The Gray Area (1/2) - A Viggo Love Story (HTTYD/RTTE)

29. Interrogation

"..What..?" Sessa breathed in disbelief.

"Come now, don't you remember me?" Krogan asked with a devilish smile, "your brother and I were close friends."

It was one surprise after another for Sessa. "..I had a brother..?" She muttered to herself, trying to recall.

Krogan frowned. "You lost your memory," he observed with a cruel laugh. "Then you'll have plenty to think about in your time here," he told her, "until we decide what to do with you."

As Krogan began to leave, Sessa jumped up and grabbed the bars if her cell door. "You've no idea what you're doing!" She snarled, "you cannot cage me."

"Clearly, I can," Krogan responded in a non-caring voice. Then, he was gone.

But Sessa only smiled crookedly. "Clearly, you don't know that I am only half. You will never cage my full self," she muttered, thinking of Viggo. She knew he would save her. The growing pull in her core told her that he was much farther away now; he had escaped.

"Half of what?" A male voice asked, shocking Sessa. She looked around until her eyes landed on a man she recognized. This was the prisoner she had come to save. "'Cause you look like a whole person to me," he went on.

"..Tuffnut?" She spoke questioningly. This man looked exactly like the twin, but his presence felt different.

"No, Tuffnut is my cousin," the look-alike corrected, then introduced with a proud grin, "I, am Gruffnut."

Sessa blinked, taken aback by the uncanny resemblance. "Oh," was all she could think to say.

"And you're Sessa, right?" Gruffnut asked with a crooked grin, "that's an interesting name. You know, I once saved an entire village from a storm."

Sessa gave him an awkward look. His words were such an obvious lie that she didn't even need to look into his soul to find the truth. Rolling her eyes, she went back into the shadows of her cell and sat down. Gruffnut continued to tell his false stories, but she didn't listen. His words were like white noise as she closed her eyes and thought of Viggo. Her soul was aching and weakened without it's other half, so she decided it'd be best to rest.

• • •

"Get up, scum," a voice woke Sessa from her light sleep. She opened her eyes to find a few dragon hunters binding Gruffnut's hands. They began to push him out of the dungeon. Then, Sessa's door opened. As soon as two hunters entered, she flung herself up and raced by them. She didn't know where she would go without Nightshade, but she needed to get away. If she could just find a hiding spot, she could wait for Viggo to return for her in safety.

But this wasn't going to happen. Sessa was stopped by a long arm extending in front of her. It felt as if she'd run straight into a metal bar. Sessa coughed and stepped back, holding her stomach in pain. Before she could even seen who had stopped her, she was grabbed harshly by the arm and dragged away. "Better luck next time," Krogan's sinister voice mocked.

Sessa frowned in distaste. "What now, Krogan?" She hissed.

"Johann would like to have a word with you," he answered as they entered a wide open room. In the center, stood Johann. Sessa was immediately smacked in the face by the feeling of his soul. It was angry, sharp, and shredded into strips. She was shocked by how strong of a feeling it gave her. But over all, his soul felt weak, as if barely clinging to life. Sessa imagined that this was what an evil life led to.

"Sessa Oakeart," Johann greeted with a smirk, "what a pleasure to finally meet this rescuer of the night." His smiled twisted into a look of anoyance. "You've cost my operation many setbacks."

Sessa smirked and held her chin higher. "I'm glad to hear," she retorted.

"I wouldn't start boasting quite yet," Johann warned. He approached her, looking her up and down. "You think I don't know who you are," he observed, "what you are." Sessa felt her heart jump; did Johann somehow know her secret? His next words proved her fear correct. "I've been around long enough to see dragons do exactly what you somehow managed," he explained, "though it wasn't easy to figure you out, I did."

"You don't know that half of it," Sessa argued, trying to keep a calm tone as she brushed his words off like dust.

"You're quite right," Johann agreed, nodding formally, "but I know enough. And I've learned much from your numerous rescues."

Krogan stood guard at the entrance, arms crossed as he listened intently. "I know that you're smart," Johann went on, "yet somehow missed how the Thorston boy was an obvious trap." He chuckled to himself and turned away from Sessa. "Krogan has told me that you're a fighting spirit," Johann changed the subject, "awfully emotional, for a girl with no soul." But when he turned back to Sessa, a glint of uncertainty in her eyes gave her away. Johann raised an eyebrow and spoke suggestively, "unless...you've found someone to share with."