The fiances went into the kingdom, stopping when they reached a large hut. Mal knocked on the door and Dagure felt herself becoming nervous. Sure, the parents had arranged the matter, but that did not mean that they had to like her. What if they hated the Berserker? They might resent her for the rest of their lives. Dagure had such a skill for turning Vikings against her. Doing that to her future in-laws was something she could not do. Mal saw her pale face and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Come in," the king said.
Mal opened the door and they entered. Dagure offered an anxious smile to the older couple. It was clear that they were the prince's parents. He had his height and jawline from his father and his eyes and hair from his mother. Mal also had his stern countenance from them both.
"Hi," the redhead said. "I'm Dagure, but I guess you'd know that if you arranged the marriage."
She quickly smiled again, wishing that she had just been quiet even though that was such a difficult thing to do for some reason. The queen gave a warmer expression and gestured to a seat.
"You do not need to be nervous, Dagure. Though, I will admit that I was equally anxious when meeting Mal's paternal grandparents."
The king chuckled softly. "They were not as terrifying as you might think."
"But meeting them as a subject was a daunting task," the mother stated. "It only made it more stressful to consider how I was going to be marrying their only son. So," she said to the girl, "let us think of one another as a future family."
Dagure nodded hesitantly and the four Vikings sat down. The king began to speak.
"Do you have experience leading people?"
"A little," Dagure said. "I haven't done a lot, but I've led a couple fleets of Berserkers on exhibitions. They went pretty well."
"We do not know much of Berserker customs," the queen admitted. She gestured to the redhead's tattoos. "Are they part of that?"
"They are," Dagure informed her, looking at her arm. "Chieftains get them when they're given the position."
"Do you know if our cultures are very different?" the king asked her.
The girl shook her head. "I'm not sure. Mal told me about Defenders protecting and caring for dragons. I didn't really know why you were called 'Defenders' before he said that. I think I'm going to have to learn about a lot of your ways." Her eyes twinkled with determination. "But I'm a fast learner. It won't take me long to figure out."
"A fast learner," the queen said, impressed. "I have always been fond of those."
This made Dagure grin and the royals got an idea. Mal could tell that his parents had come up with something and was unsure if he was worried or not.
"Since you now know that we defend dragons, I think it could be helpful if you learned how we defend dragons," the king said.
Mal tensed slightly. "Already? Maybe we should discuss our methods first and then do that afterwards."
"No, I think tomorrow will be fine. It has been some time since there have been new dragons which were saved from Dragon Hunters."
"Dragon Hunters?" Dagure repeated. "I can guess what they do, but I've never heard of them. Do they just stay out in this area?"
Mal turned to her. "They go many places in their search for dragons to capture. The Hunters use arrows laced with Dragon Root, nets, catapults, and the Vikings arm themselves with weapons such as axes and swords." He turned back to his parents. "They are very dangerous, which is normally why we wait to simulate battles with them before we bring someone new into a battle."
The queen looked unfazed by the concern. "There will be times when you two cannot prepare before a battle or danger. Consider this one of those times."
"But if something happens–" Mal started to say.
"You will have each other," his father completed.
The prince tried to not frown, then looked at Dagure. She had an eager expression on her face.
"One question then," she said, a devious twinkle in her eyes. "Can we kill the Hunters?"
The royal couple smiled. "It would be foolish to allow them to kill more dragons."
Letting out a joyful Berserker battle cry, the girl realized how excitable she was being and cleared her throat. To her surprise, the parents did not look disapproving. They had small smiles on their faces.
"We wish you both luck tomorrow."
"Thanks!" the redhead said happily.
The younger couple left the parents and began heading back to Dagure's hut. The sun had set and the Berserker discovered that she liked how the kingdom looked at night.
"It's peaceful here," she commented, then frowned. Someone was watching her. "Except for the sneaky peekers."
Mal followed her gaze to several Defenders dressed in their usual dark clothing that covered most of their faces.
"They are just wary of newcomers. This is the first time that someone outside of our island has been brought into the royal family."
Dagure paused at the door. "Well, since there's still a lot we don't know about each other's cultures, want to do that before we say good night?"
Mal nodded. "I would like that."
The two Vikings entered, the uneasy feeling waning as Dagure no longer felt those eyes on them. They sat down across from one another at a table. Mal even sat regally, calmly resting on the seat by a table as he brought his fingertips together by his face. Dagure plopped on the seat, pulling her feet up under herself so that she could hold her ankles. She began grinning widely as she rocked a bit.
"Okay, so for Berserkers, I already told you about the food a little, but another big thing is loyalty. And I mean it's a big thing." She emphasized this by spreading out her arms. "We go all in for each other. There's no limit. Once we're on your side, it'll take us going to Valhalla before we leave you on your own to deal with something."
Mal's eyes widened slightly. "Such loyalty sounds wonderful."
"Doesn't mean that jerks don't exist, but we're loyal in battles at least. Is it like that here?"
"It is that way with the guards, but the other subjects have not been put in such a situation. I am not sure how they would respond." A sheepish expression crossed the prince's face. "A custom we have is not one I am proud to admit."
"Why not?"
"It is rather violent."
"That doesn't bother me. I love violence!" Dagure started to laugh.
Mal did not really understand what was funny, but he did not linger on the confusion. "I do as well, but it is violence towards our own."
The girl's laugh stopped abruptly. "Really?"
Nodding, the prince continued. "For many years, there has been a custom of Defenders taking brides by clubbing them over the head."
Dagure leaned back in the chair. "I guess it's a good thing that we got our marriage arranged. I'd probably have a hard time forgiving you if you said 'nice to meet you,' then whacked me with a club." The Berserker started to frown. "It's not fair for the others, though. Are you going to change that?"
"I want to," he insisted. "It has been something I have worked towards for years, but…it is tradition. It is difficult to change things people have come to view as commonplace."
"No offense, but it's an awful tradition. If you have to knock someone out for them to marry you, they probably didn't want to. As someone who almost got married to a really jerky Viking, that's no fun." An idea lit up in her eyes. "How about that's something we work on together to change when we're married? No more clubs. If someone wants to get married, they can just ask whoever they want." Dagure paused. "Keeping with that honesty pact we made, if I see somebody getting clubbed and dragged off, I'm going to attack the clubber. So, it'll just cause a lot less problems in the long-run if it's really enforced that it's not allowed."
The prince's expression was thoughtful, then he nodded. "I always found it to be a barbaric practice. Some traditions are best to change."
This made the girl smile. They shared a few more details of their homes before Mal wished Dagure a good evening. The next morning, both Vikings were up early and met at the docks.
"Good morning," Dagure greeted. "Ready to do some killing?"
Mal had to chuckle at the Berserker's cheerful tone and bright smile while she asked that. "Yes, I believe that I am."
"Great! Where to then? I don't know how to find Dragon Hunters. Do we look for dragons and then go from there?"
"I know some islands where the Hunters often travel," the prince informed her.
They boarded a ship with Mal going to the helm while Dagure handled the sails. After they had been sailing for a little bit, the redhead shielded her eyes with her hand and pointed.
"Are we headed there or going to a spot further away?"
"That will be our destination."
Dagure squinted, then her eyes widened. "Yeah, that's definitely our spot. There's a ship docked. Is it the Hunters?"
Mal switched spots with Dagure at the wheel so that he could see. "It is," he confirmed.
The Berserker had a devilish grin spreading across her face. "That's what I was hoping you'd say."
Going around the other side of the island, the two Vikings managed to stay out of sight of the Hunters.
"Want to kill or free first? I vote for the former," Dagure mentioned.
"I do as well," Mal admitted. "Keeping the Vikings alive before freeing the dragons could just lead to them being recaptured."
The Berserker rubbed her hands together. "I like the way you think, Mally. Let's split up to cover more ground."
Mal agreed and the pair divided the island into halves. The prince spotted some Hunters with a Monstrous Nightmare. Before the dragon could be slashed with a sword, Mal used his own to stab the Hunter's leg. The man cried out and dropped to the ground as the prince finished the job. While he did, Dagure was sneaking through the forest, weaving in between trees. She stopped when she heard the sound of Vikings yelling and a fire blast. Ducking low to stay hidden, she saw several men and a dragon. The reptile had a muzzle over its jaws. Agitated, it moved to hit the people with three tails.
When one Hunter was hit, the others cursed at the dragon. A Viking raised his bow and arrow to shoot. Stopping him from getting the arrow in place, a blade hit him in the back. It sent him forward and into one of the dragon's stingers. The Hunters turned to see where the knife had come from and saw Dagure charging at them. She slid under a sword swing and lodged her ax in a Hunter's side. Laughing wildly, the Berserker removed her weapon so that the Viking would fall. Then, she kicked another Hunter towards the dragon, letting him get the same stinger treatment as the first. With the Hunters near them defeated, Dagure looked at the dragon.
"I've never seen one like you," she said. "You're cool."
Unsurely, she looked at the muzzle. Dagure was not sure if she wanted to try to remove it or wait for Mal. The reptile looked so pitiful with it on.
"Where's Mal and his magic fruit when you need him?" The girl peeked at the dragon again and sighed. "If I take this off of you, you're not going to eat my hand, right? I don't think I could pull off the hook look."
Seeing the almost hopeful expression in the dragon's eyes, the Berserker decided to take the risk. She went around the side of the muzzle and found where it could be released. It fell to the grass with a thud and the dragon nuzzled his head against her. Grinning, Dagure petted its side.
"You're welcome, but I can't stay, little buddy. I've got to check on Mal to see if he's okay."
The redhead waved goodbye and disappeared into the thicket again. She listened for any sounds that might have indicated where the Defender was located. Finally, Dagure found Mal. He was still fighting Hunters. Even more were on that side of the island. The prince had taken down six single-handedly, but as they came at him from all sides, he was beginning to grow fatigued. Dagure saw this and felt herself becoming tense. Hurrying to join the fight, she tackled one of the attackers to the ground, giving Mal an opening to punch one of the other Hunters unconscious. Kicking the man in the face, Dagure got back up and stood with her back against Mal's.
"I did not expect you to come to this side of the island," the Defender admitted. "But I am glad that you did."
Dagure grinned. "Told you. Berserkers are loyal. Plus, I can't let you hog all the Hunters. Sharing is caring after all." After a brief pause, she spoke again. "Duck."
Mal did as she suggested and felt the wind as a Hunter swung a mace over their heads. The attack made the man vulnerable and Dagure slashed his core.
"To your right," Mal instructed.
The duo did this as an arrow nearly hit them. When the Hunter got closer, the Defender used his sword to end his life, but there were still a lot.
"Do they always come in this big of a group?" Dagure asked.
"This does appear to be more than usual."
Suddenly, the Hunters were no longer looking at their foes. Instead, they were staring into the forest, eyes wide and faces turning ashen. Three got grabbed by a tail and were flung into trees. Four more were blasted with fire while one tried to flee, but the Berserker and Defender did not allow that. Dagure took out his legs as Mal stabbed his back. Taking in the moment of silence, they realized that the Hunters had been defeated. The redhead hugged Mal excitedly.
"That was so fun!" she exclaimed. "We have to keep doing this!"
Mal smiled and hugged her back. "It really did go much better than I have seen other teams of two do."
"Well, it was sort of a team of three," Dagure said, gesturing to the honorary teammate.
The prince turned and saw the dragon. It hesitantly approached him, letting Mal pet him as well.
"What kind is he?"
"He is a Triple Stryke."
"That's fitting, looking at his tail. Well, bye, Mr. Triple Stryke."
Dagure started to leave to find where more trapped dragons might have been kept. She let out a surprised yelp as a tail wrapped around her waist and lifted her into the air.
"Mal!"
The prince was about to try to help her before realizing that the dragon was placing her on his back. Dagure just blinked when she was up there, then tried to slide off and see if this would go unnoticed. The dragon used his tail to block the way down and Dagure crossed her arms when her second attempt failed as well.
"I'm trapped," she pouted. "Do your dragon stuff."
"I do not think it applies to…whatever this is."
"Then, what do I do? I can't stay up here forever. I don't even know what I'd do on a dragon's ba–"
The final word became stretched out into a frightened scream as the Triple Stryke started to fly. Dagure clung onto his head, not wanting to fall off. When she looked over to the side, she saw how far away they were from the ground and felt woozy.
"I'm going to die on a dragon," she thought miserably.
Closing her eyes tightly, she decided that she would not be forced to watch her death as it happened. Then, Dagure noticed that she no longer heard wind blowing in her ears. They were on the ground again. Letting go of the reptile's head, the Berserker promptly fell onto the ground. She heard another sound. It was Mal laughing. Dagure wanted to yell at him, but she was too relieved to be on the ground again for such anger.
"Are you afraid of heights?" Mal asked, trying to stifle the improper laughter so that it was at least chuckling.
"Afraid of being dragged through the sky at top speeds," Dagure corrected as she stood up again.
She made a face at the dragon, but he just looked back at her happily.
"Strykie."
"Strykie?"
"That's his name."
"You want him as well?"
"I think he wants me, so I'm just embracing it." Dagure gave the dragon a stern expression. "Now, Strykie, we're going to work on that flying thing so that you don't kill me, got it?"
The dragon lowered his tail for her to grab and she rolled out of the way.
"Not today! Just in the near future. I can't do this back-to-back."
Understanding, the dragon followed the Viking as she went over to Mal.
"And you were not helpful," she scolded.
The prince tried to not laugh at how scrunched up her face was. Dagure saw this and rolled her eyes.
"Go ahead and laugh. Just know that it'll be your turn next."
This got Mal to stop. "My turn?'
"Of course. We're both going to learn how to fly."
"I am not sure about that."
"I'm not either. Guess we'll learn together."
Slightly worried but more curious, Mal followed the Viking and dragon off to find the other reptiles. They freed several which were in cages and undid the muzzles and leg traps for a handful of other dragons. Then, the trio boarded the ship. Strykie did not seem hesitant to ride with the pair and was eager to get pet again by Dagure on the way back. The voyage took the rest of the day. When the Vikings docked, Mal saw that his parents were watching from afar. Their regal expressions held satisfaction in their eyes before they continued with their duties. Excitedly, Dagure began leading the new resident to the healing bay.
"Come on, Strykie," she encouraged. "I'll introduce you to Shattermaster."
Mal accompanied the redhead to where the other dragon was happily eating some rocks. Shattermaster wagged his tail at the Triple Stryke who, for his part, was trying to be more friendly towards other dragons than was his custom.
"Since they are not injured," Mal said, "we will need another place for them to stay."
"What if they had an area like the livestock do?"
"I can assign some Defenders to that task in the morning."
"I'll help too. It'll let me get to know some of them more."
The prince nodded his head. "That is a good idea. Then, I will join you all."
"Cool! See you then, Mal. Good night," the girl said, waving.
"Good night, Dagure."
Mal smiled softly as the Berserker entered the hut. Maybe his parents had not come up with the worst idea. He spent the night thinking about the morning, excited to begin building with Dagure and the others. Like the previous day, she was up early and he was as well.
"Hi! Okay, so where are we putting this dragon hut?"
The Defender began showing her the way. "I was looking around the island last evening. I believe this location would be suitable. It is far enough away from the livestock so that the yaks and chickens are not frightened, and it is near one of our streams."
Dagure nodded. "Works for me." She noticed some people approaching them. "Are these the other builders?"
"They are," Mal confirmed.
When the other people were closer, Dagure waved to them. Though she could only see a small portion of their faces, she knew most were glaring at her.
"She will be helping us?" one of the Defenders asked.
"Yes," the prince answered. "We both will be building the pins with you."
There was a tense silence, then the people nodded, starting to go into the forest to collect wood. Mal turned to Dagure, offering an encouraging smile. She just shrugged and went after the others. As the Defenders cut down trees, Dagure twirled her ax and dug it deep into a thick trunk. In the next slice, it fell. She let out a devious chuckle and heard the sound of scoff to her right. One of the Defenders was shaking his head at the Berserker. Ignoring him, Dagure kept cutting trees, doing so with more anger. So easily, the trunks could be imagined as Hunters she could cut down. A hand on the Viking's shoulder brought her out of this fantasy.
"We have enough lumber," Mal informed her, putting a gentle hand on hers.
Dagure realized how tightly she had been holding her ax and relaxed. "Oh, guess I got carried away." She frowned for a moment before shaking her head. "Ready to start building?"
"We are."
The duo went with the rest of the Vikings to the location of the future pins. They made fast work of the walls. Still, Dagure noticed the glares that were being directed her way from even more of the Defenders.
"So," she began, "anyone have a favorite dragon?"
She received no answer until Mal frowned at the rudeness. A few mumbled replies of "Speed Stingers" and "Cavern Crashers" could be heard, but Dagure doubted they were sincere so much as said to prevent from upsetting the prince.
"Mal," a Defender called.
The king had noticed the group's activity and approached, expression curious. Mal turned to him, then back at Dagure briefly.
"I will return shortly," he told her.
Nodding, Dagure watched him go to his father's side. The king looked at the construction site with fascination.
"What is this going to be?"
"We are building pins–or stables, depending on what you wish to say–for the dragons."
His father did not understand this any more with the explanation. "But that is why we have the healing bay."
"Somewhat. For dragons who are healed but stay with us as allies, this can be where they live."
"Living with the dragons as allies," he awed. "Like what we do with the Great Protector?"
"Precisely."
"Interesting."
Mal found himself feeling slightly unsure about the idea. "Do you disapprove?"
"No, in fact, I believe it is a fine idea. I will let your mother know when I see her next. Do you have any dragons who will be moving there soon?"
The prince began to elaborate about the plan. While he did, the others kept working on the stables. A Defender hammered a nail into the wall. Suddenly, it flew from her hand and launched at Dagure's head. The girl ducked in time to avoid the tool.
"Hey!"
"We should not be building this," the Defender told her, adamant. "It is disrespectful to the dragons to keep them as mere pets."
"They're not going to be pets," Dagure insisted. "They're going to be our friends."
One of the other Defenders spoke up. "She probably only wants dragons as friends because no Vikings can stand to be around her."
"That bizarre chuckle is enough to disturb even the bravest of souls."
"If our prince were not forced into this wedding, he would be able to have his selection of any eligible Defender woman."
"I know that I would make a far better queen than some wild animal."
Sadness hit Dagure and she tried to turn her attention back to stables, putting up another wall. Another Defender went over there with her, eyeing her in amusement.
"He is probably the only Viking you will have been with, yes? I highly doubt anyone with a say in the matter would lay with you."
Some of the Defenders chuckled, but one shook her head.
"I disagree. As crazy as she is, she has probably been with more Vikings than we can count. It does not take a capable mind to be someone's evening partner. Once that ends, she is ignored until she begins causing some sort of scene with her derangement."
Dagure gritted her teeth, forcing herself to not lash out at Mal's people.
"You should not be surprised by our behavior," a different Defender said. "After all, your own Vikings did not want you. Why would we be any different?"
The girl's bottom lip threatened to quiver, but she bit it and continued working. No one else said anything because Mal returned. Instantly, he could tell that the environment was more tense. The prince was going to say something, but Dagure spoke first.
"It's finished," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "I think our teamwork was productive." Choosing to not think more about the snarls being sent her way, she took Mal's hand. "Can we talk about something?"
The Berserker led him away from the others, pulling him so that she did not have to feel the fire from the Defenders' gazes. Mal saw that she appeared sad.
"What did they say to you?" he asked, voice warm.
Dagure flicked her wrist. "Doesn't matter. That's not what I wanted to talk about. Can I go visit Berk?"
"Berk?" Mal inquired, shocked. "We can go there, but I will admit that I did not expect that to be your request."
Dagure suddenly looked sheepish as her eyes lowered. "Well, I wasn't really thinking we would go." She quickly brought her eyes back up to Mal, seeing a slightly hurt expression on his face. "I'm not trying to leave! Promise. Not forever or anything. I'll be right back. I just…I want to see my sister."
"I did not know that you had one."
"Not biologically, but my friend is like one. I just want to talk with her for a little bit. I haven't had a chance to tell her about any of this. I can leave tonight and be back tomorrow."
"You would sail during the night?"
"I don't mind."
Mal seemed hesitant. "If this is because of the Defenders, I will speak with them."
"It's like you said. It wouldn't really change anything," the girl stated glumly. "I want to see a familiar, friendly face. I'll be back by sunset." She pointed to the stables. "I'll even meet you right here."
Though the prince wished that she would stay, he understood why she wanted to leave for the time being.
"I shall await you there," he told her, holding her hands. "I wish you safe travels and look forward to our reunion."
Dagure smiled and gave him a hug. She quickly went to grab a few supplies, then headed to the ship she had sailed to Dragon Island. The Defenders looked proud of themselves, but Mal had a worried expression on his face. To try to help ease his concerns, Dagure blew him a kiss, immediately making the prince blush deeply. The Berserker laughed and hoisted the sail, being blown further into the ocean.
"Headed your way, Hiccup," she said, sighing. "Hope you can help. You're the only person I can think of who knows what this is like."