Deception (A Dragons Race to the Edge Fanfic)

Chapter 14

"See," you said, trying to sound calm, "I told you, you would win." And, with that, you stalked off into the trees, not even looking over your shoulder for a reply.

It was getting dark now, as you trudged through the forest, kicking rocks as you went. Why had you suddenly become so annoyed now? You had practically accepted defeat when you walked into the game, and now you were angry that you hadn't won. Sometimes even you couldn't understand yourself. The truth was, you supposed, you hated failure.

You jogged to the cliff that looked out across the ocean. The dark, purple sky was reflected in the shimmering water below. You took deep gulps of the cool dusk air and sat down, your feet dangling over the edge of the cliff. Your mind was still buzzing from the intellectual stimulation of the game. You felt the grass between your fingers, as you looked out over the horizon, watching the first few stars begin to prick the darkening sky.

All of a sudden, you felt a hand on your shoulder, and started as you saw Viggo sitting down next to you. He didn't look at you. He too, was looking at the horizon. Well, this was a bit awkward. You you thought about  lifting his hand off your shoulder, but you figured that might not be well received. Finally, his eyes settled on you, as he said:

"That was one of the longest games of Maces and Talons I've played in some time."

"Who have you been playing against?" you asked with a smile, Ryker immediately springing to mind. He chuckled slightly before replying:

"That proves that my hypothesis was correct. You are a clever girl. Yet, you seem to doubt yourself."

"I'm sure you'd much rather play Maces and Talons against Hiccup. He's the favorite, after all."

"That's not necessarily true..." he paused for a moment. "But, I'm glad that you mentioned Hiccup. I wanted to speak to you about that. Something evidently happened between you and the other riders..."  he said, in an almost questioning tone. You knew he was looking for answers. You looked away from him, at the full moon that had now appeared in the sky, glowing against the cold darkness.

"It's a long story..." You sighed. Normally, you would have come up with some sort of witty comeback to evade the question, but tonight you were tired. And something else... It felt different. You almost felt as if you could open up to him about what you had experienced back at the Edge among the riders. What use would it be to him anyway? He already knew there were rivalries between you and the riders. So what if you told him why?

You gave him a brief summary of how they had never treated you equally, and the injustice you felt, particularly from Hiccup and Astrid. He listened attentively, without interrupting you, or making any of the condescending comments that you were used to. By the end of your explanation, you felt exasperated, and realized how much you really had opened up. You hadn't intended to, but it felt such a relief to talk to someone (other than Ember) about the years of this treatment you had faced.

"I know the feeling..." He said in reply. He seemed sincere, as though he was remembering something from the past.

Next, a wave of anger came. Not directed at Viggo, but you couldn't hide the vexation on your face. If Viggo agreed with you, then it couldn't simply be you exaggerating the situation. They were in the wrong, not you! You had worked tirelessly to prove yourself, to get them to accept you, and yet Viggo seemed to have developed more respect for you in the few days you had been on this island, than the Dragon Riders ever had. You were entitled to your revenge.

"I've been thinking, my dear," Viggo began, "both of us have attempted to defeat the Dragon Riders, and we've both come close. Correct?"

"Yes..." you replied carefull, unsure of where this conversation was going.

 "Our intellect has served us well, but we both seem to have fallen at the final hurdle."

"What are you suggesting?" you questioned.

"Hiccup is a formidable opponent, who has defeated us merely on the basis that he knows us too well. We are often successful in the first stages of our plans but, once he has figured out what we are doing, he is able to predict the rest of our plans. He understands our aims and techniques, and is able to use that to combat the final stages of our schemes." There was a momentary pause while you took this in. "If, however," Viggo continued, "a plan consisted of our combined strategies, his system for defeating us would be distupted, making our common aims very much attainable."

"Are you saying you want me to help you defeat the Dragon Riders?"

"I believe it is the only way." What Viggo had said made sense. If you combined your ideas, Hiccup wouldn't know which plans were coming from where. It would confuse him long enough for you to be able to destroy the Edge. But, was that really right? You knew how ruthless Viggo could be - perhaps this was a step too far, even for you.

'They left me to die from Stormfly's poisonous Deadly Nadder spine!' you reminded yourself.

 You thought of all the times they'd scorned you, shunned your ideas, underestimated you and disrespected you. They had never even tried to understand you. Well, enough was enough. That was sufficient to make you prickle with anger, and Viggo's powers of persuasion only confirmed your choice.

"Ok, I'm listening." you answered with a resolute nod.

A/N: This chapter took me quite a while to write, but it was fun and hopefully it was worth it and you enjoyed it!