Cold Heart

Mercy

I urged Toothless to slow down, surveying the landscape slowly. The girl seemed to be nowhere to be found. I began keeping notice of the cave entrances along the side of the mountain. There were only two, in a reasonable distance of where she was before. Slowly I descended to the first one, crouching on Toothless and peering into the darkness. It made me nervous, but it likely was where she went, and I wasn't taking no for an answer. 

I began to venture into the tunnel, Toothless taking light and careful steps underneath me. For a while we saw nothing. It was pure blackness, with no touches of light. Still I continued walking. It was very possible that this girl was an enemy, and she most likely knew these caves well and would have been able to navigate. 

It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, and heck, I can't burn the hay right now. I got increasingly nervous until we rounded a corner and saw a small pinprick of light. I smiled ever so slightly and began to creep towards it. 

Suddenly a hushed voice came up behind me, "Are you an idiot? Get out of here!"

I stiffened as Toothless whipped around, preparing for a fight. My eyes widened as I picked up the silhouette of a girl. A girl... Riding on a dragon. The girl, riding a Razorwhip. 

"You have no idea what lays in those caves, Hiccup, and you don't want to. Not right now. Please, you're a good man, leave this place before you get hurt." Her voice was serious- almost concerned, but with a hard edge to it. She would not help me if I did get captured, I could tell that. She would only warn me away. 

"What is in there?" I asked quietly. 

"Please, I'll tell you outside. Get out." And she ran in the direction that I came in with no hesitation. 

I narrowed my eyes. If she was lying, and leading me away from something I wanted, I would have no mercy as I hurt her. She might not be lying. I didn't know. 

Toothless bounded out of the cave as well, even before I told him to. Well, that settles where I'm going, I thought grimly. But he might know something I didn't. I trusted him. Even if I didn't trust the girl.

As I again emerged into daylight, I saw the silhouette of a razorwhip hovering in the distance. Toothless launched into the air, and I leveled up with her almost immediately. A question suddenly hit me; how did she know my name? 

Before I could ask she interrupted my thoughts, "In there lives an evil man named Drago. He controls the Red Death. Not perfectly, but he does. Alvin left.. Thank you, for that." The thank you was almost grudging. "They were working together, though. I was serviced to Alvin for years now... That started not long after you saw me the first time. Drago really had control in the long run though, and he-" her voice steeled with anger- "he killed my parents." She paused, glaring into the distance.

"Wait; stop with the backstory. Who are you? I don't even know your name, even if you know mine." My voice was hard, and though she was open, I didn't trust her in the least.

Her green eyes flicked to mine. "My name is Heather. That's all you need to know."

"How do you know my name, Heather?"

"It's not a secret that you flew around taming dragons for months Hiccup. At least not to Drago, even if it is to Berk. He... Well he wanted to meet you." She let out a bitter laugh. "If I were to find you then, I couldn't have had mercy."

Somehow, her words sent shivers up my spine. Her correlation with Drago made me want to shove her away, but something about her eyes drew me in and made me feel sympathy for her. I ignored the attraction, labeling myself an idiot for even thinking such a thing. You are alone in this world, and you live to protect dragons. Nothing else. People only hurt, not help. No one will ever understand. She's not even trustworthy!

I shook myself out of my thoughts. "How did you train a Razorwhip? Particularly if you were stuck in that mountain, surrounded by people who basically enslaved you?"

She stared at me levely before sharply asking, "How did you train a Night Fury? Particularly if you were stuck in Berk, surrounded by dragon killers?"

I sighed ever so slightly. "I was the first Berkian in 300 years that couldn't kill a dragon. It's that simple."

"Well, for me, Drago can train dragons. It was hard to not pick things up. I was just... more gentle."

I stared at her curiously, a small amount of respect for her growing in me.

A silence ensued between us. After a few seconds she broke our stare. Turning her Razorwhip away, she called out, "I'll see you around Hiccup. Hopefully."

Perhaps if I didn't expect to be hurtful I would have chased after her; asked her if she was okay or invited her to help me change Berk. Perhaps I would have said I would help her defeat Drago, or perhaps I would have pestered her for information and tried to learn more about her. But I didn't. I didn't need friendship, and I didn't think she did either. 

Perhaps, though, it was the lonely look in her eyes that kept her on my mind for many hours after the conversation. 

***

I shook my head. I had been an idiot to try to land on Dragon Island, even if it paid off. Alvin was less of a problem now, and I had a small amount of information on Drago now. I also knew to never mess without Drago without assuming I would take on the Red Death. 

I was on Berk now, waiting in the cove I had found Toothless in. Tonight there would be no dragon attacks, which was perfect for what I intended to do. 

***

Everyone was asleep at this point, and the Great Hall had been abandoned. I smiled, landing Toothless outside the doors and sneaking in. It was dark, but somehow he could see without light. I followed his lead to the table it had been put on when Gobber said to read it.

Hopping off of Toothless, I pulled the book slowly out of my bag and put it down softly on the table. I had Toothless light a lantern, which I placed next to it. Then, I extracted another note I had prepared. I set it on top of the updated book.

It read:

The minute you see this, report it to Stoick the Vast, chieftain of Berk. If you do not, all shall perish. 

It was simple, melodramatic, and a lie. I had no way to make "everything" perish. However, they didn't know that. The book was at least enough to scare the living wits out of someone like Gobber. 

With no more hesitation, I jumped upon Toothless and let him run out of the hall. All that was left now was to retreat to the Cove and wait for morning. I took into the sky. I didn't think anyone had seen.

Perhaps I thought I went unnoticed, but the shadowed figure of a rider on a Razorwhip watched with utmost curiosity.