A/N: My first How To Train Your Dragon story. A fandom I've wanted to write for literally for years now, and I finally have something :) This will be a rather short story, three or four chapters. Five tops. And future chapters will likely get longer. Despite their destination, this is not a crossover with Brave.

Exile

"If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not the heart of man become in its long journey toward the stars?"

-G.K. Chesterton

Astrid Hofferson sat alone in her threadbare office at the Dragon Academy, going over the stack of ledgers that had just been delivered there. For the past several years, and ever since the number of people on Berk who actually rode dragons had increased, she'd been saddled with a large workload. But it had never been this huge before. It had never needed to be. For the past five years Hiccup had been in command of Berk's Dragon Academy, which doubled effectively as their primary defensive and exploration arm. It had started with just her, Hiccup, and those original riders who flew with him against the Green Death. Back then, her duties as Hiccup's second had been relatively simple: work with Hiccup and Fishlegs on increasing their knowledge of dragons, ensure that Hiccup's orders were carried out during combat situations, and ride herd on Snotlout and the twins to keep their…dysfunctions from dooming them all. She almost never had any…bureaucratic stuff to handle. Responsibility for maintaining their facilities had always been the Chief's job, the most she'd had to do was tell Stoick and Gobber that the twins had destroyed something and the repair crews would be there within a day at the most.

But then when she'd been about sixteen, her job had expanded along with the Academy. When most of the dragons they'd liberated from the Green Death returned to the island, and villagers started bonding with individual dragons, they'd started reporting to the academy for lessons, and since the official stance of Berk had always been that Berk's dragon population was to be administered by the Dragon Academy, and that the academy was directly responsible for overseeing individual dragons and their riders, Astrid's workload had suddenly tripled. In addition to her previous responsibilities, she also had to make sure the lists of people certified to ride dragons were maintained, maintain the new stables, ensure there was enough fodder for the dragons, draw up training schedules, and so on and so forth. Ultimately it was all Hiccup's responsibility, but the whole point of being someone's second was to organize everything so efficiently that the only thing your commander had to do was make a few of the more important decisions before signing off on everything else you did. In point of fact she took her duties supplementing and supporting Hiccup in the field, as well as the weekly dragon races, as a relief from the seemingly never ending pile of reports that seemed to breed like particularly lusty rabbits on her desk.

Then in the horrifying events of three weeks ago, Stoick had died and leadership for all of Berk suddenly landed on her and Hiccup's head. The four years she'd spent in the management side of being a second-in-command had ensured that she hadn't flown Stormfly out to the tallest seastack she could find and fling herself in the ocean, but the abrupt…increase in her workload still galled at her. She was young (she was only twenty for Thor's sake!) and while she wasn't technically what military officers a thousand years later would call being chained to a desk, it was starting to feel too damned close for her comfort.

But no matter how much she'd complain, this was her responsibility and she'd die before she shirked it for anything but the most absolutely compelling reasons; be it helping to administer all of Berk, or just working to keep four neurotic and dysfunctional dragon riders under control, she was Hiccup's second and, very shortly, his wife, and would be until the day she made her own journey to Valhalla. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

She reached for her large brown mug of ale and took a large swig… and abruptly stopped as the pungent taste of nutmeg hit her tongue. After a moment, she forced herself to swallow. Then sat back in her chair, making a mental note to have words with the mead hall later; nutmeg was expensive, and their supply was limited. For now though, she had a, she looked at the next scroll on her desk, and shuddered mentally, a naval stores inventory to look over. She thanked the gods mentally, her and Hiccup were due to make a major push south later. While it was by no means the longest deep range mission they'd ever gone on, it would probably be the most important, for they were going to make contact with the two huge islands to their south, Albion and Eire. These islands were reputed to be so huge that according to trader Johann, there they both held five or six entire kingdoms on either of them. And many of them, it was said, were under the rule of their fellow Norse. Vikings like themselves.

She couldn't wait to find out

Hiccup stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the village, in front of what had once been Mildew's house, it's former occupant having declined to return home after he was formally amnestied for helping Hiccup and his father escape from, and end, the occupation of Outcast Island by the late and decidedly unlamented Dagur the Deranged and his Berserkers. He'd refused even after Stoick had praised him for his role and the courage it had undeniably taken to maintain contact with Alvin during the long, savage months of Berserker occupation. He'd stayed, simply stating that it didn't feel right for him to return.

Stoick had honored his choice… and transferred his old house to the Dragon Academy for use as a supply depot. It had also served as an emergency shelter for when he or his riders were caught out in bad weather.

Hiccup had to shake off the particularly prurient memory of the other use he and Astrid had put it to over the years.

He heard a soft warbling behind him, he smiled and looked to see Toothless standing next to him. His best friend's long, sleek black form contorted as his dragon writhed on his back, soaking in the sunlight. He smirked, enjoying the site as he always did.

"So what's the plan?" A familiar voice that sent his heart soaring every time he heard it, he turned to look at his fiancée, momentarily entranced by the sight. Her long blonde hair glowing in the afternoon sun as she dismounted from Stormfly, warm blue eyes staring at him as she smiled the smile that dazzled him and made him want to melt into a puddle every time she favored him with one.

He shook himself after a moment, and he could have sworn he saw Astrid smirk, she knew what the effect she had on him was.

"Not much to figure out," Hiccup said matter-of-factly, as Toothless and Stormfly greeted each other. "We'll fly south. If the distances are right, inside of about five hours we'll be in what is supposed to be the 'Kingdom of Alba.' We'll find a cave to set up camp, spend a week scouting the area then head home. Simple."

"Seems simple," Astrid said warily. "If we're lucky. We haven't always been able to keep our presence hidden from the locals."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Hiccup said sighing. It was a battle in one of the archipelagos to the south of their own that had cost Hiccup his crossbow shield. They'd barely escaped with their lives, and Hiccup had had to replace his weapon. Not that he wasn't proud of all the time and energy he'd put into Inferno, and his sword had served him well over the years. Along with his armor.

"One more thing before we set out," Hiccup said as he stood up. "I made you something." He gestured towards Mildew's house with his head. "It's just inside, go take a look."

Astrid, a quizzical look on her face, walked passed him into the house, shutting the door behind her.

After a few minutes the door opened and Astrid walked out, a look of utter shock and elation on her face. She was clad in the same style of dark brown leather armor used by Hiccup herself, the Berk crest in red on the left shoulder as it was on his own.

"Hiccup-," she began, astonishment on her voice.

Hiccup smiled. "It's time I finally admitted it was ready to be mass produced. I've had suits made for the other riders, but I figured I'd deliver yours personally."

Astrid beamed as she closed the difference between them and pressed her lips to his.

They stood there in each other's arms a long moment before Astrid broke the kiss. "Thank you," she said softly as she walked over to Stormfly and climbed on her back, settling herself into her saddle.

She slid her helmet over her head. "Are we going to go?"

Hiccup smiled and moved towards Toothless.

Roughly five hours later, Hiccup was looking down at the vast expanse of land below him, eyes peeled for any trace of land. They should be running into land soon, according to their estimates, but they hadn't yet.

"So how are you enjoying your new flight suit?" Hiccup found himself asking in an attempt to break up the monotony of staring at endless blue ocean.

Astrid beamed at him. "I'm loving it, babe! Thank you."

Hiccup beamed back. "What can I say, I know how to please my lady."

"That you do-," Astrid began before she abruptly folded over her gut, leaning over the side.

"Astrid?" he asked, as worry wormed its way into his gut. He watched as Astrid pulled her helmet off. Her skin had gone green and she had that dazed look in her eye that one got when one was about to vomit.

And since she was hanging over the left side, there was a good chance the vomit was going to hit him in the face. The split-second he took to look at Toothless indicated that he saw the problem too. Hiccup tugged motioned with his feet and Toothless took them up and over Astrid and Stormfly in a graceful roll to level out on her right side. Just in time too, as the moment Toothless leveled out, Astrid threw up seemingly everything she'd ever eaten.

"Are you okay, Astrid?" He asked.

She looked over at her, her face green, eyes glassy and squinting. "No, Hiccup I-,"

Her eyes squeezed shut as her entire body started shaking.

"Astrid!" He shouted, "Just hold on, we're going to head back to Berk just-"

Everything seemed to slow in that instant, that moment when Astrid fell, shaking from Stormfly's back.