imprecations on his head.
But they will find out the truth, in the end.
Time will shake out the truth, as it always does.
Gobber and Baggybum will find out the truth,
just as Snotlout knew they would when he hung his
Black Star round my neck.
390
They will know that Snotlout was a Hero after
all…
Gobber and Baggybum will be proud of him at
last.
And long after Kings are forgotten, and their
names have fallen into dust, the good deeds and the
actions of the Heroes live on in glory.
Once I dreamed of castles and a crown upon my
head…
Now the night sky is my only roof and the sea my
rocking bed…
But let my heart be wrecked by hurricanes and
my ship by stormy weather
I know I am a Hero… and a Hero is FOREVER!
As I write, sixty-two years later, I am wearing
Snotlout’s Black Star on a chain around my neck, the
Black Star that in the Hooligan Tribe is the highest
honour that can be given for bravery in battle.
It looks a little incongruous on the chest of such
a very old man as myself, but I wear it with such pride,
and it makes me stand a little straighter, even though
I am bowled into a hoop by age and the Archipelago’s
howling winds, and I am not as steady on my legs as I
once was.
It is the Black Star that Snotlout gave me when
391
he exchanged his clothes for my clothes, and his destiny
for my destiny. A noble gift, do not you think, in the
end, from one cousin to another?
Here is the odd thing though.
Time has rubbed away at the black of the Star.
And underneath the black… there was just a glint
of something, over the years, and then I rubbed at it,
and rubbed at it, until the crusty dark surface crumbled
away from the heart of the star, and the star fell out,
the metal just as bright and brilliant as when it was first
dug from the ground.
Now the star doesn’t look black at all.
Just gold.
A HERO… IS… FOREVER.
Adieu, Snotlout.
I could not have done this without you.
I carry you with me, every step I take, every
decision I make. You are part of my blood, and I would
never have got this far without you.
We shall meet again, in a better world than
this one.
392
Even if Hiccup manages to fight those dreadful dragon
guardians of Tomorrow the Dragon Furious will be
waiting for him.
“The Dragontime is coming
And only a King can save you now.
The King shall be the
Champion of Champions.
You shall know the King
By the King’s Lost Things.
A fang-free dragon, my second-best sword,
My Roman shield,
An arrow-from-the-land-that-does-not-exist,
The heart’s stone, the key-that-opens-all-locks,
The ticking-thing, the Throne, the Crown.
And last and best of all the ten,
The Dragon Jewel will save all men.”
www.cressidacowell.co.uk
This is Cressida, age 9, writing on the island.
SEE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN!
Join Hiccup and his dragons on
their original misadventures!
Find the adventures wherever books are sold, and play interactive games at
www.HowToTrainYourDragonSeries.com
How To Train Your Dragon: How to Betray a Dragon's Hero Page 21
