11. Miracle Mystery

It was the morning after Antonio’s gift ceremony.

Instead of getting out of bed immediately upon waking, Hiccup reflected on the night’s previous events…

After the fiasco with the cracks, Hiccup returned to the party. He’d managed to get his hands on some more of that grilled corn, and he was munching away while pondering over what had happened out there.

He felt a cold nose bumping his arm. Looking down, he saw Toothless glancing up at him with concern in his green orbs. The boy pat the dragon’s head to reassure him, but he didn’t say anything.

Soon enough the party was winding down, and people were starting to leave. Ignacio had resolved to test Alma’s words, and see just how strong the drinks were. He was currently passed out, sprawled on the ground. A Capybara sat casually on his head.

He had partied too hard.

With great effort, he placed the large man onto Toothless’ back. The dragon grumbling his unappreciation. And the two made to leave.

As they were making their way out, they were surprisingly stopped a few times. Augustin and Julieta both appeared to kindly wish the boy a good night, which he returned. Hiccup was stunned when Augustin went so far as to shake his hand.

Antonio ran out to give the Night Fury a goodbye hug, flanked by a menagerie of smaller animals. While they weren’t present, Antonio made sure to tell Hiccup that his parents wished him a good night as well.

Luisa, carrying a grand piano like it was nothing, gave him a polite nod. As Hiccup nodded back, he couldn’t help but notice she seemed a bit stressed.

Hiccup really didn’t know how to feel. It seemed he had made an impression on at least some of this family. One or two people being nice to him was one thing, but he was unsure how to handle anymore beyond that. He wasn’t exactly used to not being scorned.

After finally making his way outside, he was disheartened to realized he hadn’t run into Mirabel. He wanted to give her a proper goodbye. He turned around to get one last look at Casita before heading to the forge.

And he saw her. In a window, presumably her bedroom window. Looking down at him. He gave a tentative wave, and she returned it with a smile. Though he noted her smile looked strained. He didn’t blame her, it’s been a rough night.

After hearing a groan from the blacksmith, and the rumbling of his stomach, Hiccup decided that keeping the inebriated man on his dragon’s back for too long wasn’t a good idea. If the Night Fury got barfed on, he’d be burned to cinders.

He made his way back to the forge, deposited his temporary boss onto his bed as gently as possible, and went to sleep…

And now, here he was. It’s the next day, and Hiccup was unsure of what to do with himself. Did he return to the magical house, try to investigate the cracks? Did he ignore them, act as if they never happened? Would he finally start working on that tail-fin?

He contemplated these questions while eating some grilled corn he had smuggled for breakfast. Soon after he had descended the stairs himself, Ignacio came stumbling in. Looking like a wreck.

Hiccup couldn’t help himself. “So what’s stronger, the magic or the drinks?” The man groaned at the boy’s joke, and held his head. “Do you gotta be so loud, kid?” That made Hiccup pause.

Ignacio? Calling him loud? He must be really messed up.

Hiccup was given one job today. It was a simple one, which was good, because Ignacio tripped over his words so much the boy could barely understand what he was saying.

Once again he would be delivering something, once again to Senor Rendon. A new hammer. To go with the new nails, Hiccup surmised.

Toothless was still sleeping, he was never an early riser. He set out a plate of fish for him to wake up to again. He also set out a cup of coffee for the poor blacksmith who could barely even move.

After taking care of his two housemates, he made off for the farm.

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He wasn’t surprised to see Luisa on the trail to the farm. Apparently, her bringing the donkeys back was a common occurrence.

He was surprised to see Mirabel with her.

He leaned against a tree and watched as they conversed, not knowing exactly if he should intervene. He couldn’t quite hear what they were talking about, but Luisa seemed exasperated about something. She was speaking and gesturing vividly as Mirabel stood there and quietly listened among the donkeys.

Eventually Hiccup decided that just standing there and watching the sisters was creepy, so he trudged up the hill to make his delivery.

Going up the hill to the farmhouse, giving the man the new hammer, and heading back down the hill took about three, perhaps three and a half minutes. Once Hiccup returned to where he was before, he saw Luisa and Mirabel exactly where he’d left them.

Luisa was crushing her little sister in a big hug, and while Mirabel seemed to be enjoying it, she also seemed like her spine was in danger. When the hulking woman released her sister, and resumed her donkey duty, that’s when Mirabel noticed the scrawny teen.

“Hiccup!” She ran to him as he was still leaning on a tree. “Listen, do you remember last night? With the cracks.” He nodded. “How could I forget? That was crazy.” At his response, she grinned. “Great! Well, not great. I mean- “She shook her head to regain control of her words. “Something is happening to the magic! I’ve got to get to the bottom of this…” She began to appear a bit nervous. “…And, I’d appreciate your help.” She looked to him. Anxious, but hopeful.

Hiccup’s brow furrowed. After all the help she’d given him, asking for nothing in return, there was no way he was gonna leave her hanging. Also…he was just plain starting to like the girl. It’d been a long time since he had a friend that wasn’t a dragon.

He stood from his leaning position and replied with two simple words. “I’m in.” …That sounded cooler in his head. Curse you, ill-timed voice cracks.

Unfortunate intonation aside, his answer pleased the girl. She bristled with excitement and grabbed his hand, dragging him towards Casita.

Stammering from the sensation of being pulled along, he asked “S-So what’s the plan?” She responded without looking back. “We have to break into Bruno’s tower, and find his last vision!”

Bruno? That name sounded familiar…

Hiccup’s eyes widened. “You mean the guy we aren’t supposed to talk about?” She replied once more. “Exactly!”

And the girl dragged the boy to her home, in hopes of uncovering a mystery and saving the miracle.

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Hiccup froze in front of Casita again.

“Hiccup, come on!” Despite the girl’s urging, he remained skeptical. “I dunno, what if I go inside and it…eats me or something?” She rolled her eyes. “Casita’s a house, Hiccup. It can’t eat you.” He shifted his uneasy gaze to her. “How do you know? It’s magic, it could eat someone!” The exasperated girl looked into the building.  Pointing at the boy with her thumb, wearing a dumbfounded expression. Can you believe this guy? The house moved some drawers around to form a shrug in response.

She turned back to her freaked out friend. “Casita didn’t hurt you last night, did it?” The boy flailed his arms as his explanation got frenetic. “There were other people around last night! Witnesses!” She crossed her own arms. “I’m here, aren’t I a witness?” The boy’s arms fell. “You don’t count, the house knows you won’t snitch.”

She rubbed her temple with her thumb and forefinger. They were wasting time. “Look, Hiccup. I’m sorry Casita scared you on your first day. We thought you were dangerous! It was just trying to protect us.” The building played another song with its tiles, a more somber tune. It earnestly sounded apologetic for frightening the boy so bad. “I promise, nothing inside this house will harm you. Okay?”

He still didn’t trust it, but he trusted her. Besides, he had promised to help. He finally relented, and stepped inside.

Mirabel gave him a smug smile. “See! Was that so bad?” Hiccup grumbled as he moved past her. “How about you get interrogated? Then you’ll know what it’s like…”

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The two teens, one scrawny, one bespectacled, crept their way up to Bruno’s’ illusive door. The building was relatively empty, so they didn’t have to be too stealthy. The only close call was when Alma and Isabela walked by, prattling about the engagement. They ducked behind a wall as to not be seen, and luckily, they weren’t seen.

One of the flower petals Isabela had trailing behind her somehow got into Hiccup’s mouth. It stuck to his tongue as he tried to spit it out, and tried to ignore Mirabel’s silent snickers.

They entered the hallway that led to Bruno’s door, a small stair case separating them from their destination.

Hiccup, in a joking mood, put on an overdramatic look. “Behold, our greatest obstacle! Five steps!” She rolled her eyes, and climbed the stairs. He followed her lead.

They arrived at Bruno’s door. Its imagery was foreboding, if not downright creepy. The figure illustrated seemed to be glaring at the viewer. A far-cry from the welcoming designs Hiccup had seen on every other door.

Mirabel took the initiative and opened the door, having to force it open with her shoulders as it creaked from age and disuse. Upon opening the door, she leaned against its frame and looked at what was inside her uncle’s room for the first time she can remember. Hiccup peeked over her shoulders.

It was a dark, stone room. A large entryway shaped liked an hourglass was the only thing visible, light shining through from the other side. A cascade of sand endlessly sprinkling downwards.  The two moved further into the room, Mirabel briefly parting the falling sand with her palm. “Do we…gotta go through it?” Asked Hiccup.

The girl asked for assistance from perhaps her oldest friend. “Casita…can you turn off the sand?” Turning to look through the doorway, the teens saw the floor tiles oscillating quickly. The house was trying to communicate something. Lucky for Hiccup, Mirabel spoke house. “You can’t help in here?” At her words, Hiccup blanched. They go on a magic mission, in a magic house, and the magic house can’t help?

The tiles moved again, they seemed almost worried. The girl reassured the building. “We’ll be fine!” She turned to the hourglass entryway, clutching her bag in determination. “I need to do this. For you, for Abuela…” she paused. “…Maybe a little for me.” She turned to Hiccup, who nodded. Showing no fear. It was still there, he was just getting better at hiding it.

With a breath, she took a step forward. “Find the vision. Save the mirac-AAAAAAH!”  Hiccup cried out in fear after watching his guide drop so suddenly, and without thinking he jumped in after her. After a painful tumble down a sand dune, he found himself in a pile of grains next to his companion as she was cleaning her glasses. Spitting the sand out of his mouth, he looked to her and whined. “Nothing inside this house will harm me, huh?”

As they both stood, they observed their surroundings. The room was hot, arid, and bright. Hiccup couldn’t feel an ounce of moisture in the air, and he was quite sure he was getting a tan. Surrounding them were walls of rock and stone, stretching ever upwards until they met at the room’s ceiling. Forming a cavern.

In front of them was a stone carving, a hand. Pointing directly up, the words YOUR FUTURE AWAITS inscribed onto it.

The most obvious feature of the room, were the stairs. The many, many stairs. His legs were hurting just looking at them.

As they stood, in awe. The sound of flapping caught their attention. A toucan (Antonio had taught him the name last night) flittered onto a nearby rock and gazed at the two. Beak fixed into a wide smile.

“Oh, hello!” Mirabel greeted the creature, as Hiccup took note of the challenge ahead. “That’s a lot of stairs…” He groaned. The girl opted to see the positives of the situation. “But as least we have a new friend- “The bird, possessing the power of flight and knowing how to use it, ascended to the top with ease. Releasing some mocking squawks in the process. ”-Nope he flew away immediately.” The girl finished dejectedly.

“A shame…” Hiccup started. “It would’ve been nice to have someone to talk to on those stairs.” She turned to him, the boy already making his way to the stairs. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” She started to follow.

He waved her on. Ladies first, after all. “I’m just saying, me and that bird could’ve had some actual intellectual conversation!” She now led the way. “Oh, of course! Because you definitely talk about things other than that dragon!” Her teasing elicited a blush from him, as he followed her up. “Th-That’s not all I talk about!” She launched into her nasally impression of him. “I gotta get Toothless breakfast! I gotta take Toothless for a walk! I gotta wipe Toothless’ crap off the ground!” He groaned at her mimicry, and she laughed in response.

The two playfully bickered their way up the first flight of stairs.

The first of many.