Shadows of the past

A young boy was crouched in the corner, doing his best to hide in the shadows. That was what his mother had told him to do. A man was in the small house, shouting and waving his hands.

"Get out," his mother ordered. The boy squished himself further into his corner, his heart pounding in his ears.

"I want to see my son," the man said.

"He is not your son," his mother spat back. She began backing up, small steps making her way towards her son.

"I will see him. Even if I have to fight you to do it." The man raised his hand, poised to strike. Even the young boy could see the ending of this. HIs mother stumbled back with the force of the hit.

"No, please don't take him!" she pleaded.

"You had another son. Why don't you go back to him?" The man hit again, this one knocking her to the floor.

"He is not your son! Just because you forced yourself upon me doesn't mean you are his father." The man chuckled.

"Well, I'm afraid it does." She yelled, and flew upwards, trying to get the upper hand. He was too fast. With a swing of his hand, he sent her flying against the wall. She crashed, and fell to the floor, blood seeping from her forehead. The man then turned his attentions to the boy.

"No please," the boy whimpered.

"Now now Erik. Is that anyway to talk to your father?" Erik's eyes widened.

"You're my father?" he asked in disbelief. He glanced over at his mother, unconscious on the floor.

"What did you do to her?" he asked, charging at the man. He gasped as the breath was knocked out of him as a hard boot made contact with his gut. He rolled onto the floor, wincing in pain.

"Vigo? We have the mixture for you." Vigo glanced out of the door, at his men. One of them brought him a vial of blueish green mixture.

"And it does what I want?" he asked.

"Yes sir. Once you give it to him, this will become like a foggy memory. He won't be able to remember."

"Perfect," Vigo said. "I'll tell him his mother was brutally murdered by dragons. That will only fuel his hate."

"What about his mother?" the hunter asked.

"She was a nice night in my teenage years. Get rid of her. Take her back to her original home. The one before she had Erik." The hunter nodded, and motioned two other men to help him. Erik watched the whole scene with horror. The man who claimed to be his father approached with a blue vial. Then everything went black.

"I can't believe you did it son!" Stoick yelled happily. "Well I mean I can… but I didn't think it would be so soon. I'm so proud of you son!" Hiccup gasped as he was given a massive bear hug from his father.

"Thanks dad." He would have taken an overdramatic proud Stoick to the disapproving one any day.

"You should have seen him," Fishlegs said. "He was so skillful with Vigo."

"Oh please," Snotlout interrupted. "I think we all know who the real hero was here. Me." Hookfang snuck up behind him, and blew hot breath onto Snotlout's neck. The statement was quickly revised.

"I mean me and Hookfang of course," he said nervously. Hiccup smiled, actually appreciating Snotlout's boasting. It was normal, and right now, Hiccup desperately needed normal. Astrid came up and kissed him on the cheek. Actually scratch that. Maybe there were some abnormal things that he did need more often. Stoick smiled at the two of them, a knowing but happy look in his eyes.

"Something you two wish to tell me?" he asked.

"Well… umm… Astrid and I are… sort of… together," Hiccup said lamely. Astrid rolled her eyes, and gave him a fond smile.

"Yak got your tongue?" she asked, teasingly.

"I knew they were meant for each other from the star," Gobber chimed in. "I read it in the stars." Stoick gave Gobber a questioning look, but laughed it off.

"Well, I think that our heroes deserve a feast in the Great Hall."

"I second that," Gobber said, patting his belly.

"You really did Berk proud son," Stoick said, smiling warmly down at Hiccup. "I couldn't have done half as good on my own."

Hiccup smiled, glowing under his father's praise. Growing up, what made him work harder than anything else was getting his father's approval. No amount of physical pain, or harsh words could do better than the want for approval when it came to being motivated.

"Well, I'll go and arrange the feast. I expect you guys will want to rest," Stoick said, turning around, and striding towards the Great Hall. Fishlegs went home to do some quite relaxing, while the twins and Snotlout flew out to academy, probably to blow things up. That left Astrid and Hiccup.

"So, you wanna do something?" Hiccup asked, hesitantly. Astrid grinned, slightly enjoying this amusing new nervous and hesitant Hiccup.

"You want to go for a walk in the forest?" she asked.

"Sure," Hiccup said. Stormfly willingly flew back home, but Toothless was a little more hesitant. At first, he was unwilling to leave them alone, but with some convincing, and promises of good slamon, he was persuaded to go home.

Hiccup and Astrid entered the soft woods, relishing the mild weather. Sun beams shone through the trees, illuminating everything in a beautiful golden glow. They walked hand in hand, simply enjoying the natural scenery. They walked along on a dirt path, deeper in the woods. They stayed out until it was time to head back for the feast.

Erik ran a hand through his messy light brown hair. Seeing Hiccup and his father only heightened his jealousy. His father had been cold, and unforgiving. His mother had been kind and gentle, but she was gone now. Viciously murdered by dragons. He closed his eyes, remembering her face. Soft eyes, and soft brown hair.

"I'm so sorry mother," he whispered. "This is for you. I will take down the dragons. And I will do it in the name of Valka."

Wow. Lots of family problems coming up. And just to warn you guys, I am going to deepen Erik's character. So if you just want someone to hate as a villain, Erik isn't your guy. He does have a very tortured backstory. All coming up very soon.