Torn [Hiccup x Reader x Jack]

Chapter 11

When you heard footsteps stumbling along the path to the lake, you were ready.

You held your serrated knife in front of you, tightening your grasp on the leather-wrapped handle. (d/n) stood protectively behind you, her wings and tail arched over your head in a shield of sorts. Her teeth and claws were bared, a low growl rumbling in her throat and a glow of red shining from her back. You were ready to talk or to fight if necessary.

You expected a mob, people desperate to get you off their island and remove your unknown curse.

You got Hiccup instead.

He seemed startled to see your threatening stance, letting out a shout of surprise and stumbling back a few paces. He leaned against a boulder to catch his breath for a minute, his hand over his heart. "For Thor's sake, (y/n)! What is all this?" You lowered your knife, but still held your stance, ready to bolt if needed. Your jaw remained set, and your eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

Hiccup looked at you, furrowing his eyebrows. "What's up with you?" he asked, cautious now. His hand strayed to his waist, where his flaming sword was sheathed. His eyes flitted between yours and your blade. Hiccup stepped closer, moving with a wariness that reminded you of someone approaching a wild beast, unpredictable. "(y/n)," he said softly, "put down the knife."

He took another step forward, only a few meters away from you now. His foot landed heavily on a twig. The snapping noise made (d/n) jump, curling closer to your body and raising her wings threateningly. Your knife hand twitched, arms shaking with adrenaline. "So, Hiccup, are you here to throw me off your island?" His face twisted in confusion. "What do you mean? I don't-"

"Are you here to ban me from Berk? To lock me up in a cage so I can't curse anyone else?" Your voice rose and so did your knife, pointing itself at Hiccup's throat as you moved one foot backwards into a fighting stance. Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "(y/n) what are you talking about?" You tensed as he took another step forward.

"I know you probably brought a mob with you, there's no point in hiding them."

"(y/n)-" He took a step.

"I thought Berk was different! I thought I had finally found a home; I thought you wouldn't hate me!"

Hiccup was now a meter away. His arm shook as he reached out a hand to you, palm out, as if you were a wild dragon he had yet to tame. "(y/n), tell me what you mean. I don't understand." His voice was soft and soothing, trying to calm you with his words. Your knife hand shook so much you could barely hold it.

"You know what I mean, Hiccup. STOP PLAYING GAMES!"

"I don-"

"YOU KNOW! YOU KNOW I'M A DRAUGR!"

Your voice fell to a deadly whisper as Hiccup blanched in shock, eyes wide. "You're here to kill me, or to take me prisoner." Hiccup swallowed, obviously processing this information, before gasping and almost shouting, his words tumbling over each other in a desperate plea of denial. "Why would I kill you! You're a wonderful person, even if you're a-" his voice stumbled over the word- "draugr, we accept you, I accept you-"

"DON'T LIE TO ME," you bellowed, cutting off his attempt to prove his innocence, your knife steadying with your new anger. "It's happened before." Letting out a bitter laugh, you muttered, "And I thought Berk was different."

"What in Odin's name are you talking about?! I didn't come here to kill you, I came here to find you and see if you were okay!"

Your words from before hit him again with about the effect of a sucker punch. "You're a draugr... Why didn't you just tell us?"

You started laughing uncontrollably, backing toward the lake, (d/n) growling dangerously. It was a mirthless noise, but when your eyes met Hiccup's, he was serious, his face written with genuine confusion.

"Do you even know what a draugr IS?! By definition, again-walker! Undead, unnatural, unreal! I told you all that happened before you found me. Why do you think I was kicked off the ship that brought me here?! Why do you think, once the old woman started screaming that I was a curse upon this land, that I ran?!"

"(y/n), I-" Hiccup tried again.

"Because people kill draugrs! Because for some reason, once people look into my eyes, they only see death and curses and danger! Countless times people have found out, and each time I was either cast out or locked in and tortured for an evil that I don't even understand!"

"(y/n)!" Hiccup cried out. Your feet were getting dangerously close to the water, and at the side of the lake where you were, the drop-off to the bottom of the lake was incredibly deep. You ignored his shouts and brandished the knife at him, a crazy glint in your eyes.

"So you're asking me why I didn't tell you?" You smiled, pain written across your features. "There are things that have been done to me that you couldn't even comprehend, Hiccup." Your voice rose in a vicious crescendo: "I DIDN'T WANT TO BE KILLED AGAIN!" You lunged at Hiccup, desperation and rage in your eyes. His widened and he drew his sword, disarming you with one parry. He stepped towards you, yelling your name and reaching out to you, trying in vain to calm you like the vicious beast you were. You screamed, a wordless shout filled to the brim with anger and fear mixed together and stepped backwards, your hands facing palm forward to him.

A heat, piercing and painful, burst from your fingers; a spark caught and then there was fire.

Hiccup yelled and fell backwards, rolling along the ground to try and put out the flames eating at his hair and clothes.

You looked at the sight in horror, terrified at what you had done. Hiccup glared up at you with such an uncharacteristic look of betrayal and anger that you stumbled back, stepping off the edge of the lake into the deep water.

(d/n) surged forward the second your head splashed underwater, calling out for her mistress and retrieving you from the lake. She flapped her wings once and took to the air, a white glow along her back scales. In seconds, the two of you were out of the cove, flying away, anywhere far away from Berk. Hiccup's cries of your name faded out, the hopeful sight of Berk giving way to clouds and wind.

Again? you asked yourself. I said that I didn't want to be killed again.

3rd Person P.O.V:

A tall, broad man with a full, white beard rose quickly from where he was sitting, at a cluttered worktable covered in ice chips and chisels. The words Naughty and Nice were intricately tattooed onto his forearms, and he wore loose black pants and a red shirt with sleeves rolled up to showcase the detailed letters. He moved with intent, tripping over a few toy sets and stumbling out the door of the workshop. He stormed up a walkway, ignoring the clattering and roars of the yetis below him, and burst into a great hall, filled mostly with a huge model of the earth that was lit up with twinkling lights.

Taking almost no notice of the globe, he strode to the center of a circle, staring up at the small window built into the dome above the earth. Beyond it you could see the moon, shining brightly against a beautiful starry sky.

The moon smiled down on the man.

I have news.

The man nodded impatiently.

The girl's powers have awakened. I have found her.

His face broke into a rosy-cheeked smile filled with wonder and delight.

"Summon the Guardians!" he bellowed, and let out a big, rowdy laugh.

<3 Moony