Legends of Darkstalkers and Nightriders

Chapter 21: Kidnapped

Emma's POV:

Blaze and I flew away to a nearby island and landed. I huffed as I dismounted, pacing. "I can't believe she trusts him more than us. We've spent so much time together, and she not only doesn't trust me, she trusts Hiccup more. And she hid it from us."

The sky began to turn to gray at my mood, smoky clouds blocking the sun from view. Blaze glanced up and then at me again. "I know," he said simply.

"I just...I really can't believe it, and it makes me so angry," I continued, turning toward him. "Why him?"

"Easy. Because she likes him."

I sighed, turning away again. "I really thought I found a friendship that would last for once. With someone who understands what this life is like, what it's like to be a legend."

I groaned in frustration and kicked a rock, thunder booming in the same moment. "One friend, I can't even have one friend."

"Emma, try to calm down," Blaze interrupted as the sky darkened some more, a swirling cauldron of charcoal.

"I can't," I snapped. "We trusted her and she didn't even care, she just dragged us through the dirt."

"I know," he said. "I know it hurts, and that you're upset, but you need to calm down, please?"

I sighed, raking a hand through my hair. I looked up at the sky, willing the sun to come out again, but it didn't. The wind only stirred up in response to my frustration. After a moment, it started to sprinkle, and then pour.

I scowled. "Oh, that's perfect. Yes. Thank you, sky!" I shouted up at the clouds, letting out all of my built up emotions. In response, the wind picked up so that the drops of rain became like needles against my skin.

I groaned as my hair was plastered to my face from the rain.

"Emma, please," my brother said, touching my shoulder. "You need to try to calm down."

A tear escaped down my cheek, though it was indistinguishable from the rain. "I can't," I said again. "These stupid powers will be the death of me! They're the reason you were taken from me, the reason I grew up alone! The reason I can't make friends, or go anywhere without people freaking out! And I can't even experience emotions without causing a fricken hurricane!"

He pulled me close, hugging me tightly. "Then let it out," he says gently. "All of it."

I swallowed audibly and returned the embrace, taking a shaky breath before crying into his shoulder, the rain forming larger drops in response.

After a while the tears subsided and the rain lets up, the sun starting to peek through the clouds again. I sniffled, pulling away.

Blaze smiled slightly. "Better?"

"A little," I answered.

Three weeks passed. We stayed on the island, staying well away from Berk. We tried to find things to distract ourselves from the loneliness and betrayal we felt, but nothing seemed to work. Occasionally we would fly to another island a few miles away, one that was bigger and inhabited by a small village. Nova and I would wait in the woods while Blaze went into the village and traded anything we might have caught for clothes or some bread or fruit. Lately he'd been coming back with stories he'd heard of the Nightrider. People were saying that she'd attacked a ship and driven it onto the rocks, sinking it. Others told stories of places and travelers she'd robbed. At first we'd written them off, assuming them to be rumors, but the more we heard them, we realized they were true. Blaze took this as confirmation that we never really knew her at all, which just made it hurt more and we'd try even harder to distract ourselves with games, but it never really lasted very long. Eventually something would remind us of her all over again.