"A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses a moment of experience from which to look ahead."
~Graham Greene
"I hate the weather," Hiccup muttered to himself. "One minute it's storming, the next it's blue skies. Thor needs to get his act together." He looked up into the slowly brightening sky, sighing. At least the clouds had disappeared before his morning walk. It was one of the few times he could be alone; good weather made the silence that much better.
He looked down at his feet, scuffing the ground as he tried to focus on his walk. He had wandered the village enough that he didn't have to watch where he was going, and so he was able to let his mind roam where it would.
He was thinking about his latest invention when he saw it.
His feet had carried him down to the docks. He had been about to turn around when the movement caught his eye and snapped him back to reality. He squinted, trying to get a better look at whatever had moved. His eyes suddenly widened in shock, and he ran down the pier.
Someone was trying to climb out of the water.
He grabbed their arms and heaved, cursing his frail build, but he managed to get the soaking-wet person onto the wooden dock. They rolled onto their back, breathing heavily.
Immediately he saw that she was a girl, with hair somewhere between red and brown, who couldn't have been more than a couple years older than him. Her clothes were torn, ragged, and at one point might have been mostly blue, but now were somehow scorched black. Hiccup thought he could also see a few burns here and there on the girl's skin, as well as a few scars. Hiccup brow furrowed in confusion and worry, but the girl seemed more exhausted than hurt. Not knowing what do to, Hiccup tried patting her firmly on the cheek.
"Uh, hello? Are you all right?"
The girl groaned and sat up on her elbows, grimacing in pain as she did so. She blinked her grey eyes a few times before looking at Hiccup.
"I've been better. What… what happened?" Her voice had a strange accent.
"Uh… I don't really know. I just saw you trying to climb onto the dock and, well, I figured you were hurt or something so I helped you up."
He had questions – so many questions – but he knew they could wait. In the meantime, this girl probably needed some medical help.
"Come on, I'll take you to the village elder. She'll help you more than I can."
He stood up and held out a hand to the girl. She took it and with his assistance stood up.
She would have fallen down again if Hiccup hadn't caught her.
"Oof. Whoa. Ok, then…"
He positioned her arm so that it was across his shoulders, and together they began to make slow progress up the hill toward the main village. After a minute of constantly tripping and poorly masked grunts of pain, Hiccup began to wonder how he was going to get the girl all the way up to Goethe's hut.
"Hiccup? I' that you?"
Praise the gods for Gobber.
Hiccup turned as quickly as he could toward his mentor.
"Gobber! Thank Thor. Quick, she needs medical help! Can you take her while I wake up Goethe?"
If Gobber had been tired, all signs of it disappeared as he quickly hobbled toward the pair. Once Hiccup was free of the girl's weight, he started sprinting toward the elder's hut.
A short time later the girl found herself in a hut that smelled like an odd combination of herbs, fish, and a hint of sickness. An old woman leaned over her, holding a bowl of something that reeked of something she couldn't identify. The girl tried to shift away from it, but the old woman grabbed her nose and forced the liquid down her throat with a surprising amount of strength. The girl passed out almost immediately.
"Tell me again exactly what happened," demanded Stoick, pointing at Hiccup with pressed hands.
The fifteen year old rolled his eyes. For what felt like the fiftieth time, he explained the events of that morning.
"Again: I was taking a walk. I happened to go near the docks. I saw someone trying to get onto the pier from the water. I helped her up, saw she needed medical attention, and was taking her to Goethe's when Gobber saw me. He then helped her while I woke up Goethe."
"That's wha' 'appened, chief," confirmed Gobber. "Goethe gave 'er some medicine an' she's been sleepin' ever since. We came and got you as soon as she passed out."
Suddenly the three guys (and Goethe, who was standing silently nearby) heard a groan from inside the hut. They all turned toward it, then looked at the chief. Stoick glanced at Goethe, who nodded. With a deep breath, the chief stood and made his way inside.
"Uh, dad, I'm not sure you're the best person to…"
Hiccup was ignored.
The mystery girl looked up sharply when Stoick entered the hut. She eyed the large man with the imposing red beard stomping toward her, as if sizing him up. Her grey eyes met his when he spoke.
"I trust you had a pleasant rest?" he asked in a tone that was gentle, yet demanded an answer.
The girl kept her mouth shut.
A moment of awkward silence passed. Stoick decided to try the direct approach.
"What's your name?"
She hesitated, then opened her mouth as if to answer, but paused again. Then she frowned in what seemed like confusion.
"I… don't remember."
Stoick frowned as well, concerned. He decided to try a different question.
"Where are you from?" He had noticed an accent when the girl spoke.
"I don't remember."
Uh oh.
"How did you end up on our docks?" he asked.
"I… I think…" Stoick waited paitiently. "There was a storm. I remember… I remember a bright flash of light, and then… then I woke up in your harbor."
Stoick glanced down at the girl's burns and scorched clothing.
"A dragon attack?"
"I… no, I don't think so."
'A bright flash of light…' Stoick mused to himself. 'If she was on the ocean during the storm, she might have been struck by lightning. I'm surprised she's even alive.'
He decided to ask one more question.
"Were you alone?"
"Maybe. I don't remember." The girl looked down at her hands, balled into fists, with a brow furrowed in concentration and frustration. She looked like she might cry. Stoick sighed.
"I'm sorry."
The girl blinked up at him in surprise.
"For what?"
"You're still recovering. I shouldn't be causing you this much stress. We can talk more when you're ready, all right?"
She nodded, then glanced somewhere behind the chief. Stoick turned to see Gobber and Hiccup entering the hut.
"So? Who's our little mystery girl?" asked Gobber.
"She doesn't remember; it sounds like she was caught by the storm last night and I think she got hit with a stray bolt of lightning. It's a miracle you're alive, honestly," he said to the girl.
She smiled tiredly.
"Well, we can't go around calling you 'Mystery Girl'," Hiccup pointed out. "Mind if we give you a name?"
The girl thought for a moment.
"Sure – just, don't make it anything weird."
"Hmm… Why don't you tell us something about yourself?" asked Hiccup. "If the name's based on something you like, you can't hate it, right?"
"I guess." She looked down at herself. "Well, I think my favorite color's blue," she said, picking at a part of her clothing that wasn't burnt.
There was a short silence, then Hiccup snapped his fingers.
"How does Saphira sound?"
The girl blinked. "Hm. I guess that does have a nice ring to it," she said, cracking a small, lopsided smile. She stuck out her hand.
"Hello. I'm Saphira. Nice to meet you."
Hiccup returned the smile in a similar fashion and took the hand. "I'm Hiccup. That's my mentor, Gobber, and you've met Chief Stoick. Welcome to Berk."
After some bed rest, Goethe gave Saphira the all clear. Hiccup, Stoick, and Gobber then escorted Saphira to the Great Hall so the village could decide what to do with her. It was just after midday.
Everyone who had something to do was out doing it, but they stopped and stared at the new face as she followed the chief and company through the village. Occasionally Stoick would call to someone, and they would join the group. By the time they reached the hall they had an assembly of about fifteen people.
They were talking amongst themselves as they entered the Great Hall. Both Hiccup and Saphira, however, remained silent. They stood at opposite ends of the crowd, listening to the adults bicker about the situation, until Stoick shouted for attention.
"Oi! Listen up!"
The crowd settled.
"You're no doubt wondering why I called you here. Don't worry, this shouldn't take long. Young lady?"
He gestured to the girl. She hesitated for a fraction of a second before walking toward the chief, trying to appear confident.
"This is Saphira," Stoick told the group. "She was caught in the storm last night and was injured. She now has amnesia and needs a place to stay for the time being."
Murmurs of sympathy ran through the crowd. Saphira lifted her chin slightly.
"So: any volunteers?" asked the chief lightly.
The volume of the room lowered significantly.
At least, until the doors burst open and a pair of yaks rushed in.
Multiple shouts of surprise rang out as the animals rampaged through the hall. However the yaks, disoriented by the excitement of it all, soon ran themselves into the wall, putting an end to the chaos.
"That… was… AWESOME!" shouted a pair of voices. Stoick pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Then he snapped his eyes over to the twins who were pulling themselves off the floor.
"RUFFNUT! TUFFNUT! WHAT IN THOR'S NAME DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
"Uh, riding yaks chief. What does it look like?" said the boy.
"Hey, who are you?" asked the girl, walking up to Saphira.
"I do believe that is a new victim, dear sister."
"You mean friend, brother."
"Oh, right, of course. Friend."
"Uh… who are you?" asked Saphira.
"These are the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston," said Stoick. "And they are going to be cleaning the yak stables again." He gave them a look that could melt steel.
The twins took one look at their chief's face, and each grabbed one of Saphira's wrists.
"Thanks for the offer Chief," said Ruffnut.
"But I think it's time to do some bonding with our new vict- friend."
"See ya!" they both called over their shoulders as they dragged Saphira out of the hall.
"Great, now they 'ave a hostage," said Gobber, walking up to Stoick.
The Chief gave a low grunt before facing the hall again.
"Bertha, Darrell, put the yaks back where they belong. Mr. and Mrs. Thorston, a word if you please. The rest of you are dismissed."
The crowd slowly filed out of the hall, muttering among themselves. Hiccup stopped and sat down on the stone steps outside to wait for Gobber, who had of course stayed inside.
A short while later the Thorston parents, Stoick, and Gobber emerged. They all looked stressed. Gobber and Stoick watched the other two go, then the chief turned to his friend.
"I'm going to do some paperwork. I need the alone time," he said, rubbing his temple.
"Aye, you do that Stoick," said Gobber as the red-bearded man started his way home.
The blacksmith then turned to Hiccup.
"So, lad, you ready to get started in the forge?"
"What happened with the Thorstens?" asked Hiccup.
"Oh, your father just asked if they would take in Saphira."
Hiccup's brow creased in worry. "Thor help her."
"You've got that right." A shadow passed over Gobber's face, but he shook it off. "Now let's get that fire started!"
The next day began as usual for Hiccup. He got up, took a walk, and worked in the forge. He spent most of his time fixing farm tools, and occasionally sharpening or polishing a weapon. Whenever the work died down, he would sneak off to his corner of the smithy and work on his inventions.
He was straightening a bent-out-of-shape hoe when he heard the accented voice.
"Excuse me, um… Gobber, right?"
"Tha's what they call me."
"I was wondering if maybe you would have a position available in your smithy?"
There was a pause.
"You're askin' for a job?"
"Yes, I mean, if that's all right."
"How much do you know about blacksmithing?"
"Well, uh…"
"Right, you've got that amnesia thing. Well, I suppose an extra pair of hands doesn't hurt. Hiccup!"
The boy had paused in his work to listen, and jumped at his shouted name. He went to the front of the shop. Saphira looked at him with mild surprise.
'She probably didn't expect someone so scrawny to be working here,' he thought. He gave her a small smile, which she returned.
"Hiccup, start showing Saphira around. We've got a new guest."
"Please, Saphira, enter our grand palace," the boy said sarcastically. She smiled wider as she walked into the shop. Gobber continued working while they toured.
"So, uh, there's really nothing that special to see," said Hiccup. "You've got your forge, a bed of coals, bellows, and the never-ending pile of weapons and tools to be fixed." He glanced over at the older girl and saw that she was completely focused, taking everything in with a critical eye. If he hadn't known any better, Hiccup would have said this wasn't her first time in a forge.
Saphira's eye then passed over his personal section of the forge. "What's that area?"
"Oh, that's my work station. I'm a bit of an inventor in my spare time," he said proudly.
Gobber snorted in the distance.
"At least, I would be if anything worked," he clarified, shooting an angry look at the back of the blacksmith. Saphira stepped closer and looked over his blueprints. Hiccup shifted uncomfortably.
Saphira began to smile.
'Great, she's gonna laugh at me.'
"Hiccup, these are amazing!"
Pause.
"What?"
"These all look really cool! How did you come up with them on your own? I bet you're, like, the smartest kid on Berk."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah!" She turned back toward him. "Wait, what's wrong?"
Hiccup blinked. "Oh, um, nothing. Just… no one really appreciates my inventions like that."
"…no one?"
"Well, you haven't been around long enough to notice, but around here I'm known as Hiccup the Useless."
Saphira snorted. "You've gotta be kidding me."
Hiccup frowned sadly. "Nope."
Saphira's eyes widened, then her expression hardened.
"Well, for what it's worth, I don't think you're useless. You work in the smithy, for the love of Thor. It's not an easy job, right? You should be proud."
Hiccup looked at Saphira in surprise. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, then realized that he wasn't sure how to respond to praise.
Saphira tilted her head to one side, looking at him in concern. "You ok?"
"I, um, yeah. Thanks, by the way. Um, do you mind if I get you started on a few chores? Since you're working here now, I guess."
"…Yeah, sure," said Saphira, staring at the younger boy thoughtfully as he led the way.
Saphira was apparently a quick learner, so it did not take long for her to get the hang of smithy work. Soon the teenagers began to talk of other things.
"So what is Berk like?" asked Saphira.
"It's twelve days north of hopeless, and a few degrees South of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery," he half-joked.
Saphira snorted. "Is it really that bad? What about the village itself?"
"In a word, sturdy. And it's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets."
"Huh. I guess that's pretty cool."
"The only problems are the pests," agreed Hiccup.
"Right," said Saphira. "Almost forgot. Ever consider moving to another island?"
"Most people would leave," said Hiccup. "Not us. We're Vikings. We have stubbornness issues."
Saphira burst out laughing. Hiccup grinned a little too.
"Are you sure they don't call you 'Hiccup the Comedian'?" she asked lightly. Hiccup snorted.
"I wish."
"Ok, I have to ask. How did you get stuck with a name like 'Hiccup'?"
Hiccup blinked. He had though she would have asked about the 'useless' part. He shrugged it off. "It's not the worst. Parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that."
At that moment there was a crash from Gobber's side of the forge, and the man let out a colorful string of curse words. Both teenagers laughed this time.
"Oi!" called Gobber. "You two get back to work, or I'll give you limbs to match mine!"
They tried to stifle their laughter and did as they were told, but Hiccup couldn't stop smiling.
Saphira was one of the friendliest people he'd met in a while.
He really hoped she'd stay that way.
A/N
So after literal years of writing this fanfic to fall asleep at night (which I know some of you do too; hooray for not being alone!) I finally. FINALLY. Started actually writing it. Regardless of how many people read it I'm just gonna keep putting stuff up (time allowing I mean I am still a student) because I've already spent WAY too much time just getting the backstory ready for this thing... so yeah if you are reading this first thanks and second please stick with it cause it's gonna get good (at least in my opinion). And a special shoutout to my friend HopefulHelpful who initially Beta'd this for putting up with my weirdness for basically forever. You know who you are and you rock.
Oh, and I own nothing except my OC.