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Hiccup is sent to help Eggpost; she wants to defy Stoick and get Hiccup in more trouble |
4,614 words Use âcobwebâ as her name Hiccup knocked on the thick pine door. He knew where the Larssen house was, but had not been there before. A voice from inside called out, âWait one, Iâm coming.â A younger woman opened the door. âHiccup? What brings you here?â âGobber sent me, Mrs. Larssen. He said you probably needed help and I could ask if you needed stuff done.â Please have work. Hiccup held his breath. âCome inside then. Iâm certain thereâs a job you can manage for me. What tasks have you done?â âWash dishes, clear tabletops, make my bed, clean inside shutters, sweep indoors and outdoors, carry...â Mrs. Larssen stopped him. âYouâre no stranger to chores, anyroad. Can you feed chickens?â âYes. Iâve done that for the Thorstons, maâam.â Heâd never expected doing Ruffnutâs chores would come in handy. âShow me what you know, youngster. The foolish birds are this way.â He followed her behind the house to the pen. âWhat do you do first?â He went through the steps and when he demonstrated the wrist motion for scattering feed, she declared him competent and left him to it. âFind me when youâve finished that. Weâll go from there.â Hiccup finished in a few minutes, examined his work, and almost skipped back to the house. Mrs. Larssen held a basket, and asked, âCan you pull weeds?â âThe ones I know. I did that for Gothiâs garden, and picked herbs for her mixtures. Iâve had lots of practice; she says my knees are younger.â Mrs. Larssen smiled a little at the remark, the first bit of pleasure heâd seen from her. âWeâll check on those chickens and see how you managed.â He led the way and she approved his efforts. âDecent job, Hiccup. Come along and you can prove you know weeds from plants to a picky woman like me.â He grinned. This was much better than inventing something to do, and heâd work here all day if she wanted. He picked up a bit of soil and rubbed it on his hands. Mrs. Larssen raised her brow. âAnd what is that about, lad?â âGothi says if you work in the soil, you have to make it part of you. Thatâs why I rub in dirt, to be like the ground Iâm digging in. Where do I start?â She rubbed her chin. âBack left corner and Iâll do the opposite one. Set the weeds to one side outside the plot and donât shake them over the ground. If you do that, you plant more weeds.â âYes, maâam.â Hiccup labored steadily, and Eggpost Larssen watched him. She sat back on her heels and didnât pretend to work. She yanked an occasional weed, but Hiccup was fine with that. He planned to keep going and only tackle her side if he finished the rest. He wasnât going to get this wrong. âHiccup.â He looked up, blinking. âYouâre separating the yellow tipped and the bright green weeds from the rest. Whatâs your reason?â âGothi uses them in her medicines. The yellow ones she dries and grinds into powder, and the green ones, I donât know why she wants them. I saved them anyway. Her garden probably needs its weeds pulled, too.â He missed Gothi; working for her made him feel good, like he was helping people, even when she was the healer. âAm I doing what you want, or should I stop now?â âStop, and we can have a drinkâweedingâs thirsty work and you and I have earned the break. Come rinse those fingers of yours first, unless you want to cover your hands in water before you have some.â Hiccup giggled and she chuckled back. âCome have a bite as well. Iâve enough to feed one growing boy today, so it may as well be you.â She kept him longer, setting him tasks and staying nearby to do her own work. She asked questions, the kind adults use when they canât think of anything else to say. Hiccup told her his age, his studies, and his friends. They talked about Gothi and Gobber and how important his dad was. Finally, she asked Hiccup a different kind of question. âWhy are you here today, youngster?â âGobber sent me so I could offer help.â He knew he explained that earlier, but he wasnât gonna be rude and say so. âDonât you have to help Gothi?â âI canât help Gothi until I can leave the village, and thatâs not for weeks.â He exhaled, reminded of his remaining month of punishment. âGothiâs on the outskirts and not within my limits.â âDid you ask permission to visit?â âMy dad let me go once and Gothi kept me most of the day. He decided that. I didnât ask to go because Iâm expected to be where I have permission to be, not anywhere else.â He looked at the floor. âIâm not an idiot and I will obey my dad.â Her eyes got bigger and Hiccup saw her understand. âThis is because of that tree you climbed.â He nodded in chagrin. âWhat about getting those weeds to Gothi? You canât take them.â âIâll give them to my dad or Gobber. Gobber will do it if Dadâs busy.â At least Gothi would know he sent them. âIâll deliver them and youâre coming, too. Youâre the person who saved them for her.â Hiccup gaped. âI canât do that. Iâll get in a bigger mess than Iâm in now. I really donât want worse trouble, Mrs. Larssen. Right now is bad enough.â His dad would keep him confined âtil Snoggletog if he went with her, and heâd rather be fed to a Scauldron than wait that long again. âGobber sent you to work for me. I give you the work to do.â She was ticking each sentence on her fingers, and Hiccup listened. âYou follow my instructions, and I am telling you we go to Gothiâs together. We will tell Gobber first, and if he doesnât stop us, then it will be all my fault if going there is wrong.â She pressed her lips together. âWe will see Gobber first, right?â âYes, Hiccup. If Gobber doesnât stop us, we deliver those weeds. Now go fetch them along.â Hiccup prayed to Freya, Thor, and any other god out there that Gobber would say no. He had enough to contend with and his dad had no idea how tough Mrs. Larssen was to resist, especially when she told him it was assigned work. He was already doomed. § § § Gobber spotted Cobweb and Hiccup and grinned. He knew Hiccup would please her with his willingness. She wasnât effusive or foolish, but she had a soft center and would give his lad a fair chance. It worked and tomorrow he could send the boy to someone else. âGobber!â She hailed him, and he came out to see them. âI see Hiccup found his way to your house. Has he been a help to you, then?â âYes, Gobber, the boyâs willingness to work is a good thing to see. My tasks have gone faster with him slogging beside me. In fact, he helped me weed the garden.â Hiccup cringed at that sentence and Gobber wondered why. âHe even sorted out weeds for Gothi. Hiccup said she uses certain ones for her remedies.â Hiccup hunched his shoulders. The lad was becoming more and more frightened as she spoke. âSo Hiccup and I are delivering them to her.â No mystery why Hiccup was afraid, then. âCobweb, heâs supposed to stay in the village.â Hiccup sent a look of gratitude his way. No wonder he wanted to vanish; being caught between Stoick and Cobweb, two Hooligans equally matched in stubbornness, was an impossible situation. âItâs part of the work I gave him.â She raised her chin in challenge. âYou sent Hiccup to me and Iâve assigned him work. We will go see Gothi.â âYe are making trouble for the lad. I know ye mean well, but ye canât override his father in this. Ask Stoick for the chance; heâs a reasonable man and likely to agree to a trip for that. But ye canât demand it. As âtis, ye made a good day into a rotten one for the lad by showing him that he doesnât matter a whit except as a way to annoy the Chief. Heâs had scarce few days anything went right and now youâre forcing him into an even longer time of being punished.â She provoked Gobber into a scowl. âThe plants are fresh and theyâre best when fresh-picked. Gothi will want them now.â Stupid, stubborn woman. âGo alone. Hiccup can stay with me, lass, and you can collect him after. But youâre stirring a bubbling pot, and itâs going to splash onto Hiccup, and heâll be the one getting burnt, not you.â Hiccup had slunk away, hoping to hide from her. âThe boy canât tell you no and canât disobey Stoick, and youâre forcing him into trouble with his father when ye insist. Hiccup stays here.â Gobber wouIdnât put up with this nonsense. When in doubt, quote Stoick. âI do not permit it.â âThe boy will come with me. He needs to get out of here and Gothi likes him well enough to have him visit.â âYe show up there with Hiccup and itâs nothing but trouble. Iâll have to tell Stoick about this, but I wonât be the first to let him know. People are flapping their jaws right now and this conversation isnât over. By the time weâve finished here, a tale of how ye will be kidnapping Hiccup and selling him to pirates will be making the rounds.â He gave a disgusted snort. âYe succeeded in bringing a great load of misery to yer life. The Chief will see ye about this, and he will want to know why ye caused such trouble in the tribe and especially to his son.â âYou donât think he will overreact? Iâm trying to help Hiccup and point out that the boy needs some freedom.â âTrying to tell Stoick heâs wrong and youâre right when itâs about raising Hiccup wonât win ye praise from the Chief. Now get away from my forge. Iâm sick of ye.â Gobber turned his back and lumbered into the forge to pound out his frustrations on the inoffensive iron. Heâd nothing to gain from venting his spleen at her, as satisfying as it would be. Heâd win the battle but hurt the lad, who had too good a heart to want them fighting over him. Wherever Hiccup went, he wasnât in sight and Gobber hoped the boy would keep out of her way until she left or Stoick arrived. Gobber ignored the mutters coming from outside until he heard âYou ordered Hiccup to oppose Stoick. Are you mad?â It was Blister Jorgensen, Hiccupâs aunt. She wasnât afraid to shout when upset and the Larssen girl was on the receiving end. âThe boy is following orders given by his father and his Chief. Itâs not for you to change that and I canât imagine Hiccup asking for more trouble.â Gobber listened; Blister was in a righteous fury and cared about Hiccup deeply. âYou threatened and terrified my nephew. Whatever Stoick and the rest of the council decide matters not; I will not abide the attack on my family.â Blister wheeled around, off to spread the truth behind the rumors and make certain the details of it reached throughout the tribe and to the council. Her word was trusted; Cobweb would not escape this unharmed. For a newly married woman, the scorn of other, older women would be a burden. Excellent. Gobber turned to face Cobweb. She looked uncertain and Gobber saw more people enter the plaza, too many for this time of day. Some were coming to him, asking for nails or a whetstone as an excuse to listen in and examine the miscreant. Most were blatant, staring at the girl and muttering. She attempted to leave and Gobber warned her. âStoickâs angry with ye, and making him chase ye down wonât improve his temper. Use yer brain. Stay put.â Half a dozen people laughed at the remark and she realized she had made a mistake. She had no notion how badly sheâd made a right bollocks with her demands. This had become a council matter. She defied her Chief, harassed his son, and had every intention of landing the boy in trouble. She thought she could force Hiccupâs obedience to her over Stoickâs own decisions. She clearly showed her intent to challenge and defeat her Chief. She frightened Hiccup so badly that he ran from her. And she was trying to drag him to Gothiâs, and she was another council member. This was also an attack on a child and the Heir to Berk. The council would be involved: Gobber, Spitelout, and Gothi would automatically side with Stoick. The stupidity would be unanimously dealt with. Cobweb has chosen this. Gobber hoped she would land in as big a midden heap of misery as Hiccup had. § § § Hiccup peered out from behind the butcherâs shop. He spotted Gobber speaking to Mrs. Larssen and saw her sink her head a little. She was in deep trouble with his dad, and Hiccup suspected this was going to be Mrs. Larssen in trouble with the Chief. This looked like upsetting the tribe, and his dad had no patience when people didnât stop their nonsense before it got bad. Heâd seen his aunt earlier, and she was mad. He ducked behind the bakery. Hoarkâs wife was here and Pinchskinâs, too. He hoped to survive this. His dad would make things worse for him and he really didnât want to face the council. Wait, would the whole tribe see that? His life would be over. No one would ever trust him again. âRaspberry drop?â He jerked. It was the baker, Mr. Iverson, holding two of the treats out for him. âYou look hungry.â Hiccup said the first thing that came to mind. âYou said that yesterday.â âWell, you do. Here, take these, theyâre fresh. Your dad likes them and I thought you would, too.â Hiccup bit into one and immediately fanned his tongueâthey couldnât have been out of the oven more than a minute. âWhatâs going on now?â Hiccup gave a quick summary, concluding with, âThis looks like Chief stuff. Mrs. Larssen is in huge trouble when heâs the Chief and not my dad.â âHiccup, I think you are right. Sheâs upset Stoick the Vast, and sheâs never seen him angry up close.â âHow do you know that?â âSheâs my daughter, Hiccup.â He absorbed the information and Mr. Iverson added, âIâm not so pleased with her, either.â âOh. Can you get her out of trouble?â She didnât deserve it, but his dad was terrifying when he got angry. âNo. If sheâs going to be an idiot, she can stand alone in her idiocy. She doesnât merit rescuing after defying your dad and her Chief as she did. Is that your Uncle Spitelout, lad?â âYeah. My dad will be next. Uncle Spite always gets anywhere before he does.â âI think you need to get back to Gobberâs. He and your uncle will keep you safe. Oh, and lad?â Mr. Iverson squatted to Hiccupâs level. âYou donât have to talk to my daughter Itâs not wrong or rude if I give you permission.â He stood again and said, âGet on over there, and Iâll be right along. Your dad will be looking for you.â Gobber waved as Hiccup crossed the plaza. âGood to see ye are here, Hiccup. Where were ye, ladâat home?â âNo, I was behind the bakery, talking to Mr. Iverson. Heâs coming over soon.â He saw Cobweb cringe. âHe said heâs not pleased.â Gobber raised his brow. âYer fingers are red.â âMr. Iverson gave me two Raspberry drops.â âYe plan to rob that man of every pastry in the shop.â âHe gives them to me. I always look hungry, according to him. Iâd better tell Dadâthey need to be paid for.â Hiccup licked his fingers of the remains of the sweet. âMr. Iverson said I didnât have to talk to Mrs. Larssen if I didnât want to, and it would be okay. Iâm telling you so I donât get in more trouble.â His uncle joined the conversation. âYou wonât be, not with us or your dad.â As uncle Spitelout finished his remark, the baker arrived, took a spot behind Hiccup, and gave his daughter a dark look. Hiccup heard the familiar jangle of armor and saw his dad. Stoick was taking long, quick strides that kicked up dust and made his cape flap in the wind. People gave him plenty of room to come through; he radiated fury, and no one wanted to get in his way. Hiccup hadnât seen his father that mad since he punched Mildew. Mrs. Larssen was in as much trouble as Hiccup, and not even her dad was on her side. He heard his uncle mutter to Gobber. âThis will be memorable.Two coppers says he puts her in the stocks.â âNah, heâll use a cell. Heâs furious. Maybe a cell and the stocks.â âWouldnât blame him.â That was from Mr. Iverson, and the other two nodded agreement. Hiccupâs dad walked directly to Cobweb and loomed over her. She straightened as best she could, staring at the Chiefâs shoulder and trying to look strong. It was the wrong thing to do. To his dad, stubborn mixed with stupid always meant troubling the tribe. Stoick locked his jaw and glowered at her, daring her to speak. She began to wilt and finally spit something out. âChief.â âAye.â âYou wanted to see me?â It was a snippy remark, and she realized that the moment the words left her mouth. âI wanted to see no trouble in this tribe. I wanted to hear my son had a good day. I wanted to believe Hiccup was safe on Berk. You ruined that and I am forced to see you.â He fixed his stare on her. âLook at me.â She shifted her eyes to stare at his beard, and he forced her chin upwards. âIn the eyes, girl. I can tell the difference.â She took one look at her Chief and shuddered, before changing tactics. âI was so pleased when he showed himself at my door. Heâs helpful, and a hard worker; I was glad of his company. You must be proud, to have a fine boy like him.â Hiccup caught Mr. Iversonâs eyes, and saw his disgust. Hiccup knew flattery wouldnât work and Mr. Iverson looked like he wanted to grab her by the ear and haul her home. If parents could punish married daughters, Mrs. Larssen was sunk. âAye, he is my son, and he obeys me. It does not matter what you believe, you cannot force him to act against my instructions. Your little speech does not alter the fact that you deliberately caused difficulties for Hiccup. You stirred up this island, and I will not tolerate such wrongdoing against my son or on Berk.â âI was looking out for him. The boy was discouraged and I thought a visit would cheer him. Itâs just a little thing, Stoick.â Hiccup drew in a breath. Maybe she didnât know his dad that well, but she just called him Stoick. He was her Chief. He was a lightning bolt straight from Thor, and she used his first name. It was unbelievable. He had no more sympathy for Cobweb Larssen. She hadnât listened to him or to Gobber. Everyone in the Plaza knew something was going on, and his dad heard everything that happened on Berk. Now she had made his dad leave his job to deal with her. Being Chief was tiring and she just tired him out more. Mrs. Larssen defied him, then tried flattery, then wheedling, and finally called him Stoick. Hiccup unconsciously clenched his fists and stepped forward, becoming as angry as the men around him. The others shifted subtly to let him through; he was going to watch her and make sure she didnât hurt his Dad. Hiccup would risk further trouble to look after Stoick, the man raising him, who deserved much better than to deal with her. She was being as stupid and defiant as he was two weeks ago. She knew better and Hiccup would not let her get away with further misbehavior toward his Dad. His eyes narrowed. Gobber and Uncle Spite could stop him and heâd obey. If Mr. Iverson asked, heâd keep still about it. But Gobber and Uncle Spitelout knewâthe whole council knewâHiccup protected Stoick. Hiccup needed a permissible way to put her in her place and leave his dad alone. She was disrespectful to him and the council members, too. She ignored Gobberâs warnings. She stirred up the tribe. Yeah, she treated him badly, but he escaped. There was no escape for his father, and now she had landed in a heap of punishment. That thought satisfied him. She yammered on, telling her Chief how much she was trying to do the right thing for Hiccup. Sheâd given him work, she said, fed him, and made sure he rested and drank. Hiccup was a good boy and and she would let people know how capable he was at tasks. âHe was missing Gothi. I thought the venture was worth a little risk.â Hiccup clenched his jaw, infuriated. She knew it was hazardous for him and expected to do it anyway. He would lose respect when he had barely any, heâd anger and sadden his father, and no one would consider him good for anything again. Heâd be punished for even longer and no one would give him work because he couldnât be trusted to obey his Dad, even after he got in so much trouble heâd had multiple spankings. She didnât care. She only cared about herself. Not him. Not the tribe either; sheâd upset a lot of people and that was not permitted. She disrespected a council memberâGobberâand her Chief. âChief.â Gobber spoke. âI think Hiccup disagrees with her idea of a little risk. Perhaps the lass needs to see what sheâs done to the lad she was saying she looked after so carefully.â His dad and Cobweb turned to look at him. She smiled at him, silently asking Hiccup to rescue her. As far as Hiccup was concerned, she just made it worse. He glowered at her and she still didnât understand. âTell your father itâs fine, lad.â Hiccup looked at his father, and the anger in Stoickâs eyes abated, replaced by a steady regard. He asked his father, âMay I have leave to speak, sir?â âYou may.â âI was stupid. Two weeks ago I did not listen, did as I wanted and chose to break rules. I defied my father and my Chief. I am still working off my punishment.â He had to admit his wrongdoing anyway, so it might as well be useful. âCobweb Larssen asked me why I was saving some of the weeds I pulled. I told her they were for Gothi, but I couldnât go there. I said Iâd give the plants to someone who could deliver them. She said we would go together to deliver them. I told her I would get in more trouble and I would obey my Dad, but she said I had to listen to her.â He worked to keep his voice steady. âThen she said she would ask Gobber and if he said no, we wouldnât go. Gobber said no and she argued. She argued with a council member and ignored his warnings. She upset the tribe. She angered Gobber and Aunt Bliss and Mr. Iverson.â Hiccup took a deep breath. âShe forced her Chief away from his work to see to her. She was disrespectful toward her Chief, challenging his decisions, trying to flatter him, and speaking to him using his first name. It is no way to address her Chief. He did not allow it. Eggpost Larssen told me if we went to Gothiâs and it was wrong, she would take the blame. She broke her word to me.â He paused, gathered what calm he could, and in a biting tone, said, âIt was not âa little risk.ââ Cobweb was stunned. âHiccup, it wasnât like that, lad. I only wanted to make things better for you. It was so unfair, so cruel, what your father did to you.â âDo not criticize my father. He keeps me safe. You risked more punishment for me.â Hiccup began ticking off points on his fingers. âMy father expects obedience. You were forcing me to disobey. He knows what is best for me. You donât care about what's best for me, but just want to please yourself. You are doing wrong to me and everyone by this. He is not unfair or cruel.â Hiccupâs fingernails cut into his palms, and his face was stern; he did not need to finish the statementââYou are unfair and cruelâ was written in his eyes. âDo not speak against my father, our Chief, again.â His breathing quickened and he grabbed hold of the forge hatch. The desire to hit her was powerful and he chose, moment by moment, to remember she was part of the tribe, too. Hiccup had the unspoken rules within him: donât strike anyone, donât shout at adults, remember youâre not better than other people. The others were Hiccupâs private rules: donât cause problems for Dad and protect Dad. Everything fit into those. The accusations against her and the demands he aimed at her were improper. He was the disrespectful one now, addressing her that way. He stood as straight as he could and addressed the adults. âI am sorry for overstepping my boundaries. I should never speak to an adult and tribe member like that.â He spoke the necessary words one at a time. âI am sorry for my words, Cobweb Larssen. I wish I had not said them.â Hiccup would admit his wrong behavior, but he didnât feel bad about his words and to pretend he did was dishonest. âI regret not controlling my temper and behaving in a way that troubles the tribe.â She had not left off staring at Hiccup and the other men looked to Stoick. He cleared his throat. âApology accepted. Thank you for the additional information, son.â Hiccup closed his eyes, savoring the moment. They were still okay and he would probably, no would avoid more punishment. His dad even thanked him for what he said. The corners up his mouth turned up. âYes, sir. Thank you, sir.â He stepped back, done with his time in the spotlight. It was a good time to invoke âspeak when spoken to.â He could stand back and listen to the rest. They were drawing an increasing number of people. Good. She deserved to be embarrassed. âHave you more to tell me, girl?â She had lost the thread of conversation, but her Chief had not. âYou left off at âso unfair, so cruel, what your father did to you.â Unless you want to begin with âI thought the venture was worth a little risk.â You were addressing me at that time, not the Heir to Berk.â Cobweb didnât think about that; neither had Hiccup, but Heir stuff was serious, almost as serious as Chief stuff. Mr. Iverson grimaced. She didnât know that, either. She didnât know anything about being tribe. She didnât realize they were all linked together and carried weight for each other. The idea of duty as expected wasnât in her. Cobweb Larssen had no worries about offending the Chief or upsetting the Hooligan tribe. She thought those were rules she could break. She was wrong. |