Valka's Story

Prologue

A dragon crashed down to Earth, stunned by the hammer that hit it. A viking ran towards it, axe held high, screaming his war cry, planning to take advantage of the Monstrous Nightmare's vulnerability.

Quickly a woman ran to intercept the viking.

"Stop!" Valka cried as she grabbed his arm, stopping him from making the killing stroke. "You'll only make it worse!"

The viking looked at her in disgust, wrenching his arm away from her. She had let his prize get away from right in front of him.

Valka sighed. Her opinion of not killing dragons was very unpopular.

Suddenly there was a crash from the hill. Valka whirled around, her heart in her mouth.

A dragon was breaking into her house!

Valka ran towards the ruined house, only thinking of protecting her son, Hiccup.

Once in the doorway, she grabbed one of Stoick's swords hanging by the door. Holding it ready, she rushed to protect Hiccup, but what she saw was proof of everything she believed. The dragon was no vicious beast, but a kind and gentle creature, just playing with her baby boy.

As Valka walked forward, a floor board creaked and the dragon turned suddenly in alarm, accidentally scratching Hiccup on his chin.

The sword held out in front of her, Valka slowly backed away under the dragon's gaze. But it was kind, unhostile, intelligent, instead of the angry, cruel, mindless killers vikings had come to believe dragons were like.

Valka looked into the dragons' eyes and saw something incredible. Somehow, she saw the dragons' soul and somehow, it reflected her own.

Suddenly Valka saw her own face in the blade of the axe Stoick had thrown. The dragon reared back startled.

"Valka! Run!" Stoick yelled, fearing for his wife's life.

The dragon turned on Stoick, breathing hot fire at him, just missing and hitting the hardened wooden wall of their house.

On an impulse, Valka grabbed one of the dragons' wings.

"No," she cried. "Don't!"

Leaving Stoick to grab Hiccup, the dragon faced Valka, studying her again. Strangely, Valka felt no fear of this dragon, only fear that Hiccup and Stoick would get hurt.

"Hold on!" Stoick cried, and with a leap, he tumbled over the flames and grabbed the wailing Hiccup from his cradle.

Suddenly Valka felt strong claws around her shoulders, lifting her up into the air to join the fleeing dragons.

"No!" she screamed. "Stoick!!"

"Valka!"

She could see the flaming house with Stoick and baby Hiccup in it getting smaller and smaller by the second.

"Stoick!!"

Valka thought she heard Stoick whisper her name one more time into the night before she couldn't see her husband, son, house, village.

Then, finally, she couldn't see Berk.

It was only then she let the tears fall.