The Gift of the Princess (HTTYD)

Lingering Doubts

"He trained me to be a killer and took away any chance I had at a normal life. Everyone looked at me with fear and hatred... until I met Eira." Krogan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The memories were not as painful as they used to be, but they still cut deeply. When he opened his eyes, he knew sadness shown through. "I owe her a lot, and I know she's right that there's a chance we can save Drago like she saved me. But... I can't do it. I can't be like Eira. She should work with Hiccup. He has the same compassionate, forgiving nature."

"I would not assume it comes so easy to him... particularly in this case." Reidun smiled at his confused looked. "He admitted to me he finds it difficult to forgive Drago, even though, like you, he knows he should. It's a human problem, I think. He blames Drago for his father's death, and rightly so."

Krogan remembered the day Drago attacked Berk. Hiccup had been ready to kill Drago, and it was Krogan who had stopped him. It was funny the situation was not reversed. Where did Krogan get his strength? Regardless, he had not affected Drago then, and it was unlikely he would do so now. "If Hiccup shows such weakness, why would I do any better?"

Reidun gazed at him with a mixture of emotions in her eyes. "Maybe because Eira is right. You understand where Drago is coming from. You've been there yourself. I've seen it in the way you talk about dragons - especially Vidar. Your experiences give you empathy for those in similar situations."

Krogan looked away. "I wasn't very empathetic towards those soldiers who attacked the island."

"That was different. You were defending me and the village."

Krogan looked at her in frustration. "You don't think Drago will attack us? What will I do then? My old instincts will kick in. I can't control myself."

Reidun placed a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes with determination. "Yes, you can. You fall back on old habits when you have nothing else to cling to. You need to decide right now who you want to be. If you do not want to help Drago, that is fine, but did not say you can't. I believe in you."

Krogan wondered where that belief came from. He certainly could not find it in himself. But if both she and Eira saw something worthwhile in him, maybe it was there after all. He nodded. "Perhaps... in time." He could be better. He had to try.

***

With Krogan out of the picture, Eira was at a loss for what to do. She and her companions accepted Hiccup's invitation to join his training for those who would leave for the other villages. She hoped Krogan would return and change his mind but knew it was unlikely at this point.

The training went very well, and everyone was excited to get started. Even Snotlout seemed very interested in all of it. "You know, this actually sounds kind of fun," he said when the small group reconvened at the end of the meeting. He turned to Ingrid with a grin. "We should give it a try ourselves!"

Ingrid looked at him in surprise. "You want to talk to the other villages about dragons?"

Snotlout nodded. "Just think about it. You want to persuade people you are right, and I want to fight. With this, we can have both! You can focus on recruiting the villagers while I take on any members of the Northern Alliance who try to stop us. We'll be unbeatable!"

Ingrid appeared thoughtful. "It would be nice to work together for once - and for a great cause." She paused, glancing at her sister. "But we can't just leave our team. Eira and Viggo will be the only ones left."

"Oh, I can take your place!" Dagur said excitedly. "I'm about done here anyway!"

"I wouldn't mind if they made the switch," Hiccup said.

"Sounds good to me," said Eira. After spending so much time apart, it would be nice to have Dagur with her again. Plus, it sounded like this would be good for Ingrid and Snotlout.

"To me as well," said Viggo.

Dagur grinned. "Excellent!"

"Cool," Snotlout said. "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow," said Reidun, "but you're welcome to stay here tonight if you wish."

"Thank you," said Ingrid. "We appreciate it."

"How about we meet somewhere else to discuss our next course of action?" said Viggo to his teammates. So, the three of them left the meeting hall, chatting along the way.

They had not gone far when they were bombarded with a horde of kids. "Eira!" one of them shouted. "You're back!"

"Did you come to play with us?" said another.

Eira chuckled lightly. "Sure, we can play with you." She looked back at Dagur and Viggo, who both nodded.

So, the three of them spent time playing with the orphan children. Eira enjoyed the chance to relax and let it all go with the little ones. She could not keep up with their energy, however, and soon tired out. As soon as sat near a tree, the others joined her. She smiled as a little girl crawled into her lap.

"This is fun," the girl said. "You should stay here forever."

"Yeah!" said a young boy. "Then we can play together all the time."

"I'm sorry we can't do that," Eira said. "We have responsibilities elsewhere. But we promise we'll visit."

"Maybe some of you should come with us to Berserker Island!" Dagur said excitedly.

"Ooo... what's it like there?" said an older boy.

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Eira picked up the little girl and set her on the ground. "Dagur, I'm going to head home," she said. "I'm feeling tired."

"Aw, but we were going to play some more," said Dagur. "These kids are just a delight, don't you think?"

Eira gave him a hesitant smile. She agreed, but she did not like the hidden implications in his words and actions - or maybe it was all in her head. "You can stay here if you wish."

"I'll go back with her," said Viggo.

"Great!" Dagur said brightly. "I'll see you later, Eira!"

"Goodbye, Dagur," she said before walking back with Viggo to their dragons. Neither of them said anything until they were up in the air. Eira kept repeating the scene in her mind, wondering if she did the right thing.

"Relationship problems?" Viggo said casually.

Eira looked over at him with wide eyes. "What? Of course not! Dagur and I are fine."

Viggo seemed to consider this. "I suppose if Dagur was having problems, the whole world would know about it." He paused. "Something is bothering you, and you haven't told him."

Eira gripped Swiftwings' saddle tighter and stared straight ahead. There was no use lying to him; he would figure it out. "It's nothing important."

"Hmm... even small problems can become big problems if you ignore them long enough. It has something to do with the orphans. Do you not want kids? You seemed happy playing with them."

"I do, but..." Eira did not know how to explain in a way that did not sound ridiculous. She was not quite sure herself where all her fears came from.

"Whatever is wrong, you should talk to Dagur. You know he won't judge you for it."

Eira bit her lip. Of course Viggo was right. Dagur was extremely understanding. Still, the thought of talking to him about this made her uneasy. "Maybe so, but I don't want to cause trouble."

"You'll cause my trouble by not saying anything. It is wonderful that you always want to help people, but you need to learn how to accept help yourself. I bet it would bring Dagur great joy to help you with this."

A flood of emotion struck Eira. She never thought about it that way. "You're probably right. Thanks Viggo."

Viggo smiled at her. "Anytime, my friend."