Deception (A Dragons Race to the Edge Fanfic)

Chapter 21

"Keep going, Amethyst!" you encouraged the Changewing, as she attempted an evasive manoeuvre, followed by an acid spray, before camouflaging her scales and disappearing into the trees. It was a new move that you'd been working on. It was particularly difficult, but Amethyst seemed to thrive in training, so you thought she would be able to handle it.

"I must say," Viggo began, looking up at Amethyst continually dart through the trees, "I'm pleasantly surprised by the rate at which your dragon has progressed." You agreed. Amethyst was only two months old, and had already reached almost adult size and had progressed through training with maturity and determination. It seemed she enjoyed the constant stimulation and challenge that training had to offer. You figured she would have been bored stiff, had you not incorporated some of these challenging moves into her training. When you flew through the air on her back, you remembered how you had flown with Ember. Together, the two of you flew together as one, as if you could read each others' minds, and you'd always known each other.

"I suppose it's natural for Changewings to grow this quickly in the wild." You said, feeling as though you should make an educated reply to his remark. "They're more vulnerable when they're smaller, so they have a rapid growth spurt at an early age. That, and we've been feeding her pretty consistently."

"I've come to expect those sorts of intelligent answers from you." Viggi resoonded, sounding impressed. A sense of pride washed over you. You had seen no further sign of the vulnerability you had witnessed in him, since what you saw in his tent. But, then again, why should you?  That was the only time you had seen him as if he were alone.

"Now, in order for our plan to be successful, we'll need to be able to fly in. Do you think Amethyst would be able to handle that at this stage?"

"I'm pretty sure she's ready." You answered with confidence. "But, we should do a practise flight before we go in for the real thing. To get her used to it." You whistled to Amethyst, and she instantly made a smooth landing beside you, raring attempt whatever challenge you had in store for her. You could see her looking curiously at Viggo. She had seen him observing her training before, but she wasn't exactly acquainted with him. With a glance, you assured her that you trusted him. You rested your palm on Amethyst's snout, as Viggo climbed onto her back. You then joined him on the Changewing's back, taking your seat in front of him.

"Ready?" you asked, glancing over your shoulder.

He nodded, looking at you and then Amethyst.

"Ok, Amethyst," you whispered in her ear, "let's go."

With that, you took to the air. You had to make a fairly steep incline, in order to evade the trees all around you. You immediately felt Viggo take a tight hold on your waist. You smiled to yourself as you reached the clouds, breathless from the speed of the acclivity.

Breaking through the clouds, the shimmering starlight showering you, you sailed through the sky. The majestic northern lights broke through the dark, illuminating the air surrounding you, and making you gape at the sheer beauty and vigor of the night sky. You felt Viggo place his hands on your shoulders, as Amethyst's flight pattern leveled out. For a moment, your heart lurched, and your muscles tensed; but you soon relaxed, letting the wind rush through your hair. Around you,
soft, yet strikingly prominent, lights gleamingly fluctuated from green to blue to purple.

"How about we show him what you've got?" you whispered to Amethyst. Using the training she'd completed, she smoothly varied her altitude, tilting from side to side, pretending to avoid enemy fire. Amethyst's stamina, as well as her speed, was impressive. It was almost impossible to believe that she had only been training for two short months. She continued to glide through the sky, along with the occasional barrel roll.  Then, unexpectedly, she soared vertically upwards. The exhilaration made you laugh out, your breath visible in the cold night air. You couldn't help noticing Viggo's hands tense on your shoulders. You looked back at him, a small smirk lighting up your face. You remembered he'd never flown before.

"How's this for flying?" you asked, a smile lighting up your face. You couldn't remember the last time you had been this happy. Somehow, the wind in your face, Amethyst's exciting flying and Viggo's presence made you feel so alive.

"Even more thrilling than I could have possibly imagined." he replied, carefully studying the trees far down below. You assumed that, after years of being a Dragon Hunter, he had never anticipated this scenario, or anything like it.

Suddenly, Amethyst twisted in midair and dived downwards. She seemed to be enjoying herself, but had also forgotten that you and Viggo were on her back in the process. As you went plummeting down, a strong gust of wind blew you back against Viggo's chest. You hesitated there for a moment, holding your breath at the contact between your back and his cool leather tunic. Then, realizing where you were and coming to your senses, you pulled forwards, back into your usual riding position. You couldn't suppress a strong blush seeping through your cheeks, which you hoped he would dismiss as being merely due to the powerful rush of air around you.

You were unsteady, and feeling slightly lightheaded, when you dismounted Amethyst. The ground seemed boring compared to the exhilaration of soaring through the night sky. Viggo jumped down beside you. The flight had felt truly magical, and there had seemed to be more to it than a simple training flight. Without the roaring wind surrounding you, there now seemed to be a silence between Viggo and yourself - you felt too embarrassed to look at him. However, you had no choice when he began speaking to you.

"That was an impressive flight." Viggo remarked. "I enjoyed it." He added.

"Well, it was mostly Amethyst." you said, gesturing towards where she was now pouncing at the shadows of trees, cast by the moonlight, " But I enjoyed it too. Riding has always helped my escape from reality..." the moonlight glistened on the shiny spikes on Amethyst's head. "You know - when I'm stressed." you quickly added.

"I was referring to your company." Viggo returned in a lighter tone, his brown eyes even more striking in the moonlight.

"Oh," you said, feeling flustered. You were blushing again, "Well, thank you. Not many people seem to enjoy spending time with me." You said, your thoughts trailing off to the riders.

"Well, I do." he broke your thoughts. "In fact, I treasure it above all else." He announced, as though he'd meaning to say it for some time. He took a step towards you. "You might have noticed these last few months." He added in a hushed tone.

"I guess that's not so different from me." You admitted. "I've never really appreciated anyone this much before." This was your heart speaking now. You wanted to go closer towards him, but something held you back.

"I had hoped you would say something like that." He smiled charmingly, taking another step forwards. Suddenly, Amethyst came bounding between you, in hot pursuit of a green Terrible Terror. She halted in front of you, looking between you and Viggo. Wisdom gleamed in her young eyes. It was amazing how perceptive dragons naturally were. The three of you had frozen, and the Terrible Terror had scuttled into the undergrowth. Amethyst stepped towards you, peering curiously at Viggo, out of the corner of her eye.

"She must be tired." You said. "She's been training all day."

"Of course." Viggo agreed, just about retaining the smoothness of his voice. "You should get some rest as well." he added.

"I will." You said, turning away with a smile. You weren't sure of what had happened moments before. And this wasn't the first time, either. But, you were pretty sure you and Viggo shared something besides an enemy in common.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! This plan of theirs, that keeps getting hinted at, should finally be somewhat revealed next chapter... Also, it's that time of year again... yep - you guessed it - exam season... I'm really sorry if updates are slow over the next few weeks as I'm quite busy... I'll try and update as often as I can! Anyways, that's all for now!