The wind rushed against me as I ran along the edge of the cliff. It threatened to pull me over, down into the dark seas below. But I pressed on, even though I was having trouble with the exercise. I ignored the tiny droplets of blood around the scrapes on my arms and cheek from the branches, and the dampness of my forehead, and the untidiness of my braid. I ignored the tears that flew past my cheeks.

In the distance somewhere was the beast. Probably not as big as the Red Death, which I kept hearing the story of over and over again…

Hiccup was nowhere around, and I was left alone, again. But this time I had a reason to keep going. I may have put too much trust in Hic, but I had joined the tribe. I was one of them. I was a Viking. I was their family, and they were mine. And I would do anything to protect my family.

On the island I only survived because of my own will, I could have just given up at any time. I could have lay in the clearing and welcomed death as it came to me, or waded out to sea, never to be seen again. But I lived, and I lived in the hopes that somewhere out there was my family; that not all of them had died. But after searching the island for so long, I came to accept that they were gone. Really and truly gone.

I remember my father telling me as a youngling, 'don't go wandering too far; there are monstrous dragons out there that will do anything to comp off an arm,' he would emphasize with his hands and laugh. 'I can take um!' I'd reply. He'd shake his head and pull me in for a hug. 'Meyla darling, you know why we named you that don't you?' I would nod. 'Because you're our little girl, and so that's what we named you, 'little girl'.' I would just roll my eyes and pry away from his grip, bouncing around the house without a care.

It wasn't until years later that I really understood the meaning of my name. 'Little girl'… like a scared, lost child in the forest. Because that's what I was; I was my parents' 'little girl', and I was in fact little at the time… but not anymore.

I fought back more tears at the memories of my father. I'm a warrior. I have to do this.

A roar shook the trees and left me bewildered. It wasn't hard to find the beast after that. It's massive blue trunk-legs rose up out of the trees, and it's face just lightened by the sunrise. There was only one thing I could think to do, even if it risked my life. I ran around the front of the dragon, staring up at it from the ground. I was in a vulnerable position, considering it could move and squash me in seconds. But this was it.

"Excuse me!" I called up to it, praying it would understand and not take me for a meal.

It's lurching head moved like it was slow, weighed down by its own size. It snuffed its nostrils around me as its beady eyes soullessly stared through my core.

"Hello!" I- uh…" I thought of what to say… would it really understand?

It snorted through its nose, and the gust of wind sent me back a step.

"What's your name?" I asked. All dragons have names!

It stared me down, trying to determine if I was a threat. A person so small could only do so much damage to a dragon that big anyways.

"Oh, my pardons." I cleared my throat and began to speak dragonese. I had forgotten about it, even though it was my native tongue.

"Fagr dreki, við hvat gera ek veitta inn gaman framkvæmd sási mannamót?" (Fair dragon, to what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?)

It huffed, and bent its neck towards the ground.

"þú æva mann-ligr." (You are not human.) It grumbled, its voice echoing from the depth of its belly. It was deep and growly, like the sound was echoing through a chasm deep into the earth, but I could understand it.

"aev (no)."

"þá… ek eiga engi sysla mœta þú." (Then… I have no business with you.)

I was about to cry out for him to wait, but it would never hear me, since it's head had already swung back and he hobbled back through the trees, with his legs slammed the ground, making me stumble back again. Why would it not want to talk with me? And it only had business with humans? What kind of business, I wondered. There was no point in arguing. The sun was almost above the horizon, casting glowing colours far beyond the island. I began to walk back to town, exhausted from running, and even more tired from the party last night, and conflict with Hiccup. I couldn't wait to crawl into bed. My feet carried me back through the trees as the orange light of day cascaded through the treetops.

I groaned; I would have to deal with Hiccup eventually… how much would he remember? The thought clawed at my insides.

If he didn't remember, I could go on peacefully; but if he did…

I hated the thought of losing his trust and friendship. I mean, it was his fault! He tried to kiss me, and I had to finally accept the fact that we would never be together. Now that I think about it, I'm strangely okay with the idea. No more worrying, or trying to be my best. I could make new friends, and be an actual Viking!

It was a long trek back to the house, but eventually the town came into sight, and people were already bustling about in their early morning chores. It was like they never suspected any harm so nearby. It just solidified the feeling in me… that I had to protect them.

I sucked in a breath and held it until I reached Hiccup's door. I should sleep. I should wait. But I also wanted to make sure he was okay. I needed to fix this. I tapped lightly on his door, and it swung open with my palm. He hadn't closed it?

I poked my ear around the corner, wary about what I would find.

"Hic?" I poked my head inside, taking a tentative step. The room was silent, asides from the chatter outside. Where had he gone?

Another step inside, I clenched my fists to try and stop them from shaking from exhaustion and adrenaline.

Without notice a boot swung down onto the stairs and stomped the rest of the way down. It was Hiccup. And my heart leapt, just to know that he was safe.

"Meyla!" He said with a grin.

And my smile fell when he looked at me.

"What happened to you?" He rushed over and grabbed my arm, inspecting the scratches along it.

I pulled it away and refused to meet his eyes. "Nothing."

"I know when it's not nothing. It's always something."

I could sense the worry in his eyes, but we really had bigger things to worry about. And I was going to figure out the first one. "Do you… remember what happened last night?"

He reached up and scratched his head. "Well, kind of… I came back after the party and you were here… and then…" his eyes widened. "Did we kiss?" He turned around before I could answer and began pacing, looking like he was having a fit. "Oh gods Meyla… oh gods I'm so sorry!"

"What? No we didn't… umm, we didn't do that."

He finally froze and sighed. "Good."

"You don't remember anything else?"

"No… but, I have to tell you something." He sat down on the bench at the side of the room with his elbows on his knees.

I stood by and listened intently, though I was grateful he didn't quite remember the whole conversation.

"I had a dream, and… there was a woman there. She told me something."

I could see him straining trying to remember.

"She said… blár vili frelsa þú."

I froze.

"Meyla, it means 'blue will save you.'"