Fly On Your Own

Chapter 17

"Oh... Uh..." Hiccup and I looked to each other, trying to find a way to explain that wouldn't make Kerrigan even more afraid than before.

"I found this in the attic. It was grandpa's." I rested my hands on my hips.

"What did I tell you about locking the attic?" I hissed.

"I was in a rush, I'm sorry. I didn't think she was actually gonna go up there."

"How come you never told us the truth about dragons?" Alith asked, looking up in the general direction of Hiccup and I. Although she couldn't see us, I'm sure she had gotten an idea of where we were.

"But we did. Dragons are wonderful. They're our friends."

"Tell me this-- are they giant?"

"Well, yeah."

"Razor-sharp teeth?"

"Uh..."

"Breathe fire?"

"I suppose so."

"Claws?"

"Yes."

"What happened to your leg?"

Both of us went awkwardly silent. There was no way to explain the difference between the good dragons and the bad dragons, and the twins were certainly too young to understand predatory behavior and the survival instinct that actually had propelled them.

"That's what I thought. Maybe we don't leave fish snacks around to attract them. 'Because you know who doesn't want to be dragon dessert? Me!" Kerrigan slammed the Book of Dragons down and took her sister's hand, dragging her close behind. "Kjartan, do you wanna be dessert for a dragon?"

"Mm... methinks I don't. Let's kill the dragons!"

Once they made their way out the door, I let out a long sigh, slowly closing my jaw.

"How did this happen?" I shook my head, slumping down on the bench at our dining table.

"She found the book, that's how." Hiccup sat down beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "She's already paranoid because of Alith... this didn't help at all. She doesn't remember the dragons, so she doesn't know they're friendly creatures." I leaned my head against his shoulder.

"What are we supposed to do if the dragons show up?"

"As much as I hate to say it, babe... the dragons haven't been here in ten years. I don't think they're coming back anytime soon."

"You never know, Reign."

I sighed and stood, reaching down to take his hand. We headed out onto our porch, and I lit the logs in the fire pit, signaling the kids to come back. Hiccup was still deep in thought, trying to figure out how it could be possible that his daughters were afraid of dragons.

"Our ancestors were terrified of dragons because they didn't understand them. Reign, we cannot let our kids go down that road." I watched for a moment as Kjartan lit a stick on fire and began to run around, when an idea popped into my head.

"Remember when we were kids, back in Old Berk, how we used to put on a pageant at Snoggletog?"

"Oh, yeah. Those were fun."

"What if we brought the pageant back? We showed the children of New Berk how humans and dragons became friends." He shot up out of his seat, smiling at me.