Chapter 1

So yeah, this is basically a rewriting of Beauty and the Beast but Httyd version. I got the idea after reading Love the Beauty Within by HetaCLAMP Full Metal. I have another idea for a version where Hiccup would be the Beast, but if I write it, it would be after that one.

For those who read Dragon's Prince, I'm not dropping it at all for this fic, I'll update it as well, I just wanted to try this too. Enjoy!

Once upon a time, there was a chief of a powerful tribe who had a beautiful little girl he had named Astrid. She was his pride and only child, but he would hardly take care of her, as she reminded him too much of her mother who died by giving birth to her. This chief wasn't all bad, but he was selfish, lacked generosity, and soon, his daughter grew up like him.

Little Astrid thought that the only way to be noticed by her father was to be the strongest, and because her father was selfish, she thought it was a part of being strong. So the child, though she wasn't completely bad, grew indifferent to other people, and decided that whatever she wanted, she would take, not caring about the consequences or pain it might inflict on others.

The girl had the admiration of people in spite of her selfishness, because she could swing her axe like the best warriors, and could hit as strongly as adults. She was beautiful also, with her blond hair and blue eyes and fair skin. As she was praised for her fighting skills and beauty, she started to think it as the most important things and did the best to keep both. Yet Astrid never seemed satisfied, feeling always empty, in spite of the praises, and the more frustrated she was, the colder she grew.

She wanted to be loved but hardly knew how to love herself, and when she thought about it, she realized that no one truly mattered to her, except maybe for her father, but even her father was too distant from her to be someone she could truly love, and he only grew as a figure she wanted approbation from. And because she thought she had to be the best to be loved, she demanded from others to be the best if they wanted to have anything to do with her.

One day, when she was thirteen, she was walking in the forest, decided to go and train alone in there. Then as she was throwing axes against a tree, she heard someone talking:

"Hey, please…"

She saw a girl who seemed to be quite her age, very ugly. She had messy clothes and was dirty, she carried two big bags, Astrid couldn't say what was in those but it was surely smelly. The girl repulsed her already.

"Can you help me with those bags? My back hurts…"

"I certainly won't! Do you know who I am?"

"Yes I do. You're the Heiress of the tribe. And that's why you should help those who needs it, isn't it your role?"

Astrid huffed spitefully.

"My role is to rule you in a tight hand. If you can't help yourself with those bags, it's too bad. Now, leave! I command you to do so!"

"Why? Why not helping me?"

"Because I don't have time to loose, and honestly, you're repulsive as well as those bags!"

"So my appearance is what repulse you?"

"Not only, you're also weak, it's obvious, not even able to carry two bags."

"You know nothing of me, you don't know who I am inside. My appearance is rough, but I might be the nicest person around, beauty isn't always what we think. As for being weak, strength can be many things, it's not only being powerful or physically strong."

"That's the stupidest things I heard. If you're that stupid, no wonder you're weak and ugly! Leave!"

She hit her in the belly with the handle of her axe, making the girl fall on the ground. She was used to hit others when she was angry, but what she was surely not expecting was for the girl to suddenly vanish in a storm of petals and flowers. Suddenly, before her eyes was standing an absolutely stunning woman, as fair as the sun and wearing an armor made of silver and the finest leather. Astrid fell down on her knees: a Valkyrie! She had heard of those goddesses who were fierce and beautiful fighters, but she never thought she would see one! And she had hit this one!

"I'm…I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"No of course Astrid, you didn't know, if you had, you would have respected me! For you respect only strength and beauty!"

"Please, I only aspire to be like you! Strong and beautiful!"

"You're nothing like me! Your face is beautiful but your eyes have nothing but cruelty and coldness. You're strong with a weapon but not even able to help others around! Your soul is ugly, girl. Did you have to hurt a poor girl alone? As punishment your body will be as ugly as your soul."

"Please, no…"

But before Astrid could say anything more, she started to feel her limbs move and change against her will, she started to grow scales, claws and fangs, she had paws instead of hands and feet, a large tail grew and large wings appeared on her back. She screamed although she felt no pain, but she was terrified, more than she had never been in her life. It couldn't be real, it was a nightmare! She screamed for help, she screamed for the Valkyrie to stop, but none of it had any effect and she had to watch her body change into monstrous form. Suddenly, she felt the ground under her feet disappear and she was swirled away. In a second, she was in a totally different place, at the entrance of a cave in a mountain.

The young girl yelled again and looked around everywhere in panic, she screamed for her father, but of course, he didn't hear her, he wasn't around, not anymore. Yet it seemed like he had never been around. Though she had the body of a monster, she felt again like a fragile child, someone was making a monster out of her, ripping her life away, and she could do nothing against it! The Valkyrie was still standing before her, and though she wasn't indifferent to the girl's pain, she wouldn't let pity stop her.

Once the girl stopped screaming and was simply moaning on the ground (like she was crying, except she couldn't, because her eyes couldn't form tears anymore), the Goddess spoke again:

"Because I'm generous, I'm giving you a chance, listen well: you will remain as such, until you can find someone who will love you in spite of your appearance, and who you can love truly in return. If love can make your soul grow beautiful, then you'll be fair again."

"No one will love me like this!"

"We'll see. This place is your new home, I put you somewhere where you will be left in peace. The dragons inside this mountain will obey you. Now it's your choice if you want to fly and approach humans or stay here. You'll still be able to talk, use this gift well, better than you did with me back in the forest. And here is another gift…"

She made a huge mirror appear inside the cavern. In other times, Astrid would have admired it, and admired herself into it, but now it wouldn't have crossed her mind.

"This is an unbreakable mirror. It will show you the world outside, as you'll wish. But remember, it doesn't replace the real world."

The Valkyrie disappeared, leaving the poor girl alone and still in shock. Astrid would have cried if she could, so she just continued to moan like a child shamelessly, wishing for her father to come, to make things right and take her in his arms…Yet she realized she didn't remember the last time he took her in his arms...He had showed her how proud he was, but he had rarely been comforting. The thought shattered even more the already broken pieces of her heart and she felt even more lost and broken and alone.

She tried to stand up and realized she could, she still had a humanoid body. It took her time, but she finally dared to look at her reflection in the mirror the Valkyrie gave her. She didn't even looked like a proper dragon, she was just an hideous mix! She could stand, her legs and arms were still here except it was covered in blue and black scales, her whole body was! Her face was only partly covered with those, she still had some skin, the last reminder of her humanity, but her mouth had fangs now. Her blues eyes were the only thing which remained as it always has.

Astrid stared and moaned again in agony: she had lost everything. She was alone, she had always been alone, she was away from everything she knew, she would never be the chief of her tribe, she would never be the fierce warrior she dreamed to be and she didn't even have her humanity left.

She couldn't cry so she roared. She roared and went out in a rampage, she killed wild boars, other dragons and all she could until she was too tired. Then she lay on the ground and cursed and prayed the Gods at the same time. What was her fault? How could she have known? And wasn't it normal for an heiress not to lower herself to the level of a dirty and ugly peasant? She was expected to be the best, wasn't it already enough without having her doing the dirty work of other people?! Yet now even the lowest peasant would hardly see anything but a monster in her…She couldn't remain like that! Only love could make her go human again? But who could love a beast like her?

Poor Astrid…It's a little short, but it's more like a prologue, next chapter should be longer. Now I wasn't sure about a Valkyrie, but I decided to go with that. Tell me what you think!