Urszula (A Hiccup Fanfiction)

Prologue

"Father? farther are you in here?" little Urszula asked and she walked the path to Viggo's tent. She had spent the whole day on in grasslands, digging holes and making mud pies. She was smothered in soil, and she wiped some off her eyebrows as she continued the search for her father.

Urszula was only six years old and she was already bored of living. That sounds pretty deep for a girl of six, but she had a lot of time to reflect on her emotions due to the neglectful nature of her family - well just her father and uncle Ryker.

Her father was always busy talking to big, scary men whose only facial expression was a scowl. He was always going to trips for months at a time, killing and hunting dragons she assumed. And when Ryker went with him, she had no one.

The one thing Urszula knew for certain in the world is that dragons are evil. They're evil because - well, because Viggo told her so. So it must be true, right?

"Father?" She questioned, slightly quieter then before and she moved the fabric opening of his tent.

In front of her, was a familiar old wooden desk that had gold coins and important papers scattered over it. There was also a small dragon in a mini dragon proof cage perching on the corner, she knew it was going to fall off any minute.

Sitting on the desk chair was her father, Viggo Grimborn. His head laid on the back of his hands that were plastered to the table. She could see his body heaving up and down with slow breaths and decided that he was likely asleep.

Due to his big frame he had pushed that dragon cage with his elbow and Urszula knew the dragon was going to fall off, which would definitely make it an unwelcome alarm for her father.

Urszula quickly scurried up to the desk and with all her might, pushed the heavy cage back onto the table before it could fall.

She let out a breath and placed her small hands on her hips, she smiled to herself. Her smile widened when the little dragon, that she knew as a terrible terror, was staring at her with wide, doe eyes. It tilted its head to the side in confusion and Urszula copied the action wearily.

They stared at eachother for a while until the little beast let out a sudden sneeze making orange sparks fly from its mouth. Urszula giggled softly at the dragon noise until she saw a glow from the corner of her eye.

To her left, on top of her father's table,  was a cylindrical object that seemed to be reacting to the the dragon fire and casting a glowing shadow on the tents wall.

Intrigued, Urszula turned back to the dragon in thought. She wanted to see the thing cast that shadow so she cleverly raised her arm and ran her fingers along the edge of the table until they fell of Viggo's quill pen. Urszula was too short to see the top of the surface.

She slide the feather in between the bars of the dragons cage and used it to lightly tickle its nose, in the hopes she could make the strange device glow again. Her efforts were rewarded when the little beats caught on with what she was doing and allowed its flame to light in its open mouth.

"Woah..." Urszula whispered. Projected on the fabric, was elaborate patterns and shapes that seemed to resemble a map or maybe a diagram, the little girl wasn't sure. Her eyes were set upon the beautifully lit dragon in the centre of the many circles. Ursa had seen many a dragon, mainly in drawings but some in real life, but she had never seen a dragon like this before.

Without thought, she took a few steps towards the light and kicked over a metal bucket making a clank rattle through the air.

"What was th-, oh daughter it is just you, what brings you here? Wait..." The now awake Viggo cast his eyes around the room and onto the tent wall. "Urszula Grimborn what are you up to? and why are you covered in mud?"

"Ummm... I was in the grasslands, I wanted ask if you could make up a bath for me cause uncle Rykie's not here..." her voice trailed off as she spotted her father's annoyed and tired expression.

"Ursa, you're nearly seven years old, I know you are capable of making you own bath" he sighed lounging back in his chair and rubbing his eyes.

"But the waters really heavy to carry all the way" the girl whined.

"Are you arguing with me?" Viggo said sternly. He let out a sigh, "If it's really that heavy just bathe in the lake".

The girl was desperate to protest. There were two lakes on her fathers island and one of them, thank Odin, was for drinking water purposes only. The other was located on the far side of the island, so not only would she have to walk there, she had no choice but to do it the dark when everyone else was asleep.

She hadn't told her father this, but some weeks past Urszula went to bathe but she simply couldn't carry the water all the way to the tub. And without any further questioning, she stripped off and dived into the water - not realising her nudity was cause such a stir with the other hunters that were nearby.

They were shouting and staring, Urszula didn't know what but she didn't need to. She knew they weren't being very nice.

If her father wasn't going to help her, she had no choice but to sneak out of her tent and walk to the desolate lake alone.

"Come now, don't look at me me like that daughter" Viggo sighed, sitting up "Come here".

Urszula took hurried steps towards him, raised her arms and was air grabbing with her little hands indicating she wanted to be lifted up.

Viggo sighed again before pick up his daughter by the waist and resting her on his knee. He licked his thumb and rubbed away a smear of mud on her cheek making the little girl squirm in protest.

"Father? What is that and why does it glow?" Ursa was pointing at the cylindrical object that was still projecting of the tent wall. She went to grabbed it, her father held her small hand before she could.

"That, my daughter, it called the Dragon Eye. In it, hold all the dragon secrets cloth can possibly imagine... and more." Viggo answered, seeming transfixed by the devices light.

Urszula took in this new information. She had one more question but was scared her father would scold her. Determined she quickly asked, "What's that dragon called? The big one in the middle?"

Viggo pulled his daughter towards him to stop her from slipping off his knee. "That dragon is known as a Changewing, it has the ability to blend in with any environment".

The little girl gasped, "So, they can turn invisible!" she said excitedly and smiled at the image projected on the wall.

Surprising himself, Viggo let outa small laugh at her excitement. "Yes Ursa, they can".

She didn't ask anymore questions. She knew her fathers mood could shift in an instant and she hadn't seen him even smile in a long time.

Viggo went on,"But as you know, the dragons are dangerous creatures. They are killers and will always be our enemy. You understand that, don't you daughter?"

This warning had been replay in her mind since the day she could understand words. Dragons were evil. They will always be the enemy.

Looking up at her role model she answered "Yes father."