Haley and the Dragon Riders

The Dragon Hunters

"Wake up." A gruff voice woke me from my slumber. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. I seemed to be in a cave of sorts. The ground was hard and cold. I tried sitting up to get a better look at my surroundings, but the burning sensation of rope tied tightly around my hands and feet made it hard to move. As I tried getting them off, a large shadow appeared in front of me.

“Where am I? Who are you? And why did you kidnap me?” I asked as I looked up at the viking in front of me. He was tall, bald and fairly buff.

“Oh, don’t you worry. You’ll have all your questions answered soon enough, once Viggo’s done with ya.” He rolled his R’s a lot. I’d heard other vikings talk the same way, mainly back on Berk. I wonder if they’re from similar parts of the Archipelago.

“And who’s Viggo?” The large viking chuckled at my question. I failed to see what was so funny about it, but he refused to answer me. Instead, he walked closer and untied my legs. Afterwards, he grabbed me by the arm, lifting me up. He dragged me through the cave and out into the light.

What awaited me outside the cave was something I should have anticipated but didn’t. Rows upon rows of cages filled with dragons. In between them, a few tents had been set up and there were vikings all over the place. The large viking behind me laughed as he probably saw the sheer shock on my face. My shock quickly turned to rage as I saw her.

They had River.

In a fit of rage, I spun around and kicked the large viking behind me just below the belt of his tunic, making him slump over in pain. I then used my wings to swiftly cut the rope around my hands and ran for her cage. The large viking yelled out after me, causing a bunch of the other vikings to attack me. They weren't nearly as strong as the large viking from earlier, though, so I quickly and efficiently made my way past them.

I finally reached the cage. Her happy cries upon seeing me again filled the air around us. I was about to open the cage when something hit the ground next to me. I looked over and there was an arrow with a green tip lodged into the ground. I looked up behind me and saw another one come flying. It was aimed right at me. This one wouldn’t miss.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to leave my dragon's side. As I waited for the arrow to hit, I heard metal hit metal and shortly after, something fell to the ground. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a pair of boots in front of me. Looking up, the viking in front of me was one I didn’t recognize.

“Are you alright?” He asked as he looked back down at me. His voice was soft, almost like a whisper. I slowly nodded and he turned his attention back to the large group in front of us. The large viking from earlier was in the front.
“Ryker, what is the meaning of this?”

“You tell me. Why are you protecting her? She’s the one who snuck onto the island and just tried to release one of the dragons.” The large viking, Ryker, said.

“Stand down, all of you. No one is to harm this girl. She is here as my guest of honor. Is that clear?” My savior sounded so authoritative in that moment and the other vikings cautiously left and went back to work.

“Thank you.” I said as I got on my feet and finally looked him in the eyes.
“But, the other guy was right. Why did you save me?”

“It is as I said, you’re my guest of honor. Walk with me.” He began walking away, but I hesitated, not wanting to leave River alone, especially in a cage.
“Don’t worry, your dragon will be fine. Nothing happens to these dragons without my permission.”

I felt a bit more at ease, but still wasn’t too happy just leaving her locked up like that. Nonetheless, I went with him. We walked through the camp in silence. It wasn’t until we started trekking up the mountain that I finally mustered the courage to speak up.

“Why am I here?” I asked him once we were far enough away from the camp for the others to hear us.

“You’re my-”

“Guest of honor, yeah, I got that. But seriously, why am I here? Why did you protect me earlier? I assume you’re Viggo, the guy in charge here after all. Wouldn’t any trespassers on your island be a bad thing and someone you’d want to get rid of?” My sudden remark and questions made him stop in his tracks.

“You are quite right, girl. Under normal circumstances I’d throw you in the nearest Whispering Death hole and leave you there, but you intrigue me and I’ve got a couple of questions that you’re going to answer for me.” As he talked, his tone slowly shifted from sincere to sinister.

We finally reached the makeshift hut on top of the mountain. Once inside, Viggo and I sat opposite each other. There was a table between us that had some kind of board game on it.

“Do you play?” He asked.

“Oh, no. I don’t even know the rules.” I confessed.

“Maces and Talons, a perfect game to test out one’s wit and their battle tactics. Or lack thereof." He looked up at me with a coy smile.

"Oh yeah? You wanna see just how good my battle tactics are, Viggo?" I growled at him.

"There will be no need for violence. We are here to talk business after all. Before we begin, can I get you anything? Food, drinks?"

"Drop it. There's no need for fake hospitality. I know what you're doing here, Viggo. This island, it's a cage, and you, you have the key."

"Oh, you flatter me. But I assure you, there is nothing fake about me. Now, would it not be courtesy for you to share your name? After all, you know mine." He squinted his eyes and raised a brow, anticipating my answer.

"Haley." I simply stated.

"Haley..?"

"Just Haley. Nothing else."

"Alright, Haley. Formalities aside, let's talk business. You've got a lot of potential. There is so much I could help you with. Endless possibilities. So, come now, hear me out, and let’s make a deal." I gave him a nod to let him know I was prepared to hear him out, not like I had much of a choice anyway.

“What’s the deal?”