812 years ago
Fagnar didn't particularly like killing people, but traitors like this one had to be punished.
He had spent several months tracking this man down, along with his family. And now, he was going to pay for his crimes against the hunter tribe.
He had the man and his family dragged out on the ship's deck. He hadn't hurt them yet, but still the traitor was loudly cursing his men for daring to so much as touch his wife and daughter. His two sons had already been beaten nearly to death for trying to escape earlier that morning. For such a hopeless family, they were persistent, he had to give them that.
When he came forward with his sword, the man glared him down, before dropping his head. "Please," he begged. "Do what you will to me, but let my wife and children go. They have done nothing to the hunter tribe."
Fagnar smiled, before holding his sword to the wife's neck. She didn't say anything, but he could see her utter hatred in her eyes, nearly covered by her messy blond hair. "You are right. They have done nothing. But what pleasure that would give you to know that your lover survived? That would be no punishment at all." He pressed on the blade, embedding it into the woman's chest. The man cried out more curses between wales. Next Fagnar approached his sons.
"Please.."
The two boys fell to the ground, adding to the pool of blood left by their mother.
"You will die for this!" The man raged. "Oden send you to burn! One day someone will laugh over your corpse."
Fagnar was not used to being insulted. A comment like this from his own men would result in death. So in a bout of anger, he plunged the sword into his gut, slowly pressing on the blade as the man cried out in pain and anguish. "Then at least I will die with honor," he sneered.
His men began to throw the bodies overboard. Sheathing his sword, Fagnar sighed, prepared to go and retire after a good days work. His chief would certainly great him with honor when they returned, and he had a great feast to look forward to. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of crying. Turning, he saw a little girl, no more than four or five years old.
Great. He'd been so angered by the traitor that he forgot to kill his daughter first. There was no point in killing her now. He crouched down to her level. "What's your name?" He asked harshly.
The girl sniffled, wiping her tears away. "Eva."
He hadn't expected a response, but this girl was strong, just like her family had been. What to do with her.. Perhaps she could be cared for back on the island, but as she is a child of a traitor, that made her just as horrid. No one would raise her as their own. If she lived, she would be no more than a thrall.
Perhaps it would be nice having someone on board to serve them. He smiled at the idea. And maybe one day, when the girl was older, she could serve a much different purpose to him and his men.
Present Day
The string was taught under my fingers as I slowly pulled back, breathing slowly as I eyed the squirrel in the tree a ways away. It hadn't so much as noticed me as it gnawed on a nut, oblivious to the careful way in which I positioned my bow. I prepared to lose the arrow, when suddenly I heard a loud squawk, and the critter darted out of my line of sight.
"Aaron!" I shouted as a blue and red Deadly Nadder nearly knocked me over. Nudging my chest with his head, he flapped his wings in an excited manner. No, I can't play right now you stupid beast, I was getting dinner! I looked back to the tree, but there was no sign of the squirrel. Guess I'm having fish again. I didn't know what I had been expecting. I had killed nearly everything that moved on this tiny island; after two months there was hardly anything left to eat.
Aaron had been more and more antsy lately. Perhaps it was just because he was a lot more social than I was. Every dragon that came through he became instant bffs with. I could see how much it pained him when they left, and he stayed with me.
I met him just before coming to this island. I had been trying to kill a monstrous nightmare, but it had broken free from the snares. I had killed dragons in this way before, when they were at their best. My black dragon-proof leather armor covered almost every inch of me, so I wasn't afraid of a bit of fire. And when it came to fighting, I could easily take down a strong Viking man in several seconds. I had done it before. Dragons? I had been trained to trap and kill them most of my life. One little nightmare didn't stand a chance.
But then, before I could deliver a killing blow.. I started to seize. It wasn't the first time; I had been suffering from seizures for a few years. When I was younger, they led to several failed escape attempts. Now, they were a closely guarded secret. If my enemies knew that I had seizures that would leave me weak for days, then surely they would use it against me. Even Drago recognized this. I couldn't be used to threaten his enemies if they thought I was weak. It was my cold capacity for killing effectively that led Drago's men to refer to me as a Bludvist. No one ever said anything otherwise, so it kind of stuck.
Anyways, after I stopped seizing, I was helpless against the monstrous nightmare, but as it closed in for the kill, a young deadly Nadder swooped in and fought him off, wounding himself in the process. I couldn't believe that a dragon would go out of its way to save the life of someone who trapped and killed dragons for a living. I managed to drag myself to a cave, and nursed us both back to health to repay this debt. Aaron and I have been together ever since.
When I was well enough to leave the cave, I saw that the hunter ship had left without me. That's funny, I thought. They were supposed to be here for another week at least. Over the next couple weeks, Aaron and I learned to get along, and to fly together. As soon as I was able, we flew to a nearby trading post. There I learned that all of Drago's forces had been rallied to Berk. That was why the ship had left without me. The question was, why hadn't it come back after Berk was conquered? Then I learned of Drago's defeat, the ultimate fall of the hunter army.. And that I had nowhere to go. For so long I had been a part of the hunters, a part of Drago's army that there was no where else I could go. All I knew was that the dragon riders were trying to hunt down the remnants of Drago's forces, so I needed to go into hiding.
So that is why I spent the next two months on this tiny island in the middle of nowhere. I had survived alone in the woods before many times before, and vastly preferred the silence to being around other people. If I had the choice, I would stay here happy and alone (with Aaron) for the rest of my days. Unfortunately for me, I had hunted the local population of wild animals into near extinction.
I gave Aaron a chin scratch. I know you get tired of just being around me all day. I can't really help it you know. I didn't have to talk to Aaron for him to understand me. To others, my face was always stone-cold, an expression I had adopted years ago. But Aaron, despite being pretty dim-witted in a lot of things, understood how I was feeling. I didn't have to use words, but really, I didn't talk much anyways. I hadn't said anything to Draco's men, and I felt no need to talk to myself when I was alone. I had learned long ago that it was always better to stay silent unless it was absolutely necessary to speak.
My stomach grumbled as I made it back to my little camp. I could go a few days without a bite, and had set up a little mechanism over the fire for removing salt from the sea water, so that was never an issue. Still, now that I had control over my life, I wanted something to eat.
You know what Aaron? Maybe tomorrow we can leave this place and look for some place with some real food, hu boy? He didn't know what I was thinking, but he felt my worry, and licked my face to try to make me feel better. Jumping back, I tried to wipe his slobber off while giving him a disgusted look. Maybe him being around other people and dragons will help him see the value in personal space, I mused.
A/N
Please enjoy this fanfic. It was originally planned out a year ago, before Httyd 3 came out, but yes the story will follow canon.
The character Jakal Atlas, who will come up later, is owned by Ninjacolin2000. Used with permission.