Sigrid The Relentless - How to Train your Dragon

33. Queen Mala 2/2

"You can fly with me and Toothless, we'll start canvasing the-"

Mala rose her hand, stopping Hiccup in his speech as both she and Sigrid were alarmed by the sound of rustling. Before they knew it, arrows were shot their way. Dragon Hunters.

"Take to the air!" Hiccup called out, but both Sigrid and Mala were stubborn.

Snotlout was thrown off of Hookfang, landing in front of the two women, as they narrowed their eyes. Studying the bushes, they could make out slight silhouettes, before another arrow was shot.

"Mala!" Hiccup warned, and Sigrid was ready to catch the arrow flying her way, but it seemed that Snotlout's big head was faster, blocking the attack from hitting Mala.

With a smirk, Sigrid pointed her axe towards the bushes, as if asking Mala if she wanted to take this one. Mala smiled at the offer, and gladly took it, dashing into the bushes before coming out with two very hurt dragon hunters. Impressive.

"She is definitely coming with us." Snotlout decided, as if there was any other option.

Sigrid stood in front of the two smug Hunters with a snarl. "Which way did they go, tell us!" 

The men only chuckled, not taking her very seriously, but she'd be sure to beat some respect into them. Raising her brow, she gestured for Electrode to come closer. The Skrill was by her side in an instant, an angry frown on his face as he charged up his lightning , the blue static twitchibg over his body. That was definitely enough to scare the men into submission.

"North!" One gasped. "Viggo went North with the dragon!"

Sigrid smirked, giving her Skrill a loving pat.

"Thanks, bud." She smiled, before saddling up.

"Come on, Mala." Hiccup gestured the woman over.

Mala refused.

"No. I will not be flying with you, Hiccup Haddock. I shall fly with..." She pointed towards Snotlout. "Him."

... Okay, weird choice. But they'd respect it.

---

Nevermind, Sigrid was starting to respect it less. Turns out that Mala was convinced of a prophecy that a man would save her in battle, and he would be her King. Turns out, that in bonking the hunter's arrow away with his thick head, Snotlout had technically saved Mala, and she was now enamored with him. Gross.

Snotlout immediately grew an aura of arrogance after Mala's declaration, and it was already starting to irc Sigrid's bones. 

As Hiccup went in to take a closer look at Viggo's ships, Sigrid was - as usual - tasked with distracting the other hunters from aiming at her brother. As always, Sigrid was very successful in her task. To be fair, who wouldn't get distracted by a big electric lizard flying through the sky. 

But even in the excitement of battle, Sigrid didn't feel any happier. It had been so long since she'd fought one of Viggo's ships, the last time being with... Dagur. 

It didn't help that they were tricked by Viggo once again, and Mala was starting to lose hope about the Eruptodon's survival.

"He must constantly eat lava, or he will die." Mala sighed. "When I was just a little girl, there was an earthquake that disrupted the lava flow. It wasn't long before the Eruptodon was frantic and starving. He became so weak, he wasn't able to fly to another food source. Only deep prayer for the lava to return saved our beloved dragon, but, now..."

"Mala, look, a starved dragon is no good to Viggo." Hiccup thought. "He has our Dragon Eye, he must know this about the Eruptodon. In the meantime, that could help us. We'll fly over active volcanoes until we spot him."

Mala looked defeated. "If only it were so easy. The Eruptodon doesn't need an active volcano to eat. Its appetite is insatiable and its desire immense, so much so that it will eat through the crust of a dormant volcano until it erupts."

Oh no.

"The snow-capped peak at Dragon's Edge is a dormant volcano." Sigrid noted.

Hiccup's eyes widened.

"Classic Maces and Talons move." He frowned. "Viggo's gonna use the Eruptodon to destroy our home." 

"But we won't let him." Sigrid assured. 

They'd have to come up with a plan quick, or else they might lose their base - and turned home - forever. 

Sigrid wanted to kill each and every dragon hunter that had infiltrated their beloved island. Dragon's Edge was their home, their safe space, and they had invaded it with their weapons, and manipulated their defenses for their own gain. They deserved no mercy. 

It seemed that Mala was just as bloodthirsty as her, but definitely more controlled, as she had no trouble wiping out the hunters, who were busy shooting ballista's. Sigrid, on the other hand, wanted to go for the kill.

The hunter she'd cornered cowered at the sight of the raging head of fire, twirling her axe as steam seemed to leave her nose as she huffed. Her vision turned red, after everything she'd gone through, Sigrid had enough. Today, she'd show them no mercy. 

"Sigrid, stop!" Came Astrid's screeching voice, halting the woman's raised axe.

Sigrid blinked, as her eyes focused on the men in front of them. They were knocked out cold, and she was about to land the killing blow. She shivered, realizing she hadn't been present in her own mind. She was stopped just in time.

Astrid didn't say anything, just staring at her with a concerned gaze. She was right to feel that way, Sigrid was concerned too. This wasn't good.

---

The saving of Mala's village and the Eruptodon had been a blur. After everything, even Hiccup noticed that there was something wrong with his sister, and totally not because Astrid told him so.

He needed to talk to her. 

"Hiccup, I told you, I'm fine." Sigrid huffed, not having the energy to deal with her brother's interrogation. 

Hiccup shook his head. "No, I don't think you are."

"Okay?" Sigrid quirked her brow.

Hiccup sighed, wanting to have a genuine conversation.

"Sigrid, ever since Dagur died you've been acting strange. I'm just worried about you, and I want you to be honest to me."

Sigrid cringed at the mention of the Berserker. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But you have to, Sig." Hiccup begged. "This isn't you. I know you feel bad about what happened, but-"

"It's so much more than that." Sigrid sneered, her brow furrowing as her hands started to shake.

Hiccup sighed. "I don't know that if you don't tell me."

"Fine." Sigrid growled, anger shaking her body as her nose crinkled. "You want to know how I'm feeling? Well, I feel awful! There, happy?"

"Why do you feel awful?"

Sigrid stuttered. "B-because I should've done something... anything! Instead of standing there like a fool. I let him die, Hiccup! I didn't believe him, and now he's dead!"

"Sigrid..." Hiccup sighed. "It's not your fault, you know that. There's nothing we could've done."

Sigrid hesitated, she knew her brother didn't understand. 

"Hiccup, when our mother died, I promised myself that I'd never let someone I care about get taken away, again." The woman sighed. "Now, I've broken that promise, and I don't know how to forgive myself."

"I get that." Hiccup wasn't sure what to say. "Listen, I know you loved Dagur-" that was definitely news to her, "-but this wasn't your fault, and he wouldn't want you to think that either."

Sigrid wasn't so sure about that, but for now she'd leave it be. She was exhausted, and all she wanted to do was rest. 

She was fine after her mother's death, so she'd be fine after Dagur's, eventually... right?