"Let it hurt, let it bleed
Let it take you right down to your knees
Let it burn to the worst degree
May not be what you want
But it's what you need

Sometimes the only way around it
Is to let love do its work
And let it hurt
Yeah, let it hurt"

- "Let It Hurt" by Rascal Flatts

Chapter 21

I spent the entire flight to the School thinking about what I would say to Heather. I knew the information I needed to convey, but surely she would ask questions I might not know how to answer. Where did I even start? Perhaps the best plan was to wing it.

I landed at the School and walked to the lab, my hand on Bolt's back to keep from trembling. Heather exited the lab just as I reached it.

"Hi, Brennda!" she said with a smile that faded when she saw my expression. "What's wrong? Is it the dragon hunters?"

"No. It's just... we've had a visitor at Dragon's Edge who just betrayed us." I took a deep breath. I remembered something important during my flight. Harald had always conveniently disappeared when Heather was around. Maybe it was not a coincidence. "Heather, do you know a pirate by the name of Harald Forkbeard?"

Heather's eyes went wide. "Harald? Harald Forkbeard was at Dragon's Edge? That Viking is bad news. While I was undercover with Dagur, I saw him dealing with the dragon hunters... and it didn't seem like it was the first time."

I clenched my fists. "No..." How could he be in with the dragon hunters? He seemed so good with dragons. And he had a great relationship with Leopold... There was no way that could be faked. But I supposed just because he liked one dragon didn't mean he liked them all.

Heather gave me a worried look. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Not physically." I bit my lip as tears swam in my eyes.

Heather's own eyes flashed in understanding. "You know what? I'll make some tea for us, and then you can tell me everything."

I nodded. Heather entered the lab, and I headed for our dorm. Soon, my roommate returned with two hot mugs of tea. We sat across from each other, and I began my story.

I told her everything. How Harald had come to the Edge asking for our help. How he befriended everybody, me most of all. I told her how close we had gotten. Then I told her how he stole everything on his way out.

Through it all, I somehow managed to keep the tears at bay. "You want to know the worst part?" I said, wiping my eyes. "If I could, I would go back to the fantasy world we had built each other, even knowing who and what he is."

Heather gave me a look of pure empathy. "You love him, don't you?"

I nodded. "And I don't know how to stop. Because the thing is... I saw through his act right away. He fooled everyone else, but I hated the mask he wore. It was only when he was finally real with me that I started to fall for him. So, it all couldn't have been a lie. Maybe his own feelings were, but he did show me part of who he really is."

"Some people can manipulate others with the truth, not just lies." She reached over and placed her hand over mind. "I'm so sorry, Brennda. I should have been there. I would have been able to warn you all."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault. Harald is smart, and he knew to avoid you."

"Right. The blame goes to him alone." She paused. "What are you going to do?"

"We'll figure something out. For now, we need to warn everyone at the School and Berk. I don't want anyone else to get fooled..."

Heather nodded. "I'll get to work on creating something we can use to warn everyone. While I do that, will you talk to Johann about Harald? I know that he trades all across the archipelago. Maybe he'll have some more insight on him."

I accepted the task and headed out. Thankfully, I found Johann at his trading post. After exchanging greetings, I explained the situation to him.

"Harald Forkbeard is not a man to be trifled with, dear Brennda," Johann said. "He will tell you exactly what you need to hear to let him into your grace, then stab you directly in the back! I don't mean that figuratively, either. I've got the scar to prove it."

I cringed. "Great. Thanks for that image." I returned to the lab to find Heather clutching a stack of papers.

"Take a look!" she said, proudly holding up the papers. "I remember Harald's face very well, so I drew a small painting of the man for these wanted posters. Now, no one will be confused about what sort of pond scum this guy is." She frowned when I winced at her terminology. "Sorry, too soon?"

I nodded. She sounded like Skulder, and I just could not see it. But maybe they were right. They were probably more objective than I was. I did not know what to believe anymore.

"Anyway, I'll need your help to put these up at a place where there's a lot of Viking foot traffic. We need to get the word out there so that no one else gets fooled by the thief! Can you put this up on the school building and the entrance on the hatchery? I'll place one up by the lab."

"Sure." I grabbed some posters and got to work. Afterwards, we headed to Berk to place them there as well. The sun had started to set by the time we completed our task.

"Good work," Heather said. "Now that the School and Berk have warning up on Harald Forkbeard, you should put them up at Dragon's Edge." She handed me the rest of the posters.

"I will," I said. "Thanks for your help. And thanks for listening."

She gave me a small smile. "You're welcome. If you need me, I'll be here."

I nodded once and then turned to Bolt. We made it back to the Edge and put up the rest of the posters. Hiccup thanked me for my hard work and then said he decided to call it a today. Tomorrow we would come up with a plan to face Harald. I had a feeling it would be a long day.

Sleep did not come easy. Harald haunted my dreams when I finally drifted off. I did not remember the details, but I woke up gasping for breath. Astrid was already up and ready, and she cast me a worried look.

"How are you doing?" she said.

"Terrible," I muttered.

"Nightmare?"

I grimaced. "This feels like the nightmare. I keep hoping I'll wake up to find it was all a dream." But no. This was my reality.

Astrid looked at me in sympathy. "I am really sorry, Brennda. None of this should have ever happened."

I cast my gaze to the floor. "I know." I sighed and hoisted myself up off the bed. "Let me get ready, and then we can figure this all out.

Within the hour, Astrid and I huddled in her hut, looking over Harald's ransom note. Harald had drawn the location on the island where he wanted the ransom.

"I hate to compliment the no-good double-crosser, but he did a great job in making this map," Astrid said. "He must have charted out the islands around Dragon's Edge as he followed us there. Hiccup's working on maps from the air so they're a touch more accurate, but only just. The object on the bottom left of the map is a compass rose; it's a symbol that shows the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) on a map. It helps us know which way to go to find which island."

"All important for navigating," I said. Of course, I learned all that from Harald when he taught me how to sail.

"Let's see... the island he wants us to put the ransom is due west of us. Let's fly to the west and find the island he's talking about!"

We ran to our dragons and took off. Astrid used her compass to fly west, and the first island we saw was very familiar.

"Hobblegrunt Island," Astrid said. We hovered on our dragons near the shore. "We met the dragon hunters here and I never saw Harald. Is there a connection between the dragon hunters and Harald?!"

I hesitated. "Well... Heather did tell me she saw him with the dragon hunters when she was working undercover."

Astrid frowned. "I don't understand. He helped us rescue those wounded dragons from the dragon hunters."

"Not to mention, he has a dragon of his own. And Bolt seems to love him..." My dragon looked back at me upon hearing his name. He did not appear upset about the situation in the least. "Skrills are among the most intelligent dragons. Tricking them is not an easy feat."

Astrid nodded. "Hiccup learned that lesson firsthand. And you're pretty smart yourself, Brennda. I can see why Harald would want to win you two over. If he could do that, the rest of us were easy. But what I don't get is how he managed to pull it off for so long. He was with us for nearly three weeks! It was incredibly risky for him to get those close to you two and give you the chance to find him out."

"That is a great question." Intelligence inside, luck was bound to be against him. Eventually, someone like Heather or Skulder would have exposed him. Was that why he became so anxious at the end? If that was the case, why not just leave right then? Why drag it out?

Astrid shook her head. "Well, that's a mystery for another time. I'll ask him about it after I've beat him down. Anyway, if we want to trick him, we'll need to lure him in with a fake set of goods. Can you go back to Gobber at Berk and ask him for a set of crates?"

"I'm on it!" As I flew to Berk, Astrid's question swirled in my head. Yesterday, I had been too emotional to logically sift through everything I knew about Harald. There actually was a lot that did not make sense. The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. Eventually, I decided to just focus on the task at hand.

I collected a crate from Gobber that would fit a telescope. Of course, there was no way we were giving the telescope to Harald. Upon returning to the Edge, I immediately went to the twins. If we wanted to trick Harald, we would need expert tricksters.

"You've come to the right Vikings," Ruffnut said with pride. "It'll be our pleasure to make Harald get Loki'd. I'm thinking that we go to the basics for this one, brother. How about the old Happy Snoggletog?"

Tuffnut grinned. "Good choice! The Happy Snoggletog is a Thornston Special, Brennda. You get your wrapped present from your sister. You shake it to see what it could be, and you get excited because it has the right weight for an axe or a cool Viking helmet. You open it - and poof! A box of rocks. I've had a lot of special holidays ruined by the Happy Snoggletog. Ah, memories."

"That sounds like exactly what we need!" I said. "Do you think it will work?"

"The telescope is much larger than a present, but the same principle applies. Find a bunch of boulders and we'll fill the box. Only the highest quality boulder will do for a Tuffnut prank; get us two boulders from dark Deep, the home of boulders!"

Well, they were the experts! I took my time scouring Dark Deep for the perfect boulders. After that, Ruffnut had the idea to add in rotten fish, so I collected some from her secret cache in Berk.

"You can count on me to make this happen, Brennda!" Ruff said once I delivered the goods. "I'll get to work on it right away while you work on the next part of the trap."

I talked to Hiccup about our plan. He approved, but he said we needed to find a way to stop Harald so he could not get away. He sent me to Astrid, who had come up with an idea. I gave my temporary roommate a small smile as I approached. After quickly explaining what the twins and I had in mind, I asked for her input.

"As much as I would like to have Stormfly spike Harald to a plank, that would make me as bad as he is," Astrid said. "So, instead, we just need to figure out a way to keep him from getting away. It got me to thinking about our adventure on Scuttleclaw Island, when we had to fly to keep away from the Skrill. We found a cave there that was a Flightmare nest. The Flightmare has a paralyzing mist that can freeze a person in place. Trust me, I've felt it - personally. It would be a perfect tool to freeze Harald Forkbeard."

"That sounds like a great idea!" I said.

So, we headed to Scuttleclaw Island in search of the Flightmare. We could not find the dragon in the cave where we spotted the egg, but we did find something else. It turned out the walls were covered with frozen Flightmare mist. We decided to collect it and test it out.

Back at Dragon's Edge, we placed the ice in a bowl, which we set on the ground. We planned to heat up the ice to turn it liquid, which we could then use in our other riders gathered around in curiosity to watch out experiment. Snotlout crept a little too close to the bowl.

"I would step back from the bowl, Snotlout," Hiccup said. "We're trying to conduct a safe experiment. We think that ice is Flightmare mist, and it needs to melt or change state to a liquid before we can use it. We just need to test it and see if that's true."

Snotlout crossed his arms. "Come on, Hiccup! Sorry, but time is money and I don't have time to watch ice melt. We need to hurry this up with some Hookfang flames!"

Hiccup frown"Snotlout..."

"No, let him," Astrid said. "I'd love to watch him perform this experiment."

Snotlout grinned. "Yeah! The Snotlout experiment is a go! Shoot the bowl with Bolt, Brennda."

Bolt looked at me, and I shrugged. "Go ahead, boy." The Skrill turned to the bowl and shot it with one of his lightning bolts.

"This is taking too long!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Hookfang, let's show these guys how to do it the Snotlout way!"

Hookfang's whole body lit up in flames. Then he fired a large fireball at the bowl. The ice immediately turned into liquid, and it splattered, paralyzing Snoutlout, who stood much too close.

Astrid laughed. "That's Snotlout for you! The Flightmare toxin changed from a solid state, to a liquid state, to a gas state, each time energy was added. And as an extra bonus, Snotlout is temporarily paralyzed! Anything to say Snotlout? ...Snotlout?" She looked at me with a frown. "Say... is Snotlout okay?"

I stepped forward and examined Snotlout. He appeared frozen in place, but his eyes did move. Hmm...

"Astrid, you know, a kiss would probably revive me..." he said.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Sounds like he's his usual self, to me."

"This is the answer we needed!" Hiccup said, turning to me in excitement. "We need to spray Harald with the paralyzing mist when he tries to get his ransom box. Fishlegs made some glass containers we can use to bottle the liquid. I'll work on a mechanism that will break the bottle of Flightmare mist when the chest opens."

I nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

We had everything together in no time. We poured the Flightmare liquid in the bottle and then heated it up to turn it into a gas. By then, Ruff and Tuff had filled the chest I brought them with rocks the exact weight of the telescope. Hiccup set up the chest so that the Flightmare mist would shatter when Harald opened the chest. We were good to go!

"This is great!" Astrid said when I handed her the finished product. "It looks really convincing. Let's go to the ransom spot at Hobblegrunt Island, Brennda. Hiccup, Snotlout - you have to stay here. If Harald sniffs out an ambush, he'll never come collect his bounty, and he'll never fall into our trap."

Hiccup nodded. "Good luck you two."

I gave him a weak smile. Then it was off to Hobblegrunt Island. Trepidation filled my chest as Astrid and I set the crate up out in the open. It was finally happening. We were going to catch Harald. Astrid pulled me into the trees to hide.

And then we waited.

"Quick, keep still!" Astrid said suddenly. "Is that him?"

I held my breath as I watched through the trees. Harald approached the chest. He looked around cautiously - thankfully, he did not see us. Then he knelt down and opened the chest. As soon as he did, the Flightmare mist exploded, and he froze.

"Yes! It worked!" Astrid said triumphantly. "We need to see if the Flightmare gas worked. I have a little experience with it, myself, so I'm sure Harald is completely paralyzed... but I want to double check."

My heart hammered as we approached Harald, dragons at our side. All of the pain I had successfully ignored came rushing back, and I suddenly felt weak.

Astrid had no such trepidation. She walked around so that Harald could see her and glared at him. "How dare you betray us after we took you in as a friend? I should smack you over the head with my axe!" She turned to me. "Is there anything you want to say, Brennda? Now's your chance."

My eyes flickered to Harald's frozen face, and the not in my stomach tightened. I looked back at Astrid and shook my head. "There's no point if he can't respond."

Astrid's smile fell. "Alright then. I'll keep an eye on Harald Liar-Beard over here while you go get Hiccup. Don't worry, he won't get one over on me or Stormfly."

"Got it. Come on, Bolt."

We flew as fast as we could back to Dragon's Edge. I quickly alerted Hiccup to the situation, and he gathered the other riders. I led the way to the meeting spot on Hobblegrunt Island.

We arrived just in time to see the Flightmare mist wear off. Harald immediately darted for the shore, and Astrid and Stormfly chased after him. He almost made it to his ship, but we got there first and surrounded him. Astrid and Hiccup stood on either side of me while the others hovered in the air.

Harald turned to face us, seeming to resign himself to his fate. "You knew I couldn't resist trying to open that lock right away, huh?" he said, looking around at each of us. "You lot pulled the wool over my eyes. I might have pulled a bit of a trick on you lot, but I know when I'm beat. Here's the Book of Dragons. It's unharmed, on my word."

"Like the word of Harald Forkbeard means anything to us," Astrid snarled, snatching the book from his hands.

"What have you done with the dragons?" Hiccup demanded.

Harald did not appear phased by either outburst. "It was nothing personal mate, just business. They are a very lucrative trade in the right circles. You gave me the opportunity to take them, like leaving a shed door wide open. It was too tempting for a legendary pirate like me. How could I resist?"

"Legendary pirate?" Astrid scoffed. "More like a common thief. We accepted you, and you betrayed us! You're scum." She started forward but then stopped herself. She glanced at me. "Tell him, Brennda."

For the first time that evening, Harald fixed his cool eyes on me. His apathy caused my anger to return full force. "You say this is all about business?" I exclaimed. "That makes it worse! Do you even care what you did to us? Did to me? You manipulated me and my emotions, and for what? Profit?"

"I admit I may have gone too far," Harald said with the same nonchalant expression. "My apologies."

I glared at him. "That is not an apology!" Without thinking, I strode forward and grasped his shirt with one hand while pulling back my fist, much like I had with Snotlout the previous day.

"Go Brennda!" Snotlout shouted in glee.

"Go ahead and hit me if it will make you feel better," Harald said calmly, his expression unchanged.

I had every intention of doing just that, but as I stared into his eyes, something stopped me. Why couldn't I do it? Why was I unable to hurt him even now? Something bothered me about the perfect control he had over his emotions. To control his emotions implied there were emotions he deemed worth hiding. This was another shield, and I desperately wanted to break through.

Bolt whined beside me. I glanced at him and saw him watching me in sadness. Come to think of it, he was the only dragon here not snarling at Harald. Bolt's eyes seemed to beg me to understand something. What could he see that I couldn't?

I took a deep breath and let my anger out with my exhale. I let go of Harald. "No. I can't - I won't. It might make me feel better for a second, but it won't help me get what I really want."

Harald still offered no emotional response. "And what is that?"

"The truth."

Finally, he showed a hint of amusement as he lips quirked into a smirk. "No, you do not really want the truth."

I considered his words. "Maybe I don't want it, but I need it. Even if the truth is painful, I can't live a lie."

"Brennda, how do you expect to get the truth from him if we can't believe anything he says?" Astrid said.

"I'm not expecting him to come out and tell me. There are other ways to figure out who he is."

"You already know who he is! Do I need to remind you?"

I met Harald's steady gaze, and suddenly, all our past experiences flooded my mind. Instead of the pain I expected, they brought warmth and comfort. "Maybe I do know who you are. All those terrible things Skulder and Heather said about you - and Astrid too - maybe they're true... but so are all the good things I know about you. Because the truth is complicated, isn't it? Everyone has some good and evil inside them. The world isn't divided into heroes and villains."

"Uh, yeah it is," Snotlout said.

"But that makes everything so much more fun," Harald said. "It's a much better story."

"But it's not true," I insisted. "You can't change play the part of an evil pirate and expect me to go along with it."

"Why not? No one else seems to have a problem with it."

"I'm not like them. Maybe that makes me a freak or a fool, but I don't care..." I looked at my friends to see them with confused and worried expressions. Of course they could not understand what I was saying. Like Harald explained before, most people did not want the real truth. It was much easier to maintain an 'us vs. them' mentality. All this time I had tried to prove to everyone I was with them... could my sympathy for the other side lead them to suspect otherwise?

It did not matter. I knew what was right. I turned back to Harald with renewed determination. "They can do as they wish. I have chosen the harder path, and I will not ask them to join me. You think you've won this 'game' you've played with me? You're wrong. The game isn't over yet. It's just begun, and I will prove to you that I'm the one who's right." I crossed my arms and glared at him defiantly.

Harald chuckled, and the sound caught me off guard. "You really are interesting, you know that? I could not have found a more worthy opponent. Very well. Game on."

My eyes narrowed. What was he up to? Did he want me to give up on him or not? Maybe he was just trying to confuse me. If so, he was definitely succeeding.

Hiccup cleared his throat. "Brennda, are you finished interrogating him?"

I spared him a glance. "Yes, Hiccup. You may proceed."

"Good," said Astrid. She fixed her steely gaze on Harald. "Tell us where the dragons are!"

The emotion vanished from Harald's face as soon as it had appeared. "Astrid, dear, I was only using them as means to an end. Unfortunately, I ran into a small complication. The dragon hunters ambushed me a few leagues away from Dragon's Edge and stole the dragons. I know where they are taking them, and if you release me, I can sneak you into their camp. Don't worry, I have a plan, if you'll listen..."

A/N: Well, Brennda has made her choice... We'll see if she regrets it in the end.