The Gift Of Power | Wattys 2020 (Dance of Power Trilogy: Book 1)

Discovery

Hello to anyone that decides to read this. I wrote this story almost a year ago and was finally talked into sharing it by my family and friends. I took a chance and uploaded it (well, most of it) to FanFiction.net. After the outpouring of positive reviews, as well as a comfortable number of faves and follows, I have decided to try and share it on a different site so that others may read it as well. I will try to post multiple chapters at a time for the first bit, just to get things on par between the two sites. Anyways, I hope that anyone who bothers to read my story finds it worth their while.

Note: If my story inspires your own creativity, I'd love to hear about/see it. Spin-offs or art, all are cool with me, as long as you make sure to mention where you got the idea from. Please and thanks :)

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"How is he so fast?!" Astrid cursed inwardly as she chased after the slight figure ahead of her. It was bad enough that he had overtaken her in dragon training, seemingly effortlessly. He should NOT be faster than her too! He was dodging around trees and rocks with unexpected grace for such a small and awkward boy. Though she supposed that, being a hiccup, his small size would have to give him some advantages in the thick overgrowth.

Thank the gods she was a skilled hunter and knew this forest well. She managed to keep her prey in sight despite his head start. He seemed to be travelling with a purpose. Though Astrid wracked her brain, she could not possibly imagine where he was going. As far as she knew, there was nothing of interest in this direction until you reached the high cliffs of the coast.

Just then, the flash of green and brown cut to the left and disappeared from view. Once Astrid reached the spot she realized that what she had always assumed to be a solid rock ridge, did in fact have a small opening in it. She darted into in. Slowing her pace before reaching the other side. Perhaps he was waiting at the end to ambush her? She doubted he had that in him. She was the great warrior. He was a mouse among men. More likely that he was trying to hide from her.

She paused at the mouth of the cove, readying herself to spring out and surprise him. Then she heard him talking to someone. He wasn't bothering to keep his voice down. Was he not aware that he was followed here after all? Then why was he using so much stealth in the first place? Unless he just had something to hide.

Before accosting him, Astrid took a quick moment to appreciate the beauty of this place. It was almost perfectly round with a small lake in the middle of it. A creek bubbling in from the west side. It would be a very peaceful spot to practice or just to sit and think. No wonder Hiccup came here. She crept out from behind the rocks, keeping low so that he wouldn't spot her. She did not want to be caught too soon.

"We're leaving! You and me are taking a little vacation. Forever..." Hiccup called to no one that she could see. Was he talking to himself? Strange words if that was the case. Why come to this cove at all if he wanted to escape? Was he meeting someone here? Who?

She figured now was as good a time as ever to confront him and his mystery companion. Crouching behind a boulder was never going to get the answers she sought. After climbing the stone to give her the high ground advantage, she unholstered her axe and began pretending to sharpen it. Hiccup was a few paces from her with his back to the rock. He seemed to be packing up supplies in a basket. He turned abruptly at the sound of stone on blade and then jumped at the sight of her.

"A-Astrid! Wha-what are you doing here?" Hiccup stuttered, stumbling back a few more steps. It was at this moment that Astrid realized he was wearing some sort of leather harness on his upper body. She climbed down from her perch and began to bombard him with questions.