The Lost Boy II - For the love of a dragon

03 - The catch

The sailors were bawling around him while he was hustled and shoved here and there. With his hands tied up, Joke had ceased to struggle. The failure of the vikings that had tried to help him had delayed his rescue, but he was still hoping. His parents were going to save him, Astrid would surely rip off his ravishers' throat, Hiccup and Toothless would surely be the first to arrive since the Night Fury was the fastest dragon of the whole island.

Nothing could stand the black dragon's attacks. It was just a question of time before the vikings would rescue him, but in the mean time, Joke had to face up the hunters. They were all taller than him, at least two times larger than him, if not three times. They were all built for dragon fighting, they looked like woodcutters and had weapons everywhere. Even their daggers seemed sharpen enough to cut off bones.

The four hunters that landed on Berk came back onboard with the thin boy as prisoner, which earned them scorns from the others.

''Funny dragon you got there, mates.''

The hunter restraining Joke dragged him among them. The poor boy was forced to follow them, his ravisher was grabbing him so strongly he could crush his arm.

Suddenly, the scorns faded as an imposing silhouette appeared. At the drawbar stood a woman dressed in black fur, glaring at the whole ship. She left her position to another sailor and came closer to the new arrival.

''What is that ?'' She asked with clear disdain for the young boy and her men.

Joke froze in front of this intimidating woman. She had a crooked jaw, a tooth coming out of her mouth and an eye patch. Her unsightly appearance was equal to the fear she seemed to inspire to her henchmen. Her simple presence was enough to make the hunters loose their composure.

She limped to them, the ravishers lowered their head. The one holding Joke placed the boy in front of him.

''Now what did you do again ? We're paid to capture dragons, not kids. Especially weaklings like this, what do you want to do with him ? He's so scrawny I couldn't even use him as a toothpick !''

Her own joke made her laugh, and the entire crew too, but not the ravishers. They didn't waited for the laugh to subside to explain themselves. When one of them took off the hood from the boy and unveiled his snow-white hair, the men and women froze. Joke even heard some noise of surprise and admiration.

''We thought we could sale him to the slave market.''

''Are you crazy ?!'' The boy protested.

The one-eyed woman, who seemed to be their captain, slapped him in the face. The hit was so strong Joke thought it could have chopped off his head. The pain made him shut up and he felt heat creep on his right cheekbone, where the woman had slapped him. Then the captain grabbed his chin and forced the boy to look up at her.

''You should learn to shup ut. You may have a nice face, but the buyers want docile and obedient merchandises.''

She let go of his face, pushing it to the bottom, as if to tell him he had to look at the ground. Joke didn't replied. He convinced himself it was only temporary and, while waiting for the rescue team, he had to not make any commotion so he could avoid any more troubles. The captain seemed satisfied with his silence, then she turned back to her men. The one with Zippleback boots asked for her opinion.

''So, what do you say ?''

''That's a good catch. With these special hair and pale skin, I think we can get at least three thousands gold pieces out of him. Good job, for once.''

She laughed a sinister laugh, then she glared at the man behind Joke.

''Get him to the cell.''