The Strength of the Princess (HTTYD)

Catching Up

Chapter 40: Catching Up

Eira and Ingrid stopped by Berk at the end of their week long trip. Eira introduced her sister to Chief Stoick, caught up with Asmund, and sent a Terror Mail to Dagur asking him and Heather to meet her at the Edge. She allowed the chief to feed them, and then the sisters set off for Dragon's Edge.

Eira found the island in disrepair. If she had to guess, she would say the volcano erupted and the riders stopped the lava flow. She hoped everyone was alright. She did not see her friends outside, so she and her sisters left their dragons and entered the clubhouse. Sure enough, the riders were huddled inside, conversing.

"Hello, everyone," Eira said.

The Vikings turned to the door in surprise. "Eira!" they exclaimed at once. They rushed at her, and she laughed when they engulfed her in a group hug.

"We were wondering when you would get back," Hiccup said. He looked past her at the younger girl. "Who is this?"

"This is my sister, Ingrid," Eira replied. "She will be staying with us for awhile."

"How long is awhile?" Snotlout asked.

"Until I find Eira a husband," Ingrid said cheerfully, seeming oblivious to the gaping looks she received.

"What?!"

Eira chuckled nervously. "We can talk about that later when Dagur and Heather get there. For now, telling me what happened while I was gone. It looks like you went through a lot."

Hiccup nodded slowly. "The volcano erupted, but we managed to seal the cracks combining Gronckle iron and Death Song amber. We were going to leave the Edge because the dragon hunters are defeated, but..."

"It turns out they're not as defeated as we thought," Tuffnut said.

Eira gasped. "What do you mean?"

"Remember Garf, the baby Death Song?" Astrid said. "Well, he's all grown now, and we found him nearly beaten to death by dragon hunters. The other Death Song wasn't so lucky..."

"It seems the hunters have a new leader," Hiccup said, "and he's even more ruthless and cruel than Viggo. We need to stop him."

"That sounds serious," Eira said. She turned to her sister. "Maybe this isn't the best time for you to visit."

Ingrid shook her head. "I want to help. Besides, I'm exactly the age you were when you left home."

"True, but it was months before I battled dragon hunters." Eira paused as she thought about it. "You can stay, but you won't engage in missions with us."

Ingrid frowned. "Come on!"

"Listen to your sister," Hiccup said. "It's not safe."

"Fine." Ingrid eyed the Vikings one by one. "Who are you all again?"

Eira quickly went around introducing everyone. She had just finished when she heard a loud voice from the door say her name. She turned to see Dagur and Heather enter the room.

"Hi, Dagur," Eira said with a smile.

Dagur closed the distance between them and enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." When he eased up, she hugged him back. She pulled away and looked past him at this sister. "You too, Heather."

Heather smiled at her. "Hello, Eira." She turned to Ingrid curiously. "Who is this?"

"I'm Ingrid, Eira's younger sister," Ingrid said. "I'm here to help her with her romance problems."

Eira frowned. "I don't have romance problems."