There's is no context to this story. No before, no after. How they ended up here is anyone's guess, what happens next is up to you. It is a one-shot, though in the (far away) future I might add more chapters, if I ever feel inspired to.

Final Goodbye

The shaggy figure they brought out barely resembled the Hiccup she knew. He was skinnier, much thinner than before, she could count his ribs even from the distance between them. His skinny frame made his long limbs even lankier, his shoulders looking almost painfully sharp.

His auburn hair was longer than she had ever seen it, reaching below his shoulders. It was caked with dirt, matted in several places, and the scruff on his chin had grown into a patchy beard.

As they brought him closer, she could see his ashen skin was cracked and bleeding, either from the work he had been forced to do, or punishments he had to endure. She didn't dare think about either possibility.

His prosthetic wasn't in much better shape than the rest of him. The metal foot had started to rust, the shining metal now dull and brown. It was strangely bent out of shape, causing him to limp severely. The wood had chipped away, broken and splintered, no longer fitting his leg exactly right.

As they led him towards the poles the prosthetic slipped on the stones, and though Hiccup tried his best to keep up with the men dragging him forward, he seemed too weak to stand on his own.

His eyes caught hers as they chained his hands above his head, and a spark of the old Hiccup came through. He tried to smile, to tell her not to worry about him, but she could see the pain behind his eyes.

He was shivering violently, shaking in the cold air, the only protection from the cold he had left were his torn and tattered pants, and they did very little to keep him warm.

She shuddered, seeing the man she was forced to call her master come towards her. He had his whip in his hand, she had rarely seen him without it, a dark grin plastered on his face. He set the handle of the whip on her chest, the braided leather almost too nice for the weapon it adorned, and lifted her chin with an icy finger.

"I warned you." The man said quietly. "I told you what would happen if you tried to leave, run away to find your little boyfriend."

Astrid stared back defiantly. Of course she knew what the man had told her. She had the words fresh in her mind, like he had spoken them yesterday.

"Say it." The man hissed, as if he had read her mind. "Tell me what I said to you."

She gulped, glancing at Hiccup. "You told me that... that if I ever..."

"Louder!" The man shouted suddenly. "We can't hear you!"

"You told me that if I ever tried to leave, you would punish Hiccup for it." Astrid said, clenching her jaw.

"That's what I said." The man said with a nod. "And yet you tried to run away, you tried to see your boyfriend there, didn't you."

Astrid nodded, finding her voice unable to cooperate.

"And now you will. You will see him, you will watch him, and you will know that every single strike is your fault. You did this, you made this happen. I don't want to do this... but you leave me no choice. No choice at all... And don't even think about looking away, because I will continue until I am satisfied you have seen it!"

Her breath caught in her throat, but she fixed her eyes on Hiccup, determined not to look away, to make his ordeal as easy as she could. There was nothing she could do to stop the man now, he had made up his mind, all she could do was try and make it as brief as possible.

"So sexy when you're focused..." The man muttered, a hand darting down her chest. "Maybe I'll keep you for myself after this..."

Astrid bit her lip, all her muscles tense as she used every little bit of self control to not beat the man senseless.

The man scowled at her, throwing the whip at her feet and for a moment she thought he would make her do it, but he walked away from her, taking a seven-tailed whip from one of the guards.

Astrid froze. She had seen it used only once, several months ago, when a young boy had spilled boiling water over the Master's feet. The man had been furious, beating the boy so severely he had died of his injuries several days later. That had also been the last time she had seen Hiccup, until now.

Her heart caught in her throat as the man stood behind Hiccup. He was already in poor condition, the chances that he would survive this at all were slim.

The first time the leather straps connected with Hiccup's skin he gasped, jerking in the chains. Astrid flinched, trying to force herself to not look away, to stand her ground. There was a whimper from her left and she shot a short glance at the other slaves. They had all been gathered, as was usual when one was punished, to set an example.

The man lashed out again, harder this time, and the sound that escaped Hiccup's throat was a raw yelp, a tremor running down his body. The prosthetic slipped, but he somehow regained his footing, grabbing the chains for extra support.

Astrid tried her best not to look away, to force the tears to stay hidden, but when Hiccup finally screamed when the whip his his back for the fifth time, she couldn't stop them anymore. They slid quietly down her cheeks, and she felt her anger boil as she saw the man grin at her.

Hiccup seemed to find some strength to fight, writhing in the chains in a feeble attempt to get away from the merciless whip. It didn't take long for the fragile skin on his back to start bleeding, the blood dripping past his legs, staining his pants.

After a while his screams subsided, becoming pained whimpers. He stopped jerking in the chains, slumping forward, his hair falling over his eyes. His weight shifted, his feet slipping in the blood on the ground and he fell, only stopped by the chains around his wrists.

But even now the man didn't stop. He had a crazed look in his eyes, bloodthirsty as he kept raining the whip down on Hiccup. Hiccup's breathing hitched for a moment, a quiet gurgle in the back of his throat. Tremors ran down his body, his breathing now faster and faster, before it slowed down to a point it almost stopped, and a murmur arose in the watching crowd.

"Stop it! You're killing him!" A voice cried out, but Astrid couldn't see where it came from. More voices rang out, and then the first strike fell.

A tall man on her right, another slave she had come to know well, killed the nearest guard with ease, taking his weapon and going for the next. Seeing this encouraged the other slaves, and before she knew it, Hiccup's severe punishment had unleashed a revolt against the masters.

She found the use of her limbs again, her Viking instinct taking over and she grabbed the whip at her feet. Her battle cry encouraged the slaves even more as she charged forward, swinging the whip. It was by no means a deadly weapon, but it had a nasty bite and it kept the guards away from her, as she drove the man she had come to hate away from Hiccup.

When he tripped and fell she left him to the mob of angry slaves, going back to Hiccup to free him from the chains. He was cold and heavy as he slumped into her arms, his breathing shallow, so slow it was almost unnoticeable.

"Come on Hiccup." She whispered, brushing some dirty hair away from his face. "You have to get up... you have to get up..."

Hiccup was unresponsive in her arms, and after glancing around and seeing the fight still going, she got up, getting him on her back as best as she could. His feet still dragged over the ground, but she could take him with her.

She managed to get to the gate, pushing it open and peering out to make sure it was safe before she left, unseen and unheard amidst the battle. She made her way towards safety, carrying Hiccup's limp body, not looking back.

Carry on, don't look back.