Hiccup the Dragon Queen- Adopted

Group Therapy

"I was young when it all started. I don't remember a life before that. I grew up in a place where they killed dragons for sport. My people were so disgusted by dragons because of what happened back then. I was a baby when it happened. All I know is from the stories people told. Hundreds of dragons flew through the sky above my village. There were so many that it blocked out the sun, turning day into night. Out of fear, my people took up arms and catapulted many of the dragons from the sky. The first few dragons hit the ground, that's when the war started. Thousands of humans and dragons alike died. When the first dragons fell, others followed and destroyed our homes and fields in revenge. When the dragons knew they could not pass our island, they returned to their nests. Later, when I met Otem, I found out it was a Great Migration for that group of dragons that happens once every five hundred years.

"When I was younger, my earliest memories were of my mother and father going out to kill dragons. My mother was bitter because her family was destroyed in the first siege. When I was about four, I asked the worst question I could have ever asked." Abygail stopped as if the memory was too hurtful to go on.

"What was the question?" Artemis asked. He had been sitting quietly, listening to the usually quiet young girl.

Abygail took a deep, shaky breath and continued, "I asked, 'Why do we have to kill dragons?' My mother looked at me in horror and turned to anger. She said, 'You stupid girl, how dare you ask that question. Do the stories you learned mean nothing to you?' She walked over to me and pulled my hair back hard so I was looking up at her. She spat in my face and threw me down the stairs leading to the underside of the house. We stored weapons down there. It was no place for a young girl. Before I could get up, I heard the click of the door being locked. I screamed and cried for someone to let me out. That evening, my father came back and opened the door. He came down the stairs and threw his shield and sword down on the ground. He turned and looked at me. His eyes were red. Quietly, he told me, 'Your mother died in my arms because she could not bear to live in a world without her family. This was all because you asked that question. Had you not, she would not have thrown herself in the flames of a dragon's breath.' He walked back up the stairs and locked the door back. I was trapped in there and I didn't see him for three days."

"Did he even feed you at all?" Artemis asked.

Abygail shook her head sorrowfully. "When the door was finally opened, I ran up the stairs. My father was walking away from the door he just opened and walked out the front door. I Immediately went to the food bin. When I opened it, there was nothing in it. I left the house in search of food. On the outskirts of the village, I found some berries and ate them. I nearly cleared the bush because I was so hungry. I was lucky enough that they weren't poisonous. When I returned, my father was in the doorway. When he saw me, he waited until I stood in front of him. I still had berry juice on my face and he said, 'So, you left to eat to your little heart's content. Don't bother coming back inside until you've run all that food off.' He slammed the door in my face and locked it. That night, snow started to fall. It was a miracle I didn't freeze to death. The next morning my father caught me sleeping on the porch. He grabbed me by my clothes and threw me back down the stairs to the basement. Before he locked the door, he threw his cape down and told me to fix the hole that was in it. It was this routine for years. Sometimes it would be three days, sometimes five. I would fix his clothes in exchange for food sometimes. That's how I got so good. It was the only thing my mother left to me. Many times, my sewing wasn't good enough for him so he would not feed me when I fixed his clothes. By the time I was twelve, I still looked like a six year old. One day, while I was out searching for food, I met Otem. He cared for me, kept me warm, and even hid me when my father came looking for me when I stayed out too late."

"Who is Otem?" Artemis asked.

A rustling sound came from behind him. "That would be me." Artemis turned to see a small red change-wing. He jerked backwards in surprise.

"My apologies, I did not mean to scare you. I only hide to protect Dracon-Gail. If she needs hiding, I hide her."

"I see." Still on edge, Artemis gestured for Abygail to continue.

"One day, I decided I didn't want to go back. I was tired of being locked down there with the weapons, tired of fixing clothes that were well beyond fixing. I asked Otem to take me away. Far from that place. It's been two years since then and I haven't regretted a single moment."

"I see, my apologies, Ms. Abygail. You shared your story with me, I think it's time I return the favor." Artemis told his tale of his father and mother. His horrors and his life. Both found they had many similarities. Mainly, the same dream to get revenge for those that hurt dragons. What they didn't know was that while they told their tales, Toothless and Battle-Axe quietly stood by, hidden in the undergrowth.

"My King, these are the individuals you should be talking to. Your 'daddy issues' can be resolved by someone who has experienced these problems."

"I do not have 'daddy issues'. I just despise my father with every scale on my body. Why would I talk with individuals who have been through that? I don't need council, I need my moment to strike him down."

"You need to talk it out. I can't help you through this, I'm not a talker. I'm a warrior. I fight. Now, let's go and talk to them." Battle-axe scruffed Toothless and dragged him out of the bushes they were hiding, once they were out. Battle-axe let go of Toothless and pushed him from behind, to the group. Toothless, resisting, left a scar in the earth from where he refused to move his feet. The group watched them approach. Otem and Orion quietly sniggered at the scene moving closer to them.

"We couldn't help but overhear your situations. Hopefully you can help his highness here about his situation." Battle-axe flew off after saying that.

An awkward silence fell over the group as Toothless looked everywhere but the four individuals.

"Don't expect me to say anything." Toothless finally said.

"Wouldn't expect you to, your highness. But as we're all sharing here, feel free to." Abygail responded. Toothless scoffed and sat a little ways away as the others began talking again. Before long Toothless joined in and eventually, he spilled everything to these young individuals. He ended with how he couldn't tell the love of his life about his past out of fear.

"Queen Hiccup told me that it didn't matter what I had done in the past, but the choices I made now." Artemis said.

"I realize that, but the fact that I knowingly ate humans when I was a hatchling makes me fear that Hiccup may one day be afraid of me. Now that we have eggs, it makes me fear even more that he could take the children away from me. I can't gamble on the fact that if I told him about my past, and the fact that my father was seen in the area, he would be understanding. He may very well understand but I do not wish for the love of my life to fear me. I am supposed to be his protector, his lover, not his nightmare."

"Why don't you discreetly ask him?" Abygail asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if you asked him a theoretical question, like, 'hey what if someone in the nest used to eat humans as a hatchling but gave that up to love humans?' Then it wouldn't matter what his answer would be, if he asked why, you could say that you met a dragon on the outskirts. If his answer was what you wanted to hear, you could tell him the truth."

The group continued talking through the evening. Planning, helping Toothless find the courage to ask the question to his mate. When they came up with a good plan, the group separated and turned into their nests for dinner.