Under Pressure

Chapter Nine: The Vote

The entire world went silent. Hiccup clutched his daughter, feeling her rapid heartbeat against his chest, breathing in the flowery scent of her hair... Adrianna was his little girl. Finn was his little boy. But the village was his as well. It wouldn't be right to put his children ahead of hundreds of Vikings who would surely be killed. Berk's army didn't come close to rivaling Dagur's. The only reason the Berserkers had never declared war was because Berk truly didn't have anything they wanted. There had been no point.

But now the law was on their side. They didn't have to fight to take control of what they wanted. In fact, if the Hooligans backed down, the Berserkers could slaughter the Haddocks with little to no opposition.

At least... if the Haddocks didn't relinquish their children. The only way for everyone to live was to give up the gods' greatest gifts. Hiccup caught sight of one of Dagur's men staring at Adrianna with a hungry look in his eyes. The young father shuddered and held her closer. No one was going to take away his children. At least not while he had anything to say about it.

"We're not letting them go." he said in a soft voice so that only Dagur and the soldiers closest to him could hear. "You'll have to kill us."

"I was hoping for a bit more fun." Dagur chortled. "But this is too easy." he turned to the guard standing closest to him. "Freystein, is it considered suicide if you let someone kill you?"

The man called Freystein smiled widely, drawing a sword and staring pointedly at Adrianna. But before any of the Berserkers could go in for the kill, Gobber stepped in front of the Haddocks.

"We'd like to invoke article 32. Berk is on emergency lock down." he said calmly. "Now get off our land."

Dagur rolled his eyes. "You're grasping at straws."

But Hiccup knew exactly which law to which Gobber was referring. There was a loophole, however small. He snatched the law book out of Dagur's hands and immediately read the law out loud.

"In the event of a crisis within a tribal boundary, the chief can proclaim a "state of emergency" actuating a lock-down upon the entire tribe and any temporary residents. A state of emergency entitles the tribe protection from outside influence, in whatever form, for three days unless the scenario concerns the chief personally (whether by sickness, disability or absence). Any violation is considered an act of war. Climacteric circumstances that warrant a state of emergency solely include deleterious conduct, epidemic, missing person, and/or hostage."

"None of which applies!" Dagur snarled.

"It applies in hostage situations." he told them, turning slightly to block Adrianna's line of vision. "And we're definitely taking our children hostage."

"You're just stalling. The law is only effective for three days, after which we're free to come and take what's rightfully ours." Dagur shook his head but the scowl on his face made it evident that he wasn't pleased with this turn of events.

"If you want to go by the book on this one, Dagur, you're going to have to get off Berk or you're inciting war." Astrid said, stepping forward with her fingers around her axe.

Dagur glared at the Haddocks for a few seconds before motioning for his men to stand down. "Three days. And then we'll be back." he snarled, turning on his heel and walking away, his army following and looking very disappointed.

For a few moments after the Berserkers were out of sight, the entire village was silent. Hiccup clutched his daughter, sighing with relief. Astrid held onto Finn, who looked outraged at the very idea of being taken from his parents. Then a loud thumping noise made everyone jump and look at Gobber, who was hobbling forward into the center of the town square.