Since it's been requested that I put this: trigger warning for attempted rape of a minor.
"So are we sure that it's safe for me to come with you?" Hiccup asked. He knew Astrid wouldn't have let him go if it hadn't been the case, but he was still nervous. He remembered all too clearly what had happened last time.
"Yes, I'm sure", Astrid answered. "The Ghost's organisation is bound to be in chaos right now, since we took away its leader." She glanced down, where the man in question was hanging limply from Stormfly's paws. "The other assassins won't be sure what to do. And any bounty hunters have long since moved on to other targets."
"Okay. Just checking."
"It's fine. I'm the one who's going to face the biggest struggle, not you."
"How so?"
"I've told you that the Broker underestimates women, but that's sugarcoating it, really. The few times I've spoken with him, he's been insufferably condescending and just insulting. I'll have to try really hard to be nice."
"Well, you do bring him a gift. That should help things."
They reached their destination not long after. Astrid told Hiccup to stay behind while she went to speak with the Broker. Although he understood that he had to make sure the Ghost didn't try to escape, it didn't help his nerves. Despite the fact that Toothless and Stormfly were right there with him, hiding behind some bushes, he jumped every time he thought he heard a twig snap or something move. At last, Astrid arrived, accompanied by a tall, lanky man with a strange moustache.
"Oh", he said, surprised. "That is the Ghost. My lord will be pleased to see him. I suppose I can persuade him to make an appointment with you. Would you be so kind as to bring him to the office?"
"Sure", Astrid replied. "Hiccup, let's go."
Between the two of them, they carried the unconscious man. Clearly, this wasn't Meade Skull, since the man took care to guide them through a route where they passed mostly unseen. A knocked out person would attract attention on a busy road. After a few minutes, they reached a large building. Instead of going in through the front door, though, the man guided them to a side door, guarded by two men. They nodded at the one that was walking with them and stepped aside, letting them in to a small storage room.
"Leave him here. This is a well guarded location; he won't be able to escape. If you please, come now to the waiting room while I speak to my lord."
They took a seat among other people. Some of them looked like pirates, others seemed better but still shady, and others didn't appear to be caught up in any kind of wrong-doing. He also realised that, in tune with what Astrid had said, not one of them was female, and many were staring at the blonde with expressions that ranged from puzzlement to disgust to... things that he didn't want to think about.
"Not everyone here is a criminal", Astrid whispered to him, when she noticed his watching gaze. "The Broker runs many businesses, some legal, some not."
"But don't they know it?" he asked, confused. Surely, if you weren't doing anything wrong but knew the person you were working with was, you wouldn't work with that person.
Then again, he himself was a perfect example of how that wasn't always the case.
"Yes, and they prefer to ignore it. The man is good at what he does, after all."
Some time later, the man (the Broker's assistant, it seemed) came out from the door to the main office.
"My lord will receive you right now", he said. His words were received with some complaints from the others, most of whom had been there before them. "Apologies, but my lord has some urgent business with these two."
The door was promptly shut behind them. The office they were in was probably big, but it seemed small due to all the cupboards lined up on the walls. A lone desk stood on the centre, a man sitting on the other side. He wore an unpleasant smile.
"Well, well, well", he said. "I never thought the day would come when I'd deal with Astrid Hofferson."
"Never say never", Astrid replied with a tight smile.
"I do have to ask, though. How did you know that I'd be interested in the Ghost?"
Her smile this time was a bit more relaxed. "That's none of your business."
"Woman's intuition?"
"If that's what you want to call it."
The Broker shook his head and smiled at Hiccup. "Women and their strange magic, huh?" Hiccup just forced a smile. "And who might you be?"
He glanced for a second at Astrid, who gave the tiniest of nods. "I'm Hiccup Haddock."
"Haddock? The same Haddock that's on the wanted list right now?"
"That'd be me."
"And how did you end up with Hofferson?"
"That's none of your business."
The man smirked. "Of course. I'd never be able to keep a woman, once I bed her, but I suppose other men are different."
From Astrid's expression, it looked like she was trying hard not to roll her eyes. She cleared her throat and luckily changed the subject, because he could feel himself blushing.
"Let's get down to business, shall we?"
The Broker cast him a knowing glance before nodding. "Sit down." They did. "So, I'm assuming you didn't bring me the Ghost as a thoughtful gift. What did you want?"
"Information about Viggo Grimborn."
The man smirked. "Straight to the point. That's one thing that sets you apart from all women, I suppose."
Hiccup noticed her fist clenching under the desk, where the other man couldn't see it. "So do you have it?"
"Do I have it? Obviously. I know a lot of things about him. But you can't get all of them for one gift. You need to be more specific."
"Fine. I need something that's so important to his business, that the loss of it would completely destroy it."
The Broker arched his eyebrows. "Well, that's quite specific. And not so easy to come by."
"Do you have it or not?"
"Be patient, woman." The man got up and walked to one of the cupboards, from where he pulled a parchment out. "Let's see if anything in here looks like what you asked." He scanned the page, until he exclaimed, "Aha!"
"What is it?" Astrid's irritation didn't show in her voice, but Hiccup could see how tense she was. It was strange to see her be so affected by a situation, and he wondered if there was something else behind her attitude that he was missing.
"Well, I don't exactly know. But it's kept away in Dragon Nesting."
"One of the most secure storage places in the archipelago", Astrid explained to him. Before he could answer, the Broker did.
"He's a man. I'm sure he can figure that out by himself."
Astrid didn't say anything, but her whole demeanour changed. Her body seemingly relaxed, even her face. Although her blue eyes were apparently calm, he could still see the fire burning behind them, and understood she was just concealing her anger as best she could.
With a start, he realised that he knew her well enough to see behind the facade. Huh.
Not knowing what else to do, he reached for her hand under the table and squeezed it. A gentle reminder that even if this guy was an absolute asshole, he was here for her. She glanced over at him and although her face didn't move in the slightest, her eyes warmed up.
"Anyway", the Broker continued. "Viggo keeps something important in Dragon Nesting, and I think that, whatever it is, it might be what you're looking for."
"And I'm assuming you have access to it", Astrid responded. "The question is, are you going to make this easy or hard?"
"Meaning?"
"Are you going to give me the key, or do I have to try and secure the whole place myself?"
The Broker considered her for a long time. "Normally, I'd say you're on your own. However... you did bring me a very unique gift. On the other hand, Viggo will be very cross with me if I just reveal his information. So how about a trade? I help you, and you help me later?"
"Well, if everything goes well, Viggo may not keep his power for much longer. So sure."
"Excellent! Now, we do need to arrange all the details. Five days from now should be enough for me to prepare everything. We'll meet at the Nesting."
"I have to make preparations as well. I have a man here. You can give him the details, and he'll contact me."
"I doubt he'll have time to get to where you are", the Broker said to Astrid like she was an idiot. Gods, this man was really pissing Hiccup off.
"Oh, he won't be getting to where I am. Trust me. I have my ways." She winked. "Woman's ways."
Hiccup grinned at her smug face and the Broker's annoyance.
"I know you warned me", he said later, as they walked back to the dragons, "but... wow. I didn't know guys who think like that still existed."
"Oh, they do, and in my area of expertise, even more."
"Why do you let it affect you so much, though? I don't think I've ever seen anything get under your skin like that before."
She took a deep breath. "It's just... for the majority of my life, I encountered that same attitude everywhere I went. I got more than a little sick of it. I like to think I've put it behind me, but..."
"Oh." So not only did it remind her of her childhood, it probably made her feel as though all of her work had been for nothing. He supposed it made sense.
Suddenly, some child's screams broke the relative silence. They turned around and saw a little girl being dragged to a hut by a much older man.
"Leave me alone!" the girl pleaded. "Please!" The man just took her inside and shut the door.
Hiccup was going to ask Astrid if they should intervene, but he didn't get the chance; she was already running towards the hut, so he ran right behind her. They burst inside and looked around; there was seemingly nobody on the lower floor. Then another cry came from upstairs. They climbed up as quickly as they could.
The sight they met was one that would not vanish soon from Hiccup's mind; the little girl had been thrown on the bed, her shirt removed, skirt pushed up. The man had pushed his trousers down and was leaning over her. It was absolutely sickening.
Before he could even think to react, Astrid had already done so. In an instant, her axe was in her hand and she was standing right behind the man. She'd moved so quickly and silently that the bastard never knew what was coming for him. The axe raised and came down on the back of his head with a thud, opening a hole in the middle, spluttering blood on Astrid's hands. She quickly shoved him to the side and he fell on the floor unceremoniously, but Astrid wasn't paying attention. She was looking at the girl, who was alternatively glancing between the blonde and the dead man with terror written all over her face.
"It's okay", Astrid said then, in a gentle, cooing voice that he'd never heard her use. The kind of voice you would reserve for soothing spooked dragons. "He's not going to hurt you anymore. And I'm not going to hurt you." She kneeled at the foot of the bed. Hiccup was confused for a second, until he understood that, by lowering herself, Astrid was making herself look as non-threatening as possible. Probably the same reason why she hadn't retrieved her axe yet.
The girl just continued to stare at her, wide-eyed.
"Do you know where your mum is?" Astrid went on. "I can take you to her."
It was silent for a while. Astrid didn't move, so neither did Hiccup, not wanting to scare the girl. At last, she spoke, in a timid, quiet voice.
"My mum's dead."
"Oh. What about your dad?"
"I don't know. We were at the market, but then this man said he was a friend of my dad, and took me..." she trailed off and started to cry softly.
"Hey, it's fine. He's dead now. He can't do anything to you now. Can he?" The girl looked at her for a second before shaking her head hesitantly. "Exactly. So, you say your dad was at the market? Do you think maybe we can go find him?"
"I don't know", the girl answered in a scared voice. "There were a lot of people, and I lost dad, and I don't know!" She started crying again.
"Can I come closer?" Astrid asked gently. Hiccup was confused by her words, and so was the girl, apparently, because she gave her a questioning look. "I won't come any closer if you don't want me to", the older woman explained.
The girl nodded, just barely, and Astrid slowly walked around the bed. The girl watched her warily as she sat down next to her. The blonde pick up the girl's shirt and offered it to her. Ah, smart, Hiccup thought. The girl might be more willing to talk if she didn't feel so vulnerable. After a short moment of hesitation, she took it and put it on.
"Now", Astrid said, "I want you to think. Can you do that for me?" The girl nodded. "What's your name?"
"Kari", she answered.
"All right, Kari. Do you know where your house is?"
"Yes. But I think I'm lost."
"If we went to the market, do you know how to get to your house from there?"
"Yes, dad and I go along that path plenty of times." She teared up again. "But I don't know where the market is!"
"That's okay, Kari. I do. I can take you there."
Kari looked up at her in wonder. "You can?"
"Yes, I can. And from there we can go to your house. Your dad will be there eventually, right?"
The little girl nodded, and Astrid smiled.
"All right then." She got up from the bed and walked away a few steps. "Shall we go?"
Slowly, Kari got up from the bed, on the opposite side of where the dead man was lying. She walked towards Astrid, then stopped and stared at her for a second.
Hiccup was astonished when she suddenly wrapped herself around Astrid's legs and started sobbing, but he was even more surprised when she expertly picked up the girl and hugged her to her chest, murmuring reassurances.
"All right, we're going." She turned her head to him and gestured at her axe. He understood. She was afraid the axe might scare Kari. Hiccup walked over to the man and, trying not to look at him, retrieved the axe. They went downstairs, and he noticed Astrid was sort of rocking Kari in her arms.
While they walked along the town, Hiccup wondered where this maternal side of Astrid came from. Sure, he'd seen her care for her dragon and other people before, but this was completely different. She'd known exactly how to soothe the little girl and get her to trust her, almost as if...
Oh.
Of course. He'd forgotten about it, but Astrid had been in that situation before. No wonder she'd acted so fast. She probably knew exactly how the other girl felt. Plus, he also remembered how she'd told him that her father refused to harm children. It was probably part of those strange morals she'd been taught. Although in this case, they made perfect sense.
Even so, it was still strange to see someone like her running to the aid of an innocent girl. It was what any decent person would do, and it reminded him that there was a kind, gentle side to her. He idly wondered what she'd be like as a mother. He was sure that she'd be the first person to laugh at the notion, but he could still try to imagine it. After what he'd just seen, it didn't seem so crazy.
Suddenly, a man cried out. "Kari!"
The girl turned in Astrid's arms. "Daddy!" she exclaimed. The man ran towards them and all but ripped his daughter from the other woman.
"What were you-"
"Let me stop you right there: I didn't do anything. In fact, I stopped someone from doing something to her."
"There was a big, scary man", Kari said. "He dragged me, and he... he took off my shirt, daddy, I told him not to, but-"
"It's okay, honey." The man's face transformed in an instant, understanding the situation immediately. Now his expression was one of horror. "It's over."
"Nothing happened", Astrid amended. "I made sure of it."
"Is he-"
"Yes."
The girl's father looked relieved. "Thank you", he said sincerely. He looked at Hiccup too. "Thank you."
Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Considering he hadn't really done anything, he wasn't sure he deserved those thanks.
The man looked back down at his daughter and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Let's go home, honey." He thanked them once more before walking away.
Once the man had left, they started their way back to the dragons.
"That was... impressive", he said, for lack of a better word.
"What?" Astrid smiled. "You've seen me in battle. I'm sure I've done more impressive things than that."
"You know what I mean."
"I told you, children are innocent, that's something my father taught me. I won't let any harm come to them."
"I know. I just... didn't expect you to be so..." He had a feeling she'd punch him if he said maternal. "Good with children."
"Nah, I'm not. I just... knew how she must be feeling, is all." Her voice had grown quiet by the end, and Hiccup knew what she was thinking about. So he was right, after all.
He'd already said everything there was to be said on that particular topic, so he kept quiet and instead took her hand. (He was doing that a lot recently. Whatever. It didn't have to mean anything.)
Fulk watched the two people walking away, hand in hand. He'd seen them go in the Broker's house, but then he lost them when they got out. He hadn't been sure at the time, but now that he got a good look at them, they were definitely Hofferson and that Haddock kid.
As a middle-rank officer, Fulk knew that Viggo kept something important with the Broker, although he didn't know what. And if Hofferson had been in his house, she'd most likely been talking with him about that thing.
Viggo would want to know about this.