Chapter 1: The Halflings

This is a bit like a rewriting of a certain story I'm sure you'll recognize as the story progresses, only more friendly and a little more supernatural. This idea came to me so suddenly, I wasn't sure what to do at first. I decided to try and write it down, and as much as I try not to have too many stories going at once, I want to write this while my memory is fresh.

There is a peaceful village that was built underneath a tall mountain. It is called the village of Berk. All of the villagers are led by a kind chief named Arter Hofferson, whose name is known throughout the land.

And so, it was with great joy that the chief and his wife were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, who was said to carry in the chief's kindness.

But then, it was revealed that the chief's daughter was victim to a terrible curse, which could only be broken by true love.

For a few years, Arter and his wife intended to hide the curse, secluding their daughter in her room. But then, they came up with another idea.

So, they sent their daughter to an abandoned island, which was the home of a fearsome, fire-breathing monster of a dragon known as the Red Death.

Day after day, year after year, many brave and strong Viking warriors attempted to free the chief's daughter from the dreadful seclusion. The one who succeeded was to be her true love, and in reward for recusing her, would receive her hand in marriage, and the chance to break the curse for good. But of the many that tried, none prevailed.

And so, the chief's daughter waits inside the dragon's nest, chained to a large boulder, waiting for the day her true love would come rescue her. It was believed that only her one true love would be able to break the chains and free her, as well as break the curse that only few people know about...

"HICCUP!"

The teenager was struck out of his daydream but his sister's shout.

"Come on, Heather, I just got to the best part!"

"Please tell me that you're not reading the story scroll about the chief's daughter again!"

"It's my favorite story! No one knows how the story will end, it's like they're waiting for someone to write the rest of it themselves."

"You don't really believe that someone will be able to save her do you?"

Since Heather hadn't read the story scroll before, she didn't know about the curse that the chief's daughter was victim to.

"I've been reading and hearing about this for so long, I actually know the name of the chief's daughter."

"Really? And what would it be?"

There was a moment of silence before Hiccup spoke again.

"Astrid."

"What?"

"Her name is Astrid."

"Whatever, just come on out of your little corner and help me catch us some breakfast!"

Hiccup sighed, rolled up the story scroll, and put it away on a bookshelf that he and Heather had built. As soon as the story scroll was back in place, Hiccup turned and walked out of the cave he had been in. He stepped out into the sunlight, where a strange-looking creature was waiting for him.

You see, Hiccup and Heather were no ordinary teenagers. They were half-human and half-dragon creatures called Halflings.

They both were covered in green scaly skin, had large wings that enabled them to fly, green eyes, and fingernails that were long and sharp like the talons of a dragon. But there were some differences between the two of them as well. Hiccup was slightly younger than his twin sister, and had a slightly smaller wingspan. And while Heather had long black hair in a braid, Hiccup had short brown hair.

As the two Halflings spread their wings to go and catch some fish for breakfast, Heather told her brother, "Don't forget to feed Firecracker when we get back." Firecracker was their pet Terrible Terror. "Don't worry," Hiccup said, "I haven't forgotten before, and there's no way I'm going to forget now." Heather smiled at her brother before they took off.

There was a reasonable explanation that the two of them looked the way they did. Their human mother was kidnapped by an evil dragon, and he kept her there for many months. After he was through with her, he sent her back home to her husband. Much later, she gave birth to twins, but they were half-human and half-dragon. After their birth, their mother told her husband about the dragon, and he went out and killed it. He then banished the Halflings, which he called "hideous monsters," up into the mountain that was now known as Halfling Mountain.

But the truth was, Hiccup and Heather weren't the hideous monsters everyone thought they were. People that lived in the village of Berk had the tendency to judge everyone and everything by the way they looked. Because of this, Heather decided it was best to stay hidden within their cave. But Hiccup knew that all that really mattered was what was buried deep within, not what was on the surface. He had tried to show others many times before, but it was always the same treatment. Backing away from him, and running away, back to the village without listening to a word the young Halfling said.

Hiccup always thought that if he and Heather did something for the good of the people, they would stop viewing them as monsters. He almost never had his nose out of a book or scroll, and his favorite stories were those about noble heroes doing noble things and saving people. How he longed to be one of these heroes, it would be his chance to prove that he and Heather were really kind and compassionate creatures. But Heather always told him that it was better to stick with reality.

But despite what everyone said, Hiccup never let go of his dreams.

After Hiccup and Heather returned with their talon-like hands full of carps and cods, Hiccup fed one of the fish to Firecracker, as he said he would. It was then that the two Halflings could eat their breakfast, using their fire breath to cook the fish. "Still holding on to your dreams, Hiccup?" Firecracker asked. Being half-dragons, Heather and Hiccup could understand what other dragons were saying. "Still holding on," Hiccup said with a smile. Firecracker was the only one who supported him.

And unknown to all of them, they'd be given a chance to make Hiccup's dreams a reality.

Snotlout was a very rude and selfish Viking. Whenever he walked through the village, there were murmurs amongst the others about his personality. But if they were to judge him by his looks like they did with everything else, they'd see a muscular Viking teen suitable for being chief. And he'd be a good one if it weren't for his selfishness. His father, Spitelout Jorgenson, always told him that he'd be a good chief, because he was strong and never feared anything. They both ran in a family of selfish Vikings who cared of nothing of anyone else.

As Snotlout returned to his home, he welcomed the twins, Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston, who both served him and his father. The twins showed him in, and followed him as he walked through the front door. They'd all heard many time over about the chief's daughter being trapped in the nest of the Red Death, but Snotlout was far too lazy to go and rescue her himself.

He summoned for his messenger, Fishlegs Ingerman. The large, anxious boy came into the room with a scroll in his hands. "Tell me everything about the chief's daughter," Snotlout commanded.

Fishlegs nodded and opened the scroll. "Well, her name is Astrid Hofferson, she's very tough, and very beautiful, and she's still awaiting the day her true love will rescue her. And it's believed that she's starting to doubt that it will ever happen." "Well, she won't have to doubt anymore, because her true love is going to send someone to rescue her," Snotlout said.

Fishlegs gulped nervously. "I should probably also mention the little thing that happens at night," he said to himself. He was one of the few people, other than Arter and Sigrid Hofferson, that knew about Astrid's curse. "I will find someone to save her, and bring her to me!" Snotlout said. "Yes, sir. But you see, after sunset..." "SILENCE!" Fishlegs immediately shut up.

Satisfied, Snotlout snapped his fingers twice, and the twins stood alert. "Set up some flyers around the village," Snotlout said, "There's going to be a tournament!"

You can probably guess where this story is going, but it's a little different. I'm not sure how the idea came to me, but I can't seem to hold it in. Review, follow, or favorite if you want, and I'll try to stay on top of all my stories as best I can.