Chapter 34

                                    

                                          
Hiccup knew it was going to be a long, difficult day. He knew it from the moment he opened his eyes that morning. Why? Dagur was already up. Dagur was never up early in the morning, but today he was. Granted, he'd fallen asleep early last night, but right now, the sun wasn't even up yet. Even so, this was extremely unusual, made even more so by the way he looked. Dagur's hair was disheveled— more than it usually was, that is— with his firey spikes pointing every which way. His eyes were droopy, like he was tired but didn't want to sleep. Worst of all, he had a pained look on his face. Dread, sorrow, and anxiety were all expressed with a furrowed brow and a deep frown. Dagur ran his fingers through his hair, trying to fix the spikes. He let out a choked sigh. 
"What am I going to tell her, Hiccup?" He asked. His voice was slightly raspy, and sounded like it was going to break. "How am I going to tell her that he's gone?"
Hiccup tried not to look like he was pitying Dagur too much. He certainly wouldn't want to take his place right now. Heather could get quite stabby when she was upset, and Hiccup had enough people trying to kill him right now. But Hiccup hated seeing that look on Dagur's face. He wanted to take away the lines that creased on his forehead as he worried, turn that concerned frown back into a smile. So, he offered to do something idiotic, hoping that Dagur's expression would turn back to normal. 
"I could tell her."
Dagur's frown turned into a small smile. "That's sweet of you, Hiccup." He gingerly placed his hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "...but it should come from me."
Hiccup was glad that he made Dagur smile, even if the expression didn't linger; even if it turned back to a frown that next moment. Dagur's worried expression stayed with him for the entirety of the flight to Berserker Island. Usually, worried or not, Dagur would ramble endlessly about whatever was on his mind. Right now he was silent, a brooding expression stamped on his face. Hiccup would occasionally glance back at Fishlegs, hoping his friend would give him some peice of advice or something. The most his friend had to offer was a shrug. Hiccup could only look helplessly at Dagur, who's worries were not unfounded. Perhaps that was another hint that today would be a bad day. Another hint that when things went wrong, the Berserker Chief was not going to react well. All of these signs were ones that Hiccup really should have paid attention to. That way, he would have been prepared for the fallout. 
When they got to Berserker island, things were decent. There was no reason to suspect something was wrong, other than the fact that Heather didn't greet them on the way in. That particular fact was no reason for suspicion. She was acting chief when Dagur was out, so it made sense she wasn't greeting them. Still, it should have been one of the many signs that today would be disastrous. So, when did it all go wrong? Right when one of the Berserker guards informed Dagur that Trader Johhan took Heather to the Northern markets because someone there had recently spoken to Oswald. 
That's when. 
They were on their dragons within the second the guard spoke. The first thing that was evident un Dagur's expression was the pure panic. They were in the sky, flying to the Northern Markets as quickly as their dragons could beat their wings. Even so, Dagur was imploring them to go faster. He had a look of dread in his eyes, mixed with an all too familiar expression of deep, deep anger. Hiccup remembered the look; Dagur had the same expression when he found Hiccup during the whole bounty hunter incident. He remembered Dagur glaring at Ryker with enough rage and hatred to kill him where he stood. Hiccup remembered thinking that it was a wonder the dragon hunter was alive at all. 
When they got to the Northern Markets, Hiccup told Dagur that discretion would be useful here. Dagur said that he would try his best. In the next breath, he was yelling at every vendor he could get his hands on. He was using some pretty colorful threats on them (tell me where my sister is, or your head will end up on the end of a long pole attached to my ship).
"I guess he didn't get the part about being discreet," Hiccup observed, a note of sarcasm in his voice.
Fishlegs didn't seem surprised. "Actually, that is pretty discreet for Dagur."
"That's actually fair," Hiccup said. Dagur was usually quite loud, he really should have expected at this. 
"Hiccup! This one won't talk," Dagur said quickly, "What do you think we should do?"
He shoved the poor guy selling chicken feed deeper into a barrel of his product. 
"Dagur, call me old-fashioned, but I'm not sure that this is the way we want to go about getting people to help us." Hiccup knew the man wasn't thinking clearly at the moment, not with his sister walking into a trap. 
Dagur's words were quick and panicked. "Oh, it's not? Oh, I'm sorry. Too soft, right?" He questioned, words anxiously spilling out of his mouth far too quickly. "I should really work them over!"
"No! No, please. Do not work anyone over."
Luckily for everyone, the guy Dagur was currently interrogating was more than willing to give up information. Hiccup listened wearily was the guy talked. He told them about how two people (definitely Heather and Johann) were here, and got in a fight. He said there was one more person involved, and the description fit Snotlout. That made sense, since Astrid send him on some errands. His story seemed to add up. That didnt calm Dagur down, however. He was getting angrier and more erratic as the guy told his story. As the merchant went on about the dragon flyers, Hiccup could see the anger growing behind Dagur's eyes, just waiting to come out. 
"Please let me hurt him. Please? Just just a little?"
Hiccuo frowned. "No, no, not even a little. Not today, Dagur." 
He knew that's not really what Dagur wanted. Once he was level headed, he would recognize that he didn't want to hurt anyone here, since they were innocent. Hiccup knew exactly what Dagur was feeling right now. He could aslo see the nervous looks Fishlegs was giving him. His friend had seen this all before, when Hiccup was caught by those bounty hunters. It was happeining all over again. Dagur wasn't hiding his anger anymore, and he wasn't hiding his other emotions, either. Hiccup had gotten good at reading his expressions, even the tiniest ones. Right now, Dagur's expression was riddled with anger and hate, but underneath it was anxiousness. He was incredibly worried for Heather. Heather. Who was walking into a trap. Hiccup knew that Dagur would once again take the blame for that. He just hoped that after they found Heather, that he would be okay. 
Hiccup hoped he wouldn't run away again.