Book 8 - Conquest for the Truth - The World is Calling You, Part 2

Conquest for the Truth

Chapter 2

The World is Calling You, Part 2

Annabeth’s Point of View

         After I kiss Jarl and Anora rubs on Fredrick, she and I depart and head northeast to Dragon’s Edge.

         A few minutes have gone by of us just steadily cruising and I find we are nearly touching the crowds.

         I ask my Razorwhip, “Are we going to have a boring flight to Dragon’s Edge?”

         Anora mouths something at me but shakes her head, I dig my heels into my stirrups and sit back in my saddle, “Didn’t think so.”

         Anora flies straight down and then folds her wings in be as then as an arrow through air.  Breaking through terminal velocity and racing past a Razorwhip’s top speed, we bank up and Anora spreads her wings to level out right over top the ocean.  Anora leaves a trail of ripples in the ocean wake behind us.

         Soon Anora has to start flying again but she starts to go back up.

         “Come on,” I declare.  “Let’s go.”

         Anora and I climb and climb and climb.  We climb above the clouds and go even further.  We fly up and then let gravity take over.  At our peak, the feeling of weightlessness comes and I gently let go of Anora as I back flip out to dive down with my dragon.  Probably the calmest I have ever felt when plummeting to the earth.

         I think, “Jarl would say something like, ‘You’re not plummeting towards the earth, you’re just falling with style, grace, and beauty.”

         I can totally hear him say that with his sarcastic tone, even if he would think the statement would be true.

         Closing my eyes for a few moments, I take all that is around me.  The wind in my face, the crispness of the air.  This all makes me feel free.

         Knowing I should do something about not doing the most epic and lethal of cannonballs into the ocean, I take my arms and reach them down to the top of my boots.  On the underside of my arms, there is a loop that I then attach to a hook the outside of each of my leg near my knees.

         “Ready Anora?”

         Anora roars with excitement as I spread out my arms and start flying too!

         Now I am plummeting with style!

         “Oh, this is amazing!” I call out.

         Anora responds with a resounding roar.  She starts slowly spinning, so I do as well.

         Looking down, I see that the ocean is coming up fast.  But anybody could level out and fly upright, but can the level up and fly upside down?  Anora joins me in doing this as I pull up ten or twenty feet short of the ocean.  Anora flies over top of me, still inverted.  As I am now nearly touching the water, I reach out and grab hold of Anora’s saddle and reorient my self on my dragon, though still flying upside down.  Anora then gives a short roar as if she sees something.  She looks back to the water and I see one of the most amazing sights to be hold in the ocean!

         A pod of Sea Shockers coming up to greet me and Anora!

         I reach down to the surface of the water as one comes up to just barely breach the ocean level.  The Sea Shockers are matching Anora’s speed, so as I reach down to touch the dragon, it lets out its own per as I drag my hand across its body.  They all then suddenly dive down into the water before coming up.

         The Sea Shockers all dive up out of the water, igniting their blast which cases a wall of mist to fall on us.  Anora and I fly through it and continue on our way.

         “Dragon Racing is fun, and I am as competitive as the next viking,” I tell Anora.  “Which is unfortunately Jarl, but this… This is what it is truly about.  Dragon Racing just adds the competitive edge to what flying free is all about.”

         I take a deep breath in of fresh air.

         Now to get back on course, I check where I am and see that I am close to Dragon’s Edge.  The Sea Shockers also clue me into this as some Sea Shocker pods can fly in the neighborhood of Dragon’s Edge.

         Within the next hour, I am flying into the harbor and landing on the stables landing pad.  Going on foot, we make our way to Hiccup’s hut to wait for him.  The place is a little worn and beat up from all the attacks it has seen, but it is still in one piece and could still serve as an outpost.  I sit down and swing my legs off the walkway in front of Hiccups hut.  Anora curls up besides me and takes a nap.

         As I lean on my dragon to my left, I start look down at my wedding ring.  I find myself twirling it around my finger and staring at it.

         About twenty minutes later, Hiccup and Toothless show up.  Anora wakes up to greet Toothless, I stand up to greet Hiccup.

         Hiccup dismounts his Night Fury and asks me, “How are you doing, Mrs. Everson?”

         “Oh please, no,” I shake my head.  “That makes me feel so old, though I guess that’s what happens when two vikings get married at a young but mature age.”

         “Those gems should be around here somewhere,” Hiccup declares.

         As I follow Hiccup into his hut, I see Anora and Toothless start running around and playing tag.

         While Hiccup searches his old hut and the sun rays from the door clearly show all the dust that has been collected, Hiccup comments, as he tries to blow off some of the dust from some crates still lying around, “Didn’t think I’d ever be back here, at least this soon.”

         “It is interesting to think about sometimes,” I start.  “That when you start doing something for a long time, you think that you are going to do it for the rest of your life.  You know that you probably won’t, but when the time comes that things change, you don’t want them to change.  But before you started doing what you thought you’d be doing, there was change then.”

         I conclude, “Take myself, for example.  I had the biggest change in my life before coming to Berk.  Change came my way when I least expected, but I had to move forward or be left in the dust.  Little did I know that the most tragic part of my life would turn into meeting the greatest joy of my life.”

         Hiccup sighs, then replies, “Guess it is still a matter of perspective.”

         Picking up on it, I question Hiccup, “You seem to be a bit preoccupied.”

         “I am,” Hiccup turns around scratching his head as he answers.  “Guess what my dad decided to do now?”

         Taking a moment to think, I then speculate, “He decided to make you chief.”

         “He deci-, Wait how…?” Hiccup began but I put up my hand, stating, “I married a Mystery Conqueror for one thing, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that coming.”

         “I know, but it is just…,” Hiccup begins but trails off as he starts to slowly pace around the room.

         Knowing what he is thinking, I ask, “But it just isn’t your, thing is it?”

         “That’s exactly right,” Hiccup agrees.  “What you just said about change, I know that I will eventually be chief it is just… There is so much that I want to do before then.  I am not ready.”  Hiccup then sighs as he walks to the doorway and looks out.  “Guess one can never be ready for change.”

         Going around and standing next to Hiccup, he then inquires, “How do you do it?”

         “Do what?” I ask for clarification.

         He goes on, “How do you and Jarl manage and deal with all that you have going on?  I mean you solve mysteries, compete in Dragon Races, and do all that you can against the forces that would try to see the peace we have built vanish.  I can barely understand how to deal with my dad.”

         “But that’s just it,” I lean on the doorpost to my right, crossing my arms and talking with them.  “We never fully understand how to do anything.  But in trying to grow and do our best to understand, we need to look up sometimes and notice who is around.”

         I lift my left hand to look at my ruby bejeweled wedding ring, as I am reminded of who taught me this, “Jarl often calls me his Heart.  For the longest time, I thought he was just being sweet and nice.  While I always wondered what he meant, I realized I already knew the answer, I just did not see it right away.  Jarl gives all that he is to me.  And in doing so, he considers his own heart not his own, but mine.”

         Hiccup comments, “I know the feeling.”

         Stepping over to him, I lay my left hand on his shoulder, “So you already know the answer too.”

         Hiccup breathes in deep and agrees, “I did, it is just difficult sometimes how to balance what I know I can do and what those around are trying to do to help.”

         I tell him, “You and are much alike.  We both know what we can do, we both want to show who we truly are, and we both won’t let anyone stop us from doing what we think is right.  But sometimes you have to make a decision between what you think you should do and someone you love thinks should be done.  In the end, we are all doing what we do because we love those around us.”

         “There isn’t anything more important than family,” I declare.  “We protect our own.  Stoick has said this numerous times.  But while you are searching for who you are, don’t forget who you have around you.  The journey is one thing, it is those you love that make it all worthwhile.  Jarl showed me this when I was lost trying to find my way.  When I was either searching for who I was by either going after my dragons or pursuing what happened in my past, my future was standing right beside me.  Remember who can help you find who you are to be.”

         Hiccup shows a slight smile and says, “Thanks.”

         He walks back into the room, reaches into the first crate he looked into, pulled out the gems, and handed them to me.

         I look at him with a smirk as he knew where they were all the time.

         “What?” Hiccup remarks.  “I have been wanting to ask you that for a long time, yet never knew how to ask it.  Turns out, as you say, I already knew the answer.”  Toothless and Anora return; Hiccup looks at his Night Fury as he says, “Now, I just need to figure out where I stand with this.”

         We both mount our dragons.

         His final comment, questions, “What are those gems for?”

         “Remember those Dragon Eyes we had?” I return.

         Hiccup responds while he and his dragon both glance at each other, “How could we ever forget those things.”

         “Well,” I inform.  “Turns out there surely could be more of them and some of them quite possibly could have originated from Izar.”

         “Wow,” Hiccup exclaims while thinking with his hands.  “Then there could be an untold number of mysteries out there.”

         I nod, “Jarl thinks if there are more Dragon Eyes out there, then we should be ready to use one against our foes if we ever get a Dragon Eye.”

         Hiccup chuckles, “Too bad I destroyed both of mine.”

         I counter, “Jarl and Garth both agree there is a wealth of knowledge stored in them and could be misused in the wrong hands.  But Garth has said the knowledge in one Dragon Eye is not the same as it is in another.  Jarl further believes even just one of these Dragon Eyes can… Shine some light on the situation.”

         Hiccup shakes his head, “Come on, bud.  We best leave before anymore puns are released.”

         We all laugh, dragons included.

         Our dragons launch into the air while Hiccup says, “May the blessings of Valhalla protect you and your family and friends.”

         I return, “May wisdom and love guide you on the path to find yourself.”

         Hiccup and I depart ways, he flies south and I head west.

         Few minutes later, I lean down and tell Anora, “Man, did such a saying come out of my mouth with no puns?  Oh no, now I am sounding like Jarl.”

         Anora laughs as we now race off to meet up with our friends at Mystery, before we then catch up to the rest of their fleet already making their way towards the Isle of Izar.