How to Let Your Dragon Go

Chapter Five

Toothless was delighted. Electra had chosen to stay! All the other dragons seemed happy too; Toothless had told them about his Night Fury friend.

Firestorm smiled. "Great" she declared. "You and General Toothless can lead a raid tonight. In fact, why don't you get going right now, General Electra"

Electra looked happy to be declared General. "Okay"

They gathered almost twice as many dragons for that night's raid. Toothless was happy to see that Skullcrusher, a headstrong Rumblehorn who didn't normally go with Toothless on the raids, gathering in the large group.

Electra came up to him. "Let's get going, General"

Then she flew out the tunnels.

Toothless chased after her. "Don't call me General!" he shouted, then called for the other dragons to follow.

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The two Night Furies led the raid on Berk. Toothless fired the first shot, hitting a ballista. Then he dived down, swooping close enough for the humans to see him and give cries of "Night Fury!", but not close enough for them to shoot him.

Electra watched him. Attack, swoop down, flee before they shoot you, she thought. That was how Toothless did it.

She hit a house, swooping down and flying through the wreckage. Terrified vikings ran away, shouting "Another Night Fury!" as the flames grew hotter and brighter.

Then Electra swooped up, watching the house burn to ashes. A few vikings ran in, throwing buckets of water onto it, but they were too late to save it.

Other dragons were swooping down, grabbing animals, then heading up. Toothless wasn't. He just destroyed things. Inspired fear, mystery. That must be what Electra was supposed to do.

She suddenly got an idea. She soared upward, blotting out the moon, spreading her wings wide. The vikings below gasped in terror. Then she dived down, heading for a big man with a red beard, standing in front of what appeared to be the Great Hall. He was protecting and organizing the vikings, like a chief.

She hit him in the chest, then swooped up, hovering above the Great Hall like a ghost for a second before soaring upward into the night sky.

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Toothless grinned at Electra as all the dragons flew away. "You did a great job at the raid tonight" He gestured to the dragons behind them, who were carrying lots of animals. Electra probably didn't notice, but they didn't normally get this much. Electra had distracted the vikings, allowing the dragons to get more food.

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When they came back, the dragons dumped food in the Queen's mouth until she was full. Electra noticed that she didn't say thank you, and left the dragons with little food for themselves.

Stormfly, one of Toothless's friends, came over to her with some boar meat. "Here" the Deadly Nadder said, dropping it in front of Electra.

"Thanks" Electra said as she dug into the meat. She paused eating to look up at Stormfly. "Is.." she began. "Is the Queen treating you like this okay with you?"

"Like what?" Stormfly replied, puzzled.

"Well, when you feed her, she doesn't thank you, and she leaves you guys, who did all the work, with so little food"

"Oh" Stormfly said quietly. "I guess there is that"

Electra turned to look into the Queen's six eyes. And then something strange happened. It was like Electra could see the world through the eyes of Firestorm.

There she was, a Night Fury. Not a friend, but a soldier. A mindless dragon to obey her orders. And if she was to fail, she would be another one of the Queen's snacks, just like the sheep and yaks that were brought to her by her dragons.

These dragons didn't mean anything to her. She just wanted them there to feed her. She didn't really want Electra to be safe. She wanted Electra to be her slave.

"She's evil, Stormfly"