Deception (A Dragons Race to the Edge Fanfic)

Chapter 5

Hiccup was not happy. That was putting it mildly. But, you'd always expected that. Ember stood beside you in the clubhouse at Dragon's Edge, so at least you weren't completely alone. You knew Hiccup was thinking about what to say and, whatever it was, it wouldn't be good. But you didn't look down or submit. You were only a year younger than him: what right did he have to tell you what to do? Your stubborn nature had got you into trouble before, but you genuinely believed you had done the right thing. Astrid stood beside him, as usual, no doubt judging you harshly. Heather and Fishlegs stood in the corner of the room, muttering in lowered voices, clearly not wanting to get involved in the situation. Ruff and Tuff were...well, you weren't exactly sure what they were doing, but they didn't seem particularly impressed with you either. And Snotlout (who you would have thought would empathize with you, having been in similar situations himself) seemed to be enjoying the fact that he wasn't the one in trouble for once.

"What in the Archipelago did you think you were doing?" Hiccup exclaimed, his tone critical. "I mean, first you just waltz off to Changewing island on your own, and then you go to Viggo's base! With no backup! Without even telling anyone!"

"If I had told you, you wouldn't have let me go." You argued back, staying calm for now.

"And for a very good reason!" He raised his voice. "Viggo is the most dangerous viking we've come up against, and you think you can simply walk into his base on your own and take him down?"

"First of all, I wasn't there to take him down, Hiccup. I was there to gather information." You retorted. "He's been continually outplaying us, and it's only a matter of time before he does it again. We need to know what he's planning, so we can develop a tactic to counteract it. And second, I didn't just walk in. I had a plan, and it worked." You asserted. "Sort of." You added under your breath, exchanging a quick glance with Ember.

"Oh, yeah, of course it worked." Astrid pitched in sarcastically. "That's why you have a huge sword wound on your shoulder."

"Well, I got out!" You retorted.

"That's not the point!" Hiccup started. "You could have been killed!"

"That goes for pretty much everything we do! Besides, I knew the risks. You can't tell me what to do, Hiccup!"

"One of the most important parts of being in a team is that you obey your leader's orders." Astrid said sternly.

"I don't remember Hiccup ordering me not to go to Viggo's base. Who even made Hiccup leader anyway?" At this, the room fell silent. Heather and Fishlegs stopped their conversation in the corner, and the twins turned to see Hiccup's reaction. Astrid looked as if she was about to explode.

"Really? Did you really say that? Well, if you don't like it, then feel free to leave anytime! It's not like we'll miss this!" She shouted furiously, gesturing towards you.

Trying to repress your bubbling rage, you replied: "I wouldn't expect you to, Astrid." And with that you mounted your dragon, and flew to your hut.

You sat outside, gazing over the tranquil ocean, hoping the night air would calm you down. You felt your face burning with anger. You hadn't meant for it to come out like that, but you were fed up with the fact that they never appreciated anything you did or said. You punched the wooden floor with your good arm, using all your force, ignoring the splintering pain in your fist, as blood began collecting at your knuckles. You let out a shriek out outrage, which echoed around the Edge, startling the flock of Night Terrors. Tears welled in your eyes. They never accepted anything you did...The cold, night air made the tears streaming down your face bitterly cold. You bit your lip, trying to hold back your emotions, but you couldn't. You wept against Ember, who was trying desperately to comfort you. You couldn't believe that after all you'd been through, all they could do was shout at you. They hadn't even asked if you had discovered any useful information. Fine then, that settled it! You wouldn't tell them about Project Shellfire, they would all be taught a lesson when a lethal, tidal class dragon combined with a dragon proof ship came rampaging their way! You felt your pocket to check you still had the plans, but remembered that you had left your jacket, along with the plans, in the clubhouse. There was no way you were going back in there tonight. And, you dreaded to think of the conversation they must all be having about you in there at that very moment. After sitting outside a few minutes longer, you decided to get some sleep inside your hut. It had been a long day.

When you walked into the clubhouse the next morning, Hiccup, Astrid, Heather and Fishlegs were examining the plans for Project Shellfire. Their anger seemed to have subsided, but that still didn't mean that they were happy with you. You felt like saying 'you're welcome' sarcastically but thought better of it, and kept your mouth shut, something you thought Astrid would have been incapable of doing.

A/N: Well, that got intense! Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully, the story line should start to get interesting soon!