She didn't know if she wanted to wake up. She was comfortable. So comfortable. Which didn't make sense, because she knew she should be in more pain than was tolerable.

Ah…

There it was.

The aching feeling. The rawness of fresh wounds.

She could feel it everywhere.

Even her neck.

Her eyes opened in a flash, memories flashing through her mind.

Dagur biting her. Hiccup almost kissing her. The monster that took her family and…

She heard someone move slightly, and turned her head to look to the side. Sitting in a plush chair was Hiccup. He was looking at her with the same expression that he had when he had taken her from Camicazi. A look of upmost worry.

He said nothing, merely looked at her, searching her eyes for something, and she looked away, to the other side of the room. She was in a room that was much finer than she had ever seen before. Reddish brown wood paneled walls, fine Persian carpets, high-end handmade furniture, French doors that led to a balcony that looked over a massive forest. "Where am I?" she asked, and didn't recognize her voice. It was throaty and hoarse. She cleared her throat a little, and said, "Your home?"

Her voice sounded a little more normal, but not quite.

"Yeah…" Hiccup said.

She looked back at him, and tried to sit up. Her entire body protested, and she gasped out. Hiccup was out of his seat in an instant, gently pushing her back down onto the many pillows. "Take it easy," he said softly, "You need to rest. You're… you're in pretty bad shape."

"Yeah, I know," she said, wincing slightly, after he had slowly gotten back into his seat, "I was there."

"You…" Hiccup trailed off, staring at his hands. "I'm sorry, Astrid."

She met his eyes, and saw that the tortured look had returned to them.

"This is all my fault…" he began.

"Hiccup," she tried to cut him off, but he continued as if he did not hear her.

"Dagur only went after you because of me," he said. "If I had…" he trailed off, lost in his thoughts. "Why did you leave?" His eyes searched hers again, and she was disappointed to find that there was a hint of anger in his own. "Astrid, that was… stupid. And foolish. And you could have been killed. Or worse."

"I'm a hunter, Hiccup," she said, her throat still sore. "I think I can handle myself."

He looked like he could almost laugh, but grew serious again. "I saw what he did to you, Astrid. When Gothi was fixing you up—I saw what he did. I wouldn't call that 'handling yourself'."

She shrugged, and winced in pain.

Nothing was said between them for a long while, before Hiccup spoke again, his voice halting and anguished. "I'm just glad…" he said, "That he didn't try to Turn you. But he did try to drink your blood, and for that I'm sor…"

"He did try to Turn me," she said, not looking at him. Her own voice had shuddered at these words, memories from her childhood raging through her mind like a nightmare that refuses to be forgotten hours after waking.

"What?"

"He tried to, but it didn't work," she said, eyes trained ahead of her at the large TV in the cabinet on the other side of the room. "That's when the Ryker guy came in, and when he realized that… he said Drago wanted to buy me. Or something."

She glanced at Hiccup, to see that his eyes were wide, staring at her as if he did not quite believe her. "Are you sure?" he asked, a strange component to his voice.

"Yes," she said quietly. "And it… it…" she took in a deep breath. "It happened before. The day my family died. The vampire that did it tried to Turn me then too."

He took in a sharp breath. "I'll be right back," he said, springing out of his chair with feline grace and leaving the room quickly. After a few minutes, he returned, sitting down and looking at her eagerly. "Are you sure about this, Astrid?"

"I'm quite sure," she said tartly. "Old Man Naqu was the one who stitched me up after the attack… but he didn't tell the other hunters about what exactly happened. Said it would be bad if anyone found out."

Hiccup took in another deep breath, looking… excited. "Astrid," he said, his voice forcibly steady, "You realize what this means, right?"

She shrugged. She knew what it meant. After talking with Fishlegs and Hiccup at the former's house, of course she knew.

"This…" Hiccup stood up, pacing around her bed in an agitatedly excited flurry. "If you really are immune to the virus… then… you could be the key—with only your consent of course—to finding some way to stop the mutation, or maybe even rever—"

"Hiccup," she interrupted.

He stopped, freezing, turning to look at her. "Sorry," he said quickly. "It's just… we've been looking for someone like you—if you really are immune—for… for as long as there's been vampires." He took a small, ragged breath. "This is huge, Astrid."

"Yeah, well," she said, sitting up and leaning against the pillows. "As soon as I can get these bandages removed, I'm going to clear out of here."

"And where will you go?" Hiccup asked. "The hunters are after you—and now Dagur and Drago are after you. This is the only place you'll be safe—"

"Safe?" she demanded. "Safe, Hiccup? You think the Haddock Clan is where I'll be safe? Need I remind you that I'm a human?"

"Yeah, but you're my friend—" he began.

"We're not friends, Hiccup," she said forcibly. "Us being friends goes against the very laws of nature."

He stared at her, perfectly still. "But—"

"You," she said, "Are a vampire. I'm a human. The max our relationship could ever be is prey and predator. If you weren't a vampire, maybe—but that doesn't matter. I'd much rather face Dagur and Drago's forces than stay here."

"Why?" he asked, brows furrowed. "What could possibly be so horrible about being here that—"

"Because!" she clenched her fists, before heaving a breath. She refused to look at him. "Because it was someone from your clan who killed my family," she hissed out through clenched teeth. "Because it was someone from your clan that tried to Turn me originally. Because it was someone from your clan who made me who I am today." She looked up at him, eyes stinging, mouth twisted into an ugly scowl, "You can't blame me from wanting to get as far away from you guys as possible."

Hiccup was, to her eyes, perfectly still. His face did not move, his expression completely void of emotion. Finally, she saw him take in a long, slow breath. "Astrid…" he began, "I swear, no one from my family or clan would have—"

"Don't—"

"No, listen to me," he interrupted. "Yes, there are members of my clan who drink human blood, sometimes directly from a human—but no one has killed a human in cold blood since… well, since World War II. My father didn't want unnecessary bloodshed, or the attention that comes with it. Most of my clan gets their nutrients from blood banks, or animals. And if someone from my clan had attacked a human family—a bunch of civilians, if I gather correctly, I would have heard about it. Because that person would have been dealt with. And if they had tried to Turn someone against their will—a child, no less, they would have been…" he stopped himself, gathering his thoughts, and continued, "It wasn't someone from the Haddock Clan, Astrid. Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. You'll be safe here—"

"Say it wasn't someone from your clan," Astrid said, her voice sharp and shaking, "You're all still vampires. I'm still a human. And there's no guarantee that something won't happen. You think I can trust any of you? Even you, Hiccup?"

"Astrid—"

"—you think I don't know it's only a matter of time before you give in and—"

"Astrid!"

She stopped talking at the volume of his voice.

"Astrid," he said, quieter, "Please…" he closed his eyes. "I know that you don't trust me. I know it's too much to ask you to. But please, just stay here. For a few weeks. Until you've recovered and we've dealt with the Bludvists and Berserkers. Please, Astrid."

She didn't trust herself to speak.

He walked around the bed, to sit on his chair. He looked at her earnestly. "Please, Astrid."

"Fine," she choked out, her nails nearly cutting into the palms of her hands.

They sat in silence, before he said, his own voice somewhat shaky, "I'm sorry I… I realize now why you reacted the way you did—when I tried to… uh… kiss you."

She glanced at him, and saw that he was blushing again, but more in humiliation than fondness of a memory.

"It's fine," she said, shrugging again. "If you were a human, I probably would have let you kiss me."

He let out a short, forced laugh, before sighing despondently. "It's been a while, since I got to know a human," he said. "It's hard to remind myself that you're off limits."

"Especially since you already have a girlfriend," Astrid pointed out.

Hiccup's eyebrows rose in confusion.

"Camicazi," Astrid said.

His eyes widened, and he started laughing.

"What?" Astrid demanded.

"Look, I told you, Camicazi and I are just—" he started laughing again, before suddenly stopping and turning red. "She didn't say anything when she was rescuing you, did she?"

"No," Astrid said slowly, "But I could tell when I saw you two interacting with each other. You may deny being in a steady, committed relationship with her, but you do have some kind of relationship with her."

He gave an awkward laugh, and said, "We kind of… we've never really dated, or past equivalencies of dating. It's more that as a vampire, it can be difficult to stay interested in one person for eternity. So we…" he shrugged. "Sometimes we're together, sometimes we see other people… sometimes we're just friends. Vampires tend have loose definitions of relationships, because we live so long."

"Oh," she said. "I guess I was just in the 'sometimes you see other people' part of the cycle, huh."

"That's not—what I…" he trailed off. "I really like you, Astrid," he said, quite earnestly. "If I were human—or you were a vampire, I would definitely… see if something could happen between us. We both know, as it is, things can't really… but anyway, I'm sorry that I frightened you. If I had known your history, I would never have presumed—and I shouldn't have anyway… but…"

"Don't beat yourself up over it," she said, shrugging.

Another awkward silence fell between them, before he hurried into a different topic. "I called Fishlegs while I was in the hall. He ran a lot of our research on finding a cure for the virus before we stopped looking for it. Anyway, he's on his way here, and, if you're willing to consent to an exam and testing, you might just…" he looked hopeful. "You might just find a way for us—that is, us vampires, to… live a normal life."

She raised her eyebrows. "I thought vampires enjoyed being vampires," she said.

"That's bull," he said adamantly. "Most vampires would give anything to sleep with whom they want without the possibility of accidentally killing them, or to be able to eat whatever they want without digestive or allergen issues, or to be able to go out in sunlight without adverse issues. Sure, you'll get those that like the power trip and positive effects of being a vampire, such as the speed and strength and fear mongering. But… Most people—vampires—would give anything to be human again. To be a real human again."

The way he said these words spoke volumes to Astrid. She knew he was among those—that would give anything for a chance of normalcy. "Alright," she said. "I'll—I consent, or whatever."

He grinned at her, and rising from his chair, began pacing again. "You don't understand how amazing this is, Astrid," he said. "If you really are immune, you could be our… our salvation."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," she said, amused.

"I'm serious," he was at her side again, sitting on the edge of the bed. "This is absolutely incredible—"

She heard squeaking, and scratching on wood.

"Oh, Toothless," Hiccup said, springing off the bed and walking to the door. He opened it, and immediately the tiny dragon flew in, landing on her legs.

Toothless quickly walked up her length, sniffing her face and making soft mewling noises.

"He's just excited to see you," Hiccup said, walking back to them.

She gave Toothless a few pats, unsure and unused to petting something like him.

"Anyway, you need rest," Hiccup said. "Come on, Toothless."

The dragon protested, and finally Hiccup had to take him into his arms and walk away. He paused at the door, turning to look at Astrid. "I'll be back with some food," he said. "Try and get some rest."

She nodded, and he left, gently closing the door after him.

She sighed and settled back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling. She didn't know what she was doing—being here amongst vampires. It was the most dangerous thing she could do. And she wasn't sure she believed Hiccup that his family and clan were not responsible for her own family's death. She wanted to believe him, but…

She decided she would need to, for at least a short while. She was in no condition to be on her own. She needed to build up her strength, so she could fight against both the hunters and the vampires properly.

But most of all, she wanted a chance to get Dagur.

She wanted to kill him with her own hands.

She could still feel the whip across her chest and stomach and back. The feel of Dagur's box cutter creating diagrams and mandalas across her skin. She could still feel the agony of the Tasers. She shuddered. She was thankful Hiccup was gone from the room now. She wouldn't have allowed herself to cry in front of him—she learned from childhood not to cry in front of people. The hunters never tolerated it, nor ever offered her a comforting shoulder to cry on. She learned to do without a hand to help her through tough times. When her family had been killed, and she had been taken in by the hunters, she had been told firmly not to cry about it. To ruminate on her anger instead, and channel that anger towards killing as many vampires as possible. But to never show the weakness of grief.

But she couldn't do it now.

She shook as the sobs wracked her body, trying to hold it in as much as she could so no well-hearing and well-meaning vampire would hear her.

To be continued…

Thanks so much for reading!

See you next time!