A/N: Hey guys, so this will be the last update for a minimum of two weeks. I move into my new house on Tuesday and it will dominate all of my time. So I'm glad to get something out to you guys before that and I am not ashamed at all that it kind of leaves you on a cliffhanger or at the very least keeps your suspense. So I'm not going to bore you with along note here, so on to the responses.
Anonymous Noob the 2nd: I'm glad you are loving the story and yes as I'm sure you can already tell we are nearing the end. As for what I will write next, not sure I have the two ideas on my profile that I want to start on so we shall see there, perhaps a poll will be in order. As for the story that we discussed so long ago, I will not be writing it unfortunately. I just don't have the same interest in it as I did before and I really want to get these other ideas of mine off the ground. Thank you for your support and I hope to see you around for the finale.
CB73: The price was steep and there might be more that must be paid. Find out as other aspects of being on a movie set come to light.
Guest: All of your questions get addressed in this chapter so good ahead and read on. They don't exactly get answered but they lay the ground work for solutions and now a different battle must be fought.
WinterBreath0602: I'm really glad you liked the use of the Viking song, there are times where I wish I was born in the time of Vikings, that would amazing. I will have to have a listen with the songs you suggested, if they are as good as you are suggesting and the vibes I'm getting are any indication I might just use them should the occasion rise.
Thank you all for the reviews I love them so much and read every one. Stay safe and stay healthy.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Mexican ;p
(Wednesday, November 14th, 2018)
"I missed him." Audrey whispered as she held herself.
Two days had passed since the battle with the Queen. Two days of people celebrating their victory, cheering that the problems on set were over. Two days of people cheering, except for a select few, and Audrey was bearing the worst of it.
"He was right there, and I missed him." She whispered again, turning to glance at the door that led to his room.
They had found Henry and Toothless. Amidst the rubble that was the Queen's island. Well Sharpshot found them, but it didn't matter. Henry was wrapped in Toothless' wings. They had all held their breath as Steven rushed through the crowd and cradled his son. The difference in size between the two made it look as though Steven was holding a toddler.
Audrey felt as though every ounce of air had left her body when she approached Steven. She could see Henry just over his shoulder and it stopped her mid step. He looked ashen, had soot and scorch marks across his face, arms, torso, and leg. Before she could fully process what she was seeing Steven had tilted his head down and proclaimed that his son was still alive. A wave of relief washed over everyone but none more than Audrey. But that was before she knew.
She had briefly heard someone say that they needed to get Henry back to the set as quick as possible before infection set in. Confused, she had looked back and saw a group of people looking down towards Henry's feet. Until she realized that Henry only had one foot instead of two.
She doesn't remember what happened next, she just woke up in her bed back on set and a couple days had passed. Now here she was sitting just outside Henry's room and blaming herself. She hadn't been fast or close enough to save him, and now because of her failure he would be forever scared.
She could still feel the wind graze past her fingers as Henry reached out to her, only to miss and fall into the fiery abyss. Her vision blurred as tears began to well and silently streak down her face. She had never been one to cry, the last time she cried it was when they had heard the news about her Uncle. Her breath became ragged as the sobs took over.
The sound of the steps straining under some weight drew Audrey out of her sorrow and gave her enough time to wipe her face and appear to be in control. But when she saw Steven walking up the stairs and his sad look met her, she didn't have the strength to try. Her eyes flowed like a river and she hung her head as the man approached her.
"He will live." Steven said softly.
She had gathered that Henry would live but a lot could happen in two days and amputations were a serious matter. Hearing the reassurance though had lifted part of the weight off her.
"I wasn't fast enough. I missed him." Audrey choked out.
She found herself engulfed in firm yet gentle hug. The action surprised her as she realized Steven was the one hugging her. Strange as it might sound but for a moment it felt like Henry was hugging her and she wrapped her arms as far as she could around Steven.
"Don't blame yourself. Don't you dare blame yourself. It was her, and her alone that caused all of this. You did everything you could." Steven said firmly.
He was not about to let her take any blame for what happened to his son. Such a thought was so foreign to him he had never even considered it. He had seen the way Audrey and Henry acted around each other, how they looked at each other. If it was in their power neither would let anything happen to other.
"It wasn't enough though." Audrey countered; her grief filled mind unable to see it differently.
"Audrey, I know you would never let any harm come to my son. The Queen did this, not you. Don't burden yourself with thoughts like this. It won't help my son and it won't help you." Steven reiterated.
After several moments and no response from Audrey Steven got an idea that might just help her. He released his grip on her and walked in front of the door, before gesturing her to stand up.
"Come on, let's go see him." Steven said gently, smiling at her.
Audrey didn't have time to tell him that she felt like she couldn't face Henry before the door was open. Steven squeezed through the door and left it open. Audrey's fear combined with her desire to see Henry kept her planted on the chair outside the room. Her thoughts racing with what she should and shouldn't do if she had the strength to do it. Her fear was overcome when she heard Steven speaking to his son. She had to see him.
Taking a breath and a daring step she peeked around the door and saw two chairs on opposite sides of the bed. Steven was sitting in one, and the other clearly meant for her. She walked in, slowly, as if she was testing the waters of what she could do, not sure if she had the right to be here. Steven nodded to her and gestured towards the empty chair; Audrey sat down gingerly in case she needed to get out quickly. Steven smiled at her before looking back at his son.
"You have a visitor son. You have worried her greatly, I'm not sure you would recognize your Valkyrie anymore." He chuckled softly to himself.
Henry of course didn't say anything. He was buried beneath a mountain of furs and his forehead and hands were wrapped in bandages. There was a noticeable dip in the furs where his left leg should have been. Audrey cringed away from it and focused solely on his face. Some color had returned, though his cheeks were slightly pink. Evidence of the heat that had surrounded him. His breathing was slow and even, but out of the clear signs of many injuries that that the boy had suffered, Audrey couldn't get over how peaceful he looked.
Unaware of the pain he would be in when he woke, unaware of the outcome of the battle, unaware if he was even alive.
"It's not fair." Audrey whispered, gently taking Henry's hand in her own.
It might have been the movement of her hand intertwining with his, but she could swear that she felt his hand squeeze hers ever so gently, like a ghost. The moment was gone as quick as it came and the only movement the boy showed was his slow and steady breathing.
"I know lass, but there is nothing we can do about it now. We just have to wait for him to wake up and help him through this. He will need both of us you know." Steven answered gently.
"I'm not going anywhere." Audrey replied firmly.
They sat in silence watching over the boy, hoping that his eyes would open or that some type of movement would show itself. They were only met with death like stillness. Sighing out in distress, Audrey looked around the room and noticed that neither Sharpshot nor Toothless were in there with them.
"Where are his Dragons?" She asked softly.
"Just outside below the window, recovering from their own injuries. Sharpshot could fit in here but Toothless can't and I think Sharpshot doesn't want Toothless to be lonely. I think that Dragon blames himself." Steven responded; his voice despondent.
"He shouldn't though, it wasn't his fault." Audrey said softly.
"The same way it's not your fault either." Steven said wisely.
Audrey's eyes went wide, and she slowly looked up at Steven. A small flicker of understanding shining through, but before it could come out fully the sound of arguing and the front door opening shattered the moment. Sighing and rubbing the top of his son's hand gently, Steven leaned down and kissed his forehead. Whispering something that Audrey couldn't hear but felt the love and care coming from Steven.
"That will be Max and Helga. Come on we should go and talk with them." Steven said as he rose from his chair and exited the room.
Nodding at the older man Audrey rubbed Henry's hand gently and placed a small kiss on the boy's cheek. While she might have imagined the hand squeeze from earlier, she knew that the small twitch that pulled Henry's mouth into the tiniest of smiles, was very real. Seeing a sign of hope Audrey leaned down and whispered in Henry's ear.
"You had better wake up soon Dragon boy. I don't like to be kept waiting." Audrey said, gaining a bit of herself back having seen the smile.
She walked out of the room and could hear the hushed tones and biting words coming from down below. She entered the room just as Max was heatedly pointing at Helga.
"There are more lives at stake here than just your precious Dragons." He raged, his voice barely holding back.
"Then what do you propose we do? If this gets reported than everything we have achieved will be for nothing!" Helga shot back.
"We have achieved nothing! I have to tell the executives. They have a right to know about everything. The Queen, the sudden army of wild Dragons that we have come into possession of. Not to mention all the money that was blown on this project! How is everyone supposed to get paid?!" Max shouted in anger.
Though he was angry Max did have a point. So many things had to be considered now that the Queen was out of the way. All of them important but Audrey noticed that Max failed to bring up one crucial detail.
"Is that all you care about, money and how this will look in the public eye? What about Henry?! You know the one who risked his life like no one else and paid the price for it!" Audrey shouted at Max.
"Of course I am worried about Henry we all are." Max replied taking a few deep breaths and calming down.
"But we have other things to worry about too. Yes Henry's injuries are severe I'm not denying that. But they might pale in comparison to what might happen to everyone on set. We could all lose our jobs, our homes, our livelihood. Hell some of us might get blacklisted for this." Max sighed out.
Hearing the word blacklisted sent flashbacks through her mind the day her Uncle got the fateful notice that he would never work in Hollywood again. She hadn't thought that this was a possibility but now she was starting to see a larger picture.
"So, what do we do?" She asked softly.
Sighing Max picked up a camera harness from the table nearby and held it aloft so that the fire could illuminate it. They all peered at it and saw a camera still held in place. They all turned to Max with confused gazes and waited for him to explain.
"I attached this to Sharpshot just before the battle. He captured everything from the time we left to the time we got and I took it off. If there is any chance of a saving grace this it. I just hope that it will be enough." Max said he gently place the camera down.
"I know it might sound like I only care about the money, but understand this, it's not me that cares about the money. It is my bosses and everyone to keep working, to keep their life, for the Dragons to have some kind of life that doesn't involve be circus animals. We need to convince them that the footage on this camera and everything that we have done so far is worth every penny they invested and more." Max finished, his voice turning grave.
"You don't sound like you have a lot of hope." Audrey pointed out.
"I don't, you have no idea how hard it was to get the executives to agree to this project in the first place. But now, who knows what they might do. I hope for all of our sakes that they like it, otherwise we are all doomed.
The room turned deathly quiet as they all gazed towards the camera, all except Audrey. She turned her gaze towards the stairs and more specifically the room at the top and silently thought, that the one who could help them the most was sleeping, and she had no idea when he would wake up.
A/N: A new set of challenges arise as one is defeated but this one is not as straight forward as defeating a giant Dragon. How will they handle the Hollywood executives and can Henry turn the tide or will it be too little too late... See you all next time, peace out.
Published 06/12/2020