Staraster-A How To Train Your Dragon Fanfiction

Chapter 12~She's Gone

~Melina's POV~
Hiccup was waiting for an answer. I knew that in order to protect Karma, I couldn't tell him. "Well?" he asked. I leaned down to Karma's head and whispered to her what to do. Toothless growled, hissing. His mouth glowed purple softly.
The Flightmare abruptly whipped around and smacked Hiccup with her tail! The Night Fury roared in shock. Hiccup and the dragon riders cried out as Karma pushed upward. I looked back down and watched Toothless fall, still roaring, as Hiccup struggled to get his bearings.
I straddled my Flightmare with my legs and clasped my hands around her neck as she gained speed. "Can you outfly Toothless?" I muttered absently and rhetorically. Her glow was starting to hurt my eyes in the starless night. I wondered dimly if Arvindal's Fire was still shining; I couldn't see anything in the clouds, but hopefully Hiccup wouldn't be able to either.
Toothless' plasma rang out below, and I heard Astrid calling to Hiccup. Karma stopped and hovered. I tried to listen. "Her hands were feminine," Hiccup was saying. I felt like growling. They were going to guess my gender from my hands?
"It went up," Snotlout said a few moments later. "If it leaves the clouds we'll be able to see it more easily."
"As if you can see it now," Astrid countered. I held my breath, hearing the wingbeats come closer. I was honestly surprised they couldn't; Karma's glow wasn't exactly subtle. Karma looked from left to right, nervous. She hissed in her throat.
We waited for just a few minutes, and then it was over. I could no longer hear the wingbeats. "Let's find a place to rest," I offered. The Flightmare agreed, zipping down like a missile. We quickly found a rocky island that was close to a larger one.
We touched down softly. I noted that there was no snow. A mountain loomed in the distance. Karma whined quietly. She didn't like this place any more than I did. I attempted to comfort her. "We just need to hide until Hiccup flies away," I told her anxiously, about to take my mask off.
"There will be no need for that," a rough voice sneered. "You'll be hiding in my lovely oasis." Sturdy arms suddenly wrapped around me and I screamed.
•••
~Arrow's POV~
I curled up against Bonecrusher, my stomach rumbling. Staraster had glided us down to his ledge and I was worried sick about Mel. At least the wind wasn't as unforgiving as my soul was down here. I would not forgive that Flightmare.
If Melina had had any control over it, she would have come back for us right away. Kyrra was tucked under Staraster's pale wing on my right, presumably asleep. My face softened. Staraster wasn't quite as bad as I'd thought.
I pondered if Kyrra was blaming herself for Mel's being taken. It wasn't her fault, and I wanted to tell her that, but I didn't want to wake up. I could just see her furry boots sticking out from under Staraster. I didn't know how she had managed to sleep.
We had left Kat's body up on the summit for now. If we managed to get her down alive, then we would probably need to make a second trip. I hadn't gotten over her death yet, and I hoped that was normal. It had been probably about an hour.
Bonecrusher licked my neck, making me feel guilty when I had to look at his bruised face. His tongue was warm and comforting. However, nothing would be as comfortable right now as having Mel in my arms. I'd rather her freeze with me.
•••
~Melina's POV~
I struggled vainly, snapping my head back against my attacker's chest. He grunted and tightened his grip on my arms. He was holding my arms behind me, and I couldn't see his face.
"Who are you, and what do you want from me," I asked, narrowing my eyes through the already thin eye slots in my mask. I heard a strange laugh. "The only gift you can give us is your existence," the voice said. It was not the one holding me. I was turned and heard grunting and hissing behind me.
"Don't hurt her!" I cried out. "Your little dragon friend will be very safe with us," the leader said with a false promise that made me shiver. I was forced to walk forward. The grip on my arms was tight. I could see that we were heading towards the small mountain ahead of us.
After a long walk across blackened rocks, we finally went down a tunnel into the mountain that was surrounded by masked Vikings in silver helmets with horns that went up instead of sideways. They jeered at me, laughing. I thrusted myself forward at them, but I was yanked back.
I was scared, for me, my friends, and Karma. They yanked her away from me. I was glad they couldn't see my face. When we reached the end of the tunnel there were cells on either side. It was cold, and it smelled like it was rotting. I heard something clinking and my kidnapper moved his grip farther up my arms.
Another pair of hands wrapped chains around my wrists, locking them in. They were cold and rusted. "Don't do this!" I yelped, suddenly whipped around. My mask was yanked off, and I could feel that my braid was in view.
The leader laughed harshly, apparently only predicting a girl from my voice. I stared in numbness as they pushed me into a moldy old cell. This wasn't some random fleet of enemies. This was the foe I had feared, the foe all of Berk had feared while he was on the loose.
And here he was again, separated from me by an iron fence, scruffy, with wild red hair and scars around his eye. Dagur.