Haley and the Dragon Riders

Lovely Nightmare

"Haley the Winged, how's that for a name?" I asked the man in front of me. I couldn't make out his face since he was wearing a hood, but whoever he was, I felt safe with him.

"Does the title really matter in the end? In the end, you'll still just be Haley." The man responded casually.

"I know, but I wanna be more than just that." I looked up at the stars above. They shone brighter than they ever had before.

"How about Haley the Dead." A new, rough voice broke the peaceful moment.

I looked at the stranger and was shocked to see Ryker standing with a sword in his hand. I frantically searched myself and my surroundings for anything to defend with, but there was nothing. Ryker seemed to grow 3 times larger as I cowered in fear. He lifted his sword and was about to strike me when the sound of metal hitting metal snapped me out of my fear. I looked up and saw my hooded saviour, the man I had been talking with the entire time, use his own broadsword to stop Ryker.

"You have nothing to fear as long as I'm here. I won't let any harm come to you. Besides, I have a better suggestion for a name." I couldn't see his face, but the warmth and light that radiated from him caused me to stop cowering and get on my feet.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"Haley Grimborn." The hooded figure responded, and his hood came off. It was Viggo. In that instant, for a brief moment, I completely forgot all about Ryker.

"Viggo..." I trailed off. I was overcome with joy and confusion. Did he really mean it? Of course he did. Why would he say it otherwise?

I took a step forward, wanting to hug him, when I froze. A sharp pain shot through my gut. I put a hand on my stomach and immediately moved it again. It was wet. I looked down and found myself standing in a pool of blood. My blood. Ryker's sword was stuck firmly in my body. I trembled backwards. Viggo looked on in horror while Ryker had the biggest smile on his face I'd ever seen. As I stumbled backwards, I got closer to the edge. A couple of rocks fell over the edge as I kept going. My heels reached the end. I looked Viggo in the eyes as I lost my balance.

"Viggo!!" I screamed out in fear as my knees gave out under me, and I fell back out over the edge of the cliff. I could only stare at him as I plummeted towards my demise. Right as I hit the water, everything went dark.

I sat up straight in my bed. Cold sweat running down my forehead. I was hyperventilating. River was standing next to me. I looked around. I was in my hut. Viggo was nowhere to be seen. I checked my body. No wounds. I sighed in relief.

"It's okay, girl. It was just a nightmare. I'm alright." I got out of bed and put some clothes on.
"I'm going out for a short flight. I'll be back later."

Once outside, I immediately took to the skies. I needed to clear my head. I began flying with no clear destination in mind.

Why did I dream about Viggo? Why'd he save me from Ryker? Does it mean anything? I mean, it's not like I have feelings for him.. right? No. He's just a business partner. Nothing else. Then again, Haley Grimborn doesn't sound half bad.

While going over the many meanings of my dream, I spotted someone familiar down on a nearby island. I flew down behind them and walked closer.

"Tuffnut, what're you doing here?" I asked, and he turned around screaming in fear.
"Tuff, shut up! It's just me."

"Oh, thank Thor. For a moment I thought you were one of the Hunters." He calmed down again.

"Why are you on an island swarming with Hunters? And why do you have one of their helmets?" I asked and gestured to the helmet in his hand.

"Oh, that. One of these guys stole my Macey and I'm here to get her back. She was stolen from me at a market, and while trying to get her back, I ended up on their ship and got sailed here. Crazy, right?"

"Riiight... okay. Quick question, Macey is made from Gronckle Iron, right?"

"Yeah, what else would she be made from? Regular iron? Pfft, no way. Macey only deserves the best iron out there."

"Right, got it. How about you find a boat and head back to the Edge, and I'll look for Macey? If anything happens, I'll have a much better chance at escaping."

"No way! I'm not leaving here without my Macey!" He proclaimed and marched onwards.

Not even Odin could stop him right now. Oh well. From what I know, this isn't the first time he's been reckless like this. He'll probably be fine, and if it comes down to it, I can just swoop in and grab him.

I got in the air again but stayed just below the tree tops. From here, I could keep an eye on Tuffnut and help him out if needed.

He moved further inland, and we came upon a large Hunter base. They had deforested the entire area to make room for their operations, so I'd have to go back on the ground if I wanted to follow him.

I landed in some nearby bushes, knocked out a lone Hunter to steal his helmet, and went to mingle. With the helmet on and my wings hidden, no one would know I wasn't one of them. Unfortunately, while acquiring this disguise, I lost Tuffnut.

I snuck my way into the base and began looking for him. I had to be careful not to arouse suspicion. Since I had no idea what their plan was, my best bet was to just remain out of sight and should I get spotted, look as inconspicuous as possible.

It wasn't a great plan, but it worked so far. Viggo and Ryker even came out to give us all a speech about the project they're working on. While Viggo was doing his speech, I looked around the crowd for Tuff. I eventually found him over by some other Hunters.

As soon as Viggo's speech was over and Ryker gave the order to return to work, Tuffnut continued his mission, and I followed suit. It took quite a while and way too many close encounters, but I eventually caught up with him.

I saw him hide behind some boxes. His mace was lying on top, and on the other side, two Hunters were talking. He grabbed the mace and snuck off again. I tried to leave the area as well, but Ryker saw me, grabbed me, and took my helmet off.

"Well, well, well. Viggo's been looking for you." Ryker said as he picked me up and carried me off towards Viggo's base tent.
"Come on."

Once inside the tent, Ryker put me on a chair in front of Viggo.

"This is the only Rider we found." He stated. Viggo seemed surprised and annoyed to see me but forced a smile anyway.

"Welcome Haley, can I offer you anything? Some refreshments? I believe congratulations are in order. You successfully infiltrated Project Shell Fire. Hiccup must be so proud. Of course, your friend's Gronckle Iron mace didn't do you any favors, now, did it?" He commented. While his tone was warm and welcoming, his face and overall posture was cold and calculated.

"Drop the act, Viggo. I'm already on your side, and there's no one here who doesn't know it."

"Very well then, when is Hiccup going to attack?"

"I'm not sure about the specifics, but it's soon. In the next few days he's gonna get his friends and allies, and they'll be coming here soon after. My best guess would be in a week."

"Thank you for the information. You can go now." He gave me a bag of gold, and I walked out the door.

Ryker was waiting for me outside, but I pushed past him and flew off towards the Edge. The sun was gonna be up any minute, and I wanted to get back beforehand. I was too tired to having to deal with Hiccup and the others for having snuck out, so I pushed myself as much as I could and made it to my hut minutes before sunrise. River was still up and had been waiting for me. Once I got inside, I laid down in bed and went back to sleep.