She saw them coming before the horn blasted. As soon as she had seen them she had alerted Gothi and was taking the "short" way down. Gothi didn't like it and had made her feelings on the zip line quite clear. It had taken several raids and help from... Astrid pushed that part of the memory away. Eventually though a place had been found where the dragons typically didn't fly through and the contraption had been built.

Astrid landed gracefully with a backwards somersault and sprinted to the village. Whoever was on watch finally saw the dragons and sounded the alarm. Panic ensued as the dragons attacked.

Old women with babies and young children holding onto their skirts were running toward the cave hidden just inside the forest line. Old men, few as there were in the village that could no longer fight, also followed and carried what weapons they could pick up. Astrid knew Gothi would arrive at the cave soon, taking the hidden trail that led through the forest from her hut to the cave.

Astrid took her shield and axe off her back holding them in defensive positions in front of her as she was prepared to defend the ones running for the cave. Once she was sure that everyone was safely hidden she made her way over to the bucket brigade and made sure they were aware of their battle plan.

Some of the dragons finally landed on the ground, and it was at that moment that she heard a familiar sound followed by the even more familiar cry of, "Night Fury!"

Her head jerked up and she saw the familiar black silhouette shoot across the sky. Astrid's face hardened as she saw the Dragon Lord. A Gronkle had landed not too far away and started raiding one of the stores of fish. She took off running for it, yelling her war cry. Just as she was about to throw her axe a blast landed between her and her target. The Gronkle was scared away and Astrid was blown back.

Astrid quickly got back to her feet just as another hut caught fire. A Zippleback found and took the sheep hidden inside. She threw her axe at it , drawing its attention to her. It's eyes narrowed as it slinked toward her menacingly. One head spitting Sparks and the other ominously leaking gas from its mouth. Astrid drew her sword up and pressed down the familiar feeling of fear that accompanied the dragon raids.

Just as she was about to attack the Dragon Lord and his Night Fury landed between her and the Zippleback. He swung his strange sickle-like staff around so that it whistled and rattled. She frowned as it backed off and returned it's attention to the sheep. Astrid's attention was quickly drawn back to the Dragon Lord as his attention switched to her with palpable intensity. Astrid swallowed down her frustration. That was two dragons tonight that had gotten away. Two chances lost at getting any sort of respect or status. Two things that were extremely difficult, especially for someone in Astrid's position.

This was the first time Astrid had been able to see the Dragon Lord clearly. Normally he was just a shadow. He certainly was intimidating, even with his narrow frame. His black and blood red mask was enough to send ice cold fear creeping up Astrid's spine. The rest of his leather attire matched his horned mask, making him look like some cross between a human and a Night Fury. Astrid fought to not let her fear show as she held her sword in front of her. The Night Fury took a step towards her, but the Dragon Lord stepped between them. Astrid took a step back before anger surged hot like the fire around her through her veins. Astrid gave herself over to it and attacked the Dragon Lord.

The Dragon Lord leaped off the Night Fury and ,et her half way. His staff blocked her attacks but Astrid was not considered the best fighter in Berk for nothing. She watched him closely, waiting for the moment when he would make a mistake. He soon made one when she forced him into a sloppy and unbalanced stance. She threw down her sword and shield, taking him by surprise. He swung one end of the staff up to block her, but she leaped at him with her legs first and caught him around his narrow chest. Swinging her body weight around his she released him and landed on her feet while his momentum flipped him over to land on his back. The Dragon Lord recovered quickly and kicked her feet out from under her. Astrid landed on her back and some of the wind was knocked out of her, but she quickly recovered. She swung a fist at him which he caught and pinned above her head. She swung her other fist at him which he caught and trapped with the other one as he climbed on top of her. Astrid wiggled and bucked her hips to try and get him off. But it was no use. She was trapped.

"Such a beauty," he growled at her as he thrust a knife up against her neck. She looked at him defiantly. "Such spirit. Too bad you are a murderer."

"What do you care when plenty of us have died from your dragons. Leave us alone. What have we done to deserve this?" She spat at him. She was not about to admit that she had never killed a dragon. Not to him. Let him think what he would.

He chuckled darkly and shook his head. His attention was caught by the shield. It was bare. No dragon horns were affixed to it. No blood marks stained its surface. No carvings. No artwork. Nothing. It was completely bare. Astrid knew what he was looking at and closed her eyes in shame.

The next thing she knew her arms and legs were tied together and she was thrown over the Night Fury's back. Her screams drew the villagers attention as they flew over Berk toward the chief. The Dragon Lord growled and swung his staff over his head and a few of the dragons formed a sort of guard. A few of them landed with them and the Night Fury, others hovered. It seemed the dragons had finished their raid as they were leaving with their bounty.

The Chiefs attention was immediately focused on the Dragon Lord and the young woman. "How desperate are you, old man, for me and my dragons to leave your precious village alone?"

It had escaped nobody's notice that the village was suffering. Injuries had rendered two-thirds of their warriors to be unable to fight. That wasn't taking into account the deaths. The chief looked more and more tired with each raid since the death of his son. A strangled cry was heard and everyone turned to see the source. Gothi was running as quickly as her old body would allow. While most thought she was mute, the truth was that she spoke very rarely. She attempted to approach the young woman but the Dragon Lord blocked her approach. Tears started running down the old woman's face. If the Dragon Lord saw he gave no indication.

Chief Stoic looked at him. The village was dying. Every raid meant less food for everyone. Stoic wasn't even sure that there was going to be enough food for the coming winter. A fact that only he and Gobber were completely sure of, while the rest of the village could only speculate. Stoic took a deep breath. He admitted to himself that he was desperate. "What do you want," he asked.

The Dragon Lord didn't even hesitate, "Her."