Prince Meets Peasant (Hiccstrid) (On hold)

Chapter 2

Hiccup's P.O.V.

I stood at my father's shoulder as he met with some villagers. Some were complaining about neighbors, others about water wells near their houses, and one person was trying to persuade him to return his sister's horse. "Please, your majesty," he was pleading, kneeling in front of us as he bowed his head respectfully, "That horse is the only thing keeping my sister going. We've recently lost our father and our mother isn't that far behind him. I swear I'll return all the money you spent on her. But please, since you took the mare, my sister has not been well."

"Explain not well," Father orders.

"She hasn't eaten. Hasn't slept. She won't leave the stall that used to hold the horse. She won't speak to me, our mother, not even her best friend. She used to be one of the farms hardest workers. Now, I don't think I can hold it up on my own. Please, just return the horse and I'll do whatever you ask until you feel my debt is paid off," he pleads. My father looks at me from the corner of his eye.

"What do you think about all this, Hiccup?" he asks, obviously quizzing me. I saw the young man's eyes flash with hatred as Father said my name but I ignored it. I'm about to explain that our servants needed the extra horses to work our own fields, but then thought back to the girl, whose name I still didn't know. It's been almost a week and I hadn't seen her in the village or the forest, no matter how many times I rode my own horse through them. If she's having the same reaction to all this as this guy's sister...

"What's one mare to the herd we've gathered? Grant the girl her horse. You may keep the money, use it for essentials. And as for the debt. Make sure your sister is taken care of," I tell him and he looks at my parents in uncertainty. I glanced at them from the corner of my eye to see them beaming at me.

"I couldn't have said it better," my mother said proudly.

"Agreed. Take him to the horse he seeks. And from here on, we are not to accept offers from family members. If they are not the owner of the creature, do not negotiate with them," my father orders and a guard nods before gesturing for the man to follow him.

"On behalf of my family, I thank you," the man said, bowing once more. We nod in acknowledgement before he jogged after the guard.

One week later

I was riding Toothless through the forest, trying to relax my mind. Suddenly, something shot passed, in front of us, and he reared up in surprise. I paused in shock before kicking his side and having him gallop after the creature. When we drew closer, I saw a flash of a grey horse tail. Then, a flick of blond hair. "Hey!" I shouted but the horse just picked up speed. The rider had a dark cloak flicking out behind them in the breeze. "Come on, Toothless. Let's get em," I said as I leaned forward and he sped up before we were neck and neck with the other two. The person had a hood covering their face and their horse looked familiar. "Where's the fire?" I called over the wind. Their head moved, telling me they glanced at me

"Might wanna back up, your highness," they called before our horses jumped over a log and they shot an arrow at something in the undergrowth. The stick shot in front of my face and the head just gave me the smallest paper cut on my nose. The flicking sound of the arrow was soon followed by the painful screech of an animal. They then turn in the saddle and shoot another arrow at a tree trunk before facing the front again.

"Are you hunting?!" I ask.

"'Fraid so," they replied.

"Aren't you scaring all the animals away by going full speed?"

"Excuse me, highness, but which one of us has been hunting for their family since the age of 12?" they ask before shooting another arrow and killing something else. They mark another tree, moving with ease and skill. Our horses leap over a stream and mid-jump, the hunter shoots an arrow into the river. They sling their bow onto their back, two arrows left in their quiver. Their horse starts to huff loudly before they tugged on the reins. They slow to a stop and Toothless follows suit.

"So, who are you?" I ask as they dismounted and went to their saddle bag.

"I am afraid we've already met, your highness," they say as they pulled out some rope.

"Well, maybe I can't tell because of that hood your wearing," I say.

"It keeps the sun out of my eyes," they explain.

"Well, who are you?" I press. They sigh before flipping their hood off to show me a dazzling blue gaze, one I haven't seen in at least two weeks.

"I suppose I owe you a thank you for allowing my brother to bring my steed home," she spoke slowly, as if she couldn't stand saying what she was saying.

"You're...welcome," I say before she starts back along the trail, leading her horse behind her. I followed her, wondering if she's going to kill anything else. We reached the river and she allowed her horse to drink as she waded into the middle and plucked the arrow from the water. On the end, was a limp salmon. She retracted the arrow and put the fish in her saddle bag before leading her horse across the river. "So, you just go until you run out of arrows and then go back?" I ask as we trek through the undergrowth.

"Are you suggesting that I carry my catches with me as I hunt?" the girl asks.

"Yeah, wouldn't it save time?" she pauses before turning to face me.

"If one carries their catches with them, the scent of blood will inevitably drive the prey of the forest farther away," she explains as she rips one of her arrows from a tree and puts it in her quiver before going into the undergrowth. When she emerges, she's dragging a buck deer by the antlers.

"When did you see that?" I ask in shock.

"My father trained me to have an eagle eye. Nothing gets passed me," she says.

"You really must tell me your name, m'lady," I say as she ties the deer to the back of her saddle and having her horse drag it along.

"Well, this is Stormfly," she says, patting her horses neck.

"Ah, well. Stormfly, Toothless. Toothless, Stormfly," I say and Toothless whinnies a greeting as the mare snorts, turning her head away. "Hm, something's familiar," I say in sarcastic thought. The girl ran into the trees again and I waited with Stormfly, studying her. During that time, I was able to notice a scar on the mare's shoulder. I dismount Toothless and gently run my hand over the healed gash only to have her move away a step or two with a snort. "Shh, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you," I say softly as I moved into her sight. She anxiously shifted from hoof to hoof as I offered her my hand. She let out a heavy huff before putting her nose to my palm. "Yeah, atta girl," I murmured as she tossed her head. "Yeah, I'm a friend. Sorry 'bout your scare last week. Guess your family really needs some money huh?" She shook her head violently and hoofed the ground, as if saying she still couldn't believe it.