his wings for a boost. The sun was just starting to rise up from the horizon adding a tinge of orange to everything around, the rays of the sun started spreading as the it ascended.
You rested your hand on Hiccup's back and wrapped your arms around him. "You're really clumsy, you know that?"
Hiccup simply chuckled at your words. "Well we got out, didn't we?"
You hummed in response, too tired to respond with anything so you let your eyelids drop and tried to catch some sleep. But that proved impossible since your whole body was shivering because of the cold. You pried open your eyes to find some parts of the water has solidified and they became more frequent as you passed them to the point where the whole sea underneath you was frozen.
A shaky breath escaped your lips as you rubbed your hands in order to warm up, but that provided no heat whatsoever.
"You okay?" Hiccup asked and tilted his head behind to look at you from the corner of his eyes.
A smile stretched on your lips at the worried expression on his face. "Yeah, I'm just cold."
"Wait." Hiccup said and took off the fur vest he was wearing, while you stared at him wide-eyed.
"No, don't. I'm fine like this, really." You waved your arms dismissively, regretting ever telling him about your state because now Hiccup was offering the only thing that was keeping him warm.
"You need it more than I do, here."
Hiccup smiled warmly and handed you over the vest which you reluctantly took. You were thankful for his chivalrous act and really wanted the vest, but at the same time you didn't want Hiccup to freze because of you.
"Are you sure? You can keep it if you want. You don't have to prove how much of a gentleman you are." You laughed and still held out the vest in case Hiccup changed his mind and want the clothing back.
"(Y/N), I grew up in Berk, the coldest place in the world." Hiccup replied with a laugh. "So you best believe I'm pretty used to it by now. So take the coat and stop protesting."
You rolled your eyes at him, there was no changing his mind now. Rather than fight it, you accepted it and put on the vest.
It was especially cozy and had a heavy scent of pine trees, it was almost as if a warm blanket has been placed around you.
"You're too sweet Hiccup."
-----
After flying for a solid hour, multiple specs of colours appeared in the sky far ahead and you squinted your eyes to take a better look. Relief washed over you when you realized it was the gang flying over. So even if you didn't escaped, help still would've arrived sooner or later. But waiting wasn't an option in the ship.
You waved your arms wildly at them and got the same reaction from them as well. But when your eyes concentrated on someone peculiar, all the relief vanished in a second and vexation slowly took its place.
It was Erland happy as ever, still riding on Crystal and pretending excited with his fake grin and gleaming eyes, but you knew everything was just a well planned act. Upon nearing, all of the gang burst into questions surrounding whether Hiccup and you were okay and what happened to the two of you.
But you didn't paid any attention to them, instead you focused your glare on Erland who's smile was slowly beginning to fade after seeing your furious expression.
"Get off my dragon right now." You snarled, suppressing ever urge not to scream at him. Erland looked surprised at the tone of your voice, along with everyone else, though your eyes still remained on Erland.
"Whoa, calm down (Y/N)." Erland awkwardly chuckled, looking around at everyone individually. "A simple thank you would've been nice. You know, I flew all the way back to Berk to get your friends." Erland added.
"Cut the act Erland, I know you're working for Indrix and Ryker." You shot back intensely and watched as Erland's face scrunched up in bewilderment. Everyone else had matching expressions but nobody dared to interfere.
"What? I certainly do not work for Indrix. And who even is this Ryker guy?" Erland fumed and you rolled your eyes at his confused facade.
"Oh please, don't pretend you don't know."
"But I don't. Really!"
"I heard Indrix say that you did your job perfectly, leading us to her... And if that's not enough proof, then I don't know what is." You crossed your arms and sent a look of askance in his direction, wondering how he'll get out of this one and what lie he'll come up with.
"Look (Y/N), I have nothing to do with this. Indrix probably followed my tracks and I was just a pawn in her game-" Erland tried every excuse in the book, but neither was enough to convince you that he's innocent.
"Oh shut up." You murmured to yourself as Erland kept talking.
"Listen, if I was on her side do you think I would've searched for your friends? Or come after you two?" Even though he had some valid points, you couldn't be too sure that he was telling the truth. Perhaps his apology to Hiccup was just a distraction so he can knowingly lead Indrix to the island.
"I don't believe you." You replied earnestly. Each time Erland appears, there's always danger around the corner and that only made your trust towards him lessen drastically. But this was the final straw.
"If you want me to be the bad guy so much, then fine!" Erland exclaimed and he started guiding Crystal forward. Your breath hitched. Was he finally showing his true colours and running away? Or was he going to confess about his wrongdoings?
"Where do you think you're going? Cone back here!" You ordered and almost got up, ready to jump towards them and prevent him from leaving with your dragon. But it turned out that action wasn't really necessary because Erland started descending to the frozen sea. You eyed him suspiciously as Toothless flew down as well.
When both dragons were on the solid ground, you hopped off the Night Fury and marched towards Erland who got off as well. You started moving towards them with marching steps.
Before you could start scolding, Erland spoke up and slowly started walking away. "Here's your dragon (Y/N) and for the record, I don't work for Indrix."
"I don't care. You can go on your own from now and I hope we don't cross paths ever again." Your voice was so low to the point it sounded more like a growl. But even so, Erland didn't seen the least fazed by your words and the determined expression on his face didn't shift a bit. He only walked past you, giving you one last sour look like you were his worst enemy.
"I wish I never met you." Erland shot back without skipping a beat, his back facing you as he walked away. You would be lying if you said that his words didn't sting even a bit. But you had it coming after everything you had said to him. Erland passed Hiccup and they both shared their same old glare which hopefully would be the last.
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