Hey! Here's the first chapter of my second book, The Connection. I'm so excited to post this for all of you! To anyone who hasn't read A Past Forgotten yet, I would suggest you read that first. You don't have to, but you will probably be really confused.
Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD. There.
Now the moment you have all been waiting for. My second published fan fiction.
Chapter 1
Hiccup
"Alright, gang, let's head back," I called to the other teens. We had just finished herding a pack of Terrible Terrors away from Berk. They had arrived two weeks ago and have been causing chaos ever since. Finally, everyone decided that enough was enough and my dad told us to get them off the island. We found an island a couple days away from Berk to leave them. Now it was time to start the trip home. "We need to hurry if we want to get back to our campsite before nightfall." Everyone nodded and mounted their dragons, eager to get home. We took off. Catherine Mary was last. She had volunteered to make sure the Terrors didn't follow.
It had been two years since I first found the mysterious and timid girl on an island void of any other human life. When I had first found her, she would tense up around humans, but was relaxed around any other creature. She had even started petting Toothless immediately after she met him. She tried to run away from me, even though I don't look intimidating at all. As Toothless and I were trying to catch her and make sure she was okay, she passed out. I brought her back to Berk. When she woke up, we found out she couldn't remember anything before waking up on the island. In the two years she had been with us, she had only recovered a handful of her memories, most of them unimportant.
Catherine Mary caught up with us a couple miles in to the flight. "Any trouble?" I called to her.
"Not much," she yelled back. I laughed to myself. Catherine Mary never had much trouble getting dragons to do what she wanted. Everyone had been trying to figure out how she did it for a while but we were completely stumped. As soon as the other teens had realized that we weren't going to figure it out, it had become a game to come up with ridiculous theories, although I could never tell if the twins realized it was just a game or they actually believed the crazy scenarios they came up with. Once I had asked Catherine Mary about it. She just shook her head and responded, "It's not something I can teach you." I took it to mean she didn't know either. She enjoyed listening to our guesses, though.
After a while, we finally arrived at our campsite. Everyone was so tired, we ate a quick dinner and fell asleep immediately.
Catherine Mary
"Stay here," I told the Terrors once the other teens had left. I still hadn't told anyone about my... abilities. I tried multiple times over the years, but every time I decided to tell somebody I hear the mocking laughter that seemed so familiar and terrifying. Or worse, I would see the fearful way they looked at me before telling me to leave and never come back. No matter how irrational these fears were, I couldn't take the chance. So whenever anyone asked me about what I could do, I would downplay it. And whenever I was near humans, I would act as normal as I could.
Once I convinced the Terrible Terrors to stay, I mounted Adrasteia and followed the other teens. When I finally caught up to them, Hiccup turned around to look at me. "Any trouble?" He yelled.
You mean aside from the usual memory loss? I thought. "Not much," I said aloud. Even with the wind I could hear him chuckle at that. By now, no one was surprised by my "talent with dragons" that surpassed even Hiccup's. Of course, they didn't realize that what I was doing was no more of a talent than Hiccup having a conversation with Astrid, but I wasn't about to correct them. Just like I wasn't going to let them know that my fighting style didn't come from what the people in my tribe taught me. I might not have my memories, but that was one thing I did know. But if I told them, it would lead them to what I really could do and that scared me to death.
I shook myself out of my thoughts as we were landing. I didn't have any more time for reflection as we set up camp and ate. Then it was time for bed. I hated nighttime. The darkness that consumed the entire land always left me on edge. It always seemed as if she was waiting to spit out monsters that would destroy me and my friends before she consumed us too. When my friends first noticed how jittery I was after the sun disappeared, they were amused. They never said so, but I could tell. Once Snotlout tried to scare me. He grabbed at me from behind then the next thing I remembered was Snotlout on the ground as I was holding his arm at an uncomfortable angle. After that everyone made sure I knew they were coming well before they were close enough for me to grab. After tossing and turning for a while, I finally fell asleep.
The next day we woke up early. At least I think we did. Honestly, I hadn't gotten a restful night's sleep when I did manage to fall asleep, so I wasn't really processing things that well. By the time I was finally aware of my surroundings, we were already on our way back to Berk.
We flew for most of the day. We stopped to let the dragons rest around noon and ate lunch. Once we finished eating, everyone started to wander off. I stood up intending to go stretch my legs. As I started to leave Astrid stood up and joined me. We walked in silence for a few minutes. "How are you?" Astrid finally asked.
"Fine."
Astrid gave me a look that said she didn't believe me. "You were pretty spacey this morning. And last night I heard you yelling."
I shrugged. "Nightmares."
Astrid looked at me with concern. "Again?"
Ever since my dream about my parents, nightmares were pretty common. I was lucky to go a week without waking up in a cold sweat. I couldn't usually remember much of the dreams, unless it was the dream about my parents. I usually remember a vague sensation of running. And during the nightmares the sound of laughter that haunted my waking hours penetrated the safety of my slumber.
I didn't bother speaking, I just nodded. Astrid pressed her lips together, but apparently she got the message that I didn't want to talk about it because she changed the subject. We chatted for a while before we finally made our way back to our dragons. Then we resumed the long journey home.
We stopped for the night at the island every one had dubbed "Catherine's Island." The very same place that Hiccup found me about two years ago. When we landed, the dragons stayed awake only long enough to eat before collapsing on the ground, asleep. The other riders were conscious for only a little longer than their reptilian counterparts. I, however, waited until everyone was asleep before silently getting up from my makeshift bed and disappearing into the forest that stood guard over the edge of the beach. I had been this way so many times since I woke up without my memories that I had worn a path through the trees.
Finally I reached my destination. Gothi once told me that seeing familiar people, things, or places might bring back my memories. Because this was the first place I remembered, I would come here as often as I could, hoping that just a piece of a previous memory would return. That I could catch a glimpse of a face or a location that would lead me to the answers that I lost.
I walk into the clearing, and sat down on the ground in the middle. I pulled my hair out of its usual braid, pushing the beads that were scattered throughout into the palm of my hand. Once I finished that, I pulled off the circlet that was the second constant of my outfit. Then I held silver items that, along with the first strip of cloth that I always had tied around my wrist, were the only things I had left from my elusive former life. I poured the beads in my hand into the bag that I brought along for that reason. Then I sat there rubbing the circlet as it sparked faintly in the moonlight. That was where I fell asleep. That night I didn't have any dreams. Little did I know that soon my nightmares wouldn't just be limited to sleep.
Annnnddd cut! Mad at me yet? So I was asked by one of my readers to clarify Catherine Mary's powers, and seeing as the characters' personality/situation wouldn't allow me to plainly state it in the book I decided to do it in an author's note. However I've come up with an idea that's a little more fun. She has two sets powers, and I dropped hints about both of them throughout my last book. So I will make this a contest. I would like to see was people think her powers are, so review and tell me what you think they are and I will tell you if it's right or wrong. There may be a prize, but I think it might just be bragging rights and a shoutout plus new information about the mysterious Catherine Mary. Okay, your hint is... Both powers have to do with animals. Have a nice day! Review!
