Hey guys,
Here is the next chapter!
Just going to say, there's a bit of Hiccstrid!
So here's Chapter 9 - Changing Minds:
"Hello? You still back there or did you fall off?" Hiccup joked, they had been flying for no more than three minutes but Astrid hadn't said a single word since they were on the ground.
"Oh very funny! I… I just don't know what to say. Oh and I'm focusing on not falling off right now." Astrid snapped, tightening her grip around Hiccup's waist.
"You aren't going to fall off, and even if you do Shiftwing can catch you! So, you don't know what to say, is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Astrid shifted in her seat. She hated to admit it but she was enjoying the flight very much, she was taking a liking to both dragon and rider.
"Good thing I guess. When you're up here you feel… you feel…" Astrid frowned as she tried to think of the right word to describe it.
"Free." Hiccup finished her sentence for her, looking back at her and smiling. She smiled back. Hiccup turned back to face where they were going as Shiftwing started to incline; getting closer to the clouds.
Astrid looked down nervously then shifted her towards Hiccup. She still knew very little about him and she had many questions. She had to admit that she was beginning to like him, but she wasn't sure if she fully trusted him. He was hiding something, but she didn't know what. He didn't even want to tell her his name; Hiccup, Astrid had heard that name before but she couldn't think where and why. She just knew that she wanted to find out more about him; she took a deep breathe.
"So, tell me more about this nest you live in, why is it just you and your mother and why do you live there anyway?" She looked down sheepishly. Hiccup turned around and smiled before giving his answer.
"Well, um, only if you promise not to tell anyone. Don't even tell them that I'm on Berk, don't tell them about me or my dragons. No one must know." Hiccup looked sternly into Astrid's eyes, she could tell he really meant so she nodded. She didn't want to lose his trust, he had the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself on his side!
Once Hiccup was sure Astrid was telling the truth he continued.
"Okay, umm, We went there when I was a baby. My mum left her village because, like Berk, they all killed dragons and she strongly believed that we could make peace with them. So, one day she befriended a dragon and flew off on it, of course she brought me to. The dragon led her straight to this dragon sanctuary where there were hundreds of dragons all being protected by the great bewilderbeast, the king of all dragons. So, she made the sanctuary her home, she learnt how to train dragons, she found all of their secrets and as I grew older, she taught me more and more of her knowledge. And well, here we are now." Hiccup chuckled as he saw Astrid's awestruck expression.
"Wow. Won't your mother be worried since you're so far away from home?" Astrid frowned realising he must have been away from home for a couple of days.
"Well, for now she'll be fine. When I go on little adventures I'm often away for several days, sometimes a week. So she won't start worrying… yet." Hiccup looked at Astrid with reassurance.
Suddenly, Shiftwing began to dive down below the clouds. As they came out of a cloud they were joined by hundreds of dragons, all flying in the same direction, most of them holding prey in their claws.
"Hiccup what's happening?" Astrid started to panic as she saw all the dragons surrounding them.
"Uh-oh." Hiccup soon realise that they were being taken to the nest with the red death.
"What?" Astrid tightened her grip on Hiccup as she watched a monstrous nightmare fly past them.
"We're going to the nest. Where the queen lives, she controls the dragons and is making them return with their kill." Hiccup tried to stay calm but he knew that the red death ate the dragons if they had no food for her, and Shiftwing had no food for her.
"What, so there's a queen and a king?" Hiccup nodded. Soon Dragon Island was in sight. Astrid's eyes widened as she saw the huge volcano like mountain in the middle. She prayed to Odin, hoping Shiftwing wouldn't go in. But he did.
"Woah!" Astrid whispered as they entered the inside of the mountain, there were dragons perched here and there. Most were flying over a big pit, dropping their kill into it. Shiftwing flew around a bit before flying behind a large rock and landing behind it. The three of them peered around the corner.
"Is the queen down there?" Astrid asked Hiccup, gesturing to the pit.
"Yes but be quiet or she'll hear us." Unfortunately it was too late. All of a sudden, the queen rose her head above the mist, looking around for the two intruders. She soon found them.
"Shiftwing go!" Shiftwing flew into the air toward the exit, the red death lunged at them but missed and the three of them made it safely out.
"Well that was slightly terrifying." Astrid stated as they flew back towards Berk.
"Yes, and that is why you mustn't tell anyone about it. Only dragons can find the nest, if your chief found out and went there, well, it wouldn't end well." Hiccup looked concerned; he still didn't trust Astrid 100% and wanted to make it clear that she couldn't tell anybody about where she had been.
"I promise I won't tell anyone anything, I'm going to try and visit you every day, and I can bring you food and resources. No one will suspect anything because I always go into the forest to train." Astrid assured, she smiled at Hiccup who smiled back.
"Thanks. So I'm guessing that means I changed your mind?" Hiccup smirked at Astrid who blushed and looked away.
"I have to admit. This is pretty amazing and I realise now how wrong we are about dragons. So, yeah, I guess you've changed my mind." Astrid smiled. Of course, now she no longer wanted to kill dragons, but she was the top student in dragon training.
"What's wrong you look worried?" Hiccup had turned around to see Astrid with a worried look, her eyes showed guilt.
"Huh, oh, well I've killed three dragons already; in dragon training!" She looked down sheepishly as she saw the pain that one sentence had caused in Hiccup.
"It's okay. It was before you knew the truth about dragons. You had been taught to kill them. Just don't hurt them any more." Hiccup gave Astrid a weak smile.
They continued their flight back to Berk in silence.
So what did you think?
I know there wasn't much Hiccstrid but they've only just met.
Please review with thoughts and improvements!
See you soon with the next chapter :)
