Lèse-majesté

Part 51

Chapter 50

"AAAAHHH!!" Astrid screamed as she plummeted to her doom. Would she land on the rose bushes below the balcony and break her neck from the fall or was she pushed further away and would the wrought iron spikes of one of the fences impale her? In her panic, she had not heard the whoosh through the air, only as scaly paws grabbed her leg and slowed her descent did she realize that she had just been saved.

"I'm sorry I'm late M'Lady," Hiccup spoke as Toothless held her securely by the leg while flying back up.

"Hiccu-AH!" Astrid was so very elated the man had saved her. Unfortunately, she would have preferred to have been in a less... compromising position.

"Hiccup! Quickly put me down!" Astrid yelled as her face had turned red from mortification and hanging upside down. Both rider and dragon looked down to see if Astrid was slipping away only to be met with a very provocative sight. Hiccup, in his daring rescue, had forgotten to take M'Lady's clothing into account and now Lady Astrid hung upside down from a dragon, quite a few meters in the sky. Her hoop skirt, petticoat, and dress all followed the natural force of gravity and hung over her head.

Quickly and still blushing Hiccup had Toothless land, flopping Astrid onto the damp grass. "Uhm... uhm...." Hiccup was stammering, trying to make a coherent sentence while Toothless simply gave Astrid a lick after she righted her dress.

"We will talk about this later. Go get the Prince!" Astrid uttered which spurned Hiccup back into action. Just as she said that glass could be heard shattering nearby and a white blur shot out into the sky and into the oncoming dragon army.

She watched Hiccup and Toothless take to the skies after the Crown Prince on the white blur, likely to be the very dragon Hiccup had been trying to track down. From the distance, she could see the sea of dragons parting as they barreled through. The skies seemed to be in chaos in the distance as cannon fire could be heard from the watch tower ramparts separating the city into sections.

She gripped the hem of her dress and rushed back into the palace. Hiccup would be alright she reasoned. She had to do her part of the plan still. Returning the throne and the army to the rightful ruler.

Meanwhile, the wind was beating against Hiccup's helmet as he and Toothless chased down the man who caused this whole fiasco. The dragon flocks parted like the sea as the Lightfury shot through them. An aerial collision would be the worst thing to happen right now, especially as most of the dragons had been friendly with the furies for years.

Toothless increased his speed to try to catch up to his mate but they had to swerve out of the way as ballistae and cannonballs were aimed at them. Hiccup really hated those contraptions. It had caused him and the other riders a significant delay when they reached the mainland.

They were more of a target now as the Prince's soldiers had realized just who they were chasing. "Come on bud. Time to get her back." Hiccup patted Toothless' side and then indicated that they should head up into the clouds to disappear.

Prince Grimmel looked around him as the scenery raced by. With no one apparently following him anymore he let out a sigh of relief, yet this was premature as the next second the telltale whistling sound of a Nightfury could be heard. The Prince looked left and right but failed to look up as Hiccup and Toothless divebombed him off of the Lightfury's back.

Toothless had managed to knock the Prince off and then proceeded to pick him up mid-air by his fur cloak. The Prince struggled and yelled obscenities, especially after seeing who had grabbed him, Lady Hofferson's supposedly commoner suitor.

"Hiya," Hiccup said while giving the Prince an awkward wave. "Lady Astrid is going to be so glad when I bring her this gift."

"Boy! You think you've won?" Grimmel hissed before letting out a shrill whistle. Hiccup blinked in confusion as to why but that was swiftly answered when a plasmablast hit Toothless, knocking Hiccup off and causing the Nightfury to release the prince from the shock. All three of them were now falling to their doom. Hiccup was scrambling to get back on Toothless's harness as a white blur swiftly flew passed them and picked up Grimmel.

Hiccup and Toothless had managed to pull up mere meters from the ground. The cobblestones of the town square would fortunately not be stained red today. At least Hiccup hoped so as now the Prince was angry and on the attack.

The man had the high ground as he had the Lightfury fire plasma bolt after plasma bolt at the duo. "Something isn't right bud," Hiccup frowned as they weaved and dodged the barrage of attacks. "I hate to say it but we might have to bring her down,"

Toothless whined at this but nothing else seemed to be able to stop the Prince right now. "Bud you and I both know she would never obey the Prince. Heck, she tried to take my head off three times when we met," Hiccup muttered. Toothless whined again and reluctantly released a plasma blast that clipped one of the wings causing the Lightfury to fall onto the cobbled stone and take the Prince with her.

"You stupid beast!" Grimmel growled as he stood up, or tried to. His leg was bent at an odd angle from the fall and he hissed in pain as he attempted to move. Hiccup and Toothless landed and as Hiccup dismounted he unsheated his sword to approach the Prince.

Hiccup was nearly halfway to the defeated Prince when the Lightfury regained consciousness, blood-red eyes zeroing in on Hiccup, a plasma blast aimed at him at point-blank range. Hiccup's eyes widened upon seeing the red eyes. Before the plasma blast could be unleashed however Toothless pounced on his mate and held her down while letting out a sad whine.

The Lightfury struggled under Toothless but the other wasn't letting her up. Hiccup, knowing that he was safe right now turned to the Prince, igniting his sword and pointed it at the man's neck. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the hurt Prince, not an ounce of sympathy for the man. "Not only did you steal one of our dragons but you fed it opium too! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE YOU BASTARD?!"

AN: HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!! HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BLESSED 2024

*Hides in the desert as a cactus after this cliffy*