Chapter Ninety-Six: It's about balance
Illiona sat up straight in her bed, sweat pouring down from her whole body, her heart beating so quickly it hurt.
She could barely breathe and for a second she didn't know where she was.
So when a hand touched her shoulder, she reacted instinctively and punched in the general direction of the hand.
Someone yelped and the hand vanished.
"Ow! Illiona!" the same someone said. "What the heck?"
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw where she was.
Under deck curled up in some ratty blankets with the others inside the storage room.
Josh sat next to her, holding his nose.
She could see a small tickle of blood escape between his fingers.
"Oh my gods, Josh, I am so sorry!" she whispered and scooted closer to him. "It's not broken, is it?" she asked fearfully.
He gave her a crooked grin. "Don't worry, you're not that strong yet." He reassured her.
"Sorry." She muttered again.
"It's fine. Are you alright? I woke up and you were turning and tossing and moaning. Did you have like…a vision?" he asked silently.
Illiona nodded shakily.
"Do you want me to wake up Hiccup?" Josh offered.
Illiona shook her head. "No. It's no good news. I don't want to trouble him just yet with it." He mumbled.
"You wanna tell me?" he asked and draped the blanket around her shoulders.
She hesitated.
"I won't tell anyone." He promised. "But maybe talking about it can help you a bit. You know, sharing the burden…"
She smiled shakily. "You don't want my burden."
"Try me." Josh offered.
Illiona sighed and took a deep breath.
"I saw Hiccup's dad get attacked by a dark force. Darkness has made it to Berk before us. I think Savage and his men were supposed to delay us while Alvin and his other goons moved on ahead."
Josh quickly glanced at Hiccup who was still sleeping soundly a few meters away.
"Is his dad okay?" he asked.
"Surprisingly, yes." The monster stopped for some reason before it could finish him off…" she hesitated.
"What? What is it?" Josh asked, noticing her break.
"I…I don't like it. I'm sure we're heading right into a trap!"
Josh snorted. "That wouldn't be something new."
"No, this is different. Darkness needs Hiccup, needs us. He needs his blood to open the portal. And Berk is the only place Darkness can be banned back into the abyss. It's a significant place and somehow I feel that it will be the place where our all fate will be decided and at the same time I feel that it's far from the end. Bad things have yet to happen. And we're missing something. Something important. Something vital! It's maddening. It's like the information I need is just at the edge of my mind, too far away to reach but still close enough that I know the answer is somewhere close by." She muttered, clutching her head with her hands.
Josh was silent. Then he said. "Maybe you are not suppose to know it yet. Maybe it's not the right time yet."
"But what good does that us if fate won't grand us the knowledge to victory?"
"Fate is about balance. Balance between good and evil. It won't prefer any side. Giving you that information could tip the scales again."
"But we want to help the world. How can doing something good be bad?"
"It's not bad but everything comes in pairs. Light and Darkness, good and evil, white and black, hot and cold, you name it. One can't be without the other. Nature is all about balance. And fate is neutral. The information will come to you when its time. Until them we must keep going on what we have." He said slowly.
Illiona looked at him astonished. Then she smiled. "Thanks. I guess…you are right."
"Do you think you will be able to sleep again?" Josh asked.
Illiona nodded. "Yes. Thanks for listing Josh."
"No problem."