Today, the Academy was different. It was completely decorated with flags and banners, what made me wonder what festivity was going on. I didn't know much about Viking traditions, to be honest. I could barely keep with my home's traditions.
The Thawfest Games were new for me, but also kinda familiar. They consisted in a series of events where your strength is put up to test and for each event you win, you get a point. The one with more points is the winner.
Now, that sounded very interesting really, and I wanted so much to participate in the games, until I found out the Jorgenson family always won. More like, one of them.
That just irritated me and impulsed me to give the best of me. I promised myself I would beat Snotlout Jorgenson, which would be a complete challenge.
We found ourselves at the Dragon Academy, when Gobber gave us a surprising new. This year, and for the first time ever, the dragons would be part in the games.
But then I thought, it was very easy for Snotlout to win because there were only three events and were always the same, every year. So then I proposed to have another three. At first I thought he wouldn't accept, but to my surprise Gobber agreed. And not only him, the other riders also thought it was a good idea. That motivated me even more.
Then, Snotlout arrived saying he would win with or without dragons, showing his metals while he walked to us, as if he was just named Miss Universe. I turned to see my friends faces, and everyone was fulminating him with their gaze.
"You know what I love about the Thawfestival Games? Winning!"
"As if we didn't noticed." Hiccup murmured, throwing daggers at him.
"My family has never lost a Thawfest Games. Ever." He remarked while he grabbed one of his metals between his fingers.
"My bad," I said with a hand on my chest, "but this year I hope you are prepared to lose."
The expression he had was to snap a photo. After a moment he recomposed and asked: "says who?"
"I do. You'll be tasting our dust by the time Thora and I win."
"As if that could happen." He scoffed as he mounted Hookfang. "I will crush you all!" He yelled before we lost him of sight. I placed my hands on my hips, challenging.
"We'll see."
Later that night...
Hiccup and I were sat on his room discussing some new ideas for the games. We were planning strategies, in a way we could win in the majority of the events, or at least one of us gain a point.
On the first three events I didn't see a chance of winning. The first one consisted to carry a sheep over your shoulders and run to the goal line. I couldn't even carry Lucy, how would they hope I would carry a sheep and run? Although, maybe they were kind of lighter.
Next there was another event in which we have to threw an axe and hit bullseye. I couldn't lift an axe, they were way much more heavy than a sword, much less throw it. Although I saw a possibility of Astrid gaining a point, because she was very good with axes.
Last but not least, the third event consisted in running on a log and staying on it until be the last one standing. Now, that was impossible.
"Son, are you home?" A voice boomed through the house and the door of the room opened, revealing Stoick. He looked at me and a smile appeared on his lips. "Ah, hello sweety, I didn't know you were here."
"Hi, sir. I was just talking to Hiccup about the games."
"Ah, in fact that's precisely what I wanted to talk about..."
Hiccup and I looked at each other before turning to Stoick. "Ooookay?" Hiccup said.
"Well... I just wanted to say... Uh... You know, with the dragons, you could actually, uh..."
"Beat Snotlout? Best the Jorgensons?" Hiccup guessed with a raised eyebrow. Stoick smiled.
"Well, when you put it that way it does have a nice ring." He said nodding his head, and then we fell into an awkward silence. He clasped his hands together. "Okay, then! I'll let you get back to whatever it is, um, you two do. Yeah."
He leaved faster than he arrived. I chuckled and moved slightly my head, before returning to our notes. It was in that moment a thought pasted through my head. I lifted my head and looked at Hiccup.
"Hiccup, you know the most important is to have fun, right?"
He looked at me and smiled, and for some reason his smile melted my heart.
"Of course yes. Is just that..."
"What is it?"
He sighed and left the pencil in the desk. "I would like for once, make him eat his words. I don't say I have to win, but someone else did to shut Snotlout up. Is that too much to ask?"
Toothless sensed the tension in his rider and walked up from his spot to him, nudging him gently with his head. Hiccup caressed him, still depressed.
He looked at me like waiting a response. I did a grimace considering his words, it made sense what he told me, but, although I did wanted to shut him up, I also wanted to enjoy my first games. And mostly now since there would be a lot of events, increasing our possibilities.
I looked at him briefly before looking at my hands.
"I guess not."
The next day, we found ourselves on the academy since very early. All the village was reunited to come and watch us compete, what made me a little nervous but I managed to control it. On one of the walls from the arena, our faces were painted, including Ahti's and mine. That was the scoreboard.
When Stoick got to the platform, all the Vikings roared in cheers and applause.
"Let the Thawfestival Games begin!"
He opened a chest that was just at his side, freeing some Terrible Terrors, each one from a different color.
Mulch indicated us to line up, so they would give us a sheep. They put one over my shoulders and for a moment I jerked backwards, but I managed to stood still.
Everything was going fine, until I saw Snotlout walking wearing all his metals to the line, as he waved to the expectators. He took them off and they gave him a sheep, then he spat on his hands and washed his face. I shuddered at the sight and focused on the finish line.
Mulch used a horn so his voice would be heard all over the place. "On your mark..." As he talked, all of us readied on the line. "Get set..." We got down on one knee, and my sheep almost fell off, so I gripped its legs. There was a clang when Mulch hit Bucket's bucket with his hook, and we ran.
Snotlout got way ahead of us fast, followed by Ahti. Astrid and I ran at the same level, while Hiccup ran behind us and the others behind him. Snotlout was obviously the one to reach the goal line first.
"Yeah!" He cried as he threw off his sheep. The poor animal bounced like a ball against the floor, then to Hookfang and ended on its feet, before walking away.
"That's my boy!" His father cried.
I reached the end moments later, and I collapsed on my knees as I let the sheep fall from my back and run away. I painted, trying to catch my breath. Astrid offered me a hand, which I gladly accepted and helped me to stand up. Ahti was leaning against a wall red on the face from the effort, trying to catch his breath as well.
"The first point of the Thawfest Games goes to Snotlout!" Mulch announced, as the Vikings cheered and clapped their hands.
Meanwhile, Hiccup just finished the race and collapsed under the weight of the sheep. I shooed it away and helped him get back on his feet. He stretched, and his back cracked.
"Well, at least we managed to end this event." I said, trying to see the bright side.
"Yeah, right." Hiccup said, geating away the dirt off his clothes. "However, we're gonna have to do better to actually beat Snotlout."
I sighed. "Yeah, I know..."
Next, it followed the Log Roll event. I had problem to stand up on the log, and I had no idea of how I was gonna stay balanced while running.
Snotlout cracked his neck. "Enjoy your face-plant!"
We started running, but he rapidly gained control over the log and one by one all the riders fell. Surprisingly, we were missing Hiccup, Snotlout and me. However, I lost my balance of a sudden and I fell to the flour sacks, seconds before Hiccup did.
"And another point goes to Snotlout!" Mulch announced.
Hiccup groaned as he stood up and got the flour off his clothes, until an unexpected sound was heard. Everyone turned to the sound, frowning.
Laugh. Someone was laughing. But what was weird the most, was that I was laughing.
I was laughing. Because I had fun. I couldn't believe that I had lasted so much time and almost won this challenge. That was a triumph for me, besides, I found kind of fun falling into flour sacks and then see a thin cloud of white dust flying around, while some parts of me were covered in flour. I stood up trying to contain my laughter, but I couldn't help myself and snorted, as I laughed again.
"What are you laughing at?" Ahti asked, half of his hair white, covered in flour.
"N-nothing." I said, still shaking. "I just... I just found it a bit funny, that's all."
When I settled down, we readied ourselves for the next event, and my least favorite. The Axe Throwing contest. Snotlout threw the axe and hit bullseye. Astrid and Fishlegs threw their axes at the same time and they clashed with one another, before falling to the ground. The twins almost chopped the heads of some Vikings, including Stoick's. Hiccup threw his axe, but it ended one meter away from the target.
I looked at my axe, I knew I was missing, and that I was gonna fail terrible at this, so that would mean Snotlout would gain a third point and no else. I wasn't looking towards that.
"Here." I handed Astrid my axe, and she took it in her hands, eyes wide in surprise. "You have a second chance, think you can use it and try to beat Snotlout?"
Astrid looked at me, nodding in determination. She positioned herself in front of a target, breathed in and out, and threw the axe.
Thunk!
"Bull's Eye!" Mulch cried, and everyone exploded in cheers.
Astrid eye widened when she realized she just gained a point. She looked up to the crowd and raised a fist in the air, a big grin on her face.
"She... Did it." Hiccup said, and all the riders started cheering. "Whoo-ho! Atta go, Astrid!"
"That was awesome! You hit the target right in the center!" Fishlegs exclaimed.
"Go Astrid!" Ahti yelled.
"Astrid! Astrid! Astrid!" The twins chanted, moving their fists up and down in the air.
Snotlout gaped in shock as Bucket painted a blue line besides Astrid's picture on the wall, which made Snotlout have three and Astrid one. "Wait, what?! How did it happen?!"
Astrid ran to me and hugged me tight. "Annabelle, thank you so much!"
I was stunned for a moment. She wasn't very fond of hugs, so this was a lot to take in. My smile returned and I also returned the hug. "You're welcome."
"Next on!" Mulch announced. "This year, we've added some more events for the Thawfestival games!"
"What?! Since when?!" Snotlout cried. "I demand an explanation for this!"
"What's the matter, Snotlout?" I asked, placing my hands behind my back. "Afraid of losing?" I raised a smugly eyebrow.
"Afraid? Ha! In your dreams." He said, before walking away. I shrugged and walked back besides Hiccup and Ahti.
"The next event's called, Hammer Throw. Which basically consists on throwing a hammer as far as you can. The hammer that reaches further wins." Mulch explained.
We walked to a sand box, where we stood up in a line and each of us got a hammer. Fishlegs was the first in throwing it, but it didn't get further than half a foot. Next, were the twins, who turned around in circles and then threw as far as they could their hammers. They reached three feet. Astrid, three and half. Hiccup, one and half.
Then it came my turn. I knew since the beginning I wouldn't be able to throw it very far, but I wouldn't lose anything at giving it a shot. I picked up the hammer, did a few turns and threw it. It landed three feet away, which was way more than I was expecting.
"Nice throw." Hiccup said, and I smiled.
"Thank-a you."
"Your turn, Snotlout." Ahti said.
Snotlout glared at us before picking up the hammer with all the world's dignity, giving five quick turns and throwing it with a cry. It landed four feet away.
I blinked. That took me off guard. "Wow. Who knew he had such an arm?" I muttered.
Snotlout turned to me with a big grin of satisfaction. "So... You were saying something about losing? I win this challenge!"
"Ah-ah!" I raised a finger. "Ahti's missing."
Snotlout scowled and crossed his arms, muttering to himself.
"Here's how it's done, champion." Anti picked up the hammer with ease, breathed in and out and turned as fast as he could. He let go of the hammer seconds later, and we all saw how it sailed through the sky, adding with a loud thud. Sand was all over the place, as Bucket counted the distance.
"Five feet and half!" He said.
I looked flabbergasted at my friend. That meant...
"And Ahti wins the Hammer Throw contest!"
"You won! You won the challenge!" I threw my arms around Ahti's neck, as he held me tightly. Bucket painted a blue line besides Ahti's picture.
"What!? I say we go again!" Snotlout said.
Nobody listened to him, everyone was too busy celebrating Ahti's victory. The riders seemed super happy even if not all had a point, but at least Snotlout hadn't won all of them. Even better, they were enjoying the games.
"I can't wait for the next contest!" Tuffnut said. "What's next? Mount a yak? A yak's race? Mount a yak's race?"
I laughed at his enthusiasm, they really were enjoying this and so was I. Snotlout looked like he had just received a slap on the face.
"Not exactly," Gobber replied at Tuff's question. "The next event is one of the most weirdest ones I've ever heard, but I suppose I'll have to see it to believe it."
It was time for the Sheaf Toss. It consisted of a player using a pitchfork to hurl a burlap bag stuffed with straw over a horizontal bar above the competitor's head. One chance was given to each competitor to cleanly go over the bar, without touching it.
Some Vikings managed to put some sort of tall wood rings, where the flour bags we were gonna use would pass through. There were three rings, each one taller than the last one. One by one, all of my friends did their best to get it through.
Unfortunately, no one managed to get it through the three. Not even Snotlout. But there was one person who hadn't tried. Me.
I held the pitchfork in my hands, pinched a bag and walked away a few steps from the rings, what no one thought of doing. I threw the bag, and it passed through all the rings, almost touching the last for some inches, but it didn't.
"Annabelle manages to do a perfect score!" Mulch said.
My heartbeat increased. I... I did it? I did it! I matched a point!
I jumped up and down like a little girl, before waving to the crowd and doing a little bow. My friends came running towards me and embraced me in a hug, cheering for me.
"I just can't believe what's happening!" Fishlegs said. "No one has ever been close to beat Snotlout, ever!"
"It's not over yet, Fishlegs." Hiccup said, but he looked... Different. Happier.
"Last but not least, today's final event is... Archery!"
I totally got this.
Eight targets were placed side by side on the opposite side from where we were standing. I locked an arrow on the string, and waited for the first one to fire. Fishlegs shot the target, but the edge. Astrid shot an allow, which ended just besides the center. One of the twins arrows barely missed Silent Sven, while the other almost shot the dragons. Ahti shot his arrow, hiting the blue. Hiccup got inches above the center. And then...
"Bull's Eye!"
My arrow flew straight to the center, but it wasn't the only one. Snotlout hit bull's eye as well. He threw his arms in the air as the crowd cheered for him.
"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"
The teens groaned.
"Showoff." Hiccup grumbled.
Snap!
There was a note of silence when a snapping sound rumbled across the academy. Snotlout turned around at the sound, and gaped when he noticed what happened.
His arrow was sliced in half... By another arrow. He looked backwards, and found me, aiming at his target. I locked another arrow, aimed at the target and focused. I closed one eye and felt the soft feathers resting against my cheek. I took a deep breathe, and let the arrow fly.
The arrow sliced my own other arrow, and something else. The shield which was used as a target cracked.
Everyone was openmouthed. There was a clang, meaning the end of today's games. All the riders went to check the scoreboard, which was more less like this:
Snotlout, three points. Astrid, one point. Ruffnut, zero points. Tuffnut, zero points. Fishlegs, zero points. Ahti, one point. I, two points. Hiccup, zero points.
"Well, dead last." Hiccup muttered sadly.
"Wow! I have all the points and the best-looking picture?" Snotlout appeared. "Unfair!"
"Watch your back, Snotlout." I said. "I'm just two points away from winning this thing. I hope you're prepared for what's coming tomorrow, specially since there are new Dragon events."
"Oh, I can't wait. Because Hookfang and I? It's like boy and dragon have become one. We're like a Bragon. Or a Droy." He looked for a brief moment at his dragon and an idea passed through his mind. "Or a Snotfang!"
"Yeah? Well, tomorrow you're gonna have to deal with... Hictooth!" Hiccup said.
"Hictooth?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's not my snappiest comeback." Hiccup sighed.
"And people asks why do they ship you two, when you just said it." Ahti muttered. I raised an eyebrow.
"Would repeat what you said? Something about ship*?" I asked.
His eyes went wide. "I... gotta go."
And in a blink of an eye he was gone with Oak, leaving me very confused. I would have to ask him later about that shipping stuff.
"You've spiked your last sheep, 'Snotfang.' Tomorrow's a new day." Hiccup muttered, darkly, glaring at the pair which flew away. I frowned, was there something wrong with him? He seemed fine just a while ago. Now, he was... acting weird. I hoped that things would turn out better tomorrow.
"Welcome to day two of the Thawfest Games!" Mulch announced. "Let the Dragon events begin!"
"'And may the odds be ever, on your favor.'" I added dramatically, waving a hand in the air while looking to the sky. Ahti laughed as he got the reference and I also managed a chuckle.
"First up, the Hurdles!"
"Hurdles, shmurdles. I could make it over those things in my sleep." Snotlout said.
Hiccup smirked. "Be my guest." He offered, extending a hand.
Astrid shook her head with a small smile. "You don't go over them Snotlout, you go under them." She waved her arm for emphasis.
Snotout rolled his eyes. "Duh. I knew that."
"And first up is Fishlegs!"
Fishlegs and Meatlug flew under the first hurdle, and unfortunately they got stuck as glue since it was kinda low for them... or they were too big for it. Meatlug tried batting her wings to fly away, but no matter how much she tried they didn't move an inch.
"Um, guys! A little help over here!" Fishlegs called, then he look down to Meatlug. "It's okay, girl. This just isn't our event."
Next was Astrid, who managed to do splendid, except for the last minute as Stormfly hit a hurdle with her horn.
Then came the twins, who passed under the first one but mixed up in the second as their necks got caught. Tuffnut and Ruffnut flew through the air and ended upside down, in front of the audience.
After them, was Ahti. However, Oak's wings were two big, and when they finished the event, they discovered some of the hurdles were slashed in half by what it seem claw marks. Turned out, Oak cut the hurdles while flying, so they had to put new ones.
"Come on, girl." I encouraged my dragon as it came our turn. Thanks the gods Thora was same size as Toothless, so she could fly under the hurdles with ease. I bent my body against her back and we ended the event without problem.
"Annabelle manages to do a perfect score!" Mulch said, and I cheered as Thora did some laps in the air, and then we landed next to the Dragon Riders. I high-fived with Astrid and Ahti.
"That was awesome! I would like to try that again!" Thora warbled. I chuckled and patted her side.
"Later, honey."
"Check it out!" Fishlegs exclaimed, pointing to the scoreboard. "You're tied with Snotlout!"
My eyes widened as I turned back to the scoreboard. I saw Bucket painting a third blue line besides my picture.
"Wow, that's... I-I don't know what to say."
"How does it feels like to be so close to winning?" Ruff asked.
"I-I don't know." I stuttered. "I wasn't actually thinking about winning..." In fact, I had completely forgot it, really! I was having so much fun on the past events, that it didn't matter the score to me anymore. At first I so totally wanted to beat up the Jorgenson mutton head and to erase that cocky smirk off his lips from the face of Earth, but now... I just didn't feel like it.
~Wow, such dark thoughts at the beginning, but now... You seem more mature...~ Sabrina wiped a tear away. ~Aw, they grow up so fast...~
Snotlout looked to Hiccup, oblivious to the fact I was tied with him. "Where's your book, Hiccup? You might want to take notes! Ha ha!" He taunted as they began the challenge. If Snotlout didn't bang his head with every single one of the hurdles, they would had done it great.
"Let's show them how it's done, bud." Hiccup scratched Toothless' head.
"Let's do it!" Toothless roared, as they took off. As they reached the obstacles, Toothless turned upside down and managed to get under them without touching them.
"And Hiccup makes a perfect run, too!"
Bucket painted a blue lined besides Hiccup's picture. Stoick smiled proudly.
"HA, HA, HA! Did you hear what he said? Perfect!" Hiccup yelled, almost throwing sparks from overexcitement. "I-I believe those are my first Thawfest points ever! I just realized something: I like beating Snotlout!" He declared, what made the other riders worry. "I feel taller. Am I taller? Never mind, don't answer that."
I commanded Thora to walk to the back, besides Astrid. "Is he..."
"...gloating?" Fishlegs completed the question, knitting his eyebrows together.
Astrid shrugged, concerned as well. "I'm not sure. I've never actually seen Hiccup gloat."
We all turned to Ahti, who jumped as he found ten pairs of eyes looking at him expectantly, counting the dragons.
"Don't kill me, but I didn't saw the episode." He admitted.
We all gasped in shock, and he stared angrily at us.
"Oh, come on! You guys can't hope for me to possibly know more than 880 minutes, 44 episodes, two seasons, all the way and back! And then to remember them when I saw the series three years ago!" Ahti claimed, folding his arms.
"Whoa... sorry." I apologized.
Snotlout flew next to us. "Don't get too excited. You know what this is?" He raised a finger. "Still the number of wins I need to end this thing. And you what this is?" He raised a second finger. "The number of chances I have."
"Oh, yeah? Well, you know what this is?" Hiccup said back, raising his hand and at first sight it seemed like he was holding three fingers. "The size of your brain." He said, and then my attention was attracted to the circle he was doing with his index finger and his thumb. "No! Wait..." He shrank the space between his fingers. "That's much better."
"Like you've ever seen my brain." Snotlout glared at him. "Come on, Hookfang."
As they disappeared from sight, we all looked weirdly at Hiccup, who only raised his eyebrows.
"What? He started it..." He pointed after the pair. "When we were five..."
"Next we have the Free-Style event! Contestants and their dragons show off their style and abilities!" Mulch told the audience.
The event started with the twins, Tuff had his feet on Barf's and Belch's necks each one, while Ruffnut stood on her brother's shoulders.
"Check this out!" She yelled.
"We call it 'The Iron Split'!" Tuffnut named. Ruff balanced herself on one foot, standing on Tuff's shoulder. Barf and Belch separated their necks slowly, but Tuffnut's legs spread apart and he ended with an unplanned and painful split. My friends and I winced while Tuffnut groaned in pain, placing one of his hands in between his legs.
The judges selected for this event showed their rating on a piece of paper, in total giving the twins two points out of nine.
"Someone help Tuff get down." I moaned, covering my eyes with my hand.
"And get him a block of ice." Ahti added.
After that issue, it was Fishlegs and Meatlug's turn. They flew all over the arena in circles, speeding up with each minute.
"We like to call this next feat of daring... 'The Extreme Butterfly'!" Fishlegs announced, but Meatlug got out of control and they crashed with a wall. Fishlegs looked at her. "It's okay, girl. This just isn't our event either."
Then, Astrid showed us all kind of acrobatics she knew, without falling off Stormfly. The judges were so impressed they gave her a seven out of nine points. Now, that would be hard to compete against.
"Impressive, Astrid." I complemented, as she smiled to me. "Very good job."
"Thanks."
"Ann, your turn." Ahti said.
"Wish me luck." I said as Thora and I walked to the center of the arena.
I mounted on her back and we flew to the air. Thankfully, I got my bow and quiver for this event. I locked an arrow on the string as some Vikings held ropes, which were attached to targets I was supposed to shoot at. The point of this was, they could move around, so this would increase the level of difficulty. Thora flew around the arena as I shot target after target, hitting the center almost every time. Then we stopped in mid air, as tall wooden ring stood in the center of the arena. I got an arrow out of the quiver, and held it at Thora's eye level.
"Can you make the honors?" I asked, as she chirped in content and lighted up the end of the arrow. I aimed at the ring, breathed in and out, and fired. The arrow flew straight through the ring, which caught up in flames. With that we ended the challenge.
I blinked when the judges gave me an eight out of nine. So close!
"That's my girl!" I said, and Thora replied licking my face, which made me laugh and gag at the same time. "Thora, you know it doesn't wash out!" I cried.
After me, Ahti went next. For this, he used a lot of food and he placed fifteen wooden sticks on the top of fifteen barrels, which were aligned one with each other. He threw the food in the air, and Oak either slashed it in half or burned it. All I know, was that I saw a live version of 'Fruit Ninja'. At the end, there were ten food skewers with roasted meat, cooked fish, sliced fruit and roasted chicken.
He got nine out of nine.
As Bucket painted a line besides Ahti's picture, my friend got all the skewers in a tray and offered one to each of the judges. Then he walked over to the riders and we all congratulated him while getting a skewer.
"Mmm-hmm! This is how a victory tastes!" I said, enjoying each bit of mine.
He placed a hand on his chest and bowed, while walking towards the chief and Gobber, offering them the last skewers, who took them gladly.
After this delicious meal, it was Hiccup's and Toothless turn. They took to the sky and out of the arena, as they flew straight to a sea-stack. At the last minute, they pulled up, did some aerobatics over it and flew back. "Yeah, baby!" Hiccup yelled at the top of his lungs.
Surprisingly, he got nine out of nine, too.
"I heard Snotlout's gonna try a trick called 'The Rings of Deadly Fire'. No one's ever tried it before." Tuffnut said.
"Yeah! Because it's too dangerous." Ruff said.
"No! Because he just made it up!"
Uh-oh. I smell catastrophe.
~You're sure it's not your breath?~
Hey!
Snotlout muttered to himself before they took in the air. They did a turn in the sky before coming back again and flying towards three huge wooden rings.
"Fire!" Snotlout commanded, and Hookfang did as told. But as they reached them, something happened that made Hookfang retreat and stop abruptly, making Snotlout fly off his saddle and bounce on the rings, before meeting the floor. He screamed and ran to a tub with water when he realized his butt was on fire, and jumped into it. The village laughed at the sight, while Spitelout held his head in frustration.
"I get the rings and the fire part... but where's the death?" Tuff asked to no one. "I feel cheated."
Next thing I knew, Snotlout was staring at the scoreboard with worry.
"Oh, Snotlout, your dad looks pretty mad right now." Hiccup said with a smirk, making me frown once more. I watched as they snapped comments against each other, at the end Snotlout leaved fuming and growling in frustration.
"What was that all about?" Astrid asked, as astounded as I was.
"Just rattling cages." He replied casually, but also with certain air of 'something you wouldn't understand'.
Hiccup was really worrying me. In just a couple of hours, he had changed a lot. He went from being passive to even mock Snotlout when he was loosing. He wasn't like this, I knew the real Hiccup. What was happening to him?
The last event of the games came faster than I expected. It was time for the Fly-and-Shoot, where we had to shoot down our foes and spare our friends. Fishlegs managed to shoot down two Outcasts, Ahti and the twins three, Astrid and I four, and Hiccup five.
But when it was Snotlout's turn, Hookfang just managed to hit one single Outcast, and then he went out of control, firing everything else. The only ones cheering for him were the twins.
Once he managed to get down, we checked the scoreboard which hadn't changed much. Snotlout had three points, Astrid two, the twins zero, Fishlegs zero, Ahti two, I had three and Hiccup had three as well.
"And for the first time in Thawfest history, we have a tie!" Mulch shouted cheerfully as Snotlout, Hiccup and I stood on a platform. "Tomorrow, these three young Vikings will go head-to-head in an event to decide the Thawfest Champion!"
We all waved to the audience as we walked downstairs.
"I can't believe how lucky you are." Snotlout said to us in a low voice. "You don't even belong on this stage with me."
"That's it. Keep talking, Snotlout," Hiccup said. "As your family's winning streak goes up in smoke, just like your Rings of Deadly Fire."
Snotlout turned to him and clenched his fists in fury, before storming out of the arena, kicking a bucket in the process. I looked back to Hiccup, who was grinning maliciously.
"Hey, what's the matter? Yak got your tongue?" He called after Snotlout.
"Hiccup!" Astrid scolded him.
"Oh, he's crumbling under the pressure. I can feel it." He said darkly, until he saw the look Astrid was giving him. "What?"
"You know what I always liked about you, Hiccup?" She asked sadly. "You were always a gracious loser. Who knew you'd be such a lousy winner." She said at last, before walking away, missing the questioning look Hiccup gave her. Then he looked at me. I opened my mouth to say something but he either ignored me or didn't see me and turned away, walking out of the arena with Toothless by his side.
At night...
I wanted to talk to Hiccup about what happened earlier in the arena. Maybe he would listen to reason if I talked to him. I found him on the forge talking to himself while working on something. What was he doing up this late?
"Lousy winner... I'll be a great winner!" I heard him say. I hid behind a wall, watching him talk to Toothless. "See this, bud? Lighter. Thinner. Ooh, this will help us fly faster and turn quicker."
"Hiccup." Toothless growled trying to call his rider's attention, but Hiccup was distracted in his thoughts.
"I also stripped down your saddle. Light as a feather." He added. "But this!" He showed Toothless a new fake tail fin, making me narrow my eyes. "This is what's gonna make the most difference." He walked with the tail to replace Toothless' old tail.
"Hiccup..." Toothless growled a warning, noticing the change of behavior in his rider. But he was oblivious to this as well, it seemed.
"A tail as thin as paper and even stronger than before. We're gonna be able to cut and turn better than we ever have. Snotlout won't have a chance."
Toothless stopped and looked curiously at him. "What about Annabelle?" He asked, but since Hiccup couldn't speak Dragonese, he couldn't understand what he said. Most of the times actually, because some times he actually understood him.
I walked out of my hiding place casually, as if I just arrived. "Hey," I called him. Toothless perked up at the sound of my voice, surprised to see me. Hiccup turned around as well. "What are you doing up so late?" I asked curiously, placing my hands behind my back and bending my body a bit to the right, as if I was trying to look over his shoulder.
"Just making sure Toothless' tail fin is alright, checking the mechanism..." He said with a shrug, giving a small 'assuring' smile telling me that everything was fine.
"I see..." I nodded, and then I turned around and pretended to notice Toothless's old tail fin, which was resting on a desk. "Is that Toothless' tail fin?"
"Wait, no, that's—"
It was too late, I had it already in my hands. I stared at it in real disbelief, it was really happening. He tensed up the moment we locked eyes. I felt a knot in my throat rising.
"Hiccup." My voice broke. I gulped, trying to breathe normally. "What... what did you do?"
"I... I was just... It's... Oh Gods..." Then he finally gave up. "Okay, fine! I was testing out a new tail for Toothless! Happy now? Is that what you wanted to hear?!"
"But why? Hiccup, that's cheating!"
"It's not!"
"It is, in a way!" I said. "I mean, would you think about it for a second? Toothless is the fastest dragon from the three, you're the most experienced rider, if not the best of all of us. On top of that, you built a tail fin which will make you fly faster than you ever did before, and you say that's not cheating?!"
"I was just using my resources, thank you very much!" He shot back. "Besides, don't you wanna beat Snotlout? Don't you wanna win?"
"What's the prize, then?" I spat. "Tell me, Hiccup! Is it the satisfaction you'll feel when you see him crying on a corner? Or the feeling on your gut that you won, playing dirty? What's the point?"
"The point is, the winner takes it all! I have the perfect chance of beating him up, to stand up for myself and to teach him a lesson! Just like you said, I'm the best at this, and with Toothless, I'll be unstoppable. There will be no limits! I want to make my father proud!"
"This isn't the way, Hiccup!" I realized we were yelling, so I took some seconds to quiet down and look at him more calmly. "...I know you, and I know this isn't you. I assume you're just caught in the moment, so I hope you change your mind about this before the games."
With that I turned around and walked away, placing a hand on my mouth to quiet my sobs, while I walked to my house. I slammed the door, and leaned my weight against it, thinking about all the horribly things I said out there.
Without me noticing, my hand reached for my necklace and my fingers wrapped around the tiny blue shell, looking for the familiar warmth I had felt the past days.
I wished I could take back the majority of my words, but now it was too late. They were already said and they had stung like viper's venom.
The next morning, we were at the Academy an hour before the challenge began. While we waited, I watched as Stoick walked to Hiccup and simply tell him there wasn't any pressure, while Spitelout walked to Snotlout, threatening him to don't be the first Jorgenson in the family to lose the Thawfest Games.
Watching the last pair, made me feel bad for them. Both. Because all could Snotlout be thinking was to win the games so his father would be proud of him. Now, I hated him when he was mean with the other riders, but to see the other side of the coin was shocking. I couldn't help myself, but to think of what could I do at the moment to help him.
"Welcome to the final deciding event of this year's Thawfest Games. The Obstacle Course Race!" Mulch announced with excitement, but I didn't feel happy about it anymore. It felt as something I was forced to do, not something I deserved. "Take it away, Gobber!"
"The race will start here in the stadium, where, after the Log-Dodge, and the Cliff-Climb, Hiccup, Snotlout and Annabelle will get on their dragons, loop around the flagship anchored off the coast, slam through the sea-stack maze, then head back here! The first one to pass that finish line is the winner!" Gobber explained, and the Vikings started cheering. "Look at those goosebumps!" He said, staring at his arm.
"Hey, uh, can I talk to you for a second?" Hiccup asked Snotlout.
"No!" He replied, warming up for the competition.
"Okay... uh... I just wanted to say, have a good race and... may the best Viking win." Hiccup said, offering a hand-shake.
Snotlout only rolled his eyes. "Oh, he will. Don't you worry your scrawny-little-self about that." He walked away. "See you at the finish line, Hiccup. Or, maybe I won't."
"Alright. I tried. If that's how you want it."
"That's exactly how I want it!" Snotlout yelled, pointing. Then he turned around, missing Hiccup's evil smirk. But I didn't. With a sigh, I walked to the line as Mulch indicated.
"On your mark..." Mulch said, and I knelt down. "Get set..." I caught a glance of Hiccup and Snotlout glaring at each other. I just shook my head and sighed again. "...and GO!"
We dashed to the ramp, but in the process Snotlout pushed Hiccup to the side. As we got to the logs, I almost got smashed between them and Snotlout, who was running as if his life depended on it. After a minute, I managed to get to the other side safe and then it came the complicated part, climbing to the top of a sea stack where our dragons were waiting for us, without any equipment at all. Now, that would take me forever, but I couldn't just stand still and do nothing. I took a deep breathe and started climbing.
I realized it was just like one of that games for kids where you got to climb fake walls with fake stones of different colors, back home. Sometimes it was easy, other times not so much. And suddenly, there were rocks falling from up above! I looked up and found some Vikings, throwing rocks to our faces. I almost slipped once as I dodged them, but I miraculously managed to hold on with my other hand and I continued, trying not to look down. Otherwise, I would get dizzy and let go, which wasn't a very good idea.
Sadly, Snotlout was way ahead. As I got to the top where Toothless and Thora were waiting, I looked down for Hiccup. One of the rocks almost hit him and he let go. My heart skipped a beat.
"Hiccup!" I cried.
Thankfully, he managed to use his fake leg to stop his fall as he gripped the side of the stack. I sighed in relief, and then I ran to my dragon.
"Good luck!" I told Toothless.
"You too!" He nodded, and we took off.
"Okay girl, let's see how fast you can go!"
"Hold on tight!" She warned, before she sped up. In a matter of seconds we were hot in Hookfang's talons. And then, I heard the familiar sound of the Night Fury. I gritted my teeth and gripped the saddle tighter.
At the distance, we could see the flagship. We turned around in a tight arch and when we flew back, I saw Hiccup and Toothless already coming. They were really close even when Hiccup was the last to get to his dragon.
"Remember girl, it doesn't matter how this thing ends, what it matters is to do it together, okay?" I told my dragon.
"About time! I was waiting for you to say that!" She roared and I eye widened, before a smile appeared on my lips. I scratched her neck.
"Well, that being said... let's go!"
Soon, we were flying through the sea-stack maze Gobber mentioned earlier. And boy, was it a maze. Sea stacks appeared out of the blue, and just when I thought it was over, more appeared. We had to fly in zig-zag constantly, which it wasn't very good for my poor stomach. And then, we all got to the same tunnel. However, I was in first place, which was unexpected. In second was Snotlout, followed by Hiccup.
"Move over!" Hiccup suddenly shouted.
"Yeah, sure!" Snotlout shouted back.
"Thora, up!" I commanded.
She did as told, doing a loop in the air and ending behind Toothless, who managed to fly side to side with Hookfang. Because of the space, they were bumping against the stone walls, until they noticed the huge sea stack in the middle of the path. They flew in different directions and we followed Snotlout, but Hiccup had to go the long way around.
For two minutes, it seemed the race was only between me and Snotlout, but the moment off-tension was short lived when Toothless flew past us, just behind Snotlout and Hookfang.
"Okay bud, let's finish this!" Hiccup said, clicking the pedal and speeding up.
"Hiccup, don't!" I tried in vain. The two riders and their dragons were way ahead of us.
Of a sudden, when it seemed Hiccup was going at the head, Toothless lost his balance and they were forced to land. We paused in mid-air to make sure they were alright and flew down next to them. Hiccup was on the back of his dragon, his head low and his eyes closed. Thora walked closer to them.
"Hiccup?" I called.
He snapped his head up and looked at me in surprise. "Annabelle, what are you doing here?" Now the dragons were side to side.
I tilted my head to the side, with a small grin. He had done to me that question so much times I had lost count. "I know what you did up there. You threw the race." I replied. He blinked, and I just chuckled, holding his hand. "That's the Hiccup I know."
He looked down, and then looked up again, nervously. "Anna... Yesterday, when I was... When you said..."
He was cut off when I wrapped my arms around his neck. He tensed up for a moment, before I let go. He was frozen in place.
"Don't mind about it, I forgive you."
Just as I finished the sentence, a sudden force made my head jerk backwards and close my eyes. It took me two seconds to realize Hiccup was kissing me, and for a reason, I kissed him back, placing a hand on the back of his head.
A little while later, we knew that if we didn't come back the village would start making questions like where did we go, so we had to return. Even if we had lost, we were received by cheering from the audience.
We dismounted our dragons and walked up to meet the chief and Snotlout. "It's been a spectacular Thawfest Games!" Stoick began, once all the contestants were there. "Perhaps the best ever. These young men and woman have put on quite a show. But alas, there can be only one champion." Some Vikings started making the drumroll. "The Thawfest dynasty continues. The winner, and still champion, Snotlout!"
"We did it!" Snotlout yelled, and actually, it felt good now that there was quite an actual fight for the metal. Speaking of which, Stoick gave Snotlout.
"You did your family proud." He said, and then turned to his son. It seemed the comment was more to Hiccup than anyone else.
As Snotlout started chanting, Ahti and Astrid joined us, and the latter punched Hiccup in the arm. I just rolled my eyes, nothing unusual here.
"Ow! What?"
"We know what you did." She said.
"Yeah, I lost. As usual."
She shook her head. "No. You threw the race."
Hiccup raised his both eyebrows and turned to Ahti, who crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about. Snotlout was just the better Viking today."
"No, Hiccup. No one was a better Viking than you, today." Ahti said, elbowing him. "But if you ever do something like that again, I will personally make sure you don't have dinner for a week!"
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "You sound like my mother."
We all laughed. And then, just when we thought it was over, Stoick made an announcement.
"Lastly, this particular occasion I would also like to give an acknowledgment to all the participants of the Thawfest Games!"
My friends gasped, as the chief walked to each of us and gave us a silver metal, obviously smaller and less shiny than Snotlout's, but hey, a metal's a metal, right? Believe me when I say the teens looked like they just got a present from the Gods.
Finally, imagine my surprise when as all of us waved to the crowd, Hiccup absentmindedly took my hand, making me blush as deep as a tomato. We crossed stares, and shared a smile, while Sabrina sighed dreamily in my head.
*A brief mention of people who ship HiccupxToothless, like me :) the majority of times Fem!HiccupxToothless.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN, my dear readers! Extra long chapter, +8500 words! Thanks for the patience guys, you're amazing!
So... If anyone wanted to know, I'm a very big fan of the Big Four AND the Big Six, and when I saw this episode of HTTYD I realized somehow the creators make unintentional crossovers of the movies and the series. They might do it unintentionally, but we know better... ;)
So... does anyone happened to notice the sun on the banners from the Thawfest is way too similar to the sun from Rapunzel's banner? Crossover number one there. Crossover number two, (I think plenty of people have noticed this already) in the movie Gobber mentions trolls exist, and guess which movie involves them sing a song? Frozen, ladies and gentlemen! Crossover number three, one of the episodes in DoB it's actually called Frozen.
Want one more crossover? How about two? Number four, the book Elsa's dad opens is written in Norse. The Book of dragons is written in Norse. And last but not least, number five, in Brave when the suitors arrive, one of the clans makes a mention of beating up the VIKINGS.
Ta da! There you go! Wow, that took me more time to write than I thought. So, follow and fav, reviews are always appreciated and if we make it to the 50 reviews, wait for a second chapter next week! (Sorry, I'm having exams this week). Hope you enjoyed it! UNT...
Scout017, out.