How Could She?

"How Could She?" is a Season 5 oneshot written on September 26, 2016. In-universe, it takes place between Descent into Madness/A Chat in the Prison Cells and To Forgive or Not to Forgive?
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
The Lady shivered as she pulled the blanket more over her shoulders to keep herself warm while lying on the cold hard floor of the Grounded Dungeon. Nightfall had arrived hours ago, and she could not sleep a wink. Thoughts ran through her mind…and all of them centered around one thing…or rather one dragon…Shadow…
Yes, the madwoman attempting to kill the King was certainly upsetting, and the chat they had a short time after certainly did not help either. However, those were the last things on her mind at that point. All she could think about was the black dot that disappeared into the sky earlier today. Even after eleven years of being the best of friends…practically sisters…Shadow just left her. Deep down, Grey knew that it wasn’t her fault. Shadow clearly was not acting on her own free will just like the other dragons, but that knowledge only made her feel worse as she did not know what made the Night Fury suddenly turn against her and leave her. The memories came rushing back for the millionth time that day. 
Shadow advancing toward her…her eyes narrowed into slits…
Her pleas echoed in her head…
“Are…you okay, Shadow?”
“Shadow? W-What are you doing?”
“Shadow! What’s the matter with you?! Come on, what are you doing?! This isn’t funny! Stop!”
“SHADOW! NO! SNAP OUT OF IT! SHADOW!”
Shivers went down the Lady’s spine as she thought back on how she was basically pleading for her Night Fury to spare her life. That obviously had never happened before…not even when they first met 11 years ago. She closed her eyes as some memories rushed back with full force…reminding her of happy times before this madness…
“Wow…Hroar and the teens told me how cool bonding with a dragon is, but I don’t think the stories they told do it justice. This is…this is just amazing! I just bonded with a dragon, and it’s a Night Fury, who just saved my life! I bet that’s never happened to anyone before!”
“I’ll name her Shadow because you can’t see Night Furies when they fly at night time. Do you like that?”
The Night Fury crooned happily and licked her new friend’s face earning a laugh from Grey.
“Okay, Shadow it is then!”
“Oh, thank you, Daddy! Thank you! Thank you! Did you hear, Shadow? We get to stay together forever!”
“Come on, Shadow! Fly! You know, flap your wings. Flap, flap!”
“YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT, SHADOW! YOU’RE FLYING!”
Grey smiled to herself with tears in her eyes as she thought back on their first time flying together. Shadow clearly hadn’t learned to fly before they met, which explained why she was hesitant to fly, but after some trial and error, they finally did it. Things seemed so much simpler back then…when all they had to worry about was whether or not they arrived home in time for supper. Now, here they were, in a war fighting for their lives…all their dragons had suddenly left with no explanation whatsoever.
Grey wanted to believe that Shadow and the others would come back, but…deep down…there was a part of her that wasn’t so sure about it. What if whatever it was that forced her to leave would never let her go? What if they could never stay together forever? What if she lost her best friend in the entire world forever?
“NO!” the Lady suddenly shouted…louder than she had expected. When she realized what she did, she quickly placed her hands on her mouth and tried to get a look around the people sleeping around her. Greg, Warren, and Asha were all still fast asleep clearly not awakened by her sudden outburst. Her eyes then went to the other rebels around her and up at the guarded door above them…King Haddock and Queen Mera’s chambers. No one seemed to be alarmed. 
She sighed in deep relief as she rested her head on her arms wishing more than ever that she had the Night Fury right next to her. Never in her life had she felt more alone without Shadow, but somehow, she managed to find some more hope within her heart. “No…” she whispered to herself with tears flowing down her cheeks. “I can’t give up on her…not now. If I can get out of deep pit…or fight in a war with the gods…save a King more times than I can count…then Shadow will find her way back to me. She’s going to come back…one way or another. I…can’t…give…up. She’ll be back, I know she will.”
Still, that didn’t stop her from saying a little prayer. “Hel, all gods and goddesses above, please if you can…please bring my dragon back to me. Please…she’s my best friend.” 
With that, the calmness of sleep finally welcomed her. 
Category:Events
Category:Season 5
Category:Grey Bergman
Category:BOTGD