Enjoy!
Oh, and:
Previously, on the Traitor...
Astrid, tired of simply sitting around wondering where Hiccup's newfound talents were stemming from, decided to invade the boy's privacy and search his room.
There, she finds many beautiful and emotional pieces of art and writing, all of which go to her heart and begin to fill her with twinges of sorrow and guilt at what she and the others are doing to him.
She is, however, found by Hiccup, and he rages at her with a force never witnessed before by anyone, not even Hiccup himself.
After Astrid leaves (practically in tears), Hiccup does his best to calm himself, but is nevertheless in a state of agitation concerning his upcoming fight-to-the-death with a dragon in front of the whole village, and can't seem to stop thinking about Astrid...
Chapter Seven: The Fight
Astrid awoke with a start, the morning light creeping balefully in through her window, casting dim shadows across the floor.
In spite of the earliness of the hour, the Viking girl knew that she would not now be able to fall back into the blissful ignorance of sleep; the previous evening's events were horribly fresh and sharp in her mind's eye.
Astrid climbed slowly out of bed and began to dress, her physical speed in stark contrast with her thoughts, which now raced as fast as a howling gale.
Completely oblivious to the morning cold, she then walked over to the window.
Gazing out over the village of Berk, still only half-lit by the sun's rays, Astrid continued to turn the thoughts over in her head.
Plagued by indecision, self-doubt and insane, chaotic notions, she shook her head sadly and went back to preparing for the day ahead.
A great many emotions now fought for space in her mind, each one more powerful than the last.
And it was with a strange mixture of pride, guilt and even some sadness that Astrid noted which feeling seemed to hold sway over the others.
Hiccup was a lying, worthless little cheat who didn't deserve the right...no, the honour of killing a dragon.
She, Astrid, should be the one.
After all, she was a real warrior, a true Viking.
Jealously was an entirely foreign feeling for Astrid, one that she was having serious trouble controlling, or even understanding.
As the time of the fight fast approached, the Viking girl found herself walking out to the ring earlier than would otherwise be expected.
Many of the villagers had already congregated around the arena, eager for the final battle of the dragon training season to begin.
Eager to see a dragon's blood spilled.
Walking down the stone path towards the training ring, Astrid lashed out at a nearby rock, momentarily allowing her anger to get the better of her.
Unfortunately, though, it was the little stone wedged tightly in the ground that succeeded in getting the better of the girl's foot.
Cursing under her breath, her toe now throbbing with pain, Astrid could do nothing better than blame Hiccup.
She would get him for that...and everything else, too.
Just as her feelings of jealousy began to rise within her again, the blond Viking teenager noticed Hiccup's father, Stoick the Vast, chief of the tribe, now arriving at the arena.
A sudden urge seemed to slap Astrid in the face like a cold, wet, Icelandic cod.
This was it!
This was her chance for...revenge.
It was a scary thought, and one that the spiteful Viking would otherwise have pushed to one side.
But right now, she didn't care.
Making a beeline for the chief, Astrid now forcefully pulled her thoughts into line.
They would have to behave if she was going to try and convince Stoick of his son's betrayal.
But she, Astrid, would have to remain entirely neutral.
It must not seem as thought she was being driven by nothing more petty jealousy.
She would argue purely with logic, talk with the facts, and sway him with reason...just like Hiccup would.
If there was one thing which she knew Stoick was not, it was dumb.
Now approaching her chief, Astrid pulled herself together, not faltering for a single moment.
"...and there we were, tangled in the sheets, trying desperately to extract ourselves from –" Stoick had been chatting with several other adult Vikings, a broad grin covering his face, visible even underneath his colossal beard.
But they instantly ceased their chortling upon noticing that Astrid was approaching.
"Er...chief? Could I please speak with you?" The young girl asked, summoning as much politeness as possible into her voice.
"Of c-course," said Stoick heartily, now wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Wha' is it, lass?"
"In private, please?" Astrid now asked, almost pleading with him.
Stoick's smile instantly vanished; as an observant leader, he could always tell when something was seriously amiss.
"Very well," he assented, gesturing for Astrid to lead the way.
The pair walked until well out of earshot of any of the other Vikings, before Astrid turned to face him, taking a deep breath.
"Chief –" she began, but was instantly cut off by the giant of a man who stood before her.
"It'll be first name terms, o' nought Astrid," he stated firmly.
"Tha's Stoick, by the way," he added with a smile, and Astrid's confidence received a huge boost.
"Alright...Stoick. What I'm about to tell you may sound...er...insane, unbelievable...like...like a lie," she began again.
"But, please, hear me out. Let me speak, then make a decision on my truthfulness. Not before." The chief nodded quietly, and Astrid could tell he was sincere.
"Your son...is a traitor." She could not help but falter as the look on Stoick's face hardened a little.
"He has befriended one of our arch enemies...a dragon. He's...tamed it, learned to ride it, and gained its trust. It's how he's –" Astrid stopped, as the chief began to chuckle.
"Oh, come on missy!" he laughed.
"I know that you're not happy about him beating you in the ring, but that's no reason to –"
"Chief, please believe me!" Astrid had never felt so bold, or rather brash before in her life; interrupting the chief!
"He's got one of them as his pet!" Now she was really pleading "A Night Fury...it's how he's become so adept at subduing the beasts. He's got a source of knowledge that –"
"No," Stoick stated bluntly, his smile vanishing once again without a trace.
He now looked very stern, and, despite her attempts, Astrid could not hold his gaze.
"I've heard enough," he growled.
"This, Astrid, is going too far. Lying about your fellow Vikings? About my son? Just to soothe your wounded pride?" He turned away dismissively, and Astrid knew that the conversation was well and truly over.
"I'll hear no more of this," Stoick stated simply, looking back over his shoulder at the girl, now cowering in the corner of her mind.
Never before had Astrid felt so mean and insignificant.
Hiccup was walking slowly backwards, holding the Nightmare's gaze as the great dragon advanced up him.
Practically the entire village had turned out to see the fight, and Astrid shuddered at their calls; "Go on Hiccup! Give it to 'em!"
She watched with fear as the monstrous beast continued to back Hiccup towards the wall.
Whatever she wanted, whatever she felt, whatever she thought was right, it all seemed irrelevant now.
Regardless of anything, she had not wanted any harm to come to the boy.
But if his word was anything to go by, what she was about to witness would truly be...something else.
Dropping his knife and shield, Hiccup continued to step backwards, now holding the palms of his hands up to the Nightmare, in what was obviously intended as a gesture of peace.
The crowd started to murmur..."What is he doing?" "Madness!"
Glancing over at Stoick, Astrid saw that the chief was now staring directly across the arena at her.
Putting on her best "I told you so" face, the Viking girl returned his hardened look with a grimace.
The crowd was now completely silent, as the Nightmare lowered its aggressive stance, now sniffing curiously at the boy before it.
"It's OK, it's OK..." Hiccup's voice was now audible throughout the entire arena.
"I'm not going to hurt you." Reaching up, the young boy now slowly removed his helmet, tossing it purposefully to one side.
"I'm not one of them."
The crowd gasped, and a great many heads now turned to the chief, who was now staring down at Hiccup, clearly shocked at what his son was doing.
"Stop the fight," Stoick boomed in a commanding tone that everyone present could hear.
"No!" Hiccup returned, not taking his eyes from the dragon before him. "I need you all to see this."
Astrid suddenly noticed that she was gripping the railings around the arena so hard that her knuckles were sheet white.
The dragon no longer seemed to feel threatened or angry in any way, but this did nothing to curb the Viking girls own fear...which only raised another question, indeed, a strangely familiar one; fear of what?
"They're not what we think they are," continued Hiccup, his voice echoing around the silent ring.
"We don't have to kill them."
The entire village now stared fixatedly at boy and dragon, utterly entranced by what they were witnessing.
Stoick, who by this time had half risen from his chair, slowly seated himself again, his eyes dark and brooding.
And as Hiccup slowly extended his hand towards the dragon, everyone held their breath.
His hand drew nearer and nearer, closer and closer, until finally...
He touched it.
As Hiccup rested his hand on the Nightmare's face, the great beast's eyes softened, and it tilted its head one side.
Closing its eyes, the dragon began to make what seemed to be a purring noise; a deep, soothing, rhythmical humming.
Hiccup now moved to stand beside the Monstrous Nightmare, gently stroking the beast's head, as the dragon slumped to the ground, as peaceful as was possible.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody uttered a single word...or made any sort of noise at all.
Complete silence reigned.
The boy in the middle of the arena, who had so effectively captured everyone's eyes, now knelt down beside the dragon's head, softly scratching its scaly hide as the beast purred contentedly.
Then, he did something completely unexpected.
Whispering something into the dragon's ear, Hiccup then got back to his feet, his hand still resting on the Nightmare's brow.
Walking over to the beast's cage, Hiccup drew the dragon's curious eyes with him.
Slowly unlocking the great metal doors, little Hiccup the Useless just smiled as the Monstrous Nightmare waddled drunkenly back into its abode, settling itself on the floor of its den, still purring contentedly.
Taking care to quietly close and lock the door again, Hiccup then walked back out into the centre of the ring.
"I will never kill a dragon as long as I live," he stated to everyone present, his voice full of conviction and purpose, "because I don't need to.
I have looked into the eyes of a dragon and perceived what it truly is. Not an evil, vicious, soulless killer, but a kind, intelligent and loving creature, whose gentle nature comforted me, gave me consolation in my time of need...and showed me the meaning of hope."
Hiccup paused, letting his words settle and take root in the minds of those who listened.
"Having so long been conditioned to think like true Vikings, I can see that what I am now suggesting is quite difficult to accept. But...I want you ALL to understand this, as I do."
Suddenly realising that she was still standing at the edge of the arena, Astrid noticed that, once again, she had tears in her eyes, and was not at all surprised to see that the other Viking teens now looked as equally as mournful; clearly, Hiccup's compelling speech had had a profound effect upon them...and not just them.
Everyone present, even those villagers whose emotions normally remained hidden beneath a stubborn, resilient and unyielding demeanour, was feeling the full force of what Hiccup had laid out, clear for all to see.
The only Viking who was not moved...indeed the only one who did not look even remotely affected, was the chief.
I'll bet you're all excited to see how he reacts, and how the whole situation turns out! Please let me know if there's something you think I'm not getting quite right.
Now, I have a question; my current sections of writing deal with describing a few of the dragons' characteristics in more detail, and I want a poll of popular opinion...what exactly causes a Night Fury's scream?
My guess was the allignment of the flaps of skin below their ears, and that's what I've gone with so far, but I'm open to better ideas, as is evident by this request for advice.
Next chapter in two weeks!
Lumpyness.