Chapter Text
Dagur wanted to deny it.
He really wanted to deny it.
He wanted to write it off as more lies. More tricks, from the people who ruined his life.
But he couldn’t.
He couldn’t keep himself from the truth any longer.
Perhaps…
Perhaps they were right.
His mother’s death was still a tragedy, and his father and sister’s disappearances were still unexplained.
But in regards to everything else, perhaps it truly was a result of his actions.
Maybe he had pushed his tribe over the edge. Maybe he had been too cruel to Hiccup, when they were growing up. Maybe his violence towards the other tribes and the Madrigals was unwarranted.
Maybe the reason they all left him, was because he made them want to.
Maybe it wasn’t literally everyone else’s fault…
Maybe it was his.
And that meant the last ten years of holding this grudge, fiendishly hounding after his revenge, had been for nothing.
He had nothing left.
What was he supposed to do now?
This question plagued his mind, and it had been ever since they got back to the castle.
He didn’t feel present, like an active participant in reality. From the moment he woke up, he was just going through the motions. His body moving on autopilot.
He got up, washed his face, did his morning exercises, and headed to the kitchen. All while not remembering a single bit of it.
He was too in his own head. Too consumed by his scattered thoughts.
He had no idea what to do with his life anymore.
He had no idea what he was doing here.
The whole plan was to ride the coattails of the Northern Alliance. Using Drago’s success as a springboard to destroy his supposed enemies.
But if he didn’t want to destroy those people anymore…what was he doing?
What was he doing here?
He didn’t know anymore.
…
Though he did know what he was doing in the kitchen.
A meager amount of awareness returned to his mind, as he knew he had to focus on the task at hand.
It was morning, meaning it was time to make Peep some breakfast.
For the past few days he’s just given her a slice of bread and a glass of water, which was actually considered a luxury compared to how they usually fed their prisoners.
But today he felt like doing something extra. He felt guilty, even though he hadn’t done anything to upset her recently. He really just felt like he had to make something up to her.
And…he didn’t like the conditions she was living in.
He wanted her to be more comfortable.
Upon entering the kitchen, he saw that he wasn’t alone. Another of Drago’s minions was already in the middle of something.
She placed two old biscuits on the counter, leftovers they’d had for months. Making sure to pick the ones with the least amount of mold.
And then she reached into a bottom drawer, and pulled out a vial. Filled with a strange, violet liquid.
She held it up to the light, sloshing it around a bit. Before uncorking the container, and beginning to tip it.
And that’s when Dagur stepped in.
He didn’t know what she was doing, but he knew he didn’t like it when people put weird purple stuff in his food.
“What ’cha got there?” He asked as he approached. His friendly tone somehow managing to sound threatening.
The woman, bone-thin and wearing a cloak far too large for her, jumped with surprise. Nearly spilling the contents of the vial.
Glaring with annoyance from the scare, she still acknowledged Dagur as her superior. And gave him an answer.
“Food, for Drago’s magical brats…” She huffed, turning back to her work.
She started to tip the bottle again, only for a hand to stop her wrist.
Something about that liquid just didn’t look right to Dagur.
“And what exactly are you putting in that food?” He questioned, eyes narrowed. “Doesn’t look like any sauce I’ve ever seen…”
“Why do you care?” The woman spat, surging with irritation.
The crazed and now slightly concerned man raised an eyebrow.
“Just humor me.”
With a prolonged groan, she did just that.
“It’s Deathgripper venom.” She revealed. “There, you happy?”
Dagur wasn’t happy. In fact, he was very disturbed.
“Why the heck are you putting poison in their food!?”
All at once, he had so many questions.
What was happening? Was Drago trying to kill them? But he needed them alive, didn’t he?
Luckily, the woman had an explanation handy.
“Drago used to know this bloke called, uh…” The name was escaping her at the moment, though she tried very hard to remember.
“Gristle…Grizzle…Grim-whatever…”
“The point is, he had a bunch of Deathgrippers!” She said. “And Drago learned that the venom has some crazy effects. Not just on dragons, but on people too.”
Dagur crossed his arms, not thrilled with what he was hearing so far. “What kind of effects?”
She was just getting to that.
“Anyone who takes this stuff becomes…” A cryptic grin spread across her face. “More open to suggestion…”
Her smile dropped into a wince. “But if you just inject it right into the bloodstream, the side effects can be less than ideal…”
“Which is why he’s got the kids ingesting it instead!” She held up a stale biscuit, and brought out a knife. Cutting into it.
“It’ll take longer for them to be completely under its control, but this way he can avoid any unwanted reactions.”
A few drops of venom were dripped into the biscuit, before she closed it back up. Doing the same to the other.
Dagur tried to wrangle all this new information.
“So let me get this straight…” He muttered. “…Drago’s drugging the kids with dragon venom so he can turn them into mind controlled magical slaves?”
The woman shrugged, casually. Seeing nothing wrong with this.
“Pretty much.”
Dagur was very tempted to just grab those biscuits and throw them into a fire, or toss them out of the window and into the freezing waters, or anything else that would dispose of them.
But then what would happen?
Drago would kill him, and just keep drugging them anyway.
There was nothing he could do here.
Nothing except for watching her go. Feeling deeply disgusted, and fearing for those kids.
He’d taken to calling them Red and Curly, based on their respective hair qualities. But according to his little captive, their names were Karla and Pedro.
And those names stuck around in his mind, even as he scraped together a serviceable breakfast for his ward.
A few fried eggs, and a slice of smoked fish. The freshest he could find. He hoped it tasted good.
And from the way she gobbled it down, it clearly was.
Seeing her so vigorously wolf down her meal made him actually smile, for the first time all day.
“Take it easy, Squirt!” Dagur laughed. “You’re gonna choke yourself!”
To his relief, she did slow down. But only a little.
It was the first food with flavor she’d had in days. And while it was nothing compared to her abuela’s cooking, it was still more than enough for her right now.
Dagur felt good. He did a good thing, and felt good about it. A new experience for him.
But he still didn’t feel great.
He looked at this girl, her skin dirty and pale from the lack of sunlight. Her clothes ripped and torn, her hair dry and frayed at the edges.
She needed to get out of there. He wanted her out of there. At least for a little while.
He opened the cell door, the girl watching it swing with surprise.
“W-What’s happening?”
Dagur beckoned her forward, closing the door after she’d left.
“You need some time outta that cell, Squirt.” He answered. “This place is a serious safety hazard…”
Hearing him express concern for her safety, or anyone’s safety, only increased her surprise.
He faced her, mild curiosity in his gaze. “So where do you wanna go?”
The surprises just wouldn’t cease.
He was asking her what she wanted to do? She could make her own choice?
Peep immediately knew what she wanted.
Excitement sprung into her form, but right before she could respond-
“Besides seeing Red and Curly.” Dagur intervened.
Peep deflated like a popped balloon. There went her idea…
To his credit, Dagur looked genuinely apologetic.
He rubbed the back of his neck, turning away from her forlorn face. “Sorry, kid. Rules are rules.”
Her initial idea may have been a bust, but Peep still had something else she wanted to try…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dagur was baffled.
He knew kids could be weird, but…
This was incredibly weird.
“You seriously want to spend your free time with him!?”
Peep nodded her head, fully confident in her decision.
“Why wouldn’t I?” She asked, caressing the cool scales with a palm. “He’s a very nice dragon!”
She rubbed each side of the lizard’s face, bumping her nose against its snout with adoration.
“Isn’t that right, Scorpio?” She cooed.
The Triple Stryke gave a mild grunt, placidly allowing the girl to rub his cheeks. He knew he didn’t look very threatening right now, but for her, he didn’t care.
Here in the arena where they trained dragons for battle, Peep had requested she visit the Triple Stryke again.
Somehow, she even convinced him to let it out of its cage. And oddly enough, it hadn’t moved to attack him at all. Specifically because she asked it not to.
It seemed she’d formed a bit of a bond with the beast. One Dagur did not understand.
“You named it?” He asked, befuddled. “You can’t name it, you’ll get attached to it!”
Unfortunately for him, she was already quite attached.
She defensively hugged his neck, sending Dagur a little pout.
“Every good dragon deserves a name!”
The Triple Stryke, now named Scorpio, growled threateningly at the man. Demanding he not do anything to upset the child, including questioning his new moniker.
“Alright, alright…” Sighed Dagur, holding his hands up in defeat. He knew this was a battle he just wouldn’t win.
He took a seat on the stone floors, trying to enjoy a breeze from the open ceiling that was far too cold. While listening to the child play with the dragon.
A wry smirk tugged at his lips. “Let me guess…you called him Scorpio because of the tails, right?”
Currently on the lizard’s back, Peep gave a sort of half-shrug.
“Kinda…” She replied. “I was mostly thinking about the…”
It took her a bit to form the word she was looking for, it was a complicated one.
“C-Con…Consty…Constellation!”
Dagur’s eyebrows raised with surprise. “You know the constellations?”
To which the girl nodded.
“Uh-Huh!” She was now hanging from the dragon’s neck, grinning. “My Mami taught me!”
Dagur shifted positions, his arm resting on his knee. A nostalgic glaze settling over his eyes.
“So did mine…” He whispered, almost to himself.
Peep’s expression fell, when she noticed a newfound sadness that seemed to overtake him. One that had clearly been around for years.
She dropped from her position on the dragon, tentatively approaching.
She’d never seen a bad guy look so sad before.
“Did you…love your mom?” She asked, quietly.
Dagur shut his eyes, exhaling wearily.
“Of course I did…I loved her with everything I had…”
Memories of a time when they were all together flashed into his mind. “I loved my whole family…”
He was quiet, for a moment. Gazing out at nothing in particular, his focus not on the present.
Until he let out another whisper, seemingly not even meaning to.
But he had to admit it. He had to let it out, even if he didn’t know he needed to.
And he did.
“…Still do…”
All that emptiness he’d been feeling, the hole left behind by his fading need for revenge, was filled.
With hurt.
Hurt for the family he had. The family he lost. The sheer isolation he’d felt for years, suppressing it and replacing it with a desire to inflict pain on others.
A deep, heart wrenching, profound hurt that clasped his soul and wouldn’t let go.
Hurt was all he knew. The only sensation he could feel.
…For about three seconds.
A small, warm feeling was placed against his side.
“What the…?”
Startled, he looked over. Seeing Peep hugging his arm tightly. Both her arms wrapped around his bicep.
Dagur was as frozen as a deer faced with excessively bright lights. His eyes as wide as they’d stretch. Not a single movement from his body, not even a twitch.
Until, gradually, his other arm began to move.
He was painstakingly slow about it, as if one wrong move would cause some catastrophe. His hand opening and closing from fist to palm to fist, not quite knowing what to do with itself.
This was new and strange and weird, and yet terrifyingly familiar at the same time.
Until, finally, he bit the bullet. And placed his hand against her back. Completing the hug.
And his heart exploded.
Dagur sucked in a shocked breath, as an insurmountable warmth burst throughout every bit of his being.
That hole, left empty by his dying lust for vengeance and filled with a decade old pain, was replaced with something else.
Something he used to know fondly. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Something he felt whenever his mother used to hold him close. Something he felt when his father used to place a proud hand on his shoulder. Something he felt when he’d succeed in making his baby sister giggle.
Something the lack of had warped him into the very man he was today. The man he was now ashamed of.
He knew this emotion had a name, it had to…
But he was blanking on it.
His heart beat with a newfound fervor, pulsing this new sensation throughout his body.
All at once the world seemed to light up with colors he didn’t even know existed. All at once he felt like he was seeing things from a completely different perspective.
And in every corner of his brain, something sprang to life. Something that had lied dormant for far too long.
A primal instinct, a compulsion as old as man itself. A drive to protect a small, defenseless little thing that had seemingly come into your life out of nowhere.
Feeling the hand on her back, Peep looked up from his arm. Staring at him with those big, green eyes.
And she smiled.
That sealed it.
Big Brother Mode was activated.
He would annihilate anyone or anything that threatened this child.
Dagur heard a growling, and looked up to see Scorpio glowering at him.
But for as hostile as his expression was, he stood solidly in place. He was simply sending a message.
A message that, somehow, Dagur completely understood.
She was trusting him. And he’d better not dare break that trust.
Without any words, he stared into the dragon’s eyes. And slightly nodded.
While he still seemed wary, the Triple Stryke accepted this response. Settling down onto his stomach, and yawning with his large jaws. His three tails braiding together, and curling around him.
It was insane.
He was sitting here, being hugged by a little girl, next to a killer dragon, with no desire to kill anyone.
And yet, he felt better than he had in a very long time.
He felt...content.
And it was at that moment that Dagur knew he was about to try something crazy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He couldn’t let her see her siblings. It was too risky.
He could get either himself, or even worse, her killed.
But…if everything went according to plan…
Maybe she could at least talk to them.
Dagur knocked on a dingy wooden door. Trying very hard to not be heard by anyone else.
Soon after, the door opened. Revealing a small girl with frizzy red hair, dressed in rags.
“What do you want?” Karla asked, with a grumble. Scratching at her neck.
It was still irritated from wearing that chain all day, yesterday.
Dagur gestured behind himself, already stepping away.
“Come with me…”
Bristling with confusion, she did just that. Following him through the halls until they arrived at a rather stuffy closet.
Already in the closet was Pedro, looking just as confused as she was.
Dagur shuffled her in, and stood outside the door.
“Just wait there!” He said, before closing it.
And now it was just the two of them, standing in the darkness.
Even with the limited light, they could tell this closet was a mess.
Walls stained with splotches of dubious origin, the door creaked and cracked with age and disuse, and various insects scattered from the light. Some skittering over their bare feet.
And the cobblestone floors were perhaps worse here than they were anywhere else in the castle, decently sized holed between the stones could be seen. Slight air drafts blowing through them.
Karla looked to her brother. “Do you have any idea what we’re doing here?”
In the darkness, she could just barely see him shrug.
But they knew better than to question their masters at this point. So they waited for something to happen.
Karla tapped her foot impatiently, Pedro idly looking around. Though it wasn’t like he could see anything.
They could hear down there, through the poorly done floor. They could hear what sounded like footsteps. And then Dagur’s voice, echoing from below.
“Alright, Squirt. I’m giving you ten minutes!”
They heard footsteps leaving. And then a second, smaller set of footsteps approach.
And heard something amazing.
“H-Hello?”
Both Karla and Pedro surged with surprise, upon hearing a voice they recognized intimately.
A voice that belonged to the third of their number. The girl who made their triplet trio complete.
They both gasped her name at once.
“PEEP!?”
They heard the girl give her own gasp from below.
“Karla? Pedro?” They heard her say.
“You know it!” Grinned the redhead.
For the first time in what felt like eternity, they were all near each other.
They desperately wished they were in the same room. That they could see and smell and hug each other. But for now, this was just fine.
Their spirits were at the highest they’ve been in a while. Any pain and torment from the days before vanishing, at least for this one moment.
Peep had another question. “W-Where are you?”
“Up here!” Karla excitedly replied, though her answer wasn’t very descriptive.
Pedro felt happier than he had in days, so much that he was back to speaking more than a little at a time.
“We’re, like, totally in a closet!” Said the boy. “Where are you?”
Peep was just about to answer, but Karla beat her to it.
“It doesn’t matter!”
The girl was grinning confidently, striking what she hoped was a cool pose.
“Just sit tight! I’m gonna find you, and bust us outta here!”
This piqued Peep’s interest, her head tilting as she stared up at the particularly patchy ceiling.
“Oh? You have a plan?”
She heard her older sister scoff, finding the idea preposterous.
“Who needs a plan?” Asked the cocky speedster. “I’ll blast us out and we’ll run back home!”
Karla thought the idea was foolproof, but Peep saw a few holes in the concept.
“Karla…we’re on an island…”
The redhead looked to the floor, quirking an eyebrow at her sister’s voice.
“Yeah, and?” She asked, not seeing the problem here.
Peep tried to get her point across.
“Y’know…surrounded by water?”
It took Karla a few seconds to understand what she was getting at, before it dawned on her.
She and water did not mix. In fact, the moment she touched the stuff she would start sparking like crazy. And it was usually very painful.
Bath time was a regular ordeal.
“I…didn’t think of that…” She admitted, wearing an awkward expression.
In a flash, her cockiness had returned.
“But that’s okay! I’ll figure something else out!”
While her assurance was nice, Peep felt it was unneeded.
“Actually, I-I think I may have a plan- “
“Nah!” Karla brashly interrupted, hands behind her head.
“I got this! You just sit back and watch me do my thing!”
Being so rudely cut off made Peep groan with exasperation, but her sister’s shortsightedness was perhaps the most annoying thing.
“Okay, how?” She questioned, skeptically. “How are you gonna get us out of here?”
Karla was quiet for a moment, before she shrugged.
“Uh…by being awesome?” She said, as if it was obvious. “Gimme some time, it’ll come to me…”
This made the smaller girl even more exasperated.
“That’s not an answer!” She huffed, glaring upwards. “Could you please just listen to my plan?”
Hearing the aggravation in her sister’s voice made Karla defensive, and slightly aggressive.
“I don’t need to!” she snapped, crossing her arms.
“Why not!?” Peep asked, her voice raising.
Karla shouted back. “Because I’m the big sister! You listen to me!”
Peep annoyance sparked into full blown anger, the girl seething a response.
“You are only older than me…BY TEN MINUTES!”
“Still counts!” The only slightly older girl refuted.
Pedro stood to the side, watching and listening as his sisters argued. Not knowing if he should step in or not.
The warm, fuzzy feelings in their hearts had evaporated. Replaced by a palpable tension.
“Look, why can’t you just let me handle this?” Karla asked, glowering down to the floor.
Peep was in near disbelief.
Even after being put in this situation, after all they’d been through…
Karla hadn’t learned a thing.
“Because the last time we let you handle something, you got us kidnapped!”
The usually meek girl launched into a rant, her frustration reaching new heights.
“We’re only here because you wanted to go on an adventure!” She said the last word as if it was the stupidest thing in the world.
“We could’ve stayed at camp! Me and Pedro were having fun!” The girl formed a grimace, directed towards a sibling she couldn’t see.
“And we were only at camp in the first place because you wrecked the party!”
“How many times have we gotten in trouble, because we were doing what you told us?” She heatedly asked. “How many times did you ignore us, when we told you an obviously bad idea was an obviously bad idea?”
“How many times have you destroyed something? Or got someone hurt? How many times have mom and dad had to clean up after you?”
Having her past failures thrown in her face caused Karla to surge with anger herself.
“Look, I was just trying to have some fun!” She exclaimed. “It’s not my fault people can’t handle me!”
“But it is your fault when you don’t learn from your mistakes!” Peep countered. “And you never learn, Karla!”
Memories of every time the older girl had caused some type of upheaval fueled her next sentence.
“You never have, and I don’t think you ever will!”
Pedro finally decided to speak up.
“Dudes…maybe we shouldn’t- “
From above and below, both his sisters were too entrenched in their bickering to tolerate an interruption. Yelling simultaneously.
“STAY OUT OF THIS!”
He quieted himself, stepping backwards into a corner, while the girls resumed their quarrel.
“Y’know what I think?” Karla asked, frowning deeply. “I think you’re jealous!”
The accusation left Peep sputtering. “J-Jealous!?”
Karla nodded, even though she couldn’t be seen.
“Yeah, jealous!” She repeated. “Because you know I’m a better leader than you’ll ever be!”
Having her insecurities about her position as the next Candle Holder targeted like this sent a wave of fury through the small girl, who was now feeling angrier than she probably ever had.
“And what makes you think you’re a good leader?” She asked in return, a growl in her throat.
“Your leadership got us kidnapped! Now we’re a gazillion miles away from home, our family has no idea where we are, and we can’t even escape, because you won’t even listen to me!”
Her fear and rage towards their current situation hit her in full force, and the blame was all directed towards one person.
She pointed a finger to the ceiling, hoping her sister could feel the vitriol behind it.
“All of this is your fault!”
Karla floundered for an answer, a refute, anything to prove her claim wrong.
But she couldn’t deny that, whether it was her intention or not, her actions had led them to where they are now.
But she was just so mad right now, and her pride refused to allow her to admit to any wrongdoing.
So she doubled down.
“I DON’T CARE WHO’S FAULT IT IS!” She raged, jolting with electricity.
“I’m the fastest thing alive!” Proclaimed the girl, holding onto her self-given title like a security blanket. “I can get us out of a crummy castle any day of the week!”
“So you’re gonna shut up and do what I say, because I’m the big sister!”
After she finished her rant, there was silence. The only noises being the huffing of a winded child.
But then-
“I wish you weren’t…”
Karla jerked from surprise, the statement hitting her like a brick.
“W-What…?”
Peep wasn’t shouting anymore, but it was obvious that she was positively livid.
“Everything bad that’s happened to us, happened because of you…” She spoke, her tone both calm and enraged.
“My life would be so much easier if you weren’t in it! If you weren’t my sister!”
For a second, Karla looked insurmountably pained. Like her heart was being ripped in two and set ablaze.
But soon enough, she was balling her fists. A snarl on her freckled face, and a fire in her eyes.
“W-Well maybe I don’t want a coward for a little sis! You think of that!?”
“I don’t need you, you need me!” She yelled, stomping the ground. “I’ll find my own way out, and you’ll be begging to come with me!”
“All you’re doing is slowing me down! That’s all you’ve ever done!”
Peep matched her volume. “Fine! Then I’ll stop slowing you down!”
“That’s fine by me!” Karla hissed in return.
“Fine!”
“FINE!”
“FINE!”
Their back and forth now done, the two girls both grunted with a burning anger.
Pep swiftly turned, running back from where she came. A glower on her face, a fire in her belly…
And tears in her eyes.
Karla heard her footsteps, and felt she needed the last laugh.
“Yeah, run away! That’s all you’re good for!”
Pedro finally decided to speak up again, disheartened by the recent turn of events.
“We shouldn’t fight…” He said. “I-I really think you should- “
Karla was right in his face, turning her anger towards him.
“I DIDN’T ASK YOU WHAT YOU THINK!” She hollered. “NOBODY CARES!”
That shut him up quickly. The boy lowered his head, his entire posture shifting to a more reserved stance.
No one cared what he thought. So he’d keep his mouth shut.
Karla was sick of this closet, sick of her sister, sick of this castle…
She was sick of all of it.
With an angry grunt, she raced out of the room. Dashing off to find somewhere she could let off some steam.
And not think about what Peep had said.
Pedro, now alone, eventually trudged away from the closet. Heading off in search of his room. Deeply saddened by the split he was feeling between his siblings.
All three triplets went in different directions.
All three triplets felt more alone now than ever before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Far away, in a hidden valley, there stood a large and colorful house. Sitting atop a picturesque hill. A candle burning in the window.
This house wasn’t just any house. It was very special.
Thanks to the power of a miracle, it was alive. Spending its days caring for its family.
And in the dead of night, when no one was awake or aware enough to notice, something peculiar happened.
In one of the hallways, there were three doors. Depicting a speedy girl, an imaginative boy, and a girl who looked quite nervous.
These doors usually glowed with a bright, welcoming, magical energy. But tonight, the glows faded in and out like a dying lightbulb. Eerie noises echoing throughout the house.
The candle’s flame got softer, weaker. Flickering dimly in the wind.
And forming on the nearest wall, jagged and splintering and spreading at an alarming pace was-
A crack.