Chapter 47: My Enemy Is Your Enemy

Hiccup

The woman who seemed to have a fierce demeanour walked towards Leia and I, at first I think I felt afraid but it wasn't until she was up close to the two of us that I could see a smile within her eyes but it glowed even brighter as she looked down upon me. When she looked down upon me I thought it should feel low in status like I have felt my whole life, that wasn't the case because when she looked down at me it was neutral where everything felt safe and okay. "You must be Hiccup. My name is Mala, Queen of the Defenders of the Wing," the mention of Queen suddenly made me want to bow to her but since Leia wasn't doing it I presumed that wasn't something that was done here so I remained my position and just nodded towards her slowly. "We've heard a lot about you Hiccup, but rest assured you will be safe here. Viggo Grimborn has been an enemy of ours for years, we apologise that we couldn't help you sooner," she carried on her speech; I didn't know what to say to her so I just slowly kept nodding my head. Mala soon turned her back and began walking away but Leia started to follow extending her arm requiring me to follow along. I did so willingly standing in between the two of them, "You will be safe here Hiccup Haddock you have my word and you will be welcome to stay as long as you want," the woman looked down on me with a bright smile on her face, it wasn't completely bright it still had a neutral effect connected to it but it didn't matter because her eyes said it all.

"Thank you Mala, that means a lot," it was her time to nod as I thanked her. We began a walk round the village as Mala started to show me where everything was, they seemed to have a healing station for humans and dragons, they had their own food station and it was strange to see the types of fruit they owned as I'd never seen anything like it, Mala called it sage fruit and apparently it's used to calm a dragons nature. They had many huts and their jail cells were dug underground in a shape of a whole which is quite clever so it would be hard for prisoners to escape. They had this huge dragon sculpture positioned right in the centre of the village they called it the Eruptodon, I've learned they're a boulder class dragon who live up in the volcano eating the lava so it doesn't flood down into the village. It's actually quite fascinating to learn about and I knew Fishlegs would love learning about a new dragon it just seems to be in his nature. "And over here we have..." but Mala's voice began to die down as she began identifying another part of the village due to a man heading in our direction. He wore his hair back and it had a bright orange colour and he had this huge axe strapped around his shoulder. His face was just as fierce as Mala's when I first saw her but this time he looked more ferocious with his look but thankfully it wasn't pressed on me instead it was fixated on Mala – she didn't look afraid though.

"My Queen, my men have captured hunters sneaking in the village through the forest," the man had a harsh tone to his voice but he seemed very sincere yet the sigh coming from Mala seemed worrying but it didn't just worry her if that's what she was feeling he worried me as well because my body started to tense up. I felt a small touch on my arm as I looked to the side I noticed Leia caught hold of my arm looking at me with a serious glance before I looked back over at Mala "Thank you Throk I'll be with you in a second," he nodded at her before walking away to a crowded area in the other part of the village "Sorry to disappear on you like this, I have important business to handle," I nodded at Mala just as she began to walk towards the crowded seen the man named Throk started to walk to. I couldn't help but stand in my position for a while and to try and get a glimpse at what was going on over there, but at the same time I knew that it's better for me to stay back away from all this. I looked back to my other side to see Leia still holding onto my arm but now yielding me away from the scene, so I let it happen. We began heading in the direction of the hut we exited from earlier on but as I turned back before we re-entered I could have sworn I saw a flock of blonde hair and sapphire eyes gazing in my direction. Now that I think about it, it must have just been a blur the day has been long so right now I could be seeing anything that I want to see whether it be Astrid really in front of me or just my imagination.

We headed into the hut without another look back outside, there was still that urge to know what was going on just to know more but at the same time staying back was the best option for me. That's what was hurting me the most, I thought that everything would be fine now that I had my family back, I finally had friends but wherever I go it all just turns into something it shouldn't be. Now I find myself in the hands of these people called the Defenders of the Wing who, don't get me wrong seem lovely in their own strange way, but obviously have their own way of doing things and have their own problems with Viggo Grimborn I can't be another weight on them. And Leia, she's Aryan and Ashley's daughter someone I should have met years ago, a friend I deserved years ago everything just seems odd. I just wanted to go home, or at least somewhere I could call home, a place where no one knew my name or knew anything about me so I could start again and live a life worth living because at the moment it was something I couldn't have...but desperately needed. "Hey, are you okay?" I pulled out of my thoughts and looked back at Leia who was staring at me with concern; I nodded, I didn't need to speak to let her know I was fine because my voice would give it away that I wasn't fine there didn't need to be a clarification for it. But she knew just by looking at me that I wasn't fine yet she didn't say anything which I was grateful for.

We stayed inside the hut for a while, until we were satisfied...well I say we, I mean Leia...was satisfied it was okay to go back out once Mala had dealt with the hunters. In the meantime, Leia helped changed my bandages to fresh ones and I was able to send a terror mail to my parent's which Leia showed me how to do just so I could let them know I was okay and that I was safe. Now that I knew who they were and where they are, I wanted to have as much communication with them as I possibly could because I didn't want to lose them again and even if I'm not exactly with them just messaging made me close. Soon Leia told me more about herself and her parents because I told her I was curious and thank Thor she didn't with held information from me. It turned out she'd lived at the Grimborn compound her whole life but back then it was pretty ferocious but she didn't mind it as much until she was introduced to the Grimborn brothers, Viggo and Ryker. She told me about all the times she had to hang out with them and she always kicked their butts in a fight even Ryker which surprised me but then I just imagined him to be weak when he was a kid cause from their upbringing I don't believe they spent much time with their father. That's when a thought crossed my mind. "Leia...did Viggo's father ever spend time with him or Ryker when they were kids...before I got there of course?" I was interested, intrigued to find an answer because if I could figure out why he hated me so much maybe I could reason with him to leave me alone – a little hope is all I need at this moment whether it will work or not.

"Um...now that you mention it, he never did. In fact he was always paid more attention to his work; I think it was mostly because of their nature. They were always violent and out of hand, something he couldn't control and the way they treated dragons was extreme...more extreme than the way he did things," I was listening intently to what she had to say "So why take me?" that was the lingering question of mine, at least one of them that sprung to mind "I guess he wanted something better, but it's like I told you before once you came everything started to change, their father saw a different way in life and something tells me you were the secret to change he wanted for a while and now that it was finally happening it just drove his two sons to go crazy and carry out what they've been planning, but none of us know what that is. Well no one could ever figure it out because they were always so secretive...except..." but she started to trail off so I took her hand to look directly towards me so our eyes locked with one another "Except what?" she sighed heavily before answering my words "Except one person...it was believed one person in the compound knew what they were up to, or more rightly what Viggo was up to," I knew the answer, I didn't need her to move forwards with what she had to say because I could finish it for her "Me...Everyone believed it was me..." my voice was hollow and low because I didn't know how to react so when I looked at Leia all she could so was nod.

It all made sense to me now, why they kept me all these years, why they've obviously wiped my memories away from me, they're scared that they'll come back and I'll ruin everything they've worked for. Though my question is, why didn't they just kill me in the first place? What could they possibly gain by keeping me alive if Viggo is so worried about my actions? Maybe this is why they keep hunting me down, they've realised a mistake and Viggo wants to kill me himself. I felt like I couldn't breathe from all the news that suddenly hit me I had to get out of the hut for air...fresh air. My felt myself lift itself off the bed I was sat on and reach for the door across the way. It wasn't late for Leia to get up and follow my lead, before we knew it we were both stood outside and gladly something was already in motion to distract me from my thoughts. "Hiccup...you shouldn't think about it anymore, I mean it's in the past and I'm going to make sure that you-," though I had to cut her off from saying anymore by raising my hand gesturing her to stop so that her gaze could in fact follow mine as I looked towards the group heading towards one of the near caves of the island. "What's going on over there?" I asked her rhetorically because before I could even let her begin to answer I began my stride over towards the area. "Okay, that's his mind distracted...Hiccup wait up!" I could hear Leia murmur before yell after me; she soon caught up with me and we both followed the group heading into the cave without being spotted.

"This is the speed stinger pit, hunters are only sent here if they don't pass trail," Leia whispered to me as she came over and stood next me, but it wasn't until we were both pulled out from our thoughts as we heard a loud siren roar, a roar I would know anywhere but how was this even possible "Toothless?" I questioned it while Leia raised her eyebrow at me "Hiccup?" she even questioned my name as the roar was made evident once again so I didn't hold back, I immediately started running to the sound. "Hiccup hold on!" Leia ran straight after me with a yell and as I got closer I finally got to see who the big group, I noticed it to be Heather, Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins Ruff and Tuff but I couldn't see Astrid anywhere. That's when I heard a scream come from down below through a huge hole and before I even realised I did it I ran straight through everyone and without a blink I found myself tumbling down the hole myself with Mala's scream come from above screaming out my name "Hiccup!!"

I suddenly felt my body tumble down onto something and the pair of us started rolling across the dirt until we came to a halt and as the dust from the sand around us started to grow thin I realised the something I tumbled on top of to be the something I longed to see "Hiccup..." the bright in their eyes sent sparks all around my body as I was proud to see shining sapphire once again "Astrid..."