Chapter 6: "Valka's Warning"
"Well, village girl, this is as far as we go." Hiccup said, as he, Astrid and Megan walked up to the tree where they had hung out the day before. Just beyond it, more of the forest had been chopped down. "...The woods are getting smaller by the day."
"Yeah..." Megan said, sadly.
"We try our best to scare them off!" Astrid said. She let out a brief roar, and then sighed, "...But they just don't get it."
The three of them sat on the curved root. Despite a few creaks, the root held firm.
"Look at that, huh?" Hiccup said.
The view of the village was far better at night. Megan could see the scents of the villagers practically wafting off of the houses and buildings.
"Lots of smelly people in there, huh?" Astrid said, jokingly.
"Watch it. I'm in there, you know?" Megan smirked.
"Fast asleep, and snoring the night away, I bet!" Hiccup teased. He and Megan snickered as Astrid let out some fake snoring.
Megan sighed. "I...should probably head back." She said. "...I'm scared, guys."
"Yeah...Berk is no place for a dragon." Astrid said.
"I know. If my uncle doesn't shoot me, then he'll cage me." Megan said. "Hiccup? Y-Your mother...D-Do you think they could've—"
"No." Hiccup said, very sharply. Megan and Astrid flinched. He gave them an apologetic look. "Nobody can catch my mom." He didn't want to admit it, but a part of him knew that what Megan was suggesting could be a very real possibility.
"S-Sorry...How long has she been gone?"
"Uhh...since...I don't know." Hiccup said. "...Sh-She's all right. She'll be back soon. I know she will. Mom...Mom promised me."
"..." Then Megan perked up. "Don't worry! Wherever she is, we'll find her! I can help you, and my friends can help too!"
"She's right, Hiccup." Astrid said. "There's three of us now!"
"We'll try to sneak out and meet you two back here tomorrow."
"And we'll be waiting for you...again!" Hiccup said.
"Hopefully with those village treats you said you'd bring." Astrid said, with a wink.
Megan chuckled, "Of course! Hiccup, we will find Valka. Then you three and the flock can leave. And you all can be safe."
"...Do you promise?" Hiccup asked.
"I promise." Megan said, as she and Hiccup pressed their foreheads together.
With a promise made, Megan parted from the two Scalewalkers and headed back into Berk.
Slipping out of the village was easy. Slipping into the village was another matter entirely. After all, Megan was a Light Fury, with her white scales shining as bright as the moonlight. It made her wish that she had become a Night Fury instead, like Hiccup. Well, it is what it is.
At the village entrance, Megan's dragon ears could hear the guards snoring up a storm. She took her chance to crawl through the open spaces in the gate.
Using the tricks her new friends had taught her during their romp through the forest, Megan managed to avoid the soldiers patrolling the streets and made it safely back home.
She poked her head into the window of her loft bedroom. Astrid was right. Her human body was still asleep. Megan could see that her friends were still fast asleep, curled up close to her.
Megan was about to enter the room when she suddenly smelled something. 'What's that smell?' She thought. It smelled similar to Hiccup. She turned her head in the direction of the Great Hall. Her dragon vision could see a scent trail leading there. 'Could it be?'
"..." Megan looked back at her friends and her body. Should she wait until the next day to tell them, plus Hiccup and Astrid about this?
Something told Megan she might never get this chance again. 'Sorry, guys.' She thought, as she went off to investigate this new scent.
Running through the empty village streets was a better option than flying overhead. She would draw less attention that way.
Megan's claws lightly clicked on the cobblestones as she ran past Gobber and Fuufuun in the stocks.
As Megan ran down the streets to the Great Hall, a figure suddenly appeared from out of a nearby alleyway.
It was her uncle!
Nicholas took aim at Megan with his crossbow and fired at her!
Megan jumped right over his arrow, adding a little flair with a midair roll. She landed on the ground as the arrow hit a crate behind her, embedding itself in the wood.
Nicholas scowled at this. He quickly reloaded his crossbow, preparing another shot.
Megan ran over to a side alley and climbed on top of a barrel.
Her uncle fired on her again.
The arrow hit the barrel, making Megan jump in surprise. She leaped up to the rooftops.
Nicholas was surprised by this, but regardless of how clever this dragon thought it was, he would kill it. He reloaded his crossbow and continued his pursuit, with the other soldiers joining him.
Megan leapt from rooftop to rooftop. She could hear the soldiers firing their guns and the villagers yelling.
"Dragon! Dragon in the village!"
"A dragon! Keep yer young'uns inside!"
"Watch out, lads! There be a beast in the streets!"
"What the devil?!"
"Get that dragon!"
Nicholas took aim as Megan ran across another rooftop. Once he had the shot lined up, he fired an arrow at her.
Thanks to Megan's keen dragon ears, she could hear the arrow coming her way. She tried to make a sudden stop, her paws skidding on the roof's material. The arrow flew by her face as Megan fell off the roof.
Upon landing in the village square a bit rougher than she had intended, Megan quickly got to her paws and shook herself off.
She prepared to break into another run...
Only to find herself standing right in front of none other than Grimmel himself.
'Oh no! Lord Grisely!' Megan thought. 'Didn't he say he'd be gone for two days? Has it been that long already? Or did he come back early?'
"A dragon!" Grimmel exclaimed.
"Meh meh meh! How you like that?!" Fuufuun called out.
"Y'see that, Grisely?! Ye can't stop 'em!" Gobber yelled. "No one can!"
That comment only seemed to agitate the villagers even further.
Megan's paws shifted. Between Grimmel, his men, her uncle and the angry villagers, she frantically looked for a way out of this situation. She looked up to the sky and something clicked in her head. 'That's it! The trick Luna showed me!' She thought. She would have to be as quick as a wink.
Some soldiers tried to strike her with their axes, but Megan jumped back.
The second their axes made contact with the ground, Megan leaped onto the handle of one and took to the skies. Before anyone could get the chance to shoot her down, Megan managed to fire off a plasma blast and flew into it, disappearing from sight.
"Thor almighty!"
"What the hell?!"
"The devil's vanished!"
"McMartin, what is the meaning of this?" Grimmel questioned, glaring at Nicholas.
"I'll handle this, milord!" Nicholas said.
"Enough!" The white-haired man said, raising a hand to silence the crowd. "I will deal with this dragon myself. Return to your homes!" He signaled to the soldiers, Nicholas included, to go after the dragon.
Megan's invisibility managed to buy her some time. She had slipped into the scullery of the Great Hall as her cloaking wore off.
"Find that dragon!" She heard someone yell out.
Megan took a sniff of the air. She could see that the scent trail was leading her out of the scullery. She followed it, going up a familiar flight of stairs.
The scent had led her to the hallway she and Brittany had been cleaning earlier.
"That scent is...I knew it!" Megan said to herself.
She could hear someone coming her way. So, she followed the scent into a room.
Megan nudged at the door and slipped inside. She hid against the backside of the doors as she heard people going past.
Megan breathed quietly as she looked around. The scent trail had led her straight to the room that the head maid had warned them about. 'Lord Grisely's room.' She thought.
"Girl." That voice!
Megan's attention turned to the cage at the back of the room. It was just like before. Whatever was in that cage, it was calling to her.
"Girl. Come here, quick!" The voice said. It sounded feminine.
"..." Megan cautiously stepped up to the cage. Once she got close enough to it, she called out softly, "H-He...H-Hello?"
The owner of the voice in the cage revealed their face. It was another Stormcutter dragon! But this one was different than the one back in Hiccup and Astrid's den. It had a different coloration, and its eyes were a shade of green similar to Hiccup's eyes. "Only a Scalewalker can create another." She said.
Megan gasped. How did she know? "I-I—"
"Don't lie to me, child. I know a normal dragon could not have done this to you." The Stormcutter said. She didn't sound angry, though. "When did this happen to you? And where? Is the dragon that bit you still near?"
"Please don't be angry! It was an accident! Hiccup didn't mean to bite me!" Megan blurted out.
The Stormcutter looked surprised upon hearing this news. "...Hiccup? Hiccup did this to you? I would've thought that..." She trailed off. "Are they all right? Did they get away? Are they alive? Where is Astrid? Where is Hiccup?" She sounded frantic.
Judging by what the Stormcutter had said, Megan put the pieces together. "You're...You're Valka. You're Hiccup's mother!" Megan said. She started to get excited. "Oh wait til I tell him! Hiccup'll be so happy! He and Astrid are waiting for you out in the forest!"
Instead of looking relieved that her son and Astrid were safe and waiting for her, Valka looked worried. Extremely so. "...They're still here?"
Megan could hear a commotion outside. The soldiers were still hunting her. Megan had to get Valka out. "I've got to rescue you!" She said. She started to fiddle with the pin in the lock with her snout, but it was difficult.
"Ohh, you'll be killed like this. Listen to me, girl. Get back to your human body straightaway." Valka said. "Go to Hiccup and Astrid and leave with them. Get as far away from here as you can. It's not safe for our kind in this village."
"I can do it." Megan said. "Just a little bit more. If I could just get this pin..."
"Whether it was an accident or not, Hiccup should've never bitten you. He and Astrid must lead our flock to safety."
"Hiccup's not gonna leave without you!"
Valka looked Megan straight in the eyes, dead serious. "Hiccup must not wait for me. He must not come for me. He and Astrid must run. And you must run too, girl."
At that moment, the door to the room opened.
Megan quickly hid in the shadows by the cage.
Grimmel had entered the room, brandishing a pistol. Did he know Megan was in here? Maybe, and maybe not. He lowered his pistol as he walked over to the window. He opened it and the angry, frustrated shouts of the villagers could be heard clearly.
"Dragon in the village!"
"Protect us!"
"Do something!"
"...Lord, what must I do? I left to quell rebellion, only to return to more here within Berk." Grimmel said to himself, hands clasped in prayer. "These wild islands must be civilized, for that is your will."
Megan watched as Grimmel took one of the burning torches on the wall and walk towards the cage. She quietly made her way around the back.
Grimmel stood before Valka, who only looked at him calmly. "So, dragon...tomorrow, I will show the villagers that I have tamed you, just as I will tame this island." He said. "These Vikings will have nothing to fear if they trust in His will and in me."
That's when Grimmel spotted a patch of white moving behind the cage. That dragon from the streets! "What the-?!"
"Go! Tell Hiccup to lead the flock to safety!" Valka yelled. "Go, girl! Now!"
Megan pushed the window open and looked out. Right below her was a river.
Megan jumped out of the window just as Grimmel pulled out his pistol and fired at her. She dove into the river and swam away.
Grimmel looked out the window. No trace of the white dragon. He growled. Twice this dragon had managed to escape him.
"Round up the guards in the square!" He snarled out.
After her swim, Megan had finally returned home.
She slipped into her loft room and shook herself dry.
A few droplets of water hit Brittany and Tilolo, waking them up.
"Wh-Who's there?" Brittany said, brushing the water off and putting on her glasses. She gasped at the sight of a dragon standing over her best friend's body.
"Meh meh meh meh!" Tilolo shook himself off. His fur fluffed up a bit. He turned to see what Brittany was staring at. "...M-Meg-Meg?" He said.
"Wait, what?"
"It okay, Bri-Bri! Dragon is Meg-Meg!"
"M-Megan? Is that really you?" Brittany asked.
Megan smiled and nodded.
"How? Why? Did those guys do that to you?"
"Oh right! Hiccup bite Meg-Meg yesterday!" Tilolo said. "So then...Meg-Meg is Scalewalker now?"
The sound of the door opening grabbed their attention.
Brittany pulled the curtain back a bit to see. "Oh no! Your uncle!" She whispered. "Meg you gotta change back!"
"I know, I know." Megan said, though to her friends, it came out as a soft growl. "Ohh, Hiccup didn't tell me how to do this..." Then her paw touched her human hand and started to glow. Megan took her paw away and the glow stopped. 'So that's it!' She thought as she touched her hand again. 'Come on, come on.'
In the nick of time, Megan's dragon body had transformed into light and went into her human body.
Megan awoke with a sharp gasp and bolted into an upright position.
"Phew..." Brittany quietly sighed.
"Kids, are you awake?" Nicholas asked as he pulled back their curtain.
"U-Uncle-" Megan started to speak.
"Megan..." Nicholas pulled his niece into an embrace. "There was a dragon, right here in our house."
"Y-You were asleep when that happened," Brittany said, "and I was too."
"Yes. Somehow, it snuck in while you kids were asleep." Nicholas said. "It could've killed you three."
"U-Uncle...I-I..." Megan said.
"Ohh, lass, this world is such a dangerous place for you children." Nicholas gently cupped Megan's face. "I'm so sorry, Megan. I promised my brother that I would keep you safe."
"B-But, Uncle—"
There was a loud knock at the door.
"McMartin! Lord Grisely wants a word with you." They heard a soldier calling out.
Nicholas and his kids stepped out of their house and into the square, where Grimmel was waiting, along with the angry villagers.
"Dragons runnin' about Berk!"
"They can even vanish even into thin air!"
"What're ye doin' 'bout it, Grisely?!"
"He ain't doin nothin' at all!"
"Only sittin' around on that horse a'yers!"
"McMartin, a dragon here, threatening the village and everyone in it." Grimmel said. "It even got inside the Great Hall. In my chambers, no less. This is utterly intolerable."
"M-Milord, sir, I—" Nicholas tried to speak, to defend himself, but it seemed it would do him no good.
"Enough! You have failed me, McMartin. From this point forward, you are no longer a dragon hunter. You shall serve within my ranks as a foot soldier." Grimmel then turned to address the villagers. "People, order if you please! Tomorrow, I will show you that I will tame this island. We will find the den of these devils. We will destroy every last dragon!"
The villagers' anger seemed to subside, even if they thought it was just another empty promise.
Megan broke away from her uncle and ran up to Grimmel. "No! Stop! Please you must listen to me!" She yelled. "There is another way! Release her-The Scalewalker!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers became uneasy again. Some gasps and murmurs coud be heard.
Grimmel turned to two of his guards. "Take this girl to the stocks."
The guards were actually a little shocked by this, but nevertheless they obeyed and grabbed Megan by her arms.
"No! Lord Grisely, please! She's only just a child!" Nicholas protested. "I-I know these woods, milord! I-I can still help you on your mission!"
"Wait." Grimmel signaled to the guards holding Megan. He seemed to be thinking about something. Finally, he said, "I will give you both one more chance, McMartin. If you fail me again, you will be off to war."
"Yes, milord."
"And as for you, girl," Grimmel said, turning to Megan, "do not speak of such pagan nonsense in this village again. Follow the rules...or else you and your...'friends' will never see your uncle again. Is that understood?"
"Y-Yes, sir." Megan said, fearful. The guards released her. The brunette held her arms as tears formed in her eyes. Brittany ran up to her and held her friend tightly.
"Everyone, return to your homes. Tomorrow, I shall make good on my word." Grimmel said to the crowd. He then addressed the soldiers. "Double the guard and bar the gates. I do not want to see anymore dragons inside these walls."
The crowd dispersed at this point.
Nicholas kneeled down to Megan's eye level and pulled her into a hug. "Please, Megan, listen to me." He said. "We all must follow our orders if the four of us are to stay together. You must do as you're told, lass."
The four of them returned home and went back to bed.
With everything that happened tonight, Megan had a lot on her plate and had trouble getting back to sleep. Eventually, she felt herself drifting off.
But there was a problem.
"Meh?" Tilolo's eyes cracked open a bit. He quietly gasped as he saw a glow.
Megan was about to turn into a dragon again!
"Meg-Meg! Meg-Meg!" The young Nopon whispered, poking Megan's shoulder with his paw.
Megan awoke with a small gasp, interrupting the transformation. She scrambled away from her bed. 'Th-This...This power...This isn't...This is...This is a curse.' She thought. 'Hiccup, what have you done to me?'
Without a word, Tilolo snuggled by Megan's side.
Brittany had also been a bit restless, so she too sat by her friend's side.
They soon fell back asleep.
Megan, however, did not.
Meanwhile, back in the forest, the dragons were all in the den, completely tuckered out from a big night of activity.
Astrid was curled up with her Nadder, Stormfly.
Hiccup, on the other hand, was telling his mother about Megan. "We made a new friend, Mom. She's a village girl, but she's different from them. She's a pretty nice girl. Her name is Megan."
Even though she couldn't answer him, Hiccup continued. "I think you would really like her. I saved Megan from a dragon trap a few days ago, but...But I bit her. It...It was just an accident. And then, wouldn't you know it, she got herself caught in another trap." He chuckled.
"She even helped us swipe some treats from some villagers. Megan let me braid her hair a little, and she gave Astrid a flower. She said she's from a place called 'Woodbridge'. We're...We're gonna meet up at the big tree tomorrow. Megan promised to help us and...a-and..." Hiccup could feel tears prickling in his eyes, threatening to fall.
"Mom, where are you?" He said, gently holding his mother's face and pressing his forehead against hers. "You promised you'd be back soon, but...but it's been so long since you left. Did...Did you get lost? Has something bad happened to you? Wh-What if Megan's right and you've gotten captured?"
As if sensing his friend's distress, Toothless walked over to Hiccup and gently licked his face.
Hiccup calmed down at this. "Megan will help us find you, Mom. She promised she would. There's three of us now."
NO! That (Insert bad word number 11) jerk is back! Sorry, sorry, just the very mention of our villain here is enough to send me into rant mode. Oh wait, I already said that...
So anyways, next chapter, there might be a little bit of "drama".
To everyone who's read so far, I'd like to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day! I'm glad I could send a little bit of love your way.
