The young lad Jack sprinted as fast as he could through the forest like Bryan had told him to. He got deeper and deeper into the thick undergrowth, until he pushed through into an open space in the middle of the forest.
He could see some dragon skeletons scattered all over the ground, weapons strewn everywhere, firewood stacked up, and a small shelter. Just being near the place made Jack shake as if he was facing an angry Monstrous Nightmare that was on fire. His knees failed him and he nearly fell as he walked toward the shelter. He was so nervous, he could barely put one foot in front of the other, and teetered like a toddler.
"Speak you name or you shall face ultimate death!" A harsh female voice came from the inside of the shelter. Jack froze in place.
"I-I-I'm from the village, and m-m-my name is J-Jack!" he cried as soon as he regained the use of his tongue.
A long moment passed in which Jack didn't dare to move. At some point he thought he would have to run away to save his hide, but before he could act, he heard movements from the shelter and an girl around eighteen years old stepped out. She was skinny, pretty, and had a youthful appearance. At first glance, nothing to be scared of, but Jack was nearly at the point of having a heart attack. As the girl walked closer to him, she scooped up a massive ax that would have been impossible for another girl to lift from the ground. She lifted it and swung the weapon around with practiced ease. With every swipe, Jack could see his life coming to a sudden end.
"Well, welcome to my place. I could have cleaned a little if I knew someone was coming," the Dragon Queen said very calmly as she put her arms around Jack's shoulder. Her grip was like iron.
"So, my sweet little Jack, what you have from the village? Are you gonna pay me yet?" she said, releasing him. She turned and threw the ax into a tree. It was a perfect bull's eye. It would have been deadly if someone or a dragon had been the target.
The Dragon Queen walked slowly to the tree to reclaim her ax. "Speak your mind Jack. I don't have the whole day to chat, you know."
"A-Ah…I-I have n-news from B-Bryan, he said a B-Berkian is wandering in the forest. He is f-following the river near…" Before he could finish his sentence, the ax flew just a few inches away from his head and landed with a THUD! in the tree behind him.
"A BERKAIN! A BERKAIN IS HERE! I will chop off his head!" the Queen roared as she snatched a sword from the ground and ran towards Jack.
Jack fell backwards on the ground and started to cry. It could have been his last minute in life, but the young girl stopped right in front of him fuming with anger. Why had she spared his life? That's a mystery Jack would never find the answer to!
She turned and left, leaving Jack on the ground, shocked. It was quite possible that he was the first one ever to survive the Queen's fury. The Dragon Queen loped through the forest and followed the river. The only weapons she took with her were a bow, a poisoned arrow, and a small dagger.
"He may be the dragon rider who was hovering above the island earlier, yes?" the Queen said to herself as she kept running. "A dragon and a Berkian all in one day! How lucky I am!"
She kept running until she caught up with the dragon and his rider. Being smart, she knew it wouldn't end well if she attacked the two randomly. She would have to make a clever plan to take both of them. She examined the situation, taking in the odds of the boy, the dragon, the place, every single possibility, until she came up with a simple plan.
She would pick out a high tree to climb to give herself full view to the entire grounds. Luckily, her ambush spot in the middle of the forest had tall trees. She sat in her elevated perch, waiting impatiently.
As soon as the Queen caught sight of Toothless and Hiccup, she took her bow and the poisoned arrow and aimed them at the dragon.
"Not yet, not yet!" she chided herself. She waited till the perfect opportunity to take the shot.
Hiccup and Toothless walked along, not knowing what danger was lying in wait for them ahead. Hiccup was laughing to himself.
"I told you they are peaceful, didn't I bud?" Hiccup teased Toothless. The dragon just growled moodily. "We should stay here for the night," Hiccup suggested and stopped, turning to Toothless.
Seeing that it was the perfect opportunity to take them both out, the Dragon Queen released the arrow. It flew straight on its path to Toothless.
Hiccup switched his eyes around, looking for a place to camp on the forest ground. He heard a sharp growl coming from Toothless and turned around just in time to see the dragon get hit with an arrow.
"No, Toothless!" Hiccup howled and ran to Toothless. The arrow wasn't lodged deeply in Toothless's flesh, so Hiccup carefully pulled it out. He saw the liquid on the tip and immediately recognized it as poisoned. Toothless closed his eyes slowly and Hiccup started to freak out. Who would do such a thing?
"No, Toothless! Can you hear me? Come on bud, stay with me!" Hiccup put his hands over the wound to stop the bleeding and tried his best to keep Toothless awake, but ultimately failed.
"Don't worry! He's not dead." The girl who shot Toothless casually walked up to Hiccup. "Alive Night Furies are worth much more than dead Night Furies."
Hiccup turned to face her angrily. He was relieved that Toothless wasn't dead, but he was still mad that his friend had been shot.
"You did this?" he questioned her, his mood darkening. He stood and took out Inferno. The sword's flames glowed bright, even in the daytime.
"Yes, and very soon I will do the same thing to you!" the Dragon Queen bragged, seemingly unconscious at Hiccup's rising anger.
"You won't get away with this," Hiccup warned, attacking her. He wasn't much a fighter, even in situations like this. He usually got out with his wits.
The Queen dodged his first blow easily. Hiccup attacked again and again, but she avoided it like it was nothing.
"Come on, hit harder! You're from the island of Berk, aren't you? Tough Vikings, I heard, but I see you are quite the opposite," she teased as she avoided a blow after blow. Hiccup was having a hard time to track her moves. The Dragon Queen barely broke a sweat. To her, it was just a little game.
"That's enough. You had your chance! Now, it's my turn!" she crowed while a devilish smirk formed on her face. Hiccup felt a flash of fear at the girl in front of him. What had he gotten himself into
With a sharp blow to the neck, Hiccup was out like a light bulb. The Dragon Queen was left standing alone above the boy and his dragon.
"I expected more fighting from a Night Fury and a Berkian…I wonder... how did you become friends in the first place?"