United -Sequel to 'If You'll Be Mine'

Chapter 22. Witch of the woods.

Swiftly, dad and I landed in the cove upon our dragons the next morning. Dad was whooping ecstatically and Toothless was hopping around in excitement.

"That was amazing!" I gushed as I slid off of Eclipse's saddle. Gently, I petted her snout and then unloaded the saddle bag.

"Dragons open up a whole new world, Eliza. I'm so glad that you've finally discovered it." He smiled, Toothless nuzzled against dad's arm and he patted him in an affectionate response. Dad inhaled deeply before glancing up to the sky, the sun was beginning to rise now, there wasn't a puffy white or grey cloud to be seen.

"Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day..." I pointed out. Dad hummed in response. I looked back to him as I heard his metal foot clank.

"We should get back." He muttered.

"What about Eclipse?" I called out as he began to walk away. Dad stopped in his tracks and spun around, his eyes landing on my dragon. Her violet eyes were wide and curious, her soft black pupils were dilated.

"S-she can't come back. Not yet anyway. Some villagers might freak out at the thought of the legends becoming true." Dad explained, his happy expression dropped. I didn't argue back, it was too early in the morning for that. So I said goodbye to Eclipse and left her to rest beside the lake, dad, Toothless and I walked back to the village through the forest chatting about different dragon species. Just as a few huts were coming into view, my dad stopped dead in his tracks.  "Did you hear that?" He hissed, holding out his arm to stop me as well.

Toothless warbled in confusion and tilted his head towards dad.

"Uh...no?" I muttered. Suddenly, the sound of a gentle hum echoed through the canopy. A soft sweet beckoning. "Is that the..." I whispered in disbelief, my eyes trailed to my father's.

"The wisps." Quietly, he confirmed. Mum and dad had told my brothers and I of these ancient spirits when we were little, they always mentioned their experiences but why would we believe them? It's not like we had ever seen the wisps our selves.

The whispering and humming became a little louder and in an instant, a little blue spirit appeared before us. It danced around a few centimeters above the soil, it floated in the light breeze and its delicate appearance flowed with every movement.

"Oh my gods..." I gasped. Quickly, my hands rubbed my eyes as if I were trying to clear my vision, expecting the spirits to be a figment of my imagination. As I reopened my eyes, the little blue creature was still present. "What do we do?" I croaked to my dad who seemed completely stunned.

"We follow it!" He exclaimed quietly, a wide grin settling onto his slightly wrinkled face.

"Seriously? What if our fate is to die in the next five minutes?!" I squeaked. Dad chuckled but still gingerly, stepped forward.

"Merida was right, you certainly take after me..."

"Dad!" I whined in panic.

"Shh!" He silenced me. "C'mon let's follow them." I buttoned my lip and tiptoed forward beside dad. As we neared the wisp it evaporated and a new trail of wisps appeared, leading into the depths of the forest.

"Dad this is nuts!" I groaned as we ventured further than either of us had ever gone before. "We're going to get lost!"

"We wont." He replied shortly. Dad stepped forward, twigs and dry leaves crunched beneath his boot, Toothless was now growling, his pupils sharpened to slits. "Bud, it's fine just some leaves."