Chapter Three: Intentions and Desires
"Is it ready?"
"Aye, Zekir. It's waiting for you."
"Good."
Darien watched as Zekir approached the cage. Frowning, she nervously stroked Banshee's head, who was also watching him walk towards the covered cage.
Taking a deep breath, Zekir reached up and grabbed the covering. "…first time I never tried to kill one of these things…" He muttered to himself.
As he pulled the covering off, the Shadow Wing screeched angrily. Clawing and biting the cage's bars, it didn't even notice Zekir at first.
"Let it calm down first…" Darien whispered to herself.
Zekir did the opposite. Walking to the cage, he grabbed a large fish out of a nearby bucket and held it out to the caged dragon.
"Come on…want some? I know you're hungry…"
The Shadow Wing continued to snarl at him, not even fazed by the temptation of food. Opening its mouth, a bright orange, almost white glow emerged.
Zekir leaped back as the shot exploded inside the cage, still large enough for him to feel the heat.
"Gah, forget it Zekir!" Darien shouted, shaking her head at the attempt. "We can't stage this. It's gotta be real and sincere. It knows you're trying to force something on it."
Zekir glared at the Shadow Wing, not breaking eye contact with him. Letting out a long sigh, he knew she was right. Tossing the fish in, he simply walked away while puzzling over how to win the heart of an untrainable dragon.
Darien met up with him with an apologetic expression. Grabbing his arm, she then guided him up to her loft.
"Rrggghhh…I don't know why it didn't see me bearing the fish as a gift…" He growled, shaking his head as he marched up the stairs.
"You just started trying to get its trust! Believe me, it took me an entire day to get Banshee from growling at me." She recalled, seeing Banshee fly up to her deck. Stroking his head, she let a frown grow. "You can't rush this."
"But the sooner I start riding a dragon, the sooner we can take our fight to the Riders!"
"I know. I know…" She whispered tiredly. "But when you try to force it to do something, it'll only react negatively. The goal isn't to ride it. It's to earn its trust. When you do that, the riding just comes naturally."
Gripping the banister acting as a railing, he simply scowled at the Shadow Wing, now actually eating the fish he tossed in.
"Do you want to train a different dragon? Since it belonged to a pack, it might not be trainable…"
Zekir instantly shook his head. "No. I didn't become a chief of a powerful tribe by giving up when it got tough. I didn't become a master swordsman when my arm was nearly severed during a mercenary raid I was a part of. I'm not giving up on King."
"King?"
"The name I picked. To me, it's significant and personal. He's going to be part of what we build up. And it'll be a constant reminder of what I left to become."
Looking down, she gently walked up to him. "Do you regret it?"
"Regret what?"
"Leaving your tribe and kingdom."
Zekir let a real smile grow on his face. "You mean what's left of it? It's probably ash now. And no. I never regretted it. This is simply a reason to learn and grow. To become stronger. Besides, I didn't leave Thariin to just learn how to be more powerful. I left to be with you."
Darien smiled, knowing it was the truth. If it wasn't, he had no reason to stay with her or the Hunters.
"Ship ho! It's that stranger, Krogan!" A Hunter shouted.
Scowling, Zekir and Darien turned to the entrance of their underground bay. Sure enough, Krogan was sailing towards the dock, with two chests loaded on the bow.
"Well, at least he means business." Darien replied, walking over to her desk. "Bring him to me. We'll talk here."
"Aye, and I'll disarm him too." Zekir growled as he marched to go escort Krogan.
Darien smiled as she sat at her desk, gesturing Banshee to lay his head on her lap. She may be able to kill two birds with one stone thanks to Krogan. Especially since Krogan was serious about starting a partnership. Grabbing the lens he gave her, she played with it in one hand as she stroked Banshee's head with the other. Waiting for Krogan, she smiled as she heard footsteps march up her stairs.
"Darien. As agreed, I brought you your gold for your time." Krogan announced, gesturing to his ship.
"And as promised, I looked over Viggo's notes and all the records of the Dragon Hunters." She replied. "However, I need to know…did you talk with your compatriot?"
"He said he'll come within the week. He can't leave just now with where he's at." Krogan answered, pulling out a letter and placing it on her desk.
Gesturing for him to take a seat, she then read the letter. Sure enough, it said just that. At the end of it, all it had was a capital J, with a dash at the end of it.
Zekir simply stood nearby, scowling at Krogan and folding his arms.
"Fair enough." She announced, dropping the letter on the desk and returning her attention to him.
"Now, have you found anything in regards to rebuilding a Dragon Eye?" Krogan asked, relaxing in his chair and looking at her with almost a lazy expression.
"Nope. All I learned is that there's unwritten knowledge pertaining to rebuilding it. Something only Viggo would have known."
Krogan's eyes narrowed, not liking the news. However, he held his tongue and waited for more information.
"Hmph. At least you're smart enough to know that I have more to say on the matter." Darien grumbled. "The knowledge isn't really an intuitive knowledge per say, but a creative understanding. It's only going to be accessible by someone who has a mind to tinker and create things."
"Which could be one of your men?" Krogan asked with a less than hopeful tone.
"Not my men. They only know how to craft our anti-dragon weapons and metal. However…I believe you're familiar with a certain person who has a knack for such things."
Krogan simply shrugged, unsure of who she was talking about.
Darien let a shrewd smile grow on her face. "You tried to claim a bounty on this person before."
Krogan's eyes narrowed. "Hiccup Haddock…"
"Hey! You got it!" Darien teased. "Hiccup would be able to help create the basic and needed designs of the Dragon Eye. All we have to do is get him here to do it for us. I can do the finer details with the notes I found, but with the base construction of it, we'll need him."
"How do you plan on making him do what you want him to?" Krogan growled.
Darien simply stared at him with a disappointed scowl. "Krogan! I was under the impression that you were clever. Use that brain box of yours. What is something that the Riders can be exploited against?"
"They care about each other..."
Darien smiled as she tossed the lens in the air like it was a coin, confirming his observation.
"Let me handle this. I already have a plan in action that'll get Hiccup to give us what we want; with a bonus to boot." Krogan announced, standing up at the same time. "But I need to rest. And strategize on how I acquire this threat. It's proven to be…difficult to acquire."
"Very well, I'll have my men guide you to your quarters."
Krogan bowed his head, silently thanking her. "While you wait for me to act, I need you to do something for me. Something to benefit all of us."
Intrigued by the claim, she flashed him a careless smile. "Which would be?"
"Get me as many of these dragons for me. As well as the listed supplies. You'll be reimbursed for the purchases and your efforts. Since I know how much you care about gold." He growled, tossing a folded paper on her desk. "I have a ship full of capable men that I desire to turn into a fighting force that will terrorize the Riders while our search for the King of Dragons begins. They won't know what we're after until it is far too late. Perhaps this will let me kill them as well."
"Fair enough." She replied with an uncaring shrug, not believing his claim. "If that be the case, make sure you leave Matt for me. He's mine."
"Hmph." He growled, turning to leave. "No promises. I'll kill anyone when I get the chance."
Zekir watched him leave, to which he shouted at two guards by his boat. "Take the chests and store them away! We're gonna buy some more ships!" Turning to another guard standing by, he added. "You there! Prepare to escort our guest to the chambers!"
The two men saluted, and then unloaded the chests. The third also saluted, and then led Krogan to where he was staying.
Watching Krogan leave, he shook his head. "So we really are teaming up with them."
"Yes we are." She replied with a grin as she started to open the paper Krogan gave her.
Letting out a sigh, Zekir watched Krogan disappear from view. "Guess it's actually happening."
"Come on, Zekir, this is an opportunity to expand our influence and earn a profit." She teased as she read a small description of what Krogan needed.
"I know. And speaking of expanding and earning a profit, I'll be heading to the Northern Markets to pick up the new recruits. And whatever Krogan asked us to get him. The sooner I leave, the sooner we can get going with this…hunt for the King of Dragons."
Darien smiled at the comment. "Don't worry about getting Krogan his dragons. I'll take care of that. You should only worry about training our recruits and thinking of a way to train your dragon, King. Now, let's see what dragon Krogan wants us to get…oh. Well, I guess Banshee and I are going to be busy."
Zekir walked over to see what she was staring at. There, in a rough sketch, was a four winged, chameleon looking dragon. On top of the paper were the words: Singetail.
"So…theoretically, the Northern Markets are safe to go to." Matt asked aloud, staring at the map.
Everyone had gathered at the clubhouse after their long flight, with the Riders grateful that Heather was willing to cook for them again. Hiccup however, was busy with one of his maps to enjoy Heather's meal. As such, Matt was also invested in his work.
"Well, Mala and her people are welcome again, so I assume we are too." Hiccup replied, as he continued to etch a line from the Northern Markets to Berserker Island.
Snotlout, who had his face scrunched up as to trying to figure out what he was doing. "Why are you charting a course to a place that we already know how to get to?"
"I'm not charting a course for us, Snotlout. I'm trying to figure out how many days it takes to sail from the Northern Markets to Berserker Island."
Snotlout shook his head angrily. "Oh. That still doesn't answer my question! Why?"
"Well, I assume the bounty on Heather couldn't have been that old. Since we just barely heard of it. It had to be at most maybe a few days old. If we can figure out exactly when it was sent out, and we figure out how long it takes to sail to Berserker Island from other islands-"
"We can possibly find where the bounty came from." Matt finished for him, seeing his plan.
"Exactly. Which can help us find out where and who placed the bounty."
"It's Darien! We know that!" Heather growled, looking up from her plate.
Hiccup turned to look at her with an unsure expression. "I don't know, Heather. It doesn't seem like something Darien would do. She'd want to get her hands dirty herself. Especially if it involves you or Matt."
"But who else?!" She snapped angrily. "Who else would want me alive?"
"I'm not ruling her out." Hiccup quickly replied. "I'm just keeping the possibilities open that it could be someone else. For all we know, it could be someone who wanted to undermine your brother. Since he is a chief."
"Let's drop the subject for now. All it's doing is making me want to kill Darien even more." Matt huffed with a tired tone. "Although, it does raise a concern with our plan tomorrow."
Everyone turned to him as he flopped on a chair with a thoughtful expression. "Since Heather has a target on her, is it smart for her to go with us to the Northern Markets? I mean, if that is where it originated from, then we're going to the heart of where everyone will recognize her and want to take a shot at getting her."
"Matt." Heather growled. "I'm going. Don't make me sit out just because I have a bounty on me!"
"He has a point, Heather." Hiccup seconded. "You're going to be sought for by a lot of people. And as Savage proved, they have no problem working together."
"Don't make me sit out and hide! I came here thinking I was going to be included!"
"We are including you! But we don't want to take unnecessary risks!"
"This is necessary! I want to find out who's behind this! Besides, I can be used as bait to draw people to me! We can then question them! I mean, even if someone gets me, they can't exactly out run dragons in a ship. Especially a Skrill and a Night Fury!"
Matt and Hiccup looked at each other. She was right, but it still didn't make them feel better.
"Tell you what, Hiccup. When we go, why don't we split up into groups?" Astrid suggested, standing up and stretching. "Heather, the twins, and myself will be together, while you, Matt, Snotlout, and Fishlegs stay together. Not only can we get what we need done, but we can all listen for rumors ourselves. If someone does get Heather, which means they have to get by me, Stormfly, the twins, Barf and Belch, plus Windshear; then you guys can still come and stop if somehow they did get past us."
Hiccup nodded, though he was frowning at the thought. "Only because Heather will come unless we tie her up and leave her here, I'll agree to this. Matt, come with me. Let's discuss a fallback plan and some signals in case we need to fight while there."
Grunting, Matt stood up and followed him out. As he walked by Heather, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "Just another adventure."
"Getting kind of old." She replied back, finally letting a smile grow on her face as he left to follow Hiccup.
"Hey, Heather…can I talk with you? Alone?" Astrid then asked, seeing that Hiccup and Matt were gone.
Surprised by the request, she nodded as she stood up to follow her.
"Ooh! What is it? A secret? A secret secret?" Tuffnut shouted, seeing them leave the clubhouse.
Rolling their eyes, they walked the opposite direction from Matt and Hiccup, who had gone over to Hiccup's hut. Instead, they went down to the arena.
"So…what's up?" Heather asked, seeing they were out of anyone's ear range.
"You know Hiccup and I…you know."
"Right…is this what it's about?" Heather asked.
"Well, we…we became betrothed…" She whispered sheepishly, blushing at the subject.
"What?! Congratulations!" She cried out, stopping and grabbing her in a tight hug. "I shouldn't be surprised, it's about time!"
"Heh, thanks…" She replied with a sheepish grin.
Catching her hesitancy, Heather calmed down. "You don't sound too happy about it though."
"Oh, I am! I swear!" She quickly defended. "It's just…I haven't a clue on what to get him as a betrothal gift." At that, she started walked to a target shield set up in the center of the arena. Drawing her axe, she took aim and hurled it, sinking it in the center of the shield. "I mean, what do you get for someone like Hiccup? He literally made a sword that ignites with fire on command! There isn't anything he can't make, honestly."
"I think you're missing the point. It's supposed to be something that comes from you!" Heather quickly corrected. Pulling her axe out, she twirled it around, and then hurled it away from the shield. The spinning action on made it boomerang around and strike the shield as it passed by.
"That still doesn't help me. I don't know what get him!" She replied with a frustrated tone. "Part of the reason why I wanted to split up as a group when we go to the Northern Markets, is so that I can try to find something there for him."
"And you want some help."
"I want ideas. I want someone I can talk to. Part of the reason why I wanted to twins with us, is because they do have some good ideas sometimes. They talk a lot of nonsense, but they can be helpful in some cases."
Shaking her head, Heather smiled at the thought. "I don't know why you want me then, Fishlegs is better at that kind of stuff."
"Well, I figured you and Matt already exchanged gifts. So I wanted to pick your brain."
Heather's breath stuttered, making Astrid eye her in surprise. "Did I say something wrong?"
Rubbing the back of her head as she picked up her axe, she then explained. "Uh…Matt and I aren't betrothed. Not yet anyways."
"What?! I thought you two would be the first! I honestly thought that was the first thing you two did when you left for Berserker Island!"
"You know he knows nothing about Viking traditions. I haven't told him about it. He doesn't know how betrothals work. He's had a lot happen with the last year and a half, that I didn't want him to worry about it. Besides, he came to live with me back at Berserker Island. What else could he get me that would mean more than that?"
Astrid stared at her with almost a blank expression. "I thought that you had six months to give each other the gifts at the announcement of the betrothal…"
Heather rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "He did actually. He just doesn't know it. When he said he said he'd stay with me at Berserker Island, which was the best gift he could have given me. I'm the one that hasn't given him a gift. Besides, technically, we haven't even announced it yet…"
"So…when are you going to tell him? When are you going to announce it?"
"Let's not worry about it. Right now, I just want to get this bounty off of me. And then I'll worry about telling him about how a betrothal works. 'Kay?"
"Maybe. At least until we find out who did the bounty. Then you should talk to him about it. It's not really fair to him."
Sighing, Heather shook her head. "That's the thing, Astrid. I don't want to tell him about it since I too don't know what to get him. If I could, I'd like to bring his father to him…or something like that."
Astrid let a calm smile grow on her face. At least they were both in the same position. "I don't know if that's possible, but maybe us going the Northern Markets tomorrow will help both of us."
"Maybe it will." She replied with a smile of her own.
With that, the two friends continued to practice with their axes, glad to know they had similar circumstances.
"Two blasts in the air will signal that something's wrong." Matt continued to strategize, standing over a map of the Northern Markets. "That way we'll be up in the air and ready to stop all ships trying to leave if we can't find Heather. If any of our dragons get shot down or poisoned with Dragon Root, we'll take them to that grove. It's easy to defend, and hard for anyone to drag dragons out of."
"Agreed. And we'll leave Snotlout and Fishlegs to stopping any ships that try to leave. You and I will try to stop whoever might be trying to take her." Hiccup added, nodding in agreement.
Satisfied with their fallback plan, Matt took a seat on his workbench and leaned against the wall. "We'll, here's to hoping everything goes smooth tomorrow. I doubt it though knowing our luck."
"Which is why I wanted to make a plan with you." He replied as he too took a seat. "I figured you'd want to be part of whatever we do to protect her."
"Which is why I'm glad she's going to be with Astrid tomorrow. She's a bit better in a fight then myself."
"Hey, you were the one that stopped Savage. Astrid told me that you threw that knife into his shoulder." Hiccup quickly argued. "Don't kid yourself, Matt. You have turned more into a fighter since you returned. That's the truth."
"Still. I'm more comfortable with her being with Astrid." He huffed, leaning back and closing his eyes.
Hiccup watched him with some concern, unsure of how to bring up the reason why he wanted to talk to him alone. Standing up, he then opened up a small chest, purposely being loud about it.
"What are you up to now?" Matt asked, still not opening his eyes.
"Just making sure something's ready…"
Hearing him rustle through the chest, Matt finally opened his eyes and sat up to look at him quizzically. "To make sure what's ready?"
Hiccup smiled as he turned to face him, holding out what looked like a large coin. "This. My betrothal gift to Astrid."
"Betrothal? What's that?" He asked, taking the large coin. Realizing it was part of an amulet, he smiled as he observed the carvings in the brass. It had a Viking facing the left, while a dragon was facing the right. "It's pretty, that's for sure. It's perfect for her if you're asking if it's a good gift."
"Don't you know what a Betrothal is?" Hiccup asked, taking the amulet back.
Matt gave him an uncaring shrug. "Not really. I'm still learning all of your gods' names. Let alone your traditions and such."
Almost surprised, Hiccup sat down next to Matt. "A betrothal is an announcement of two people preparing to be with each other forever."
Matt's head instantly snapped up to Hiccup, almost breaking into a cold sweat. "Wait. That…that means this is an engagement?"
"Engagement?"
"Similar to what a betrothal is. At least, I'm guessing it is. It's something to do with two people before they get married."
"Well…yeah. Sounds similar." Hiccup agreed. "I'm surprised Heather hasn't talked to you about this! Or anyone! I thought you knew!"
Matt stared at the pendant, with his mind whirling around a hundred miles an hour. "I…I had no idea…"
Realizing he just introduced something to Matt without realizing it, he lightly pushed him with a sheepish smile. "I just wanted your thoughts on it. If it's fine as is…or…"
Matt shook his head to bring himself back to the present. "Uh, yeah. Yeah. It looks fine."
Sighing, Hiccup set the pendant down. "Alright, what's on your mind?"
"I don't know. I just…I don't know why Heather hasn't talked to me about this." He replied, puzzled over why it was a secret. "What's officially a betrothal announcement?"
"Well…when two people tend to spend more time with each other. When they actually love each other. That's typically when the betrothal is announced."
Matt simply sat there, staring at the floor. Why didn't Heather tell him about this? Why wouldn't she tell him about this?
"Are…you okay, Matt?"
Again, shaking his head, Matt then covered up his thoughts as he swiped Hiccup's gift. "If you want an honest opinion, turn this into a necklace. Run a small chain through the hole here and that way she can wear it. Where did you get this anyways?"
Hiccup smiled at the question. Grabbing the pendant, he rubbed his finger over the rough surface. "It was my dad's betrothal gift to my mom. He gave it to me…"
Seeing the significance of the gift, he smiled at the thought. "Yeah…this is perfect, Hiccup. For Astrid, it'd mean the world to her to know that's how much you treasure her. But I stand by what I said, that a small chain necklace would make it even more perfect. "
"Thanks, Matt. I just wanted to make sure. Our six month anniversary is coming up and I wasn't sure if this was good enough."
"Six months? Why celebrate six months?"
"That's how it works. Each couple has to give their betrothed a gift before six months."
Matt's face fell again, this time paling. Turning away, he tried to think of something to help ease his mind.
"What's up? Still thinking about Heather?"
"I don't get it, Hiccup. Why didn't she tell me about this? We've been together for…well…a long time now. Close to a year and a half! Next Snoggletog will be our two year anniversary. If six months is the usual time, why didn't she tell me about it?"
"I…I don't know. I'm sure she has her reasons. Maybe she didn't want you to worry about it."
"Maybe…" He whispered.
"Come on." Hiccup called out. "Let's get some sleep. You'll be thinking clearer when you ask her."
Standing up with him, Matt let a signature, careless smile grow. "Fair enough. Besides, I should be congratulating you. If you're betrothed to Astrid, means you two really did put all our minds at ease! It's about time!"
Hiccup blushed at the subject as he smiled sheepishly. Truth be told, he was glad too. Astrid was special to him, and he wanted to make her know that.
Stretching, Matt then limped slightly out of Hiccup's room. "At least tell me the twins didn't burn down my hut when I left."
"No, but I'll help you move some crates out of it. We've been using it as storage room."
"Figures. Guess I'll take you up on helping me clear a way then!" He laughed. Though, to be honest, Matt didn't care about his room. He was still disturbed as to why Heather didn't want him to know about a betrothal. With that in his mind, he made his way to his old hut, unsure of what to make of the new information.
Hope you enjoyed it! Still working on it as much as I can, and since it's my school's Spring Break (Hardly spring...) I hope to try and finish the next chapter sooner than later.
Hope you all enjoyed it! 'Till later!