11 A Genuine Surprise

11. A GENUINE SURPRISE Hiccup could feel himself being carried up the dungeon stairs, could hear the sound of soft footsteps and whispers all around him, and then, as he struggled, he began to realise the voices he was hearing were not dragon voices, but human voices. He had a feeling of being dragged into a smaller area, where the voices became more echoey and even colder than the dungeon. And then, more surprising still, he recognised the voice of someone he knew well, but just hadn't heard for a very long time… 'Don't panic,' said the voice. 'We're friends. We're here to help you escape from Prison Darkheart… We had to cover your mouth in case you screamed, because you weren't expecting us.' And then the hands unwound him from the sheet he was wrapped in, and took the gag and blindfold from his head, and he was in what felt like some sort of drainage tunnel. And he was surrounded by faces, the nearest of which he did, indeed, know very well. 'Camicazi!' whispered Hiccup in joyful surprise. Camicazi was a small, chatty and recklessly brave Bog-Burglar, with a lot of wild blonde hair that looked

like squirrels had been break-dancing vigorously in the back of it. She also just so happened to be one of Hiccup's best friends. Camicazi looked at him for a moment in puzzlement, and then she pulled up his eye patch, took off his wart, and exclaimed in gob-smacked happy astonishment, 'Hiccup!'

Bog-Burglars aren't supposed to show when they're really pleased to see someone, so Camicazi now turned bright red with the effort of not knowing what to do. She scowled furiously, and pummelled Hiccup three times on the shoulder, and then she hugged him, and then she hit him again– a little harder this time– whispering ferociously (and if it hadn't been Camicazi, you might have said slightly tearfully), in between each punch. 'Where… have… you… been? I haven't been worried about you…' she added hastily. 'No, no, I haven't been worried, because us Bog-Burglars never worry, we're too cool, but where… have… you… been?' 'Ow!' grinned Hiccup, holding his slightly bruised shoulder. 'You're the first person who's actually recognised me. Not that I actually want people to recognise me in this place, but still, it's nice to know that I haven't changed completely in just six months.' Camicazi was still bright red and scowling more furiously than ever. 'Why didn't you come and find me?' She hid her face in her elbow. 'Was it because I Turned My Back with everybody else when the witch got us to at the school? Because I'm sorry about that, Hiccup, and I've been wishing and wishing that I had

stood up for you, like Fishlegs did, ever since… It was just a bit of a shock about the Slavemark and everything…' 'No, no,' Hiccup assured her. 'It wasn't that, I knew all along that you didn't really mean to Turn Your Back.' 'You're sure?' said Camicazi, still a little muffled. 'Absolutely sure,' lied Hiccup awkwardly. 'Besides, I was watching you the whole time and it wasn't really a full turn, it was just a sort of twist… A kind of sideways-on, Half-Turn if you like, and only for a moment…' 'A Half-Turn?' sniffed Camicazi hopefully. 'The only reason I didn't come and find you was that everybody's after me at the moment, and I didn't want to put you in danger as well,' explained Hiccup. 'Well that wasn't very kind of you, was it?' grinned Camicazi, who had cheered up no end.

'You know I love danger!' She rubbed her hands together excitedly. 'Danger is my favourite thing!'

'Yes, well,' said Hiccup, changing the subject. 'Speaking of danger, what on earth are you doing here, Camicazi?' 'We're the Escape Artists,' explained Camicazi, beaming. 'This is my Team: Sporta… Typhoon… Harriettahorse… Beefburger…' She introduced the four Bog-Burglars who were sitting beside her in the drainage tunnel. They had been the ones who had wrapped Hiccup in the sheet, and they must have carried him together along the corridor. They were all considerably larger than Camicazi, but dressed similarly in black burglary suits, with a lot of burglary equipment and weaponry dangling off them. To Hiccup's surprise, the other Bog-Burglars blushed and looked extremely self-conscious as they shook his hand. 'This isn't… the Outcast, is it?' blurted Typhoon.