That next morning after Daddy woke me up and I had breakfast, Frostbite and I went to the haunted cabbage field. I couldn't write and I couldn't fly. Talk about a boring day. I sat on the edge of the cliff and looked out over the water.
"Frostbite, why am I the one who always seems to be getting in trouble?" I asked
"Well we do bend the rules quite often. I think it all boils down to your daddy trying to protect you." Frostbite replied. I sighed.
"I am perfectly safe! I have you don't I?" I said standing up and kicking some of the rocks in the field.
"Even I can't protect you all the time." Frostbite said with guilt. I went to her and hugged her.
"I don't blame you at all for what happened in the river. That was my own stupid idea. You did your best and I am proud of you!" I said. Frostbite nodded and sighed.
"Are you going to tell me a story today?" Frostbite asked. I shook my head.
"Daddy doesn't want me to write. I replied." I replied.
"We don't have to tell him that you are writing." Frostbite suggested. "You can say we took a walk. That isn't a lie. We did take a walk." I saw a stick on the ground and looked at the smooth dirt.
"Yeah. You're right! You're brilliant Frostbite!" I said. She was right and I was going to write. Daddy can't keep me from writing. I took the stick and started to write on the ground. It was even harder to write after I had slammed my hand multiple times against the tree in the cove, but I pressed on. My mind was growing restless and it was getting harder to sleep. I wrote for hours before I heard a familiar Nadder. I looked up and saw Stormfly with Momma on her back.
"Here you are!" Momma said as she landed. "I've been looking for you."
"Hi Momma." I said shyly. Momma was the one to give spankings. She looked at the ground.
"Another story huh?" she asked. My eyes grew wide with fear.
"Don't tell Daddy!" I said. "He hates it when I write!"
"Daddy doesn't hate it when you write." Momma said.
"Then what do you call taking my book away for a whole week?" I argued. Momma sighed.
"Unn," she said encouraging me to sit down with her. "Daddy didn't take your book away because he doesn't want you to write. He took your book away because you lied to him."
"Yeah right." I said sarcastically. Momma turned my face so that I was looking at her.
"Unn, Daddy has read your stories. Even your recent ones. He does like them." Momma said. "He wants you to be creative. Just sometimes you take it a little far." I thought a minute.
"Daddy really does like my stories?" I asked.
"Yes Unn, Daddy likes your stories." Momma replied. I thought a minute and started to smile.
"Thanks Momma." I said giving her a hug.
"That's my girl." Momma said giving me a hug back. "Do you want to help me make supper?" I smiled and nodded.
I like making supper with Momma. We use our imaginations and we play games as we cook. Another thing that we always did was sing. I love to sing. It was the third thing that made me feel better. The first two are writing and flying... in that order.
"Unn you definitely have the prettiest voice on Berk." Momma said. I smiled
"Thank you Momma!" I replied. I let the notes echo over my vocal cords. Momma's voice was lower than mine and she would harmonize to my melody.
"You know Daddy likes it when you sing." Momma said after the last song.
"If he likes it, why doesn't he tell me or say anything to the villagers about it?" I asked.
"Daddy wants to keep that part of you to himself as long as he can." Momma said getting a spoonful of gravy. "What do you think of the gravy." I blew on the gravy in the spoon and took a taste. Oh I like it when Momma did that.
"That is perfect!" I said licking my lips.
As the evening progressed Hackett came back with his face full of soot.
"Hi Mom, hi Unn." he said.
"Go wash up, your filthy." I smiled. Hackett nodded and went back outside. I set the table and he came back in and sat down.
"Where is Dad?" Momma asked. The question made me cringe. Hackett was always was with Daddy. I was jealous and I resented Hackett for it.
"He said that he'll be getting home late tonight." Hackett replied. Momma nodded and put the turkey on the table.
"Momma, can I take Daddy supper tonight?" I asked. Momma smiled.
"I think he'll like that, but you should eat first." She said. I savored every crumb and drop of supper that night. Momma had made turkey, bread, butter, and gravy! After supper I helped Momma clean up and put supper in a basket for Daddy. I was excited. I wanted to ask Daddy what he thought of my stories. What his favorite story was or maybe his favorite part was. I saw the forge and a big smile came across my face. I was already thinking of what I was going to say when I went inside.
I entered in and went toward the light. I saw Daddy and went to open my mouth to start talking when I saw him, but nothing came out. I didn't expect to see and nothing could have prepared me for what happened as I walked in. As I came in Daddy ripped the cover and binding apart from my book. Everything was silent and I dropped the basket.