She was…Not What They Imagined

Hiccup woke with a start to the sound of a shout. Heart pounding, Hiccup's eyes snapped opened. At first her eyesight was blurry, but she could make out three basic shapes. One of them was dark and lithe. It was probably Toothless. Hiccup's heart warmed at the thought of him. No matter where they were, Hiccup knew she could get through anything with him at her side. The other figures were a bit more confusing. One was mostly white and red, and the other was all brown.

Hiccup blinked a few more times, and eventually she could clearly see what was happening. Hiccup was, once again, being saved by her scaly best friend. But this time, instead of being in danger of dangerous Outcasts or rogue dragons, Toothless was protecting her from… she actually wasn't too sure.

One man was in a red shirt with dark gray pants. His massive size, broad shoulders, and tangled beard might have been intimidating to most people, but they were only comforting to Hiccup. She had grown up with men like him. Honestly, he and Toothless were the most comforting things around her. The man's eyes were as piercing as the two swords in his hands, but even those only served to put Hiccup at ease. The man had a striking similarity to Hiccup's own father, who was rarely (if ever) seen without a weapon, and Hiccup had to push down the urge to pull the large, most likely dangerous man into a hug.

The other figure wasn't even a man. Hiccup stared at the furry creature with long ears for a few seconds before a memory came to mind. A few months ago, before Jack and her were a couple, he had let out a few frustrations about the most obnoxious spirit he had ever met. He had mostly just called it a large kangaroo, but had also called it something else… the Easter bunny? But it couldn't be this bunny, could it? Then again, Hiccup reasoned with herself, how many large, walking, boomerang handling rabbits could there be in the world?

"She's alive!" the maybe Easter called out, and Hiccup blinked.

Alive? she thought. The last thing she remembered was dying in her burning village, looking straight at Jack's face, while hearing Toothless's pained whines off to her side.

"Then we get her out," the large man stated, moving closer to Hiccup and Toothless, raising his sword threateningly. The kanga- the Easter bunny followed suit, raising his boomerangs. Toothless tensed, and Hiccup knew where this confrontation was going. The large man raised his arm, and Toothless crouched closer to Hiccup, shielding her body with his own.

Hiccup abruptly stood up, ignoring the bright spots which danced in her eyes, and jumped over Toothless. She placed most of her weight onto Toothless's side, closing his mouth, while holding up a vulnerable hand to the two threats on the opposite side of the room. Hiccup's head throbbed, but she couldn't let them hurt Toothless. She wished Jack was with her. He would have frozen them where they were standing while the three of them escaped.

But Jack wasn't there. Wherever there was. And yet still, Hiccup wasn't alone. The vibrations she felt while Toothless growled in warning were a testament to that.

"No!" She cried, "Don't!"

Hiccup could see them moving closer, and Hiccup prepared herself to jump onto Toothless and escape. She looked around wildly, searching for a way to get out. She tried to ignore the hundreds of questions bursting through her head:

Where was she? Why wasn't she in Berk anymore? If this was Berk, then where was everyone? And who were the men in front of her? And the building, where were all the torches? Hiccup couldn't see any. So, how could the building be so bright without any fire? And what about the walls? They clearly weren't made of wood, so what material was used to construct them?

Hiccup shook her head free of any thought other than how to escape the strange room she was in. There was a set of stairs directly in front of Hiccup, but the two men were blocking her path there. She could jump on Toothless and go over them... but then what? She didn't know the building. What if it was a labyrinth? Hiccup turned her gaze upwards and happened to see a window on the ceiling. Hiccup wasn't sure exactly why, but she felt pulled to look at the at the moon.

She and Jack used to do that a lot. Whenever either of them had a rough day, or just wanted to be alone, they would go to the cove and stare at the sky. He had told her once that it was the moon which told him his name. Just his name, nothing else. He had been alone ever since then, knowing nothing but a label used for others to identify him as, while no one could possibly see or speak to him. Jack had said that at his level of solitude, a name was more like a sick joke than anything else. She remembered telling him that he wasn't alone anymore. Jack had looked into her eyes, and she had felt herself captivated by his icy blue eyes- so cold, yet so warm. He had kissed her, and they had stayed in the cove until the next morning.

That night had been one of the best of her life. She had felt so happy and light-hearted. Looking at the moon now, Hiccup felt that same way. Hiccup looked down at her side when Toothless warbled in happiness. He, too, was looking at the moon. Even though he looked so carefree, Hiccup could see his teeth shining in his mouth. Toothless usually retracted his teeth when he felt completely safe and comfortable. The fact that his teeth were bared brought the large man and the Easter kanga- bunny back to mind.

She looked back at them, but they were relaxed now. In fact, they were so relaxed that the bunny was even looking her over. Hiccup blushed. To the best of her memory, only Jack had ever looked at her like that.

Guardians of friendship, a comforting old voice told Hiccup. The Viking blinked, and Toothless snorted before stiffening and looking around, alert. By the other people's unchanged expressions, Hiccup figured that only she and Toothless had heard the announcement.

But, why? Hiccup couldn't help but to wonder. Toothless stopped looking at ground level, and stilled for a second before looking back up to the moon. Yes, the moon felt powerful, but Hiccup was pretty sure that the moon didn't speak. At least, not to ordinary creatures like her and Toothless. Jack had been a winter spirit. Still, Hiccup couldn't help but to wonder...

"What does that mean?" She wondered aloud. Guardians of friendship? Toothless snorted, obviously confused as well.

The large man in red started laughing and made his way to Hiccup and Toothless. With his swords sheathed, even Toothless found him a sense of familiarity. He hummed approvingly before hesitantly loosening his hold around Hiccup. The man looked warily at Toothless for a moment before smiling again and turning to Hiccup.

"Haha!" he exclaimed, thumping Hiccup soundly on the back. Hiccup could only smile back at the familiar action. From across the room, the bunny seemed to choke. Hiccup looked over at him, and saw him briefly have his eyes bugging out, with his jaw practically hanging down to his toes. But then, he noticed her staring and composed himself.

"What's going on?" Hiccup voiced the question which was no doubt on both her and Toothless's minds.

"You are guardian!" the large man, before continuing. "You join our group, young spirit,"

Spirit? Hiccup wondered. Like Jack?

"Yeah," the bunny said casually as he flopped onto a couch in the room. "We basically go around the world, saving kids, and beating bad guys." His whole casual-guy act was ruined when he looked over at Hiccup expectantly, like he thought she would start gushing over how cool that sounded, and how cool the rabbit was for doing that for life.

Toothless shuffled his shoulders unhappily, and Hiccup scratched the spot in between his wings, under his saddle. She knew that Toothless was thinking the same thing she was. Oh gods, not again.

The large man, who later introduced himself as North, told her most of the responsibilities and specifics of guardianship. But before Hiccup could ask any questions, or could be asked any questions, a little creature ran into the room.

"Oh, yes," North looked at the little thing before sneaking a glance at Hiccup. At her fascinated look, he said, "Is elf. The big furry ones are yetis,"

The little elf kept yelling, trying to gain North's attention, and when North finally gave it to the little elf, he seemed to curse in the same language which one of Hiccup's best friends spoke. Hiccup blinked at how expletive the old man could be.

North stomped through his workshop, Toothless and Hiccup close on his heels, with the bunny bringing up the rear.

A large hairy creature was standing by an open hatch in a strange metal machine. Hiccup had never seen such a machine, and felt her fingertips tingling, wanting to get inside one, just to see what was in it, and how it worked.

"Phil!" North yelled at the poor bearded thing.

Oh, Hiccup realized. It's a yeti.

"Don't worry about it, babe," the Easter bunny said as he grabbed Hiccup by the waist and pulled her closer to him. "This type of thing happens all the time,"

He must have mistaken her look of anticipation with one of anxiety. Before Hiccup could say anything, Toothless growled lowly, actually showing the bunny his teeth.

Hiccup felt her heart warm. She knew Toothless like Jack. While he had growled at him a lot, Hiccup hadn't missed the ways Toothless had helped Jack out, like helping him choose a gift for her for their two month anniversary. Nor had she missed the way that Toothless gently lifted and carried Jack out of the cove and into her house when Jack fell asleep out there before Hiccup. Now she just had to get Toothless to admit it.

"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked.

"Machine is supposed to move line forward, but little elf messed with something, and now will not work,"

"I can try to help you with that, if you want," Hiccup offered. North, who had been hunched over the small panel, came out and let out a deep breath. He swept a hand from Hiccup to the hatch, inviting her to try.

Hiccup stepped out of the bunny's unwanted embrace and moved forward to examine the machinery in the hatch.

She had never seen anything like it before, but Hiccup figured that it was all basically math and physics, both of which she was extremely proficient in. Honestly, how different could this be from anything on Berk?

Hiccup reached in the panel with her hand, but she felt something bump against her leg, and a couple of bits of metal clanked together. Hiccup looked down at the elf. It was straining to hold a red box in its arms, but offered the tools it contained to Hiccup with a smile. Hiccup glanced inside of it and picked out the tools which looked helpful. Then she started tinkering inside the hatch again.

While she worked, she remembered the days in summer when Jack couldn't be in the shop with her to keep her cool from the sweltering fires in the forge. She smiled slightly as she tightened a screw. Something crackled, and Hiccup dodged a flying spark.

Jack always said that he loved watching her work because she would get some sort of a focused look on her face. She would always roll her eyes and respond with something sarcastic, and Jack would laugh. That was something Hiccup really loved about Jack- he got her sense of humor, and he encouraged her inventions and strange habits. He truly accepted her for who she was.

Hiccup stepped away after about fifteen minutes and blew some hair out of her face. It fell back over her eyes, and she grew irritated with the knowledge that it was going to keep sweeping into her face until she redid her braids. To North, and everyone else in the room, Hiccup said,

"That should do it,"

The large man pulled down a lever a couple of feet away as Hiccup gave the tools she had used back to the elf, who was still holding the box in trembling arms. Hiccup smiled at it and laughed softly before picking up the box with ease and placing it on a work station next to her.

A whirring noise started, and Hiccup looked back at the line she had been trying to fix. It was actually working! Hiccup walked to the moving black belt and touched in with fascination. What was it for? She looked further down the line and saw a number of yetis working on multiple toys at the same time, creating so many more toys in such a short amount of time. An odd elf here or there was ignored by the apparently gentle giants, and Hiccup couldn't help the smile which grew on her face.

The entire workshop was filled with such wonder that Hiccup couldn't help but feel her fingertips start to tingle again. She just wanted get her hands on a block of wood and few pieces of metal and create something. So inspired was she that she actually forgot all of her questions about the brightness of the rooms, or the power source for all of the machines in the room, or what the rooms were made of, or about the lack of fire and torches in all the rooms and halls. All that was on her mind was making something, something whimsical and fun, like everything she could see in the workshop.

"Great. You fixed the assembly line," the bunny said while casually leaning on a wall. "Now, tell us who you are, Gorgeous,"

"Well," Hiccup said before Toothless could start hissing, "I guess we're the guardians of friendship,"

The bunny and North looked at each other, having a silent conversation, Hiccup assumed, before nodding.

"We'll be right back, babe," the Easter bunny said. Toothless growled at him unhappily, but Hiccup placed a hand on his head. They would find Jack soon, and the bunny would stop staying things like that, and Toothless would go back to only acting angry at Jack.

"Yes. We must tell others of you and your center," the guardian of wonder said while pulling on a red coat. "Well," North paused for a second, "We will tell two others. You will meet guardian of fun later," he decided.

The bunny nodded. "Yeah. He's had a rough week,"

"Why?" Hiccup wondered.

"He told us of his girlfriend," North said, "She died long ago,"

"Oh," Hiccup said softly. "I'm sorry,"

"Yeah," the bunny said, "It was weird seeing him so down. He's usually so lively and annoying. He went back to her old island about a week ago. We would introduce you to him, but he's better off alone for a while. I doubt even a hottie like you would bring his spirits up right now,"

"Yes. Little buddy is sad," North said, "We will give him space,"

Then North got on his sled, and the bunny tapped his foot on the ground twice, where a hole appeared. Before Hiccup could even blink, the two of them were gone, and Hiccup was left alone in the fantastic workshop.

She grinned down at Toothless.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Bud?" She asked. Toothless grinned, showing off his pink gums, and scampered off.

Hiccup had a different mission. She weaved through all the elves and yetis in the workshop before she came across a couple of pieces of wood and a few scraps of metal. There wasn't much, but as Hiccup held the materials in her hands, she smiled at it in happiness. There was enough. Whatever she made couldn't be very big, but it would be beautiful, and it would work flawlessly.

She made her way to the only yeti she knew, Phil, and sat next to him. She tried to stay off of his work station as much as possible, but she soon found out that Phil didn't mind her being there. Even while he was working on his own project of painting a lot of blue figures red, he would hand her nails and L-brackets when she needed them. He had already given her a hammer earlier, and a sander. He had pointed out a patch of rough wood which Hiccup had forgotten to smooth out. If Jack had been there, he would have laughed that the 'Forge-Master Hiccup' had forgotten something so basic. Hiccup knew that she would see Jack again, soon. She would just have to be patient.

But for once, Hiccup found patience to be very difficult for her. Jack did that to her. He let her be completely herself, and let loose. When she was around him, she found herself letting down her walls. All those Viking customs, and all those traditional manners she had to practice as the heir to the chief of the tribe were gone from her mind. She could sit how she through comfortable, laugh as loud as she wished, say whatever she wanted. She and Jack were opposites, but they needed each other to feel complete. If she was a rock, she was the sky, and if he was ice, then she was fire.

Toothless had gotten the leather he had set out to find by the time Hiccup had finished the base. He started sounding like he was choking, and Phil looked concerned. Hiccup shook her head and cleared a large section of the table for him to spit it onto. The pieces of leather were a little slimy, but Hiccup could work with them.

Hiccup picked one up and smiled as she looked up to Phil. The yeti looked absolutely disgusted. He made a couple of sounds of protest while he motioned towards his table. Hiccup laughed and reassured him that she would wash it out for him before she continued working.

When she had finished, Hiccup was holding a small box. When the leather cord which wrapped around the mechanism inside round platform on top of the base was pulled, the dragon on top of it all would start to flap its wings. The wings would keep flapping, faster and faster, until it took off flying. Hiccup tied another cord of leather to one of the dragon's legs, and anchored it to the base of the toy, so the dragon would never get lost.

To make sure it worked, Hiccup had Phil try it. He did, and he looked at the invention in his hands with awe before he shifted the look to Hiccup. Hiccup just shrugged modestly and then started cleaning up her temporary section of Phil's work station. When Phil reluctantly handed the toy back to Hiccup, she asked,

"What do I do with it now?"

Phil mumbled a few things as he picked up one of the toys he had been working on. He led Hiccup to a wrapping station, where he taught her how to cover her toy with the colorful paper. Hiccup saw the longing look in the yeti's face as he looked at the toy Hiccup had made. So, she presented it to the sweetheart in front of her. He looked so happy that, for a moment, Hiccup completely forgot about how much she wished that Jack was next to her, smelling like pine trees and a crisp winter morning. But, it was only a moment.

"Ah, there you are," North boomed as he walked down the hall. "They are waiting for you. Come,"

And so, Hiccup was led back to the big room she had woken up in, Toothless trotting quickly behind her.

"So, there she is," the bunny said.

"Oh, wow!" a blur of green and blue zoomed over to Hiccup and stopped just before it crashed into her. "Finally!" the pretty bird-woman said. "Another girl! Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?"

"Well-" Hiccup was about to break it to the woman that Toothless was also a guardian, and that he was a male, but the woman continued talking at a break-neck pace.

"Oh! How rude of me!" the woman face palmed. "My name is Toothiana. But you can just call me Tooth,"

Toothless blinked, and Hiccup quirked her lips into a little smile. That might get a little confusing after a while.

"And that's the sandman," Toothiana kept talking. She was gesturing to a little, round, golden man. "You can call him Sandy," Then Toothiana hovered next to North and the Easter bunny. "And of course you know North and Bunnymund,"

"Bunnymund?" Hiccup asked. What a strange name. But, it was by no means the worst name Hiccup had heard. Not by a long-shot.

"But you can call me Bunny," Bunny clarified. Toothless chortled. Hiccup couldn't help but think the same thing: Bunny wasn't all that much better than Bunnymund.

Hiccup looked back at Sandy, and saw Jack's face above his head, only it was made out of golden sand. Hiccup blinked in surprise. How had Sandy known that Hiccup was waiting fora chance to find him? She looked down at the little man's face, looking for a sign of what he was thinking. He was shaking his head, with his eyes sadly pointed at the ground.

Hiccup felt her world slip out from under her feet, and her knees buckled. She was about to fall to ground, but Toothless caught her. Hiccup couldn't wrap her mind around it. Was Jack dead? That seemed to be what Sandy was saying. But that was impossible.

Jack was immortal. He couldn't die. Jack had told her a couple of weeks after they had started dating, and he had seemed so bitter and angry about it. Hiccup vividly remembered because it was such a scary sight, seeing Jack anything other than happy and funny. It had been such a humbling experience, seeing Jack talk about his eternity of solitude. From that moment on, Hiccup had made it her goal to make Jack happy, and to stop thinking her own life was as miserable as she had always thought. Sure, everyone ignored her, but Jack couldn't even be seen by others. Hiccup wondered if Jack had been happy as he died, or if he was in a lot of pain.

Toothless moved his snout closer to her face and lightly licked her face while warbling softly. Hiccup absentmindedly stroked his scales, thinking about Jack, and everything she loved about him.

She pictured his handsome face, with his unruly hair, and his intense eyes. She tried to remember the feeling of his strong arms around her, and his calloused hands brushing dirt or hair away from her face before he pressed his burning cold lips onto hers. They had always been so soft, like the freshly fallen snow. She remembered how nice he always was, and how patient and funny he always was. She thought of the way his voice caused little trembles in the bottom of her stomach. And for some reason, all those memories only hurt Hiccup more.

Hiccup sniffled a little at the idea that she might never be able hear him laugh again, or feel his arms around her, or his lips on hers. A tear escaped her eye as she sniffled. Toothless licked it away, and Hiccup swallowed thickly. She would never see Jack openly admit how much he actually cared for Toothless, or see Toothless do the same.

"Hey, now, Sheila," Bunny said softly as he moved closer. "What's wrong?" he opened his arms, as if to hug her. The idea made Hiccup extremely uncomfortable, and Toothless knew that. He turned his large head towards Bunny, and Hiccup watched as he caught Bunny off guard with his haunting eyes and hissed.

Hiccup stayed still for a second, thinking of all the memories she had with Jack. Their first meeting, the first time they went swimming together, their first kiss, their last night together. Through it all, the one thing Jack had always said was that he loved her smile.

If he saw her at that moment, crying her eyes out, Hiccup didn't even know how he would react. So, Hiccup steeled herself and did what she normally did when she was sad: she smiled.

"How rude of me," Hiccup said, her voice still raw with emotion, despite the curve of supposed happiness on her face. "You've all introduced yourselves, but I haven't. My name is Hiccup-" Hiccup cut herself off. Everyone had frozen, and were now staring at her. It sent chills up her spine as she was reminded of that awful afternoon in the Nightmare's cage. Just to ensure herself that at least Toothless was alive, Hiccup wrapped her arms around his neck.

The workshop, which had previously been buzzing with the constant motion of yetis, elves, and machinery, was silent, as everyone stared at her and Toothless with a new light in their eyes.

"Hiccup… Horrendous Haddock?" Toothiana asked hesitantly.

"The Third?" Bunny said weakly. Hiccup frowned, and Toothless let out a confused noise.

"Have you heard of me?"

"You are her?" North sounded surprised. Then, he jumped into action. He practically ran across the room and pulled a lever. For some reason, that caused a band of beautiful colors to weave its way into the dark sky. Hiccup saw them shimmering in the skylight, but was more interested in the guardians in front of her, all of whom seemed to know who she was.

"But… you're…" Bunny was at a loss for words, so Toothiana tried to say her two cents.

"You're the chief of Berk's daughter?"

"Yes, that's me. But how do you know anything about me?" Hiccup wasn't at all sure how they all knew who she was, and she was even less sure why it was such a big deal, or such a surprise.

"So you and Jack-"

But Hiccup cut her off,

"You know Jack?" even Hiccup could hear the desperation in her own voice. "Please, tell me, how is he? He's alive, isn't he?"

All of the guardians exchanged uncomfortable glances, and Hiccup could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest. Toothless crooned gently and pressed his snout gently to her chest, as if trying to calm the overworked organ.

"Well, he is alive," Toothiana confirmed. Relief flooded through Hiccup's body, and she felt like she could float away from how much heavy stress was lifted from her body. Sandy flashed a number of pictures above his head, and Hiccup's head spun at how fast the images appeared and were replaced. She blinked after the assault of graphics, but then grew worried,

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

"You… you actually understood that?" Bunny asked incredulously. At Sandy's angry huff, the large rabbit apologized, "Sorry, Mate, but no one can understand you when you talk that fast,"

"Well, I just watched, and listened,"

"To unspoken words?" North asked. Hiccup blinked. Almost no one had heard of unspoken words. How did North know?

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Jack told us. He loves you, you know," Toothiana said.

"I love him, too," Hiccup looked at the away from Toothiana's eyes, blushing. She smiled slightly at the mere thought of Jack loving her.

"I can see why Jack loves her," Bunny said, looking at Toothiana, "But why does she love him?"

"Well?" Toothiana asked Hiccup expectantly. "Why do you?"

Hiccup blinked. Why did she love Jack? She didn't know the exact reason. She was pretty sure that love didn't work in reasonable ways. How was she supposed to explain that?

"I mean… I just do," She tried. "He's kind, and patient, and he makes me laugh,"

"But I'm kind and patient, and I can make you laugh," Bunny said. Hiccup wasn't so sure about the rabbit's sense of humor, but pursed her lips before saying,

"He understands me. He knows what it's like to be lonely, and he can make me feel so not alone that I almost get overwhelmed. It's like he's an endless supply of water, and my heart's a bucket. He fills me up until I overflow," Hiccup elaborated.

"But can't a lot of people make you feel happy and un-lonely?" Toothiana asked. "Like your dragon?"

Hiccup frowned again. The guardians were being incredibly close-minded. She could feel herself getting frustrated.

"But… he's so constant, and he's always there, and he makes my world,"

"But Jack is not here now, no?" North voiced his opinion by the large golden sphere.

"Well, I guess not," Hiccup barely stopped herself from snapping. "I love him, though. He makes me feel like I'm special, and like I'm worth something. I don't know how to explain to you all, but I am in love with Jack Frost,"

"But why?" Toothiana asked.

"I mean, look at you!" Bunny exclaimed. "You could have any choice of men, but you chose Jack?"

"He did say you were beautiful," North supplied.

"But we didn't think he meant like... this gorgeous!" Toothiana blurted out. "Don't get us wrong, we love Jack like family... But I don't understand how someone so kind and beautiful and smart could possibly love Jack back,"

Hiccup looked at all of their faces and simply couldn't understand why they wouldn't just accept that she loved Jack. Hiccup loved getting to the bottom of things, and knowing why things happened the way they did, but even she knew that love didn't always have a reason. In fact, love was barely ever based on reason. Its unpredictability made love that much more valuable and precious.

Toothiana opened her mouth, and Hiccup knew that if she asked one more time why Hiccup loved Jack, she would snap. But, something saved her. More like someone.

A door was opened at the front of the workshop, and Hiccup couldn't believe it. Even though there was no way she could see who it was, she knew. She hoped no one asked her how she knew, because she just did. There was no way to explain how she knew.

It was Jack. She was going to see him again. She would get to breathe in his scent, listen to his deep voice, press her lips to his own. Jack was coming, and Hiccup couldn't wait.

As much as Hiccup wanted to see Jack as soon as possible, she couldn't get herself to move. North walked briskly towards the front of the shop, followed closely by Bunny, and then Sandy. Toothiana just go so flustered looking that she, apparently, decided that flying around the ceiling would lower her stress level a little.

Hiccup stopped paying attention to Toothiana. That voice… Hiccup felt her heart beat faster. It was Jack, no doubt about it. He was so close, and yet, he was so far. Hiccup tried to force herself to move to him, but Hiccup's legs refused to listen to her, and stayed frozen to the ground.

Jack's eternally handsome face showed up at the top of the stairs which led to the room Hiccup was in, and she suddenly gained control over her mutinous body. Hiccup didn't even think before she launched herself at Jack, wanting to feel his body against hers as soon as possible.

She felt him stumble for a second before steadying himself and wrapping his arms around her. Hiccup felt her heart beat faster, and it almost felt like it was about to burst from how much happiness she was experiencing.

Hiccup melted into Jack's embrace and couldn't help but to think of who she was. She was now a spirit, apparently. Not just any spirit, but a guardian. One of the guardians of friendship. But, before that, she was a Viking. She had been the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon. She had been the first Viking to ride one, too. And now, she'll be the first Viking to have a happily ever after.

It's so long! So, this chapter was a whole lot more difficult than the rest of the story for a number of reasons. 1) the rest of the chapters I planned from the beginning. This one, I sort of had to wing it a couple of times before making this version of the chapter. 2) Jack's was an easy perspective, since he didn't really like Toothless, and he was used to everything around him, and his main interest was Hiccup. Hiccup's pov was difficult because I had to balance her love of Toothless with her love of Jack with her love of creating and inventing things, AND she was in this really cool, weird, new workshop, and things were completely disorienting for her. 3) I really wanted to get to the guardians' reactions to Hiccup being Jack's old girlfriend, but because I wanted the story to move along quickly, I feel like I kind of glossed over the guardians' reactions to having a DRAGON show up in the North Pole. 4) This chapter wasn't like the ones before it, where it was kind of just a fluffy one-shot between Hiccup and Jack where we know what you were going to read (her being shy, brave, etc). This one was about her being unexpected, which- surprisingly- doesn't give me a whole lot of direction as a writer. Actually, there's barely any Hiccup/Jack interaction in this chapter at all. 5) Since I wrote the other chapters without thinking I would be writing this chapter in, there were certain things which I HAD to add, even though they were confusing, and sort of annoying to add (the thing she made for Phil, Toothless's name never coming up), and delaying Hiccup introducing herself to everyone was difficult to effectively fit into the story.

Basically, I'm saying that this chapter was hard to write, and supportive comments would be appreciated so that I don't feel like crap for putting this chapter up. Favorites, follows, reviews, I love them all :)