"Stoick!"

Valka cried out as she saw the small burning building become smaller and smaller. The wind caught her voice and tossed it around. The shouts, roars, and screams of the village faded from earshot. Cold, scaly talons gripped her tighter as she struggled, batting and pushing at the dragon's mighty claws.

"No!" she shouted again, knowing quite well that no one could hear her. "No, no, no, no…" Valka looked up in terror at the giant beast carrying her. How could she have been such a coward? This dragon would surely eat her, just as it had nearly eaten her son. Hiccup—he'd grow up without a mother; he and Stoick would grieve and be in pain...all because Valka couldn't—or wouldn't—kill a dragon.

She sighed and gave up struggling—it was no use. She'd just become another one of the hundreds of Vikings whose lives were ended by dragons. What had she seen in this dragon? Intelligence? Kindness? Wisdom? Whatever it was, she'd spared it because of that, and now she was paying the price.

Valka squinted against the howling, icy north winds. This was certainly a long way to go just to eat her. What place was so special that this dragon would fly so far to get to, if all it was going to do was have a meal? She considered the nest...but it would surely be closer than this for the dragons to make regular raids on the village of Berk.

The dragon was taking her through a complete and utter frozen wasteland. Glaciers towered on every side of them, and the icy bridge below them was cracked in some places, revealing the dark, rolling sea below it.

Valka shivered, surveying her captor again. This strange dragon flew with four wings as opposed to the usual two, and it was a species unlike any she'd ever seen before. Maybe it was from a different nest...yes, that would make sense. She'd never assumed every dragon in the world lived in one nest; that would be illogical. She wondered what it would look like, or whether she'd even get to see it before she died, whether it be from the dragon's jaws or simply freezing to death.

She got her answer as the dragon swerved around a corner, revealing its mighty home. Valka took a breath in. It was beautiful, unlike anything she'd ever laid eyes on before. Towering columns of a turquoise-tinted ice rose in different directions, intersecting with each other and creating a secure, gorgeous structure.

But wouldn't it be freezing in there? she wondered, narrowing her eyes at it. How do they stay warm?

"Whoa!" The dragon folded its wings, shooting into an opening in the structure. Valka watched the ice get darker and darker until she realized she was looking at rock. Not just rock, she observed; it was covered in moss and ferns and all other sorts of plants. The ice was just an outer shell, she realized. It protected this place.

The dragon carrying her landed, attempting awkwardly to climb over the rocks without stepping on her. Valka squinted again as she saw a glimmer of light, and she gasped as the dragon suddenly let go and threw her out of the tunnel.

"Oh…"

It was incredible. Soft green grass was under her boots, and it was very warm; Valka wanted to take off her fur coat. Giant towers of plant-covered stone rose up everywhere, and when she looked up, the gaps in the ice allowed her to see the bright blue sky. But the most amazing thing was the dragons.

There were so many—and most of them were species Valka could never have imagined. All sizes, shapes, and colors were distributed among them, and there were even little young ones squabbling and mock-fighting in the dirt. They were flying above her ledge, below it, and around it; they were just feet from her. She could almost touch them...she could just feel the scales of a giant chest—

"Oof!" Valka fell face-first into the ground and scrambled onto her back, heat washing over her cheeks. She'd been so absorbed in the beauty of the nest that she'd forgotten she'd been dragged there to be dragon chow. The dragon's eyes were a golden sort of yellow, and its pupils were dilated as it stared into hers. Valka could feel its hot breath on her skin. She couldn't look away as it lowered its head and opened its jaws and—

It grabbed the hood of her coat and carried her so much like a mother cat it was actually quite amusing, even cute. The dragon took flight and immediately went into a dive.

"Whoa! Oh goodness. Okay. Okay! Gah!" Valka stammered, watching the ground rush up toward her. Except it wasn't ground, actually, it was the ocean, and Valka didn't like the look of how it was bubbling. Those bubbles were enormous.

The dragon pulled up sharply, earning another gasp from Valka, and landed on a different ledge: a very narrow one that, if it stood on the water, would probably make her eye-level with one of the gods themselves. Her dragon set her down on the very edge of it, standing right behind her.

"Oh my," Valka muttered to herself, shaking uncontrollably, as the dragon let out an almighty roar. The surface of the water broke, and suddenly Valka found herself face-to-face with the most colossal dragon the world had ever seen.

It was mostly white and boasted a ruff of gigantic spikes tipped with brown; there were smaller spikes all over its spine and tail. Its wingspan was surprisingly small considering how huge it was, Valka noted, but she was fairly sure it could still fly well. Its legs were adorned with a strange webbing along the spines lining the backs, which was reasonable, as it had just been completely submerged in water. Its most notable trait, though, was the massive tusks it sported on its face. It was beautiful, yet absolutely terrifying.

Most of the dragons in the nest had abruptly come to attention when the dragon emerged, and Valka was shocked to see them assume a position almost like a bow. Its eyes, which were a beautiful icy turquoise, surveyed each dragon and then landed on her. Slowly, she began to realize this wasn't just the queen of a nest. This was an Alpha dragon.

Valka dropped to her knees, unable to meet the beast's regal gaze. She was shaking, both mortified and in awe. She felt its breath, which was snowy and cold, roll over her and she blinked rapidly. Slowly, she raised her head.

The Alpha searched her eyes, and she stood there and looked at all of the dragons around her, whose eyes had turned to her. None of them looked murderous, hostile, or even hungry—their expressions ranged from wary to curious to downright excited and joyful. She broke the Alpha's staredown and looked back at the dragon who had brought her in. He'd stopped bowing and was looking at her with an almost amused face. Valka couldn't help but smile. The Alpha had welcomed her. These were her people, not the Berkians.

This was where she belonged.