Heart of a Berserker: Love (School of Dragons)

Chapter 16

Ruffrunner seemed to take my silence as an invitation to act, for he bounded ahead and looked up at Stormheart curiously. The pirate's eyes immediately flickered to the Night Light. "What is this?" she said sharply.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "He's a baby, and I didn't want to leave him alone. Ruffrunner, come here." For once, the little dragon listened to me and returned to my side.

"Those markings... I've never seen a dragon like that before."

While her tone was still harsh, I found this to be an opening. "He's a Night Light. Surely you heard about Light Furies, right? They're one of the dragons depicted on Harald's map, and his ancestors were friends with them." I received a stare in return, but she did not contradict me. "Anyway, Toothless mated with one of them, and this is the result. Ruffrunner has two siblings, and they and their father were kidnapped by Toki. Luckily, Ruffrunner managed to escape.

"The problem is... Hiccup blamed the attack on Harald and wanted to punish him. So, Harald escaped on the Light Fury and went after Toki to rescue the dragons. Then Cason - Toki's son - admitted he overheard Toki say he was going to kill Harald as soon as he got the map from him. I asked Hiccup to let me go after him, but apparently he doesn't trust me either. He tried to keep me confined, but my friends helped me escape with Ruffrunner. He's the only ally I have, and he's just a baby who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'enemy.' So, please, will you help me save Harald?"

Throughout my entire speech, Stormheart stared at me with a hard, unreadable expression, making it impossible to tell if I was getting through to her. Finally, she spoke, "After everything you have done, you dare come here and ask me for help? Why should I give your request any thought? What will you offer me in return?"

This was the point where I would normally appeal to her sense of reason and show her why my idea would benefit us both, but that was unacceptable this time. "You will get the same thing out of it that I will get: saving Harald's life. I know you care about him, and that is why you will do it." This was very bold of me, but I did not have the patience to deal with her crap. This would not work if she did not admit the truth.

For a second, surprise flashed in Stormheart's eyes, but it was soon replaced by anger. "Care? You seem to mistake me for one of your sentimental friends. And even if I did care, Harald betrayed me. Any bond we had was destroyed."

"That's a lie! Bonds like that don't go away so easily. If they did, my life would have been a whole lot simpler. Harald tried everything within his power to destroy our bond, and it didn't work. And, no, I don't buy that romantic love is any stronger than other types of love. Do you know how many times he betrayed me? I trusted him again each time because I saw through his act and knew he really cared.  Despite his actions, I understood his heart."

Stormheart's eyes narrowed into a glare. "I am not like you! It is very presumptuous of you to assume such things. I never need Harald for emotional support. He was a valuable ally, and that's why I kept him around."

I shook my head. "I don't buy it. You may not have been friends the way I understand the term, but there was something there. You trusted him. The question is, why did you trust him?"

"Are you mocking me?"

"No, that's not what I meant." I paused to collect my thoughts. "Harald is not the most trustworthy guy. For the most part, he looks after himself. Everyone he comes across eventually learns this and distrusts him - everyone except me and his best friend, Viggo. We have similar reasons for trusting him despite his history, and I want to know yours."

"And why should I give you such information?"

I held in a sigh. Why did she have to make everything so difficult? "I'm not going to use it against you or anything. I know you met Harald after your father died. He stayed and helped out your tribe. Both of you have said that you're alike. That's when you realized it, right? He was there when you needed him. You trusted him because you understood each other when you felt the world was against you."