Chapter Text
The Northern Lights were still clearly visible in the sky when Jack arrived at the Pole, worry etched on his face. The other Guardians were already there, waiting for him in the Globe Room.
“Did anything happen? Is it Pitch?” he asked when he was within earshot of the others.
“No, it’s not about Pitch,” North replied, smiling at him. Jack looked at the other Guardians, confused. They didn’t look worried at all. North and Tooth even looked downright excited. He tried to make sense of it all as something small and colourful shot into his vision.
“Hey, Baby Tooth,” he greeted the little fairy as she settled happily on his shoulder. “Why exactly are we all here?”
“We had idea,” North said, eyes glittering.
“An idea?” Jack asked, “What kind of idea?”
“It’s summer. We decided that you can have break for a bit,” North replied.
“A holiday, so to say,” Tooth added, smiling brightly at him. “We thought you might enjoy that.”
He looked at them with an eyebrow raised, “Why exactly do I need a break?”
North hesitated a bit before he answered, “Well, we thought you could use a bit of distraction.”
“It’s not my first summer, I can entertain myself,” Jack said cautiously, still highly confused, “But I appreciate the sentiment.”
Tooth sighed, “To be honest with you, we've noticed that you’ve been brooding a lot lately, Jack,” she explained. “We had the impression that you have been thinking about your past human life ever since you had your memories back.”
That… was actually true, even though he wasn’t too happy about the fact that it seemed to have been that obvious. Jack caught sight of Sandy who pointed up to a Jack sand figure above his head which was walking around listlessly with its head bowed. Yup, far too obvious, apparently.
But who could blame him, really? For 300 years, he hadn’t had the slightest clue that he had a human past. Not until getting a handful of his memories back, leaving him wondering what the rest of his former life had looked like.
“And it definitely wasn’t you moping around the other day because you can’t play with Jamie anymore until summer is over,” Bunny added.
Jack shot him a dirty look, even though he had to admit that not being able to play with Jamie and the others definitely hadn't helped with his newly acquired brooding tendency.
“That’s why we were thinking,” North continued, “that maybe we could do something to make you feel better.”
“We can’t bring back the past, but maybe gaining some new experiences and memories might cheer you up,” Tooth said with a warm smile.
Jack’s eyes grew wide, “What do you mean?”
“We had a talk, and Man in Moon is offering to turn you back into a human for your vacation.”
“What?” Jack looked at North, flabbergasted, “Can - Can he just do that?”
“I actually don’t think so, mate,” Bunny replied.
“I think it is very difficult,” North agreed, “Even more so because you died before you became spirit.”
“Maybe that’s why it has a time limit,” Bunny mused.
“I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I’m not entirely sure how the whole turning-human thing is helping me much with anything,” Jack cut in.
“Well, when you are human, Jack, everyone can see you,” North said, laying a hand on his shoulder and Jack felt as though a train just hit him.
“…which means you can interact with people. Not only with children, but also with adults and young people your age. You can talk and interact with everyone, can take part in everything, every activity that you want to try,” Tooth exclaimed excitedly.
Jack just stood there, staring at the others in disbelief. That was all he had ever wanted for literal centuries.
“It might also be his way to apologize, mate. For… you know,” Bunny mumbled.
300 years of loneliness and rejection. Jack looked up at the moon, shining down onto them serenely.
“How long is that vacation supposed to be?” Jack asked.
“About three weeks,” North gave in answer.
Jack huffed out a laugh. Three weeks for 300 hundred years. Yet as insulting as it sounded to him at first, it could have been a lot shorter, and it was definitely better than nothing. If he was completely honest with himself, he would already be happy with just one day of being fully seen.
“See it as a chance, Jack. Man in Moon has never done that before,” North said.
“Not as far as we know,” Tooth added.
Jack looked down at himself, thoughtful. “Human, huh?”
He looked up at the other Guardians again, “So… where would that vacation be? No offense, but I’m not really into tropical islands and sunny beaches.”
“Oh, we’re aware of that, mate,” Bunny chuckled.
“Man in Moon has a location in mind already,” North told Jack.
“He has?”
“He showed us,” North said, looking up at the sky, “and it seems like he wants to show you too.”
Jack turned around at that and saw the moon now shining brightly in the sky. A moon beam fell onto the globe and concentrated on a spot. Jack let the wind carry him up to the place on the map the beam was pointing at, somewhere in the vast expanse between Norway and Greenland. At the first glance, it looked like it was just pointing in the middle of nowhere.
“Berk?” he read out the name of the tiny island that had lit up.
“Da. In Barbaric Archipelago.”
“That sounds promising. The perfect place for a holiday,” Jack deadpanned while he was gliding back down to the others. “I don’t understand. We usually steer away from that area. Why should I go there?”
“Well, Manny didn’t really tell us,” North replied.
“That would have been news,” Jack sighed.
“But he will have a reason to send you there,” Tooth said.
“Oh, I’m sure of that. But it would be nice if I knew of that reason too,” Jack countered.
“Well, I did some research on that place,” North said, “And have found out some reasons why Manny might want to send you there.”
Jack perked up at that, “What did you find out?”
“As you have already said, we don’t go there. It has got its own magic and customs. The whole archipelago is hidden from the outside world because of that. That means, firstly, they don’t know any of us spirits. They don’t know me or Bunny or the Tooth Fairy,” North said, pointing at the respective spirit. “They have their own myths and legends. That means you won’t be recognized, either.”
“As if a lot of people would recognize me,” Jack commented on that, “And I look different as a human.”
“It is still safer. It can lead to panic if people recognize spirits. Secondly,” North continued, “the area is practically stuck in its own time, which means it is closer to the time when you were human boy and became a spirit. That will make it easier for you.”
“Why should that be easier for me?” Jack asked.
“Can you handle a mobile phone, mate?” Bunny questioned him, his head tilted sideways.
“Well, I know cells and have seen people use them,” Jack said in defiance. “I can learn that if I need to.”
“But this is what I’m talking about, Jack,” North said, “You would need to learn and get used to some things, first. You don’t need to adjust as much in a place that is not that modern.”
“Speaking of differences to other places,” Jack remarked, “Can we address the elephant in the room? Like the fact that that they got dragons there? That’s where most of its magic is coming from, am I right?”
He spotted a checkmark above Sandy’s head.
“I’m sure you’ve come across a lot of different creatures so far, Jack. Are dragons that big of a problem?” Tooth asked.
Jack stared at her, unbelieving, “Uh, yeah? They. Breathe. Fire. I’m an ice guy!”
“You’re not an ice guy when you’re there,” Bunny interjected.
“Well, yeah, but still. Fire is gross and absolutely overrated,” Jack grumbled.
“You can’t tell an ice spirit to like fire, Bunny,” North stepped in before the rabbit could retort. He turned to Jack, “I’ve heard that Berk is special. The dragons are friendly with humans there. So on this account, it is the safest place to go to in that area,” North said, shrugging, “Is perfect, really.” He beamed at Jack, who still didn’t seem fully convinced.
“Alright, let’s assume that this place is great,” Jack conceded, “What exactly do we tell the people on that island? I don’t think they’re used to vacationers there.”
He heard Bunny snicker, “He’s right about that, North.”
“Don’t worry about that. I will take care of it,” North said, radiating confidence, “I will send them a request to let you stay there.”
“And if they refuse?” Jack asked.
“They won’t. I can feel it, in my belly.” North said, hands on his belly and smiling. Then he stepped closer to the winter spirit. “But you have to say yes, first, Jack.”
Jack looked down, thinking. It really didn’t sound that bad. He heard a tiny squeak and peered to his side, “What do you think, Baby Tooth?”
She chittered excitedly, nodding in encouragement.
He turned back to the others, “Alright, I’ll give it a go. Provided that those guys on Berk say yes.”
North nodded with a smile, clapping his hands together and turning to his elves. “Dingle! We’ve got work to do.”
“Hiccup?” Stoick called out to his son as he entered the Great Hall.
“What is it, Dad?” Hiccup asked while approaching the main table, frowning when he noticed a richly ornamented piece of parchment in his father’s hand, a bright red envelope lying on the table close by. He had never seen a letter like this before.
“Have you ever heard of someone called Nicholas Saint North?” Stoick asked, glancing up at Hiccup.
Hiccup pondered for a moment before he shook his head. “No, never heard of him.”
Stoick held up the letter, “This just came by… air mail?”
“You mean Terror Mail,” Hiccup corrected as he sat down at the table across from his father.
“No, it wasn’t delivered by a Terrible Terror.”
“Then – Thor, what is that?!” Hiccup shouted out, jumping back in his seat as he noticed a big white feathery lump next to his father. Apparently, Hiccup’s reaction had woken the creature up, as it began to stir, ruffling its feathers slightly. As it craned its head up, he realized that it had to be some kind of gigantic goose, which, as it caught sight of the young man, honked at him in mild annoyance, which made Hiccup retreat even further into his seat.
“According to the letter, it’s a Great Snow Goose,” Stoick commented, the corners of his mouth quirking up slightly in amusement. “You’re training and riding dragons, but you’re afraid of an oversized bird?”
“That thing is bigger than me,” Hiccup said, eying it warily, “And geese can be vicious.”
Stoick chuckled. “True that. Come to think of it, I’m amazed it wasn’t attacked by any dragons on its way here,” he mused.
“They must have been as confused about its size as we are. I couldn’t really blame them to stay away from it,” Hiccup uttered, relaxing when the goose had settled down and ignored them again, “So what’s the deal with that letter?”
Stoick unfolded the ornate piece of parchment, his eyes scanning over the message again.
“From Nicholas Saint North, addressed to the Chief of Berk. He says he is a trader from the mainland in the far North travelling the archipelago for business.”
“… and he wants to trade with us?” Hiccup asked, puzzled.
“No, he doesn’t, in fact,” Stoick answered.
Hiccup raised his brows in confusion, “So what does he want?”
“He is also a guardian of a boy who’s travelling with him, and he is asking if his ward could stay on Berk while he is doing business.”
Hiccup’s face darkened. “So basically, he wants us to babysit that boy? That sounds like fun,” Hiccup snarked, “How old is he?”
“17 years old, a bit younger than you and your lot.”
“Oh.” Hiccup had expected the boy to be a lot younger than that. No babysitting duty, then, apparently. “I’m wondering why he doesn’t stay on the ship with his guardian, then. There must be a reason he is sent to Berk instead.”
“Well, Saint North states that this travel is supposed to be a break for the boy, and he shouldn’t spend all of it on a ship. He wants him to see places and meet people.”
Hiccup couldn’t help but snort, “Does he know what he’s getting himself into here?”
“We’re a respectable tribe, Hiccup, “Stoick declared sternly, “We should be honoured that our reputation seems to exceed borders.”
Hiccup swallowed down any further comment on that. “How long is he supposed to stay?”
“Three weeks.”
“Okay, that’s relatively long,” Hiccup said, thinking, “And – what’s his name?”
Stoick looked at the letter again, “Jackson Overland.”
“Jackson just stays here for that time being?”
“The man asks that Jackson is being provided with accommodation and food. He adds that he would appreciate it if the boy received some weapons training, as Berk has a reputation to have excellent fighters,” Stoick said proudly. Hiccup couldn’t help but think that whoever that Saint North was, he seemed to be good at flattering others. It was definitely working with his dad.
“I don’t think Saint North expects us to host him for free?”
Stoick chuckled. “With him being a trader, I would have been surprised if he hadn’t offered anything in return.”
“What does he offer?”
“He offers to pay for the boy’s stay either in gold or in leather.”
Hiccup was startled at that, “Why leather?”
“He claims to be in possession of leather that is very durable, withstanding even extreme temperatures.”
“... extreme temperatures like fire?” Hiccup asked in both amusement and interest.
“He says we are well-known for our special relationship with dragons, so he suggested to use this leather for dragon saddles.”
Stoick looked at Hiccup, huffing out a laugh when he saw his expression. “I take it that you would choose the leather.”
“You have no idea how often we need to replace the saddles and storage bags,” Hiccup replied, ecstatic, “More durable leather would be a big help.” Then he halted. “Provided that this leather is really that good.” He glanced to his father’s side, “Although, when I’m looking at that goose, I’m not ruling anything out.”
Stoick nodded in approval. “Maybe we can agree on a combination of both gold and leather. If it is really that good, we can trade for more later on. Saint North is here on business after all,” he remarked.
“If what they say in the letter is true. We can’t say that for sure,” Hiccup reminded his father. “It might be a new trick of the dragon hunters. Jackson might be sent here to act as a spy, or an assassin, or a thief...” he said, listing the possibilities.
“As matters are, we can only guess,” Stoick said, folding up the letter. “Saint North is asking us to send an answer back as soon as possible. With this fellow here,” Stoick said gesturing at the snow goose still curled up next to him. “They will be in this area in about a week’s time.” Stoick looked expectantly at his son. “What do you say, Hiccup?”
Hiccup observed the goose, lost in thought. “I can’t see a solid reason to say no, really, other than us being precautious.”
“I am asking you because I will put him under your care. He is your responsibility for these three weeks.”
“I now have a solid reason to say no.”
“Hiccup,” Stoick chided his son, but then turned to fully face him, “I’m convinced that you can handle this. Also, think of the new saddles,” he added with a slight smirk.
Hiccup groaned, running his hands over his face. “Well, we have been through so many crazy situations and have met a ton of different people, we will be able to handle him too,” he stated, not entirely sure if he wanted to assure his father or himself with that.
Stoick studied his son for a moment, then he slammed his hand onto the table. “It’s decided then. The lad is coming to Berk.”