Stumbling anxiously through the dark forest seemed to last forever for Hiccup. How long had he been searching for now? It was impossible to guess, an hour maybe? No, definitely more than that. However long he had been searching, he still hadn't seemed to get anywhere. Was there no end to this forest? No end to this darkness? Hiccup couldn't shake off the feeling that he had been wandering round in circles this whole time. There was no path in this forest, only an abyss of winding trees and ivy that menacingly tickled at Hiccup's skin as he tried to find his way out.
All he could think of were the others. Jack, Rapunzel and Merida. Only this night had he met these three people, and Hiccup already, to his surprise, felt a strong connection between them all. Deep down in Hiccup's heart he felt a desperate, throbbing need to protect them. And Merida, oh Merida, Hiccup forced himself not to think of her too much just now, he could feel his heart weaken at just the thought of her name.
He knew very little about Merida, and Jack, and Rapunzel, yet he couldn't explain why he felt like he had known them all for his entire life. Anything could have happened to them.. he thought of those terrifying horse-like creatures, the haunting atmosphere that hung in the air this night, something was wrong.. If something did happen to them, Hiccup didn't know what he would do.
All of a sudden, through the thick array of entwining leaves, Hiccup saw two shining eyes appear in the distance. As he pushed his way through the shrubs and got closer Hiccup could now tell that the two large eyes were a magnificent jade colour, the sight of which caused an immense wave of relief to wash over Hiccup. He knew those eyes anywhere. Toothless!
"Hey Toothle-" Hiccup's call was cut short as he suddenly noticed a dark, hooded figure stood by Toothless' side. It was clearly a woman, at first Hiccup wondered whether it was Rapunzel or Merida. But no, he soon realised, it couldn't be, there were no crazily long golden locks, or dazzling scarlet curls to be seen underneath the figure's cloak.
Due to the frightful happenings that had already taken place that night, and the fact that he was lost somewhere in a gloomy forest, you would have thought that Hiccup would have felt scared to suddenly see a dark, mysterious figure here in the shadows. However, Hiccup didn't feel afraid at all. There was something that had changed within Hiccup that night, he felt braver somehow. There was also something about the figure that reassured Hiccup that he could trust them.
The figure was patting Toothless serenely, with their back to Hiccup and they hadn't yet seemed to notice he was there. Hiccup opened his mouth to clear his throat to let the person know he was behind them. But before any sound left his mouth, the figure spoke.
"I was wondering when you would find me, Hiccup."
Hiccup didn't know what he was more surprised about: the fact that this person knew he was there and who he was without even looking round, or how fragile and worn her voice sounded. It was like no voice Hiccup had ever heard before. As she turned around and swiftly lifted the hood away from her face, the dim light of the moon lit up the features of an elderly woman. There were creases around her lips and lines of aging along her temple, however the woman's eyes still shone with mesmirising youth.
"I'm sorry- but, erm, who exactly are you?" Hiccup questioned.
A warm smile spread across the woman's face, revealing to Hiccup the absence of a few of her teeth. "Most know me as the Witch of the Dark Woods. But you needn't be afraid of me Hiccup, i have been watching over you your whole life, and over your friends too."