The Heirs of Berk

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟙𝟜

Hiccup's POV

It was dark. The only light source was the faint glow of a dying lantern.

I could hear the sea as it beat against the sides of the ship, and the shouts of men above. But I couldn't hear the familiar wing beats of dragons.

I leaned against the wooden wall, letting the ship's rocking get to me. I closed my eyes, imaging being back on the Edge, leaning against Toothless. Not in this cold, slimy ship.

The rope that bound my hands was rough and extremely tight. The Hunters had taken my prosthetic leg after they threw me in the cell and promised to throw it into the ocean. Without it, I couldn't fly Toothless, and unless someone else would, Toothless couldn't fly, period.

So even if I managed to get my hands free, there was little chance of escape.

I sighed, wishing Astrid would hurry up. At this point, all hope rested on her. But from what I could tell, it had been hours. And the Riders still weren't here.

Viggo had probably sent them some threatening note. Or... something. Something that made them hesitate. 

I refused to believe that they had been captured too. 

Honestly though, if Viggo had the others, I would know. He would be gloating and going on and on about how there was no stopping him this time. He might not have even stopped there.

As far as I could tell, the only prisoners on this ship were the dragons, me, and...

Coughing suddenly came from the cell across from me. My eyes flew open. I sat up as fast as I could, with my hands tied behind my back and the uneasy moving of the ship beneath me. Carefully, leaning against the wall, I stood up. Hopping on one leg as fast as I could, I made it to the door. I gripped the dragon proof bars and stuck my head out as far as I could, trying to see in the fading light.

Another fit of coughing came from the opposite cell, followed by a low groan.

"Acacia?" I asked as loud as I dared. "Acacia!"

A weak voice replied, but it was in the dragon's language. I remembered her saying that she could speak their language when we first met, but it was a little unnerving. I worried she wouldn't understand me. What if she spoke Dragon so much, that's what she defaulted to when she was only half-conscious?

"Acacia?" I asked again, praying for a response.

I finally got one. This time she replied in Norse. "Hiccup?" Her voice was barely a whisper, "What... where am I? What did you do?"

I cringed, remembering how my friends had blown up her mountain last time. She has every right not to trust you, I told myself.

"I didn't do anything, I promise," I answered softly. "I'm your ally. Toothless and I are prisoners here too."

Acacia didn't reply for a second, and when she did, her voice already sounded stronger than before. "Who's Toothless?"

I smiled. "My dragon. The Night Fury," I added.

"Why would you name the 'Offspring of Lightning and Death itself' Toothless?"

It felt good to laugh. She sounded so aghast, I couldn't help it. "We get that a lot. But he has retractable teeth, and when we first became friends he had them hidden."

"Cool," she said. "Um, is he here? You said that you were both prisoners."

"Yeah," I said with a sigh.

When Acacia's voice came again, it wasn't in my language. She said something in Dragon, and then waited. A second later, a familiar purr replied. Then Acacia replied, and Toothless said something else.