Chapter 3

a Strange New World

The first thing Eirwyn noticed was the cold. Her skin felt like it had been turned to ice, and had frozen her to whatever was beneath her. She was laying on some kind of rocky surface, which told Eirwyn that she was lying on the ground somewhere. As the numbness from the cold began to fade a little, she felt a sharp stab at the back of her head.

"Ouch," Eirwyn groaned as she sat up, rubbing her head, "What hit me?" Eirwyn remembered chasing Sadie through the woods behind her father's house; however, after that everything became fuzzy. Surely she couldn't have gotten too far from her house. She stood up, and dusted herself off, before slowly making her way forward, trying to get some idea of where she was. After a moment her hand came across a dirt wall. Using her hand, Eirwyn felt her way around a miss-shaped circle. Eirwyn remembered falling, and realized she must have fallen into some kind of pit.

"Great, just great," Eirwyn mumbled, "Just how do I get out of this one?" She reached a hand up, as high as it could go, in hopes of finding some kind of ledge to pull her out, but to her dismay there was none, "Hello, can anyone hear me?" Eirwyn called out. She heard the sound of something rustling somewhere above her, "Hello?" The sound stopped, but there was no reply to Eirwyn's call. Figuring it must have been an animal; Eirwyn fell to the earth, resting her back against the dirt wall. Eirwyn's father had to realize his blind fourteen year old was missing soon. Then surely he would come looking for her.

"But who know how long it could take," Eirwyn said in frustration, "There has to be some way out of this hole!" Eirwyn heard the sound of rustling above her again, this time closer. Had the animal from earlier returned? There was a rush of wind, and Eirwyn herd something big land in front of her. Eirwyn pressed her back as close to the wall behind her as possible, having no idea what kind of animal was in front of her. Eirwyn trembled as the animal walked closer to her cautiously, and Eirwyn could tell that this animal was obviously much larger than anything she had seen outside a zoo before.

"Nice animal, you don't want to hurt me," Eirwyn said before mentally slapping herself, this thing was probably a predator judging by the way it inched its way towards her. She had to find a way out! Eirwyn could think of anything, before the creatures breath hit against her face, and she had to stop herself from gagging as the smell of dead fish hit her in the face. At least it only seems to eat fish, maybe it's just curious after all, Eirwyn thought, though her body remained tense as the animal butted it's snout against her face. Becoming curious herself, Eirwyn reach up a hand a gently laid it on the animal snout where it rested near her face. She was surprised to find scales underneath her skin, meaning the animal had to be some kind of reptile, "A large reptile that can fly, or at least glide. If I didn't know any better, I would say you were a dragon," Eirwyn mused to herself. The animal cocked its head to the side, before shooting upwards, making Eirwyn's hand slip off of it.

"What's wrong?" Eirwyn asked; however, before she could place her hand back on the animal's snout, Eirwyn felt a mighty gust of air, and the sound of flapping wings which faded off into the distance, "There is no way." Eirwyn mumbled to herself, "There's no such thing as dragons." Standing up once again, Eirwyn sighed; she still needed to find a way out of this pit. Putting aside the thoughts of the strange reptile for now, Eirwyn once again began feeling her way around the wall in an attempt to find something she could pull herself out with. After walking all the way around the pit once again, Eirwyn sighed. The ledge was simply too high up for her to grab on to, and it didn't seem like there were any vines hanging down for her to grab onto.

"Hey are you alright down there?" Eirwyn jumped as she heard the voice of a teen boy, not much older than herself. Startled by the voice, Eirwyn spun around, almost losing her balance. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you!"

"That's alright," Eirwyn said, "But it would be really helpful if you can get me out of this hole."

"Come over here and take my hand, I'll pull you up," the boy said. Eirwyn moved forward shakily, before sighing and looking to where she herds the boy's voice, trying to pin point where he was exactly.

"Hey, do me a favor, can you keep talking so I can find you?" The boy was silent for a moment, and Eirwyn could almost envision the confused look on his face.

"Um…Okay, well my name's Hiccup, what's yours?" Eirwyn walked towards the sound of the boy's voice, concentrating on her steps as she moved away from the wall, and towards the other side of the pit.

"My name's Eirwyn, and your name is really Hiccup?"

"Yeah, guess my dad had a sense of humor when I was born," the sarcasm was pouring from the boy's mouth, making Eirwyn smile.

"Same with my mom," Eirwyn replied. She inched forward a little at a time, keeping her arms out in front of her and wishing for once that she had her cane with her.

"Keep moving a little more forward, you're almost there!" Hiccup encouraged. Sure enough, Eirwyn's hand finally hit the dirt wall, and reached up, feeling a hand grabbed her and begins pulling her up. Eirwyn herd some more footsteps approach the pit and Hiccup seem to turn to glance at them, "There you guys are, can I get a little help here?" Eirwyn squeaked as she was pulled up, and over the edge of the pit, letting out a breath of air as she hit the ground.

"Hey, are you okay?" This was a female's voice. Eirwyn sat up, and dusted herself off before turning to where she believed she herd the girl's voice.

"I am now that I'm out of that pit. Thanks!"

"What's up with your eyes?" This time a different boy than Hiccup was asking, and Eirwyn had to jerk away when she suddenly felt the boy's face right in front of hers.

"Tuffnut!" It was the girl again, and it was followed by the sound of something hard making contact with the boy's skull, "Don't be so insensitive!"

"It's alright," Eirwyn said, standing up slowly, "I get questions like that all the time, I'm sure it's not every day you see someone with pink eyes after all." Eirwyn's reply was followed by silence.

"So are you like some kind of demon?" This was a new boy, and though his voice was soft and merely curious, Eirwyn couldn't help but huff a little.

"No, it is called Albinism, it is a medical condition," there was no reply, and Eirwyn sighed, "I was born this way, okay? Anyway, I've meet Hiccup, but can I ask who the rest of you are?"

"Oh, my name's Astrid," It was the girl from before, "And the idiot in your face before was Tuffnut."

"And I'm that idiot's sister Ruffnut." Another female voice said, though she sounded like she was much more focused on something other than Eirwyn.

"My name is Fishlegs," It was the curious boy from earlier, and the boy stepped forward nervously.

"And my names Snotlout, the greatest Viking on Berk," Eirwyn held back a giggle as she could imagine the boy standing there, chest puffed out looking mighty proud of himself. Then she thought back to what the boy had said.

"Wait, what do you mean Berk?" Eirwyn asked, "This isn't Burgess?" There was silence for a moment, and Eirwyn shook her head, "No that's impossible, there no way—," Eirwyn stopped as she remembered the bright flash of light that had consumed her just before she passed out. Was it…magic? Eirwyn was so lost in her thoughts that she almost didn't realize Hiccup was asking her something.

"How did you end up in that pit?" he asked.

"I was…chasing someone through the woods, and I just kinda fell in," There was a snort.

"You mean you didn't see a giant hole in the ground right in front of you?" It was Snotlout, and Eirwyn had to raise an eye brow.

"I guess you haven't notice, but seeing is a bit of a challenge for me," Eirwyn smiled. The group was silent for a moment, before Eirwyn felt someone place their hand on her shoulder.

"Well, we have a camp set up not too far away from here, it's too late for us to try and get back to the village tonight." It was Astrid, and Eirwyn nodded as she felt a shiver run through her body, "And we can get you some warmer clothes while we're at it."

The group slowly made their way back to their campsite; both Astrid and Hiccup helping Eirwyn, to make sure she didn't trip over anything. Luckily it didn't seem too far away, and as soon as they got there, Astrid took a freezing Eirwyn into her tent, and helped her into some kind of fur jacket and a spare pair of leather boots, with soft fur trimming the top. The two girls where silent as Astrid helped her into the spare clothing; Eirwyn was lost in her own thoughts. It was obvious that she was no longer in her own time, judging by the clothing begin given to her, and this wasn't her fantasy world, which didn't have things like Vikings. How had she gotten there though, and how would she get home?

"Hey, are you okay?" Eirwyn was startled out of her thoughts by Astrid, and Eirwyn gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I just have a lot on my mind." Astrid didn't say anything else as she led Eirwyn out to where the boys where sitting around a fire, each whispering to each other as Astrid and Eirwyn walked over. The whispering suddenly stopped as the two girls' approached the fire, and Eirwyn sat down on one of the logs. At first everything was silent, and Eirwyn wondered if anyone was going to speak.

"So, Eirwyn," Hiccup started, "You said that you were chasing someone, just before you fell into that pit. How did you manage to chase anyone through the woods since you can't…well, you know." Eirwyn was silent as she tried to think of how to answer that. If she said magic, then they would probably think she was crazy, but then again the story itself was crazy.

"Well…," Eirwyn told them how she ended up in the pit, and when she finished her story everyone sat in silence, probably thinking about what she had just told him.

"That explains those strange looking clothes." Tuffnut said. Eirwyn nodded her head in agreement.

"So, now you're stuck here, am I right?" Hiccup asked, "Maybe someone back at the village can help figure out a way to send you home."

"Thanks, that would mean a lot to me." Eirwyn replied. As she went to get up, she heard that sound of flapping wings; the same sound she had heard before when she was in the pit. The creature landed not too far from where they were standing, and Eirwyn wondered if it was the same creature she encountered in the pit.

"There you are bud!" Hiccup said getting up to walk over the where the creature had landed, "I was wondering where you had run off to." There was a strange purring sound coming from the animal, and Eirwyn imagined a large black cat rubbing up against Hiccup, except that this was no cat of course. The sound of something large began walking towards Eirwyn, and she suddenly felt a blast of air on her face, "Toothless, what's gotten into you?"

"No, it's okay," Eirwyn said smiling. She lifted up a hand and gently began brushing over the creatures scales. They were slick like a snakes scales, but Eirwyn had the feeling they were probably ten times stronger, "What are you?" Eirwyn whispered, continuing her strokes as the creature purred slightly.

"He's a Night Furry," Hiccup explained.

"A Night Furry, what's that?" Eirwyn asked curiously.

"It's a rare type of dragon," Fishlegs said, "He uses his black color in order to camouflage himself at night, making him almost impossible to see—."

"Wait, did you say dragon?" Eirwyn interrupted, "You mean like big, fire breathing dragons?"

"Duh," Snotlout commented. Eirwyn stopped her petting, earning a nudge from Toothless, but she didn't respond. She was too busy thinking back to the creature she had met in the pit, and she wondered if it was Toothless, but if it had been, why would he have flown off when Hiccup showed up?

"Hello, are you there?" Tuffnut asked, and Eirwyn jumped falling backwards off the log she was sitting on.

"Tuffnut!" Astrid growled as she moved to help Eirwyn off the ground.

"What? She was staring off into space, it was creepy!" Tuffnut protested while his sister laughed at him.

"It's alright," Eirwyn muttered, "I was just thinking, sorry about that." She turned back to where she assumed Hiccup was standing, and cocked her head to the side. "How did you manage to become friends with a dragon?" There was silence for a moment, before Hiccup started talking.

"Well, originally, the Vikings and Dragons did nothing but fight each other, but after I meet Toothless I realized that dragons could be trained, just like any other creature," Hiccup explained.

"Don't forget to tell her about how you defeated the Red Death," Astrid said, and Eirwyn heard a 'humph' as Astrid nudged Hiccup in the side.

"Hey, we helped to!" Snotlout protested, "Hiccup isn't the only hero here!"

"Anyway, the point is, we managed to get Vikings and dragons to work together, and we have been friends ever since." Eirwyn was about to say something, but before she could a yawn erupted from her throat. "I think it's time for all of us to get some sleep before we head back to the village."

"You can sleep in my tent tonight Eirwyn," Astrid said as she helped the girl stand up. The two girls said goodnight, before going into the tent and going to sleep.

Eirwyn and her partner Salus traveled down the road as the sun began to pick up over the horizon. The road stretched before them as they made their way towards the border of Gunda and Arvid. Both were quiet, listening out for anyone or anything that would suggest danger. Eirwyn couldn't help but shake the feeling that someone was following them, and it made the sorceress uneasy.

"My lady," Salus said, pulling his horse up alongside Eirwyn, "We are nearing the Gunda border now. Perhaps it would be best for us to get off the main road to prevent detection." Eirwyn nodded her head in agreement, and steered her horse off the main road. The two followed an unmarked path through the woods, continuing to keep their eyes open for anything that could be seen as dangerous. Eirwyn still felt as though someone, or perhaps something, was following them. She tightened her grip on the reins of her horse.

"My lady, watch out!"

Without warning Eirwyn felt something hit her in the back, and she was knocked off her horse. She rolled out off the way just as another blast was sent her way. Salus helped Eirwyn off the ground, and she could hear footsteps approaching them.

"You wouldn't think about crossing over into Gunda now, would you Eirwyn?" Sadie asked, as she approached the two, "Surely you wouldn't be that stupid."

"Sadie, leave now!" Salus demanded, "This is none of your concern."

"Now, now Salus, there is no reason to be so rude to a former friend, now is there?" Eirwyn focused on where Sadie was standing, and she could sense a strange kind of darkness that she hadn't noticed before. Was someone with Sadie?

"Who else is there?" Eirwyn demanded, "Tell me your name!" For a moment there was silent; then, Eirwyn herd the sound of someone laughing, but it wasn't Sadie.

"I wouldn't worry about that sorceress," This voice belonged to someone older than Sadie, and the mere sound of it sent a cold chill running through Eirwyn's body. The shadowy mass began moving towards Eirwyn, and it felt as if time had stopped. She was frozen in place as the shadow reached out for her. Suddenly it stopped, and there was a gush of wind as the shadow cried out as if in pain and fled.

"I don't believe my eyes." Salus whispered. Eirwyn looked to where the older man was standing, finally unfrozen from her spot.

"Salus, what is it?" Eirwyn asked, as the sound of something large landing in front of them reached her ears. Salus was quiet for a moment, possibly observing the creature in front of them, before leaning down to whisper in Eirwyn's ear.

"It's a dragon."

Eirwyn felt a gust of air in her face as she awoke from her dream. The smell of dead fish caught her attention, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was the same dragon as before.