Chapter Text
Blood rushes to my ears, and my heart beats rapidly, “They can’t be here, she’s not ready yet!” I yell to the riders as my breath quickens and panic sets in. I can usually handle myself against some hunters, but if they’re here to recover the egg, then they will be hunting it down, and it’s not just me and Ember I need to protect anymore. The egg is now my priority.
Hiccup’s face becomes stony as he begins giving orders to his fellow riders, slipping into his position as leader seamlessly. He tells Ruffnut and Tuffnut to aim their fire at the dragon hunters’ catapults while Astrid draws their fire, and he and Toothless act as cover. He turns to me, his serious look turned soft and understanding, “You should stay here, protect the egg,” he says, nodding towards the only hope for the future of this island.
There’s a solid lump in my throat, so all I can do is nod my head. As he and his riders take off, I search my tomes for every protection spell, ward, or rune I can create with the limited time I have.
Hiccup's jaw clenches as he sets off on Toothless, cutting a path towards the dragon hunter ship that has made its way closer to shore. The Dragon Hunters always have to ruin everything, don’t they? He had finally made good progress (Y/n) about the island, and they decided now was the time to attack?
There are three ships total, two are armed to the teeth with catapults and hunters with dragon root arrows, and the other one is less armed but larger, probably for transporting dragons. They are in a triangle formation, one of the heavily armed ships leading, the other behind it to the left, and the largest transport ship to the right. Hiccup has Astrid and the twins concentrate their fire on the ship leading, while he tries to take out the one to the left. Unfortunately, they came unprepared with no dragon armor, and the twins were shot down by the dragon root arrows as they needed to be within close range to attack with any accuracy.
Hiccup averts his course from the ship in the back and goes after the one that had just shot down the twins, pulling a quick maneuver towards them, attempting to intercept the net heading towards Barf and Belch. Astrid spots him and provides cover to his right, where the hunters on the other ship he had been heading for now aimed their fire at Hiccup as he flew past. As he gets closer to the twins, a moment of distraction causes Stormfly to be shot, too, and Astrid and her dragon plummet towards the ocean. That was three riders and two dragons down, and with the other two riders busy with the task Hiccup had given them, they were essentially done for.
As Astrid, the twins, Stormfly, Barf, and Belch were loaded onto the ship via nets, Hiccup landed on the ship with Toothless, prepared to fight for his friends.
The sounds of a battle waging in the distance caused my nerves to spike. I had fought before, but not like this. I usually relied on stealth, but these riders were diving head-on into danger, all for me.
At this point, my guilt outweighed my fear as I realized Hiccup had gone with his riders to save this island, the goal that I had given him. This fight wasn’t his or his riders, yet they jumped in because they knew I needed help.
I look at Ember, the great beast who had helped me through thick and thin, who protected me and ran away with me when I needed him to. He had been my only friend for the past three and a half years on the run. I had forgotten what it was like to have friends outside of my dragon, people to care about, and who would protect me as I protect them. I wasn’t about to let these shithead dragon hunters ruin it for me.
I gave the Icechaser egg a loving pat as I covered it in my cloak, then some of Ember’s shed scales, activating their camouflage ability with a bit of magic of my own. Turning to Ember, I grab his rein and lead him out of the cave. As I finally witness the fight, I see Astrid and the twins being taken down by the hunters, and Hiccup landing on the ship in an attempt to fight them.
I knew what I had to do.
I mounted Ember, and with one simple command, we disappeared.
Astrid and the twins were roughly dragged onto the deck of the ship, Astrid screaming and twisting while the twins also struggled, albeit a bit more pathetically. Their dragons were wrenched up from the ocean and on board the transport ship, separated from their riders.
Toothless growled beside Hiccup as they prepared for a fight. The hunters surrounding them raised their bows, preparing to skewer the pair in a barrage of arrows. Just before they let the arrows fly, a deep voice stopped them, “Careful, men, we don’t want to kill the Nightfury, just the riders.”
Hiccup's eyes narrow on the source of the voice. Viggo Grimborn. The man who has been tormenting the riders for months, a dragon hunter evil to the core, but much smarter than any they had faced before.
“What are you doing here, Viggo?” Hiccup asks, his voice rising with alarm. He's hoping that he can at least stall him, that maybe Snotlout and Fishlegs will be back faster than expected.
“We’re here to retrieve a prize that was stolen from us. We weren’t expecting to see so many familiar faces on this island. I suppose it is a bonus, an Icechaser egg, and a Nightfury,” he says with a villainous smirk. Hiccup scowls at him as his thoughts flash back to (Y/n), when they left, she was so frantic, he could tell she was tough, but she couldn’t take on that many dragon hunters all on her own.
“Ah, how unfortunate that our game must end here, my dear Hiccup.” He says confidently, gesturing for his hunters to aim their arrows at Hiccup. Toothless prepares to fight, charging up a plasma blast, when the group is interrupted by the powerful rushing of wings, knocking a few hunters off their feet.
Not even a second later, a loud crash sounded on the deck as something landed on it, invisible to everyone onboard the ship. (Y/n) , Hiccup thought, she came to help us. As swift as a gale, metal spikes whip out from where the crash had happened, impaling quite a few hunters. Viggo himself barely dodges them. Astrid takes this moment of distraction to stomp on the foot of the hunter holding her and steals his weapon, using it against him and throwing him overboard.
Quickly, the tables have turned. (Y/n) has become visible, her crimson armor glistening in the morning sun. The hooded cloak she wore was nowhere to be seen, so her appearance was even sharper. Deadlier. To Viggo’s throat, she held a spear, an aura of rage surrounding her as she threatened the man.
I stared hard into the eyes of the man threatening the Icechaser, as well as my newfound companions. “You will leave this island. You will turn away and never look back.” I state firmly.
The man I can only assume is the Viggo Grimborn Hiccup had warned me about looks down his nose at me before scoffing humorlessly. “And what exactly makes you think I’ll follow your orders? I’ve got three ships filled with deadly dragon-killing weapons. I’m not afraid of a mage.” He states firmly, looking down on me as if my being a magic user made me weak.
“Two,” I reply.
“Two? What are you talking about, you foolish girl–” he says before I interrupt him.
“Two ships, ” I say plainly, before backing up from him and gesturing my spear in a wide arc, pointing it at the other heavily armed ship in his little armada.
The ship erupts in flames, starting at the sails and rapidly descending the mast. The dragon hunters aboard it desperately try and shoot at whatever is causing the fire, but they cannot see him. Ember aims another devastating blast of flame, this time at the ship's hull, causing it to take on water rapidly. He roars proudly, visible for only a moment, his scarlet scales flashing into sight before vanishing again.
After the cacophony of noise that had risen during the takedown of that ship had quieted down, I looked calmly back at Viggo when, in reality, I was sweating. The best part about wearing a mask constantly was that my enemies could not read me.
“You have two ships. Would you like to leave with two and your life, or none and lying lifeless on the ocean floor?” I ask with the most malice I can muster. I am not used to having to intimidate people; usually, I just leave when I’m confronted. However, I have an egg to protect, as well as people whom I can’t just leave hanging.
Viggo looks contemplatively between me, the riders, and his remaining ships. Sighing and clearing his throat, he steps back and folds his arms behind his back. “Very well, my dear. You’ve made your point. We’ll surrender, but I can’t guarantee this is how our confrontations will always end.” He states, his eyes growing dark at the end of his statement, showing how truly peeved he is.
He signals for his men to release the riders’ dragons, and we swiftly retreat to the island. I turn invisible again and grab onto Ember to take me back. I stand on the shore, Ember in his full glory next to me, clearly visible to the retreating ships. We stand there in silence until the ships are no longer in our sight.
Then, I lean over onto my knees and let out a few shuddering breaths.
The gang stood in silence, mostly still shaken up by the whole experience, as well as (Y/n) exhibiting the true, terrifying power held by both her and Ember. A power that she had never tried to turn on them, even when they were perceived as a potential threat.
When (Y/n) finally moved, she bent over, leaning her hands on her knees and letting out a long sigh, “Oh my gods, that was terrifying,” she said, moving into a squatting position with her head in her hands. Hiccup looks at her in confusion. She had just pulled one of the most badass moves on Viggo Grimborn while she was scared!?
“Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight. You were scared that whole time ?” Astrid asks in astonishment. Hiccup can tell she was just as surprised by (Y/n)’s reaction as he was.
“Well, I guess not scared, more like out of my element. I’ve never confronted anyone like that before. I usually avoid conflict as it’s safer for me and Ember. But with the egg at risk, as well as you guys risking yourselves to help me, I couldn’t just flee. I had to help, and it was a terrifying new experience.” She says, letting out a dramatic shiver at the thought of Viggo.
“Yeah, meeting Viggo for the first time can be… scary. He’s an intimidating foe, but I gotta thank you for coming to our rescue. I mean, if you hadn’t shown up, who knows what would have happened.” Hiccup says, shrugging with a small grin, offering her a hand to stand up with.
Her masked face looks at his outstretched hand, and then at his eyes. He may not be able to see her face, but he can tell her gaze is intense. She takes his hand and hoists herself up with it, not needing me to pull her up. Then she looks away, as if shy about her next words, “Well… I haven’t been around people– nice people–in a while and I wanted to help because I hope we can become friends,” she says, quickening her words at the end of her sentence as if it’s painfully awkward to get them out.
Without being able to help himself, Hiccup lets out a loud laugh.
My face burns beneath my mask as he laughs. I knew I was being too straightforward, that’s not how normal socialized people interact with each other, (Y/n)! I scold myself in my head. Even before I fled my island, I didn’t have many friends; I wasn’t allowed to interact with anyone outside my parents, maids, and marriage prospects. It was only by sheer luck and the care that the maids had for me that I was able to meet each of my mentors, who gave me skills that allowed me to escape that wretched island.
Hiccup must’ve realized I had fallen silent after he started laughing, especially when Astrid elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a scathing look. He calms down and looks at me sheepishly, “Uh, sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you or anything, just more the situation,” he offers me a genuine smile, “It just makes me so happy that we were able to end this conflict of interest with peace, and even with you wanting to be our friend. And I, for one, can say I’d be happy to have you as a friend.”
The embarrassed flush from before fades as I smile back, even if he can’t see it. The sweet moment is interrupted by one Tuffnut, “If we’re your friends, does that mean we can ride your awesome dragon?” he asks, pointing at Ember.
“Um, I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him,” I say, moving to the side to give Ember the floor. He huffs smoke through his nostrils and growls out his displeasure, “He says no.”
Hiccup lets out a more genuine laugh at Tuffnut’s deflated look, rubbing his ribs where Astrid had elbowed him. With all this settled, now they just had to wait for Snotlout and Fishlegs to get back.
Speaking of the two, the gang can hear Snotlout’s obnoxious voice as they flew closer, “Yeah right, Fishface, I was not scared, I only agreed to fly to that stupid ship with you because I knew you’d fly away and never come back.”
“If I recall correctly, you were the one who dove behind Hookfang and screamed like a little girl,” Fishlegs retorts, causing Hookfang to rumble out a chuckle in response.
“Quiet you! I was just getting into a better defensive position!” He shouts indignantly. As the two land, Snotlout looks our group over with a suspicious eye. “What happened to you guys? You look like shit. Did Hiccup’s new best friend end up betraying you after all?” He says smugly, not noticing (Y/n) standing nearby in the tree line. She had retreated slightly at hearing their voices, still somewhat nervous about the new people.
“Ha ha ha, very funny Snotlout. No, she didn’t betray us, in fact, she saved us from Viggo,” Hiccup says, gesturing to (Y/n). Snotlout jumps slightly at her appearance, having not seen or heard her standing nearby. She can be eerily quiet when she wants to be.
As Hiccup points out her little hiding spot, Fishlegs looks over and spots Ember. He squeals in delight as he lays eyes on the crimson beast. He rushes over, (Y/n) practically jumping three feet in the air at his sudden movement, and starts spitfire asking her questions.
“What kind of dragon is he? How old and how long have you had him? What type of flame does he use? What other abilities does he have? Can he-” Hiccup interrupts Fishlegs’ rambling with a hand on his shoulder, pulling him away from the shaken-up girl. He puts himself between the two with a chuckle.
“Fishlegs, why don’t you give her some space? She’s not used to talking to people, let alone answering a million questions,” Hiccup says, almost using a gentle parenting voice on his fellow Viking. Behind him, however, he hears a soft voice speak up.
“He is a Cutshift, he’s seven years old, and I hatched him myself. His flame is similar to a Razorwhip’s accurate ray of fire, except it’s orange instead of blue. Oh, and he can turn invisible like a Changewing and also show his metallic spines from his tail, like a Razorwhip.” I explain, getting more confident towards the end. While Hiccup is correct, I’m not used to talking to people, but it’s easy to talk about my best friend, Ember. I’ll gladly show him off to anyone.
Fishlegs’ eyes sparkle with interest as he quickly jots down every word I’d said, and Hiccup turns to me with a knowing grin, “I thought you weren’t used to people.” He says in a teasing tone.
“No, I’m not,” I reply, “but it’s easy to talk about my favorite boy,” I say, holding Ember’s head in my hands and shaking him a bit. Hiccup laughs, but his eyes soften. I can only assume he feels the same way about Toothless.
Now that the whole gang is back together, we decide to wait until the ship arrives before we head back to Berk. I show the riders to the cave that I used as a temporary home, uncovering the egg from Ember’s scales and my cloak, revealing the Icechaser egg underneath. The two who hadn’t seen it yet stare in shock before Fishlegs starts squealing, and I’m once again bombarded by a barrage of questions about the egg.
After answering all his questions, the gang and I settle down to talk. They ask me about my adventures, and they share stories of their own. I can tell the group is full of mischief makers, no matter how mature they might act. The twins tell obviously fake and “scary” stories, all while Snotlout rolls his eyes and argues with them. Astrid fondly recalls her time with a girl called Heather, and Hiccup tells me about how he first found Toothless.
In return, I tell them part of my story. How my home island wasn’t that great of a place, especially for women. How Ember helped me escape on my 16th birthday, and how I used the skills taught to me by my mentors to survive.
After some time, the ship from Berk arrived and they began unloading the lumber they brought for the storehouse. They listened to my story and promised to keep an eye on the egg while they build. With my worries settled, I now have a new hurdle to jump. Hiccup wants to take me to Berk to meet the chief, his father, to explain everything firsthand.
As the gang saddles up, ready to leave the frozen island, Hiccup can tell (Y/n) is hesitant. He hops off Toothless to approach her as she attaches Ember’s saddlebags to his saddle and loads them up. He can tell she doesn’t have a home, as it seems everything she owns is in these bags.
Hiccup places his hand on her shoulder, causing her to break the trance-like movements she was making.
“You ok? You seem a bit hesitant to come with us. I know I said it’d be easier for you to explain everything to my dad yourself, but if you’re too uncomfortable, you don’t have to come with us,” He says, his words trailing off at the end. Hiccup doesn’t want to part ways with her, but if she’s changed her mind, he can’t force her into anything.
She whips around to face him fully, panic evident in her tone, “No! No… It’s not that. It’s just… I’ve never flown in a group before, so it makes me a little nervous. I also haven’t ever been to Berk, and this being my first time there and having to talk to the chief makes me a little worried,” she explains, fiddling with her fingers, “I don’t want to separate from you guys, at least not until I have to.”
Hiccup can’t help the goofy grin that breaks across his face at her confession, “I’m glad you feel that way, I was worried you were getting sick of us,” he says, gently elbowing her arm playfully, “I can’t lie, meeting ‘Stoick the Vast’ for the first time can be a bit intimidating, but I promise if you explain everything the way you did to me it’ll be ok.” He tells her, mocking his dad’s accent when he says “Stoick the Vast.” When Hiccup said his dad’s name, she stilled as if recalling a distant memory.
I knew Berk sounded familiar, and now that I know that Stoick is indeed Hiccup’s father, conflict stirred in my gut. I was very nervous to see him again, after all these years.
We flew mostly in silence for about halfway there. Then, Ruff and Tuff decide to start asking me questions much like Fishlegs had, but there’s ranged much more on the side of “How deadly is he? Does he cry poison? Are his spines barbed?” All these questions I answered with a simple “Very, no, and yes.”
As we approach Berk, the nerves returned as a bundle of rocks sat deep in my stomach. When we landed, the gang was greeted warmly by the villagers. I was eyed with a bit of suspicion, still shrouded in my cloak as well as the hide beneath my armor, making me appear much bigger and far more intimidating. It also made me much sweatier as Berk turned out to be significantly warmer than the frozen island we had just left.
From the crowd emerges a large, imposing figure with a thick ginger beard and an intimidating aura to match. Stoick the Vast, the chief of Berk, and one of my three mentors who helped me escape Brydda.