Ch. 19- Escape!

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I opened my eyes and waited a while before everything hit me.

My father was a prisoner on the boat.

So was Toothless.

I was also a prisoner.

A creepy guy named Shark wanted me to be his daughter.

Darn it! Couldn't I just have a peaceful few weeks before Dragon Day? Apparently not! Darn it!

I sat up as two women came in to dress me. I told them I could do it myself, but they wouldn't let me. Then a man came in and carried me to a table where he then fed me breakfast, refusing to let me do it myself. Then soon afterwards Shark himself came in and explained that the children of the chief in their tribe weren't supposed to do any work because of the hard times they'd face later.

Normally the first two sons were trained to be chief's, the second one was in case the oldest one died. The oldest daughter was to be sacrificed to the gods on her eighteenth birthday (which I was told would not happen to me), and the other kids were traded as peace pawns to other islands when they turned sixteen (though I was told that wouldn't happen to me either). Even though Shark said none of those things would happen to me, I had my doubts I wouldn't face difficult times, myself.

I spent a week there, barely being allowed to go to the bathroom by myself- which I made sure happened- and was watched almost 24/7.

On the sixth night if being there, I snuck out and went to the small dungeon they had on that ship.

"Star!" dad exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Daddy!" I gasped. He had a bruise on his cheek, a busted lip, and a black eye from what I could see. Toothless was passed out on the floor. The cage in between dad and Toothless was empty. "Toothless! What happened? Did they hurt you?"

"A bit. Not much. What about you, Star? Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Dad replied.

I rolled my eyes, "No. They baby me. They won't let me do anything- and I mean anything. Anyways, how are we going to escape?" I asked, taking the key out of my pocket and unlocking the doors. Toothless immediately stood up and slowly walked out before licking me and dad.

"Toothless. Come on, bud. We need to get out of here!"

"I don't think so, Hiccup."

"Shark," dad muttered, before placing me on Toothless and getting behind me. "Show yourself!"

Shark stood out of the shadows and laughed a laugh that had me cowering into dad, who did his best to soothe me without his eyes leaving Shark.

"Daddy," I whined, leaning back.

"It's okay, baby girl. I'm right here. I'm right here." He protectively wrapped his arm around me.

"Give me the girl. Then you can go peacefully."

"I am never giving up my daughter," dad said, forcefully, using the voice that leaves room for no arguments.

Shark argued. "Give me her or stay my prisoner."

"Daddy. Go home. I want you safe," I said, softly, slowly moving off of Toothless.

He looked down at me, shocked before he looked mad. His grip tightened, refusing to let me go. "You want to stay here? With him?"

It was my turn to be shocked, almost throwing up at the mere thought. "No," I coughed. "I want to go home with you and Toothless and see mommy and Blade and Bard and Emerald and Ty and Stoick II and grandma and-"

"Too bad, girl," Shark said. "You're staying with me. I have been waiting many years to get my hands on you and now that you're mine- I'm not letting go."

"I'm not yours," I spat. "I'm mommy's and daddy's baby girl."

"If you don't give yourself up, I will kill your entire family, girl."

"I will never let you come near my daughter," dad argued.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt!" I yelled as loud as I could.

"Sweetie," dad began.

"Just fly away, daddy! I wanna go home!" I cried.

He simply nodded, and Toothless started shot a plasma blast at Shark, knocking him down. He ran above deck before shooting up into the air. I turned around, looking behind us as I keeled down on Toothless, leaning against dad.

"Daddy, arrows!"

He used one arm to duck my head under his and keep me against him as Toothless did crazy moves to dodge the arrows. I heard an explosion, so I guessed that Toothless shot a plasma blast at the boat. I heard dad grunt, but didn't see anything at all. After a few more minutes of dodging arrows, and few more explosion, I felt a sudden wind sweep past us. The flowing air sent shivers down my spine, I felt slightly lucky that I didn't know what it was at the moment, but curiosity got the best of me and, quickly and forcefully, turned my head to the left, just in time to see a giant rock fly passed us.

Not expecting that, I screamed. Rocks can't fly! How did a boulder just zoom past us? It could of hit us!

Catapults. They were using catapults to try and literally knock us out of the sky.

"Starfire," dad complained, pulling my head against his chest again, blocking my sense of sight.

I felt several other close calls, boulders missing us by a few inches. Soon, we started quickly gaining altitude, where we could go without having to worry about boulders or arrows hitting us. I didn't feel any jolts or sudden change in direction or stops. I felt a steady stream of calmness slowly take over Toothless' flight pattern. That battle was over. The next battle would hopefully never come. But deep down inside, I knew it would. I began dreading that future date.

"Can I look now?" I asked, patiently.

Dad chuckled and released hold of me, "Yes, baby girl. Of course you can."

"Thank you for saving me, daddy."

"Anytime, sweetheart. Now let's go back to Berk. I'm sure mommy is worried."

"Worried won't even name it," I frowned, suddenly feeling guilty for making my mom feel so helpless. "Let's hurry, Toothless!"

We made it back to Berk in two days. Two days of endless flying, getting lost twice, and long hours of nothing but calm, simple flying and the wind shoving past us. The wind part was nice but after a while simple flying without any tricks gets really boring. As for the getting lost part, don't laugh. If you had no idea where you are, blindly fly one direction to get to safety, and no map, it's bound to happen, but we eventually found our way home.

"Their back!" people yelled.

"They're here! The chief is here!" others cried with joy.

We landed in front of our house as the villagers surrounded us, asking the questions that came to their minds all at once. I hated being surrounded like this. It made me feel trapped, though I should be use to it by now.

"Mommy, daddy. We have to see mommy," I whined, tugging on dad's hand.

"Okay, baby girl. We will. We will." He told everyone that he'd answer their questions later and followed me inside.

"Mommy! Blade! Bard!" I called out, running to mom.

"Starfire! Hiccup!" mom gasped, gladly taking me into her open arms. "You're safe!" she beamed, giving me a giant hug and kiss on the cheek.

I laughed, "Yup! Daddy and Toothless saved us!"

"Whoa whoa whoa. Hold up, little girl. You helped us escape as well," dad chuckled, placing a quick kiss upon mom's lips.

I shrugged, "I guess. Where's Blade?"

"With Emerald, I believe."

"Okay. Can I go?"

Mom sighed, and I knew she didn't want me to leave. "Sure. Be back before dark. Both of you."

"Okay. Thanks," I called, running outside and to the cove.

Blade was running around with Emerald as I easily walked through the narrow entrance to the large cove.

When they saw me they immediately ran up to me. Emerald started licking me. "Emerald!" I complained half heartedly. "You know that doesn't wash out!"

"Star! You're back!" Blade pulled me into a hug when he reached us.

"Yes, I am. Wanna go-"

"Yes!" he shouted, running into our hut. He came out a minute later in his flight suit, helmet in hand. "Well? What are you waiting for, Star?"

I ran into the hut and got dressed in my flight suit before racing outside and on Emerald. Blade got behind me and we shot off into the air.

We flew for about five minutes away from Berk, doing flips and spins and other minor tricks on the way before really flying. Emerald flew quickly through a large maze of sea stacks, easily going the same way I thought of.

"Yeah!" I yelled, punching my ups up towards the sky. Out of excitement, Emerald shot a plasma blast right in front of us. "Awe man," was what I said before we flew straight through it.

My flight suit was slightly burnt while the front part of my hair was tossed back from the wind and burnt from the fire. Blade was behind me so the fire didn't touch him, other than a small part of his hair.

I landed Emerald on a uninhabited island and walked towards the ocean. "Come on, Emerald. Was that necessary?" I asked, bending down to wash my hair in the salty water. She laughed before shooting another plasma blast randomly in the air. Blade laughed and laid down on the warm sand, underneath the sun.

When I washed my hair I grabbed a knife and carefully cut a few strand of burnt hair, not enough for other people to notice though, before calling Emerald and Blade and flying back home.

We were able to enjoy the beautiful sunset on the way back. Not being able to help ourselves, we did two laps around the island before landing at the cove. Blade and I had to dress in our normal clothes quickly before racing home.

Panting heavily, we made it right as the sun was about to disappear below the horizon. Once we regained our normal breathing, I opened the door and we walked in.

"Hey, mommy. Hey, Bard. Hey, baby Stoick II," Blade greeted.

"Hello, Blade, Star," mom laughed a couple times.

"Where's dad?" I asked, as I started to help Bard set the table.

"Working, still. He'll be back soon," mom answered. I nodded once.

Dad came through the door right as the table was set and ready for dinner. "Daddy!" I yelled, running up to him and saw his fake smile. He didn't pick me or Blade up like he usually does. Something was wrong. "What's wrong, daddy?" I asked during dinner.

"Nothing, baby girl," he lied, looking straight at me with a small smile.

"Hiccup," mom warned. "She's not stupid. And even I know something's wrong so don't you dare deny it!"

Dad sighed and stared down at his food. "I'll tell you later, Astrid."

"And what about our kids?" she demanded.

"We'll tell them together tomorrow," he answered, looking up and giving us a small smile. A forced one. He was hiding something big.

"Can I go play with Emerald tomorrow?" I asked, not looking up.

"Uh, sure," mom answered, sounding unsure.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, dear."

The rest of dinner was relatively quiet, only small conversations here and there.

"Dragon Day is in a few days," dad started, his eyes shone with excitement.

"It's in two weeks, dad," Bard laughed.

"Still. It's soon."

"What about it?" I asked, quietly, suddenly not hungry so I just pushed my food around.

"What about it?" he asked, shocked. "It's your big day, Star! That's what! You get to pick your best friend!"

"I already have a best friend," I snapped. Everyone stared at me, shocked.

"Don't you want a dragon, sweetie?" mom asked, as confused by my outburst as everyone else.

It was my turn to be shocked, "Of course I do. Dragons are amazing, wonderful, intelligent, splendid creatures. They can be your best friend or your worst enemy. They can do anything they want; go wherever and whenever they want. They are fierce, loyal, playful, competitive, adventurous- anything and everything. They are perfect," I finished, catching myself staring into space. I looked around to see everyone still shocked, and dad wearing a huge grin on his face.

"They are amazing creatures," he agreed, softly.

I smiled shyly, "I have a surprise for y'all on Dragon Day. You'll love it, dad. I hope, anyways."

"Oh will I?" he joked, the tense atmosphere replaced with a cheerful and relaxed one.

"Oh, you will," I confirmed with a nod. "I'm sure of it."

"Okay then," he laughed. "We'll just have to see." My nerves suddenly got ten times worse. What if they end up not liking Emerald. I'll have to run away with her. I don't want to leave! I love it here! I hope everybody else likes her!

"Trust me," I said, confidently, perfectly hiding my nervousness. I finished then excused myself, putting away my dishes and heading up to bed.

The next morning I woke up early and quickly got ready before heading to Emerald.

"Hey, Em," I laughed when she woke up at the sounds of my advance. "Wanna go for an early flight?" I asked after she ate her breakfast.

We flew with no real goal, just following the wind as we did random stunts, tricks, spins, and attacks.

The sun came up soon after and- much too quickly- the sun's position told me it was almost ten. And with Dragon training today. Great (note the sarcasm).

With a audible sigh, I turned Emerald around and headed back to the cove. I landed and barely remembered to take off my flight suit before running towards the village.

"Star!" I heard Ty calling me as I came into the arena. I was the last one there, as usual. Only this time I was late.

"Star! Glad you showed up," Gobber teased.

"Yeah. Sorry for being late," I apologized, panting. "Lost track of time."

"It's okay, lass. Go look around. We're just getting to know the dragons again today."

"Okay. Thanks." I followed Ty to a blue green deadly Nadder. "Which one you want?"

He shrugged, "I like this one," he said, softly, gently petting the Nadder. "I might get him."

I nodded, "Cool."

"How about you?"

"Huh?"

"Which dragon are you getting?"

I smirked, petting Ty's soon to be pet/ best friend. "That's a secret all on its own. To discover my hidden truth, you'll have to wait."

"Star," he whined, "I told you! You should tell me."

"I'll speak up when the time is right," I whispered loudly before returning to my normal voice. "Can I see Luna for an hour today after class?"

"Sure. I don't see why not."

After an hour, we started to leave one by one. Ty and I went to his place where his adorable little sister, Luna, was waiting.

"Ty! Star!" she cried, running out of their small house. "You're back!"

"Hey, Luna," I greeted, easily catching the child as she jumped in my arms. I laughed at the excited five year old.

"Where's Blade?" Luna asked, impatiently. Luna and Blade were close friends, making it much easier for me to see Ty.

"Busy. Don't worry, you'll probably see him tomorrow, knowing my mom."

Ty chuckled, "That reminds me, Star's mommy wants to set up a play date with you and Blade tomorrow at their house. You want to go?" he asked Luna, picking her up.

"Yeah!" she giggled, wiggling out of his arms and running off.

"Well," I said, awkwardly, "I gotta go."

"Star!" Ty said a little loudly as he grabbed my arm. "I- I-" he quickly released my arm when I stopped. He blushed. It was cute. "Starfire," he said slowly, "Do you maybe- I don't know- want to go on a date? With me? Perhaps?"

I smiled, "Sure. I'd love that. When?"

"In three days time. Afternoon. Around three. I'll pick you up at your place," he said, making it sound like a question.

"Okay. I'd love that. Bye, Ty." I nearly ran out the door and home. The biggest smile on my face.

"Hey, Star," dad said as he landed near me. "Are you happy, baby girl?" he asked as he picked me up.

"Yes. Very," I said, my smile still big.

He smiled back, "What's got my little girl so happy?"

"Nothing," I lied. I would tell mom first. Dad might get mad.

"Oh really?" he asked, skeptical.

"It's a secret!" I giggled. "You see soon."

"You see soon?" he chuckled at my childish grammar. "Speak correctly, little girl!" he joked while tickling me. A few villagers stopped and watched us for a few seconds- or minutes- as we talked.

"Alright, Star. I gotta get back to work. I'll see you tonight, alright baby girl?"

"Alright, daddy. Bye, love you!" I gave him a kiss on his cheek and ran home to tell mom about my date.

"Mom! Mommy! Mom!" I shouted.

"What is it, sweetie?" I heard her call from Stoick II's room. I quickly ran to his small room.

"Guess what!" I told her as she fed Stoick II a couple berries. He was teething and was kinda fussy sometimes.

"What is it, sweetie?"

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