The Dragon Rider

Chapter 3 ~ A mother never forgets

A/N I'm skipping out some parts of the script, purely because I don't think I'm going to be able to write all of them out, it's taking ages as it is! Sorry, no Merida in this chapter, but it is one of the most crucial elements of the story, so it will take up an entire chapter. Also, I'm skipping the flashback because it isn't relevant to the storyline.

Hiccup was gliding above the clouds. He couldn't concentrate on anything. Where he was going, he didn't know. Maybe if he'd stayed down there, with Merida and the trappers, he might have had a chance. But that chance was gone now. He yelled out, throwing his fists in the air and falling onto Toothless' back, allowing the wind to flow through his hair. The night fury made a noise, as though questioning his odd behaviour.

"Don't worry bud," he murmured, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise." He rubbed Toothless' side affectionately.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the clouds start to break away. A figure was there, floating, almost. Hiccup, not seeing who it was, sat up angrily, thinking it was his father.

"Aw, come ON Dad! Really?"

His breath froze in his throat as he looked at the figure. Only it's upper body was visible, yet it seemed to be floating on air. It wore a mask with two black circles to show eyes, but he could see nothing human in them. The figure floated away, just as quickly and gracefully as it had appeared.

"Okay," Hiccup whispered to Toothless, "No sudden moves."

The moment he said this, a huge, four-winged dragon burst from the clouds, bearing the figure he saw before. They rose, way above the Night Fury and Hiccup felt dwarfed in their wake.

"Hold on, hold on..."

Suddenly, the huge dragon swooped forwards, grabbing Hiccup by the shoulders. Toothless, being unable to fly without a rider, fell through the clouds.

"TOOTHLESS!"

The Night Fury fell into the icy depths of the ocean below, struggling to stay afloat. Hiccup's helmet floated to the surface of the water, gently bobbing up and down.

"Hey?" Hiccup tried to shout to the masked figure, flying just within his sight. "You left my dragon back there! He can't fly on his own - he'll drown!"

The figure did not turn, only stared straight ahead, flying on wards to only Thor knows where. He was dropped in a circle of what looked like incredibly rare and injured dragons, all of whom started to hiss and snarl at him.

"We have to head back for my dragon!" He shouted, only to be met with no reply. The dragons started to advance, and as they did so, Hiccup opened his fire sword and drew a ring of gas around him. He ignited it, causing the dragons to stare in awe. Hiccup advanced towards one of them, his hand outstretched, as he did to Toothless all those years ago.

The masked figure stepped forward, making Hiccup recoil back. The figure only advanced.

"Who are you?" Hiccup asked. "The dragon thief? Drago Bludvist?" Exasperated, Hiccup cried, "D'you even understand what I'm saying?"

The figure shook her stick and as it hit the ground, another dragon flew overhead, holding a very familiar looking dragon in it's claws. Toothless was dropped and Hiccup ran to him, holding his face as he whispered to him. The warrior stood and watched the whole time before approaching Toothless, putting him into a trance. Hiccup gasped. He'd never seen someone use these skills on a dragon before. It was almost unreal.

The warrior drew even closer, touching Hiccup's face. Feeling vulnerable, he tried to move away, tilting his head back as he did so. The masked figure drew away with a gasp. Finally, it spoke.