[HTTYD] Carried Off, Eret subplot (part 3)

Carried Off, a DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon fanfic by Raberba girl

Eret subplot, part 3 (rough draft)

 

It took a few days for Eret to feel decently relaxed around the dragons, and many more for Hiccup to trust him - there were always at least two or three guards around, sometimes unnoticed by their charge but always keeping an eye on the (former?) trapper.

 

"So how long are you planning on holding me prisoner?" Eret said one night as they sat around a fire, eating supper.  He was comfortable enough by now to be able to mention it as a joke, though he genuinely wanted to know the answer.

 

"I dunno," Hiccup said amiably.  "How long are you planning on hurting my friends the minute we let you go?"

 

Eret paused, and Hiccup watched him.  After a while, Eret said slowly, "It's not...really about dragons, I guess."

 

"Has it ever not been about dragons?" Hiccup snapped.

 

"Hiccup," Eret said, seriously enough that Hiccup met his eyes.  "It's never been about dragons."  Hiccup frowned in confusion.  "Haven't I been telling you all this time?  It's Drago.  Everything always boils down to him."

 

"He's a monster," Hiccup said tightly, taking another bite more forcefully than was necessary.

 

"You say that because you're so besotted with your flock here, but--"  Eret blinked.  "Well, how did you come to oppose Drago's army, anyway?"

 

"Found out he was the one hiring all those trappers.  Tracked him down, started freeing his captives."

 

"But--  You mean he never came to your hometown?"

 

Hiccup stared.

 

Eret stared back.  "Do you...even have a hometown?  How'd a Viking like you end up living in a dragon nest, anyway?"

 

Valka was drowsing and the other dragons couldn't follow the human conversation, but Finn shifted, suddenly alert as he listened.

 

Hiccup hesitated, considering how much to tell Eret.  "I was exiled."

 

Eret's eyes widened.

 

"Unfairly."

 

"What is that sound?" Finn asked, imitating the word as best he could.

 

"'Exile' means my human pack rejected me, cast me out."

 

Finn moved closer, preening Hiccup's hair and pressing against him to express possessiveness and comfort.

 

"It's okay.  My good dragon flock is much better than that human pack."

 

Eret, impatiently waiting through the dragon conversation, asked for clarification as soon as there was an opening.

 

"I'm no criminal.  All I did was refuse to kill dragons, so my village kicked me out.  Dragons saved my life."

 

"How did you...decide not to kill them in the first place?" Eret said wonderingly.

 

Hiccup smiled a little and roughly caressed Toothless, who rumbled in pleasure as he lay beside his human.  "This guy kidnapped me.  Brought me here and didn't eat me.  Eventually I figured out that no one in this whole nest was planning to eat me, which means...."  He met Eret's eyes again.  "Which means that there's something wrong out there.  These are real dragons.  The ones out there, attacking humans....  I can't be sure, but my theory is that they're under the control of their own king, a leviathan who's much less benevolent than His Majesty."

 

Eret was quiet for a while, processing this.

 

"Say it right," Finn demanded, very interested in the conversation but having difficulty following it.

 

"This our flock is very good.  Other dragons, foreign, other flocks....  Something wrong, bad.  Hurt us.  I think maybe their alpha is rotten," Hiccup translated.  Finn growled softly.

 

"That would explain a lot," Eret mused.  "The dragons here aren't anything like the ones I'm used to."

 

"Same here.  My village was on the front lines of the dragon war - it seemed like every year got worse and worse; less food, more desperation, more suffering, more people dying...."  He was quiet for a moment.  "I'm so glad to have escaped all that, but I...worry about the ones I left behind."  Finn watched him intently.

 

"You have family back there?" Eret murmured.

 

Hiccup closed his eyes.  "Not much...just...my mentor and...."  He expelled a resigned breath.  "A couple of children."  He didn't notice Eret rest his head against his hand as if reliving his own memories.  "A boy and a girl, twins...they were just babies when I was thrown out...."  He rubbed at his eyes.  "They're probably dead by now.  Even if I could figure out some way to survive going back, I'm...too scared.  To find out for sure."

 

"At least you can pretend they're still alive," Eret mumbled.

 

Hiccup looked at him for a long moment.  "You can't, huh."

 

"I watched them die," Eret managed to say.  He abruptly stood and walked away.

 

After a while, Finn asked, "Babies?  Clutchmates???"

 

Hiccup reached out and held him.  He explained mostly in human speech, though with some dragon language thrown in for clarification and emphasis.  "In the past, in my old pack, I had human babies, Finn and Valka, my precious things."

 

"WE'RE 'Finn' and 'Valka.'"  The names were mangled in Finn's dragon voice, but still recognizable to Hiccup, who'd developed an ear for his hatchlings' attempts at human speech.

 

Hiccup smiled through his grief.  "My human babies, my two cubs, Finn and Valka.  I lost them, so I was very, very, very sad.  My heart hurt, like it was bleeding.  But then my two dragon babies came to me, and I said, 'This is my Finn and Valka.'  My Finn and Valka babies are not lost anymore, because now they are dragons and they're here with me."

 

Finn studied him dubiously.  "Wrong.  Heart still hurts."

 

"Yes, but only a little.  In the past, it used to be very painful.  I lost my human Finn and Valka, and it hurt very much.  But now I have my dragon Finn and Valka, so I'm better now.  It only hurts a little bit."

 

Finn preened him again.

 

The subject came up again a few days later.  They had originally set out for a recreational flight, but now Hiccup and his troop, along with Eret and Skullcrusher, were hiding behind an iceberg as they watched a ship that had wandered too close to the alpha's territory.

 

"Is it one of Drago's?" Hiccup asked.

 

"Yes," Eret said tightly.

 

"We're wrecking it."

 

"No!"

 

Hiccup gave him a hard look.  "Why not?"

 

"It's not a scouting ship.  They just got off course; they'll right themselves soon.  They won't get anywhere near your dragons, it's not worth the risk of alerting Drago just to sink one ship."

 

"What about the dragons who are being held captive on that ship?" Hiccup challenged.

 

Eret's fists clenched.  "Do you have any idea what Drago will do if he catches you?  Trust me, you'll wish you'd gotten off with just a brand."

 

Hiccup sighed.

 

"Do you have any idea what Drago will do if he--  When he finally tracks down that Sanctuary of yours?"

 

"I'm still not actually sure why you're so afraid of him, even after what I've shown you. Haven't you noticed that he's smaller than one of His Majesty's toenails?"

 

"You've never seen him subdue a dragon twice his size through sheer intimidation!  And you--  He--  There's something, I haven't seen it yet because I'm always out trapping, but he's got something that can bring whole cities under his heel in a single day--"

 

"Stop panicking.  It's just hearsay, rumors growing in exaggeration with each retelling.  Everyone thinks he has more power than he actually does."

 

"You really are going to get yourself killed someday," Eret said in frustration.

 

"Eret, I don't have time to argue with you.  Stay here with Hen and the kids, we'll be back before Val even gets bored."

 

Eret made a frustrated noise, then jostled with the Scuttleclaws for a good view as they all watched Hiccup set out with Toothless and Cloudjumper.  The dragons started blasting the ship, and Hiccup eventually disappeared from sight.  What followed were several tense minutes as the Scuttleclaws jabbered at each other in excitement and growing worry.  More fires, more shouting men, more smoke....  Then a burst of dragons came pouring into the sky, quickly rounded up and led away by Cloudjumper.  Eret and the twins were craning, staring, anxiety rising.

 

Then Hen made a happy clucking sound, there was a soft thump on the ice behind them, and a slightly winded but very cheerful voice said, "Piece of cake."

 

Eret went limp with unhappy relief, and the twins swarmed their mother.  Hiccup petted them, laughing, then threw a grin over at Eret.  "Your luck won't hold out forever," Eret said sourly.

 

"Let's go."

 

Once they were home, they settled down for a meal, but Eret was still clearly sulking.  Hiccup finally threw a piece of food at him to get his attention, and kept his expression neutral when Eret glared.  "I'm sorry.  I've never been good at being careful, but I'll try.  And I won't make you go near Drago's ships again."

 

"I'm not a coward."

 

"...You kind of are," Hiccup said, so sheepishly that it took the edge off.

 

Eret found himself clenching his jaw.  Finally he burst out, "It's like we're all just pawns in a giants' game, and Drago's the only human who knows how to play."

 

"Hm?"

 

Eret looked exasperated and swept out a hand.  "You said there's another monster out there, who's making the dragons attack us. So that giant is stirring up the whole war to exterminate us, your giant is collecting all the quote-unquote 'good' dragons here in this hidey-hole, and Drago's the only human with the balls to care about his own people caught in the middle."

 

"I'm don't really understand what you're talking about, but I'm fairly sure you're insulting me."

 

"I am!  Fine, you're on the side of the dragons who aren't killing us; but don't you even care about your own people?"

 

"Frankly, no."

 

Eret stared at him.

 

Hiccup tried hard to keep his voice calm.  "I never knew my mother.  My father did his best, but I was never more than a disappointment and a hindrance to him, and then he died.  Every single person in my own village hated me, kept expecting me to die, and wished I would just disappear.  My mentor was the only one who thought I was good for anything, and even he thought I was a failure.  My wife....  Let's just say that I can't decide which one I hate more, her or Drago Bludvist.  My children were the only humans who ever loved me - though they were still babies when I lost them, so maybe it was just that they needed me.  They'd probably have hated me, too, once they were older...."

 

"...So you don't think any human beings are worth fighting for?"

 

"I think if I have to choose who to protect, the people who hate me or the people who love me, it's a no-brainer."

 

Eret restlessly ran a hand through his hair.  "Then I guess you don't understand, but for the rest of us....  What were we supposed to do, when Drago Bludvist showed up with his fleet and his dragon servants, and rescued us from the monsters?  He gave us food and rebuilt our towns, of course we thought of him as a savior.  We were happy to join his cause.  And even later, when he proved what a beast he is....  We still had no choice.  Serve him, or starve to death; serve him, or burn.  You say you hated everyone in your village except your children, but are you fine with them growing up under Drago's rule?"

 

"No one in my village is under Drago's rule."

 

Eret gave him a disbelieving look.

 

"I'd never seen or heard of Drago Bludvist until long after I came to the Sanctuary.  We'd never heard of him back on Berk."

 

"...Okay, you're kind of creeping me out.  You'd never heard of Drago Bludvist back in your hometown?"

 

"Nope."  Then Hiccup frowned.  "Is he expanding his territory?"

 

"Where is your village?"

 

"Twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing-To-Death...."

 

"What?"

 

Hiccup shook his head and told him the real coordinates.

 

"Well, if he hasn't reached that far yet, he will eventually."

 

Hiccup rose to his feet and started pacing.  His agitation caught Toothless's attention, and the Night Fury hurried to his side.  "What happened?"

 

"Worried for my babies, worried for my babies, worried for my babies...!"

 

"Babies are fine."

 

"Dragon babies are fine.  Human babies, my cubs, they are in danger?!  They are safe?!  Maybe, maybe not, I am worried anxious frustrated...!"

 

Feeling helpless, Toothless finally turned to Eret and growled.  The man scooted back nervously.

 

Hiccup whirled on him.  "I can't go back, they'll kill me.  But you...."

 

"No."  Eret raised his hands defensively.  "I'm done being an errand boy.  I'm staying right here with His Majesty!"

 

"I won't let anyone hurt you," Hiccup said impatiently.  "You don't even have to go all the way to Berk, we just have to find Trader Johann.  He'll know if Drago's reached the Archipelago or not."

 

It took another day of arguing before Eret finally agreed to go.  He was rather amazed, once they'd flown far enough, to find lands where the people had only heard exaggerated tales of some sort of 'Dragon Master,' and then lands where the people had never heard of Bludvist at all.  "I guess your Sanctuary is technically outside the bounds of his territory, and now we're traveling even further...."

 

"Dragons fly a lot faster than ships can sail, and none of Drago's men use their slaves for transportation.  I feel better now, but I'd still like to track down Johann."

 

They managed to catch the merchant when he was ashore, so Hiccup didn't have to risk showing his face or revealing the dragons.  He waited impatiently as Eret slipped into town, wondering if the man would ever come back.

 

Eret was a couple of hours late, but he did return, to Hiccup's relief.  "That man can definitely talk," Eret grumbled.

 

"Did any of his stories involve the subjugation of helpless Viking villages by a one-armed monster?" Hiccup asked urgently.

 

Eret smiled a little.  "Sounds like Johann's heard a few rumors, but he mostly used them for tale-telling fodder.  Drago hasn't reached your lands yet."

 

Hiccup exhaled the breath he'd been holding.

 

"You do care a little."

 

"Just a little," Hiccup admitted grudgingly.  "Just about my kids."

 

Eret said after a pause, "Maybe we could go check on them."

 

Hiccup was still and silent for a long time, hand over his face, Toothless warbling in concern.  "Don't tempt me," Hiccup finally whispered, then swung onto the Night Fury's back and fled.

 

To be continued....