Haley and the Dragon Riders

The Enemy Of My Enemy

The Shellfire was relentless in its attacks. Not to mention the amount of ships Ryker had with him to defend the dragon. With no dragon of my own, I relied on my crossbow and many arrows to win my fights. The plan was that the others would take out the ships while Hiccup and I would head straight for Ryker. With Toothless’ speed and my slim frame, we’d have no problem getting in close and dealing with him.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way. Ryker had half a dozen men stationed on top of the gigantic dragon, so if its fire missed us, he’d have a rain of arrows coming at us. We pulled back and regrouped with the others up high where they couldn’t reach us.

“We have to find a way to get to that dragon. We can’t risk hitting it if we go for Ryker.” Hiccup sighed.

“It’s taking forever to get through the ships as well. It seems no matter how many times we fly down there and attack, they just won’t stop coming.” Astrid backed him up.

“We can’t give up! We have to keep trying. Eventually he’ll run out of ships or the dragon will run out of fire. We just have to keep going!” I tried encouraging them, but it didn’t work.

“I like your spirit, but we can’t. The dragon’s need a moment to rest. They’re running out of firepower fast and we can’t keep this up forever.” Astrid was the one to break the unfortunate news.

“Not to mention, we have no idea how many shots that dragon can fire before running out.” Fishlegs added.

“Fair enough, you’ve got a point. Then let’s head back and regroup.” I agreed and we all flew back to the Edge so the dragon’s could rest.

“This stinks. There’s mass destruction happening and it’s not our fault.” Ruffnut moped.

“We have failed you, oh great Loki!” Tuffnut cried as he got on his knees and threw his arms in the air.

“Okayyy, that’s weird… but nevermind that. Hiccup, what do we do? We can’t get close enough to get to Ryker and he’ll be here any minute.” I was as concerned as the rest of them, but I was the first to speak up about it.

“I hate to be the one to say I told you so but-” Viggo started as he walked in with Snotlout close behind him.

“How did you get out!?” Hiccup asked.

“Snotlout was kind enough to open the door for me.” We all looked at Snotlout who just seemed to realize he had messed up.

“What? He said he needed to go to the bathroom. When you gotta go, you gotta go. I know that better than anyone.” He defended himself. Hiccup sighed and shook his head.

“Hiccup, you must allow me to assist you for the sake of us all. The Shellfire range is over a mile, Ryker is using ships, my ships to be exact, to protect it. I want to stop him as much as you. You know the saying, my enemy’s enemy, is my friend.”

“Ugh, fine. I don’t have time for this. You can help us fireproof the place but after that you’re getting locked up again. Astrid, keep an eye on him.” He looked at Astrid and she grabbed Viggo’s arm forcefully, dragging him along.
“The rest of you, get to work. We have enough Gronckle Iron to fireproof the entire island, let’s go!”

We all ran to our huts and began setting up the defense plates. River was still not feeling well so I had her hide in the dome. It got built with Gronckle Iron so it’ll be able to withstand the attack much better than our hut. After I made sure River was safe, I ran back to my own hut, but it was too late.
The Shellfire shot one concentrated bomb at the island. The Dome was the first to get hit, but as expected, the armor held out. River was safe.
Unfortunately, my hut wasn’t finished so it wouldn’t be safe enough to hide in. With nowhere else to go, I ran to the stables. They weren’t safe either, but it was the closest building I could hide in.

“What are you doing here?” Viggo asked, surprised to see me.

“My hut didn’t get finished in time.”

“So you came here? What in the name of Odin would possess you to come here?”

“My hut didnt get finished in time and I didnt have time to go anywhere else. And I've got more personal reasons for coming here anyway.”

“Oh, shut up! There is a high likelihood of us dying here today and you want to enter Valhalla, knowing you keep at least half a dozen secrets?” Viggo’s sudden outburst caught me off guard. It wasn’t like him to care so much about me or my secrets.

“You keep quite a bit of secrets yourself, so you’re one to talk.”

“I withhold information, dear girl. There’s a difference.” I was about to yell at him and explain how it’s the same thing, when a shellfire bomb suddenly hit the roof of the Stables. Everything caught fire and I immediately went for the exit. My wings wouldn’t be able to withstand the fire for long. I made it to the door when I heard Viggo’s cry for help.
“You can’t just leave me here! We had a deal!”

“I hate it when he's right.” I mumbled and smiled to myself as I turned around and ran back into the flames.

“You actually came back to rescue me. I’m honored.”

“Yeah, don’t be. You’re right, a deal's a deal, so you better not die on me now!” We were both coughing violently as smoke and flames were surrounding us.

“Well, you’ll be glad you returned. I can help, if you will allow me.”

“Let’s get out of here first, then we can discuss your 'help' later. Hold on tight. My wings are mostly roasted, but I should be able to get us out of here.” I grabbed his arm and he held onto me tighter than I thought possible. It was tough, but I got us out of the burning building. I flew us out over the open sea and up high in the air.

“What are you doing? I am grateful for your help, but I must insist that you put me down this instant!” It was obvious that he felt uncomfortable up here, especially after what I told him about my wings.

“It has to look believable to the others, so tell me; how?" I whispered to him. He clutched my tunic tighter as I sped up and caught up with Hiccup and the others who were all back in the air. He was so precious when he was nervous.

“You’re okay. You made it out!” Hiccup yelled and the others seemed happy to see us.

“Of course we made it. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I smiled.

“Uhm, not to be that guy, but what is he doing here?” Snotlout asked, referring to Viggo who was still holding onto me.

“I couldn’t leave him to die in the Stables. I’ll take the blame if anything happens. Besides, he says he's got information that can help us. So, Viggo, how are you gonna help? Tell me and I’ll consider not dropping you.”

“Flattery will get you far in life, but threats will get you farther. I can advise you on how to defeat my brother and stop the Shellfire.”

“You seem to have thought of everything, don’t you?”

“As luck would have it, I do.” I didn’t even have to look at him to know that he was smirking at me.

“Viggo, we both know luck has nothing to do with it.” I explained.

“Fine, just get out of here. River needs you back on the ground and you can’t fight while carrying him.” Hiccup ordered. I nodded in affirmation and flew back with viggo after he instructed the Riders on how to defeat Ryker.

“Pity. I was going to enjoy watching Ryker go down with the ship. Haley, my respect for you is beyond what I could possibly put into words.” His words caused butterflies to form in my stomach as we landed on the beach. I could feel my cheeks heating up.

“Well, Viggo. Likewise. Though I’m really putting my life on the line here. It's not exactly what I signed up for, but we'll discuss it another time. I gotta get back in the air.” Viggo looked at me with intrigue as I took out the Dragon Eye and handed it to him.
"Keep this safe for me, will you?"

Before he could answer I left to join the others in the fight.