Through Your Eyes:Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Two Worlds

"Put your faith in what you most believe in,
Two worlds, One family."

Ugh, these early mornings never really were for me.  How the rest of the village manages to get up this early is beyond me. Not only is it a few degrees south of freezing to death, but no sane person should ever be up before the sun and yet this is how my mornings go. I flinched as a slight rumbling and shouting reached my ears from outside.

'Oh no, please Odin do not let this be what I think it is.'

I hopefully wished as I reached over and tugged on the giant front door. To my dismay, this revealed that my wish had reached deaf ears because outside flew a creature about twenty times my size with wings that spanned two Viking ships, and had eyes that burned with the same intensity as its fire. In its mouth jutted out razor sharp teeth with a need to suddenly burn something and, lucky me, it looked right at me.

'Oh Gods! Why me?' I groan inwardly as I quickly shut the door.

"Why couldn't we have normal pests like mice or mosquitoes, oh no, we have to have dragons!"

I groaned and pushed myself off the burning door and ran toward the back of my house where I thrusted my self out the back door. That was when the roaring of dragons and shouting of Vikings assaulted my ears. Closing my eyes I groaned again, I knew I had to get to Gobber's blacksmiths shop, he needed my help for sure. I weaved my way through flying weapons and Vikings as I ran down further into the village.

'It would be so much easier if we just moved, but oh no…that would be way too easy for Vikings with stubbornness issues.'

I shook my head as I watched a Viking be chucked from the mouth of a short stubby dragon known as a Gronkle. I had managed to stop right before an axe hit me, and ducked before I ran face first into a pillar that other men were carrying.

'Just another brilliant morning one the isle of Berk…'

I thought as I turned around in time to see another Viking slam right into the wooden beam. My shoulder jolted as Viking men pushed past me from behind so I flipped around and started heading back toward the village, I didn't get far because just as I turned a fireball blasted a nearby house. Heat blasted my front and the shock wave sent me flying on my back. I groaned as I'd landed on a rock, that felt awesome. As I opened my eyes I started to question why I'd even gotten out of bed this morning. My eyes widened as I noticed a Viking had leaped into the air and headed right for me.

I flinched as a he planted his feet on either side of me and shouted as he wielded an axe above his head. 'What in the world is he doing? Oh…never mind.' I found that I have a knack for stating the obvious; It's a curse really what with dragons attacking and Vikings defending so obviously a dragon was going to shoot a blast and the Viking was going to retaliate. I noticed in an instant that recognition lit in his eyes and his lips curved into a smile.

"Mornin'!" He shouted before bounding off out of sight. I sighed and carefully picked myself up and started running again. It had always amazed me how we didn't manage to hit someone with a weapon as they flew through the air. I leaped off a ledge and started running on a wooden bridge that curved around to the central most part of the city.

It was then that I noticed, the further I got into the village, the more people started to glance…er…glare at me as I passed them. Heart pounding I quickened my pace and weaved in and out of the villagers and they did not look too pleased on the fact that I was here.

"What're ya doin' 'ere?" A gruff voice shouts at me. I just rolled my eyes.

"Ge' inside!" A woman screeches at me in pure frustration. 'What does it look I'm doing?!' I furrowed my eyebrows, as I willed my feet faster.

"Ge' back inside!"  I hadn't done anything but try and not get hit and they're already acting like I'm the biggest nuisance alive. Ugh, it's ridiculous, I'm not even that bad.

As I reached the center of the town I had gotten more focused on 'getting inside' that I wasn't even paying attention to anything around me anymore. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed the dragon from earlier reared back and spewed a wall of flames that licked the skin on my nose and heated my entire front. 'I'm going to die.' I tried to back pedal, even though I knew I wasn't gonna be fast enough, I flinched preparing to hit the wall of fire when my feet suddenly flew from under me. 'What the…?'

"Hiccup!" A voice thundered from behind me. I flinched and squeezed my eyes shut as I recognized who it was. 'Oh great.'

"Wha' is he doin' out aga.."

He flipped around to face me, his glare made me feel smaller than I already was, which; by the way, compared to him I looked very small already. 'Oy , why me?'

"Wha're you doin' ou' again?" Not waiting for an answer he thrusted me forward. "Ge' inside!"  After that, I really wished that I had the power to transport my self to Gobbers shop, seeing as how the mere sight of me was enough to irritate even my father; who, by the way, is the chief of the tribe.

'Gods, why me?'

I ran now as if I had wings on my heels, I practically few past the torches as they burst to life with flames lighting up the dragon-infested sky. I tried to keep my eyes averted but it was hard; with all the dragons flying around, to maintain focus.

My heart pounded as I saw the shop just up ahead. I had to try to slow my self down. Otherwise, I would have collided with the wall; I'm just to fast for my own good I guess. As I made it inside I yanked my vest off and  replaced it with my work apron. This was when a voiced chided from behind me.

"Glad yeh could join th' parteh. I though' ye'd been carried off!"

"What, who me? Nah! Come on I'm way too muscular for their taste." Muscular pfff, yeah right! I have arms like twigs!  I had to use both hands and all my strength just to lift a hammer and hang it on the wall. Now a regular Viking could lift it with one hand.

"They wouldn't know what to do with all this!" I finished, as I gestured to my self and flexed my non-existent muscles. I am a kid with a shock of red hair that looked messed up no matter how much you wet it. I also think I have an unmemorable that's face littered with freckles and a pair of ordinary green eyes. To make it worse I'm smaller than your average Viking, well…compared to the rest of the villagers I am anyway.  Therefore, you'd see this statement is completely meant as a joke. So, of course, Gobber just had to reply with his own little gem.

"Well, they nee' toothpicks don' they?"

'Ha ha oh you're so clever…' I rolled my eyes as I ran toward the window and threw it open. Gobber is a blond haired Viking whose beard was done up in twists on both sides. He's as wide as he is tall, and had arms the size of a small boulder. At the end of his left arm is a stub that had a hammer attached to it. He is able to change that into hook or whatever he feels like he needs at the time. He is also missing half of his right leg, he's attached a wooden peg to fix that problem. He's the villages blacksmith and I've been his apprentice ever since I was little… well…littler.

A split second later Vikings were dumping damaged or dull weapons on the ledge. I scooped them up and lugged them over to the heated coals. Running back behind it, I grabbed onto the handle of the fan and jumped up; using all my weight to push it down. Grunting, I do it again until the fire jumped up and heated the coals, thus heating the metal above it. My job is to heat the metal so that it becomes soft enough to shape into something useful, which is what Gobber's job is.

Rushing back toward the window, I leaned out to see the progress of the battle. I had leaned out just in time to see a house collapse in on itself as a dragons fire swallowed its structure whole.

'Great, there goes another building that we have rebuild…again.'  We've been here for seven generations but you'd never be able to tell with all the houses we have to keep rebuilding. My eyes scanned the scene before me; dragons everywhere trying to take off with our sheep, and setting fire to all of our houses. Vikings who were valiantly fighting to keep them from getting away with all of our food, and putting out the fires to try and keep the damage to a minimum or as little as possible.

The ones in charge of that specific task today are kids around my age. First there's Fishlegs, a kid who's the size of boulder…the shape of one too, and he has a small head and squinty eyes. Then there's Snotlout; the all around jerk of the village…and unfortunately my cousin. He's a shining example of what a Viking should be; tall, muscular and everything I'm not. After that, there's the twins; Ruffnut, the girl twin, and Tuffnut, the boy twin, who are fighting over a bucket…probably trying to see who get's to dump it first. They are as thin as I am but not as small. They are lucky enough to be tall and gangly while I'm just…short and gangly. Last be absolutely not least…there's the girl of my dreams.

A tall blond girl ran over and dumped her pail of water on a flame, which doused it instantly as she turned around and walked away a hug fireball came rushing down and exploded behind her. Lighting her up to where you could see her shining blonde hair tightly woven into a neat braid. Blue eyes that burned as brightly as the fire that burned behind her and a walk that was both confident and very sexy. She is the most beautiful girl to ever walk on Berk, the name of this beautiful angel is Astrid.  

My heart felt like it was gonna explode like that fireball. A smile spread acrossed my face as she sauntered her way over to where I was standing. 'Gods she's gorgeous.'  It might just be me but time seemed to have slowed down. Astrid had that affect on me; I just lose all thought and sense of time around her. As they passed, I leaned out the window to get a better view of her walking away and wished that I could be out there with them.

'Oh, their job is so much cooler.'

For the second time today, I was yanked backward from where I had been standing. My lips set into a thin line as I turned to face the person who had yanked me back. 'Gobber.'

"Oh come one! Let me out please! I need to make my mark!"  He plops me down on my feet in front of him. I glared up at him as he placed his hand on his hip and chuckled.

"Oh yeh've made plenty o' marks, all in th' wrong places!" He accentuated this statement by poking me with is hook hand. This statement deserved an eye roll, I was not that bad.

"Two minutes, I'll kill a dragon! My life will get infinitely better…" I gesture outside to where Astrid had been a few moments ago. "I might even get a date!"

He quirked a brow at me, obviously amused at something I said. Then he counted off all the things I can't do. "Yeh can' lif' a hammer, yeh can' swin' an axe, yeh can' even throw one o' these!" He lifted a bola up and jingled it, as if taunting me. My eyebrows furrowed at him as a Viking lept in through the window and snatched it out of Gobbers hand. Surprise took over his face for a second before directing his eyes back at me.

'No, I can't throw one of those, you got me there smart guy…but I've got an ace.' I backed up and gestured to a machine behind me. "Okay fine but, this will throw it for me."  I lightly touched the top and that's when I felt something inside it shift, this alerted me to move out of the way right before a bola was launched out of it. Gobber barely dodged it but the man at the window was not so lucky. I flinched as it smacked him square in the forehead.

'Oh, ouch! That had to hurt.' I knew that had to hurt after all those were stones. Gobber did not appear to be amused as he glowered and started advancing toward me.

"Now this righ'  'ere is exactly wha' I'm talkin' 'bout!" He shouted waving his hook hand at my machine.

"Bu..but it's just a mild calibration issue!"

He started waving his hands to stop me midsentence. "No, don'…Hiccup!" I stared up at him. "If you eveh wan' tah ge' ou' there teh fight dragons yeh nee' tah stop all…" He then started looking at me intently as if trying to find something to point out, I raised my eyebrows at him and waited for him to continue. 'To stop all…what?'

"This." He finished as he held his hands out on either side of me. Unbelievable! My eyes widened and my mouth fell open as I looked down at my self, then back at Gobber.

"But you just pointed to all of me!"  

"Yes! Tha's it! You need tah stop bein' all o' you!"

I puffed my chest up and narrowed my eyes, fixing him with a glare. 'Jerk. There's nothing wrong with me!' My Viking pride had just been wounded, and I was not gonna take this lightly.

"Ohhhhh…"

"Ohhh, yeah." He mocked me, obviously not intimidated by me. So, I tried and made my self seem bigger, while getting closer to his face.

"Yo-you, sir, are playing a dangerous game." I shake my finger in his face, trying to prove a point. "Keeping this much raw Viking-ness contained…there will be consequences!" I get in his face again and glared with all the anger and pride I could muster. Gobber just gazed at me bored and unimpressed.

"I'll take my chances."  Jerk. I scowled, upset at the fact that my invention hadn't made a dent in his opinion of me. I really had hoped that it would, I mean it took me forever to design and build but it still didn't change anything.

"Sword, sharpen, now." He said nonchalantly and threw a sword that's just a little taller than me and half my weight in my arms. I groaned as I lifted the heavy thing in my arms and stumbled over to the sharpening stone where I stepped on the pedal to get it going I then dropped the sword on the turning stone, letting the tip of the sword rest on it, a scraping sound filled my ears as it got louder then the dragons rumbling.

'It won't be long now…you'll see Gobber. I know it!'

One day I'll get out there, cause killing a dragon is everything around here. A Nadder head; which is a blue bird like dragon that only has two legs, it also has spikes that followed up its spine and ended on its head, will get me at least noticed. Now Gronkles; which are short stubby dragons that fly around clumsily, their only redeeming quality is that they have the hardest outer shell of all the dragons with a mouth that has teeth jutting out of its upper and lower jaws, are tough. I know that taking one of those out would definitely get me a girlfriend. A smile fell on my lips as a picture of Astrid formed in my mind.

Zippleback; a two-headed dragon that splits the gift of fire breathing, It's a giant dragon the size of a house and as tall as a Viking ship. Having two heads makes it exotic, that also makes it twice the status. Then there's the Monstrous Nightmare; a big red dragon that's as vicious and merciless as its flame and As if setting fire to buildings and landscapes weren't enough it also had a nasty habit of setting itself on fire. This is the one dragon that only the best Vikings go after, which is probably best because I wouldn't want to fight that dragon at all.

No one has ever seen one dragon, if any Viking could ever kill this dragon they would go down in the history books as the best Viking the world has ever seen. The name of the this dragon that would be the ultimate prize for anyone is the…

"NIGHT FURY!"

"GET DOWN!"

I heard the shouts just before a pop and a loud explosion reached my ears. I rushed to the window to try to get a glimpse of this elusive creature. As I scanned the sky, all I could see was every other dragon save for the Night Fury. I began to wonder what this elusive creature had to look like in order for it to remain unseen even with out torches in the sky. I couldn't help but be a little fascinated by this fact. I didn't know if I was the only one that noticed this but the strange thing about this dragon is that it never stole food along with never showing itself and, much to our dismay...it never missed.

Another loud explosion was heard and the low rumbles of rubble colliding with the ground resound through the village. I leaned forward to see all the Vikings searching the skies, trying in vain to catch a glimpse of it. My heart jumped as I remembered that no one had ever killed a Night Fury.

'Well then, I'm going to be the first!' I jerked away from the window, determination pumping through me like the blood in my veins. 'This is it! I'll show them! I'll show all of them.'  As I reached the center of the store, I found Gobber replacing the hook for a double-edged axe. Apparently, he was needed out in the field. This worked better for me, because I didn't want to explain to him why I was taking my machine and leaving in the midst of a battle.

"Man the fort Hiccup! They need ME out there." Putting the final twist on the hammer, he hobbled toward the entrance, unaware of what I was planning on doing. Then, as if he read my mind and pointed a stubby finger at me.

"Stay. Put. There."

I lifted my eyebrows at him. 'What do I look like? A pet?'  As if he knew what I was thinking he added;

"Yeh know wha' I mean."  With that he let out a war yell and he hobbled out into the field. A smile fell on my lips as I was finally left alone. 'Yes Gobber, I know what you mean.' I pulled off my apron and yanked on my vest. Adrenaline helped me to move quickly, I ran behind my machine and grabbed the handles. With all my strength, I pushed it forward and out of the shop and narrowly avoided a gaggle of Vikings just outside the shop.

I could barely hear their protests over the sound of the blood rushing through my ears and the rapid beat of my heart. So, I just shouted over my shoulder, "Yeah I know! I'll be right back!" I managed to dodge a few more Vikings and I moved with the speed I didn't' know I was capable of. It carried me to a ledge that was clear of any dragons and Vikings.

'Good this gives me a chance to get a clear shot without being jostled.'

With that I eagerly readied my machine and tightened the band that would release the bola once I pulled the trigger. Standing there, I was poised and ready to fire at a moments notice.

"Come on, give me something to shoot at, give me something to shoot at …" I muttered and squinted at the empty sky. After a moment of silence my hope started to dwindle. 'Please don't let have left already!' My eyes darted across the sky, as I tried to catch even the smallest glimpse of the Night Fury. 'Oh come on…I know you're still out there!'

Disappointment started to seep in, maybe it really was already gone. That was when I saw that some of the stars shifted slightly. 'Wait…is the sky…moving?' At that moment, I caught the slightest movement, squinting I looked again. Sure enough, the movement was there.  My heart leapt into my throat as I closed one eye to aim at the dark shadow that seamlessly blended into the night sky. A high-pitched shrieking sound reached my ears and it slowly got louder. I followed the sound with the end of my contraption. Anticipation and excitement had taken over my entire being as it got closer. 'This is it! Here it comes!'  

With that I heard a popping sound, then right in front of me a watch tower exploded, and in the light of the fire I saw a quick glimpse of a black shadow like creature that smoothly glide back out of my sight. A glimpse was all I needed, for the instant I saw it, my fingers yanked back instinctively on the trigger.

The force that it took for the machine to fire the bola, was strong enough to knock me back a couple of feet. A screech reached my ears and I pulled my self up in time to see something making a beeline for Raven point. The shock I had was replaced with absolute joy.

"Oh I did it?…YES I HIT IT!" I lept up pumping my fist up in the air completely overwhelmed by the sheer joy that I felt, this is a big deal for me! 'Gods let someone have seen that.' I flipped around and asked, "Did anybody see that?" No one, of course not. As if to add insult to injury, I heard a stomp and the crash of my machine being crushed. I flinched. 'Please don't be who I think it is…' Slowly I turned to see my old friend the Monstrous Nightmare who seemingly had this urge to make sure I didn't accomplish anything, even my next breath.

"Except for you…" I sigh defeated. This always seemed to happen to me, I'd get to accomplish something great and then it would be yanked out from under me. I closed my eyes and I was not waiting for the dragon to rear its head before I started running. I thought I had wings on my feet before, I felt like my feet never touched the ground this time. The growling and the hissing of the Monstrous Nightmare reached my ears as he nipped at my heels. 'Odin, why me!'  My heart beat loudly in my chest like a caged animal trying to get out and my breath escaped my lips in rushed, panic filled gasps. I could hear its growl close behind me, then as a tooth clipped my leg I let out a petrified scream!

I guess he got frustrated with not being able to catch me, he started gushing fire at me. "Ah!" I gasped as I dodged its jaws again. He breathed another gush of fire at me, this when I took refuge behind a wooden pillar and another gush of fire sprayed out next to me. I hid my face so as not to be burned by it. I could still feel the heat as it brushed past my hand; it licked at the exposed skin like a thirsty dragon in desperate need of water.

'This is it! I actually accomplish something and then it ends with me in the jaws of a Nightmare. Oh gods, I really hope this all is just a nightmare.'

My heart continued beating rapidly as I warily started to look behind the pillar wondering if the Nightmare had lost interest. I thought my heart stopped as I felt hot breath puff behind me. 'Odin please just let it be quick.' I thought as I remained frozen, but just before it could get any farther, a blur rushed past me and knocked the Nightmare back and into the stonewall to my left.

'Dad!' My eyes widened as I saw my dad face off fearlessly against this beast. It tried to breathe fire but, of course, it was out of shots now. A small feeling of joy crept into my heart as I watched its eyes fill with a look as if it knew it was in trouble.

"Yer all ou'." My father rumbled out before starting to pummel the creature in the face with various punches and kicks. It had to know that it was beaten because the dragon retreated and starting to fly away. 'Hah take that you…'

'CRACK'

My face fell as the pillar started to tilt. I leaned my head back and watched the fire sway as the pillars base, which was now burned completely through, collapsed under the weight it was no longer capable of supporting. Crushing the cinders, it started to roll and lean. 'Of course…this just gets better and better…'

As it toppled over it left me staring into the face of my very aggravated father. I forced my self to turn around, seeing the stone bowl that still held a roaring blaze roll its way down the island. It destroyed a wooden pathway, part of a few buildings and finally dropped at the bottom. I couldn't help but flinch with each crash and scream.

"Sorry…dad." I muttered trying to look as small as possible.

The Nadders; that had been successfully captured, were now freed with no Vikings holding them down; they then dragged the sheep, which had been caught in a previously thrown net, up into the air flying off into the dimly lit sky. I did not want to turn around to see my dads face right now, all I wanted to do was to disappear, just like meld into the earth and not come out.

'Way to go Hiccup you've single handedly helped the dragons escape and not only that but get away with half the flock of sheep.' I admonished my self and I tried to search for something to try and salvage the situation. I glanced back at my father and without though I said;

"Okay, but I hit a Night Fury."

I felt the force of his hand slam down on the back of my neck and started to drag me from the center of the village. Everything just started falling out of my mouth. "Ah! No! It's not like the last few times dad! I mean I really actually hit! You guys were busy and I had a very clear shot! It went down just off Raven Point! Let's get a search party together now before it…"

"STOP!" His voice thundered across the village silencing me immediately. "Just stop." He said softer his voice now coming out in the breath of the exasperation he felt. "Every time yeh step outside, disaster falls! Can ye no' see tha' I have biggeh problems!" He gestured toward the village. "Winter is almos' here an' I have an entire village teh feed!"

"Between you and me the village could do with a little less feeding don't cha think?" This was meant to be a thought, but I guess it just flowed out of my mouth like water off a cliff. This did not lighten my dads' mood.

"This isn' a JOKE Hiccup!" I flinched as he raised his voice again. He had the habit of making me feel like I'm three inches tall, not that I needed to feel any smaller than I already felt. He turned away, sighed then looked back at me. "Why can yeh no' follow th' simplest orders?"

"I…I…I can't stop my self! I see a dragon and I have to just…kill it…ya know! It's who I am dad!" I looked up at him, hoping he understood. He had been my age once, he has to understand…right?


"Oh!" He sighed pinching the bridge of his nose, then brought it down his face. "Yeh are many thin's Hiccup…bu' a dragon killer is no' one o' them…"

That felt like he dropped a hammer on me. 'Oh man…' Guilt and shame hung on me so heavy I swore I could reach out and touch it. The weight of his disappoint weighed down my heart until I swore that I could feel it in my boots. I couldn't bring my self to look at him anymore, so I chose to stare at the ground beneath my shoes.

"Ge' back teh th' house." I sighed as I turned away from him to the ground beneath my feet. "Make sure he ge's there! I have his mess teh clean up…"

Yikes that one stung, my heart clenched at the disappointment that laced his voice and inhabited his face. I felt a smack on the side of my head; the force slightly knocked me to the side. I didn't have to look to see who it was, Gobber I knew he'd been disappointed too. I couldn't look at his face either, the two people I was trying to show that I could do something right…I just managed to prove their point.

'Gods could this day get any worse?'

"Excellent performance." A snarky voice had spoken from beside me.

I groaned…'Obviously it can.'

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly…that helped!" I didn't have to look to see it was my cousin who'd spoken these words.

"Yes! Thank you I was trying…so…" Normally I would have said something to him, but he was right. No one in the history of Berk had ever failed to catch a dragon…not only do I not catch a dragon, but I also managed to single handedly destroy part of the village. 'Maybe he's right…maybe I'm not a dragon killer' Then a thought hit me and I immediately perked up. '…but I did hit a Night Fury!'

"I really did hit one!"

Gobber glances at me, tired of my excuses…probably tired of me period. I continued anyway.

"He never listens…"

He chuckled wryly. "It mus' run in th' family." Pursing my lips, I let that comment slide in one ear out the other, and continued as if Gobber hadn't said anything. "An' when he does it's with this disappointed scowl like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich!" I puffed my chest out and deepened my voice to mimic the depth of my fathers. "Excuse me barmaid! I think you've brought me the wrong offspring! I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms! Extra guts an' glory on the side…this here…this is a talkin' fish bone!"

Anger subsided into sadness, why couldn't I be what my father wanted me to be. Tall, muscular, and not a clumsy, skinny joke who couldn't even lift a hammer to slay a dragon. Why couldn't I be someone like...Snotlout. This thought wrenched in my gut. I knew that's what my father wanted…

"Now you're thinkin' 'bout this all wrong…"

'Oh am I now?' I looked up at Gobber wondering what I could be thinking wrong about this situation.

"I's no' wha' yeh look like, i's wha's inside tha' he can' stand."

My face fell… 'Oh is that all! I thought it was something on the outside, something that I could actually change! I'm so glad that you cleared it all up for me! Thank you so much!' The sadness gripped me harder.


"Thank you for summing that up…" I muttered bitterly as I turned to go inside where the darkness would swallow me completely so that no one had to worry about me anymore.

"The poin' is…stop tryin' so hard to be somthin' yer not…"

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I swallowed hard at that statement.  I squeezed my eyes shut trying to fight the tears that threatened to fall. 'That's just it…' I sadly turned away from him.

"I just wanna be one of you guys…"  I shuddered out, and I finally stepped inside and slammed the door behind me. I angrily pounded my fist on the door and glared it and wondered if I glared at it long enough if it would just burst into flames like it had earlier.

'That's just it! I want so badly to be one of them! I don't understand why I have to be so different!' I whirled around, kicked the chair at the table, and watched as it toppled over. 'Why is that I can't do one thing right?'

I fell on my knees and I let out something that was a mix between a whimper and a groan. I wished my heart could be ripped out so that I don't have to feel all the disappointment… and not only the disappointment from my father…but the disappointment that I felt in myself. I shuddered again and squeezed my eyes shut, then at that moment I saw the shadow of the Night Fury fall down on to the island.

'Wait a minute…' I picked my self up. 'That Night Fury…I really did hit it!'  I furiously wiped my eyes and stood up. I somehow found the strength to run all the way to the back of my house. I thrusted the doors open and launched my self away from the village and toward the forest. 'I know I hit it, and when I find it I'll kill it and bring back proof. Something I'm not…I'll show you Gobber. I am a Viking and I'll prove it to all of them. I'll prove that I am one of them!'

My hope restored I headed full speed into the forest, leaving my disappointment and hopelessness behind.

'This is it…as soon as I find the dragon I know my life will be changed forever…I just know it.'