The Strength of the Princess (HTTYD)

Dagur's Return

Chapter 24: Dagur's Return

Heather soon grew accustomed to being a dragon rider. She fit in well and helped everyone complete several successful missions. Eira got along with her fine enough... as long as they did not bring up Dagur. She enjoyed the peace, actually, even as she knew it could not last.

One day, Eira needed to talk to Hiccup about something before dinner. She knocked on the door to his hut. When he answered, she was nearly run over by an over-excited figure. It took her a second to recognize the person hugging her.

"Dagur!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"That's what I would like to know," Hiccup said from behind him, looking utterly lost and confused.

"Eira!" Dagur exclaimed. "It's good to see you!"

Eira gave him a small smile. "It's good to see you too. Do you need help with something?"

"Heather! I haven't seen a trace of her. It's so frustrating!"

Eira exchanged a look with Hiccup. She resisted the urge to say 'I told you so.'

"Yeah, I'll bet," Hiccup muttered.

"I gotta have a dragon!" Dagur went on.

Hiccup blinked. "What?"

"To find Heather, I need to cover more ground faster! Dragony fast!"

"Makes sense to me," Eira said. Hiccup shot her a look, and she simply smiled at him. He should have known this would happen.

Hiccup sighed. "Yeah, I-I don't think so-"

Dagur rounded on him. "Hiccup! You and Toothless owe me. I saved your lives!"

"You also tried to kill us."

Dagur frowned. "Did I ... really?! I think maybe in here, I never really wanted to!" He pointed to his heart. "Right, Eira?"

The girl nodded. "I believe. You did save my life a long time ago."

Dagur grinned and turned to Hiccup. "See?"

Hiccup groaned. "Oh gods. I-I can't train you to ride a dragon."

"Why not?"

"Yeah, Hiccup, why not?" Eira said, crossing her arms. She wondered how he would get out of this. Dagur might suspect he still didn't trust him, but she thought it more likely he didn't want him to run into Heather. That would be bad. Still, it was his mess to clean up.

"I don't have the time," Hiccup said dismissively.

Dagur's shoulders sagged, and his entire demeanor deflated. "Oh. You're too busy. I get it. Sorry. Guess I'll be going." He turned and started for the door. "First maybe I'll, you know, take a stroll around the base. See a few old friends. Make a few apologies."

Hiccup's eyes grew wide, and he rushed to block the door. "Uh. No, no, no, no. Uh, you can't!"

Dagur looked at him suspiciously. "Why not?"

"Because, uh, you've got to be up early tomorrow, uh, to start your training!"

Dagur's face lit up. "Are you serious? But I thought-"

"I guess you're persuasive," I said.

"Okay, well, we'll meet first thing in the morning on the far side of the island," Hiccup said quickly. "That's where the best wild dragons are. Actually, you should go there right now and camp out for the night!"

"Great idea! Thank you, Hiccup! Thank you!!" Dagur enveloped Hiccup in a hug.

"Don't-don't mention it."