Left In The Night

Chapter 22

The following day, the Riders, Konall, and Rurik were packed for their trip, which they hoped would be a quick rescue mission. Rurik had to lie to his parents and say that Hiccup and the Riders just wanted to show them the islands around Firewind, which they bought, thankfully.

Hiccup lead the group south, eager to see what they would discover. Unbeknownst to them, all the dragons knew the plan that Blueheart hatched, they did hope she was or would be able to escape the ship with little difficulty and return with Zyrah.

Meanwhile, Blueheart was determined to reveal to Zyrah what her parent's true intentions were. And finally, an opportunity presented itself when Einar and Ragnhild needed to do some maintenance above deck, leaving Zyrah and Blueheart in the hull.

Blueheart took it upon herself to inspect the hull on her own while Zyrah sat at the table sharpening her sword. Blueheart sniffed the air, getting strong whiffs of metal, salty sea air, musty wood... and the familiar scent of parchment. And plenty of other smells that were too overwhelming to identify.

It'd been roughly over a day since they left Firewind, and the dragoness was becoming antsy to get Zyrah out of there. All she needed was to find something that would set the alarm bells off in Zyrah's head.

Blueheart nosed around in the various belongings on the ship and picked up a scent that hit her suddenly, sniffing furiously, her nose led her into another room. She pushed open the door, a desk and chair coming into view. Nothing seemed too out of place, but there was still that scent she picked up.

What was it?

There was a large chest under the desk, with bits of paper sticking out. On the walls, there were various weapons, including several swords, a spear, and a pair of axes. Even a bullhook. She could smell old blood that tainted the swords, a very distinct metallic smell that Blueheart despised.

Stomach turning, she spun around, refocusing herself. Then she picked up that specific scent again, pinpointing it to an enormous chest in the corner.

It was somehow familiar... she couldn't explain why. Thankfully, opening the chest would be easy, as all that helped keep it closed was a simple latch. Using her nose, she flipped up the latch and pushed up the lid.

She regretted her decision immediately.

The sound she let out was one of disgust, horror, and pain.

It was the head of a Night Fury hatchling. It'd been mummified from being locked away for so long, but Blueheart now realized the smell she picked up was one of death. A corpse.

No no no.

She had to get out of there.

Outside the room, she heard Zyrah stir.

"Blueheart? You okay?" Zyrah made her way over to the office room, finding Blueheart frozen in fear.

"Girl? What's wrong?" Blueheart pushed her to look into the chest.

"OH, MY GODS-" Zyrah shrieked, falling backward. Gagging slightly, she faced her dragon, nodding earnestly, "we gotta get out of here-"

Don't have to tell me twice! In a moment of panic, Zyrah ran into the back room, grabbing all of her belongings and what was necessary to take.

There was also commotion on the upper deck. Zyrah froze when the trapdoor opened, and Einar made his way downstairs.

"What's going on down here!" He exclaimed. Zyrah pulled out her sword in defense.

"You monster!" She cried out, "I saw it!" Initially, Einar had a perplexed expression on his face, and then it dawned on him what they had found.

"You lied to me!" He rolled his eyes.

"You think your mother would've let me just outright tell you? I'm not stupid."

"What're you talking about?" He menacingly approached her, his hand on the hilt of his own sword.

"I don't owe you details. But she and I had to pull some strings to get you on board with us. You and your dragon are going to help us find the last Night Fury colony." He demanded, pointing his sword at Zyrah. She did not flinch, however.

"Like hell, I will. I don't even know where it is."

"What?"

"I don't know where that colony is!"

"You... don't? Then how did you and your dragon meet?"

"She just showed up out of nowhere! I didn't go looking for her. That's what you thought?" She scoffed. "Even if I did know, I'm not telling you shit. C'mon girl."

"Uh uh, you're not going anywhere. You might not know where it is, but I can guarantee she does." Einar pointed his sword in Blueheart's direction to emphasize his point.

"Yeah, she's not helping you." Einar's eyebrows knitted together, and his eyes darkened in anger.

"Gods you are being a pain in my ass."

"I can say the same! If you don't let us go, Blueheart will cause some damage, not just on your ship, but on you as well."

"I doubt she's capable of harming humans."

"You don't know her. You know nothing about Night Furies, and you never will! You're not as smart as you think you are!" That was the final straw for Einar. With a shout of frustration, he charged at the girls, sword at the ready. But he underestimated his daughter, not anticipating her to fight back.

She blocked his blow, which was intended for Blueheart, and she managed to push him back.

Ragnhild's footsteps came rushing down the steps, only to witness Einar and Zyrah fighting.

"Both of you! Enough!" She cried out. But her plea fell on deaf ears.

"You are not going to touch her!" Zyrah hissed, ducking under another blow. She spun around, elbowing him in the side, causing him to stumble slightly.

Realizing she was too nimble for him, Einar redirected his attention to Blueheart, but still too infuriated to make a rational decision. Zyrah noticed his distraction and nodded to Blueheart to help her out. Blueheart then swung her tail out from underneath him, causing him to fall, and Zyrah went for the wounding blow, slicing at his side.

Ragnhild screamed in horror, diving to Einar's side, which gave the girls time to get out.

With their stuff packed, Blueheart looked up at the ceiling, and fired, blowing a massive hole, big enough for her to fly out of. The explosion shook the boat, momentarily preventing Ragnhild from standing.

"LET'S GO!" Zyrah exclaimed, and Blueheart took off, knowing where to go next.