The Arcane Evil (httyd-fic)

Chapter 53

"Tha both of us!!" Stoick roared in astonishment as he leapt out of his seat. "If that were true then why aren't I also that sick?"

"Sir" Fishlegs softly spoke. "It might have to do with your physique." He explained and then theorized. "The poison might have just worked faster on your wife than you or maybe you both got different dosages."

"W....Who... would even-" Stoick muttered as he ran a hand through his hair.

"It would be someone who would have the most to gain." Astrid stated as she took a seat next to Hiccup. There was a knock on the door and Stoick opened it to reveal Gobber who let out a nervous chuckle.

"The......... eh...... nobles...... are all unconscious." Gobber proclaimed which caused Astrid to facepalm. "Some of yer friends and the knights are dragging the lot back to their rooms. I just dropped off Pavo at his room."

"How's Valka doing?" Gobber asked as he was led inside.

"She is stable for now." Fishlegs said. "But we have a more pressing matter. It seems poison might have been the cause."

Gobber's eyes widened at the news. "Who what how?!"

"That is what we like to know." Fishlegs said. "You were stating Hiccup?"

"Right, it would be someone who would have the most to gain." Hiccup said. "When did these symptoms first appear?"

Stoick thought back for a moment. "It was a year ago although the red splotches are a new symptom." Stoick mumbled. "Our declining health was actually the deciding factor in me making Geir chief."

"That's odd." Astrid said. "Normally you would want poisons to work fast but this one is slow acting."

"Which would make it look like an illness." Hiccup commented. "Quick acting would arouse suspicion but if people took notice of declining health over a long period of time they would most likely attribute it to getting older."

"If the splotches are new then something must have been added or it could be a different poison and It would have to be continually administered." Fishlegs stated. "You and your wife got better on the journey here, which means that the culprit could not slip it to you on the ship."

"What have you eaten today?" Fishlegs then asked.

"What was presented to us at the table." Stoick stated. "I don't think that is was in our food."

"Stoick, what about the ale that Geir brought in the afternoon?" Gobber questioned.

"Aye, both Valka and I drank that."

"Could Geir be the culprit?" Astrid asked as all eyes turned to her.

"He does have a motive." Fishlegs suggested. "What if he wanted to be Chief sooner."

"T..There is no way!" Stoick said as he banged his fist on the table. "He... He wouldn't!!"

"He did gain the most of you stepping down Stoick." Gobber said.

"That is true." Hiccup said. "He did gain the most but I believe we are missing something. There is no way that he could have come up with such a plan."

"Aye, the lad isn't tha sharpest sword in tha scabbard." Gobber stated.

"Are you sure?" Astrid queried.

"Milady, we are talking about a man who used an axe to destroy a door when it wouldn't open. He just needed to pull instead of push." Hiccup said in resignation.

Meanwhile Pavo was awoken by a door slam. The boy wiggled out of his bed and peeked out of his room to see that his parents had just walked inside and they did not look happy.

"Are you done sulking?" Froda asked as she watched her husband angrily start a fight with a table. The table won and Geir muttered curses as he sank down on a chair to rub his stubbed toe.

"I just can't believe my brother!!" Geir shouted. "He is married to the QUEEN!!! He's supposed to be dead."

"We all believed he was." Froda muttered. "Honestly, hiccups aren't known to last very long in the world and him being alive puts a kink in our plans."

"How so?" Geir asked stupidly. "I'm already Chief. We accomplished that easily."

"But you retaining that position dear husband is another matter."

"Eh?"

Froda grumbled angrily. "Now that everyone knows that Hiccup is alive he could lay claim to the Chiefdom if he wants to. He is the oldest and would have been the next chief had your father not proclaimed you as heir."

"He could proclaim you incompetent and challenge you to a fight for the position." Froda stated as she angrily jabbed her husband's belly. "He already beat you once in a sword fight so how well do you think that will go for you. We will lose our status and wealth if that happens and I have spend too long and hard working to attain the position I hold now." Froda growled. "Also, if your brother has any children they will be first in line for the Chiefdom!!"

"Don't talk to me like that woman!" Geir angrily shouted as he grabbed Froda's wrist and yanked her close. Froda proceeded to slap her husband hard.

"Who do you think you are speaking to." Froda said as she became more imposing. "I made you! Don't for a second think that you would have been Chief without my help. I gave you a child to cement your position and I even gave you the speech that made your father name you heir!!"

"I have been slowly making sure that your parents are in no state to reassume the mantle." She said sweetly as she dangled a vial of blue liquid, that she had retrieved from one of the drawers, in front of her husband's face. "I even mixed it with extract from a particular plant so that it mimics the plague now."

"What are you going to do now?" Geir muttered as he held his swollen cheek.

"Now, I'm going to bed. Afterwards I will make sure that all the competition is eliminated." Froda said, while placing the vial back in the drawer, and she then looked over her shoulder to the man, before swaying her hips suggestively.

Neither one had noticed the little boy listening in on their conversation with both his hands covering his mouth as his eyes widened in shock and disbelief. The boy knew that he had to warn his uncle and new auntie but before that he had to get that vial.