The Heir's Guard; Chapter 1: Life on Berk

Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD. I only own Rhea and another character yet to be introduced.

My name is Rhea "Truesight" Firehearth and this is the story of how a young boy who looked like he wouldn't last a day in our way of life- "Thanks for summing that up." Apologies. As I was saying, he was not fit in our way of life, but he became the greatest hero of our tribe. What if something else happen in the story.

The isle of Berk is located solidly in the meridian of mystery. It was cold here, and also a bit boring. There was nothing to do but clean up after the dragon raids and i can't leave because I am hiccup's bodyguard.

I sighed. 'I just wish Hiccup would be more careful.' I thought. He's always getting himself into trouble during raids with his contraptions. They do more damage than the dragons at times.

I sat on one of the watchtowers and scanned the night sky. My shoulder length, crimson hair flowed in the salty breeze. Right now, I was wearing a black shirt, gray pants with a red spiked skirt, some leather pauldrons, gloves and fur boots. I also wore a hooded fur cloak for the chilly nights. I brought my long bow, a quiver of arrows and a sword slung on my back as well. Just in case of an attack. Although, i only use them when i have no other choice.

They laughed at me when I started using bow. Said it wouldn't even punch through their scales but proved them wrong when I took care of a group of dragons with an arrow through their eye. From then on, they gave me the title, "Truesight." I sighed. It didn't feel right to kill them.

Although, Killing dragons is everything here in Berk. That doesn't mean I like doing it though. I sometimes think to myself that they could be tamed and trained not to attack us. That they are not the monsters we thought they are. Valka, chief Stoick's wife, thought so too. She tried to convince everyone that they can be trained but, they were just too stubborn to think of that being possible. The only reason that Stoick didn't banish Valka was his deep love for her.

"As chief, i have to protect my own people." He said. "I can't worry about the devils with my own people in danger." That's what I thought as well. I have to keep my friends and family safe and until someone finds a way to tame them, I'll have to fight them.

It was until one night, during a raid, a Stormcutter decided to invade their home with no one to defend Hiccup. They manage to save him but, at the price of Valka's life. With Valka gone, the chief's hatred grew. He became very protective over Hiccup, not wanting to put him in harm's way. Hiccup, being him, just wanted to help during the raids and well... You know the rest.

A distant roar brought me out of my pondering. I quickly took out the spyglass that Hiccup made for me so I could spot incoming raids easier. When i looked through it, I saw the large winged shadows in the horizon heading right towards Berk. 'It's starting...' I thought as i grabbed a horn took a deep breath then sounded the alarm then made my way towards the smithy.

Everyone in the village started to come out of their homes armed with weapon and shield making their way to defend the village's livestock and fish. The braziers where raised up high, reviling the many dragons that were scattered across the sky. "Get inside!" Burnt hair the Broad ordered my way. "Get back inside!" As did Phlegma the Fierce. I was confused at their sudden hostility and looked behind me and saw a young boy with brown hair and forest green eyes. It was Hiccup, going the same way as i was.

I gave him a smile. "Nice of you to join the party!" I said jokingly. "I thought you were carried off." He returned it and said, "No way. They wouldn't know what to do with all...' He gestured towards himself, "...this." I chuckled at him. As we neared the smithy, a deadly nadder swooped down sending fire down our path.

We manage to stop just in time before the flames caught on to us when i heard Hiccup yelp in alarm. I turned to him and saw Chief Stoick lifting Hiccup by the scruff of his shirt. "What are you doing out-" he asked him. "-what is he doing out here?!" He asked me before letting him go. "Get inside." He said as he nudged Hiccup towards the Smithy. Stoick was a bear of a man compared to Hiccup. At first glance, you'd think that they weren't related or something.

Before i could follow after him, the chief called for me. "Rhea," he called before he turned to me with a worried face. "Make sure he doesn't get into any trouble this time." I let out a sigh. This was not the first time he asked this of me. I've been his bodyguard since the day he could shape metal. (AN: Rhea's 21 while Hiccup's 16.) Back then, i thought of it as a simple task so i accepted it. Little did i know that he was much more trouble than he looks with contraptions he makes. Although, he's still invents things that benefit the tribe.

"I'll try." I said before running after Hiccup. He was already inside the smithy when i got there and saw the other viking teens on fire patrol. The twins, Tuffnut and Ruffnut, fighting over a bucket, Snotlout and Fishlegs crashed onto each other getting themselves soaked while Astrid was the only one getting something done.

I decided to help them out since Hiccup was out of danger. But, before I could take a step I saw a Nadder land near them and charged. Quickly, I looked for something to stop it and saw Gobber's had extended out from out of the smithy's service windows with a bola in his grasp. I grabbed it twirled it and yelled "Heads up!" before i threw it at the dragon. They ducked just in time before it flew over their heads and wrapped around its body, binding its wings and legs. I smirked as it let out a confused squawk before comically dropped on its side. Even at a distance, my aim was true.

"See what i mean?" I heard Gobber ask. Curious, i peered inside from the service window. I saw Hiccup and Gobber arguing with each other. "I know but, this-" he gestured towards the device behind him. "-will do it for me." He patted the damn thing before it launched one of the bolas right on the face. I reared back from the pain, before i fell on my back. "Oh gods, Rhea!" I let out a groan before I felt a pair of hands help me sit up and saw Hiccup's worried face. I rubbed my throbbing head and said "I'm O.K…" I said, still dazed from the hit. "This right here is what i'm talking about!" Gobber exclaimed. He shook his head before helping me on my feet. "Get inside you two." He said and hobbled back to work. I followed them and sat on one of the chairs near the doorway. "Look Gobber, it was a mild calibration issue-" Hiccup tried to explain before the blond man. "No. Look Hiccup if you want to go out there and fight dragons, you have to stop all... This." I looked at him incredulously when he said that.

Did he just gestured to all of him? As if he read my mind, Hiccup said "You just gestured to all of me."

"That's right," Gobber said. "Stop being all of you."

"Oh...' Hiccup said. Knowing what his mentor meant.

"Oh, yeah." Gobber mimicked him.

"You are playing a dangerous game here," Hiccup said, trying to threaten him. "Keeping all this raw vikingness contained... there will be consequences!" Alas, as much as Hiccup tried, Gobber only gave him a bored expression. "I'll take my chances." He said before handing him a sword. "Sword, sharpen, now."

With a huff, he took the blade to the grindstone then spun it and sharpened the blade.

"Sorry about that." He said. "I didn't mean to do it." He said. "Hey, no worries." I said, giving him a comforting smile. He seem to relax a bit from what i said "But seriously, now i know what being a dragon's like now." I said jokingly which made him chuckle in amusement. "If you think that's harsh, try being me." He retorted. The mood seemed to brighten given the situation outside. That was until we heard the distant sound of a screeching dragon. We nodded to each other before we ran towards the window. The sound got louder and louder as we tried to get a good look at the dark creature.

We call it the- "Nighfury! Get down!" An explosion of blue flame flared on one of the towers. It never steals, never reveals itself and never misses. It flew back and fired another blast on what was left of the burning tower. I heard a clicking sound from behind me. I turned around ad saw Gobber changed his hammer for an battle ax.

"Man the fort Hiccup," he said. "Hey need me out there." Before he went to battle, he pointed at Hiccup like a disobedient puppy and said. "Stay. Put. There." Hiccup gave him a bored look. "You know what i mean." He said and then turned to me. "And make sure he stays here this time." He said in an annoyed tone before he charged into battle with a battle cry.

I haven't noticed Hiccup had already gone with his contraption until i heard some of the villagers outside shouting at him on where he was going. With an annoyed sigh, i raced towards where he could be.

"Hiccup! Hiccup where are you?!" I called but, heard no answer. I ran towards a part of the village where none of the vikings or dragons were fighting hoping to find him there. I saw him near the edge of the cliff with his invention, watching over the sky for any sign of them.

"There you are!" I stopped behind him trying to catch my breath. "Do you have any idea how worried i was?" I asked taking deep breaths in between. Although he didn't seem to notice me. "Hiccup?" I put a hand on his shoulder and jumped in surprise. "Gah! Oh, hi Rhea." He said before going back to what he was doing. "What are you-" my voice vanished when i heard the screeching sound again. I was startled when the tower suddenly exploded by blue flames.

I saw two dark figures passed the wreckage and heard a click followed by the sight of two bolas flying towards them. One of the bolas managed to bind the smaller figure, sending it down towards Raven Point. I didn't even get a moment to react until i saw one of the bolas coming back at me.

I could only let out a startled yelp before it wrapped around my body, binding my arms and knocked me down. "Ow... Not again." I groaned. Two times in a row. Now i know what being a dragon feels like. "Rhea!" Hiccup ran towards my side and helped me get the thing of. "Are you alright?" He asked in a worried tone.

When i got the bindings off, i gave him the same reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me so much, kid." I said as i gave him a playful punch. "What happened anyway?" I asked. He beamed and said, "I hit a nightfury! Well, one of them at least. But, i still hit one!" He looked around if anyone else saw his amazing feat. "Did anybody see that?!" He asked. The sound of splintering wood came from behind us. We turned and saw a Monstrous Nightmare on top of the now destroyed weapon. "Except for you." He said sarcastically.

As soon as i saw the gas in its mouth, i jump and grabbed its mouth shut, starteling it forcing it to stop. I saw its eyes were full of anger and hate. "Hiccup, go! Get out of here." I yelled, barely stopping it in its tracks. I saw him run out of sight in the corner of my eye. 'Good.' when I felt my feet leave the ground, I looked at back at the dragon and saw the smug look on its face. "Not good!"

The dragon started to trash and slammed me on the ground. "Would- oof! You- ow! Stop doing that! Gah!" I had enough punishment for one day so when it raised its head, i grabed its horns then shifted my weight downwards and pinned its head to the side. But, instead of roars of anger, it sounded like it was purring in delight. Curious, i let go its horns and started licking my face. "Stop, stop!" It stopped and i started wiping of the saliva covering my face. "Ew..." After most of it was off, it started nudging my face. I saw its eyes were not the filled with the rage i saw earlier but, trust that an intelligent being could only show.

I heard Hiccup's screams in the distance and quickly dashed to his rescue only to remember that the Nightmare was still there staring at me with confusion. "Go! Find me again later. Just go!" I shooed it away before rushing towards Hiccup's aid. I glanced over my shoulder and saw it fly away.

My heart sank when I saw another Nightmare fly away from where I heard Hiccup's scream. "HICCUP!"

When i got there, i saw Stoic standing in front of a nearly burnt post of a brazier. What was he doing? That's when it gave way and revealed Hiccup. I sighed as relief washed over me. He flinched as the rolling object hit some of the buildings and eventually set the captive dragons free, taking a large amount of our food. Great... It's one of those days.

"Ok but, I hit a Nightfury." He said weakly. He yelped when Stoick started dragging him back to their house. "It's not like the first few times, Dad. I really hit one. It went strait of Ravenpoint. We can get a search party out before it-" he tried to convince him but, Stoick had enough for one day. "Stop! Just…stop." He said. "I can't have you outside during raids and get into trouble. I have more important things to worry about. Winter is almost here and I have an entire village to feed."

"Between you and me, everyone could go with a less feeding, don't you think?" Hiccup asked making the villagers a bit offended given their stature. "This is not a joke, Hiccup!" Stoick snarled. "Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

"I can't help it Dad. When I see a dragon, i have to-" he made a strangling gesture. "Kill it, you know. It's who I am Dad." Stoick let out an exasperated sigh and said "You are many things Hiccup. But, a dragon killer is not one of them." The crowd that surrounded, nodded in agreement. Hiccup looked so disheartened when he said that. My blood started to boil when he said that and reminded me of how bad of a father he was. He was a chief first and a father second.

"Look, Hiccup." Stoick kneeled in front of him with a look i thought i'd never see. Worry. "It's just that i don't want to lose you. Not after i lost Valka..." He his gaze drifted downwards as if recalling the memory of her death.

My breath hitched and my anger faded when i saw Hiccup hugged him and said. "I understand, Dad." He said. "I'll be more careful." Stoick froze for a second before he returned the embrace.

A smile crept onto my face at the heartwarming scene. Hiccup pulled away with a grin on his face. "I'm not keeping any promises though." He joked. Stoick chuckled and said "Of course you won't." He nudged him away and said, "Now go home. I still have your mess to clean up." He then turned to Gobber and said, "Make sure he gets there." Then walked away to do his duties. "Well," Gobber chimed "That's something ya don't see every day. Come on lad, let's get you home." He then led Hiccup towards their home on the hill.

I moved from my perch and walked beside him. "I never saw that side of your father before." I said, the smile never left my face. "It was pretty cute." Ruffled his hair and he smiled and said "He has his moments. You just have to wait and see." As we neared his home, we saw the other teens near stepping-stones. "Quite the performance." I heard Tuffnut tease. Why can't they just leave him be? "I have never seen anyone mess up that badly." Snotlout added. "That helped!"

"Thank you, thank you. I was trying, so..." Hiccup said, hopping they would just stop already. Irritated, I bopped Snotlout on the head, Gobber following suit when he knocked the boy down.

In the corner of my eye, I saw Astrid glaring at Hiccup's retreating form. They were such good friends back when they were young. They would always do everything together. It was until she received training that they spent less time with each other. Astrid became harsh and cold towards anyone who can't help in the war. That includes my little Hiccup.

I could still remember the harsh words she told him. "Stop being so useless!" He cried so much that day and wouldn't leave his room for a week. 'I really hope these two would make up someday.' i thought wistfully.

"I really hit a nightfury." Hiccup said. "Sure you did." Gobber retorted before he chuckled in amusement. "I did! Rhea was there with me." He argued. "Back me up here!"

"It's true, Gobber," I said. "He really did hit one." I just noticed that we were already in front of his house. It had a nice view of the entire village. I could even see my house from here.

He gave us a hearty laugh and said, "Are you sure about that? It's not like the last few times, is it?"

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Hiccup said sarcastically "You know what, forget what I said. I'll find it myself." He stormed through the door and closed it behind him.

"Hiccup…" I sighed. I was about to follow him when a hand stopped me.

"Let him be," said Gobber. "He needs some time to himself." He turned to leave when he suddenly remembered something. "Oh! By the way, Stoick wanted every able warrior to meet him at the mead hall." He said. "That means you as well, lass." I sighed it can't get any worse.

I'll spare you the details on what happened. Stoick conduct another search for the nest before the ice sets and he used Hiccup to persuade them into agreeing. "That is pretty low, chief..." I said.

"I'll go pack my undies." Said Gobber. "I did not need to hear that." I said, slightly disgusted at his jokes. "No, Gobber," Stoick decline. "I need you stay and train some new recruits." Curious, i asked him "Does that include Hiccup?"

"Absolutely Not!" He snarled which made me jump a bit. "And aren't you supposed to be out adventuring instead wasting away your youth?"

"With all due respect chief, Hiccup is my responsibility as well," I said. I have have grown very attached to Hiccup over the years. He's like the little brother i never knew. "And as much as i would like to go out there, I have to protect Hiccup."

"Speaking of him, it's probably best to let him train with the others, Stoick." Gobber said. "He needs to learn to defend himself from the beasts."

"I agree," I said. "I'm not always going to be there when he's in trouble. Although, i don't trust Gobber with his teaching methods..."

He turned towards with a glare. "He'd be killed before you two let the first dragon out."

"Oh, you don't know that." Gobber chimed.

"I do know that, actually." Stoick retorted.

"No, you don't." I joined in.

"Yes, i do."

"No, you don't!" We both snapped.

"Listen!" He snapped back making me shrink in my seat a little. He could be quite intimidating when he tries. "You know what he's like. From the time he could crawl he's different..." I snickered. "I find that hard to believe." He ignored my comment and continued. "He doesn't listen. He has the attention span of sparrow. I take him fishing and he... goes of to hunt trolls."

"Trolls exist!" Gobber argued. "They steal your socks. But only the left ones... Whats up with that."

"When i was a boy..." Stoick started.

"Oh no..." "Oh here we go..." Gobber and i groaned. Stoick was droning on about the time with his grandfather... Again.

"My grandfather told me to bang my head on the nearest boulder." As he told the story, i noticed Gobber choke a bit on his mead and spat out his metal tooth on his tankard. "I didn't question him, did what he said and do you know what happened?"

"You got a headache?" Gobber replied sarcastically before reattaching his metal tooth.

i was about to add my own witty comment when he answered, "It broke in half. It showed me what a viking could truly do, Gobber."

"He could crush mountains, level forests, tame seas!" He said, his voice rising with exploit. "Even as a boy i knew what i was, what i had to become..."

He then turned to us with a sad look and said, "Hiccup is not that boy..."

Gobber walked over to him and placed his good hand on his shoulder and said, "You can't stop him Stoick. You can only prepare him." Gobber sighed. "Look, I know it seems hopeless. But the truth, as Rhea said, she and you won't always be around to protect him," My eyes widened in realization. 'Wait a minute... he wouldn't look for that dragon by himself now, would he?' "He's going to get out there again. He's probably out there now!" What Hiccup said earlier rang in my head.

"You know what, forget it. I'll find it on my own."

'HE WOULD!'

"Right, Rhea?" He asked only to find no one as the huge doors closed with a loud boom. "Rhea?"

A/N: Hi everyone! This is the first time that i have done this so i hope you guys like it. Also, reviews are appreciated so... yeah feel free to leave your thoughts down below :D