Chapter 13: Vicious Interactions

He shivered. The tarp did nothing to keep out the icy cold. In fact, it simply made it worse by keeping out the sunlight. The hunters had really done a thorough job searching him. All his armour had been removed, leaving him in a simple red tunic and brown pants - which didn't really help to keep out the cold too. He winced as he shivered. Vibrating his arm caused the chains to pull on his shoulder. The hunters really hadn't bothered sparing him any pain. Who comes up with such a cruel idea of chaining someone with a broken collarbone to the roof of the cage?

Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching his cage. He steeled himself and wiped all emotion from his face. Showing pain would just be a weakness. The tarp was pulled off the cage, and immediately a cold wind blew against his body. A vicious shiver travelled through his body unconsciously. Maybe the tarp was helping to keep out the cold.

His stubborn green eyes locked with mocking, evil, sadistic brown eyes. A smirk plastered on his scarred face, the cold-blooded hunter leader entered the cage and stood directly in front of him. His scar moved up and down as the man let out a chuckle.

"Feeling a little frosty, Hiccup?" Krogan mocked. Hiccup didn't respond. Defiant eyes glared straight at Krogan. Krogan's expression didn't change. Suddenly, without any warning, Krogan squeezed Hiccup's collarbone. A wave of blinding pain exploded in his shoulder. His whole arm burned. His vision went white. For a moment, all that he could think of was the sheer white-hot pain that decimated his whole body. His head throbbed. After what felt like an eternity, the pressure was released. Slowly, he regained his senses. He hadn't even realised how loudly he had screamed until he felt his throat hurt. Panting hard, he began to focus his thoughts on Krogan again. Krogan didn't change his expression, the small smirk still plastered on his face.

"You would know better than to defy me in this situation," Krogan warned.

"Where are my friends? And our dragons?" Hiccup asked, keeping his glare.

"Locked up in cages."

"I want to see them."

Krogan chuckled. "You're in no position to make demands." Krogan suddenly leaned in close. Hiccup felt his warm breath on his face when he exhaled. "Where is the Dragon Eye?"

Hiccup glared at Krogan. Krogan raised his hand, and Hiccup's heart rate tripled. "Wait!" He called out. Krogan lowered his hand and smiled. Hiccup drew in a deep breath. "It's gone. I destroyed it." Krogan's hand dropped, much to Hiccup's relief. But the relief was short-lived when Hiccup saw Krogan's face darken. His smile disappeared.

"You destroyed it?"

"Yeah."

"Why did you do that?"

"I figured it was too dangerous to be left alone." Hiccup took a deep breath. "In the wrong hands it would be bad. So I destroyed it."

"Well this changes everything."

"Why are you searching for it again after stopping for a while?" Krogan eyed Hiccup through the side of his eye. For a moment Hiccup feared for his collarbone, but Krogan must've thought better of it, because he simply cleared his throat. "Do you know how I got this scar?" He pointed to the one thing on his face that nobody would miss. Hiccup shook his head as gently as he could.

"Let me tell you a story."

XX

Krogan's heart sank as he watched Drago sentence him to death. Drago's dark, menacing chuckle rang in his ears as the men on both sides of him grabbed his arms and dragged him away.

"Wait, Drago, please!" Krogan pleaded. "I will not fail you again!"

"No one fails me twice!" Drago barked.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Krogan felt his heart rise into his throat. He yanked his hands, but the men holding his arms had strong grips. Krogan knew what they were going to do; fling him off the side of a jetty into the freezing waters, hands and feet bound and tied to a heavy metal ball. Just thinking about it made Krogan's hands sweaty. He yanked his hands again, but it was pointless. The men had iron grips. He struggled again. There was no way he was going to die today. He was the mighty Krogan! Whoever dared to stand in his way would die. And a new name had just been added to that list.

He forced himself to calm down. If he wanted to escape he needed to keep a cool head. Krogan played the scenario in his head. The two men would continue to drag him away until they reached the edge of the dock. At that point, they would call some other people to guard him. They wouldn't start to tie him up until the others arrived. That meant that there was a brief period of time where he would be alone at the edge of the docks with only two enemies. But that time period wouldn't be too long. He had to strike quickly. Krogan let the men drag him away. He pretended to struggle a little so as to not raise any suspicions. He even spat on one of the men. The man scowled at him. Krogan smiled a little. Angry people tend to make more mistakes.

They reached the edge of the dock. The two men pushed him onto his knees and one of them held his arms behind his back firmly. Nothing could prevent them from completing their execution.

But Krogan could. In one swift move, he jumped onto his feet and leaned back with all his weight. The man holding him was caught by surprise. Krogan landed heavily on him. The man groaned loudly. Krogan spun to face the other man…

...who had his sword out. The man swung ferociously at Krogan. Krogan didn't have time to think. He leapt back. The sword narrowly missed his face. Krogan leapt back again. The blade whizzed past him. The man stepped forward, fury twisted on his face, preparing to thrust the sword forward. Krogan noticed his left side was exposed. He pounced. Sidestepping the swing, and leapt on the man. Grabbing his neck with both hands, Krogan pushed the man to the ground, grinding his thumbs into his windpipe. The man spluttered. He clawed Krogan's hands. He tried to prise them off. A bead of sweat stung Krogan's eye, but he didn't wipe it off.

Suddenly, the man's eyes lit up. He swung out his arm and a hidden dagger appeared in his hand. In one swift move, he pulled his hand across Krogan's face. Pain shot across his whole face. Krogan howled. Clutching his face, he staggered backwards. It felt like someone had torn his face open from top to bottom.

Focus. The man was still hyperventilating. He was vulnerable. Krogan took a step forward and lashed out at his head. A loud crack resounded across the still dock, and the man crumpled to the ground. Krogan took a moment to catch his breath. But time was running short. He was in no state to fight any more. He had to get out of there. He winced as a few stray drops of salty seawater sprayed into his open wound.

An empty ship was lying unattended by one of the ports. There were a few dragon cages loaded on it. A large sail had been attached as well. It was probably going to move out soon on another dragon hunting voyage, which meant that there had to be rations and other supplies on board. Perfect for escaping. Moving as fast as he could, Krogan headed to the vessel. After checking that the coast was clear, he jumped aboard the vessel. He wiped the blood around his eye and set to work undoing the ropes that fastened the ship to the port. It took longer than he expected. After what seemed like an eternity, the ropes finally gave way. Gratefully, Krogan pushed out to sea.

XX

"On that day, I made a promise to…" Krogan's eyes suddenly focused on something behind Hiccup. He trailed off, pausing for just a second. His eyes met Hiccup's again. "...to complete what I started. I have to find the King of Dragons. So there you have it. That's why I want the Dragon Eye."

Hiccup listened to all this in silence. The whole story made sense. It explained Krogan's disappearance and sudden emergence.

"So you came after me to find the Dragon Eye," Hiccup said eventually.

"No," Krogan said menacingly. "I came after you to get you."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "I don't understand, what do I have that the Dragon Eye doesn't? Why not go for the Dragon Eye instead of me?"

"The Dragon Eye is good, no doubt. But it only shows the last location of the King of Dragons. Where it is now, the Dragon Eye wouldn't show. That's why I wanted you. You would know where it is."

"So you sent a young teenage boy to come and capture me?" Hiccup knew he had to redirect the conversation to Jerrick if he wanted any answers.

"I didn't send him there. He wanted to go."

"Because somehow you convinced him that I killed his father." Hiccup's voice took on a matter-of-fact tone.

Krogan's scar lifted when he raised an eyebrow. "Do you honestly think you're quite the innocent person you think you are?"

Hiccup was confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You really think you're fighting for peace? Do you know how much damage you have caused?"

"You hunt dragons, I doubt you should be talking about peace."

"Contrary to what you think, dragon hunting isn't a crime. You think it's a crime, but it's not. It's a way of life. Dragon trade and dragon products are a big part of the economy. As much as you try to deny it Hiccup, there is still demand for dragon products. And this demand needs to be met. There needs to be sufficient supply. That's where we dragon hunters come in. All we do is provide enough dragons to meet the demand of the market."

"But dragons are smarter than you think. Dragons are…"

"Dragons are animals! Why should they be treated differently from a yak or cow or sheep? They are animals. Animals. They belong to us. We humans can do whatever we please to them."

"They're smarter than other animals! They have a mind of their own, they can think, they can make friendships with each other. They're more than just another animal."

"All animals can form friendships. All animals can think. All animals have a mind of their own. Open your eyes, Hiccup. Look at the world around you. The world doesn't revolve around you and your dragons. There are bigger things, more important things than you and the stupid dragons."

"Okay, if you say dragons are just animals and that's why you hunt them, then why do you kill people too?"

Krogan laughed. "Do you really think you haven't?"

"Of course I haven't. I don't kill people. All I do is free the dragons that you catch."

"What do you think happened to the dragon flyers you knock off the Singetails? They survive after falling hundreds of metres into the water?"

Hiccup fell silent. "I-I never thought about that."

"Of course you didn't. You don't look beyond yourself and your selfish desires. You would gladly kill if it meant that you would get the human-dragon unity you so craved."

"That's not true."

"Is it? You already killed people. What's another one?"

"I don't want to kill for peace to happen."

"Whether you want to or not is irrelevant. You already did. What does that make you? A terrorist. Someone who goes to extreme measures to force the world to change in a way that they want."

Hiccup fell silent again. Krogan's attention was drawn to something behind the chained man. He scrutinised the area for a moment. Satisfied with what he had seen, he returned his attention to Hiccup.

"Now then, if you don't mind, terrorist Hiccup, tell me where the King of Dragons is."

"If you think that I would just give up the location of the King of Dragons, I'm afraid you're gravely mistaken."

"I know that. I'm going to extract the information from you." Without warning, a hand suddenly came down onto Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup drew in a deep breath before the pain blinded him. It shot up his arm like a lightning bolt. He screamed. The pain was unbearable. He felt nauseous. Just when he thought he would pass out, the pain lifted. He inhaled deeply, gulping down air by the gallon. His throat was hoarse from all the screaming.

"Where is the King of Dragons?"

"Go to hell." The hand clamped down on his shoulder again. He yelled. The pain ripped through his arm, tormenting his very existence. His mind exploded, and a whiteness took over his vision. But just as the welcoming darkness threatened to take over, the pain alleviated. Hiccup inhaled deeply again.

"The King of Dragons. Now!"

"Never." Pain came again, tearing every nerve ending in his arm. He screamed until his voice was no louder than a squeak. Fire burnt up and down his arm, reeling him into a blinding darkness. But once again, the pain lifted before he could slump into unconsciousness. His throat was dry as he gulped down the delicious air.

"Where is the King of Dragons?" Hiccup could feel Krogan's breath on his face.

"I'd rather… die than talk." Hiccup said amidst deep breaths. Krogan backed off a step.

"I was worried you'd say that. I didn't want to do this because I didn't want to stoop to this level but… circumstances have changed." Krogan snapped his fingers, and two guards appeared around the corner.

But it was who they had in their clutches that caused icy shivers to run down Hiccup's spine.

"Astrid!" Hiccup cried out.

"Hiccup!" Astrid said, before a fist connected with her face. She grunted in pain. "You bunch of yak-headed swines!" Hiccup gritted his teeth.

"Let her go!" He snarled. A ferocious fire burned in his eyes. His usually warm emerald green eyes took on a dark and stern look.

"If you tell me where the King of Dragons is, I would." Krogan's voice was unusually cool.

"I don't know where it is!"

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear. If you don't tell me where the King of Dragons is, she would not have a very fun time."

"Let her go!" There was a small trace of panic in Hiccup's voice, one which was very rarely heard. But still Hiccup's protests fell on deaf ears. Krogan motioned his men to proceed. They closed in on Astrid, and when Hiccup saw what they were doing, his heart sank.

They had taken off her clothes.

Hiccup knew what they were going to do, and he was helpless to do anything about it. He froze. His mind blanked. Everything else lay forgotten, apart from the horrific scene in front of his eyes. The small trace of panic was gone, replaced instead by full blown panic. His whole body chilled. For a brief moment, Hiccup's eyes met Astrid's fearful eyes. She never showed fear. She was fearless.

But she was fearful. Dread and horror consumed his whole body. His whole mouth went dry. A few tears began to leak from his eyes.

"No, no, no, no! Don't do this! Krogan, please don't!" His voice cracked a little. The panic and desperation in his voice was unmistakable. His whole body trembled.

"Tell me where the King of Dragons is."

"I don't know! I really don't!" Krogan didn't believe him. The men advanced. Astrid screamed death threats at the men. But she couldn't do anything about it. Terror consumed him. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks now. He shook the chains violently. He was a mess. "Krogan! Stop! Please! I'm telling you the truth! I don't know where it is!" Hiccup sobbed loudly. His broken shoulder was forgotten as the chains clanked loudly with every struggle he made. He stamped his feet on the ground rapidly, as though it would make a difference.

"Lies!" Krogan yelled back. "Where is the egg?"

"I don't know! Please!" Hiccup pleaded desperately. Loud sobs punctuated his pleas. His voice cracked. Hiccup trembled as he watched one of the men get dangerously close to Astrid. Astrid yelled at the man. He shook the chains again, hoping they would let him go. They held fast. He sobbed again. "Krogan, please don't do this! I'm telling the truth!"

"Who took the egg?" Krogan yelled.

"The Wingmaidens! They passed it to someone. I don't know who they gave it to! Please, let her go!" He was a bawling mess now. He had never felt so helpless and useless before, utterly powerless and unable to protect the girl he loved with all his heart.

Krogan inspected Hiccup. His loud sobs wailed around the island. His feet were tapping the ground urgently. He was struggling futilely with his chains, almost like his shoulder was never injured at all. There was no way he was faking this level of desperation and despair. It was the truth. Sighing, he motioned for his men to stop. He turned to face the crying boy.

"You have been very useful, Hiccup. Thank you for your help." Krogan flashed a wide smile, before his face became very serious. "Unfortunately, since you don't know where the King of Dragons is, I'm afraid that you're no longer useful. As a result, your time is at an end. I'm sure my men would like to see their arch-nemesis executed in front of them. How does tomorrow sound, Hiccup?"

Hiccup didn't respond. He couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. All that came from him besides the tears was repeated mutterings of "I'm sorry Astrid." He didn't dare look into her eyes as they dressed her and pulled her away. Krogan smirked a little.

Without another word, he turned on his heel and walked out of the cage. The guards quickly shut the door and locked the terrified boy up. They pulled the tarp over the cage, muffling the lone sobs of a man who had just witnessed his worst fears almost come true. Chatter broke out between the two guards. The next day would bring an end to a war they had fought for way too long with the execution of their sworn nemesis. They couldn't wait.

But in the midst of their excitement, they failed to notice a young teen boy by the name of Jerrick Brandt sneak out from underneath the excess tarp and steal away into the darkness of the night.

XX

The guest house Jerrick, Kari and Corey shared looked warm on the outside, large wooden logs lining the walls, but in reality it was quite cold on the inside. The logs were uneven and there were a few gaps in the walls. It wasn't very cold, but it was chilly. Jerrick wondered if the house Dustin and Helka were given had the same issue.

Jerrick sat in a chair near the fireplace. It would be just a little too cold to sit anywhere else. Arms crossed, legs straightened, eyes unfocused, slouched in the chair, it was a typical thinking pose from Jerrick.

Kari walked through the living room for the umpteenth time. Her eyes glanced over to Jerrick and then back at wherever she was headed. To a certain extent it annoyed Jerrick, but at the same time he didn't have the heart to tell her off. He knew why she was doing this. Her slightly pursed lips and searching eyes told it all. For a split second Jerrick thought about telling her to stop, but he held back.

"Can't avoid the look of my body?" Jerrick teased. He stretched out his arms for good effect.

Kari's head flicked over to look at him, and for a brief moment her eyes examined his soul. But eventually she smiled and laughed, showing the dimples on her face. "Don't get your hopes up, you're not that hot."

"Not that hot? So you're saying that I am hot." Jerrick shot her a smirk.

"You're so full of yourself, silly boy." Kari laughed.

"I'm silly? Remember the time you walked straight into a pond?"

"Hey! I thought it was solid ground!"

Their silly banter continued into easy conversation, and obviously with a few tickles here and there. It was just a typical 'Jerrick' thing to do. Before either of them noticed it, a whole hour had passed. It wasn't until the chit-chat slowed down that Jerrick realised how much he missed his normal life. Kari was sitting by his side, so close that their shoulders were almost touching. Talking with Kari was the first time he had felt genuinely happy since the whole affair started. Even when he had finally shot Hiccup, he hadn't felt happy. He hadn't felt anything, in fact.

"Are you okay?" Kari asked suddenly. Jerrick realised his face must have betrayed all that he was thinking.

"Yeah," he said subconsciously. Kari leaned her head on his shoulder. He turned and saw her searching eyes examining him. Jerrick sighed. "I'm confused," he admitted.

"You mean you don't know who's the one?"

"More than that. I don't-I don't know if I want this anymore." Kari stayed silent, indicating he should continue. "I hadn't realised how happy I was until this whole thing started. Sure, I've said that I want revenge and whatever. But this whole affair made me realise how great my life was, even without revenge. I didn't feel happy when I shot Hiccup, you know? I didn't feel anything, didn't even feel satisfied."

"But you're not sure who actually did it."

"Now I'm not sure. Back then when I shot him, I was sure it was him. Now… I don't know."

"Did it help, going back to the cages?"

"It honestly made things worse. Hiccup always said that he didn't like to kill people. It sounded so genuine that I began to doubt whether he could actually kill someone. But then I found out that he actually did. Not just one, in fact, there were a few, according to Krogan." Kari gasped a little. "Yeah, my reaction exactly." Jerrick chuckled. "I was actually beginning to think he didn't have it in him to kill people, but turns out he's a serial killer. He knocks people off dragons or something like that."

"But your father… he wasn't riding dragons, was he?"

"No, he wasn't. If he was he would've taken me for a ride already." Jerrick chuckled a little, and then sighed. "I don't know, Kari. It could be Hiccup but at the same time I don't think it is. My dad was hunted down by dragons, not knocked off one."

"Do you think Hiccup could be right?"

"About what?"

"About Krogan being the one who did it."

"Possibly." Jerrick placed both his hands over his face and groaned loudly. "This whole thing's driving me crazy, Kari. How about we just get out of here? Let's leave this island, go back to Breca, forget this ever happened?"

Kari removed her head from Jerrick's shoulder and backed up a little. Her forest green eyes looked surprised. "Just the two of us?"

"All of us. Let's go back and live life normally. Forget this ever happened. What do you say?"

Kari's face suddenly darkened. "No way! You're just going to leave everything behind? After all you did?"

Jerrick straightened up. "What do you mean? I don't mind going back now."

"And leave a man to die?"

"Hiccup won't die-"

"Yes he will, Jerrick," Kari interrupted him. "You heard what Krogan said."

"He's a terrorist, he deserves it."

"You don't even believe that."

"He can… find a way to escape then…" Jerrick said unconvincingly.

"With a broken shoulder? Listen to yourself!" Kari huffed.

"Kari, listen," Jerrick said. "Our lives were great before all this started. Let's just head back to Breca, forget all this happened. None of this will concern us in the future. We'll never talk to Krogan or anyone in his army ever again."

"Do you know what I like about you, Jerrick?" Kari stood up and faced him. "It's not just your witty sense of humour or your fun-loving nature, what I really love about you is your selflessness. You're always thinking about how to help others. But now you're not." Kari softened her tone. "I know this whole thing has been hard on you, but it's a man's life, Jerrick. And you know that you're the reason Hiccup is here right now. You can't just walk away from this if you have a conscience."

"I just wanted to undo all this," Jerrick explained, standing up and waving his arms around. He paced the room, the air thick from thought. Subconsciously he found his way to his bed and sat down heavily on it. "I don't know," Jerrick continued with a heavy sigh. "I was the one who dragged all of you into this, and I don't think that it's very safe being here anymore. I did promise I wouldn't do anything that'll harm you guys."

"You also promised that you'll always be here."

"I am here," Jerrick narrowed his eyes at Kari in confusion. "What's wrong with that?"

Kari looked away. "The Jerrick I know wouldn't say something like this. He wouldn't walk away when someone's in danger. Remember how you jumped in to save the merchant at the Northern Markets a few days ago? The Jerrick I know and love would do such a thing. Besides, we didn't get dragged into this. We chose to follow you. We're here for you, Jerrick. We can help you."

Jerrick leaned back on his elbows and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. He hadn't noticed how willing he was to jump in and help. Frankly, that was the whole reason they were here. Maybe that would be his undoing in the future. Part of him still wanted to head back and fix everything. But Kari was right. Hiccup's life was in danger because of him, no, Hiccup was going to die because of him. It was his fault. Was he going to let his actions cause the death of an inno- a man? He had to choose.

"Alright, we'll stay," Jerrick said, straightening up. "I'll try and find a way to bust Hiccup out, and then I'll decide what to do with whoever might be the real culprit."

Kari smiled. "That's the Jerrick I know."

Jerrick smiled, but it didn't quite reach his ears. Kari sat down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I still don't know who killed my dad. I mean, I don't want revenge anymore - I don't think, but it wouldn't hurt to know who actually did it."

"It's going to be okay, trust me." Kari squeezed Jerrick's shoulder gently yet firmly. Jerrick raised his head. Shining, uncertain black eyes belonging to Jerrick met Kari's warm, smiling green eyes. "You'll figure out who it is eventually. I'm glad you chose to stay here and do the right thing."

She was right. He was doing the right thing. Whatever he had done before could not be changed, but at least he could right his wrongs - if they were wrongs in the first place. It might not be completely successful, but he'll know he did his best. Kari's smile widened when Jerrick finally smiled.

"Thanks, Kari." Jerrick could feel Kari's warm breath on his face when she chuckled. Her face was close to his, far enough for nothing to happen, yet close enough to mean something. There was a sense of anticipation. Both sides waiting for something, but yet neither side initiating anything. They held their warm gaze for a few seconds longer than normal. His heart raced. How would Kari react? One way to find out. Slowly, he leaned his head forward. Kari did so too. Jerrick tilted his head to the right. Kari fluttered her eyelids, and closed her eyes. Jerrick did so too.

Then their lips met. The gentle touch of Kari's warm lips on his was indescribable. Every vein in his body ignited with a fiery passion, every thought in his mind surrendered itself to the dizzying sense of weightlessness in his head. A million words wouldn't be enough to describe how it felt. It wasn't until they desperately needed air that the two drew apart, smiling warmly at each other. Uncontrollable happiness flowed through Jerrick's whole being. Jerrick couldn't wipe the wide smile on his face that stretched from ear to ear. He shuffled closer to Kari, placing an arm around her shoulders. Kari rested her head on Jerrick's shoulder, as though it belonged there all the while. Her hand found its way to Jerrick's waist, and she held him close. The sweet scent of lavender tickled his nose as her long brown hair flowed down his chest.

Jerrick kissed her head, and Kari giggled. Suddenly being daring, Jerrick pulled her down onto the bed and twisted around, balancing himself on his elbows. A cute yelp of delight escaped her lips. Jerrick could feel her heart beat through the fabric of their tunics as his body lay perfectly aligned on top of hers. Her gentle breath tickled his neck as he leaned in to kiss her. Kari's arms wrapped around his chest and pulled him even closer to her. Her forest green eyes sparkled as he gazed into them.

"Hey Kari?" Jerrick said, placing his nose on hers.

"Mmph?"

"Did you say 'the Jerrick I know and love' just now?" Jerrick asked teasingly.

"Maybe, perhaps, I think I did."

Jerrick placed another kiss on her cheek. "Did you mean it?"

"I mean, I guess. I did mean it when I said I liked you when you're selfless." Jerrick felt a rush when Kari traced his jawbone delicately with her gentle fingers.

"Well, did you mean it?"

There was a brief moment of silence. Kari's fingers stopped stroking his jaw. Jerrick suddenly became worried. He had no idea if Kari felt the same way. He was quite sure, but he never heard it from her mouth. Was he being too pushy?

His thoughts were interrupted by Kari wrapping her arms behind his head and pulling his face down. She planted her lips on his. His mind blanked again, the only thought running through it being how lucky he was to have Kari. Jerrick drew in a deep breath when she broke the kiss.

"Yes, yes I did. I love you, Jerrick Thurmond Brandt."

Jerrick giggled and kissed Kari again.

"I love you too, Kari Iona Tordis."