Dragon Prince (Httyd) (Re-Write)

Chapter 1: Later Losers

Hiccup 

"You've done it Hiccup! You get to kill the dragon!" Gobber bellowed over the cheering crowd, his gruff voice practically bursting my ear drums while his meaty arm draped over my shoulder in a rather rough embrace.

Although their tremendous cheers rang out over the arena, screaming my name and for blood alike, I couldn't bring myself to join them.

The whole world seemed to slow as I tried to chase my restless thoughts. It was like walking through syrup, thick, sticky, suffocating.

Finally, I came to a single conclusion; I have to kill that dragon.

How ironic. Who would've guessed that this was how my worthless life would end up. Shoot a dragon down, fail to kill it, join dragon training, befriend said dragon, excel in training and then, the icing on the cake, win a competition to kill another dragon.

That's betrayal, right?

A chill raced up my spine and I could feel the sweat between the grooves of my palm.

I can't kill a dragon.

First off, I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Enough said.

Secondly, what would Toothless think? Slaughtering one of his brethren like some heinous beast. That would make me the monster. Funny how the roles are reversed so easily.

Not that I would try to kill it anyway, that was a given. I'm not one of them and I'll never be one of them. I figured it out a long time ago, when my hand first touched that scaly nose, I could never be a Viking.

My heart knocked against my chest like a sledgehammer, reverberating through my entire being, it was almost painful. I have to leave. Get my sorry ass out of here and straight to Toothless.

This...All of this. I'm done. This stupid, idiotic façade is worthless, pretending to be something I'm not, like some useless pretender has provided nothing but a fruitless desire to leave.

How I pushed Gobbers arm off me? I'll never know, but I don't care. My legs were numb, taking me out of the arena on their own accord, thumping against the ground, each step shooting me forwards as fast as humanely possible. I may have never been the stereotypical muscled Viking like my Father, but I reaped the benefits when it came to speed.

I didn't try to look back at those curious faces that followed me, ignoring the eyes that bored into my back so deeply.

I didn't stop, not until I reached the cove. I stumbled into the circular sanctuary, sinking to my knees in exhaustion, my chest heaving and breath coming out in short pants as I gulped in the fresh forest air greedily.

The earth was washed with bright colour that danced in front of my eyes like some beautiful light show of vibrant greens and blues. The ground beneath my hands was soft and cold, slightly damp from the late-night dew that settled upon it and ahead, the suns last fleeting rays glimmered over the still surface of the watery pool. Just beyond, overlooking the entire area smooth, grey rockfaces stood tall and confident, blocking the place off from the world.

My safe haven.

After a few minutes it becomes easier to breath and I don't feel so exhausted. My legs are shaky when I rise, but I pay it no mind, forcing them forwards a few trembling steps until they start to come around, using all my concentration just to keep upright.

A distressed warble brought me from my trance and my eyes trained on the black mass shooting towards me. My concentration broken, I felt my legs quiver before they collapsed beneath me.