Safe Out of Sight - Chapter Ten

"Why not stay and be caught? You think, well, it's a thought. What would be his response?" On the Steps of the Palace: Into the Woods

Chapter 10

Mogadon couldn't remember the last time the night had been so perfect for sailing. Though the biting cold of winter had definitely established itself in the frigid sea air, the water was calm and the wind was steady, helping rather than hindering their progress toward the mainland. The night was clear as well without even the slightest hint of approaching fog; not long ago the men were cheering at their first sight of the mainland in the distance as they approached the northern coast of Ireland. Their ultimate goal, however, waited further south.

The Meathead fleet continued on past northern Uí Néill and crept along the coast, cutting silently through the water and invisible from the shore. Judging by their current progress, they would moor in Linn Dúachaill by next daybreak. Those farmers wouldn't know what hit them. There wouldn't even be time to send word to Conaille Muirtheimne; when Meathead forces reached the kingdom, they would be defenseless. Conaille Muirtheimne would no longer be a kingdom under Ulaidh; they would be a kingdom under Norman control. It wouldn't be long before the other great kingdoms of Ulaidh would fall. The mere thought of all the power, the land, the potent influence his tribe would have to spread through the land pleased Mogadon to no end. The Meathead clan had always been, and would continue to be, the greatest Viking tribe of the archipelago, it was about time that they were able to conquest and expand, undeterred by incessant need to defend themselves from dragon raids. It would all be his in a matter of hours. The next morning's sun could not pierce the horizon soon enough.

"Chief!"

One of the Meathead warriors approached the chief where he stood at the longboat's bow observing the coast as they passed undetected. Mogadon reluctantly turned from his post, somehow believing that staring in the direction of his distant goal might bring him there sooner.

"Speak," he instructed the messenger, pacing back to his post at the bow.

The messenger swallowed, suddenly afraid to do anything else for fear of his life. "Ah, we've received a response from the Hooligan's chief," he declared. There was silence. Frightened to speak again without express permission, the messenger again waited.

"And?" Mogadon impatiently prompted.

"Stoick the Vast declines to declare alliance in this matter."

The silence that followed felt like an age to the envoy, who presently feared that the Meathead chief would in fact shoot the messenger, against the recommendation of the adage. However, without turning to face him, Mogadon simply nodded.

"The Hooligans won't be joinin' us then? Fine," Mogadon conceded. "Their loss." The other man took the chief's statement as a dismissal, and quickly left to return to his post among the other men.

Stoick refused his request? No matter. By morning they would reach the shores of Linn Dúachaill and easily take the village, Hooligans or no. Their forces would move inland, and one by one each village under Conaille Muirtheimne would fall. Finally, after centuries of waiting, the dream of expansion to the south would become a reality. There was no doubt in Mogadon's mind.

They would emerge victorious.

~~~

Light was just breaking over the horizon when dragon and rider returned to the village. They swooped in over the forest, touching down at the edge of the trees, the same place from where they had taken off not long ago in the early hours of the morning. The time spent flying felt to Hiccup like an eternity compressed to pass in the blink of an eye; the freedom he had been allowed to taste in his time away from Berk was more apparent, more potent in the skies over Linn Dúachiall, and he could never happily leave it. It had only been a little over a week since the last time they flew, but gods, how they had both missed it.

Most of all, Hiccup thought as he removed his harness, the flight proved that he didn't have to return to Berk. At least not immediately. He had almost been afraid to jump in the saddle, anxious that if he made himself able, he would feel obligated to return, and heart-wrenchingly guilty if he failed to. But Hiccup found neither of these reactions occupied his mind: only a freedom that he had not previously known, which he readily embraced.

"Hiccup!"

He paused in ubuckling the saddle and whipped his head around to face the girl as she dashed towards him from the village square. Her progress up the knoll was slower than usual as she stumbled every so often over her own feet in her haste. He allowed himself to chuckle at the girl's apparent eagerness.

"Good to see you too, Regan, but I haven't even been gone half the morning," he called out, aiming his jibe at the uncharacteristic enthusiasm with which she approached him. She failed to respond to his words, keeping her head down and focusing every ounce of her energy in her stride. As she drew closer he could hear her gasping, panting desperately for oxygen and he wondered just how far she had run to meet him.

Toothless prodded Hiccup's back with the crest of his nose, effectively deciding that they needed to move forward to meet the frantic girl; something was clearly wrong. Spurred by Regan's hysterics and Toothless' cue and, Hiccup began sprinting, meeting the girl at the foot of the knoll.

He skidded to a halt only a few paces from her, but she could not bring herself to move any further. Winded, she folded over, supporting her torso only by digging her palms into her knees. Her hair was damp and ragged. Dirt smeared her shins and forearms. From what Hiccup could tell, she appeared to have travelled all the way from the far side of Ulaidh.

"Are you okay?" He bent and threw her shaking arm over his shoulder. Exhausted, she let Hiccup support nearly all of her weight as he aided her progress the few paces back to the foot of the knoll where Toothless lie in wait.

Unhooking her arm from his shoulders, Hiccup seated the girl against the Toothless' side and darted to the dragon's saddle pack. While he rooted through his supplies in search of his waterskin, he heard her groan as her breathing began to deepen. She was delirious: muscles and mind utterly deprived of energy. Waterskin in hand, Hiccup moved swiftly around Toothless to the girl who was crumpled against the dragon's side. Her panting had slowed enough so lift the water to her lips and force her to drink. She immediately coughed and sputtered, but slowly was able to sip intermittently from the skin. Hiccup was desperate to clear her mind enough to communicate coherently.

"They're…here…" she finally muttered, as weary emotionally as she was physically.

Sickening knots clenched in the pit of Hiccup's stomach.

"Are you sure? How do you know?"

"Their ships," she spat with the breath she could muster. "On the shores of Linn Duachaill."

Hiccup nearly dropped the waterskin. He suddenly felt just as exhausted as she was. He pressed an arm against Toothless in an attempt to steady himself, but collapsed against the dragon instead, slumping to the ground next to Regan.

A raid? Now? The tribe of Berk's neighboring island had just been given a chance to breathe after centuries of war, and the Meatheads chose now to launch offensive attacks? He couldn't fathom what the Meatheads could possibly hope to gain. Although, he noted grimly, striking at the most unexpected time was precisely something Mogadon would do; no village preparing for winter right after the end of festivals could possibly hope to raise defenses in time. Hiccup doubted the small farming village could raise substantial defenses at all.

Hiccup turned to Regan, whose breathing was slowly returning to a manageable rate. "How many ships are there?"

"I…I couldn't count, I just saw them and ran." Her eyes were trained on the waterskin in her hands, still seeing the boats invade the shores of her home. "It was just like the last time," she breathed, and Hiccup sensed she was on the verge of another round of hysterics. He moved to sit in front of her and folded her shaking hands in his.

"This will not be like the last time," he tried to reassure, but Regan frantically shook her head before he could finish speaking.

"They're already here, Hiccup! I don't know how to stop them now," she lamented.

"We can't stop them now," Hiccup somberly confirmed. She nearly choked out a sob, but held it back for fear of losing her mind completely. "Regan, it's going to be okay. We'll figure something out."

"There's nothing to figure out! They'll come and pillage and destroy as they please!" she countered, finally raising her eyes from her trembling hands in front of her where they were detained in Hiccup's to speak directly to him. " I…I don't think my father will be able to handle this again," she said quietly letting her face fall into her knees, and as she did Hiccup saw the girl's fiery disposition extinguish with the last of her hope. The girl who he knew inherently fought for everyone and everything she believed in was done fighting. Hiccup was not.

"Listen to me," he said again, forcing her face up from her knees. The fire in her eyes was gone. "This will not be like the last time. I promise." Motioning for Toothless to follow him, Hiccup stood, pulling Regan to her feet, and started toward the village.

"What are we doing?" she asked, struggling to move one exhausted leg in front of the other across the frostbitten ground.

"We need to at least warn the village," Hiccup replied. "And you need to find your dad."

Before Regan could open her mouth to ask why, they reached the edge of the square. Hiccup turned and held her by the shoulders to ensure her comprehension. "Go tell everyone who will believe you to evacuate, to hide in the forest, and just get them as far away from here as you can. Then meet Toothless and I back here with your dad."

She opened her mouth again to question him, to somehow glean some logical reason for his commands, but decided against it. At this point, her life and the life of her father depended upon Hiccup. Blind trust was her only option, and as far as she was concerned, Hiccup had already proven himself more than trustworthy. Nodding, she ran away from him to the east of the village.

"C'mon, bud," Hiccup said waving for Toothless to follow him. "We're going to fix this."

The pair made their way around the edge of the village square. It was early enough that the square was still empty, but Hiccup stopped and turned to Toothless before entering the square regardless. Though it was most likely safe to let Toothless be seen by the peoples here, they were currently being warned of an impending invasion, and he deemed it unwise to introduce an unfamiliar creature to a crowd of panicked villagers. Hiccup was not about to take any chances.

"I'll be right back, bud, just wait here," he said quickly before leaving the dragon to dart towards to forge.

When he entered, the forge was in the same state he had left it in mere hours before. It was a million times more organized than Gobber's had ever been, even on its best day, which allowed Hiccup to follow a direct path to his workbench in the corner. His project still sat on the surface, unfinished but safe and functional, and Hiccup thanked Odin for his ridiculous work ethic that forced him to complete it thus far the night before. Gathering the tail under his arm, Hiccup rushed out of the forge once again to meet Toothless where he left him at the town's edge.

When Hiccup approached him, Toothless eyed the foreign tailfin under the boy's arm skeptically.

"Don't worry bud," Hiccup reassured as he moved to the dragon's tail to attach the new prosthetic. Under different conditions, Hiccup would have been happier to show Toothless the new design, excited even. A tail that the dragon could operate could mean that Hiccup could be giving him back the independent flight that he would never forgive himself for taking…but now, with an impending raid closing in on them, the only thing Hiccup could feel was determination.

Hesitant, Toothless investigated the new tailfin, jumping in surprise when it opened by itself. As he watched the new prosthetic change shape to mimic his own tailfin, anxiety seized the dragon's mind. He wouldn't need Hiccup to fly. While normally the concept would be intriguing enough to motivate him to at least try flying on his own again, Toothless was well aware of the danger surrounding their current position. If the boy expected him to leave him here, unprotected…

"Don't worry, Toothless," Hiccup repeated, seeing the panic in the dragon's eyes. "Everything will be fine." Utterly unconvinced, Toothless' expression didn't change. Frankly, Hiccup didn't convince himself either. He was prevented from explaining himself any further by Regan, who approached with her father.

"Hiccup!" she called, and ran from her father to meet him as he approached. She eyed the tailfin under his arm for a split second before disregarding the topic, knowing this was no time to question him. "I warned as many people as I could. Not many seemed to believe me."

Hiccup grimaced, though he had expected as much. "Who would want to?"

The girl grimaced as well, agreeing that no one would. "At least we tried."

"Right," Hiccup replied. They tried, and now it was Hiccup's job to make sure they succeeded. He handed his harness over to Regan. "Toothless will take you and your dad back to Berk. You'll be safe there."

Regan's eyes widened as she stared at the harness that had been placed in her hands, barely registering Hiccup's words. This time she couldn't stop herself from conceding without argument. "You want me to leave? But…"

"You need to go with your dad to make sure he's okay," Hiccup countered before she could speak. "Talk to my father. Tell him that the Meatheads have invaded Linn Dúachiall and that I sent you to send reinforcements." Though reluctant to drag anyone else into the brewing conflict, Hiccup knew better than to go into the fray and confront Mogadon alone when there were innocent lives at stake. The Hooligan warriors could certainly hold their own against the Meatheads, especially on dragon-back.

"Your father?" Regan questioned.

"The chief. Stoick the Vast," Hiccup replied. His secret had finally been blown.

In any other situation she may have given Hiccup a direct punch to the chest, in all likelihood accompanied by accusatory shrieking for keeping such an enormous aspect of his identity secret. Luckily, Regan was simply too overwhelmed to do more than stare and accept his words.

"Okay," she agreed, and Hiccup was suddenly transported back to the cove not months ago when he stood with Astrid in the moonlight reflected off the rippling lake. He watched her as she spoke incessantly, enthused with their new findings. They had been shown the nest that their ancestors had been searching for relentlessly for centuries. The nest that Hiccup absolutely needed to keep a secret from his father.

"To protect your pet dragon?" she had asked, incredulous. She worried if she had even heard him properly.

"Yes." Hiccup's response was resolute, leaving no doubt in her mind of his intentions. The idea of keeping the nest a secret from the chief, from Hiccup's own father, was unfathomable to Astrid. It directly opposed everything she had ever known, ever believed. Yet the absolute certainty of Hiccup's answer caught her off guard. She wondered if she had ever heard the awkward, bitterly sarcastic boy ever say something with that much conviction in her life. Or stand so tall. Even his posture, strong as opposed to its customary insecure slouch, supported his statement. There was no way for her not to believe in someone who was that steadfastly committed to their words.

"Okay," she had finally conceded.

Just as Regan did. Regan showed him the same trust that Astrid had in the cove. Both believed in him even after discovering his secrets and lies. Both trusted him when it mattered most. Hiccup nodded, both in acknowledgement of her agreement to his plan and in thanks.

"Let your dad know what the plan is. I'll go get Toothless." With a nod, Regan ran back to her dad, leaving Hiccup to turn to Toothless.

The dragon was clearly anxious, experimenting with the tail, uncomfortable with the foreign mechanism. His eyes bore into Hiccup's own, worry permeating his brow. Hiccup placed his hands on Toothless' head, stroking his snout in an effort to placate both the dragon as well as himself. "It'll be okay, bud, I promise." Unconvinced, Toothless moaned and nuzzled his head against the boy's hands. Hiccup couldn't blame the dragon for doubting his words; from the way his voice was shaking he could barely convince himself. All assurance from his conversation with Regan had left him, leaving him vulnerable and afraid. For the life of him, Hiccup could not pinpoint why.

Exhaling, Hiccup closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to Toothless' scaly snout. The dragon gurgled, and the sound travelled through Hiccup, calming him to his core. Together, he and Toothless were capable of anything. Nothing stood a chance against them: not ancient dragon demons, not vicious hordes of Viking raiders. The thought of facing Mogadon on his own terrified Hiccup more than he could ever say. The thought of leaving Hiccup alone, even for a short time, to face whatever danger was clearly coming terrified Toothless even more.

But he could do it. Toothless believed in him, whether he was physically there to support the boy or not. Hiccup just needed to believe in himself as well.

"We'll see each other soon. I promise," Hiccup said, pulling his face back to look Toothless in the eyes. "It's you and me, bud."

Hiccup could read Toothless' whole-hearted agreement clear as day in the eyes that stared back at him.

Turning from Toothless' gaze, Hiccup called to Regan and her father. The two villagers came and mounted Toothless' saddle, following Hiccup's instructions. Immediately, Toothless crouched and took off into the sky. Hiccup watched them disappear and then turned his attention toward the village behind him.

It was time to fix this.