Young Dragonblood

Chapter Eight

You sighted the beach long before you saw the people on it. The island of Dark Deep was craggy, spires of rock reaching for Valhalla high above. The dark stone which gave it its name was stark against the noon sky. The beach, or the first one one you came across, was made up of dark sand and littered with black, lavalike pebbles. It was hemmed in by jagged stones protruding from the sea bed, intent on ripping any approaching vessel to shreds. As you neared you could make out the Silver Phantom on the beach, its wings hunched and head down. To its right were two guards dressed in leather armour, and in between them stood Gothi, her staff still in her hand. The lead hunter stood before them, waiting with her arms crossed. 
    Toothless landed on the sand several yards away from the hunters, his lime green eyes fixed on them. Only the two nearby Gronckles growled in response to these newcomers arriving. You hopped down from the dragon's back and made your way over to the strange person, Hiccup striding alongside you. 
    ‘So you came,’ she said, not moving from her patch of sand. 
    ‘Evidently,’ you muttered. Hiccup gave you a look as if to say, “Shut up or you're gonna get us k.illed,” which was probably rightly so. 
    The hunter looked at the Chief with cyan eyes, searching his features for any clues as to what he was like. ‘You're Chief Hiccup?’ She asked.
    Hiccup nodded. It wasn't unusual that she knew who he was. He was known far and wide for taming dragons and riding a Night Fury. 
    She turned to you, scanning you with the same intensity she had done with Hiccup. ‘You're Y/N?’ 
    ‘How do you know my name?’ You all but spluttered. You were sure you had never mentioned or heard your name around her. 
    The hunter ignored you. ‘I'm Jeger Rykaina. Glad you came, otherwise capturing her would have been for nothing.’ She jabbed a thumb at Gothi, who gave her a death glare. 
    Hiccup growled quietly and didn't bother hiding it. ‘Let her go.’
    ‘Why would I let my bargaining chip go?’ Jeger snorted. She motioned for the two hunters to bring the elder forward. 
    ‘She's not yours to bargain with,’ Hiccup told the hunter defiantly, an underlying threat haunting his voice. 
    ‘No,’ she admitted to your surprise. ‘But (s)he is.’ She pointed at you, her hand held steady. 
    ‘No I'm not,’ you protested. 
    Jeger smiled. ‘Oh, you are. Come here.’ She beckoned with a scarred finger, so sure that you would go to her. 
    You didn't move. 
    ‘Don't be stupid,’ the hunter growled, almost like a dragon herself. ‘Come her and your old woman can can go free without harm.’
    You looked at Gothi, her small stature making her seem like a fireworm beside a Goregutter. One hunter was holding onto her arm and the other held the top of the staff, preventing her from giving them a good whack like she had with Gobber many times. You could see she wouldn't be able to outfight experienced hunters, even with her Terrorlike speed, and you doubted you would be getting out of here without a scrap if you didn't do as Jeger said. Besides, what were you worth next to the tribe's only healer?
    You knew you shouldn't, but you stepped towards the beckoning hand, seeing the hunters lips twitch with a smile. In an instant you knew you had made the wrong choice. Jeger was devious, you could infer that from just the few minutes you had spent in her company, she wouldn't just let her bargaining chip go, as she'd put it. At least, though, you might be able to distract her long enough for your friends to get away. 
    Your step faltered a little and the hunter reached out to grab your arm on seeing this, but a strong arm pulled you away, out if her reach. You looked back at the Dragonblood Chief and he shook his head, gently releasing you. ‘I came to get Gothi back and I am going to get her back, with Y/N here coming back home.’
    ‘(S)he is home,’ Jeger said quietly. You and Hiccup looked at each other. What did she mean by that? ‘(S)he is staying here,’ the hunter said more loudly. She was evidently trying to cover up what she'd said, which made you all the more curious. 
    ‘Why are you doing this?’ Hiccup asked. You had noticed over the years that this was his go to question when faced with someone he didn't understand. When the hunter didn't reply he leant closer and hissed, low enough so that the other two would not hear. ‘Why hunt your own kind?’
    Jeger pulled back slightly, her eyes narrowed. ‘Our dragon sides are monsters,’ she growled. ‘They are nothing but killers.’
    Silently you looked between the Chief and the hunter. How had he known she was a Dragonblood? You studied her but you couldn't find anything that gave it away. 
     Hiccup shook his head sadly, his auburn hair flopping in his eyes. ‘I once thought like that, not so long ago,’ he said. ‘It almost tore me apart. Please, don't think like that, Jeger.’
    The lead hunter gazed at him, as if she was thinking through what he'd said. You could imagine the cogs of thought turning in her mind, and for a moment your hopes rose. Maybe she had seen sense?
    Then she began laughing, a hollow chuckle that sent your spirits plummeting. ‘You think you can change my mind?’ She said, stepping away from them. The three of you growled, dread seeping into your souls. ‘You are wrong.’