Thank you so much to my beta reader Queen Bovine! I've never been so satisfied with a chapter.
Astrid shivered as she ran through the village as quietly as she could, the wind playing with her hair. The Thorstons were of an even lower standing than the Hoffersons, so she expected Ruff's clothes to be of a lesser quality than she was used to, but it would still be a while for her to be comfortable with the cold biting into her like this.
Granted, she should have been used to the cold, but it was easier to blame that for the shivering than the fear of being caught.
She crept into the arena, a vivid memory springing up of all the times she had yelled at Hiccup to get out of her way or to get down or to stop standing still if he wanted to live.
She stood in front of the Night Fury's doors, took a deep breath, and gripped the lever tightly before pulling it down.
The second the doors opened, Toothless, chained and muzzled, started thrashing against his restraints. Astrid gasped, sending a terrified look over her shoulder before she shut the doors again and backed away, breathing quickly.
This was crazy, this was so crazy, she was going to get killed.
She brushed her bangs from her forehead and blew out a puff of air, looking at the doors determinedly. If she didn't do this now, she'd never be able to do it. It had taken her all her nerve just to sneak a fish from the one of the fisherman's baskets and then actually come here. She had to do this now.
She waited just a minute to make sure no one was coming, then opened the doors again and hissed right away, "It's me!"
Toothless's eyes flitted to her face. She could make him out clearly in the moonlight, not looking quite so dangerous or threatening when he was restricted (not that he looked safe by any means, but she wasn't as afraid to approach him).
She stepped in, slowly reaching out her hand and placing it on the leather muzzle keeping his mouth closed. The dragon closed his eyes, nudging into her hand as she let out a breath of relief.
She set the fish down, looking at the muzzle carefully.
"I'm going to open this now," she murmured, taking a deep breath, "and I swear, if you roar, or-or let out a call for help, we are both going to die on the spot."
He let out a huff, bowing his head gently in what she assumed to be agreement. More than assumed, actually — she hoped beyond hope that it was agreement.
She took off the muzzle gently, letting it drop to the floor. Toothless, for his part, didn't make a sound, but he did gaze up at her meaningfully, even as she leaned down and picked up the fish she had brought, holding it out for him.
"Don't get slobber over my hand, either," she warned, creeping closer, "I'll have to go all the way down to the docks to —"
Toothless moved so fast she nearly missed it, snatching the fish from her hand, and she gasped, jerking back and pulling her hand to her chest. There was no spit on her skin; she wondered if he even had time to salivate with how fast he had gobbled up the fish just then.
He swallowed and looked at her expectantly. She shook her head, sitting down with her legs crossed.
"No, that's all I have. Now I have to put this back on you."
He huffed, turning his head away when she raised the muzzle to his face. When she moved to the other side, he did it again, letting out a laugh (if dragons could laugh) at making her crawl from side to side. Finally she threw the muzzle on the ground and crossed her arms.
"Fine. I won't put it back on." She raised a warning finger. "But when they see you, they'll think it was too weak and just put on a stronger one."
One point to her.
Against a dragon.
Astrid sighed.
Toothless grumbled but bowed his head, allowing her to put the muzzle on. She lingered, with her hand resting on his snout for a moment, but then removed it, letting it drop to her knees.
The two stared at each other for a minute. The dragon didn't look away, keeping his eyes trained on her. Her posture relaxed, her shoulders slumping, confident he wasn't going to hurt her. It was strange, that she could give him that benefit of the doubt but not the men and women in her village.
"What do I do?" she whispered, taking her eyes off him and looking at the floor. "To stop the war, I'd have to kill that-that dragon…" She swallowed, just the thought of the dragon queen sending shivers up her spine. "And I can't do that, look at the size of that thing! And even if I suddenly possessed the strength of all the gods, I'd need to be able to fly."
Toothless nudged her cheek gently, making her look up again. "I can't fly you," she argued, "I'd have to understand Hiccup's notes, and that'd take a century and a half. No, I'd need to fly another dragon, and-and perfect it, to be even close to how fluid you and Hiccup were. And do it all in secret, although frankly —" She pursed her lips, thinking of the past few weeks. "It must not be too hard to stay hidden, given how long Hiccup did it."
But even Hiccup had never been under as much scrutiny as she was now.
"Well, it's something I'll...think about. Nothing's happening just yet," she said with a warning tone, more to herself than Toothless.
She stood up, brushing herself off before Toothless pressed his snout into her hand. She felt his warm breath on her palm, and if she stayed still, could almost feel what he felt. As if all the pain they shared could be expressed in just a single touch.
Astrid knew she wouldn't be able to stay away for long.
As she closed the doors and turned to leave the arena, she stopped, hearing a crooning coming from one of the other cells. A dragon that sounded…
Well, it sounded sad.
Oh gods, this was getting ridiculous. She may have felt pity for Toothless, but she was not going to start feeding all of these dragons because of a damn sound. Her morals may have been shot, but her strong will wasn't completely gone.
Astrid bit her lip, shaking her head to convince herself as she stomped quietly out of the arena and tried to ignore the needy croon coming from inside.
Once outside, she leaned against the chains and ran a hand through her hair, sighing. Everything was such a mess.
A mess that she and she alone had to fix.
After a few days, someone finally caught on.
Astrid overheard a fisherman telling the chief they were ending up with a few fish short each week. It wasn't enough of a deficit to be a problem, but of course, Stoick had to treat it like someone had taken his favorite axe or something.
"If anyone knows who is taking the fish, I urge them to come forward!" He stood on the steps of the Great Hall as he made his announcement. Astrid swallowed, doing her best not to look away guiltily. "Winter will be upon us in a few months. We cannot risk losing anything."
Yes, they could. They were overstocked with food and a few swiped fish weren't going to do anything. But would she have thought the same way if she hadn't been the thief?
Astrid clicked her tongue in frustration. It was like there were two of her: dragon slayer Astrid, who loved Berk and hated dragons and wanted to be the best viking she could be; and dragon sympathizer Astrid, who had an annoying conscience in her head that sounded like Hiccup, telling her that dragons were kind creatures who needed her help. They were fighting a vicious battle inside her, and dragon sympathizer Astrid was stronger than she could have ever imagined.
"Did you do this?"
"What?" Astrid turned around and came face to face with her mother, who was giving her a steely glare. It was the first time the woman had spoken to her since she got back.
"Have you been stealing the fish?" Ingrid towered over her. "Don't tell me you're some common thief now."
Astrid stepped back, shaking her head rapidly. "No...no! This wasn't me. I didn't do it."
Her mother scowled, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword. "I may not have proof, but you're on thin ice, Astrid. You've brought dishonor to the Hofferson name for generations to come."
"I didn't mean to —" Astrid looked down in shame, her cheeks turning red. "— to let him die. I couldn't do anything."
"And now your descendants will pay the price," Ingrid said coldly.
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Astrid feeling guilty for a crime she was wholly responsible for, but not for reasons anyone thought she was. If her mother found out what had really happened...then her descendants would be shamed for a lot more than lacking the strength to protect their chief.
The thought left her wondering how long she'd be able to keep up the act.
Gobber left the forge late that night. He bid her a goodnight, seeming not to notice that he hadn't blown the light out. Well, it wasn't a problem for Astrid. She didn't quite want to be alone in the dark. It was childish, but the gigantic dragon at the nest still haunted her dreams.
She was startled from her study of Hiccup's notes on Toothless's tailfin by the loud clang of a sword being knocked over. She looked up to see Tuffnut leaning in from the window pane, a sheepish grin on his face.
"Hey, Hoff."
"Hey," she responded tiredly, standing up."Sorry if you needed anything, the old man just left."
Tuffnut stared at her oddly, leaning forward with a furrowed brow and narrowed eyes like she was a test subject to be analyzed.
"Actually, I was checking up on you."
Astrid yawned, setting the journal down before walking over to him and placing her arms in front of his, leaning in sleepily. "I don't need to be checked up on."
"And that's why you have dark bags under your eyes," Tuff pointed out, matter-of-fact. "And your hair is messy. And your clothes are ruffled. And —"
Astrid shot him a dry look as he went on. Tuffnut Thorston was so, so much smarter and more observant than he let anyone know. His sister was as well, but the difference was that Ruff didn't work too hard to hide her clever side, while Tuff seemed to prefer that people think him dumb. It worked to his advantage, she supposed, which made him smarter than the average viking akk on its own.
She finally interrupted him as he kept listing off her symptoms. "I just haven't been able to sleep. Watching your heir die in front of you will do that."
(All the nightly visits to a certain Night Fury factored in as well, but that part she kept to herself.)
It was quiet for a few seconds, then she took a deep breath. "Listen...I never thanked you for standing up for me when I was in the arena."
Tuffnut shrugged, a small smile on his face. "You're welcome."
"I haven't said it yet." Astrid clicked her tongue. "Thank you, Tuffnut."
He grinned, tapping her nose. "We're friends, Astrid, we always have been. You've got people on your side."
And with that, he picked up the sword he had knocked over, turned around, and left. Astrid watched him go with her brows furrowed.
She hadn't realized that there were sides, but now it was a little comforting knowing that one of the boldest people she knew was on hers.
Her newfound moral code was going to get her killed.
She was running (again!), with seven fish in a basket, praying that no one would hear her footsteps. Up until now, she had only fed Toothless, but the guilt was driving her mad.
Once she got to the arena, Astrid set the basket down and took out a small dagger, holding it at the ready. The other dragons, unlike Toothless, were not chained. She slowly pulled down the lever, bracing herself.
Nothing happened.
Astrid peeked in. The blue Deadly Nadder was fast asleep, her wings curled over her head. Astrid stepped in slowly with her dagger and a single fish, closing the doors and submerging herself in darkness.
This was such a bad idea. She was actively taking away her biggest weapon and trapping herself with a dragon that could throw Odin-damned spines.
She reached out for the Nadder slowly, blindly, cautiously. Her hand found its tail, and she winced when she felt a spine prick her finger, thankfully not hard enough to draw blood. She had enough injuries as it was.
The Nadder stirred. A jolt of fear went up Astrid's spine and she let out a gasp. The tail zipped away from her, quickly, like it had been yanked.
The dragon was awake.
"Fuck," Astrid whispered.
For a moment, neither of them moved. And then a large head suddenly pushed into her stomach, sniffing her. Astrid stifled a cry of fear that threatened to escape her. That became harder when the dragon let out a snarl, clearly recognizing her from their...vigorous training sessions.
Astrid whimpered as she was forced to step back, still clutching the dagger tightly. Her back hit the cold wall. She could practically hear the sound of her imminent death. Astrid slid down against the wall, defeated, holding up the fish and shutting her eyes tight.
After a stretch of fearful silence, she felt hot breath on her hands, and then the fish was taken from her. She opened her eyes, faintly making out the dragon swallowing the fish, before she lowered her head and nuzzled her shoulder gently in thanks.
Astrid breathed a sigh of relief.
One down, four to go.
She had survived the night, although all the feedings were as terrifying as the first, except maybe the Terrible Terror, and even that greedy little demon had nearly bit her hand off before accepting the fish. That was, of course, before it decided she was a friend and curled up in her hair. It had taken Astrid ten whole minutes to pry him from her locks, and by the time she got to Toothless, her hair needed to be completely rebraided. She took care of it as she talked to him, the only person — well, animal — that listened to her rambles.
Now she sat in Hiccup's workshop in the forge, reading his notebook again, a passing hobby of hers. She still hadn't looked at the early pages, not wanting to pry, but she had read through the entries from after he had shot down Toothless, mentally berating herself for missed all that happening right here on Berk. Especially the forge incident — of course Toothless had been right inside!
Her eyes scanned over the first rough draft of the prosthetic tail. It was the simplest out of all of them, and yet she still couldn't understand it.
And she never would. Astrid snapped the book shut, frustrated.
She knew how to throw things, not how to make them.
Thinking of Toothless then, she sighed. He and the other captured dragons — even if they were let out, they might still be prisoners of the giant dragon. The queen.
Well, maybe it was time to expand her skillset a little.
Astrid walked out of Hiccup's little workshop, going over to Gobber, who was whistling under his breath as he fixed up a sword. It clanged loudly each time he hit it with his hammer-hand.
"Gobber?"
"Astrid." He nodded his head in acknowledgement. "What can ah do fur ye?"
Astrid took a deep breath, Hiccup's journal still clutched tightly in her hands.
"I want you to take me on as an apprentice. I want you to teach me how to work the forge."