Borders AU (HTTYD)- Excerpt of my fic
It was almost midnight when Rayna had left her father’s chambers, the moon was a bright crescent in the sky, wispy pale clouds dusted the night sky and there the air was cool and crisp.
She took a deep breath, the cold air soothing her nose and throat. But even that did little to cool her nerves.
He just didn’t understand, he never did. Almost every leadership report she gave to her father was criticized and any idea she pitched to him was shot down.
He wanted her to meet him, give him updates about how life was running under her command. But he never showed any hint of caring. If he was so unwilling to release his control over the island, then why make her step up in the first place?
Rayna was certain it was a display of power more than anything else.
She sighed, tightening her cloak around her shoulders, the silky fabric was a symbol of her status and although comfortable, it did little to keep her warm at nights. And the nights got cold.
She stood there outside of her family’s hut for a few, contemplative moments.
Through the silence, there was a screech in the distance, one that sounded just like a Night fury.
For a moment, Rayna pondered if it was worth it to go find that idiot. A part of her was tempted to let him deal with whatever new mess he had made, alone. But curiosity got the better of her. Besides, anything was better than going straight to bed when her mind was churning with unwanted thoughts.
Aspen had already left for the night, so Rayna was stuck walking through the whole village to get to where she thought she had heard Toothless.
The huts around her were silent—most of the occupants being asleep, and the only noises were that of the crickets and nighttime birds. As she passed the village centre, she began to see the Berkian’s makeshift tents scattered and nestled in beside the bigger buildings and rocks. Flickering torches lit her path, casting shifting patterns on the ground where she walked.
She still wasn’t sure how she felt about taking in such a large population, the Chiefess had promised that they would only stay for the necessary time, but it still made her uneasy.
Rayna wanted to uphold Devon's legacy of taking in the unwanted—the legacy her grandfather had made, and her family had maintained—but she knew that there was line where things would start to become risky. Crossing that line could cost the safety of her own people, people who relied on her.
She’d heard of Berk before of course, the small island was well-known for its fierce and capable Vikings. It was also known for its dragon killing passion.
The people of Devon had learned decades ago that dragons were not the cruel murderous beasts that everyone thought they were. Rayna vividly remembered learning about her island’s history during her education; one of the past chiefess’ had almost torn apart the island when she had first expressed her unwillingness to kill dragons. But despite the outraged protests from her people, she had enforced the law that all dragon killing was to be stopped. The chiefess was hated for it, but overtime, the dragons came around.
The creatures now lived (mostly) peacefully with Devon. Some were even being specially trained in the art of dragon riding by Hiccup.
Vikings, however, weren’t exactly known for their peace-loving ways, Snotlout was proof of that.
But then there was Hiccup, who was also technically a Viking and probably the least violent person she knew.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to know how the coming days would go.
After a few quiet minutes of searching, Rayna finally spotted the dark silhouette of Toothless where he was perched on a rock ledge, peering down at the scene below him.
She smothered a laugh, “well, well, what have you gotten yourself into this time Hiccup?”
He was pinned against the wall by a slender blonde girl. She had an axe pressed against his throat, forcing him down into a defensive position with his hands raised—not that she seemed to care.
“I-I don’t know!” he yelped, “I just said hello and she just lunged at me”
The girl rolled her eyes, “yeah, you do know” she shot back.
“If it’s about me leaving, I already apologised—”
“Yes, it’s about you leaving, but that’s not enough!” she huffed, “do you have any idea how much you changed Berk when you ran away? How much you hurt your parents? Us?”
Hiccup shook his head, “you know I was miserable, Astrid; I-I couldn't have stayed—no matter how much I wanted to.”
Astrid pressed the blade harder against his neck, making him flinch.
“We were all miserable, more so because of you,” she hissed.
“Okay, okay you’re right, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left.” He looked down, “I was a coward.”
An uncomfortable silence fell, and Rayna jumped in, satisfied with her new discovery.
“So, you guys have your stuff figured out? Can I leave? As much as I love unexpected entertainment, I do need sleep. Two villages, twice the work, you know?”
Astrid dropped her axe, still glaring at Hiccup. He glanced at Rayna, and then back at Astrid.
“So, my parents are here too... right?”
Astrid nodded, tossing her axe from hand to hand. “You’d know if you were there to greet us,” she added venomously.
He winced, rubbing the thin cut on his neck, “That’s…going to be a fun conversation,” he mumbled, trailing off.
Astrid stormed off, “don’t think we’re done yet Haddock,” she huffed, tossing the words over her shoulder.
Rayna couldn’t help but smile, “she’s feisty, I like her.”
They could use a little more girly spark around here.
When she didn’t get a response, she turned around to see Hiccup staring blankly at the sky.
Any other time she would have pressed him for more information about everything she was missing, but he looked so troubled.
She decided to let him be.
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