A Saga Of Ice And Fire

Chapter Fourteen - Dragon Tales

His heart hammering against his chest, Hiccup spun round to find that he and Elsa were not the only ones standing in the dimly lit corridor. The red and gold of Captain Marc's uniform was unmistakable even in the low light around them. The man stood at the end of the hallway, his back turned to the two children( clearly unaware about their presence) , casting his fiery glare over two guilty looking subordinates who cowered beneath his gaze, evidently caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing.

It took Hiccup a few moments to realise that the captain of the guards was not addressing him nor Elsa . Re discovering the ability to control his hands at long last, he grabbed Elsa and yanked her back, pressing her against the wall behind them as if hoping to just sink right through the stone or something.

"You both are supposed to be patrolling the east side of the castle, maggots!" Captain Marc barked at the two men, who both seemed to just shrink down and disappear into their helmets.

"S-sorry , sir." one of them whimpered . "I-It won't happ'n gain. Promise!"

"W-We just wanted to grab a bite tuh eat, promise!" the other guard whimpered shakily .

"Report to your designated sector seargent immediately. " Captain Marc's voice boomed through the hallway . " But if I catch you lot loitering around off duty again—"

"I-It won't happen again, sir! Affirmative!" one of the men whimpered before the two of them scampered off after receiving a gruff nod from the Captain.

All of sudden, the captain twisted his head in their direction, his brows knitted together as if he suspected that there was someone hiding there, in the darkness. He could possibly have seen them, could he ?

Hiccup , crouching silently behind a decorative piece of furniture in the dark hallway, was surprised the captain hadn't pinpointed where he sat hiding, considering how loud his heart beat against his eardrums. The unnerving silence seemed to bear down loudly on the two children and their breathing felt much louder than it really was due to the silence that sank over them.
Hiccup slipped his hand over Elsa's mouth and waited. The two children sat in the dark, hiding behind the cabinet, pressed up against the wall as they heard the captain's footsteps growing closer and closer by the moment.

"Captain !" a gruff female voice echoed through the halls, suddenly breaking the silence and in fright, Elsa shot out a jet of ice from her hand against the wall that ger palm rested on. The two children stared at Elsa's hands and then up at each other , silent looks of shock on each others' face.

A female royal guard rounded the corner with a lamp in her hand. Catching sight of her superior, who had his attention diverted away from the cabinet behind which Hiccup and Elsa crouched, hidden as Elsa hurriedly tried to calm down and evaporated the ice into thin air again.

"Captain. There's been a report about the street gang near the town square. " the female guard remarked urgently.

" The street urchins? Rider? " Captain Marc asked gruffly , to which his subordinate nodded. " Gather the men and meet me at the gates in five. "

The woman nodded and rushed back the way she came. With her gone, the captain turned back and drew his sword, his keen eyes squinting in the dimly lit hall , edging towards the cabinet behind which he thought he'd seen a shadow.

But upon rounding on it, he found the area empty. There was no one in the hallway except for him. The man eyed the surroundings warily as he slipped his sword back into it's sheath and marched back the way he came .

~~~

Panting heavily , the two children threw themselves through the door Elsa held open and she delicately closed it shut behind her after checking to make sure they hadn't been followed. They wouldn't really be in a big trouble even if they'd been found but doing this sort of thing made her feel giddy and she could feel her heart hammering inside her and for some reason, she liked the rush she felt at that moment. It was like they were on a secret mission through enemy territory or something.