Hello, everyone. Sorry for the long wait. I've been busy working on a short story that I might put up on this website when it's finished. Also, a special announcement: My faithful reader Harold Godwinson is getting married in a few months, so congrats to him and his significant other Holly. I have talked extensively with them both, and I think I have the right to wish them the best of luck together on behalf of us all.
Also, I am not sorry about leaving you all on that sort of cliff hanger last chapter. I enjoy teasing you all.
Indi moaned as he lay on the bed of snow beneath him. Wrapped in a blanket, he seemed to experience a very slight relief.
Elsa placed a hand on the youth's forehead and activated her powers, cooling the burning skin. Ever since they landed for the night, Indi had been running an extremely high fever. His skin had paled in color to almost ghostly white. His brow was twisted in agony as he tried to sleep. In a desperate attempt to cool him, Elsa moved him away from the camp and its fire and created a mattress of snow for him to rest on.
"What did they put in him?" she wondered aloud.
"I don't know," Brynn said walking up. Elsa did not remove her gaze from Indi's face. "I never knew that Von Schwicke had stuff that could do this to somebody."
"Do you know where Hannah is?" Elsa asked. "She might know. She was in there the longest and most recently."
Brynn motioned to the ocean. "She took the other mutants to a neighboring island; she should be back shortly. I'll go keep watch and tell her that you want to see her." Elsa nodded and listened as Brynn's footsteps disappeared into the darkness.
Indi groaned once more, the sound turning into a whimper. Elsa's heart broke as the person who was once so strong and did so many seemingly impossible things had been turned into a helpless pile of human pain and misery. He'd fought giant beasts, dragon hunters, and cruelest abusers known to man, yet he did not seem able to fight off the substance that was inside him.
The sound of muscular wings flapping caught her attention. Looking up, she saw a silver dragon glide down, landing behind her. Elsa kept her eyes averted as Hannah transformed. She girl sat down, now wearing a skirt, as she tied her wrappings over her chest.
"You wanted to see me?" the girl said softly
"Yes," Elsa said, clearing her throat. She slid her hand from Indi's forehead to his cheek. "I was wondering if you might know what Von Schwicke might have put in Indi."
"No, I don't," Hannah said. "I never really saw the man before on the ship. Maybe once or twice." Hannah looked at Indi. "I'm really worried about him. Is there somewhere we could take him to get help?"
Elsa thought for a moment. "Maybe. I think I heard Hiccup talking about a healer on his island: a woman named Gothi, or something along those lines. Perhaps she could help."
Hannah nodded. "When do you want to move out tomorrow?"
Elsa removed her hand from Indi's cheek. "First light."
"I'll tell Hiccup," Hannah said, nodding as she lay her hand on Indi's head. Elsa glanced up at the girl, who immediately withdrew her arm and stood up, before turning to walk back to the camp.
Once the girl was gone, Elsa looked back to Indi. The youth shifted, his eyes cracking open.
"Els?"
"Sorry, Indi," Elsa said, taking one of Indi's burning hands in both of hers. "Did I wake you?"
Indi slightly shook his head. "Pain. You 'kay?" Elsa had to smile at this. Even when he was being tortured, Indi still showed concern for her.
"I'm fine, Indi. It's you I'm worried about, though. How are you feeling?"
Indi glared at her. "Like shit." He promptly cried out, as the pain stabbed him again.
"Where does it hurt?"
"'Vrywh're," Indi said, his speech slurring. "'Speci'lly chest." Elsa's hand went out and gently rest on Indi's torso.
"Here?" Indi shook his head, and Elsa moved her hand to the other side. Indi shook his head again, taking Elsa's hand with his and applied slight pressure. Elsa gently went along with Indi's weak pushing and slid her hand until Indi let his arm fall to his side.
Elsa frowned when she saw where the pain was: directly above Indi's heart. "It's okay, Indi. We are going to get you help."
Indi nodded weakly, pained tears started running from his eyes. Elsa gently rested her head against Indi's chest and clutched his hand, before muttering softly. "I love you."
In the morning, Elsa helped Indi to his feet. The walk back to the camp took twice as long at it normally would have, yet Indi insisted on walking to see his children. Once they arrived at the camp, Copal and Emerald walked over, nuzzling Indi's hands. Indi gently ran the back of his fingers over them, enticing gentle croons from the young dragons. Hannah transformed, her wrappings and shirt falling away, before walking over. She lowered herself, and Indi climbed on, resting his head against her hard scales.
"Riders, mount up," Hiccup said as he climbed on Toothless. "We gotta make this fast."
Soon, all the dragons and dracomorphs were in the air, flying as quickly as they could back to the Edge.
They landed at Indi's hut at nightfall. Astrid gave Stormfly a few fish as Brynn helped Indi from Hannah's back.
"I'll go get Gothi," Astrid said, climbing back on her Deadly Nadder before urging the dragon into the air.
Brynn helped Indi into his hut. They reached the area beneath the loft, and Elsa lifted them up on a pillar of ice.
Brynn put Indi on the bed and covered him with the blanket.
Later that night, Elsa sat in a chair by the fireplace. She had just put a circlet of ice around Indi's head to bring his fever down. Copal and Emerald sat near her, watching the flames.
A wooden knock caught her attention. "How is he?" a voice said. Elsa turned to see Hiccup and Toothless standing in the doorway. Elsa bid them inside.
"Not any better," Elsa said as the Viking and dragon came inside. "He's resting now."
As Toothless curled up by the fire, Copal and Emerald strode over and nestled down next to the black dragon. Hiccup sat in the other chair that sat by the hearth. "Astrid should be back with Gothi by tomorrow."
Elsa nodded slowly, her eyes staring into the flames. "Hiccup... Indi was supposed to forge an alliance with Berk. Based on the letters I got from him, he didn't get to talk to the chief, did he?"
"Not to my knowledge," Hiccup said, shaking his head. "Perhaps, when Indi is better, you both can talk to my father formally." Elsa noticed that Hiccup said "when", instead of "if".
"Hiccup, may I ask you a personal question?" Elsa said. Hiccup nodded slowly, his green eyes curious. "What happened to your leg?"
Hiccup looked down at his mechanical foot that completed his left leg. "Well, there's a bit of a story that goes along with that."
"We have time," Elsa said.
"A little more than three years ago, dragons were hated. We had been in a war with them for over three hundred years..." And so it went. Hiccup relayed how he had shot down Toothless, freed him, and used his knowledge in blacksmithing to get the dragon back in the air. He recalled how he used his experiences with Toothless to excel in the dragon "training" courses and how his father reacted and disowned him when Toothless revealed himself. He recalled how Stoick took Toothless and went off to find the dragons' nest that Vikings had been searching for centuries. He told how he and the rest of the youths trained the other dragons and went off to fight the gigantic Red Death and how he and Toothless won the battle. Elsa stayed quiet throughout the tale. "And when I woke up, I realized that I had this," He motioned to his leg. "My father's approval, and the village's overall acceptance of dragons. And Berk hasn't been the same since."
"Amazing," Elsa said. "And to think that you did all of that when you were just a boy."
"Yeah, well," Hiccup said, rubbing the Night Fury's head. "I had help." Toothless crooned and nudged the Viking's arm.
Out of the darkness of the loft, a hoarse voice spoke in a barely audible whisper. "Eloquently put, Haddock."
The next night, everyone was waiting for the healer from Berk when Stormfly landed outside Indi's hut. On the Nadder's back, behind Astrid, sat a short, old woman. She dismounted from the dragon, and set the base of a long staff into the ground, before hobbling over to the structure where everyone was waiting.
"Thank you for coming, Gothi," Hiccup said as the elder made her way up to them. "Indi is upstairs." Gothi nodded and slowly climbed the ladder, Elsa, Hannah, and Hiccup following behind. Everyone else stayed downstairs, yet listened closely.
Gothi took one look at Indi and raised her eyebrows, turning to face Hiccup. She pointed to the circlet of ice on Indi's head.
"Oh, I am responsible for that," Elsa said. She waved her hand and the ice disappeared. Gothi seemed intrigued at the display of magical abilities but nevertheless turned back to Indi. She placed her hand on the youth's forehead, as Elsa had been doing, and pressed her crooked finger into his throat.
After doing several other things to Indi that Elsa did not understand, but Hiccup seemed to get them just fine, Gothi turned to Hiccup. She pointed outside, and Hiccup nodded and led the old woman outside. Everyone followed.
Outside, the old woman started dragging the bottom end of her staff in the dirt. Fishlegs walked up, and read the old woman's writing.
"She says 'I have never seen this type of sickness before in my life. I could make some guesses, but I couldn't know for sure. How did this happen to him?'"
"He had a substance put inside him," Elsa said.
The old woman began writing once more. "She says 'I do not have the correct herbs to cure him. He will have to fight this on his own.'"
There was silence for a few moments as what Gothi had written sank into everybody.
"I'll take you back to Berk," Hiccup said. The old woman nodded, and Hiccup led her to Toothless. Within the minute, they were in the air.
Elsa went back inside and looked up at the loft. Copal and Emerald looked up at Elsa and crooned. The woman bent down and rubbed the scaly heads.
A moan sent them all looking up at the loft.
"E-Elsa," a voice said weakly.
"I'm coming, Indi," Elsa said as she started climbing up the ladder. As she neared the top, the two Indominus Furies landed at the top. She saw Indi reach for them, and the dragons walked up to him, nuzzling his hand gently.
"Elsa," Indi said. "We have to go."
"Go where, Indi?" She walked over and sat on the bed next to him.
"Arendelle. We have to get the dracomorphs to safety."
"Alright," Elsa said. "I'll talk to Hiccup when he gets back from Berk."
Indi nodded. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "Elsa... I feel... different."
"Different how?"
"I... can't describe it." Indi set his hand on Elsa's. "Elsa, if I don't make it-"
"Don't talk like that," Elsa snapped. "You will be fine. You are going to get better, and everything will be alright."
"Elsa," Indi said. "I'm dying. Whether I go all the way or not, I don't know. But, if I do go, I want you to promise me something." Elsa wiped away a traitorous tear that started to slip down her cheek. "Please, promise me that you'll protect all the mutants and their companions, and care for my pack."
As Elsa nodded, tears started to stream down her face. With each breath she took, she shuddered. As the snow started to materialize and fall inside the room above them, Indi looked up.
Mother, he thought. I hope I've made you proud.