Beyond the Realms - Lacrimosa - Chapter 7

Hiccup could have sworn that even the tiniest muscle in his body was screaming in pain and protest. He groaned, stretching as best as he could without falling from the croup of the horse he had been roughly put onto. Not even Astrid's intense training sessions had ever managed to make his body this sore, and that was definitely saying something. In his defense, travelling during an entire week with an almost empty stomach and an ever-growing lack of sleep certainly did not help to improve his physical condition. And yet, he supposed he could consider himself lucky, since the rest of the prisoners had to cover the whole distance by foot. A few of them had already died of exhaustion. Every time a body crumpled to the ground and remained desperately motionless, ravens descended from the sky and the beating of their wings resonated like a morbid oath as they prepared themselves to feast on the fresh corpses. Hiccup knew the Ciar Knights were not trying to do him a favor by allowing him to ride behind one of them. They had made it very clear every time they had stopped to take a break. They simply did not want him to slow them down even more because of his lack of a leg.

The young Viking felt a lump rise in his throat as he thought about Kiristi. She, too, was among the prisoners. She'd lost everything she had and yet he had seen her trying to take care of her fellow companions of misfortune whenever she could, tending to their injuries or simply closing the eyes of those who had passed on in a simple, tender, human gesture before the Ciar Knights kicked their lifeless bodies aside of the road they were travelling on and slapped her for good measure. Every time she was beaten up, Kiristi remained proud and refused to lower her gaze. And every time it happened, Hiccup felt his admiration for her increase. He promised to himself he would try everything he could to free her and reunite her with her son. He hoped Nolan was safe, wherever he was. He also hoped the child had forgiven him for having abandoned him like he did. Maybe that wasn't the right word. He had simply known he wouldn't have been able to protect the boy from the Ciar Knights. He could barely protect himself.

Hiccup looked up at the sky, and suddenly felt his heart tighten in pain. It was strange how abnormal the heavens seemed now that he couldn't be roaming them atop his best friend. The sky was his realm, it was his home, it was where he could surpass himself, but only if he had Toothless by his side. Just how he had managed to become this close to the Night Fury, he would never fully understand. He just knew that, without Toothless, he wasn't really himself.

The horses suddenly slowed down and Hiccup had to wonder why. He estimated they had covered about eighty miles since the massacre of Teileann. They had crossed lakes, forests and highlands. The one thing he had been able to truly appreciate since the very moment Holin had decided to spare his life was, without the slightest doubt, the impossible magnificence of the landscapes they travelled. Ireland was incredibly wild and beautiful, no matter the place. When they had ridden along the coast, he'd had an unrestricted view of the sea and had allowed himself to admire the never-ending dance of the waves above which seagulls flew free. The wind was just as invigorating as it was on Berk, but it felt just a little bit warmer. It blew almost constantly and Hiccup enjoyed the way it caressed his face or the nape of his neck, as if to benevolently remind him with each shiver that ran through his body that he was still alive and that with life came hope. Sunshine and rain succeeded to each other in ridiculously rapid shifts and Hiccup had lost count of the rainbows he'd seen so far. When the sun rose over the horizon, radiating a divine aura and illuminating the seemingly endless meadows whose grass was so bright it was almost painful for the eye to look at and every single droplet of dew shone like a liquid and ephemeral diamond, Hiccup felt like he could escape -if only for a moment- the dreadful reality of the situation he was in. The sunsets, too, were privileged moments. When the last beams of the sun fired up the sky and enhanced the radiant outlines of clouds that were as dark as the scales of a Night Fury, Time itself seemed to stop and behold the glory of the moment. Hiccup wished Astrid could see those sunsets. He knew she would have loved them.

Hiccup sighed. He really had to learn to stop thinking about Astrid for now. It wasn't helping. The man he was holding onto pulled on the reins and began murmuring soothing words to his mount. The horse's hooves instantly ceased hammering on the ground and the powerful animal trotted for a moment before slowing down even more and eventually marching. Hiccup cocked his head to the side to see what was actually happening. Several men were gathering around Holin who seemed busy giving orders at the top of the hill they were ascending. Peering at the horizon, he could see several volutes of grey smoke rise in the sky. They were numerous and could possibly signal the presence of human activity. His curiosity piqued, Hiccup took the risk to ask the soldier in front of him what was going on. The man glared at him above his shoulder, as if unbelieving that a bloody prisoner had actually dared to address him directly. Hiccup didn't care. Astrid's glares were much more intimidating anyway.

"We've reached our destination. Dún Fionnachaidh is just below the hill. And when we get there," the man spat angrily, "I'll have the pleasure of throwing you down my horse!"

"Gods, I'm so scared."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. I said nothing."

The man glared again, but eventually decided on dropping the matter. Hiccup fell silent again until he could finally gaze at the town he was being led to. He couldn't prevent himself from letting out a gasp. He had never, ever seen anything like it. From what he could see, Dún Fionnachaidh was almost five times the size of Berk. Under other circumstances, he supposed he would have loved to explore the city. But right now, the only thought that came to his mind was how on Midgard he would ever be able to escape from a huge place he knew next to nothing about.

 

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The city of Dún Fionnachaidh had never been an independent kingdom, just a fishing port and commercial centre as well as a gateway to Ireland that slowly grew in size and importance, until the Ciar Knights had decided that they needed new headquarters. Soon after, city walls were erected and the "unnecessary" buildings were cleared away, giving Dún Fionnachaidh three main roads, one heading to the east, the second to the south and the last one to the north, leading to Killahoey Strand. Across the bay from Dún Fionnachaidh was Corrán Binne, a peninsula whose cliffs sheltered the city from the ocean. Any potential invaders could thus be spotted early enough for Dún Fionnachaidh to prepare its defense strategy.

Hiccup looked all around him, trying to take in his surroundings as fast as possible, urging his memory to notice the tiniest details that he might have to use as check points. While the city was crowded since an important market had been set up, occupying the empty space and the nearby streets, where craftsmen and traders passing through Dún Fionnachaidh offered their wares and services from stalls to anyone who could afford them, people were unexpectedly quiet as the procession of Ciar Knights and prisoners made its way through them. The black-armored soldiers were quickly losing patience and barked orders to break through the crowd. The citizens had the good sense to get out of the way as quickly as possible. Around the central square of the city groups of curious passers-by popped up like mushrooms after the rain. They watched strangely as the Ciar Knights passed by them and kept whispering agitatedly to each other, often glancing up at the sky. Hiccup easily sensed those people were afraid of something and he followed their gaze. His eyes landed on a peculiar sight. There, near the centre of Dún Fionnachaidh stood a tower, proud and strange. More than a hundred feet high, it had numerous openings all around its frontage. From each one of those openings, a long pole stuck out menacingly. At the top of the tower was a wide balcony that, the young Viking supposed, enabled anyone who stepped on it to have a clear view of the whole city. Last but not least, one could distinguish the shape of a stylized raven whose wings were spread wide carved above the imposing double door. Hiccup suddenly had the bad feeling this was the place the Ciar Knights were leading the prisoners to. He wanted to ask someone what exactly the tower was – a prison? A tribunal? - but it was obvious no one would answer his question. There was a climate of fear and oppression in the air that he didn't like one bit. So, he kept quiet until the horse he was sitting on left the procession and headed for another direction.

"Where are we going?"

"I am not going anywhere. But you are going where General Holin wants you to go and I can't wait to get rid of your sorry ass."

"I kind of figured."

"Meaning you're actually smarter than you look."

"Thanks… I guess."

The soldier did not reply anything this time and whether it was out of annoyance or lack of repartee Hiccup did not know. They were entering another part of the city now, where most of the buildings could be considered industrial. They passed by several stables, a carpenter's shop and a leather tanner's one. Hiccup picked up scents he was familiar with. He could smell sweat, sawdust, fire, soot and molting metal. Eyes quickly scanning the area, he suddenly realized the tower he'd seen before was actually very close. They had simply skirted round it. Looking up, he tried once more to determine what exactly it was that he found menacing about it, but a hand brutally seized him by the front of the tunic Kiristi had given him and threw him off the horse without any kind of warning. He landed flat on his face, cursing the way pain violently shot through his leg under his breath and, judging by the noise, after having knocked down several metallic objects in the process.

"What is this?" A new voice hollered above him, and he could hear pure disgust and disdain drip in the simple way the last word had been pronounced. Propping himself up on his elbows, Hiccup looked around him and immediately realized where he was. A forge. Finally something he could relate to. That was nice. Groaning, he sat up very slowly to avoid damaging his wound more than it already was and rubbed his leg in what he knew was a lame attempt to soothe it. He needed water and bandages. But what was drawing his attention right now was not his leg, but the long, curved, feminine pair of legs that he was facing. He blinked, looking up slowly and finding he had trouble believing what he was seeing. There, just in front of him, looking him up and down as if he were some disgusting slug stood a woman, tall and thin and well muscled.

"This, as you say," the Ciar Knight who'd sent Hiccup flying for a couple of milliseconds replied smugly, "Is the help you've been asking for. Courtesy of General Holin."

She looked at the soldier as if he'd grown a second head. "You have got to be kidding me! I asked Holin for an apprentice, not some sort of scrawny kid who can't even stand up by himself!" She seethed angrily, only getting a snicker in response. Hiccup felt an almost irrepressible need to thank the both of them for summing that up but wisely decided this wasn't the time to be mouthy.

"Well, you're not getting anything better," the soldier quipped as he made his horse turn round, "So he will have to make do. Get used to it."

And with that, he gave the animal its head and rapidly disappeared around the corner of the street, leaving the woman shouting furious curses at him. When she spun round to face the young man who was still sitting a bit awkwardly on the ground, he seemed to think the wooden ceiling of her forge was extraordinarily interesting to look at. There was a moment of silence during which nothing could be heard but the roaring fire. Hiccup noticed the woman's hair was the same color as Astrid's, albeit much shorter- which probably was safer when working in a forge. The Gods only knew how many times Gobber's moustaches had been set on fire so far. But the one thing that really piqued Hiccup's curiosity was the fact that the woman in front of him was wearing some sort of grey veil over her face, preventing him from seeing her features, except for her piercing, aquamarine eyes.

He did not have much time to think about it though, for she had picked him up by the front of his tunic and dragged him to a bench situated in one corner of the forge. He hopped as best as he could to keep up with her angry pace but it really was difficult. She pushed him onto the bench, glaring at him while her hands came to rest on her hips.

"What's your name?" She demanded none too gently.

Hiccup swallowed thickly. Now that he had told Tiernan his name was Feren Rurikson, he knew he had to stick to that identity or his cover would be completely ruined.

"Feren. Feren Rurikson. I, uh…know the way of the forge. I've been learning since I was a kid."

Her eyes did not betray any emotion but supreme anger. He hoped she wouldn't pour her wrath on him. Enduring Astrid was one thing, but a female blacksmith? He didn't want to find out what kind of punishments she might come up with.

"Alright, Feren, listen up and listen well, because I hate repeating myself. I don't care who you are or where you come from. I don't care about your past and even less about your future. You're under my orders now and I while I can't imagine why Holin picked a cripple like you to help me instead of someone more capable, I expect you to carry my instructions out to the letter, missing leg or not. Daydream here and you'll find a knife in your throat. Schedule is simple: work from dawn to dusk. You will find all the customers' orders in that book over there," she pointed to the opposite side of the forge, where a desk had been set up, "and you can sleep in the backroom. I provide the meals, and believe me they're horrible. Most importantly, damage a single blade in here and I'll make sure your blood flows down the streets of this city. Any questions?"

Hiccup shook his head, feeling like it was better not to talk at all.

"Good. The name's Aileene by the way." She added matter-of-factly whilst reaching for something below the bench Hiccup was sitting on. She seemed to find what she wanted and suddenly shoved a rudimental peg leg into the young man's arms.

"Put it on."

He did as he was told, not really wanting to argue with her. The moment there was a contact between his stump and the fake appendage, Hiccup's eyes closed in agony. He felt like his leg had been set on fire. Gritting his teeth to prevent any sound from escaping his mouth, he could only acknowledge just how wrong this prosthesis was for him but he had no choice but to cope with it. Working with a crutch was out of question.

"Okay?" Aileene inquired, but there truly wasn't the tiniest hint of worry and/or concern in her voice. He nodded.

"Well, what are you waiting for, then? Get to work!"

And so it was that without any kind of transition and a still mostly empty stomach, Hiccup made his way to the press where an apron and a pair of gloves were waiting for him. He would show them all how good a blacksmith he was. His freedom depended on it. At least he would have regular meals from now on. That was a welcome change, he thought, lifting a hammer in the air and bringing it down on a dagger with a deadly precision.

From the corner of her eye, Aileene observed the young man she had been forced to 'hire' as her apprentice. She supposed he was about ten years younger than her. But as she surveyed the work he was doing, hammering away, oblivious to his surroundings, she knew he had been telling the truth when he'd said he knew how to work in a forge. He looked like he was efficient, precise, deft and quick. The word 'apprentice' did not really apply to him. Judging by his name, he came from the north. But what business exactly could a lone Viking have in Dún Fionnachaidh? She found it rather suspicious. But then again, time had taught her to care only about herself, the rest of the world be damned, bastards like Holin included. Feren did not look like he wanted to talk to her and it suited her just fine.

The world did not care about her. Why would she care about the world?