Setting out:

The Vikings watched as the dragons flew out of sight away from the island carrying loads of food and sheep. All eyes turned and glared angrily at Hester. Sigmund and Garsir came through the crowd and held heartfelt sympathy for her. "Okay, but I hit a Night Fury," she said to her dad.

But Stoick just grabbed her by the back of her hoodie and dragged him towards their house.

"It's not like the last few times, Dad! I mean, I really actually hit it! You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot,"

"Chief, Hester is telling the truth!" Sigmund called out.

"We saw her do it with our own eyes," Garsir supported.

Stoick took no notice of them.

"It went down, just off Raven Point. Let's get a search party out there, before it—" before Hester could finished, her father lashed out at her.

"STOP! Just... stop. Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter's almost here and I have an entire village to feed!"

"Between you and me, the village could do with a little less feeding, don't ya think?" Hester questioned crossing her arms. A viking in the crowd rubbed his stomach as if to say "Are you calling me fat?")

"This isn't a joke, Hester!" Stoick shouted. "Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

"I can't stop myself. I see a dragon and I have to just... kill it, you know? It's who I am, Dad," Hester argued back.

Stoick sighed. "You are many things, Hester. But a dragon killer is not one of them," his shaking head made Hester frown at her. "Get back to the house,"

"Dad, I'm not a child!" Hester shouted.

"Hester, you will do as I say," Stoick argued back with a soft, stern voice.

"Make sure she gets there," he ordered Gobber. "I have her mess to clean up,"

"Chief, it wasn't her fault!" Sigmund defended. "The dragon did it,"

Stoick turned to Sigmund with a flared up face boiling red as fire. "You, young man had better learn your manners,"

Sigmund gulped.

"And you…" Stoick turned to Garsir, "And ought to listen to your father's orders,"

Stoick walked away leaving Sigmund and Garsir to follow Gobber and Hester. They passed by the other teenagers. Most of them were smirking at a down trodden Hester.

"Quite the performance!" Ruffnut mocked.

"Still the same failure, you always were, Hicca!" Tuffnut jeered calling Hester by the female version of Hiccup.

"My name is not Hicca!" Hester shouted. "It's Hester. Hester!"

"Hey, it's a suitable name for weaklings and failures like you!"

"She is not a failure, Tuffnut!" Sigmund defended as he and Garsir dashed up ahead of Gobber and came to her side. "Now shut your mouth! Or I shut it for you! You as well, Ruffnut!"

Both twins gulped and took a step back.

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped!" Snotlout gloated taking the deepest pleasure of being selfish and cruel to Hester.

"Watch your mouth, Snothat!" Garsir defended pointing a finger at him. "Or I cut your tongue out!"

Hester's eyes caught sight of Astrid. Once they made contact, the two girls took deep, dark glares at one another. Hester would never forgive Astrid for what she had done when they were kids.

Sigmund frowned at Fishlegs (who sheepishly and he frowned back at him. Although they were adopted brothers, they never got along at all. Ever since Sigmund was adopted into the Ingerman family when he was a child, their mother: Flora doted on him and paid more attention making Fishlegs think she loved Sigmund more than him. The two have had an unending hatred for one another ever since. Sigmund once tried to fix things between them but Fishlegs was too overcome by jealously that he couldn't listen to him.

Just as the group had come up to the top right in front of the door to Hester and Stoick's house, Hester gave out a sigh. "My father never listens,"

" Come on, Hester. It runs in the family.

"And when he does, it's always with this... disappointed scowl. Like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich. [Imitating Stoick] Excuse me, barmaid! I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms. Extra guts and glory on the side. This here, this is a talking fish bone!"

"Hester, you are not a fish bone," Sigmund consoled.

"But look at me! I'm weak. I have no muscle. And I'm always called Hicca. The female name for Hiccup which means runt,"

"Hester, it doesn't matter what you look like. It's whats in here that counts," Garsir pointed to her heart.

"Garsir's right. It's not so much what you look like, it's what's inside that he can't stand," Gobber said.

His son glared at him and crossed his arms. "Dad, just how is that supposed to make Hester feel better?"

"Thank you soooo much for summing that up," Hester sarcastically said to Gobber. "I feel so much better,"

"Look, the point is Hester, stop trying so hard to be something you're not," Gobber attempted to say.

"I just want to be one of you guys," Hester lamented. "I've tried all my life to be a viking but somehow I'm just not good enough. And I never will be,"

"Hester, you've gotta stop letting what they say get to you," Sigmund consoled.

"Well, Hester you should be inside. Sigmund, you should go back to your home and Garsir, you are so in much trouble," Gobber pointed.

"Bye, guys," Hester said. "I'm sorry I got you guys in trouble,"

"Don't be Hester," Garsir consoled.

Hester went inside and gently closed the door.

Gobber walked down the hill with the boys beside him. "Guys, why couldn't you both convince Hester to stay inside the blacksmith? Why did you both have to go along with her idea?"

"Dad, Hester isn't some poor helpless creature who can be caged inside all day," Garsir argued. Besides, we convinced her to go out and try and kill a dragon,"

"What?!" Gobber shouted. "How could you two give a crazy, stupid idea to the future chieftess?"

"Gobber, it wasn't stupid!" Sigmund shouted. "She's more than capable that you and Stoick think,"

"Guys, you two and Hester could have been killed," Gobber berated. "Look, I understand that you guys want Hester to show how capable she is to her father but you guys have to consider about the well being of her safety as well as your own," he looked at Sigmund. "Sigmund, ever since you were adopted into this tribe, the Ingermans have done their best to ensure you don't suffer the same fate as what happened to your birth family,"

"Dad!" Garsir shouted.

"What?"

Garsir pointed at a visibly depressed Sigmund. Gobber realised he had made him sad by unintionally making him remember the fate of his family. "Oh, sorry, Sigmund,"

Sigmund just turned his face away. Gobber just decided to give a comment to his son.

"And Garsir…ever since your mother Gertrud died when you were three, I swore to myself that I would never let anything happen to you,"

"Dad, we are not defenceless kids. We can be warriors if you and the chief give us a chance," Garsir defended. His father just gave a serious stare back at him leaving no room for arguments.

"Now, Sigmund you go home and…" Gobber gave out a small sigh before looking at Sigmund with serious eyes. "Think next time before you talk back to the chief,"

Sigmund turned and stalked back to his home giving a wave to Garsir.

"Come on, young man," Gobber attempted to take his son's hand but Garsir pulled it away and stomped away back to the blacksmith.

Gobber sighed feeling that he had been tough on them. He turned round and started to make his way to the climbing trail of stone steps that led to the Grand Hall. It had two gigantic dragon statues still lit up, guarding the two grand doors.

Back inside the Haddock House, Hester took a peak outside her door and so there was no one in sight. She smirked. This was her chance to get out of the village without anyone knowing or anyone coming into her house quite soon and finding out where she'd gone. She dashed upstairs to her room. Her room included a bed, a large desk with paints, pencils, pictures hanging everywhere above it, a wardrobe, a table with tools, gadgets etc and a stack of three shelves each with books and journals. She took a satchel from her wardrobe and a furry cloak. She then took the only weapon she was ever able to use, a short yet powerful dagger. She stepped onto the edges of her large window and slide down the side of the wall onto the green grass outside.

When she had the chance, she sprinted into the woods that lay beyond the village. This was her chance to find the Night Fury and kill it. This was her chance to prove herself to her father and her village.

Inside the hall, everyone had gathered around a huge table that held a fire illuminating the centure. A gigantic dragon of gold with a sword stabbed through the middle hung above.

"Either we finish them, or they'll finish us!" Stoick proclaimed to his people. "It's the only way we'll be rid of them! If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons will leave," he gripped a stone dagger and stabbed a large island laid out at the far left corner of his map. "They'll find another home! WE must organise one more search. Before the ice sets in and winter comes,"

"Those ships never come back," a Viking argued.

"We're Vikings! It's an occupational hazard!" Stoick pointed out. Vikings were strong, daring, resilient men who would never let fear drive them away from what was right. "Now who's with me?

"Today's not good for me. I've gotta do my axe returns," the same viking replied.

"Alright. Those who stay will look after Hester,"

Immedianlty after that, everyone lifted up their hands. They didn't want to be anywhere near that girl who they considered a blighter.

Phlegma shouted: "To the ships!"

"I'm with you, Stoick!" Spitelout saluted. He was none other than the father of Snotlout so therefore Hester's uncle as Stoick was his brother.

"That's more like it," Stoick complimented. Everyone walked out in order to prepare themselves for a dangerous journey ahead.

"Right, I'll pack my undies,"

"No, I need you to stay and train some new recruits," Stoick refused. If some vikings were going to die on this journey, they were going to need as many new warriors as possible. "Please include your son and Sigmund as well,"

Gobber sarcastically answered back. "Oh, perfect. And while I'm busy, Hester can cover the stall. Molten steel, razor sharp blades, lots of time to himself... what could possibly go wrong?"

"What am I going to do with her, Gobber?" Stoick desperately needed advice from his closest friend.

"Put her in training with the others,"

"No, I'm serious," Stoick immediately refused not wanting his daughter to be arms.

"So am I,"

"She'd be killed before you let the first dragon out of its cage," if there was anything about Stoick, it was the face that he was overprotective of his daugther. Ever since his wife Valka was taken by dragons when she was an infant, he had sworn to let nothing happen to her.

"Oh, you don't know that," Gobber sympathised. "She's fifteen,"

"I do know that, actually,"

"No, you don't,"

"No, actually, I do,"

"No, you don't!"

"Listen, you know what she's like. From the time she could crawl she's been... different. She doesn't listen, he has the attention span of a sparrow... I take her fishing and she goes hunting for... for trolls!"

"Trolls exist! They steal your socks. But only the left ones. What's with that?" Gobber wondered.

Stoick began to tell his best friend a story. "When I was a boy..."

"Oh, here we go," Gobber muttered.

"My father told me to bang my head against a rock, and I did it. I thought it was crazy, but I didn't question him. And you know what happened?"

"You got a headache," Gobber answered using his mug to hammer his fake tooth into place gently.

"That rock split in two. It taught me what a Viking could do, Gobber. He could- He could crush mountains, level forests, tame seas! Even as a boy, I knew what I was, what I had to become. Hester is just not that person,"

"You can't stop her, Stoick. You can only prepare her. Look, I know it seems hopeless. But the truth is you won't always be around to protect her. She's going to get out there again. She's probably out there now. Besides, my boy and Sigmund have faith in Hester. If they think she's capable, then – maybe you should too,"

Stoick allowed his closest friends words to be absorbed into his stone, strong head. His crunched eyes softened. As did his face expression. Maybe Gobber was right. Maybe he should let Hester participate in training. If she was going to be the future chieftess of Berk, she would have to learn how to fight dragons.

Here is Chapter 2. Maybe one of Hester's best friends will be her boy friend? Well, you'll just have to wait and find out.