Hidden Feelings

Chapter 1

A dragon from the series makes an appearance in this chapter, so if it does anything that doesn't seem in character with the species, just know that I have not seen the show, and I only know of its existence because I looked up different HTTYD dragon species.

6 years of age

Six years have passed since little Iona Auber was taken in by Stoick the Vast. He's seen her take her first steps, he's heard her first word, and he was there to soothe her when she started teething.

He loved her like she was his own daughter. Iona also had a good relationship with Hiccup and Freja.

When she became aware of her presence, Freja didn't really like Iona at first, she was a bit jealous of the other girl that was also getting her fathers' attention. But eventually, she grew fond of her.

Freja and Iona would attempt to braid each others hair, and then laugh at the horrific mess they created on their own heads. They would also play with little wooden dolls, and practice making their own.

Even though Iona loved spending time with Freja, her bond with Hiccup was a bit stronger.

Hiccup and Iona were seen together practically every second of every day. Either going to the blacksmith's stall to talk to the owner named Gobber, hunting for trolls, or walking through the village hand in hand so they wouldn't lose each other in the crowd.

Despite Hiccup's fragile appearance, he would try his best to protect Iona to the best of his abilities. He knew from experience how much it hurt being picked on, courtesy of his main bully Snotlout, so whenever he saw Snotlout, or the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut coming her way, he wouldn't hesitate to slip right over and take their attention away from her. He most likely will end up getting pushed around, but he didn't care.

He would also help her when she was scared. He knew how much she hated thunderstorms. So, during a stormy night, he would always leave his door open for her, letting her know that she was free to come into his room. Other than sharing Hiccup's bed, they would also share each others' toys, and they would also share food when the other got too much on their plate.

Their bond was practically unbreakable.

Iona knew she had people who really cared about her, and she couldn't be happier. But, something in the back of her head was telling her something wasn't right.

For a six year old, Iona noticed a lot of things.

She noticed that Stoick never got on her about never calling him dad- her first word wasn't even "dada" it was "dragon"- she also noticed that she had absolutely no resemblance to Stoick or his children.

Stoick had red hair and green eyes. Hiccup had his eyes, and even though she wasn't around, Iona was pretty sure he got his auburn colored hair from his mother. Freja had her father's red hair, and blue eyes, once again courtesy of her mother.

Every time Iona looked into a water puddle, she would take note of her ebony colored hair, and her brown eyes.

She wasn't dumb, she knew Stoick wasn't her father, but she still wanted confirmation.

It was a bit quiet in the chief's home, save for Freja and Hiccup talking to each other. Stoick and Iona were the only ones who were busying themselves with their bowl of stew. Well, Stoick was the only one eating, Iona was swirling the food around with her spoon.

Hiccup looks over to the distracted girl, noticing how quiet she was being. "Iona how come you're not eating?" She just glances at him, then goes back to playing with her soup.