Hiccup sits down at the desk in the back room with a heavy sigh, feeling absolutely exhausted. After his father had walked him to the forge, Gobber had almost immediately put the boy to work. He barely had the chance to look in the back and confirm that Astrid's letter was, in fact, where he had left it.

Since then, Hiccup had been busy non-stop, pumping the bellows, hammering hot metal into shape, and helping Gobber with an endless stream of tasks. It seemed that the man was trying to make up for lost time, since Hiccup had been unable to do as much for the last week and a half while his bad leg healed.

Now Hiccup finally has a chance to sit down and relax. The two had worked well into the afternoon, only stopping after Gobber was satisfied that if they worked any further that the boy would, in fact, collapse.

Hiccup had wanted to go to the Great Hall and eat, but the smith wasn't quite done the task he was working on. Since he wasn't going to let the boy walk about on his own, Gobber had told him to wait until he was ready, then they would go together. So naturally, the next thing the lad did was go into the back room so he could finally read Astrid's letter from yesterday.

Fumbling around in the dark of the windowless room, he finds one of the candles. After a few tries with the flint and steel, the wax starts to burn, illuminating the small space with a soft light. Hiccup then turns his attention to the letter that Astrid sent to him yesterday. Eagerly, he starts to read.

My darling Hiccup, I can't find the words to say how happy I was to spend yesterday morning with you. Being so close to you was wonderful, as always. I love touching you as I did, and I especially love the way you touched me. Even now, I get warm and tingly inside, just thinking about it.

As he reads, a wide smile blooms upon the boy's face. He draws in a deep breath as he feels himself reacting to the memories that his girlfriend's letter invokes. He sighs with a mixture of satisfaction and frustration, then continues to read.

Unfortunately, that will have to be the last time we can be together until after the Harvest's End Festival. I told my Mom that we saw each other and she got very upset. She's really worried that my Father is up to something, that he doesn't really want us to get married. So, she's made me promise not to see you again until after we're betrothed, either by my Father's agreement with Stoic, or by her plan with Stoic at the Festival.

Hiccup frowns at her words. The irony of it all cuts with razor sharpness. If only they had both listened to Stoic and Freja from the start, then maybe Thorsten wouldn't have gotten as close to killing him as he did last night.

Still, no one got hurt, and now they all know what he was up to. Nobody will make the same mistake with him as they just did.

All the same, Sunday can't arrive quickly enough for Hiccup.

With a sigh, he goes on to read the last of her letter.

It really hurts to have to stay away from you, my dearest love. But, I made a promise to my Mom. In my head, I know she's right, and seven days really isn't that long at all. But still, my heart aches with every day that I don't see you. I love you more than I can say with words, Hiccup. I won't be happy until we're together, betrothed, and we have our future together without any thing to come between us. All my love, Astrid

Hiccup sighs from he tips of his toes as he reads finishes reading, sitting back in his chair as he takes it in. He thinks about all that happened in the last couple of days, shaking his head. After a few moments of thinking, he grabs a blank piece of paper to write his next letter to her.

Just as he starts to put charcoal to paper, there's a knock at the door.

The boy's heart jumps into his throat as he suddenly feels like he did last night, after he realized that Thorsten had come here for his blood.

He knows that's ridiculous, though. Gobber wouldn't have left him here alone.

Unless…maybe they took care of Gobber…?

"Who is it?" he asks, annoyed by the anxiety that creeps into his voice, which cracks as he speaks.

"It's me, Hiccup," the boy hears Gobber's muffled answer from the other side of the door. "Ye've got a visitor out here."

The lad blinks, wondering who it might be. With just a moment's hesitation, he gets up and hobbles over to the door, unbolting and opening it.

To his surprise, he sees Ruffnutt standing at the door, with Gobber behind her, watching the twin with a measure of concern. Hiccup can't help but smirk at this. Given the well-deserved reputation that she and her brother have for destruction, it's only natural that the smith would be worried about her being in his shop.

"Hey there, Ruff," Hiccup greets her. "What brings you this way?"

"Astrid gave me her next letter to give to you," she says quietly, pulling the paper out of her pocket. The boy lights up at the sight of it, he hadn't expected another letter so soon. He reaches for it, but the girl keeps it out of his reach.

"First, we need to talk," she tells him sternly.

Hiccup lifts an eyebrow at the serious tone in the girl's voice. After a moment's hesitation, he nods. "Sure, Ruff. What's up?"

The girl shakes her head. "Not here," she says quietly. Glancing over Hiccup's shoulder, she peers into the dimly lit room behind him. "Can we talk inside?" she asks, meeting his gaze again.

Wrinkling his brow at the unusual request, Hiccup hesitates. Sensing his uncertainty, the girl adds quietly, "it's about Astrid."

Hiccup purses his lips, worried for what she wants to discuss about his girlfriend. Nodding solemnly, the boy moves aside to let her in. Without hesitation, she steps inside while he looks around outside.

Gobber is the only one he sees. The smith lifts an eyebrow as he watches the twin step inside the backroom. Hiccup can only shrug, then turns to step inside.

"Okay, Ruff, what's going on?" he asks her.

"Close the door first," she tells him, glancing nervously past him.

The boy hesitates, wondering what the girl intends. He feels nervous, half wondering if she's intending to try something that he'd only want to do with Astrid.

Seeing the look on his face, the girl rolls her eyes and sighs in frustration. Taking matters into her own hands, she walks over and closes the door, turning to face him with a measure of irritation.

"Hiccup," she says, "Astrid told me about her Dad."

He looks at the twin with wide, shocked eyes. Suddenly the boy feels even more nervous, though now it's for entirely different reasons.

"Uhm, I…uh," he finds he can no longer keep eye contact with her. "I have…no idea what you're, uh…talking about," he starts to say when she interrupts him.

"She told me about how he tried to kill you last night." she says resolutely, drawing Hiccup's gaze back to her.

"Oh?" he says, his voice cracking. He's still anxious, though a little relieved. He thought she had meant the other thing. After a moment's hesitation, he nods and admits, "Yeah, that, uh…happened," he starts to elaborate, when she cuts him off again.

"She also told me how her Dad beats her," Ruffnutt says firmly, watching the lad intently for his reaction. His jaw hangs slack at her words as he looks at her in disbelief.

"Uh…I, uhm…I," the boy sputters again, very anxious now. Astrid had told him to not tell anyone, else she'd end their relationship. But now with Ruffnutt claiming his girlfriend told her, he's not sure what to do.

"Oh, also," Ruffnutt suddenly adds, as if she just remembered it, "Astrid said it was okay to talk with me about it. She said she won't break up with you over it."

Hiccup watches Ruffnutt with a perplexed gaze, trying to figure out if there was someway her words could be untrue.

After a few moments' consideration, he breathes a sigh of relief, visibly relaxing. He walks to his chair, eager to take the weight off of his leg.

"Okay," he says as he sits and looks back at her with a measure of concern. "So, yeah…she told me about that, too." She can tell by the look on his face that it bothers him as much as it bothers her.

"That's pretty messed up," Ruffnutt says after an awkward silence as the two try and figure out what to say about it.

"Yeah," Hiccup agrees simply.

"How…how much do you know?" she asks, adding, "she didn't really tell me any details."

Shrugging, Hiccup admits, "Yeah, she didn't tell me too much, either. I pretty much had to threaten to break up with her to get her to admit that anything was going on at all."

Ruffnutt snorts in amusement, "yeah, that's pretty much what I had to do, threaten her." Hiccup grins slightly as she adds, "I told her I wouldn't carry her letters to you anymore." The boy nods, chuckling slightly.

"How bad is it?" Ruffnutt asks, her brow furrowing in concern for their mutual friend.

Sighing heavily, Hiccup runs his fingers through his hair and pauses as he considers his answer. "I'm not really sure," he says, "but a week and a half ago, I know he gave her a bad bruise on her back, and choked her." Ruffnutt scowls, her eyes showing the angusih she feels for her friend, mixed with anger.

"I don't think he's hurt her since then," Hiccup says, "but…now that his plan has gone to pieces…"

Ruffnutt purses her lips and swallows nervously, nodding as she quickly sees why he's so concerned. "If he hurts her again," she starts to say in a threatening tone, to which Hiccup only smiles sadly. Even to her, it feels like an empty threat. Both know that neither of them could do much to harm Thorsten.

"Yeah…I know," Hiccup says, sighing again. "Unfortunately, I don't think we can do anything," he points out, ever the realist.

"Maybe…maybe we should tell someone," she suggests halfheartedly. Hiccup immediately looks concerned at her idea, shaking his head.

"I don't know about you," he answers, "but Astrid made it clear to me that if I said a word, she'd end our relationship." Ruffnutt scowls as she remembers the similar threat her friend made to her, in exchange for sharing this darkest part of her life.

The boy goes on, "I'm not going to risk that, unless I think her life is in danger."

Ruffnutt nods. "Yeah," she admits, "she threatened me too, said our friendship would be over if I ever did that." Hiccup frowns, disappointed but not surprised. The twin then looks at him, worried, "but, Hiccup…since her Dad tried to kill you, do you…do you think he might kill her?"

Hiccup hesitates, then replies, "I'm worried about that too, but my Dad doesn't think she's in danger." Ruffnutt lifts an eyebrow at mention of Stoic, so Hiccup quickly amends, "I didn't tell him anything about how her father abuses her, but Dad and I talked last night after Thorsten tried to kill me. I said I was worried for Astrid's safety, given what her Father tried to do to me last night. My Dad said she was more valuable to him to marry off, to try and make an alliance outside the tribe so he could better try and become chief."

Ruffnutt nods, satisfied that the boy hadn't broken his promise to Astrid and had kept her secret. Inwardly, she wonders what she would do if he had. She's very worried for her friend, and wants to tell someone who could help, like her parents, maybe Stoic.

Like Hiccup, however, she doesn't want to risk losing Astrid as part of her life in an effort to save her from her next beating.

But that makes her feel like a lousy friend, not a good one.

Looking at the dark expression on Hiccup's face, she can tell he feels the same way.

"So," she starts to say, "what do we do?"

Shrugging, the boy answers, "I guess we wait." The twin frowns all the more, her shoulder slumping at the answer she expected, but didn't want to hear.

"Sunday isn't that far off," he adds, to which Ruffnutt nods, looking a bit less dejected.

"Since you can see her, though," he starts to say, causing her to lift an eyebrow in curiosity, "promise me you'll keep an eye on her, will you?" The girl starts to smile at the concern Hiccup shows for Astrid. "I'm really afraid that her Dad is going to hurt her now that his plan is ruined."

Ruffnutt nods without hesitation. "I will," she says, "though…I don't know what good it'll do." The boy looks at her with a mixture of confusion and frustration. "I mean, let's say her Dad hurts her again…what're we going to do? Tell someone?" Hiccup frowns in resignation at her words. "You know what she'll do if either of us do that…"

Sighing heavily, he nods. "I know, I know, but," he pauses, then adds, "we can at least make sure he doesn't hurt her too badly…" The twin gives him a skeptical look. "I…I just want to make sure she's safe," he tries to explain, though the words frustrate him. Both of them know how powerless they are.

"Yeah," the twin finally says. "Me too." The two smile at each other slightly, feeling an unusual and unexpected bond, by way of their mutual friend.

Hiccup opens his mouth to say something more when suddenly the door opens up. The daylight that briefly streams inside is almost immediately cut off by the large shape of Gobber as he peers inside.

"Let's go, Hiccup," he says, watching the two of them with a penetrating gaze. Hiccup wonders what his master thought the two of them were doing, alone in this room. "Time t'get some lunch…"

Hiccup hestitates for only a moment before nodding. He gathers up Astrid's older letter from the table and folds it up, walking towards the door and the two that watch him.

As he passes by Ruffnutt, she grabs his wrist and pushes Astrid's latest letter in his hand. He stops in his tracks and looks at her with a measure of surprise, even though he knew she had it to give to him.

"Come find me when you've got your next letter for her," the twin says evenly, adding, "but don't take too long. She'd never admit it, but I bet she really needs to hear from you right now."

Hiccup nods at the girl's sage words, smiling slightly as he puts both letters in the inside pocket in his fur vest.

"I will," he says. "I'll have a new letter for you by tonight."

Ruffnutt smiles in return, then slips out the door past Gobber and walks straight out of the shop. Hiccup looks up at Gobber, who looks down at him with a gentle gaze.

"Come on, Hiccup," the man says with a gentle smile. "Let's go eat."

The sun is well past its peak as Freja makes her way through the crowded market, the descending orb casting ever lengthening shadows about the square. Ostensibly, the woman had come out here to buy vegetables for the stew she is making, but in truth she's hoping to find Stoic. Although she knows her husband was lying to Astrid the other night, she still wants to talk with the chief and make certain that everything will be ready come Sunday.

The woman doesn't have to go very far to find him, she sees him standing by the leathersmith's stall, talking with the shop keeper. As she expected, the chief appears to be making his rounds, checking in on the merchants and dealing with their problems.

Walking up to the stall, she only glances at the large warrior, then quickly turns her attention to the various wares laid out on the table. Just before she looks away, Stoic looks over, meeting her gaze for less than a heartbeat.

Paying him no further mind, she picks up a headband that is not unlike the one Astrid wears. As she does, Stoic continues to listen to the leatherworker, though he glances at the woman once or twice more.

After a few moments looking at the merchandise, Freja walks away. As she turns to go, she casts one last glance at Stoic, who meets her gaze and gives the most fleeting of nods. The chief hurriedly finishes his conversation with the leathersmith, and excuses himself.

Astrid's mother smiles ever so slightly as she slowly makes her way through the market until she reaches a vegetable stand. Looking through the various foods on display, she waits patiently. It's not long before Stoic comes to stand beside her. Neither look at one another, each studiously investigating the food spread out before them, sometimes picking up an item and investigating it, Freja puts a few in her basket.

"I'm glad y'came out," Stoic says quietly. "I'd a mind t'talk wit'ya after what happened, but I've not 'ad th'chance…"

Freja suppresses a grin as she can already tell from his tone of voice that all is as she expected. Still, she wants to hear it from him.

"I know," she answers just as softly. "Are we going to be ready for Sunday?" she asks while she picks up a turnip and looks it over.

"Aye," Stoic answers without hesitation. "Vali an'Gobber 'ave arranged most matters fer me, an'I've spoken t'a'few myself. You do what's needed. We'll take care o'th'rest," he says resolutely.

"Good," she says, then puts the turnip and a few more vegetables in her basket. She walks over to the merchant with a smile, trades a few words and coin with him, then turns and starts to walk away, her path taking her by the chief.

"You an'Astrid stay safe," he says quietly as he turns to go the opposite way, the two making eye contact as they pass.

The woman says nothing, but nods slightly at his words, drawing in a deep breath as she grips the basket tightly. His words ring too true for her. She knows that now she and Astrid are in more danger than ever before.

Still, all she can do is wait until Sunday.

It will all be resolved then.

Opening the heavy door to his home, Hiccup hobbles in. The room is dark and cold. As expected, his father is out somewhere taking care of business for the tribe. The boy doesn't mind. In fact, he prefers the solitude right now. He still has Astrid's latest letter to read, tucked in his vest pocket along with her letter from yesterday.

The boy glances back outside to see Toothless eagerly eating the pile of fish that was just given to him. He smiles at the sight of his friend so happy. The flight they had just taken together had been exactly what both of them had needed. The Nightfury was clearly going a little stir crazy, and Hiccup needed some quiet time to himself to think about everything.

After lunch, Hiccup had pleaded with Gobber to let him go flying. The smith almost hadn't let him, not wanting the boy to be alone, but the boy pointed out that Toothless was quite capable of protecting him. Besides, Thorsten doesn't like dragons, nor does he have one of his own that he can use to chase after him and his Nightfury. Reluctantly, Gobber agreed, but told his apprentice to go straight home afterwards.

For once, Hiccup obeyed.

Now, as he closes the door and walks in to build the fire, the lad takes in a deep breath. He feels better, the exhaustion from such a long filght having cleared his mind quite nicely. After piling wood into the pit, he lights the stack and coaxes the flames into a roaring fire. With a contented sigh, the boy stands and watches the result of his labor with a satisfied gaze, enjoying the warmth as it washes over him.

Once the chill has left his bones, he hobbles over to the larder to pick out a piece of salted meat, which he starts to gnaw on. Making his way back to the table by the fire, Hiccup seats himself and takes out Astrid's letters to him. Setting the older one to the side, he opens the latest one that Ruffnutt gave him this morning and starts to read.

My darling Hiccup, I never imagined in my worst nightmares that my Father would try to kill you. Thank Thor, Odin, and all the Gods that you weren't harmed. Visions of what would have happened, if not for Stoic, terrorized me last night in my sleep. I woke, frightened out of my mind, feeling like I had truly lost you. I never want feel that way again. I love you so much, Hiccup. I couldn't bear life without you.

Hiccup purses his lips as he reads, his heart contracting as he thinks of what Astrid had gone through this morning. Granted, he had his own nightmares about the experience, but he takes a moment to think of what it would have been like if their roles had been reversed, if Astrid had been the one whose life was in danger.

A cold shiver runs through him as he considers it. In his heart he yearns to go to Astrid, to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her, to tell her how much he loves her and that he'll never let her go.

Still, he knows he can't. Not after last night and not until Sunday.

With a heavy sigh, Hiccup reads on.

After you let me out through the back door, I stayed around until I knew you were safe. I couldn't believe what Halvar and my Father told Stoic. I wanted to jump in there and kill them both. If revealing myself wouldn't have put you at risk, I probably would have.

Hiccup frowns slightly at her words, disturbed by her angry reaction to the lies her father and her father's friend told. The girl's violent streak was not unexpected, but he was surprised by her talk of wanting to kill her father and his friend.

She's probably just being overly dramatic, he reasons, then continues reading.

It goes without saying that now we really can't see each other anymore, not until Sunday and everything is arranged. My Mom is absolutely certain that Stoic never said any of those things that my Father claimed he did, but she's going to meet with him today and find out for sure. Of course, I imagine you'll have already confirmed that with your Dad, probably before you even read this letter. Please, write me with anything you learn from him. Also, tell me what you and he talked about afterwards. Is he planning on doing anything different? What's he have to say about what happened? Is he going to do anything about my Father before Sunday? Above all, Hiccup, I want to hear from you, as soon as possible. I need to hear from you. I miss you so much, and after what happened, it hurts all the more to be away from you. Sunday isn't going to come fast enough to suit me. Please, write me back, today. All my love, Astrid

Hiccup sighs heavily as he reads the last of his girlfriend's letter. The emotions wash over him as he feels his own loneliness well up inside at her words. Again, he feels the urge to run to her, but chuckles at the absurdity of the notion.

As frustrating as it is, his only recourse right now is to write back to her and get the letter in the hands of one of the twins tonight, so Astrid can get it tomorrow, hopefully early.

Without hesitation, he grabs a blank piece of paper from the small stack he keeps on the table. Picking up the piece of charcoal that sits next to the pile, Hiccup starts to write his reply.

It isn't long before he's done, the words pouring out of his heart as he thinks about the last few days and her letter to him. Folding the letter up, he seals it with some wax from the candle on the table. Gathering up her letters to him, he blows on the wax until it's hard and then puts all three in his vest pocket.

The boy jumps up and heads out the back door, closing the wooden portal behind him. Making his way to the Nightfury, Hiccup smiles as he sees his friend finishing the last of his dinner.

"Heya, bud," he says. "We need to make one last, quick flight for tonight."

Toothless warbles in pleasant confusion at his companion's words and actions, but happily lets the lad mount him. The two launch into the air and head quickly to the twins' home.

As the setting sun shines its last rays across the water, Rangvaldr looks out from the prow of his boat that cuts its way through the dark, rippling surface of the sea. Leaning forward with one foot on the rim of the longboat, he grips the neck of the carved dragon head that towers over him and the other sailors on the study vessel. In the dying light of the day's sun, the rough-cut man looks out at the horizon. By his reckoning, they should reach Berk by sunrise.

His ruler had sent him with a very specific mission that would require finesse, guile, and careful judgement. Ever since the Hooligans had taken up with the dragons, none of the other tribes had sent an emissary. He would be the first.

The man has little doubt that he would never have been sent if it weren't for the message his master had received from Thorsten. It was no secret even beyond the Hooligan lands that Stoic's long-lived rival still had ambitions of becoming chief one day.

Frowning as he wonders what he'll find on this isle of dragons, the man stares out at the dark line of the horizon. Like many others outside of the isle of Berk, he found the idea of befriending the dragons to be disturbing and unnatural. None would have guessed that Stoic the Vast would have ever made that choice, given the way his wife was lost to the scaly reptiles.

It left many to wonder if he was still fit to rule a Viking tribe.

With a dour expression, Rangvaldr steps down from the prow and walks the length of his ship to the stern. Tomorrow morning he shall find out soon enough what the chief was made of, if he still had his mettle or not.

Guiding Stormfly down into her back yard, Astrid squints to see better in the pale moonlight, looking for the best place to land. The dragon touches down safely and without difficulty, but the girl does not yet dismount. Instead she glances at the back door to her home, grimacing at the prospect of going inside. She had purposefully stayed out all day and into the night, not wanting to face her father after what he had tried to do to her boyfriend last night.

It still leaves her queasy, how close he had come to taking the life of her lover. She hopes that maybe he has already gone to bed, but she doubts that very much.

Her entire day had been spent with her friends, the last couple of hours alone with Ruffnutt in the Great Hall, after the boys had decided to call it a night. The two girlfriends had sat in a corner and talked in hushed whispers amongst the noisy crowd, Astrid taking the opportunity to finally open up to someone about what she and Hiccup had been going through. Sometimes the conversation strayed to her father and the abuse she suffered at his hands, but the girl could never manage to talk about that for more than a few words.

The shame was still too great.

Besides, the more time went on, the more Astrid realized that if she was going to share the details of that dark part of her life with anyone, it was going to be Hiccup.

When suddenly the dragon shifts restlessly beneath her, the girl realizes that she can't put off going inside forever. As it is, she's probably made matters worse by staying out so long, but she couldn't bring herself to come home any sooner. In fact, if it wasn't for Ruffnutt insisting they end their evening, she would have probably waited a few more hours still.

With a heavy sigh, the girl dismounts and sees to feeding Stormfly. Her companion seems happy enough to get her evening meal, but as the blonde haired girl dumps the food, the dragon nudges her affectionately.

Smiling slightly, Astrid pets her dear friend where she likes it the most. "I'm fine girl, really," she whispers. It always amazed her how the dragon seemed to be able to read her moods. "It'll all be okay. I just need to make it to Sunday…"

Another sigh. It was only five days away, but it still seemed like an eternity.

Well, standing out here in the cold wasn't going to make it come any faster. Getting a good night's sleep would do that, however.

Which meant she would have to go inside, now.

"Sleep tight, girl," she whispers to Stormfly, patting the dragon on her neck. "I'll see you in the morning." He companion nuzzles her once more, then starts to eat the pile of fish that Astrid had set out for her. The blonde then reluctantly steps away, dragging the empty basket back to the house. Setting it in the stack, she grips the door handle and pauses, trying to put off the inevitable for just a few more moments.

With a heavy sigh, she opens the door and forces herself to step inside.

The heat and light of the fire wash over her as she enters her house, but Astrid doesn't notice. She's too worried about where her father might be. After a moment or two, she sees him sitting at the table and staring into the fire. As expected, he has an open bottle of mead in his hand. A plate with the remains of a meal sits before him, also. The blonde girl is glad for this, as he's less likely to be too drunk if he's got a belly full of food.

"So you decided to come home," he says suddenly, not taking his eyes off of the fire.

Astrid tenses at his words and the underlying anger that runs thick beneath them. Anxiously, she looks about for her mother, finding her sitting in her chair near the fire, working on sewing something. The woman looks up at her daughter with a worried expression, their eyes locking onto one another as the silence starts to grow thick.

Sensing her father's growing impatience, the girl suddenly blurts out, "I was out with my friends today, father." She hesitates, then adds, "we spent the day together, then had dinner at the Great Hall." As she speaks, she keeps her eyes fixed upon her mother, who stares back at her anxiously. Each realize that one mis-step here could be painful for them both.

"Indeed?" her father asks, his eyes still set upon the flames. "I haven't seen you since you ran out the door last night to talk to Hiccup." Astrid grits her teeth at his words, fear running down her spine. Suddenly she finds herself desperately wishing that she'd made the time today to talk with her mother so they could get their stories straight. She has no idea what has already been told to the man.

"So how did that go?" he asks casually, turning his attention towards her. In spite of the rims under his eyes from too much drink, his gaze is as intense as always. "Did you meet with the boy last night? Were you able to convince him to talk to Stoic?"

Astrid takes one last moment to stare at her mother before looking over to her father. It's clear by the look on the woman's face that she also wishes they could have spoken before now. But nothing can be done about that anymore.

The girl can only hope that her mother didn't try to come up with her own story about last night.

Turning her gaze to the man that she's come to hate so much, Astrid answers, "Yes, I met with him last night." Gods but she hopes she's making the right choice. "But he turned me away," she lies. "He wouldn't speak to me." Desperately, she tries to keep her voice even. Her heart pounds in her chest as fear clutches her body.

"Is that so?" her father asks with a suspicious voice. He stares wordlessly at her, watching her with a hawklike gaze. The girl sets her jaw, trying desperately to keep the fear from her face.

"Why do you think he did that?" her father finally asks after what seems like an eternity, his voice cold as ice. "Doesn't he love you?" he asks in a baiting tone.

The girl's stomach turns at his words. She hadn't thought her story through very well, she had only been thinking to tell a tale that would fit what she knew he had experienced last night at the forge.

"I, uh…" she falters, her gaze falling from his as her mind scrambles for a plausible answer. "I don't know," she mutters, not knowing what else to say. She continues to keep her eyes on the floor, feeling his gaze upon her still.

After a moment, she dares to look up at her father. The man says nothing, but watches her intently. She swallows heavily, staring back at him defiantly.

Then a wicked smile slowly blooms upon his face, making Astrid's blood run cold.

"Well," he says. "It would seem that Hiccup's affections for you were not as deep as you had hoped." In spite of the absurdity of her father's assertion, she cannot help but ball up her fists and clench her jaw in anger.

Seeing his daughter react so to his words only causes Thorsten to smile all the more.

"So I suppose that is that. I gave Stoic a chance to give me a contract for you to wed Hiccup, but it seems he's tossed that aside." With a shrug, he adds dismissively, "T'is just as well. While Stoic has dithered about, I've managed to strike a better deal with someone else."

Astrid's expression contorts in horror as he goes on to say, "An emissary from the Meathead tribe will be arriving in a day or so. He brings along your future husband."

The girl feels numb as his smile stretches wickedly.

"You'll be married by Saturday."