Cursed One- How to Train Your Dragon Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Seven- Home

I was suddenly aware of light.

At first, my eyes were too heavy to open. I had to fight with them a bit, and then the light flooded over me. I hauled myself upright and rubbed my face.

A room came into focus. I was sitting in a familiar bed in a familiar bedroom. There was a fire crackling, sending out waves of warmth even though I still felt chilled to the bone, and I could hear the whistling winds of a snow storm outside.

I pulled my legs out from under the covers and started to stand, but I almost immediately recoiled back as pain clamped my ribs. I pulled up my shirt to find a huge, purple bruise snaking its way across my chest. Sucking in a quick breath, I let my shirt fall back down to cover the hideous colors.

As I sat there on the edge of the bed, awareness came to the rest of my body. Everything hurt. I tried to reach down and take a look at a particular nasty soreness in my calf, but my chest throbbed when I bent forward.

I leaned back against the pillow with a groan and squeezed my eyes shut. It wasn't just my body that was in misery... my heart ached.

The door opened. A tall, gangly boy entered backwards, carrying a tray of steaming food. He faced me with a gentle smile, his eyebrows creased with concern.

"I thought I heard you up," Hiccup replied as he sat on the edge of his bed. He handed me the food and chuckled, though it sounded somewhat half hearted, "This kinda feels familiar, doesn't it?"

The smell of the soup was so heavenly, it almost brought tears to my eyes. But I didn't eat yet. There was a long moment in which I just stared at Hiccup, willing words to form. But I couldn't think of anything to say except, "Snotlout?"

Hiccup paused, as if unable to decide where to start. "You were out for... well, for a few days. You ran a high fever and uh... you really gave us a scare... You were so beaten up and sick. Snotlout was here with you the whole time."

Against everything, a warmth filled my heart. "He was?"

"Well," Hiccup scratched the back of his head. "Most of the time. He disappeared for an entire day... We still have no idea where he went, actually. He was exhausted when he got back but insisted on staying up all night to keep an eye on you. We begged him to go home and get some rest, but eventually his dad had to come get him."

His dad. Fear clenched my heart. I shot up, ignoring the smarting bruises. "Where is he?" I gasped, throwing my legs over the bed. "I have to see him!"

Hiccup leaped to his feet and gently pushed me back before I could stand. "Wow, wow. Take it easy. Your fever just broke this afternoon. You're in no shape to leave in the middle of a snow storm."

"Can you bring him to me?" I asked urgently.

Hiccup puffed out his cheeks and considered for a moment. "I don't know... it's the middle of the night and..." he trailed off. For a moment, just stared at me. Finally, he shut his eyes in defeat. "Ok. I'll go get him. But you have to eat all of that soup."

"Thank you, Hiccup." I nodded gratefully.

He turned for the door, but I called his name one last time before he could disappear. He hesitated and peered back into the room.

I bit my tongue so hard I could taste blood. I sucked in a deep breath. "Ripjaw...?" I murmured. My voice didn't sound like my voice for a moment. It sounded like splintering.

Hiccup's brow furrowed again, and his lips pulled back into a grimace. He was silent for a long moment, just gazing at me and searching. Then he looked away. "I'm sorry, Runa."