Amongst the Stars

36)

I awake the following morning entangled with Dagur, our bodies sharing their heat on the cold night. We both lay on our sides, my leg wrapping around his hip, one of his legs wrapped between mine, and his arms around my waist, one flopped on the sheet we sleep on and the other pressed flat against my lower back. He's holding me like he needs me in his life, and as I come to consciousness, I see I am holding him similarly. I breathe in his scent, the scent I am all too familiar with these passed years, the scent that brings me waves and waves of comfort when I feel weight pressing me into the Earth. His nostrils flare and his parted lips release breaths and soft sounds of snoring, a sign of a peaceful sleep. 

How can he sleep so soundly the night before war?

I carefully sit up, untangling our bodies and look out the crack of the tent, where I see the sky. I must have only gotten a few minutes sleep since my return from Berk, it's still pitch black, not nearly a peak from the dawn light echoes the sky, but stars. Stars that call out to me. I glance back at Dagur before standing and exiting the tent. I don't travel far, I stay close to the campsite, not wanting to alarm the new guard on duty, who no doubt wonders where the other guard – never mind he's asleep. 

I cackle a little and wonder if an alternative outcome would've come from my encounter with that baboon if I simply just waited an extra few minutes for the shifts to change. Oh well. 

I climb a tree and set myself on a branch, overlooking the horizon, the mirrored night sky on the calm waters. Strange how the sea can be so wild one minute than as still as glass the next. It reflects the stars and moon flawlessly. I can't help but smile and breathe in the fresh sea air that I'm so used to, but along with the smell of sand and wet grass, I get a hint of Dagur's comfort. 

"Atalia?" 

I look down in response to the whisper and find Dagur making his way up the tree after me. "I'm sorry to wake you–" 

"Oh stop with that." He chuckles at a hushed volume as he settles onto the branch next to mine. "What's got you awake, my love? Don't think I didn't noticed this being the second time you weren't by my side tonight." He asked, a tone of genuine sincerity, genuine concern. I almost scrunch my expression at it. 

"Since you've told me...very little about what we're doing tomorrow, I grow concerned. I'm not a fan of surprises, especially surprises that very well might cost lives, whether that life is yours, mine or the tribesmen." I twist the truth and lie through my teeth to the man I love. "I understand my place as your wife is also as a leader to your people, to protect them, and to protect my chief... so with that in mind, I would appreciate it if I was kept in the loop when we undergo tasks as important as this." 

Dagur nods understandingly, looking down then back up at me. Only his eyes narrow and his teeth are bared, only for him to gasp and jump back. "Your pants are on fire!" I look down, and shockingly enough, he wasn't lying. My trousers had caught on fire and began burning my legs. They burn through the branch that I sat on and I fall through, hitting every other branch on the way. My plummet was agonising but I muster the strength to roll around and put the fire out on the moist ground. 

I look up at Dagur as he jumps down and lands perfectly on his feet, only to get down on one knee, and whisper. "I am betrothed to a liar." He stares down at me like I betrayed him. "You choose the people you hate over the people you love!" 

"No!" I'm helpless against him, my legs are singed and my arms don't seem to be cooperating with my brain. "No, it's not like that." 

"Then why were you conspiring with Hiccup?!" He points over to Hiccup's little one legged figure tied up with a sack around his head, just behind him Valkyrie, muzzled and chained and struggling against nobody's grip because it's just us four in the forest.