𝓑𝓮𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓭

Chapter 43 - His Speech

Hiccup stood at the front of the podium, his palms sweaty, the entire hall looking up at him, as the riders stood behind him.

" Ah...hey, hello, and hi...ah, you all know me as Hiccup." He stammered with a gulp looking at the thousands of faces before him.

" The hunters...ah...have..." Hiccup was struggling to find his words, Astrid took a step forward and grabbed his hand, standing next to him.

" You can do this, it's time they knew." She whispered, Hiccup nodded and took a deep breath.

" In the past few months...the war with the hunters has brought two civilisations to their knees." He announced the hall was listening intently, Hiccup found his confidence and took a deep breath.

" The Defenders and The Wingmaidens, two proud tribes that protected the dragons." Hiccup turned to Mala and Atali, bith smiling back at him.

" But, it isn't the only thing, I found the courage to express my feelings to the woman I've known for year's." Astrid stepped forward, Heather and Mala smiled, due to them already knowing.

Dagur, Throk, Eret, and their respective dragons looked at Hiccup and Astrid, mouths gaping.

" The Dragon Hunters may have brought The Defenders and The Wingmaidens down, but they won't take Berserker." Hiccup looked down at the crowd, face determined.

" Berserker is a strong island, with strong people, this is why we can't let the hunters win." Hiccup announced the hall stood up and cheered, Oswald nodded.

" Hiccup is right, our island has faced far worse than these hunters, we stand here and we will continue to stand." Oswald stepped forward, the Berserkers erupted into cheers, many of them at Hiccup.

" Everyone please, before we celebrate, we have to think about the next move." The crowd's cheering died down and the returned to their seats.

" We will prepare for a battle that will end this war, with the help of our dragons." Oswald smiled, the hall nodded in agreement, Hiccup took a step forward.

" Berserker island has been your home for generations, but the hunters will stop at nothing till we are all dead." Oswald had a feeling, Hiccup was going to suggest a very wild topic.

" I believe Berserker Island will no longer be safe for both its people and dragons, once the hunters are defeated." Hiccup expressed, a ripple of whispers and concerns went through the people.

" Hear me out, since your peace with the dragons, the other northern tribes have become more and more suspicious." The crowd nodded, they had noticed that many of their former allies had begun asking questions.

" If you are to continue living with your dragons, then I believe the best course of action is to flee Berserker and move to Hadan." Oswald looked down at Hiccup, placing a hand on his free shoulder and nodding.

" Hiccup is again right, Berserker is no longer safe and we need to think of our future, with the dragons." The crowd along with the dragon's present agreed, the boy was right, Berserker was in danger now.

" After the battle is over, we will leave Berserker and move to Hadan, for now, prepare for battle." Oswald announced, the hall soon was empty and the riders were left alone.

" So wait, the reason you two have been spending so much time together is that you've been secretly dating?" Eret asked, Hiccup and Astrid looked at each other, then nodded.

" So your not dying?" Dagur grabbed Hiccup's shoulder and shook him, Heather pulled him of Hiccup.

" I'm not dying and neither is Astrid, where did you even get that from?" Hiccup questioned, Dagur gestured it was nothing and rubbed the bruise on his arm.

" We just thought with you two spending so much time together and everything, it just got out of hand." Throk explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

" Yeah, we didn't think our assumptions through very well." Eret agreed, Hiccup and Astrid shook their heads.

" You got that right." Astrid mumbled, Hiccup nodded, ushering the group out of the hall.

" So, what do we do now?" Dagur questioned, standing on the steps outside the hall, Hiccup sighed.

" We prepare for battle, Oswald I want every rider and dragon equipped with armour." Hiccup turned to the Berserker chief, who nodded.

" I'll be sure everyone is prepared, the blacksmiths have been working overtime getting ready." Oswald walked out of the hall, intending on giving out orders to the tribe.

" What are we gonna do?" Eret asked, Hiccup smiled, walking a bit further down the stairs to the hall.

" We're going to split up, if we're right on the front line, Ryker will wipe us out then it's over." Hiccup explained, the riders nodded understanding the steaks.

" Dagur and Mala, when we have word that Ryker is here, head to the northern side of the island." Both Dagur and Mala nodded, their dragons crooning.

" Why must we go to the back of the island?" Curious questioned, Hiccup smiled up at the Gailslash.

" We don't want the hunters coming around behind the village, that's where you guys stop them." Curious and Shattermaster nodded, they understood very well what would happen.

Dagur and Mala decided to head to the north side of the island early, hoping to set up a bit of an ambush and Dagur was hoping to confess his feelings for Mala.

" Eret, Throk, Heather, I want you guys to help the Berserker riders put the Gronckle iron walls up." The three of them nodded, leaving Hiccup and Astrid alone with their dragons.

" So what do you wanna..." Before Hiccup could finish, Astrid kissed him full on the lips, nearly sending him to the ground.

Hiccup was taken aback at first but he soon melted into the kiss, carefully placing his hands on Astrid's torso and pulling her closer.

Stormfly and Toothless both blushed, shielding their eyes, obviously not wanting to intrude in on the romantic moment between their riders.

Little did the two riders and their dragon know, was that a certain trattorias trader was watching in the shadows, smirking.

" Oh master Hiccup, soon you won't be able to control your precious dragons." Johan slipped back into the shadows, sneaking back to the western beach where a Hunter general was waiting.

" Any news sir?" The general asked, Johan smiled standing before the man.

" The boy thinks he's one step ahead, but there is a hidden secret to Berserk island, he will never discover," Johan informed, gesturing for the general and his men to follow.

The trader led them down the beach to a cave, the hunters followed into it, as the tunnel twisted down into the bowels of Berserker.

The rock was soon replaced with thick spikes of ice, that blocked the path of the hunter's way, Johan pushed the men forward.

" Start digging, I don't care if it takes all night, as long as we're gone by the time Ryker has won." The men set to work digging through the thick ice.

Johan and the general watched them, the trader was after something, something important, something that would change the rider's world forever.