Hostage AU

Escape

A/N: Wow, super long chapter! Enjoy!

Hiccup ran. He had to try again, no matter the consequences. If he could get away from Alvin, he could steal a boat and get to Berk. Even if his parents had named him "accident" they cared enough to make sure he was alive and try to rescue him. There was no way living on Berk could be worse than living on Outcast Island.

Hiccup dodged dragon fire and Outcasts. The Outcasts grabbed for him, knowing that if Hiccup got away Alvin would be furious. Luckily, each time an Outcast reached for Hiccup they were distracted by an incoming dragon. Hiccup made it to the outskirts of the village. So close, so close, so- "Boy!" There it was. Keep running, don't look back, Alvin's spotted you, it'll be fine, you're totally dead!

Hiccup glanced back. Alvin was chasing him. So close! Please- please Thor, let me get away! As if in answer to Hiccup's desperate plea, a monstrous nightmare attacked Alvin. Hiccup had just enough time to run into the grove of Loki trees. They were craggy and twisted, but they would help him hide from Alvin. Hiccup saw a small hollow opening in a tree and shoved his way inside.

Hiccup peeked out of the hole in the tree. No one there. It was nighttime, and Hiccup was exhausted from the day's work. Maybe he could just take a little nap...

---

When Hiccup woke up again, it was daytime. He had been woken up by loud shouts of "find him!" They were undoubtedly talking about Hiccup. Through the hole in the tree Hiccup saw three burly Outcasts walk by. "Find him, or it'll be us in his tiny jail cell! If the boy escapes, Alvin will kill us, and if he doesn't, the Berkians will! If they find out that their precious heir has escaped, we're all dead!"

After the Outcasts left, a small blonde haired girl walked out from behind a tree. She wore her hair in a braid, with bangs covering her blue eyes. She had a spiked red skirt and blue top with shoulder armor. "The Chief's son? I'm on Outcast Island! Oh, this is great! I get shipwrecked on Outcast Island and find out that the island's on high alert because the heir escaped. Actually, this is good. If I can find the heir, he could help me escape too! Surely he knows something about the island, since he's been living on it for fifteen years!"

Hiccup decided to take this moment to show himself. "H-hello?" The girl immediately spun towards him. "Who are you?! Are you an Outcast?" Hiccup jumped back, startled. "I-I'm Hiccup. Did you say you were Berkian?" The girl immediately lowered her guard. "Yes, I am. Are you really the Captured Heir?" Hiccup gave a small laugh. "Yes. Could you help me get to Berk? I kind of escaped without much of a plan. Y'know, dragon raid, chaos everywhere, great opportunity? First time I've actually gotten out of the village." The girl was gaping at him. "So, you're the son of Stoick the Vast? Kinda small. My name's Astrid."

Hiccup frowned. "Um, hi Astrid. And yes, I'm skinny, but I don't get much food." Astrid scowled. "What, the Outcasts don't feed their hostages? Not surprised. On Berk, if we take a hostage, we treat them with respect and try to negotiate their release as soon as possible." Hiccup snorted. "Outcasts must be very different from Berkians. Anyway, how are we gonna escape?" Astrid started to reply, but just then they heard a growling noise.

The two teens peeked over a ridge. There was a night fury there, wrapped in bolas. Hiccup immediately walked down the slope to the dragon. "Astrid, do you have a knife?" Astrid frowned. "Yeah, but I want to kill it!" Hiccup looked at her. "Just give it to me!" Astrid grumbled, but complied. Hiccup immediately knelt down and cut the dragon free. The dragon jumped up and backed away growling. Hiccup held out his hands and edged towards the dragon, muttering quiet reassurances. Once he got within arm's reach of the dragon, he held out his hand and averted his eyes.

The dragon touched his nose to the boy's palm.

Astrid was shocked. "H-how..." Hiccup grinned in reply. "I have a thing for dragons. Once, a Terrible Terror got into Alvin's house while he was out. I was chained in my room, because I had attempted to escape again. The terror could have killed me, but instead he curled up next to me, trying to comfort me. Since then, dragons have not tried to hurt me. Some even keep the Outcasts busy during my escape attempts." Astrid looked shocked, but quickly collected herself.

"Well, maybe we could escape on this night fury! Alvin would never be able to catch us!" Hiccup grinned and began checking the night fury for injuries. When he came to the dragon's mouth, he noticed that the dragon didn't have any teeth. "Toothless. Odd, I coulda sworn you had-" the dragon's teeth shot out, causing Hiccup to jump backwards. "-teeth! That's what I'll call you! Toothless!" Astrid gave him a weird look. "Well, do you have a better suggestion? Anyway, he's healthy. Just has a few scratches and bruises. Let's go."

Little did Hiccup know, he was echoing the words his mother said fifteen years ago.

---

On Berk, Stoick and Valka were sitting at their dining room table, looking at a sheet of paper. "I have no choice, Valka. If I don't agree to the treaty, Alvin will kill our son."

Valka looked worried. "I know, but do we have to go to Outcast Island for the treaty? It might be a trap?" Stoick sighed. "Valka, we have to. Besides, we might see our son." Valka looked up with determination. "Let's go."

---

"Gobber! Call a Thing!" The one-armed blacksmith turned around. "What do you mean, Chief? What for? I mean, the other tribes won't come for nothing!" Stoick glared at his old friend. "It's about Alvin... and Hiccup." Gobber turned and ran off to deliver the messages without another word.

---

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ESCAPED?!!!" Savage paled, seeing his boss's fury. "Now, Alvin, don't be rash, we'll find the boy-" Alvin turned purple. "STOICK IS COMING TO SIGN THE TREATY, AND MY ONLY LEVERAGE IS MISSING?!" Savage decided to cut his losses.

He ran.

---

"Oi, Stoick, what's all this nonsense about your son?" The Thing had commenced. The Thing was an annual meeting among the tribes. Or, it usually was. This was an Emergency Thing. And, as usual, Mogodon the Meathead was acting like... Well... A meathead.

"Settle down, settle down! I have an announcement! As you all know, Alvin has held my son a prisoner for fifteen years. Normally, he demands that I leave him alone. This time, he's asked me to make an... Alliance... With him." The Vikings sat in stunned silence. This was getting out of hand.

"The treaty is definitely not in the Berkian's favor. It demands that we give a twelfth of our livestock each year, and to support them in their times of trouble. If we are in trouble, we will have to fend for ourselves and continue providing the yearly twelfth of livestock. However, if I do not agree, Alvin will kill my son. I know some of you savage tribes would not care if your son's life was threatened, but I do. Berk will be able to survive these terms, so I have decided to accept."

Big Boobied Bertha, Chief of the Bog Burglars, snorted indignantly. "Well, Stoick, if you've already made the decision, why are we here?"

For the first time in the entire meeting, Stoick looked the other chiefs in the eyes. "Because I wanted to keep the alliances I already have with the rest of you. If anyone wishes to break their agreements with me, say so now." Only one chief stood up to leave. It was Madguts the Murderous, chief of the Murderous tribe. His assistant, Gumboil, spoke for him. "We break off our alliance not because of who you are aligning yourself with, but because of your cowardice! You would give all those resources for a boy?! Softies!" With that, the murderous pair strode out the door.

No other chief moved. They all nodded agreement, even Oswald the Agreeable, the Berserker Chief.