Deranged Obsession

by KaliAnn

Part 3 of trilogy. An unforeseen danger arises for the riders and the people of Berk. A dangerous obsession pushes the bonds of friendship and loyalty between best friends Hiccup and Nissa. With a deranged stalker determined to make them both his the two are at his mercy. Can they stay alive long enough to escape their captors deadly desires for both of them? Or is this the end?

6. Deranged Courtship

It was the next morning on Dagur's Atoll. The sounds of fighting could be heard in the training area. Most of the village had turned out to watch this particular session. In the week since Dagur brought his prisoners to the island the Berserker tribe was slowly adjusting to their presence on the island. It was an ongoing transition as they still fully expected the prisoners to attempt to escape from the compound which was why no one had let their guard down. Still the tribe was slowly warming up to the newcomers. The children enjoyed listening to Nissa's stories about her life on Xanadu. Hiccup between lessons would sketch some of them even giving them to the kids. While still not friends with the adults they could hold a conversation between them without difficulty.

The most astonishing change, as witnessed by most of the village now, was that in their deranged chief. Dagur was still crazy and loved throwing knifes at people. His duties as a chief kept him quiet busy. The only difference was that he was actually acting nicer to his men. He wasn't threatening to crack open their skulls or bleed them dry all the time. Even stranger is he actually apologized to some of the women in the tribe for his past transgressions against them. No one knew if they liked this change in him or not.

At the moment Dagur was having a friendly spar with his new friends. Yet he was getting his butt handed to him because it wasn't a weapon's spar. No, the great and powerful Dagur, had actually asked Nissa to teach him tai chi! Hiccup had learned some of the basics and was enjoying the chance to learn more. At the moment Nissa was winning the fight between the boys. Hiccup came at her with a combination called high pat on horse. First he turned his left palm to the side as he bent his knees a bit. Pulling backwards he stood on his one good leg pushing forward with his right palm ready to strike her down.

Nissa countered by touching his right wrist lifting it up and then pushed him to the side. As he stumbled she went after him pushing down with her leg hooking his prosthetic and tripping him. Hiccup sprawled all over the floor; his prosthetic locking up. There was no time for her to press her advantage. She had to duck and twist around as Dagur came after her with the combo he learned that morning. It was called single whip. His arms circled around building up power to throw a right hook followed by a push from his left palm. Nissa brought up her arms blocking his attack with her forearms. She forcefully turned forcing his arms down leaving him open for attack as she brushed his left arm with her wrist before striking him in the chest with a right punch. Keeping up the attack Nissa continued with a combo known as turning heel kick. Twirling around she brought up her heel striking Dagur in the head knocking off his helmet.

Hiccup had recovered and was coming at her. Nissa started to strike at him, but he used the grasp the birds tail by warding off her attack and then rolling backwards on his feet before pushing forward with both palms. Nissa was shoved a few feet back trying to regain breath control. She grinned proud that Hiccup had gotten the upper hand for once, but he wasn't about to win this fight. Taking note of Dagur's oncoming approach she decided it was time to end this fight. Raising her arms slightly she twisted her right foot adjusting her stance as she grabbed Hiccup by his arm. Twisting her body to the left she flung the boy into the charging chief sending them both flying into the wall. They crumbled in a heap of limbs struggling to get free from one another. Nissa clapped her hands strolling over to them.

"Congratulations to the both of you! Your combos flowed very smoothly. Hiccup, you managed to actually push me back! That's the first time you've managed to hit me during a spar. Dagur, for someone who thinks my fighting style is weak you have a natural talent for it. Not even Hiccup picked up combos as fast as you did. With a bit more training I think you could master the first level," the girl praised them. Seeing the boys still tangled up she whistled for the guards to come over. They grabbed the boys by the shoulders and started pulling them apart. There was a screech and yelp followed by a ding, but finally they separated the boys from one another.

Hiccup looked down at his prosthetic noting the minor damage to it. The joints seemed to be locked in place not allowing him to bend it at all. He would have to make some repairs if he wanted to walk normally again. This would actually give him the excuse he needed to get into the forge for their plan to get a message out for help. "Thanks for the praise Nissa, but we knew you'd kick our butts. Nice job on locking up my prosthetic. I can barely stand let alone walk."

Dagur let out a laugh at the comical sight before him. Hiccup looked so silly trying to stand up on his own. "I can't believe it, you got bested by a your own leg! Ha ha ha that is so funny! You look like a training dummy standing straight up like that. You can't walk at all can you? Hmm, let's see maybe I should just knock you over like one!"

Hiccup let out a snort and hobbled over on one foot dragging his leg with him. His balance was off so he wobbled a bit. He stumbled falling only for Dagur to catch him and help him stand back up. "Thanks Dagur, that was generous of you. I need to fix the joints in the prosthetic. Think you could give me permission to work in the forge for a bit? I need to make replacement parts."

"Can't my smith just pound the joints out? Better yet can't Nissa fix it?"

"It's a delicate device that requires precision and eye for detail to function properly. Besides, it's not Nissa's area of expertise. Come on, if your that worried that I'll pull something you have Bulk and Hulk to keep an eye on me remember? Do they know anything about forging stuff?"

"Please, their more likely to end up burning their own eyes out then making anything useful. Tell my smith you have my permission to use the forge. If you need any help ask him for it. I have to deal with some issues around the compound so I'll see you later. Nissa, would you like to accompany me on my duties? As my future wife you'll be responsible for helping me in my duties around the village. I'm sure that as a princess you have plenty of experience dealing with difficult people."

"No one can be more difficult than you Dagur. I'm joking! Come on this could be fun," Nissa said. She gave a wink to Dagur and sent a mental message to Hiccup. He nodded patting his pant's pocket assuring her he had the material for their plan. The two friends went their separate ways.

Dagur was very excited almost skipping about as they strolled through the compound. He got a silent thrill from holding Nissa's hand feeling her warmth. The best part was she wasn't struggling to get away from him like last time. He hoped that this time he wouldn't screw up. "Hurry up, stop dragging your feet we have a lot of work to do. I have to negotiate a dispute between neighbors, assign two boys apprenticeships, not to mention check on the progress of special surprise. I'm sure that you'll love it dearly princess." He gave her a crooked smile and a deranged laugh. Ignoring the calls of his bodyguards he took off running half dragging her with him nearly causing them to trip over some cats and dogs running loose.

The sounds of loud arguing could be heard as they neared the residences where the neighbors were arguing. Clangs of metal and thuds of wood echoed in their ears. Turning a corner the two could see specks of blood scattered across the scruffy grass. Two muscle men, one with a scared eye and the other with a half torn ear, were trying to stab the other one with their swords. Their wives, both on the plump side with matching braids, (though one was blond standing next to the scared eye and the brown haired one was with the other), were punching and biting one another. Dagur was laughing at the sight clearly entertained. He was reaching to grab his knife to get the two families attention when a loud piercing whistle stopped the arguing.

Nissa had her hands on her hips taking an authoritative stance. Her eyes narrowed and her lips thinned as she surveyed the damage to the two houses. The fence between the stone buildings was shredded to pieces, shutters torn off and she could see the start of a hole in one of the roofs. Clearly these two neighbors had feuded for awhile. "Alright that's enough bickering. I think its time to work out your differences with the chief. Since I'm helping him out today I'd like to know your names please."

"Why should we listen to an outsider like..." scar eye started to say only to have a knife nick him in the arm. Dagur calmly was flipping another one whistling a tune. Frightened the man backed down and started over. "My name is Jack Frozenburg and this is my wife Holly. They are Nickolas and Katrina Northernpole."

"Pleasure to meet the four of you."

"I'll take it from here princess, let you see how a man handles this." Dagur swaggered over shoving the two neighbors apart drawing a line in the ground telling them neither could cross to the other side. Wrenching their weapons out of their hands he tossed them half haphazardly into the doors. Letting loose some spit, he crossed his arms speaking once more. "Alright I've been getting complaints for over two weeks about the feud between you two and my head is about to split in half. So what exactly is the problem here?"

"The problem is that Northernpoles think they can do whatever they want whenever it pleases them! My wife and I have been kept up many a nights with the sounds of their music being played! Nickolas thinks he's so good at playing his little langeleik, (a type of zither with one string plucked or pulled to create sound), but he's the worst! He can't carry a tune at all and Holly nearly went deaf listening to Katrina singing off key all the time!"

"How dare you insult my music! You're the ones who have to carve everything all the time! I can hear you sawing, chipping wood all day long. The smell alone from your creations drying in the sun is enough to make me puke! Your wife's cooking stinks almost as bad!"

"How dare you insult my cooking skills you son of yak!"

"At least my husband isn't a clumsy oaf like yours!" The two neighbors were about to start attacking one another only for Dagur to grab them all by their heads cracking them together. Shoving the men to the ground he pressed his feet against their throats while his bodyguards restrained the struggling women. Nissa leaned against the broken fence watching curiously to see how he would handle this.

"While this is all very entertaining I have more pressing matters to deal with then listening to your complaints so here's my solution. Jack Frostenburg, you are going to take some music lessons with our resident music master so your playing doesn't hurt anyone's ears. Your wife can take a voice lesson or two from Nissa here to see if she can improve. If she can't then she'll never sing again. Northernpole I want you to start carving your wood in the business distract with everyone else so the sounds and smells don't bother your neighbors. The wife can take a cooking lesson from some of the other women. Hopefully that will help out. I don't want to hear anymore fighting or some of you won't have your hands anymore. Clear?" Dagur demanded. The neighbors nodded so he released them. Smacking his hands together at a job well done he took Nissa's hand escorting her to the next priority on the list.

"Did I impress you with my skills as a leader? My father would have demanded they talk it out or work together to solve their problems. Ha, all that would have done is create more headaches for me. My solution is so much simpler and the threat of amputation always gets results fast."

"True and your solution is a good one though I think you could have done without the threats. Your starting to impress me Dagur with your leadership skills. Perhaps there's hope for you yet." With that kind of encouragement Dagur nearly fainted in delight. He was finally getting on her good side! He was determined to earn her affections by the end of the day. Because of that desire he actually listened to the families of the boys he was supposed to apprentice. Originally he was just going to have both become boat builders yet after listening to them he decided against that. One boy would start work in the forge and the other help out at the farm with the animals. Hearing Nissa praise him made him blush and feel tinkly inside.

Dagur was so excited he didn't think anything could go wrong that day. He decided to share his surprise with Hiccup because it affected him as well. Hiccup was almost finished with his work in the forge. There was a lot of hissing and steam with the sounds of fire crackling. Hiccup was busy chipping at something with his tools. He glanced up at them giving them a quizzical glance. "I wasn't expecting the two of you. I'm almost finished. I just need to complete the shape and set it aside to harden."

"Hmm what are you making exactly Hiccup? I don't think I recognize what you're doing."

"Well, I finished with fixing my leg, so I thought I work on a surprise project. It's just something I picked up on a visit to Xanadu. I'm making some colored glass objects. I was going to make it a surprise, but you caught me. Hmm you'll just have to wait a little longer to see exactly what I've made for us. I'll just let these cool for now over here where no one can break them. So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise for the both of you. Here I'm going to blindfold you two. Oh this is going to be so much fun! I guarantee you'll both thank me for this." There was much anticipation for what the surprise was. As they got closer the sounds of pain mixed with fear filled the air. Unable to wait any longer they ripped their blindfolds out and gasped in horror.

Dagur had brought them to the Berserker's modified Kill Ring which he was turning into his own academy. He had cleaned up the blood stains and hidden the weapons, but there were still chains all over the floor and no food, water, or shade provided for trainers and dragons. The cages were almost to small for the captured dragons who were chained and muzzled. Several Berserker guards were poking the dragons causing them more harm.

"Get me out of here!"

"Stop hurting my wings!"

"Leave my babies alone you monsters! Oh this is worse than when you wandered off."

"Why are these humans so mean to us?"

"Do you like your surprise? I told you I get dragons for you to train. So when can you start? Heyyyyyyyyyy!" Dagur found himself pinned to the floor by Hiccup with his own knives. Nissa was calling out to the dragons trying to reassure them that it would be okay only to find out her calming abilities were blocked. She tugged furiously at the galena armband, but it refused to budge. Throwing her helmet at the guards she ripped the weapons out of their hands as Hiccup started checking the cages. He let out a cry of disbelief.

"Torch! Oh man what did they do to you? Shu its okay it okay! Ah calm down I'll get you and your family out of this. Hey you're the same Scauldrun as before! Oh man what happened to all of you? Nightmares, Gronkles, Zipplebacks. Is that a pack of Smothering Smokebreaths?" Hiccup asked in disbelief. He took in how many dragons were crammed into cages. All of them were sporting wounds across their bodies and looked half starved. His fury was growing along with the shimmer of his necklace. He was starting to shape shift.

He wasn't the only one whose special power was unlocking. Nissa stopped trying to remove the band as her eyes started to sparkle. The world around her changed, she was still seeing normally, but now she could see a colored energy field around the dragons and people. She instinctively could tell what the colors meant and understood how to change them. She drew closer to the dragons, while Hiccup in his changing state, schlepped Dagur towards the cages roughly depositing him in a heap in front of them.

"What is your problem you two? I thought you be happy to see the dragons considering how much you missed them! I told you I get dragons to train!"

"You didn't say you were going to torture them! Take a look Dagur half of these dragons have serious injuries that could compromise their survival. Some of them are just babies, babies! Have you even fed them or gave them water since you brought them here? You had your guards hurting them and chaining them up as if their monsters! How do you expect to earn their trust if you treat them like beasts!"

"That's what they are! It's no different then training a dog!"

Hiccup snarled wanting to use his claw like fingers to tear Dagur a new one only for Nissa to stop him. She turned the chief around speaking in a tightly controlled voice. "You can't understand them, but we can. They're frightened, confused, and in a great deal of pain. You said you knew our necklaces contained special power well I just unlocked mine. I can see the dragons auras."

"Auras? What are auras?"

"Auras are the energy field that surrounded all living creatures reflecting their physical and spiritual health. Healers can use these as guide to making someone feel better. For example," she pointed at the mother Typhoomarang and her babies. Torch and his siblings were hiding under his mother who was whispering assurances to them. She tried to blast them, but the muzzle made it impossible for her to do so. She roared at the approaching princess swishing her tail around. "I can see the mother's aura. Its brick red indicating she's angry with a tinge pink representing her love for her babies. Also mixed in there is mix of navy blue and dark storm cloud gray. Those colors indicate fear is growing inside her causing her body to get physically sick."

She dragged him to the Scauldrun cage. The poor dragon was practically dry and had patches of scales missing and its horn broken in half. She wished she had some water to give him or some food. "His aura is black over his horn and scales. It means that part of his body is dying and he might never forgive you for doing this."

She brought him to the cage with the Smokebreaths. She took some bread from the guard tossing at them watching them fight over the scrapes. "Their auras are flickering between green and brown indicating their hunger and mistrust. All around you the auras are badly mixed up. Dragons are intelligent beings who deserve your respect. You can't force them to fight for you Dagur, no matter how much pain you put them through. They would rather die then serve you."

Dagur started to feel the tiniest of fear as he felt the eyes of the dragons on him. Their roars, hisses, and pounding was shaking the cages. He could sense the anger rolling off them and granting Hiccup power. He was starting to resemble a mix of the dragon species barely holding onto his humanity. He didn't want to get into a fight with Hiccup in this state ending up like Mildew. Pushing himself off the ground he asked, "Okay I get it! You can't train them right now! How would you get them to trust me?"

Hiccup started to speak then stopped tried again and couldn't. On the one hand he wanted to free these dragons get them as far away from here as possible, but if he did that then Berk and Xanadu would be attacked. Then these dragons would be killed. He would have to try to delay training, but right now they needed help. He willed his shape shifting away as he calmed down. "First you could feed them and give them water. All dragons love fish and the occasional treat of chicken. The Scauldrun enjoys blue oleander and the Typhoomarang eats eels. All dragons occasionally like some berries mixed with vegetables when their sick. The hatchlings will need more than the adults and they drink yak milk in a pinch."

"It be best if the children tended to the dragons needs, their less likely to attack hatchling then an adult. You need to make the cells more comfortable. Bring in slabs of rock, tree branches and grass for them to make nest. Have the guards enter weaponless. Hiccup and I will tend to their injuries. We'll need soap, bandages, medicines. Its going to take awhile for them to acclimate here. Your going to have to start from scratch if you want their trust."

Dagur nodded ordering his men to bring him the supplies. He didn't know why it hurt so much having Hiccup and Nissa turn their back to him as they started talking with the dragons attending to their needs. He was jealous seeing how the same dragons were willing to give the two of them a chance, but wouldn't let him near them. He silently vowed one way or the other he'd make it up to all of them. He'd earn their trust again no matter what it took!

A day and half later the prisoners were still not talking to Dagur. They would acknowledge him if he talked to him and do whatever they were told, but beyond that they refused to interact with him. They spent much of their time at the Kill Ring tending to the needs of the dragons. Many of the children were frightened unwilling to get close enough to help care for the dragons. Yet a few brave souls were willingly to work with them overcoming their fear. No one had been attacked or harmed though it was still to soon for the dragons to trust anyone. Training them wouldn't happen for a while.

As the afternoon sun started to beat down on him he was getting increasingly frustrated as he watched the two best friends go about helping the dragons. His hands were tight around the caged dome as he twisted the metal. He stamped his foot like a petulant child. Finally it became too much for him as he flung himself into the ring from above. Drawing his knifes he flung them at the two, who had been feeding Torch and his siblings, pinning them to the wall. "I've had enough of this! I'm your chief and I demand that you two stop ignoring me!"

"Ignoring you? All we've done for the past day and half is making sure the dragons you hurt are healing properly. Excuse me if that takes precedence over having a conversation with you or doing a fun activity."

"Watch your lips Hiccup or you won't have them anymore. As your chief I believe that your duties to the dragons are finished for now. I want you back at my house right now. There's a list of things that need to be done around the village and I need your help. So I suggest you start moving right now or I'll just have to have a little fun." The glint in his eyes combined with him juggling his knives left no doubt in his mind what fun he had in mind.

The trio made their way back to Dagur's house in silence. Nissa and Hiccup were holding hands communicating mentally with one another causing Dagur's temper to rise even more. The people and animals of the village went out of their way to avoid the fuming chief as he kicked over barrels and bellowed at everyone asking them what was so funny. One little boy wasn't fast enough tripping over a rock. The deranged chief didn't notice until he toppled over landing flat on his face. The boy looked up frightened slowly inching away. "I'm...sor...sor...sorry great Dagur. I wasn't... watch...watch...watching where I was going!"

"That's obvious you little runt! I'm going to make sure you remember that lesson next time!" Dagur raised his knife intending to stab the boy in his leg only for someone to grab his wrist twisting it so hard he dropped his weapon. He felt a painful pinch to the ear causing him to kick his legs out in agony.

"That's enough out of you. Honestly what has gotten into you Dagur? Being deranged isn't the same as being cruel now is it?" Nissa hissed into his ear. Hiccup was helping the kid to his feet telling him it would be alright. After making sure the boy got to his mother he turned to Dagur with an incredulous look on his face.

"Torturing me during our encounters is one thing, but that kid is a member of your tribe. He's going to be one of your warriors so I think you need to apologize for nearly maiming him."

"Dagur the Deranged never apologizes! Ow ow ow! Alright I'll make it up to the kid I promise! Let me go!" Dagur rolled to the side getting free of Nissa's grip. He was seething as he shoved her backwards only for her to do the same to him. He was getting angry ready to yell at her and she just stood there hands on her hips her lips thin waiting for him to yell at her. Throwing his hands up in the air he grabbed her throwing the shocked girl over his shoulders carrying her back to his home with Hiccup running to keep up. Once inside he tossed her to the floor, kicked Hiccup in the back, locking the door behind him. He ripped a sword off the wall bringing it to rest near their necks. "What is the matter with the both of you? I've given you a lot of freedom. I agreed to your ridiculous terms and have treated you with more respect then you deserve! I've made every effort to make your transition here pleasant and still you defy me. Why?"

"Respect and trust are earned Dagur not bought," Hiccup said as he grabbed the blade in his hands redirecting it into a chair. He brushed off the dirt from his pants as he stood up. Nissa did more than that as she let out her own screams of frustration kicking at everything on the floor. She was tired of the constant fear and threats. Ignoring her best friend she picked up a pitcher throwing it into the fire causing a small explosion before she sat down in huff by the table. Dagur and Hiccup joined her as the glare off began. Neither side was willing to talk to the other as the silence filled the room.

Nissa broke the silence first raising her voice as she spoke. "Do you honestly think I'm happy here Dagur? Your using me as if I'm nothing more then a tool and don't deny it! What would you have done if I refused to share my magic or take care of the dragons? You just going to hit me, force more galena into my body? Did you even consider asking me if I wanted to help you out with your little village neighbor problems? Not that I mind helping out, still it would be nice to be asked."

"I shouldn't have to ask you to do anything! I'm your chief and betrothed! Ugh, I'm following your ridiculous courtship ritual in trying to win your affections remember? I've been more then accommodating to you considering you refuse to divulge all your secrets. How can I trust you if you won't tell me more about your people other then abstract thoughts? How can we grow closer if your constantly trying to change me from who I am. I'm a deranged Berserker with a taste for blood not some wimpy peace loving fool."

Nissa snorted rolling her eyes turning away in disgust. He really didn't get it did he? "I'm your prisoner, your prize, not a person in your eyes. I won't betray my people to someone who thinks kidnapping is the proper method of proclaiming your intentions. As for changing you, can I help it if I don't want to see people get hurt because your having a tantrum?"

"I don't have tantrums!" Dagur pounded the table splitting it in half making him appear even more child like. "Why is it I have to respect your culture, but you don't respect mine? A relationship works both ways doesn't it? If you want to have the galena off or me to not threaten people so much what about seeing things through my eyes? I have to be deranged, threatening, and cruel at times! I'm a Berserker! Have you even tried to do things my way? No, you resist me at every turn! You're a hypocrite!"

"You're a brat! You act so childish when you don't get your way."

"Well you act as if you're as old as Elder Inga. What's the matter never thought of having a little fun or is being a proper prick more important?"

The two of them were about to start brawling right then and there when Hiccup stepped between them holding them back. He shoved them both back into their seats rolling his eyes as frowned. Honestly it was like dealing with the Twins. "What's the matter with you two? You both are acting like children! I know your angry and frustrated, but that's no reason to let your tempers get the best of you. Can't we just get along?"

"Why don't you stay out of this Hiccup, your no better then her."

"What's that suppose to mean Dagur? I've done everything you asked and more."

"Then why won't you consider me your friend as well?" Dagur practically screamed as he hurled his helmet at the teen who dodged it. He took several deep breaths trying to calm down and when that didn't work started cracking his knuckles again and again. "I'm frustrated with you Hiccup. I try to be your friend. I asked your advice about Nissa, I taught you about fighting and we even sparred together. Wasn't my gesture of returning your notebook a sign of friendship?"

"It's not that simple Dagur considering our history together. It's hard being your friend considering how fast your moods change. I feel as if you're trying to force this friendship to happen instead of letting things naturally occur."

"How long am I expected to wait until you want to be my friend? I didn't ignore you for fifteen years like your friends on Berk did. I'm willing to try ick drawing sketches remember? I gave you complete reign over the dragons knowing you could turn them against me at any time. I trust you so I expect trust in return."

There was a silence on all three sides as they all mulled over each others words. It was extremely difficult for Hiccup and Nissa to openly trust Dagur considering he'd kidnapped them and force them into this situation. His efforts to be nice to them, even do the things they like was valiant. The two knew that they could try to accept his ways a bit more often or do what he wanted. Maybe they needed to start over so to wipe away their previous feelings of anonymity. It was decided that tomorrow they would have a "play date" of sorts in an attempt to begin anew.

The next day the friends met for their play date. It had been decided that they would each plan an activity to do with each other. Since Dagur was chief he got to go first. He decided that their activity would be one of his favorite; practicing his knife throwing at targets. It was never a dull moment and occasionally he got the chance to nick his men by "accident." The trio had gone to the range to have a little friendly competition.

Dagur inspected the knives carefully testing their balance and weight. He frowned when saw tiny imperfections in the blades discarding those. He showed Nissa how to properly hold the knife using a hammer grip. He instructed her to place her thumb on the spine of the knife to control her aim. He also repeatedly told her that her wrist had to be absolutely stiff when throwing, otherwise she'd get uncontrollable rotations. The next step was to show them slowly how to throw the knives so that they would fly to strike their targets.

"Remember your stance throughout the throw is crucial if you want to hit the target. the stance: your right foot is the back one with your left foot in front, the gap between the two is about two feet. The heels are on a line. Make sure both knees are bent, especially the front one. The weight rests primarily on the ball of your back its important to remember to keep your arms straight and pointed at the target," Dagur told them as he demonstrated. Hiccup and Nissa copied his stance, (Hiccup in reverse since he was left handed) waiting for their next instruction. "The right arm now makes a round and smooth swing to the back while keeping the knife is even behind the head. Then it swings forward towards the target, like you wanted to chop off some branch between you and the target. While swinging forward your weight shifts the front foot, the chest. It's important that the right shoulder does not move; it remains in a (tilted) line with the left. As the knife arm is about in line with the left one and points exactly to the target, quickly let the knife go and snap your fingers back together. Do not stop the swing of the knife throw, go on with the movement."

As he finished speaking he let loose his knife. There was a sharp zing as it sailed through the air and distinctive thud as it lodged itself in the target. Dagur couldn't resist showing off as he grasped four knives at once giving them a wide spread through hitting the rest of the targets dead center. His men retrieved the knives handing them back to their owner. Dagur carefully inspected them once more bringing out his sharpening stone to fix the tiny imperfections. "It's your turn to try. I have the targets at the shortest distance. Don't be ashamed if you don't hit the target the first try. This is an art form after all."

"An art form you say? Well I guess if knives are your medium then its a painful art. Okay let's give this a shot," Hiccup said. He took his stance holding the knife correctly. He picked a target focusing on a specific point. Taking a deep breath he shifted his weight tossing the knife only to have it fall short of the target by at least two feet. He tried again once again falling short of his target. He flushed bright red as Dagur laughed at him.

Nissa wasn't much better though she did manage to hit the bottom of the target. Encouraged by her success she tried only this time her knife hit the legs of the target. She got frustrated that she wasn't getting this. Her superior senses should make this easy to pick up. She tried again hitting the outside rim of the target. Nissa stamped her foot in displeasure. "What am I doing wrong? It can't be that hard to throw a knife at a target. It's not even moving!"

"Ha ha ha you two crack me up. It's a lot harder than you thought, why do you think I practice on my men all the time? It's so my skills don't dull! Here let me help you." He walked over physically adjusting Hiccup's stance forcing his legs apart and adjusting his head so he lined up with the target. He gave him a lighter knife to make it easier. "When you pick spot remember to move it a little to the left of your aim so when you throw the knife rotates there. Try again."

Hiccup did what he said moving the target in his mind. He followed through with the motions keeping his wrist stiff. This time the knife hit the target though it stuck in the top. Subsequent throws inched him closer to the bulls eye though he never quite got there. Nissa, with a little help from Dagur managed to finally hit the center with her last throw. Dagur smiled and laughed pleasantly asking them if they had fun which they responded in the positive.

Hiccup planned their next activity which was sketching. He made sure they had plenty of charcoal pencils and even had some berry dye so they could add a bit of color to pictures if they wanted to. They were sitting under one of the tall fir trees in the compound watching the hustle and bustle of the village. Hiccup told them to pick something and sketch it to the best of their abilities. He was soon lost in the joy of simply doing something he loved so he wasn't aware of Dagur's displeasure until out of the corner of his eyes he saw the teen snapping his charcoal pens. "Hey, what the stop that! Do you know how hard it is to find the right charcoal piece that won't break when your sketching?"

"This is the stupidest and most boring activity imaginable. I can't understand why anyone would want to waste time drawing stuff when they could be doing something fun like hunting or climbing a tree."

"Your just upset because it's not something your good at," Nissa teased. She set her paper down and scooted over to see Dagur's sketch. Honestly it looked as if blind yak made it with his tail considering the image. "What were you attempting to sketch exactly?"

"I was trying to sketch that bird over on the roof, but he keeps moving! Maybe I should pin it down so it doesn't move so much." Hiccup took his knife from him and gave him a new piece of paper to draw on. Handing him a charcoal pen dipped in red berry juice he pointed at a nearby flower pushing itself through the ground. "You can't be serious. You expect Dagur the Deranged to draw a puny flower?"

"Most people start with something simple. A flower isn't that hard to do. Give it try Dagur." The chief grumbled under his breath, but did as he was asked attempting to draw the flower. He had some difficulty with the petals having to constantly erase what he did. At one point he was ready to tear the paper in half only for Nissa to take his hand gently guiding him so that his picture half way resembled his model. When they were done Dagur was grinning proudly at his little flower sketch. "Not bad Dagur it actually looks like a flower."

"Thanks Hiccup, yours is impressive. You sketched the Great Hall with perfect accuracy. Nissa yours is lovely too. I never thought someone could sketch my guards so accurately. So lunch and your activity?"

"Yep and I'm positive you guys will like it. I originally wanted to teach you guys to play chess, but that's not possible without a set of pieces so onto my next idea."

Nissa idea for a fun activity was for them to write poetry. Both the boys were unhappy as they were unable to get the words to flow right. Hiccup tried to come up with words that rhymed while Dagur outright refused to do any writing. It wasn't manly activity in his mind. Nissa frowned scooting over to his side. "You have to at least try Dagur. Its part of being a good friend."

"Writing is for girls. I feel silly trying to come up with a poem. I'm a warrior whose deeds are sung not some scholar."

"Writing things down helps them last longer then they would if you just kept them alive orally. Try it please. I know you could come up with something great." Dagur tossed his writing utensils to the ground refusing to try. He didn't understand why this was so important to her. "I just don't get what is so fun about writing stories or reading. For example your short poem is about the beauty of the Atoll. I just don't see it. You're point of view is so off it makes you seem to be a weak fool."

"Oh no you shouldn't have said that to her," Hiccup moaned. He knew that look in Nissa's eyes. It meant she was going to lecture Dagur through song. Closing his notebook he helped the teen to his feet ignoring his expression. "Trust me just follow her and go with the flow. By the end of this you'll understand."

Nissa started humming a tune loud enough to be picked up by some men and women who were taking a break by practicing their instruments. Hearing her tune they started to play filling the air with music. People stopped and stared as the young lady started to sing her song; its words echoing inside each of them.

"You think I'm just an ignorant savage.

And you've been so many places; I guess it must be so.

But still I cannot see, if the savage one is me.

How can there be so much that you don't know?

You don't know... "

Nissa led them trio up onto the catwalk of the fortress. She gazed out upon the island taking it in. Dagur and Hiccup joined her looking at the world around them as she started to sing once more.

"You think you own whatever land you land on

The earth is just a dead thing you can claim

But I know every rock and tree and creature

Has a life, has a spirit, has a name."

The next place they found themselves was at the Dragon Ring. She approached one of the cages, the one with Torch's family. His mother eyed the girl suspiciously and growled a threat at Dagur who had his hand on his sword. Nissa took the sword and gently tossed it away. Hiccup unlocked the cage and they went inside Dagur watching in awe as he was able to get close enough that Torch would let him pet him. As he was in awe Nissa continued to sing.

"You think the only people who are people

Are the people who look and think like you

But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger

You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon

Or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned

Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain

Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

The group found themselves outside the compound playing in the grass and rolling around in it. They moved towards Dagur's private nook and he was smiling and laughing. His whole mood had changed as he listened to the words of the song.

"Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest

Come taste the sun-sweet berries of the earth

Come roll in all the riches all around you

And for once never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers

The heron and the otter are my friends

And we are all connected to each other

In a circle in a hoop that never ends."

They were back in the compound next to the messenger birds. Hiccup let them loose seeing them fly to top a nearby tree. He gestured to all the village having Dagur take it all in. Nissa placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him some dirt watching is sift through Dagur's hands. He looked at the two with an understanding as the song finished.

"How high will a sycamore grow?

If you cut it down then you'll never know

And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon

For whether we are white or copper skinned

We need to sing with all the voices of the mountain

We need to paint with all the colors of the wind

You can own the earth and still

All you'll own is earth until

You can paint with all the colors of the wind."

"You know I think I'm finally starting to understand the two of you a bit more. Is this what it means to be friends?" Instead of answering the two just clasped their hands in his letting him know silently that the three of them were starting to form a real bond of friendship.

It was nearly dusk when the trio made their way to the docks. The last of the fishing vessels was coming in with their biggest haul yet. Dagur needed to speak to a few of the captains along with his patrol boats to learn if their waters had been breached by the Berkians. "Welcome back men, by the looks of things you managed to catch the whole ocean ha ha ha! The smell of freshly caught halibut makes me smile."

"It makes me want to gag ugh!" Nissa moaned wrinkling her nose. She took a step back from the dock putting some distance between her and the nets. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hiccup make a subtle hand sign and pat his pocket. She nodded knowing what he wanted. "If its alright with you Dagur can we go watch the sunset on the beach? Hiccup would love to see it with me right?"

Hiccup nodded his head. "You know sunset is good time to be looking for sea glass on the beach. I noticed that the rest of the tribe liked the glass bowls I made earlier this week. Maybe I can forge something else for trade."

Dagur thought it over for a few minutes before giving them permission to go. He decided also they could be trusted a bit more so he only assigned them two guards instead of the usual four. After that was concluded he turned back to his captains. "Have there been any signs of the Berkains entering our waters?"

"No and none of the other tribes have dared to try. We've seemed to scare them off with all our recent skirmishes. The men are a bit disappointed that they haven't had a chance to spill blood as of late. Having us capture the dragons instead of slaying them has made them very unhappy."

"They'll forget how unhappy they were once we're flying high in the skies. Think of how much terror we can inspire as we destroy entire tribes from the sky! I would love to be there on Outcast Island when someone finally ends Alvin's life. That man is a beast onto himself! Ha ha ha!"

"True Deranged One. I was wondering if you had reconsidered your previous orders not to allow Trader Johann here. True with our recent raids we don't need a lot of supplies, but it would be good for village moral. You know how excited everyone gets when Trader Johann arrives. Those new glass items Hiccup forged would fetch us many treasures."

"Precisely the reason we can't have Trader Johann on this island. Trader Johann is a neutral party to all the tribes thanks to his position, but he would still feel an obligation to inform Stoick where his son was along with the princess because of their friendship. I'd hate to have to behead him when he has his uses. If trading with him is so important then I'll let some of the tribe meet him out at sea," Dagur compromised. He wouldn't risk losing his prizes not after the time and effort he'd invested in them. If today was any indication it was that his guests were finally starting to come around with living here.

Further down the beach Nissa and Hiccup were searching the sands on the pretense for sea glass. Their guards were behind them nearly getting knocked over in the surging tide. As they fell over or got stuck in the wet sand the two friends knew this was their best chance to get a message out. Bending down in the sand near the water's edge Nissa whispered, "Did you bring it?"

"Yeah, I nearly had a heart attack when Dagur and you showed up at the forge. Its a good thing I made a few decoy pieces so he wouldn't notice this piece," Hiccup replied glancing left and right. He removed a small red bottle from his pocket. Etched on the side was the symbol for Daypeace and tucked inside was a note written in Nissa's native language. The note contain the barest of facts such as where they were, Dagur's plans for them, and the fact he had dragons. Pricking their fingers they let a few drops of their blood fall into the bottle before corking it. "I still think this plan of yours isn't going to work. I know we talked about a long shot way to get help, but this is way out there."

"Its our best chance considering everything. Hiccup, we know Trader Johann is nearby thanks to Dagur asking you about what he should invest in. What he's not aware of is Johann's two new traveling buddies; twin Terrible Terrors Hugunn and Murrun. They like finding shiny treasures and once they smell our blood they'll alert Johann so he'll take it back to Berk. Its a long shot for sure, but we don't have any other options. You ready?" Hiccup nodded and the two entered the surf splashing around. In the fading light of the sun Hiccup hurled the bottle quickly into the ocean. Thankfully the guards missed it having just got unstuck from the sand. They silently prayed the bottle would make it to Johann.

The message in the bottle floated through the ocean currents getting tossed about. A pod of traveling whales swam right passed the bottle. Their echolocation blasts struck the bottle nearly shattering it somehow though it remained intact. As the bottle floated freely in the ocean for awhile its course was altered once more as the evening winds raised the sea causing sever waves. The bottle was pushed down to the depths only to surge back upwards and be tossed about. Back and forth back and forth it went as it ended up in a cross current being tugged further out to sea. A seagull diving for a late night snack accidentally snagged it. When it found it couldn't eat the bottle it kicked it back into the ocean. Throughout the remainder of the night the bottle was tossed around or got caught in a current. As the first rays of the sun rose above the ocean the light passed through the glass causing it to shine. Minutes later two red and purple Terrors snatched the bottle from the ocean bringing it back to their friend.

"Thanks to you my little friends. You found me a beauty I can sell this, for hey why are you, stop scratching me like that! What has gotten into you? It's just ah ugh what's this? A message in a bottle? Hmm is that blood I wonder? We need to get this to Berk right away!" Johann exclaimed as he finally pieced together what he had picked up.

Something was off that morning on Dagur's Atoll. The air was thick with tension and unrest. Hiccup and Nissa could see it in the way that everyone was acting at the morning meal that something was up. Had Dagur discovered their message? Were they about to be locked up again or worse killed? Neither one of them could concentrate on their meal unable to enjoy it all.

Dagur was deep in thought as well musing over something in his mind. Yesterday had gone so well, he actually believed they were starting to form a bond between the three of them. Even though it had only been a week and half since their arrival he felt as if the two scions had been part of his tribe all along. Much of the tribe had learned to accept them, but there were still those who were holding out until something more official occurred. It was because of this pressure that Dagur decided to go forward with his plan ahead of schedule. Clinking his glass he got everyone's attention. Standing up tall and straight he addressed his whole tribe. "Berserkers I've an important announcement! As many of you are aware I've been unusually merciful with our guests accommodating them. Certainly the Berserker way would have been to torture them until we got what we wanted, but I've seen the results of being patient and compromising. Not that I do it all the time mind you!"

The villagers laughed slapping one another. Meanwhile Hiccup and Nissa stopped eating looking curiously at Dagur wondering where he was going with this. "As many of you know Hiccup and Nissa have yet to formally join our tribe which is what I'm going to change. First, I will officially set up a betrothal between myself and Princess Nissa so we may start planning our wedding. Second I will schedule an oath ceremony so that Hiccup may swear allegiance to our tribe. I hope that by doing this I will have set the elders failing minds into ease. Now go about your business. Elder Inga will you please remain behind? I need you as one of my official witnesses."

Nissa had gone very pale and looked like she was going to faint at any moment. Hiccup was holding her up whispering reassurance. Inside he was feeling his stomach knot up. If he swore his loyalty to the Berserkers he couldn't return home unless it was as a prisoner of war. He couldn't let that happen or have Nissa marry Dagur. Viking divorces were messy business indeed not to mention he was pretty sure the deranged chief wouldn't grant her one. "You know Dagur, I don't think you've thought this one all the way through. How are we supposed to follow betrothal customs? Nissa has no kin here to represent her interests or negotiate the betrothal contract. How can we possibly offer a mundr up front or a morgen-gifa for when this wedding actually takes place? It's not like we can go to Xanadu to secure a heiman fylgia to support her. This handbal wouldn't be official."

Dagur laughed a bit as he played with his knife. Next to him his men also chortled while Elder Inga simply looked bored by these proceedings. "Oh Hiccup you slay me. You consider yourself Nissa brother correct? Then you can represent her interests in these proceedings. I know this isn't the typical way we go about this, but these are unusual circumstances after all. Princess Nissa, you have no objections to these proceedings or Hiccup being your representative correct?"

Nissa could barely lift her head to look at the chief. She was lost in her own thoughts knowing she couldn't go through with this. She knew that nothing she said would make Dagur change his mind on this. After all he was obsessed with making her his. The best she could hope for right now was for Hiccup to represent her interests and hope they found a way off the Atoll before the actual wedding. "Its fine by me if Hiccup represents me. I have no problems with it."

"Excellent! Shall we begin. Now I understand that typically the mundr (bride price) is eight ounces of silver, but since you don't have any money I thought we could work out a trade. Your glassware was extraordinary. I was thinking that you could make some more of it for trading. I bet Johann hasn't seen anything like it before. Imagine the treasures we could get for it!" Dagur had little stars in his eyes as he thought about it. Glass was a rare commodity in the archipelago and if they had an exclusive line of it the money would just come pouring in. The Berserkers would be the deadliest and richest tribe in no time at all.

Hiccup agreed to make eight colored glasses for trade in exchange for getting the money for them. He promised to use his skills in the forge to craft new weapons for the tribe along with training a dragon for Dagur as the morgen-gifu (morning gift). Elder Inga promised that the she would personally see to it that the women of the tribe donate a portion to Nissa's heiman fylgia (dowry) to support her. The wedding would take place in a month and half once the weather became warmer. Hiccup's oath ceremony would take place in two weeks though so he could officially oversee the wedding preparations for his "sister". Once the rest of the terms had been worked out Dagur and Hiccup swore an oath with the witness signing the contract. It was official now, Nissa was Dagur's betrothed. As the two friends looked at each other they didn't need their bond to tell them they needed to escape and soon.