The Gift of the Princess (HTTYD)

The Second Attempt

Chapter 48: The Second Attempt

After  much running around, Ingrid finally cornered Snotlout and convinced him to follow her and join their group. She was exasperated with his behavior, but she did not have the time to talk about it now. She understood they had something to work out, but he should know not to let it affect their mission.

They arrived at their normal meeting spot by the forest to see Eira and Toothless talking to Luna while Valka and Cloudjumper stood back. The Light Fury appeared distressed, and Ingrid could not blame her. Her entire flock had basically turned their backs on her. She hoped the dragon could see that they wanted to be her friends and learn to trust them.

After a minute, Eira left the Furies alone to join her friends. "We need to go back to Night Fury Island," she said. "Luna is worried about her friends."

"And let Drago attack us?" said Snotlout. "No thanks."

"He didn't attack us last time, and he even expressed interest in us joining him. I think he will be open to discussing the situation. We have to try to talk to him."

"Do you have a plan?" Valka asked.

Eira frowned. "Well, no. We don't have enough information. We need to get more out of Drago." She sent her sister a hesitant look. "You'll have to take the lead on that."

"What?" Ingrid exclaimed. "I thought we already established I'm no good at this."

Eira shook her head. "No, you decided that. You already have a relationship with him. You'll do fine. Just try to figure out where he's coming from. Toothless and I will do the same with the Night Furies. That's where we're needed most."

"Well, okay..." Ingrid was still  uncertain, but she would give it her best shot.

"Don't worry, Ingrid," Snotlout said. "I'll watch your back."

Ingrid started to give a retort but stopped herself. It was not an entirely unreasonable assurance, and it was one she had seen Eira accept from Dagur. Besides, she probably should encourage him now that he was not avoiding her. So, she offered him a smile. "Thanks, Snotlout."

"If that's all we have to discuss, we might as well get going," said Valka.

Ingrid and Snotlout quickly retrieved their dragons, and then the group set off. Luna flew next to Toothless, appearing grave. The Vikings did not say much along the way except to decide to approach the island from the forest side to not threaten the Night Furies. They flew around to the back of the island and continued through the trees.

They soon spotted a massive gathering of dragons, including the Night Furies. They all appeared to be training against each other. Drago walked among them, Duskscales by his side. Ingrid noticed the female Night Fury now sported a crude-looking saddle. Then she spotted the makeshift forge and armory, which contained a pile of weapons. A curved wooden wall cut off access to the rest of the area.

"How did Drago accomplish all of this in a day?" Snotlout said.

"Maybe he's been working on it for awhile," Ingrid said. "We didn't get this far yesterday to notice."

"It seems he's preparing for war," Valka said in a low voice.

Ingrid shivered. She did not like the sound of that. One of the Night Furies spotted them and barked out a warning to the others. The dragon riders immediately landed and dismounted their dragons as planned. Ingrid stepped forward to meet Drago, her hands held high with palms out. "Hello, Drago," she said.

"Ingrid," Drago grunted. "What brings you here? Decided to join me after all?"

"No, I came to talk you out of it. You can't send all the dragons away. When Grimmel finds out-"