Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train your Dragon

Prologue

All my trouble began one uneventful morning, well, not so uneventful. This happened to be the first proper day of autumn, the ice had officially melted and ships could once again come and go. The temperature was still far from 'warm' but that's what you get living on an island located on the meridian of misery. I was inside the Haddock family household otherwise know as my house.

We had been raided the night before, which is taxing enough on the village as it is, and... my minor accident didn't help the matter all that much.

"MINOR?!" bellowed Stoick the vast as he burst through the door. Hence the trouble.

"N-no one was hurt," I stuttered, "A-and I almost hit a Night fu-"

"No Hiccup, this was a step too far."

"B-but," I spluttered as he dragged me outside to Gobber, who was apparently waiting for me.

"What do you want me to do with him?" Gobber questioned, a slight hint of concern in his voice.

"Get him off this island-," Gobber looked worried.

After a minute of though Stoick finished, "send him fishing."

"But no one will take hi-"

"Make it happen," Stoick said fiercely. Any other Viking would have cracked under the glare that he shot Gobber. After a tense moment he backed down.

Gobber had a soft spot for me, probably because I was his apprentice. We spent most days in the forge together but, today wasn't most days. He gave me a little slap on the back off the head and we started walking.

I glanced up and caught sight of the aftermath of last night. There were towering swirling smoke columns reaching up into the sky. The biggest of them resulting from my accident. I winced and drooped my head.

The walk to the dock was really a walk of shame. From every door and window I was getting spiteful glares. Everyone I passed turned away.

"Nice one, you really showed us fishbone," taunted Snotlout as he strutted out in front of us. He was quickly rewarded with stifled laughter from the twins. I sighed and ignored their taunts, I was used to them by this point. Gobber pushed him aside and we continued on.

"Come on lad, no need to look so down, Stoick will get over it," Gobber comforted.

"This time was different, he was so cold to me."

"He has a village to look after."

"I suppose," I said glumly.

"Cheer up lad, I'll make sure everything goes back to normal," Gobber patted me on the back, "You just have to give Stoick some space right now."

I made a non-committal noise and shrugged slightly. We rounded the corner on to the dock. Deserted was an understatement; There was not a single Viking in sight. It was like a ghost town full of boats.

"Well she's not much but she's the only one man sail boat we have," Gobber started as we arrived at the very end of the dock and stared down at the undersized ship.

As I was climbing in Gobber grabbed my arm. I looked back at him questioningly.

"Be safe Hiccup," He said sounding slightly worried. I nodded earnestly and he patted me on the back on last time before letting me sail away into the ocean.

A moment later and I was alone. Alone in a small, slightly rotten fishing boat that creaked with each lap of the deep blue waves. I could hear the distant sounds of waves crashing against the shores and sea stacks of Berk, the sounds had a calming effect on me.

To be perfectly honest I would have much rather been in the warm, fire lit forge than out on the deep, cold ocean. It was then I slipped into a stupor thinking about how much I missed the forge. Before last night it had been a long time since I had been in there. I was almost more at home there then at my house, especially if my Dad was around.

A particularly big wave knocked me out of my daze and I wrenched my eyes away from my village.

"Ugh. This is so stupid! I've never caught a fish in my life and that's not going to change today," I moaned to myself, complaining, as I pulled up the empty fishing net for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

I hated fishing with a passion but, "I have to pull my weight," I repeated in a sarcastic tone mocking my Dad. However I knew the real reason I was out here; they didn't want me around the village as they thought I'd create even more trouble for them to deal with.

"It's not my fault the bola launcher missed and hit one of the massive defence torches," I mumbled, hitting my fist against the side of the boat with a small thud. In reality it was my fault. It also didn't help that the torch head had rolled through the village and caused about a dragons worth of damage.

"Minor calibration error," I grumbled.

I rummaged around through my overly large, old bag I had brought with me. It was given to me by my Dad, long before this fiasco; It was a kind of gift which was unusual to say the least. I never normally get any gifts from anyone. I'm not exactly popular.

With a piece of bread clutched in my hand, I extracted myself from the bag. "Why couldn't I have been a bread making Viking?" I questioned, "Would have been better for everyone."

I thought about what I had achieved with this 'fishing trip' as I tucked into my meal. I was supposed to be filling the bag with fish but, at that moment, I'd taken more from it than I had put back.

"Why do the gods hate me?" I sighed and hung my head. I finished my lunch of bread while in deep thought.

"Well I better get back to fishing," I lamented. Shortly after I stared off into the distance and slipped back into my stupor.

A few hours past in a haze of boredom. It had gotten a fair amount darker and later in the day but I didn't feel like going back, not yet at least.

Suddenly out of nowhere, the net started sliding off the edge of the boat and jerked forward. I jolted up and made a leap for the net. I grabbed it just as it slid over the side.

"Oh no you don't, not this time." I quickly started pulling in the net, excited as this could be the first ever fish I'd ever caught.

I almost stumbled trying to heave the soaked net up from the murky depths of the ocean. I sighed with relief as I finally hauled the last of the net up. I quickly recovered and started searching for the fish frantically making the boat rock slightly.

"Oh," I stated lackadaisically as I held up an old, smelly, slightly chewed boot. I gave it a disapproving look as if it had been the cause of all my troubles. I was about to throw it back into the sea when I noticed a small symbol on the bottom of it.

"Huh," I said tilting my head slightly at the foreign symbol, "I've never seen one like this before."

I pushed the thought aside and tossed it away, it was only a boot. I threw the net back over the side in a vain attempt to catch something before the day was up.

I was just thinking about how disappointing this trip had been when a shiver ran down the length of my spine. I realised that dark clouds now covered the sun and it had began to rain. Being caught up in excitement then immense disappointment, I hadn't noticed that the waves had become choppy.

Reality dawned on me when a large wave collided with the boat's side. The collision nearly knocked me off my feet, I managed to stay upright by clinging to the mast. I knew, as much as I didn't want to, I would have to get back to Berk as fast as I could; Immediately I pulled in the net and hoisted the sail.

The stronger than normal winds caught the sail violently and jolted my boat forward with a whoosh of breaking water. If it had kept up I would have made it back in no time. I did my best to keep the boat heading toward Berk without slipping over in the downpour of rain pelting me. I was better at sailing than the others of my age but, nothing had prepared me for this.

I assumed I was not moving fast enough when I heard a clap of thunder behind me. I panicked and rushed to make adjustments to the sail, but I knew that this boat wasn't going to handle this kind of weather. It only just held together on calm water.

"How can this day get any worse?!" I yelled over the storm, brushing my hair from my eyes. I heard the distant rumble of thunder as the rain started coming down in bucket loads. I was drenched to the bone.

I was correcting my course when an enormous wave slammed into the side of the boat making it tip dangerously and let out some disconcerting noised. As the boat crashed back down onto the waves the old worn rudder broke off with a soul destroying crack. I should not have asked.

So I was cold, wet and stuck on a boat with no control.

I groaned in frustration, "Can I do nothing right?!" I shouted. The temporary lack in concentration cost me greatly.

The solid wooden beam with the sail attached came flying round the mast, aided by the wind. It hit me straight in the back of the head. The force of the blow knocked me to the floor as the boat continued to pickup speed. I had completely lost control and it worried me more than anything. I was now travelling in an uncontrollable direction.

"Owww," I moaned from the deck of the ship. I feebly tried to sit up but everything slowly went dark...

I think I am finally happy with this chapter. It would be great to know your opinion on it. I really appreciate all the reviews. This is the first of a few re-writes as they are easier than writing a whole new chapter. I might be able to get some done before my exams really kick in. Anyway, until the next time.