Hybrid's Conciliation

Chapter 9

My eyes squinted open as they adjusted to the light. A dull throbbing in my head and back. A low groaning caught my attention.
Green eyes were right in front of my face.
I bolted up right in shock, causing the dull throb to turn into searing pain.
"I'm so sorry, Ember. Are you okay?" Toothless asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine. You just scared me, that's all." I said, still holding my head. When the pain dulled, I looked around my unrecognizable surroundings.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"We're in Hiccup's room."
My eyes widened at Toothless's words.
We're back on Berk.
My mind raced through the event of the past few days.
The capture.
Stonehedge Island
The fight with Sloan.
The creak of the door opening made my head spin towards it.
Hiccup walked into the room and smiled.
"Glad to see you're finally awake," Hiccup said, sitting down at the door of the bed. "You've been asleep for awhile."
"How long, exactly?"
"About three days."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, you can guess what the arrow was made out of."
"Iron." I said, rolling my eyes.
"No. It was made out of gold," Hiccup said, chuckling. I raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "I'm kidding. It was made out of iron."
I giggled at Hiccup's banter, but it soon faded into an uneasy silence.
"What happened with you and Sloan? You almost killed him."
I stared at my lap, not wanting to answer his question.
"Has that happened before?"
"Kinda," I said after a few moments. "When I was still in the cave, I would stare out at the village. I'd watch the dragons and Vikings fight to the death. I would hear their screams of agony and cries of grief and anger. I'd want to help, but I knew if I went to fight, I'd be dead. Even if they didn't kill me on the spot, they'd find me with full intent to kill me. And when I saw all the dragons attacking Sloan's village, my brain went  those memories of Berk. My brain thought that I could now fight and get revenge on everything that they've done."
Hiccup was silent, processing everything I just said.
"Sloan said something that set you off even more," Hiccup finally said. "What was it?"
I clenched my hands in my lap, fighting the emotions building up inside me.
"Remember when Sloan said he killed the last Burning Phoenix three years ago?"
Hiccup nodded.
"That was my dad... Apparently, Burning Phoenix can have different colored eyes... And he said the one he killed had pink colored eyes... Like me..." I wiped my eyes before continuing. " I mean, I knew my dad would probably be dead... But I didn't think he would have been alive three years ago... He was still alive..."
Hiccup wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly.
"I am so sorry..." He whispered. "I would've helped you if I knew..."
Hiccup's sudden touch shocked me. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around him, and buried my head into his shoulder. Hiccup rubbed comforting circles into my back.
"It's okay... It'll all be okay..."
I broke...
I cried into his shoulder for Thor knows how long. And he didn't care. He just held me close.
Once my tears subsided, I pulled away.
"Thank you, Hiccup."
"You're welcome. I'm here when you need me." He then stood up and put his hand towards me.
"I want to show you something."
Skeptically, I took his hand and he helped me stand up.
"You okay?"
"I got shot with an arrow, and I've slept for three days straight. I'm dying to get out of bed." I said, causing him to smile. He helped me out of the room, and began to walk close to me as if I was a new born dragon trying its first legs.
"Hiccup, I'm fine."
"Okay."
Then I realized where we walked to.
Hiccup's front door.
"What are we doing?"
"I want to show you around Berk."
My eyes widened as I began to ramble.
"What? Are you insane? I can't go out there. What if they try to kill me? What if they try to kill you? What if-"
"Hey, slow down. It's okay. You trust me right?" Hiccup asked. I nodded in response. "Okay. You ready?"
I nodded at him again, even though every ounce in my body begged me to run away.
He grinned, and began to open the door. My eyes squinted as the light blinded me for a small second. I stepped out of the house, and walked down the small set of stairs.
"Hey! Ember's awake!" Ruffnut shouted, which caused almost the entire village to run over and gather around me. Only hushed murmurs could be heard. My eyes scanned across the various faces. They all stared at me like I was a dragon hybrid.
Oh wait...
My muscles tensed, and my brain sped off. I kept glancing across the several faces, waiting for them to take out axes and other weapons. My breathe quickened, and a dim fiery glow of Berk set ablaze began to overtake my sight once more.
Until someone grabbed my hand.
I turned my head to the right, and Hiccup gave me a reassuring smile. His grip on my hand tightened slightly. My breathing leveled out and my panic slowly left me.
"Dragon Lady! Dragon Lady!" A voice yelled. Then, a small Viking child ran out of the crowd, despite its mother's wishes, and latched onto my legs. I jumped at the sudden contact, and froze. The child looked up at me and smiled.
"Dragon Lady." It said once more. Finally, I returned the child's smile, and hugged it the best I could.
The crowd cheered, and ran up to greet me.
"Uh... hi." I said nervously.
"Okay, everyone move back! Don't crowd 'round 'er!" A deep voice shouted. Then, Hiccup's Dad went through the crowd and stood beside me.
"Ember Druman, welcome to Berk."
Hiccup's Dad said proudly. I smiled up at him.
"Can we do something now?" Snotlout said agitated.
"Snotlout, Ember just got up. You really think she would-" Astrid didn't finish her sentence because I ran through the village to the cliff at the edge, jumped off, and snapped open my wings. My back still stung a little, but there was no way I was staying cooped up in a house.
I was finally free.
Free to live.
Free to act like a dragon.
Free to be a hybrid.
Free to fly around the village without being spotted and killed.
The feeling was amazing.
The village cheered as I flew around. Soon, the others got on there dragons, and joined my into the sky.
The past month has been a roller coaster. And, I have no idea what the future will hold. But I know it will definitely not be how I expected it to be.
No. There's so much more in store for me now.