eldritch

(adj.) eerie; weird; spooky

Silence.

There was this deafening silence where nobody dared to utter a word.

Everyone seemed to be hypnotized, not moving nor blinking, they looked like sitting statues.

"Here's my hero, right here!" Erland joked, pulling you into a side hug, he desperately tried to lighten up the mood, but everybody was too static to react. Doubt was starting to build inside of you, perhaps telling them this part of your life was not really necessary.

"Yeah, uh," Erland gave an awkward laugh, resting his hands on the table and twiddling his thumbs. "If it wasn't for her I might've really been dead." He was quiet, but in this room, it sounded like a shout.

"So you forgot about him? Just like that?" Astrid finally broke the ice with her unnerving question, her face was expressionless, though that didn't mean she didn't care. In fact, while you were telling your story she was the most compassionate you've ever seen her before. At the sound of Astrid's voice the gang all relaxed and seemingly came back to life. You on the other hand, shifted in your seat, feeling all of those watchful eyes now concentrated on you.

Not once did you glance at Erland whilst you talked. "I didn't know better. I-I thought that if I had not done that, I would've hated myself for the rest of my life. I had this mindset that if I pretend none of that happened, then I would forget, and I did..." You knew that whatever response you give will end up hurting Erland no matter what, you can't imagine how bad it sounds to hear your friend simply forgot about you.

Your hands instantly covered your face as you felt the tears forming. "That's so harsh to hear, I'm sorry." You couldn't stop shaking your head after that, feeling how the guilt slowly sunk in your skin. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Oh gods, I-"

You inhaled and wiped away the hot tears from your cheeks. You had to pull yourself together. "But then, when I saw him again. That was just... I felt like the gods have given me a second chance. It was unexplainable."

Silence spread again, but this time it was bearable, this time everyone had a moment of thinking and just collecting their thoughts.

"When I woke up, I was a coughing mess." Erland started speaking and everybody averted their attention towards him. "But before that, it was only darkness and this sort of relief, I don't know how to explain it, like my body was finally at peace."

Erland inhaled a shaky breath. "After I woke up, I heard the screams of the people in the distance. It was just so crushing to hear them and not being able to move and help them."

"That's so courageous." Ruffnut whispered slowly, she was looking at Erland as if Thor himself was sitting next to her, her eyes widened and lips parted. Your eyes trailed on Erland's figure, he didn't comment anything about your reasoning and it worried you if he never forgave you about what you did.

Suddenly, the door creaked open and everyone looked at it. Snotlout walked inside like usual, but stopped midway when he noticed another presence other than the usual. He scrunched up his eyebrows in bewilderment.

"Who's the new guy?" Snotlout joked, taking a seat directly in front of Erland and staring him up and down.

"He's my friend." You replied calmly and to that Snotlout only snorted.

"Friend? I thought you didn't had friends besides us." The way Snotlout put it sounded so sad, though it was nothing but the truth. If something similar like Mariah happened, you would lose everyone, well except Crystal of course.

"Well Erland is an old friend." You responded, twirling your hair anxiously and not looking up at anyone.

"Old friend?! Woah, what did I miss?" Snotlout laughed, glancing around at everybody with a grin, hoping that someone will join his laughter.

"Nothing important." Erland waved his hand dismissively. You jerked your head to the left at his reply and looked at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, nothing important." You repeated Erland's words, glaring at him while he just stared with a challenging look on his face. Tension was slowly building up, but it crashed down when someone cleared their throat and you snapped out of your trance.

"Anyway, Snotlout this is Erland." You said pointing at the sandy coloured boy sitting next to you. "And Erland, that's Snothead."

For once the room wasn't quiet and everybody snorted at your lame joke. Snotlout, on the other hand just corrected you with a deep growl.

The next couple of minutes, the normal friendly atmosphere came back and everyone was chatting like before. Erland remained quiet most of the time, though he still laughed when someone said or did something funny. He awfully reminded you of your past self because that's how you used to be around the gang for the first time.

Your eyes landed on Hiccup who was resting his head on his hands. He was staring at the table and looked deep in thought with his eyebrows furrowed together. You got up from your seat, earning a glance from everybody before they continued their chatter.

Then you made your way towards Hiccup, stooped down and whispered in his ear. "Let's go for a walk."

He smiled and got on his feet, both of you looked at the gang who were too deep in their conversation to even notice you leaving.

The moment you set foot outside, the frigid night wind seeped through your skin making goosebumps resurface on your arms. You inhaled the fresh air and smiled.

Hiccup took your hand and intertwined his fingers with yours and you guided him down the docks. The island was relatively quiet today, except for your synchronized footsteps and the occasional bird chirping in the distance. You looked to your right, seeing the moon glistening on the churning sea, tiny little specks covering the night sky, making it look majestic as ever.

"Someone's awfully quiet today, what's on your mind?" You stepped in front of Hiccup and grabbed both of his hands into yours. You swayed left and right while Hiccup stayed motionless.

"You." Hiccup replied after a few seconds later, you stopped moving and grinned.

"Me? I'm flattered." A giggle spilled past your lips, but stopped upon noticing that the auburn haired boy didn't crack up the expected smile. You took a step back and then walked alongside Hiccup who let out a faint sigh and you turned to face him.

"It feels like I found out another, more darker, side of you." Hiccup confessed and you frowned.

"Are you... disappointed?" You reluctantly questioned, chomping on your lips afterwards. You scanned Hiccup's face for any emotion, his features more accentuated under the midnight light. But even so, they held nothing but calmness.

"No, its just- I never knew you've had such a traumatic experience." Hiccup responded with a generally hurt tone and it made your face drop. Of course he had a point, but he was forgetting that even you were reminded about all of this just recently. You remained quiet, not knowing what to even respond to what he had said so you just nodded slightly.

A moment of silence passed before you spoke again. "So you're not going comment anything about me stealing?" To that Hiccup shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well you needed to so... I guess it's acceptable?" Hiccup trailed off. "Besides, that's in the past. You don't steal now."

He said it with such certainty that you almost felt bad for giving a nod of agreement. You don't loot everyday like before, but you do it only when the required things are hard to find or too expensive for your liking.

For the rest of the walk, both of you were quiet. Only talking every now and then. Hiccup was probably still comprehending your story, while you were not in the mood to speak.

The two of you circled back to the clubhouse and upon approaching you heard shouts coming from inside. You recognized everybody's voice cheer Snotlout for some reason.

When you walked in, Erland and Snotlout were gripping each others hand and were trying to pin one anothers hand. Their sleeves were rolled up and their arms were shaking vigorously, slowly changing from one side to the other.
The two boys had their teeth gritted and even a drop of sweat rolled down their face.

After a minute of struggling, with a thud, Snotlout's hand landed on the table and Erland beamed happily. Everyone's shoulder slumped and they all whined because of Snotlout's loss. And black haired boy only growled in response and moved to another place.

You clapped enthusiastically from behind and Erland turned around giving you the biggest grin ever. Hiccup and you made your way towards the table and sat down.

"Anyone else wants to try?" Erland asked with a smug face, particularly radiating with aplomb. He was glancing back and forth between all of you, and his smirk only grew wider when he saw that nobody planned to.

But before all hope was lost, Astrid sat in front of Erland. "Let's go." She asserted.

Erland only rose a brow at this. "Hmph, a girl to beat me? I'd like to see that, though probably not gonna happen." At his words Astrid, Ruffnut and you looked at each other before laughing simultaneously. This made everyone else's expressions twist into that of a surprise.

"Oh please, we don't need another Snotlout mentality." You quipped and crossed your arms against your chest, not looking away from Erland while he stared at you with a puzzled look.

Astrid slammed her elbow on the table and that made the boy in front of her look away from you and take a hold of Astrid's hand. Tuffnut who was the judge of this arm wrestle, counted down from three whilst tapping on the table and after that the competition commenced.

At first there was not much movement, both of Erland and Astrid's arms stayed in their initial position, just shaking slightly. But then Erland was winning, Astrid's arm was slowly going down.

"Astrid! Astrid! Astrid!" You began clapping and encouraging your friend. She looked at you and snickered. Soon after Ruffnut and the others joined your cheering. Snotlout on the other hand, cheered for Erland and tried to louder than everyone else, him and Ruffnut apparently had an unannounced challenge of who can shout louder.

Astrid began twisting to the side as Erland applied more pressure and for a second you thought she was going to lose. Astrid chomped on her lips and with all the force she had, she brought her arm back to the start position and then even further, to the point where Erland's hand was dangerously close to the table.

He watched in horror as his arm was only inches away from the wood, of course Erland made some effort to rise his arm and it work for a couple of seconds. But then finally, Astrid brought his hand on the table.

All of you extolled in the exact moment, you high fived Ruffnut and both of you yelled with delight. All turned their heads to the winner and watched how a triumphant smile stretched on Astrid's face as she wiped the drabs of sweat from her forehead.

"What?!" Erland exclaimed in shook and watched his arm with a look of betrayal. Tuffnut just patted his back for support and took a seat next to Ruffnut.

"Not so smug, are we now?" Astrid grinned mischievously and watched how Erland was fuming in his seat. He murmured some words about Astrid being a cheater, but he probably knew that she won fair and square. Snotlout went on and on about how he was cheering for Erland and how he let him down. The two of them then had a small friendly quarrel about that.

"Okay, sorry for saying girls can't win." Erland sighed. "You obviously proved me wrong."

Astrid only glanced up and smirked, after that she went back to polishing her axe. She enjoyed winning, especially in things that required strength. You could see it in her eyes, she was beaming with happiness, but as always she camouflaged it with a still face.

The door opened once again, but this time there was no group member left so you whipped your head back to see if any intruder has entered. But relaxed the moment your eyes landed on the black Nightfury who was sniffing the floor.

"Oh my Thor!" Erland exclaimed fearfully and jumped out of the chair. Toothless was growling at him, like he always does with strangers but you had to step in and stop him because this was not an ordinary stranger.

"Woah there Toothy." You stood between the dragon and the frightened human. You patted Toothless' head and glanced back.
"Erland is a friend, okay? No attacking."

Toothless' growled once again and Erland let out a quiet whimper. And then the room was filled with Hiccup's snickers. To that, Toothless' face instantly lit up and he ran to his rider.

"So he's your dragon..." Erland concluded with a monotone voice after seeing Hiccup play with Toothless. The brown haired boy just shot him a glare and then went back to stroking Toothless' head.

"Do all of you have dragons as well?" Erland asked, glancing at everyone individually and earning a nod or a voiced 'yes'. Erland looked at the floor and slowly nodded himself, processing the newly gained information.

"That's lovely." Erland complimented before spinning around and coming your way, he asked if there's a chance to talk outside and you agreed right away. Upon exiting you locked eyes with Erland and smiled.

"Yeah so, are you going to take me back? Or should I take a boat or something?" You laughed and patted the boy on his shoulder.

"Erland, we just rejoined! I want to spend time with you." You exclaimed happily and moved your hands in an incomprehensible way. "Just stay here for a few days and then we'll return you back to your island, alright?"

Erland awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "But your friends don't like me."

"They just haven't warmed up to you yet." You swatted your hand dismissively . "They acted like that when I first came here too. Literally the exact same way."

"How did you meet them?" Erland asked and you flashed him a grin. Both of you began walking slowly and you began telling him everything from the start. From how Hiccup landed on your island, how you met the gang , to all the adventures you've went to and all the problems you've encountered.

Erland exhaled sadly and watched you with pursed lips. "You've had such an extraordinary life these past years."

"What about you?"

To that question, Erland turned around and faced the sea. He was shaking his legs which were dangling from the edge of the the planks the two of you had been sitting on for the past couple minutes.

"I've lived the same farmer life." Erland shrugged his shoulders. "And that's pretty boring in your eyes right?" You shook your hands wildly, trying to prove him that it was nothing like that.

"Anyway... I didn't go to other islands, I didn't explore. The closest thing I got to traveling were the stories I heard from travelers and traders." Erland stayed silent after that and you gave him all the time he needed to regain his thoughts.

"But after what you've told me (Y/N)... I would really want to experience something like that."

"Then you've come to the right person!" You giggled and hugged the sandy haired boy. "In the following days you'll have a journey of a lifetime!"

-----

You walked in the clubhouse with a grin. Erland wanted to rest so you took him to the spare hut, where there are all the necessities he needs. You were still full of energy so you headed back to the gang.

"Okay, she's alone." You heard Fishlegs say and rose an eyebrow. Everyone was watching you while you were approaching and you gave them a muddled look.

"What's up?" You asked as you sat down. And the moment you did so, you were bombarded with questions like 'Is Erland going to stay here for long?' or 'When is he leaving?'. You weren't sure if your friends were just curious or they were hoping Erland would leave soon.

"Listen guys, I promised Erland we will explore together these days so if his presence is too bothersome then..." You trailed off awkwardly, as much as you loved being with the gang, you can't just ignore Erland now, that would be plain rude.

"He's a good guy." Fishlegs was the first to comment.

"But if he turns on us then I'll send him straight to Valhalla." Astrid had a deadly look and she didn't stop smoothing her axe whilst still maintaining eye contact. "Let's just hope he doesn't turn out like Mariah."

You smiled and shook your head. "No, Erland is not like that, I know him."

"Do you now?" Hiccup's intrigued voice pipped in and your eyes flickered in his direction. "You haven't seen him in five years, how could you possibly know?"

"I'm with H on this one, sorry." Tuffnut said, pulling Hiccup in a side hug.

"Okay whatever!" You threw your arms in air and stormed out of the club house. But before you exited you spun around. "Just know that Erland isn't crazed like Mariah."

-----

The next day you were rudely awoken from your slumber by loud knocking on the door. With a groan you got on your feet and wiped the sleepiness from your eyes on the way downstairs, the person outside will probably jump when they see your state but you didn't care.

All the while you assumed that someone from the gang was knocking and you put the most irritated face you could pull off. But it softened when you opened the door and saw Erland standing there.

"Hey! Uh-" You stopped to fix your disheveled hair. "What's up?"

"Sorry I didn't want to wake you up, but I was so bored and I don't know what to do and I definitely wasn't going anywhere near your friends cause it would be awkward and-" Erland was pacing left and right, swinging his arms wildly ever so often.

"You're rambling." You interjected with a laugh. Erland stopped talking right away and just shrugged, then continued to apologize once more.

"Okay, okay. Just wait for me here and I'll be out in a second." You said and Erland nodded. Crystal rushed outside and while you were preparing yourself, she was playing with Erland. They let out excited sounds as you were combing your hair and after that there was thrumming on the ground, which meant Crystal and Erland were chasing each other.

When you exited, Erland and you shared a smile and began walking towards the Dome. Though before going there, you stopped and told Erland to wait outside while you grabbed a few fishes from the clubhouse.

Upon entering, you noticed that there was nobody there, not a single soul. It was odd to find this place empty because usually every morning there was at least someone here, though you weren't quite sure of the time so maybe it was noon.

Nonetheless, you took what you needed and left.

"Why are your friends down there? What's that?" Erland asked pointing downwards and you nodded to yourself.

"That's our training place. We call it the Dome." You explained, walking towards the said location. Albeit after coming closer and closer, it became more clearer what the gang was doing and rather than training they were actually packing for something.

"Thanks for inviting us guys!" You exclaimed bitterly before anyone could even greet you, your voice was encased with thick sarcasm as you approached your friends even further.

"Oh, its not like you wanted to spend your time alone with Erland, psh, of course not!" Hiccup replied with an equally sarcastic tone and mimicked your actions. And being the stubborn person you are, you copied his actions and crossed your arms, eyeing Hiccup with a serious stare.

"We wanted to tell you, but after last night... We weren't quite sure." At least Fishlegs was reasonable enough to elaborate the reason. He held an apologetic smile, he knows what they did was a wrongful and tried to apologize on the others behalf.

"Its okay. Really. You have fun wherever you're going and we-" You grabbed Erland's arm and began taking slow steps backwards while the boy was staring at you with a confused expression. "We will be going somewhere else." And with that you spun both of you around and headed up towards the huts.

Your friends tried to convince you to join them, but you just waved dismissively. And after seeing that you won't budge, there were sounds of wing flapping and all of the dragons flew up in air and away.

"Since they went that way, we'll go this way." You murmured to yourself and climbed up on Crystal, ruffling her head. Erland was still looking at the your friends' dragons who were slowly fading away in the distance.

"Need a hand, m'lady?" You joked and watched how Erland whipped his head in your direction, looking quite offended.

"I will have you know that I'm actually a m'lord." The boy huffed, feigning exasperation.

"Alright whatever, just climb on. We have a full day ahead of us." You said, holding out a hand for Erland who simply swatted it away and sat behind you himself, he had a proud grin like he had just won a golden medal.

You shook your head in disbelief and patted Crystal who lift off almost instantly.

"I think you should leave me back home." Erland said sounding fairly unsure. You asked him why even though you already knew the answer, but you just wanted to hear what he thought.

"Its obvious your friends don't like me around and I don't want you to ruin your friendship because of me." Erland's voice was filled with certainty this time, he was positive that what he was saying was true.

"Listen, I have a week to spend with you and if the others are bothered by it then they'll have to wait." You said and then turned around with a wide grin. "Unless y'know, you want to stick around for longer."

"No thanks," Erland replied, rolling his eyes in the process. "I don't think I can endure daily death glares from your friends for that long."

You laughed for a solid minute when he said that and it took you even longer to fully compose yourself afterwards.

"So its settled huh?" The corners of your lips rose in a weak smile. "After this, bon voyage forever." You earned yourself a gentle flick when you said that.

"Hey don't make it sound like that! This isn't our last time hanging out together, you can literally visit me any day you want."

"Yeah, but-"

"I mean you literally have a dragon that can take you anywhere. Rocksmond is a day and a half away if you come with Crystal."

At the mention of her name, Crystal roared and you stroked her head.

"Okay you have a point." You smiled, but then your gaze landed on a island below and the smile grew into a big grin. You nudged Erland's arm and pointed at the said island.

"And so our journey begins!" You exclaimed, guiding Crystal down while Erland let out excited noises and clapped his hands. His childish demanour made you laugh once again.

"Are you sure you're not five?" You asked just in time Crystal landed. Erland uttered 'positive' and both of you set foot on the new island. You've never been here so this will be an adventure for you as well.

The place looked like any other island, like any other forest. It gave off familiar good vibes and you were hoping that you would stumble upon a dragon soon. Your wish came true a few minutes later when you came across a pack of Monstrous Nightmares sitting by the river.

"I still can't believe dragons are real." Erland stated, looking deep in thought as he stared at the resting creatures in front of him. Currently, both of you were hiding behind a bush and very carefully observing the dragons.

"Didn't dragons attack Rocksmond after...what happened.." You asked hesitantly, not wanting to bring up old memories from that fateful day. Thankfully Erland got what you meant and shook his head in response.

You bit your lip, a burning question was awaiting to be asked but you were unsure if its right to ask. "Can I ask you something?" To that Erland only nodded reluctantly.

"What happened to your uncle and his family?"

"They died." Erland's reply was almost instant and the emotionless tone of his voice caused you to ponder whether he had accepted it and moved on or was he still blaming himself for not being able to save them.

You nodded in response, content with the reply you got. And as always, Erland changed the conversation to something completely different, he always did that whenever the theme turned into something uncomfortable but you didn't mind at all.

"Let's tame one!" Erland blurted out and you slowly turned to him, all trails of uneasiness were gone and replaced by eagerness. But his grin slowly faded when he saw your hesitant face. You explained how there are too many dragons, that we need the attention of one.

"Okay, let's find another dragon." You motioned Erland to get up from his place and both of you headed forward. This island was surprisingly chilly, the wind whistled through the trees and the leaves scrunched beneath your feet as you walked.

The time passed with telling jokes and it wasn't long until you caught a glimpse of a dragon, but not any dragon, it was a dragon you didn't want to cross paths with.

"Speedstinger." You narrowed your eyes at the said dragon standing only a couple of feet away.

"Cool!" Erland exclaimed and without any warning he darted forward. A gasp escaped your lips and you quickly leaped forward, grabbing Erland's arm just in time.

"No. We do not mess with a Speedstinger." You commanded with a stern face. Erland just huffed and crossed his arms.

"Is there any dragon we can get close to?" Erland scoffed, eyeing you with an irritated look. But then he pointed at the Speedstinger behind him. "Look at it! It's harmless!"

"Look closer. See it's tail?" After you said that, Erland looked back and turned around with an expecting expression.

"Yeah, one sting from that and you'll get paralyzed in a second!" You berated, expecting Erland to nod in acknowledgement and fall back, but instead he did the despicable.

"That sounds fun!" Erland beamed and despite your previous warning he rushed towards the Speedstinger without skipping a beat. Before you could process what was going on, Erland was already in front of the dragon, which was now snarling.

"Erland! Don't!" You screeched and dashed after him. Erland must've noticed the disturbance in your voice because a step back this time, the Speedstinger growled and took a step closer to Erland who's excitement was now particularly nonexistent.

You jumped in front of him right in time to take the sting. The dragon's tail easily pierced though your clothing and left a burning sensation after it was taken out. You hissed in pain, though you weren't able to clutch the spot because your arm seemed to have given up and a second later your right leg began to wobble.

The Speedstinger was preparing to attack once again, but this time Crystal shot the ground next to it and the dragon scampered away immediately.

Your legs were unable to hold you any longer and soon you found yourself falling backwards. But thankfully you landed in Erland's arms.

"See! This is what happens when you get stung by a Speedstinger! This is not fun!" You complained as Erland transferred you to Crystal. "I told you not to mess with this one, but no, lets not care what (Y/N) says."

Erland laughed and sat you down onto the saddle. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault." Erland's apology didn't seem genuine because of the few snickers in between his words.

"And now I see I'm an idiot for taking the stab for you." You grunted.

"And I thank you for that." Erland replied with a devious smile.

You sighed when Crystal flew up, heading towards the Edge. "So our journey is short lived thanks to you, now we have to wait out until the paralyze is over."

"Uh, better luck next time?" Erland tried to make a joke out of the situation and it worked because you found yourself chuckling.

"Tomorrow we'll go somewhere else, but promise that you will do as I say and not get crazy ideas like this?"

You pursed your lips as you awaited for Erland's reply and it finally came with the most reassuring tone ever. "I promise."

You were back on the Edge in a matter of time, fortunately for you, the gang still hasn't arrived. It wouldn't have been difficult to explain what happened but you were worried over the fact that Erland would've been disliked even more for making such a foolish blunder.

Erland and you were sitting in the Dome. You were resting your back against Crystal who was sleeping ever since you came back. The paralyzation reached its peak because now you couldn't feel anything from your right side, you heaved a sigh and that caused Erland to look at you.

He had been swinging a sword for the last couple of minutes, pretending to be fighting someone.

"Its so boring, am I right?" Erland asked, though it sounded more like a statement rather than a question.

"Yeah, but at least you can move." You retorted without a moment's hesitation and watched how Erland's face turned into a grimace of guilt. He began with his series of apologizes once again, one time Erland would be talking about something random and the next thing you know, he stops abruptly and looks at your paralyzed state before apologizing.

"Okay so tonight we'll get plenty of rest and tomorrow morning we're off to a new journey. Where do you want to go?" Erland pondered at your question for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"Aw come on! There has to be some place that you're dying to visit?" You gently punched his arm and Erland chuckled.

"Nope, I can't recall a place like that."

You rolled your eyes then. "Well isn't there something you've heard that intrigued you?"

Erland shook his head dismissively, but then his movements came to a halt, its certainly because an idea popped in his mind. My suggestion must've evoked something in his mind because he looked at me with a smile.

"Well there is this place I've heard about. It's southwest from here and many have attempted to find the treasure that's hidden in one of the caves, it is said that you will be the richest person alive if you found it. It's also rumoured that whoever who sets foot on that island, never comes back alive. Not even the buffest of men, nor the smartest could ever escape from the beast that's hidden there." Erland's genuine smile turned into a wicked grin by the time he finished. And the way he was explaining it sent shivers down your spine. You glanced at your arms only to find that goosebumps have popped up. You were fretting for a second, but then the rational side of your brain started working.

"There's definitely a dragon there." You stated with certainty. But what kind of dragon was this undefeatable?

"We have to go then!" You rolled your eyes at Erland's over excitement. Sometimes you wonder if he's that fearless, perhaps clueless or he simply has a death wish.

"Hey, I don't want this to be our first and last exploration together." You retorted, rubbing your arm. The paralyze was starting to descend and you could feel your muscles again, though it was still hard to move your arm.

"But we have Crystal! She'll protect us right?" At the mention of her name Crystal looked at us with half closed eyes, she ruffled her ears before drifting back to sleep.

'What if it's something bigger than Crystal and we can't fight it off?" You reasoned and shot a glare in Erland's direction. The corner of his lips fell into a frown and he casted his gaze on the ground.

"You're right..." Erland murmured in defeat. He was no longer swinging the sword with the same excitement as before, and his face didn't held the usual cheerfulness. After this, Erland didn't make any further attempts at striking a conversation and both of you remained silent. Until it became unbearable.

You heaved a sigh, not believing next the words coming out of your mouth. "Fine. We'll go."

Erland's face lit up in an instant and he jumped in air with a cheer. You shook your head in disbelief. At least this made him stop moping around.

You smiled as Erland explained how much fun you two were going to have tomorrow and how you'll be the first ones to find the treasure. Albeit, there was still an anxious feeling lingering somewhere, even though you were excited for this trip, you were still worried something bad might happen. But you pushed aside the nervousness, not wanting it to interfere with the positive mood.

You spent the next two hours in the Dome and then the sounds of the familiar dragons echoed in the otherwise silent island. You looked away from your plate just in time the dragons landed on the ground and the riders all walked towards you.

"Well you two are early." Tuffnut laughed.

"We've been here for three hours." What you said made everyone make confused sounds and all of them were asking you why.

"Well I got stung by a Speedstinger and we had to retreat." You replied with a shrug of your left arm.
Hiccup sat down next to you with a worried expression on his face.

"I'll get you some medicine." Hiccup said and got on his feet immediately, you smiled warmly even though he couldn't see it because he was already running towards the huts.

"Wait, you put medicine for paralysation?" Erland questioned incredulously and shifted his gaze from my eyes to my arm.

"Well yeah, it helps speed the process." You replied with a cheeky grin. Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout stayed behind to tell you where they have been while the twins had already bid their goodbyes.

All of you talked for a while, though your friends looked exhausted and cut short the conversation, they apologized before heading towards their huts. On the way there they crossed paths with Hiccup, a few words were exchanged and they all parted ways afterwards.

Your eyes traveled stayed on Hiccup who making his way down to the dome with a jar of medicine in his hands.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? I would've brought it to you hours ago and you would've been walking by now!" Erland whined, guilt laced in his voice. I pursed my lips before speaking again.

"I know, I know. But I forgot." You sent him a sheepish look. Even though you were saying the truth Erland looked like he didn't believe it.

Hiccup arrived, staring at Erland with a serious expression. "What a considerate friend." He sneered as he walked past the sandy coloured boy.

"Excuse you!" Erland spun around with an offended look, his eyed wide and eyebrows furrowed together.

Hiccup slightly turned his head, just enough to watch Erland from his peripheral vision. His face held nothing but seriousness. "What?"

"I didn't even know you had to put some sort of medicine! I only found out now!" Erland retorted immediately, his face was fuming right now and unlike him, Hiccup remained completely unfazed. "Otherwise I would've helped." Erland added, making his way back to you.

"Alright, I believe you." Hiccup said. To others, his voice might sound composed and exactly like his usual tone, but you noticed the slight change and that his words were not the truth. Your eyes traveled to Erland who was nodding slightly.

"Good." He murmured and crossed his arms. You laughed sheepishly as the tension grew, Hiccup and Erland in the same place is never a good idea, its like their truce pacts was not meant to be made.

Erland must've sensed the awkward silence as well because with a wave of his hand, he left. Hiccup and I watched him as he walked up and once he was out of earshot, Hiccup huffed.

I rose a brow at his action and asked what was that all about, but Hiccup just murmured a simple 'nothing' and opened the lid of the jar.

"I know Erland's not your cup of tea." I said, pursing my lips and forming an lopsided smile.

"What? No!" Hiccup replied with an incredulous tone and his face held nothing but disbelief. "The guy's great." He added, but literally anyone could detect the sarcasm in his voice.

"I know he can be a jokester sometimes." I said as Hiccup spread the slimy green cream on my hand, in a matter of seconds my hand began to burn and I hissed in pain. Even though it wasn't on the same level as having a hot iron pressed on your arm, it was still painful enough. Hiccup murmured a guilty 'sorry', even though it wasn't his fault. You smiled sweetly at this.

"His a jokester alright, but sometimes his jokes are insults in disguise." Hiccup replied after you had calmed down a bit. You know what he was referring to, had complete understanding of the situation.

"Agreed." You replied and that seemed to be the end of this theme

The cream stayed for a while and you were able to move your arm slightly. You tried a few exercises and wriggled you wrists. But even after you could feel your arm, the muscles still felt numb.

Hiccup sat next to you and both of you talked for a while, sharing a few laughs in between. You asked him about the island Erland had told you, though even Hiccup didn't know about it. You averted your to Crystal who just woke up and a giggle spilled past your lips when she began stretching exactly like a cat.

"Anyway, we should get going soon or I'll pass out here." You said whilst yawning. Hiccup nodded in agreement and got on his feet. You were about to do the same, but widened your eyes when realized you couldn't stand up. You completely forgot about the paralyzed leg.

A sheepish smile spread on your face when you looked up at Hiccup. "A little help?"

Hiccup stifled a laugh, but came regardless. He picked you up bridal style and you circled your arms around him.

"I mean, Crystal could've carried me, but this is better." Your lips curved into a sly grin which matched Hiccup's. He replied with a simple 'of course' and then proceeded to walk towards the hut.

"Do you guys have any plans for tomorrow?" You asked curiously and Hiccup shook his head, uncertainty written on his face. A feeling of guilt washed over, while you are going to spend your time going on a wild adventure, your friends were going to be idly roaming around the island searching for something fun to do.

"Well you could maybe..." You began suggesting a few plans on how to spend the following day, most involved going to other islands or just practising dragon tricks. By the time you were out of ideas, Hiccup had already reached the inside of your hut. He gently put you down on the bed and tucked you in like a little child.

Hiccup placed a tender kiss on your forehead which instantly reminded you of the time when your mother would actually that. The time she actually liked her daughter.

You closed your eyes and tried not to think of anything.

"Night." Hiccup whispered softly, but you were already drifting off to the realm of dreams.

-----

"No, no! Right not left!" Erland laughed incredulously and you grunted in annoyance. The two of you left the Edge two hours ago and Erland has been guiding you ever since. For a moment it seemed like he forgot the directions because both of you were scouting the wrong island for a couple of minutes before realization hit Erland.

"There! There! That's it!" Erland exclaimed excitedly whilst pointing at the island. Even though it was thrilling to finally find out what lurks in this place, there was still this lingering worry hidden somewhere.

The moment Crystal set foot on the ground, you were expecting something to jump out of nowhere and devour you. But instead there was silence and nothing more.

"So far so good..." You trailed off, carefully scanning the surroundings for any danger while the suspicion only grew more.

"Yep! Let's go! Erland jumped from Crystal, but you grasped his shirt and pulled him back. Erland turned his head and shot you a glare.

"We don't know what's out there." You narrowed your eyes. "Which means there's no way I'm letting you storm off without my permission."

Erland just huffed. "Whatever you say boss."

A triumphant smile spread on you face. "Now that's more like it."

I dismounted and all of you began our journey at the shore. Erland explained how there's a wooden plank with carvings on it and the path to the treasure begins from there.

You didn't know how much time has passed but it felt like you were circling the island over and over because all trees looked the same. But then just as you were about to lose hope, there in clear sight, was a plank embedded in the sand.

Erland and you shared a look before dashing towards the sign. The two of you stopped in front of it and were panting loudly.

"Death awaits those who enter." You read between breaths and exhaled deeply at the end. Your legs were burning and craving for rest so you flopped down on the ground with a grunt. Erland rested himself on his knees and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.

"Sounds awesome." He grinned and you just rolled your eyes.

A few minutes of resting passed and the two of you finally gathered energy to actually start looking this time. You got on your feet, dusted the sand and let out a soundless sigh. Whatever is in there is something to be extremely afraid of.

As you were walking, you were constantly checking your surroundings, frantically looking left and right for anything even remotely suspicious. You jumped at the sound of an owl in the distance, it was eerily quiet on this island, usually in other places there were birds and rivers, it was sunny and pleasant. But this is the complete opposite, the cloudy sky made everything appear greyish and you were only surrounded with thick trees.

The biggest disadvantage is the fact that you cannot see anything in the distance, the combination of mist and trees closely packed together was never good.

While you were fretting, Erland seemed as excited as ever. The grin never left his face, if anything it only grew wider. Was he not afraid at all?

"How are you so calm?" You questioned with a tone of disbelief, you still couldn't comprehend that excitement runs in his veins even after entering the scariest forest imaginable.

"What should I be afraid of?" Erland shrugged his shoulders. The two of you stopped dead in your tracks at the sound of something speedily approaching from the right.

"From whatever that is." You cried and ran in the opposite direction with Erland following pursuit. Not only was be grinning but he even had the nerves to chuckle in this situation.

You looked back but couldn't see anything due to the fog. The sound never stopped, it only grew louder and louder which meant that the thing following is quicker than expected.

The worry really set when instead of just one source of the sound, there were more coming from each direction. A whimper escaped your lips and you increased your pace.

"What is that Crystal?" You questioned fearfully and in response only got a growl. Over the course of the years you learned the types of noises Crystal makes and the occasions for them. And you knew for a fact that this one meant the source of the sound is definitely a dragon.

"Let's go inside!" Erland said pointing towards an entrance of a cave. With a nod, the two of you ran faster and in a minute reached the destination.

You both held your breath while the dragons speed past the cave towards Thor knows where. You exhaled when you were certain all of the dragons have sped past the cave.

"Were those dragons?" Erland asked and you nodded, but he still kept an expecting look.

"What?" You asked him with a sigh.

"Well aren't you like the dragon queen that knows everything about dragons?" A chuckle spilled past your lips at his hilarious statement.

"I mean I have a lot of dragon knowledge, but to know everything about them? No." At that Erland simply shrugged his shoulders. He really expected you to know what type of dragon followed you just by the sound it made. Incredible.

"Hey we're in a cave!" Erland exclaimed after assessing the place you were hiding in. "Maybe the treasure is here."

Your face lit up and so did his, without a second doubt the two of you began walking deeper in the cave. When it was hard to see, Crystal lit a wood that you found on the side.

The cave was the same as any other, though a lot wider. It was damp and the sounds of water drops falling into a puddle echoed around. Your footsteps seemed so loud in the otherwise silent cave.

"Hey look." Erland blurted out and you looked back to where he was pointing. It was writing engraved on a wall, but neither of you could understand the language it was written.

"Why would anyone write in the middle of the cave?" You asked, suspicion arising. Erland didn't seemed fazed at all, he just continued walking.

"Whatever it is, it probably doesn't matter." Erlsnd replied, burying his hands in his pockets. You pursed your lips, staring askance at the unfamiliar words.

"Let's go (Y/N)." Erland called out, Crystal and him were a few steps ahead so after taking one last look at the writing, you ran after the duo.

After a while, Crystal suddenly stopped walking and growled at the darkness in front. You placed a hand on her head. "Erland there's something there, we should probably leave."

"But what if the treasure is there?" Erland retorted and spun around angrily. "And don't you think something would've attacked us by now?" He was speaking so loud, and if nothing heard him by now, then it certainly did this time.

"Lower your voice." You hissed and grabbed his arm, but he yanked it away forcefully.

"I'm not following orders from a girl." Erland spat bitterly. The fury was rapidly taking over and then you lost it.

"Being a girl doesn't change anything! I'm trying to save our lives and here you are being a disrespectful twat! You need to get some sense knocked in your brain!" You were yelling by the time you finished scolding Erland who quite frankly looked shocked out of his wits. The anger resurfaced on his face once again and he pried open his mouth to retort, but an obnoxiously loud roar erupted from somewhere deep in the cave.

All of the anger you and Erland had vanished in seconds. You both looked at each other with terrified expressions. A second later the ground began to shake, splinters of rock began dropping from the top of the cave and within moments all three of you were dashing towards the exit.

It felt like an earthquake was happening in the cave, and the quivering only toughened as seconds ticked by. When you were nearing the exit, the sun shined in the cave and it showed the thing that was chasing after you.

A scream spilled past your lips when you saw the enormous ball like dragon rolling towards you. The closer it got, the more the ground was shaking and you were stumbling on your feet more and more.

At one point, you made the unforgettable mistake to look back once more and because of that you didn't see the rock that was a few steps away. You tripped on it the moment you turned around, your fall  made the dragon increase its momentum.

If it weren't for Crystal, you would be a flat pancake by now, but thankfully she snatched you away before the massive dragon reached you. Crystal flew out of the cave and the dragon stopped immediately. You watched in disbelief as it rolled back into the darkness of the cave.

"What in Thor's name was that thing?!" Erland exclaimed fearfully, he was looking at the cave with wide eyes and eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

You were shaking by this point, the near death experience made you unable to breathe properly and you were beginning to feel like no air was filling your lungs. Erland's reassuring soothed you and calmed you down a bit. You inhaled deeply and shut your eyes.

"Let's find another cave and get this over with." You said with an exhausted tone. You weren't excessively tired, you were done with everything and just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"How about we return to the Edge." Erland replied from behind and you twisted around.

"What? No! I promised you a treasure hunt and you'll get one." You spun around and stared ahead.

"But what's the point if you don't have fun?" The moment he said that, your face softenrd and you relaxed your shoulders.
Though Erland's assumption was wrong. You had fun of course, you could even say this is the most fun you've had all week. It was the dangers of the island that make you want to leave.

"No, no. I don't want to spend my night feeling guilty that we left. So instead we'll find the treasure and come home as the richest people alive!" You chirped, your enthusiasm being half forced but thankfully it fooled Erland and he was now cheering as well.

The two of you were laughing after that but then he stopped abruptly.

"Hey (Y/N), sorry for what I said earlier..." Erland apologized, voice filled with guilt. I knew it was in the heat of the moment, but I still didn't fully accept his apology.

"Yeah, you should definitely change your mindset about women." You responded halfheartedly, the words came out in a joking manner but you meant every single one of them.

"True... Girls are badass."

-----

The search for the treasure lasted a whole day. You've searched the entire island and there were no traces of gold anywhere. Surprisingly, there was also no traces of dragons.

Crystal passed the first cave the two of you walked in, she was already flying towards home when your eyes landed on an hidden entrance you missed before.

Your sudden exclamation made Crystal stop immediately and you guided her to the new cave you found. From the top it was nearly invisible because of all the trees surrounding it, but now that you're here, it was quite evident. Though, you still would've had a better chance of seeing it if you were searching by foot.

With a nod, Erland, Crystal and you walked in. Awareness at its highest level. Nothing happened in the first few minutes but you knew something was out there, waiting to be discovered.

"If we see anything or hear anything we leave right away, are we clear?" You commanded sternly and watched how Erland stifled a laugh.

"Yeah we're crystal clear." Erland snickered while you rolled your eyes at his failed attempt of a joke. "Heh, get it? Cause Crystal? And clear. Crystal clear!" Erland pressed on, pointing at back and forth between you and amused Crystal who was probably beaming because of the mention of her name.

"Yeah, yeah. Crystal clear. Ha ha. Very funny." You speedily uttered and watched as Erland sent you a playful glare.

"It is funny." He scowled and crossed his arms with determination. You on the other hand, just waved dismissively and walked past him.

The walk continued for a few more minutes until you stumbled upon something from your worst nightmare.

There at the end of the cave, resting peacefully were a big pack of Speedstingers all huddled together. Erland gulped loudly at the sight of this and you were beginning to sweat.

But before leaving, you outstretched your arm, the one you were holding the fire with, and then saw something you previously didn't.

In the middle of the cave there was a small stone pillar and on it was placed a treasure chest.

Both of your faces lit up at the sight of it and you couldn't help the excitement that was slowly building its way. You finally found the thing you've been looking for!

Erland took a step forward but you grabbed his wrist. He visibly sighed in irritation and turned around with an annoyed face.

You placed a finger on your lips, signaling him to remain silent, and then pointed at the chest then back to yourself. Erland understood what you meant and backed away. You glanced at Crystal who was snarling at the other dragons, but she was still in battle stance ready to save you if you needed any help.

With a quick inhale you began making your way towards the chest, your heart was pounding so fast and your hands were getting clammy.
Everything in your mind was screaming not to mess up, to watch where you're going, to be the utmost careful. And you were.

With a grin, you managed to take the chest in your hands and didn't disturb any of the dragons. But the moment Erland sneezed, that was the exact moment your heart stopped beating.
Nothing could explain the fear that swept over you when all of the dragons snapped open their eyes and when they simultaneously snapped their heads in your direction.

"Crystal!" You screamed without a moment hesitation and after that the cave burst into screeches. One of the Speedstinger's tail barely missed your leg because thankfully Crystal rescued you straight away.

In a flash, Crystal was flying away towards the exit while the pack of Speedstingers were chasing after. The alpha dragon with red stripes was the fastest and the closest and at one point you were fretting he would catch up. But fortunately, Crystal increased her speed and the dragons were no match.

The Speedstingers still continued to follow even after Crystal was out of the cave, but she just flew up and easily evaded the pack. Once you knew you were out of danger, you let out a scream of delight.

"We're rich! We're so rich!" Erland exclaimed and you squealed, he chivvied you into opening it and with the widest grin you did.

Now what do people expect to see in a chest where they're told a big treasure lies? Gold? Silver? Perhaps gems and decorative stones? Maybe all of those things combined?

But nothing of the mentioned was in the chest.

Instead there was a single piece of wood and a circular glass. An object you haven't seen in a while, but recognized it instantly.

Dragon eye lens.

"We came all the way just for that?! We have to go back! Where is the gold? Where is the treasure?!" You completely ignored Erland's furious complains and how he probably feels like he wasted his whole day.

But what he doesn't realize is that...

The real treasure is right here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you guys liked this chapter! Vote and comment if you did ❤️