Bond of Two Lands

8. Vikings, Scots And More Vikings

"What?" Astrid repeated.
"Look, it might not be a big deal. He's probably just... preparing me for the far, far away future when I eventually will become... Chief."
"So, you're not gonna leave us just yet? Well, those are the best news I've had since Heather announced that she'd leave us."
Hiccup got onto his feet and reached for Astrid, who'd already jumped up and stepped away in a defensive pose. Something in his eyes convinced her to stay around a little longer and listen to his explanation. He cleared his throat. "When I'll leave Dragon's Edge, it'll be with all of you by my side. And it will be all of our decision. I promise that I'll keep Dad hanging until then."
"But we'll still leave the outpost, and I hate to think about that. Everything we've built up out there... it won't matter anymore."
"Of course it will!" Hiccup gestured to the dragons. "Once I'm Chief I'll make sure to always have people out there to explore and develop our knowledge about dragons. And they will never have any trouble with finding troops. It's gonna be alright, Astrid, I promise you that."
A silent moment went by, during which non of the Vikings dared looking each other in the eye.
"Okay", Astrid said. "I trust you, as long as you keep Snotlout as far away from my hut as possible if he's selected to stay. That's my one demand. So, what's the plan for now?"
"Well, first we will need a boat..."
~~~~~

It was one of those days again.
A day when practically anything could happen. A day when one could change one's destiny. A day when the sun rose almost as early as the castle cooks, and there seemed to be no limit of how far into the shadows in the castle yard the sunshine could climb. Some of Dun Broch's young girls celebrated it out in the rich landscape while picking flowers, and others...
"Maudie! Where are the lamb chops? I know we had some this morning, and if you tell me that it's the boys' that's been stealing them again..."
"Calm down, lassie", chuckled the man at the short side of the table. His hair was wildly grown and had the same kind of grey straws as another man in charge, and that wasn't their only shared feature; Fergus' enormous size often terrified his opponents as much as his impressive collection of swords. Luckily, he hadn't had much experience with trying those out on humans.
His daughter, though, preferred the bow, and now stroke her hands impatiently over a pattern which she'd cut into the wood. "I am calm, dad. I just don't understand why it would take so long to make just a few pieces of lamb chops... oh, Maudie, there ya are!"
The king and princess both nodded towards the prude servant that brought them their breakfast. She pretended that she hadn't seen their sign of appreciation. The minute she was gone, the starved royalty attacked the meat.
"She's getting... married, ya know", Fergus said. His short beard was already full of lamb.
"Maudie? To who?"
"That... soldier... of Dingwall's."
"The one that looks like a bear?" Merida said, doubt colouring her voice.
"That's the one."
"Huh. I didn't see that one coming."
"Apparently they met during the presentation... of the lords' sons last year. And now, instead of taking my little girl away, Dingwall's stealing mi best servant! Sneaky, that one."
Merida smirked. "Rather her than me. Dingwall Junior may be somewhat good at fighting - in his own way - but he's still a wee lamb. By the way... have ya seen Mum? She said we'd climb up to the waterfall at Crone's Tooth today."
"Don't have me scheduling all of yer mother's little mishaps. It's hard enough to keep track on one of ya!"
The princess stroke her red curls back, tied them into a leather ribbon in her neck and grabbed her bow like an archer in war. She placed a quick kiss on her father's forehead and left the throne room, just as three little boys with as bright-shining hair as she entered alongside a tray of freshly made cookies. The sounds of Fergus' lecturing voice followed her through the castle and painted a smile upon her lips.
This was a day when anything could happen.

~~~~~

"Airmail!"
The group consisting of five other Vikings gathered around the blacksmith, who held a roll of paper in his remaining hand. They all gazed at him impatiently in the warm morning light, unused as they were to the heat the summer'd never brought to their corner of the world.
The Chief elbowed his way past the others. "So? What's Hiccup up to?"
Gobber peered at the runes. "Hard to tell, Stoik."
"How come?"
"Mostly because it isn't from him." He gestured to the north. "Gothi's handwriting really is poor."
"Why is Gothi sending us Airmails? She can just hypnotise whoever with that staff of hers if things get sticky."
Fishlegs stepped forward with a serious glance at his fellow riders. "It isn't that easy, Snotlout. It takes a lot of power only to make that ceremony once, and there are numerous things that can go wrong. Remember when I got hypnotised and..."
"...you were kind of amazing for a short while? All to well, Fishface, all to well."
"And remember that time when Tuff got hypnotised?" Ruffnut squeaked. "He was acting all weird, proposing to Chicken and all kinds of stuff. I even caught him trying to fly away with her without the dragons and bringing only two yak chops, a spoon and a knife."
"The knife was to defend myself in the wild!"
"And the spoon?" Gobber said.
"Well, what are you expected to bring if you're trapped in a dungeon where the only way out is through the floor?"
"And were ya expecting to end up in that situation?"
Tuffnut shrugged. "You've got to know your potential, my dear friend."
"Enough of this talk!" Stoik thundered. "What is Gothi saying, Gobber?"
"She's saying that she's gonna take two ragoons... sorry, riders from the A-team with her and keep the defences up on Dancer's Pledge... Dragon's Edge. They'll be gone for a day or two, and one of them will stay to guard the outpost."
The Chief considered this for a moment. "The defence around Berk will suffer from this reduced number of riders."
"Apparently they won't. She says that only one experienced rider and one novice are going with her. And besides, Stoik, we've handled these things by boat before. There's no saying we can't do it again."
"They'll still need a leader." Stoik went over to his Rumblehorn with determined steps. "You'll watch out for the potential Whispering Deaths, Gobber, and take Snotlout with you. Fishlegs will take care of the Buffalord once you find it. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, I'm putting you in charge of keeping watch for Dun Broch boats. Contact Gobber at the first sign of an attack. Understood?"
"Understood, Chief!"
"Then I hope you'll do until I return." He sent his old pal a glare that spoke of the anxiety he felt beneath the determined confidence that was his Chief self. "And find my son for me."

Thanks for reading!
I hope you like how this story's turning out so far, and I'm thankful for all votes and comments you're giving me. They are a great motivation.
I'm so happy about the new season! It seems amazing (although I haven't seen any of the episodes yet, so please don't spoil anything) and I'm expecting some really good action now that we've waited ever since June. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I know I will.
Thanks in advance // Fish-out-of-Water-5