Chapter 6:
I know that many of you have thought that it would be a kiss that would break the curse. But as much as it may be disappointing for some of you, that's not what I had in mind. And it's not so much what Astrid has to do, it's what the Weredragon has to do.
Astrid didn't know how to break the curse, but she did know that they had to save Hiccup before Stoick got the chance to kill him. Although she knew that Stoick didn't know who the Weredragon was, they still had to stop him from killing it. If the chief found out about the Weredragon being weak against Gronkle Iron, there would be nothing that would stop him from punishing the creature for what it did to the village. Unless Stoick somehow found out the truth about the Weredragon before he had the chance to kill it.
Astrid and the others had mounted their dragons, and were circling Berk for any signs of the Weredragon. They had thought that the creature would hide in the forest, so they had started searching there. But there were hardly any signs of their Transformed friend. Every now and then, they heard the Weredragon's lonely howl, but always in the opposite direction they were going. Obviously, the Weredragon was looking for them too. But with as much success as they were having. At the rate they were going, there was a higher possibility that Stoick would find the Weredragon before they did.
That is, until the Weredragon took to the skies.
Because the Riders had split up, Astrid was the first to notice the green dragon flying up over the treetops. She urged Stormfly to fly up to him, and the Deadly Nadder did just that. The Weredragon turned toward the sound of flapping wings, and saw Astrid and Stormfly heading toward him. He tried to smile, revealing his large canines, which poked out of his mouth. But he didn't care if Astrid saw or not. As soon as they were right in front of each other, the Weredragon flew down toward the ground, and Stormfly followed him. They both landed among the foliage of the huge forest, and Astrid dismounted her dragon. She approached the Weredragon without caution. The creature turned to look at her, his eyes calm and slightly fearful.
Not showing any fear, Astrid approached the Weredragon and pet his snout. "Don't worry," she told him softly, "We'll break the curse and change you back. It said in the cave that only a symbol of true love can do it." The Weredragon looked confused, but then his eyes widened. He leaned in so that his face was level with hers. Astrid suddenly realized what he was doing, and then leaned in and kissed him on the nose. They both stepped back, waiting to see if something would happen.
Nothing.
Hiccup was still the Weredragon.
Astrid took in a breath and brushed the hair out of her eyes. "Okay, so that wasn't it." Hiccup the Weredragon grumbled in disappointment. "Don't worry," Astrid reassured him, "We'll find a way to fix this."
At that very moment, Stoick seemed to emerge from nowhere and noticed the Weredragon standing over Astrid. Both Astrid and the Weredragon turned to see the chief standing before them with a Gronkle Iron sword in his hand. Stoick glared at the Weredragon, and held up his weapon. The creature then spread his wings and flew off, heading for Raven Point. Stoick didn't waste any time running after it.
"Stoick, wait, there's something you don't know about it!" Astrid tried to explain, but the chief was already gone. Astrid's eyes widened as she realized the danger that Hiccup was in. She ran over to Stormfly and mounted her. The Nadder took off, following the retreating Weredragon as it headed for the cliffs of Raven Point.
The Weredragon, Hiccup, was afraid. He was afraid of his own father. The man that was trying to kill him, without realizing who he was. If there had been some way for him to communicate with Stoick, he would have told him who he really was. But there wasn't, and so he couldn't tell him. And now he was running away from his own father, to avoid his unbearable fate.
He noticed a rocky cliff nearby, and decided to rest there. He knew that it would take a while for Stoick to follow him there. He collapsed to the ground. He was exhausted from the earlier rampage, as well as the Transformation, trying to get away from his fellow villagers, trying to find his friends, and finally, trying to get away from Stoick. He needed to rest, or else he wouldn't be able to last the night.
He looked back the way he came to see Stormfly and Astrid approaching. Just the sight of them made him feel a huge wave of relief. He lay down on the ground as the Nadder landed near the end of the cliff. Astrid dismounted her dragon before running up the the exhausted Weredragon.
The Weredragon warbled softly as Astrid knelt down next to him. She patted his hide. "It's okay," she said, "We'll find a way to fix this." The creature smiled at her, his pupils widening, which caused his eyes to look more human-like. Astrid smiled back at him. She knew that the Weredragon was really still Hiccup deep inside. Hopefully, there would be some way to help him break the curse. But when Astrid had kissed him, nothing had happened. Was there maybe another symbol of true love that would break the curse?
They lay there for a while, both waiting for Hiccup to get his strength back. But they both knew that it wouldn't be long before Stoick caught up with them. In fact...
The chief seemed to come out of nowhere, jumping up and grabbing the Weredragon's neck. He took no notice of Astrid, who was leaning against the Weredragon's hide. Feeling the chief on his neck, the Weredragon stood up, and shook his neck for side to side, trying to throw the chief off. Astrid jumped to her feet and jumped out of the way as the Weredragon kept trying to get Stoick off of him. He then tried rolling over, and the chief lost his grip. Unfortunately, Hiccup the Weredragon rolled right on top of the Gronkle Iron sword, and it pressed against his wing, breaking one of the bones. The Weredragon stood up, and his right wing hung limply at his side. He couldn't fly anymore.
Stoick stood up and noticed that the Weredragon's wing was injured. "No more flying," he muttered as he approached the injured creature. The Weredragon tried to back away, but he was at the edge of the cliff. He looked at Stoick, and realized what he should do. Please forgive me for this, Dad, he thought to himself as he shot fire at the area in front of the chief. Stoick backed away as the ground in front of him caught fire. But he didn't give up. He bravely charged through the flames, which were starting to snuff out. He jumped up onto the Weredragon once again. Stunned by Stoick's movements, the Weredragon was brought back to reality at the chief's firm grip around his neck. He roared, and tried to shake him off, but the chief held on. The Weredragon knew that he couldn't roll over again, for he could hurt himself even more.
Astrid was watching the struggle, and although she wanted to help, she didn't know what she could do. She had tried a few times during the struggle to explain to Stoick who the Weredragon really was, but either Stoick was too busy fighting to listen, or there was too much noise for him to hear her.
The Weredragon soon tired out, and collapsed to the ground. This was what Stoick had been waiting for. Letting go of the creature's neck, he placed his foot behind its head. The Weredragon looked up at the Viking towering above him.
Dad.
Stoick drew out his Gronkle Iron sword.
Dad, please.
Stoick adjusted his firm grip on the handle of the sword.
Dad, no!
Stoick then raised the sword over his head, ready to end the creature's life with one blow.
Just then, a black figure knocked the chief aside. Stoick fell the the ground, and the sword slipped from his grasp. The Weredragon sat up and saw Toothless standing nearby. The Night Fury had been following the Weredragon's howls, hoping to make it in time to save his Transformed friend.
And he had.
The Weredragon stood up, and Astrid ran over to him. "Are you okay?" she asked. The Weredragon smiled, and nuzzled her hair. Astrid smiled back, and pat him on the nose. They heard a groan, and turned to see Stoick getting up. The chief noticed his sword lying nearby, and jumped to his feet to retrieve it. Toothless noticed, and leaped forward, grabbing the sword in his teeth and dragging it away from the approaching chief.
Astrid turned to the Weredragon. "You can't stay here," she said, placing both hands on his snout, "Go now!" But the Weredragon didn't go. He stayed where he was, nuzzling Astrid's hair. Astrid turned to see Toothless stumble, the sword dropping from his jaws. She turned back to the Weredragon. "Go, now! Run!" But the Weredragon stayed put. Nearby, Stoick picked up the sword, and then made a mad dash for the Weredragon. The creature saw the chief approaching, but Astrid didn't.
In the seconds that followed, things seemed to be moving in slow motion. The Weredragon watched as Stoick ran at them, the sword raised over his head. The Weredragon's eyes widened, and with one swift movement, he shoved Astrid out of the way. The Valkyrie rolled aside, just as Stoick swung his sword at the Weredragon. There was a loud roar of pain, and Astrid looked up to see a large, bleeding gash on the Weredragon's side. The creature backed away, and he slipped off the edge of the cliff. Astrid watched in horror as the Weredragon fell off the cliff and toward the ground far below.
Cliffhanger! And can any of you guess what the symbol of true love might be? Think carefully about what happened. I know that some of you might want to kill Stoick right now, but remember, he can be very stubborn at times. Review, follow, or favorite.