3. Interrogation Frustration

This was the second time Hiccup had been dragged away and forcefully shoved into a dark room for defending a dragon. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

With his body bound tight in vines and his mouth gagged with a flower, he was powerless to stop his friend being dragged off by Luisa. All he could do was make muffled pleas as he was taken to be questioned. As he was pushed along, he could feel everyone’s eyes watching him. Some of them sparking with recognition. “Congrats, you’re now a joke in two villages. Great job, Hiccup the Useless.” He bitterly thought to himself. He tried to avoid meeting anyone’s eyes for the rest of the trip.

They arrived at their destination soon enough, it wasn’t an overly big town. Hiccup had ceased his struggling before they had even gotten there, resigning himself to the fact that his fight against the vines wasn’t going to end with him as the victor.

The flowers kept pushing and pulling him along, following the woman known as Isabela. And soon they arrived at a house. Presumably the “Casita” he had heard mentioned before. Hiccup had seen many colorful buildings during his short time in this village, but this one was something else entirely. It was huge, but it didn’t feel imposing. It felt warm and welcoming. It was painted a multitude of flashy colors, and covered in lush plants. With some sort of tower near the back. Even just being near it made him feel…something. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he was sure it was the house making him feel it.

Luisa quickly joined the group, making it in no time at all after a light jog. The boy wasn’t surprised, he had seen how fast she was just by walking. He just hoped she hadn’t put Toothless somewhere too uncomfortable.

The old woman, people called her Alma, opened the doors and waved everyone inside. Hiccup had the pleasure of being the first to enter.

Because the flowers abruptly raised him up and chucked him harshly inside, face first.

Alma stepped in next, followed by Isabela and Luisa. Shutting the doors behind them. Alma stepped forwards, head held high, and spoke to seemingly no one. “Casita, this boy has threatened our family and our home. We need to know how he managed to get in here in the first place. I’m trusting you can help us with this?”

Hiccup groaned through his muffling flower, and looked up. He didn’t see anyone else in the house, and wasn’t the house itself called Casita? Why would she be talking to the house-

The floor moved.

Hiccup looked in shock as the tiles on the floor moved, like little waves. After a moment, the tiles had brought with them a chair. The ground under Hiccup rumbled, and he was ejected from the floor with a muffled yelp. The tiles moved the chair behind him as he fell backwards, catching him. With another flick of Isabela’s hand, the vines that already covered Hiccup moved to weave themselves around the chair. Trapping him.

Dazed and confused, he almost missed himself ascending seven feet into the air. Looking down, he saw that Luisa had picked up his chair by it’s lower-left leg. And she was now moving him further into the house. Following Isabela and Alma.

They moved a little deeper into the courtyard, before Alma spoke again. “Casita, close the windows and lock the doors!” She then pointed another glare at a now very sweaty Hiccup. “No escape.”

From all throughout the house, the shutting of windows, and the sound of locks clicking. Alma sighed, and uttered “Thank you, Casita.” Before fully turning her attention to her captive. Isabela on her right, keeping the vines active. Luisa stationed on her left, clearly for intimidation.  Though she was plenty intimidating on her own, Hiccup thought.

“Listen very carefully, boy.” She pointed her nose up and spoke with authority. “I am going to ask you some questions, and you will answer them honestly. I want the truth, understand?” Hiccup nodded, eyes wide and nervous. “Good, first question. How did you find this place?” She nodded to Isabela, who finally removed the muffling flower.

Hiccup took a couple shaky breaths, before answering with:

 “Pleasedon’tkillmydragoni’msorrywedon’twantanytroublenotwithyouorLuisaortheflowerwitchoranybodypleasedon’tkillmydragonhe’sreallyniceIpromisei’msorrypleasedon’tkill-“

The muffling flower returned.

All three women stood silent, eyes wide and jaws slack. While the boy was continuing to beg and plead through the flower, Isabela spoke next.

“Did he just call me a witch?” While her tone was even, the venom in that last word was potent. The vines around the boy grew pointy thorns, and he yelped in pain. “Isabela! Control yourself!” At her grandmothers’ scolding, her glare was replaced with a sheepish look. The vines disappeared, and the teen sighed in relief. Until Alma scowled at him next.

“And you! I told I wanted answers, not whatever that was!” The woman sighed, and rubbed her temple. “We are going to try this again, I expect a coherent response this time.” The flower was removed again. “How did you find this place?”

Hiccup took a took a moment, before simply shrugging.

Alma could feel her eye twitch.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” She all but screamed. Hiccup shrugged once more. “I don’t know! I don’t remember! We just…woke up here! One moment we’re flying over the ocean, next thing I know we’re here.”

The older woman was about to speak, but was interrupted by her granddaughters who moved in front of her.

“Flying?”

“You ride that thing?”

Hiccup turned his gaze to them, “Uh, yeah. We fly all the time.” Luisa looked curious, but Isabela scoffed at that. “You really expect me to believe that? You? Commanding a dragon?” He turned to her with a lopsided smirk. “Well, I didn’t believe in witches. But here you are.” Isabela once again found a scowl forming on her face as she got up close and personal. “Call me a witch one more time.” He could feel the thorns growing on the vine, but he didn’t relent. “You’re a lady with magic powers. You’re the definition of a witch.” The deadpan delivery of that comment only infuriated her more.

Before she could summon another plant to harm him, preferably a carnivorous one, Luisa picked her up and moved her aside. She fumed in the corner.

Alma, displeased at the interruption, resumed her questioning. “So, you’re saying you flew on this dragon- “” Toothless.” Alma sputtered, and stared at the boy with a quizzical look. “His name is Toothless.” “…Fine. You flew on Toothless into the Encanto?”

The boy shook his head. “No, we crashed here. We didn’t intend on coming here, we don’t even know where here is!” She searched into his eyes, and she could tell he was being truthful; she was good at picking up on children’s lies. That relieved Alma a bit, if he hadn’t intended to come here then the secret of their miracle hadn’t spread far and wide. Provoking anyone to try and come take it. But that wasn’t the only issue at hand.

“Fine then, I accept that you didn’t come here on purpose. But that does not change the fact that your creature attacked my grandson!” At this, both Luisa’s and Isabela’s glares deepened. Hiccup sighed. “I told you, he was playing. He wouldn’t hurt anybody, especially not a kid! He’s really just a big puppy!” Luisa countered that argument. “He sure didn’t look like a puppy to me!” “He was only trying to protect the kid!” Hiccup refuted. “He thought you were gonna hurt him!”

Luisa looked scandalized. “Why would I ever hurt him? He’s my cousin!” Hiccup shrugged frenetically. “He doesn’t know you like that!”

Alma held up a hand to silence them both, but while Luisa kept quiet, Hiccup continued. “I’m telling you; he is one of the kindest, gentlest, most intelligent creatures I’ve ever known…He’s my best friend.” Alma and Luisa were a bit taken aback by the sincerity in his voice. “Wow…” whispered Isabela. “That is one of the most pathetic things I’ve ever heard.” Hiccup’s face dropped into a pout. “Thank you for summing that up…”

Once again, Alma believed he was telling the truth. Meaning he wasn’t an invader, and his pet wasn’t going to slaughter the community (Though she still had to make sure of that herself). At this point her anger had faded, and it was replaced with exhaustion.

Just as she thought that, a chair had rolled its way behind her thanks to the tiles. A nice big comfy one. Alma smiled as she took a seat, thanking the Casita once more. Hiccup was eyeing the entire process. “So…how’d you get it to do that?” Alma raised an eyebrow, and the boy rephrased his question. “I mean, how’d you rig your house like that? With the moving floors? And the windows? I’ve been inventing for years, and I’ve never seen a machine quite like this.”

The whole Casita seemed offended at the thought that it wasn’t alive, and opened an adjacent window so the light of the setting sun would flash directly into Hiccup’s eyes. Eliciting a yelp from the boy. Alma actually chuckled at this, before answering. “This is no machine, child. This is magic. A miracle.” Hiccup thought on this for a moment, before replying. “You know, if it weren’t for the witch standing right next to me, I really wouldn’t have believed you.”

A vine smacked him in the back of the head. Hard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mirabel was fighting for her life.

Or at least, that’s what it felt like.

She was trying to be stealthy. She was desperately trying to hold in her laughter, but every time that boy called her ever-so-perfect sister a witch, it got substantially harder. She was currently holding a hand over her mouth to keep the noise from being heard, while her eyes watered with mirth. One snort was all it took to blow their cover.

Mirabel and Camilo were hiding behind a nearby wall. Eavesdropping. They had managed to sneak in before all the doors locked, luckily. They were positioned just close enough to hear, and just far enough to give them ample time to run in case they were caught.

Camilo quietly groaned. “Come on, say something juicy! I need some real drama!” As her cousin continued his hushed ranting, Mirabel’s laughter finally died down enough to take her hand off her face. And she looked back out into the courtyard, at the tied-up boy. Since the incident earlier, she had grown a bit wary of him. But looking at him now, hearing him speak about his creature. His friend. Mirabel felt that fear evaporate. Her innate curiosity was in overdrive. She wanted to know more about him, about his dragon, where they both came from. Were there more creatures like it?

She frowned when she heard her sister call the boy’s friendship with the dragon pathetic.

Alma had started speaking again, and she and her cousin piped down to listen.

“What is your name, boy?” The bound teen responded. “Hiccup.” Alma and Luisa looked very confused, as if pondering why a parent would name their child such a thing. Isabela giggled behind her hand. “It suits you!” She purred in a way that sounded sweet, but was definitely an insult. Hiccup, however, showed no real reaction to it.

Camilo was just about to laugh too, and Mirabel slapped her hand onto his face as to not reveal their position. Only to quickly retract her hand once she realized it’d been licked. She sent him a withering glare.

“Hiccup?” Mirabel thought to herself. “So, his name is Hiccup…What kind of parent names their child Hiccup?”

Her Abuela resumed her sentence. “Fine then, Hiccup. Despite the…unfortunate situation you started, you have shown me that you meant no harm to this community, and as such you will not face punishment for your transgressions. Isabela?” Upon being called, Mirabel’s sister finally released the boy from her vines. She seemed a bit reluctant to do so. Isabela and Luisa were dismissed. At the same time, all the windows opened back up. And the doors unlocked. Interrogation mode was finished.

Camilo crossed his arms and quietly huffed. “Man, we did all this for nothing! The only thing we learned is that he has a dumb name…” The shifter grumbled his way to the back door.

As her cousin left, she took a moment to really examine the young outsider. From the way he tripped over his words, fiddled with his hands, and desperately tried to avoid eye contact. He looked…lost. Not just in physical location, but emotionally. But whenever his dragon, his friend entered the equation, he exuded such an uncharacteristic boldness that the two sides of the boy seemed like entirely different people.

She continued to watch the two in silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hiccup rose, stretched, and yawned. He was getting pretty tired. He then nodded to Alma. “Thanks for um…not killing me.” He laughed awkwardly. “Yes, yes, of course. Now when are you leaving?” Hiccup paused. “Um…” Abuela put on a personable smile, though Mirabel could tell it was a bit forced. “I just mean, you yourself said that your presence here is an accident, yes? So surely you’d want to leave as soon as possible?” While it was a question, it sounded more like a demand.

Hiccup looked at the ground, the walls, anywhere but Alma’s eyes. “Well, there’s a bit of an issue…” The older woman’s smile faltered. “An issue?” “My dragon, he can’t fly without my help. He had an…accident.”

Mirabel didn’t miss the hesitation on that word.

“I made a prosthetic, to help him fly. But it was destroyed when we crashed.” Her Abuela’s falling smile turned into a full-on frown. “I see...” Hiccup spoke again. “B-but it’s okay! I can make a new one! I already spoke to the Blacksmith, and he agreed to let me use his forge. In return, I’ll work at the smithy for a while.” A smaller, but more genuine smile appeared on Alma. “Ah, very good! And when will it be finished?”  Hiccup could only shrug. “That depends on what material you have at the forge, but if I had to make a rough guess…a couple days.” The older woman seemed to be thinking this over.

She eyed him warily. “Will you keep that dragon under control?” Hiccup nodded; his face serious for once. “Fine. You will work at the smithy until you can build what you need to leave. In the meantime, you will assist the community to make up for disturbing the peace today. Do we have a deal?” Hiccup hesitated, remembering how poorly his last deal went. But he shook it off and agreed. At least for now, he would live in the Encanto.

He was staying, at least for a few days? Excitement welled up from within Mirabel as she realized this was her chance to finally ask him some questions she’d been dying to know the answers to. But then, an idea struck her. This might just be her chance to do something else as well. Something infinitely more meaningful.

This was her chance to help.

“So…about my dragon?” Alma sighed, still not fond of the idea of the creature running wild in the village. “I will send Luisa to pick him up- “

“I’ll take him!”

Both Hiccup and her Abuela jumped at the new voice. Mirabel made her way out from behind the wall she’d been using to eavesdrop.

“Mirabel, when did you get here?” Asked her Abuela. “Just a moment ago!” Not exactly. “And I couldn’t help but overhear that you-!” She pointed to Hiccup. “-Would be staying for a while?”

The girl’s enthusiasm just made Hiccup nervous. “U-uh, yeah? Just for a bit, until I can get off the ground…”

Mirabel’s smile only grew. “Is that so?” She then put on an overexaggerated thinking face, stroking her chin. “Hmm, but you don’t know anything about the Encanto! I wouldn’t want living here to be hard for you…” “I know there are witches.” After hearing Hiccup’s comment, a laugh threatened to break her concentration. But she kept up the act. She pounded her fist into her flat palm. “Ah-ha! I’ve got it!” She swiveled to the boy, who was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. “I’ll be your guide to all things Encanto!”

Both the boy and her Abuela gaped at her. Hiccup spoke up first. “Do-Do I really need a guide? I’ll only be here a few days…” She brushed his concerns aside. “Nonsense! There’s a lot to know about our home! Right now you’re like a fish out of water, but with a little help you’ll fit right in!” She put on her most encouraging smile.

Hiccup was terrified.

Alma was ready to shut down the idea immediately, trying to acclimate someone who was already on his way out was a big waste of time in her eyes. But then she thought about what it would mean.

Mirabel would be occupied. Mirabel would be too occupied to interfere. Mirabel would be out of the way.

“What a wonderful idea, Mirabel!” She placed her hands on Mirabel’s shoulders, flashing an overly proud smile. The girl was awestruck immediately. “R-really?” She asked, so quiet that it almost went unheard. “Yes, yes! You will teach this boy all about life in Encanto!” She then got in a bit closer, whispering with a sly smirk tugging at her lips. “And keep him and that pet of his out of trouble, hm?” Mirabel could only nod, eyes still wide as dinner plates. Alma chuckled, gave her shoulder one last pat, and pushed her towards Hiccup.

“Now go and take him to the barn, that’s where his dragon is. Go on! Chop-Chop!” She lightly, but firmly shoved the two outside of Casita. Once they were outside, she waved “Adios!” and shut the doors.

The two stood in silence for a moment, one completely confused, the other still in wonderment.

She was doing it; she was being useful! Her Abuela had looked at her with pride for the first time in a decade!

The girl couldn’t help but start dancing on the spot, pumping her fists in glee. “Yes! Yes-yes-yes-yes YES!” She whirled to Hiccup. “Did you see that!?” The boy slowly turned his head, the bags under his eyes heavier than they’ve ever been. Her joy quickly turned into concern.

He looked awful. Skin so pale it almost looked grey, brown mop of hair matted to his face, his body covered in bruises, cuts, and tiny puncture holes. He was swaying on his feet. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the stressful events of the day finally started to show their effect.

He needed food. He needed her mother’s food.

She grabbed his hand, and got marching. He mumbled something about Toothless. “We’re going to get your dragon, but we have to take care of you first.” He tried to insist he was fine, but he was too tired to fight it. He just stumbled along as he tried to keep up with her.

She dragged him into town as the sun was finishing its descent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Julieta was packing up her stand, her work done for the day, when Mirabel and Hiccup arrived.

Julieta stared cautiously at the boy, wary of him thanks to the day’s earlier fiasco. But after one look at his current state that wariness was replaced by a parental concern. Her maternal instincts not allowing any child in her presence to go hungry or injured. Without a word, she plopped the last arepa into his hands.

They both watched him as he slowly brought it to his mouth, slowly chewed it, and slowly swallowed.

They didn’t expect tears.

Mirabel tried to see what was the matter. All his ailments were healed, his skin now a natural pale. All the cuts and bruises, gone. She couldn’t see anything wrong, so she opted to just ask. Hiccup looked at her, tears threatening to run down his face, and said-

“Th-This is the best thing I have ever tasted in my entire liii-fe…”

He was nearly brought to tears, after taking one bite. She looked at her mother, baffled. She shrugged in response. She hadn’t done anything special to them. Mirabel figured he was just tired, and patted his back as he finished his meal. Julieta had completed packing up her stand, and was heading back. “See you at home, mija.” She gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. She gave the boy standing next to her a puzzled, but still warm smile. “It was nice to meet you, Hiccup.” The name left her lips sounding like a question, as if she was wondering what kind of parent would name their child that. She gave him a quick nod, and was off.

Hiccup, now calmed down, watched her as she left. When he turned to face his new guide, she had her arm extended straight out with her hand open. “Uh, I know your name. And you know mine...” “That may be the case.” She replied. “But we haven’t been properly introduced, sooo…”

She retracted her arm, then extended it again.

“Hello, my name is Mirabel! Nice to meet you!”

Hiccup looked at the wide smile on her face, and couldn’t help but form a small smile of his own. He still thought the guide thing was unnecessary, but he’d indulge her.

He rolled his eyes, and took her hand in his. “Hiccup. It’s…it’s nice to meet you too.”

They shook hands as the sun finished setting.