Chapter 15
~ Astrid's POV ~

"Astrid, what's the plan?" yelled Gobber over the wind as we swiftly travelled through the air.

"We land at the Robin's Crest!" I shouted back, my voice echoing.

Gobber looked around us, he had never heard of the crest I had become so fond of. "Where's that?!"

I laughed. "Fourteen degrees West along The Dead Reef almost a straight ride forward from BreakNeck Bog."

Gobber nodded agreeably while thoughtfully licking his lips with deep, expressive grooves ploughing into his forehead.
I decided he thought too much and soon the grooves would become permanent.

"I see. When will we land?"

"About dusk...when the gulls cross the sky."

Gobber chuckled knowingly before flying on ahead and leaving Eret to come up behind me and jump from Skullcrusher to Stormfly.
He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and said 'boo!'.
I grabbed Stormfly's neck with fright before I realised who and what it was.

"Eret!" I laughed giving him a shove and nearly knocking him from Stormfly's back.

"Works every time!" he sniggered back, gripping his sides to restrain the laughter.

I raised an unamused eyebrow at him, disgusted at his childish actions, though, I was still smiling as I enjoyed being on his side of the laughter. "You better have a good explanation, there's gotta be a less frightening way to get my attention?"

"I like my method just fine!" he decided with a chuckle, adjusting Skullcrusher's flight path so his and my dragons were closer together.

"Whatever! What do you want?" I sighed, waiting for him to get to the point.

"I want to know why we aren't flying straight in and we have to stop on that guy Solomon's island?"

My eyes followed the cheers as the first sightings of the Crest had been seen. "Because, we don't have all the information we need yet..." I muttered through gritted teeth and with a quick glance at Eva.

Eret knew I meant, he knew that I thought Eva hadn't said everything and we still had to prise a little more from the child.

"Got it."

As I had predicted, we reached the Robin's Crest at dusk. The sun had just faded away and left a stained inky red mess across the empty sky.
There were no stars out tonight, just dusty clusters scattered around like salt over meat. Even though it was plain, it was still beautiful.

A Northern wind gusted in off the shore and hurried us all to gather in the shelter of the trees.
On this cooler night, the tropical warmth of this strange island was instantly welcoming.

The Berkians started setting up camp. Yak leather tents sprang up around the clearing and fires were quickly kindled to retain the heat.
The smell of hot food drifted through the site and made the tense atmosphere relax to a tranquil sigh.

If there was something worse than a war-ready Viking, it was a hungry war-ready Viking!

I strolled through the groups huddled around the fires checking everyone was alright then joined my own group of friends.

The people in the group around our fire were Eret, Gobber, Snotlout, Tuffnut, Solomon, Ruffnut and Fishlegs.
I was sat beside Eret which was fine, as I had become very fond of him despite his big ego and slight streak of vanity, he was basically a brother from another mother.
But, I wished it was Hiccup beside me, telling me not to worry that we would save Snotlout or save Tuff from getting themselves in a pickle, but no, I was sat beside Eret who was just a quiet as I, very unusual.

Apart from the odd comment or laugh, he wasn't interested in what was happening tonight.
His eyes followed the exotic movements of Tuffnut as he failed to explain a good reason for falling into the ocean that afternoon apart from the obvious and the truthful one that Ruffnut had pushed him in, with just one hand.
He rejected that truth so much he had to make up a story for it.
Eret watched him, but his mind was far away in thought. I gave him a gentle nudge with my shoulder, knocking him back into reality.

"Hey, you alright?"

Eret breathed a nervous laugh before propping his chin up on a knotted fist and leaning on his knee. "Yeah...I just...never mind."

I knew from his hesitation he wasn't telling me something.
That was always why people hesitated.

"What is it?"

Eret side-eyed me for a long minute before turning back to the fire and lowering his voice. "I never expected to see Eddval again..."

My eyes grew wide-eyed and stared for a few moments just processing his words as I started to go weak at the knees. "You what?!" I snapped, louder than I had planned.

Eret dug his elbow in my side to make me speak quieter. "Yes! I knew him. In fact...I worked for him. I was one of the Skullhunters."

I frowned now beckoning him to continue. "Skullhunters? What he has like a-"

Eret interrupted. "-Eddval is the leader of an elite group he created to hunt Night Furies...Why do you think Drago was after Toothless?"

Eret showed me a small skull tattooed to his shoulder before he quickly hid it again, he was ashamed of it.

"What? Were Drago and Eddval both hunting Night Furies?" I asked, my voice a tentative whisper.

Eret's eyes darted from one side to the other as he flicked through memories and rubbed his hands together nervously. "At one point yes...They worked together but Drago never told anyone why they split up, there were only two people who knew. I and a girl. I was with a girl...Um...Sonya her name was...We were both lonely and homesick and things got complicated quicker than I thought...then...she told me she was cheating on me. She was with Drago and she was pregnant. She said she was positive it was my child but I was angry at her and I refused to own up to this....So, to get things out in the open, she made the mistake of telling Drago and he knew nothing of our relationship.
Really, she was protecting me because if Drago had known I was the father he would have killed me. She told me she loved me then Drago gave her to Eddval as a gift. Really, he just didn't want a child on-board our armada and he wanted to protect his honour, he wasn't married to Sonya, so he would lie. Sonya was a very attractive girl and it seemed she got involved with Eddval also and when he found out she was pregnant, there was no one to blame but himself and as far as I know...he killed her. I never saw her again. Heaven knows what he did to her..." He paused for a moment, love and regret struggling in his eyes before he reluctantly continued. "But...anyway...After Drago gave Sonya away, he left Eddval's army in search of what I thought was a myth, dragon riders. He had been tracking one in particular, Valka, for years with his army of dragons. You see, Eddval is a perfectionist, he strikes for a race of only Night Furies, he was sure they were the most prized species, whereas Drago, he wasn't fussy, he took any dragon that got in his way and added it to his collection. It was this difference that split them up. Eddval continued searching for Night Furies and Drago for the riders, with a hope the riders would join him in a battle for humanity. They both found what they were looking for, but they both lacked one thing. Neither of them could get these beasts to do what they wanted them to. They sought ways to work with them but every time they failed and they never saw why. It seems now it's obvious because animals need trust and these dragons didn't trust Eddval or Drago. Then Drago struck gold. He found his Bewilderbeast had the power to control other dragons, a will over others. If he controlled the Alpha, he controlled all. But, then you came along and all Drago wanted was your connection with them.
Hiccup's connection with them.
Jealousy is like a parasite, it needs a host to survive and drives that host to madness.
He sought to gain that connection but never found it through his...methods. He called upon Eddval for help and promised him a share in the control if he gave him the help he needed. Eddval agreed and started his voyage to the Sanctuary only to find Drago dead and the Alpha retreated when he arrived.
He now seeks to avenge Drago's life.
He wants to see Hiccup dead.
Eddval alone controls the dragons. Goodness knows what kind of a torment he has riled up for himself. I can only imagine the evil he is conjuring up back on that little island of his...Astrid...This isn't your average attack from Alvin the Treacherous like in the past, this is war. Real war."

I squirmed in my seat at his story. Eret knew a whole lot more about these war machines that I had previously thought.
"I know...there's a lot at stake..." I mumbled quietly to myself.

Eret drew closer and lowered his voice so he was almost whispering. "Astrid! A lot at stake! Hiccup is going to die to pay for the bloodshed of Eddval's brother!"

My eyes darted to hit contact with his. "Brothers?"

Eret nodded worriedly. "The brothers, Eddval and Drago are deadly and I've always known Drago to be the more reasonable of the two..."

I anxiously tried to process all the information that had just been thrust inside my head. "So...You were one of the Skullhunters? What does that mean?" I questioned, I needed answers while Eret was open to give them.

He sighed and took a spoonful of his, now, cold stew. "I worked for Eddval...what does it matter?...it's in that past now..."

I decided it best to drop the subject now and gave him and playful shove. "Well look at you, I never saw you as the love type!"

Eret forced a small smile but I could still see the hurt in his face. "I guess you wouldn't have...I'm a different man now, the one Eddval created. I made a promise to myself that I would find out what happened to her and at least apologise before I fell in love again...I can't even think of falling for somebody else, it makes me feel too guilty. I never should have left her...She gave me this-" Eret held up a compass and smiled at it, a memory flashing in his eyes. "-As a token of our love just before I found out that....uh...It was all my fault, Astrid. I should have been looking out for her. I was stupid and dumb and young...and I let her go,..just like that."

He slipped the compass back in his pocket and sighed.
I rubbed his arm to comfort him. "Hey, we all make mistakes...Let's not dwell on them."

The conversation was dropped in that instance as if it had never happened.

But both I and Eret knew that we were both still thinking about it as the night dragged on.

~*~*~*~
~ Two Months ago ~
~ Normal POV ~

"Send in the Black Star." Eddval ordered, his door guard leaving at the word and returning with Heather close behind.

Eddval gestured to the jug on a table at his chair-side. "A drink?"

She sneered disrespectfully. "Sorry, I shan't have the pleasure this night, as much as I would love to drink with his highness, I have work to do. Now cut to the chase, Hunter."

Heather's smooth voice over-wrote the sarcasm in her tone and Eddval's short temper remained at bay as it stood.
He moved toward her and slipped one of his rough fingers beneath her chin.

"Temper, temper. My darling, you are a flower among thistles aren't you? I like that dark spirit within, it is as though no matter how much you try, you cannot escape it. It has caged you in its unmoveable jaws and no good you do will release you from it. You are born with it, as am I, as was your brother. Pity he chose good on his dying breath, he could have been useful."

Heather slowly shoved his hand away from her face. "You mean the brother you killed because he refused to join you on this quest for Night Furies. And I, I daresay, am not your black star. I joined the Skullhunters to spare my mother. It is good you are true to your word, I am here, and she is free." She snapped resentfully.

Eddval took a step back and wandered over to the window, his every step making the old floor boards creak and groan with age and wear. "I see, well, conserve your breath, you're going to need it. Give the order. I want the prisons rectified by dawn."

Heather frowned, his words making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up with fear and her skin start to crawl. "The prisons?"

Eddval turned back so slowly it was painful to watch and the tension between them tightened and stretched so much it made Heather feel as though she was being torn from the inside out as she prayed she had heard wrong.

"The prisons?" Her words were quiet and dreadfully real. Her shaking figure brought an agonizing grin to Skull-Hunter's face and this was confirmation that Heather had heard right.

"Yes, the prisons. Is something wrong, Star? I have never known you to be weak in this area before?"

Heather took a defiant step forward and clenched her fists, afraid her trembling would be more visible should she stand low. "Yes! Those prisons are full of innocent people! Good, innocent men, women and children who have done nothing wrong!"

Eddval attached his hands behind his back and sighed, deep and heavy as if a large burden had just taken rest upon his broad shoulders. "I am aware. Kill the weak and injured, then bring the strong to the diamond. We'll train them up as extra soldiers. I have no time for sluggards and they take up good space underground. We can convert the rooms into more stalls for the offspring of lightning and death itself-" He lifted a stained, rolled up scroll from his desk. "-Ryker gave me the count, two more of our females are laying. I need two more stalls. It is near, our time has come and I will have my revenge!" Eddval roared, throwing a dagger upon the wall, and it landed slap bang in the centre of a sketch of the island of Berk.

Heather jumped with fright when the knife hit the wall and she took a step back. "Eddval, you and I both know that the Dragon Master did not kill Drago. Drago killed himself!"

Eddval turned around and burst a yell angrily as he wrapped his hands around Heather's thin neck and started shaking her violently. "He killed him! He killed my brother!"

Heather yanked herself out of his grip as tears gathered in her eyes. "Stop! Stop! Stop!" she fell to her knees gasping and coughing. "You are right. There is a darkness in all of us. But, you. It consumes you, controls you...and it will be the death of you."

Eddval took a deep breath while rubbing the leaking sweat from his head. "I'm already dead....I died with Drago Bludvist, but, the Dragon Master, he will go down with me. There is one thing I ask of you.
Listen close, release a decoy. A child, help them to Johann's ship at dusk. Haddock has a sentimental heart. He will help the child. Love is weakness.-" Eddval walked to her and gave her a hand to help her to her feet. Heather stood and stepped away from him wearily. "-You and I, we lack that weakness. Our hearts are strong, we do not fall for love's trick anymore."

Heather shook her head slowly while backing out of the door. "No Eddval. Our hearts are broken. They do not feel love anymore. We are heartless, you made me heartless. That is why we don't love...we can't feel it."

"But can I count on you to work with me."

Heather gulped, she had no choice anymore. She was in too deep to turn back. "You have my word."

Odin help me.

~*~*~*~
~ Present time ~
~ Hiccup's POV ~

I laced up my black boots like I did every day.
Although my plans had not changed, I felt different.

I felt stronger today.

It had been about a month, give or take, since Eddval had captured me and today was the first day where I hadn't dreamt of home through the night. It was a night. where my sleep was empty and I woke like a mindless drone starting the same day as I had the day before and the same one I would tomorrow.
I was now staying in a small box room in a large building full of rooms exactly the same. It had grey walls and floors, the only furniture was a metal bed and small bedside table. The only source of heat was small furnace with which I cooked my rations of food. Then the last thing in the room was a cracked mirror hung upon the wall.

Every day I saw myself I became more and more used to the empty feature I saw.

From the top of my head to the tips of my toes, I had changed.

My hair had grown back some now and was short and spiky, but still wavy, this kept the chance of disease down on the island.
My skin was pale and colourless and thin as paper stretched over the skeletal figure I had become.
My eyes were surrounded by dark circles and had become a similar colour to the washed-out green of the Dead Reef rather than the bright, moss green they had once been.
My lips were dry and cracked as water was scarce and my form had adjusted to the low nutrition.
My hands and feet seemed too big for my arms and legs giving me a disproportional and lop-sided look. Also my spine, knuckles and ribcage had begun to push through my flesh as though my skin was shrinking and soon enough they would break right through like Toothless' back spikes.
I felt as though my soul had fled from the remains of my carcass because I was dying to myself.

I had given up on Astrid's return.
My only chance of escape would be the unreliable help of the dragon riders I was training. I shrugged my shoulders to brush off the cold and stepped out into the hall.
I was lead and followed by two guards along the same route I took every day to the arena.
Stepping out into the cold morning, I saw an unusual group of soldiers patrolling the coast down on the dock.

Strange?

I had never seen them do that before?
The cloudy sky was empty as usual, this made me miss the colourful skies from back home that were always peppered with dragons and their dragon riders.

I entered through the arena tunnel opening to see my students already with their dragons. They were even riding them now.

Ryker was feeding Buccaneer, Luca was riding his newly named dragon, Hero. Mackenzie was sitting down with Primrose helping the baby to stand on its own four feet, Killer and Ronan were play-fighting while Stumpy and Erik talked.

Toothless bounded over to me and licked me as a greeting.
The others saw this and hurried over suddenly excited about something.

Erik stepped forward and held his hand out to me.

I shook it, still confused.
"What's going on?" I asked.

Erik grinned at his friends before slamming a hot coal on my shoulder. He held me down for a second or two before I managed to pull away. "Ow! Hey what was that f-..."

I cut myself off and stared at the black skull now tattooed to my right shoulder. "What? I don't understand?..." I muttered in a puzzled way.

Stumpy hobbled forward and gave me a fist-pump. "You're of us now. A Skull-Hunter, part of the family."

I looked blankly from happy face to happy face then took a step back. "You guys think I'm staying now?"

Their smiles faded from their faces as they exchanged anxious glances.
"You are, aren't you?" Erik asked.

I quickly shook my head still rubbing my burning shoulder. "No. I'm going home. It's your job to train your friends now then you can all escape from this place!"

Ryker looked down, awkwardly twiddling his thumbs. "But Hiccup...this is our home...We have to stay. We want to stay."

I gasped, I hadn't thought about them wanting to stay, the thought had never entered my head.

They were all going to escape now, that was all there was to it. "But...You can't! It's not safe here!" I explained without reason.

Mackenzie stepped forward, Regal by her side and Prim in her arms. "That's just the reason we have to stay. We have to help the others train dragons then take Eddval on. Not everyone here wants to be on the good side. Some here are true Skull-Hunters. They want to kill you, but not all. Some of us are real. You have to help us! We'll help you, if you help us."

I looked away angrily, my teeth gritted. "I can't...I have to go. You don't need me. I've taught you all you need to know to earn a dragon's loyalty. Look how far you've come! The rest is details."

They looked down proudly and sadly at their dragons and stroked them, affectionately remembering how they had trained them.

"Now, I have to go home," I continued. "Can I count on you to help me escape?..."

They all nodded reluctantly drawing a sigh of relief from my chest.

"Guys...Thank you for everything...I can never thank you enough. Now, here's the plan."

~*~*~*~
Did you enjoy chapter 15? What did you think about Eret's story? About him knowing Sonya? What about Eddval being Drago's brother? What about Hiccup becoming a Skull-Hunter? Do you think that might bond him closer to the others? Watch this space for chapter 16!

Thanks for reading,

~ Httyd_2014 <3