Heir and Pride

Chapter Six

The next morning saw the class taking on a very agile and extremely irritated Deadly Nadder in a maze. The class had spent the first hour arranging the wooden panels in the arena to create the maze and the class were grumbling and running round trying to avoid the poison-coated spines. Hiccup, though, wasn't really playing full attention.

    

"I couldn't help noticing that there wasn't much about Night Furies in the Dragon Manual!" he called up to Gobber, who was watching from the stands. "Is-is there a sequel? Or maybe a Night Fury pamphlet?" Gobber rolled his eyes in exasperation. Stock was right about one thing: the boy really did have the attention span of a sparrow! Unfortunately, the Nadder was as focussed as an arrow!

    

"Look out!" he shouted and the boy suddenly realised the dragon was bearing down on him. He put his head down and sprinted along the maze and round the corner, evading the dragon for a moment. The twins ran into it and-predictably-started squabbling, only stopping when the dragon decided it wanted their attention and tried to blast them to ashes! Astrid and Snotlout met it next and Snotlout miserably failed to frighten it away, blaming the sun for spoiling his aim. Hiccup took his chance and craned his neck up to peer at Gobber.

    

"What would you do if you ran into a Night Fury?" he asked and Gobber scowled at him. The boy was persistent, to say the least.

    

"No one has ever lived to tell!" he snapped back at the lad. "Now get in there!" His tone was impatient. Hiccup peered to his right-to see Astrid making a shushing gesture. He flicked his gaze up-and saw the Nadder stalking towards him. He ducked down as Astrid and Snotlout front-flipped across the corridor the dragon was stalking down. Last in line, Hiccup tried to repeat the manoeuvre and ended up flat on his back with a cry, lying vulnerable in direct view of the dragon. It screeched and raced at him.

    

He scrabbled up and ran for it, unintentionally  crossing over Astrid, who was immediately chased by the Nadder. She leapt up onto the partitions and ran along, the Nadder chasing her and demolishing the maze as it went. Hiccup had reached Gobber and was breathing hard. "But if you were to meet a Night Fury..." he began but Gobber pointed behind him.

    

"LOOK OUT!" he shouted as the barrier behind him came flying down, with Astrid leaping ahead of it. She collided with him and her axe embedded deeply in his shield. He went down under her and didn't have a moment to enjoy the proximity to Astrid because she looked fit to kill and the dragon had arrived. And anyway, she was trying to wrench the axe from his shield, nearly tearing his left arm out in the process.

    

"Let me...ow, ow, ow!" he began as she rested a foot on his chest. She could hear the dragon closing. With a huge jerk, she ripped the shield from his arm and smashed it across the dragon's face, knocking it silly and causing it to back away, stunned. Gobber nodded.

    

"Well done, Astrid!" he complimented her. She was the first one of the class to successfully defeat a dragon. "Top marks," he added. Normally, success would calm her but she was livid, completely livid at the fact she had almost gotten killed-and who was responsible. And she had been starting to feel sorry for him! She turned her ire to the little huddled shape at her feet. Hiccup was curled up as small as he could manage, trying not to provide much of a target. She advanced on him and shoved her axe into his throat, biting into the skin.

    

"Is this a joke to you?" she screamed. He flinched. "Our parents' war is about to become ours. You need to decide whose side you're on!" And she hefted her axe over her shoulder and stalked away, still seething. Gobber sighed and walked after her and Hiccup slowly uncoiled, shaking. Astrid was one of the few people who hadn't actively bullied him but her verbal attack had winded him. He blinked and achingly clambered to his feet-to see Snotlout and the twins waiting.