The Dragon Princess

Protection and Worry

Hiccup's P.O.V.

Toothless and I land on the ship next to the sea stack. I carefully get off and tell Toothless to keep an eye out for anything. The only thing on the deck is a collection of crates. I carefully look around each one to see if there was any person on board. So far, no one is on the deck.

As soon as I find the hatch for down below, I gesture for Toothless to come over. "Take a sniff bud. See if you can sense anything."

He comes over and does his thing. He sticks his head inside the hole and sniffs the air for any smells. When he's done, he brings his head back and looks to me. He shakes his head and makes a small growl as if to tell me no one is there.

I look to him before looking into the dark hole. I walk over to his saddle bag and pull out the lantern Elsa had me bring. I hold it out in front of Toothless and let him light it up before facing the hatch.

"Come on bud. Let's see if we can find anything."

I head below with Toothless close behind me. The light from the lantern shines to show more crates and a table. Before walking over the desk to see what's on it, I take a walk around to double check for anyone. Toothless and I look around and behind a variety of crates. We even check behind a few doors that happened to be below and under some sheets.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Not one person was on the ship. Either they came here and left when they saw Astrid and I fly by earlier, or they just panted it here. But why would someone just leave an empty boat in the middle of the night? That doesn't seem right.

After making sure the coast was clear, I make my way over to the desk I saw by the steps. I notice a collection of papers scattered on it as well as a giant map in front of it. From the looks of it, the map isn't a modern one. It's very much like the ones they would have during the Viking time. I've seen a few in the library at the castle. This one looks much similar to it. It has an island circled as well as the name Winged Island. They must've been keeping an eye on this place. But I wonder for how long.

I look down at all the paper in front of me to see a collection of letters. Some are notes and what look to be possible plans. As I search through them, I stop to notice a folded up letter with Astrid's name on it. I look at it confused before picking it up. I feel the urge to open it but I don't, knowing it's probably not mine to read. So instead, I gather that along with any other documents that may be important and slip them inside Toothless's saddle bag.

While there, I notice a few more letters as well as an open one written in a woman's handwriting. I carefully pick it up and take a look at it. It's a short letter, but I can tell it definitely had meaning to whoever was on this ship. I can tell it's been read a lot by the rough edges. The penmanship has even started to fade a little bit, making it hard to identify the entire piece. As I skim the piece, I can read words like love, care, hopeful, and even a phrase: "I'll love you till the day I die."

Even though most of the writing has been worn down, I can still see the signature clear as day. The letters curl into one another and look as elegant as ever. The style matches the rest of the letter but the name takes me by complete surprise.

Astrid

Whoever received this letter either used to be very important to Astrid or still is. I've only been told of one possible person that she used to love. He used to look just like me but his personality was different. And from what Elsa has told us, there's a huge chance that he's dead. There is no possible way for him to still be alive. Not after 200 years. Most would be dead on Winged Island if it wasn't for Elsa and her magical friend.