Prologue

The Chief's Wife

The night was chilly, but that was normal enough. This is Berk, after all. It's in the Meridian of Misery, twelve dayssouth of Hopeless, and a few degrees of Freezing to Death. Chilly is just one of the things this place provides. The village has been there for generations, but each buulding is brand new. The food here is gritty, tough, and tasteless like the vikings that live there. The views are top notch, however. Especially around the mornings, where if you squint really, really hard, you can still see a few straggling dragons carrying off more than a week's food supply...and the occassional viking.

That's right you read that correctly. DRAGONS.

The war between dragons and vikings has been going on for years. Three hundred to be exact. Ever since vikings stepped foot on Berk, dragons have been relentlessly attacking them. And vice versa. Most people would leave after the first...ten years, but vikings have a knack for being stubborn beyond humanly possible. Every other week, a dragon raid descends upon Berk in another battle for food, freedom, and glory.

Such is tonight. Our story begins with a battle, as most viking tales do. The dragons came swiftly, under the cover of darknessas most of the villagers slept in their beds. The sound of the warning alarm shook many of the vikings, ages varied, awake as they gripped the weapons besides them (usually under the covers or pillows) and sprung from their beds. The youngest ones were secured in the houses as their parents and older siblings ran out into battle. Such was the same done to the subject of this story.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the barely month old son of the chief, Stoick the Vast, and his wife, Valka the Outspoken. Stoick, as always, was the first one up as soon as the horn began to blow. As chief, his duty was first to his people. He already had his helmet and hammar on and was nearly out the door. "You're going to do it again, I see." At the sound of her voice, Stoick sighed.

"Valka, I do not have time for this. Our village is being destroyed as we speak. I must protect it." Said woman stood only a head below her husband with dark brown hair and eyes that look blue in the dark, yet green in the light. It was a feature that first drew Stoick to her and one that made it impossible for him to turn away if she had something to say.

She usually did.

"We need to think of our people first, Val."

"I am, Stoick! If we don't lose vikings to these raids, we lose food or shelter and we cannot go another winter like this. Please, I beg you, find some other way."

"There is no otherway, Val! We must destroy all the dragons if we want peace." Stoick sighed, "I will lead another search for the nest once the ice mel-"

"That has not worked for the last three hundred years and it won't work now! You know that, Stoick. We lose more vikings on those doomed searches than we do on these raids! Why can't you see tgat something has to change?" Valka walked up to him and grabbed his hands. Hers were tiny compared to his, but he has never raised a hand to him. "I love you, Stoick, but I don't want to raise Hiccup to hate like this. Please, we must bring peace a difderent way. Dragons cannot b-" Before she could finish, a loud blast shook their feet as roars and screams of rage echoed through the air. Stoick pulled his hands away and rushed out the door.

"We can discuss this later, Val! Protect our boy!" As he rushed off, Valka watched him, worry etched on her face. With every raid and search, she feared she'd never see him again.

Little did anyone know she was right.

Valka watched in horror as a Monsterous Nightmare crashed in front of their house with a Viking running up to kill it, axe raised. The dragon glanced at her with pleading eyes. 'I don't want to die,' it seemed to say, 'please...don't let me die.' She ran up, screaming for him to stop. "You'll only make it worse!" With her distraction, the dragon flew off, leaving a relieved Valka and a very angry viking. As he stormed off, shooting an irritated look her way, Valka heard aloud yet familiar cry. Spinning around, she saw a strange dragon climbing into their house while it blazed in flames. "Hiccup!" She raced back to the house, faster than she had ever run before. Before she knew it, she stood in her son's nursery with a sword, staring in disbelief.

There the dragon crouched, larger than any Nightmare she had ever seen, over the crib where her son lay. He had frills lining his face, which was flat for the most part. He seemed to have four wings, not two, and spines lining his back with a long fanned out tail. His large, bright yellow eyes stared down at Hiccup with immense curiosity. He had probably never seen a human so small and unafraid. She gasped when she realised his claws were rocking the crib to soothe Hiccup, gaining his attention. The dragon stared at her and she stared back. Slowly, she set the sword down, making the dragon tilt his head, frills slowly moving up, making his eyes seem...wider? Ever the attentive mother, Valka hurried to Hiccup's crib, where the baby was cooing and reaching for the large dragon. He was completely unaware of the fact that it could swallow him whole. The dragon continued to stare, as if transfixed at the two, as he leaned forward and sniffed them both. Another loud blast shook the house and the dragon's irises narrowed, a trait Valka immediately identified as danger. The dragon swiveled his head around and glared through the large opening he had made as the raid waged on, as if he didn't like it here.

And apparently, he didn't want her or her baby there either, for he scooped them up into his wings as she screamed. Stoick burst through immediately, "Valka!"

"Stoick!" The dragon was fast and soon she was miles in the air with a wailing babe in her arms.

"Hiccup!"

"Stoick!" And just like that, the raid was over.

First off, I freaking LOVE HTTYD. Second, is it just me or is everyone else afraid of HTTYD 3...because I've been hearing some things that my feels can't even imagine handling.