See, posted it on Monday just like I said. Enjoy! :)
Chapter 5
Ruffnut was sitting in Berk's book archives sound asleep on the floor. The sun shone down on her and the birds loudly chirped but still she had not woken up. She was there all night doing as much research as she could on the gem Eret mentioned. If it could save Hiccups life she was going to find out about it so help her gods. Ruffnut was a very complex person despite her outward stupidity. As much as she denied caring for people, she really did. Deep down inside her she was filled with love. When she was passionate about something or someone she became almost obsessed. So when she heard that there was something that could save Hiccup's life she wasn't going to give up until she found it. She was also pretty peeved that Eret was keeping secrets from her but mainly, she wanted to save Hiccup's life.
She has been in the archives all night looking for information on the gem but kept finding the same useless information over and over again. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, she crashed. Now, the morning was in full swing but she was still sound asleep. That was until someone came in and woke her up.
"Ruffnut?" Eret asked, confused as to why she was on the floor covered in half open books.
"Five more minutes, mom." She mumbled. She groggily opened her eyes and started to take in her surroundings. She realized quickly that she had just been asleep on the floor and was slightly embarrassed.
"What are you doing on the floor?"
"Sorry, I musta fell asleep. I was in here all night."
"Oh. Well, look, Ruff, we gotta talk." Ruffnut pulled herself from the floor onto the chair that sat beside her. She rubbed her eyes and scratched her messy hair, cracking her bones and getting her bearings.
"I don't want to talk to you unless it's about the gem."
"Well, you'll be pleased to know that's exactly why I'm here. I realized yesterday that..."
"Why did you tell me and then leave. Hiccup is your friend too! You just want to let him die?"
"No, no! Of course not! See, I made promise to some very important people that I would never, ever tell anyone about... The gem. And I don't intend to break that promise."
"So, you just came here to tell me you're not telling me?"
"Yes. But, before you get all mad... I made the promise, however someone else didn't."
"Huh?"
"I promised I would never tell but the one other person on this island that knows didn't. Come on, I'll take you to him."
"Now wait, hold on just a second. First, I want some answers. Why lie to me?" Ruffnut could tolerate many things in her life but lying was not one of them. She hated lying and hated being lied to even more. Since she was a young child she always wanted to know the cold, hard truth rather than a softened lie. So whenever someone lied to her it pissed her off more than words can describe.
"I... It just kinda... Slipped out. And then I remembered my promise and I sort of almost broke it already. I never intended to lie, I'm sorry." Ruffnut hated lying but Eret hated disloyalty. He didn't really like to make commitments but when he did, he had to honor them. It was more of a pride thing really. He felt like he let himself and others down if he failed to honor his commitments and promises. His whole family prides themselves on being loyal. Hardly ever has Eret Son of Eret ever broken a promise. That's why he stayed with Draco as a trapper for so long even when he threatened to kill him. He made a commitment and he had to keep it.
"Still. It's not excuse to lie to me, Eret."
"Ruff, you don't understand. I can't break a promise."
"Why?"
"Well... A promise is a promise and..."
"You're lying again."
"Fine! Fine, you really want to know? Fine. I'll tell you why I can't break a promise, okay! I... I let my brother die." Saying the words brought back all the pain Eret had felt when it first happened. He felt his heart break again and a held back tears as he told Ruffnut his story.
"It was a while ago, back in my village. We were just boys then. I was older but he was only two years younger than I was. We got along so well. He was not only my brother. He was my best friend. One night during a storm he was scared of the thunder and came crawling into my bed. That night, I promised him that I would never let anything or anyone harm him. I held him close to me and I promised him... I swore to him. After that night, I gained this new sort of authoritative attitude. Anytime some dumb kid was picking on him, I scared them away. Any time he fell and scraped his knee, I was there to tend the wound. It was a lot of responsibility but it was worth it to see my brother smile. Well, one day we were playing hide and seek in the woods. I was hiding and he was seeking. We played this game all the time and it was so much fun. I found this great hiding spot where I thought he could never find me. Minutes and minutes went by and he hadn't found me. He usually could within a matter of minutes because I wasn't good at the game unfortunately. But he hadn't found me and I was getting kind of nervous. It was getting dark and the woods were a huge spot for dragon attacks. I left my hiding place and started to look for him. It didn't take long before... I heard him... Screaming... It was... Terrifying. I just remember running and running and calling his name. Then I found him. But he... He was... I broke my promise to him. I failed him. I let something happen to him. And since then, I never forgave myself. I let my brother die. He was attacked by a dragon. I broke my promise." Eret was so absorbed in his memory that he didn't even notice Ruffnut's hand on his shoulder. He didn't even notice that she got up from the chair.
"Hey, Eret. I'm sorry that happened but you can't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault."
"Yes it was!" He yelled, breaking free of her grasp.
"Eret?"
"It was my fault. I hate it when people say it wasn't because it was. I was hiding from him! Purposely trying to avoid him! I let him die. So I'm not gonna let Hiccup die. Oh no, I'm not. But I promised myself I'd never break another promise and.. Oh gods! You don't know the struggle I've been facing."
Ruffnut was so taken back by his sudden outburst. Since she's known him, she never saw him do anything like that and it threw her off. She's seen him get emotional a few times but never to this extent. Now knowing his story, she almost felt bad for thinking of him as a sibling. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder again. Eret, who had put his face in his hands to mask his sobs, didn't react to the gesture. He simply took it. He hadn't told anyone this story in a long time but every time he did, it sparked the pain he felt when he lived it. However this time, he had someone to comfort him and it almost made him feel a little better.
"I'm so sorry, Eret. But, we have more pressing matters now and if you don't want this to happen again I suggest we get going. Sorry I was kinda rude back there."
"It's okay, " He said, collecting himself. "You didn't know. But now you do. And yes, we should go. We can't live for the now if we live in the past. Let's go."
"Where exactly are we going to?"
"You'll see, c'mon." In a sudden movement, he grabbed Ruffnut's hand and took her out the door.
Ruffnut and Eret practically sprinted through Berk to get to their destination. It wasn't long before they reached the house of Halvard the Healer. They got there in under a minute which was a new record time. They were both incredibly winded from the long run over but it didn't stop them from barreling up the steps and knocking on his door.
"Oh my, what can I do for you? Is it something about the boy?" Halvard asked upon seeing Ruffnut and Eret panting at his door. He was used to people frantically banging on his door so this came as no surprise.
"Yes." Eret said, trying to catch his breath. "It's time."
"Time for...?" Eret shot Halvard a look of "you know what" and he immediately understood. He knew that the secret wasn't going to be kept for long. He considered telling them himself but he didn't want to risk it. Now, unfortunately, he had no choice.
"Come inside." He said as he guested for them to go in.
Halvard's house was a very interesting one. It wasn't like all other Viking homes. It doubled as a makeshift hospital. There were rows and rows of cots, shelves with various herbs, tools, and whatnot on them, patients from the yesterday's battle lying around. The place was in total disarray. It was forgivable, however, considering how busy Halvard was. There before him lay some of Berk's finest heroes. They were warriors who fought to save the village at any cost, even if it meant losing their lives. These men were brave, no doubt. However, the bravest man of all stood before them and cared for them. Halvard really was the unsung hero of Berk. He did nothing but care for the always injured and treat every one of them like they were his only patient. His quick thinking and wits always saved lives and even limbs. But there were times when people could not be saved. Many people died under Halvard's care but that only made him more heroic. To have so many patients pass and still do your job and not be affected by it took an absurd amount of strength. Halvard may not have been the biggest, burliest, warrior, hell, he may not have even fought at all! But he was still the strongest person on Berk because he cared and he didn't run away.
Ruffnut and Eret took in their surroundings and were appalled at the sight. They gained so much more respect for Halvard after seeing what he deals with every day. They didn't have too much time to marvel at the gruesome sights though because they were quickly whisked away to the back room.
"So," Ruffnut began as soon as the door closed. "Two questions. 1. What is this gem, this Iceland Spar and 2. If it can save his life why did you tell us there was nothing we could do?"
"My, my you are persistent." Halvard noted.
"It's time you told her," Eret said. "I can't."
"Very well," Halvard sighed and told Ruffnut to sit down as it it be a rather long story.
"Now, let's make one thing clear. As I tell this story I want no interruptions, okay? Okay. So, here we go. When I was a young doctor in training, I was let in on a secret that only a few people in this world know about. It was about this gem called Iceland Spar. It's a rare gem, only found in a few places in the entire world. The gem has a special power unlike any other herb I know. It had the power to heal the sick, the injured, and the dying of any ailment they have. And it's even said to make people stronger. Just a single shaving of the gem mixed into water can instantly save someone or even bring them back to life or so I've heard. The gem was discovered not too long ago but it's healing power is only known to a few people, myself and Eret included. You may have read that it was used for navigation on ships. Well, that's wrong. It's a lie, a coverup. We only say that so we can transport it without having people try to seal it or question it. Have you heard of a Viking sunstone? Well, it's just a coverup. It's real power is to heal and it's only traded with very few people in the for a high price. It's used mostly to heal nobility and the high class. The reason it's so secretive is because if everyone knew, A. It would become extinct fast, B. People would go crazy trying to obtain it and C. Everyone would want to cure their sniffles and colds, eventually making it so that a case of the sniffles or a cold would be incredibly painful and kill. That's why we can't have just anyone know, Ruffnut. And I'm sorry for keeping this a secret but I had to. I was considering using some on him, but then Astrid told the town and I figured that if he lived, people would become suspicious. But now I know and now I realize that he is chief and he is nobility. And between you and me, Snotlout wouldn't be a very good chief. So we have to save him."
Ruffnut let all of the information sink in for a minute and couldn't even form any sort of response. She was just so baffled by the information overload. However, Eret helped her and chimed in.
"You should tell Astrid." He mentioned.
"Yea, yea I will." Ruffnut replied, dazed.
"I know it's a lot to take in but Halvard is busy here so you should..."
"Wait, wait. I don't even know... Where can I find this gem?"
"I was afraid you'd ask that," Halvard said. "The only place anywhere near Berk that has Spar mines is Outcast Island."
Ruffnut froze for a little bit not wanting to believe what she just heard. Outcast Island? Really? Hiccup was so lucky the he had friends that cared about him enough to go all the way to Outcast Island just to save his life.
"Well," Ruffnut said, unfreezing and getting up. "What are we waiting for, let's go!"
Thanks for reading! Sorry this was kind of a boring, exposition chapter that was hastily written. I tried to do more with this chapter but I couldn't really. TBH I try to speed past the boring stuff plot stuff and get to the goods haha. I promise there is way more high stakes action to come and I'll let you in on a little secret. In the chapters to come, someone is gonna die for good! Oh no, who's it gonna be? Read and find out!
Don't forget the fav/follow/review if you'd like to! ;)
