Chapter 55: Love Conquers All

"Tell me, did you have fun?" Dagur said as he entered his house with Eira. The two of them had spent a lot of time together in the past couple of weeks, and today was another glorious example. He could hardly believe she was finally his.

Eira smiled at him. "It was great, Dagur. I always have fun with you."

Dagur grinned. "Good." He grabbed her hands and pulled her into him, his heart warming when she did not resist. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and nuzzled his face into her hair. They fit perfectly together, like it was meant to be that way.

Eira let out a contented sigh. "I wish it could always be this way."

"It will be one day. I'll make sure of it." Something occurred to Dagur, bringing a frown to his face that he was glad she couldn't see. "Hey, Eira, Ingrid isn't going to try to 'train' me like she did Snotlout, is she?"

"No, she is aware that is a hopeless cause. It actually helped Snotlout out, but I don't think it would be good for you."

"But what about your parents?"

Eira leaned back to look at him. He did see worry in her eyes, but there was also something else: resolve. "I don't know what I'm going to do about my parents, but we'll face that together. I feel like I can do anything - even seemingly impossible things - when I'm with you."

Dagur smiled. "I feel the same way about you." He brought his right hand to her cheek and gently stroked it. "I love you, Eira, and I promise I'll always make you happy."

Eira placed her hand on Dagur's, curling her fingers around it. "I love you too."

Dagur would never tire of hearing her say that. He lightly pressed her hand against the small of her back to push her closer to him. To his surprise and delight, it was her who closed the distance between their faces and kissed him. He moved his hand to the back of her head, deepening the kiss. He heard her moan into his mouth, and he grinned against her lips.

"I love you," Dagur said again. He started kissing her skin - her cheek, her neck, anywhere he could reach, while his hands roamed her body with playful affection. "I love you so much."

Eira giggled at his actions. "Dagur..."

He paused to look at her with a smile. "Is this real?"

Eira wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his head down until his forehead rested against hers. "Yes, it's real. It's the realest thing I've ever felt."

Overcome with emotion, Dagur kissed her again. He was just getting into it when he heard a knock on the door. He held in a groan while his eyes flashed in annoyance. "Whoever that is will pay for interrupting us," he growled.

Eira merely smiled. "Best not keep them waiting."

Dagur reluctantly entangled himself from her. Then he stormed to the door, fully determined to give the knocker a piece of his mind. However, as soon as he saw Hiccup standing outside, his demeanor brightened considerably. "Brother! You came to visit me?"

"I'm afraid this isn't a social call, Dagur," Hiccup said. "I have something important I need to discuss."

"What's going on, Hiccup?" Eira said, coming to stand at the door next to Dagur.

"I've received an interesting piece of Terror mail. Is Runa around? I would like her to see this."

"She's probably with Heather," Dagur said. "I'll go find her!" And he was out of there before the other two could say anything. He indeed found Runa with his sister. He quickly explained the situation and then brought her back to his house. Eira and Hiccup were seated inside when they arrived.

"That was quick," Hiccup said, standing. "It's good to see you again, Runa."

Runa gave him a small smile. "You too, Hiccup."

"Now can you tell us what's going on?" Dagur implored. "The suspense is killing me!"

"Right," said Hiccup. He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his bag. "I received this Terror Mail from my dad." He handed it to Dagur, who was eagerly reaching.

"Ooo... Let's see!" Dagur's eyes scanned the letter. "He thinks he found the location of a Dragon Eye lens. I didn't know he was looking for lenses!"

"Neither did I."

Eira looked over Dagur's shoulder at the letter. "He wants to meet you at the island alone?"

"And as soon as possible," Dagur added. "Stoick's sudden mysteriousness aside, what does this have to with us?"

"You don't think it's from your father, do you?" Runa said.

Hiccup met her steady gaze. "No, I don't. Dagur, give her the letter."

Dagur handed Runa the paper. The young woman examined the letter carefully, even bringing it to her face to sniff it. "Viggo," she said with an air of wistfulness. "He tried to hide his handwriting, but I can tell."

Hiccup nodded. "That was my first thought too. Thank you for confirming it."

"I hope that's not all you wanted me for. I've been trying to get Viggo to meet with me for weeks, but he refuses to make contact."

Eira looked at Hiccup incredulously. "Viggo ignores Runa and me, but he writes to you?"

"It could be a trap," Dagur said, his eyes narrowed. "As much as I want this to be an opportunity to reunite Runa and Viggo, he may be setting up Hiccup."

"I don't think he is," Eira said carefully.

"And why not?" Dagur watched her with immense interest. At one point in his life, he may have taken her statement as ridiculous, but now he knew she held a type of wisdom most people lacked.

"Something is bothering me about Krogan and Viggo's alliance. Krogan and Johann I can understand, but Viggo's tactics are vastly different from Krogan's."

"I agree," Runa said. "When I spoke to Viggo last, I warned him Krogan was using him, but he was willing to take that risk."

Eira took the note from her. "This is definitely a Viggo tactic but not a Krogan tactic, which leads me to believe Krogan is not aware of it. On his own, Viggo appears to have little reason to attack Hiccup or else he would have tried before Krogan reached out to him." She turned to the other girl. "Is that right?"

Runa nodded. "Viggo is not driven by anger or revenge. If he's reaching out to you, Hiccup, he must be pretty desperate for your help." Her face shone in concern for the man.

"Then there's only one thing to do!" Dagur declared. "All of us must go meet with Viggo and figure out what's wrong!"

"It's still dangerous," Hiccup warned, "but if Eira and Runa are right, he will at least be alone."

"He won't hurt you - any of you - if I'm there," Runa said firmly. "If he's truly in trouble, this may be my best chance to save him. If you want me to go alone-"

Hiccup shook his head. "That won't be necessary. We will all go." He took a deep breath and looked around at the others. "I'll let Runa speak to him, and Eira and Dagur will be there to catch anything she doesn't. You two make a pretty good team."

Dagur grinned. "Thanks, Hiccup. I won't let anything happen to any of you!"

Hiccup smiled slightly. "I know. Now, let's go before Viggo gets suspicious."

The four Vikings started for the stables to fetch their dragons. Dagur felt elated about the situation. He finally had a chance to prove that love conquered all! The best part was that, this time, Eira was totally with him. They could not lose.

Four dragons landed on an island as night fell. "This is it," Hiccup said quietly, slipping off Toothless. "Let me go ahead in case Viggo reflexively attacks."

Runa thought that was less likely to happen if she were in front, but she did not say anything. It was enough that Hiccup was helping her out and giving her a chance. Eira and Dagur flanked her on either side, and she found herself grateful for their presence.

When they reached the end of the trees, Hiccup motioned for them to stay back. Then she heard Viggo's deep voice: "The Accomplice. One of the most important pieces in all of Maces & Talons, allowing a player to use an opponent's piece for their own ends. You can certainly win without it, but with it, you can attain total victory."

"Stay calm, bud," Hiccup said when Toothless growled. "Yeah, I figured it was you."

"Hmm... I'm impressed. For once, you're thinking a few moves ahead. However, I can't let you take too much credit. A false Terror Mail is not my most clever ruse, but time was of the essence."

"Viggo, what do you want?"

"It appears Johann and Krogan have decided I am expendable. I was given false information regarding the location of a Dragon Eye lens, and they attempted to drop a mountain on me. Luckily, I managed to escape."

Runa placed a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from making a sound. She had been right. Viggo did need them.

"And you expect me to believe this?" Hiccup said.

"Believe it or not, it is the absolute truth. Can you imagine the pain of betrayal, Hiccup?"

"Yes, I can."

"Ah, of course." Viggo paused as if listening for something. "Your friends can come out now. I will not harm any of you."

Dagur emerged first, followed by Eira. Finally, Runa slowly stepped out of the trees. Viggo's smug looked turned to surprise for a moment as his eyes landed on her. "Runa," he said softly. His expression hardening, he shot Hiccup a look.

"Like I said, I thought it was you," said Hiccup.

"You're part of their madness?"

"Hey! This isn't madness!" Dagur said indignantly. "Not this time."

"Runa just wants to talk," Eira said. "She has something important to tell you. We've been trying to contact you, but you're a hard man to get a hold of."

"That was intentional," said Viggo. "Nothing she has to say is worth the risk."

Eira's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure?"

"Why should I listen to you? You and Dagur should figure our your own lives first."

"Oh, we did that already!" Dagur said happily. "Eira and I are together now." He wrapped an arm around the girl and smiled.

Viggo appeared unimpressed. "I see..."

Runa could not take much of this anymore. She had to do something. She remembered Eira's courage in pursuing Dagur and tried to borrow some for herself. "Viggo." She strode right up to him and placed a hand on his arm. He looked at her but made no move to stop her. "Why did you ask Hiccup to meet you here?"

"I need his help," Viggo said slowly. "I won't spend the rest of my life waiting for Johann or Krogan to kill me. I must strike first."

Runa gasped, for she understood the implication. "No! It's too dangerous. If you take on Johann and Krogan alone - even if Hiccup and Toothless do help you - you could die!"

"I have a plan. It requires deception, which is my specialty. Nothing will go wrong."

"You don't know that. Johann excels at deception too. What if he sees right through you?"

Viggo let out a heavy sigh. "That is a chance I have to take." He pat the hand on his arm, and she jerked it away.

"You don't have to do anything, Viggo. You're choosing to endanger yourself. If survival is your goal, there are better options." Runa looked into his eyes, and with a sinking heart, she suspected something terrible. "But that's not your goal, is it? You don't care what happens to you as long as you try to take Krogan and Johann out. This is the only life you've known, and without it, you are lost. You would rather risk death than have no direction."

Viggo sighed again. "Runa, that's not-"

"I know it's not personal." Even though it hurt. She tried but failed to keep the tears out of her eyes. So be it. Let him think her weak. "I do understand, to a point. Mere survival is not enough. Life demands a purpose. Let me offer you another one." She gently took his hand in her own.

Viggo looked at her warily. "Runa..."

"It's alright." Runa smiled through her tears. "You can trust me." With her free hand, she lifted her shirt, revealing her small, round stomach. She brought Viggo's hand to her stomach so he could feel the bump.

Viggo's eyes widened in understanding. "You're pregnant."

Runa smiled and nodded. "That's right. Do you understand, Viggo? This baby is half yours. I need you. We need you."

Viggo closed his eyes for a long moment as if thinking hard about something. When he opened them again, he immediately pulled Runa into a tight hug. She clung to him and breathed in his rich scent. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Runa pulled back and shook her head. "Don't be. Having this baby will make me happy. Even if you still reject me and I have to raise it on my own, I will always have a piece of you with me."

Viggo's expression saddened. "You should find someone else. I'm not fit to be a father."

"There is no one else. Even if I could find someone who still wants me, you are the only one fit to be this baby's father."

"It's too dangerous. I have many enemies."

"We could have many allies." Runa looked back at Hiccup, Eira, and Dagur.

"Them?" Viggo said in surprise.

"Even the most skeptical among them would accept you given sufficient proof they can trust you. Dagur is evidence of that."

"If it was that simple-"

"Viggo," Eira said sternly. She marched up to Viggo, standing beside Runa. "I want you to tell me something. Forget for a moment all your reasons and justifications for not being with Runa. If none of that were applicable and there were no danger, would you choose her?"

Viggo stared at her long and hard before replying. "Yes, I would choose her, but unfortunately, your scenario is not our reality."

Eira merely smiled. "That's fear talking. You're afraid."

Viggo's eyes narrowed. "I am not afraid of anything. How dare you insinuate such a thing."

"You're afraid. I know because I was afraid too. It's frightening to open yourself up to something new and unknown when you have no idea how it will end up. It's easy to keep to what's comfortable and familiar, but that doesn't mean it's what's best. The things that matter are wroth taking a chance one. Love is one of those things, and love drives out fear." Eira looked back at Viggo with a smile. "You just have to give it a chance."

"She's right," Runa said. "I'm not afraid anymore."

Viggo stared at her for a long time. Slowly, his expression softened. "We are all in danger until Johann and Krogan are defeated," he finally said. "My plan could work. I have inside knowledge that will help."

"Then helps us form a long-term plan," Hiccup said, earning surprised looks from everyone.

"I thought you didn't trust me."

"I don't, but that doesn't mean trust can't be earned. You can start by telling us what you know, and we'll work from there."

"As daring and exciting as your plan probably is, you're not reckless enough to pull it off," Dagur added. "Runa has been staying with me on Berserker Island. You should join here there! I'll be much more accommodating than Hiccup."

"He has been quite hospitable," Runa said. "And it's safe. What do you say?"

Viggo gave her his first real smile of the night. "I say you are quite persuasive. Very well. We will do it your way. I will follow you wherever you lead, Runa. My future is in your hands."

Relief washed through Runa. "Thank you, Viggo."

Eira smiled. "Good."

"That's it?!" Dagur exclaimed. "You should at least kiss or something!"

"I am not here to fulfill your fantasies," Viggo said.

But Runa had already grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him to her. He did not resist when she kissed him. She allowed herself to enjoy the moment. Pulling back, she grinned. "I love you."

Viggo smiled at her again. "And I love you." His hand lightly brushed her stomach. "Both of you."

"That's better!" Dagur said with an approving nod.

Runa could not agree more.