Only two months between updates this time! Okay, it's pretty sad that is an accomplishment. Sorry, guys! Thanks to all those who wished me happy birthday after the last chapter was posted. It was a great day.

Review Replies:

xFaerieValkyriex: Yes, let's hope! Thanks.

someone (anonymous): I agree. This chapter will progress the story even more. Thanks.

Forever Me: Glad to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter! Thanks.

Dragonbow117: Thank you. Also, yeah, I wouldn't be so sure. I like to throw in major plot twists that alter the entire story you think you know! Here's the next chapter.

Olivia Greenwood (anonymous): Thank you! The latest arc begins around about a year after Hiccup left (so the teens are roughly 16-17). Here's the next chapter.

RiseOfADragon: So far the future of this story looks optimistic. I have it planned out through the end (and it's longer in length than "Brave"!) Thanks! I don't remember, but I think I wrote a little bit on my birthday, but not as much as I usually do.

Freyja Reinhardt: Thanks! It was a pretty good day. Here's the next chapter.

Noctus Fury (anonymous): Thanks! Yes, finally! Now, what will she do? Oh…wait, that's false hope to say that because that will be answered in the next chapter. Right now, we need to find out what happened to Hiccup.

VictoryD: Thanks. I ended it there because it's nighttime and, even though Astrid's excited, I don't feel that she would rush right out and disturb the others (…mainly it's because I didn't want to get into that next part of her story yet…).


Chapter 31: Found

Hiccup felt warm. It was the first time in almost a year that he'd felt warm. All he'd known recently was the biting cold air that had surrounded him. How had he managed to survive the harsh temperatures? Had he actually survived? He hadn't opened his eyes yet. Perhaps he was in Valhalla. At least if he was, he could see his mother again. What would she think of him? Would she be proud of all his accomplishments?

Opening his eyes slowly, Hiccup forced them closed once again. Before he did, though, he caught a short glimpse of his surroundings. He definitely was not in Valhalla. In fact, from the brief view he'd seen, it appeared that he was in someone's home, one not all that different from the simple homes back on Berk. What was the chance that someone had returned him to his home island? Probably slim, but Hiccup could hope.

Hiccup tried again to open his eyes and this time the daylight did not sting. He sat up, bracing his upper body weight upon his elbows and looked around the room. It was decorated yet homely. From one wall, Hiccup saw a fire crackling, providing part of the heat that he felt. As for himself, Hiccup saw that he was laying on a bed and he had a fur blanket draped over his small form. He reached to remove the blanket, but was stopped by a woman's voice.

"Wait! You should not move too much yet!"

Halting immediately, Hiccup turned to where he had heard the voice and saw a slim woman enter from the shadows. She did not look threatening, but she did wear a mask to conceal her face. The boy's breath caught in his throat. Who was this woman?

"W-What happened?" Hiccup asked her, his voice cracking slightly from dryness.

The woman passed Hiccup a nearby cup of water and he drank it as he listened to what she had to say to him. "Some of my villagers found you and a dragon upon one of our islands. We brought you back here and it looks as if we did just in time too, because you were quite cold and your condition needed immediate attention. Our village healer stabilized your condition and you should make a full recovery with some rest."

What is this place? Hiccup was curious as to what island he had come upon, but he did not want to seem rude for asking, so he decided to ask some other questions and spark a conversation with the strange masked woman. "That island was…but there was nothing there. What do your people use it for?"

The masked woman laughed, a strange sound shielded by the mask. "That's the idea. Maybe not at this time of the year, but when it's warmer, that island is a popular relaxation spot. Helps that it isn't located too far from this island where we live. Now, though, I must ask you. When you were found, you had a dragon. A Night Fury. How did you come across such a rare species?"

Hiccup was a little hesitant to reveal much about his early encounters with Toothless. Choosing his words carefully, he answered, "Well, the island where I live…there used to be dragon raids all the time. One night, he…the dragon showed up to the raid and…well, I shot him down and studied him and we just kinda grew to trust each other." Without knowing anything about this woman or her village, Hiccup did not want to reveal that he had trained the Night Fury because, surely, his name had spread across the archipelago for "achieving the impossible". Hiccup did not want a potential enemy to know that he was the heir to the chiefdom of Berk. "Where is the dragon?" he asked, deliberately omitting Toothless's name. "He would never just let you bring me here. What have you done with him?"

The woman chuckled again, the sound obscured by her mask. "Don't you worry! Your dragon is perfectly fine. He actually did not resist all that much when we rescued you two and brought you both here. Now, if I recall, your dragon is probably outside this home." Seeing Hiccup move to leave the bed again, she stopped him another time. "Not yet. Your condition still requires rest. I'll send the dragon in later."

Hiccup huffed in frustration, but he also understood the woman's reasons for forcing him to stay on the bed. "So…when I'm well again, is it okay if I pay a visit to your blacksmith's forge here? I was trained back home as to how to run a forge and I really need to create some new pieces to restore my dragon's flight. The old ones were damaged beyond repair."

"That is a decision to be made when your condition improves," the woman answered, giving Hiccup no clue as to whether she would allow it or not.

Hiccup was about to resign himself to falling silent once again. However, he remembered his mission, the whole reason why he was not safely back home on Berk. What if this was the island of which he sought? The woman's mask did seem to indicate that the island's residents were not quite open to the idea of newcomers entering their homeland. Still, she did not seem phased by Toothless's presence and his job was to train the dragons on the island. Maybe I'll just ask anyway. If this isn't the right island, then maybe she knows where I'll need to go and can point me in the right direction.

"I have one last question. When I left my home, I was on a mission. My father sent me to find an island. This island, he said, needed help with their dragons. Now, I don't know how well I'd fare, but I told my dad that I would bravely try to train these dragons…even if it kills me…because it just might," Hiccup gave a brief backstory to the woman. The clever heir exaggerated some parts of the story in a hopeful attempt to continue concealing his true identity. "Is this that island? The one that I am to find?"

Again the woman laughed before giving her response. "No, I'm afraid this is not the place you are looking for. You see, here we live in peace, side-by-side, with our island's dragons."


Told you that we'd finally get some real plot development now. This arc is one that I personally like…and I'm sure you all will too.

Coming Up Next: Astrid shows Hiccup's faded letter to her friends. Time is of the essence. They must find Hiccup before it's too late!

Thank you all for reading and supporting Wheel in the Sky!

Posted: March 21, 2015