Disclaimer: Dream Works and Cressida Cowell own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.
This is a little bonus chapter that I have been planning since before I finished the rest of the story.
It should have come earlier, but I just never had the time. Now that I do, I realize this comes a little late.
Additionally, this allows me to remind veiwers who don't already know that I have gotten work up on the continuation. I'm at a bit of a low point right now, but that's mostly because of the previous arc being such a rollercoaster.
Enjoy and see you in Changing Allegience
I gazed at the two precious object before me, knowing with absolute clarity that the future was uncertain.
The first was a parting momento from an old lover, a red tear shaped gem that once carried the promise of eternal love. It never happened between the two of us, but the jewel was one of the few small comforts I had left. With hunger and fear plaguing me to no end, I needed something to hang onto, even the belief that I could one day I could meet someone I knew. The gem was the only item I had of a life that I had lost.
The second held the promise of a new life, a blue glowing and blackened globe that was warm to the touch. The egg was an unfortunate surprise, compounding the my situation even worse than it already was. Now because of my lack of foresight, I have condemned an innocent child, my child, to spend an frigid eternity with me.
I poked my head out of my small makeshift shelter, a large rowboat that I turned over to provide a small amount of shelter. Outside, I could see nothing other than an empty expanse of white, devoid of anything worth mentioning.
I sighed. It was a small mercy that the snow had stopped falling, but I needed it. I overturned my shelter and cupped my paws together to hold my gem and my egg with ease. The cold wasn't a concern for me, since my body was lined in dark scales resisted the heat and cold better than a tailored bearskin and my insides burned with constant fire, but I had no guarantee my egg could endure the harshness of winter.
With my possessions in hand, I began the start of a long trek that hopefully paid off in either better lodgings or a warm belly.
Or at least, I was about to.
Right as I was about to take the first step, the carcass of a deer landed right in front of my feet. I felt like bending over and taking quick mouthfuls of the slain animal, cooking be damned, but my annoyance and pride wouldn't let me do it… especially since I knew my benefactor was right behind me, waiting for me to take notice he was behind me.
I turned my head around right into the grinning, reptilian snout of a dragon. "You know, I've had suitors who went to shorter lengths to get my attention; I know for a fact this island doesn't have all that many of them and you just go out of your way to deliver them right at my feet."
The dragon's grin could only grow wider at my reprimand. He might have been larger than me by a fair margin, but he was old, or at least aging and hand only a single eye. Unlike me, he didn't have separate arms from his wings, but those limbs were big enough to engulf me. He laughed as he saw me. "If I was a decade younger, you'd have been the one throwing yourself all over me!"
I rolled my eyes. My only admirer was an old Monstrous Nightmare who reminded me of someone I knew, my brother in law that rambunctious flirt. While I'll admit I appreciated his support these past week, I was growing weary of him being my only contact. I shook my head in disapproval. "Why do you keep following me? Don't you have something better to do!?"
The dragon laughed."And what would be better than helping a noble Night Fury mother tend to her egg? Such an occasion is by definition a rarity!"
I glowered at the dragon, not really pleased with his words. I mean, sure, I was a dragon, a Night Fury as he said, but I didn't exactly like it… mostly because that's not what I really was. A few days ago, I was a Viking woman, searching for a great treasure. "I'm not really all that noble… whoever you are."
The dragon then smiled and lowered his head. "Flight Commander, One Eye, at your service young lady. It is the purview of the King's Knights to protect the all Kindred."
That was news to me. Dragons had their own rulers, maybe their own society. It was certainly a step above "But-but you hardly know me? Why should I trust you?"
The dragons smile continued to disturb me, but his words hit me like a sledgehammer. "Because, I know that you were never hatched from an egg…"
My tail and wings perked up like a jolt. He knew I was originally human, but how?
His grin stayed completely the same, but it went from mildly disturbing to something from out of a campfire story. "Oh, I can see things that most Kin are not privy to know, such is the blessing I earned, though in your case, I knew where you hail from the moment I saw you."
"Wait, what are you saying?"
The Nightmare laughed some more. "I will tell you of everything another time, but there are more important things for us to deal with first..." He looked at my egg with a look of amusement, like it was in many ways his own child. "I am thinking you'd like a safe place to raise your young, a safe place with plenty of food you you and your child."
I nodded, my stomach grumbling. I didn't exactly have plenty of options and starving to death was not the sort of thing I planned on telling Odin the moment I stepped in his hall. If nothing else, maybe I can get a place to rest, someplace to sort the madness my life has become. Maybe, and this was a big, hopeful maybe, a place to get help.
"Then eat, this carcass is for you! You'll need your strength if you want to fly all the way." The dragon bit into the deer's flesh and dragged it over to me as if to remphasize the point.
"I-I'm not sure about flying, especially since I can't hang on to my belongings, especially not my egg in the air." I knew a little of flying other than holding my wings up in the air. At best, I could glide down from a tall mountain, but I doubted that alone could let me cross several seas over to where this dragon's king resided.
One Eye shook his head in disapproval. "Truly, this makes things more complicated than I thought..."
"I am not… one of your Kin," I replied. Dragons apparently lacked a word for 'dragon', so I made due with the terms the Nightmare used.
He shook his head in refusal. "You are, from before now and forever then, one of my Kin and I am here to help you."
I rolled my eyes. I failed to see how flowery language was not going to get my belly filled. "I don't think we have the time for you to teach me important life skills." All the same, I bit into the raw flesh of the deer. I was too hungry to complain about where I got my food for long.
"We have plenty of time, a month before the egg hatches, plenty of time to teach even a novice flight skills!"
I turned back to my egg in between bites. Not too long ago when I was human, I had only realized I was pregnant at the last moment. The moment I became a dragon, I bore an egg, likely converting my unborn child into a dragon long before he or she was even born. "... I still dare not go with you, not unless I could ensure my egg's safety."
It was now the Nightmare's turn to give me looks of annoyance. "I suppose it might be more practical if I just let you ride on my back then… strange way how some wishes come true, I suppose?"
I gagged on a chunk of deer meat for a split second. The thought of being a dragon riding another dragon was just… oddly humiliating on several levels. What made the whole thing harder to swallow was the fact he almost sounded like he wanted to let me ride him. "Wait, what are you talking about?"
The Nightmare's laughter returned full force. "You seem oddly surprised. No matter, I will take you to our King, even if I have to carry you myself if it pleases you..."
"But… what was that other part about?"
"Nothing just internal musings. I have been waiting for quite a while to give a young Night Fury a ride on my back, though, I'll admit, this situation wasn't the one I had in mind; I would have prefered if you were a still either a hatchling, the proper age for it. Just eat up for now, but don't make yourself too full."
"Right…" I went back to swallowing chunks of deer meat. At the very least, the Nightmare definitely seemed large enough to carry me without too much difficulty. He was huge, the biggest of his kind I had ever seen. I was willing to put up with riding a dragon, especially since once or twice I fantasized about that possibility as a child. Riding a dragon while being a dragon was just a whole different level of weird…
Just as promised, One Eye the Nightmare carried me on his back across the sea. After eating my fill and resting off my meal, One Eye allowed me to mount him.
It was definitely as weird as I thought it was, since I was somewhere around a quarter of his size. Still, I had to admit, for someone so old looking, he was stronger than he looked. We flew for what felt like hours, nothing really important happening other than minor shifts in the wind. The whole thing felt a little exhilarating for maybe the first few minutes or so when I feared that I could drop my egg or my jewel if I lost my grip for even a second, but after a while, the whole thing just seemed a little too boring. There was nothing for me to do other than watch the cloud roll by, not even move.
Hours later, right after the skies had been darkened, I was surprised to find out we were flying into Helheim's Gate. The place had frozen over, but it was recognizable by the fog and spires of stone that guarded the way. My husband tried to brave those waters dozens of times and right now, I was practically bypassing their challenge without even needing to lift a finger, er, claw. I was amazed we'd come so far in such a short amount of time, it seemed so unreal to be so close to home...
"We're almost there!" declared One Eye. "The King will wish to speak with you immediately!" Right in front of us was what appeared to be a volcano and One Eye's flying appeared to be taking us towards the top.
One Eye took us through the hole at the top of the mountain and took a steep dive. I was lucky I didn't let go of any of my things, though I was definately feeling like I could slip off the larger dragon at any moment. While I feared for my life and the unborn life of my child, I can't say a part of me felt like it wanted more of that thrill.
Thankfully, it was over just as quickly as it begun. One Eye landed us somewhere near the bottom, just above this bank of red fog.
I quickly dismounted from the Nightmare sick to my stomach, like I was about to cough up the deer meat I had several hours before. I put my egg and jewel on the ground next to me, trying to realign myself with the seemingly spinning world.
While that happened, I caught glimpses of the seemingly hundreds, maybe thousands of dragons that lived the volcano. Each almost seemed like little stars from where I stood. It was at this moment, I realized I was in the dragon nest, the place Vikings had been trying to find for generations. It was surreal to be in a place where no Viking has ever set foot on since ever… not even now, there was a Viking here. In a short span of time, I had realized that as far as any of them knew, I was one of them.
"Welcome home," thundered a voice from behind me. I felt my bones rattle at the voice's words. Whatever it was, it was big… and very intimidating.
I'm not normally a scared woman, but even I knew when it was right to be scared of something. Being a Night Fury who has little to no knowledge of how to defend herself while facing a dragon whose head alone looked like it could crush ships was one of those situations. My jaw dropped at the sight of the massive dragon, his eyes practically big enough to have their reflections to actual size. I might have only been able to see its head from the red fog clouds, but I didn't want to see anything else. "This isn't my home…" I squeaked.
I heard a low rumble like a minor earthquake just happened. Then massive dragon's six eye were all closed in at me and I felt like melting right on the spot. "It is your home; you, as well as your child are always welcome in my domain…"
I hastily picked up my egg, and held it against my chest. I hoped he wasn't going to do anything to my unborn child since he seemed interested in it.
One Eye approached me and bowed to the massive dragon. "My King, to forgive her, I had not informed her much about."
The King seemed perpetually amused by my inability to figure out what to do. He kept laughing low. "Worry not my honored Flight Commander, you were wise to bring her here, where she can be safe."
"I-I just want to go home." I didn't want to be a dragon. Sure, I always believed they were more than wild animals, but I was just too tired and weary of having to fend for my life against the harsh elements. I really wanted to go home and forget this business even happened.
The King sighed as if disappointed, but not so much he was willing to write me off and crush me. "I am sorry to hear that you feel you are unwelcome, but I suppose I should assist you in that."
"You will?... But-"
Before I could tell the massive dragon about my… odd circumstances, the King spoke, "I already know of your origins, child. I know of what steps are necessary for you to return home, but it cannot happen immediately."
"How long it will take…"
"Potentially years in the worst case scenario, but I can guarantee you that you will return to your homeland."
My heart leapt for joy. This was better than I had ever imagined from getting here. Sure, I knew it could potentially take years, but it was better than never going home. "Thank you, sir. I'm glad for you help."
The King's smile could have sawed through the mountain's walls. "In exchange, though, I will require service from you, for as long you are among Kin. My heart immediately sank. The thought that my only way out of this, might involve having to kill my former people was all too real in my mind. It seemed like the King noticed this and immediately added. "All I will require from you is a small tribute in fish, nothing major or requiring more commitments, though you can opt for such later if you feel like it."
I gave a sigh of relief. I didn't have to go become an enemy of the Tribe after all. "Thank you, I'll do my best." I bowed to the great dragon.
"Then, in light of recent events… and One Eye's recommendation, I shall name you Dead Wings." I blinked this came out of nowhere.
I turned to One Eye who then said: "You couldn't fly for a Night Fury your age that's quite an accomplishment..."
I glowered at the two… men as they looked at me suppressed chuckles. They might have been dragons and one of them probably had something to do with the gods, but whatever they were they were still "men". "Hey, my name is…" I pause. I tried to say my name, but nothing came out other than a random mess of syllables.
The King shook his massive head, suppressing amused laughter. "Dead Wings, I do this for your sake. Your old name has no equivalent in our tongue. I merely provide for you a replacement to use while amongst us. Lesser Kin, those who have yet to distinguish themselves do not receive names, make no mistake, though I jest about the name I bestow upon you, you are truly special amongst us. Many never receive one."
I looked at my egg, wondering how that all worked since my unborn child has yet to receive one. "But then what about-"
"I recomend your child be raised without one. He will be among us for a long time and naming him would only isolate him…" advised the King.
I nodded. I didn't really understand the King's reasoning, but it was only because of him I was even receiving a chance to get out of this mess. I might as well honor his request, even if it was something so simple as not giving my second child a name. "Thanks for the advice…"
"Good; now, I do not think I need to advise resting. Rest well, Dead Wings." And with that, the King disappeared under the red clouds, leaving me to wonder about my future now.
I was Valhallarama, sometimes Valka, wife of Chief Stoick the Vast of the Tribe of Hairy Hooligans. I was an expert adventurer and a certified master of fighting. I have a son called Hiccup who was still in diapers last I saw him. And recently, I had become Dead Wings, the flightless Night Fury who is overly obsessed with her egg.
I shook my head. Whatever let me see my family again, I think I was willing to do it. I wish the King offered me a return home that was less time consuming, but after recent weeks, I was willing to forgo my usual standards. Besides, I needed all the help I could get.
Stoick, Hiccup, I am coming home and nothing is going to stop me.