I'm back guys! I'm so sorry I didn't manage to get back to your reviews; I was in Montreal with my family for the past week and a half now that my brother is back home and safe and I was far too sidetracked with real life to get myself onto a computer for any length of time. But I want you all to know how much I appreciated your reviews because without you guys, this story wouldn't be posted. I was afraid I was going to have to threaten you guys after the measly amount of reviews I received for chapitre 3, so thank you to the amazing people who take the time out of their busy lives to leave me a review!

On a side note, getting back to speaking english after reverting into my home language is difficult as hell. I sent a note to my lovely beta (thank you Sir Nick! You always leave the nicest comments!) and like, three words were spelt in french and I facepalmed pretty hard. That, and my accent came back full force, which means people at work stared at me like I had three heads lol.

And without further ado, chapitre 4!


HORIZONS

Arc 2: Verðandi and the End of All Things

Chapter IV


Astrid awoke the next morning with a start, jolting almost completely upright in her bed of yellow hay. The carrying sounds of two distinct voices filled her drowsy ears, which was not an entirely unfamiliar occurrence in and around her household. Astrid's parents were the typical violent type, even if their quarrels never went past their usual tirades of verbal battering. But today's aural scene was far too strange to be a conventional marital squabble; she was still half buried in straw and the voices sounded altered and entirely wrong.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes with her fists and began to pull herself fully to her feet, brushing the errant pieces of dried grass from her shawl and her leggings. She turned towards her dragon and pressed a finger to her lips, silently hoping that the blue Nadder would understand her urgent intent. The dragon buried herself deeper into the mass of warm straw with a whirr of acknowledgement, and promptly fell back asleep.

Astrid rolled her eyes fondly and took a few wary steps towards the front of the small barn, making sure that the two stolen notebooks were safely hidden in the inner pockets of her shawl. The voices had paused for the meantime and Astrid wondered briefly if whoever had been arguing had left. She cautiously reached for one of the shutters and cracked it open as quietly as she could manage, revealing the two bodies that were not only still present but quickly approaching the barn.

"Sometimes she stays back here," she saw her mother say to the other form just outside of her plane of vision, "I'll leave you to it."

"Thank you ma'am."

Astrid froze. She knew that voice all too well.

"Hey Astrid, you in there?"

Astrid spun around, her eyes wild as she scanned the barn for some place to hide. There was no way she could wrench herself up into the rafters before he reached the barn, but she had never been one to back down from a challenge...

But before she could spur herself into action, the front door of the little barn flew open, "There you are! I've been looking for you all morning!"

Astrid sighed, shoulders resigned and slumped in defeat, and slowly turned around – there was no way she could avoid him now, "Really Snotlout? And why's that?"

Whether Snotlout was simply too conceited to hear the venom in her voice, or whether he was just too dumb to comprehend it, she couldn't tell, but when she saw that slimy grin of his spread across his face like a puddle of sheep's drool, she couldn't help but want to just slug him in the jaw.

"Well, Astrid my dear, I just so happen to have a piece of information that you might want to hear about."

Astrid wasn't so easily convinced, "If this is about the line-up for the spring raids, trust me I already know—"

"No, no," Astrid didn't know how he managed to do it, but Snotlout's insufferable grin kept growing broader, "This isn't about the raids or training or any of that boring stuff. This is way, waaay more exciting. Trust me, I know things about exciting—"

"—oh for the love of—"

"—I know right?" Snotlout smirked boastfully and went to brush some imaginary dirt from his shoulder, "Well this, this is about a certain special someone of yours—"

"Hiccup."

The word sounded foreign in her mouth as she said it, the syllables rolling around like a heavy candy on her tongue. Her lips parted as she stared at him, her eyes suddenly wide with fervour.

"Oh yes," he leered, pleased that his words had finally struck their mark, "Turns out I overheard a little something or other coming from a veeerry reliable source talking to the Chief and Gobber last night. And take it from me babe; this is the kind of information that they won't be letting you in on anytime soon."

Astrid narrowed her eyes and ground her teeth together, pointedly ignoring his term of endearment, "What makes you so sure? They've told me everything so far."

"'Cause I heard the veery reliable source tell Gobber that he had to swear not to tell you. This is confidential stuff Astrid!" Snotlout leaned in conspiratorially, "I'll tell you everything but...it'll come with a price."

"You're going to have to give me a better idea about what you're talking about Snotface," she sneered at the boy, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest. She curled her hands into tightly clenched fists, wishing longingly for her axe, "And I'm not paying you anything."

Snotlout sighed dramatically, his mock disappointment irritating her to no end, "I wasn't going to ask you for anything monetary Astrid. What kind of guy do you think I am?" the young heir chortled, seeming pleased with himself, "All I wanted was a little kiss for my troubles."

"Absolutely not!" Astrid cried forcefully, taking a step back in disgust, "I don't care what kind of information you have, I am not kissing you!"

"Even if I told you where Hiccup is going?"

Astrid froze for the second time that morning, and actually had to force her brain back into submission. She steadied herself as she resumed functioning but the physical damage had already been done, her weak points exposed. Snotlout noticed this and gleefully took advantage.

"Yeah, I know where he's going. In fact, I may even know where he is right now."

The rational part of Astrid's brain told her that this fact was highly unlikely. However, the other parts were clinging like some desperate woman to the fact that finally, someone knew where that intolerable boy had gone.

"Fine," she lunged over and barely brushed her lips against his cheek, reeling like she was going to throw up in the process.

"Nu uh," Snotlout shook his head and grinned lewdly, revelling in the awesomeness that came from gaining the upper hand, "It'll have to be on the lips. And for at least five seconds."

"Absolutely not!" Astrid snarled, her cheeks reddening in both embarrassment and frustration, "I will beat it out of you, you rat faced, greasy tongued, disgusting little whelp—"

"Okay then, I guess I'll just leave," he said, sighing and collapsing his shoulders in mock defeat. He started to walk away and barely made it towards the doorway before five fervent fingers grasped him around the bicep and spun him around with enough brute force to push him into the wall. His eyes flew wide open as Astrid slammed her lips against his, pressing him up against the wooden walls of her barn for exactly five seconds.

She wrenched her lips away and wiped her mouth on the sleeve of her cloak, looking absolutely disgusted with herself. Snotlout was far too busy inwardly leaping with joy to even remotely care.

"Now tell me!" she snarled, holding up her fist threateningly in the general vicinity of his face, "Tell me where he is right now before I tear your ugly little face to pieces!"

"Patience hun," Snotlout grinned lewdly, "I need a chance to enjoy my victory."

It started out almost silently, but soon Astrid's growls of rage simply couldn't be ignored any longer, "Fine, fine!" Snotlout threw up his hands in compliance, "He's going west. Like, beyond Grœnland. Way beyond there."

Astrid's face was redder than the hide of a Monstrous Nightmare, "WHERE IS HE?"

Snotlout's cool finally faltered and the young Viking figured that he should probably run out of the path of her temper sooner rather than later, "Calm down woman! He's going to the end of the world!"

Astrid's expression of fury nearly fell flat off her face, "What?"

"That's what the Elder said. He's off in search of the end of the world or something which means that he's probably heading south west."

"How did the Elder know this?"

Snotlout froze, realizing he had just revealed the name of his 'anonymous source'. The teenaged mound of muscle swallowed uncomfortably and shrugged as casually as he could, "I have no idea. She said something about how he borrowed a few of her maps and that she just...she just knew. I'm just telling you what I know Astrid! If you want to know more you should just go to her and, you know, ask her!"

Astrid was silent for a moment before her face suddenly started to darken again. Snotlout took notice of the inevitable rise of fury behind her gaze and started to back out the way he had come, throwing his arms out in front of him in self defence.

"You mean I could have just gotten this information from the Elder?"

Snotlout swallowed nervously, realizing that the way out of the dragon's barn was irrevocably shut, "Yeah but...but if it wasn't for me I...you wouldn't have known and—"

Astrid swung back and righteously punched him in the jaw so hard she swore she heard her fingers crack. But she was far too furious to acknowledge her pain and with a howl of rage she proceeded to kick him angrily between the junctions of his legs, immensely enjoying the ensuing spectacle. She hissed and bared her teeth as Snotlout cried out in agony and collapsed on his knees, clutching himself and howling like a banshee.

"You're sick," she spat as she stepped over him, making sure the edge of the door got him right in the ribcage as she wrenched it open. She sneered in revulsion once last time before stepping outside into the clear morning, pushing all thoughts of her previous encounter from her mind as she made her way out towards the laneway.

She had work to do.


Gothi had long anticipated the fervent rapping of knuckles upon her front door that frantically demanded entrance into the ancient lodge, but not the cry of pain that followed it. The Elder frowned minutely and began her slow but steady trek towards her door, rapping her cane against the shabby wooden floors. Her servant lass was too busy with the loom to be bothered with getting up and answering, but, for once, the aged woman didn't mind; she was enjoying the way all of this nonsense was playing out before her weary eyes.

When she finally pulled the door open she was greeted with a sorry sight. The young warrior maiden was standing there just as she had expected, but her hair was tousled and tossed in a manner entirely unfit for a young lady, with stalks of hay and straw sticking out this way and that. She was holding her right hand gingerly in her left but she immediately dropped it upon making eye contact with the elderly woman, attempting to take the Viking way out by ignoring her pressing pain.

"You might as well accept it Astrid," the elder Gothi said with a smirk, "Your knuckles appear to be broken."

Astrid's grimace turned into a scowl of defeat as she glared down at her discoloured hand, grunting in reluctant acknowledgement. She stomped through the doorway and stormed into her great aunt's home completely uninvited, planting herself on one of the stools near the table by the hearth. She grasped at her injured again and huffed quietly, glowering at her ancient relative with hostility as the elder limped across the foyer to join her youngest niece.

Gothi hoisted herself up onto the adjacent stool with a great degree of difficulty and stubbornly refused any help, even when Astrid almost leapt off her perch to help her. She waved the blonde youth away from her with her gnarled hands and continued to determinedly get herself on top of the stool, which she finally did manage after some time. Once she was settled the old woman knotted her hands in front of her and squinted her eye just barely, revealing to her all that she needed to see.

"And to what do I owe this visit, my grandchild?" Gothi crooned quietly, the linen loom clicking and clacking away in the din.

Astrid's face darkened as the previous scowl began to return to her face, "Why didn't you tell me where Hiccup was going?"

Gothi had long anticipated the girl's first question, and though it may have seemed pertinent to her then, the Elder knew that the answer was entirely irrelevant, "It was not my story to tell."

"You're my family!" Astrid cried out suddenly, her fiery emotions threatening to break through the deteriorating dam of her foundation, "Why would you keep it from me when you knew that he was going to leave?"

"I cannot simply disobey the gods Child. You should know this."

Astrid scoffed and crossed her arms haughtily over her chest, "Let me guess. The gods told you that you couldn't interfere?" she shook her head in disbelief, "I'm not three anymore! You can't trick me with your silly stories!"

"Believe what you will Astrid, but you should know as well as I do that the gods work in strange ways. I will not always be here to try and explain their reasonings to you."

Astrid tried to burn holes into her great aunt's wrinkled visage but the old woman only met her unfailing gaze, "Tell me where he has gone."

"I believe the eldest Jorgenson son has already enlightened you to his whereabouts."

"How do you know about that?" Astrid cried, her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Hmm?"

Astrid slammed her fist on the table, knowing all too well as to how Gothi had managed to get her information, "You have to know more than that!"

Gothi sighed quietly and attempted to adjust her position on the stool, "I'm afraid I can only follow the evidence, young one. He's gone off in search of something no one has ever endeavoured to find before. This is something far beyond my reach. The gods only know what mad desire is driving him."

Astrid let out a small breath and slumped over onto her elbows. She was tired and frustrated and the wear was beginning to wreak havoc on her thoughts. The elder watched on quietly, noticing as she divulged her first sign of weakness since she had tromped inside the hall, "It's his foot. He thinks it makes him weak."

"That's only part of the reason, I fear. He would not have just up and left if that were the case."

"Then what is it? Wanderlust? Craziness? Has he been possessed by Loki himself?"

"Calm yourself daughter. Nothing will come out of guessing as to why he left his village, his home. The only thing we can do now is hope that he will return home safely from his adventures."

Astrid was silent for a moment before responding, "I can't just wait for him to come back in one piece though! What if he never comes back? What if he's killed? No one will ever know and I'll never get a chance to say that I'm sorry or take back wha—"

"Hush. You're letting your emotions get the best of you."

"I can't help it! Hiccup is out there right now, probably getting himself killed!"

"Now you are being irrational."

"I—ugh!" Astrid's upper body completely collapsed onto the table, slamming her forehead against the solid wood, "He's not even on the island and he's still driving me crazy."

"I can't imagine it being the first time Hiccup has driven someone to insanity," Gothi muttered, a smile beginning to colour her lips.

The young Viking lifted her head so that her chin rested solidly on the table. She couldn't bear to face the elder's brutal gaze, and kept her eyes hidden beneath her unkempt golden hair, "I've never known anyone, anyone, that could make me feel this way!" she sighed and crumpled against the table again, "He makes me feel so angry Auntie! And then happy! And then stupid! And then crazy!" she slammed her fist against the table, "I hate it!"

"Sometimes love changes us, makes us feel like we are not ourselves. You and he are not quite so different, as you will see."

Astrid raised her head once again, her eyes penetrating, "What?"

"The question is obvious Child. You have simply been too caught up in yourself to see it."

"Will you stop talking in riddles?"

"I'm not. If you simply stopped and listened for three seconds, perhaps you would understand."

"I do listen! I'm listening right now!"

"There is a difference between listening and hearing Astrid."

"Always with the riddles! By the gods Aunt Gothi, I am so sick of—"

"Do you love him?"

The young Viking froze, her mouth agape as she tried to scramble for the something, anything, to rebuff the old woman's preposterous question.

She found none.

"Shut your mouth child. Gaping like a netted fish is not becoming of a young woman," Gothi smirked, threatening her without any real menace behind her words. It took a few seconds for her great aunt's demand to finally compute in her mind but Astrid did finally managed to close her yawning jaw, if only barely. Her eyes were still wide open in absolute astonishment, her mind racing in an endless circle of possibilities and memories. Over and over again she kept seeing what was, what wasn't, what very well could have been. What could she have done differently, what could she have done to show him that she cared? Would he have stayed if she had made it seem like she loved him? Did she love him?

Did she love him?

"I...I don't know."

With an almost inhuman movement Gothi swung her cane up from its resting place and hurtled it straight into Astrid's shins, earning a cry of both surprise and anguish from the young Viking woman.

"Augh! What was that for?"

Gothi's grin grew wider, if that were even possible, "Does it matter?"

Astrid stared in disbelief, "Of course it matters! You just hit me!"

"Stop thinking about the pain; put it out of your mind. After all, it is already in the past."

Astrid slouched, "It still hurts."

"And sometimes the past can hurt. But you can pretend it never happened, or you can learn from it. It is up to you."

Astrid stared at her for a moment longer, trying to digest the elder's words. Then, from the corner of her eye she saw her great aunt move again and Astrid immediately drew her legs up to her chest, barely missing the woman's cane as it slammed against the legs of the stool.

"Aha!" the old woman laughed out loud, her eyes wide with pleasure, "You're learning!" Gothi brought her cane back down towards her stool and neatly slipped from its surface, hobbling around the table until she reached the other side, "Have you learnt your lesson?"

"I..." Astrid leant back slightly and swallowed as the realization began to dawn on her, slow and sweet like a summer sunrise, "Yes."

Gothi grinned victoriously, rapping her cane firmly on the uneven hardwood floor, "And your answer?"

It seemed simple now, almost childishly so. She finally understood.

"I do."

Gothi beamed, "So what are you going to do about it?"

Astrid leapt off her stool and took a step closer to her great aunt, a sudden look of determination colouring her features. She knew what she had to do. Plans of every kind began to run through her head like wildfire, consuming every other thought and desire she might have had in the past. The past may have hurt, but the present – the present was the only thing that mattered now. The present was the bridge, however precarious, towards the future and she was willing to risk the walk along the precipice to reach it. The present was the only thing tying her down to what she knew she needed to do.

She thanked her great aunt quickly and strode out of the old wooden door, blinking away the bright morning light that obstructed her gaze. She no longer felt the pain in her hand as she walked through her village, her eyes locked on the western horizon. She couldn't keep dwelling the past any longer, no matter how much easier it would have been.

The winds were changing.

She stepped out onto the highest point of the docks and stared absently beyond the waves that crashed against the shards of protruding rocks like licks of flame. It was only a matter of time before the ice set in on the island, and by then the weather would be far too treacherous to ride in. If she was going to hunt him down, she would have to leave almost immediately. She glanced over her shoulder; the furthermost tip of her lodge was the only thing she could make out from her vantage point at the bottom of the village. In three days time she might never see it again.

And if Hiccup was going to the end of the world, she knew she was going to follow him right to the end. Because wherever Hiccup was, trouble was sure to follow.

"What the Hel," Astrid grinned wildly, her skin suddenly on fire, "It's only the rest of my life."


A short, but inevitably momentous chapter. The ball is rolling now, and now that my life is in more or less proper order, updates will be a little more frequent. Thank you for having patience for me!

Please leave a review. Your kind and constructive words always spur me into a writing frenzy. I would love to hear from you :)

Love and fluff,

Brontë