This fic is a gift to White-Hunter as a thank-you for introducing me to the series Dragonheart and giving me ideas and brainfodder. For the sake of this fic, please assume the following:
1: Hiccup has a twin sister, Audney. (So many twins in this village xD) Because they are twins, both of them wound up being weaker (why Hiccup is Hiccup) because neither got the nutrients they needed in utero. Because of this, they're both kind of outcasts, though Audney doesn't try as hard to earn acceptance as Hiccup.
2: The events of Dragonheart NEVER HAPPENED. That's right. King Einon and Bowen never came to Draco seeking help, so Draco was free to live his life and rase (presumably) his son, Drake. (Drake is still young and still, well, Drake. You'll see that later xD)
3: Same time periods, less dead dragons, though Draco and Drake are of a dying breed, previously unknown to the vikings of Berk, who can communicate both with dragons and humans. Because they're awesome like that. Distant relatives of the Timberjack.
Furthermore, I don't own anything that has to do with HTTYD or Dragonheart. So... there.
This first chapter is meant mostly to introduce Audney and her relationships with Hiccup, Stoick, and Gobber. We'll get to everyone else later.
"Audney!" A young boy called to his twin sister, who peered up at him suspiciously from her book, "Audney, there's another raid," He leaned across the table excitedly, "I'm going to do it, for real this time. I'm going to take down a Night Fury!"
Audney glanced past him, out the window. "I see flying dragons, flying Vikings trying to kill dragons... Nope, no flying pigs." With this, she returned to her book. She was quite a refreshing sight, in contrast with the mayhem outside. She wore a shirt passed down to her from their mother that was entirely too big on her and made her look even younger than she was. It was a rather simple green burlap shirt, just a few shades darker than Hiccup's, and an over sized fur cape that resembled her father's, but with a bit of a feminine touch, as it had a flower pendant with a ruby in the center where the furs met over her chest. The sleeves were rolled up to where the her elbows should have been, though the bunched up fabric sat in heaps on her wrists instead, though she left the length as it was, using it as somewhat of a dress that fell just above her knees, held in place by a belt with the Berk Crest on the buckle. Her feet, which were currently propped up on the table, were clad in fur-lined leather boots that came halfway to her knees, and leggings were the finishing touch, protecting her from the cold and from over-exposure from peeping toms. All in all, she wasn't what one would call beautiful, not really. She wasn't attractive like Astrid, but more cute, like a younger sister figure, but looks can be deceiving.
Hiccup narrowed his eyes, "Ha ha, so funny I forgot to laugh. Are you coming with me or not?"
The girl heaved a sigh, brushing wavy red locks out of her bored green eyes, "Hiccup, father told us to stay inside during dragon raids."
"Dad says a lot of things," Hiccup countered, "But he just doesn't understand! He doesn't see what we're capable of!"
Suddenly, Audney's book fell to the table with a loud 'thunk,' and without warning, she pinned Hiccup against the door, "There is no 'we' this time, brother. I've had enough of your shenanigans, you almost got us killed last time, and what would dad do if that happened? He'd have no one! He's already lost mom, we don't need to add our names to the list of sacrifices!"
Their eyes met for a moment before Hiccup dropped his gaze, "I know... I know, but Audney, he already-"
"I don't want to hear it!" Audney released him so suddenly that he fell forward, just barely able to catch himself before hitting the ground. She turned to look over her shoulder at her twin, eyes glistening with a combination of rage and fear, "If you get yourself killed, Hiccup, I'll never forgive you. Do you hear me?"
Hiccup's face softened, "I'm not going to die. Come on, let's at least help Gobber at the forge, hm? You know he gets swamped with work during raids." The girl hung her head in thought, allowing her loose hair to conceal her face as she nodded. "Alright, let's go." Hiccup took the girl's hand and dragged her into the chaos that was Berk. The two found that, during raids, holding hands was a must. If they didn't, they'd lose one another, which was far worse than the embarrassment of holding hands. Though nearly everyone they passed told them to get inside, they fought their way through the crowds to the smithy, but of course, before they managed to reach their destination, their father, Stoick the Vast, spotted them.
"Hiccup?! Audney?!" He shot a glare into the crowd, "WHAT ARE THEY DOING OUT?!" He boomed accusingly before redirecting his attention to the twins, "What are you two doing out?! Get inside!" He turned away, clearly miffed, and Hiccup gave Audney an apologetic look.
The girl rolled her eyes and tugged on his hand, "Save it, Gobber needs us." With this, the pair finally began moving again and somehow managed to make it to the smithy, where Gobber was reshaping a sword.
"Ah! Nice of you to join the party. I thought you'd been carried off." Gobber greeted as Hiccup and Audney donned matching leather tunics and began to clean up around the shop.
"Who, me? Nah, come on! I'm way too muscular for their taste.. They wouldn't know what to do with all this." He struck a pose, showing off his lack of musculature.
Audney rolled her eyes as she joined Gobber in reshaping damaged weaponry, not bothering to comment on her brother's size. Gobber, however, couldn't help himself, "They need toothpicks, don't they?"
"Hey, toothpick. I didn't want to come out here in the first place." Audney spat as she watched her brother gathering damaged weapons from villagers. In no time at all, Hiccup noticed Astrid and the other teens and leaned out the window, gazing at her dreamily. Audney, who noticed this first, grabbed a bucket of water and doused the boy with it. "That cold enough for you, or should I go get some fresh out of the ocean?"
Hiccup was about to turn around to scold his sister when he was hoisted up by Gobber's hook arm. "Ah, come on. Let me out, please, I need to make my mark!" He complained, looking to the elder viking.
"Oh, you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places." Gobber snorted, letting the boy go once more.
"Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon, my life will get infinitely better, I might even get a date." Hiccup pleaded, doing his best to convince Gobber. Unfortunately, his sister was less convinced.
Audney approached her twin and rested a hand on his shoulder with a faux-sympathetic impression, "Aww, Hiccup, but you already have a date!" He twitched at the implied incest until she continued, "A date with that fire, this hammer, and this sword." She gestured to the fire and plopped a dull sword and a hammer in his arms before stalking off to get something more productive done.
"She's got a point, you know. You can't lift a hammer, you can't swing an axe," He grabbed a bola for demonstration, "You can't even throw one of these." Another viking snatched the bola out of Gobber's hands and hurled it at a Gronckle, knocking the beast out of the air.
"Okay, fine, but," Hiccup dropped the tools his sister had given him, letting them fall to the ground with a clatter. He rushed into a back corner of the stall and pulled out his infamous bola launcher, "this will do it for me." He fidgeted with something on the contraption, and, unexpectedly, a bola went flying out, narrowly missing Gobber and instead whacking a viking at the counter behind him. Audney, who had been watching the entire thing unfold, burst into laughter as the Viking wailed in pain.
"Hiccup the Useless strikes again!" She cheered, but was effectively ignored by Hiccup himself.
"See, now this right here is what I'm talking about." Gobber said, exasperated.
Hiccup winced, "Mild calibration issue."
Rolling his eyes, Gobber elaborated, "Hiccup, if you ever want to get out there and fight dragons, you need to stop all... this." He gestured non-specifically at Hiccup.
"But... You just pointed to all of me."
"Yes! That's it! Stop being all of you. Or take a lesson from your sister and accept your fate," He gestured to Audney, who was doing her best to straighten out an ax.
Hiccup, trying to sound threatening, began, "Ohhh..."
Mocking him, Gobber said, "Ohhhh, yes."
"You sir, are plating a dangerous game," Hiccup proclaimed, puffing himself up to look as masculine as he possibly could, "Keeping this much raw... Vikingness contained. There will be consequences!"
Gobber stooped down to pick up the sword Hiccup's sister had provided him with earlier and tossed it at him, "I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now."
Hiccup glowered at him for a moment before thrusting the sword into the grinding wheel and allowing himself to drift off into fantasy land while Audney looked over at Gobber. "He really is hopeless, isn't he?"
"That's why he needs a sister like you looking out for him," Gobber replied, trying to sound encouraging as he smacked her on the back harder than intended.
She stopped what she was doing to look over at Hiccup sadly, "I know his heart is in the right place. He wants to make father proud, he wants to do good for the tribe, but..." She sighed and shook her head, mumbling, "It's my fault. He'd be strong like Snotlout if he hadn't had to share everything with me."
"Now don't go blaming yourself for this," Gobber chided, though he couldn't help but silently agree with her. After all, Hiccup was Stoick's only son, he was to be chief one day, but this... He was never going to get anywhere like this.
"Honestly, Gobber, sometimes I wish I'd never been born. Things would be better for everyone." Audney murmured, gazing down at the fire as she fought back tears.
Gobber clapped her on the shoulder, "Aw, come on now, Audney, you don't know that. What do you think Hiccup would do without you? He'd get the whole village massacred in a matter of minutes!"
She sighed and softly agreed. "Probably..." She glanced over at the boy, "But, sometimes, I can't help thinking he's capable of going so far, just the way he is. Of course he doesn't see it that way. No, he has to be manlier, more viking-like, he has to kill a dragon... He's going to get himself killed in the process."
The man looked her over a moment, "You know, something's been bothering me. All this time, you've had no problem handling heavy things around the smithy without complaint, whereas Hiccup struggles with anything more than five pounds. Audney, why aren't you out there with the other teens?"
The girl averted her gaze, "I have to keep my eyes on Hiccup, no matter what. He needs me... And, maybe someday, he'll learn to follow my example, to love himself just the way he is... Please don't tell my father, Gobber."
Gobber smiled sadly, "You really are a great sister," He said gently.
Suddenly, they were interrupted by a voice shouting, "Night Fury! Get down!" Along with an all too familiar sonic whine.
Trading his hammer for an axe, Gobber turned to Audney and Hiccup, who seemed to be paying attention now. "Man the fort, Hiccup, Audney, they need me out there!" He turned to leave, then paused, looking back at Hiccup, "Stay. Put. There." He commanded, as if speaking to a dog, "You know what I mean. Audney, keep an eye on him."
"Always do." Audney flashed him a promising smile, but the moment Gobber was out of sight, Hiccup was grabbing his bola launcher and making his way to the door. "Hiccup!" Audney got between the boy and the door, "Seriously?"
Hiccup, who had been grinning devilishly moments earlier, frowned a bit, "Aw, come on, not you, too, Audney! Don't you want to make a name for yourself?"
Audney rolled her eyes and held out her hand, "Apparently we haven't met. My name's Audney. Yours is Hiccup."
The boy's eyes narrowed, "You know what I mean! We're never going to get anywhere if we don't do something big! Please, let's just go and-"
"Not we. Not this time, brother. One of us has to be around for father." Audney stepped aside, glaring daggers at her twin, "You're on your own this time. Just remember that if you get yourself killed, I'll never, ever forgive you."
Hiccup lowered his head, considering this for a moment before meeting Audney's gaze, "You'll see, Audney. I'll make you proud." With this, he burst through the door, well aware of the fact that he was breaking his sister's heart. He HAD to do this, as much as it hurt him to cause her pain. He'd come back, she'd see, he'd come back with his head held high.
In spte of the people shouting for him to get inside, Hiccup pushed his way through the crowd and out onto a cliff, where he began mumbling to himself, eyes scanning the sky for the Night Fury. "Come on. Give me something to shoot." He muttered, and, as if in answer to his plea, an explosion illuminated the dragon for a fraction of a second, just long enough for Hiccup to launch his bola. He watched as the spinning weapon disappeared into the night, then heard a loud whack, followed by an almost deafening screech. He blinked for a moment, stunned, before a smile slowly crept across his face, "Oh I hit it! Yes, I hit it! Did anybody see that?" He turned to see if anyone had been watching and found that someone had. A monstrous Nightmare that didn't look very pleased. "Except for you," He whimpered before rushing off into the night, screaming for help as he fled.
He managed to duck behind the last brazier standing just in time to dodge the flames that spewed around the post. Cautiously peering around the pole, he found that the Nightmare was gone, but before he could relax, he turned back to find it standing before him, glowering. There was no escape this time. Facing his certain doom, Hiccup closed his eyes, waiting for the blow that never came because, just in time, Stoick appeared and jumped between them, beating the Nightmare until it took off, defeated. When his father turned to glare at him as the brazier toppled over, destroying everything in its path, Hiccup could only wince and utter a soft, "Sorry, dad."
Audney, who had been running since she heard her brother's screams from the stall, finally spotted Hiccup and breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to run to and either beat the living daylights out of or hug him, he began talking again, to their father. She paused to listen in.
"Okay, but I hit a Night Fury." Stoick, furious and deeply embarrassed grabbed Hiccup by the collar and hauled him away from the crowd. Audney heaved a sigh and followed her father and Hiccup. Upon noticing his sister, Hiccup brightened, "It's not like the last few times, dad, Audney, I mean I really actually hit it. You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot. It went down, just off Raven Point. Let's get a search party out there before it-"
"STOP! Just... stop." Stoick boomed, plopping Hiccup down in front of him. "Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter's almost here and I have an entire village to feed!"
Audney felt a pang of pity for her brother, but it was soon washed away when Hiccup said, "Between you and me, the village could do with a little less feeding, don't ya think?" She smakced a hand to her forehead as the villagers, who all seemed to have their eyes on Hiccup and Stoick, looked over themselves self-consciously.
"This isn't a joke, Hiccup! Why can't you be more like your sister? Why can't you follow the simplest orders?" The man scolded loudly.
"I can't stop myself. I see a dragon and I have to just... kill it, you know? It's who I am dad." Hiccup fumbled to find the right words, and Audney heaved a sigh.
"Yeah, right," She muttered to herself, "Hiccup the brutal dragon slayer. Sounds about right."
Apparently, she had not been heard, as Stoick said, "You are many things, Hiccup, but a dragon killer is not one of them." Most of the other villagers nodded in agreement, and Hiccup winced. Stoick turned and gestured for Audney to join them, which she did, obediently. "Get back to the house, both of you." With this, he turned to Gobber and added, "Make sure they get there. I have Hiccup's mess to clean up."
Gobber led Hiccup and Audney through the crowd, though Audney didn't look nearly as ashamed as she should have. Contrary to popular belief, she actually hadn't done anything wrong this time. Tuffnut, the male in another set of twins, commented, "Quite the performance."
Snotlout, their cousin, seemed to agree, "I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!"
Embarrassed, Hiccup mumbled, "Thank you, thank you, I was trying, so..." He averted his gaze as they passed Astrid, though Audney met her glare. She knew her brother's heart was in the right place, even if everyone else couldn't understand that, and she would defend him.
When they were finally past the other villagers, Hiccup repeated, "I really did hit one."
"Sure, Hiccup," Gobber muttered sarcastically.
"He never listens." Hiccup continued, rather annoyed with his father.
Gobber snickered, "Well, it runs in the family. Makes me wonder if Audney's related to you at all."
"And when he does, it's always with this... disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich." He mumbled, then, mimicking Stoick, continued, "Excuse me, barmaid, I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side. These... These here are talking fish bones." Audney certainly couldn't argue with that. She felt the same way, more often than not.
With a sigh, Gobber corrected, "You're thinking about this all wrong. It's not so much what you look like. It's what's inside that he can't stand." That stung a bit.
"Thank you, for summing that up." Hiccup muttered dryly as they reached the door.
"Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not. Like Audney here." Gobber gestured to the girl, though she probably wasn't the best example, hiding her strength for her brother's sake.
"I just want to be one of you guys," Hiccup said with a heavy sigh. Gobber eyed him sympathetically and patted Audney's shoulder as the two went inside. No sooner were they inside than Hiccup was darting to the back door. Audney grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.
"And where do you think you're going?" She asked accusingly.
He wheeled around to face his sister, "Please Audney, I really did it this time, I know I did."
Audney's face softened. She knew her brother wouldn't lie about something like this. He really, truly believed he had something this time... And if he did, he'd be screwed going alone. "I meant, where do you think you're going all by yourself?"
Hiccup lit up as he threw his arms around his sister, "I thought you were mad at me!" He murmured, squeezing her as tightly as he possibly could.
"Oh, I am. I'm infuriated. You didn't listen to me and almost got yourself killed..." She deadpanned, making sure she got a rise out of him before adding, "But you're my brother. I'm not sending you on a dragon hunt by yourself."
"You did last night!" Hiccup pointed out, pulling back some to look her in the eye.
"I knew dad would hear you screaming for help. He won't hear you in the woods." She replied coolly. "Just be happy someone still has faith in you." Hiccup gave her a lopsided smile, and the two soon sped out the back door, looking for a downed Night Fury.
After probably half a day of relentless searching, Hiccup was beginning to get frustrated. He drew yet another X on the map he'd drawn in his notebook before scratching over the whole paper, frustrated. "Ugh, the gods hate me. Some people lose their knife or their mug. No, not me, I manage to lose an entire dragon." He was so wrapped up in his monologue, he didn't even notice that Audney was no longer walking beside him. He smacked a low hanging branch which whipped back to hit him in the eye. He turned to glare at the offensive branch and found that it was attached to a tree that had been snapped almost in half. He then notices a long trench of disturbed earth, as if something heavy had skid across it. He glanced back at Audney, his eyes wide as saucers.
"You... You really did it, Hiccup..." She said softly, and the twins followed the trench down to a downed dragon that was pure black, tied up in a bola. It appeared to be dead, so Hiccup threw caution to the wind and approached it.
"Oh wow. I did it. I did it! This fixes everything... Yes!" He proudly placed his foot on the fallen beast, putting on a show for his twin, "I have brought down this mighty beast!" The dragon shifted suddenly, and Audney yelped in surprise, pulling Hiccup back against her chest. "Woah!" Hiccup more or less fell back into his sister's arms. With a soft murmur of appreciation, he straightened up and withdrew his knife, unaware of the way Audney was eyeing him. She wasn't afraid of the dragon, not really... She was more worried that her twin would really go through with this. Beyond the point of no return. The thought made her quiver.
The downed dragon was staring at him, and for a moment Hiccup met it's gaze before he tore it away again, puffing himself up as if to intimidate the dragon, "I'm going to kill you, dragon. I'm gonna cut your heart out and take it to my father. I'm a Viking... I'm a VIKING!" Determined, Hiccup raised his dagger, and Audney closed her eyes, not wanting to see this, trying to prevent herself from screaming "no you're not!" and stopping him from making a terrible mistake, but no... She understood. This was a test from the Gods. She was not to interfere.
Hiccup opened an eye uncertainly and found himself met with the gaze of the dragon once more. For a time, they held each others' gazes before finally the Night Fury closed its eyes and lowered its head, apparently accepting the fact that it was going to die, and Hiccup tried to make that come true, he really did, struggling with himself, the dagger high over his head. After a few moments of shaky silence, he lowered the dagger and sighed, frustrated. Eyeing the dragon's wounds, he mumbled, "I did this..."
Audney's eyes blinked open to find... One not bleeding dragon and one intact Hiccup. "Let's go home, Audney," He mumbled, approaching her.
Audney frowned a bit, "What do you mean, go home? We can't just leave him like this, Hiccup. Either kill him or let him go." The dragon opened one eye to peer at the strange girl. Was she standing up for him? "You said yourself, you did this... So be a man! Take responsibility for your actions! Do the right thing!" Hiccup faltered for a moment, eyeing her suspiciously.
"You... you never wanted me to kill that dragon, did you?" He accused, stepping closer to her.
The girl averted her gaze, "Hiccup, you're not a Viking, not a traditional one, at least... You're special... And I know your heart is always in the right place, you just need to learn that being a viking isn't everything... It's okay to be a Hiccup, as long as you're yourself. You know?" She reached out cautiously and rested a hand on his shoulder before finally raising her eyes again, "It might not always be easy, but if you can't accept yourself, than who else could possibly accept you?"
Hiccup's eyes wandered over to the fallen dragon who was watching the two curiously. "I did this..." He mumbled again, and, after glancing over his shoulders to make sure that no one was watching, Hiccup cut the dragon free. Once the ropes fell loose, the dragon got to his feet and pinned Hiccup against a rock, staring into the frightened boy's eyes for a moment. Just as Audney moved to interfere, the dragon opened his mouth wide and let loose a deafening roar before scampering off. Hiccup got to his feet, then promptly fainted.
Curious, Audney left her brother for a moment to see where the dragon had gone. Though he was well camouflaged, she was able to see his grass green eyes in the shade of a boulder. She gulped back her natural fear and bowed to the mighty beast, "Thank you," She said softly, "My brother means well... I hope you aren't too badly injured." With this, she turned and ran off before the beast changed his mind, grabbing Hiccup up in her arms on the way. Somehow, she knew, in that moment, that their lives would never be the same.