ANOTHER CHAPTER FOR YOU AWESOME PEOPLE! I JUST TOTALLY FORGOT TO MENTION IN THAT FIRST CHAPTER A/N THAT THIS FANFICTION TAKES PLACE AFTER "DAWN OF THE DRAGON RACERS" BUT BEFORE "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2!" I AM SO SORRY I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT.
Shout-outs next chapter! Once more, if this story seems rushed, it is intentional. :D Enjoy!
"We will fight in one hour!" Dagur cheered happily. "I need to get an audience...this is gold! Gold, Hiccup! The whole of Berserk will watch the heir of Berk die! Berserk will stand!"
"Let Astrid go," Hiccup growled.
"Fine, fine," said Dagur. "So demanding." He released me, and I fell to the ground, gasping slightly to regain my breath. As Dagur stomped away to gather the Berserkers, Hiccup sheathed Inferno and knelt down in front of me, helping me to a stand.
"Are you alright, Astrid?" Hiccup asked me, holding me back by the shoulders. I shook my head. I couldn't believe Hiccup had actually done that. Why had he done that!?
"Dagur's going to kill you, Hiccup!" I said. "Why did you do that!?"
"I'll be fine, Astrid," said Hiccup. "It'll all be okay. I promise you. Okay?"
"O...okay," I managed.
"Alright," said Hiccup. "Alright."
…
An hour later, we were at the Berserker Kill Ring. Berserkers crowded around it while Hiccup and Dagur stood on opposite sides of the arena. I stood at the gate locking me out, looking at the Berserker Chief and the Berkian heir with more worry than I had ever had in my life.
"We have to make the vows!" said Dagur. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, do you vow that, if you die, Berk will fall into our hands without a battle on their side at all?"
"Yes," said Hiccup.
"And I, Dagur the Deranged, vow that if Hiccup kills me first," said Dagur, "which he won't, by the way, that Berserk will never again attack Berk for as long as this island stands."
I swallowed hard.
"START THE FIGHT IN THREE-" All the Berserkers started crying out, counting down, "TWO-" I felt sick. This was it. The defining battle. "ONE, FIGHT!"
Hiccup and Dagur charged towards each other, meeting one another in battle.
I watched them for an hour before I knew I needed to get help. Hiccup needed help. Maybe, if I could find Toothless, I could ride him in and kill Dagur, and then all of the other Berserkers. It was wrong, but Hiccup was going to die if I didn't.
So, I turned around, and ran towards the Great Hall.
It took me a lot longer than it should have to find the place in which we had landed. I had gotten lost many times in the maze Berserk was, and searched for around two hours. I didn't have time to waste like that! Hiccup needed us!
"TOOTHLESS!" I screamed at the top of my lungs just as soon as I got there. Oh, where was that Night Fury when you needed him!? I spun in a circle as I sought to find the dragon, yet found nothing at all. Why didn't he listen to me!? The only person he ever listened to was Hiccup, and of course, Hiccup was the reason I was there.
"TOOTHLESS!" I shouted again, and this time, the Night Fury appeared, jumping down from the Berserker Great Hall and landing in front of me with surprising ease. He cocked his head sideways, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was short-lived, though, when I called to mind the danger Hiccup was in.
"Come on, Toothless, we have to go!" I shouted. "Hiccup needs us, NOW!" Toothless perked up at "Hiccup" and instantly turned to let me mount him. I did so, and he took off. There was no need for me to tell him which direction to go in; Toothless could track him down easily.
It was a good thing, too, because it went a lot quicker that way as well.
When we made it to the Kill Ring, Hiccup and Dagur were still fighting. How long had it been going for? Three hours at the least? Six at the most? I didn't even know at that point. Dagur looked terrible, his face smudged, a small, unclean gash on his forehead, a wild gleam in his eyes that meant destruction.
Hiccup, on the other hand, looked worse. He was a master swordsman; one of the best on Berk, and yet his movements were sloppy and slow, just proving to me how long he had been fighting. His hair was matted down with sweat and dirt, his hands shaking as he held his sword, light as it was. His face was covered with copious amounts of sweat, and he looked exhausted.
Which he was, actually, now that I thought about it.
"HICCUP!" I shouted, jumping off Toothless and racing forward, the Night Fury following me shortly after. Hiccup turned just long enough to look at me, his eyes flashing with terror before he held his hand out.
"STAY-STAY AWAY!" he commanded, although he was stuttering. I skidded to a stop, Toothless doing the same beside me as we stared at Hiccup. He had turned his attention back to Dagur, and was fighting him once more. I tried to approach again, but Hiccup stopped me yet a second time.
"IT'S A ONE-ON-ONE, ASTRID!" he shouted, parrying with Dagur. "YOU KNOW THAT!"
I did know that, as much as I wanted to deny it. I wanted to race in there and finish Dagur off myself. By the looks of it, Hiccup couldn't have gone on fighting for more than another ten minutes, and maybe thirty, if he was lucky.
But of course, being Hiccup, he was never lucky.
I wanted nothing more at that moment except then to just rush forward and infiltrate the one-on-one. I didn't care if it was breaking the rules at that point. I just wanted to see Dagur pay. I wanted all the Berserkers locked in Berkian prison forever for all they had done. Of course, though, Hiccup was keeping me from interfering.
I watched Dagur and Hiccup fight and fight and fight, feeling helpless. Toothless growled and roared whenever Dagur swung, and I winced and shouted commands to Hiccup, although I was quite certain he wasn't listening to me, his mind set on just simply not dying. The suspense was killing me, watching Hiccup and Dagur fight, not knowing who was going to win, continuously worried Dagur would be the victor.
I shook myself out of my thoughtful daze when I found out that Dagur had pinned Hiccup to the ground, and was raising his axe over his head for the kill.
"HICCUP!" I screamed.
"YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW!" Hiccup shouted back, kicking Dagur in the shin and rolling out of the way of his axe. Dagur screamed in anger, raising his weapon over his head as Hiccup sprang to his feet.
"You have fought well," said Dagur. "I think we are done with round two!"
"ROUND TWO!?" I shouted in shock. Hiccup had fought two rounds!? They had started another round in all the time I wasted looking for Toothless!?No wonder Hiccup looked so worn out.
"Yes, and there will be another round before we're over with," said Dagur simply. He lowered his weapon, and Hiccup did the same. "We will fight again in an hour's time," he said. "Be ready by then."