Hello again, readers~! I really don't have much to say, other than I'm glad I finally got this chapter out. Dagur's finally figuring stuff out and Hiccup's sorta catching on... sort of... anyway, the plot is getting closer to the point now. Oh, and I'm starting school next week and I have basically 2 study halls so maybe I'll actually be more frequent with my updates once I get into a school schedule. I'm not sure yet, though. All depends on my other classes and my level of homework. But one thing's for sure I probably won't update less frequently... probably.
The only other thing I have to say is, uh...
Warnings: mentioning of rape *shrugs* It's quite subtle in my opinion but I feel I should still put it up just in case...
Dagur stomped back above deck in a frenzy that he was doing his best to mask. That arrogant, sassy little bitch! He screamed in his head, trying his best to keep his composure "You would have killed me by now; you've had three chances." The only reason you're alive right now is because I'm in a jam and we need you.
He tried his best to reason with himself that, well, that was the only reason that Berk's little princess was still breathing and had something in her stomach, for that matter. Alvin never instructed Berserk's chief to go down and give her anything to eat; he did that on his own. His reasoning at the time was that she needed her energy when she got to Outcast Island. Alvin planned on working her from nearly the moment they hit his shores. But now that he had seen her and was already… confused… maybe there was another reason behind slipping her some food.
No, she needs to be in the best sorts possible for training Alvin's dragons. Then she has to move on to Berserk. She has to… she just has to.
Before he surfaced above deck, he took a breath and gained as much of his composure as he could muster in ten seconds. He must have done a better job than he thought at that because no one paid him any mind at all. Thank Thor for that…
Dagur met Alvin at the head of the ship, where they stood in silence for a few moments. "Where'd ye go, Dagur?" Alvin asked.
"Got hungry, grabbed something to eat." Dagur shrugged.
"That all?" The Outcast chief continued to pry "Didn't sneak down to check on our hostage or anythin'?"
"Eh, I tossed her some food too." The Berserker confessed "I figured she'd need some energy for training our dragons. She won't be of any use if she's weak from hunger."
"Smart thinkin' there, Dagur." Alvin patted the other chief on the back "I should 'ave let you align with me years ago."
"I wasn't the chief years ago." Dagur stated "My father was in this place until sometime last year."
"How's 'is retirement goin', anyway?" Alvin questioned.
"Oh, he's resting like the dead." Dagur let out a devious chuckle.
"Good to hear." Alvin joined in on the laughter "I like your style."
"Alvin!" Savage called as he strode over to the pair of leaders "We'll be docked on Outcast Island by sunrise tomorrow. Shall I send a word to prepare the dragons for training?"
Alvin scratched his wiry beard "Is that the best you can do? Sunrise tomorrow?" He interrogated.
"Y-yes, sir." Savage stuttered "Everyone's rowing as fast as they can manage right now-"
"Tell 'em to go faster, then." Alvin ordered "I want that girl trainin' me dragons as soon as possible."
"Y-yes Alvin." Savage backed up slowly "I'll tell the im-immediately." He pivoted on his heels and speed-walked back below deck.
Hiccup sat in her cell without moving a muscle for a few minutes, trying to process what had just happened. She just gave Dagur a bit of lip and he bolted away, it seemed. He'd never done that before; he'd always been one to challenge her mouth in the past. How come this time had been so different? It couldn't have been the situation she was in; he'd done worse to Fishlegs and relished in every moment of it. Something else was definitely going on with him and Hiccup had a feeling that it was more than just working with Alvin now.
But then another thought crossed her mind. Why did Dagur care so much about finding the Dragon Conqueror in the first place? Why did he need her caught so badly that he sided with the Outcasts to abduct her? It was really strange, to say the least. From what she knew, only the Outcasts had any kind of problem with the dragons. But, then again, what tribe of Vikings out there wouldn't want the ability to control an army of dragons? Hiccup surely was a prize to most of the Archipelago. If they had her, they had access to the dragons.
She sighed in defeat and finally started to nibble at her food. She knew then that this little trip to Outcast Island was not going to be fun. If anything, she'd be lucky to get back home any time soon. But then another fear struck her. What if, by the time she does manage to get free, will Berk even be standing anymore?
The next morning on the ship, Dagur expected to wake up in his cabin to the rocking of the ship against the waves. But instead… he was met with stillness that was almost foreign to him after a day or two at sea. Even when the water was smooth as glass, there was rocking on the boat. They were in Viking waters, for Thor's sake; there was never calmness at sea. It was then that he came to the conclusion that he was, in fact, on dry land again.
Yes, finally! Now Hiccup could start to work on the dragons and satisfy Alvin's need for power. Because only then he could have his go at her and take her back home to Berserk to train dragons for his armada of fifty-thousand warriors. The sooner he got her there to train those beasts, the better it would be for everyone on Berserk.
Closer to his goal, he practically had a skip in his step as he went up the deck and saw the bare land spotted with Loki Trees and, of course, dragons running rampant. The chaos was always welcomed to Dagur. If only he had some time to squeeze in a kill or two before he had to witness the dragon training commence for himself. Maybe he'd even pick up a few tips while watching her; you never know, right?
He found Alvin, Savage and a few miscellaneous crew members loitering around on the beach, not far from the ship. Expecting some kind of order or play through for the day ahead, he decided to join them.
"There he is!" Alvin proclaimed "Sleep well, Dagur?"
"Why wouldn't I?" The Berserker chief stretched with a groan "The sea's my second home."
"That's the spirit!" The Outcast praised.
"So… what's everyone talking about?" Dagur questioned.
"Where to put the girl when we take her off the ship." Alvin explained.
"I say we just put her in a cage without a dragon and make everything easier for us." An Outcast guard yelled.
"I second that." Savage admitted "It'll save heaps of time getting her to the ring every day."
"That we can do." Alvin permitted "Until she's trained the dragons, that is."
"So, what are we doing with her once she's trained our dragons for us?" Savage asked. He sure seemed like he was anxious to ask that question...
"She's going to Berserk afterwards." Dagur sternly declared "That was the deal. I help you catch her and I get to use her to help me out too."
"I mean after that." Savage continued "I know all about your agreement, Dagur."
Alvin scratched his beard "I'll toss it open to you lot too." He finally declared "Anyone got any bright ideas on what to do with the girl?"
Every man in the room fell silent as all of their energy and focus went to their brains, skimming them for possibilities of what more they can do with Berk's heiress. It seemed Alvin was set on using her to their full advantage at this point, beyond the dragons and using them to take over the Archipelago. Even Dagur thought about it carefully. What more could the two chiefs desire even more than the power that would come with the dragons being under their control? Then, it hit him.
"We could use her for ransom." He suggested, gaining everyone's attention "Stoick surely knows by now that she's gone missing. If we let him know we have her held prisoner, he'll give us anything to get her back… anything. Money, livestock, maybe control over Berk, if we're lucky."
Alvin nodded knowingly at the proposal "That we could do. Stoick would give the world to save 'is little embarrassment if he could." He looked Dagur over "Good thinking, boy."
"Hold on, I got an idea." Savage spoke up.
"I'm listenin'." The Outcast chief sat back in his chair "But it'll have to be pretty good to beat Dagur's idea, Savage."
"Oh, it's just as good. If not, better." He gave a devious smirk "We can use her."
"You'll have to be clearer than that." Alvin ordered.
"Yes, of course, Alvin." Savage took a breath before he went on "Think about this, men. She's a girl, and a weak one at that. Barely took two of our guys to lock her up-"
"But she came quietly, didn't she?" Dagur smirked back "How can you measure that when she didn't put up a fight?" … Where the hell did that come from?
"Point still stands." Savage barked back "But think about it. Pretty easy to overpower, don't you all agree?" He received a few nods of agreement and a fascinated look from his leader "Might as well enjoy ourselves a bit, right?" More nods followed with some equally menacing smiles.
But one of these looks didn't cross Dagur's face. From him just came confusion. Not so much for what the conversation had turned to (he wasn't surprised in the least, actually) but more as to why part of his brain was screaming at him to change their minds, to try to lure Alvin back towards his idea and make sure that Hiccup would be safe from that fate. It was a nagging little annoyance eating at the back of his head, eating away and clearly not going away until something was done towards its goal.
Dagur finally sputtered out a reply "Don't you think we'll get more out of this if Stoick gets her back unharmed?"
"Yes just said that Stoick would give anythin' to get her back." Alvin pointed out.
"I just know this from experience." Dagur protested "I've had hostages in past deals and people tend to give more in return for that hostage's safe return."
Alvin shrugged in response "That is true…"
"But, if he doesn't give us what we want for her, we can keep her and we can take the island for ourselves." Savage persisted "There's no way we can lose a thing."
A smile crept through Alvin's scraggly beard "I like that idea, Savage." He patted said man on the back "First time you've had a good one in awhile."
If Dagur had less of a sense of dignity, he'd have hung his head in shame. That stupid nagging only got more annoying after that statement. What the hell did it want from him?! He tried, he failed. What more could there be? This development was no shock; in fact, he'd supported similar deals in previous situations he'd been sucked into. Why was this time so different?
"So who gets the first go at her, then?" Another guard shouted out.
"I say Alvin!" Savage pitched "He's the mastermind, after all."
"I definitely wouldn't mind." The Outcast chief acknowledged "But I'm feelin' generous today." He stepped towards Dagur "I say the one who led us to her in the first place should have the honors. What do ye say, Dagur?"
He stood there in silence for a moment. That stupid biting going on in his head was getting more intense as time went on. Somehow, he managed to suppress it to a manageable state but that didn't mean that it went away at all. It was digging at the nape of his neck, screaming at him to decline the offer all together. It's shrieks resonated through his whole skull and rattled his brain, making it a little too hot to bear underneath his helmet.
But then another angle was shot into his head to conflict the weirdness of it all. If he declined this offer, what would happen to him as a repercussion? Would he be looked down at? Would he bet cut out of the deal all together?
No. No, that couldn't happen. Dagur needed to keep this deal, no matter what the cost. Without even remembering the sensation in his head, Dagur replied "I say yes."
Hiccup was woken up the next morning by loud bangs against metal and a shout. She groggily crawled out from under her tarp blanket and found Dagur was the source. When her eyes finally focused in the light of the morning, he had his hands on the bars, a key dangling from between his fingers.
"Get up, Hooligan." He commanded with venom in his tone. Not wanting to set him off, Hiccup slowly stood from her place on the floor and stood at the door, waiting for it to be unlocked. "Hold out your hands." He ordered next. Hiccup did as she was told. A flash from the past came in her mind when Dagur bound her hands together with rope, a small amount saved for him to use as a lead for her. Only then did he unlock the door. "Let's go." He demanded, a yank of the rope accompanying it.
Hiccup was thrust forward as the Berserker led her from her cell and up the staircase. All the while, Dagur remained silent and looked straight ahead, as if he was trying to ignore the fact that she was even there… except for the rope dragging her along with him firmly grasped in his hand.
They reached the top of the stairs when Hiccup had enough of the silence "Where are you taking me?! Where are we?!" She shouted, demanding an answer.
"Well, Hiccup…" Dagur sneered as he tugged her through the doorway and into the light for the first time in two about days "Welcome to Outcast Island."
Yay, I sort of have a cliffhanger this time around~! I hope that whoever asked for some kind of tormenting Hiccup to happen is satisfied a bit for now.
