SECRET ISLAND
TW: Mentions of Blood, Death, and Panic Attacks.
Hela and Astrid soared through the clouds, the wind rushing past their faces as they followed the map they had painstakingly studied before taking off. They flew in perfect formation, their eyes scanning the terrain for any landmarks that would help them find their way to their destination. Despite the occasional gust of turbulent air that jostled their dragons wings, Hela and Astrid remained calm and focused, trusting in each other's skills to guide them safely through the skies. The sun beat down on them, casting glittering rays across the landscape below, as they continued on their journey. While it might have seemed like a leisurely flight to an outsider, both knew that staying alert and vigilant was essential when navigating unfamiliar territory at such heights. But with each passing mile covered by their dragons powerful wings, they felt a sense of satisfaction, knowing that they were getting ever closer to where they needed to be.
So, after flying for four days and nights while making stops to rest along the way, Hela, Astrid, Troels, and Stormfly finally reached the edge of the archipelago. It was a sight to behold; the endless expanse of blue water below them, with just tiny landmasses dotting the horizon as far as their eyes could see. The salty breeze ruffled their hair as they hovered there for a few minutes, in awe of nature's beauty. As they gazed upon those little islands that lay ahead, excitement brimmed within them- it was time for a new adventure to begin! And so, with renewed energy, they flew on towards their next stop- eager to explore every nook and cranny that this exotic archipelago had to offer.
★★★
Hela and Astrid landed on a small island, frustration clear on their faces. The sun slowly setting behind them.
"We've circled this place three times and we have yet to even see this stupid island," Astrid exclaims as she gets off Stormfly. "Are you sure you're reading that map right?"
"I'm just as confused as you are," Hela says as she walks over to the beach, "It should be right in front of us,"
"Maybe it sunk?" Stormfly questions. She starts pruning herself.
"Maybe," Troels says.
Astrid walks over and takes the book from Troels saddle bag. She opens it to the map page and looks through it but something catches her eye at the bottom of the page. "Umm, Hela! There's new writing on the page,"
Hela walks towards her, "Read it out,"
"Although they are not curtains, They are closed every night, So that you can go to sleep, They are what gives you sight,"
"Eyes," Hela answers the riddle, and the word correct replaces the riddle, but everything else stays the same.
"Well that was very helpful," Astrid says her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"sigh, it's getting late. We'll try to figure out what it means in the morning," Hela tells her.
With that, they set up camp by the beach. The four enjoy a nice meal of smoked fish before turning in for the night.
~~~~
A two year old Hela is woken up from her sleep by a loud bang coming from downstairs.
She picks up a wooden dragon which was made for her by her father and heads down the stairs. She rubs the sleep from her eyes as she goes down the stairs.
Suddenly she steps on something wet causing her to look down. Red liquid pools under her feet, her eyes widening as they follow the trail of blood's origin. The floor wasn't the only thing covered in blood.
Her eyes finally landed on her mother laying on the floor, a large chunk missing from her chest and a dragon standing over her.
"Mommy," She whimpered gaining the dragons attention. It growled her mothers blood dripping from it's mouth. It opens its jaws and breathes fire in her direction.
Hela sits up with a start, her whole body drenched in sweat, her heart racing and her breathing labored. She looks around frantic. Her vision's blurry. She's still in the room but it's different the whole place is on fire, there's blood on the floor, and the dragon has her mother's dead body in its mouth before flying off. Baby Hiccup is crying in his cradle. She feels like someone's talking to her but they sound far away. Follow my voice Hela..... She tries focusing on the voice....
"It's okay, It's okay Hela. You're safe," Astrid's voice says repeating the words as she appears in Hela's line of sight. Her breathing starts to even and her heart rate slows down but she's hit with a sudden wave of exhaustion. She falls forward into Astrid's arm. "I got you Hela, you're safe,"
They stay like that for a moment. Hela chuckles weakly, "Haven't had one of those in a while. Almost forgot how draining they are,"
"It's okay Hela try going back to sleep,"
"Will you hold me?" Hela asks softly.
Astrid's heart clenched at how vulnerable she sounded, "Of course and I'm never letting go,"
She gently lays back down and brings Hela close wrapping her arms around her waist. Hela smiles softly as she slowly drifts back to sleep.
★★★
The next day Astrid insisted that she should rest even though Hela told her she was fine. In the end, Hela gave up and they spent the whole day cuddling only getting up to eat what their dragons hunted for them.
The following day they went back to figuring out what the riddle meant when Stormfly had a thought.
"What if the answer isn't literal?"
Then it clicked, "Stormfly, you beautiful dragon!"
"What did she say?" Astrid asks.
"She just solved it," Hela tells her as she stares at where the island should be, "This whole time we were thinking about it in a literal sense. The eyes didn't mean our normal ones it meant my dragon ones,"
Her eyes glowed red as she switched them and a massive island appeared in front of her. She laughs excitedly.
"So? Did it work? What does it look like?" Astrid asked not seeing what she sees.
Hela suddenly hears Sapphira's voice in the back of her mind telling her to give the ring to Astrid. She takes the one around her neck and holds it out to her, "Why don't you see it for yourself,"
Astrid takes it and puts it on. A red glow passes over her eyes and she now sees the island, "Wow!"
They look at each other with excitement visible on their faces before mounting their dragons and flying towards the island eager to explore its mysteries.
END OF CHAPTER
FINALLY, I finished it. The thing I had the most struggle with was the description of the panic attack I hope I did it justice if not feel free to tell me so.
We got to see a different side of Hela showing that under all that tough, warrior Viking is still a human girl. I'd love to hear what you guys think of it.
And as always if you like the chapter don't forget to leave a power stone