Fire and Ice | HTTYD Fanfiction [Book One]

Prologue

      "Go on, kill it!" My father urged me as a Changewing slinked towards me. I only shrank into the corner of a large pit. 

      It was application day, where all ten-year-olds had to slay a dragon in order to get into the Killer Academy, the most popular school on battling dragons. To my family's dismay, I didn't want to kill a dragon. More like I literally couldn't fathom killing a dragon. To me, there was nothing more sinful than the slaughter of an innocent creature that did nothing to prompt the unnecessary violence.

      My parents shouted at me some more but I refused to emerge from the corner. I was terrified of the creature in front of me. As the Changewing came closer, it camouflaged with its surroundings, making it invisible to my eyes. I glanced around wildly for a few heartbeats, then sprinted to the far side, knowing to Changewing was closing in on my original spot.

      People started to call out in disappointment and exit the stands, clearly bored and angry. My parents were even more so. Once the audience vanished, they ushered me inside our quaint home to have a "little chat", as my mother called it. Ha, it was more of a shrieking session.

      "Adira, young lady, we did not raise you to cower from the enemy!" My father shouted. His voice made me want to shrink down into the floorboards and disappear.

      My mother, on the other hand, retained a straight, unemotional facade. "We do not want you as our daughter anymore. You bring great shame to this family." She stated plainly. It took everything in me not to break down into uncontrollable tears.

      "W-what do you mean? I don't u-understand." I stuttered nervously, although I already knew the consequences of being disowned.

      My father shook his head crossly, angry I even asked. "You're even stupider than I assumed! You should know that you'll be banished after being strapped to the dragon you failed to defeat. If the dragon doesn't eat you first, you'll certainly die off in the wild quite quickly. If you ever show your face here again, I'll kill you myself."

      The words stung like a hive of bees but I simply nodded and nervously headed out the door. A mob of furious villagers greeted me, and I gulped nervously. One member of the council read a scroll that condemned me of my fate but I hardly listened. Instead, I fought back tears as I was forced into and tied to a wobbly wooden chair. 

      I stole a quick glance to my right as I saw the Changewing I was confronted with earlier. A thin, unstable strand of rope connected my chair to a leg of the dragon. My heart hammered in my chest as two strangers unchained the beast and let it take flight.

      I closed my eyes, not daring to look at the sea under me. After about five minutes had passed, I finally summoned enough courage to take a tiny peek downward. Below me was the vast ocean, close enough for me to touch if I reached my foot out far enough. I widened my eyes as my stomach seemed to do several somersaults. My breath quickened and I started squirming in the chair, causing the Changewing to let out an annoyed growl as if to tell me to stop moving.

      My eyes got a glimpse of the faint outline of an island up ahead, but I was unable to process anything else as my high level of anxiety caused me to black out.

      I woke up a while later, realizing with a start that I was no longer tied to the chair. I was laying on a grassy ledge, where the Changewing rolled around lazily nearby. Gradually, I sneaked up to it, trying to get a good look at its bright red scales in the moonlight without it noticing. Some instinct inside me guessed it was a female.

     Suddenly, her head jerked up and her eyes bored into mine. I hastily backed away, planning my escape, when the Changewing stretched out a leg, her claw snagging my shirt. She tugged me toward her belly, and I shivered in both cold and fear, my heartbeat increasing drastically. She seemed to notice and hugged me close to her stomach. The scaly reptile rolled over, her legs still clinging to me as she settled down to sleep.

      I laid awake in awe, all traces of cold diminished from my body. The dragon produced so much warmth I felt like I was at home next to the fire. I smiled to myself after recognizing I was right. Dragons didn't need to be feared; they were kind, caring creatures that would return the respect they deserved.

      This happened somewhere about four and a half years ago. I'm fourteen now, soon to be fifteen. Things have certainly changed for me, but the most significant change would happen when I befriend a Typhoomerang and create a dragon pack that would lead me to a certain island located solidly on the Meridian of Misery, Berk.

A/N: Hi, this is my first HTTYD fanfic. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Also, I'm not really expecting to get a lot of reads and votes on this story, so please don't hate on it or anything. Thanks!

P.S. The chapters are longer than the prologue.