Operation Phoenix

Chapter Forty-Four

The birds. It had been a while since she'd heard them chirping. The ivy that climbed so elegantly across the walls outside of her windows housed many of them—nesting and laying their eggs and raising their children. It was like clockwork, she'd watch them grow, fly away, and then come back with a mate. She could point out the parents and grandparents of each individual generation, tell the age of each winged creature and relay their kin. For hours she used to watch them, her only form of entertainment. She had to admit, she'd missed them when she'd escaped nearly three years ago—but seeing them now only put a bitter taste in her mouth.

Currently, the chirping was irritating her as she tried to focus—to understand exactly what her brother had just told her. Her form was half leaned outside the window, her face twisted in obvious malcontent. Lips a practical straight line, she breathed air out of her nose. "You did what?" She inquired, more of a statement of her astonishment than an actual question.

Hiccup didn't say anything, he only stared at Rapunzel with a monotonous expression, which wasn't necessarily irritating rather than infuriating.

"I made a deal." He finally broke the silence—which was rather long, considering she'd been waiting for him to speak for quite some time. "I agreed to kill King Black for your freedom."

Wow, he wasn't shy was he? The blonde stared at him, her eyes being the only thing that could speak to him, even if no words were uttered at all. Annoyance, sadness, horror. He gripped the windowsill harder.

It had already been one night since they'd arrived, and Rapunzel was finding it increasingly unbearable. She would have nightmares, a lot, about Jack, about her mother. Her most vivid ones contained Jack or her best friends getting murdered, she pictured Merida getting shot (though she never actually saw it), and she'd relive the memory of Hiccup nearly being beaten to death. As for Jack? Her imagination was the limit for that one. "Do you not understand," she began, making Hic look at her. "That we just escaped a situation like this?"

Hiccup looked offended. "Yeah, okay, I do—but your mother wasn't going to—"

"The business I have with my mother is mine to mine to bear, you don't know what she's capable of." Zel stated simply, wringing her right hand around her wrist to soothe the chafing her cuffs were causing. She was chained to the wall, the metal was heavy and made her limbs feel like they were ready to give out at any moment. Not to mention, the IV sticking out of her arm that was paired with a bed just a ways behind her. Rapunzel hadn't truly been aware of how malnourished she was, she'd been so focused on everything else—but apparently it was enough to have her witch of a mom nearly have a heart attack. Rapunzel knew very well that her mom's reaction was not because she was worried about her daughter's wellbeing, rather than the obvious selfish need the woman had to keep Zel alive so she'd be able to 'live forever'. She had to push the thoughts out of her mind, for fear of placing unjust anger on Hiccup.

Still, she was frustrated at him.

Hic scoffed at her words. "You expect me to just leave you here?"

Zel narrowed her eyes, a gesture Hiccup had rarely seen come from her—at least directed at him. "I don't expect you to do anything, I would've rather you hadn't agreed to something that could get you killed."

The brunette glared at her, ignoring the pain it caused in his swollen eye. "We're family, Rapunzel."

Zel softened. "I know. And I appreciate that you stayed here with me but, we both understand there's no way you can get to Black by yourself—especially now."

Hiccup looked away and into the distance, the stretch of land and the smoke waving over New World that seemed to be getting lighter each day. "I know." He allowed, closing his eyes as the breeze blew passed him and the birds chirped loudly against the ivy climbing the walls of the Lighthouse.