Another revised chapter. Enjoy!
NOTE: I DO NOT OWN HTTYD
Chapter Nine: The Secret Revealed
That night was filled with food, drink, fun and dancing. A band of musicians played lively music as the people danced and enjoyed the feast.
Alvin and Savage were laughing uproariously as Gobber told them jokes while Mildew was just grazing at the buffet, commenting on the cabbages while Fungus ate whatever greens he could find around the floor. The Dragon Riders were also having fun with their dragons. The Twins were having a drinking contest, a crowd composing of Bucket, Mulch, Eret's crew and some other men in the village cheering for their favorite Twin. Fishlegs was reading a few stories to El and some of the village children, Meatlug crooning happily as the kids played with her. Snotlout was cheering Ruffnut on as she downed cup after cup of ale and Hiccup was enjoying a quiet chat with Astrid while the two of them ate some fruit harvested that morning.
Eret, on the other hand, was looking for Zenna in the crowd. He pushed his way through the crowd, politely saying, "Excuse me. Pardon. One side, coming through, sorry!" while looking this way and that to hopefully catch a glimpse of a lady with one breathtakingly beautiful violet eye.
Finally Eret spotted her quietly chatting with her parents. El was playing with Stryka and Serpent and Serpentine when he spotted the former dragon trapper. "Uncka Eret!" the little boy squealed, running over to Eret and jumping into his arms. Eret smiled as the toddler giggled. "Hey there, little warrior," he chuckled, ruffling El's curly black hair. Zenna looked up from the conversation she was having with her Mom and Dad and saw Eret playing with her baby brother.
Then Eret, hesitating slightly, walked on over to her while holding El in his arms. "Hey…" he greeted her carefully. "Hey…" Zenna replied curtly as El smiled. "Zennwa, Eret wants to talk wid you," El cooed as Eret put him down. "Does he?" Zenna raised an eyebrow at Eret, smiling slightly. Henna and Edgar knew that this was the perfect opportunity to let their daughter and her ex-boyfriend finally have some alone time and quickly left with El to another part of the Great Hall.
Seeing that there was no way out of her parents' wishes for her to interact with other people again, Zenna decided to talk. "Well, then, what do you wanna talk about?" she asked, fiddling with her cloak. Eret wasn't really sure how to start a conversation and just looked at Zenna's new appearance. "The…um…well…the cloak kind of suits you…" he mumbled awkwardly. 'Odin above, I can't believe I'm having a hard time talking to Zenna. Zenna, of all people!' Eret inwardly cursed himself for his poor communication skills. Zenna wasn't quite expecting the former dragon trapper to compliment her on her way of hiding herself and blushed a bit. 'Gods, she's so cute when she blushes…' Eret found himself thinking as Zenna replied, "Thank you…" a bit stiffly.
Eret realized that this kind of conversation, dodging the issue and pretending to make small talk, was going nowhere and decided to be honest. "Look, Zenna, I…I don't know if we'll ever…If we'll ever have what we had back then…But…I want you to know that…I'll always be here for you no matter what. If…if you ever need someone…I'm here…And so are Hiccup and the others…We're here for you no matter what and…and I-I know we might not ever…have the same relationship we had back then but…I-I hope we can, you know, still be friends…if that's what you want us to just be…" he said at last, stuttering slightly as he got the words out, and looked at Zenna for any signs of a reaction.
Zenna looked slightly surprised. She honestly didn't expect anything like that. And her heart ached with sadness as she realized that, after all she had put him through, Eret still cared about her. Oh, how badly she wanted to tell him the reason why she shut him out, to let things go back to the way they were before, and be with her beloved again. But Zenna knew that it was hopeless. There was no way she and Eret could go back into a relationship for as long as her powers were still out of control. It looked like she was going to have to be a bit harsher now.
"It's nice for me to know that you're still concerned about me, Eret…But we can't," she said, her face neutral. Eret's face showed complete confusion as he stuttered, "B-but, you mean we can't even be friends? Why?" only for Zenna to snap at him, "It just can't, Eret! It won't work out. Now just leave me alone!"
Zenna felt her Elementals flare up and a faint glow emanated from her gloves! Quickly she calmed herself down and looked at Eret. 'Holy Shields, I'm becoming a monster!' she thought guiltily once she saw Eret's crestfallen expression. Eret looked at Zenna, speechless. When did Zenna become so mean? He had just spoken from his heart, expressed his true feelings towards her, and she was pushing him away? That's when Eret realized that things would never be the same between him and the Dragon Doctor. No matter how much he wanted things to go back to the way it was before, Eret knew that something had made Zenna change and there was nothing he could do about it.
Finally, after a minute of silence, Eret managed to say, "…Say what you will, Zen…I'll always love you forever. But if you want me to leave…okay, I will…if that'll make you happy…" before turning around and walking away. "Eret, I'm so sorry…" Zenna whispered to herself, fighting back tears.
Eret felt tears well up in his eyes and blinked them back. There was a great festival going on and he shouldn't be crying! But Eret felt empty and he couldn't find it in himself to stay cheerful. And there were so many people that all the noise and merrymaking was giving him a headache. He needed to get out of the Great Hall. He needed time to clear his head.
But before Eret could try to get outside, Mildew grumpily shoved a girl off with his staff! "Ack!" the girl squeaked, tumbling backwards and would have fallen down if Eret hadn't caught her. "Thora!" the former dragon trapper said in surprise once he recognized the girl. "Eret…" Thora sighed with relief, straightening up and brushing her hands against her dress. Eret had to admit that she looked rather nice. Thora had forgone her Berserker outfit and was wearing a semi-formal dress and had braided her hair up rather nicely. "Uh…wow…you look…you look great…" Eret mumbled a compliment. Thora smiled at him warmly. "Thank you," she said, curtsying. Then she noticed that Eret had tears in his eyes. "Hey…are you okay…?" she asked worriedly, reaching out to touch his face.
Quickly Eret shrugged her off and laughed a bit. "What, me? Yeah, I-I'm fine. There's just dust in my eyes…" he said quickly, rubbing his eyes. Thora tilted her head to the side, confused. What was going on? "I just…I just need to go outside…It's a bit too noisy here for my liking," Eret said quietly. "Oh, well, do you mind if I join you? I'm not too fond of loud parties myself…" Thora offered, fiddling with her braid. Eret looked a bit unsure. He barely knew the woman and the last thing he wanted to happen tonight was someone seeing him with another lady and starting a whole new rumor about him. But Thora looked like a nice person and she sounded sincere. "I don't see why not," he shrugged at last. Thora smiled and she and Eret snuck out of the Great Hall.
What Eret didn't know was that Hiccup had seen his conversation with Zenna earlier and, now, the young Chief was making his way over to Zenna. The one-eyed Dragon Doctor was sneakily helping herself to some chocolate when Hiccup came to her side. "Hey, Zen…Can we…talk…?" Hiccup asked carefully so as not to frighten his one-eyed surrogate sister. Zenna was just about to wolf down a large piece of sweet chocolate when Hiccup's voice made her turn around abruptly. "Oh, Hicc! Hey…I didn't see you there…" she mumbled, hiding the chocolate behind her back. Hiccup slightly chuckled upon seeing that Zenna was still a chocoholic and gave her permission to enjoy the dessert. Zenna offered Hiccup half of the chocolate and, for a while, it was as if nothing had come between the two bonded siblings. They savored the sweet treat and laughed as they watched the Twins stumble about in a drunken daze.
Then Hiccup's face became solemn and he faced Zenna. "Zen, how long are you going to keep doing this to Eret? I saw you two talking earlier. When you told him to leave you alone, Eret…Eret was really hurt…I'm not saying that you try to rekindle the relationship you had with him back then, of course. But…it'd make me happy, and Eret for sure, if…you two…well, at least become friends again…" he said softly. Zenna's previously cheerful face turned melancholic and she sighed, pulling her cloak close to her. "Hiccup, it's complicated…You probably wouldn't understand if I told you…but I don't think I can be around Eret anymore. I just…I just want to keep him from getting hurt…" she said quietly.
Hiccup cocked his head to the side in confusion. "And I'm guessing that you won't tell me the reason why again?" he asked knowingly. "Well we all need to have our secrets, Chief. Kind of like how you and the other Riders, oh, I don't know…didn't tell me about the South being attacked by Berserkers two years ago and that Dagur the Deranged is Heather's older brother," Zenna said, finally letting all her anger towards Hiccup out. Hiccup's emerald green eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock. "I spoke with Heather not too long ago and she told me what she told you back then, Hicc…Why didn't you write to me about this the whole time while I was gone? Or tell me the day I got back? I may have left the South for Berk but it's still my home. And it was attacked by Dagur's armada two years ago. Heather lost her parents who turned out to be her adoptive parents and Dagur, one of our sworn enemies, is her older brother and you, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the Twins didn't even tell me about it?" Zenna demanded, making sure to keep her voice down so as not to attract attention. But, make no mistake, she was dying to scream and yell at Hiccup for keeping such valuable information from her. Hiccup managed to get his voice back and stammered out, "Z-Zen, I-I'm so sorry…I was just so scared that…that if you found out, y-you'd want to go back to the South…And if…if you did, what if the Berserkers were still around and-and something happened to you? If Dagur had gotten his hands on you?! I-I…I just wanted to protect you…" feeling nothing but guilt and shame for keeping such a great secret from his surrogate sister.
Zenna merely shook her head and sighed. "What kind of brother keeps such a huge secret from his sister…?" she whispered before turning heel and leaving the Great Hall. Hiccup just stood there, feeling like the world's worst surrogate brother ever and the worst best friend in the whole world.
Outside the Great Hall, Zenna decided to just take a moment to breathe in the scent of newly harvest crops. The air smelled crisp and cool, and it helped her think better. As angry as she was at the guy, Hiccup had a point. She was slowly turning into something she was not and she hated it. Never had she been so harsh to Eret like that and it killed her on the inside to see the hurt in the former dragon trapper's dreamy brown eyes as he left her, like she had told him to do so.
'Maybe I should apologize to Eret…' Zenna thought as she went down the steps. Then she saw something that made her stop. Eret was sitting at the bottom of the steps to the Great Hall…with a woman.
Letting out a small gasp, Zenna immediately looked for a place to hide so Eret wouldn't spot her. Seeing a stack of hay bales, Zenna ducked behind while keeping her ears open.
Eret was oblivious to Zenna's presence and was engaged in a conversation with Thora who, he soon found out, was rather easy to talk to. She shared to him tales of the adventures she had had over the years, of the lands she had seen and the battles she had fought. Thora was clearly a well-rounded person because, according to her, she had mastered using a crossbow, a sword and had once led an army! But what really piqued Eret's curiosity was Thora's relationship with her boyfriend. Apparently they weren't so close.
"Wait, so your boyfriend pretended you were invisible?" Eret asked her, tilting his head to the side. "Literally, for two years," Thora laughed. "That's…that's terrible," Eret said, unable to say anything else. "It was a bad idea to choose him in the first place anyway. He was way too busy with so many other things to even spend time with me. That's why I broke up with him and decided to just be a wanderer. Less baggage, you know, if you don't have a boyfriend or a girlfriend," Thora said breezily. At Thora's words, Eret felt his heart ache a little. It wasn't until Thora's cheerful expression turned into one of worry and she looked at him with questioning gray eyes did Eret realize that he must have shown his sadness.
Thora gently placed her hand on Eret's shoulder, the young man slightly surprised at the gesture, and softly asked, "Eret, is there something wrong?"
The former dragon trapper sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's just that…I'm still trying to move on from my girlfriend breaking up with me…" he admitted, taking the ring out from under his vest. Zenna felt her heart break upon recognizing her engagement ring. Eret had kept it all along. Thora gasped and her gray eyes widened. "You were supposed to marry her!" she said, shocked. "I was…but then Zenna broke off her engagement to me and, that same day, she shut me out and…I never knew why…" Eret said softly, looking at the ring sadly. "Zenna? As in, the Dragon Doctor Zenna Fiersome? She was your fiancée?" Thora asked, amazed. "The one and only…My goddess, my princess and everything…" Eret smiled sadly and nodded.
'He really does still love me!' Zenna thought, clasping her hands close to her heart. Thora frowned and gently placed her hand on Eret's. "I would never shut you out, Eret…" she said sweetly. All at once, Zenna felt her Elementals flare up with jealousy. Who was this woman to think that she could steal Eret that easily?! Luckily, Eret shied away from the vagabond lady. "Look Thora…you're a really nice person, but…I'm not ready to enter another relationship…And…I doubt that I ever will…" he said carefully. Thora immediately blushed and hid her hands behind her back. "O-oh! Of course, Eret! I totally understand. Thor's hammer, I'm so sorry…I-I didn't mean to look like I'm making advances towards you…" she apologized profusely. "No, it's okay…But, let's just stay friends, alright?" Eret reassured her, smiling gently.
Thora smiled and nodded. "Shall we head back inside?" Eret suggested. "Let's," the vagabond grinned. Zenna carefully hid herself as Eret and Thora walked back into the Great Hall. While she was okay with Eret, Zenna was suspicious about Thora. She certainly didn't look like a Berkian. Then, as Thora walked past, Zenna saw that her belt had the Berserker crest on the buckle! 'Holy Shields, she's a Berserker! I have to warn Hiccup, Eret and the others!' Zenna thought worriedly and quickly followed the two back inside.
It took Zenna a while to finally find Eret and Thora with the rest of her friends. Thora was smiling and laughing as she talked to Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs and the Twins and Eret looked pretty happy as well. But Zenna had a feeling that he was still sad. As for Hiccup, she could tell that he was also feeling terrible not just from her getting angry with him but from also the guilt of keeping the fall of the South a secret from her. But, right now, she had to warn the team about Thora.
Steeling her nerves, Zenna marched up to the little group. "Hello, Thora. Enjoying the festival?" she greeted the vagabond lady primly. The gang all looked at her in surprise, save for Thora who smiled widely. "Dr. Zenna Fiersome! It's an honor to meet you!" she said effusively, curtsying to the one-eyed Dragon Doctor politely. Zenna nodded tensely and turned to Eret. "Hey, Zen…" Eret said awkwardly, not really sure what to say to her. "I'll be straight to the point. Have you seen her belt buckle?" she asked plainly.
"Her belt buckle?" Hiccup repeated, confused. "It has the Berserker crest on it," Zenna said simply. That's when Astrid got a closer look at Thora's belt buckle and recognized, through the rust, the Skrill that was always on the Berserker tribe's ships. "Oh, this? It's just something that I got from my travels…" Thora informed the blonde Hofferson maiden. Zenna knew that Thora was just putting up an innocent act and glared at her. "Really? You sure you didn't get it from your wardrobe back on Berserker Island?" she asked coldly. "Zen!" Fishlegs gasped, the others also shocked at the accusation.
Thora, herself, was shocked and gaping at Zenna with her mouth open. "Zenna, what are you doing?" Eret asked, worried and also shocked. "I think Thora the Vagabond is actually Thora the Berserker. Admit it, you are, aren't you?" Zenna said accusingly. "No, Dr. Zenna. I'm…I'm not! Really, I'm not a Berserker!" Thora said, looking wounded. "Zen, what's gotten into you? We've talked with Thora and she's really nice. How could you accuse her of such a thing?" Hiccup asked in disbelief.
"It's an act! She's pulling wool all over your eyes! Don't you see that?!" Zenna willed all of her Elementals to stay suppressed as she shouted that.
The entire Great Hall quieted down and everyone turned to watch the spectacle happening in one corner of the hall.
"Zenna, what's wrong with you? Aren't you usually the type of person who gets to know somebody first before sensing that something's up?" Astrid asked her friend. "Trust me, Astrid. Thora is a Berserker. Don't you believe me? I mean, you're the one who suspected Heather back then!" Zenna said, starting to get irritated.
"Uh-oh! Looks like somebody's jealous!" Ruffnut cackled, still in the hold of the ale. "Another hen in the rooster house! Or was it the other way around…?" Tuffnut mumbled, still swaying unsteadily on his feet. "They drank a lot of ale…" Snotlout sighed. "I am not jealous! I'm worried that Thora could be secretly plotting to have the entire Berserker armada attack us while we have our guard down! Can't you guys see that she's deceiving you?!" Zenna exclaimed, feeling her powers beginning to react to her emotions.
Thora was blushing in deep shame and Eret felt the need to defend her. Looking at Zenna, Eret crossed his arms and frowned. "Zen, I don't know why you're acting jealous all of a sudden but I don't like it. Thora said it herself. She's not a Berserker. And you know that Berk has cut off all ties to the Berserker tribe. Just because Thora's not from around here, it doesn't mean you have the right to accuse her," he said firmly. Zenna looked at Eret, shocked beyond all reason, before looking at Hiccup. Hopefully her brother not by blood but by bond will believe her…
"Zen…I know that you're going through some hard stuff right now…but that doesn't mean you can accuse somebody just like that…" Hiccup sighed, looking…disappointed. Hiccup, her Chief and brother, was disappointed in her because, to him and everyone else, she was acting like a jealous brat!
Unable to say anything, Zenna merely huffed and turned her heel and began walking away.
"Dr. Zenna, if I may say something…" Thora managed to say before Zenna harshly said, "Shut up!"
The crowd gasped. Henna and Edgar looked at each other worriedly. "Okay, now I really need to talk to her…" Eret sighed. "This is too much…" Hiccup sighed as well. The two of them caught up with Zenna and grabbed both of her hands, taking her gloves off!
"Hey, give me back my gloves!" Zenna demanded. "Not until you tell us what's going on. Zen, this isn't like you. Why are you acting like this?" Hiccup asked worriedly. "You've been shutting all of us out since last month! Is there something wrong?" Eret asked as he and Hiccup made sure to keep the gloves away from Zenna. That's when Zenna looked around at all the concerned faces watching her…and realized that Hiccup and Eret were right.
She had been shutting out everyone she loved. Her parents, El, Stryka…everyone that cared about her…she was pushing them all away…
And Zenna hated it. She hated seeing Eret and everyone else worry about her. They wanted to help but…what could they do? They weren't Elementals like her…they could never help her control her powers because she was the only one who had them! That…and…she didn't want anyone to get hurt because of her curse…
"Nothing's wrong, you two…Now just leave me alone…" Zenna said at last, turning away so she could get out of the Great Hall. Hiccup and Eret, already worried and stressed, couldn't take it anymore. "What did we ever do to you?" they both asked. "Enough, you two," Zenna said, already feeling her Elementals getting ready to come out.
"Why do you shut us out?" Eret asked just as Zenna's right hand began to glow blue with her Ice.
"Why do you shut the world out?" Hiccup asked, Zenna's left hand beginning to glow reddish-orange with her Fire.
Zenna then felt her Lightning and Nature act up just as Hiccup and Eret both yelled, "What are you so afraid of?!"
"I said, ENOUGH!" Zenna screamed, whirling around to face them.
That's when the dragon came out of the bag.
Vines immediately crept up on the doors to the Great Hall and were suddenly blasted open with lightning bolts. And Fire and Ice shot out from Zenna's hands in two streaks! Hiccup and Eret quickly backed off while everyone gasped in shock.
Zenna gasped, horrified at what she just did, and looked down at her hands, seeing the small bursts of Elemental magic coming from them. She hadn't meant for that to happen! She just couldn't keep her emotions contained and they got out of control!
"Zenna…?" Eret breathed out, looking at the huge spikes of ice Zenna had shot out leading up to him in shock. How did Zenna manage to shoot out all of this ice like a Bewilderbeast? The one-eyed Fiersome lady looked at him and Hiccup fearfully. "I-I-I…" Zenna stuttered out before Mildew cried out, "I knew it! I always knew that Fiersome was a cursed child! This is serious witchcraft we're seeing here!" followed by Savage saying, "Oh, put a sock in it, Mildew!"
Hiccup stared at the flames that were nearly licking at his feet and back at Zenna in shock. Since when did Zenna have the ability to conjure up fire like a dragon? And ice? And plants? And lightning as well?!
"Zen, what's going on…?" Hiccup asked carefully. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" Zenna cried out, her Elementals flaring up again. "Zenna, it's alright…Just calm down…Let us help you…" Eret said slowly. But when both men took a step towards her, Zenna panicked.
"No! Just stay away from me! Stay away!" she cried out, unintentionally firing a blast of her Nature magic at the center of the Great Hall! Vines shot up and ensnared some of the villagers by accident, Mildew included!
"Monster…monster!" the old man howled while Alvin tried to help some of the trapped people by cutting down the vines with his sword.
El got really scared at Mildew calling his big sister Zenna a monster and began to cry, and that made Zenna feel worse. "I'm so sorry…" she whispered before running out of the Great Hall in tears, fire and ice trailing in her wake. Stryka roared and quickly ran out of the Great Hall to follow her best friend, leaving Hiccup, Eret and the rest of the Dragon Riders and all of Berk standing around in shock.
Zenna didn't know what to do anymore and stopped running in the middle of the village plaza. Panting, Zenna leaned against one of the grand torches only to get the literal shock of her life as sparks suddenly flew from her hands! Travelling up the grand torch, Zenna's Lightning shot up into the sky and that was enough to cause a storm cloud to form completely over Berk! To make things worse, thorny vines began to grow everywhere!
"Holy Shields…" Zenna murmured before hearing Eret and Hiccup's shouts.
"Zenna!" "Zen, wait!"
Frantic, Zenna ran for Thor's Beach. But Hiccup, Eret, the rest of the Riders and their dragons were following her. Arriving at the shores, Zenna saw that the water had begun to freeze upon making physical contact. That's when Hiccup and Eret caught up with her on Toothless and Skullcrusher. "Zenna, wait! We can help!" Eret pleaded with her. "Okay, Zen, we don't know what's going on…but whatever…this is…we can figure it out…" Hiccup said slowly. Already freaking out, Zenna nervously took a step back and froze the water further. Desperate, Zenna unleashed a blast of her Nature magic that caused a bunch of thorny vines to suddenly sprout and form a wall, completely blocking the Riders from reaching her!
While Toothless and Skullcrusher roared in alarm and got their Riders out of the way, Zenna turned around and, taking a deep breath, stepped on the water's surface and began to run, freezing the water around her with every step. Strkya suddenly arrived and, upon seeing her Rider running away, roared and lifted off the ground and over the vine wall to fly after her.
"Zenna!" Hiccup and Eret both shouted, getting on Toothless and Skullcrusher, flew up to see Zenna running away with Stryka following her. That's when lightning streaked across the sky, startling Toothless and Skullcrusher into landing. "Hiccup, the ocean!" Astrid cried out in alarm. That's when Hiccup saw that the ocean was freezing over.
But that wasn't the worst.
Berk seemed to be trapped in a freak thunderstorm. Wildfires had suddenly ignited in the distant forests, thorny vines were sprouting around the village like weeds and snow was falling!
"What's going on here?!"
"There's a thunderstorm but it's snowing!"
"These vines are growing everywhere! It's like they have a mind of their own!"
"This is madness!"
"What's happening?!"
Everyone was freaking out by the time Hiccup and the Riders came back from the village. Thora spotted Eret and immediately ran over to him. "Are you hurt?" she asked worriedly. "No!" Eret shook his head, reeling from shock. "Did you know?" Thora asked, referring to Zenna's powers. Eret was silent for a few seconds. "No…" he said quietly, wondering what exactly was going on.
Mildew was visibly freaking out as he ran this way and that, cursing Zenna. "I always knew that one-eyed freak was trouble! Now look at what she's done! She's cursed this land and she must be stopped!" he declared before Savage clocked him in the head with his bone club. "Oh, thank Thor, he was giving me a headache…" Alvin said in relief as Hiccup and the other Riders arrived. "Hiccup, I know you Berkians experience odd weather but is this…normal?" the Meathead chieftain asked. "Alvin, as crazy Berk's climate is, this is anything but normal…" Hiccup sighed before seeing the wildfires burning in the distance.
"I want every man who can help to go to the forests and keep the fires from spreading! The rest, try to chop down as many of these vines as you can!" Hiccup shouted. Springing into action, the Berkians got organized and got to work. "We can send a message to Meathead Island for help," Savage suggested. Hiccup nodded and turned to Alvin. "You've done plenty of good for me and me tribe, Hiccup. It'd be rude not to return the favor," Alvin smiled.
Nodding, Hiccup turned to Astrid, Eret and the others. "We need to speak to Zen's family about this," he said seriously.
"We know, Chief."
Turning around, Hiccup saw Henna, Edgar and El in front of him. "We were afraid this would happen…Looks like it's time to let all of you know…" Henna sighed, cradling El in her arms. "Know about what?" Eret asked, confused, as Valka and Gobber joined them. "This is not the place to talk. Let's head back to our house…there…there is something my wife and I must show you," Edgar said gravely.
Once everyone was gathered around the den of the Fiersome family home, Edgar got busy looking for something in an old trunk. Little El was still distraught about his big sister leaving and sat in a corner, sniffling. Ruffnut was the one closest to him and gently pulled El into her lap, cuddling with him to make him feel better. Finally, Edgar took out from the trunk a thick book bound in leather with the Fiersome family crest, a black lightning bolt, on the cover.
"Our family's been long since watched over by the gods. One day, Freyja decided to give to one Fiersome daughter the gift of controlling the Elementals. With this gift, 22-year-old Eira was able to harness the powers of Fire, Ice, Lightning and Nature," Edgar explained, opening the book to the pages illustrated with the story of Eira Fiersome and the start of the family's Elemental line. "And you're saying that all members of the Fiersome family have been blessed with the gift?" Valka asked. "No. The only ones to receive the Elementals were daughters of the family, daughters who had been born with violet eyes to show the mark of the gods' favor. And they only manifested when they reached the age of 22," Henna further explained. "Just like Zenna!" Fishlegs said in realization.
"Exactly, Fishlegs. But, unfortunately, times began to change and the Fiersome daughters were being persecuted by everyone who deemed their magic to be witchcraft…" Edgar sighed and turned the pages.
Hiccup, Eret and all of the other Riders were shocked to see a painting of a young woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Zenna, being burnt at the stake.
"Eira Zennaria Fiersome…the very last Elemental to be persecuted," Henna said sadly. "The resemblance is uncanny…" Astrid said in amazement. "If Zenna still had her right eye, I'd think that lass in the painting was her long-lost identical twin," Gobber said in agreement. Hiccup stared at the picture in keen interest. The lady in the painting looked exactly identical to Zenna…but she looked so sad, the painted tears running down her painted face as the flames rushed upward to consume her.
"No daughter of our family was ever born with violet eyes ever again and no daughter ever received the Elementals…" Henna said. "Until Zenna was born…" Hiccup finished her sentence. "Aye…the day Zenna was born was both the happiest, yet, the most terrifying day of our lives…The shaman in the South foretold that she would be someone very special and advised us to take good care of Zenna…As time passed, my wife and I feared that she would have trouble with her gift when the time came…We did our best and, for a while, everything seemed to work out…until…" Edgar sighed heavily.
"Edgar, Henna, you two did nothing wrong. Zenna was probably having a hard time adjusting to her powers…" Valka told them comfortingly. "You're wrong, Valka. When Zenna's powers manifested shortly after her birthday, she was a natural with them. And her powers developed at an astonishingly fast rate. But then, the accident happened…" Henna told her. That's when everyone remembered the scar on Stryka's head. "Wait, so Zenna was the reason why Stryka has the lightning bolt scar on her head?" Snotlout asked.
"It was an accident, Uncle Snotlout. I jumped too high and Zenna tried to catch me with her magic but she lost control and hit Stryka instead of me because Stryka jumped to save me…" El admitted. "Well, it's not your fault she left, El…" Ruffnut reassured him. "It was all a big misunderstanding. No one's at fault here…well, except maybe Mildew since he was ranting about Zenna being a witch," Tuffnut said, patting El's head affectionately.
That's when Eret remembered the day Zenna broke up with him and looked at her parents. "So…when she broke off the engagement…that was after the accident?" he asked quietly. "Oh, Eret, it was the hardest thing we ever saw Zenna do. We tried to dissuade her but she believed you'd be safer if she shut herself out from you and everyone else…" Henna sighed. "Our daughter loves all of you…but, due to seeing her gift as a curse, Zenna thought it would be best for everyone, herself included, if she just isolated herself from everyone," Edgar added, looking weighed down by the great sadness he and his wife shared.
Everyone was silent at that point, wondering just what to do. Eret was completely shell-shocked at everything he had just learned. This whole time, he thought that he must have done something to make Zenna leave him only to find out that she had this wonderful gift that she viewed as a curse and that she was afraid of hurting him. But Eret was willing to risk it. Zenna's magic didn't scare him and, even if she would probably refuse to come back, he was still going to try.
Without a word, Eret got up from his chair and left. Going back to his house, Eret packed whatever supplies he needed, as well as a coat to keep warm in the cold, and got Skullcrusher to fly to the Dragon Hangar. That's when he saw Hiccup with Toothless waiting for him.
"I don't care if you say that it's dangerous, Hiccup. I'm going after Zenna and you're not stopping me," Eret said seriously. "Who says I'm stopping you?" Hiccup mounted Toothless and put on his helmet. The former dragon trapper looked at him in surprise. "It's my fault too that Zenna ran off. And she's my sister. I have to go find her," the young Chief said seriously as Valka, Gobber, Alvin, Savage and Mildew showed up with Zenna's family.
"Oh, please, tell me you're not going after that wicked sorceress to try bring her back here…" Mildew groaned and backed away in fear as both Skullcrusher and Toothless snarled at him. Hiccup and Eret both glared at the old coot. "Savage, make sure Mildew doesn't rile up the village," Hiccup instructed Alvin's right-hand man. "Got it," Savage nodded and knocked Mildew out with his club again. "Alvin," Hiccup looked at the Meathead chief seriously. "I know, get help from me island and no taking over Berk while you're gone," Alvin rolled his eyes and smiled wryly. "Mom, I'm leaving you and Gobber in charge. Try to keep the wildfires contained in the forest and clear as much vines from the village and make sure the people stay warm and no dragons go flying out in this lightning storm," Hiccup turned to his mother and his blacksmithing mentor.
"Be careful, son," Valka said worriedly, Gobber nodding at him.
Then Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the Twins came to the Dragon Hangar with their dragons. "We're coming with you two," Astrid told them. "Astrid, it's too dangerous. Besides, Eret and I are the reason why this happened," Hiccup told her. "Can't argue with that," Eret admitted. "All the more reason for us to come with you," Astrid said stubbornly before noticing that the others had brought shields.
"What? These are just…safety precautions!" Fishlegs said defensively. "Seriously, guys, shields? This is Zenna we're talking about!" Astrid rolled her eyes at them. "Exactly!" Snotlout and the Twins exclaimed before shrinking back as Eret and Hiccup both gave them death glares.
"Uncle Hiccup…Uncle Eret…" El piped up, looking at his two uncles with big pleading violet eyes. "Please bring Zenna and Stryka home…" he said pleadingly. "Don't worry, El, we will…" Eret reassured him, gently running a hand through El's soft black curls. "We'll bring her back and we'll make things right," Hiccup promised Edgar and Henna.
That's when Thora ran up to them. "Wait! Are you sure you can even trust Zenna? What if she hurts you?" she asked them worriedly. Hiccup and Eret had taken Zenna's gloves out and Skullcrusher sniffed them to get the scent. "She would never hurt us," the Chief and the former dragon trapper replied. Then Skullcrusher bellowed, catching Zenna's scent. Hiccup gave Spitelout the signal to open the hatch and, then, Hiccup, Toothless, Eret, Skullcrusher, Astrid, Stormfly, Snotlout, Hookfang, Fishlegs, Meatlug, the Twins and Barf and Belch all flew out.
Looking back at Berk, Hiccup and Eret hoped that they would be able to find Zenna and soon…