Chapter Four
"Do you really think there's a reason behind this Monstrous Nightmare showing up with a sword from Burgus?" Zena asked as she followed Aniu down towards the stables. Shockwave followed her close behind, with Cybele keeping close to Aniu's side. Cybele glanced at the Skrill uneasily as the two talked about their predicament with Burgus.
"I don't know," Aniu admitted, feeling wary as they reached the bottom of the stables to a room where the Monstrous Nightmare was being kept, "I can try and communicate with him in the hopes of finding out more about the Queen, and if he was telling the truth, in the first place."
Zena looked at her doubtfully. She hadn't been on Burgus since leaving with Hiccup, Stoick and Aniu. While she never regretted leaving the island, there were times when she wondered if things would have been any different had she stayed. After all, her mum and dad had parted ways the moment she left Burgus. She often blamed herself for not only their parting ways, but, for what had happened to Aniu all those years ago.
"I don't get why we should worry about this island, in the first place," Shockwave rumbled as he sat farther away from the group. Skrills were not known for being social. Aniu knew that despite him warming up to Zena, he would never trust another dragon aside from Toothless or Cybele. Even the other Riders' dragons didn't necessarily work well with him. It was only through years of hard work that Zena had finally taught him to work with others.
"If there is a way to peace between humans and dragons, anything is better than ignoring the problem," Cybele replied with a warning look. "I would rather avoid war, if it is possible."
Aniu nodded in agreement. The last thing she wanted was to endure the horrors of war. She had seen what it did to her own people, and the people of Berk. The violence may have finally subsided, but, there were still some lingering affects from the war between dragon and human.
The Monstrous Nightmare had been moved to a separate room while he recovered from his injuries. He hadn't shown violence towards the humans who were caring for him, but, no one wanted to take chances. Not that Aniu didn't blame them. She knew from experience that Monstrous Nightmares could be violent towards the people they didn't trust. He let out an uneasy growl upon seeing Aniu and Zena nearby, along with their dragons.
His attitude changed, however, upon seeing Cybele. Cybele lifted her chin, the pride in her eyes obvious enough. Aniu almost laughed at the sight – Cybele certainly knew how to make her presence known. Being one of the Alpha's certainly helped.
"What do you want?" he asked, glaring at Aniu when she stopped just a few inches from his snout.
"I want to ask what really happened while you were on that island," she began, sitting down in front of him in a cross-legged position, "Dragons don't attack humans unless it is for self-defense. You mentioned there was a queen involved?"
"Yes," the Nightmare replied after hesitating a moment, "The Queen is known for her terrible temper. But, she is not alone. I barely managed to escape with my life; others were not so lucky."
"That doesn't make any sense," Cybele frowned as she joined Aniu, sitting on her haunches, "Why would the Queen work with another? And, who is this 'another'?"
"I'm not sure," the Nightmare admitted, looking away shamefully, "I do know that it is a human she is working with. They have conquered other islands, before, by working together. He's a strange human who can be very loud when angered, which happens often."
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully as Aniu leaned back, feeling Cybele's scales brush her open hand.
There were many humans who were loud and obnoxious when angered. It could have been anyone, working with dragons.
"Is there a chance you can drawl a picture of him in the sand?" she asked hopefully when an idea came to mind.
The Nightmare looked at her in surprise before giving a nod. He watched as she stood up and left without another word, ignoring the look Zena was giving her when she reached for a thick branch in another room. Cybele crawled over to her side and helped carry the branch until they reached the Nightmare, who grasped it with his powerful jaws.
"I'm not very good at drawling," he warned her, finding it strange that he would get such a request. Then again, it was strange to be talking to a human, of all creatures.
She simply nodded in understanding and gently urged him to go on. The Nightmare did just that. With a bit of work, he managed to drawl what looked like a human figure in the ground. Zena stood up immediately upon seeing what he was doing. While she didn't understand Dragonese, she had tagged along to make sure nothing happened to Aniu while she talked.
Zena's eyes widened with shock when she recognized the human that the Nightmare tried to drawl. Aniu glanced at her anxiously when she staggered backwards, hand resting on a nearby wall. If just a drawling was enough to startle her, this human couldn't be any good.
"Do you recognize him?" she asked in Norse, catching Zena off guard.
"We've had a few run-ins with him from time to time when we were younger," Zena explained warily. "He's a nasty piece of work, and almost caused a war between the people of Berk and the Outcasts."
Aniu looked at her in surprise before realizing that if this was the same human who'd caused them so much grief, then the people of Burgus were in trouble. She'd heard of humans who were willing to destroy an entire village just for the fun of it, and had seen first-hand what that kind of damage could do.
"We should warn Hiccup, about this," she sighed after returning to Cybele's side.
"If what he's saying is true, then we have to do something about it," Zena shook her head as the four of them left, once Aniu thanked the Nightmare with a free fish.
That left Aniu feeling uneasy. She knew that going back to Burgus meant that she would be facing her past, again. The last time she had been on Burgus was when Volstaf finally announced that he was her father. She still couldn't shake off the fact that he was her father, or that he had disowned her willingly.
"Remind me again why going back to Burgus would be a good idea?" she asked Cybele, glancing at the female Night Fury warily.
"I'm not sure why, but, I feel as if we're responsible for the people of Burgus," Cybele warbled back. "I know they did horrible things to you, but, imagine their surprise if you were the one who saved them from the Red Death!"
She almost smirked at the thought. The people of Burgus would forever be in her debt. While she knew it wasn't an appropriate reason to go back and help them, it did give her a boost of strength to move forward with Zena's plan.
…
"Another Red Death?" Hiccup's eyes widened in alarm when Aniu relayed what the Monstrous Nightmare had told her. Cybele and Toothless were resting side-by-side, with Cybele's chin on Toothless' shoulder. The two Night Furies had officially become mates over the passing years, and Aniu knew it was only a matter of time before there would be younger Night Furies running around the island of Berk. "One was bad enough, but facing another is just…"
"I know," Aniu shook her head as he drifted off, sinking into a chair. They were in his place, and Aniu found herself sitting across from him as she thought of how they would deal with the situation, "Zena wants to go back and figure out what has happened to the island. The Monstrous Nightmare said that most of the island was destroyed by dragons during a raid."
"She also mentioned that said person behind the raids is Dagur the Deranged," Hiccup added, shooting Aniu a worried look that said it all. "No, I'm not letting you go anywhere near him."
"With a name like that, who could blame him?" Toothless wondered out loud, fighting a yawn as he looked between the two humans tiredly.
It had been a long day for him. Both he and Hiccup had been patrolling the island, doing their rounds as both Chief and Alpha. Aniu and Cybele had been busy tending to the Monstrous Nightmare most of the day, but even that was exhausting work.
"Hiccup, I can't just ignore the fact that there is a problem on that island," she pointed out, "We were able to stop the Red Death on Dragon Island by working together. If Zena and I can convince the people of Burgus that dragons aren't a threat, then maybe we can get them to work together as well."
Hiccup let out a sigh of frustration and ran a hand through the back of his hair. He'd tried thinking of any excuse to keep her from going anywhere near Burgus. True, he felt selfish for doing just that. But, Aniu had already suffered enough from the people of Burgus.
"Alright," he finally muttered after realizing that no matter what he said, she would decide her own fate. "If you go, you have to consider how we're going to handle the situation."
Her eyes lit up as she glanced at Cybele. With hatchling season approaching, Aniu knew that she couldn't take Cybele away from what she felt was right. She had already discussed the matter with Cybele, and seeing the look in her sister/best friend's eyes told her everything she needed to know.
"I hate letting you go off on your own, but, I know what is necessary," she had said while they were standing outside the dragon stables, "Toothless and I are ready for this, now more than ever."
"I've asked Nina if she could go in Cybele's place," Aniu explained, earning a look of surprise from Hiccup. The large purple Deadly Nadder hadn't been seen for a long time since Aniu returned with Valka. She'd met with Nina just after having that conversation with Cybele. "She's agreed to go with us… if it means making peace between humans and dragons, she is more than willing to offer whatever help she can."
She couldn't hide the guilty look that followed as Hiccup realized she had already planned everything ahead of time. She and Zena had been talking it through. They both felt obligated to go back to Burgus and set things right between humans and dragons, one way or another.
With a shake of his head, Hiccup finally stood up and closed the distance between them. Aniu found herself melting into his warm embrace when he wrapped his arms around her waist. She hated the idea of leaving him behind, like this. Yet, this mission was between herself and Zena. They had both left Burgus behind, and knew what had to be done to make things right.
"I don't want to lose you, especially to someone like Dagur," he whispered as their eyes met, "I've seen what he's like… I've dealt with him since I was a kid."
"Hiccup, I've learned how to deal with jerks like him," she reminded him, feeling her heart flutter when she gazed into his forest-green eyes. She could get lost within them, if she stared long enough, "I'm not afraid, anymore."
"I know… that's what worries me," he murmured, before capturing her lips with his.
The rush of butterflies in her stomach never left. Aniu wanted that moment to last. The connection they had, and the bond they shared, was unlike any other. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, especially when she thought of the fact that they were supposed to be getting married, soon. Yet, she couldn't deny the fact that the people of Burgus needed her help. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she needed to go with Zena, and provide whatever help she could.
AN: Look at me, actually updating within a somewhat reasonable time XD This chapter was hopefully not too confusing... I don't know. I feel like it could've been better, but, I always have trouble writing out the beginning of any story. It's usually towards the middle where all the action and drama starts getting better :) Anywho, thank you, everyone, for your patience! Onto review replies...
MMM - Yeah, sorry for the long delay. It's taking longer because of writer's block... and a few other issues I'm having with this story. As for whether or not they go back to Burgus, I believe this chapter best answers your questions. I don't want to give away any spoilers :)
Scarlet3Wolf12 - Thank you! I do enjoy writing this; it just takes a while for me to find my writing muse :)
Retrokill - Yep. For some reason, she always seems to be the center of suspicions. I'm glad you enjoyed it, I was worried it would be too choppy... much like this chapter /: