Chapter 1

Nine Years Later...

Astrid, now 20 years old, awoke from her sleep. Her room was dark. The only light was the lit candle beside her bed. Her gaze went to the candle, which she grabbed as she sat up on the side of her bed. She got up and walked over to her desk. She opened the lid of a box that was on it. The box was filled with papers and small notebooks she used as journals. With her free hand she took out all of the notebooks and papers in the box and placed them beside the box. She set the candle on her desk and took out a necklace that was under all of the papers. She gently touched the flute pendant that the necklace has, then touched the feather.

Astrid had kept the necklace a secret from her family. It was the only thing that reminded her of her parents. After her mother died from a disease when she was 13 and her father was claimed dead when his ship, which he was on, was lost in the ocean and never found when she was 17, Astrid had been distant from everyone. Including her Uncle Finn, who was the only family she had left. It reminded her of her parents because when she found the necklace on her fathers ship, it was the last time that they traveled together as a family before they died. The trip had been to a city called Berk. It was going to be their new home. When she heard that they were moving to a new city she wasn't surprised. Her family moved once a year to a new city in the Archipelago. But after they moved to Berk they didn't move anymore. After her father's death she moved in with her Uncle Finn, who lived in the city of Berk.

Astrid walked to the mirror on her wall and put the necklace on. She held the pendant and feather in her hands as she looked in the mirror. She sighed. Then after a few seconds she heard knocking on the door to her room. She quickly tucked the necklace into her dress, still wearing it. "Astrid are you in there?," She heard her Uncle Finn from behind the door. Astrid quickly grabbed her robe and put it on. She heard knocking again.

"I'm coming," Astrid responded her uncle. She did her best to cove the golden chain with the robe so he wouldn't see it. She unlocked the door so he could come in. She quickly ran back to her bed and sat down on the edge. "You can come in now." She put her hands on her lap as her uncle opened the door and walked in with a box.

"It's good to see that you're awake, Astrid," Finn told her. He walked in front of her and held out the box. "This came for you in the morning." Astrid took the box and opened it. Inside of it was a turquoise stone bead three wrap bracelet and a small leather journal.

She took the bracelet and studied it, a smile forming on her lips. "It's more beautiful than I thought it would be." She then took out the leather journal and looked at it as well. "Thank you, Uncle Finn."

"No problem. Now get ready. The traders' meeting will be soon." Finn then put the box down on the desk and left the room.

Astrid sighed again. She put the bracelet on top of the journal and put it on the small table next to her bed. Then got up to get dressed.

XxxxxXxxxxX

On the docks of Berk merchants and other people were loading and unloading cargo from the trading ships. On one of the ships, the owner of the ship stepped out onto the deck and tied the rope. He then walked off to the city leaving everything on his ship where it was. A few seconds after the man left a wooden board from the ship's floor opened and a pair of green eyes peaked out to check if it was safe to come out. Once he checked, he opened the board completely and stepped out from under the ship. Once out, he put the board back where it was. He walked onto the docks and into the trading center.

XxxxxXxxxxX

Astrid and her uncle arrived at the traders' meeting just on time. They all discussed about the new goods that will be traded, about the places they have been to, new ideas for the trading group, and about trading routes to avoid the pirates. That was talked about the most. Some of the traders were worried that the Calypso must have actually been born among the people of the Archipelago. Since there were more pirate sightings then usual.

They also talked about how to keep the pirates away from the cities. Astrid heard their conversation from where she was sitting, which was in a corner. She was writing in her new journal and wearing a light blue dress, her necklace (which she still kept hidden), and her new turquoise stone bracelet. The conversation was about a sighting of a ship called the Serpent's Heir. "It's one of the fastest ships I've ever seen," Astrid heard one of the men say. She stopped writing and listened to the conversation, while starring down at her journal. "I saw it with my own eyes. It had a red flag with a black dragon symbol on it."

Another one of the men spoke up. "Ah, I think I've seen it before. Is it the one with Viking shields on it."

"Yep. That's the one."

"It looks like a ship that belongs to Stoick 'the Vast' himself."

"But it isn't," Finn spoke up. The other men looked at him curiously.

"You know about the ship, Finn?," one asked. Finn nodded.

"Yes," he responded. "It's name: The Serpent's Heir. Known as the fastest ship in the whole Archipelago." Astrid's gaze turned to her uncle. "A ship owned by a pirate." The eyes of some of the men widened. "I've seen its captain before-Captain Night Fury. One of the most infamous pirates of the Archipelago-and most wanted. With a crew that hides many secrets about themselves, the ship, secret locations, their captain, and their pasts. They all have mysterious pasts before they became members of the Serpent's Heir. Even the captain. Up until now: he has been reported seen inside and outside the Archipelago." He hesitated a bit before continuing. "Me and my crew encountered his ship a few months ago on our way to Meathead Island. We saw them stealing from a small ship in front of us. We decided to investigate so we went onboard. Soon enough we encountered the whole chew-and I encountered Night Fury. We fought-and they won. In the end they took all of our cargo, so we had to come back to get all of the cargo we lost."

One of the men spoke up. "Did you see how he looked like, Finn?" Finn nodded to say 'no'.

"No I didn't. He wore a mask." he scowled lowly before speaking. "But I still remember the green eyes of that devil."

Astrid stood up from her chair, closed her journal, and placed it on the chair she was sitting on. Finn noticed. "Where are you going Astrid?, he asked her.

"Just going outside for some fresh air," She responded. "I'll be back in a while." Then she opened the door and walked out.

XxxxxXxxxxX

The man hiding in the ship walked through the docks that were filled with ships. He looked around to see which one to take. He turned left to stand in front of a ship. Then kept walking forward, only to be stopped by two guards with green uniforms and guns in their hands. "Where do you think you're going?," One of the two guards asked him.

"Well I just wanted to take a look at this amazing ship, until I was stopped by two Berkian guards," he responded.

"This ship is off limits to the public," the other guard informed.

"And who's idea was that exactly?"

"The Chief's, of course."

The first guard turned to the second. "Really," he asked. "I always thought it was one of the lord who said that."

"Seriously?! You were there!"

"I was?,"the second guard scratched his head. "I don't remember being there, to be honest."

"Of cousre. You have the brain the size of a peanut."

"At least the ship would be smarter than you if it was a living thing."

"If it was a living thing, its brain would probably be the size of yours."

Oh great, he thought. Nothing like a long, endless conversation to start my day.

XxxxxXxxxxX

Astrid walked along the edge of the stone bridge. Looking down trying to avoid the contact of people, as usual. Her gaze went to the ocean as she walked. She wished that one day she would be able to travel the world and explore. She heard the stories of merchants about their great and amazing adventures. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't realize the amount of people coming onto the bridge. One of them shoved her hard enough to knock her off her feet and send her plummeting to the waters below.

XxxxxXxxxxX

He had gotten tired of hearing the two guards fighting. And of course he stayed where he was so that they wouldn't find him guilty of trying to take the ship. Listening to the two guards' conversation, about the ship they were on, was like falling down an endless hole. During most of the conversation, he almost fell asleep a few times. He rested his head in the palm of his hand, his elbow on the ship's wheel, his eyes half open.

"I told you the ship built only a few years ago!," one guard told the other.

"If that's true, then why does it look so old?," the other guard responded.

"Maybe it was built to look old because they wanted it to look cool!"

After the first guard finished his sentence, he spoke, putting his arm on top of the one that was on the wheel. "To be honest: I have to agree with the idea that they wanted to make the ship look cool. Probably because they wanted to make every other kingdom in the Archipelago jealous." Once he finished his statement, he heard the sound of a splash behind him. Confused, he turned around and walked to the edge of the ship, so did the guards. The guards quickly recognized who the person who fell into the water was.

"Oh-oh," the first guard said. By hearing the first guard's tone, and looking at the second's wide eyes, he then knew that it must be someone important. Hesitating for a moment, he took off his coat, sword, knife, pistol, and hat, and handed them to the two guards. Then he jumped into the water.

Turning his head, he looked for whoever fell in the water. He spotted a blonde falling to the sea floor. Quickly, he swam towards her and caught her before she hit the ground. Then, holding her by the waist with one arm, he used his other arm to swim beck up to the docks. Once he reached the surface of the water he swam to the nearest dock and lifted the blonde onto it. Then lifted himself onto the wooden platform next to her. At the same time the two guards arrived behind him, still carrying his belongings. He up two finger on her neck. No pulse. The guards' eye's widened.

"What do we do?," The first guard asked. The young pirate turned to face the two guards, who carried his belongings. He reached out and took his knife from its holster. Then cut the fabric of the blonde's dress (Where her waist/stomach is) and tore the rest of the fabric exposing her bodice. He then cut the strings that tied it together. After they were all cut, he tore the rest open and off, revealing a white fabric underneath. The blonde reacted by jolting up, eyes wide, and throwing up the ocean water she had caught onto the wooden platform beside her. Then coughing the rest out.

"Huh-I never thought of that one," the first guard said, confused, yet amazed.

The pirate looked from the girl to the guards. "Clearly you've never been to Singapore," he realized. Once the blonde-around his age-had stopped coughing she laid back down on the dock she was on, breathing heavily. The young pirate turned back to her, while the two guards started-yet again-another conversation. He saw a thin, golden chain around her neck, followed by a small wooden flute pendant and small bird feather, on her stomach. Gently, he took the pendant in his hand and stared at it wide-eyed. The blonde girl noticed and lifted her head a bit, looking at the stranger holding her pendant. "Where did you get this?," he asked curious, yet scared at the same time. She even saw a bit of fear in his emerald eyes green eyes. Before she had time to answer, the sound of marching coming towards them. The pirate stood up to see who it was.

"Astrid!," She heard her Uncle Finn's voice. He stretched out a hand, which she took, and helped her up. When she was standing again, she saw the stranger with his hands being held behind his back by one of the guards. "And who is this?," Finn asked the guards. He took one of the boy's arms and lifted his sleeve, revealing a 'P' on his wrist. "A Pirate," He said. "Specifically-" He lifted the pirate's sleeve higher up his arm, and it revealed a tattoo of a black dragon curled up in a circular form. "Captain Night Fury, if I'm not mistaking."

Captain Night Fury: The captain of the Serpent's Heir? The ship her uncle and the other traders were talking about earlier? He looked younger then she though he would be. And looked to be the same age as she was. "Lucky for you: You're not mistaking," The pirate-Captain Night Fury-told her uncle. "I honestly didn't think you would ever face me again after you lost the small battle between me and my crew a few months back."

"You bastard-do you have any idea how much all of that cargo cost!?," Finn erupted. The pirate smirked. Apparently he did know how much all of the cargo Finn lost that day cost in total. And by the looks of it: It cost a lot. "Arrest him-he will be killed tomorrow," Finn told the guards. One of the guards held the young pirate's hands behind his back, while the other put the metal cuffs around his wrists. The pirate captain didn't react, but Astrid did.

"Uncle Finn, wait!," She blurted out, moving in front of her uncle. "Are you really going to kill my savior after he saved me from drowning?"

"Are you?," He pirate asked mockingly.

Finn scowled at the pirate. "Alright," he said to her niece. But he will still be arrested-and this time sent to the pirate prison in Outcast Island." He stepped forward and grabbed the pirate's jawline with his large hand and turned to Astrid. "You need to understand, Astrid. Pirates like him are extremely dangerous. You never know when one might earn your trust then betray you. No pirate can be trusted. Especially one that is wanted almost all over the Archipelago." Astrid blue eyes turned to the young pirate. She eyed him. He didn't look like a blood-thirsty pirate-like the ones she was told about in stories when she was a child. In fact, he looked like a kind, innocent person. But apparently most people don't think so. Finn dropped the boy's jawline and informed the guards' next task. "Now get him out of my sight. I'll deal with him later."

"Right-but first," Night Fury began. He took action and jumped over the chain that bounded his hands together, ran behind Astrid, and put the cuffs' chain over her neck. Astrid gasped as the feeling of the cold chains landed on her skin. She quickly brought her hands up to her neck and grasped the chains. This was the part where she would fight back and break free from her captive. But the thing was, he wasn't trying to choke her. He just held the chain on her neck. Finn's eyes widened in surprise and the guards aimed their guns at the pirate. Then he spoke again. "I think I will be leaving Berk before you will ever get the chance of even taking me one step into the prison." He paused. "And I think that you should make a decision before I take someone with me."

At first Astrid didn't understand what Night Fury said. Until she looked down and realized that they were standing at the very edge of the dock. "Hold your fire," Finn ordered the guards.

"Thank you," The pirate thanked. "Now may I please have my things back?" Finn turned to the two guards that were with the pirate. He saw them holding the belongings of the pirate. Finn walked to the two guards and reached into the pocket of the pirate's coat. He took out a small box and opened it.

"Hmf," Finn began. "A compass that does not point North." He eyed the pirate. "I didn't think that pirates were stupid enough to have a compass that doesn't even work."

"I've been told that many times. Now are you gonna give me my things back or not?"

Finn hesitated for a moment. Taking the pirate prisoner would mean that his only other family member dies. And setting the pirate free would mean that she would live, but it would also mean that Night Fury and his crew will cause even more trouble. This really was a difficult choice. But he had promised his brother...

He sighed. "Give him his belongings back," he told the two guards who were carrying his belongings. He put the compass back in the coat's pocket as the guards moved forward. The two of them put the belongings on the wooden dock in front of the pirate and Astrid.

"You can let go of the chains now," Night Fury whispered in Astrid's ear. She slowly loosened her grip in the chains and lowered her hands. The pirate captain slowly lifted the chain from around her neck and took out a key from his sleeve as Astrid walked towards her uncle. Once the key was in Fury's hand he held it out so the others could see it. Finn's eyes widened then his expression changed to a scowl. The pirate used the key to unlock the metal cuffs that were around his wrists and they fell to the ground once unlocked. Then he took this belongings from the ground and put them on. Once he was done, he faced Finn, Astrid and the guards behind them. Slowly he started to step back. "Now," the pirate began. "I want you all the remember this as the day that you almost captured Captain Night Fury." Then after a will of walking backwards, he quickly turned around and ran.

Finn reacted a few seconds after the pirate took off. "Get him!," He ordered the guards. The guards took action and chased the pirate. When they found him, on the docks near a small guard's ship, they pointed their guns and pulled their triggers.

Night Fury ducked when he heard the sound of the guns. But he kept walking, trying not to get hit by one of the bullets, and eventually he made it onto the small guard's ship. The good thing was: there were no guards aboard the ship. Meaning he could easily take the ship and get out of Berk. He quickly took action and prepared the boat as quickly as he could before the guards could reach him. As he worked, he ducked at the bullets that were being shot at him. Once he finished, he took out his knife and cut the rope that kept the boat in the docks. Then he ran to the ship's wheel and navigated the ship once it was almost out of the docks. The guards kept firing bullets until they reached the edge of the docks. Finn soon arrived and shoved his way in front of the guards. He took out his spyglass and looked through it, seeing Night Fury navigating the ship. He couldn't believe it. Night Fury escaped. And he was in his hands. And he didn't take the chance to do something no one has ever been able to do: capture Captain Night Fury. Finn finally lowered his spyglass. Then scowled.

XxxxxXxxxxX

So that is all I have for you lovely reader today. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please review! And guess what! When I was writing this chapter I came up with a new rule for myself. That rule is that I can't post a new chapter in my story until the next chapter is finished. That way the next chapter will be ready for you guys to read once posted. Can you guess who Captain Night Fury really is?

Review responses:

Katurdi: I'm glad you like the movies this story is based off too. Thank you very much for supporting me on the first chapter of this story!

DragonLover07 is out-Byeeeeeeeeeeeee!