Chapter 17: A Life Without You
The people could be forgiven for screaming, she guessed. It wasn't every day where dragons flew into the village. In fact, the only other time it had happened was about a week ago, when they had carried a very still boy with them. He was so still that for a moment she wondered whether there was any flicker of life left in him. But then she felt the faintest of pulses in his wrist, and immediately she cast away all other thoughts and set to work. The people with the boy were worried, sad, some completely distraught with grief. But she wasn't. Mourning wasn't in her job scope. Her job was to heal, was to save, and if everything failed, then it was to grief, but so long as there was a chance, no matter how small, she would take it. She set to work immediately, and had worked tirelessly through the night until she could do no more. It was only at that point when Tyrasson Solveig, the resident healer of the tribe of Breca, finally went out to break the news.
The foreign dragon riders had said they would return, and return they did, on this very day, hence the screaming. Tyrasson chuckled a little. Having previously been from a tribe that had its fair share of dragon attacks, she often found it amusing whenever the people of Breca screamed when a dragon came close.
She opened the door to the healing room quietly, partially out of habit and partially out of respect. The moment she entered the room though, a loud crash burst in her ears. She glowered at the boy sitting on the bed, left arm in a sling and giving her a sheepish grin. He still had a boyish face, but she had no doubts that as he grew older his face would change from being cute to handsome. Blonde hair with a stray strand hanging in front of his face and shining jet black irises, together with a well-defined jawline and a sharp nose. It was a face that many girls would fawn over.
"Sorry," Jerrick said sheepishly.
"What were you trying to do?"
"Lift up a cup with my left hand."
"Why on earth would you try that?"
"I thought it was strong enough."
"You've only been here for a week."
"I've already been here for a week."
"No, only. Your shoulder is completely damaged. You won't be able to use it for a few months. I'm surprised it didn't hurt trying to lift up the cup." Jerrick winced a little, remembering how much he had to restrain himself from yelling in pain. He sucked in air between his teeth and gave another sheepish look.
Tyrasson scowled even more. "It did, didn't it?" It was more of a statement than a question. Jerrick nodded meekly. "How many times do I need to tell you you need to rest?"
"I just feel so useless sitting here doing nothing." A hint of frustration crept into Jerrick's voice.
Tyrasson sighed. "Look, Jerrick. I know how you feel. Many people feel the same way when they're here. But you've got to realise that resting is important. If you don't rest, you might be injured permanently. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of how bad your injury is, right?"
"Yeah," Jerrick said sourly.
Tyrasson ruffled his hair, much to Jerrick's annoyance. "Just give it a few months, alright? You'll be as good as new." Just as she was about to leave the room, Tyrasson turned around. "By the way, you have a few special visitors today."
Jerrick perked up. "Who?"
"You'll see. I bet they're outside right now."
"Let them in then."
Tyrasson left the room, shutting the door behind her. Jerrick didn't have to wait long before the door opened again and his special visitors came in.
But Jerrick straightened up immediately when he saw who it was.
It was the dragon riders. Actually, dragon rider. Hiccup was the only one who came in, a concerned look on his face, arm still in a sling. Sure, they had worked together for the last fight, but they hadn't really spoken to each other. It was more of a temporary alliance, and then they would go back to never seeing each other.
Or so Jerrick thought. He could think of a million reasons why Hiccup was back here. The most likely reason was to bring him back to Berk and try him. But he didn't have jurisdiction outside his own tribe, did he? Then again, this was an archipelago of Vikings, and Vikings aren't known to be the most lawful people around.
Jerrick remained stoic as Hiccup stood over his bed. Hiccup suddenly flashed a grin. "Sling buddies," he said, raising his sling.
Jerrick remained silent for a moment, dumbfounded. The first thing Hiccup says to him is that? Jerrick suddenly burst into chuckles. The tension had been too much for him.
"Sling buddies," Jerrick agreed. Hiccup smiled and took a seat beside his bed.
"How are you feeling?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm fine," Jerrick lied.
"Does it hurt?"
"Not at all."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
Hiccup sighed. "Look, Jerrick, I know you don't want to admit that it's pain, and I get that, I do it too. But I really want to know. I'll send the healer from Berk down here if it's too painful."
"Thanks, but it's really doing fine."
"If you say so," Hiccup said. From his tone, Jerrick knew Hiccup didn't believe a word he said.
There was an awkward silence. The air hung thick. Jerrick knew exactly why, but he didn't want to address it yet. He glanced at Hiccup out of the corner of his eye. The auburn man didn't seem to notice the silence. It just made Jerrick even more annoyed with himself. Why can't he man up and just admit his own wrongs?
"Look, Hiccup," he began, but stopped. Jerrick drew in a deep breath. He hadn't rehearsed this before. "I'm sorry for… for all… look, I didn't know that you weren't the one, I thought… I was wrong-"
A gentle hand on his shoulder startled Jerrick. He looked up. Kind emerald eyes gazed back at him. In just one look, Hiccup looked like he understood everything Jerrick was saying, everything he was going through, and even forgiving him for it.
"It's okay Jerrick, I understand," Hiccup said. He flashed a kind smile, and in that moment Jerrick felt like everything that he'd ever done to the young man was forgiven and forgotten.
"I'm sorry, Hiccup," Jerrick said again. Jerrick knew he should say something more, make it more sincere, but at the moment he just couldn't find any words. How do you apologise to someone who you tried to kill?
"It's okay," Hiccup said again. "I understand. I can't imagine how you feel, trying to avenge your father. But I understand why you did everything you did."
The two of them sat in silence for a while. Finally it was Jerrick that broke the silence.
"Thank you." Those two words came out as no more than a whisper. "How's your shoulder?" Jerrick asked.
"It's healing quite well. I should be able to use it normally in a few weeks. How about yours?"
"It's seen better days." The two of them chuckled.
"How bad is it?"
"Pretty bad, honestly. The arrow was just an inch over my heart. It broke inside too, and pretty much damaged my whole shoulder. Tyrasson's giving me some tonic to keep the pain down, but today's the first day I'm going without it."
"And you say it doesn't hurt," Hiccup said playfully. Jerrick let out a lighthearted laugh.
"Where did Krogan go?" Jerrick noticed Hiccup tensed slightly at that question.
"He got away," Hiccup said.
"You didn't chase him?"
"No, we didn't. We were bringing you here." Jerrick realised he must've shown some sort of reaction, because he felt Hiccup's concerned eyes gaze at him again. "What's wrong?"
"It's just that… he's the one."
"The one who… oh," Hiccup must've realised what he was talking about.
"Yeah. I was kinda hoping that you would say he's rotting in a cell somewhere or something like that. Thank you for saving me." Jerrick added quickly.
"You're welcome." Hiccup rose from his seat. "I better head off now, my dad's going to wonder where I went especially after I ran away from his lessons."
"Thanks for everything, Hiccup."
"Rest well, Jerrick. We'll keep in touch." Hiccup walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. Jerrick reached for his book on a bedside table. A sudden jolt of pain shot through his arm. Jerrick yelped in pain.
"Jerrick?" Kari asked from the door. Jerrick tried to smile, but he figured his face looked more constipated than happy. Another bolt of pain shot through his arm. Jerrick groaned.
"Are you okay?" Kari rushed over to his bedside.
"Perfectly… fine…" Jerrick said in between groans. "Just… hit an awkward angle."
"Drink this." Kari waved the flask of tonic under his nose. Jerrick grimaced when he caught the strong alcoholic scent. He waved it away.
"Just smelling that makes me feel much better," Jerrick said.
"If you say so." Kari set the tonic back on the table. "It's much easier to make you drink that when you're half conscious."
"It tastes better when I'm half conscious. All my senses feel like they've been dragged through fire when I'm half conscious. I can barely remember anything."
"Nothing at all?"
"I remember seeing you a lot."
"Nothing else?"
"Tyrasson and my guardians too-"
"You don't remember anything you said?" Kari had a wry smile on her face.
"No… is that bad?"
"Nope." Kari giggled. Jerrick stretched out his one working hand and jabbed her in the ribs. It did nothing but make Kari giggle even harder.
"What did I say?"
"Lots of things. It's gonna be a riot when the rest come and visit."
"Come on, tell me what I said."
"Well," Kari paused to sweep her luscious brown hair out of her face. "You told Corey he was fat."
"I did not!"
"Yeah you did. Let me quote you, 'Corey, when you want to get from one place to another quickly, do you run or do you roll?'" Kari burst out laughing.
Jerrick couldn't wipe the stunned expression off his face. "Was he angry?"
"He laughed it off with you. But it was hilarious."
"What else did I say?" Part of Jerrick dreaded what he was going to hear, but at the same time he was quite curious to find out. The remark about Corey - although mean - was quite funny, he had to admit.
"Two days ago Dustin and Helka came in wearing the same tunic, and you just kept calling them by the other person's name the whole time. 'Helka - oh I'm sorry, that's Dustin.' That's exactly what you did every time." Jerrick laughed.
"Then one of the days Corey brought some mutton stew. Every time you took a bite you said 'I'm becoming more sheepish' and laughed like it was the funniest joke in the world." Jerrick laughed even harder.
"Sounds like I was high as a dragon." Jerrick chuckled.
"Yeah, you were. We all had a good laugh too."
"Was that all I said?"
"Not really." Jerrick noticed Kari blush a little.
"What else did I say?" Jerrick started to feel slightly worried.
"You said some really nice things too." Kari hesitated for a moment. The blush in her cheeks grew redder. "You said how your dad would've been proud of everything you did last week." Jerrick stayed silent, knowing that there was more to come. Eventually, Kari continued. "You also said that your dad would've liked me."
Now it was Jerrick's turn to blush. He shifted closer to Kari as gently as possible and placed his working arm around her shoulders. "He would though. He would've loved someone with your kindness, your liveliness." Kari pressed gently against Jerrick.
"I never knew high Jerrick was so expressive and thoughtful."
"Yeah, well, me neither." Jerrick chuckled. "Did I ruin the mood straight away after saying that? I tend to do that a lot."
"You definitely did. You immediately said 'Told you I'm not gay, dad.'"
Jerrick laughed heartily. Suddenly, a thought struck him. "Did I say anything about us in front of anyone?"
"You didn't, thank goodness. So many people came to visit. I was so nervous you were going to blurt something out at some point."
"That would be bad, wouldn't it?"
"Probably," Kari shrugged. She looked up into Jerrick's chocolate brown eyes, a pleasant smile on her face. Jerrick suddenly noticed a tear roll down Kari's cheek.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, everything's fine." Kari paused to wipe the tear. "It's just that… all this," Kari gestured her hands wildly, "made me realise something. I'm so glad you're okay. A world without you… I can't imagine that." Another tear leaked down Kari's cheek.
"Wouldn't be that great, I guess," Jerrick chuckled. "Same goes for me. I can't imagine what a world without you would be like."
Jerrick wiped the tear off Kari's cheek, letting his finger run over the dimple on her cheek. He felt a flutter in his heart when Kari let out a chuckle of delight. Jerrick chuckled gleefully too. What a lucky guy he was. He'd gone on a mission that was doomed to fail right from the start and somehow survived. He'd been shot at and barely survived.
But most importantly, Jerrick decided, was that he could finally call Kari Iona Tordis his girlfriend. The kind hearted, beautiful, and absolutely lovely Kari Tordis was now his girlfriend. A surge of joy filled him. Jerrick felt a tear run down his cheek too.
Kari glanced up when he moved his hand to wipe the tear, and Jerrick noticed her steal a glance at his lips. Jerrick blinked a few times and gave her the sweetest smile he could manage. Kari giggled. Jerrick leaned down, bringing his face closer to Kari's. His heart began to beat faster. His breath hitched. Kari's lips twitched slightly. Jerrick closed his eyes, and closed the final gap between the teenage couple, pressing his lips against hers. The fluttering in his heart and the electricity in his nerves was exactly the same as before. His mind flew away, lost to the rush of excitement, brought to a place only true happiness could reach. Kari's hand wrapped behind his head, pulling him even closer to her. Jerrick ran his hand through her long brown hair. Everything in his life was surrendered to the dizzying bliss that complete joy brought. They finally pulled apart, breathless but still grinning from ear to ear.
"You two are so cute."
Jerrick whirled to face the door. Corey, Dustin and Helka were there, smiling and grinning knowingly like idiots. Jerrick shared a glance with Kari. A hot flush crept into his cheeks.
"What are you talking about?" Jerrick said dumbly.
"You can't be that stupid, Thurmond," Corey teased. "When did this all start?" The annoying smirk stayed firmly on his face.
"When did what start?"
"Now he's denying it," Corey laughed. "Come on, just tell us."
Jerrick glanced at Kari, knowing full well what each other was trying to say.
"We're not a thing," Jerrick said.
"We never said that, but since you admit it…" Corey said again.
"I never admitted it."
"Come on, stop denying it. Just tell us," Dustin egged.
"I never-"
"Oh, who cares," Kari suddenly said. Jerrick was about to ask her what she was doing, but she suddenly pressed her lips against his. Jerrick gasped. Kari eventually broke the kiss, leaving one blonde teenage boy confused and dumbfounded.
"Yeah, we're together," Kari said. "It's been about two weeks now."
Jerrick gazed at her blankly, as though asking 'What was all that about?' Kari read his mind. "I don't see why we should keep hiding it. We're going to tell them at some point anyway."
Jerrick gave it some thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Congrats you two." Corey said.
The room broke out in excited chatter. Jerrick purposely called Corey sheepish again when he passed another bowl of sheep stew to him. Everyone laughed when Corey pouted.
"Babe," Kari said when the others weren't listening.
"Babe?" Jerrick asked.
"I thought it would catch on." Kari shrugged.
"I like it."
"You know what you said about your dad and me?" Kari asked. Jerrick nodded. "Well," Kari continued. "I know my dad would say the same about you. He's always liked having you around."
Jerrick felt his heart warm. He reached over to Kari and hugged her with his free hand. Kari snuggled against him.
Jerrick smiled. Everything was going fine. Sure, he might not have taken revenge. In fact, his father's killer even shot him and ran away.
But one thing was certain, Jerrick thought as he stole another look at Kari, he certainly gained a lot more than he ever thought he would've.
THE END
A/N: That's that. Jerrick is alive, you're all welcome. Thanks to everyone for reading! Would you be interested in a short sequel? It probably wouldn't be too long, just a few chapters. I hope you have enjoyed this story!