Dragons: Old Enemies
Chapter 3
Uh...hi, there. Okay, I know, it's been a LOOOOOONG time since I updated, but after I lost my job, I kind of got depressed and didn't want to write anymore, but then I got a new job and now my life is pretty good, especially once I get my employee discount. I work for T-Mobile now! WAY better than J. Crew. Plus, it has given me a chance to work on my typing skills, which have considerably improved. Now, back to the story. This is the first of all that I will be updating. I'm trying not to retire any of my stories before they're through, so as I tell my customers, just bare with me. I'll get to them, I promise. For now, enjoy reading this new update, and I'll be back with more soon. VERY soon! :)
"Alright", Hiccup said, surveying Slygroff and his people, who had been training for two days now. "Riding a dragon is no joke. You have to show mutual respect. And if a dragon doesn't trust you, it won't accept you. So, I want you to do exactly as I do with the dragons that you have selected."
"What's the point of all this?" said one of the villagers. "It's not like we're gonna keep these beasts, are we, Slygroff?"
"Yes, we are", said Slygroff. "If my daughter has made friends with a dragon, then I will do the same, anything to get her back home safely."
He turned to Hiccup.
"Continue,"
Hiccup nodded.
"I want you to do to your dragon exactly as I do with Toothless here", he said, and the villagers nodded. Hiccup tentatively approached Toothless, who looked at him curiously while Shadow watched from a distance. Closing his eyes, Hiccup turned away from the dragon and stretched out his hand to his snout. Toothless purred and nudged Hiccup's hand. Hiccup stroked the dragon's chin and smiled.
"And that's all there is to it", he said. "But without that trust, your dragon will never let you ride it. Now a couple of days ago, we assigned each of you a dragon to ride. Then, we trained you how to ride, off the dragons. It's time to show us what you've learned so far. Bond. Connect. Be one with your dragon."
Hiccup motioned to Snotlout, who nodded and opened the gate, releasing the dragons into the arena. The villagers cautiously approached the dragon that was assigned to each of them and did exactly what they watched Hiccup do. Pretty soon, every dragon had bonded with them.
"Good!" said Hiccup. "Now, Astrid is gonna teach you aerial combat."
Astrid swooped down riding Stormfly and showed them each how to shoot a target with their dragon's special skills. Slygroff, who rode a Screaming Death named Siren, had a little trouble at first, but eventually got it down. Soon, the villagers were shooting targets left and right. Next, Astrid taught them how to dodge an attack and evasive flying maneuvers, which they picked up quickly.
"You're all doing very well", said Hiccup, "and you're almost ready for a real fight. What I want you to do now-"
"Hiccup!"
Gobber ran towards the arena, panting and out of breath.
"Gobber? What is it, wh-what's wrong?"
"One of Votch's ships, it was sunk by a Scaldron. We picked up the occupants and brought 'em back here, for questioning."
Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows.
"Class dismissed", he said, and went off with Gobber.
No one had noticed Slygroff slip away with Siren. By the time Hiccup and Gobber arrived back in the village, Votch's men were begging for mercy. Siren was screeching so loudly, it felt like their ears were bleeding.
"Stop!" one of the men cried.
"We swear, we don't know where she is!" said another.
"We're just the scouting ship, please!" said the last.
"Slygroff!"
Hiccup quickly ran over to him.
"They know something about my daughter", said Slygroff. "I just know it. Talk!"
Siren started to screech even louder at them, and the men screamed in agony.
"The scauldron!" the first man suddenly shouted, holding his ears. "There was something on its back when our ship sank."
"It looked like a person", said the second man.
"A girl", said the last man.
Realization dawned on Hiccup's and Slygroff's faces.
"Where did your ship sink?" said Hiccup.
"Off the coast of Newark, just outside of Warrel."
Slygroff grabbed the men by their collars and hoisted all three of them up with his fist.
"Take us there."
…
Ivy's vision swam with purple dots as she came to, lying face down on a beach. She coughed and rolled over, expelling the remaining water in her lungs. The scauldron who had saved her life stared at her curiously, but she was too weak to notice it just yet. When she did, she gasped in surprise. The dragon blinked at her.
"A Scauldron?"
Ivy glanced at the water and saw tracks in the sand, hers and the dragon's.
"You saved me?"
As if somehow understanding her, the dragon nodded.
"Thank you."
The dragon nuzzled her hand and she chuckled.
"Do you think you can get me back home?"
The dragon roared and released a stream of water into the air, showering her with mist.
"I'll take that as a yes. I guess this means we're friends now, so I should give you a name."
The dragon jumped into the water and dove under, and then resurfaced, motioning for Ivy to get on its back.
"I'm gonna call you...Poseidon."
Ivy dove into the water and swam over to the dragon, who helped her onto his back.
"Alright, Poseidon. Lead me home."
The dragon nodded and swam away.
…
Votch squeezed his eyes shut as he listened to the dragons he and his men had captured growl angrily at him.
"Pipe down, you worthless reptiles!" he said, and went above deck. He grabbed the first man he saw and pulled him in close.
"Any sign of her yet?"
"N-no, sir, w-w-w-we're s-s-s-s-s-s-still working on-"
The man yelled as he was tossed overboard. Edmund shook his head.
"Not one man has a bit of food or rest until my niece is back on this boat!" Votch declared. "Is that understood?!"
There was a chorus of "Yes, sir!" from all of the men, save for Edmund.
"Great", he said to himself. "Poison is gonna make me starve."
Suddenly, he had an idea.
"Sir!" he said. "I know a way we can make her come to us."
"Really?" said Votch, grabbing Edmund by the collar and holding a knife to his face. "Do enlighten me."
Edmund gulped and chuckled nervously.
"No doubt, if she's still alive, she'll head for home. We just have to make sure that we're waiting for her when she gets there."
"Not a bad idea, boy", said Votch, releasing him. "Choose your men and lead a party back to Warrel."
"Yes, sir!" said Edmund, silently breathing a sigh of relief.
…..
Ivy shivered on the scauldron's back as it continued splashing through the waves. Night had fallen, and she couldn't see an inch in front of her. Poseidon growled as he tried to stay above the water for Ivy's sake.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea", she said, when she suddenly saw a fire burning in the distance. "Swim towards there!"
Poseidon obeyed and headed toward the light. Soon, they were on an island. Ivy, grateful to be on land once again, slid off the dragon's back. Poseidon followed her as she disappeared into the trees.
"Dad?" she called, pushing her way through branches. "Dad! I'm back, I'm okay!"
But as she broke through to the source of the fire, she gasped. Edmund sneered back at her with three other men.
"Welcome back, princess", he said, and laughed. "Get her."
As the men advanced towards her, Poseidon broke through and let out a mighty roar. The men gasped in surprise and fear as it released a stream of water.
"Watch out!" one cried as the water extinguished the fire. Ivy felt herself being lifted onto the dragon's back as it scurried away from the confused men.
"Thanks, Poseidon", she said, patting his side. "Let's get out of here. I should have known it would be a trap."
Suddenly, she felt a weight being thrown over them, and Poseidon fell to the ground. A net had been secured over them.
"No!" Ivy cried, and she struggled to free them both. Carrying a torch, Votch chuckled as he emerged from the shadows and stared at his helpless niece.
"The boy was right", he said. "You were foolish to come back here, and foolish to run. But no matter."
He signaled to his men, who cut Ivy loose and dragged her over to him by the arms. Poseidon tried to fight, but was shot with dragon root. Ivy struggled furiously, but she couldn't get away. She glanced over her shoulder at the men, who jeered at the dragon and poked him with their spears.
"Don't you DARE hurt him!" she cried, and Votch laughed.
"So, you've found another beast to care for", he said. "Take it back to the ship."
"No!"
Ivy mustered up all of her strength and broke free of the men's grip, only to have Votch grab her himself. He used his thumb and forefinger to pinch her shoulder, and she soon fell unconscious.
"Now, I can use that beast to my advantage", he said as he carried her bridal style back to the ship. "Any time she tries to escape again, I'll hurt her scauldron friend."
With that, the dragon hunter and his men sailed off.
…\
Hiccup, the other riders and Slygroff arrived at the crash site the next morning. They saw from the dismantled boat that it was definitely a scauldron and followed its scent to a nearby island. There, they saw tracks in the sand: human footprints.
"Ivy was here", said Slygroff. "I can feel it."
"Well, at least that means she's away from Votch", said Hiccup, getting up from the sand. "Now, we just need to find out where she went from here."
"Warrel is not too far from here, I don't think", said Astrid.
"Yeah", said Snotlout, "I'd recognize that dank and dusty, lifeless smell anywhere."
"Maybe Ivy headed for home?" said Dagur.
"Good idea, you guys", said Hiccup. "Let's go!"
Upon arriving at Warrel, they could clearly see signs of a struggle and the remains of a tattered net.
"Oh, no", said Fishlegs.
"She was here", said Heather, "but-"
"Now Votch has her again", said Hiccup. "And he's also got a scauldron."
What will become of my little OCs? I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I decided to make it extra long for you. I know it probably doesn't make up for me being gone so long, but I do hope it helps! I'll be back with more as soon as I can, hope you guys enjoyed!
-Imagigirl20