'ELLO FELLOW DRAGONITES!
How's it cookin'? Anyone make gingerbread cookies yet? Chex mix? Any other holiday-awesomeness-treats? Because I have, and it's amazing! :)
HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY FREAKING CHRISTMAS NOW! :D :D :D :D :D :D
Sorry, I really get into the holidays. XD
Oh, and by the way, you guys should check out Berk's grapevine! NEW RACE TO THE EDGE CLIP, DRAGONITES! NEW RACE TO THE EDGE CLIP! I REPEAT! So yeah, check it out! I haven't seen it yet, but I will soon! Got to go, awesome people! Bye! :D
Ten soldiers came below the decks, and Hiccup could have rolled his eyes. Dagur was really not risking any of them getting away. As if they could leave. It wasn't like they had dragons, and Toothless wasn't anywhere to be seen.
They were trapped.
Two of the soldiers unshackled Astrid and held her back as if expecting her to attack them. In fact, Hiccup did half expect her to attack them. But she was weaponless, and the fight would be pointless. The Berserkers would win either way.
Snotlout was next, and then followed by the twins and Fishlegs. They were forced to their feet and practically dragged onto the deck of the ship.
It was nighttime, the moon and stars covered by dark clouds. The island had an ashy hue to it that Hiccup didn't like at all.
"Move it," one of the Berserker soldiers ordered, shoving Hiccup and the others onwards. "Don't try anything funny."
If the soldiers weren't right behind him, Hiccup was certain he would have passed out from exhaustion. Not just that, but he was also having a hard time breathing. His chest pains were worse.
"Where's my dragon?" Hiccup hissed.
"Getting locked in prison as we speak," the soldier answered. "Now shut up and move before we have to make you."
Hiccup didn't think he liked the sound of that, and decided that it would be best to just do as the soldiers said. He didn't want any of his friends to get hurt, either, just because he refused to walk.
Plus, the sooner they got to their prison cell, the sooner he could rest.
It took roughly ten minutes before they made it to the dungeon, and honestly, Hiccup barely remembered any of it. Standing outside of the cell was Dagur himself, and he smiled at the riders.
"Hello, Hiccup," he said. "Glad to see you're finally conscious. Now, I need to talk to you about a few things-"
"I am not interested in anything you have to say," Hiccup snapped. He knew it was probably a bad idea, since at the moment, Dagur had complete control over what happened to Hiccup's friends, but in honesty, Hiccup had had enough of Dagur messing up his life.
"But you might if you listen," Dagur said. "Now, don't interrupt. Astrid over there told me you have a heart disease. Is that true?"
A sharp pain stabbed Hiccup in the chest as if reminding him of his illness. He nodded. "Yeah, she's right," Hiccup said. "It's called calipitis, if you want to know."
"Oh, calipitis!" Dagur said, almost happily. "I know that illness anywhere! In fact...well, I don't know if I should say it...alright, I'll say it anyway. I have a cure for it, Hiccup."
He has a cure for it, Hiccup thought back to himself. His eyes widened, and he looked over at his friends, who looked just as shocked and thrilled as he did. Dagur had a cure for calipitis.
The problem was, Hiccup knew it was going to come with a price.
Dagur held up a small vial of clear liquid. "As soon as Astrid told me of your disease," Dagur said, "I ran to get this in case you had what I thought you had. And as it turns out, you do!"
"You've had the cure this whole time," Hiccup said angrily. "People have died from calipitis, Dagur, and the Berserkers have had a solution all this time? You let people die?" Gobber had told him days ago that many people had died from calipitis in the past. It was known to be a fatal disease, and yet Dagur said that he had the cure? He let people die?
"Of course," Dagur said. "Any more stupid questions?"
Hiccup stared at him in shock. "You let them die!" he shouted. "How many lives have been lost just because you...you…didn't give them the cure? How could you do something like that?"
Dagur rolled his eyes. "Pfft," he said. "Their lives had no meaning to the Berserkers. They were unimportant."
"They were people, Dagur!" Hiccup yelled. "Every single one of them! They had families! They had dreams! They had fears! They had feelings! And...the Berserkers let every single one of them die."
"Blah blah blah," Dagur said. "Do you want your cure or not? Because I'm willing to trade, Hiccup. It can't be fun, you know, dying and all. I'm sure you want the cure. But first off, we need to talk about your end of the bargain. You need to tell me everything you know about Berk, surrender your friends to me, and then I'll give you the cure. Do we have a deal?"
Hiccup knew that there was no way he would ever tell Dagur a single one of Berk's secrets. Never. He looked back at his friends. They nodded in unison, silently urging him to do it.
They were willing to give themselves up if Hiccup lived.
No. I'm not willing to let them do that. I don't care that I'm dying. I don't care about how badly I want that cure. I would rather die loyal to my friends than live with the constant reminder that I betrayed them.
"No," Hiccup said. "We don't have a deal."
"Hiccup!" Astrid yelped, sounding more shocked and surprised than ever. Hiccup forced himself not to look at her face.
Dagur looked taken back as well. "I hope you understand," he said, "how painful it is to die from a disease like calipitis. It is a painful death, Hiccup, remember."
"I know," Hiccup said, "but I'm not telling you anything, and my friends…" He looked at them. "I'm not surrendering them," he said. "Not for the life of me."
Dagur shrugged. "Have it your way," he said. "How much longer do you have before your calipitis kills you? It can't be more than two weeks, can it?"
"I have roughly one week," Hiccup said. No use hiding anything now.
"Perfect!" Dagur said. "I'll keep you and your friends alive for one week, and then when you're dying and on your last day of live, you'll change your mind about wanting the cure. I bet your friends will beg me to let you have the cure. What do you think?"
"I'm thinking that I'm never going to give in, even to the moment I die," Hiccup snapped in response.
"Suit yourself," Dagur said. He opened the prison door, and the guards shoved the riders in. Hiccup stumbled, his headache and dizziness catching up with him in one swift moment.
"Enjoy your final week alive, Hiccup," Dagur called as he left the dungeon. "Let me know if you change your mind."