This is my first fanfiction, have a pretty good storyline thought up for it (at least I think so!) but my opinion is probably a little biased.
"hello" - speech
'hello' - thought
Hiccup was jostled around as his arena-mates and fellow Vikings lifted him over their heads in celebration. He had just been selected, by Gothi, as the top student in dragon training.
This signified that he had proved himself above the other trainees as the top recruit, something which surprised pretty much the entire village.
While most viewed this as a pleasant surprise, thinking that perhaps some of Stoick's blood was finally coming to fruition in the boy. Others weren't particularly thrilled, thinking this to be a trick from Loki himself. Among that demographic was a certain blond-haired girl, who at this moment, still stood in the center of the kill ring. She was paralyzed by shock at what had just occurred.
'Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third had just bested me, in dragon training!' That thought weighed heavily upon Astrid, her training for this had been years in the making.
She had always been diligent in her training, having committed herself to the thought of becoming a dragon-slaying warrior, and to become a staple amongst her village for what a Viking should be.
That a Viking should be strong enough to smash rocks, fast enough to avoid diving dragons, smart enough to be able to think quickly upon their feet, and above all else; fearless enough to embrace death with a straight face.
The scrawny Viking currently being carried away from her by the crowd, presumably to the great hall for a celebration feast, embodied none of those traits.
Astrid calmed herself and decided to go do something physical rather than seethe in her self-pity and anger, which was all she felt at the moment.
This day should've been the sweet justification for the countless hours she had poured into her training.
She pushed the thought away and retrieved her axe from the ground of the kill ring.
Then, as she stormed past the parading Vikings which were carrying the source of her anger, she locked eyes with Hiccup, letting anger consume her facial features.
Once she was sure that her point was made, she stomped off towards the forest, where several trees would fall victim to her blade.
Hiccup cringed internally when he found himself under the penetrating glare of Astrid, Her stare spoke more than a thousand words; she was furious.
He looked away first, breaking under the weight of Astrid's hate for him in this present moment.
'I knew she wasn't going to be happy with that.' Hiccup thought to himself, stirring in a pool of confusing thoughts and emotions.
"Well that makes two of us," Hiccup concluded with a low whisper.
None of his fellow Vikings had noticed what he said over the roar of cheers coming from all sides of him. The cheering only got worse as he was carried into town.
The group of excited Vikings had announced to everyone they passed, which was quite a few, that Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third had just been named the top student in dragon academy.
That he now had the honour of spilling a monstrous nightmare's blood, bringing honour to the village.
He felt sick.
This is a moment that he had dreamt about for years, to be accepted and celebrated by his peers and seniors. To be acknowledged as something more than a talking fishbone, and to not be looked at like a complete and utter failure.
He should feel some type of happiness, shouldn't he?
He didn't, because of all the emotions running through him right now, not one could be classified as a happy one.
He felt anxious about what would happen if people were to find out he was a fraud, he was also scared of possibly fighting a monstrous nightmare and ashamed at what Toothless would think if he managed to kill one.
On that last thought, he suddenly felt a yearning to go to the forest and be with his dark scaled dragon. The prospect of being with Toothless was the only thought that brought him any semblance of happiness, though it more or less just helped to calm his frantic mind.
Paying attention to what was going on around him again, Hiccup noticed they had arrived at the front steps of the great hall. Then suddenly he was being lowered to his feet, as they touched the ground he found himself under a barrage of compliments.
"Always knew you had it in you!"
"Just like your father!"
"Knew you were just a late bloomer!"
"Already looking like chief material!"
Hiccup rolled his eyes at the majority of these praises, they were all blasphemy. Very few Vikings actually had any faith in him, to be precise, about two. One being his mentor Gobber and the other being his father, though he wasn't entirely sure about the latter.
The compliments that really stuck with him, however, were the ones related to him becoming chief.
Instantly images of toothless were brought to his mind, thoughts of the dragon who had shown him so much and had absolute trust in the boy. As well as how great life had been since finding and bonding with this dragon, how it made him feel fulfilled.
He grinned at these thoughts, Toothless had without a doubt made his life much better. But that grin dissipated as his next course of thoughts took hold.
'What would a life with Toothless be like if I were to become the chief of Berk?'
'Would there even be a life with Toothless if I was chief?'
Hiccup pondered this for a few seconds, before being ripped from his thoughts as Vikings started pushing him toward the giant doors of the great hall.
Upon entering the great hall, he discovered it to be a flurry of bodies in motion, many tending to the tasks that came with preparing a feast.
Fires being lit to cook stews as well as some of the finer meats Berk had to offer.
Barrels of mead were being broken open for many people to enjoy.
Even some of the village's better musicians, few as there were, came with freshly tuned instruments to set the mood. Playing an uplifting melody that had the Vikings dancing with one another, they had certainly embraced the celebratory mood.
Something Hiccup couldn't find himself relating to, his mood completely sombre. He instead shuffled over to his regular table, in a remote corner of the hall, so that he may be alone with his thoughts.
That peace was short-lived when his father arrived.
All eyes turned to him as Stoick bellowed out "where is my son!"
Upon following everyone's gaze to Hiccup, Stoick smiled when his eyes landed on his son. He beckoned him over towards the main table in the center of the hall, as he himself walked there.
Hiccup felt annoyed and oddly judged as he made his way through the crowd of Vikings, towards the center table. He'd rather avoid all this attention right now because it meant he had to keep up a facade.
Which at the moment, was tougher to do than expected.
He pushed through his unpleasant feelings and managed a smile as he came to his father's side, who then motioned for Hiccup to take the seat to his right.
Hiccup sat and waited as the whole hall slowly quieted down, per the request of his father. Soon the whole village's gaze fell upon him and his father, who had stood up out of his chair.
"Let me just say how proud I am of all our recruits this year. Risking your lives to learn the secrets of dragons is no small feat, this celebration is for all of you!" Stoick thundered to all present.
The gathered Vikings let out a loud cheer for this year's recruits and their courage for learning to fight dragons.
Their cheers quickly died out, as Stoick continued his speech.
"Now, I'm just as surprised as the rest of you at who came first in dragon training," Stoick said while stroking his braided beard.
"Aye! It came as quite a surprise," Stoick chortled and then continued "But I'm proud, and well, still in disbelief to say that my son, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third," Stoick paused for a second, enjoying the moment.
"Has come first in his class!" beamed Stoick who finished in a yell.
The present Vikings roared in approval. They then proceeded to re-adopt their almost festive spirits, quickly returning to getting the celebration underway.
Stoick, who was grinning like a mad man, sat back down and clapped a hand onto his son's shoulder.
When Hiccup looked over he was greeted with his father's ecstatic look. Which, for possibly the first time, was aimed at him.
He felt uneasy being under Stoick's pride-filled gaze. He had deceived everyone, he didn't deserve all this.
Hiccup was brought back to reality when his father spoke.
"I must speak with the heads of the other clans, mayhaps find you a wife too, huh?" Stoick chuckled. "When I get back, we shall share a hearty mug of mead," continued Stoick as he walked away, a large smile still present on his face.
Hiccup sighed in relief while he watched his father's figure become lost amongst the big body of Vikings. He seemed to be snaking his way through the crowd towards Spitelout, who was currently seated at a small table with his wife.
He was certain that his father's current feelings of pride towards him would come to a screeching halt during his final test tomorrow.
Hiccup knew that he couldn't, or rather wouldn't, kill a dragon in the arena tomorrow.
That left him in a very tough position though. If he didn't kill that dragon tomorrow, he'll be exposed to the entire village for what he is, a fraud. But he wasn't sure if he could live with himself if he even did manage to kill the monstrous nightmare. It would usher him into a life that he both didn't want and did not belong in.
A conclusion was made in hiccup's mind at that moment, he had to leave.
He would take toothless and leave, he wasn't sure where they'd go, but anywhere besides Berk would be safer. He immediately started to think of what he would need for the journey and where to get it.
The cold season was already starting to bear its ugly head. He also doubted they would get far enough south to avoid it this year, so he'd need some warmer clothes. He would also need to grab enough food to last until he could reach another civilization. Though he'd prefer not to visit a tribe within the archipelago, out of fear of revealing his location. He'll also need some currency for obtaining materials once he reaches a civilization. He may even want a short sword and bow for protection and hunting respectively.
'Easy enough,' Hiccup thought, 'I can get all of that back at the house, I should probably head there first while Stoick is distracted.' Hiccup nodded to himself and resumed his ponderings on what was needed for travel.
He would also want some basic tools and materials for repairs on Toothless's prosthetic tail and saddle. He would go to Gobbers forge for that, he knew what he needed from the forge and exactly where to get it.
Thinking of Toothless, Hiccup decided that he would also swing by the docks and grab a basket of fish. They would likely have to cover large distances in the next few days to avoid any pursuits that Berk might give, which meant that Toothless wouldn't have many opportunities to hunt.
Believing that he had thought of all the supplies that would be needed for the trip, he now tried to think of a way to get out of this party.
He thought about faking a stomach ache or headache, but those were lame excuses and tied him to a location. He needed something ambiguous or perhaps an excuse that would make sense for him to be absent for a while.
He scanned the hall and couldn't locate Gobber, which gave Hiccup an idea, but also a loose end to his lie.
He'd tell his father that Gobber had requested to see him once he got a minute. Then he'd have to pack as quickly as possible once exiting the great hall, else the blacksmith might show up and ruin his lie.
It was risky, but it was the only feasible excuse Hiccup could come up with. Though he really wished he knew the location of the Gobber at the moment. The last thing he wanted was to run into the blacksmith and have Gobber become suspicious.
Hiccup stood up and approached the table where his father was currently talking to his uncle, Spitelout. It took Hiccup a few minutes to reach the table as the celebration was in full swing at this point, he eventually managed to wiggle his way through the crowd.
Upon approaching the table, Spitelout stood and greeted Hiccup.
"Congratulations on your victory Hiccup, I'm sure you'll do us all proud," though his words were kind, they held a certain reserved tone. As though he was lying or hiding something.
'Maybe he's upset that his own son, Snotlout, hadn't taken first place?' Hiccup thought to himself.
Hiccup merely nodded to Spitelout and muttered a few thanks before turning to his father, ignoring the scornful gaze that he could see Spitelout giving him from the corner of his eye.
"Gobber said that if I could get away from the party for a little, to go give him a visit, something about a prize or special custom for his students that finished first each year," Hiccup said, slightly ashamed of his dishonesty.
"Never heard of any special gift or custom, but I guess Gobber doesn't have to tell me everything he does related to dragon training," said Stoick who looked thoughtful, "I suppose you can go and visit Gobber, I won't be here when you come back though," Stoick concluded.
Hiccup gave him an odd look which asked him to clarify, so Stoick continued.
"There's been some type of blasted dispute between Bjorn and Ivar over a trade involving sheep for fish," Stoick scowled at the thought of an upcoming headache that'll probably be the result of his efforts to diffuse the situation. "But I'll rush back to the house as quickly as possible so that we might share that cup of mead," Stoick finished with a smile.
Hiccup nodded to his father and promised he would stay up and wait for him, so they could share a drink. A pit was starting to form in Hiccup's stomach, the only words that leaked from his mouth were lies.
He took not a second to gather his thoughts before making his way out of the great hall. He had made up his mind and his plan was already in motion, he would stick to it.
Now it was just a matter of execution.
Hiccup made his way home at a hurried pace, luckily he had run into nobody on the way over.
Once inside he sprinted up the stairs to his room.
He first grabbed a large brown leather sack, which was to be used should he be required to travel anywhere, not that he ever did. He quickly filled the sack with his thickest clothing so that the upcoming winter might not be unbearable.
Just as he was about to make his way out of the room and back down the stairs, to grab the rest of the supplies he needed, he noticed something; his sketchbooks on the reading table.
'If my invention worked on Toothless, then I'm certain a few of my other ideas would work quite efficiently as well.' Hiccup theorized and then sighed. 'I should probably take my more deadly sketches with me just in case they put my ideas to use when I'm gone'
Hiccup scooped up two books that he knew contained some of the more dangerous sketches, then threw them in the bag. He also threw a blank notepad and a few charcoal pencils in there as well, figuring his future self would thank him for doing so.
He then charged down the stairs and raided the preserved meats that his father kept in a barrel. He wrapped the meats in one of the shirts from the leather sack so that they wouldn't be all over the place.
Hiccup entered his father's room next, locating the stash of silver and gold coins that were kept in small satchels under the mattress. He took two satchels, one filled with gold coins and the other silver.
He felt a pang in his chest as he realized he was stealing from his father, but he had to focus on the task at hand and ignored it.
Hiccup opened the top drawer of a nightstand, which was to the right of the bed, and retrieved an old map of the archipelago.
It looked outdated and not entirely accurate.
'Better than no map I suppose.' Hiccup reasoned as he carefully placed the rolled map into a now almost half-filled leather sack.
Hiccup also searched the nightstand for a compass but, unfortunately, was unsuccessful in locating one. Not having the time to conduct a more thorough search, he begrudgingly exited the room.
The last items Hiccup wanted to grab from the house were his old short sword and bow, two items he had long since used. His father stated that those weapons would do little against a dragon. Though when he was travelling, Hiccup was more than sure he'd run into hostile creatures who weren't dragons.
He shuddered at the thought of waking up nose to nose with a snarling grizzly.
He made his way over to the shadowy cabinet which contained his sword and bow, as well as some of his father's older, worn-out weapons. He retrieved his sword, which was thankfully still in its sheath attached to a belt. He quickly strapped the belt to the waist, finding the weight of the sword on his left hip to feel odd.
'Something to get used to I guess.' Hiccup thought to himself.
He reached for his bow next, but upon picking it up and having a closer look, he noticed that he had outgrown it and that it would be uncomfortable to use. He felt a slight bit of irritation before resolving to have one made for him once he reached a shop outside the archipelago.
He placed his old bow back in the cabinet and rushed to the front door of the house. He gave his childhood home one nostalgic look-over before exiting.
Though he couldn't help but find some bitterness tainting his nostalgia.
'It's not like the majority of my memories here were good ones.' Hiccup remarked to himself, memories of an argument or two with his father flashing through his mind.
With that thought, Hiccup exited the house and thought of the most stealthy way back to the forge. He also noticed the sun had moved considerably closer to the horizon since he had entered the house.
Hiccup scolded himself 'Damn, spent more time than I should have in there.'
Not wanting to waste more time, Hiccup shouldered his leather pack and started making his way towards the forge.
Hiccup took a route that was slightly longer but allowed him to slip behind more houses, which allowed him to stay off the roads and out of sight. The path however consumed about fifteen minutes of his precious time.
Once he reached the forge, Hiccup first checked to make sure that Gobber wasn't there by knocking on the rickety door, ready to run should he hear a noise coming from inside.
Luckily no sounds came.
He opened the door and darted inside, grateful to be out of the exposed view the road offered, which was adjacent to the front of the shop.
Hiccup went and grabbed some basic tools such as a hammer, a few screwdrivers, some screws and nails, a few thin irons rods, a few sheets of freshly treated leather, some raw iron ingots, as well as a few other items Hiccup thought would be useful.
He retrieved the rolled map he had taken from his old house and placed it on the bench, he would put it in last so it wouldn't get crushed. Once the map was out, Hiccup started stuffing his acquired goods into the leather sack.
Once he had managed to squeeze all that he took from the forge into the sack and put the map back, the sack was at its capacity.
Hiccup sighed looking at the sack and thought 'I hope I took stuff that will actually allow me to survive on my own.'
He cheered up quickly though, reminding himself that he wouldn't be alone on the journey.
Just as he was turning to leave the forge he heard someone coughing their lungs up just outside the door.
Hiccup recognized that cough, it belonged to Gobber.
Hiccup started to panic and realized that he had to hide his leather sack quickly or else Gobber would know something was up. Lacking many hiding places, Hiccup peeked through the curtain at the back of the shop, which he knew contained a bed. The bed he would sometimes sleep on if tensions were running high with his father, he quickly shoved the sack under the bed. He came back into the main room of the forge just before Gobber walked in.
Gobber jumped when he saw Hiccup in his forge, clearly surprised someone was here.
"Didn't know you were 'ere Hiccup," said Gobber, his facial features still showed his surprise at walking in on someone in the forge. "Anything you need 'elp with Hiccup, you certainly shouldn't be working tonight. You only get to be named top of your dragon training class once you know."
Hiccup was having trouble thinking about how he would be able to get the Viking off his trail for not being at the party and get him out of the forge so he could take his sack and leave.
"Oh you know, just looking around at the place for memories. Probably won't get to spend much time hereafter tomorrow," Hiccup answered meekly.
"Yeah I think you're right about that," Gobber responded in an almost sombre tone. "Though you'll still have plenty of time to visit when yer not supposed to be celebrating your victory"
Hiccup smiled and decided to change the subject
"That's true, have you been to the party at all?"
Gobber frowned and shook his head.
"Harald wanted his bloody wagon wheel fixed!" Gobber answered irritated, before continuing his rant.
"Like waiting one night to have it fixed would have killed the old bastard, bah!" he practically spits that last part.
Hiccup smiled at his mentor's antics and was going to give a witty response, but realized he was on a schedule and decided to speed things along.
"The party is still in full swing right now Gobber, I'm sure you'll get your share of mead if you hurry there now," Hiccup said nonchalantly
Gobber perked his head up and smiled, he hobbled over to the door of the forged and motioned for Hiccup to follow. Hiccup shook his head and looked around the forge lovingly.
"I'll catch up with you, I want to spend a few more minutes in here"
Gobber shook his head and chuckled before finally walking out of the forge, heading towards the great hall.
Hiccup's face fell once Gobber was out of sight, he didn't like that his last conversation with the one person who had shown him consistent affection throughout the years, had been a bunch of lies.
He shook the feeling off and grabbed his pack from the back of the forge. Before leaving however he spared the time it would take to write two vague letters, one was for Gobber and the other for Stoick.
He left Gobber's letter in the hammer bin, where the blacksmith would likely find it sometime tomorrow.
He then left the forge and found that the sun was just barely clinging to the horizon, tottering between day and night.
'Should supply good cover.' Hiccup rationalized.
Hiccup made his way down to the docks undetected, likely most Vikings were in the great hall at the moment.
He found a basket of Atlantic cod and strapped it to his back. The weight of it, combined with his stuffed leather sack, slowed Hiccup considerably. He grunted as he took his first few steps with the new weight, his body yet to acclimate. But eventually, he got into a rhythm and made steady progress to the woods.
It had taken him an excruciating thirty minutes to reach the edge of the woods, though relief was evident upon his face. He was free from the worry of getting caught momentarily.
Hiccup concealed his bag and the basket filled with fish in a bush, he now held a single piece of folded paper in his hand.
Sighing, Hiccup quickly and quietly made his way towards his father's house. There were few houses between here and Stoick's house so he didn't have to be constantly aware of his surroundings as he had been in town.
He reached the house quickly and was currently at the backside of the house. Hiccup slowly crept his way towards the front of the house, he would leave the letter on the front step.
Once he reached the front step, moving slowly and listening for his father at all times, he noticed a crack in the wall which allowed him to peer inside. What he saw hurt him a little.
His father, apparently not yet aware of the missing items in the house, was sitting at the dining table with a bottle of mead and two cups. Obviously waiting for Hiccup to arrive so that he could share a drink with him.
Hiccup cringed, despite the past tensions with his father, he still longed to be accepted by him. He desperately wished to go in and share a drink with his dad, perhaps sneak out after they had finished.
He knew he couldn't though, it would be much too risky.
With a heavy heart, Hiccup placed his letter on the front porch of the house and stalked back off into the darkness, which had just recently enveloped the island.
Hiccup realized, however, that he was relieved to be done with this village. He disliked the majority of its inhabitants and they mirrored his feelings back at him. His new life was certain to hold more for him, surely more than this island held.
Hoped you enjoyed it! The next chapter will come out sometime in the next week.
also if anyone reads this, let me know if I should make chapters longer or shorter than this one, thanks.