For a few moments, Stoick remained standing there, frozen in place. The first one to notice him was Skullcrusher, who ran over to him and rumbled. When Toothless saw who was there, he warbled happily and trotted to his side, demanding scratches. He complied with the dragon absently, staring at the Deadly Nadder, who chirped but made no move to get closer. Although that dragon had been on Berk for a long time, she obviously didn't know him well, since he'd never spent a lot of time with the bondless dragons that lived with them. She wouldn't attack him because her friends trusted him, but that was all.

Still, the portion of his brain occupied with this reasoning was a very small one; for the most part, he was trying to come to terms with what he was seeing. If there had been any doubt that the Night Fury was Toothless, it had already evaporated when the dragon came to him. He didn't really recognise the Nadder, but he had no doubt who it belonged to. This seemed like a present from the gods themselves. He thought that following the trader might lead him to Hofferson, but not so soon.

As the shock wore off, he realised that he hadn't yet thought about what he was going to do when he found his son. For starters, he wanted to talk to him. After that, though, what? The right thing to do would be for Hiccup to stop running and turn himself in. If he was innocent (and Stoick had no doubt he was), then there had to be some way to prove it. The possible problem with that plan, however, was that Holger and the other chiefs were clearly convinced of Hiccup's guilt, and changing their minds would be complicated. Not to mention the hostility that his son would face at every turn, from the guards, the council, maybe even other prisoners. Even so, what other choice did he have? Stoick would make sure to stick by his side at all times, and discourage anyone from trying anything. He himself might also face consequences for going after Hiccup even after being expressly told not to, but that didn't worry him.

There was an even bigger problem as well: Hofferson. She'd convinced his son to run, and probably had him under her spell. So in order to talk to Hiccup, he needed to separate them. If they were together, he wouldn't listen to him. But how did he get him away from her?

He eyed Skullcrusher pensively. The Rumblehorn wasn't a match for a Deadly Nadder's speed, so outflying Hofferson was out of the question. However, the dragon's tracking senses were excellent. He could try to find Hiccup. This was a crowded island; how difficult could it be to lose Hofferson among the people? It was still risky, though, and if he failed, he might lose his advantage. Moreover, Skullcrusher couldn't really disguise himself in a town; he was made for the forest.

He didn't have time to ponder his dilemma further. Toothless and the Nadder suddenly snapped to attention and began running down the path he'd come from. The only reason why they'd react like that was if they'd heard their riders calling them. Stoick wasted no time jumping on Skullcrusher and telling him to follow. After only a short distance, he heard panting and voices. He concentrated on them until he was able to hear the words.

"...might be easier if you put me down." Stoick's heart jumped in his chest; that was Hiccup's voice. He was afraid he might never hear it again. "I know running with one foot isn't the best prospect, but-"

"No time. Look, here come our dragons." That was unmistakably Hofferson speaking. Unsure of what to do, he pulled on his Rumblehorn's reigns to let him know to stop without making a sound. The dragon stopped far enough that he couldn't see the dragons, or their riders. Hopefully the opposite was also true.

"Who are those guys?" Hiccup's voice rang again, and he heard the clicking noises that meant he was preparing Toothless' tailfin for takeoff.

"I'll tell you later. Let's go." The flapping of wings filled the air then. For a moment, Stoick thought about following, until he remembered how outmatched he was. But another idea came to him. What if he followed them without them noticing? Skullcrasher's sense of smell was sharp enough to catch a trail a few hours old. If he hung far enough that they didn't see him, maybe he'd get a better chance to catch Hiccup alone at some point. He just had to remain at the right distance.

His mind made up, he waited for about ten minutes before telling Skullcrusher to go. They had sounded like they were in a hurry, so they were probably flying fast. There should be enough distance between them by now. Once they were up, he looked around and didn't see anyone else in the sky with him. Despite that, his dragon immediately went in one direction, and he smiled. The gods were most certainly smiling down on him.

The minute Astrid had seen the assassin's face, she'd known that things had just got infinitely more complicated for them. What she had underestimated was just how much. She knew that the Ghost, as they called him, never worked alone, but rather had a bunch of apprentices, something she'd deduced from how he seemed to have killed people in different places simultaneously. She also knew that, if the Ghost was after them, then so were all the people from his network. And one thing was for certain: it was a vast network. She'd heard of deaths in practically every island in the archipelago, regardless of their size or if they were pirate dwellings or not. No place was safe from the Ghost and their followers once they had chosen a target. And right now that target was Hiccup.

The first order of business, obviously, was getting off the island. As far as she knew, the Ghost didn't ride dragons, so they'd be safe in the sky, at least long enough to collect their bearings. Therefore, she'd hurried up as much as she could while helping Hiccup along. She had hoped to get to their dragons in peace, but unfortunately that wasn't going to happen.

They hadn't taken more than a few steps into the forest when she heard the cracking of a branch. Just in case, she immediately dropped to the floor, bringing Hiccup down with her. He started to protest, but she put a hand over his mouth, listening. Nothing... nothing...

The rustling of clothes. She dragged Hiccup under a bush and looked around. He seemed to understand the situation, because he did the same and eventually pointed her to the top of a tree, where a pair of boots could be seen. Sloppy.

She evaluated the situation. Obviously, whoever was on that tree had a bow or crossbow. She had her axe, but to aim properly she'd need to step out of the bush, giving plenty of chance for the assassin to shoot her. No, she needed something else...

"You need a distraction", Hiccup mumbled by her ear. "If I roll behind that tree, that should give you enough time to aim."

Before she could protest that he was missing his foot and it was a terrible idea, he was rolling out and she heard the thwang of a crossbow being shot. Cursing under her breath, she got up. From her spot, she could see the man clearly enough. His brown clothing made him easy to spot among the green leaves, and he was focused on her right, where Hiccup had been. He noticed her and began to aim, but her axe was already flying towards him. He tried to dodge it in vain; it struck him in the shoulder. He dropped his weapon and clutched his wound. It didn't take more than a few seconds for the man to fall off the branch.

Astrid spared a glance towards Hiccup, ensuring he was all right, and then marched towards the assassin, ready to get information out of him. However, when he saw her coming, he reached for his belt, and she wasn't fast enough to stop him from slitting his own throat with a dagger he had. She kneeled next to him.

"Who sent you?" she growled, even though she was pretty sure. He may be dying, but there were a few precious seconds left. When he shook his head, she twisted her axe, which was still in his shoulder, and he made a gurgling noise that failed to be a scream. The blood from his throat flowed out faster.

"Who sent you?" she asked again. The man gasped.

"He did. He's coming for him." No more words could come out of him as he wheezed. Astrid turned to find Hiccup on his knees next to her, staring at the man in horror.

"He did that to himself?" he whispered.

"Assassins tend to do that."

"Assassins?" He looked up at her, even more horrified. "Now there are assassins after me?"

"Looks like it." She grasped her axe's handle. Hiccup flinched as she yanked it off the man's shoulder. It was a gruesome wound, but it was nothing compared to his throat. "We should get going. More could be coming." She wiped her axe on the assassin's clothes and tucked it back.

"More?" Hiccup had his face in his hands. "First all those chiefs, and now this?"

"Hiccup", she said gently but firmly, grasping his arm. "Viggo's playing with you. He wants you to break so you can tell me to give up the Dragon Eye." She pulled him up. "Don't let him. I know it's hard, but we'll get through this, I promise. Now, we need to go. Quickly."

"Uh, I can't run."

"You don't have to", she smirked. Before he knew it, she'd grabbed his waist and was throwing him over her shoulder, which was harder than she'd thought it would be. It seemed like he did have some muscles despite his thinness. Interesting.

"Hey!" he protested. Astrid chuckled as she began running. "Put me down!"

"Sorry, but this will be way faster than you hopping along." Granted, he weighed a bit more than she'd have expected from someone so lean, but she could handle it.

"So I get to be carried around like a bag of potatoes. Nice", he commented dryly.

"Oh, excuse me, does this hurt your manly pride?" she teased, and he scoffed.

"I don't think anyone would enjoy being carried like this."

"Too bad. Now shut up and call Toothless, would you? We need to get out as fast as we can."

They both did their dragon calls. For Astrid it was a bit harder to howl while running and carrying weight. By the time she got it out, she was panting.

"You know, this might be easier if you put me down", Hiccup commented. "I know running with one foot isn't the best prospect, but-"

"No time. Look, here come our dragons." Toothless and Stormfly were running towards them, and Astrid doubted she'd ever been so glad to see them. She carefully put Hiccup down on Toothless' saddle, and he immediately began rummaging through it until he found what turned out to be another prosthetic foot. Astrid climbed on her dragon while Hiccup adjusted his foot and the tailfin.

"Who are those guys?" he asked her as he finished. He must have realised how easily she'd recognised the assassins.

"I'll tell you later. Let's go." Both dragons took off, and it wasn't until the island was a small speck behind them that Astrid felt better. Next to her, Hiccup's frow was burrowed, and the blonde reminded herself that the other rider had just killed a man, apart from everything else that had happened.

"Hiccup?" she asked tentatively. He looked at her.

"What?"

Where did she even begin? "How are you feeling?" The question felt stupid the moment it left her lips, but it needed to be asked.

He snorted derisively. "How do you think? Now I'm being chased by even more people who are apparently assassins and very good at their job. I'm fantastic."

She sighed. "I know that. I was asking about... the first man."

His expression fell. "Oh." Then it immediately darkened. "I don't want to talk about it."

She hesitated. "It was self-defence. More than that, self-preservation. There was nothing else you could've done. I was never going to be able to lift you both. I would've dropped you."

"I'm well aware."

He wouldn't say any more, it seemed. Very well, then, she'd let him stew on it until he sought her out to talk about it on his own. At some point, he would.

"Anyway, we need to figure out where we're going."

At that, he raised his eyebrows. "I thought we were going back to your camp."

She shook her head. "We can't. The people who are after you... they're extremely dangerous. And they're everywhere. We need to go someplace far away and lay low until they've exhausted themselves searching for you. There's one thing these people lack, and that's patience. If after a week or so they haven't found you, they'll stop looking and will only attack if they happen to see you."

"I still don't understand why we can't just stay in your camp if that's the case."

"Because the way from here to there is the most dangerous", she replied flatly. "They know we ride dragons, and I don't doubt they've prepared for it. They're probably on ships, ready to take down anything in the sky. What's more, if they follow us, they could end up in the camp, and one lone assassin can hide himself easily. No, we need to go somewhere they wouldn't expect us to."

"And that is...?"

"Somewhere that's already dangerous for you. Somewhere the chiefs might be looking." She thought it over. "Meathead would be too risky. Berk, on the other hand..."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"It's the perfect cover. It's the other way, and nobody would expect you to go there."

"And what if anyone finds us?"

"You hid a Night Fury for months, Hiccup. I think we can handle a couple of days there."

"Fair enough", he sighed. "I wonder..."

"What?"

"Has my father told anyone about what happened?"

"You probably know better than me."

"I think Dad would want to handle this on his own. On the other hand, I'm not sure how he'd justify being away for so long." He paused. "Besides, someone like Johann might have spilled the beans already."

"If your father wanted to take care of this by himself, I would imagine that was one of the first things he made sure wouldn't happen."

"Hmm. Could be."

He was clearly deep in thought, and although part of her felt like she shouldn't pry, she was worried.

"What is it?"

"Other than going back home for the first time in... gods, I don't know how long?" He snorted and shook his head. "It's just... what if someone sees me, and I have to act normal? Or, even worse, what if they know and are afraid?"

Astrid sighed. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."