Chapter 2

~.~

"Stormfly!" Uh-oh. Astrid. Why didn't I realize it sooner?

"Watch out!" One of Eret's men says as the intruders land.

"What are you doing?" Astrid asks no one in particular.

We all draw out our weapons – well, except for me, since mine was already drawn out – as Hiccup draws out his…firesword? That's new. Astrid picks up a stick as her weapon.

I try to keep my distance so that Astrid, Hiccup, and Toothless don't see me and recognize me.

"Back again?...Soil my britches. That is a Night Fury. Thought they were all gone for good." Eret says, standing up on the Nadder.

"Looks like our luck's had a turn for the better, lads – and my lass. Don't think Drago has one of those in his dragon army." Eret says, pointing his sword at Toothless.

"Dragon army?" Astrid asks.

"Look, we don't want any trouble." Hiccup says.

Says the man with the firesword. Stepping up, I say what's on everyone's minds.

"Ha. You should've thought of that before you stole all of our dragons and blasted our fort to bits!" I say. Eret smiles at me proudly, happy I'm saying what's on all of our minds.

"What are you talking about?" Astrid asks. Good, she hasn't recognized me yet.

"You think we did this?" Hiccup asks. It's then he locks eyes with me and I know instantly that he's recognized me. My chest suddenly tightens, and Eret notices this as he kneels in front of me, gently taking my sword and placing it beside me on the ground.

"You all right, honey?" Eret asks, concern for me in his eyes as he takes my hands.

"I know them, Eret." I say, "He's the guy who cast me out three years ago." Eret glances back and sees the very man who had – unknowingly – sent me adrift, almost dying.

"Don't worry, Becky. I'll say something to divert their attention away from you." Eret says.

"Thank you, Eret." I say.

"You're welcome. Don't fret, my love." Eret says before kissing my forehead. He stands and faces Hiccup and Astrid as I pick up my sword.

"Dragon trapping is hard enough work as it is, without –"

"You're not trying to divert our attention away from Becky, are you? Because it's not working." Hiccup says.

"You cast her out. She's not your problem anymore." Eret says.

"Problem?" I ask Eret, raising my eyebrow at him.

"That is not what I meant, Becky. I meant that…you are not…you don't have to deal with them anymore. You are no longer their concern. That's what I meant to say…Am I still in trouble?" Eret asks me, giving me the puppy-dog look he gives me when he's in trouble with me.

"How can I stay mad at you with that face?" I ask, stepping in front of Eret, patting him on his cheek as I walk by and stand in front of Astrid and Hiccup.

"You know, we were doing quite well with trapping the dragons, but it's hard enough work as it is without do-gooder dragon riders sneaking in to rescue them." I say.

"What do-gooder…there are other dragon riders?" Hiccup asks.

"I don't know of any other dragon riders, Hiccup." I say.

"You know, I don't remember you being this sassy when we met." Hiccup says.

"Nearly getting poisoned by Scauldrons can change you. If it wasn't for these guys, I wouldn't be here right now. Can we get back on topic? Please? This is not about me. Is there another dragon rider, other than your thieving friend from last night? You tell us." I say.

"You may have an ice-spitting dragon on your side, but we still have a quota to fill. How do you suppose we explain this mess to Drago Bludvist?" Eret asks.

"Drago What-fist? Does anything you say make sense?" Hiccup asks.

"He's expecting a new shipment of dragons for his army by tomorrow." Teeny says.

"And Drago don't take well to excuses." No-Name adds.

Eret lowers his tunic, revealing the large branding-iron scar on his chest: a dragon skull being split in half by a sword.

"This is what he gave me last time I showed up empty-handed." Eret says before turning to me.

"Mind showing them the bruise?" Eret asks, knowing he'll change the subject if I say no.

"Might as well." I say. I wince as I raise my left sleeve.

"Careful." Eret tells me as he helps me raise my sleeve to reveal a bruise in the shape of a handprint I had gotten last time we had seen Drago and he was unsatisfied.

"He promised to be far less understanding to the both of us in the future." Eret says, turning back to Hiccup and Astrid.

I remember the day Eret got that brand like it was yesterday…even though I wish I could forget the pain my Eret felt that day just about a year ago.

*Flashback*

Just a week before Eret's birthday in late May, we're met with a note from Drago:

"Ten dragons are to be caught before the week's end. Do not fail me this time."

The week goes by quicker than expected, but only three dragons are caught. Eret and I both fear what Drago will do to us when he finds out. Soon, Drago's ship approaches. Drago comes on board, eyeing me greedily. I stand my ground as Drago's men force Eret and me on board his ship.

Many hours pass as Eret and I anxiously stand by as Drago inspects our small fleet.

"Six hours later, the branding iron is ready. Gustavo, you hold her back. Halstein, you and Kensley hold Eret back." My breath quickens as Gustavo holds me back, thinking Drago will be branding me.

"Drago, please don't do this. She doesn't deserve this." Eret starts, but it's not until Halstein and Kensley push Eret onto his back that I realize what Drago is doing:

Drago is forcing me to watch the branding take place.

Drago takes the branding iron off of the hot coals – where it had been absorbing the heat for hours – and takes his place over Eret, putting the branding iron to Eret's chest. It's unbearable to watch, but I have no choice.

"NO! Stop it! Please! Leave him alone, Drago!" I exclaim to Drago, but my pleas fall on deaf ears as I watch my one true love be branded by Drago Bludvist himself, right in front of me. As soon as the branding iron leaves Eret's chest, I run to his side after breaking out of one of Drago's men's grasps.

"You belong to me now." Drago tells Eret. I flinch, as that is exactly what Drago told me after our first "session".

"I'm here, baby. I'm right here. Oh, my Eret. I'm so sorry this happened to you." One of Drago's men tries to drag me away from Eret, but, to my surprise, Drago stops him.

"Leave her be. I'll have better use of her later."

"You're a monster." I tell Drago while he is still in earshot.

"What did you call me, girl?" Drago asks me, gripping my left upper arm hard as I stand up.

"YOU'RE A MONSTER!" I scream, not caring about the consequences. Drago slaps me across my face, but even as I turn to face him again, I'm still glaring daggers at him; Drago simply walks away. I go back to Eret's side and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Drago smirk; I know what he has planned even if I hadn't seen him smirk, but right now I need to be focused on Eret.

I see the heat and smoke radiating from the branding scar.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you, Eret." I say, stroking his hair.

"Not your fault, darling." Eret says, his voice scratchy, as if the burn had found its way into his throat.

"But it's not yours either, Eret." I retort, getting a ladleful of water from a nearby trough and putting it to his lips; Eret accepts it graciously. I then cut off a piece of my tunic and dip it into a nearby bucket after filling the bucket with water.

"How's your arm?" Eret asks me, his eyes glancing to the spot on my arm where Drago had gripped it.

"It's fine." I reply, knowing Eret's abuse marks were more severe than mine.

"Drago could've crushed the bone the way he was gripping it." Eret say. I ignore Eret's comment as I wring out the rag.

"This'll sting a bit." I say, dabbing at the burn; Eret grits his teeth, sucking in his breath. Soon, I'm done doing all I can do to help Eret's burn. I turn to throw the water out into the sea, but Eret's hand grips my own and I can see determination in his eyes.

"I promise you, Becky. One day, we're both going to be free of Drago and his torture." Eret say.

*End Flashback*

I am snapped out of my memory by Eret's arm around my shoulder and Hiccup speaking.

"…or your lunatic boss and his dragon army, okay?" Hiccup says. Squeezing my shoulder comfortingly, Eret steps away from me and turns to the intruders, nodding to the crossbowmen.

"Just give us back our dragon, and we'll go, strange, hostile person whom we've never met." Hiccup says. I roll my eyes. Same old Hiccup.

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Eret, son of Eret. Finest dragon trapper alive, and also the luckiest man to be alive, married to the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes upon." Eret says, smiling and winking at me.

"And after all, it's not just anyone who can capture a Night Fury." Eret says.

Toothless roars a warning.

"And this is Toothless. He says we're going. Now." Hiccup says.

"Ha. They all say that. Rush 'em, lads!" Eret says. We run towards them but Toothless fires a shot, bringing down a massive spire of ice. Eret and I run to a safe spot and he shields me from the shards of ice.

Hiccup reignites his firesword and sets Stormfly free.

"Stormfly! C'mon, go! Go!" Eret and I get to our feet in time to see Toothless and Stormfly in the air, leading Hiccup and Astrid out of the way.

"You will never hold on to those dragons, you hear me? Drago is coming for them all!" Eret yells to them.