Chapter 1

She's Gone

Hiccup's POV

This is Berk. It's 12 days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. My village. In a word, sturdy. It's been here for 7 generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunset. The only problems are the pests. You see, most places have mice or mosquitoes. We have dragons. They've always been pests. My dad's the chief of Berk. Dad will never let me kill dragons, and he would never listen to me. As I couldn't kill dragons, Dad made me this person called Gobber's apprentice since I was little. Well, littler. One morning, when I thought all was well..

"Son, get up! Gobber's still expecting you to show up at the shop!" Dad called me. I was still asleep. "Ugh, I'm still 10, and Dad's expecting me to work my butt off with Gobber, just grand!" I thought to myself. Dad opened the door, and I quickly pulled my blacket over my head. "Get up, son!" Dad said before pulling me out of bed. "Okay, okay. I'm up!" I yawned and my eyes widened when a thought came to mind, "Is Vern there?" "Aye, she is. Why don't you hurry on before she's tired of waiting, son," he said, pushing me out the door. I ran to Gobber's shop, impatient to meet Vern, my best friend since I was 5, I think. "HICCUP! Finally!" Gobber said, "And why are you two runnin' late on this fine day?" I looked to my right, and Vern was right there. "Why are you late? You're usually early?" I asked quietly to her. "I'll tell you later," she whispered back, "First, I've got to make something up." "Yeah, Gobber. Yesterday's dragon attack left us wide awake. Don't you remember that our parents never let us fight dragons?" she answered. For a 10 year old, she was good at lying. "You've got a point, lass," Gobber nodded, "Enough talk. You two go to work then." So, why were you really late?" I asked. "I was trying to help my dad, you know, kill some dragons," Vern replied. "And what happened?" I asked again, thinking that, that was a cool thing. "Well, you know my dad," she said sadly, "he refused and pulled me back into the house. Then all night, I was thinking that maybe the dragons aren't just attacking Berk for food, but another reason."

"You think so?"

"I don't know, Hiccup. There's a lot in my mind right now."

"Don't think about it, Vern. At least your dad's not the chief."

"I guess both our dads are a bit over-protective huh?"

"Maybe. But let's just focus back to work. We don't want anyone else yelling at us, right?"

"Aye, I guess so," she chuckled.

Vern was my best friend, but that all changed that day, well night. Me and Vern were sharpening some swords and axes that night, when all of a sudden, we saw light from inside the shop. My gut just told me there was a fire. "Vern, duck!" I shouted. Dragon's fire burnt the roof, and it came crumbling down. Smoke filled the air. "Vern? Vern?" I called and coughed, "You alright?" "Hiccup?" she coughed, "Where are you?" With all the smoke, I couldn't think. I couldn't see her. "I hear you, Vern. Just follow the sound of my voice." "Just keep talking, Hiccup." I nearly got out of the shop, when Gobber pulled me up and out of the shop. "Hiccup, are ye mad?! You could've been killed. Get out now!" he pointed somewhere, telling me to run away. "Gobber, listen. Vern's still-" my words were interrupted by a loud roar. Out of nowhere, a Deadly Nadder landed into the shop. Vern was in trouble right now!

Vern's POV

I couldn't see anything thanks to all the smoke. I could barely breathe. I heard Hiccup's voice, when it dissappeared, and from above, a Nadder appeared. I was either going to get killed or kill that dragon. I got a sharpened sword from behind, and pointed it at the dragon. I tried attacking the dragon, but I was 10, more of a runt to a dragon. When I swung the sword, all it did was pinning me down with its claws. "I'm as good as dead right now," I thought to myself. I looked at the dragon, and I saw not the eyes of a killer, but a friendly dragon. Then I heard Hiccup shout, and Gobber threw an axe at the Nadder, but missed. The Nadder roared at them, and grabbed me with its claws, and carried me up into the sky. "Hiccup!" I screamed, waving my hand to him. I had no idea where this Nadder was taking me.

Third Person POV

Hiccup watched his friend get carried into the air, and disappeared into the dark with the dragons. He thought he'd lost the friend forever. Tears began forming in the 10 year old's eyes. "What's going on here? Hiccup, are those tears? And where's Vern?" Stoick asked after killing a few dragons. "I suggest you don't ask him that right now, Stoick," Gobber said nervously, pointing at the shop. "Dad," Hiccup cried, "Vern's gone. She got carried away by dragons." Stoick's eyes widened. He pitied his son, and he, himself was sad due to the 'death' of his son's close friend.

What was the fate of Vern then? Did she really get killed by dragons?

Vern felt nervous. She had never been carried away by a live Nadder before. The dragons flew for hours, when she saw their island. "The nest!" she thought to herself, "Are they taking me there?" We all know what was in the nest. A bigger and badder dragon than any other dragon, the Red Death. Weirdly, the dragons were not taking her there. They took somewhere else. A place where no human has ever been, nor seen. Well, till now. After a few more hours flying in the sky, the Nadder put Vern down quite roughly. She rolled onto the ground. She scratched her head in amazement, rubbing her eyes to prove she wasn't imagining this. "Where am I?" she said aloud. "Welcome to Dragon Island!" Vern turned around to see a woman riding on the back of a dragon, landing right behind me. Vern recognized her, and spoke out, "Valka! You're Hiccup's mom!" "How do you know me?" Valka asked. "Stoick has a potrait of you," Vern replied, "My name is Vern. I'm your son's friend. Why didn't you come back to Berk? Everyone thinks you're dead, killed and eaten by dragons."

"i can't come back. When Hiccup was but a babe, a dragon came into his room. I couldn't kill it, and it brought me here, to their island. They treat me like their own, so I stay here. But, one day, I believe I will cross paths with them once again. You can't keep family apart that easy."

"Can't I go back?"

"You could, but firstly, you must earn a dragon's trust. Or you can stay here, and I will teach you everything about each and every dragon. Living with dragons aren't as bad as you think. They will take care of you as their own," Valka smiled patting the head of a Monstrous Nightmare. "Should I go back? Hiccup probably thinks I'm dead by now," Vern thought and said, "I'll stay. I do have the same problem as you do, Valka." "Very well, then. I'm sure you will enjoy it here with the dragons," Valka smiled back.

Valka trained Vern like the daughter she never had. Vern really did enjoy being in the company of dragons, but the thought of the day she lost her best friend, Hiccup haunts her everyday.