The First Five: The Guardian Chronicles (Book One)

11: Memories

"Look ou'! It's ah dragen! A little girl with a bow and quiver screamed at Hiccup. He started running towards her but the monstrous nightmare's claws pinned him to the ground. It was about to roast him alive. He closed his eyes, thinking about how much he wished he could have protected the girl from the dragon. But the impact never came... in fact, the dragon was now next to him, instead of on top of him.

He glanced at the viciously red beast.

On top of it stood a large man with fair skin and red hair. He wore a blue and green plaid kilt. In his hand he held a sword that stabbed into the rib cage of the dragon.

He jumped down from the dragon and motioned for the girl with matching hair to come to him. She did and they whisper to each other, once in a while glancing back at Hiccup. He sat on the ground staring at them. Finally the little girl walked over to him, "I'm Merida. Wha's yer name?" She smiled and held out her hand to help him up.

Hccup accepted and she struggled helping him to his feet. When he was standing he smiled back at her, "I'm Hiccup."

"Strange name... Will ya be ma friend? Mum never le's me 'ave any friends..." She frowned muttering to herself.

Nobody ever wanted to be his friend, so this felt new to him, almost... happy. No longer sad and alone, or the odd kid out, "Of course I will!"

"Do ya 'ave a family, Hiccup?" The man asked, walking over to him and getting on his knees. Hiccup noticed that part of his right leg was missing below the knee, replaced by a wooden peg.

"Yes my father is the chief of Berk," He answered. They both gasped, their eyes wide, looking at him as if he was a dragon. "What, is something wrong?"

Neither of them answered.

"Merida stay here with Hiccup. I need ta go get the guards and tell Elinor to write a letter to Stoick."

"Yes Da'." The man quickly left, leaving them alone in the forest.

Merida looked at him with a sadness in her eyes, "Hiccup, promise me no ma'er wha' happens ye'll always be ma friend." She wasn't telling him something, and it was something important, but he agreed anyways.

"I promise."

❅ ❅ ❅ ❅ ❅

Hiccup woke up and saw Merida's head on his shoulder and her arms around his waist. As much as he wanted to think about how much Astrid would hurt him, he thought about his dream, instead.

That was when he and Merida were seven; they had just met. He had promised to be her friend no matter what happened. He stayed in their castle for two days, waiting for his dad to come get him. He had no idea why he was in Scottland in the first place, nor did he know to this day. All he remembered was meeting Merida and becoming her friend.

Or at least until Stoick got to the castle. He stormed into the castle and took Hiccup without saying a word to anyone. When they were leaving Hiccup saw Merida and tried to say goodbye, but his dad wouldn't let him.

Stoick explained to him on the boat back to Berk, that The Scott's thought that Berkians purposely trained the dragons to take their livestock. Which at the time was absurd because Hiccup wouldn't train Toothless until eight years later.

Hiccup didn't see Merida again until after he trained Toothless. He wanted to go visit the friend he had made so many years ago. When he finally spotted her in the forest shooting some arrows she nearly killed him. She actually was about to kill him on because she noticed Toothless and how he was trained. But then she lowered the bow and said something he would never forget, even if she only said it two years ago: