Fury (A How to Train Your Dragon Fanfiction)

Chapter 14: Return to Berk

Thora's POV

"Thora? Hey...wake up."

I open my eyes, wincing at the sudden light. The sun is up and Hiccup kneels over me, his handsome face still grief stricken.

I gasp and sit up. "I'm sorry...I should've listened to your speech. I-"

He holds up his hand, cutting me off.

"It's alright," he says softly. "I'm worried more about you. You were crying...in your sleep."

I bite my lip, my dream rushing back to me.

There's fire everywhere. Dragons swoop low to the ground and carry my mother away as I run into the woods. My father's body lays on the ground nearby, crushed and broken.

Seven years old, alone. No more Snoggletogg, no more family dinners, no more school, and no more friends.

I hear the evil laughter of an unseen man. An echoing voice calls out to me across the ashen wasteland of my home.

"You're just like Drago."

I shut my eyes, willing myself not to believe the words.

In an instant, I stand among the wreckage, my small boots stained with black soot. Nothing remains of my village but blackened wood. Even the bodies have been burned to ash. I move through the smoky graveyard, heading in the direction of my house.

It too is gone. I poke among the debris, searching for anything that survived the blaze. A chest catches my eye, and I remember it from my parent's room.

"Momma? What's in that chest?" five-year-old me asks as I play on the fur rug on the floor of the bedroom.

"Something very special," my mom answers, smiling and ruffling my dark hair. "One day, when you're older, I'll show you what's inside."

My dream ended there, but I know what happened next. I opened the chest and inside was a fur cloak and a necklace. The necklace is the same one that I wear to this very day. I took both items, knowing that they were my mother's, maybe passed throughout the generations.

I traded the cloak for food and bigger clothing as the years passed, but I kept that necklace. I know there's something special about it. When I met Nightstar, the necklace reminded me of her; the blue of her eyes and the black of her skin.

I come back to reality, pulling out my necklace from beneath my shirt. Hiccup notices the artifact, no doubt remembering the brief exchange over it that we had in the forge back at Berk.

"I was remembering my village," I say, my voice hardly reaching above a whisper.

"You're alright?" he asks.

"Yes. Thank you for asking."

He reaches his hand out to me and I take it. He helps me up, but our hands remain intertwined for a moment or so.

"I understand what you're going through. The loss of a parent is...devastating, to say the least," I whisper. I meet his soft gaze. "I'm so sorry, Hiccup."

He watches me for a second, brown eyes locked on green. He hesitates for a second more before hugging me tightly, burying his face in my shoulder. I return it after a moment, my heart aching with knowledge of his pain. We have a mutual understanding, him and I. When he breaks away, his eyes are watery again.

We go join the others, who're sitting in a small circle. He wipes his eyes and composes himself.

"A chief protects his own. We're going back," Hiccup says immediately.

"Uh, with what?" Tuffnut asks.

"He took all the dragons," Ruffnut grumbles.

"Not all of them," he responds.

—————

A difficult hour or so later, we're riding on baby Scuttleclaws, and it is not fun.

We hurtle through the narrow ice channels, most of us screaming the entire time. I've managed to control mine, but it's nothing like riding a Night Fury. It's jerky and uncoordinated, leaving me feeling as though I'm riding a dragon with springs on their feet.

"Fly straight!" Ruffnut shouts

"I don't want to die!" Fishlegs cries.

"We can't fly these things!" Tuffnut insists.

"Yeah, no kidding!" Fishlegs agrees.

He barrels into a snow bank, sending several chunks right into Eret's face as he rides.

"But won't that Bewilderbeast just take control of these guys too?" Astrid asks.

"They're babies. They don't listen to anyone!" Hiccup calls.

"Yeah, just like us!" Tuffnut whoops, looking to his sister.

Gobber follows up the rear of our group clumsily, struggling for control.

"This...is...very dangerous!" he exclaims as he rams into the side of the glaciers repeatedly. He pulls up alongside Hiccup and Valka. "Some might suggest this is poorly conceived."

"Well, it's a good thing that I never listen," Hiccup responds.

A sharp ridge appears in front of us. Hiccup and I round one side of it and Gobber flies down the other side. They shout through gaps in the iceberg.

"So what is your plan?!" Gobber demands.

"Get Toothless back and kick Drago's-" He's interrupted by another closure in the gaps of ice. We blast through it easily.

"Heads up!" I shout.

We split to avoid another peak and then rejoin each other, only to find another icy outcropping directly in our path.

"And that thing," Hiccup groans.

Gobber hits it with a thud and a yelp.

—————

As Berk comes into view, my heart rate speeds up.

We collectively gasp at the sight. Drago's Bewilderbeast has now covered most of the village in explosions of ice. Berk's now entranced dragons circle in a huddle behind him, corralled by Drago's armoured dragons. Drago is beside the Alpha, riding Toothless. Nightstar is still beside the two, staring ahead mindlessly. Behind them, every other dragon flaps their wings mechanically as they hover in place.

"No..." Valka whispers.

"He took all the dragons!" Fishlegs exclaims.

"Distract the alpha. Try to keep his focus off of Toothless," Hiccup commands, fuming.

"Uh...how?" Tuffnut asks.

"Have you forgotten who you're riding with?" Eret asks. He brazenly aims his baby dragon toward the Bewilderbeast. "There isn't a dragon alive that I can't wrangle!" His baby dragon dives toward the sea instead. "Except for this one!" he screams as he plummets.

Snotlout chuckles. "Amateur."

Hiccup turns to me. "Thora, you need to get to Nightstar."

I breathe deeply. "How?"

"Just talk to her."

I arch an eyebrow, but he gives me another look and I exhale. "Good luck."

We take off towards Drago's army. As we get closer, the Bewilderbeast looms bigger and bigger. I can only hope we'll be alright.