When I woke up, it was black. It was as dark as the night sky on top of the lonely mountain where I used to keep night watches. But this time, I didn't have the brilliant stars to watch.
My wrist throbbed in a pain like no other. My entire body hurt, like I had been tossed around like a rag doll. My legs aches, probably from being dragged into this prison. I remember when my wrist snapped as the Night Fury, no, as Alex caught me before I fell into the rescuing grasp of my pod of Scauldrons. Aria had been beneath me, trying to catch me as I fell. A younger Scauldron had caught my wings.
I let out a little sigh in relief. At least they hadn't taken my wings.
But they had taken my cloak.
Opening my eyes wider, I saw just dim slivers of light that grew slowly, as if someone was pulling back doors. No, wait, they were! I started to push myself up before collapsing back in my corner where I had been shoved. My wrist was hurting too much. I needed some Terrible Terror venom to soothe the ache and pains.
There were grumbling noises as someone, or some people, slowly managed to open the doors to my cell and shed some light on me. I felt for my face. My mask was still on, thank goodness. I don't think they would be too pleased to know that a mortal girl had bested them a couple of times…
The rays of light grew larger and larger before eventually letting in flickering light to my stony cold cell. I shivered slightly, wishing now for my cloak to keep warm. Footsteps approached me as I rolled over, trying to see who it was.
Some wearing Berk armor leaned over, grumbling incoherent words as they pulled me to their feet. I hissed like a Nightmare being woken up from its nap as I stumbled towards the exit.
"I can walk on my own, thank you." I grumbled. The guard shoved me forwards, but let me hobble up a sloped ramp on my own. The light grew brighter, and I quickly found it wasn't just from candles.
I stepped out into an open arena of sorts. Chains made a domed roof over my head with a single circular opening at the top. As I blinked back the spots, I saw multiple doors around the round sides of the arena. The door I had just come from was a large metal door with a single slot at the top.
The entire place smelled of dragons and adrenaline.
"So this is the Raven Queen?"
"I thought she would be taller…like…ten feet taller."
"Isn't she supposed to be immortal?"
A flurry of questions arose from a murmuring of voices in front of me. I closed my eyes as a headache started up like war drums. I could kill for some rosemary strained water right now. It would take the edge out of the pounding.
"Guys, shut up for a second." The familiar voice hushed them. There had to be at least six people total around me, but it felt like more. I think it was just the pain getting to me.
"Why isn't she in chains?" A male voice whispered. I opened my eyes looking up to see the fat boy who had ridden the Gronckle peering down at me warily. He yelped in fright as I glared.
"Too easy to break out of." I chuckled darkly, favoring my right leg as I wobbled a little. I saw a blonde haired girl, much like me but lankier, reach for her sword. I shook my head and chuckled. She scowled harder.
They all stared at me in silence, not knowing what to say. I looked back at them, feeling a doubling vision come over me. I dropped to one knee in weakness. I looked up through the overgrown blonde bangs falling in my face. They seemed curious.
"My arm is broken. Does anyone have some Terrible Terror venom?" I asked softly, gritting my teeth as every movement of every muscle sent waves of pain through my body.
Still silence. I looked around at my surroundings. There were two ways in and out, but I could only use one at the moment. The opening at the top of the chains would only be accessible by dragons.
"Why would you need venom?" The middle boy asked, the familiar one. His shaggy auburn hair fell along his gaunt jawline. The emerald green eyes, like that of a Nadder's glistening scales, shone out in curiosity and suspicion.
"Broken arm." I whispered through the mask. There were scoffs through the six people standing in front of me.
"Yeah right. She put up a fight when we brought her here." One of the taller boys, a twin to the girl standing next to him, shook his head.
"Oh shut up, Tuffnut. It's obvious that she's hurt." The twins began to bicker. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, I figured their names. If only I could put a name to every face before me.
"Should we help her?"
"Isn't Terrible Terror venom lethal?"
"I want food!"
"I want a fight!" Everyone started to argue. Only the boy in the middle with the curious green eyes didn't say a word.
"That's enough!" A voice boomed from behind. Everyone whirled around to see the new addition to the group. I looked up from my knelt position to see who had joined the bickering youths, all about my age.
A burly man with broad shoulders and a sturdy frame pushed his way through the crowd. He looked down on me with stern eyes. I noticed a formidably large Rumblehorn with stern green eyes to match his rider's. I smiled. Finally, a creature I could relate to.
Being stuck on an island with only one other human didn't let me relate to people much. I could speak dragon, ride dragons, and was overall more dragon-like than a people person.
Except for Argo. He's not a dragon nor a human. He just is my sassy little raven companion who thinks he can be anything he wants to be.
"Oh, hey Dad." The boy in the middle mumbled. The man, the father of the strange boy who rode my stolen Night Fury, patted his shoulder before returning his gaze to me.
"So this is the Raven Queen?" He asked curiously. I managed to stand up, holding my breath to avoid from crying out in agony. I lifted my chin higher, hiding the pain.
"I am." I added with a sly smile. So I guess I am person I occasionally hear about over the trade ships that I fly over. Looks like I've become a legend.
"Ha, not so much of a legend." The man scoffed. I scowled. His Rumblehorn chortled behind him. I shot the dragon a look to shut it up. The dragon looked down. I smiled. I might be away from home, but I still have my touch with dragons!
"Depends on how you look at it." I added. The man shook his head.
"Stoic, what should we do with her?" The blonde haired girl, Astrid I think her name was, asked the burly man.
So Stoic's his name. Ah, the legendary chieftain of Berk…
"Put her back in the cell. We'll hold a clan meeting to decide what should be done." The chief waved his hand, dismissing us. I scowled. I still needed something for this broken arm!
"I don't like the idea of putting her in there. Who knows what powers she has?" The large Gronckle rider mumbled. I smiled.
"You're wise." I whispered. He seemed to blush a moment out of the compliment before ducking his head.
"Hiccup, what should we do about her arm?" Astrid asked. I watched as the mysterious boy in the middle eyed me up and down.
Oh, that was his name. Hiccup. I will surely remember that and remember to take vengeance on him for taking Alex.
And my vengeance shall be bittersweet.
"Is it really broken?" He asked me. I nodded, glaring at them. I caught the Rumblehorn's eye, the lumbering beast slowly following his master out the doors.
"It is." I grinned. Might as well have a little fun and mess around with them. I need to find a way out of this island. Perhaps its own dragons would be a good escape.
Rumblehorns look tough. They act tough, but like every creature, they have a weakness. Tracker dragons have a particular fondness for sound, especially sounds that they like. Sure, Rumblehorns use their nose like a hound to sniff out and track their prey, but they love metallic sounds, like chains clinking, metal scraping against a stone floor, or swords clashing together. Their eyes will grow big if you shake keys in front of them. Anything metal and put into a melodic fashion will work.
I'm sure this Rumblehorn was no different.
"But don't worry, I'll be fine." I waved it off casually, going back towards the door I had come out of. There were some chains hanging along the wall. I held the large dragon's eyes, making him stay where he was.
As I reached the door, I slowly moved out one hand to grasp the chains. I could see the nose of the scaled beast flare out. I took the chains and slammed them against the stony wall, catching everyone off guard. The Rumblehorn snorted.
I kept up the pulse, stomping my one good foot to the beat. I changed the slamming of chains to shaking and rattling, creating a little symphony with the metal. The Rumblehorn's eyes went wide as he caught on. If there's one thing that can bring people and beasts together, it's music.
"Skullcrusher! Stop!" Stoic bellowed, but I had the dragon under my trance. My head bobbed in time with the pulse. I had to ignore the pain and keep it up. My eyes were locked on the green orbs of the dragon's. He bent down, scraping his two twisted horns against the floor. Showers of sparks lit up the afternoon scenery of the training enclosure. All the dragon was doing was enjoying joining in, adding to the cacophony of sounds.
Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Astrid, Hiccup, Fishlegs, and Snotlout all covered their ears but I laughed. The Rumblehorns back on our island loved to bash heads and scrape their horns against the ground to creating a symphony against the backdrop of Thunderdrums calling in the distance. To me, this was usual.
It was Snotlout that finally dragged me away from the chains, my voice cackling all the way. The Rumblehorn named Skullcrusher wailed in sadness as the music ended. I grinned devilishly at the six.
"Doubt my powers now?" The words echoed out of my dark cell right as the door closed, leaving me alone and desperate for another way to escape.