Chapter Text
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the son of Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk, had been relentlessly bullied by everyone on Berk, especially Snotlout Jorgenson, a buff boy with an ego twice the size of Stoick's gut, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston, twins who both had a knack for destruction, and Astrid Hofferson, a fearsome warrior with a short temper. When he met Toothless, a Night Fury, three months ago, he had began to train, keeping his skills hidden. Hiccup had thought his life had turned around, but on the second day of Dragon Training, he saw how wrong he was. It had been almost four months since he had shot down Toothless, a Night Fury who became his closest friend. The first week had been spent gaining the trust of the feared dragon.
It had been three days since he crashed down in that forest, and he was still unsure exactly what had happened.
I am a Night Fury, lord of the skies, impossible to hit, but as I flew away from that catapult, I felt something wrap around my body, the force knocking the breath from my lungs. I saw the forest approaching rapidly. I tried to flap my wings, but it only succeeded in tightening the bindings around me. I slammed into a tree, feeling it slam into my side, before something caught my tail. Before I could even think about what I was feeling, a fearsome pain erupted in my tail, where the left fin was. I slammed into the ground, and I could feel my bones creaking, threatening to snap.
He had spent those three days in the grip of the searing pain and the clawing hunger before he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.
I was barely able to think through the pain I was in for the past three days, at times, asking for a quick death, but then I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. A small head came up, then dropped back down behind a mound of earth, and I began to grow curious. The head turned out to be that of a small boy, looking unlike any of the other humans. But like the other people, he too pointed a sharp, metal thing at me, obviously afraid of me.
He eventually placed his foot upon my side, and I turned slightly, startling the boy once more. He began to speak of cutting my heart out, and when he raised his knife, I gave up. I knew that I would not survive this, so I gave up, waiting for the end of my misery, but it never came. I felt the bindings around my body beginning to loosen, and I leapt up, pinning the human beneath me.
It was in that moment that I realized that he was the reason why I was in pain. I prepared to turn him to ash, but when he too seemed ready for his death, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I gave a deafening roar in his face, then I tried to fly away, but I fell into a small depression in the ground, too deep for me to escape.
Astrid had just turned around to Hiccup, and yelled, "Is this some kind of a joke to you? Our parents' war is about to become ours! Figure out which side you're on."
Nobody realized how much of a mistake they had just made, for they had never seen Hiccup get angry.
Everyone expected the boy to turn and run, as he always had, but he was as still as a statue, his back to the group. When he turned, everyone stumbled back a step when they saw his face. All the kindness and humor had faded, leaving an emotionless mask. His eyes, once so bright and caring had turned to ice.
Snotlout was shaking ever so slightly as he began to approach his weak cousin, hoping that Hiccup would back down, return to his place as a helpless wimp, but that didn't happen. Once he was in range, he threw a punch at his cousin's chin, only to have his hand caught in a grip like iron.
Before anyone knew what was happening, they saw Snotlout fall to the ground with a scream of pain as Hiccup moved forward, towards the exit, but the others were in his way. With a voice that sent shivers down the spines of all those present, he said, "Step aside, I do not wish to hurt anyone else right now." But the group did not move.
Angrily, Astrid spat, "You have no right speak to us like that Useless, you could never beat me. This is your last chance, back down!" Hiccup replied with a simple "No."
She charged with her axe, swinging it at the boy, but hit only empty air. As he moved back, he slid his leg out and sent her sprawling to the ground. Her face was red with fury when she regained her feet, and she threw her axe at him, only for him to catch it by the handle.
Hiccup stated, "I tried to warn you, but you never listen," as he raised the axe over his head and slammed it on the arena floor, shattering the blade as though it was glass.
With a voice colder than the worst of winters, he calmly stated, "I think that I have proven that I have the right to speak against you. You have made my life Hel for the last 15 years, and now you must live with the consequences of what you have done to me. I will be back some day, pray that I will show mercy." Before he walked out the door and towards the forest, leaving only a stunned silence in the arena.
After a minute, Gobber moved to pick up Snotlout, ignoring his cries of pain, and carried him to Gothi. Astrid then asked Fishlegs, "You were closer to Hiccup than the rest of us, did you know that he could do that?"
Fishlegs, still stunned, squeaked, "I did not know that anyone could do that, much less Hiccup."