Soul of a Dragon Chapter 13
"speaking"- human language
"speaking"- dragonese
thinking- human thoughts
thinking- dragon thoughts
I do not own How To Train Your Dragon or any of its characters
"Hey it's you!" she exclaimed.
"Oh no!" Hiccup whispered loudly to himself.
Toothless heard his brother's distress and turned around to see Hiccup frozen in fear looking at an opposite direction. Hiccup's eyes were facing him while he body was facing the Viking girl, Toothless didn't need Hiccup to say anything in order for him to know what was going on. His green eyes said it all, they had been caught! Toothless stayed where he was at and waited to see how Hiccup would get them out of this.
"Again with the weird language! Speak Norse!" Astrid complained.
"Shhhh," Hiccup said. "I mean… shhhh… I'm sorry Astrid."
"That's better and I see you remember my name. I'm just sad that you learned it from my mother's yelling rather than from me," Astrid replied in a low voice. "Now why are you here? What happened to you the day we met? It's been four years already."
"I know… I know but I… I had do something important that day. I couldn't stay here so I had to leave."
"Why? What did you have to do?"
Hiccup didn't know how to answer her, when they first met he didn't tell her about his dragon family. About the predicament he was in at the time regarding his origins. He couldn't just march up to her and tell her about the dragons and the quest they were on at the moment. She would wake up the entire village and then they would be in big trouble.
"I had to find myself," Hiccup responded.
"What does that mean?" Astrid questioned.
"It's okay if you don't understand… I honestly don't think anyone but me could understand that."
"You're still so weird even after all these years."
"Is that bad?"
"No it's actually quite entertaining."
"I don't know whether or not to consider that as a compliment or an insult," Hiccup said sarcastically.
Hiccup noticed how much Astrid had changed over the years. She was taller, very fit despite being a ten year old and her features were more defined. She was very beautiful… that's when Hiccup started to blush. He smacked himself softly on the cheek at the feeling he was experiencing. Astrid gave him a confused look once he did this and Toothless get out a low chuckle.
"So… um… anyway what are you doing out so late? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Hiccup asked trying to get his mind off of those feelings.
"Well mister I was going to sleep but…" she started. "I felt like something was off… I felt like there was something in the village that shouldn't be here. And low and behold I run into you again."
"You Vikings and you're senses," Hiccup whispered under his breath. "Well look at the time you should be going back to bed now since there's nothing to see here."
Hiccup waked over to her and tried to escort her away but Astrid had other ideas. She turned back to him and was about to stop him until her sudden action made Hiccup trip. That wouldn't have been so bad if not for the fact that Hiccup landed on her!
"Oof!" both said in unison.
Hiccup was on top of her struggling to get his balance while Astrid was rubbing her head from the trip. That's when they made eye contact with each other; their faces were just inches apart. Hiccup felt his heart beat faster as did Astrid. Her blue eyes pierced his green eyes and vice versa. Hiccup quickly got off of her and took eight steps backward to the opening of the ring. His face was as red as a Monstrous Nightmare.
"I'm so so so so so so so sorry," Hiccup said with much emphasis. "I didn't mean for that… I was just trying to-"
"No it's okay… really," Astrid replied as she stood up. "But I'm not leaving until you tell me why and what you are doing here? Are your parents here with you? I remember you said you had a father and a brother when we met."
Hiccup stopped blushing once he remembered the situation was in, his eyes looked back at Toothless who was sporting an entertaining look on his face along with a smile. His eyes turned back to Astrid.
"I… I can't tell you Astrid."
"Why not? You're technically trespassing in this village and you're lucky it was me who found you instead of one of the men… or worse the chief."
"I know but… I still can't tell you. I… just can't. You wouldn't understand… at least not yet anyway."
"What is it then? What is so hard to understand?"
"Everything!" Hiccup exclaimed just so only she could hear him. "Everything Astrid. This ring, this village, this world. You! The Vikings!"
"Me? The Vikings? What are you talking about, you're a Viking too. I mean you're dad slayed all of those dragons, how can you not be a Viking?"
"See. You don't understand, you don't understand me… you don't know who I am."
"You're right I don't know who you are because you never told me and even know you're still not telling me what I want to know. I want to know you… whoever you are."
Toothless stirred a little at where this conversation was going, with his enhanced hearing he could hear everything they were saying. They really were in a tight situation, these Vikings and their curiosity! But he couldn't deny there was a connection between his brother and the Viking girl, even though they only met twice now but it seemed like they had been a part of each other's worlds for a long time. A human boy with the dragons and a human girl with the Vikings. Toothless turned his attention back to the other large set of doors that stood behind him. He could hear the cries of the Deadly Nadder but there was something else that caught his attention… the cries of other dragons!
"But you can't know… if you did you would tell everyone and then the whole world would be thrown into chaos," Hiccup said.
"Why? Why do you make it sound like you know everything, did you plan everything to the smallest detail?"
"No I'm just using common sense. You Vikings are all the same, you don't see the big picture and you just want to see everything you're way."
"Excuse me!" Astrid exclaimed as she got closer to Hiccup. "How dare you come into this village and mock the Vikings here! These men and women work every day to ensure that their families are safe and the chief does all that he can to make the dragons pay for what they do."
"That's what I mean, you Vikings think that you're the only ones with feelings. You think that you're the only ones with problems and that you're the only ones with love ones to protect. Well that's not the case Astrid, you need to stop being so fearful of the outside world and be more open minded to all the possibilities it has to offer!"
Astrid stopped talking; she was shocked at what this boy had to say at her kind, which included her. Hiccup stood firm as he made his declaration to her, he hoped that she would just leave but he knew she would be too stubborn to. After all this was the same girl who wouldn't stop questioning him years before. The tension between the two of them was awkward.
"You really aren't going to tell me who you are, are you?" Astrid finally asked.
"I don't know if I can Astrid; please believe me when I say I wish I could. I wish I could tell you everything about me and what I'm doing here but I can't because… I'll be endangering the people I care about."
Ironically Astrid did understand more than Hiccup was letting on, she understood the need to protect others especially the ones you love. She was a Viking that's what they were known for… that's why they had to be strong both physically and mentally. She had seen good men and women die for those very reasons but they were given great glory at their funerals and brought honor to their families. She was sure that those reasons would have to be passed on when she had children of her own. If what this boy was saying about protecting his family was true then maybe he wasn't so different from her then. Or that weird. All he had to do was keep his identity a secret.
"So in other words I can't know who you are since you'll put your family in danger?" Astrid questioned.
"Yes please understand Astrid this. But I can tell you that while I'm here in this village I won't hurt anyone and I'm not going to damage it in any sort of way… unless if you say otherwise. You said so yourself Astrid that day we ran into each other, I'm not a threat. That hasn't changed and that never will, please believe that."
She knew she was going to regret her choice but at the same time the thought of this boy being taken as a prisoner by the village scared her. She didn't want him to suffer and she knew what she said about him not being a threat was true. She took his hands into hers and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Will I ever see you again?"
"I… I don't know… but I hope so," Hiccup answered truthfully. "I hope we can."
"I hope so too," Astrid replied. "I… I will take my leave now. Whatever business you have here please do it as fast as you can, leave here quickly. I don't want anyone else to catch you."
"Thank you Astrid… for everything and for understanding."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't run it in smart guy," Astrid said as she punched him in the arm.
"Ow," Hiccup said while rubbing his arm.
"Goodnight and goodbye mysterious boy with the dragon teeth around his neck," Astrid said as she quickly headed to her home before her parents realized she was gone.
It was a good thing Hiccup couldn't see her as she was turned around, she didn't like people to see her cry. The tears fell onto the wind as she ran; she could feel her heart break a little. All for some boy she barely knew. Hiccup saw the young girl disappear into the night and stayed frozen for a few seconds. He let out a sigh; he had to end this war quickly. He wanted to be able to live with that girl in a time of peace, without worry of the dragons and Vikings killing each other. Just then he felt something bump into his arm.
"Hey there you heartbreaker," Toothless teased.
"Toothless!" Hiccup gasped. "I am not a heartbreaker."
"If you say so," Toothless replied. "Come on heartbreaker let's bust these dragons out of here."
"I said I am not a- wait did you say 'dragons' Toothless?"
"Yup, looks like these Vikings got a whole stash of them."
"Looks like we got more than we bargained for," Hiccup sighed as he made his way towards the doors.
Before they continued any further the boys made sure to close the door but they didn't lock it. Once they were closed they saw that the other doors were being locked by a large log; they deduced that all they had to do was to turn the chains that were holding it. Hiccup pointed to the wheel and Toothless allowed him to jump on his back, within minutes the chains and the log were being lifted up and the doors were opened. Toothless and Hiccup landed on the ground and they entered. There was nothing in sight expect a large stone room and stairs leading downward. Hiccup held onto Toothless and they walked down the stairs. The closer they got the louder the cries became. That's they saw them! There were multiple cages with chains leading into them; the forms of dragons could be seen even if it was dark. Taking in a deep breath Hiccup motioned for Toothless to keep moving. Once they were in the middle of the cages that when Hiccup stepped off of Toothless.
"Hello everyone," Hiccup stated calmly.
That's when all the dragons' eyes opened and they turned their attention to the human boy. Each of them started to growl once they caught sight of him. They struggled even more in their chains and fought against the cages.
"A human!"
"What's it doing here?"
"Filthy human scum!"
"Spawn of the people who imprisoned us!"
Toothless began to growl once he heard the insults that were being directed toward his brother and he stepped forward and spread his wings as far out as he could. His pupils became more cat-like as he took a stance.
"Enough!" Toothless exclaimed.
"No Toothless, it's okay. At this point they have every right to hate me," Hiccup replied to his brother's actions. "Dragons please hear me out. I am not here to hurt you."
"What it this? The human can speak our language."
"And he can understand us!"
"What magic is this?"
"Listen I know you are confused as to what is going on but my brother and I are here to save you from your imprisonment," Hiccup stated.
"Save us? A human? Your brother?"
"The human is your brother young Night Fury?"
"Yeah and what's wrong with that?" Toothless said daring anyone to challenge him. "He is and will forever be my brother. We were raised together by our father and among other dragons. Dragons from all the species of our kind."
"You were raised together? A human and a dragon? That's impossible not to mention unheard of."
"We know but it's because of that very reason that we are here together trying to saving you all," Hiccup replied. "I am a human, I will not deny that. But I am a human with a dragon's soul, I was born with this gift to understand and speak both languages of the humans and dragons. My father, Cloudjumper, took me as a baby to be raised by dragons. Over the last ten years I have learned everything I could about all of the dragon species. And during this time I have learned about the endless war between both sides. My brother and I decided to venture out into the world to find dragons and bring them back with us to our home."
"Let me get this straight. You are human who his defying his own kind just to protect and save dragons?"
"Yes, there is a place called the Dragon Sanctuary. It's far away from all human contact and is isolated on a large body of water. There's plenty of food and shelter there for everyone, it's also a place where the alpha lives. The King of the dragons set up that place for this purpose."
"A sanctuary for dragons?"
"Sign us up!"
"Wait a minute. How do we know we can trust you?"
Just then Hiccup took out the tool he still had to open the door and made his way toward the first cage he saw. He cracked open the lock and stepped into the cage with no hesitation, he walked to the dragon's form. There stood a Monstrous Nightmare with shackles and chains wrapped around its legs and neck. Its wings were tied down with rope along with netting and there was muzzle on his mouth. Hiccup placed his hand on the dragon's body.
"Please let me help you," he said.
The Monstrous Nightmare knew he had no choice and placed his neck down next to the boy. Hiccup managed to unlock the restraints on its neck and mouth along with the ones on its legs. Toothless walked into the cage and cut away the nets and rope using his teeth. Once free the Monstrous Nightmare stretched out his wings and his neck. He then stared at the two boys.
"You have my thanks and my gratitude," he said as he bowed to them. "I will follow you no matter where you go."
"Thank you for trusting us. What's your name?" Hiccup asked.
"Hookfang."
"Well then Hookfang can you help Toothless get the nets and rope off the others while I unlock the cages and the shackles?"
"It would be my pleasure. But you never told us your name dear boys."
"My name is Hiccup."
"And my name is Toothless."
"Come on dragons weren't meant to be locked in cages. They were meant to fly," Hiccup stated.
With that the boys along with Hookfang go to work and began to release the dragons one by one.
Will Hiccup and Toothless be able to save all the dragons? Will they get caught? Until next chapter everyone! :)
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