The Soul of a Dragon

Chapter 26

Thank you for 500 reads and voting!!

Hiccup

"Hiccup!"

"HIIICCCUUUP!!!!"

"HICCSY!"

It feels like the screaming reaches ears of a completely different person. No, not a person. An empty shell that used to be me – that used to hold my soul within.

She can't be dead. She can't be.

My friends are trying their best to help move Malcom into a comfortable sitting position against a nearby fallen tree trunk. He came back to consciousness pretty quickly and, just like me, his face had gone pale at the sight of Vara. I am aware of Snotlout glaring at me for not doing anything, for not helping. But somehow my body is no longer under my control. It's not my body anymore. I'm not Hiccup.

"Hiccup," this voice is softer and more feminine. I manage to turn my head to the left when a pair of sea-blue eyes, red and puffy from crying, stare at me. Astrid squeezes my upper arm, softly but strong enough to urge me to snap back to common sense. I shake my head, unable to look at her sombre face any longer, knowing I am responsible for her pain.

Something inside me clicks and it feels like an invisible switch has turned. I push away anything and everything around me, silencing my thoughts, and solely focusing on one thing: Vara. I crouch beside her and push my index and middle finger against her neck. It takes a few torturous seconds but then...

Lub-dub...

Lub-dub...

Lub-dub...

Her heartbeat is almost too quiet to detect and slow but it sounds strong. She's a fighter, a warrior – a Viking.

Lowering my head above hers, I wait and release a loud sigh at the faint feel of her breath grazing my cheek. Carefully, I assess her body for any injuries besides the scratches around her face and on her arms and legs. No broken bones, thank Thor. But I feel an irregularity on her left side and slightly lift her shirt to find a large bruise. It looks bad, the colours ranging from deep purple to light red, but it'll heal. I crouch beside her again and slowly put one arm underneath her upper back and the other under her knees. In one swift movement, I stand up whilst holding her in my arms and I try to avoid too much friction against her left side. I adjust her head to rest against my chest and I need to resist the urge to inhale her flowery and fresh scent. Seeing her like this in my arms, fragile and small, something stirs inside of me – something wild, almost animal like. It may have been a dragon that did this but I can't stand seeing her hurt. It wrecks me. And knowing that Grimmel taking her dragon to get to Toothless, to get to me, could put her at risk...

The animal inside me roars again. Anyone who would dare touch her or hurt her in any way...I would break their entire existence until everything that they are would cease to exist.

I would kill them. I would kill for her.

"Snotlout," I nod towards the serious-looking man, "Supplies." He nods in reply and races away whilst the others prepare a soft place for Vara to lie on. Heather spreads out some blankets she retrieved from one of the dragon's satchels and I can hardly follow Astrid's blurry silhouette as she runs back and forth to get some fresh water as well as some clean cloths. Meanwhile, Snotlout's back with the healing supplies (they're Vara's) which he packs out as I gently put Vara down and steady her head with some blankets as makeshift cushions.

I instruct Snotlout to clean the superficial wounds with some cloth and water and ask Heather and Astrid to prepare ointment for the bruise on Vara's stomach. One of them lifts Vara's shirt as I very carefully smear some of the ointment on the wound. Luckily, my fingers don't tremble as much as my breathing. After the girls help me bandage the bruise, I touch Vara's forehead with the back of my hand, testing for any signs of a fever. Fortunately, her temperature is not increasing. A good sign.