Venomous Veins

Chapter 11

The next day was Hiccup's Final Exam for Dragon Training. There was a huge crowd all around the arena cheering their heads off. Stoick then approached the crowd and looked at them.

"Well I can show my face in public again!" Stoick joked making everyone laugh. Once the crowd died down Stoick continued. "If anyone had told me that within a few short weeks Hiccup would go from being... well Hiccup to placing first in dragon training then I would've tied them to a mast and shipped them off for fear they'd gone mad!" The crowd roared again with laughter to which Stoick finished. "And you all know it too!" Hiccup was standing at the entrance listing everything his father was saying which was making him feel guilty. "But here we are and no one is more surprised or more proud than I am. Today my boy becomes a Viking. Today he becomes one of us!"

"Be careful with that dragon." Astrid warned as she walked up behind Hiccup. "What are you gonna do?" Astrid asked.

"Put an end to this. I have to try." Hiccup said. He then turned to face them. "Astrid, if anything goes wrong just make sure they don't find Toothless and Venom."

"I will." Astrid promised."Just promise me it won't go wrong."

"Wish I could but you know that for us Vikings it's an occupational hazard." Hiccup said.

"Then good luck you're going to need it." Astrid said.

Gobber then appeared and walked over to Hiccup. "It's time Hiccup, knock them dead." He said.

Hiccup walked into the arena and placed his helmet on his head while the crowd cheered. The gate then closed behind him, Astrid looked at him from the other side of the gate. Hiccup walked over to the weapons rack and grabbed a shield and a small dagger.

"I would have gone for the hammer." Stoick said. Taking a deep breath Hiccup turned to face the gate.

"I'm ready." Hiccup said.

Hiccup watched as one of the Vikings pulled on a rope and opened up the gate. In an instant the Monstrous Nightmare burst out already on fire along with the doors of the gate. The Monstrous Nightmare jumped onto the walls of the arena and started running around them. It even blew fire that melted a section of the bars.

As the Monstrous Nightmare continued to scurry around the arena as if trying to find a way out the fire on its body eventually went out before the Nightmare glared down at Hiccup and got ready to face him.

"Go on Hiccup, give it to him!" A Viking yelled.

Hiccup slowly walked backwards while the Nightmare crept forwards, and eventually dropped his knife and shield.

"Hey, it's okay it's okay," Hiccup said to the Monstrous Nightmare gently. As the Monstrous Nightmare growled Hiccup's hands moved to his helmet and removed it. "I'm not one of them." He said throwing his helmet on the ground, making several Vikings gasp.

"Stop the fight," Stoick ordered as he stood up.

"No! I need you all to see this." Hiccup insisted as he slowly reached forwards, almost touching the Monstrous Nightmare. "They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."

"I said stop the fight!" Stoick bellowed, banging his hammer on the bars.

The moment that Stoick hit the bars, the Monstrous Nightmare's eyes turned into slits and tried to bite Hiccup's hand off. Luckily Hiccup managed to get it out of the way just in time. Unluckily the Monstrous Nightmare started chasing Hiccup around the arena.

"Out of my way." Stoick ordered running to the entrance.

Astrid watched in horror as the Monstrous Nightmare chased him around. Hiccup screamed at the top of his lungs.