"I'm fine Chieftess," Ellie said. "Please, sit and relax. We are supposed to be celebrating young Gustav's maturing."
"You got hit with a crossbow bolt," Iris argued. "In the back! That was meant for me! I should be doing more for you!"
"Chieftess it was an honor to keep you safe," Ellie tried to reason.
"Iris calm down," Dagur drawled. "This isn't the first time Ellie has been hit with an arrow in the back. Hopefully it'll be the last though."
"WHAT?!"
Iris rubbed her face furiously. Her best friend got hurt in place of her. There had been too many people around Enigma for the dragon to dodge the crossbow bolt in time. Iris had been ready to take the hit when Ellie tackled her. It hit the widow instead in the back right shoulder. Thankfully there hadn't been any poison.
Dagur had killed Savage and the rest of the tribe had taken on the remaining traitors. No one survived the angry Berserkers. So no trial. Not that Iris was disappointed. She had been so angry, so enraged, she was ready to kill someone herself. The strong emotions had shocked her but seeing Ellie injured had refueled her anger.
After all the chaos, everyone took stock of any injuries. Ellie was immediately treated, the bolted pulled out and the bleeding stopped before a veteran warrior stitched it shut. Iris' wrists were washed and wrapped. Rohan's injuries were treated, which were far more extensive than any of them had actually known. One of his ribs were cracked and his brow bone had been broken. He took it all in stride commenting he'd experienced worse before. That did nothing to make Iris feel better.
At least the dragons were all safe and unharmed. Engima's pride was bruised, that much was evident to anyone with eyes. The others hovered around their Riders. Given what all happened it didn't surprise Iris that none of the dragons wanted their Riders out of their sight.
"Ellie," a small child cried. A little boy raced towards the widow and latched onto her leg with a sob. "You got hurt!"
"Its alright Gordy," Ellie said calmly. "This isn't the first time I've been hurt. It's not that bad either. Just a scratch."
"But you were bleeding," he whimpered. "Everyone said it was a bad injury and you could have died."
"Something like that wouldn't kill me," the widow scoffed. "But I want you to tell me who exactly said that. I have a few words to tell them."
"Ellie is one of the strongest warriors we have," Dagur said proudly. "Nothing can stop her. Don't you worry."
"Really?" Gordy asked. Dagur nodded. "Not even a dragon?"
"Nope," Iris said. "Even Enigma is scared of her."
Giving the Fury Howler a subtle gesture, Enigma whined and slinked away from Iris and Ellie. Gordy stared in awe as Ellie just snorted. Quickly his gaze went back to his foster mom full of admiration. Enigma gave a soft huff, puffing out her chest proudly. It was a good thing her dragon was a smart one.
"If you need anything," Iris said.
"I'll tell you," Ellie sighed. "Now shoo. You and chief Dagur have some business to attend to. Honoring a certain Berkian."
Now that she mentioned it, Dagur had disappeared suddenly. She spotted him walking up the dias where his chief seat sat. Hers was next to his. The last thing she wanted to do was sit up there. She'd much rather sit by Ellie. However the widow shooed her away.
"Everyone," Dagur began when she sat next to him. "Today we are gathered to celebrate something. Which was rudely interrupted by Savage and his cronies."
"Focus," Iris whispered.
"Ahem! I have gathered you all to honor Gustav in succeeding in all he has learned while here on Berserk! Not only has he learned the ways of a Berserker warrior, he has gained the wisdom shared by your lovely chieftess. Now he can go home-I mean return to Berk with his head held high!"
"I'd also like to take a moment to thank and honor a person who helped in defeating Savage. Without him it would have taken longer for us to take the tyrant down. Snothat-"
"Hey," Snotlout whined. Dagur ignored him.
"I present to you this medal. It is a symbol of Berserker friendship. May you use it wisely."
"Three cheers to Gustav and Snothat," one Viking cheered.
Snotlout groaned as the Vikings cheered about Snothat and Gustav. Iris frowned at Dagur but he raised his hands quickly before pointing at Ellie. The widow shook her head furiously at Iris' stare. Apparently Ellie didn't want to be honored for the sacrifice she made. Later Iris would do something for her whether she liked it or not.
The celebration was short as Hiccup and the other Riders needed to get back to the Edge first thing in the morning and Gustav had to pack to head back to Berk. The Berserkers were a little disappointed but understood. It wasn't any of their faults the celebration had been cut short. The blame was completely on Savage.
Much to Iris' surprise Arlx helped Ellie home after everything wound down. His chances with the widow were severely slim but he seemed to enjoy just being friends. It didn't hurt Gordy clung to the olive skinned man to be swung back and forth. His giggles could be heard across the hall.
"Someday," Dagur sighed.
"Be patient," Iris said softly. "It's not something that happens over night. No matter how much you insist."
"I know," he groaned. "Still, I can pine!"
Hiccup coughed, his face beat red after hearing Dagur whine. Iris gave the dramatic chief a nudge. Quickly he sat up and grinned at the other Viking.
"Brother! What can I do for you?"
"Not much," Hiccup coughed. He was still red. "I just wanted to let you know Heather's been trying to figure out the clues in your dad's journal. She's asked us for some advice on it."
"Why didn't she ask me?" Dagur asked. He was genuinely hurt.
"I think she doesn't want to distract you," Hiccup said. "You two are technically newlyweds who've been apart for half their marriage."
"Point taken."
"Anyways I just wanted to let you know. I know she is too stubborn to tell you or ask for help so. Just in case she acts off. You know why."
"You'll have to talk to her," Iris said quietly.
"I know. Excuse me my love. I should go address this now before she leaves."
Dagur got up and headed out of the Hall quickly. Hot on his heels Jager followed. The purple dragon refused to be too far from his Rider. Iris got up, Enigma rising at her movement, and gestured for Hiccup to walk with her.
"How are things?" she asked the younger Viking.
"I gave Astrid her betrothal gift," he said shyly. "And she gave me hers. It got interrupted thanks to Snotlout."
"Don't send him here," Iris said quickly. "We had enough with Gustav being here for a month. Your dad owes us. Big time."
"I heard he really made a crash." Iris groaned. "I know, bad joke. Couldn't resist."
"Send Fishlegs or Astrid next time," she teased. "Those two can do more good. However I expect you don't want Astrid too far nowadays."
"She's still her own person," Hiccup protested but Iris laughed.
"That's not what I meant," she chuckled. "I meant, you don't want her to be away for too long. Being with her makes every moment better and when she's gone it's like part of you is missing. Bet you've been feeling that for awhile. Trust me, it gets stronger."
"Is that how you feel with Dagur?" he asked.
"Yeah. I love being with him. Every goofy thing he does makes me laugh and hearing him encourage me makes me want to do even better. When he's gone it's like part of me is missing. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy our own time apart but, like, when he had to leave for war. I felt incomplete. I couldn't even sleep in our bed. The whole room felt too big and empty. When he came home though, everything felt right again."
"I get that," Hiccup said. He smiled slightly. "It's nice to know Dagur has someone waiting for him no matter what now that he's a changed person. The him before, I couldn't imagine anyone waiting for him or wanting to be around him willingly."
"I'd just have smacked him with a stick a few times. That would have knocked some sense or given him enough head damage to keep him down for a spell. Now, go get some sleep. You guys have an early morning."
With a grin Iris made a shooing motion at Hiccup. He chuckled, raising his hands in surrender, and left with Toothless following closely. Iris watched the two disappear among the houses. She rested her hand on Enigma's nose which caused the dragon to purr. All things considered, she felt calm and at peace.
