Of the three dragons held in Blackstone's depths, Frostwave was currently the angriest, and if the Black Raiders had learned anything from their island's history, it was that an angry Silver Horror was the most dangerous kind.

Apparently, hoping that Adlyn would care about her own life for once was a bit too much to ask of the girl. There was no trace of fish on her breath when the dragoness awoke next, which meant she hadn't eaten her food, which meant she had explicitly gone against what Frostwave wanted and given it to the human in their neighboring cell.

Well, if she starts complaining later that her stomach hurts, it's her own fault.

Not that she would, as Frostwave knew. Adlyn had a maddening habit of disregarding her own wellbeing for the sake of others, to the point that she would ignore any problems just to ease the minds of those close to her. Frostwave could appreciate the sentiment, but not when it came at the expense of her sister-in-all-but-blood's own life.

There was no use scolding her, though. Adlyn wasn't inclined to change, and Frostwave had no way of encouraging her to do so.

Softly growling in frustration, Frostwave returned to sleeping, shifting her coiled body just a little tighter around the restless girl in the middle.

Hiccup wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed since Adlyn gave him the fish, but Toothless was now awake and had apparently eaten it, if its absence was any indication. Still, at least his dragon friend was more active than before. He just wished they had some water. His throat was bone dry.

As if answering his prayers, footsteps and the clunk of something wooden could be heard approaching his cell, and Hiccup looked up in time to see a couple of burly men outside his cell. One of them, the shorter man with a yellow circle on his arm, carried a tray and a bucket, while the one with a red spiral bore one of the jagged black weapons that gave them their name. Red-Spiral unlocked the cell, keeping a sharp eye on Hiccup and Toothless. Yellow-Circle, on the other hand, set the tray and bucket down near the door and left quickly.

Once his cell door was locked again, the two began to walk back towards wherever the way up was, completely disregarding Adlyn's cell. Confused, Hiccup made his way to the bars, taking care to not cut himself.

"Hey, aren't you forgetting someone?" he called out, brow furrowing. The footsteps paused, then one man – Yellow-Circle – came back into view.

"Is the food not to your liking, boy?" he snapped. "Or do you think you deserve more?"

"I'm talking about Adlyn. Shouldn't she get fed, too?"

Yellow-Circle snorted. "The traitor was fed yesterday. She'll get more tomorrow, if she behaves. Something you'd do well to keep in mind while you're here."

With that, he spun on his heel and left the dungeon and a reeling Hiccup.

It took a concerned nudge from Toothless to break him from his stunned stupor, and when he did, Hiccup could only stare, aghast, at the cell across. That was why Adlyn looked like a skeleton? The raiders were keeping her near starvation?

Also, what was with that "traitor" business? Was it why she was kept down here? Did it have something to do with being a "friend of dragons?"

Hiccup groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He did not ask for this. Why was his life suddenly becoming so much more complicated? The gods really did hate him, didn't they?

"...lyn? Psst, Adlyn, are you there?"

Blinking away her drowsiness, Adlyn looked around in confusion. Gradually, recent events sunk back in, and she carefully clambered away from Frostwave and towards the door. Pressed against the bears of the chamber opposite was her fellow prisoner—Hiccup, if she remembered correctly.

"Oh, good, you're awake. I was beginning to think I'd need to try again later," he sighed in relief.

"Yes, I am awake. What is it?"

Hiccup looked away, as if searching for his next words, and then stared her dead in the eyes. "Adlyn, the guards just came by with food for me and Toothless, and… one of them called you a traitor. Why? Does it have something to do with dragons?"

Frozen, all Adlyn could do was stiffly nod then turn to look at the two Silver Horrors in the cell, their scales glinting ever so dully in what little torchlight trickled inside.

"Why did they lock you up, then? Why didn't they just, uh..."

"Because we have use in their eyes. Frostwave and Starfrost are needed for raids, and I am needed to keep them under control. That is why they have not killed me."

"Then… what about me and Toothless?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "You will be broken and turned into a slave. That is why I gave you the fish. You need to keep your strength up so you can escape."

As for the dragon, they plan on selling him off, but I do not think you want to hear that.

Hiccup was silent, and a slight twist of her head revealed him carefully examining his cell door. Curious, but too tired to investigate, Adlyn returned to the nest formed by Frostwave and drifted off to sleep.

Snub, of the House of Lights, was the youngest of the Captain's children, and arguably the greatest disappointment. At twelve, instead of following in his family's footsteps and becoming a red-marked warrior, he had chosen the yellow of Blackstone Island's backbone—the healers like him, the farmers, the cooks. Already seen as lesser for his mismatched eyes, choosing the healer's craft had been the last straw for his father, and Snub became the laughingstock of his family, if not the whole island.

To him, however, bearing a yellow diamond on his arm was his way of making things up to the girl in the dungeons. Adlyn was one of the few who didn't see him as a failure. Even when it was discovered that she had befriended a dragon – and not just any dragon, but a Silver Horror, no less – Snub never stopped seeing her as his friend. He always volunteered to be the healer in charge of caring for her after her monthly punishment.

For the past three-going-on-four years, that was enough for him. That was all he felt he could do for her. Lately, however, Snub had been feeling restless. Maybe it had something to do with the new prisoner rotting away in the Deep Cells, the one who showed that Adlyn's friendship with dragons wasn't just her own personal brand of madness. Maybe it was just years of watching her suffer and being nearly helpless about it. Either way, Snub had resolved to help Adlyn and this new prisoner (and the dragons, he supposed) escape to freedom.

The Arrival Festival was coming in two days, and with it came the best chance of freeing the prisoners in the Deep Cells. Now he just needed to finish arrangements for the escape without anyone, especially not his father, finding out.

It shouldn't be too hard. They barely paid attention to him anyway.

Ragnar held tight to Adlyn's hand as they walked home, an exasperated look on his face, and an impish one on hers. They skirted the village with distance, as most looked on the family with suspicion that hadn't faded after years of Ragnar's arrival and the two wanted no trouble.

"Adlyn, what have I told you about going into the tunnels without supervision? You could have been hurt," Ragnar sighed as they crested a hill.

The impish grin fell away with Adlyn's reply of, "I'm sorry, Da. I just wanted to find the music."

"The music?"

Ragnar had stopped dead in his tracks, a nervous crinkle in his brow. Puzzled, but agreeable, she looked up at her father and nodded. "The music! I wanna know where it's coming from!"

He stared down at her for several long moments, his expression unfamiliar to Adlyn, before he knelt and placed both hands on her shoulders.

"Adlyn, you have to promise me something. Promise me you won't tell anyone about the music."

"Not even Uncle Gunnar?"

"Not even him."

"Not even Mum?"

"No one can know, Adlyn. It's very important that we keep this between us."

She thought about it, holding her chin like she had seen some of the adults do, then nodded once. "Okay, I won't tell. It'll be our secret!"

Ragnar smiled in relief. "Yes, our secret." He straightened and took hold of her hand once more, and the two continued their walk back to the house.

"So, what do you think we should have for dinner?"

"Stew!"

"You sure you aren't tired of it by now?"

"I'll never be tired of stew! Stew is amazing!"

They laughed, especially when Adlyn's stomach growled and twinged with hunger cramps.

The stew that night was delicious.

Author's Notes: It's shorter than I hoped, but considering there isn't a lot going on at this point, and forcing myself to write more will just turn out something mediocre, I'm going to leave it like this.

Mariah (Chapter 4, Mar. 26) - Romance will be awhile in blossoming, I'm afraid.

Things'll start picking up after this, I promise! Till then, Wild Cat, out!