Riders of B E R K

Part 78: Circling Vultures

Seventy-Eight: Circling Vultures

We went shopping. Attending a gala Summit which specified that we did not come in uniform posed a real issue for Stoick and Gobber who didn't have anything else to wear except their dress uniform and surprise, surprise-Hiccup didn't have anything either. Nor did I-but I knew how to get some so we took a trip into Edinburgh to buy me a stunning azure gown, Hiccup a Dinner Jacket and suitable accessories and of course, some stunning shoes. Of course, whatever we bought had to look spectacular and Hiccup was easy to dress up. His lean shape was flattered by a black DJ and he was very patient as I ensured he had a dress shirt and some trousers that were manageable with his leg. And when we went shoe shopping to some amazing store on Prince's Street, he bought me the amazing shoes that I had been eyeballing and practically drooling over.

But the highlight of our shopping/recon trip was walking along the Royal Mile hand in hand with Hiccup, the weak sun gleaming off my engagement wing and appearing for all the world that we were just a young couple in love. And we were-are-but we were also spying out the lie of the land and picking up a selection of shortbread and tartan-swathed tourist presents for the others who were incredibly sulky at not being allowed to come. Sensibly, the Generals realised that sending the entire team mob-handed into the old town would probably lay waste to the city before Drago even arrived while we had a legitimate reason for shopping. I know Stoick and Gobber had contacted a very expensive and bespoke tailor and had some seriously oversized evening wear being made as we spoke...but Hiccup and I were off-the-peg candidates.

We paused halfway down, just by St Giles' Cathedral, and he glanced back up the road to the dark shape of the castle, silhouetted against the sky which was clouding over. An international tide of tourists, shoppers and locals swirled around us as he frowned at the familiar shape.

"You know Edinburgh sits on an extinct volcano," he murmured.

"But Drago wouldn't want to tip his hand too soon," I reassured him. He nodded.

"We'll be coming in at night and that is a real good place to hide a dragon," he murmured.

"I think you must be mistaking it with Wales," I teased him as his eyebrows shot up in consternation. "The Welsh symbol is the dragon, not Scotland's..." He nodded.

"Ah," he said, emerald eyes trailing over the battlements. "And you know we're less than two miles from the sea as the dragon flies..."

"You have really messed up all my sayings," I huffed as his arms wrapped around me.

"Shellfire Dragons can fire plasma blasts over four miles," he told me quietly. "They could sit at the Ocean Terminal in the Firth of Forth and vaporise the conference venue..."

"Only if Drago wasn't there," I told him as we resumed our walk down the Mile. "I can't see him committing suicide when his victory is within sight."

"But he must know that no one will agree to his terms," Hiccup mused, his warm fingers gently squeezing my own. "Denmark won't give up on Greenland-or the Faroes..."

"And what happens when he demands the rest?" I asked. "The Shetlands-British Sovereign Territory, if I'm not mistaken-Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the northern half of the United Kingdom, Ireland, even part of Canada? He wants it all-and he isn't looking to back down. He's killed and maimed and destroyed too much to surrender now..."

"Precisely. So why is he coming at all?" Hiccup asked. "Why did he specify who came?"

"To get us all in the same place?" I suggested as we swung past a pub. "Good thing we didn't bring the twins."

"We may need them," Hiccup commented.

"And Drago insisted no Dragons..." I reminded him. He cast me a wry smile.