Disclaimer: I own nothing!
When Hiccup returned to the village most everyone was in the Great Hall enjoying dinner. She quickly hurried to the chief's hut as she knew that Kara should be in the Great Hall with Stoick and the other chiefs. The hut should be clean but Hiccup knew that Kara would find any imperfection, especially with the other tribes on the island.
The laundry was done yesterday so that wasn't something that would need to be worried about. She begins by picking the hut up and putting things where they belong, she then sweeps out the hut and cleans off any and all surfaces before she starts to scrub the floor. It's when she's on the floor scrubbing that Stoick along with Kara, Ram, Jaime, Ragnor, Herold, and Rayna enter.
"Finally she is found! Did you think you could just disappear and no one would notice?!" Kara demands.
"No ma'am." Hiccup tells her continuing to work.
Kara gets angry and shoots a look to Stoick. "You will look at your mother with respect when you speak to her!"
Hiccup takes a breath, swallowing her remark. "Yes, father." Right now she had to play nice, especially if she had any chance of getting off of this island as Dagur's bride.
Kara looks at the fire pit and notices that there isn't a fire going, only burning embers. She also notices the wood pile is low as well. "Hurry up and finish with this mess and get the fire started. When you're done with that go and collect more wood! You can also chop more wood while you're at it as well!" Stoick nods at his wife for her idea. "Stowwy, we have much to discuss. Especially with Dagur's proposal. Do we want to get rid of the runt while also making an everlasting peace treaty with the Berserkers?"
"If you can get rid of the runt, I don't know why a discussion needs to be had," Ram complains.
"You couldn't possibly be that dumb to have missed the looks the two shot each other when they first spotted the other," Jaime tells his twin.
"Who cares, he's insane enough that even if the two perceive that they 'love' each other he'll eventually snap and lash out in anger at her. If he doesn't kill her child bearing surely will. If she somehow outlives either of those she's off our island and will no longer be a problem."
"You want the runt to have a chance at happiness though?" Herold asks.
"No but we'll benefit from her leaving just as much as the tribe."
Their conversation fades off as they head up to their rooms. Kara and Stoick look at their children before they look at each other. "He's not wrong Stoick. I don't want the runt to be happy either but it'll benefit the tribe more if we can cart her off now. He's willing to marry her before the end of the week! No other tribe is offering that! Not only that but Oswald is gone now, we don't want to make an enemy of the Berserker tribe! The yearly treaty won't even be a necessity. They could also finally help us eliminate the Outcasts as well!"
"Alvin hasn't been an issue in a while, we can't just declare an open war with them until we have probable cause."
"Are you really going to trust the boy to not turn on this tribe if he suddenly decides he wants more than what he already has? He's openly declared that he wants to bring the Berserker tribe back to it's former glory! That means war!"
"It also means we'll get dragged into it as well Kara, I have to look after our tribe before theirs!"
Hiccup doesn't get to hear more of their argument because if she sticks around much longer their anger will turn towards her. She gets the fire going again strongly before she dumps out her bucket of water. She places it back where it belongs and when she does that the two are on a different topic already.
She didn't know what her fate was going to be but she held hope that Dagur would accept her and Toothless, only then would she know. If Dagur didn't like the fact that she had trained a dragon she would run away on Toothless' back and never return to the archipelago, she would explore the world on the back of Toothless.
...
The sun was nearly set before she was done chopping wood. She was sore and tired but she had one last mission before she could even think about sleep.
She was the first one to their spot and so she leaned against one of the trees, her sketchbook open and her mind flowing with different ideas. One such idea was that of a shield with more than one use. It may be heavier than a normal shield would be but unless you knew how to use the shield you would just find it weird and uncomfortable, some may not even bat an eye at the weight. The shield would include a grappling line, bola launcher, catapult, and the second most important feature would be that it could change itself into a crossbow. That was how Dagur had found her leaning against a tree caught in her own world sketching.
"That's interesting." Dagur told her from behind. Hiccup didn't startle like anyone traditional, she didn't jump and reach for a weapon, instead she flinched before looking in the direction of his voice. It hurt Dagur to see that, that was her first reaction but she's had it drilled into her since she was little that she was a hiccup, a mistake and had no other use besides being used as a tool. It was one such reason that they didn't want her to learn ow to fight, they thought it a waste of their own time. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to scare you."
"I know you weren't. You just surprised me is all. How'd you manage to slip away?"
"I told my men that half of them could take the night to enjoy themselves, the other half had to take shifts for sleeping and alertness. Tomorrow they'll switch or whenever the opportunity next affords itself, it builds morale."
"It works in more than a few ways. When are they expecting you back?"
"The guys on and near the ship still think I'm at the Great Hall and the guys in the Great Hall think I'm on the ship."
"Good, we have time then."
"What about your family?"
"They won't care so long as the chores are done." Hiccup places her sketchbook along with her charcoal stick in her vest pocket. Dagur takes that chance to grab her hand and pulls her closer to him. Hiccup takes the final step and their lips crash together. The kiss is short but it's perfect. Their foreheads are leaned together still as Hiccup continues to speak. "Dagur, what I'm going to show you goes against everything we've known and been taught. I don't want you to hate me but I have to be honest with you."
"I could never hate you."
Hiccup pushes him away a little bit and looks at him serious. "Dagur, this isn't something little, this is life-changing. It's treason, the punishment for what I'm going to show you will-"
Dagur grabs her face gently with both of his hands. "Hey, we'll get through whatever it is together. It's not like you are hiding a dragon out here!" Dagur laughs his long laugh while Hiccup grimaces.
"Dagur-"
"No!" Dagur's hold is a little rougher now meaning he isn't controlling his strength. "Hiccup, this goes against everything!"
"I know it does!" Hiccup pulls at his hands and he releases her face. "Dagur, this goes against everything but dragons aren't the mindless creatures that we're led to believe them to be!"
"Where is it? What kind is it? We have to kill it!"
"NO!" This time Hiccup is holding him back from reaching for any of his weapons.
"You've bonded with the beast haven't you? You were always too gentle, even to those who torment and scorn you!"
Dagur breaks from her hold but doesn't make a move to run away from her or grab her. "Not everyone deserves pain or to live in fear! Dragons are no different! Let me show you!"
"This goes beyond a bond, doesn't it?" Dagur makes a move to grab her but she moves out of the way before he can.
"Flying on the back of a dragon is like no other feeling in this world. It gives you a new sense to the word freedom. That's all I've ever wanted to be was free Dagur! I thought I could have that with you and then I met Toothless. I can show you what true freedom looks like with no pressures from this world."
"You'd choose a beast over me?"
"If I have to make that choice then the choice is easy. I was hoping I could change your mind about dragons but clearly I was wrong. I wanted you to experience what I've been experiencing for the past month! The bond that I've created with Toothlessis different from anything else!" Hiccup makes a move to walk away but Dagur grabs her and just stares into her eyes.
Dagur has a hard look on his face before he sighs and his face turns soft. "I'm sorry that you had to turn to a dragon of all things. What are you hoping to achieve by showing me this... thing?"
"That dragons and vikings don't have to be enemies. That so many more lives will be saved if we unite forces instead of trying to kill each other. No one will have to live in fear and not only that but it'll give a whole new perspective to everyone's lives."
"Fine, as much as I want to kill this beast that has so obviously captured your heart, I won't. I'll give it a chance."
Hiccup leans up and presses a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you Dagur." When she pulls away Dagur feels her warmth leave him. "Now I need you to remove all of your weapons. It'll help Toothless trust you more."
"You want me to be defenseless against a fire breathing dragon that also weighs a ton more than I do?"
"Yes because he won't hurt you so long as I'm there. However Dagur if you hurt him in any capacity I'll let him return the favor. I won't let him kill you but if he decides to seek retribution I may not be able to stop him. I won't hesitate to leave either and no one will know the truth, nor will they believe the fact that I trained a dragon!"
"You plan on leaving if I don't accept your pet?"
"You can stop calling him a pet, and it, and a beast. He is a he and his name is Toothless and he's become my best friend."
"So even if I accept the fact that you have a dragon, I'll forever be competing for attention for the rest of our lives."
"Maybe, it'll also depends on who frustrates me the most that day as well."
"He's a dragon! I doubt there's much harm he could do to you emotionally!"
"Well then I guess you'll have to deal with it. Now hurry up and remove your weapons!" Dagur starts by removing his axe and then he removes his sword. He also removes about ten daggers as well. Hiccup shoots him a look when he tells her he's done. "You and I both know that you keep more weapons on your person than the average viking. You've thrown more than one dagger at each of the heirs."
"Fine!" Dagur removes a bunch more daggers from his person.
"And the ones from your boots!"
"I was getting there woman!"
"You were trying to pull a fast one, you and I both know that!"
"There, done now are you happy?"
"Remove the ones you keep in your pants as well."
"I don't keep one there!" Hiccup shoots him a look and he sighs. "How'd you even know about the ones I keep there?"
"Most Viking men do, it's their spare for their spare."
"And you know this how?"
"Some are dumb enough to not keep it sheathed when it's in that crucial area. Luckily Gothi has been showing Fishlegs a bit with healing as well and so he handled those cases but I had to deal with the tangents Gothi went on and how she'd tell Gobber to give sheaths to each man in the village to prevent accidents like that."
"Makes sense." Dagur holds up his hands. "Satisfied now?"
"We'll see. Toothless will know if you still have any weapons on your person and he won't take too kindly to them which means he won't take too kindly to you. You also won't just be breaking Toothless' trust but also mine. Now come."
The two begin their trek in silence. "What led you to name a dragon Toothless of all things? What kind of dragon has no teeth?" Dagur asks after a bit.
"He has teeth, they just have the ability to retract."
"Retractable teeth, I know of no dragon that can do that."
"Well, I wouldn't say that. You know this dragon and all that follows in it's wake, it's just that not many have set eyes on it and lived to tell the tale."
This confuses Dagur. "Can you just give me an answer instead of being so vague? You normally only dodge other's questions!"
Hiccup stops and turns around. "Promise you won't hate me worse than you do now."
Dagur sighs, "I don't hate you Hiccup. I didn't lie about that. I just," Dagur sighs. "I just don't know what to do right now, I don't know all the emotions that I'm feeling right now. I feel the Berserker madness just under my skin, I feel angry, I feel sad, and I feel disappointed. But I also know that I still love you more than anything else in this world which is why it's hitting harder than normal." Dagur looks up and meets her eyes that are lit up with concern. "I never told you or anyone but I didn't kill my father, everyone just assumes that I did and I didn't bother to correct them. My father just left, in the middle of the night. I don't know how because he didn't take a ship but he just disappeared and I took over the tribe. I told the tribe that I was stepping into the role of chief now because my father lost his taste for blood. We gave him a proper viking funeral without a body."
Hiccup reaches out and hugs him. "Dagur, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. He was a good chief but not the best father. He was a lot like me in his youth and he despised that part of himself so in a way it felt like he hated me for it."
"Your Berserker madness doesn't control you. You said yourself that you feel it running through your veins now, that you want to lash out but you haven't."
"That's because I could never intentionally hurt you Hiccup. You're the only one that ever makes me feel this way. The madness is dull whenever you're near."
"You've never told me this before."
"I never really figured it out until now I guess. I wanted to lash out when you told me you trained a dragon but when my eyes landed on you I couldn't. I was still angry, angrier than normal but I didn't see red like I normally would."
"That's good. I could never be afraid of you, even if you were in one of your moods."
Dagur pulls her away from him and analyzes her face. "You're not just saying that."
"No, I've never been afraid of you Dagur. I've only ever been afraid for you."
"What if I had reacted worse than I did when you told me about your dragon?"
"I don't think I'd fear you. I'd always love you and it would've hurt more than physically for a while but if you'd reacted worse or if you decided not to hear me out I wouldn't look back and I'd leave."
"What does scare you Hiccup?"
"We should keep moving forward."
"You're deflecting again. How am I meant to trust you when you won't even trust me with the full truth?"
"There's not much that does scare me, not enough to chill me to the bone. I've never fit in on Berk. I was worried over how you'd react to me having a dragon and whether or not you'd still accept me. I'm not scared of much Dagur but my biggest fear right now is for anyone else to discover Toothless, more for his sake than mine. I know what my life would return to if that's what was decided, I'd be treated worse, the abuse would be worse, or they'd just kill me outright for the betrayal. I could live with death as a consequence but now that I know what dragons are capable of, I wouldn't be able to go back to a normal life. If Toothless died or was killed because of simply what he is I'd never bond with another dragon the same way again. There wouldn't be a point."
The two descend into silence again but this time the air is a little bit more depressed than angry. Dagur has a firm grip on Hiccup's hand and she is returning the support. Dagur had accepted her and even if he was still confused over her training a dragon rather than killing it, he had accepted that fact. He wasn't going to kill her or turn her in, at least not yet.
Hiccup leads him down to the safest entrance to enter the cove. He looks around with the limited light that is still left in the sky but doesn't see anything. He opens his mouth to ask where the dragon was supposedly at but he didn't get that far as the dragon approached them before roaring.
"Hiccup that's-"
"A Night Fury."
"How did you manage this?"
"I found him shot down in the woods, he was weak as he'd been trapped for nearly two days. I thought him dead at first but he proved he was still alive and I helped him find this place so he'd be safer while he recovered."
"You trained the most deadly dragon there is?"
Toothless grumbles and Hiccup laughs.
"You can understand him?"
"Kind of. We still struggle on a few things but his tailfin was damaged and he ended up losing it. I made him a new one and we have to be in perfect since in order to fly with one another. If we're not then it's not the best result." Toothless grumbles and flicks her with his ear. Dagur looks upset on Hiccup's behalf of her getting hit with the ear flap but Hiccup is unfazed other than the fact that she rolled her eyes at the dragon. "Yeah, yeah. Do you think you're ready to show Dagur that you're more than a flying lizard?" That earns her another flick of the ear but she just giggles at him.
Hiccup grabs Dagur's hand with the intent to allow Toothless to touch him but Dagur spooks. "What are you doing?"
"You have to build some kind of trust with him before he just allows you on his back. It took me a handful of days before he let me get on his back and it took even longer for us to learn to fly together."
Dagur is more willing to let the dragon near his hand and is confused when Hiccup pauses before the dragon's snout. He doesn't have to wait long until Toothless places his snout in his hand. "It feels... different than I expected."
"I know you're referring to his scales but you also probably feel the trust that it took. You were nervous but it takes a lot to get a dragon to truly trust and bond with you. This is just the beginning for the two of you."
"Do you expect me to ride him all the time. I still don't know if I can trust him to not drop me in the middle of a flight!"
Toothless huffs before looking at Hiccup with his sassy look as Hiccup dubbed it. "You know he didn't mean it like that Bud." Toothless shoots her a look saying that he knows that Dagur meant it exactly like that. "Just be nice to him. This is going to be a nice easy flight, for the both of you. Dagur will feel something he's never felt before and Toothless you'll be nice because he's going to help us get off this island and hopefully bring peace between Vikings and dragons." The two look at Hiccup before they glance at each other before giving Hiccup a look. "You'll be fine."
Hiccup hops on the back of Toothless and the gestures for Dagur to get on as well. Dagur looks a bit nervous but also confused on how to get on teh dragon in the first place. Hiccup helps guide him and he sits behind her. He is fairly relaxed when he gets on and wraps his arms around Hiccup loosely but when he feels both Hiccup and Toothless adjust he tightens his grip slightly. When Toothless takes off however Dagur is holding Hiccup a little bit too tight due to his fear of falling off.
Toothless is gentle enough while flying and the flight itself is calming. Dagur even enjoys it and his grip loosens. The two enjoy their flight together but nothing peaceful ever lasts long.
"I get what you mean, life up here is different. It's freeing. It's also beautiful."
"It is. The bond between Vikings and dragons could be beautiful if it's only given a chance."
This was when things changed. Toothless' eyes turned to slits and before long Hiccup and Dagur found themselves in the middle of a flock of dragons. They both duck as Hiccup tells him to get down.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know. This has never happened before." Hiccup then begins talking to Toothless. "Toothless. You've got to get us out of here, bud." Toothless makes no move, almost as if he doesn't hear her. "It looks like they're hauling in their kill."
"I can see that! Where are they taking it all?" Dagur's question is answered soon as they enter the nest. Toothless lands on a ledge and the three watch as the food is dumped down a hole. "They're not eating any of it!"
That was when a Gronkle dropped a singular fish down the hole and a roar is heard. Not long after a giant head pops up and swallow the Gronkle. The dragons are all in fear.
"Alright, buddy, we gotta get out of here. Now!"
The dragons then all begin to flee. Toothless barely escapes, a Zippleback had gotten in the way saving their lives. They fly back to the cove in silence, Hiccup is the most shaken up by the beast. Dagur is a little worried but I'd thinking more from a battle standpoint than anything else.
Before long they land in the cove and Dagur jumps off, Dagur begins to head away from the two but Hiccup stops him. "Dagur-"
"Hiccup we can finally put an end to that beast! If we kill that thing we can end the dragon raids!"
"Dagur you saw how huge that things head was! How big do you think the rest of its body is going to be?! It's a death sentence if you just rush in!"
"We would be immortalized for defeating that thing!"
"What happens if it's all in vain and you lead everyone into a death sentence!? We can come up with a plan that doesn't end in the death of one or more tribes!"
"When are we going to enact this plan? We have the tribes gathered right now!"
Hiccup sighs and Dagur breaks free from her grip. "Is victory or defeat going to matter if everyone is dead? Just how are you going to defeat this thing? It's head is twenty times the size of the boulders used in the catapults!"
"We're vikings! Dying is an occupational hazard!"
Hiccup turns away from him. "If all you want to do is rush into battle headfirst and not think of the consequences then maybe we rethink getting married. You aren't even listening to me Dagur! What makes you better than anyone else?"
"Hiccup, when are we ever going to get this chance again?"
"Well we just discovered that only a dragon can find the nest. That's half the battle right there. The next is figuring out how to defeat that thing."
Dagur sighs, "Fine, if they allow us to marry then we can come up with a plan before we go back to Talon. If they won't allow it, you have until we set sail for the nest to come up with a plan."
"Dagur, that's less than a week from now!"
"That's all I can give you right now. It's possible that this time we could find the nest with or without a dragon. Stoick said that he got close the last time he set sail, it's only a matter of time before someone discovers it. It'll be better with the help of more Vikings than less, don't you think?"
"You also have to look at the possibility that a dragon or dragons may be the only way to stop this thing. Our weapons probably won't even scratch this thing! Once that mountain is broken through, you'll be setting that beast free. Who knows where it'll decide to go from there!"
"It's a chance that we'll have to take."
Dagur then walks away from Hiccup and walks back towards the village. Hiccup turns back to Toothless who is already asleep. She sighs before she decides to start a fire in the cove. Tonight was going to be a long night and she didn't have any idea of how they could possibly stop a dragon of that size.
TBC...