The trader and the rider

Chapter 22

I moved the sword around once more. It was lighter than it looked but still heavier than my staff. The blade wasn't made out of gronkle iron, after all. I touched the ruby stones again, softly. One of the sides was carefully arranged with six of them right before the blade came out of the handle, and a base that put together the base with the blade was meticulously carved into the shape of some kind of dragon's head. The fist of Ares was drawn on the bottom of the handle, the colour a bit washed away by time and use. 

I kept the blade shiny and sharp since Hiccup gave it to me after the unfortunate visit to the northern markets, where he and Snotlout were trapped underground by a new kind of dragon. There, they found this blade that only Hiccup and I seemed to have recognized. He probably remembered it for having it too close to his neck on so many different occasions, but I just couldn't forget about such a shiny weapon, so beautifully decorated. As I stared at the rubies again, a sensation of pain settled down my chest. They were crimson, full of colour; probably just like the blood of the dragons that had been slayed with this weapon. We still didn't know how Viggo's sword got there, given that it was supposed to be either melted in the volcano or in the deepest part of the ocean. How did it end up in the underground cavern of the sandbuster?

-Knock knock.

My friend's voice took me out of my head, and I looked at her.

-Heather, hi. Shouldn't you be heading back home?

-Yeah, but I wanted to say goodbye before Windshear and I take off. I don't want to leave Dagur alone for too long tho, maybe another group of crazy outcasts try to overthrow him again -I chuckled as I remember how just a few days prior we had to stop an attempt to overthrow their government in Berserker island.

-Aw, so you haven't forgotten about us yet, how cute -I said with a smile that she returned.

-Oh, trust me, it will be a long time until I forget about the dragon riders.

-Especially about the incredible Crow.

-Of course. -her smile faded away when she saw the sword I was holding- Still thinking about it?

-Stupid, isn't it? -I moved the sword around, doing some easy moves and balancing it. It was a bit too heavy for me to carry it in just one hand- I saw him die. And he caused me so much pain and proved that he did not want to change, even if he could. But I can't let this sword go. -I sat down on my bed and looked at the blade- Not yet, at least.

-I don't think it's stupid. I know you two had a... complicated history.

-I guess we did. And jumping into a volcano didn't really give me much closure, that was kind of a dick move from him. -I put the sword aside, trying not to think about it anymore- Anyway, talking about complicated history. How did it go with Fishy?

-Well, it wasn't too bad. A bit awkward, but that's it.

-Aw, he didn't cry?

-Don't be mean! -she hit me on my shoulder, and I chuckled- It felt a bit weird going back to pre flirting era, but there's just no spark between us anymore, you know?

-Yeah, I get ya. You two had something, enjoyed it, and now you don't. That's fine, people change. -Heather telling us that Fishlegs and her were no longer an item felt a bit out of nowhere at first, but given how long they had been out of touch and taking into account everything that had changed, it wasn't too big of a surprise. At least they were still friends- But really, did he cry? I made a bet with Astrid and I need to know.

-Why doesn't that surprise me?

-It was Astrid's idea, I swear.

-Sure, sure. -she chuckled- If you must know, he didn't. At least not in front of me.