It was the day before school started, and the one hundred and thirteen year old, Nissa, sat under the shade of some Aphyllanthaceae trees, in the garden, listening to the sounds carried with the wind from the "jungle". From her readings, jungle was not an appropriate habitat title. The interior of the island, the part set aside for the other mythos, happened to be woodlands because of the dense groves of trees with bits of open areas for flowering plants. Closer to the coastline the habitat changed into a phrygana better known as scrubland. These two habitats depended on fire to survive.
Nissa looked up from her book, about how generations ago, earlier Daypeaces had noticed the affects their flames had on the flora and the fauna. A cycle of careful burns was created to keep the balance of nature. Putting a ribbon in the middle of the book, she laid it softly next to her. A few feet away Arkin tinkered away at his latest invention. Arkin glanced up at her hesitatingly. Even if they'd both been cursed, it didn't change how he'd tortured his beloved cousin for so long.
Nissa shared those opinions as she struggled to regain what she had lost. She was scared to trust anyone these days, suffering too many betrayals in the past. Her skills had improved somewhat yet they weren't close to her previous level. When she left the palace to go anywhere, in town or the Conservatory, she had to have her Honor Guard present and visible at all times, otherwise she get a panic attack. It was an awkward situation.
"I hope she likes this invention. Hey Nissa, would you come over please? I want to show you my latest invention," Arkin asked. He seemed really excited and sincere. His Dragon Heart was practically begging for her to give him a chance. Nissa approached him in galumph manner, as she tripped over some roots. Arkin restrained himself from helping her knowing she didn't want to be touched. "Um take a seat on the bench. This won't take long." He stood in front of his workbench hiding his invention for now.
"If you say so Prince Arkin." she could feel his pain, knowing he wanted to restore their bond. She was the one holding back, too afraid to suffer pain and rejection again. If she had been cursed once, what was to stop it from happening again? No one was even sure how they had been cursed in the first place. Pushing those memories away, she looked at the work bench, once Arkin stepped to the side, wondering what it all meant. "Are you attempting to build a new firework?" The mess on the table reminded her a bit of the fireworks from the latest trade shipment.
Arkin shook his head. His body was glowing with pride at his invention. "Something even better. My parents challenged me to come up with something to help solve a serious situation on the island. Keeping the delicate habitat stable. Its getting harder to predict when a natural burn will happen or if we need to step in. I copied a few notes out of your latest book, asked Uncle Ragner for help, and tada!" He held up three metal boxes with some kind of opening on the top. All the boxes were connected by pipes to form a triangle. The faint smell of smoke came off from the boxes themselves.
Removing the lid to one box, he showed her a mini fire bit inside. Turning a small crank he installed on as smaller tube attached to the pipes, extended outward with a wider opening at top. "I figured that if fire is so important to our island, I should channel it, in a control burn. I call them my fire box system!" Arkin started to ramble on about how his invention would help them control the amount of burning in set areas for any length in time. Nature would respond and the habitats stability ensured. All he need was few experts in fire control and mythos of water on standby to put the flames out after he gave amble warning.
Nissa looked at the device a bit skeptical. Metal was rare and precious item on the island and something that reused many times before it was useless. The pipes looked to be made of clay. If the fire went shooting straight up, how could they control it? Setting the device back down, she looked at her cousin warily. "Are you sure this will work? The last time you tried messing with nature, trying to control the sun's power, it took a long time to fix the market after you incinerated most of it."
Arkin frowned and barked he had learned a lot since then. He was sure this would work and would be testing it in rarely used part of the garden. He took his device and started heading through the paths. His cousin's heart plummeted when he opened the gate to their grandparent's private garden. No one had been in there since their death, other than a few special gardeners to keep the place looking nice. "I better get someone fast, before he burns the garden down!" Nissa raced through the paths, jumped the steps and slid across the floor before bursting through the Throne Room. Thankfully, today's petitions had ended. Queen Rayna and Uncle Aksel had been in the process of leaving when Nissa called out to them. "Uncle, Aunt, please, you're presences is needed in the gardens now!"
Hearing the word "gardens" both Royals froze. The royal gardens had special meaning to them, since that's where Aksel had proposed to Rayna. "What dangers threatens our gardens?"
"Prince Aksel is testing his invention, the fire boxes, in our grandparent's private patch. He mentioned it was for a project you assigned him," Nissa informed them. Shockingly, Rayna believed her niece screaming for the guards as she raced outside. Aksel was right behind her sending out an alert for the water brigade.
Watching from the garden steps, Nissa could see the blaze getting out of control as shouting filled the air. Lots of activity was going on as everyone focused on containing and putting the fire out. Arkin was going to be in trouble again, this time for trying to do something right. "This must be what Hiccup feels like when one of his designs isn't appreciated. At least his latest invention, a pulley water system to help out on the farmers, was accepted. Even strong Vikings like to take an easier route when it comes to farming."
On Berk, Hiccup watched with delight as his pulley system worked perfectly. Bucket certainly appreciated it because it came with painted instructions that he could understand. All he had to do was pull the system along, and the buckets would dip inside a small stream up the hill, and then come down the hill, without spilling a drop, thanks to a hinged lid that snap down after getting the water, and unhook it from the line. If he wanted to stop the machine he just turned a crank to apply a break.
"Thank you little Hiccup. This bucket system makes my bucket very happy!"
The boy smiled shyly. He wasn't use to getting praise for anything. "You're welcome Bucket. I'm just glad the animals can get water faster than before." Mulch also gave him slight praised, but asked an important question. How did he plan to keep the dragons from repeatedly destroying the system? "It's a good invention Hiccup. However we can't keep repairing it every time a dragon destroys it."
"I know Mulch, I'm trying really hard to figure out how to make it dragon proof. But no one else has figured that out either," the child pointed. Mulch gave him a cross look, which wasn't fair considering no else knew anything about dragon proofing everything. It was nearly lunch time and his father wanted to talk to him about something important. Saying his goodbyes, he hurried on home.
When he approached the house he could hear sounds of his father panting and occasionally yelling at Gobber. Stepping inside, he saw his father wearing a belt he'd never seen before. "Hi Dad, what are you wearing?" he asked curiously.
"It's the ceremonial belt of peace. Every chief wears one when it comes time to welcome another tribe onto the island for a treaty signing. You haven't seen it before because I haven't hosted a treaty signing here since the day…."
"Day you were born. You father here is very touchy about who sets foot on his island," Gobber interrupt Stoick, silently conveying something to Stoick. Hiccup looked at them puzzled. He couldn't tell if his mentor was telling the truth or not. Shrugging it off he asked who was coming to visit.
"The Berserkers are coming for a visit. Oswald the Agreeable is bringing his son Dagur with him. It's your job as Heir to Berk, to keep Dagur happy, (and less destructive), while he's here. You think you can handle that?" Hiccup nodded his head ignoring the shivering down his spine. This was the first time his dad asked him to take on a huge responsibility. No matter what happened, he would carry out his duties perfectly.
Two days later he was standing on the dock, very nervous. He wished Nissa was here, but his imagination had shut down for the time being, probably to prevent him from talking to thin air. Taking a deep breath he put on his best smile and greeted Dagur properly only to have a knife thrown at his head. "Ahhh, what was that for?"
"To test your reflexes of course! How am I supposed to enjoy a good hunt if you're not able to keep up? Come on runt, let's see what's hiding in your forest! I'm going to myself a big trophy!" Dagur grabbed Hiccup, dragging the boy by his scuff as he cackled madly. The Berserker Heir raved and ranted about all the fun they were going to have. "You'll love it, especially since you get to be the bait!"
"Bait? What are you talking about? Let me go!" Hiccup struggled to break free only to find Dagur's grip nearly crushing his limb. The nine and half year old lost track of what was happening as Dagur threw him against a tree and started tossing more knives at him as he ran deeper into the forest. He stumbled over a resting boar, who angrily charged the boy. Hiccup had climbed halfway up a tree when Dagur wrestled it to the ground, killing it by quick decapitation.
"Now this is what I call hunting! See I told you we make a good team!" Dagur laughed. He ordered Hiccup to help him carry the beast around. They weren't going to stop hunting until he had enough to create an awesome helmet out of. Shaking terribly, the Heir of Berk came down before slowly dragging the carcass half an inch before letting go. "I can't do it, it's too heavy. If we worked together maybe…"
"Boring! Here, you carry my stuff, I'll handle the beast! Don't drop anything or I might just stab you with it." Reminding himself, that his father would be embarrassed and ashamed if he didn't do his duties perfectly, Hiccup shoved down his own self-preservation and followed Dagur. "Please Gods, help me make my Dad proud of me." For the rest of the week Hiccup became Dagur's slave. There really was no other way to describe it. While his father chatted with his old friend and enjoyed slaying dragons in the Kill Ring, Dagur terrorized everyone. The Twins had helped him caused an animal stampede taking out most of fences and nearly destroying the barn. The deranged boy played horrible tricks on the children and a few adults. By the time the Berserkers left, Dagur had caused months of repair work.
Stoick looked at his son with disappointed eyes. His son shrank knowing he was about to be lectured. He had failed to impress his father. "I thought I told you to keep Dagur happy and less destructive. Look at this mess! It will take weeks; maybe even months to fix." Stoick waved his hand towards the whole island. The inhabitants had already started to do repair work. There were mutters of annoyance going on. Most about Dagur himself, but a few about Hiccup for not stopping this amount of destruction. Stoick continued to lecture his son about how much he failed, making the boy shrink further and further inside himself. Only when the words, "Stoick's little embarrassment" and "expected failure" were said, did the boy react.
Hiccup snapped back loudly, " Enough! I did what you asked me to do! I kept that deranged boy happy by being his slave for the whole week! I nearly died a hundred different times because of Dagur, but that doesn't matter to you does it? You think this is destructive," he yelled waving his hands indicating the entire island, "Believe me, Dad, it could have been worse! I stopped him from destroying the forge, letting loose all the dragons in the Kill Ring. He wanted to burn down Gothi's tower! I saved that and bunch of other stuff. I don't think that I failed in my responsibility nor did I try to embarrass you. I wanted you to be proud of me for once!" Stoick was once again taken aback by this out of character behavior. Over the years, these episodes had lessened, but when they happened, watch out, Hiccup could be absolutely terrifying. For a second he swore his son's eyes actually glowed bright green.
Gobber came up along with a few others to watch the exchange. They also had been taken aback by Hiccup's behavior. They watched as the boy continued to get angry and sarcastic. His entire body language gave him the look of a feral dragon. "I know what you're thinking. Of course, how could my useless klutz of a child do anything right? If my best isn't good enough, then I'll just go repair everything to your liking. Maybe then you'll be proud of me!" Hiccup raced down the docks and hurried up the path, heading for the forge.
The others went back to their duties while Gobber went over to his best friend who had a confused expression on his face. "What's matter with him? I give him a big responsibility. All he had to do was control Oswald's son. He failed and he chooses now to act like a Viking? Why didn't he do that before?"
Gobber once again tried to get through his friend. Stoick was a his best friend and a good chief, but more often than not he felt like he was taking Valka place, being the voice of reason with Stoick, which was not a position he wanted to be in. Trying one more time, he used a very colorful metaphor to explain not even the greatest chief could tame a crazed beast like Dagur. A few more metaphors got through to Stoick, who agreed he overreacted. He needed to apologize and tell Hiccup how proud he was of him. When he got home though, Hiccup refused to interact with his father. Stoick didn't see or hear from his son for a few weeks.
A few weeks later Hiccup continued with the repairs. No matter how many dirty looks he got or people telling him to go away, he did what he could to fix things. He was all alone, doing minor repairs to barn's doors. Mulch and Bucket had taken the sheep out to pasture and wouldn't be back until later this afternoon. It was tiring work pulling out the old nails and putting in the new ones. Taking a break, he sat on an old stump looking for some water to drink.
"There's a pitcher of ice water in the house. Maybe Mulch and Bucket won't mind if you drink a little," Nissa said as she materialized in front of Hiccup. The nine and half year old was happy to see her. "You've been so busy repairing things, you hardly have time for me except in your dreams," she teased as she leaned against the barn and stretched. Her hair fluttered behind her as she hopped onto a part of the fence. Performing a few basic tricks she sat back down complimenting on how well he had repaired everything.
"Thanks, I'll be right back." Hiccup returned a few minutes later greatly refreshed. He scratched some bug bites and his burning skin before getting back to work. Nissa watched him checking up on him. He finally finished putting in the new nails. At last it was done! Pulling a list out of his pocket, he crossed off another item and groaned at how much there was still to do. Between these repairs and the dragon raids, it would take him a whole year to finish this list.
Nissa whistled looking at the list. Hopping off the fence, she followed her little brother as he left the barn making his way back to the village. She noticed the next item on the list and froze. "Little brother, you can't seriously think repairing Mildew's window is your responsibility." Why would a window need to be repaired if there was no glass in it? As far as she knew, Vikings only needed something to cover the window during auspicious weather. Stepping in front of him she held out her hands to stop Hiccup, who did so automatically. Putting her hands on her hips, she asked him what happened to Mildew's window.
"I'm not sure, Dagur and I never went up there. All I know is that Mildew complained about his window shutters got torn off by Dagur. Since I wasn't watching him, Mildew demanded I fix it." Nissa looked cross, before searching through his memory and confirmed his suspicion. Mildew didn't complain until the day after Hiccup declared he would do the repairs. Knowing Mildew's temper and view of Hiccup, he just wanted an excuse to hurt her little brother.
Nissa's projection told him that he'd done more than enough repairs already. Even if no one thanked him, he could take pride in himself for doing a lot of work. Hiccup wasn't sure, he needed to keep his promise. It took some encouragement before Hiccup agreed to go talk to his dad. Nissa watched the exchange and felt a lot of happiness, joy, and simple kindness when her brother and his father reconciled for a time. She hoped there would be more moments like this in the future.
The school year was turning out to be very demanding. The pressure to succeed was incredible. High honors would help secure a favorable position once they graduated. The students also used this time to search for possible starting point to find a life partner. Playing the field was just natural part of life for a Daypeace until they found the one they were meant to be with. Today was no exception.
It was a free period for the senior students. Since it was a nice day, the students decided to hang out in the atrium. While Nissa worked on her reports for her apprenticeship, all the other students flirted with one another. Some of the girls who had wanted a chance at Arkin had turned their attentions to the handsome young men in their grade. Several girls showed off their skills as the boys demonstrated their control over their dragon forms. Only one other person wasn't flirting. A girl approached Nissa hoping to get some helpful advice. "Hello Princess Nissa, how are you this day?"
Nissa looked up and sighed. It was Nicola Venus, one of Arkin's fan girls. A few years back, she had been one of the girls trying earn her favor to get Arkin's attention. It wouldn't be hard with her short blond with a single strand of orange that she braided in front and lovely hazel eyes. Nicola had an apprenticeship at her mom's loom and fabric store. Today, she was wearing something she had crafted herself. A light orange toga with jeweled belt. "What do you want Nicola?"
"Can't I just say hello?" The girl tried to look innocent and was doing a terrible job. Letting loose a sigh, she sat down on the bench playing with her hair. After a few minutes, she whispered. "How's Prince Arkin doing? Rumor has it that he's not very well these days." She looked very concerned and seemed to be nervous.
"Are you trying to use me again? Because I don't appreciate it!" Angrily, she started stomping away when Nicola grabbed her by the wrist. A light spell started to appear in her hand ready to use, when Nicola let go and begged her to listen for a few minutes. "Please, this isn't about courting, I'm generally concerned." Looking closer, the princess noticed Nicola's posture and facial expression. A tentative bond reached out for her and Nissa entered Nicola's mindscape.
Nicola mindscape resembled the clothing store her parents owned. Stacks of freshly made tunics lined the space. Nicola sat at a loom, working on the hem of a dress. She looked up from her work with small smile. "Thank you for coming. I know you don't trust me, but I want to show you something. A memory." The girl gestured to her loom. Nissa walked up and touched the loom.
A memory from several years ago played. Nicola looked barely over 50. It was the first day of secondary level education and the girl was lost trying to find her way to her new classrooms on floors she'd never been to before. "Where to go, where to go, I'm going to be late for my first class!"
"Are you lost?" a voice asked. Nicola turned around and was shocked to see the Prince of all people, standing in the hall talking to her. "You look a little lost. I know because I got lost too on my first day in secondary level, even my Honor Guard got confused."
Nicola only nodded afraid to speak. When asked what her first class was, she stuttered out Dragon Anatomy, Arkin helped her find the classroom before the bell chimed. She thanked him and gave him her name. He promised to help her again if she need it. The memory ended there.
Leaving the loom memory, she turned back to Nicola. "He was very kind to me that day. He helped me out a few times over the years. I admired his kindness and wished I could be as kind as him. I feel I failed on that part."
Sensing her sincerity, Nissa shared her recent memories of her cousin. "He's a bit rebellious and disobedient at times. Slowly though he's returning to cousin I remember and love."
"That's good to know, thank you for telling me that. It makes me feel better." Nicola thought about it and asked if there was some way she could show kindness to Nissa. The princess asked to be treated with respect. After agreeing the girls broke the bond. In the real world, the bell chimed, signaling the end of the free period. Nicola helped Nissa up before returning to class together.
On Berk, Hiccup had left the forge early, exhausted from creating new tools. He decided to go exploring, avoiding the village all together. Lately, all the adults treated him as if he contracted the plague. The younger kids had started to pick up the habit from their parents. "What's so wrong about being different? I've been doing everything I can to be a Viking. I can't help that I'm not changing into the proper fit." Wandering into the forest, he headed to one of his favorite spots, a pile of rocks near a clearing in the forest, under the shade of a pine tree. It was a peaceful place, the only noise came from the chirping of nesting birds. Taking his favorite spot, he opened his journal and started to write in it.
Today was a typical day at the forge. Gobber does all the real orders and I just make small repairs or forge tools. He's keeping a closer eye on me, probably Dad told him to keep me from trying to invent stuff to help us. Gobber's a good friend and a great mentor, but he's not somebody I can talk to about the things that really matter.
I wish I had real friends. Nissa is wonderful and I know in my earlier journals I thought she was real, but I was a little kid then. I try to remember some of the stuff that I wrote, such as my seventh birthday, but for some reason it's foggy, like a lot of my memories seem to be at times. Can't think of about it now.
If I had real friends, maybe I wouldn't so lonely. Snotlout finally tipped over a yak yesterday with the Twins. Of course they got in trouble with Dad. I think their parents might have been upset for a little bit. Mostly I think they liked how strong and crazy they had become. Fishlegs has been spending some time with Astrid. I think she's teaching him how to handle a weapon. I've seen her often because she keeps dulling her ax blade and needing it sharpened. I wish Gobber would let me help out, maybe then Astrid would talk to me.
A snapping of branches alerted Hiccup that someone was approaching. Quickly he hid his journal and grabbed his little dagger. He held it out bravely. With a shaky voice he called out, "Whose there? I'm armed!" Astrid burst out of the brush with ax ready to attack. Seeing who her supposed enemy was she stopped short. "Oh, it's just you Hiccup. I didn't recognize your voice."
Dropping his stance, Hiccup slide down the rock and jumped off. He landed on the ground wincing a bit when his legs absorbed the impact. Putting his knife away he struggled to make eye contact with Astrid. Since he was teased and tortured by the group, he didn't know how to speak with one. "Hhhhhh hi Astrid. How are doing…today?"
"I'm fine, just decided to do a little training out here today." Eyeballing the surroundings she didn't see any signs of Hiccup training here. No slashes in the trees, no nicks in the rock, even the ground seemed flat. "Are you planning on training here? It's a bit on the small side isn't it?" Hiccup mumbled something that Astrid didn't catch. She asked him to repeat what he said a bit louder and he practically shouted that this was his quite place. Quiet place? What in the Gods name did that mean? She pushed him further determined to get answers.
"My quiet place, it's just somewhere I can go and think in peace. I'm not fond of all the bellowing in the village. I come here to think and come up with ideas. You know for better weapons to take out dragons. Maybe something that will stop the raids completely." Once he finished, he looked down at the ground and just scuffed his shoes in the dirt. Astrid personally thought that Hiccup's ideas didn't work very well. Despite minor success, his bigger projects caused more trouble than the dragons. At least he was trying to contribute to their survival. Deciding to give him a chance, she asked if she could join him in exchange for getting her ax sharpened for free.
Hiccup was delighted. Someone his age wanted to do something with him! "Follow me, I know the best place to enjoy some peace and quiet." Astrid allowed herself to be lead to an old tree. There were several knots and thick branches. She watched in astonishment as the clumsy and uncoordinated Hiccup scaled up the tree with ease until he reached a cluster of branches. Fearing for his safety, she went after him. Upon arriving at the branches, she was surprised to discover a little lean to on the branches. Hiccup was lying on his stomach watching the forest below. "Did you build this place?" she asked in awe.
"A few months ago. I thought it would be a great spot for shelter if I get stuck outside during the night." He pointed to a little bedroll, with overnight supplies next to it. Astrid felt guilt rising up in her. Because of her and the others, Hiccup nearly lost his life a few years back due to exposure. Normally, she just brush it off. The experience had at least taught him a few valuable lessons. Then she shuddered remembering Gothi's wraith. The wise woman had actually threatened to leave Berk after that one incident. Nobody understood why she was so upset, but in the end they agreed to take better care of their children so Gothi stayed.
"Come on, just lie down and enjoy the peace. It's a lot of fun!" Hiccup pleaded. Astrid did as he said and found herself enjoying the quiet of the forest. It was very peaceful up in the tree with only the occasional animal sound. Later that day, Hiccup snuck her ax into the pile of weapons to be sharpened without Gobber knowing. As soon as it was sharpened, he gave it to Astrid who thanked him. Hiccup's heart swelled with hope. Maybe this was the start of a friendship with a real friend!
A few months later Nissa sat on her balcony, gazing up at the stars above. The constellations looked beautiful tonight. Her parents had joined her admiring the stars above. A comet appeared in the sky leaving blazing trail in the night sky. "I love watching the night sky, almost as much as I enjoy the sunrise and sunset. There are so many mysterious out there, you know." The princess turned to her parents who had a small telescope with them to watch the night sky.
Ola nodded as she pointed out several stars that made up a beautiful dragon. She explained the people of the mainland called it Draco after some dragon that had plagued the land a long time ago. "Full blooded humans believe that their goddess Hera placed the dragon in the sky after he was killed by the brute Hercules." Ola paused as she looked at the constellation. "My father told me that the constellation is known as the Hopeful Dragon. That each night it's seen, the dragon will look out for all its earthly kind, protecting them from danger. To give them hope in their darkest hours."
Ragner helped his daughter look through the telescope, describing new stars they had seen and the constellations that the Draconia Daypeaces had created out of stars not yet seen by man. Then he aimed the telescope until she was looking a bright star shine over the island. "That star first appeared on the day of your birth. We were allowed to name that star and christened it Nissa Daystar, because it showed up in the day before the other stars did."
"I never knew that," she whispered. It made her feel special. Her parents really loved and to have star named after her, was amazing. She wondered if one day Hiccup would see these stars. I wish I could see the Arvindal's Fire he described. It would be something beautiful to witness. Maybe one day. Nissa opened up her link to him and used the mirror to share the sky with him. On Berk, her friend watched the walls of his room light up with unusual stars and images. "I may be dreaming of stars and faraway places but one day I'll see them all for myself."