Beyond the Shadow

Cold wind rushes past my face, as the waves below me dart by in a blur. I fly upwards, climbing higher, and higher towards the sun, tasting the concentrated sweat as it drips from my brow. I grip my saddle, feeling the firm hide under my finger tips. My breaths grow sharper, and colder but I don't feel the cold, the only thing I feel in this amazing moment is pure joy, as I climb higher into the clouds. I reach the peak and level out gliding above the smooth clouds, emanating sunlight, greeting me like an old friend.

This is the only time that I don't feel the iron pressure of the village on my shoulders. Then I let go and fall downwards towards the freezing water. Unattached from all of my responsibilities, expectations, duties, completely free I treasure every second. I face upwards, and let out a large whistle. An enormous blue and white dragon with kind, intelligent, blue eyes dives down beside me allowing me to get onto his saddle before he shoots back upward at the last moment.

As the wind howls around me I glance over at the Island I will one day have to care for, and I don't want to leave the back of my dragon Blue. Blue and I have known each other ever since I can remember. My dad would always say,"Blue and Arne; they're a match made in Valhalla." I suppose that he named me Arne because it was what he hoped I grew up to be, an eagle. Someone who was smart, vigilant, brave, someone like him. Today I start dragon training but maybe I could just stay here a little longer, free.

I force myself to head back, but Blue gives me a look that seems to say, Come on, I could do this all day. We glide back above the tall brightly colored brick houses, and vast fields of Berk before we land on a hill. I climb out of my saddle and walk towards large iron buildings perched upon a tall hill. Blue trots along behind me silently. As we pass through the immense iron gates adorned with the symbols of Dragons, I can feel hundreds of eyes lock upon me. People in front of me abruptly dash to clear the hallway. I walk up to an oak desk and gaze upon a short man wearing a neat blue tunic.

I take a deep breath and say, "Hi, I'm here to check in for dragon training."

He doesn't look up from his book which he is appears to be reading with great concentration, and asks "Name?"

"Arne Haddock."

The man drops his book and promptly looks up, fixing his eyes upon me as if he can't believe that he is actually talking to me. I've always hated this, the way everyone looks at me, like I'm not even a real person.

"Right," he takes a deep gulp. "Go down that hall and it's the first gate to your right."

"Thanks."

My eyes take a second to adjust to the light, when they do, I glance around and see an enormous room, with a large open circular hole in the ceiling, a rack full of weapons I had never set my eyes on before, and a wall full of dragon feeding stations. The excited lively chatter dies down to mutters as I step into the room. I can hear people whisper to each other, "He's Arne, that's the chief's boy."

I never understood why the fact that I was the chief's son had to dictate my whole life. Why does who we are born to matter anyway? My whole life had always been people staring at me in hallways, whispering about me behind my back, or worse, right in front of me. I am forever to be trapped in the darkness of the shadow cast by my father. He managed to make Berk into the prosperous, strong, intelligent, and peaceful place it is today. I am his legacy but now that I start dragon training everyone expects me to not only be smart, brave, and strong, but to be even more so than my father. And how could anyone really do that? How could anyone ever live up to chief Hiccup the Wise?