When I woke up again, it was in the afternoon. A soft knock sounded to my door, like the one that had pulled me out of my sleep. I sat up in bed again and let out a disappointed sigh, apparently I was still in this place.
"Come in," I called out with a raspy voice.
"Good evening, I brought you dinner." it was the man again, Hiccup as Heather had called him. He went and sat next to my bed, handing me the plate, just like earlier. I took it silently and started eating slowly. "Are you ready to tell me about why you are here? Where you are from? I need to figure out if you're a threat or not."
When I kept eating without replying, he frowned and took the plate from me. Giving me a sterner look.
"That was not nice" I said and grabbed for the plate, but he held it out of my reach from the bed. I was still too weak to fight for it so I gave in with a sigh. "I will talk, but can I have my food back?"
With a triumphant smile, he handed me the plate again and I took a few bites before talking again.
"I find it fit that you tell me your name first though, before I start spilling my life story."
"I am Hiccup Haddock, chief of this tribe." He replied with another frown. My eyes widened and I looked him over again.
"Are you that Hiccup? Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III? The one who reformed the archipelago from dragon fighting to dragon riding?" I asked in wonder. My grandfather had told me stories of this Viking chief. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III who lived a life in harmony with his dragon without ever marrying, thereby ending the Haddock bloodline, he was looked upon as a great and wise chief. If he was chief now, that meant that his father was already dead. I also meant that I had been sent back more than 1100 years. I had to focus on my breathing again, trying hard not to panic.
"That I am… How do you know of me?" Hiccup replied after a while.
"It's a long story," I said slowly, "You probably won't believe it even if I told you."
"Oh I wouldn't say that. I am actually pretty open minded." He said.
"Well I come from America, it's really far from here. I grew up with my grandfather because my parents passed away when I was younger. I do not really know how I ended up here, one moment I was on a boat and the next a dragon flew off with me. I must have blacked out, the next thing I remember is me running confused through the forest and passing out by the water. But I am no threat to you, I only wish to get home but I do not think that it is possible." I hated lying, but telling a story of me traveling through time when I still doubted it myself. I would not do that. I did not want him to think I was crazy or something like that. Hiccup looked at me with doubt in his eyes, but he shook it off and gave me a bright smile.
"See that wasn't so hard now was it?" He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.
He was like crazy attractive, especially while smiling or laughing.
"I guess not" I smiled back. He stood up and reached for my now empty plate.
"Also, you forget that we have dragons, I will give you a lift home when you're completely healed. Tomorrow I will show you the village, wouldn't want to be locked up in a room until completely healed if I was you." With that, he left the room. This time the door was left unlocked.
I felt really guilty about lying to the guy for some reason, but what could I do? I most certainly did not want to be treated like a mad person on top of a potential enemy. Yet I still felt bad, he was a really nice guy and I had straight up lied to his face. He had also promised to help me get home but that dragon statue was not where it was supposed to be, I really doubted the possibility of ever getting back to my own time. If I were to stay in this time I should really get some friends, what if lying to the chief had ruined my chances of living here? Then I would have to go search for another home, perhaps I would just end up with some outcasts somewhere, cast aside as a liar and madman. I longed for a past and a home that technically would not exist for the next 1100 years. I could not stop the tears that had already started pouring from my eyes, so instead I let them tire me out and yet again I found myself in a deep sleep with dreams from my childhood.
I rose with the sun the morning after. Apparently someone had been in the room after I had fallen asleep because a set of clothes lay on the chair next to my bed. I looked it over in wonder before shrugging and getting up to put it on. It was a blueish grey pair of tights and a red top, besides that was a leather skirt with spikes and skulls on it, shoulder pads also with spikes and skulls, a headband, some arm warmers, and fur boots. The entire set was so different from what I was used to but I actually really liked it. I thought about what an opportunity I was actually given. While I was still sad and longed for my own time, I at least had a few things going for me. I would actually get to meet and fly real life dragons! I should let myself experience and enjoy it while looking for a way home, instead of basking in my desperation.
When Hiccup came and picked me up, I felt less like the odd one out and more like I fit in than I had done the day before. He had complimented my actually, and I had blushed. I reminded myself to figure out who had given me the clothes and thank them later.
"Have you ever ridden a dragon, Astrid?" Hiccup asked after a while.
I had paid little attention to him, being too busy taking the village in now in the daylight instead of at night while I was in panic. Hiccup had given me a tour of the village, showing me the Meade Hall, the beach and harbour, the Forge, and so on. There were people and dragons everywhere, it was wonderful to watch, like stepping into a movie or dream.
"Huh?"
"Have you ever ridden a dragon?" He repeated himself, looking at me with amusement.
"No…. Well not voluntarily." I remembered my lie and added the last comment with a sad smile. Hiccup nodded in understanding.
"Well I can teach you if you want?"
"For real? Christ, I would love to!" He looked confused by the 'Christ', I noted to use northern mythology instead of Christianity. Hiccup shook his confusion off with a laugh and pointed to the giant building behind himself. The arena, I mumbled to myself, recognizing the building I had only seen in a ruin form until that moment.
"Welcome to the Dracon Academy then!"
He led me inside and asked me to stand in the middle of the arena, then he called out and a black dragon showed up between us. It was that dragon! The one the statue resembled! Hiccup kept talking about approaching dragons but I could not concentrate, this dragon might be able to help me get home. I held out my hand, like I did with the statue, and touched the snout of the dragon. For a brief second, I imagined that it would take me home but of course it did no such thing, instead the dragon nuzzled its head against my palm and I smiled disappointed. My mood picked up a bit though, when I realised that I was actually touching a dragon.
"Toothless seems to like you. You did good Astrid, exactly as I explained, I will try to call a not trained dragon in and let you bond with that if you are up for the test?" Hiccup had not realised that I had heard nothing of what he had told me so far about training dragons, but I was too proud to admit that I did not listen so I just went with it and nodded for him to call a wild dragon in.
Honestly I did not know what I was thinking, I had never even seen a dragon before the other night, never touched one till just then and now I expected that I was able to bond with a wild one? I must have gone mad.
With an encouraging smile, Hiccup called for the wild dragon and not before the moment where a dragon - which I could identify as a deadly nadder - stood before me, did I realise what I had actually agreed to. I knew nothing about dragons! This would not end well.
"Remember to relax, Astrid, the dragon won't harm you unless you pose a threat to it, but it can sense your fear and some dragons have a negative reaction to fear." Hiccup called from the side-lines. Hearing his voice reminded me that he would not just let the dragon hurt me, so I calmed myself down the best that I could and held out my hand for the nadder, just like I had done with Toothless and the statue.
The beautiful blue and yellow nadder looked at me with curiosity for a while before it met my hand with its snout. A smile leapt across my face and I stroke the animal slowly. It was all so surreal, I felt more like I was in a dream than reality, but I decided to enjoy the dream at least for this part. I was actually petting a dragon! How crazy was that?
"She likes you," Hiccup said as he walked closer to the nadder and me, "if you would like to, you could name her, train her to be loyal to you?"
"I would love to do that, but do you really think I'm experienced enough for that?" The dragon made a sound of satisfaction and pushed against my hand while Hiccup gave a small laugh.
"I trained Toothless here all by myself without knowing a single thing about dragons, I will guide you, you can easily do it." I smiled at him before looking at the dragon.
"Then I will train you, and I think I will call you…. Stormfly." Stormfly gave a happy roar and again I could not stop smiling.
Everything was horrible, my life had been thrown upside down and I felt more helpless than ever before. I was scared and insecure, uncertain that I would even ever be able to go home. All of that negativity, but Stormfly was one thing that could bring me a smile.
"You beautiful girl" I whispered to her in my brief joy.