Home-Bound: The Beginnings (HTTYD)

12 - The Isunder Creed

Luneah's POV
jeysannia's name is pronounced jay-SAH-nee-uh

.

You never know how things will turn out. Sometimes, life gives you the opposite of what you want. I never knew that my parents would die, or that I would become a cheery girl who knows how to fight, but is actually emotionally distraught and depressed. It may not seem like it, but my thoughts are depressing, my moods are always in the wrong position, and I am probably the biggest social misanthrope this world will ever see.

Ever since I met Allen, Elise, and Jay, however, my entire life changed. My inner fear of not being perfect wore away, until I was completely open about my feelings. All the anger I was keeping locked inside my inner safe, was now free to fly away, like Terrible Terrors in the vast blue sky. Of course, I am still reserved, but I am much more open than I was all those years ago.

Ingrid was actually my friend once. I remember when we were seven, we would dress up dolls and watch the older boys play-fight with swords. Then, I was thrust into a world where dragon raids became a weekly thing and I learned how to defend myself from harm. This became my favorite hobby, and I rarely had time to play anymore.

Then, when I was eight, I went to the usual spot where Ingrid and I would play, only to find that she was sitting with two other girls, each of which were holding dolls with intricate gowns and beautiful hairdos. I smiled and waved to her, but she ignored me. I sat down next to her, but the three of them stood up and walked back down the hill.

Ingrid turned back toward me, and angrily explained that I was becoming too much like a soldier. That I wasn't pretty anymore and that I was covered in dirt and smelled bad from training. She also said that I was too weak to be a good fighter. She then said horrible insults about my parents before stomping back down the hill to the village.

After that horrible friend breakup, I submerged myself in training. From the crack of dawn to the rise of the moon, you would find me jogging, doing push-ups, pull-ups, sparring, or anything else that would improve my strength, stamina, or speed. In that month alone, I gained four pounds in muscle, became one of the top ten fighters in the junior class, and became a complete and utter loner.

Being nine is hard enough. Being bullied at nine is a nightmare. I wish no one will ever have to go through that again.

I now know that me being a soldier wasn't the only reason Ingrid abandoned me all those years ago on that hill. As the only child from her father's previous marriage and an older sister to three younger siblings, she believed that her stepmother despised her and was jealous that my own parents had supposedly died for me. Now, her parents want her to be a soldier like me and Elise. In their eyes, Ingrid, as their eldest child, is not smart enough to run the land that they own, so they want her doing heroic stuff instead.

Shame how your bad deeds always come back to bite you in the ass.

Even now, as a fifteen-almost-sixteen year old, I still feel the hurt that she sent me. The pain that was like a wooden stake driven through my heart. I still have nightmares about the hate-filled looks she gave me, and the tears I wasted trying to get her back as my friend.

I should have known that it was her plan to hurt me. All she ever wanted was to be accepted. I am genuinely happy that she got her wish. All I ever wanted was to have friends, to be loved. I just hope she realizes how much her wish hurt me.

With the bad came good, though. When I turned ten, a small fleet of boats came over to our isle from Rome, asking for food, water, and a place to stay. It wasn't a surprise, as Isunder was founded on escaped Roman slaves. Isunder became somewhat of a dream to those still left in chains.

These refugees claimed that they were escaped slaves, and would do anything to be accepted somewhere. The three boats unloaded their passengers, and out came two girls, with beauty unlike anything I had seen before. One had a cut on her leg, and was holding onto the other for support. Both had bright blue eyes that could pierce through your soul if they looked you in the eye. Immediately, I felt a connection.

I was holding a first-aid kit, so I walked over to them. The smaller one had brown hair. She said her name was Ani, and that the blonde next to her was her older cousin named Elise. We all turned out to be the best of friends.

Ani changed her first name to Jeysannia. "Jey" from the blue birds she saw every day flying to freedom. The blue birds that gave her hope.

Allen fell in love with Elise, and asked her out just a couple months ago. Jay used her crafting skills to become the junior blacksmith, and currently has a massive crush on Eret, Son of Eret, the most popular boy (now, next to Hiccup).

What happened to me, you may ask? I lost a best friend, but gained two, amazing new ones. Now, I even have Hiccup.

Thoughts get you completely mixed up. You start with one topic, and end up in another. I was talking about how things never go the way you think, and then, we are here talking about Hiccup. It's weird how life seems to hate you one moment, then be doting on you the next.

Now, what's the point of all this, you may ask?

All that matters is that we keep moving on, just as life keeps moving. Water doesn't wait for you to learn how to swim, you either sink or float. This is the most important lesson that I had to learn the hard way.

You must keep going. Because as we slow down, time doesn't. Live.

That was my dad's motto. It soon became the Isunder Creed. Cavan Maia: the greatest general the isle had ever seen. The most tragic loss our people had ever known.

"Keep going, against all costs. Victory is not the triumph of a battle, but the realization of a lifetime well spent."

.