Take me down to the river bend,
He splashed the fresh water from the lake in the cove in his face one last time. The last time he would be on this wretched island Berk. The last time he would be in this cove. Or so he thought. Instead, he had been followed by her. And both didn't know yet, that she would make him stay. A complete turnaround of events.
Take me down to the fighting end,
"That was amazing... He's amazing."
He had finally done it. Shown her that peace was possible between the two races. Maybe he could stop the fighting, the whole war. It now was a possibility, not longer a dream.
Wash the poison from off my skin,
"Okay! I'm sorry, okay!"
She had apologized. To him. One of the most stubborn Vikings. As shield maiden, she was an idol. How a warrior was supposed to be. She was the best. And she had just made amends to the worst and lowest Viking in the whole village, him.
Maybe he could forgive his village. A last attempt to let them see the truth.
And show me how to be whole again.
It hadn't worked. He had been disowned, the whole village hated him, he was a traitor, his best friend was taken from him. And yet, here she was, lifting his spirits. She hadn't given him up and was determined to help him.
He thought back on how it had come to this.
Fly me up on a silver wing,
It had been quite the romantic flight. The two of them on his best friend's back. It had been the first time that she hadn't treated him like he was below her or a nuisance. They had even been pretty close, what with her clinging to him the whole ride so as to not fall off. It had been such a great moment how they had glided through and between the clouds that had been painted red in the glow of the setting sun.
Pass the black where the sirens sing,
Suddenly, in the darkness, the stars had become hidden by the mist that had started to surround them. And then they had seen the countless dragons flying in the same direction as their friend. They all acted strange, as if following a silent call, only hearable for the dragons, luring them into the depths of the unknown.
Warm me up in a nova's glow,
Then they had entered a hollow mountain, like a volcano. It was the dragon's nest. Inside everything was illuminated by the orange glow that seemed to originate from the mist below them. They had seen all the dragons perched on ridges that protuded from the rock walls. And though the light's source had been obscured, it hadn't been too dark. It had almost been like a little sun burning deep below them.
And drop me down to the drain below.
Then they had watched as the dragons seemed to drop the food they had gathered into the abyss of which they hadn't been able to make out how deep it was, because of the mist that filled it.
"Glad that all our food is being dumped down a whole," he sarcastically had remarked.
She had noticed the strange behaviour as well. "They're not eating any of it."
It had just seemed like the dragons wasted the food without any reason.
Cause I'm only a crack
Although they were put off by the dragons uncharacteristic behaviour, he was strangely exited.
"What my father wouldn't give to see this." He remembered mumbling to her. He, the 'Useless', had discovered the Dragon's Nest. Something Vikings had been searching for since they first sailed to Berk. A search that had lasted three-hundred years. And he, the good-for-nothing misfit had found it. Hah, if only they knew, he thought.
In this castle of glass.
They had never seen him other than a nuisance, an accident. A mistake among all the perfect Vikings in the village. They were all buff and strong. Great warriors who could weild big swords, maces and various other weapons with ease and accuracy. They were made for fighting. Especially for fighting against dragons.
Hardly anything else for you to see,
No one had ever paid him any heed. Not when he had come up with countless inventions that would have made life easier. Not even his father had noticed him, no matter what he did to get his attention, in a positive way.
For you to see.
They only ever saw him when he made mistakes. His father would look at him disappointed or would give him a lecture in front of the whole village. His peers where no better as they would constantly mock and bully him.
Fly me home in a blinding dream,
After they had seen the monster of a dragon that had risen from the misty abyss, they had flown out of there and home as fast as they could. That thing was like a nightmare come true and they just wanted to feel safe. Although, if they didn't do anything, their home wouldn't be safe anymore.
Through the secrets that I have seen,
It was a huge secret. But he made her promise to keep it between them. To protect his best friend. He couldn't let the village know that they had found the nest because they would have to tell them how they found it. And he decided he'd rather keep this menace a secret than risk his best friend being hurt, or worse, killed. He would think of something and tell them soon enough, he decided.
Wash the sorrow from off my skin,
The village had treated him badly for all his life. The recent events just took the top of the cake. Instead of accepting him and the dragon's peaceful nature, they'd rather believe that dragons were monsters that needed to be slain.
Everything had gone frome bad to worse in his life.
And show me how to be whole again.
And yet here she was, reminding him of how he forged a bond with the supposed enemy. Here she was, encouraging him to go at it again.
"So, what are you gonna do now?"
He shrugged. "Ah, probably something stupid."
"Good," she retorted, "but you've already done that."
He pointed his hand at her as he got an idea. "Then something crazy," he said while turning around to speed away, her following him.
Cause I'm only a crack,
He had never fit in. He never would. But this time he would show them.
In this castle of glass.
They thought themselves to be right. That everything was as it should be.
Hardly anything else I need to be.
But they were wrong. Dead wrong; literally. And he would show them. Cause only he could do it.
And he had done it; defeated it and lived to tell the tale.
Cause I'm only a crack,
He was different. He had always been, but it was okay now.
In this castle of glass.
Even in this perfect new world where both races lived in peace.
Hardly anything else for you to see,
That's how it would appear to an outsider. He was the odd one. Neither dragon nor human.
For you to see.
But if one would look closer, he was the crack in the glass, that allowed air to flow between two rooms that had once been separated. He was the link between dragons and Vikings, the link between two worlds, making them one.
AN: Song is called Castle of Glass and belongs to Linkin Park
