Dark Valkyrie

Twenty: Double Jeopardy

Twenty: Double Jeopardy

Dragon Island was different to how Hiccup recalled it-but then, he hadn't really been back here since the Screaming Death had attacked and half-sunk the island. And though the Gronckle lava had stabilised the place, there were areas that were flooded and half the mountain had collapsed on the eastern side. Much of the low-lying verdant plains and the welcoming valleys had been flooded and only the higher, rocky areas remained. There were still a few trees but Dragon Island was a shadow of the haven it had been before the attack.

Toothless soared over the dismal place as the drizzle really kicked in and Hiccup shivered. They circled the mountain, scanning the unfamiliar silhouette for any familiar features. The eastern flank of the mountain had collapsed, finally erasing the ugly scar that had been torn into its substance by the emergence of the Red Death and the western side was scarred with rockfalls and looked unstable. Waves lapped the sharp-edged black rocks that lay slumped at the foot of the cliff, patiently working to erode the hardened substance as Hiccup and Toothless swooped around once more. The cave they had asked the dragons to stay in during the training exercise where Dagur found out about the dragons was gone, buried and submerged and Hiccup felt his hopes fall. He had banked on staying in the little space but that hope was dashed.

There was a pause and Toothless crooned. Sighing, Hiccup rested his hand on the dragon's neck. In truth, he was feeling cold, exhausted and could barely keep his eyes open. Running away had been a stupid move, born of despair and hopelessness but all it had done was prove what he already knew: that he was a waste of time and effort.

"Can you find somewhere to land, bud?' he asked faintly as the dragon gave a worried warble. He could feel that Hiccup wasn't holding on as strongly as usual and he could hear the heartbeat, faster than before. To the dragon, it was concerning, Of course, Toothless couldn't stop Hiccup doing something stupid-a score of instances where his beloved Rider threw himself off Toothless, sometimes wearing that stupid contraption he had built himself sprung to mind-but the Night Fury would always be there to protect him. Probably from himself. So he swooped round and gave his special roar, the sound waves bouncing back from the uneven surfaces...and vanishing into a black hole in the small but well-concealed cave that yawned almost unnoticed amid the deep shadows behind a jagged overhang. Warbling with triumph, he flipped and arrowed down into the space.

Furling his wings, he felt Hiccup shift and slowly unclip his metal leg from the pedal. The young viking was listing, breathing hard in exhaustion as he stumbled to the furthest corner and huddled down. He laid down his blanket and furs and rested his saddle down, then lay on his side.

"I'm exhausted," he murmured. "Thanks for bringing me here, bud. I needed this. I just need the space to try to process everything." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Wake me if anything happens..."

Giving a worried croon, the Night Fury curled around the young man, his ear-flaps pricked for the sounds of any other life-but for the moment, all his sensitive ears could detect were the whirs and chirp of the Terrible Terrors flittering around the mountain and the grinding of the resident Gronckle herds, masticating through the strewn boulders of basalt and granite. For the moment, all was well.

But as the Night Fury curled up and closed his eyes, the first Dragon Hunter ship closed on the grey, rocky shore...

oOo

The village was more remote, the island smaller but friendly as the young woman walked in from around the headland, explaining she had landed away from the town because she wasn't sure what sort of welcome she would get. Wearing a simple poor woad-blue dress over her other clothes and with a grey cloth wrapped over her golden hair, she was polite and bought bread, salt, dried yak jerky and a barrel for water as well as yak hide. Quietly, she asked if she could maybe stay outside the village. The Elder gave a scowl.