"It's so pretty," Iris said for what had to be the hundredth time.
She and Dagur laid in their bed. He was snuggled up to her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, but she couldn't stop staring at the necklace. Not only was it the first gift she got outside of her parents and grandparents, it was absolutely stunning. The carved iris stood out against the white scale as it took on whatever was behind it. In the darkness of their room, it was a stunning black against white.
"I can't believe you made it," she said as she slowly turned it. "When did you even have time?"
"You'd be surprised," he mumbled sleepily. "Now go to sleep. You can look at it more tomorrow."
"What if this is a dream?" she asked. "Ouch! That hurt!" He had pinched her side.
"Now you know it's not a dream. Now go to sleep."
Resisting the urge to pinch him back Iris tucked the necklace in her shirt. She snuggled deeper into the blankets, glad for the living furnace next to her, and closed her eyes. She still couldn't sleep though.
After some time just laying there and then tossing and turning, much to Dagur's sleepy disgust, she got out of bed. The air was chilly but not unbearable. She padded over to the bookcase they made together to stare at her books. So many adventures sat there, adventures that had taken her to new worlds. Never had she imagined one such adventure would send someone special her way. She took the black and silver spined book out and slipped on her boots before climbing down the ladder.
Enigma purred at the sight of her. Iris gave her a hug, rubbing her face in her mane, before settling down next to her. She had grabbed a lantern on her way and lit it. With the help of the flickering light she paged through the book to observe every illustration. She stopped at one, a much younger Dagur's first time at Berk as chief. He was so crazy back then.
Next she stopped at the illustration of his jail break. He was older, just as wild, with a new scar and grew into his body. The artist had been keen on detail. She wondered what would have happened if this Dagur had been sent to her world. Somehow she didn't think things would have gone as smoothly as they were going.
Finally she stopped at the illustration that tugged at her heart. This one wasn't of Dagur but of Hiccup and the other Riders in shock at what happened. Mixed levels of shock, despair, and anger blended on their faces. She looked at Heather, Dagur's little sister. What had she thought at that moment? Did she really think her brother was only doing it for his gain? He'd been gone for almost a year now even though he came back a few months later with a new dragon friend. One that wasn't Jager.
She closed the book. Her fingers ran over the cover, feeling every bump and curve. Whatever had happened in this book was changed now. It no longer had a purpose existing.
"Enigma," she said softly. The dragon tilted her head to look at her. "Burn this."
She set the book on the floor away from the straw the dragon liked to use for her bed. Enigma gave her a concerned purr, which she responded with a hug. At her urging Enigma exhaled a soft stream of blue fire. Immediately the book caught and burned. The dragon's breath was so hot it turned to ash in a matter of seconds. Iris stepped on the ashes to be safe and used her foot to spread them around to make sure everything was burned.
"Thank you girl," she said softly. "I think its time to join my love for bed. You get some sleep."
