"What?!" Astrid cries in shock at her father's words.
"Have you grown deaf, my darling daughter?" Thorsten asks sardonically, clearly enjoying the effect his words are having on her. "I said, you will be married by this Saturday to the heir of the Meathead tribe. Their emissary should be here within a day or two."
The girl can't help the anger that roils up inside of her, a passionate feeling that quickly displaces the fear she had felt.
"No," she says sternly, with a conviction that puts a look of horror on her mother's face.
"What did you say?" her father asks with a dangerous tone.
"Astrid," her mother suddenly intones, speaking up for the first time since her daughter came home tonight, "why don't you-"
"I SAID NO!" the girl barks back at her father, interrupting her mother and clenching her fists tightly. Her eyes never leave the man, who's rage at her reaction visibly smolders on his face.
Astrid knows her mother is trying to save her from herself, but right now she just doesn't care.
She's tired of this man. She's sick of the way he's run her life.
She hates him for trying to kill the boy she loves.
She's had enough.
Thorsten's gaze narrows at the girl. He stands, bringing himself up to his full height, which towers over his daughter.
"You'll do as I say, child," he warns her with a dangerous whisper.
Freja drops her sewing and stands, hurrying over to the girl. "Astrid, please, just-"
"Like Hel I will!" she barks back at her father, stepping forward towards him. "You sabotaged the negotiations with Stoic, I know it!" she snarls, "you never wanted the contract to happen!" The man clenches his fists at her words, and she presses on regardless, "you can go to Hel, father!"
The man moves quickly, closing the distance between them and swinging the back of his hand forward. Astrid tries to duck, but he catches the side of her head and the blow sends her to the ground. She grunts from the pain.
As she falls to the ground, the girl hears her mother cry out, but Astrid is past reason. Tumbling down she lands into a crouch and draws the dagger that she put in her belt this morning.
Thorsten looks over in shock at the sound of steel being drawn and hesitates for only a moment before he suddenly draws his own dagger.
"NO!" Freja cries out in a panic, trying to step between Astrid and her father.
The girl moves faster though, side-stepping her mother and leaping at her father, swinging the knife to stab him.
Steel rings out in the small house as the man blocks her blade with his own, then uses his size and strength to his advantage. He grabs her wrist with his other hand and twists, squeezing hard. Astrid cries out in pain as he wrenches her arm, forcing her to drop the dagger.
The weapon lands with a loud clatter, but Thorsten doesn't stop there. He takes his dagger and flips it around in his hand, then swings it so the blunt end of the pommel hits Astrid in the ribs with bruising force. She cries out in pain as he bludgeons her several more times while he continues to twist her arm in an unnatural angle
Struggling to try and free herself, she never even sees the dagger as he brings it down on her, the blunt end of the weapon striking the back of her head.
She can hear her mother crying out as the world goes black and she feels like she's falling without end.
Stoic and Vali stand on the pier in the morning light, waiting for the ship that was seen sailing into their bay. The foreign craft had been seen on the horizon by the lookouts a while ago, at daybreak.
"What d'ya think the Meatheads want?" the man asks his Chief as he watches the other tribes' banner fluttering above the sail. Both men watch the rapidly approaching vessel as it closes the final distance with the isle of Berk.
"Not sure," Stoic answers, narrowing his gaze as he watches with suspicion.
"When was the last time we'd heard from them?" Vali asks further.
"About two months 'go," his friend answers. "They cut off ties like th'rest, after we took in th'dragons."
"Well, maybe they're interested in befriending the dragons too," Snoutlout's father offers, though he doesn't sound like he believes his own words.
With a snort, the chief answers, "Not likely." The other smirks in agreement, and the two fall into silence as they wait for the craft to dock at the pier.
Once the boat is close enough, Hooligan men from the dock throw ropes to those on board. After the lines are secured to the boat, they pull the ship in against the wooden length and tie the lengths firmly on the wooden poles supporting the deck of the pier. Stoic and Vali approach the ship warily, unsure of what to expect.
As they approach, a burly man makes his way from the back. Striding forward, he quickly reaches the rail and leaps over to land on the deck with a loud thumb, standing before the chief and the smith.
"Hail, Stoic, chief of the Hooligans," the man greets the two, watching them carefully. "I am Rangvaldr. Chief Mogadon of the Meathead tribe sends his greetings."
Nodding slowly without ever taking his eyes off the other, Stoic answers, "Welcome t'Berk, Rangvaldr. What brings you t'our shores?"
Grinning at the chief's forward response, the newcomer readily answers, "I've been sent to open a dialog with you." Stoic lifts an eyebrow at this, causing the emissary to grin all the more. "He wants to know why you've befriended the dragons and what you've learned in doing so."
Lifting his chin slightly at the man's claims, the chief watches the other thoughtfully. Vali looks on, quietly wondering what his friend will do. Rangvaldr waits patiently, folding his arms as the silence drags on.
"Well," Stoic finally answers, "I'd be glad t'share these things with ya."
Smiling widely, the emissary nods. "Excellent. Perhaps we can talk this afternoon, after my men and I have had some time to eat and rest after our journey."
Nodding, Stoic answers. "Of course. Vali will take ya t'the Great Hall. Fer now, I'm a'fear'd I've got matters I must attend to."
With a nod in answer, Rangvaldr replies, "Of course."
"Alright," Vali says, "follow me…"
With that, the smith leads the Meatheads off the pier and up the stairs to the main part of the island. Stoic watches them in silence for a few moments before heading off in a different direction, to see to his duties for the day.
With a tired groan, Hiccup sits down on the stool by the window in the smithy. He looks up into the sky at the sun approaches its zenith. Just like yesterday, Gobber has been working him hard since dawn, when his father had walked him down here. Having always valued his freedom, the boy finds that this new arrangement chafes considerably.
In the past, he would have found a way to sneak off and wouldn't have thought twice about it. But now, he doesn't dare, as he truly fears for his safety.
Idly, he wonders if the Sunday solution will mean he doesn't have to be guarded all the time. If so, the boy wonders, what are his father and Astrid's mother planning to do to Thorsten? How will they stop him from trying to cause further harm?
As the apprentice starts to yet again try and puzzle out what their parents might be planning, his thoughts are suddenly interrupted.
"Hey, Hiccup," he hears Ruffnutt call to him from outside of the window.
Turning to look, the boy smiles slightly at the sight of his friend. "Oh, hey there, Ruff," he answers casually, trying to hide his excitement. "Did you deliver my letter yet? Maybe…you've got Astrid's reply?" he asks hopefully.
The girl shakes her head, causing Hiccup to frown in concern as she answers with a dour expression, "No. I haven't seen her yet today."
Furrowing his brow in concern, Hiccup asks, "What do you mean you haven't seen her yet?"
Shrugging, the twin answers with a degree of irritation, "I mean I can't find her." Hiccup looks anxious as she continues, "I checked the Great Hall, the Training Ring, the Marketplace…" She pauses, adding with finality, "She's not anywhere, and nobody else knows where she is."
Hesitating for a moment, he asks cautiously, "have you…checked her house?" He doesn't want to make Ruffnutt think that he's trying to belittle her intelligence, even though he is seriously wondering why she wouldn't have checked there first, before coming to tell him that she can't find his girlfriend.
Glaring at the boy with a measure of indigancy, Ruffnutt answers, "Yeah, I checked there," she says, "but when I knocked, nobody answered."
"Did you look to see if Stormfly was there?" Hiccup asks, wondering if Astrid might have run off.
The twin nods, "Yeah. Her dragon's still at her house."
With a deepening frown, Hiccup listens to the twin's reply. "Do you think she's…in trouble?" he finally asks her quietly, after several moments of silence.
"I dunno," Ruffnutt admits with a shrug and a frustrated, helpless look. "But if she is, what can we do?" The two share a troubled glance, both knowing that helping Astrid will almost certainly mean telling someone about what her father does to her.
Setting his jaw after a moment's reflection, Hiccup stands up from the stool. "We can tell my Dad," he says resolutely.
Furrowing her brow in concern, Ruffnutt says in a hushed whisper, "Hiccup, you promised Astrid…"
The boy cuts her off, with a sharp, but quiet retort, "I promised her that I'd keep her secret unless I thought her life might be in danger." The twin purses her lips, his words making a sense of guilt well up within her. "Thorsten tried to kill me the other day, and now Astrid is missing," he presses on.
"Is she missing?" Ruffnutt asks. "I mean, it's only been half a day since anyone's seen her…" Hiccup glares at her, frowning at her attempt to downplay the situation.
Looking intently into her eyes, he asks with an stern voice, "Do you think her life might be in danger, Ruffnutt?"
The girl hesitates for a moment, but then sighs and shrugs. "I dunno," she answers.
Hiccup quickly adds with a sharp whisper, "do you want to take that chance?"
With a heavy sigh and a guilty look, Ruffnutt admits, "No."
Nodding, Hiccup goes on to say, "Good. Neither do I."
He glances over at Gobber as the smith busily works on a new axe. The boy considers carefully what to do next. He knows he shouldn't run off without someone to help protect him, but if Astrid is in danger he doesn't really care anymore about keeping himself safe.
Looking back at the twin, Hiccup meets her gaze and whispers, "We need to find Astrid or get someone to help if she's in trouble, but Gobber won't let me go out on my own…" Ruffnutt furrows her brow in confusion at his words, so he explains, "Dad doesn't want me to be unguarded, since Thorsten tried to kill me…"
The twin 'ahs' silently, nodding in understanding. She watches Hiccup for a few moments, then looks over a Gobber. "So…you need me to make a distraction…?" she asks quietly, with a hint of eagerness.
Hiccup can't help but grin at the glint he sees in Ruffnutt's eye. "That would certainly be helpful," he admits, meeting her gaze when she looks back at him. The girl smiles widely in response, looking excited at the prospect now.
"Leave it to me," she assures him with a wink. She then leisurely strolls around the outside of the smithy until she's standing at the window closest to where Gobber is working on the unfinished axe. Hiccup lifts an eyebrow as he watches intently, slowly inching his way towards the door in anticipation of whatever it is that the girl is about to do.
"Hey Gobber!" the twin barks out loudly, making Gobber and even Hiccup cringe. The smith glares at her, while Hiccup watches them both with a measure of anxiety as he slinks closer to the door.
"What is it, Ruffnutt?" Gobber asks, his voice thick with irritation.
"So, like, I was having an argument with Tuffnutt," she begins. While he can't see his master's face, Hiccup can tell that the smith is probably looking very weary right about now. The twin continues as the boy slowly makes his way towards the door, "he was telling me that the Boneknapper is a real dragon, but I think it's a bunch of hooey."
Hiccup's eyes grow wide at the twin's choice of distraction. He had expected something dramatic or even destructive. With her choice, however, she's doomed herself to listening to that same tired old story about Gobber's close encounter with the Mystery dragon.
Sure enough, Gobber stands up straight and starts waving his claw at the twin. "Oh, you better believe it's real!" Ruffnutt grins at the reaction, flicking a glance behind the smith to Hiccup. The two lock eyes for a moment, during which Hiccup smiles and silently mouths 'thank you', to which the twin grins slightly.
The smith goes on without noticing this, saying, "Let me tell you the tale o'how I encountered this strange and singular Dragon!" As he does, Hiccup reaches the door and eases it open, slowly moving out while he watches the other two.
Looking back at Gobber, Ruffnutt asks with a marked lack of enthusiasm, "Oh could you, please?" With that, the smith starts to jump into his story. As Hiccup slowly closes the door behind him, he catches one last look at Ruffnutt. Their eyes meet once more, and as Gobber starts to dive headlong into his story, she mouths silently at him, 'you owe me!'.
Hiccup grins at her with a nod, then pulls the door completely closed and let's the latch drop into place. He cannot help but smirk to himself, but doesn't linger. He quickly leaves the forge and makes his way into the village, intent on finding out what's happened to his girlfriend.