Echoes Of The Past
(Part One)
"We can't keep sneaking away like this Astrid."
Hiccup followed Astrid as she not too subtly sneaked through the bushlands of Berk, out the back door, as it were. It was the dawning of the not so long season of spring on the normally wind-blown snow-capped inland. Astrid had no intuition of wasting the crisp, sweet scented day, away in the catacombs of Berk. Though, said catacombs were filled with their beloved friends, both Viking and Dragon alike. There was one particular Viking she wanted to spend the day with, and it wasn't stuck on Berk surrounded by prying eyes.
"Aaastrid, Come one."
Hiccup pleaded lightly as he swept aside a low hanging branch of thick striking green leaves.
The green grass beneath their feet was equally as green, lushes and rather concealed the sound of their footsteps.
It wasn't as if anyone would follow them, but then again it wasn't like no one would notice that the new chief of Berk and his soon-to-be-wife had not so mysteriously vanished on such a fine, and all-too-rare, spring day.
"It's not that I don't want to get away," Hiccup continued rubbing a hand to the back of his neck actually relishing in the warmth of the sun as it shown down upon them.
Oh, it really was a glorious day!
"I do." Hiccup looked at Astrid as she stopped by a small stream, she knelt down on her knees, cupped the water in her hands and sipped the cool liquid. Before splashing it over her face. The droplets trailed down her skin, tangled in her flaxen hair and dripped down her over her bare shoulders.
"I do, I really really do." Hiccup mutter to himself shamelessly admiring her from the few feet back from her.
"Come on Hiccup. Tell me you're not tempted?" Hiccup coughed on a laugh. Knowing all too well that she knew exactly what her 'innocent' remark sounded like.
"I'm chief of Berk Astrid. With that are certain responsibilities."
Standing up she lazily unbound her hair and tossed the damp tips of it about her head. They then fell enchantingly about her shoulders as she walked back to him, placing her hands upon his chest she leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Relax, I've arranged everything with your mother. She's going to take care of everything. We need a break."
Hiccup smiled, finding himself unwilling to really fight her one this.
"You mean like the one we took last week?"
Astrid smiled knowingly at him.
"Oh, oh, I know you mean the one before that! or..perhaps the one last Thorsday Thursday?"
"Precisely, it's been nearly three days since we've had time to ourselves just look at this Hiccup!"
She stepped back and waved a hand at the uncommonly warm bluer than blue skies over Berk.
Hiccup felt his not so iron will, wavering a little bit more.
"What about Toothless…and Stormfly?" He added playing upon her love of the Deadly Nadder.
"All sorted too. Now we are going to go to this great place I found secluded, cool. It's by the North waterfall. Toothless and Stormfly will meet up with us there later."
Rolling his eyes affectionately he let her lead him by the hand up the inclining hillside to the north and away from berk. Away for the day, from his at times overbearing demands as chief.
Thor only knew what the others thought of their knew chief taking the day off.
Again.
/
"Where is Hiccup!" Snotlout shrieked. "I bet he's with her again."
"Mmm, yes the infamous, her, the she who hath he, the female of our species that with her flaxen hair and striking blue eyes hath but whisked our beloved leader away for another romantic rendezvous. Yes! I see how a lonely Viking such as you, Snotlout might feel the dreaded green beast of envy." Tuff quipped as he leant a elbow atop Snotlout's shoulder. Who stood arms founded an impressive scowl upon his face.
"Augh!" Snotlout growled as he shrugged Tuff's arm off him and stormed away.
"What has him so riled?"
Ruff asked as she approached her brother.
"Hiccup and Astrid are gone again." Fishlegs informed her, arriving on the scene followed by a three way play fight with Meatlug, Stormfly and Toothless. Toothless of whom seemed all too keen to be beaten by both girl dragons. A broad toothless, and silly grin on his face as they rolled by the Viking riders and crashed into the nearby stall of apples and dull axes awaiting to be sharpened….by Astrid who'd elected to be the new (or be it selective version) of smithy.
"..and once again their dragons go awry." Fishlegs sighed.
"Huh! says he, the owner of a certain Gronkel."
Ignoring his implication Fishlegs raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you talking like that?"
"We all haveth' our own ways of dealing with neglect. Someth' get grumpy, other's overly inquisitive, some rambunctious…" he added as the drongos crashed through an open door of a hut, smashing could be heard from within. Followed by a very familiar…"this is outrageous!"
"Others blindsided…yes that right I said it!"
"Augh!" Fishlegs groaned and walked away.
"My dear sister was-th' Someth' I said?"
Ruff slapped a hand to her forehead and groaned.
/
"Uhh, Astrid just how far is this place? You know it would have been faster on our dragons."
Still gleefully tugging him along by the hand they rounded another bend of thick trees and climbed high up the now rock layered hillside.
"Trust me Hiccup it'll be worth it. Wait till you see this place. I didn't even know it was here."
As they climbed higher the landscape grew steeper and thinner in path and soon was completely covered in thick grey rocks. They wove their way around a cliff like edge and soon the roaring thunder of a waterfall could be heard. It wasn't much longer before they rounded the bend and saw the spectacular sight of the waterfall cascading down the high above cliff top and covered the gapping mouth of a cave. With little chance to linger at the sight for the rocky cliffside they moved on until they ducked behind the water falling and stumbled breathlessly into the cave.
Hiccup froze. There was something dark and familiar about this cave but he knew he'd never been here before. It was like some distant memory just out of reach that fought to contradict him.
He knew he'd never been here before it was a wonder that having been born and raised on Berk that they'd never found this place. After all Berk wasn't really that big of an island.
"Isn't it amazing!" Astrid excitedly exclaimed. She steeped further into the dark shadows of the cave.
Hiccup instinctively felt himself reaching out for her. "Astrid I really don't think you should go in there." He had this sickening, dreadful sensation of danger. Or that un-graspable familiarity that had his ever nerve on edge. It was unexplainable.
"It's alright Hiccup I've been here before. I found it one morning with Stormfly, it's how she'll know to find us, and Toothless will just follow her lead, I mean really come on." Her laugher seemed to echo off the walls around them. The sound sweet, and full of merriment but fell upon Hiccups ears like heavy pebbles in a river.
Astrid then bounded out of his reach and was swallowed up by the darkness as she walked further into the cave. A few moments later after fumbling about in the dark a small fire blazed in the corner and Astrid was no longer in darkness. The golden light of the fire illuminated her gleeful face. Her eyes bright and happy. It seemed he was the only one suffering from the eerie sensation of danger.
/
Astrid tried, but even after an hour Hiccup couldn't be tempted to relax. His heart pounded with fear, and even as she'd convinced him to sit down against the wall with him, her arms wrapped around him, his heart and instincts refused to calm down. Something wasn't right.
"Astrid I really think we should head back."
Before she could respond a distant sound of a Night Fury could be heard followed by a chirpy cry of a Nadder. A heartbeat later, in a burst of startling water and wings the two dragons burst through the curtain of water at the front of the cave and landed on the flat surface at the opening.
"Stormfly!" Astrid rose to greet her winged friend and patted her snout lovingly. Still showing no signs of unease.
Even the appearance of Toothless didn't make Hiccup feel better. He stood up and suddenly was overwhelmed with a batch of dizziness, his mind swam between worlds. Torne between the present and an eerie sense of déjà vu or Asia fondue as Snotlout would say.
He'd been here before, he just knew it.
The shadows played with his mind and all he could see in the small firelight was Astrid standing at the doorway to the cave. but gone were their loving dragons to Hiccup's eye he only saw a dark foreboding shadow lurking up in front of Astrid. Seeming to force her backwards towards the opening of the cave and the shear death drop to the river below.
Hiccup tried to call out, but his voice seemed muffled and he felt a strong throbbing pain in his face. Like he'd been struck by something. He reached out a hand through the foggy darkness and tried to see clearly but he could only see Astrid's life hanging in the balance.
"Hiccup!" from a distance he could hear Astrid's worried voice calling to him. Gone was her merriment n a sudden rush of concern. Her face faded in and out before him, torn between her adult beauty and her youthful innocence of years gone by.
None of this made sense. Why couldn't he see, why did he feel like he had been malnourished and why did his wrists feel rope burned?
"Ast…Astrid?"
Then the darkness really moved in and it was all he saw before he collapsed to the ground of the cave.
END
Eliana Robinson
1/9/17
CREATION DATE – 1/9/17
PUBLISH DATE – 2/9/17
Echoes Of The Past Disclaimer
ECHOES OF THE PAST - is a Fanfiction of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON I do not own the characters or original plotline.
PLOTLINE: Can you imagine a land before Dragons? A land before Vikings? Can you imagine a world where the past lives and even Vampires roam? In this spooky and intriguing first part of the two part Fanfic Prize for the Reader Contest winner.
Dedicated to VenomousFantum for winning the Reader's Contest.
Hiccup and Astrid try to sneak away from berk, on a blissful spring day but they travel further than they ever thought possible. Get ready for the upcoming Dreadfall season with this next instalment of the Dragon Adventure Series.
This story is NOTfor official publication or profit.
ECHOES OF THE PAST is a short tale in an unofficially link series between all my HTTYD fanfics and is purely meant as entertainment.
CREATION DATE – 1/9/17
PUBLISH DATE – 2/9/17
Part of the "Dragon Adventures" Series By Eliana Robinson