Chapter 11: Trouble with Heather

Hiccup did not solve the Heather problem. Not at first, at least. The dragon riders awoke to find their dragons locked up and Heather and Hiccup gone. Fortunately, the two of them soon returned together and freed the dragons amidst more grumblings.

"I think it's about time you tell us what's going on," Snotlout said to Heather, arms crossed.

"She's been going after Dagur," Hiccup said. "The two of us managed to escape him just now."

"Dagur burned my village to the ground, and I lost my parents in the battle," Heather explained. "He needs to pay for what he's done."

"Then why are you conspiring against us?" Tuffnut said.

"She's not conspiring against us," said Hiccup.

Heather sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I locked up your dragons. I just didn't trust that you guys would let me go after Dagur."

"Trust does need to be earned with people and dragons," Fishlegs said.

Heather smiled at him. "Thanks for understanding, Fishlegs."

"I don't really trust these guys either, Heather," said Snotlout.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "You know, we can hear you."

Snotlout moved in closer to her. "Jealousy is an ugly quality, Astrid. But clearly, I understand where it comes from."

Astrid stepped away from him. "Ugh."

Eira sighed and shook her head.

"The point is, we have you back, Heather," Hiccup said. "You're one of us."

Fishlegs nodded. "Yeah, I stocked Windshear's stable with buckets of sea slugs."

"And I made room for you in my hut!" said Snotlout.

"And I've made it clear to Snotlout that you're not staying in his hut," said Hiccup.

Tuffnut walked right up to Heather and gave her a hard look. "Even though you were the rogue dragon rider and you sabotaged our dragons and you snuck away in the dark of the night... Wait a minute, why do we like you again?"

Heather placed a hand on her heart and gave him an apologetic look. "I'm truly sorry, Tuffnut."

Tuffnut stagged back. "Whoa! That was... sincere. What am I supposed to do with that? I'm a little bit flushed and overwhelmed. Little help here? People?!"

Ruffnut groaned. "Ugh. Help yourself."

"Uh, Heather?" Eira said tentatively. "I have a question."

"What is it, Eira?" Heather said.

"You said Dagur needs to pay... what exactly do you mean by that?"

Heather smiled. "That's simple. I am going to kill him."

Eira frowned. "I see." She had been afraid of that. She knew something was off about this girl. At least everything was out in the open now.

Astrid pulled Heather's arm and dragged her away. "Let's go have some girl time."

"Good idea," Heather said.

Once they were gone, Eira turned to Hiccup and looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"I'll talk to her!" he said, getting her silent message.

"I hope it goes better than your last talk."

Hiccup sighed. "You and I both."

Eira could not stop worrying about Heather, who had run off with Astrid. She could not enjoy herself with any of her friends because all they wanted to do was praise the newcomer. Of course, she could not say anything against her. She did not talk about people behind their backs. Eventually, she found herself in the clubhouse watching Hiccup work on the Dragon Eye.

"I'm sure you'll like her once you get to know her," Hiccup said.

"I'm sure," Eira said. "Once we get past this Dagur issue."

Hiccup cast her a wary look. "You know she has a good reason to hate him, right? We all do. If we can help her capture him..."

"Capturing is fine. I'm good with that."

Hiccup looked into her eyes as if searching for something. Finally, he looked away, returning to the Dragon Eye. "Good. That's good." A rustling sound caught his attention. Toothless had pushed his snout into the bag Heather had left behind. "Hey, would you knock it off, bud? Okay? Snooping will not gain her trust."

A horn fell out of the bag and rolled across the ground. Hiccup picked it up, and suddenly his eyes widened. "Wait a minute! That's my dad's chief seal!"

Eira frowned. "Is that important?"

"Heather said she was separated from her birth parents a long time ago," he explained. "All she knows about them is that her father gave her this horn."

Eira gasped, instantly understanding. "You don't think-?"

"I don't know, but I bet my dad will. I need to speak with him." He placed the horn in his own bag and attached it to Toothless.

"Wait, you're leaving? Now? Do you think that's such a good idea?"

Hiccup hoisted himself onto Toothless' back. "It'll be fine. It's not like Heather is going to run off to kill Dagur the second I'm gone. And if she does... stop her."

Eira crossed her arms and followed him out of the clubhouse. The uneasiness returned full force. "And how am I supposed to do that?"

"You'll figure it out. You're good at protecting people. Make sure Heather and Dagur don't get hurt." With that, Toothless took to the skies. "Tell everyone we'll be back in a few hours!"

Eira could only watch rider and dragon fade into the distance. There went her only ally. Protect Dagur and Heather? Somehow, she thought that was easier said than done.

"We gotta go now," Heather declared, holding up a map. "Dagur won't be out in the open for long."

Eira should have known this would happen. Heather received information from Johann that Dagur was meeting someone to buy supplies and ships, and this was the best chance to attack. Eira had hoped Hiccup would have returned by now, but he was nowhere in sight. Her only consonance was that everyone else appeared uneasy as well.

"Wait a minute," said FIshlegs, "you want us to go into battle with Dagur and the Beserkers without Hiccup and Toothless?"

Heather sighed. "Guys, I wish Hiccup and Toothless were here, trust me, but they're not. And we can't wait. Dagur's ships are rigged with dragon-proof chains and grappling hooks, and the ships he's buying are even more powerful. But with all of us attacking at once, Dagur won't know what hit him."

"I have to say, any aerial assault of this magnitude would be foolish without Toothless. He's the most powerful dragon in our arsenal." He smiled at Heather. "But you're still my favorite, girl."

"Well, it's not like we need Hiccup and Toothless," Snotlout said. "But it's nice to know we have a Night Fury when things get hairy."

"Hiccup told me he wanted us to wait," Eira said, turning all eyes on her. "We should all discuss this together. What do we do if we succeed? We can't kill him. That's not what we do."

"But he-" Heather began.

"She's right," Fishlegs. "Our goal has always been to capture him, which will be more successful with Hiccup and Toothless."

Heather turned to Astrid, distress in her eyes. "You heard Johann, Astrid. This is our last chance. Tell them."

Astrid hesitated. "Well.. Look, Heather-"

Heather looked away in dismay. "You too? Just forget it. All that stuff about trust and having my back, I guess that was just talk." She stalked off towards the stables.

"Oh, man!" said Snotlout. "Awkward." He looked around at the group. "We're really just going to let her go alone? What if she gets hurt?"

"She won't really go alone, will she?" Fishlegs said nervously.

Astrid frowned. "She is stubborn like that. And desperate."

"Then we have to back her up," said Snotlout. He gave her a sad look. "Right?"

She sighed. "Snotlout-"

"He's right," Eira said, earning surprised looks from her friends. "Hiccup told me not to let her get hurt, and that includes not letting her run into danger alone." She hated that it had come to this, but Hiccup was counting on her.

"Hiccup would want us to all stick together," Fishlegs said.

"And he also definitely doesn't want us to kill Dagur."

"Then we'll make that our condition," Astrid said with a nod.

"So we're going?" Snotlout said hopefully. "What are we waiting for?" He dashed for the stables, and everyone followed. They managed to arrive just before Heather took off on Windshear.

"Hey," Astrid said. "If we're gonna do this, it has to be a capture mission, not a kill mission. Agreed?"

Heather looked back in surprise. Then she smiled. "Agreed. We'll sink Dagur's armada, and drag him back to Outcast Island. Let him rot there."

Astrid nodded. "Okay. Then we're with you."

Eira did not like this plan. She flew high in the sky alongside Snotlout and Fishlegs. The three of them were supposed to divert Dagur's attention so Astrid and Heather could sneak on board, knock out Dagur's men, and capture Dagur. It was a great plan, except...

"I can't see anything," Eira said in frustration. "I need to get lower."

"No, Eira," Fishlegs said. "You'll get hit."

"The attacks are becoming less frequent. I think they made it onto the ship."

"Then everything is going according to plan," Snotlout said.

Eira frowned. "Maybe, but I don't trust Heather. I'm going in."

"How can you not trust Heather? She wouldn't betray us!"

"That's not-" Eira bit back a frustrated groan. There was no time to explain. "Stay here if you want. I need to check this out."

Swiftwings swooped down low until her belly grazed the water. Thankfully, no one attempted to shoot her down. Eira could see two figures standing on the ship: Heather and Astrid. She stepped onto her dragon's back and leapt up onto the deck. Now she saw Heather towering over a bound Dagur, Windshear on his other side.

"If you kill me, Heather, you'll never know-" Dagur started to say.

Heather stuffed something into his mouth to prevent him from speaking. "Save it for the gods. Windshear!"

"NO!" Eira bolted across the deck and flung herself over Dagur. She positioned herself over his chest to protect him from attacks on either side. Windshear growled at her but did not strike.

"Eira?" Heather said, eyes wide in shock. "What are you-? You need to move, now!"

"Are you going to kill him?"

"Yes!"

Eira gave her a defiant look. "Then I am exactly where I want to be." She felt Dagur's heart beat furiously beneath her, mirroring her own.

"But why? He's Dagur. He's killed people and hurt dragons. He deserves to die."

"Violence only begets more violence. Who are you to say who deserves to live and die? For all you know, he could end up saving the lives of 100 times the people he's killed."

A dark look crossed Heather's face. "Not likely."

"But you wouldn't even give him the chance?"

"He did save Eira's life," Astrid said. "I'm convinced it was a freak accident, but still..." She shrugged.

Heather looked from Astrid to Eira in disbelief. "That's great, but it doesn't make up for what he did to my village."

Eira took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about your parents, Heather. That must have been horrible." She hoped her compassion showed on her face. She truly did feel bad for the girl. "But you've only seen the worst of Dagur. There's much more to him than that."

Heather let out a heavy sigh. Her anger was starting to slip, and weariness overtook her features. "Maybe, but I just - He - You need to move, Eira."

Eira shook her head with stubborn resolve. "No. If you want to kill him, you have to kill me first. I won't strike back at you. I don't want anyone to get hurt. But if you would kill an innocent just to get to him, then you're no better than him. And don't think I'm bluffing. This isn't the first time I've risked my life for him." She pushed her scarf up an inch to display the scar on her forehead.

"It's true," Astrid said. "You don't want to mess with her."

"And you don't want to mess with me," came Snotlout's voice. He hovered on the side of the boat with Hookfang. "Eira may not defend herself, but if you hurt her, you have to deal with me." He cast Heather an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. We could have been so good together, but my partner comes first."

Eira smiled at him. "Thanks, Snotlout."

"So, what are you going to do?" Astrid said, looking at Heather with raised eyebrows.

Now Heather appeared truly torn. She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could speak, Toothless suddenly swooped down and landed on the ship with Hiccup.

"Heather, back off," Hiccup said. "You can't kill Dagur." He jumped off Toothless and moved to stand beside Eira and Dagur.

Eira let out a huge breath of relief. It was about time!

"Not you too!" Heather groaned.

"Look. You told me your father gave you this." He held out the horn he had found earlier.

Heather frowned. "He did, but what are you doing?"

Hiccup pointed to a marking on the horn. "This is my father's chief seal."

Heather's eyes widened. "Stoick's steal is carved in my horn? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying years ago, Stoick gave this horn to the chief of the Berserker tribe, Oswald the Agreeable, as a gift for his newborn daughter. You were that newborn, Heather. Oswald the Agreeable is your father. And he is also Dagur's father."

A look of horror overcame Heather's face. "No."

"Heather, Dagur is your brother. You can't kill him."

Eira quickly looked at Dagur, and he nodded vigorously. So, he had known all along. Come to think of it, they did have similar anger issues. And they had the same eyes.

Heather turned to the blond beside her. "Astrid."

Astrid appeared just as shocked as she did. "I-" She gasped and pointed across the deck. "It's the rest of Dagur's ships. Look out!"

Eira felt reasonably certain that Dagur was safe now, so she got off of him and removed the gag and bindings. "Are you alright?" she said, helping him to his feet.

"I am thanks to you," Dagur said.

Before she knew what was happening, he embraced her. It was a quick hug, but it felt warm and nice. She felt slightly dazed when he let go and turned to Hiccup.

"I have to admit, you never disappoint, brother," he said. "Or maybe your actually my uncle. Who knows in this crazy world?"

"Heather, come on," Hiccup said before climbing back on Toothless.

Dagur gave Heather a cocky grin. "Heather, I'm the only family you've got left. Join me, sister! Don't fight destiny. I know you feel the Berserker blood flowing through you veins."

Heather glared at him and suddenly charged. Eira tensed and quickly moved in front of him. But Heather merely used her axe to catapult herself over the two and land on Windshear.

"What are you doing?" Dagur cried. "Come back, sis!" But she was already flying off. "'Heather the Unhinged' has a nice ring to it, no? You'll be back and I will welcome you with open arms!"

Eira touched his arm, causing him to look at her. "Dagur, if she does come back, you shouldn't trust her so easily. She's still pretty angry with you."

He smiled at her. "Then maybe you'll have to stick around to make sure she doesn't kill me."

Something about his smile caught her off guard. It was so different from his usual demeanor, but she liked it. She merely smiled back at him and walked to the edge of the ship, where she jumped to get back on Swiftwings. Then she took to the air after her friends.

Heather left just as Hiccup suspected she would. She had become too used to being on her own to make such a sudden transition. He hoped she could work everything out and get back on her feet. He did kind of throw a bombshell at her, but he knew she was strong enough to get through it.

Upon walking to his hut, he found Eira leaned against the clubhouse door. He took a deep breath and approached her. "Hey, Eira. How are you doing?"

She looked at him and gave him a small smile. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking."

"I'm sorry for leaving in such a rush today. But it was really brave what you did for Dagur."

She smiled again, but this time it did not reach her eyes. She gazed up at the stars. "Do you think she hates me?"

"Who? Heather? No. In time, she'll realize you stopped her from making a terrible mistake."

"And will she be alright?" She looked at him, and he could see the sadness in her eyes. "To have that much hatred to want to kill someone... she must be in a lot of pain. I wish I knew a way to help her instead of just going against her."

Hiccup wished he knew the answer to that as well. "I'm sure she'll be fine eventually. When she's had enough, she will always have friends in us."

"You think she and I could be friends once this is all sorted out?"

He smiled. "I know you will be because you're both good people."

She smiled back at him. A real smile this time. "Thank you. I just hate confrontation. I wish we could just all get along."

"So do I." He paused. "And we will... if we work at it a little bit at a time."