Chapter Text
The Phony Royals of Berk Part 2
He was trekking down the corridor, heading to the captain’s study. Eret had asked to see him about something. Hiccup didn’t particularly know for what, nor did he really care, but he was heading there anyway. Ever since the assassination failed, Hiccup has had to stay close to his cousin as his personal bodyguard. There had been more than one account where he wanted to screw with the plan and stab his cousin in the back figuratively and literally. Yet, he persisted, though begrudgingly. Breathing out through his nose when he reached the captain’s door, he knocked twice and opened the door.
“You wanted to see me?” When he opened the door, he had been surprised to see the leader of the resistance shackled to a chair with a smile on his face.
“Hello, Hiccup,” Viggo Grimborn greeted.
The entire castle had been on lockdown after the attempt on the crown prince’s life. Meaning Hiccup hadn’t been able to visit the resistance in quite some time. He didn’t like being in the dark about the goings-on in the kingdom. His father’s kingdom. Ever since he had been old enough to understand, Hiccup had dedicated his life to reclaim his father’s throne for him. They had been lucky Gobber was there for them when they needed him most. His father had been in an emotional and vulnerable state when the coup happened. It hurt that Stoick had to stay in the secret dungeon for nearly sixteen years. It hadn’t even been their original plan to keep him there for so long. But they had little choice. If he had gone anywhere else, he would’ve been found by Uncle Spitelout’s allies. So there he remained, trapped for five additional years after they failed. After he failed to save his father and their kingdom.
What little Hiccup knew about the resistance while in the castle was that they weren’t giving up. They had taken what he had said to heart and started small; a bag of coins here, a weapon there, insert members into the king’s guard every once in a while. And he did what he could to cover for them while at the castle in case anyone got suspicious, which no one really did. When his uncle finally settled down, Hiccup had still waited a few days until visiting the forest. Once he did, he got a huge welcome back, especially from Astrid. As soon as she saw him, she punched him in the arm. At first, he had been confused, since she appeared to be very glad to see him. Then, he had been confused when she had said that the punch was for being away for so long. He was about to comment on why that was, but she had pulled him in by the collar and kissed him senselessly.
“ And that’s for everything else ,” she whispered once they parted. “ Where have you been ?”
“ Busy ,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders, not in the mood to really explain everything after having to deal with his cousin for weeks on end with little rest. “ But I’m here now .” Hiccup then turned to the leader of the resistance. “ Sorry I’ve been gone for so long, Shellfire; castle’s been on lockdown. But I have found some information you may find useful .”
“ Good job, Fury. For now, rest. You’ve been quite busy with other duties. We can talk more later ,” Shellfire insisted, patting Hiccup on the shoulder before moving to who knew where.
Viggo Grimborn, aka Shellfire, was an interesting man. He wasn’t like other Berkians. No. Viggo had a mind like no other. He considered life as a game of chess, except the game was a more advanced version that only royals and future rulers are taught. Maces and Talons. He was always multiple steps ahead of everyone else. When Astrid had failed, he had foreseen that and already set in motion a backup plan. Since joining the resistance, Hiccup had been learning as much as he could from Viggo. If they had been on opposite sides, as much as Hiccup would hate the man, he’d also respect him because of his intelligence. He didn’t know where the resistance would be without Viggo. Which was why he was so confused as to why the man he respected the most, besides his father, was bound to a chair in the captain’s room.
“What’s going on?” Hiccup hesitantly asked, taking a step inside the room but not fully going in. “Captain?”
“Hiccup,” Eret began, tucking his hands behind his back. “I’d like you to meet the reason our beloved king has been frantic these last few years. We found this man trying to steal a loaf of bread. And when we searched him, we found various weapons and papers with him.” He showed Hiccup the papers briefly before placing them back down on his desk. “Though they’ve been hell to try and crack.”
“Sir,” he spoke up, “I hate to interrupt, but where do I come into any of this?”
“I was getting to that, Hiccup,” he grinned. “You’re the smartest mind in the kingdom. I was hoping you could take a look at these and try to figure out what they say. They may be important.”
Hiccup nodded, “Will that be all?”
The captain shook his head. “I also want you to try and dig something out of this guy. I’ve been trying to get him to talk for the past two hours but he never says a word. All I get are grunts or the silent treatment. He’s stubborn, but no one is as stubborn as you. Take him to the dungeon. You can interrogate him there.” Eret handed over the sheets of paper and unhooked Viggo from the chair, handing over the key to Hiccup. “Don’t let me down, Hic. I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, sir,” Hiccup bowed his head lightly before taking Viggo out of the room and toward the dungeons. “What’s the plan here?” he muttered to him once they were out of earshot from anyone else in the hall.
“You heard the captain,” Viggo grinned, “Decode the message.” The two stared at one another before Hiccup gave in and looked away.
“Bold move. Can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Hiccup, Hiccup,” Viggo chuckled as he shook his head. “You know I have nothing to lose. We had agreed on this, had we not? You know what you have to do. Lead them, Hiccup. Become the prince you were always meant to be. You have a sharp mind,” he beamed. “Keep it. You’ll need it for what’s to come.”
“Cryptic as always I see,” Hiccup smirked before unlocking the shackles around his wrists and shoving the man into a cell. “Consider that payback for the hell I had gone through for the first few months after the attempted assassination.”
“Can’t say I didn’t deserve that,” Viggo chuckled, resting his arms on his knees. “Just be sure that I’ll get you back when I get out.”
“Oh, I’d like to see you try,” he laughed. “Cause when you get out, everything will be as it should be, with my father as king.”
“Don’t get too cocky there, boy! I’ll get out way before then. Then you’ll be getting the punishment you deserve. Just you wait,” he grinned, continuing to joke with Hiccup a little longer before he headed off to take care of his other duties.
It took very little time for Hiccup to translate the messages on the pieces of parchment. They were initiating the next to last stage of Viggo’s plan. Slowly but surely, the entire resistance was going to “turn themselves in” and then take the royal family out from the inside. Everyone had to time it just right so that none of the knights or the royals would become suspicious of the sudden spike in crimes. To add as a precaution, Hiccup did his best to handle most of the cases so that a few could go under wraps. He knew he could get flak for it if things were to go wrong again, but at the point, they were at, he did not care. It was either getting his father back on the throne or he was becoming an outlaw and be on the lam for the rest of his life. As of yet, there was no need to think about any of that. Everything was going to plan. Already, more than half of the resistance was “locked up” in the dungeons. The catalyst of the show had yet to make her appearance and when she did, the real fun would begin.
When Astrid had gone back, Hiccup had spun a story that she somehow managed to escape the dungeons and hadn’t been seen since. Since then, she had been the most wanted person in Berk. There was a hefty price on her head so if she were to ever show her face, all hands would be on deck to catch her, leaving the entire castle defenseless. All they needed was a few more people on the inside and then they would be set.
Hiccup was in his room writing an encrypted letter to the men and women of the resistance in the dungeons. Things were nearly ready as the last of their group were being loaded into cells. Once he finished the note and stuck it into his armor, he went to do his duty and watch over his bratty cousin. Having to listen to Snotlout complain about the simplest things was really beginning to grate on his nerves. Today, it was about not having the best working sword as he whacked it against the wooden dummy.
“Why won’t it fall?!” he shouted, striking down on the thing with all of his might, only scratching the edge of the figure’s right arm.
“Am I supposed to answer that?” Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow, noticing what his cousin had been doing wrong for the past fifteen years.
“No! Of course not! I’m the one with all the answers,” he huffed, throwing his sword to the ground and stomping over to Hiccup. “It’s obvious what the problem is. I need a better sword. Make the blacksmith make me a new one.”
Exhaling deeply, Hiccup sauntered over to pick the sword up and plunged it into the wooden figure’s chest. “I’ll admit, it could use a sharpening,” he inquired, moving to the opposite side and tapping his finger at the point of the blade. “Maybe then it’ll work for you.”
“I knew that!” Snotlout pouted, crossing his arms. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get on it! I need my sparring time.”
“The blacksmith is busy making weapons for the new armory your father has demanded,” Hiccup said, taking out his dagger and cutting out a loose rock from the castle wall. “Give me a few minutes and your precious sword will be good as new.”
“Since when did you learn how to blacksmith?” he sneered, tapping his foot rapidly.
Ignoring his cousin, Hiccup quickly got to work on fiddling with the blade. He had slowly been dulling each of the swords in the armory when no one was around. It was the least he could do so that Astrid wouldn’t get severely hurt when she showed her face. Sabotashing the sword in front of his cousin was like icing on the cake. Snotlout knew nothing about smithing so saying he could “fix” his blade with any old rock was hilarious.
“Done,” he said but moved it out of Snotlout’s grasp. “But… you should probably leave it for now. If you don’t leave the blade sitting for long enough, it could undo all the work and make it even worse.”
“Ugh, fine! I’m going back to my room. Don’t cause any trouble, useless.”
“Oh, believe me, your highness,” he muttered under his breath as Snotlout walked past him, grinning, “I intend to.”
Turning the sword to look at it from all angles to see if it was dull enough, Hiccup put it back in its place on the rack and went to work on a few other weapons he hadn’t managed to get to. They were small alterations, ones that the average Berkian wouldn’t notice, but the changes were crucial to keeping a weapon intact and durable against hard hits. When the final battle comes, the resistance members will take one swing and the weapons will be done for and in need of repair. It will be a long day for Gobber, but Hiccup would help re-repair the weapons.
Things were nearly all set. All that was left was alerting Astrid. Making a brief detour to the dungeons and delivering the message, Hiccup then went up to his room and took out a hand mirror to shine it against the sun to reflect the message. Once he felt she had seen it, he sprang to the stables and brushed his stallion down. He knew he’d have to pamper his companion before and after the whole ordeal if Toothless was to cooperate for the next twenty-four hours.
“Hey there, bud. I hope you’re ready for tonight, cause we’re in for a long couple of hours. Here’s hoping we’ll succeed. I don’t know what I’ll do if we don’t.” his steed whinnied and nipped at his arm. “You’re right. I’d find another way.” When he heard shouting and yelling coming from beyond the castle walls, Hiccup grinned. “Showtime, bud.” Rushing to the nearest knight, he grabbed their attention by the shoulder. “What’s going on?”
“The assassin’s been spotted near the outskirts of town and all knights are expected to capture her, captain’s orders,” the knight replied, not bothering to hear what Hiccup had to say before continuing off into the village to aid in the capture.
A grin briefly met his mouth before Hiccup ran toward the outskirts of the castle only to quickly change directions to head back inside the castle through a secret passage. Letting everyone out of their cells, the entire resistance got to work on finding the royal family and confronting them. Running through the corridors, Hiccup aided in the search, eventually finding Snotlout in his room sleeping through the chaos that was happening around him. Sighing, Hiccup hit his cousin in the head with the pommel of his sword and dragged him to the throne room where he found everyone from the rebellion with their weapons directed at his tied-up uncle.
“What is the meaning of this? I am your king! Release me!” his uncle demanded, trying to get out of the ropes, but finding no luck. When Spitelout caught sight of his nephew, his insistence increased. “Hiccup! Get me out of here and arrest all of these hooligans at once.”
Setting Snotlout down at the entrance of the throne room, Hiccup slowly made his way and knelt down so that he was at eye level with his uncle. “I’m sorry, your highness, but I’m afraid I can do no such thing.” The look on Spitelout’s face was priceless, his eyes were wide as saucers and his mouth had practically dropped to the ground. “Let’s see…” he hummed. “What was it you had told my father? Oh yeah, that’s right.” Hiccup got good and close to Spitelout’s face and whispered into his ear, “Long live the king.”
“No… It can’t be…” his uncle breathed heavily. “You died with Stoick! Yo-you fell in the river. I saw you!”
“Next time, make sure I’m actually dead before assuming,” Hiccup grinned, pulling away. “Lock them up!” he commanded. “I’ll have my father deal with them.”
“Stoick’s dead, boy-o!” Spitelout shouted frantically as he was being pulled away. “You’re in denial. He died trying to protect you.”
“Did he though?” Hiccup turned to two of the resistance members and nodded before turning back to his uncle. “Many years have we waited for this day to come. And it’s finally here.”
“Hiccup?”
He could see his uncle quivering at the sound of his father’s voice and Hiccup couldn’t be happier from the sight. “Dad,” he greeted, smiling, “you’re free.”
“How-”
“I know you said to let it go, but I and the rest of the rebellion just couldn’t live under Spitelout’s reign anymore. We wanted the rightful king and ruler back where he belonged,” Viggo came around and bowed his head before continuing on to who knew where.
“I’m proud of you, son,” Stoick rested his hand on his son’s shoulder. “You didn’t give up as I had. But you know, I’m getting on in my years.”
“You’re not that old,” Hiccup interrupted, looking him up and down. “You’ve still got plenty of years ahead of you, now that you’re out.”
“Yes, yes,” his father chuckled, “thank you, son, but what I’m trying to say is that I think it’s time to say goodbye.”
“Say goodbye? But you just got the throne back,” he protested. “Don’t you want to serve your people again?”
“Yes, but there’s someone far more up to the task than this old king who's been trapped for about sixteen years.”
“Who?”
“I would’ve thought I had raised a smarter son, son. It’s you, Hiccup.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you,” he laughed. “Since you were old enough, you have dedicated your life to your people, to me. You have more than proven yourself to be Berk’s king.”
“B-but I’m not ready!” he protested. “I barely managed to get you out if it weren’t for the resistance and Viggo’s help. If anyone should be king, it should be him.”
“Then make him your advisor. You’re ready, Hiccup. But…” his father stroked his beard, “if it will make you feel better, I’ll let you shadow me for a time and then gradually take over. How does that sound?”
“I suppose we can do that,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Hiccup!” he turned to see Astrid running toward him and wrapping her arms around him, squeezing tightly. When she let go, she punched him in the arm. “That’s for making me the bait.”
“Oh come on, you and I both know I wasn’t the one to-” Astrid then pulled him in toward her by the collar of his tunic and kissed him deeply. The two eventually parted, allowing air to flow back into their lungs.
She whispered, “That’s for everything else.” Once Astrid saw the company they were with, she cleared her throat and took a step back. “Welcome back, sir. It’s good to see you again, under better circumstances this time.”
“Lovely to see you too, lass. Son, we’ll talk more about this later. Right now, I think we owe our subjects an explanation.”
“Of course,” he nodded, giving Astrid a quick kiss on the cheek, “We’ll catch up in a bit,” he said before scurrying off to catch up with his father.
“Go get them, Prince Hiccup,” she chuckled.
“My people!” Stoick exclaimed, grabbing the village’s attention. “The phony royals of Berk are gone!”