This Is The Last Time (HTTYD)

Chapter Twelve

Viggo rubbed his eyes, as he slid his legs out from the silk sheets and blankets. The sky outside was fading from a crisp black to a light navy blue, still several hours till it was a reasonable time to wake up.

His injured hand had been resting in a bowl of water, that every couple of hours a maid would come in and refill with fresh steaming water. Some of his fingers had started to regain their feeling and slight color, although his pointer finger remained black as charcoal and stiffer than rock. Unfortunately when feeling returned to his fingers, sheering pain and agony followed closely behind. The pain had chased away any chance of sleep, along with a growing headache from the drastic changes in weather and the lack of sleep he was receiving.

Niki had snuck an hour after the group disbanded for bed, and was fast asleep on the side of the bed that was against the wall. For being a prince, the bed was considerably smaller than Iren's, who was exploring the dreamlands next door, and for the two adults to fit on it, they were shoved together quite comfortably.

At first Viggo didn't mind the size of the bed, and looked forward to the intimate situation. However as the night trolled on, and the natural heat of Monrides' climate began to rise, Niki started to complain about being too hot, and demanded that he keep to his side of the bed. After spending two decades in the mountainous ranges of the mortal realm, the weather did take Viggo several hours to adjust to, however after several hours the heat no longer concerned him, especially after he opened the window for a slight breeze to wash through. Niki on the other hand, had never spent more than a week in a tropical warm climate, and was having a harsh time adjusting.

"You still can't fall asleep?" Niki's voice mumbled, as she shifted around on the bed. Viggo turned his head slightly and gave her a small smile.

"No, but I've accepted that Helena would rather we focus on my thoughts than rest."

She gave him a huff and crawled over the bed and walked to the window. With her silver hair out of it's complicated braid, it looked like sheets of white sil rain falling to the backs of her thighs. "And what thoughts would those be?"

"Everything." he sighed.

"No wonder you can't get any sleep."

He quickly rolled his eyes at her sarcasm. "More specifically on what you said during the meeting, about the elves not attacking."

"And what about it?" Niki tied her silver hair into a sloppy bun, while fanning the back of her neck.

"At first your reasoning seems logical, but if you think about it, during the Elven Wars the Rogue Moons only wanted the fighting to end. If they knew Monrides was frozen, I don't think they would have launched an attack."

"The Rogue Moons I knew would not have, but the other Elven Tribes would have most likely convinced them to attack otherwise."

Viggo moved one of his fingers slightly, but pain burst out from his fingertips and he had to pause a moment to let the pain subside before continuing the conversation. "Would you have sent an attack?"

She shook her head. "No I wouldn't have, but that was when we had a strong government and leaders. When I left they were crumbling and unstable. With the heavy influence of the other Elven Tribes, I doubt they would stick to tradition." she sighed leaning out the window and looking up at the stars. "I'm not sure how or why, but I just feel like something is wrong."

"And you feel guilty about possibly causing it, so you feel the obligation to help them." Viggo finished her sentence. She nodded again and crawled onto the skinny window sill. He looked back at his hand, and decided there wasn't much of a difference in soaking it in warm water, than hanging to dry in warm weather, so he took it out and walked over to her. "I know what you mean. I feel the same way, which is why I want to stay and help Monrides, and why you want to go to Xedous."