Nineteen

Iza is not sure she heard correctly, but the determined expressions returning her incredulous stare remain steadfast. Still, she needs to be sure. "You want me to what?"

"Find us dragons," Róża drawls out, flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder. The braids at her temples only show off her exquisite face and her coolly assessing gaze. She pins Iza in place, leaving no room for argument.

"And then teach us to fly them," Jaspar adds. Although remarkably identical siblings, Jaspar has always been somewhat softer, somewhat quieter than his sister. A fierce warrior, but one prone to thoughtful silences, something which Alise praises with moons in her eyes.

But none of Róża's intimidating looks or Jaspar's amicable demeanor mean anything at the moment – not to Iza, who can only replay their words over and over again in her head. Find us dragons. And then teach us to fly them.

As if either of those things were easy.

Iza should perhaps be less surprised than she is, but she can still be knocked over by a feather at this demand disguised as a request.

For the past few days the only people to pay her any mind were Alise, who has become a mediator in the village, Edvard, who has taken to patrolling around the Chieftain's home, Jakob, who regarded his cousin with stars in his eyes, and Carlisle, who hardly counted because as Iza's technical slave his opinion hardly mattered to anyone who wasn't Iza or Eko. Iza has been more isolated than ever now that Eko has been revealed, but she is at peace with it. Rarely does the village as a whole like her, anyway. And she's glad to have Mik's skittishness and the wary glances of the Elders as far from herself as possible.

Even in this short time, Iza has come to find comfort in the quiet. She is less stressed than she has been in her whole life in the wake of these revelations. Part of her is restless, her mind working over the issue of the starving dragons, but for the most part, she is glad to be left alone. The alternative is certainly worse.

Still, she should have known it would not last. And she should be less surprised that it is these tall blond siblings that would be the first to seek them out. Neither Jaspar or Róża have ever been the type to sit idly, after all. And Iza suspects that Róża, like herself, is constantly chomping at the bit to become more. Iza has seen Róża best Emebor with a longsword, after all. Pity that female Viking raiders are so rare – Róża would make a perfect one. As it is, Róża has some of the most reliable seidr in the village and a small, petty part of Iza chafes at the notion that Róża will best her in yet another thing if Róża takes up dragons, as well.

Iza is stronger than her own pettiness, however, and pushes the errant thought away. Just because Iza does not have seidr does not mean she should prevent those who do have seidr from seeking dragons. It's in her best interest that dragons are accepted, after all. It's in Eko's best interest – and nothing will get in the way of that, not even Iza herself.

Iza sighs, looking between Róża and Jaspar. "To be clear…you want to have your own dragons?"

"Yes," Jaspar says simply.

"Obviously," Róża says with a roll of her eyes.

They want their own dragons, Iza thinks dumbly.

And it is not that Iza does not want to help her peers assimilate to dragons – because it would truly be very helpful for so many reasons – but the timing is bad. The Chieftain and the raiders have been gone for almost an entire season, just a little longer than usual, and everyone is growing anxious for it. There is a shared thought they all do not dare voice – what if the Chieftain does not return? What if the raiders have died? What if the ocean has taken the strongest of their village?

And for Iza – what will she do if she becomes a true orphan in a village that at best tolerates her these days? She knows it is only her position as the Chieftain's daughter that has cooled the most violent urges of some villagers. Anyone else who would be so bold as to raise and ride a dragon would have been stoned on the spot.

Iza is fortunate, but her luck is attached to her father's continued leadership. If the Chieftain is dead or does not return soon, Iza will have to run. And that is not even taking into account the Chieftain's reaction to Eko, because if he shuns Iza then she is as good as dead. Either way, Iza has packed a bag of essentials and instructed Carlisle to do the same – just in case.

Nevertheless, in all of Iza's circular thoughts about her immediate future, she had not ever entertained the idea that she would be asked to obtain dragons and train villagers to tame the creatures. And if she's honest, she does not even know if such a thing is possible.

Eko has been with Iza since she was an egg. They bonded during that time and in all the time since.

Iza has no idea if it is possible to bond with a dragon who is not hatched by a person. She has no idea if she and Eko are unique in this way, and neither does Eko.

What her peers ask of her is…monumentally difficult, to say the least. And she says as much.

"I never intended to find Eko or hatch her from her egg," she says to the siblings. "It just happened that way. And Eko is unique. I do not even know if it is possible for other dragons to be bonded to people."

With an intervention from Thor, she does not add, thinking of the scars on her chest. And by the Gods, what if one has to be struck by Thor to bond a dragon? She shudders internally at the very thought.

"What is the harm in trying?" Jaspar wonders.

"I do not know where to even find other dragons," Iza argues.

Róża raises a single brow. "And have you ever let not knowing stop you from doing anything before, Izabela?"

And at that single pointed statement, Iza feels all of her protests drain out of her. Never mind her amazement that Róża even paid enough attention to Iza to know that uncertainty was not enough of a deterrant for anything Iza put her mind to. No, the real amazement comes from how starkly true the statement is – there is proof of Róża's words sprawled across the grass mere feet away, soaking up warm sunlight with two-toned eyes lazily trained on their visitors.

Iza had not let not knowing stop her from hatching or raising or even riding Eko.

So why should she let not knowing stop her from finding friendly dragons and teaching others how to tame the creatures? Surely such a thing would not be too difficult. After all, Iza had managed it mostly by accident.

"Fine," Iza says. "But I do not know how long it will take."

Róża thrusts out her hand for Iza to shake. "Consider it an alliance, then."

Jaspar merely nods his agreement.

Later, Iza will recognize this as yet another turning point. But for now, she sees it as a welcome distraction from the sudden tumult of her life.

Of course, as all things tend to be, fulfilling Róża and Jaspar's request is much more complicated than she initially thought it would be. The only good thing that comes from the futile efforts searching the forest for other dragons or at least other dragon eggs is the amount of practice Iza gets for flying with Eko. By the end of the second day, both Iza and Eko are comfortable with the tandem flight – it feels as if Iza and Eko have always flown together, that is how much they are of one mind when they are in the air.

But the end of the second day also finds frustration – because there are no dragons to be found. No eggs, no tracks, and no dragon scent that Eko can follow. Which is all very strange, considering that dragons have always flown from this area of the forest.

Perhaps the dragons are more wily than I thought, Iza considers.

What do you mean? Eko wonders.

Iza turns her eyes in the opposite direction, looking up toward the mountain in the distance, the mountain that none of the villages in the area would dare approach. The cursed, fog-cloaked mountain, topped with snow year round and made from the darkest of black rock.

What if the dragons come from the mountain rather than the trees or the high skies? Iza asks through their mental link. She is rewarded with Eko's first fuzzy memories from within her egg, the comfort she felt being nestled in embers and tucked away into the deepest shadow of a cave.

Eko has the notion that, yes, dragons might be creatures of the sky but they are all born of the most ancient earth magic. And what is more ancient than a towering mountain?

Unseen, a sharp-tongued trickster watches the girl and the dragon from realms away and he smiles into the seidr mirror he uses for scrying. "Now you're getting it, Halfling. Your mother will be ever so pleased."

A/N: Suddenly got inspired for this story, so the next few chapters have a plan! We're also probably over the middle hump of the story. I don't think it will be more than 30 chapters.

No Norse things for this chapter.

As always, be brutally honest. I can take it.

~Rae