Operation Phoenix

Chapter Nineteen

Knock knock

Hiccup's eyes instantly snapped open at the sound, so used to being surrounded by danger. His body had been trained to react quickly no matter the circumstance, so he was expecting to be back in a tent, on a run, while a sickly pawed at the doors—but no, he was in a cabin. One with brown, cedar walls and high ceilings.

Knock knock knock

He looked to his left, tossing his hair about in grogginess. His fiancé lay by his side, snoring loudly—but adorably. Her hair fell delicately in her face, cocooning her full cheeks in their fiery red haze. He smiled slightly, pushing a small curl out of her eyes before planting a kiss on her forehead.

Knock knock knock knock!

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming!" He groaned and practically fell out of bed, stalking out the door with a huff. He was surprised to see that his best friend, Jack had already answered and was standing in the opening, blocking Hiccup's view of the porch.

None of them (aside from him and Merida) had spoken since the incident last night, so it caught him off guard to see the white haired captain out of his room.

Expectedly, Jack looked a mess. His hair was a little more slovenly then usual, his clothes were crinkled—in fact he hadn't changed since the day before—and he was half-slouching, suggesting his night had been long. Hic could only see his friend's back, but it was enough to notice the exhaustion evident on his body.

A creaky board in the floor gave away Hiccup's position, and Jack turned from the conversation he was having and made direct eye contact with him. It was only now that the brunette noticed just how disheveled the boy really was; Jack's eyes bared deep circles, he was paler than he normally was (which really is saying something), and half of his hair was stuck to the side of his head.

"Hic, it's for you." The boy muttered, pushing past his best friend to get back to his room.

"Jack!" Hiccup called, not moving from
His spot in front of their visitor. He didn't want to leave the person waiting, but his best friend obviously looked in need.

As his captain opened the door to his bedroom, the inventor realized that Rapunzel had evidently not slept there, meaning the fight that occurred just a few hours before was worse than Hic and Merida had initially thought.

Early into the morning, both him and his fiancé could hear them arguing and bickering with each other. It had been a while before Jack had finally opened the door to the bedroom to let Zel in, but when she entered he'd been the first to say something—and from what Hic noticed, it was fairly snappy.

"Is he... alright?" The woman on the porch asked the brunette, looking worried.

"Oh, uh, he's fine." Hiccup answered as he was drawn out of his thoughts.

"Okay, I um, I hope so. I'm Honey Lemon, the wedding planner? I'm here to help you all with everything," she grinned widely. "You must be Hiccup! I've heard so much about you!"

Hic cocked an eyebrow and stared at her for a moment, taking in her appearance. She was wearing a pink shirt and a pair of patterned leggings. Her hair was in a bun and she was baring round glasses on her nose. The most alarming thing about her, was not her intense personality... it was her hight. She was extremely tall, even taller than Hiccup—and that's saying something. "Oh, um, yeah, that's me. My wife-er, fiancé is sleeping."

"Oh that's okay! I'd love to come back later, but we're on a tight schedule—we only have two days to plan this but, agh! I'm so excited! I'm sure we can get it done." Honey Lemon gushed enthusiastically, her energy reminding Hiccup slightly of Rapunzel.