Dimmadreki Chapter 8
As soon as Fishlegs and his dim lantern were out of sight, Myrkrid stepped out of her hiding place. She looked very shaken.
"Now do you believe me?" he asked.
She stopped a few feet away from him. "You really used to be human," she quavered. "You were telling me the truth the whole time. You've got a human mind in there. No wonder you were afraid of me! You must think I'm repulsive! And I wanted you to…"
"Myrkrid, it's okay! Believe me, I understand. Your idea made more sense than the truth; it doesn't bother me that you had a hard time believing me. I still think you're a beautiful dragon."
"You're just saying that so you don't hurt my feelings."
"No, I mean it! I saw the way Fishlegs was looking at me, and I realized – I've turned into something beautiful. And if I'm beautiful, then you are, too."
She hung her head. "You couldn't possibly want to mate with me. I'm surprised you can stand to be within ten feet of me."
He nudged her with his nose. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'm already feeling more like a dragon than a human, in some ways. As it is, you're probably the closest friend I've ever had."
"All those awful things you said about your past… they were all true?"
" 'Fraid so."
"And you tried to kill dragons, and always failed?"
"Always failed, just like I said. At the time, it stank, but now I'm glad about that."
"But wait a minute," she stammered. "If you've never been a dragon before, then how did you learn to fly so fast?"
"It's like I said – it just makes sense, once I start to do it," he answered. "I probably have some dragon reflexes inside me now, and that has to help. Mostly, I guess I really want to fly. I always did."
"Do all Vikings want to fly?" she wondered.
"No, just the ones with imagination. There aren't many of those." He paused. "Now that you know I'm a human on the inside, does that change anything for you?"
She thought for a moment. "No," she decided. "I'm so used to thinking of you as a slightly weird dragon, it doesn't change anything now that I know you're more than just slightly weird. I was willing to take you as you are, imperfections and all, and I still am."
That's what love sounds like, he realized with a start. He was even more startled to realize that his best chance to escape the terms of her deal hadn't panned out, and it didn't upset him. He stood next to her and hesitantly wrapped a wing around her. She leaned on him and closed her eyes.
"You're not like any male I've ever met before," she said quietly, "and I'm glad about that."
They were interrupted by a scraping sound from inside the training ring. A hoarse voice called, "Are there dragons out there?"
"Yes, we're Night Furies," Myrkrid answered. "You sound like a Gronckle."
"Yes," the voice answered. "There are five of us being held in here. Is there any way you can get us out?"
"Is there a way to get dragons out of that hole?" she demanded of Hiccup.
"Yes, the main gate is over there. But Gobber keeps it locked so kids don't get in and let the dragons out by accident."
"Whatever a gobber is, it's going to have to move. Come on, Dimmadreki! Let's give you a practical test of what you've learned." She sprang into the air, with Hiccup close behind her, marveling at how quickly she shifted gears mentally. They climbed fast.
"Okay, I see your main gate," she said as she looked down. "I've showed you how to dive, and you know how to make a firebolt. Now combine the two; dive on that gate and blow it to pieces. I'll be right behind you, so if you miss, I've got you covered. Show me what you've got."
As they climbed, he glanced down at the gate to the training ring. He knew he could take it out. But should he? It was a part of his village! He'd just promised Fishlegs that he wouldn't raid Berk!
I'm not raiding Berk, he decided. No Vikings are going to get hurt, or go hungry, or lose their homes. I'm just arranging a jailbreak for some intelligent beings who are in jail for the crime of being the wrong species. I won't lose any sleep at night over that. I won't lose any sleep in the daytime, either.
He lined up his target, folded his wings, and dove. The rush of air past his face was exhilarating. He sparked a firebolt and let the rushing wind fan it to full strength. What do you mean, 'if I miss?' he thought indignantly. I'm a Night Fury. I never miss! He fired and pulled up. A moment later, most of the iron-reinforced portcullis vanished in a brilliant purple fireball. He smiled. If Myrkrid was planning to take a follow-up shot, she had no target left to shoot at.
He landed next to her in front of the gateway. The wooden edges of the portcullis were smoldering. "I have to admit, I wasn't sure what you were going to do," she said. "I mean, you're a human, and this is your village; I didn't know if you…"
"I am a human and a dragon," he corrected her. "I won't harm anyone in this village. But this… this is a cage for intelligent creatures who aren't so different from you. Or me. It made me happy to blast it."
"You sure did a good job of it," she nodded. "Those doors on the other side look pretty solid, though. I'm not sure we have enough firepower to take them out without another diving attack, and the roof chains will get in our way."
"Not a problem," he said. "There are advantages to having a human mind in a dragon body. You guard the door and scare away any Vikings who come near. I'll set the dragons free." He stepped through the gaping hole in the portcullis and padded inside, stepping over the chunks of smoking debris that his firebolt had scattered across the floor.
He'd always dreamed of entering this ring, watching dragons emerge from their holding pens, and learning how to fight them. Now, he was finally here, he was about to release all the dragons, and when he did, they wouldn't try to fight him; they might even thank him. He didn't even bother thinking, "Life is weird." He was getting used to that.
"Here's how it's done," he called, and pushed the lever next to the leftmost door with his paw. The doors flew open and a Gronckle burst out, wild-eyed. She hovered for a moment and looked all around. "No humans! Am I really free? Thank you, umm…"
"Dimmadreki," he answered. "That's Myrkrid outside. We're setting all of you free tonight."
"Thank you! At last I can go!" The bulky dragon buzzed out the doorway, paused to thank Myrkrid, and flew away into the darkness. Hiccup reached for the next lever, but his lady-friend called, "Wait!"
He walked back to the doorway. "What's wrong?"
"I got a good look at that dragon as she flew by," she answered. "She's enslaved. All of these dragons are probably enslaved. If we turn them loose, they'll have no choice but to go back to serving the Monster. Do we want to do that?"
"Look at size of that holding cell!" he burst out. "We can't leave these dragons in those tiny pens, even if they're bound for certain death when they leave. No intelligent creature can live like that!" Without another word, he turned back and opened the next cell. This one was occupied by a tiny Terrible Terror, which chirped its thanks to him and shot straight up through the roof chains to freedom.
"That one wasn't enslaved, at least," Myrkrid called. "The Monsters don't bother with the little ones."
The third cell contained a raging-mad Monstrous Nightmare. It came out flaming and bellowing, but quickly settled down when it saw no human adversaries.
"A Night Fury?" he asked. "Is that who turned me loose?"
"Two Night Furies," Hiccup corrected him. "You're free. Go find something free to do!"
"I can't," the Nightmare said sadly. "I've been away from my nest for far too long. Thank you for thinking of me, though." He bounded up the ramp, spread his wings, and disappeared into the night.
"Dimmadreki, make it fast!" Myrkrid called. "I think some Vikings saw the explosion you made. There are a bunch of men with torches headed this way."
"Hold them off – I'm almost done!" he called back. He pulled the fourth lever, and then the fifth one without waiting. A Hideous Zippleback and a Deadly Nadder burst out of their pens, thanked the black dragons profusely, and flew away in the same direction as the first ones. Hiccup was the last dragon out of the training ring; he and Myrkrid bounded into the sky and returned to their cove, unseen by any of the Vikings.
"You're awfully quiet," she commented when they landed.
"I was thinking about those dragons we just freed," he answered. "I never thought of dragons as being like people before. They were just thieves, killers, and targets. Now I'm seeing how wrong I was... how wrong every Viking has been... but what bothers me the most is that four of those dragons are still just as imprisoned as they were before we opened their cell doors."
"Every dragon hates the Monsters and what they do," she replied, "but there's nothing we can do about them except keep our distance."
"I don't think I can accept that," he shot back. "Berk did away with slavery three generations ago. I've never met a person who was forced to belong to another person; just the idea makes me sick. Now I'm a dragon, I find out that dragons are enslaving other dragons, and I'm supposed to just pretend it isn't happening? I can't do that."
"Dimmadreki, you're learning to fly, learning to take care of yourself, and learning how to become a totally different species. Isn't that enough for you? Do you have to save the world, too?"
"Yes," he said firmly. "Or at least the piece of it that I live in. You're a Night Fury; doesn't it burn you up inside to see dragons in that condition?"
"It does," she said without hesitation, "especially because I lost a mate that way. I will not lose another one! Dimmadreki, you can't understand this because you're a male, but my mission in life is to preserve my species and keep it from dying out. My need to lay eggs and raise young dragons takes priority over anything else I could ever do. I can't throw my life away on an idealistic crusade, no matter how right it might be. There are too many generations of Night Furies yet unhatched who are depending on me to live and reproduce." She took a deep breath. "And if you're going to be my mate, then that will apply to you, too."
She was calling him to make a choice – either follow her and live her way, or follow his own sense of honor and break his promise to her.
"I'm not making any irrevocable decisions tonight," he finally replied.
"You'll have to make a decision soon," she replied softly.
"I know," he said. "Believe me, I know."