HTTYD: Dragon Girl

Chapter 18: I Saw Myself

They lock Brightwing in the strongest shackles ever forged. Her wings are pinned to her body, her tail and feet straightened out and immobile. Only her head is capable of moving, and even that has been covered with chains, her mouth bound shut with a leather muzzle, left only with the ability to turn her head from side to side.

I watch from the cliffside as they drag my best friend, chained like a prisoner, onto the ship at the head of the fleet. I would cry if I could, but the tears have long since dried up.

Keegan comes up and joins me, his expression somber. He, too, knows of the danger on the dragons' island. His father is heading straight for that danger, woefully unprepared. He may lose someone today, too.

"You've really done it this time," he says, though his tone isn't scornful-- it's soft and reflects the seriousness of my emotions. "You've made yourself an outcast again. You've lost your respect, your family, your best friend..."

"Thanks for summing that up," I grumble, though I know he's right. This is my fault. None of this would've happened if I'd never let Brightwing go. "I should've just killed that dragon when I found her," I mutter.

"Anyone else here would've done it," Keegan agrees. "So why didn't you?"

"I couldn't," I say dully.

"That's not an answer."

For some reason, this rubs me the wrong way. "What am I supposed to tell you, Keegan?" I ask irritably. "Do you want a list? Fine. I was weak. I was a coward. I wouldn't kill a dragon."

"You said wouldn't that time," Keegan notices.

"What's the difference?" I say. "I was the worst Viking in the history of Viking existence. I wouldn't kill a dragon."

"But why?"

I start, realizing that I don't know the answer myself. Why wouldn't I kill a dragon?

I think back to that day, when I found Brightwing, that day that seems like it happened years ago. I remember looking into those green eyes, into that soul that so deeply reflected my own. I recall that moment, that realization, that made me lower my knife from her heart to her bonds.

"I didn't kill her," I say slowly, "because I knew it wasn't right. I couldn't hurt her because I understood her. I looked at her, and I saw myself."

The words sound familiar in my mind, and I realize that I can't live without Brightwing. She is the key to my past, the person that changed me, and my best friend. Without her, who am I? What am I?

"I have to save her," I say quietly.

"How are you going to do that?" asks Keegan. "They took every last ship to the island."

"I'll think of something."

Keegan smiles. "What are you going to do?"

I shrug. "Probably something stupid."

"You already did that," Keegan points out.

And just like that, an idea starts forming in my mind. A wide grin slowly starts to spread across my face. "Then something crazy."

As I turn to head to the arena, I hear Keegan say, "That's what I like to hear."