Another Nightmare book 2: To rescue a nightmare

Chapter 16

Hiccup walked towards the harbour with Fishlegs and Ivar. The hunter ship was approaching quickly. Despite the distance, Hiccup could sense the faint presence of the dragons onboard, even when he couldn't see the ship. They were victims like Shortlcaw and Whiplash. Hiccup's face tensed.

"Is something wrong?" Ivar asked. Fishlegs turned to look at him and Hiccup. His face too tightened as he gave Hiccup a serious look. "They've got dragons with them," he realized.

"Yeah," Hiccup answered.

"Don't do anything stupid," Fishlegs whispered, "especially while they are still in Fjoll. The Chief was right to tell everyone to stay quiet. It's better if we don't attract attention from these people."

"I know," Hiccup answered. "I don't want to risk what we've done here, especially while Shortclaw and others are still imprisoned. We should at least wait until after they've left."

"Wait for what?" Ivar asked. Fishlegs stopped mid-step. His eyes widened slightly as he stared at the boy with them. Hiccup only glanced at Ivar and then looked around. They had mostly passed people's houses and arrived at the edge of the harbour. Hiccup stepped away from the path and walked next to a group of barrels that hadn't yet been taken to their destination.

"Hiccup?" Fishlegs started, but Hiccup lifted his hand as a sign to stop.

"If we can't trust him at this point, we might as well leave now. Ivar, we're worried about the hunters not just because they captured Shortclaw earlier. We actually found Fjoll only after freeing dragons from a hunter ship and sinking it. That's how we met Whiplash."

"You sank a dragon hunter ship? Why? How?"

"They attacked Shortclaw and Stormfly and held dragons as prisoners... and, how? You've met Toothless," Hiccup said, placing a hand on Ivar's shoulder. "Don't worry. Even the people from that ship couldn't recognise us. They only saw dragons. We should just not talk about the new dragon training like your dad said."

"You sank a hunter ship. Do you understand how serious that is? They have an armada of powerful ships and warriors. It's said that their leader is a genius, and completely ruthless. They are more powerful than most villages. If they even suspect that you're responsible, if Fjoll has anything to do with them losing a ship..."

"Ivar," Hiccup turned to fully face the boy. "They don't know, and if they ever find out, Fjoll had nothing to do with it. We won't stay here if it endangers the village. Right now, we just have to stay calm and wait this out. They probably just came to collect supplies and sell dragons before the winter."

"Yeah, probably. They must be returning back north a bit later than the others."

"It makes sense that they would return to their home harbours for the winter," Fishlegs said. Hiccup nodded.

"We should still keep an eye on them. Ivar, your dad is probably going to welcome them?"

"Yes."

"You should go there too. You can listen in and find out why they're here."

"And you want me to tell you afterwards."

"If you could," Hiccup pleaded.

"Okay," Ivar looked towards the piers. People had started to gather at the longest one. "I'll go with dad and see what's going on."

"Thanks," Hiccup looked at Ivar more closely. "You should clean your face first. It might be difficult to explain the dragon saliva hanging from your hair."

Ivar's hand flew to the side of his head.

"It is pretty visible," Fishlegs said. Ivar ran his fingers through the hair to scoop off the saliva and rubbed the side of his face.