"So, Vepro's puppy, has been ordered by his master to eliminate a defenceless old man, talk about dishonourable." The old man seemed to share a dark sense of humour with his old friend, Scorpios.
"A defenceless old man that wishes to help with the destruction of the world. Yeah, I don't really care about honour right now." Frostbite lit his palms and got into a stance, ready to strike.
"So you are just going to kill someone, without knowing them or their supposed crimes, because your mentor told you. Tell me, Your Majesty, how long have you known your mentor? Do you know much about him? Do you know what exactly he did to you, when you were born?"
"What are you talking about?" Frostbite gritted his teeth harder.
The physically standing old man, suddenly changed shape, his body taking a ghostly grey shape and flew into Frostbite's head. The Dragon King began to scream and grabbed his head, in handfuls of hair as the pain pierced into his mind.
"I have seen your past, Frostbite Hiccup Haddock, and there are things that have been hidden." The voice was worse than the Whispering Death's shuddering hisses. And by the uneasy looks of his friends and family, it wasn't just in his head.
"You're very births cursed your family.
A vision appeared in front of everyone's eyes. A screaming blonde woman was crying in the Healer's hut, a blue Dragon nuzzling her side for comfort.
"Madam … he's hardly breathing … he won't make it." The Healer said, with much regret. "If you will carry on … you may not survive … you will both die."
"He'll survive … we both will." She said, taking several deep breaths and then with one final push, the atmosphere calmed. "What happened?"
"You've just given birth to a boy." The Healer's voice was hollow of any excitement. "But I have to tell you this … he's not crying … which means he's not healthy … he will likely not survive for much longer."
The blonde woman, ignored the healer, she grabbed her new-born son. "Get out! All of you!" She yelled, half crying, pulling her son closer to her, pursing her lips together to get rid of her sobs. "I won't let anything happen to you." She vowed to her new son.
You weren't meant to be born, you were supposed to die.
"Ok, Stormfly. You, me and this little guy, are taking a small detour." She said, after wiping her eyes, off tears. She sat on the blue and yellow Deadly Nadder and flew off into the direction of the mountains, holding tightly the babe in her arms, for dear life. The biting cold winter slowed down one of the fastest dragons on the island, making the task of getting somewhere, that much more difficult.
Your mother, petrified for your very breath, ran to the only person that she could think of, for help. To save her firstborn son.
"Sir … Vepro, are you here?!"
"Ah, Astrid, I see the moment is ripe." The all too familiar man emerged from the darkness of the cave.
"He's barely breathing and he barely has a heartbeat." The blonde woman's voice was breaking, but nonetheless she tried to stay strong, even in her darkest moments.
"Give him to me." The elderly man opened his arms, and the woman reluctantly handed the child to him. "There isn't much time. Follow me." He turned deeper into the darkness of the cave, and she followed, without ushering another word. "I trust you know what the price will be for his life?"
She looked away, with her lower jaw shivering. "What if I sacrifice my own life to save him? A life for a life?"
"That won't work. Your lives aren't equal. He's a new-born, less than an hour old, you are what? 20 years of age. Astrid, life is a gift of the highest purity and so it needs an equal sacrifice for it. Besides, you have another unfinished job and destiny to complete. No, it's still the old price you both have to pay."
Vepro asked for a price more merciful than death, but not any less painful.
The blonde woman shook her head a yes, burying her face in her palms.
Vepro nodded. They both entered the same chamber in which Frostbite had been blessed with his dragon abilities, apparently in the same room he would be blessed with something else. Life.
'Save this babe from certain death,
Bless him with newly given breath,
In exchange: breath be condemned,
Laughed at and possess no friend.
He'll know pain and suffering,
Let nothing be comforting,
Isolate those who love him.
He will become a great king.
An enemy of himself,
Until his mind restores to wealth.
In the meantime, link him to,
His mother's heart, until time is due.'
Vepro spoke the curse, and the golden lights bounced all over the room, landing in the woman's and baby's chests. Vepro took out a golden goblet, gave it to the woman, instructing her to drink it, she did so, he took the goblet and poured green lava-like substance into the baby's throat. The air pierced with a baby's scream, and at once everyone knew he was going to live.
"You, or anyone else who knows about this, are not to tell him about this deal, until the time is right. You, or anyone else who knows about this, are not to defend him against the curse, only to stop him from meeting death, once again. You are only allowed to watch from the side-lines how he grows up, whether you like his upbringing or not. He is to raise himself."
The woman nodded, showing that she heard him.
Your mother would have sacrificed anything to save your life, believing it was her fault for your mistaken births. But Vepro, sealed both your fates, for his own reasons. For his own ambitions of killing his brother, because of a family conflict. His family conflict.
A scrawny, blonde boy walked, about the age of 5 years, walked through the village. Every step he took another back turned to him, both dragon and human. A younger boy walked up to him and pushed him to the floor, laughing manically.
The same blonde woman, slightly older, watched from some corner as the younger, buffer boy, pushed the other to the floor. Her eyes were on the verge of tears, and she tried to turn around to not see this display. But then stopped in her tracks, when she saw, the same blonde boy stand up, even with his toothpick like arms, and stood up to the younger boy.
"Stay away from me, Aster. What have I ever done to you?" The reply was a fist to the stomach.
The blonde woman was about to make her way to the scene, but a firm hand stopped her.
"Astrid, don't." Her husband said, very sternly.
"Hiccup, I can't just stand here, and watch as one of my sons, beats up another." Her hand trailed to the same part of her stomach that the younger boy had hit his brother.
"You can feel his pain?" Her husband noticed.
"We have the same heart, remember. I feel every physical pain he endures, though I'm not sure whether he feels my pain. I'm not keen to find out either, if he does, then he went through the pain of two childbirths." She tried to humour herself, but throwing a glance over her shoulder and seeing what was going on, she couldn't issue a laugh.
"He'll be fine. You've both done so well, so far. You can't break now." He pulled her into a tight embrace.
"You don't know that, Hiccup. One of these days, I will do something I will regret."
"…Astrid, I have an idea. But it's completely crazy and inhumane. You have to train Aster and Val, especially Aster, in warrior training. I'll arrange Gobber to train Frost in blacksmithing. That way, they will barely ever see each other, not having enough time for each other. And we'll both be occupied. You with Aster and Val, me with Chief and Dragon stuff."
"I hate this plan. But, I understand why we have to use it. Let's try, the only thing is that I don't think Val should be too secluded from Frostbite, they get along well."
"That is too fragile a relationship. If we get them too close, the curse will compromise it. Better safe than sorry." Hiccup pressed his forehead against his wife's, sharing her grief.
"They could suspect we are trying to separate them. That could ruin our family."
"They'll share a bedroom."
"I hate it when you have good ideas."
And so, Vepro sacrificed your childhood, your sanity and your family happiness, because he wanted to destroy his family unhappiness. A bit selfish don't you think.
A blonde boy, around about 10 years old, stood on the edge of a cliff, looking below and holding a dagger by his side.
"I'm sorry dad, that I'm such a disappointment. I'm sorry Aster, Val, that I couldn't be your ideal brother. I'm sorry mom, that I'll never be able to be your kind of son, luckily you still have two other children, maybe they'll make up for this." Water leaked out of his eyes in vast amounts as he said his speech. "Well, x marks the spot, right?" He pulled the collar aside to show a faint x scar mark on the left side of his chest. He held the dagger in front of him.
Then, something blue whooshed past him and the dagger was grabbed out of his grip.
"What do you think you're doing?!" The same blonde woman yelled.
"What does it look like, mom!? Making everyone's life so much more easier." He tried to reach for the dagger.
"Frostbite, you can't quit. I- I won't let you. You're forbidden to carry a dagger or any kind of weapon around with you, from now on."
"You have no idea what I'm going through!" He yelled back.
"Let's pretend that I do." She bent down to be face to face with him. "You're making a huge mistake. If you think for one moment that you … you doing something as stupid as this, that this will make things easier for me and your father, then you are serious mistaken. You would only destroy me and your father. Please, Frostbite, have mercy on us." She was on the verge of tears.
"Fine." He was still fuming with anger, ignoring his weeping mother and stomping off into forest.
Imagine all the pain you caused your father in your reckless behaviour.
It was the Haddock living room, everyone was staring at Frostbite as he did something shocking, and he picked up the ember from the fireplace.
"Hiccup." The blonde woman, much older now, whispered to her husband and leaned to the nearest wall, clenching her hands. Her husband was by her side, with a bucket of water, he tossed the smoking hands in the water.
"It's about to get worse." He warned her.
"It's worth it. This is the last pain that I will have to endure, from this stupid curse. I just hope that Frost will cope." The blonde woman said, relaxing into the water's cool sensation.
"He will. He takes after you, after all. No matter what people think." The brown haired man brushed a blonde bang away, giving her a warm smile.
Moments later the pain, became hundred times worse. The blonde woman clutched her throat and looked like she was screaming, but no sound emitted from her.
You see, Your Majesty, what your mentor and you have inflicted on this world. Would have it been worth it though? Your living breath, for so much pain.
The cursed voice stopped and lifted from the atmosphere, taking away all the nerve-wrecking tension with it. A form of grey dust flew out of the cave.
The teenagers were left alone in the dark, gloopy cave.