The Other-worldly Protector

Prologue

"Toothless, DIVE AND COVER!"

The Nightfury, a dragon black as tar, swivelled in mid-air and shot down in the blink of an eye, landing perfectly on the side of a mountain. His rider did not dismount but instead ruffled his brown hair as he looked through a spyglass.

"Have you ever seen anything like it, bud?" Hiccup asked as he watched the dragon they had just spotted in awe. Toothless rumbled, eyeballing the new dragon with large green eyes. "This dragon, it's not only the brightest boldest purple I've ever seen, but it's of a species that isn't even mentioned in the book of dragons!" Toothless's eyes lit up and an excited smile spread across the dragon's face, one that matched Hiccup's. "That's right, bud: we just found ourselves a new dragon!"

The purple dragon's scales dazzled in the bright sun as she soared across the sky with her wings spread wide. Suddenly, she dipped and then pummelled towards the earth at a rate that almost matched Toothless', before stretching her wings and flying softly at a much lower height. Only now she was low enough for Hiccup and Toothless to spot a small blue figure perched on her back.

"Dragon Rider," Hiccup breathed, his eyes narrowing. He looked through his spyglass at what appeared to be a girl in a blue hooded jacket. Her face was completely covered by her hood as she leaned forward on her dragon.

"Let's fly in low and quiet —find out whether they're hostile or not," Hiccup said in a low voice as he put his spyglass in his satchel. Toothless grunted in agreement as Hiccup adjusted his seat and locked his metal leg into the left control stirrup. As one, they swooped down the mountain and flew low and silent as they tailed the rouge rider. 

The purple dragon flew swiftly and gracefully, gliding mostly but with an occasional flap to stay above the trees, and tilted her tail to swoop left and right. The rider leaned forward so that her back was parallel to the dragon's and held on with the help of rope since she lacked a saddle. Hiccup had a similar stance as he and Toothless glided in pursuit —silent and unnoticed.

They watched the purple dragon land in the midst of the forest. They landed a distance away, where they wouldn't be seen, and crept towards the place where the dragon had landed. They found no one.
"They should be right about here," Hiccup mumbled, scratching his head, "Let's split up and search for them." Toothless growled, his eyes darting left and right. He didn't like this idea.
"Come on, Toothless, they can't be far off," Hiccup said quietly, "I'll search this way and you search there. Just shout if you need me and I'll do the same."
Toothless grumbled moodily but nodded nonetheless and trudged away with his eyes peeled for any sign of the dragon or rider. Hiccup warily treaded through the forest, away from Toothless. He went through dense trees and over shrubs with his metal leg clinking faintly against the grass, but found no trace of the dragon or rider. He paused to think. Did they fly off? Did they know that they were being followed? Maybe Toothless was having better luck.

A sudden rustle caught his attention. Hiccup narrowed his eyes. He wasn't alone. He searched his surroundings, his senses on full alert, but couldn't tell where the sound had come from. His heart began to thump faster and a strange feeling climbed up his throat, making him gulp, a feeling that told him that he was prey. And the hunter was closing in.

A THUMP sounded behind him. His heartbeat skyrocketed as he spun around to face the threat, eyes wide and searching. As he did so, something pounced on him from behind.
"Gah!" His world turned sideways as he collided with the earth, and, before he knew it, his attacker had him pinned to the ground with a knife at his throat.

Breathing heavily, Hiccup stared wide-eyed at the girl who had floored him —the rider in the blue jacket. Her hood was down and her wild brown hair was windblown. Her brown eyes bore into his green ones like she was searching him, sifting for answers. For a moment Hiccup saw a glint of recognition in her eyes, like she knew him, or had seen him before. That look was gone as soon as it came, and was replaced by an icy glare. It was a glare as cold as the steel she pressed against his throat, threatening to draw blood.