Astrid stood quietly, sword at the ready. She needed her wits about her if she was going to survive this. And she would. She could not die now—not when her quest lay before her and all that depended on it rested on her shoulders. She glanced over at the other side of the dell and made eye contact with Hiccup. He gave a short nod. Everything was ready, all that was left was for the beast to arrive and claim its meal.
It did not take long. It seemed the beast's hunger drove it to ignore reason. It came into the clearing, dragging long nails on the ground, a soft desperate growl escaping its lips like water steaming from a boiling kettle, although its cracked, dry lips barely moved. It approached the pile of bodies, and when it reached it, it began to tear into them with vigor, shredding the carcasses with tooth and claw alike, as if slicing through butter. Astrid closed her eyes, nausea overcoming her for a moment. She opened them and made eye contact again with Hiccup. Again, he nodded, and she swung her sword, cutting the rope beside her as Hiccup cut his end.
The beast shrieked as the make-shift net sprang up, catching it in a tangle. Knowing it would not keep it entrapped for long, Astrid dashed forward as Hiccup released arrows from his bow. Astrid thrust her sword into the beast's chest, but it seemed to do little to nothing against its writhing, furious form, save for making the creature shriek with pain and anger.
"I'm running out of arrows!" Hiccup shouted, running towards them. "Toothless, plasma blast!"
Toothless bounded out of the shadows, his pupils contracted into dangerous slits, heading for the beast.
"Wait!" Astrid shouted, "The net—!"
It was too late. The beast was hit with a hot flame, searing its skin and burning the ropes as it did. The creature sprang free and Toothless rushed forward, sinking his teeth into its neck to prevent it from reaching Astrid and Hiccup.
It was then that Astrid spotted something dangling around its neck. Some kind of large animal tooth attached by a string. "The necklace!" she shouted.
"What?" Hiccup asked, before he too noticed it.
"It's wearing a necklace," Astrid said. Her eyes widened, thinking back to their conversation the night before. She sprang forward, coming up close to the beast, close enough to be ensnared in its long, diseased claws, as Hiccup yelled for her to get away. She grabbed the necklace, pulling it away from the beast's neck, breaking the cord as she did. In his shock at what happened afterward, Toothless let go of the beast, backing up away from it as quickly as he could. Astrid did as well, for the beast began to convulse on the ground, seeming to shrink and grow at the same time. It shrunk in overall size, but seemed to fill out, growing muscle and fat, its skin becoming healthy and strong.
"What…the…" Hiccup came up beside her, staring down at the creature in shock.
Finally, what was left was no beast at all, but the form of a shivering, naked man.
"He was human," Hiccup said, awed. "I'm glad we didn't kill him."
The man looked up, brown eyes meeting theirs. "Who… what… who are you?"
Astrid and Hiccup shared a meaningful look, before Astrid knelt down and asked, "What is your name?"
"Eret…" the man said, struggling into a sitting position. He looked around and noticed the bodies surrounding him. "Oh… oh gods… did I—?"
"You did," Astrid said, not wanting to protect the man from the horror, watching as he shuddered. "But it appears we've stopped you from doing it anymore."
"You haven't stopped anything," Eret said as he attempted to stand. His legs collapsed beneath him, and Astrid and Hiccup hurried to his side to aide him. "You've just… temporarily stopped it."
"What do you mean?" Astrid asked.
"The tooth," Eret said. "Without it around my neck, I won't turn into that… thing, but…"
"What do you mean, 'the tooth'?" Hiccup asked. "How does that dragon's tooth have anything to do with… this? And how is this even possible?"
"It's a curse, isn't it?" Astrid asked, feeling that her suspicions had been correct.
Eret nodded, finally making it to his feet. "It's punishment," was all he said, with the gravity of a man whose life had ended.
"So…without the necklace around your neck, you won't turn into a…whatever that monster was—but you're still cursed?" Hiccup asked.
Eret nodded again. "Thank you both for taking it off," he said, but he said the words to Astrid.
"How do you break this… this curse?" Hiccup asked, as if he were still having difficulty believing the concept. Astrid did not quite blame him for his lack of belief. If she didn't know about them, she wouldn't have believed in curses either.
"You have to go to The North," Astrid said.
Eret looked at her in surprise. "That's right," he said. "But I've never made it—I was always too… hungry."
"Well, you don't have to worry about it anymore," Hiccup said. "Astrid is going to The North—so you can go along with her."
"Yes," Astrid said, nodding firmly. She gave Eret a warm smile, hoping that he could find it in himself to trust her. Having a companion on her journey would be useful—and pleasant—even if it was someone who could turn into a man eating monster at the drop of a hat.
"And who are—" Eret paused, looking down at himself. "I'm—ah… naked."
Astrid looked downwards, and quickly away. "I'll go get some clothes," she said, letting go of Eret. "Hiccup, bring him to water and… get him cleaned up. I'll be back shortly."
"Right," Hiccup said, leading Eret and Toothless away.
"Wait—the necklace!" Eret said, stopping her as she began to walk towards the settlement.
"What about it?" Astrid asked, turning to face him, tooth in hand.
"Don't take it with you," he said, "I have to keep it near me."
"But—"
"It's…it's part of the curse," Eret said. "I can't leave it behind."
"Oh," Astrid walked back and handed it him. He took it with a severe force, both as if it were precious to him and terrible. "Don't put it on," she told him.
"I won't," he promised, with a wry grin that did not quite reach his eyes.
She watched them leave, before turning and beginning the long walk back to the homestead. She walked quickly, although her body was begging for rest. She finally reached it, and like before, there were men outside, lounging in a drunken state. She ignored them and walked into the tavern quickly.
There was a hushed silence as she entered, and Chatley came forward. "Well, did you kill whatever it was?"
"I…" she frowned. "Yes," she lied, "I killed it."
"Well, where is it?"
"I buried it in the woods," she replied, hoping that would end the conversation.
"Then how do we know you did it?" another man demanded loudly.
"You'll just have to take my word on it. Is Grega here?" she asked.
"What's going on?" the loud booming voice said as the woman in question entered the hall. "Ah, you again, girl. Well, I must say I'm glad you've come back alive. What do you need?"
"Food, provisions, and some clothes," Astrid replied.
"Aye, you've got it," Grega said. "Come with me."
Astrid followed her out of the hall. "I will pay you," Astrid said.
"If you insist," Grega replied. "I'll see if Elana has any spare clothes—she's about your size."
"I need men's clothing as well," Astrid said. "I picked up a traveler who was attacked by the beast. He's the one who needs clothes."
Grega eyed her. "Very well then. Then I supposed you need quite a bit of food."
"Yes," Astrid agreed.
In a short time, Astrid bought the clothes, food and provisions needed, and was set to leave. She said farewell to Grega, wondering if she would ever see the woman again, and set off towards Hiccup, Eret and Toothless.
"So…" Hiccup said, standing at the bank of the river, his back turned to Eret. "How exactly did you turn into a… whatever that was?"
"It is a punishment," was Eret's reply.
"Yeah, no, I got that part," Hiccup said. "I mean, why?"
Eret emerged from the water, shivering slightly. He spent a large amount of time in the stream, even after he had managed to get the blood off himself. He crouched beside the fire Hiccup had made, and Toothless slid up to him, his body keeping the man warm. "Where are you from?" Hiccup asked.
"Móhhtaga," Eret replied.
"Móhhtaga? That's…in the north," Hiccup said. "How'd you get all the way to Berk?"
Eret shrugged. "Much of what has happened since I was cursed has been a blur. I just followed my… victims."
"Hey," Hiccup walked forward, crouching down beside Eret. "We'll get you to the north again. You'll get rid of this curse—and go home."
Eret shook his head. "I don't think I can go home. Not after what has happened."
"And what…" the look on Eret's face silenced Hiccup. "Well, regardless. We'll be able to get rid of this curse, at least. We're heading north too, you see."
"What for?" Eret asked, still warming his hands by the fire.
Hiccup opened his mouth, and promptly shut it. "Not quite sure. You'd have to ask Astrid. And she's quite tight lipped about it."
"Are you and her…" Eret paused. "What is your relation to her?"
"Met her a little more than a day ago," Hiccup said. "Knocked her out with a branch. We were both tracking you."
"And you both decided to randomly go north?" Eret asked, giving him a bemused look.
Hiccup shrugged.
"I'm back," a clear voice called out, as Astrid emerged from the trees. Eret quickly positioned himself so his offending parts were not visible to her. Hiccup rose and met her, taking some of her load.
"Here," Astrid said as she approached Eret, handing him his clothes. "These should fit you—I believe. I also got provisions for the journey. You and I are going to go to The North together, we should be prepared," she told Eret.
"We're going too," Hiccup said, "Toothless and I."
Toothless whirled excitedly.
Astrid turned to look at him, large blue eyes wide with surprise, before looking at Toothless. She looked back at Hiccup and smiled softly. Her smile softened and warmed her features, and caused his heart to skip a beat. "Where do you come from?" she asked, returning her attention to Eret.
"Móhhtaga," Eret said.
"That far north?" Astrid asked, surprised. "I suppose I should have guessed. What cursed you?"
"You don't seem shocked I was cursed," Eret said.
"No," Astrid said, shaking her head slowly. "I know very well the way of curses and those that cast them."
Eret and Hiccup were silent for a moment, before Eret spoke. "To be honest, I'm not even sure. The gods… the ancestors…something did. All I know is why."
"You never did explain," Hiccup said.
"I'd rather not talk about it," the man replied as he finished dressing.
There was an awkward moment of silence, before Astrid said, "Should we eat? The animals are out and about again. After that we should do something with the bodies."
"I'm not hungry," Eret said, sitting by the fire again, staring at the flame. "But I'll help bury the bodies."
Astrid and Hiccup shared a look, before Astrid walked around the fire and knelt by Eret's side. "I know how you must feel—or at least, I think I can understand what you must be feeling," she said. "But you have to keep your strength up."
"I've eaten… people," Eret said, looking at her with haunted eyes. "And you!" he turned back to look at Hiccup. "I've seen you before. I've eaten people you probably cared about. Why either of you are being kind to me—I just… I don't think I can eat for a while."
"It wasn't you," Hiccup said. "I mean, yeah, I fully intended to kill you, but that was before I found out you were a person who was… cursed," he still could not quite believe the fact that the concept was real. But, he supposed, dragons were just a myth to most people. Why couldn't curses be real as well? "It's not your fault."
"If only you knew…" Eret muttered.
"It's alright," Astrid said, placing a gloved hand on his. "Nothing will happen anymore. As long as you don't wear the tooth around your neck, right?"
Eret nodded.
"Well, then," Astrid said, straightening. "We best eat and be on our way. There's no use wasting time."
"Good plan," Hiccup said. "Where exactly are we going?"
"The North Pole," Astrid and Eret said in unison.
Hiccup glanced between them, curiosity rising. "That's where you both are going?"
"Yes," Astrid said quietly.
The implications bit at Hiccup's mind, and he found himself needing to know exactly why Astrid was going to the same place Eret was. Why her quest's destination was the same place a curse could be lifted. But he knew she would not answer if pressed for an answer, so instead he said, "Well, then, looks like we have a long journey ahead of us. I'll go hunt. Astrid, Eret, collect some berries and nuts. We should stock up. We'll meet back here at nightfall."
"Right," Eret stood and put out the fire. "Let's go, Astrid."
"Right behind you," she said, following him into the trees.
Hiccup watched them go, before looking at Toothless. The dragon was giving him a knowing look. "Don't look at me like that," he said, shoving the dragon away playfully. "There's no reason why we should go back right away. And besides, I kind of like those two. And don't try to pretend you wouldn't care if something happened to them."
The dragon snorted, following him down the riverbanks.
"It'll be fun," Hiccup said. "And maybe… maybe something will come of it."
And then there were three!
Thanks so much for reading so far!
See you next time!
