A Warrior's Heart Surrenders
"A 2nd Year Anniversary Fanfic Mini Tale"
"So, clearly you've got a thing for this Hiccup guy, huh."
Eret casually exclaimed as he and the Dragon Riders sat in the semi darkness of their round prison aboard Drago's ship. It seemed somewhat sarcastically poetic that he had detained them in a Dragon cage.
Astrid grumpily shifted her shackled hands and turned her back on him as much as her restraints allowed her to.
"I'm not talking to you." She all but hissed through clenched teeth.
"Oh, come on, we're all locked up here together, likely to be executed sometime soon…"
"You can talk to me Eret" Ruff seductively murmured, sitting on the other side of him, a trifle to close for his liking. He was actually thankful her hands were chained behind her back.
"Any secrets you tell me…." He tried again, to Astrid. "…I'll take to Valhalla." He finished with a charming smile. Trying to break down her demeanor.
"I sure can't tell it to this lot, it's clearly something they already know. If they can see it, I sure can."
"True that." Ruff agreed, eyeing up Eret, who cringed and turned back to Astrid.
"Are you implying Eret son of Eret, that my friends are dimwits or are you merely aligning yourself with them?"
Astrid asked her tone snarky. Sarcasm dripping from her irritated words like a foaming dragon attacked by a bunch of Grimoras.
Eret laughed heartily.
"Wow, this Hiccup is a brave man to take on the likes of you, sister. You're a wildfire!"
Astrid glared at him. An expression so fierce it really could have turn him to stone.
He thought it best to remain silent for a while.
Astrid sat against the cold metal of the Dragon dome and tried to think, but Eret's words had stuck in her claw. So all she did was fume instead, whilst the Twins threw insults to one another to pass the time.
"So, you're just going to give up? Or maybe you're hoping he'll show up, and what was it you said…."blast them all to splinters?" Then he'll save you, is that it Princess?"
Astrid felt her temper boil once more.
"Oh, if only I had my axe, I'd show you who's a Princess!" She hissed suggestively under her breath.
Again Eret laughed. Holding up his hand in mock surrender.
Astrid was actually surprised when a few more moments of silence broke down her defences quicker than one of Stormfly's spines flung from her tail.
"We were meant to be saving his scrawny little ass!"
She grumbled, though it showed on his face that Eret heard the concern and fear in her voice.
"Not willing to surrender yet, huh?" Eret asked her kindly. She looked up at him intending to snarl a reply, but in the end she simply sighed.
"Actually, I surrendered a long time ago. Oh, yeah I fought it for years, but in the end it was as unescapable as –"
"As a case of The Scourge of Odin?" Eret suggested. Astrid felt herself laugh short and light. If only he knew!
"No, I had a case of that once. Hiccup found the cure for me. So no, it's more like… death in general. It doesn't matter how it comes about or when, you can't stop it." She explained exuberantly. Feeling confident the analogy fit.
When she looked over at Eret however, she saw him raise a brow. Looking at her like she'd lost her mind.
"Wow, not one for the finery of words, huh? Seriously? You're comparing love to…death?"
Eret exclaimed in disbelief. Astrid felt her hands grip the chains of her shackles, her temper exceeding its even normal high levels.
"What does that Viking see in you!" Eret asked rhetorically, truly amazed.
Astrid had heard enough, with a fierce battle cry she pounced on Eret without warning, wrapping her chains around his neck.
"Listen here, Dragon Trapper scum, Hiccup loves me for who. I. am and falling for him was the best thing I have ever done. He doesn't need fancy words. As hard as that maybe for your tiny brain to get, it's how it is."
Feeling her energies wasted on the revoting man she gave him a harsh shove and sat back down against the wall.
Eret sat up and gave his throat a rub. Eyeing Astrid with new respect.
However that respect wouldn't get the job done. He had a plan and he had to stick with it. Clearly, Hiccup was the trigger to Astrid's emotions.
"Well, if he's such a Prince Charming, why isn't he here breaking you out?"
He taunted, determined to rile her into a fighting state. The sorrowful state she'd been in since her dragon had been shot wasn't going to get them out of this. Judging by the others, she was their best chance.
"I never said he was Prince Charming." Astrid snapped back, feeling her knuckles tighten once more with the yearning to pulverise this dumb Dragon Trapper.
"It's likely because he's gotten himself into worse trouble than us." She finished sadly her voice almost trembling with worry. She gulped the cold air down her throat and forced herself to hold it together. Whatever he was up to she wasn't in the mood to be played with.
"Listen Princess, we're about to be executed by Drago's yet to be determined ghastly means, your Prince better be in Valhalla to beat that predicament!"
From across the round dome the Twins gasped.
"Well, someone's not going to find out Dragon's ghastly plans for us." Tuff qiped.
"Yeah, Astrid's likely to slaughter him right here." Ruff seemed to recall that Eret was on the bad guys team and her obsession for him wore off as she joined in her brothers needling.
"Hey, Eret, you got a death wish?" Snotlout leered too, from his side of the dome. Convinced that if she killed Eret it would pave the way again for him to win over Ruff.
Astrid glared once more at Eret. Seething with her rage.
"So, you just goanna sit there and wait for Drago to kill us all or are you going to fight?"
Eret asked surprising them all.
What was he up to?
"…or, just maybe we'll escape and go rescue this friend of yours you clearly have no deeper feelings for."
"Oh, and you have a plan do you?" Snotlout sneeringly asked. For once thinking the same thing she was.
Eret ignored Snotlout and kept his eyes on her.
Before she could answer the jagged roof of the dome began to open with an eerie creak as Drago's men arrived and began dragging them out to die.
Eret fought against the guards hold as they pulled him up and out of the dome. Astrid shrugged irritated at the guard holding her as Eret leant down to her.
"Trust me." He whispered at her.
"Even Hiccup had to earn that from me, Eret son of Eret." Astrid snapped back at him leering over his name.
Behind her another set of guards picked up the Twins too, and tugged them to the opening of the dome.
"Yeah and that took years." Tuff jeered.
"I thought it took one ride on Toothless and that was it." Ruff added to her brother.
Tuff shrugged. "Yeah, and maybe another kind of ride."
Astrid felt her teeth grit against one another. She darted out an elbow to smack Tuff in the side, surprisingly at the same time Ruff kicked him in the shin.
"Oh, like you weren't thinking it too!" He shot back at his sister, buckling under the pain and crossing his legs, unable to rub his bruised shin for the fact his arms were tied behind him.
"Yeah, maybe the thought had crossed my mind, maybe it hadn't, but I wasn't crass enough to say it out loud!"
Ruff omitted in her shrill voice that echoed in the cold air as then were taken out of the dome and out on to the deck of Drago's ship once more.
Astrid's mood was oddly soothed by the Twins' dimwit mutterings. She entertained the thought of telling them it hadn't been anything like that with her and Hiccup, then decided it would be a waste of breath. They were only needling her. Just as, perhaps, Eret no doubt was. The Twins however did it better or perhaps she was simply use to them, or immune to it after all this time.
She didn't care. Eret was right about one thing though.
They had to escape Drago's men. Hiccup needed help or else he'd be here with them. As they were dragged to the back of the large ship Astrid felt her fighting spirit return. Ignited by her temper. The world, and the Twins, could think what they liked about her and Hiccup.
She knew the truth.
They were a team. They saved each other, they fought together and when the time came, they would likely die together. This wasn't that time, this wasn't how it would end.
She had learnt long ago that love didn't weaken a warrior's heart but merely made it stronger.
She had to use that strength now to get them out of this, rescue their dragons, save Hiccup's hide again and get back to Berk. The same way they did everything….
Together.
END
Eliana Robinson
26/4/17
CREATION DATE – 26/4/17
PUBLISH DATE – 26/4/17
A Warrior's Heart Surrenders Disclaimer
A WARRIOR'S HEART SURRENDERS - is a mini Fanfiction of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON I do not own the characters or original plotline.
This story is NOTfor official publication or profit.
A WARRIOR'S HEART SURRENDERSis a mini fanfic in celebration of the HTTYD second year Anniversary for me and is purely meant as entertainment.
CREATION DATE – 26/4/17
PUBLISH DATE – 26/4/17
A part of the "Dragon Adventures" Series By Eliana Robinson
NOTE: Some of this year's Anniversary fan fics are connected to the timeline of The Dragon Adventure Series and others are not….be sure to check beneath the credits of each fan fic to read notices, story hints and secrets.