Valka stared in astonishment, holding her baby boy close to her chest as the white dragon in front of her collapsed; resting its head and chest on the edge of the cliff, it's body in the beautiful beast stared back at her, turquoise eyes sad and weary. It had a magnificent crown of white and spines and was bigger than any dragon Valka had ever seen. With obvious struggle, the dragon set down a glowing blue egg, licking it tenderly. Valka stared in shock as the beautiful dragon closed its eyes and rested its head with a low groan, turning to ice, blowing away like snow. Valka knelt down and reached for the egg, but as she touched the icy shell, it erupted in a burst of snowflakes and she flinched back, covering Hiccup. To her surprise, when she opened her eyes, there was a human baby curled up in the snow where the egg had been. The baby girl had hair as white as snow and the same stunning turquoise eyes as the dragon before, only her pupils were surrounded by copper. The baby's eyes filled with tears and she started sneezing at the cold air. Without any other moral option, Valka took her fur shawl and wrapped it around the baby.
"I don't quite know what to do with you." Valka said to the girl as she carried both babies back to the village. The baby girl's snow-white hair, was slowly fading to red, and by the time Valka had reached the village, her hair was a brilliant auburn; the same color as her husband's beard. Stoick was the first person Valka could think of to see about the baby, however regarding his passionate hate for dragons, Valka knew he would only do more harm than good. She eventually found that she had snuck through the busy village and through the back door to the blacksmith, Gobber, the family's closest friend.
"Gobber, I need your help." Valka startled the grubby man. He jumped but turned around smiling all the same. Both his smile and his tong appendage dropped when his eyes landed on the added bundle in her arms.
"Valka, why in Thor's name do you have another baby?" Gobber frowned suspiciously. "Is it yours?"
"No Gobber, she's not mine. I found her near the cliffs." She hesitated, second guessing her decision. "She was left there by a dragon." She sighed at his skeptical look. "Just... Look at this." She held the baby out to him, hopeful when he hesitantly took her, adjusting the shawl to look at her.
"Odin's beard." Gobber swore, quickly shoving the baby back at Valka. "That's a witch if ever I saw one!" He backed away. Valka adjusted the baby on her hip and found that she had normal human eyes, a warm brown quickly taking over the turquoise of her new iris'. The baby looked straight at Gobber, excitedly reaching her arms out for him. Valka safely set Hiccup down and walked over to Gobber, who was still taken aback.
"Please Gobber. We can't leave an orphan baby, she has no home or family. Where else will she go? Would you put a newborn to the stake and have her burned?" Valka snapped Gobber back to his senses.
"and just what is it you're asking me to do?" He filled with dread and what her answer could be.
"I'm asking you to raise her as an adopted child. You have no wife or children, and she has no parent." Valka held the baby back out for him to take.
"What makes you think I want a child?" He hesitantly took the baby. "Besides, I wouldn't know what to do. I don't know the first thing about raising a kid. And what am I gonna tell Stoick?" gobber sighed and shook his head. "It'd probably be better if you took her in." He held the baby back out to Valka. She shook her head and picked Hiccup back up.
"What would I tell Stoick if I took her in? What if her eyes changed back in front of him? You know as well as I do that he hates dragons. He would have her sent away or worse; burned for witchcraft." Gobber struggled for another excuse but found none. "We'll say that you found her on the dock at night and a strange ship was sailing away in the distance. Valka nodded at her own sound story. Gobber sighed in defeat, looking down at the baby who was staring up at him with big, curious eyes and a cute, gummy smile.
"Oh alright." He finally agreed. "But you're gonna have to help me with her." He bargained, making Valka smile.
"Of course." She nodded, showing him how to hold her properly. "And I'm sure others will too, like Phlegma, she has no children of her own."
"What if she turns into a dragon?" Gobber asked, letting the baby hold his finger.
"We have to keep her secret. It could mean her life." Valka sighed. "She must know the truth when the time comes, but until then, no one can know." Gobber nodded, looking back down at the baby as she started sucking on his finger. "She will need a name." Valka smiled.
"Freya." Gobber nodded. "Her hair is like fire... It's also the prettiest name I know." He shrugged sheepishly.
"Freya it is then" Valka agreed.
A few months had passed and winter was almost over. Valka sat at the edge of the woods, admiring the way the frost melted on the trees and a slight green washed over the forest with the oncoming spring. She sat with both babies, Hiccup being the weaker of the two due to his premature birth, was strapped to Valka's front, so she could support him. Freya was strapped to her back, looking around curiously. Valka always took care of Freya during the day while Gobber worked. a blacksmith was no place for a baby, especially one as curious as Freya.
"This will be the first spring for both of you. I think that everyone is ready for some warmer weather." She sighed in content. Freya suddenly started to make strange, panicked noises, struggling against the blankets holding her in place. "Freya? What is it?" As Valka twisted her head to look back at Freya, she caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye. A four-winged dragon with an owl-like face emerged from the woods, growling at the trio. Valka gasped, stumbling to get up, and started running. The sudden movement caused the dragon to snap at them, ripping Freya from Valka's back.
"No!" Valka cried out, reaching up to try and take the girl back. She got hold of the blanket but Freya was not inside. Valka dropped the blanket and a small white dragon fell from the larger one's mouth, landing heavily. The smaller dragon had copper specks covering its feet, almost like socks, and covering the tips of the spines on its head. Its belly and tail fins were a pale blue that shone a pearly color in the light. The dragon didn't have wings yet, instead there were two small, bony nubs protruding from its back. The baby dragon growled, stood in front of Valka and then roared. It was a high-pitched, pathetic sound that wavered nervously, but it was enough for the larger dragon to back down. Giving a soft snort before returning to the trees. Putting two and two together, Valka realized that the baby dragon was, in fact Freya. She turned to face Valka and her turquoise eyes scanned the ground, searching for something. She trotted over to the blanket near Valka and awkwardly dragged it to her feet, tripping over it along the way. Valka knelt in disbelief, reaching her hand out; Freya nuzzled it, breathing warm air on Valka's fingers.
"Oh Freya." Valka sighed. She strapped Hiccup to her back and wrapped Freya up as best she could, trying to cover the struggling dragon. She ran to Gobber's shop as quickly as possible, holding Freya tightly to her chest.
"Valka? What's wrong?" Gobber eyed the struggling bundle worriedly. Valka looked around at the few customers waiting for repairs and Gobber ushered her into the back room.
"It's Freya." Valka blurted as Gobber closed the door. She put the blanket on the table and Freya awkwardly emerged, shaking it off.
"Oh Thor." Gobber sighed, running his hand over his face. "How did this happen?"He gestured to the dragon with his hook.
"A dragon attacked, and she protected us." Valka checked that Hiccup was ok. "But now she won't turn back." She sighed.
"Well she can't stay like that." He walked up to the desk. "Hey, Princess." He smiled nervously at hthe dragon, letting her sniff his hand. She leaned into it like a cat and sat down. "Freya, you have to change back." He said sternly, pulling his hand away and pointing a finger at her. She snorted and licked his finger, crouching her front legs and sticking her behind in the air playfully.
"Freya." Valka frowned at her. "Change back." She said, briefly glancing at the door. "Or you can't see Hiccup." She threatened, holding the boy away from Freya. She protested with a small growl, then squeezed her eyes shut. Her body morbidly changed back into a baby human. Her screams were enough to break anyone's heart. Her cries of agony dulled to sobs as Gobber held her in her blanket, cuddling her and bouncing to calm her down.
"We can't ever let this happen to her again." Gobber said sternly. Valka nodded in agreement. "Even if it means she never interacts with dragons, I don't want her turning, or even knowing about this."
"Not if she goes through it like this." Valka nodded, hugging Hiccup.
