The last person he would have suspected.
In the back of his mind, Hiccup had realized someone was looking out for him, someone was protecting him, someone who was definitely not on the hunters' side was taking them out, but there had been absolutely no time to ponder the implications of that, to wonder or even care who it might be. Every part of his mind had been fully focused on getting away and staying alive. But if the question "Who is that?" had occurred to him, Dagur the Deranged would have been the very last name he would have guessed.
He first went along with it out of sheer desperation. There was no fear to hold him back. He'd known since Dragon Island that Dagur didn't want to kill or harm him or Toothless (what he did want from him, Hiccup preferred not to think about), and without an armada to back him up, he was a far preferable threat to those hunters. But when he first accepted his help, Hiccup thought he was simply narrowing the opponents he'd have to deal with down to one, that it would be a question of saving himself and Toothless from one Berserker instead of an army of hunters.
Hiccup's assessment of the situation didn't change until he almost fell off the cliff. Dagur not only saved him – he risked his own life to save him. Even if Dagur had some motive for keeping him alive, why would he put his own life on the line to do it? Granted, he wasn't the sanest person in the archipelago, but he'd never acted suicidal... without some definite purpose, like forcing your hand. It didn't make any sense Dagur would put himself in danger of falling to his death unless... he truly didn't want him to die. Hiccup had to accept that his self-appointed arch nemesis felt saving his life was worth risking his own. Which would mean Dagur had fought off the hunters not because he wanted to capture him but because he wanted to protect him.
It was a lot to take in – so inconsistent with everything Hiccup knew about Dagur that his brain was at first unable to accept it as real. It was a grueling effort to incorporate this new information into his understanding of reality; it would have been easier to accept that he'd entered a portal to an alternate reality when he'd crashed on this island.
And yet, even though Hiccup found the change in Dagur almost impossible to believe, at the same time, he couldn't help but find something... familiar about this situation. Like the feeling you get when you wander into what looks like a strange, new place, only to realize you've been there before, long ago. Well, he had been down a road like this before. Alvin had once been Berk's enemy but was now their ally. Of course, before that, he'd thought Mildew had changed, and that had been the second biggest mistake he'd ever made. Forget trusting Dagur – why had he trusted the old man so easily back then?
Because there was nothing unusual about it. History was full of stories of people realizing they were wrong, regretting their actions, changing their ways, and becoming friends with those they once considered enemies. It had been easy to accept that Mildew was one of them. Maybe Dagur was also trying to lure him into a false sense of security by staging such a classic scenario, but he could also be telling the truth about changing – he wouldn't be the first.
Hiccup assumed that was what felt so familiar until he agreed to go look for the cure for Toothless. As soon as they began searching, that feeling – that he'd been through, seen, or heard of this before – returned stronger than ever. What could it be? He and Dagur had never been through anything like this. What did this remind him of?
The answer didn't occur to him until he was safely back at the Edge. The previous dangers of the day were forgotten – his only concern now was getting back to his room unnoticed and having enough time to come up with a story that explained his absence without revealing the trouble he'd gotten into. If Astrid found out what had happened after he sneaked off alone... running right into enemy archers... needing to be rescued by another, almost equally dangerous enemy who had been obsessed with chasing and fighting him for years... the urgent search for that antidote... the two of them getting caught and barely managing to escape again...
Hiccup hadn't meant to, but when he looked at it piece by piece like that, the picture became clear. He remembered where he'd heard all of this before! It was a story he'd heard years ago – a legend supposedly from thousands of years ago that some believed was true, some made up, but almost everyone enjoyed. It was the story of a young hero who had left his teammates to search for an antidote they desperately needed, only to be captured by enemy archers. He had no way to escape and would have been doomed if it hadn't been for the mysterious figure who showed up out of nowhere to protect him. It turned out to be the fallen prince who, like Dagur, had lost his honor, his title, and his country and had been obsessively pursuing the younger boy for years – again, just like Dagur had with him. But the prince refused to let anyone else harm him (what was his reason again?), so he'd disguised himself as something they later called the Blue Spirit so he could rescue him.
That was it! That was why it felt so familiar! He and Dagur had just relived that story... right down to specific moments like when Dagur had been knocked unconscious by that arrow while they were surrounded by their pursuers and Hiccup had needed to get him to safety! Hiccup didn't know whether to laugh or shudder. There was something rather... eerie about it. Was it all just a coincidence? Was he forcing the pieces together, seeing something that wasn't there?
No – there were too many similarities. Hiccup was actually embarrassed he hadn't realized it hours ago. After all, the story also said the prince had had the left side of his face completely burned off, and Hiccup now remembered he'd immediately thought of that the year Oswald's son first showed up (six or seven treaty signings before the last) with his new tattoo. Deep down, maybe he had figured it out, though – maybe that was why he'd decided to trust Dagur.
Now that he had trusted his former enemy and had nothing to regret about it so far, what next? What did this mean for the future? Hiccup tried to remember how the other story ended, but it had been so long since he'd heard it, and there were so many other parts, he couldn't recall all of them now. What would happen next time he saw Dagur? Would he forget the transformation he'd undergone on the island and go back to his old deranged self, or would they still be friends?
What was he saying? Hiccup wasn't even sure they were friends now. Besides, did he want to be friends with the guy who'd spent their childhood throwing knives at his head and trying to drown him? Who'd spent the past several years when he hadn't been in prison making his life as difficult as possible?
But why worry about all that? It might not even matter. In spite of everything he'd said and done, Dagur had certainly been eager to disappear. For all Hiccup knew, they might never meet again...
You know that's not true, something in his mind said with too much confidence to argue. Hiccup could have laughed at himself for considering it for a second. Dagur's sense of right and wrong may have changed, but his motives hadn't. Hiccup could tell he still wanted what he'd wanted at least since Dragon Island – he'd just decided being honorable instead of evil was the way to get it; otherwise, he would have hijacked a ship and sailed away without caring what happened to Hiccup and Toothless. Since he had stayed, Hiccup knew Dagur had no more desire to leave now than he had when he'd first escaped from prison. He was out there somewhere nearby, and he always would be, except now, he wouldn't be hunting him or attacking his tribe. After today, Hiccup couldn't help but wonder if Dagur would go so far as to be there for him next time he needed help. No, that was ridiculous.
That's what you thought today, too, the voice from earlier reminded him. And you were wrong. You thought he betrayed you at least three times, but he never did. Whether or not he's your friend, he's not your enemy anymore. He was never trying to harm you. He was watching over you from the start. All along, he was just trying to protect you. He was your Blue Spirit.
Hiccup smiled at the last thought, but he'd need some time to figure out how he really felt about it.
He wondered what the other riders would think of the new developments, but as soon as the thought was formed, he realized he couldn't tell them. They weren't there, they wouldn't understand; they'd assume from the outset that Dagur couldn't be trusted and he was a fool to think otherwise. A glance at Toothless caused him to inexplicably flash back to an encounter with a certain Whispering Death and ask himself if that was really the only reason he didn't want to share this with his friends. He remembered how betrayed he'd felt when he'd found out the secret Astrid had been keeping about Heather... For some reason, the memory only made him feel more resolved not to start trouble by getting everyone involved with his own secret. This was just between him and Dagur.
The closest he ever came to mentioning it was in the dining hall that evening. Astrid caught him on his way into dinner and started lecturing him for leaving without her and disappearing all day, making her worried sick, etc., etc. He apologized but (truthfully) said it was his fault they'd lost the Dragon Eye, so he had to be the one who caught Viggo or one of his hunters. He was sorry he'd been out all day, but he'd seen evidence of activity on an island they knew was deserted and decided to investigate, but whoever had stayed there was long gone. He didn't want her to worry about him so much – he was fine, everything was okay. She repeated her order forbidding any more solo flights and he, feeling as guilty as he had in the cave just after they'd landed, agreed, promised, and meant it.
It didn't end until they were both sitting at the table with their plates and cups full. "Well, I hope you had fun," Astrid said.
"Not exactly the word I would use," Hiccup told her.
She made no reply, and Fishlegs, as if hoping to ease the tension, said nervously, "So, Hiccup... how was your trip today? Did you, uh..." He struggled for a second to think of something to ask about it, then blurted out, "... make any new friends?"
Hiccup paused with his cup halfway to his mouth, placed it back on the table, and thought for a moment before he answered: "Yeah... I think I did."