Chapter Two;;
Dragons

"Ah, dragons!" Bjark hurried off to climb the ladder to the deck. Hiccup jerked his head towards Astrid, and saw his own fear reflected in her eyes. For a moment, Hiccup had forgotten that they were on a boat full of dragon trappers looking to keep their lives in tact. But once reality came rushing back, he was on his feet in mere seconds, scurrying up onto the deck.

A Monstrous Nightmare was caught in their net, breathing flames at the husky crew while they scampered away from it's sharp teeth.

"Stop!" Hiccup hardly recognized his own voice, the urgency in it mimicked by Astrid right behind him. He held out his hands and the men dropped their ropes. The Nightmare was angry, snapping at them as they backed away. He felt curious eyes on him as Astrid's warm palm rested on his shoulder.

"Be careful," she whispered into his ear. He simply nodded in response, his eyes locking onto the dragon. The dragon was swinging his head around in fear and anger, attempting to claw it's way out of the trapper's net. When it's red eyes locked onto Hiccup, the young dragon rider felt no fear. The only thing settling in his stomach was pity. The dragon he was staring at didn't deserve this- it didn't ask to be captured for some army run by a madman. All it wanted was freedom. It hadn't attacked the boat first, or blown it's fire in the direction of the crew members. It had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"It's okay. You're okay," His sea-sickness forgotten, Hiccup held his hand out towards the dragon, slowly inching closer across the deck. The Nightmare reared it's massive head in his direction, and Hiccup gracefully jumped back. He turned his head over his shoulder, his green eyes never breaking the Nightmare's gaze.

"No sudden movements," He commanded the crew behind him, leaning down calmly to pull his sword out of his boot. He flicked it open with a press of a button, the saliva catching flame. The Nightmare visibly relaxed, lulled into a sense of comfort and wonder by the tiny human wielding fire. He waved the flame in small, deliberate circles, watching as the dragon's eyes dilated from slits into the familiar large, black pupils he was used to seeing in his tamed dragon friends. He lowered the flame to his side, holding out his hand and taking two confident strides towards the once vicious beast. His hand hovered in front of the dragon, waiting for it to take the final step. He let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding when it pressed it's snout against his hand.

"You know, I'm tempted to keep you for myself after seeing that," Eret's voice rang out above Hiccup's own heartbeat in his ears and he turned, scratching the Nightmare's chin. Astrid breathed a sigh of relief and rested her hands on her skirt, offering him a trivial smile from over Eret's shoulder. "You'd be a valuable addition to a dragon-wrangling team."

"Let the dragon go." Hiccup spoke defiantly, lifting his chin up to look down at Eret.

"Excuse me?" Eret grimaced, his voice barely more than a whisper, but still filled with indignation.

"You heard me," Hiccup stepped in front of the Nightmare, as if his wiry frame could protect the giant behind him. "I said, let the dragon go."

In one swift movement Eret had drawn his sword and pressed it to Hiccup's neck. Astrid made a noise of protest and Toothless, who'd been watching the entire scenario silently in case he needed to protect his boy, growled. Hiccup held his hand up towards the both of them and stared calmly into the brown eyes of his assailant.

"You're on my ship, Dragon Boy," The muscular man pressed his knife further into Hiccup's neck, and Hiccup could feel the sharp point practically begging to break skin. "Which means we play by my rules. We're keeping the dragon." With that statement he dropped his hand, turning and stalking off towards the front of the ship. "Put them in the hold. All of them." He glanced pointedly towards Toothless, who snarled in response.

Suddenly there were strong hands on Hiccup's back, herding him towards the hole where he would soon be trapped in. It would seem he skewered any probabilities that they would get hospitality with his large mouth. Hiccup glared into the back of the head trapper, climbing back down into the darkness, followed by their dragons and then Astrid. Finally, the trappers threw the netted Nightmare down. The poor dragon landed with a thump and a whine, before the door was shut and locked on them. Hiccup hurriedly stumbled over to the Nightmare, starting to untangle the nets on the creature. It whimpered pitifully and nudged him with it's head.

He felt Astrid's presence behind him, comforting against the rage and remorse fueling in his chest. His shaking fingers were having trouble with the netting and she reached out with one of her hands, moving his hands off the rough rope and onto his lap. He sighed in frustration, quietly watching her fingers nimbly tug through the netting.

"Dammit!" Hiccup suddenly jumped to his feet, whipping his sword across the room. The sound of it smashing against the wall startled the four others in the room, earning him a scared mewl from the Nightmare and a worried glance from Toothless. His chest heaved with every breath and he fell down onto his knees, burying his face into his hands and pulling on the crown of his hair with his fingers until he felt pain. His eyes were stinging as the guilt spread from his gut, across his body until he could feel it in every piece of him.

"Hiccup?" His girlfriend's voice was soft and soothing, and her hand rested on his back. Toothless also trotted over, pressing his wide head against his distressed rider's side. Astrid's hand moved in small circles, rubbing his back as she slowly kneeled beside him.

"I, I just made it so much easier. Do you know how easy it'll be for them to take dragons now? For their army?" The laugh that escaped his lips was devoid of all humour. "I just condemned so many dragons to a life of being used as a weapon of war, Astrid. I just killed so many innocent creatures." His face found it's way into the comforting nook of her shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of home. She didn't respond to him, instead she just wrapped her arms around him and leaned her cheek against his head. It was amazing, how easily she could calm him just by a simple touch. The anger subsided and he was left with a sickening feeling of guilt as he stared over her shoulder at the dragon he'd just given to the trappers. How many more would be in by daybreak? His stomach turned and twisted, and this time it wasn't the fault of sea-sickness.

"Come on," She stood up, her fingers sliding across his arms as they searched for his hands in the dim lighting. She pulled him to her feet, her lips forcibly turning upwards in the beginnings of a smile. He stared at her blankly, his heart feeling weighed down by a million burdens. "We need to think up a name for him." She turned to look lovingly at the Nightmare, who was staring at them both with a look of concern.

"Is that really a good idea?" Hiccup didn't want to get attached to the beast, only to have it snatched away from them to be used for cruel labour. The entire plan was falling apart in his mind as he stared down the red eyes.

"I was thinking Spike." She squished his doubt. Astrid let go of his hand to walk towards the dragon, running her hands over the horns decorating the dragons head. He purred at her touch. She glanced behind her and motioned for Hiccup to come over, which he obeyed in an almost zombie-like trance. She picked up his hand delicately in her own, placing it against the snout of the newly named Spike. The dragon let out a burst of air through his nose, and Hiccup leaned his head against him.

"I'm sorry," was all he whispered.

The next twenty four hours were filled with blood and yelling and more netted dragons then Hiccup's heart could bear seeing. In the calm bits he felt like he was going to be sick, stuck in the swaying boat in a room filled with the smell of fish and blood. Astrid did her best to comfort him, holding him close and helping him when his stubborn, shaking hands refused to untangle the dragons. Both of their hands were scratched and bleeding, covered in callouses and blisters from the rough netting and the dragons scales. I the moment Hiccup couldn't focus on the dull, aching pains of his fingertips. As he lay in his straw nest in the corner, with Toothless pressed on one side and Astrid on the other, he couldn't help but wonder if he truly had made a mistake. This plan had been ridiculous. These were people fighting for their lives against a warlord, Eret had proof of that on his chest. And he'd just willingly handed over a night fury. One flight wasn't going to change their views. So he was stuck, putting his best friend and the girl he loves in danger for some ridiculous whim. Maybe his dad had been right.

Astrid stirred beside him, rolling over to look at him with glazed blue eyes. He pushed her hair out of her face and draped his arm over her waist, wrapping it around her. She may not need protecting, but looking at her with her hair falling out of her braid and her porcelain features stained with dragon blood, he felt as if he needed to reassure himself he could take down anyone who'd try to lay a finger on her.

"Mmph, Hiccup go to shleep," her voice was slurred, as her brain was in the state between fully awake and fully asleep. He smiled a bit, resting his cheek on his palm as he watched her.

"I can't sleep. I have to keep an eye out in case Eret catches any more dragons." Astrid attempted to roll her eyes at him, but her eyelids fluttered shut instead.

"I'm pretty sure we'd hear it if they did," she mumbled, weakly punching him in the stomach, "that's just an excuse. How are you supposed to kick Drago's ass tomorrow when you haven't slept?"

Hiccup laughed softly. "I don't think I'll be kicking Drago's ass any time soon, Astrid. That's your job."

"Oh yeah," she yawned, her head coming to rest on his chest. "I forgot."

Hiccup didn't reply to that, and after a few minutes he could've been sure she fell back to sleep. He leaned down to softly plant a kiss against her forehead and rolled his head back to lay against his dragon. Toothless grumbled something and lifted his head to look at his boy in concern. Hiccup shook his head.

"I'm alright Bud." He reassured his friend, moving his free arm to pat Toothless softly on the shoulder. The dragon dropped his head and went back to sleep, his pale green eyes closing and a soft sigh emanating through his body. Hiccup closed his eyes as well and rested his head back against the straw. Astrid's soft murmured surprised him a bit and he looked down at her.

"Hiccup?"

"Yeah?"

"The dragon's will be okay. You won't let anything happen to them." A small yawn escaped her lips and she mumbled tiredly, her entire body relaxing as she fell to sleep. Hiccup bit down on his lip, her words ringing through his ears.

He could only hope she was right.