Astrid didn't know what to think or believe anymore. Her world had just turned upside down and all at the hands of a certain young man walking alongside her. She never thought she'd see him ever again.

When he went missing in the first place Astrid had thought he had been afraid of killing the Nightmare, that he'd chickened out and gone hiding somewhere in the woods like he'd used to when they'd been kids. Of course Stoick, the Chief, had sent out a searching party once he'd noticed his son's lasting absence, then two, then yet another. Soon the whole village had been looking for the boy, no one thinking about the delayed graduation test for the youths any longer, but imagining the worst. Eventually they had found traces leading to a hidden cove at the far end of the island. A cove in which they'd found black scales of a dragon. I had been obvious for everyone what had happened to Hiccup. But Stoick had refused to believe his son had been eaten by a dragon at first and had continued to send out searching parties, among them Astrid and her peers, to scout every last inch of Berk. He'd hoped that maybe people Hiccup's age would be able to better estimate where the boy had gone. But it had been useless, they'd never found any other hints of Hiccup.

About two months later, Stoick had finally ended the fruitless search for his only son and had declared him dead. It had been pretty obvious to everyone that their chief had loathed the idea of it, but also couldn't continue looking for him. He'd been grieving deeply and still was in some ways.

Snotlout had been named heir, but even though he'd always wanted the title, he hadn't taken it with pride, knowing that it had been out of necessity more than anything else. Even he had been in grieve for his cousin.

And now, after nearly five years, she met her tribe's lost heir again because of some strange twist of fate. It was so surreal seeing him; Astrid still hadn't figured out how she felt about all of it. Sure, she was glad Hiccup wasn't dead after all, but it didn't make sense. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him but didn't know how. And she didn't fully buy the abduction he'd so poorly tried to sell her either, even though it would answer some of her questions.

He'd changed, Astrid thought then. Him walking beside her made it easy for her to steal quick glances of him from the corner of her eye. He'd used to be an awkward kid, shorter than the others and also weaker, with an odd sense of humer and absolutely no sense of responsibility. There had been a few times when Astrid had thought the chief's son had been kind of cute with his tooth gap and the big, innocent green eyes. But most of the times that thought had been replaced with frustration and annoyance almost instantly because he'd yet again managed to mess up. Hiccup Haddock couldn't have changed more.

Now he stood quite a few inches taller than Astrid. His shoulders had broadened and his stance carried a confidence she never would have expected from him. Not that she would have expected any of this at all. Once he couldn't hold a weapon steady if his life depended on it, and now she'd just seen him wield his sword with the ease af an experienced swordsman.

Another stolen glance revealed that also his face had undergone soe changes. His jawline was iron-cutting sharp, she thought in lack of better phrasing. The boyish features were gone and a handsome young man had been shaped.

Surprised by her own thoughts, Astrid quickly averted her eyes and tried thinking of something other than his matured looks or else her cheeks would heat up in flaming red. Puberty obiviously had taken kindly to her childhood friend, and Freya and Freyr had certainly helped.

They weren't far from their destination now and Astrid grew more and more curious who Hiccup could possibly be meeting up with. Right when she was about to ask, and the lights of 'The Bunt Man' appeared before them, Hiccup stopped abruptly and held her arm.

"What is it?" Astrud asked, the caution returning instantly. She quickly checked the perimeter for possible threats, but the alley was empty except for the two of them.

Hiccup let go of her arm and ran his hand through his hair, tousling his hair even more than it already had been.

"Listen, Astrid. Once we're in there we can't act like we know each other. "

Now Astrid was even more curious, and also suspicious as to who in the name of Odin he was meeting. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why?"

"I'm going to meet with someone named Drago Bludfist, and-"

"Bludfist? Didn't that Basil-guy call you that?" She hadn't been able to understand the whole conversation they'd had since she didn't speak this other language commonly used around here, but once they had switched to norse she had at last known what they'd said, even though the meaning of most of ist still was a mystery to her.

Hiccup nodded hesitantly. "Ye-Yeah, he did. Most people around here think Drago and I are related…in some ways."

"But why would they think that?" Everything grew more and more confusing and Astrid was sure this was just the very peak of the iceberg she was about to explore. Who knew how much more lay underneath the visible surface.

Instead of an answer Hiccup just shook his head, dismissing the matter for another time. Or so Astrid hoped. She was contend to get answers for all her questions. "Drago can't know that we know each other for longer than five minutes." He continued. "It would give him too much room for manipulation. He'd only try to play it against us them moment he finds out. He always does."

And so the weirdness continues. "Who is this Drago to have such power over you?"

"He basically owns this city. And in some way also me. So I don't want him to have any more power over me than absolutely necessary. And he already has more than I'd like." Hiccups face darkened. In fact, since he'd started talking about Drago he had gone completely stiff and closed up. Not leaving any hints about the boy she once knew. As if this Drago could hear him talking all the way from the inside of the noisy tavern to them just by them mentioning of his name. An assumption took shape inside her head.

"He doesn't know who you are, am I right?" Hiccup's brows furrowed. "I mean, Drago doesn't know you're from Berk, right? Why else would you now want him to know we grew up together." It was more of a statement by now than a question. Hiccup had pressed his lips together and clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles were turning white. He took a deep breath before he spoke and swallowed. And if Astrid read his expressive eyes correctly, it was anger he swallowed. Long surpressed anger. Again she could only wonder just how much he'd changed.

"Drago and Berk don't go along well, Astrid. So no, he doesn't know about my heritage. And it'd be better for you to disguise yours as well if you want to stay alive in his town."

That being said Astrid could add up ten more questions to her list. She was feeling the beginnings of a fully grown headache forming at the back of her skull. How lovely. And the night wasn't even over yet by far.

"So basically we'll act like strangers from different islands, that aren't Berk, who've just met." She summarized, massaging her temple gently.

"Exactly."

She sighed. "Well, let's hope my father's either drunk enough not to recognize you or, less likely, sober enough to quickly get the plan without questioning too much."

He agreed and they continued the last few houses towards the tavern. When Hiccup reached for the door he turned to her once more. "Before I forget it. Don't be surprised when I'm not called Hiccup." Her eyebrow rose on its own accord. "Drago didn't like my name very much, so he changed it a bit."

"Changed it?" Why wasn't Astrid surprised by this at all? "To what?"

Hiccup grimaced. "Horren. Like my oh-so-fitting middle-name, just without the 'dous'. And don't ask why he chose that. I have no idea myself."

Astrid didn't stop the chuckle escaping her lips. She could have, but she didn't. Because Hiccup had just proved to her that, at the very last, he still had the same silly, dry humor from five years ago. He hadn't changed completely. Not when she looked for more than just a glance.

This actually was going to be a much bigger chapter, but then I would have had a change in the point of view in the middle of it, and when I transcripted it from my notebook to the file on my laptop and changed and added a few things this just seemed to be a good point to let the chapter end and instead give the rest one of its own.

Which leads me to: Do you guys like shorter (around 1,5k) or longer (dunno how long THAT could get…) chapters?

And also: If you find inconsistencies with the tenses, like when the past is mentioned, please do let me know so I can fix those mistakes. I'm not a native speaker, english isn't my mothertongue and I have trouble with my tenses some times. So any kind of help there would be highly appreciated.

And thank you all for the kind review you have left. I read them all and they make my day. I won't be responding to each and every one per PM though because I just don't have that time on my hand at the moment. But if you have questions, put them in a review and I'll answer them at this bottom part of the chapters. Well, as far as I can anyway without giving away some of the main plot point of this story.

As for the Guest reviewer(Felix): All those questions of yours are gonna be answered soon, my friend. Just be patient, but please, don't hold back your curiosity. I like those theories you obviously have in your head. Do me a favour and share them with me. It's very amusing to read those guesses. ;)