[HTTYD] Carried Off, Eret subplot (part 1)

Carried Off, a DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon fanfic by Raberba girl

Eret subplot, part 1 (rough draft)

 

Hiccup had been doing this for over a year now, so it was routine enough that he no longer feared going up 'alone' against Drago Bludvist's forces. He never felt alone anymore. Hiccup might have been the only human standing up to the cruel conqueror, but he always rode into battle with Toothless, his best friend and partner, and he trusted his flockmates with all his heart.  He knew how to utilize his own dragon army to the best advantage, he knew how to get in and out quickly, he knew when to be stealthy and when to put on a show, and he knew how to soothe and reassure the wounded, fearful rescues who were brought back to the Sanctuary after every victory.

 

After getting so familiar with the dragon side of things that he could pull off some missions in his sleep, he was also starting to get familiar with the enemy.

 

"TAKE 'EM DOWN, LADS!"

 

Hiccup couldn't help smiling a little behind his helmet.  He knew that voice, and it didn't take him long to locate boastful, determined Eret Eretson barking orders from the deck of his ship.  "When are you going to learn, Eret-son-of-Eret?" Hiccup murmured almost affectionately.

 

"Your Night Fury is mine, dragon rider!"

 

"Not today, Captain," Hiccup called back cheerfully.  He signaled the troop of dragons behind him to go into one of their practiced maneuvers and then abruptly dive-bombed the ship.  He and Toothless avoided the flying net with a well-timed spin; Eret shrieked and dove out of the way as Toothless came plunging straight toward him.  The Night Fury pulled up at the last second, smugly coughing out a fireball as he did so.

 

"GET THAT NIGHT FURY!" Eret shouted, but his crew had more pressing problems.

 

"Boss!  The ship's on fire!"

 

"You men stay on the port side launchers; Pintel, Ragetti, you two--!"

 

There was a series of explosions by the dragon cages.

 

"NO!" Eret cried.  "NO!"

 

Freed dragons came soaring out of the smoke; a moment later, a dragon too weak to fly was lifted into the air by one of the Sanctuary dragons.

 

"DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"

 

"Boss!  Now the ship's really on fire!"

 

"Boss, I can't swim!  I can't swim!  We're going down, I can't swim, I'll drown!"

 

Eret cursed and gave orders for the life boats to be launched.  Then he stood with his fists clenched on the railing of his burning ship and glared after the retreating dragons, his eyes full of fury and despair.

 

o.o.o.o.o

 

Valka kind of liked Snotlout, because he always smiled at her and called her a princess and talked as if he was the best thing in the world, but then did dumb stuff so she knew that she was still the best thing in the world.

 

She liked him, but she knew her mother didn't really.  Her mother had taught her how to respond if people ever said certain bad things.  Valka was four years old the first time Snotlout told her a bad thing, but it was okay because she knew exactly what to do.

 

"Heeeeyyy, it's my princess!  And how are you this lovely morning?"

 

"I'm GOOD!" Valka announced cheerfully.

 

"Awesome!  Wanna make sure my girl's always got things going her way."

 

"I'm not your girl," she corrected him.

 

"Heh."  He glanced around, then knelt down to her level said in a quiet, conspiratorial way, "Want me to tell you a secret?"

 

"Oooohhh, yes!"

 

"Well.  The secret is: you actually are my girl, Valka!"

 

"No, I'm not," she said matter-of-factly.

 

"Sure you are!  I'll tell you something, I know your mom always says you're that dragon-loving traitor's daughter, but don't listen to her, Val.  Truth is, you're my daughter."  The teasing look dropped from his face and he started to say ruefully, "That is, you'd be my daughter if--" He didn't get to finish.

 

Valka recognized those words!  They were bad words!  Delighted at the opportunity, the little girl swung a solid kick into Snotlout's crotch.

 

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

 

Valka giggled, watching him rolling around on the ground cradling his boy-parts.  "You said it!  You said it, so I got to do it, yaaay, that was fun!"

 

"Valkaaaaa," he wailed when he could speak again, "whyyyyyy did you do thaaaaat...?"

 

"Mama said, 'If that no-good Snotlout ever tells you he's your father, kick him in the nuts,'" Valka recited.  She pointed.  "Those are your nuts, right there!  I kicked you there!"

 

"Yeah...yeah, you did, thanks...."

 

"Are you crying?" she asked interestedly.

 

"Yeeeeessss...."  He grinned through his tears.  "Wow.  Four years old, and my girl already knows how to take a guy down."

 

"I'm not your girl!" she crowed triumphantly.  "I get to kick you again!"

 

"No!" he shrieked, curling into a tighter ball.  "Aha...okay, look, you're my niece.  Sort of.  So you're my girl niece, okay?"

 

She thought about this.  "Okay.  And you're my fake daddy."

 

"Fake daddy...."  He uncurled a little to smile.  "Well, it has 'daddy' in there!  I'll take it!"

 

"Good job, Fake Daddy!"  Valka held up her hand for a high five, which Snotlout weakly returned, then continued on her merry way to find a frog to drop down Finn's shirt.

 

"Good job, Val...ow...oooooowwww...yep, Hofferson's daughter all right...."

 

o.o.o.o.o

 

"Is it just me, or is Eret-son-of-Eret no fun anymore?" Hiccup mused.  He swung back for another attack.

 

Ten minutes later, the rest of the flock were retreating with the freed captives, and Drago's men were racing around the ruined fort in noisy chaos.  Hiccup, lingering behind to make sure all the dragons were accounted for, hesitated when he saw Eret watching him.

 

"Rider."

 

Eret looked so uncharacteristically still and serious that Hiccup saluted in respect.

 

"Can you...can you get your beast to shoot me?"

 

Hiccup shoved his helmet up out of his face.  "What?"  Now that he was paying attention, he realized how completely hopeless Eret looked.

 

"Look."  Eret tugged down his tunic far enough to reveal a huge, ugly brand scarring his chest.  Hiccup stared at it in horror.  "This is what he did to me the last time you stole my entire shipment and I had nothing to deliver.  I'm probably a dead man walking right now, and you won't draw out the torture like he might....  And if he thinks I got killed fighting you, he'll send money back home to my people."

 

Hiccup had no words.  All this time, he had been so focused on the dragons, he hadn't even thought of the human beings in Bludvist's employ.  He hadn't ever considered that they probably had loved ones of their own, that their war against the dragons might not be personal; he hadn't ever expected to see Eret Eretson, always a source of half-competent amusement, look like he was caught in a trap every bit as cruel and inescapable as the ones he used to cage dragons.

 

Hiccup gritted his teeth and silently signaled for Toothless to take flight.

 

Eret closed his eyes and drew his sword, holding it in a half-hearted show of fighting back in case any of the men still running around happened to notice him.  Toothless pounced.  Eret braced himself.

 

There was no pain, just a sudden surge of...nausea.  And disorientation.  And--  "AAAAAAHHHH!"

 

Hiccup laughed.

 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Eret shrieked, struggling in Toothless's claws as they rapidly ascended.

 

"Don't worry, your abduction flight will be a lot shorter than mine was," Hiccup called down to his captive.

 

"PUT ME DOWN, YOU MADMAN!"

 

o.o.o.o.o

 

Eret had gone quiet by the time they reached the Sanctuary.  Hiccup didn't want to bring the hostile stranger right into the heart of his peaceful home, so he had Toothless drop off the trapper in one of the outlying caves.  Hiccup dismounted as Eret rolled to his feet and burst upright, wild-eyed.  His main weapon was gone, so Eret drew a small knife and glared, his body coiled in a fighting stance.

 

Hiccup glanced at one of the curious flockmates behind the man.  "Blade-arm, bite, GENTLE," he instructed in the dragons' language.

 

"Listen to me," Eret started, "if you think you--"  He choked off when a Snafflefang's jaws closed on his arm.  The trapper was caught, rigid, staring at the dragon in horror, the knife still gripped tightly but now held immobile.  Blood started trickling down his arm.

 

"Sorry," Hiccup fake-apologized.  "I told him to be gentle, but he has a grudge, you see.  Don't worry, it'll heal well.  If he decides to let you go without ripping off your whole arm first."

 

Eret swallowed.  More and more dragons were gathering, curiously watching the drama unfold between the two humans.

 

"Drop the knife, please."

 

Eret closed his eyes, then reluctantly peeled his fingers away from the hilt and let it fall to the floor.  Hiccup ambled over, picked up the knife, and slipped it into his own inventory.  "Smart choice."  Then, to the dragon, "Release."

 

Reluctantly, the dragon opened his jaws and backed away.  Eret clutched at the slightly bloody bite mark on his arm and scrambled around, seeing with horror how many dragons surrounded him.  A few were approaching to investigate him now that his blade was gone.  "No!  Stay away!  Stay away!"

 

Hiccup unfastened his pants and started to mark a boundary around Eret with urine.

 

"What are you DOING???"

 

"Claiming you."

 

"WHAT?!"

 

Hiccup finished the circle and grinned as he fastened his pants again.  "Well, unless you want one of them to claim you.  Because someone will, and I think you'd prefer it be me."

 

Eret stared at him.

 

"Unless I'm wrong and you do want to belong to a dragon instead," Hiccup allowed.

 

A couple of dragons had reached the boundary by now and were sniffing at it.  Eret let out a little squeaking sound and stood rigid with fear between them.  A third dragon came up to join the investigation.

 

"Hey," Hiccup scolded mildly, "shoo."  He flapped his hands at the dragons and then stepped close to Eret, putting his arms around the man and nuzzling him.  "My interesting thing."

 

"Get off of me!"  Eret shook him loose and started to run, then shrieked when a dragon eagerly seized the chance to gallop close to him.  "AAAHH!"  He dodged away and tried to flee again, but there were too many dragons.  He changed directions about two or three times before his wild eyes caught sight of Hiccup, who was pointing to the middle of the circle.  Eret rushed back toward him.  "Keep them away from me!"

 

"You're going to have to stay right in this spot if you want them to leave you alone."

 

"What?!"

 

Hiccup explained with condescending, slightly amused patience, "When you're outside the circle, you are fair game.  Anyone can come up and mark you and manhandle you however they want.  However, if you stay here, inside the magic pee circle, they'll recognize that you're in my territory and they won't touch you."

 

Eret stared at him again.  "...You are insane."

 

Hiccup shrugged.  "Well, feel free to test it, if you want."  He flapped his hand invitingly.  "Go on, step outside the circle again."

 

Breathing hard, Eret stared around at all the dragons, of which there seemed to be more and more with each passing minute.  All of them had their eyes fixed on him, but most of them were staying put; only a few were sniffing and testing the boundary.

 

"Oi," Hiccup scolded again as a dragon, eyeing him, slowly started to reach her paw past the line of urine, "no.  MY prisoner.  No."  Sheepishly, she withdrew her paw and retreated.  A few minutes later, the dragons had all settled into a comfortable stalemate, some of them losing interest entirely and trundling away.

 

There was a distant squawk and a rushing, thumping sort of sound, then yet another dragon came tearing into the cave.  Eret flinched, but the newcomer made a beeline for Hiccup, who laughed and threw out his arms in welcome, yet simultaneously cringed away as if bracing for an attack.

 

The dragon all but bowled him over, flapping her wings in excitement and nipping at him over and over.  "Okay, okay! I'm glad to see you, too, baby girl."  They nuzzled each other with affection, just as three more dragons approached more sedately.  The smallest one sort of wound herself around Hiccup, digging her claws into his leather armor for purchase and nuzzling him.  "Hey there, Hen," Hiccup crooned, then reached up to pat the biggest one.  "We're back, Cloudjumper.  And we brought a friend, heh."  The third dragon ambled up to Hiccup, giving him a light, amiable head-butt.  "Fiiiiinn," Hiccup sing-songed, scrubbing his fingers over the dragon's head in a rough caress.  Finn purred and curled his tail in pleasure.

 

"Rider," Eret called in a slightly panicky voice, "Rider, your magic pee circle isn't working...!"

 

"Valka, no," Hiccup ordered sharply.  The dragon squawked a protest.  "No, honey.  That's one's only for me, no one else, okay?"

 

She huffed, turning away from Eret and coming to collapse at her mother's feet.

 

"Sorry about that," Hiccup said.  "She's my daughter, so she thinks she's more entitled to my stuff than other people are."

 

"Your...." Eret echoed warily.

 

"Well, actually, usually she is more entitled to my stuff, but--"  Hiccup smiled at the dragon again, scratching the back of her head, "--not this time, sweetie.  Sorry."

 

"Hold on, did you just say your daughter?"

 

"Yes, her name is Valka.  And this is my son, Finn.  And my name is Hiccup, by the way, I just realized that I never told you that before."

 

Eret mouthed wordlessly.

 

"Finn?  Val?"  Both dragons perked to attention.  "This person here," Hiccup said, gesturing, "his name is Eret.  Eret.  Him, Eret."

 

Finn blinked lazily.  Valka gurgled a sound that sounded extraordinarily like 'Eret.'

 

"Did it...just...say my name...?"

 

"Yes, she just said your name."  Hiccup caressed his children fondly.  "I have a theory that these two understand Norse better than the others, maybe because they imprinted on me...."

 

"I think I need to sit down," Eret moaned, and did so.

 

He stayed in the circle for hours, still amazed that a mere line of urine could keep the whole horde of giant fire-breathing lizards at bay.  Only a few of them stayed, lounging around sleepily and not looking threatening at all, but Eret still didn't dare set foot outside the circle.  He had a feeling that as soon as he left the safe boundary, the beasts would drop their harmless act and pounce.

 

He panicked a little when the crazy dragon rider, 'Hiccup,' wandered away, but didn't dare try to follow him.  After an agonizing twenty or thirty minutes of wondering if he'd been abandoned for good and calculating his chances to escape, Eret was relieved when Hiccup returned, hauling what looked like camping supplies and with the same passel of dragons still at his heels.  "Figured I'd spend the night here, keep you company," Hiccup explained amiably.

 

"When are you going to let me go?" Eret demanded.

 

"You're free to go any time you like."

 

"Yes, and get eaten!  No thanks!"

 

"They won't eat you, Eret-son-of-Eret."  Hiccup finished building up the pile of fuel. "Valka, fire," he instructed.  She was the one who enjoyed the task best, and eagerly spat flame onto the kindling.

 

Eret watched as Hiccup fed the dragons with piles of fish, then speared a few pieces to roast over the fire.  The smell of cooking meat made Eret's stomach growl.  To his alarm, the sound attracted the dragons' attention.  Toothless's plates twitched, Finn and Hen paused to look at the trapper, and Valka curiously trotted over to sniff at him.  "Rider!  Hiccup!" Eret cried in a panic, edging away.  Valka followed him around the circle, apparently finding it to be a fun game.

 

"She won't hurt you, Eret."

 

"Get her away from me!"

 

"Valka, come."

 

Grumbling, she made a gentle snap at Eret's arm and then turned to obey.

 

"Eret," Hiccup said encouragingly, "come here and eat."

 

"I don't know what you're playing at, you dragon lunatic, but you need to call them off now and let me walk out of here with my head and all four limbs intact."

 

Hiccup spoke as if he hadn't heard.  "Doesn't it smell yummy~?" he coaxed, waving a stick full of fish.  Valka snatched up a mouthful.  "Val!"  She squawked in distress and let the stolen morsel drop out of her mouth.  "You knew it was cooked, goofy."

 

Val trilled plaintively, and Finn made a soft, derisive snort in response.

 

It was a long time before Eret finally worked up the courage to leave the circle (which had by now completely faded from sight).  By then, he was starving, and the dragons all seemed either asleep or close to it.  To his dismay, as soon as he set a foot outside what was left of the boundary, most of the dragons raised their heads toward him or at least opened their eyes, and that dratted female Scuttleclaw chirped with interest and headed straight toward him.

 

"Valka, come here," Hiccup said, to Eret's relief.  Val eyed the two humans indecisively until Hiccup held out his hands and wiggled his fingers.  Valka tromped back to him and practically threw herself across his lap, purring in contentment as he caressed her.

 

Eret very cautiously edged toward the fire and picked up one of the remaining skewers.  The fish on the end was half-burned and had now gone cold, but it tasted delicious as it made its way down Eret's throat.  He moaned a little in relief, then nearly screamed at a faint touch to the back of his head that he realized, to his horror, was a dragon.

 

"Stay very still, Eret," Hiccup said softly.

 

Eret was rigid, whimpering under his breath as the dragon nosed at him.

 

"He's just checking you out, calm down."

 

"Get...this...thing...away...from...me...!"

 

"He is very much scared," the Rumblehorn observed.

 

"Thinks he's prey," Hiccup explained.

 

"This bad thing, I will punish him?" Skullcrusher considered.  Most dragons wouldn't have been able to pick up on enough of the details of Eret's past to hold much of a grudge against him, but to the exquisite nose of a Rumblehorn, the traces of dragon fear and dragon blood clinging to Eret's body were clear.

 

"Already punished."  Hiccup approached and, ignoring Eret's protests, tugged down his tunic to indicate the brand.  "Hurt."

 

Skullcrusher acknowledged the burned flesh and settled back.

 

"Get off me!"

 

Hiccup retreated and settled down comfortably with Hen and Valka.  "You don't answer to Drago anymore, Eret.  This is your chance to make a fresh start."

 

"Are you delusional?" Eret said in disgust.  "That man is well on his way to taking all your pets and ruling the world.  Crossing him means paying for it sooner or later."

 

"So you really think we don't have a chance?" Hiccup said idly.  "You've seen His Majesty, haven't you?"

 

"His Ma--?"  Eret broke off, realizing whom Hiccup was referring to.  "Where is your monster king?" he asked warily.

 

"Right here."

 

"What?!"

 

Hiccup tapped the side of his head.  "Talking to me.  Listening to you."

 

Eret paled and started to edge away.

 

"Nothing supernatural," Hiccup laughed.  "He's just...big.  His mind is so huge, he can't help spilling over into our tiny little thoughts.  He's supposed to.  How else could he run a huge dragon flock?"

 

Eret swallowed and asked weakly, "He's watching us?  Right now?"

 

"I'll take you to meet him tomorrow.  He really wants to see you in person."

 

"No.  No, you need to let me go, I have to get back to the fleet, you don't understand, I've been away too long already...!"

 

"Relax, Eret," Hiccup said quietly.  "Drago can never get to you here."

 

To be continued....