Nothing to Fear

Chapter Thirteen: The Final Ingredient

Hiccup couldn't sleep.

True, they had gotten the berries they needed and flown to Healer's Island, arriving just after midnight. He needed to sleep for sure but he couldn't force his body to relax. His eyes remained open and staring at the top of the tent as he drummed his fingers on his chest and listened to his daughter's deep breathing next to him. She had fallen asleep just minutes ago, he could tell when she wasn't faking it, but the longer his brain remained wide awake, the more convinced he was that he would be up all night.

Then again, after a day like that, it was a wonder Adrianna had fallen asleep at all. The haunted look in her eyes wasn't one Hiccup would forget easily, not after seeing it more times than he could count as she was growing up. The look she got just after snapping out of flashbacks when she was little or even sometimes when she thought no one was paying any attention to her. Something was very, very wrong, that much he knew for sure, but he didn't know what it was, so his odds of fixing it were minimal. Then again, she didn't seem too enthusiastic about him putting any effort into it.

As he laid back against his mat, Toothless snoring quietly next to his head, he went over the day's events.

"They're here." Adrianna said after a very silent day of hunting and looking through even the thorniest of bushes in the darkest areas of the woods. "Finally!"

Hiccup hurried over, nearly tripping on several tree roots as he went. "Are you sure?"

His daughter got out the list and gave it a quick look. "That's them."

Hiccup frowned. "Just to be sure, let me see. We've been looking so long, I don't want to go back and find out they're the wrong ones."

"It's fine." Adrianna crumpled the paper in her haste to return it to her back. "It's them, dad."

Hiccup's long arms and quick reflexes served him well as he reached out and took the paper from her hand. Her eyes widened in horror as she nearly dove for it but her father's height difference of over a foot proved to make retrieving it impossible. Toothless, sensing something neither human could quite understand, stepped between the desperate girl and her father.

"Toothless, get out of the way!" she grunted as she tried to push him to the side.

As his daughter fought his dragon, Hiccup's eyes scanned the list. Adrianna had been right about the berries; these matched the description and picture exactly. But beneath the list of ingredients was the name of an herb Hiccup had never heard of: the Potens Sanationis plant.

The Potens Sanationis plant is the most powerful herb in existence (to our knowledge). It can only be found in a continent many miles to the east of us. Few traders have ventured that far but those that do pick up this herb in bulk because it can heal many sicknesses at any point- even moments before death. While it is not required for the cure, it is the only thing that will save everyone. The more you put in your cure, the more powerful it will be. Another important thing to note is that this herb's effectiveness as a cure never decreases with its age. As long as it is preserved, it will be every bit as useful no matter how long ago it was harvested.

Hiccup stared at the page for several seconds. The name of the herb had been underlined three times, making it impossible to miss. Yet Adrianna had acted like it didn't exist. There was no way she could possibly have missed it... so what was the problem?

"I know what you're thinking." Adrianna said, almost in answer to his unspoken question. "But we can't go flying across the world to get any."

"No." Hiccup said slowly. "So why didn't you let me see the list?"

"I just didn't want you to be a hero." Adrianna shook her head. "But now we've found the berries we're looking for. Soon as we get what we need from Healer's Island, we can go back to Berk and cure everyone."