XVI.
"It – it can change," Hiccup insisted, throwing his arms forward in a vague but still somehow passionate gesture. "Vikings and dragons don't have to fight each other. Look, take my island for example. Where I live, everyone rides –"
"I always lived in a world that was kill or be killed."
That single sentence silenced Hiccup. An intensity weighed down her voice, and it stilled him, too. All at once Hiccup realized she was speaking a very personal account, one that delved deep into her motivations for fighting alongside the dragons. Even if he could persuade her Vikings and dragons could live at peace – even live together – he knew he needed to hear her story first.
She narrated solemnly, eyes focused on her feet. "I believed peace between the humans and dragons was possible." After a short chuckle, she relayed to Hiccup, "It was a very unpopular opinion."
He nodded, thinking of his own childhood, yet wondering how this narrative of a peace-loving woman could be connected to the aggressive dragon rider he had first met in the skies.
Hopeful, he thought, If she truly wants peace, then we can reason with her. And though Hiccup still sported a fair scab on his forehead from the dragon attack, he found himself pleased that he had flown out to speak to the Vigilante. The turmoil between her and the dragon trappers could end before any amount of destruction reached Berk.
We can reason with her.
"During a raid one night," the Vigilante continued, "a dragon broke into my house, finding…" – she paused, suddenly tense – "my… infant son… in the cradle."
The manner in which the Vigilante hesitated, the quick flash of regret coursing through her eyes, tempted Hiccup to speak up with some quick comforting words. It was only polite. Though he had never experienced personally the love of a mother for her son, he knew very well the protective embrace of his father, and felt a moment of pity for the inevitable loss approaching in the story. He already knew, from the tone in her voice, that she would lose her infant child.
"I rushed to protect him." After a small stammer, the woman's voice returned to a calm cadence. "But what I saw was proof of everything I believed. This dragon before me wasn't a vicious beast, but an intelligent, gentle creature whose soul reflected my own.
"I saw the dragon approach my son with no intent of harming him. But then I heard my husband shout, and it startled the dragon. Against my will it took me away into the skies and flew far to the north, landing on this island. I never tried to go home. I finally realized that peoples' minds will never be changed. There will always be war between human and dragons. And though I have flown to many islands over the many years that have passed, I have never since returned to my village, nor seen my husband."
"And your son? Do you know if he survived the raid?"
The Vigilante's mouth twitched into a wry smile, and her green eyes met Hiccup's own. A strange light sparkled in each iris. "I would like to think that he did. On the flipside, though, I am sure everyone in my village believes I died. All for the better." She shrugged. "It would be best if everyone, even my son, never knew about me. Not in a world when I – and maybe you – are the only people who truly understand dragons.
"Stand by me," she formally offered Hiccup, turning to face him directly, and standing fully erect for the first time Hiccup had seen. "I can teach you all that I've learned these past twenty years while living amongst the dragons. Every dragon has its secrets, and I'll show them all to you, if you stand beside me and fight to unlock every trap, find every last species together, and end this world of a war against dragons."
End this world of a war…
Hiccup said, "We can end it today. Let me – let me show you." He beckoned toward Toothless, who eagerly bounded away from the baby dragons and toward the young man's side. Hiccup reached for his saddle. "There is already a solution in which Vikings and dragons can live in peace – together."
"No," she snapped.
Hiccup's hands fell to his side.
"Everyone on my island," Hiccup insisted, trying not to sound snappish, and trying to leave out a few choice sarcastic remarks that entered the back of his head, "loves dragons. Rides dragons. Lives with dragons. We have found the answer and the end to the war you hate."
"How long will that last?" Her voice was mournful. "Every once in a while, yes, there might be a great man, a good generation of human beings, a time of peace between Vikings and dragons. I will not deny that. Over the years, though, a corrupt leader will arise. Corrupt men. The dragons enslaved. Once more in pain – it is inevitable! You may have your peace now, but it is no permanent solution. My experience and the history of past generations have taught me that humans and dragons cannot share this world. They are irreconcilable enemies."
"That's not true," Hiccup insisted.
"Look down, boy, look down on the real world."
The only sound the two of them heard was the Bewilderbeast's enormous breaths, and of the baby dragons – still playing with each other, even in Toothless' absence – squawking in the background. Hiccup shook his head in disbelief.
"In this world," continued the woman bitterly, "my dragon-brothers are everywhere in chains. Humans like Drago are enslaving them in traps… they send them into war… they are removing a dragon's fire and clipping their wings and breaking their spirits.
"There is no longer room in our world for both dragons and humans," said the Vigilante, and now she just sounded infinitely wearied, "and when I envision the future, I see we are running out of time. It is too late already. The war has, regretfully, gone too far. It is, you see, a question of Them or Us."
The Vigilante straightened her back, shoulders pushed resolutely backward, arched spine facing away from the cliff ledge and standing against a backdrop of green plant growth, teal icy spires, and hundreds of spiraling colored dragons. Her green eyes flared beneath furrowed brows and tightly-pulled lips. Here stood a fearsome enemy of the Viking tribes, a protector of dragons capable of commanding thousands of fire-breathing beasts. An armored combatant who with the shout of her voice could launch an attack that would level entire villages to the ground, creating uninhabitable piles of ash and soot. A fearsome fighter of her own right, wielding a staff she well-knew how to use. A warrior with an angry, burning passion in her eyes. And though she did not aim her fury directly toward Hiccup, the woman's dark glare forced Hiccup back a step.
"So what would you have me do?" she demanded. She took another step forward, and Hiccup found himself again moving rearward. "Are we to be forever earth-bound when the dragons are no more?" Her voice rose. "No. I will not have that. And so I will call the dragons from far and wide, from the depths of the ocean and the ends of the earth, and we shall fight the final battle before it is too late.
"Will you join me, then, son of Stoick the Vast?" she asked, keenly watching his face for his response. Her hand tightened on her weapon. "Or are you another one of my enemies?"