Hello, my dear readers :) this took a while. I was lacking ideas but I found them in the end. This chapter will be the most intense until the coming ones. I hope you'll still enjoy and like it.
Large gray clouds covered the sky. Menacing they towered above the small island of dragon hunters. Threatening with approaching thunder. Rumbling and as if two mountains crashed into one another. Bright lightning flashed across the horizon. Brightening the big dark mass for a few seconds. Rain started falling. The wind got stronger and the waves wilder. A tall figure of a man, made his way through until he reached a house. Opening the door, he walked straight in. Not even asking, not saying a word. ,,And"? Came the question of another man sitting across the room on the fireplace ,,Were you successful"? ,,Indeed"! The younger man responded, putting his coat over a chair. ,,How many"? The older one stood up and walked to the table. ,,Ten. Ten Night furies" the younger one went on. ,,Good"! the other nodded, satisfied. Suddenly, a rustle behind them made their heads turn. A strand of white hair just disappeared behind the huge armchair at the fireplace. ,,Not again"! The younger man hissed. ,,Evan"!
Ivar the fierce was his father and Grimmels son. Which made Evan his grandson. A shy littly thing. Small and weak. His hair white as snow because of a genetic disorder. Icy blue eyes. A disgrace. As Ivar thought. He might look like his grandfather but would he become a dragon hunter just as great? His mother was no better. She was raising him into a wimpy nobody. However, Ivar as much as Grimmel, planned on starting to train Evan as soon as he was old enough to become a dragon hunter. For now, they hid their characters behind a mask.
Holding his hand up, Grimmel signalized his son to stay put. Turning, he went over to the armchair. ,,Come out"! He called. Strict but a bit softer than his son. Grimmel waited a moment until his grandson came out from his hiding place. Looking at his feet at first and then up, shyly. ,,What did your father tell you about sneaking out at night"? The child blinked and pressed his lips together. ,,He said, I should stay in bed". ,,And why are you here then"? The tall man rose an eyebrow. ,,I ..I wanted to see Daddy. I barely see Daddy". ,,Your father has important work to do. He's helping me to get important things done". ,,Oh"! the young boy made ,,What important things grandpa"? ,,Catching Dragons"! ,,Wow"! the child widened his eyes. Imagining great things in his childish mind. How little he knew about the cold and cruel truth". Suddenly, quick steps were heard and a woman with long voluminous black hair and bight blue eyes came down the stairs. Her face changed as she spotted her father in law. Thyra the brave was her name. Soft and caring to those whom she loved but also eloquent, confident and fierce when she had to be. If there was a person she couldn't stand, it was Grimmel. Thyra wasn't a dragon huntress. She respected dragons and rather had them free. She was against killing but her opinion hit deaf ears. Nobody cared. Quickly, she rushed to her son to take him into her arms. ,,Honey, I told you to stay in bed and sleep"! She told him in her sweet motherly tone. ,,But I wanted to see Daddy" Evan explained ,,I barely see Daddy"! ,,I know sweetheart but Daddy is very busy. You can see him tomorrow" Thyra gave Grimmel and her husband evil eyes. ,,Let's get you back to bed, ok"? Evan rubbed his eyes, yawning ,,Ok momma"! Carrying her son back upstairs, she put him back into his bed, gave him a goodnight kiss on the forehead and made her way back down. She'd tried to keep her son away from Grimmel but he always found a way.
,,Thyra"! Grimmel turned to her, giving her a desultory smile. ,,Spare your hypocrisy Grimmel"! she stopped in front of him. Anger in her eyes. ,,How dare you talk to my son about your dirty doings. He's a child". Unimpressed Grimmel rose his eyebrows ,,He won't be for much longer. He'll become a dragon hunter and there's nothing you can do"! Ivar walked up to his wife ,,You know your opinion is insignificant. You're job is to raise our son and cook. Evan will be trained"! Thyra swallowed. This wasn't the man she'd fallen in love with. He'd changed. Or had she been wrong about him from the start. Sometimes Thyra even wondered if it had all been deception. Now Ivar was as cold as his own father. Killing dragons. She wanted to protect her son from that but how could she? Grimmel went on talking with his son, while Thyra turned and went back up. Her stomach tightened in fear and sorrow. How much longer could she keep her son from the cruelness of his father and his grandfather?
One day in the following summer, Grimmel didn't return. Her Husband just explained that he got killed. Killed by a chief called Hiccup Haddock. Thyra didn't know Hiccup personally since wives of dragon hunters didn't really go anywhere. They weren't allowed to. But she'd heard about him. He was the son of Stoik the vast. Was he really capable of killing? Grimmels death, was a shock to her, even though she didn't like him. From that day on, Ivar got mad in seeking revenge. All Evan got to know about his grandfather's death, was that he got killed by a cold-blooded chief. Named Hiccup. Soon after that, Ivar pushed his son into dragon training. Not the kind of dragon taming that was know on Berk. It was killing dragons. Thyra tried her best to try and talk Ivar out of it but she had no chance. No matter how many times she got yelled at or even slapped, Evan would watch from the top of the stairs or listen in his room, when his parents got into a fight and yelled at each other. Evan knew, his mother wanted to protect him. She was the only person he really had. He soon understood, that his father wasn't the man he thought he was.
It was fall by now. Everything had changed. His father had changed. He'd suddenly become colder and more merciless and Evan had to start dragon hunting. He couldn't do it. He couldn't kill a dragon. He was just a child. He didn't understand. Whenever he couldn't, his father would slap and scream at him. Evan remembered. The first two times went not so bad. His father told him he would make it next time but soon he learned that his father was serious about him killing a dragon. Shaking, Evan stood before a young monstrous nightmare. ,,What are you waiting for? Kill it"! His father yelled. Evan couldn't move. Once again. ,,I..I can't...I can't do it.." he whimpered. Suddenly a arrow shot past Evan, hitting the young dragon. With a squeal, he dropped down. Coldly, Evans father passed him and ended the dragons misery with a knife. Widening his eyes, Evan watched as his father turned to him . Fear took hold of his body. ,,You pathetic wimp. Get a hold of yourself. Get stronger"! With a slap, Evan stumbled backward and fell into the sand. Biting his lip. The burning pain on his cheek made him feel numb almost. His ears were ringing. Tears fell down. How could he get out of this? He needed to get stronger, he needed to impress his father. Maybe then he would be ok. ,,I am sorry father" he whispered. ,,Get up"! His father came closer and helped him stand. ,,You want to be a dragon hunter don't you"? Evan looked to the side. If he'd say no, he knew his father would become mad again. He was afraid. ,,Yes..." he didn't look at his father. ,,Good. Then you'll be able to kill a dragon tomorrow".
As the years passed, Evan became not only stronger, he became colder. However, he never managed to kill a dragon. It mostly ended in him nearly getting killed. His father wasn't pleased. Of course, he wasn't. Every failure would end in him getting yelled at or slapped. Evan was now eight years old.
It was a cold morning and the sky was still gray from another thunderstorm. The air was wet and the ground muddy. Silently Evan sneaked out of the house. He wanted to go and see one of the dragons. It was a white one. A young Light fury male. Not much older than Evan himself. Though he got told that dragons were vicious and ruthless beings that needed to be killed, he couldn't see that in this little creature. This little terrified being. Evan knew it was a dangerous thing to sneak to the dragons in the cages. If his father would find him, he would not only kill the dragon he would make sure Evan got punished.
Looking right and left, Evan hurried to the cage. The little Light fury, who had been curled up in a sleeping pose, now jumped to his feet, snarling. ,,No, no...it's ok..I'm not going to harm you"! Evan whispered as he approached the cage. Looking at the dragon, he could see how much fear there was. He wanted to set him free but his father would find out. After a while, Evan suddenly heard voices and hid behind a pile of wooden boxes. There was another huge cage a bit further away from him. In the cage was a huge dragon. Evan leaned a bit forward to see better. He could see his father approaching the dragon. What happened next wasn't what Evan had wanted to see. Ruthlessly his father pulled out a crossbow and shot the dragon. Within seconds the huge animal collapsed to the ground. Widening his eyes in shock, Evan stood frozen. He wanted to run but his body wouldn't move. Horrified he watched, how his father killed one after another of the caged dragons. A trickle of blood made its way into Evans direction. He felt sick and wanted to throw up. Quickly he turned his head back to the cage. The young Light fury looked at him with his blue eyes. He couldn't let that one die. Pulling out his knife, Evan broke off the lock. ,,Get out! Hurry, hurry and flee before they find you"! He hissed at the young dragon quietly. Getting out of the cage, the white dragon gave Evan a last glance and then flew off. Finally, Evan too, managed to move and run. Though the blame of the missing dragon fell on his father's dragon hunters, he wasn't save from the dragon training.
One night, Evan woke from loud yelling again. His parents were fighting again. Covering his ears, Evan tried not to hear but it was impossible. Evan stayed until the yelling got unbearable. Getting out of bed, he opened the door to walk down stairs. Maybe he could stop them fighting. ,,How are you even ok with that? He's a child"! Thyra cried ,,A innocent child that is supposed to enjoy his childhood. You're taking that away from him"! ,,He's growing up the way he's supposed to. He won't become a dragon hunter the way you would raise him"! Ivar replied. ,,He's my son too. I won't let you treat him like this any longer"! Thyra build herself up in front of Ivar ,,How could I've been so wrong with you? You're a cold blooded monster. I should have never married you"! A loud slap and Thyra fell to the ground.
,,Momma"! Evan cried. Ivars head turned. ,,What are you doing here"? Evan ran up to his mother ,,Mom...are you ok"? Shaking slightly, Thyra got on her knees ,,I'm sorry you had to see this"! She wiped a thin trace of blood from her lips and got up. Pushing Evan behind her softly. ,,I warn you Thyra" Ivar turned to her ,,Don't get in my way". ,,You won't harm my son"! With that, she pulled her fist back and slammed it against Ivar who tumbled backward. Shocked Evan watched. A moment of silence. Ivar wiped his bleeding nose. ,,That was a mistake"! He hissed. Thyra knew what was about to happen. ,,Evan..go. Go into your room. Quick"! She demanded. ,,No..no I won't leave you"! Evan cried. ,,Go.. I'll be ok"! Thyra looked at him with a weak smile. Getting up the stairs, Evan turned at the middle. What he saw next, shattered everything in him. His father was close to his mother. For a few moments nothing happened, then Ivar pulled out the knife he had rammed into Thyras stomach. Tumbling backward, Thyra dropped against the wall and slit down. ,,NO"! Evan cried and ran right back to his mother. ,,What have you done"! He yelled at his father. ,,This is what happens if you mess with me"! Ivars eyes were cold and emotionless. ,,This is how the world works son. The weak will fail. The strong, survive. Your Grandfather was a great man but he got killed. If you don't want to end up like your mother, get yourself together". Crying Evan held on to dying Thyra. ,,Evan.." her eyes searched his. ,,Momma..." Evan grabbed her hand. ,,I love you...never forget that...". ,,Mom...no...you're not dying, you're gonna be ok. Please don't leave me...". Ivar passed both and left outside. ,,Shh..." Thyra lifted her hand to her sons face ,,you need to be strong now. Promise me to never become like your father". ,,Never"! Evan cried. ,,That's my boy". Thyras hand dropped from Evans cheek and her eyes started to close. ,,Mom"? Evan shook his mother slightly ,,Mom"! But she didn't wake up anymore. She was dead.
A loud clap of thunder echoed through the night. Followed by a scream. Evan quickly rose from his lying position in his bed. Sweating and breathing heavily. Looking around, he found he was still in his room. In his bed. Ghost, who was sleeping next to his bed, lifted his head to look at him. The dream again? Ghost tilted his head purring, as Evan covered his face to cry. Through the years, Evan had come to a point where he thought he couldn't cry anymore. However, whenever he would think of his mother, he would cry. If Hiccup hadn't killed his grandfather, his father would have never become this cruel right? Maybe his mother would still live. Purring once more, Ghost put his head on the bed, where Evans legs were stretched out. After a while, his owner stopped crying. Exhausted, Evan fell back asleep eventually. No less suffering from nightmares.
The morning came quickly and the sky showed no signs of the past thunderstorm, that occurred in the night. Evan woke early. He was used to horribly nights but this one had strained him. For a moment he almost forgot about his hostage. Sighing, he went to get breakfast. Best he would give her the food as long as she was still asleep. Getting to the little hut, he opened the door. Indeed, Zephyr was still sleeping. Not on the bench though. Her dragon slept in front of the bench and Zephyr was down, close to him. Wrapped under her dragons left wing. Evan blinked at the scene. He'd never seen anyone being that close to a dragon. He and Ghost didn't sleep like that. For a few moments he watched them sleep, then he placed the bread and the water on a small table, got out and closed the door. He was tired today. Very tired. He had slept for just a few hours and he had no nerves to deal with anything stressful soon. Going back to his hut, he decided to take Ghost and fly a round to clear off his head. He needed to stay focused. He couldn't have himself being distracted by memories.
Zephyr woke under Fearless wing. Smiling, she caressed her dragons nose. ,,Good morning buddy". Fearless woke as well with a sleepy purr. It had been five days, since Zephyr got captured. The weather got warmer and with the warm air that crashed against the cold, thunderstorms occurred more often. Her plan on getting information about Evan, still stood. Zephyr was as stubborn as her father. Hiccup himself had his stubbornness from his father, Stoik. Valka was headstrong as well but that was another story. Zephyrs younger brother, Nuffink, wasn't like her at all. He was calm and reserved. Shy sometimes even. Besides all that, Nuffink was also protective and impulsive, when you really aimed to bring him out of his shell.
Her eyes spotted the little table on which she would always get her meals. Evan must have brought it, as she was still sleeping. Getting up, she walked to the table to get the food and eat. Next to the table was bucket with fish for Fearless. While Zephyr bit in the bread, she gave it a glance outside. It was nice and sunny.
,,Maybe I can convince weasel-head to let us outside for today" Zephyr murmured. Fearless opened his mouth into a big yawn, then he stretched himself, shook his head and got up. ,,I'll wait until noon. Somebody will come over to bring our next meal. Either way, I will ask him". Fearless looked at her and gave her a deep purr. ,,I know" she traced her hand over his head ,,It will be nice. Getting some fresh air and sun. It's been six days, since we're away from home. I miss being outside. I miss being home.." Zephyr lowered her head ,,I miss them all..". Fearless dropped his ears, looking just as sad. ,,Mrooo". ,,You miss them too. I know bud"! Zephyr sighed. ,,No, we can't be in the doldrums. We need to stay positive. It's our family we're talking about. We will get out of here. Sooner or later" Zephyr frowned and then smiled.
Noon came and Ghost was the first one to walk ahead. Zephyrs lips formed a smile as she spotted the male Light fury. ,,There's the Light fury"! She called to Fearless. Fearless wasn't as enthusiastic. He lowered his ears, dropped his eyelids and frowned deeply. ,,Aww come on Fearless" Zephyr chuckled ,,Are you jealous now? I told you we need to stay nice. We need information remember"? Fearless gave it an unimpressed snort. Zephyr crossed her arms and rose and eyebrow. ,,I don't like them either but if we can get closer to them, we'll find out something for sure. You're not letting me down are you bud"? Fearless straightened himself again and widened his eyes. Of course not. He thought and gave her a roar. ,,I know you wouldn't" Zephyr grinned and turned back to the door. ,,There he is"! Zephyr watched closely. Evan was talking to one of his guards and then turned. ,,He's coming to us"! Zephyr warned and Fearless got in position. As expected, the door opened. This time, Evan got greeted by Zephyr who was standing close to the door. A bit surprised by her, he flinched but quickly recovered. ,,Here"! He put the bowl in her hands, ready to turn. Zephyr could tell he was acting weird. It seemed he wanted to get away as soon as possible. ,,Hey, wait" Zephyr responded quickly. ,,I wanted to ask you something". Evan closed his eyes. He didn't want to go into a conversation with her. ,,I'm busy"! He replied, hoping she would get it. ,,I wanted to ask you if you..uhm..well...if you could maybe..." Zephyr stared and Evan rolled his up a bit. And she did start a conversation. ,,If I could what"? Evan hissed slightly. ,,The weather is so nice and it's warm. I've been in this hut for five days. Maybe you could let me out for a while"? Zephyr blinked, grinning widely. Evan let out an ironic laugh. ,,Are you kidding me"? He turned to face her. ,,I capture you and lock you away and you ask me if I could let you out? Just like that"? Zephyr nodded. ,,Uhm hm"! Evan frowned ,,No"! He muttered sternly and turned again to leave. ,,Er, wait, wait, wait"! Zephyr hasted. ,,You don't understand. You can take the chains and attach them outside of the hut. There's a stone wall outside as well right? It doesn't matter if we're chained up in here or outside of the hut. We can't get away. I just want some fresh air. Besides. There are guards all around". Zephyr tilted her head ,,And your Light fury". The white dragon pricked his ears up and looked back at her. Evan let out a sigh. Technically she was right. He was still tired and exhausted. He wasn't in the mood to fight or even argue today. ,,Fine"! he murmured. ,,Oh come on I won't...wait..what"? Zephyr stopped and blinked surprised. ,,Fine? You're letting us out"? Evan didn't look at her, he just went over to Fearless, detached his chain and lead him outside to attach the end of the chain to the iron loop at the stonewall outside. Seconds later, he did the same with Zephyrs ankle chain. Closing the door behind them, he attached Zephyr to the loop right next to Fearless. ,,Ghost"! He called and his Light fury came to him. ,,Ghost...that's his name"? Zephyr repeated. ,,Yes" Evan replied monotone. ,,Why did you call him that"? Zephyr asked curiously but Evan didn't answer her. ,,Watch them"! He demanded his dragon. ,,That they don't do anything stupid". Ghost snorted obediently. ,,Uh...". Zephyr watched Evan. Something was definitely off with him today. On a closer examination, Zephyr could see dark shadows under his eyes. He looked exhausted. Why didn't she saw this earlier? He looked terrible. ,,Evan" Zephyr called. ,,You uhm...you look tired. Are you ok"?
Evan turned away from Ghost. ,,Why do you care? It's none of your business". Zephyr blew some air through her nose. ,,Oh excuse me, for trying to be nice"! ,,I don't need your pity"! Evan replied while walking away from her and the dragons. ,,Pity"? Zephyr opened her mouth ,,The only thing pitiful here is your awful mood"! Evan didn't say anything anymore, he just kept walking away. What did she know? What did she know about his mood? If she knew about his past, about his nightmares, would she still be so mouthy? ,,Argh this stupid..." Zephyr clenched her fists. Letting out an exasperated growl, she threw her hands in the air and turned. ,,Mroooo" Fearless nudged her. ,,Yeah, at least we made it outside. Pity we can't fly". ,,Mrmpf"! Fearless agreed.
For a long while, Zephyr and Fearless just sat down, relaxing and enjoying the sun. Ghost hat sat himself down as well. It was quite boring, guarding them. But Ghost did what his owner told him. Zephyr looked up, maybe she could try and get closer to the Light fury. She wondered if he would be nice to her. Getting up, she gave him a look. ,,Hey..psst. Ghost"! She whispered. One of his ears flicked for a second but he didn't move. His head rested on his paws. His eyes watched something far off. ,,Ghost.." Zephyr repeated and walked a bit closer towards him. Fearless tilted his head in confusion. What was she doing? He purred at her but she kept going. Finally, Ghost lifted his head. Annoyed. ,,Good boy. Such a nice dragon you are. You're beautiful" Zephyr started to use her charms. ,,I've never seen a male Light fury. We've got a female at home. She's Fearless mother". Ghost tilted his head and got up, snarling at her slightly. Zephyr flinched back a bit but didn't turn away. She was surprised how much more brave she became. How fearless she became. ,,It's ok. You don't need to be like that" Zephyr remembered what her father had told her. She looked deep into Ghosts eyes. ,,I am a nice person" she held out her hand. Surprised, Ghost stopped snarling and watched her. Something was different about this girl. Zephyr turned her head away and closed her eyes. Let him come to you. It rang in her head, so she waited. Ghost watched her hand. Something got his curiosity. Hesitatingly he sniffed at her hand but then he carefully and softly nudged his nose into her palm. A bright smile spread on Zephyrs face and she turned her head. ,,See? I'm not that bad". Ghosts pupils got bigger and he let her pet his face. Why did he even let her? It felt good though. Ghost knew that she was Evans hostage and he shouldn't befriend her but she was being so nice to him. Suddenly he felt her fondle him. An unknown sensation. A pleasant and warm tingle shot through him and a deep purr escaped his throat. ,,Yeah you like that don't you"? Zephyr chuckled as the white dragon dropped down. As a Berkian and a Haddock, Zephyr knew every single trick there was about dragons. Especially fury dragons. From the wall, Fearless watched. He had his brows lowered into a frown again. Grumbling quietly. He felt kind of jealous now. Why did Zephyr do that? Yes, he understood he had to be nice and stuff and getting information but seeing his best friend fondle this jerk of a dragon made his stomach turn. Fearless let out a snort.
Coming out of his hut, Evan wanted to go and check upon Ghost and if everything was going well. As he spotted Zephyr caressing Ghost, his eyes went wide. How did she..? He thought. Usually, he was the only one Ghost listened to. And normally only he could touch him. ,,Ghost"! Evan called his Light fury sternly and he immediately flinched away from Zephyr. Slimming his pupils. ,,Oh..Evan. You're back"? Zephyr tried to stay nice. Inwardly she was getting highly annoyed again. ,,How dare you touching my dragon"! He hissed at her. ,,Why"? Zephyr opened her arms ,,Why not"? ,,You're not seducing him"! Evan glared at her. ,,I am not seducing him" Zephyr hissed back. Now she dropped her nice attitude. ,,I just gave him some cuddles. I was being nice. You should try that someday. Being nice"! ,,This is not a silly game"! Evan barked. Now his nerves ripped once again and he snapped. Screw his tiredness. This girl made him furious. ,,If you think you can sweet talk us and befriend us you're wrong about that. Your father will pay for what he caused me to go through"! ,,Well if you would talk to me, maybe I could understand you better"! Zephyr yelled back. Meanwhile, some of the guards had stopped to watch them.
,,I am not accountable to you"! Evan barked. ,,Well fine"! Zephyr replied ,,You're the biggest jerk I've ever come across. Whatever makes you hate my father so much, it can't be his fault. Some people are just mean and evil". ,,You don't know me"! Evan responded. ,,You're right. I don't" Zephyr answered coldly. Dropping her shoulders she looked at him. Seriously. ,,And you don't know me either. Not me, not my father, nor anyone of my family". Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Evan turned around and walked off. Anger boiling in him. Getting in his hut, he slammed the door, kicked against a pile of wood, threw a chair in the corner, wiped the paper off his table and slammed his fist against one of the wooden pillars. Letting out a loud cry of anger. Zephyr at the same time, got back to Fearless. Kicked against the wall and then slit down on it. Tears in her eyes. Why do I still try? She thought. Purring Fearless rested his head on Zephyrs lap. Right now, she just wished to be home. However, she couldn't stop wondering, what truly happened to Evan.
