I Am Eret

by crazykittymomma

So, what is Eret's story? We really don't know. So here's my version.

First and foremost...I DO NOT OWN "HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON" book series, movie series or animated series.

For those that have followed me in my previous two entries know that I really like Eret's character. In the second movie, we never really know him, outside of the fact he is "The son of Eret." It is always how he introduces himself. Obviously, he is quite proud of his father, and proud to be named after his father. But, we don't know Eret really outside of the, other than a couple of mini-hints.

So, this is another one-shot I have come up with for Eret. I loved writing this! I am horrible at writing really short stories, too. So, I will apologize to you for the length, but I could not divide this up into two chapters.

Thanks guys!

Young Eret could hear muffled voices on the other side of the doorway. Gently, he moved the hidden door just a hair so that he could see out, and hear the adults conversing. Nomi whimpered slightly, which immediately set Eret into a panic. They could not be seen. He placed his finger up to her lips to keep her quiet. After she took in a few deep breaths to calm herself, he turned to listen.

"Eret Senior-" the deep voice said to him. "You asked for two weeks at home with your family. You've extended your stay without permission."

"Sir, he can't go-"

"Keep her quiet!" the man said harshly to Eret Senior. "She has no say."

Young Eret cranked his neck a little bit, changing his positioning so he could visually see the adults on the other side. He bit his lip when he saw his father's fearful look in his eyes. Instead of standing tall, his father was sitting at the kitchen table, hunched over. He had barely returned home weeks before in one piece. His legs and arms were badly burned, his mother was certain that his leg was broken, yet he had been walking on it. A series of gashes remained on his face, almost healed. It was obvious they were going to scar him. His mother stood behind him, her hand on his shoulder, grasping it as tightly as she would allow herself to. Fear marked her face as well.

"Master-I thought when I came home to rest that I would be back on my feet within a few weeks. After resting, I thought I would be back on the ship home to you to work again. But, it seems as though when I fell-I broke my leg and-"

"I have use for you back at home-broken leg or no broken leg," said the Master.

"Forgive me, sir, but my health was too poor to venture back."

The Master glared at Eret Senior. "I want you on my ship by sun-up."

Young Eret could feel his sister shaking beside him in their hiding spot. She rocked back and forth, kept her hands over her ears, trying to force herself to drown out the man's voice. She was always afraid of him. Eret was as well as a child, but the older he grew, the less afraid he was. He never understood why his parents were so weak at the mentioning of him. He was growing angry seeing the man ordering his father out of his own house. But, for Nomi, he remained at the door.

"I-I don't know if-"

"You don't know what Eret?" the Master asked. "You made a deal with me years ago. You help me with my army-I make sure you and your family have enough food to survive on this pitiful island. I keep you alive, Eret. You seem-ungrateful-"

"No! No, Master!" he said to him. "I-I just am not fit to travel yet. But, trust me, sir-in a few more weeks-I will be-"

"You already passed your few weeks!" the man yelled. "Either you be on my ship at sun-up, or you and your family will burn inside this house!"

His mother grew weak at her knees and she began to crumble. His father put his head down, and Young Eret could feel Nomi rocking back and forth more. He could actually see her with her hands over her ears trying to drown out the man.

"Master-please," Eret Senior begged. He started to stand up and go to the man, to drop to his knees and plead for forgiveness. But, he barely made it a step before he fell to the floor in immense pain from his broken leg. "I beg you-"

"You've begged me long enough-" The Master said to him. "You've gotten weaker and weaker! But, you continued to serve me. You returned when I called you to return. You were never late. You always did as I asked, even if you were growing slower over the last few years. Because of this I have kept you and your family alive. Now-you are no use to me-"

"Please!" Eret Senior said. "This has been my only time I was not your faithful servant. Please forgive me! I need to stay home and rest a bit more, Master, and then I will return to you."

"No!" The Master said to him. "You will come back by sun-up. If you are not there, I will make sure I shame your family in the daylight of your village!"

Young Eret closed his eyes. He heard his mother weep, he heard the fear in his father's voice. He continued to feel his sister Nomi grow more and more upset next to him. He was growing angrier.

"Please, sir-"

"Enough of your begging!" The Master yelled at Eret Senior. "I've had enough! Grab the torches! Lock them in the house! Their time is over-"

"Noooooo!"

Young Eret rushed from his hiding spot and stood in front of his father and mother, placing his arms up to attempt to block the man from making anymore contact with his parents.

The Master eyed him up and down.

"And who might you be?" he asked him.

"I am Eret, Son of Eret," he said to the Master. "I want to take my father's place."

"You?!" The Master chuckled. "You can't be more than twelve-"

"I'm fifteen," Eret said to him. "If I take my father's place, will you let my family be?"

The Master eyed him up and down. He laughed. "You-take his place? You don't look strong enough."

"I am stronger than you think," Young Eret said. "And, I know how to sail. You won't be disappointed."

"Son-" Eret Senior began, but his son didn't listen to him. He continued to look the man in the eyes, hoping his stubbornness would pay off with the Master.

"Has your father told you want we do?" the Master asked.

"No, but I am sure I can do it," he said. "If anything, you have a decent deck-hand. You have my word."

The Master nodded and gave a smirk. "Very well, then. You come with me, I will spare your family. I will also allow your family food and gold at a portion of what they were receiving before. Until you've trained up a bit. But, you will never come back here. Once you step foot onto my boat-you are mine."

Young Eret's breath left him for a moment. His mother began to weep more, and his father went to speak, but Young Eret cut him off.

"I accept the terms."

"Very well," said the Master. He grabbed Young Eret by the arm of his shirt, and drug him out of the home. His family screamed behind him as he was dragged into the darkness of the night. He was not allowed a proper good-bye to them. In his head, all he could do was think of the fear Nomi was experiencing, and even though he was absent from her life, at least she was able to live.

...

Eret darted up out of bed, breathing heavily, pouring in sweat. He reached for his knife under his pillow and held it close. Forcing himself to calm down, he held the blade out, ready for the attack.

A few moments later, he realized no one would come. He heard no movement in the house around him. The only thing he heard was the storm outside his home.

Thunderstorms always gave him nightmares. Even as a young boy. Seemed like anytime a storm had come, his nightmares would come. Tonight, though, it wasn't a nightmare, but a memory he had repressed for a very long time.

Stumbling out of his bed, he headed downstairs in the darkness, holding his knife as he walked down to his kitchen. Before he hit the bottom of the stairs, he reached his hand out and found the chair he had placed intentionally on the stairs and moved it down to the floor. From there, he picked up a mug, uncorked a bottle of mead, and poured the contents into the mug about a fourth of the way full. From there, he took a seat on a stool close to the fire, and leaned back against the wall, keeping his knife in his hand.

With the back of his hand holding the knife, he wiped the sweat away from his forehead. Despite the sweat, he shivered. Eventually he would place another log into the hearth. For now, he only wanted to enjoy his mead. Taking a sip, he savored the flavor, and then swallowed it, allowing the warmth to fill his throat down to his chest.

Why was he remembering that night all of a sudden? It was that evening in which his life changed forever. For ten years he had to deal with the Master. Granted, the man gave him a great deal of freedom once he had trained up and proven himself to him. Despite the freedom he had, he always felt watched. He had learned to sleep with protection, and had learned to sleep light. Lately, he'd let himself go somewhat soft.

Although he felt he was safe living on Berk, there was always that thought in the back of his mind that someone would be coming after him. Eventually, he believed the Master would be back for him. As far as Eret knew, he was still alive. Until he knew the man was dead, he would always remain guarded in some aspect of his life.

That was why he set up traps, such as the trap on the stairs with the chair. In case Eret did end up sleeping too deeply, an intruder tripping on the stairs in the dark would sure wake him up. If that didn't he was certain multiple other defenses he placed up in the house would.

Eret took another sip of his mead and let out a breath. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. The Master, Drago, was heavy on his mind lately. Snoggletog was approaching. That was when he had ended up in Drago's hands.

The trip on the boat to the island was cold, and immediately upon arrival he was given deck-hand duties. They were simple at first, too simple. Shortly after sailing on the boat, some of the men were becoming hateful towards him. After all, he was the youngest on the ship, he was upping even the most respected men with Drago, and they were becoming anxious. With Eret present, they felt as though they might have been replaced and out of a job.

Arriving at the island, he was pushed off of the ship and onto an island with black sand. He followed the line of men heading towards the main part of the village. Looking around, he knew he was the youngest throughout the army. It wasn't just the boat, it was on the island as well. And everyone was eyeing him. He was surrounded by enemies.

Eret had thought living back home was horrible. The village he lived on was not thriving. Very little food was able to be grown, and due to the small amounts of food, the game could barely survive. This was why his father had left home to work for Drago. He wanted to make sure his family had enough food to survive in the little world in which they lived.

He very quickly had to learn what his role was on the island and out to sea. Drago had one main goal: Capture dragons. Eret had barely seen a dragon growing up. He had heard about them from the village crazy lady, Auggie, who had told many stories about them. He thought growing up she was just the village story teller making up some tall tails. But, working for Drago was living proof she was not making any of the creatures up. It became very apparent that Eret would have to learn defense and offense with each and every dragon he encountered, on top of learning to survive with an army full of men. They had their own purposes: Feed their families and survive.

How had his father survived all the years with these men, without bringing terror home to he and his sister. Without being angry or taking his aggression out on his family? Eret didn't understand how his father had been so kind and yet so evil? When he was with his family, he was caring and good to his wife and children. With these men, he was sure he had to completely change himself. Turn cold, and be brave.

There was one man that stood apart from all of them, though. He wasn't more than ten years older than Eret at the time, but he was respected among the more "wiser" men of the army. He was a leader. The first morning of work, Eret was told to report to him to repair and build ships. When Eret showed up, the man eyed him up and down then met his eyes. Eret forced himself to look past the fine scar that spread over the man's eye. It was clearly a dragon claw that had marked the man's face. Eret was surprised he had not lost the eye in the process.

...

"What is your name?" he asked Eret.

"I am Eret, Son of Eret," he replied to him. Eret could feel his nerves unfolding, and he was trying not to avoid eye contact. Actually, should he even make eye contact? Instead, he put his head back down. "Now, sir, what can I do for work today?"

A second later the man grabbed his tunic at his chest, and began dragging him away from the boats and right up to where Drago stood. He didn't hesitate to get into Drago's face.

"Ah, Young Cecil," Drago said politely. "I see you've met Young Eret. Is he already causing you trouble?" By this point, Drago had grabbed Eret's arm with his large hand and began to pull him away from Cecil. "I wondered how soon he would cause chaos here. I'll make sure he's disposed of-"

"No!" Cecil said to Drago, and he reached his hand back up to Eret's chest and grabbed him away from Drago. He pulled Eret behind him, causing him to lose his balance and falling backwards to the ground. Eret looked up, keeping his eyes on Cecil and Drago, but he kept his head low. He was afraid. "I told you that Eret Senior was injured and would need more time. You told me you would allow it-"

"That was before our ships became damaged during our captures," Drago said. "We are behind schedule-"

"Your schedule means nothing to a family who was watching their father slowly die from his injuries-"

Eret involuntarily let a gasp escape from his throat. "What-"

"Drago, this was not the plan! You said you would leave that family alone. I told you I didn't need him. If he was able to return back, I would have allowed him back with the crew to work on the ships. If he did not, I wasn't concerned. And, instead, you bring his son-"

"He took his father's place voluntarily," Drago said. "Now, Cecil, I leave him with you. Since you have decided to put your nose into Young Eret and mine's agreement, I leave you to train him. You are one of my best experts. You can teach him how to survive without getting hurt, I am sure. You keeping him alive keeps his own family alive."

"That's dirty!" Cecil yelled at him.

"That may be so, but I have a schedule to keep. Either take the boy and train him, or dispose of him in some way. He's your's to deal with."

With that, Cecil took his leave. He reached down and grabbed Eret by the back of his tunic and pulled him to his feet. He dragged him a little ways, before dropping his hold on him. Eret hesitated at first, but decided that going with Cecil was better than standing with Drago.

Cecil huffed the whole way back to the ships that needed repaired. He began dragging Eret by his wrist, and moved very quickly. Instead of handing him some tools and asking him to get to work, Cecil dragged him aboard of a nearly completed boat, and down into the living quarters. He pushed him into a room, and shut the door. This was when Eret began to feel the most panic he had been experiencing since he joined up with Drago.

Cecil leaned himself against the door. Eret looked around. It was his only escape out. He looked at the man that stood there, fearing for his life. Cecil didn't make eye contact. He simply leaned against the door with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Eret and then at the floor boards. Eret didn't know what to think of him.

After a few moments, Cecil calmly asked, "How was your father when you departed?"

Eret was taken aback at the question. Cecil seemed sincere when he asked. Slowly, he answered. "Weak. But recovering."

"He wasn't dying?" Cecil asked him gently.

Eret shook his head slightly. "No-just-" He hesitated. "He was getting better."

Cecil sighed. "I honestly thought he would have passed away within a few days of returning back to home. I'm thankful he was still alive even after a few weeks. You must have a good healer back at home, then?"

Eret nodded again. His eyes remained fixed on Cecil. "What are you going to do to me?"

Cecil sighed. "If I had it my way, you would be back at home with your family-"

The boy was surprised by Cecil's comment. "If I didn't come along, he would have set my home on fire with all four of us locked inside. I really didn't have a choice in the matter."

"That was very noble of you, Eret," said Cecil. "In the mean time, I got landed with you. Do you know anything about what we do?"

"My father never talked about work," Eret said. "He only talked about how blessed he was to come home to his family."

"Wise man," Cecil said. "So few that come here for work do not get the pleasure. So many families do not get closure when their relatives pass away. They are left to wonder what happened to them. To be honest, sometimes I think it's better that way." Cecil reached into his boot and pulled out a knife. When Eret saw it, he felt some panic rush through his veins again. He had let his guard down. He thought for sure Cecil was going to kill him again, but he didn't. Instead, Cecil put a small smile on his face. It helped ease Eret a little bit. "Eret, you do as I teach you, you will survive on this island. How did you sleep last night, may I ask?"

Eret looked up at him. "Not well."

"The drunks snore loudly. I see the bags forming under your eyes. Probably didn't sleep much on the ship either, did you?"

Eret shook his head. "I felt like I was a goat being watched by mountain lions."

Cecil nodded. "That makes sense." Cecil turned and reached his hand to the door, and Eret stood up and approached him. Cecil reached his hand out and extended the knife over to Eret. "I want you to take this. You will want to keep it under your pillow at all times. No telling who will come after you."

"Why would they come after me?" Eret asked.

"Multiple reasons. You couldn't even give these men a reason to come at you, but they would find one. Sometimes it's over the extra piece of cheese you grab at dinner that they were eyeballing. You just never know. Keep that with you. Don't ever let it go."

...

And Eret did not let it go.

He rubbed the handle gently with his thumb, feeling the bone of the animal underneath. The texture brought him some comfort when he was sitting up late, listening and looking in darkness for someone coming after him.

He took the last drink from his mug. Then, he went and threw another log onto the fire, stoking it, and feeling it's warmth. Staring into the flames, he shook his head, clearing a bad image that was surfacing to his thoughts.

Over the first year of working for Drago, Eret learned a lot. Cecil was always close by, but never too close. If an argument started about Eret between the men, Cecil always had a way of solving it. He never felt coddled by Cecil in any way. If the men thought he was, he probably wouldn't have been a live.

One night, very early on, Ragland noticed Eret stuff a piece of bread into his tunic before dinner was over. It wasn't the last piece, but it wasn't the most stale piece on the plate. Ragland apparently had been eye-balling it for himself. Outside of the Great Hall, Ragland pushed Eret to the ground around a dozen other men.

"I saw you thief that bread, boy," Ragland said as he stood over him.

"Ragland-I-"

"I'm still hungry-" Ragland said to him, reaching down and grabbing him by the tunic. Eret felt the piece of bread slide down his chest and to the ground by his dangling feet. "What Master saw in your is beyond me-"

Eret felt himself fly across the cold ground and to a stop. The wind was knocked out of him, he knew he would be a little sore, but nothing was broken. He scampered backwards on the ground as Ragland approached him, attempting to pick him up and toss him again. His friends were around him laughing.

Before Ragland had laid another hand on him where he sat, however, a calm voice approached, quieting the men down.

"Why are you tormenting my servant?" Cecil asked, taking a stand between Eret and Ragland. Eret was surprised Cecil was standing between the two of them. Ragland was every bit twice the size of Cecil.

"He stole food," someone shouted behind Ragland.

"Master provides plenty of food for us all. We often throw food away. So, there is no way he could be accused of stealing." Cecil remained calm, and his arms were crossed in front of him, looking up at Ragland. He showed no fear. Eret's hand had found it's way to his right leg, his hand sitting directly inside the boot where his knife was. Just in case he were to need it, he could access it easily.

Ragland growled at Cecil. "Why are you sticking up for this boy?"

"Well, the way I see it Ragland, if you off my servant-I'd be without someone to assist me in my duties. And-" he chuckled. "When Master asks me why I am slow at production, your name will slip out of my mouth. You and I know without ships, there's no dragons. And this always makes Master angry. That scar on your chest is supposed to remind you of this."

Ragland's jaw tightened slightly, and a flicker of fear showed in his eyes.

Cecil laughed slightly. "And-you know when your name comes spilling out of my mouth to Master, you will be the one he lashes out at. You see, Ragland. You cannot mess with Master's right-hand man. That man-is me." Cecil sighed slightly. "And since Eret here is my servant, that leaves him off limits."

"Why are you so scared of Cecil, Ragland?" someone yelled. "You can take him out. Knock him out-Knock him out-"

The chant went on for a full minute. Ragland's blood was boiling. Eret could see he wanted to tear both Cecil and he to shreds. But, the man didn't move. He was a blacksmith, and a good one. Eret had seen his work. He was one of the higher up on the island so he had followers. But, Cecil's status was above their hierarchy.

Finally, Ragland yelled for them to hush. And he turned and walked away from Cecil and Eret. But, he did stop, and turn back to them.

"You better keep your servant in his place, Cecil!" Ragland yelled.

Cecil nodded at Ragland. "He is in his place, Ragland. Never you mind him."

...

Eret gasped when he woke up again. He held his knife close to himself, willing for an attack from somewhere in the shadows. When he looked at the fire, he remembered he was not on the dark island, but in his home on Berk. Still, calming himself tonight was proving to be more difficult than it usually was.

He placed his hand over his chest, where the burn was. That was probably the darkest time he'd had since the beginning while working for Drago. Over the years it had faded nicely, but he never let anyone see it on Berk. Only Hiccup and Astrid knew about it. And Gothi, since she had seen it one day when he had fallen ill. But, he knew his secret was safe with them. He didn't fear them knowing. It was-everyone else.

His time working under Cecil his first year made him stronger. He proved multiple times he was a good worker. Cecil always boasted about him to Drago. Due to his accomplishments on the island, Drago left him alone for the most part. He had learned to harden his mind and not go soft (or show is softness) around the men. Especially when they were bringing back dragons. Eret learned very quickly to turn cold when the dragons were brought back to the island. And he had to turn colder when he was learning to catch them as well.

"The trick is to not look into their eyes," Cecil told him the first time they'd gone out together together to hunt. "In time, it'll get easier."

It did. But, Eret had to learn that.

After two years of working with with Cecil on the ships, and learning how to capture dragons, Drago singled Eret out. Eret had learned to not fear him as much as he used to. In the process of making is emotions harder, he had to learn not to let the thought of his family get in his way when he looked at Drago or heard his voice. Alone one night, Drago called him into his home, and sat a map out on a table.

"See this right here?" he asked Eret.

Eret knew the island too clearly. It was the island he used to sail to as a boy with his father to look for food for their village. It was only a two-day trip via boat from his home. There, he and his father would fish along the way, and hope when they reached the island to bring back a deer or some nice duck to feed the family.

"I do, Master," he said to Drago.

"There was a rumor along the trade that a Night Fury nest lay there. A few weeks ago, our men went by there and saw them circling the treats, looking for food. I want you to go there, find their nest, steal no less than one egg, and return back here. I give you two weeks."

As Eret had packed his bag, Cecil wished him good luck. Cecil did not know where Drago was sending him. He only knew he was going for a dragon egg.

The thought of that voyage angered Eret. Getting up off of his stool, he went to the table and poured some more mead, this time half a mug full. He took a rather large sip from the mug, and sat it down on the table again with force. He closed his eyes, and remembered the dark cloud that hung over his home island from more than a day's voyage away. He made sure not to wonder from the route that Drago gave him, although he had wanted to.

He had passed his island from a safe distance out at sea, and watched it smoldering. The dead trees on the village had fallen, and had continued to burn light firewood. The homes were half standing, still burning. The Great Hall of the island was the only thing still standing, but it was stone. It was all Eret could see from a distance out to see.

Eret screamed on his boat, and he screamed in his home. He was angry, and sad. Drago had sent him out on purpose to the island. It wasn't a true journey. It was simply a journey to tear him down physically and spiritually. His family was gone. They had died in the fire.

Immediately Eret had turned the ship around and headed back to Drago's. There, after being gone for a week, he had been greeted by Cecil. Instead of speaking to Cecil, Eret headed straight for Drago's home. It was dinner time, and he knew that was where the man would be.

"Where's the dragon egg?" Cecil asked him, rushing in front of him to stop him from walking. Eret used a strong arm and pushed him aside. Cecil rushed back to him. "What is going on with you? Did you bring the Night Fury egg or not?"

"There was not real mission, Cecil!" Eret screamed at him. He pulled Cecil closer to him by his tunic, and drew out his knife. "You knew, didn't you?"

"Knew what?"

"That I was going on a fake mission! Just to see my village burning from a distance-didn't you?"

"You saw what?!" Cecil said, pushing Eret away from him. "He sent you there?"

"The island was on fire, Cecil! It had been burning for days before I approached it!" Eret let go of his friend's tunic, letting him go. A thought occurred to him. "Did you know?"

"Know about what?"

"That my village was burning-"

"How would I know that?" Cecil asked him.

"We live on an island full of dragons-did he send dragons to my home and murder everyone I knew?!" Eret was growing angrier. He started for Drago's hut again at a faster pace than he had before. Suddenly, he felt hit from behind and was brought to the ground. He pushed off his attacker, and was back on his feet. It was Cecil.

"Don't do anything foolish, Eret," Cecil said to him gently. He was unarmed, or at least appeared to be. Eret knew better. Somewhere he had a knife on him. He always had a knife on him. It was how he had been taught.

"My family is dead!" Eret yelled at him. "The whole mission was a set up!"

"You don't know that," Cecil said to him. "Come with me, let's talk about this."

"No!" Eret yelled at him. "You were in on it, weren't you? He told you he was going to burn my home-"

"Now, see here, Eret! Cecil yelled at him. "You don't know this!"

"I do!" Eret yelled back. "The same day I left another ship was leaving with four dragons-four TRAINED dragons! Those dragons went to my village and set it on fire, didn't they?"

Cecil put his head down. It was the only time Eret had ever seen him not keep his eye on a target, allowing himself vulnerable. After a moment, Cecil looked up at Eret. There were tears in his eyes.

"You knew!" Eret yelled, pointing his knife at Cecil. "You knew he was going to do it!"

Cecil put his head up again. "I thought he'd set fire to your island within the first season of you being with us. I was told that at the least."

Eret felt his heart skip a beat. His only friend on the island had known his family was going to die. He had known that once Eret had made it onto Dragon Island that his family would be murdered.

"I never thought you'd find out this way," Cecil said to him. "I was told they island had been destroyed long before recent, Eret. You have my word with that. I'm sorry-"

...

Eret felt the tears welling up in his eyes. He knew Cecil was sorry. After all these years, he knew that Cecil was telling him the truth: He had no idea the timing of the fire. He also knew Cecil had been trying to protect him despite what was going on around them.

He took the last sip of his mead. He sighed. He reached into the neckline of his shirt and rubbed his chest where the scar laid. He traced the raised lines of his skin with his fingers. Remembering after that was a bit of a blur. He was confident he had been knocked out when he had been branded with the mark, receiving it for not delivering a dragon egg home. Although he was confident that Dragon had actually made up the whole story about the dragon eggs.

The burn took weeks to heal. The pain was immense. Luckily a large ice storm had forced work to be delayed, which gave him more time to heal. Cecil was the one who made sure that the herbs were used properly to promote healing. Even though Eret spent days screaming wicked words at him through the delirious fever Cecil didn't leave him to deal with it alone.

A few weeks later, Cecil departed on a small ship alone. He had told Eret he was sent to retrieve a dragon egg from the Trader Yohann.

"You watch yourself, you hear?" Cecil said to him.

Eret did not make eye contact, and nodded.

Eret went to pour himself another mug of mead, but stopped when he realized he heard birds outside the house. It was approaching daylight. It was then that he was aware that he was still holding his knife in his hand. He had been absent-mindedly stroking the bone handle with his thumb. Sighing, he reached down to his ankle and placed the knife back into it's pouch.

"Keep that knife close while you sleep."

"I know, Cecil," Eret said to him in a huff. Immediately he felt sorry he had lost his patience. "I'll be okay while you are away."

"I know you will," Cecil said to him. "There's something I haven't told you."

Eret looked at the man, making eye contact.

"Your father is the one that trained me when I came here. I was young, reckless...and very angry. I thought I knew everything. When I got mugged by one of our men one night, he made me that knife to protect myself. Keep it close."

That Eret did. Cecil never returned back to the island. Eret had been sent with a crew to hunt him down after he was away two weeks. A month they tracked him down, but he was never found. They questioned Trader Yohann when they caught up to him on a trading island. The man said that he never saw him, and handed over a chest full of dragon eggs: The eggs Cecil had said he was going after.

Eret walked over to his door and pulled it open. He was greeted with life outside the doorway, something that he'd never had before growing up. The sun was just coming up from the line of the ocean where the sky touched. His hut was away from town at the very top of the island. Hiccup made sure to let him choose where he wanted to build. He liked being just outside of the main part of town. Very few people came to bother him. Skullcrusher slept just inside the woods to make sure he remained safe.

Today, Eret was very thankful to his new family and friends. He'd always remember the family he once had, and how he wished he could have them there with him. And, he'd always remember and be thankful for Cecil, the next best thing he had to family while he was living in a world of darkness. Because of Cecil, he was alive to enjoy the riches he had in front of him.

...

TALK ABOUT HOW ERET GROWS STRONGER, HOW HE PROOVES HIMSELF A GOOD WORKER. TALK ABOUT HOW HE HARDENS HIS MIND AND DOESNT GO SOFT. WHEN HE GETS EXCITED TO BE ALLOWED TO GO BACK HOME FOR A VISIT, HE FINDS ITS BEEN BURNED RECENTLY AND DESTROYED. THIS IS WHEN HE STARTS PUSHING MEMORIES AWAY. AND HE GETS THE BURN WHEN HE ACCIDENTLY LOSES A NIGHT FURY RIGHT IN FRONT OF DRAGO