Guardians Rising

6: To Meet a Dragon

Hiccup was very nervous. Today was so weird, first his friends blowing up at him, then the glowing blue light, and now Toothless was diving headlong into a dense forest. He no longer tried to calm down the dragon, being hardly more than a passenger now, holding onto the saddle for dear life. He held his breath and risked a glance at the trees below. They were rushing to greet them like a mountain river in spring. "Toothless!!!" he yelled again. His dragon paid no attention to him.

Suddenly, the glowing blue light that Toothless had been chasing disappeared. The dragon roared in frustration, for he had lost his prey, and now his momentum would carry him straight into the waiting arms of the thorny branches. And there was nothing he could do to stop.

Both dragon and rider were terrified.

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A roar sounded overhead, and Merida thought, What if I die here? She was not really one to panic, but the thought of dying here alone, and, worse, of being crushed and suffocated by the huge creature, that was more than she could handle. She hoped beyond hope that this was nothing more than a nightmare, and that she would wake up in a moment. Then the black shape crashed upon the trees, shattering the world around her. But she only thought, Dragons are real! Wouldn't dad be so surprised.

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The impact shook Hiccup so hard that he thought he'd broken every bone he had. Toothless was barely coherent. Hiccup attempted to rise, but only found that he could hardly move, let alone get up and walk around. That was probably the worst fall they had ever had.

"Ow," he muttered, as he felt something sticking into his back. With an effort, he pulled it out from under him. It was a bow. And a really good one too, by the look of it. What was such a fine weapon doing out here in the middle of nowhere? He narrowed his eyes and forced himself to sit up and survey his surroundings, though it hurt immensely. Yes, he was in a forest, with oaks and other trees about him. He noticed the ground had been very torn up, but he attributed that to Toothless's fantastic landing. But still, he felt something was out of place. Then he saw it. A mass of curly, red . . . hair! And a girl, half under his dragon's left wing. She seemed unconscious. Hiccup looked at the now-awake Toothless and said, "We should-"

The girl snapped her eyes open and sat up. Then she saw him, reached for an arrow, and realized she didn't have her bow in her hand. She glared at Hiccup. "That's MY bow!"

Hiccup smiled awkwardly and started to hand her weapon back to her. "Wait, who are you?" he asked, suddenly wary.

"M' name's Merida DunBroch, and you would do well to give me back that bow."

"Okay, I don't want any trouble, I just wanted to know." Then, seeing the inquiring look on her face, he added, "And I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. But, uh, just call me Hiccup, please." He handed her bow back. Then Toothless broke in with a loud whine, and Hiccup said, "You wouldn't happen to have anywhere to tend to an injured dragon, would you?"

She laughed. Then replied, "Well, I might know a place you can keep him for a while. As long as he doesn't eat me."

Hiccup laughed in return and they shook hands.

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