Chapter 49: Eternal

Hiccup did not like Eira's plan. However, like Haldor, he trusted her to do what she thought was right. So, she spent an entire day crafting the perfect letter to Viggo - with Runa's help, of course. She needed to convince him to meet with her alone. She had to prevent him from being suspicious she was setting him up and prevent him him trying to set her up.

Eira ended up telling him she needed to talk to him about Runa. She knew there was a risk he would think she thought Runa his weakness and was using her against him, but she was betting he had already figured her out and believed she would not do something like that. And perhaps he might even think this a chance to get closer to her and later use that against her. After looking over the letter one last time, she sealed it and sent it off with her Terrible Terror.

Runa was staying with Haldor on Berk, and she met Eira and Ingrid on Berserker Island. They found Dagur and Heather, and the five of them set off on their dragons. Eira could not help being nervous as they flew under the night sky. So much could go wrong so quickly. Sure, Hiccup would eventually send backup if they never returned home, but by then it would probably be too late.

Eira chose an island far enough from Dragon's Edge that Viggo's concerns should be eased. She landed in the middle near a giant boulder as per her instructions. She was alone. Ingrid and Runa hovered out of sight while Dagur and Heather surveyed the island for dragon hunters.

Eira heard the sound of footsteps. Then Viggo stepped out from the trees and into the moonlight. He stopped a yard from Eira, and the two studied each other. Like usual, Eira could detect nothing from his face. She did take in the scarring on the left side of his face. He appeared to have been burned. From the volcano, she realized.

Viggo tensed when Dagur and Heather landed behind her, and he reached for his weapon. "They won't hurt you," Eira said. "They're here for both of our protection so we can talk in peace."

"But if you hurt Eira-" Dagur warned.

"Not to worry," Viggo said in a smooth voice. "I have no desire to harm your girl."

Dagur shot Eira a furtive glance. "She-she's not my girl."

"She's with someone else," Heather explained.

Viggo quirked an eyebrow. "My apologies. I assumed-"

"Don't act like you're surprised," Dagur said bitterly.

"No need to sound so accusing. I meant no harm." Viggo gazed at Eira with a broad smile. "My dear, what is it you wished to discuss?"

Eira swallowed to wet her throat. "There are two others with us - Torvaldians who wanted to meet you."

Right on cue, Ingrid flew down and landed by her sister. "Hi there!" Calmness immediately wafted through the area.

"This is my sister, Ingrid."

"A Hobblegrunt?" said Viggo. "Are you trying to lower my guard?"

"We just want you to feel comfortable," Ingrid said. "We're not here to harm you."

Viggo eyed Eira carefully. "And the second?"

The Silver Phantom descended. He landed on Eira's other side, and his rider gracefully slipped off his back. She brushed her hair back with her hand before giving Viggo a timid smile. "Hello, Viggo."

Eira had never seen Viggo so defenseless. From the look in his eyes she knew that he loved her. "Runa..." he murmured. Then he suddenly rounded on Eira, his eyes flaring. "Why did you bring here? You were supposed to keep her safe!"

"That is exactly what Eira said when our brother brought her here," Ingrid quipped.

"Don't blame her," Runa said. "I came of my own accord. Eira simply told me the news that you are alive."

Viggo glared at Eira. "Why would you tell her that?"

"Why wouldn't you tell me?"

Viggo looked back at Runa. "I was keeping you safe and giving you a chance to move on!"

"I told her because she has a right to know," Eira said with a little more force behind her words than normal. "And why should I do what you say or care about what you want?"

Viggo stared at her. "So, you're trying to torture me?"

Eira resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "No, I'm trying to-"

"She's trying to help you, muttonhead," Dagur growled, storming up to stand by Eira. "She wants to see true love prevail!"

Viggo's eyebrows rose. "I'm supposed to take love advice from you two failures?"

Dagur glared at him. "Failures? I'll show you failures!"

Heather grabbed the back of his shirt to prevent him from mauling Viggo. "Dagur, what did we talk about using your words instead of your fists?" she said in a scolding tone. "True love can't prevail if he's unconscious."

"But it would make me feel better."

"Viggo, please," Runa said. She stood in front of Viggo with her hand on his shoulder. His gaze softened as he looked at her. "I just want to talk to you for a little bit. The others will patrol for danger. Please... I've missed you."

"As you wish, my dear," Viggo said in a surprisingly tender tone.

Eira took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The hardest part of their mission was accomplished. "We'll be back in an hour." Neither of them were watching her anymore, having eyes only for each other. She smiled as she mounted Swiftwings and took off.

"Viggo..." Runa gazed at the man in front of her. So much had changed since the last time they saw each other, but everything felt the same. If she wanted things to move in a positive direction, however, she needed to do something different. As much as she wanted to spill all her emotions all at once, she needed to appeal to his mind to win him over for good.

"I am sorry for not writing," Viggo said. "I assumed Eira spoke with you, and I thought it easier if you continued to believe it."

Runa smiled slightly and shook her head. "It wouldn't have worked. I could never move on. Alive or dead, it changes nothing for me."

Viggo dipped his head in acknowledgement. "I see. That is my mistake."

Silence passed between them as they gazed at each other. Runa wanted to reach out and touch him to confirm this was real - he was real - but she held back. If she touched him now, she would lose control over her plan. "Why are you working with Krogan?"

"I see you are up to date." Viggo paused as if considering her question. "Krogan offered me the opportunity to finish what I started. I could not refuse."

Runa thought he very well could refuse but saying so would get her nowhere. It seemed she would need to work to discover his line of reasoning. "As I understood it, you were motivated by the desire to lead your tribe. Is this no longer the case or do you plan to overthrow Krogan?"

"My desire to lead my tribe died when they betrayed me in favor of my brother. Not that I currently harbor ill will towards them - defeating Ryker took care of my desire for revenge."

"What about the dragon riders? Do you want revenge on them?"

Viggo looked at her carefully. "Surprisingly... no. I respect Hiccup as an opponent; negative emotions were never a part of the equation."

"Then what is it? What's driving you?" Runa wondered if he understood the reason himself or if he was acting on auto-pilot, choosing the familiar path.

"I suppose it's... the Dragon Eye."

Runa's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "The device you wanted to use to kill dragons? That doesn't explain-"

"There is more to it than killing dragons. That was not even its original purpose. If it were, why include such a vast amount of knowledge about all types of dragons?"

Runa frowned. "I guess that makes sense. Then what was its original purpose?" This meant his tribe's goal wasn't always killing dragons, which gave her some odd relief.

"That I do not know. The records I've scoured are incomplete. Examining the Dragon Eye, however, may provide answers."

"Then why not just take it and run?"

Viggo smiled ruefully. "And be hunted down by Krogan?"

Runa's breath hitched in her throat. This was her chance. "You need not be alone. If you gave up dragon hunting, you could seek shelter at Torvald or Dragon's Edge. Or... we could run away and evade Krogan together."

Surprise flashed in Viggo's eyes. "I thought you would not leave your family for me."

"I couldn't back then, but I've grown. Instead of waiting around for you to choose a better life, I want to help you find one."

Viggo's formal exterior finally cracked, allowing conflicting emotions to show in his eyes. "Runa..." He reached for her but she stepped back, not ready yet.

"In your last letter, you said you regret not trying to make things work between us. I regret it too. But this is an opportunity for us to try again." She looked at him earnestly, pleading with him to consider her proposition. "You can't be happy competing for control with Krogan. One of you will end up turning on the other anyway. Get out ahead and come with me."

Viggo let out a heavy sigh. "Runa, I love you, but I can't." His pained expression mirrored her own. "I need a purpose in life - a goal - and this is the only one I know. As much as I want to be with you, it's not enough."

Runa bit her bottom lip and nodded, tears pricking her eyes. She understood, really. She made the same choice all those years ago. She could have run away with Viggo, but she recognized she would have to give up a very important part of her life. It was not enough to ask him to do what she could not. She needed to find something more he could grasp onto.

"I truly am sorry. If there was a way-"

"I know." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and gave him a pained smile. "I won't give up. I'll keep looking for an alternative -if you will do the same."

"If there was a way I thought we could be together, I would choose it in an instant."

This time, Runa smiled for real. It was not much, but she felt like she had gained a small victory. She had hope. "We still have time tonight. Let's forget about everything and focus on each other."

Viggo smiled back at her. "That I can do."

Finally allowing her emotions to overflow, Runa ran to him and flung her arms around him. He hugged her back tightly. "I love you, Viggo. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, my dear Runa." They pulled back, and he gazed at her tenderly, brushing his hand against her cheek. Then he closed the distance between them and kissed her.

Runa melted at the feeling of his lips on hers. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him closer. She breathed in deeply through her nose to take in his scent. Viggo rested his hands on her lower back, holding her to him. He deepened the kiss, and suddenly she needed more. She broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. "Viggo, I want..." She hoped he understood as she was not sure how to put it. Her hands pushed at his armor for effect.

"Are you sure?" Viggo said with remarkable control despite the clouded look in his eyes. "I don't want you to regret anything."

"The only thing I'll regret is not knowing what it feels like to give myself completely to the one I love."

Viggo smiled softly at her. "I love you." He kissed her once more before removing his armor.

Runa was still unsure if there would ever be a future for them, but she knew this was a night she would remember and treasure always.

Dagur and Eira sat near their dragons on the beach. They were taking a break while Heather and Ingrid patrolled together. Dagur thought it made more sense for the sibling pairs to patrol together, but Ingrid insisted on it being this way. Maybe she enjoyed tormenting Dagur.

He gazed at the girl sitting too far away from him. He wondered why he agreed to help her out. He wanted - needed - to stay away from her. And yet, something about her request made it impossible to refuse. Maybe it was because she had thought to come to him in the first place. Or maybe it had something to do with Runa.

Eira stared out at the ocean. She hadn't looked at him once since they landed. This was unacceptable. "Why did Runa's story affect you?"

As intended, Eira looked at him in surprise. "Who said her story affected me?"

Dagur hid a smile at her attention. "Out of all the reasons to object to getting them to meet, you didn't state the most obvious: he is Viggo."

Eira glanced at her hands in her lap. "Viggo is the first person in whom I couldn't see anything but evil, even if I knew it wasn't true. Runa allowed me to see him in a different light. Of course I latched onto that."

Dagur smiled to himself. That sounded like her. "Do you think they should be together?"

"Well, I don't know about should, but... It would be nice if that could happen. Runa deserves to be happy, and he makes her happy."

"So, you do believe in love."

Eira smiled softly at him. "Of course I do."

At that moment, Dagur realized he missed that smile, and he wanted to keep seeing it - no matter the cost. "I'm sorry."

Eira furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "For what?"

"For avoiding you."

Eira frowned. "I understand why you did it."

"But I'm still sorry. And I won't do it anymore. I want to be friends."

Eira's smile returned, brightening his heart. "Thank you, Dagur. I would like that too."

Before he could say anything further, a sudden wind caught their attention. Dagur stood and turned to see Windshear and Shadowclaw landing. "It's been an hour," Heather said. "We should go."

Dagur wanted to suggested they stay a little longer, but Eira was already climbing on Swiftwings. He reluctantly mounted Sleuther, and the four of them were off. They landed in the same area where they left Runa and Viggo. The couple was sitting against a tree, talking together.

"I assume our time is up," Viggo said, immediately hiding the emotion on his face that had just been there.

"Unfortunately," Ingrid said. "But if you ever want to do this again-"

"That would be far too reckless."

"I would make sure you two are safe," Dagur said with an air of authority.

Viggo gave him an amused look. "That makes me feel so much better."

"Goodbye, Viggo," Runa said, hugging him.

"Goodbye, Runa. It was a pleasure."

The riders began the journey back to Dragon's Edge to regroup with Hiccup. "Thank you, everyone," Runa said once the island was behind them. "Thank you for helping me see Viggo."

"You had a good time?" said Eira.

"It was wonderful. I didn't get him to change his mind, but it was good to spend time together."

"We're glad we could help," said Ingrid.

"You're very strong, loving someone unconditionally for so long," Heather said. "It's surprising your passion hasn't faded with time and distance."

"I thought it would," Runa admitted. "From the very beginning, my feelings were so strong I feared they would disappear. But that hasn't happened. I guess... passion can be short lived, but when it lasts, maybe that means it's real."

"And it's worth fighting for!" Dagur declared. "Stick around, Runa, and I'll make sure you reach your goal." He flashed her a grin, and she gave him a small smile in return.

"I do plan on staying, actually. I'm not ready to give up."

Dagur glanced at Eira, but she voiced no objections. In fact, she seemed to be deep in thought about something. He hoped this experience inspired her to fight for her dreams, whatever they were. As for him, the best thing he could do right now was support her as a friend.