HTLANF: Hidden World

Chapter 8

Once all the fires were put out, Valka called a town meeting. Everyone was gathered in the Great Hall shouting and talking as Valka tried to get their attention.

"Alright! Alright, everybody! Settle down, please!" She yelled to try and get everyone to quiet down.

Her words went unheard as the shouting and talking continued. Kala and I looked at each other worriedly and then turned our attention to Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs, have you ever seen that species of dragon before?" I asked, knowing that Kala hadn't ever seen them with the way she filled with fear earlier as they destroyed our home.

Even though he was still out of it from the dart Grimmel shot him with, Fishlegs nodded in agreement, then fainted and fell out of his chair as the effects took hold of him yet again.

"Let me at 'em!" Spitelout shouted from the crowd.

"I'll give him a piece of my mind. And by mind, I mean fist!" Another Viking shouted and then proceeded to punch the person next to him in the face.

"Did you miss the part where we almost died?" Kala asked, rather upset. "Have you seen our hut? This is a new kind of enemy and we underestimated him."

"That's on us. But we will not do that again." I added, seeing that Kala was beginning to get too upset as tears formed in her eyes.

She smiled at me slightly as I rubbed her back and I smiled back softly.

"We're Vikings! We don't run from a fight. At least I don't." Snotlout said, then he pointed accusingly at Eret. "You might."

"I agree with Hiccup and Kala. We haven't seen the last of Grimmel. He's a predator, single-minded and patient. He won't stop until he gets what he wants." Eret explained with his arms crossed.

"I'm with Eret." Valka said with a nod. "We have to take this threat seriously. Grimmel is just a sign of the times. Our enemies are getting smarter, more determined."

"We're not just overcrowded. We are exposed, and vulnerable. Short of full-blown war and risking everyone we love." I said as I pulled Kala closer. "I don't...I don't see a way of us staying here any longer, Chieftess."

"What did you have in mind, Hiccup?" Valka asked, but before I could answer her, everyone started to shout again.

Nanna then threw one of her axes into the table to get everyone's attention, which actually worked. "Hey! Hear him out!"

She then sat back down beside Heather and nodded at me with a small smile, which I returned with my own nod before I turned my attention back to Valka.

"If we want to live in peace with our dragons, we need a better plan." I said, mentally preparing myself.

"So, what are you sayin' lad?" Gobber asked.

"I'm saying we have to disappear. Off the map. Take the dragons to a place where no one will find them."

"And where might that be?" A random Viking asked.

"The Hidden World." Kala said confidently as she stood straighter against me.

"The hidden what?" Another Viking asked.

"Out to lunch." Ruffnut joked.

Tuffnut laughed from beside her and smiled. "Yeah."

"My father was obsessed with it when I was a boy. He made notes and maps in search of the ancestral home of all dragons, tucked away somewhere beyond the edge of the world." I said, hoping that the tribe would agree to look for it.

"It may be the solution we need." Kala added, wanting to help convince them all. "We're dragon people and it's the home of all dragons. The least we could do is take them home and protect them from people who wish them harm."

The tribe didn't seem to believe in anything Kala and I told them as the commotion started up once more, but it was cut off as Valka raised her hand.

"While it may be painful, Hiccup and Kala have a point. This is our home, and Stoick left us to protect it. But Berk is more than this place. We are Berk! The people! The dragons! Berk is wherever we go." Valka reasoned.

Tuffnut then jumped up from the bench he and Ruffnut sat upon and lifted his fists. "I'm with them! Who else?!"

~~~HTLANF~~~

After the meeting, the tribe scrambled to get packed up to leave. Amongst the packing chaos, Hiccup remembered something and ran to the prison hold. He then unlocked the cells that had prisoners in them, not looking at a particular prisoner to keep calm and collected.

"You're all free to go! Just find a way off the island! Take boats or tame a wild dragon if you have to!" He shouted as he finished unlocking the cells, then he made his way back outside to finish helping with preparations to leave.

Kala looked at him and smiled softly. "That was kind of you to do."

"Well it would be cruel to just leave them locked away in a prison hold to rot away in an abandoned village. And that's not the kind of person I am." Hiccup explained.

Kala wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. "One of the many things I love about you."

Hiccup purred and rested his forehead against hers with his eyes closed as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Not the time lovebirds!! We gotta go!!" Snotlout shouted from Hookfang's back.

Hiccup and Kala broke out of their trance and separated as the severity of the situation sunk in once more. Hiccup then transformed into his dragon form and Kala attached their belongings to his saddle. Once she was sure everything was secured properly, she mounted his back and secured herself then they were airborne not a second later.

They looked back as they left Berk for the last time with tears in their eyes.

"Goodbye Berk..." The two Night Furies said solemnly.

~~~HTLANF~~~