The Gift of the Princess (HTTYD)

Figuring Things Out

Eira's negative mood finally lifted at the thought of seeing her dear friend again. She had to stop herself from running into the forest in order to keep pace with the guard. Once inside, she made sure to go far enough from the village so as not to disturb the villagers. Then she took a deep breath and let out her Windwalker call.

Almost immediately, a screech rang through the forest followed by the sign of flapping wings. Then Swiftwings descended, landing before the Vikings. Eira ignored the terrified guard and ran to embrace her dragon. "Swiftwings!" she cried. "I've missed you so much."

The Windwalker craned her neck around Eira in a pseudo-hug and made a gentle sound that comforted her. Eira closed her eyes while she took in the moment. She remembered why she was here and what she was fighting for. Her personal problems did not matter, for her calling was much higher.

Eira pulled back and gazed into Swiftwings' eyes. "I'm sorry about this, girl. I hate being apart as much as you do, but we're really making progress here. If we just left, a lot of people could get hurt. This way, we may even be able to make new allies." She paused as she thought of something. "I bet you've been making friends with the local dragons, haven't you?"

Swiftwings snorted, swaying her head. Eira smiled. "Good job. That will be helpful in the future. Keep it up, and make sure to look after our friends. Don't let them cause any trouble." The dragon bent her head until her forehead touched the girl's. Eira hugged her around the neck and then slowly let go.

Finally, she stepped back to put some distance between them, giving her a sad smile. "Goodbye, my friend. I will see you soon." Swiftwings let out a mournful noise as her trainer disappeared back into the trees.

***

Hiccup finally had a plan. The former dragon trappers returned the previous evening with information about Grimmel's hideout. Hiccup spent hours conversing with Eret, Astrid, Valka, and Gobber to come up with a suitable response. Now he stood in front of Berk's best warriors inside the Great Hall.

"We know where Grimmel is hiding," he said. "According to Eret, he is not heavily guarded. We need to strike now before he realizes we're onto him. "I need everyone who has had combat training with a dragon to join me. The rest of you will stay here and guard Berk."

"We're going to attack them without warning?" Fishlegs said, appearing nervous.

Hiccup hesitated. This was one of the heavily debated details the previous night. The element of surprise was a huge advantage, but the chief felt uneasy about not even attempting a peaceful solution. In the end, they came up with a suitable compromise. "Not exactly, Fishlegs. I will talk to Grimmel first and try to reason with him. This probably won't work, but I have to try. My main team will stay with me while we talk, and everyone else will hide in the clouds in case things go wrong. Ingrid, if you want to-"

"Ingrid isn't here," Spitelout said flatly. "And neither is my son."

Hiccup frowned. "Where are they?"

"I have no idea. The last time I saw Snotlout was the middle of yesterday."

This was not good. The last time Hiccup had seen them, they were convinced the Light Fury was up to something. Had they taken action on their own and gotten themselves into trouble? Perhaps captured by their enemies? He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. They were probably fine. They had Hookfang and Shadowwhisper to take care of them. He could not go off course now. "We'll look for them after the attack. Right now, we need to prepare to face our enemy."

The Vikings murmured in agreement. Hiccup hoped he made the right choices. He was worried about his friends but had to trust they knew what they were doing... wherever they were. As chief, he had to focus on what was best for Berk and its dragons, and that meant ending this conflict once and for all.