Runaway Viking

Part 8: The Dragon's Nest

Astrid’s POV

Hiccup and I left for the nest about an hour after receiving the letter. Sapphire led the way while Hiccup and I flew on Toothless and Stormfly.

On the way, I couldn't stop thinking about what he had said. ‘my best friend’. Was that really what I wanted from him? To be only friends? Or did I want something more? I shook my head.
‘No, now’s not the time to be thinking about this,’ I told myself, inside my head, ‘especially with a potential war on the way’

A few hours after we’d left Berk, we came to the Nest. I stared in amazement as we circled around it. It was huge and constructed from a mix of stone and giant spikes of ice. I wondered what had created it. I was brought out of my thoughts by Sapphire, who squeaked, as if trying to get our attention. We followed him through a barely-noticeable gap between rock and ice into the dragon’s nest; home of The Dragon Rider.

Hiccup’s POV

On our way to the Nest, I thought about what I had told Astrid. ‘My best friend’. How could I have said that? Was that really what I wanted, friendship? Or did I want something more? Before I left Berk, I did, perhaps, have a small crush on her. No, who was I kidding? I had a major crush on her. But that was 5 years ago, that couldn't still exist, right?

I was brought out of my thoughts by a squeak from Sapphire, who seemed to be trying to get our attention. We had arrived at the nest. I gaped at it’s appearance. It was bigger than any of the previous nests I'd seen, and made from a mixture of stone and ice. I wondered what had created it. I didn’t know of any dragons that could spit ice. Sapphire led us through a gap between stone and ice into the nest; home of The Dragon Rider.

We ended up in the main cavern, with walls of ice and plants covering the ground. In the centre, a huge swarm of dragons flew in a tornado formation around a central column, a whirl of colour. But the most impressive thing was a huge dragon, probably about the size of Berk itself, bathing in a pool of water. It appeared to be dozing, an icy mist appearing from it’s snout as it breathed out.
“Woah,” I breathed.
“Hiccup, what kind of dragon is that?” Astrid asked, gazing at it in amazement.
“I don’t know,” I replied, “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Astrid nugged me, smirking, “What? A dragon that even the great Dragon Master has never seen before? I’m speechless.”
“Yeah, sure,” I replied, sarcastically, “like that would ever happen.”
“Hiccup?” a quiet, female voice asked from behind us.
Astrid and I both turned around, to find a tall, brown-haired and green-eyed woman standing there, staring at me in surprise.
“Yes?” I asked.
I was glad that I wasn’t wearing my mask. I didn’t want to seem intimidating.
Toothless came up to me and nuzzled my hand. I patted his head in return, my attention focused on the woman before me.
“Are you the Dragon Rider?” Astrid asked.
The woman nodded.
“Are you the Dragon Master?” she asked me.
She had a queer expression on her face that I couldn’t understand, and she was eyeing me strangely.
“I’m known as that, yes,” I responded.
Astrid sighed, surprising me.
“I’m Astrid,” she said, “he’s Hiccup.”

The Dragon Rider gasped and removed her mask, revealing a middle-aged woman with brown hair and bright green eyes.
"Could it be?" she muttered, almost to herself, "after all these years. How is this possible?"
Astrid and I exchanged a confused glance between the two of us.
"Ah.. should- should I know you?" I asked in confusion.
The woman looked at me sadly.
"No," she replied, her tone matching her expression, "you were only a babe," she looked me straight in the eyes, "but a mother never forgets."

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