Chapter 52: Taking Charge
"How do you want to do this?" Eret said to Oliver as they flew across the ocean. They were headed to an island that had previous friendly relations with Torleif Island. Reidun hoped those relations would be enough for the people to give the dragon riders a chance.
"We need to go to their dock where they would usually expect visitors," Oliver said. "We do not want them to think we are attacking."
Eret nodded twice. "That makes sense."
"Do not draw your weapons, and make sure your dragon is calm. Treat the people like you would a wild dragon. We need to gain their trust."
"Hopefully, the letter from Reidun will help." Eret squinted his eyes when the island in question came into view. He noticed ships with familiar looking sails docked straight ahead. "Okay, your plan was good, mate, but I've got a better one. We enter the forest and approach on foot."
"But-"
Eret and Skullcrusher zoomed away before the boy could finish his protest. Eret gave Oliver a sheepish look when he caught up with him, grumbling. "Sorry, mate. If we want to start off peacefully, we best avoid the Northern Alliance for now." He hoped these people were just as eager to break ties with the terrible organization as Torleif Island.
The Vikings managed to descend upon the forest without being noticed. The immediately dismounted and started for the village on foot with their dragons trailing behind them. They had not gone far when the sound of growling echoed all around them. They stopped, and dragons of various species emerged from the trees, snarling. "This isn't good," Eret said. He reached for his dagger, but Oliver's hand on his arm stopped him.
"I'll handle this," said the young boy. Oliver walked up to the first dragon, a Changewing, with his palms up. Within a minute, he had the fierce dragon relaxing under his touch. The other dragons became curious, and they eventually fell in line.
"Wow," Eret said after the kid tamed the last dragon. "You're good."
Oliver shrugged. "I grew up with them. Let's go."
The wild dragons followed them on their way to the village. At the entrance to the forest, they met a mob of Vikings with their weapons raised. Eret flashed them a smile and stepped forward. "Greetings, mates."
"Who are you?" said the tall man in front, who appeared to be their leader. "What are you doing with those dragons?"
"Oh, we tamed them for you. You're welcome." Skullcrusher moved closer to Eret. "Oh, this one is mine. I'm Eret son of Eret, and this is Oliver. We were sent by Reidun of Torleif Island."
"And what is she doing consorting with dragon riders?"
"We're allies now. We came to offer you the same deal we gave them."
The man eyed him suspiciously. "And what would that be?"
"End your alignment with the Northern Alliance, and we will teach you how to defend yourselves by befriending dragons."
"They're very reliable," Oliver said. "This ones won't hurt you anymore, and we can teach you how to tame the rest of them in the forest."
The Vikings exchanged uneasy glances. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"
Eret dug his hand into his bag slowly to not threaten them. "I've got it all right here." He tossed the rolled up scroll to the chief, who caught it and unrolled it.
"Fine. This looks legit, but I don't see-"
"Hey! What are you doing?" A soldier with the Northern Alliance symbol strode forward with four others behind him. "Those dragons are dangerous!"
"They're only dangerous if you mistreat them," Oliver said calmly. "We have reached an understanding with these ones."
"They have not attacked us yet," said the chief. "Are you sure we can trust what you told us about them?"
"Of course you can!" said one of the soldiers. "Let me show you!" He ran towards a Gronckle with his axe raised. Oliver immediately placed himself in front of the dragon. Before he was hit, however, his Tide Glider knocked the soldier back with his tail, getting cut in the process. Murmurs broke out through the crowd of villagers.
"Do you see?" said Eret. "Dragons are our friends... and we are yours."
"Don't even think about betraying us," said the soldier who first attacked. The dragons growled at their threatening stance.
The chief narrowed his eyes at him. "You have kept us in fear. We no longer require your services."
"I am sorry to hear that." The soldiers advanced with their weapons raised.
"I don't think so," said Eret, climbing onto Skullcrusher's back.
"Let's help them out," Oliver said to the wild dragons.
At first, the villagers stood there in shock as the dragons and dragon riders defended them against the soldiers. Then the chief issued an order, and they joined in as well. They easily pushed the soldiers back to the dock, where they turned and fled to their ships.
"We greatly appreciate your help," the chief said to Eret at the end of the ordeal. "We can talk peace negotiations if you are ready."
Eret grinned. "That was just what I wanted to hear."
The sun began to set when Eret and Oliver finally returned to Torleif Island. They found Hiccup and Reidun waiting for them in the middle of the square. Everyone else seemed to have gone home. "Welcome back," Hiccup greeted them. "How did it go?"
"You're unharmed," Reidun said. "This was good."
"Oh, it was amazing, Hiccup!" Eret exclaimed. "You should have been there." He proceeded to launch into an exciting retelling of the events that transpired, making himself look like the hero. "And Oliver was great too. He's really good with dragons. I could not have done it without him."
Hiccup smiled. "Thank you both. You did a great job. It's better than I expected for a first day. I assume you'll have to return tomorrow?"
"Yes, we still have to teach them about dragons," Oliver said.
"And you need to be there to protect them," Reidun said. "The Northern Alliance will not waste time in spreading the news. We need to show them that we will stand with them."
"I'll see if I can find more volunteers for that," Hiccup said. "Let's call it a day. You two deserve some rest."
"I'll say," said Eret. "And don't think you need to help out all day, chief. You should spend some time with Astrid. The two of you have been so busy, I bet you hardly see each other. It's times like these that we have to appreciate the ones we love."
Hiccup looked at him in surprise. "Yeah. You're right, Eret."
"So, he does know something more than just showing off," Oliver said quietly.
"Bye, Oliver and Reidun," Eret said as he returned to Skullcrusher's side. "I'll see you tomorrow." What an exciting day! He could not wait to see what the next one would bring.
***
Eira was tempted to already be in bed by the time Dagur got home, but she knew that would take her avoidance to the next level. Viggo was right; she needed to speak to her husband. She just did not want to do so when she was tired at the end of the day and he was excited to tell her about everything that happened. Maybe working on the same mission would help her out.
She listened attentively as he talked to her in their room. She was fine until he mentioned the kids. "You really left early," he said. "We were going to talk about our future plans."
Eira shifted uncomfortably on the bed. "We're trying to win a war. What future plans could you have with those kids?"
Dagur grinned at her. "We're going to help them find homes, of course!"
There is was going. Eira could not bear looking at him like this, so she turned away. "That's a little ambitious, don't you think?"
"What's wrong, Eira?" His tone sounded hurt. "You love helping people. Is something wrong with the kids?"
"No, nothing's wrong with them, I just-" Eira hesitated. "You're not suggesting we take care of some of the kids, are you?"
"Well, it did cross my mind. Why? I thought you wanted kids." A hint of anxiety entered his voice.
Eira gave him what she hoped was a reassuring look. "Yes, I do. It's not that. Can we talk about this later? We need to get some sleep?"
Dagur nodded. "Of course. Whatever you need."
The way he still held he close all throughout the night brought on guilt in the morning. She needed to figure out what to organize her own thoughts so she could get through to him clearly. Then they could finally move past this.
***
Hiccup did not manage to meet up with Astrid upon returning to Berk, but he stayed up way too late thinking about what Eret had said. It was true they had not spent much time together lately, but that was because they were both needed in different tasks. Still, he could not deny he missed her these past few days.
His mind kept replaying the scene where he saved her from the Deathgripper. He had only recently become acquaintanced with death, and he would not bear to lose someone else. And yet, knew death could spring on any one of them at any moment, whether or not they were engaged in a war. People like Eret and Dagur enjoyed every moment and did not take anyone for granted. Maybe Hiccup needed to be more like them... at least in this case.
Having made up his mind, he got up early, being careful not to wake up Toothless or his mother, and waited outside Astrid's house to make sure he did not miss her. He most have dozed off, for the next thing he knew, she was right in front of his face. "Whoa!" he cried, jumping back and nearly tripping in the process.
Astrid smirked. "There you are. Had a late night?"
Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. "You could say that. I just wanted to catch you before I left today."
Astrid brightened. "Oh, did you want an update? Our army is coming along really well. Your dad would be pleased."
Hiccup chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, I bet he would be. You're doing a great job. Listen, that's not what I-"
"But we are losing more dragons."
Hiccup frowned. "What do you mean?"
"They're just disappearing on Berk and all across the archipelago. Those Night Furies must really be working hard."
Hiccup sighed. "Just what we need..."
Astrid shook her head sadly. "The dragons can do what they want, but I hope they don't get in our way. I really don't want to have to hurt them." She paused. "Did you have something else you wanted to say to me?"
"Yes, well, actually..." Hiccup took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was now or never. "Will you marry me?"
Astrid's eyes grew wide. "W-What?"
"I know it's sudden and may not seem like the right time, but when is the right time, really? And we'd wait until this whole mess is over, of course."
"Hiccup."
"I just don't want to waste any more time. Anything could happen, and-"
Astrid silenced him by taking his hand in hers and kissing him on the cheek. "Yes, I'll marry you."
"R-Really?"
Astrid smiled. "Of course. I love you, Hiccup."
Hiccup grinned. "I love you too." He accepted her embrace. When she pulled back, he placed his hand on her cheek to draw her back in and kissed her. It was perfect.
***
Snotlout woke up feeling good about the day. He truly was excited about the idea of working towards something important with Ingrid. He was sure they would do a great job of converting the other villages. Soon, they would have more allies then they could. His father agreed when he explained the situation to him.
"Of course you'll do great," Spitelout said. "Jorgensons are nothing if not charming. I bet you could get it all done yourself!"
Snotlout gave him a weak smile. "Yeah, uh, I'm not certain about that, Dad. I will actually be relying on Ingrid quite a bit. She's really good at this stuff." He saw the way she was discouraged by her inability to affect Drago, and he thought it unfair that she based her skills off a near-impossible case. He hoped that securing a few victories would boost her confidence.
Spitelout gave him a look. "Oi, what's that, boy-o? Are you going to let a girl walk all over you? That's no way to run a relationship." He shook his head in dismay.
This was the part where Snotlout would normally give into his father, but he had had enough. Following his love advice had gotten him into too many problems already. So, he mustered his courage and looked Spitelout defiantly in the eye. "No, Dad, I'm not. We're going to work together as a team, because that is what we are. I don't need to be in charge of anything. We both have our own strengths that make us better together than apart. And you know what? I don't need to play stupid games to make sure she stays with me. I already know how she feels, and I will take the next step when I am ready." He had let some anger slip into his tone, and he wondered if she had gone too far.
Spite stared at him, mouth agape. Then he held up his hands in a defensive posture. "No need to get so worked up, boy-o. If you've got this under control, I'll leave you to it."
Snotlout blinked. "Really?"
"It is your relationship."
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Dad!" Snotlout left the house feeling pounds lighter and almost ran into Ingrid. "Hey!"
"Hey yourself," Ingrid said. "What's going on? You seem different."
"I was just talking with my dad."
Ingrid's eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh."
"No, no! It's not liked that. We worked some stuff out. He won't bother us anymore." Snotlout paused. "I mean, he won't bother me, and I won't bother you."
Ingrid smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. So, are you going to tell me what this was all about?"
Snotlout really did not want to share the details; it would be too awkward. "He was just trying to tell me how to take charge of our relationship to move it forward. He was wrong, though. I don't care what our roles are as long as we're both happy." He paused. "You are happy, aren't you?"
Ingrid smirked. "Most of the time, but that's okay. I'm sticking with you no matter what."
Snotlout let out a breath of relief. "Good." He still wanted her to express her feelings for him, but maybe he could be the one to bring it up... sometime in the future. He smiled at her and offered her his hand. "Shall we be off?"
Ingrid grabbed hold of his hand, intertwining their fingers. "Yes, we shall." And they walked off together, as it should be.