DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from the HTTYD series or any of the ideas to the plots. My ideas are inspired by a collective of stories that I have come across. But I am always open for any ideas that could help with the story. I might also mess up with some details but I will try my best for the story. Without a further ado I will let you get on with the reading, enjoy!

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Astrid slowly rolled over to her side and groaned slightly as she felt a wave of soreness wash over her. She managed to find several blankets and pillows to sleep with in the previous night but it didn't help with the stone floor. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, not seeing Hiccup or Toothless anywhere around the large room. As she looked around she saw a large lid on the table along with a cup and a vase. Astrid slowly stood up and stretched her arms high above her head, hearing her back crack in the process. She slowly approached the table and saw several pieces of paper on it as well. She lifted the lid and saw a loaf of bread along with fish resting on a plate. A feeling of hunger overtook her and she quickly ate the food, later washing it down with the water from the vase. She glanced over to the papers and saw there was some writing on one of them.

Princess, hope you slept well last night despite the hard floor. I left you some food for breakfast, hopefully you're not too bored of fish yet, it makes up most of my meals. I went out flying with Toothless just before dawn so I should be back in a few hours. I left you a map to navigate all the tunnels in case you got bored. Try not to get eaten when I'm gone, H. H.

Astrid became annoyed after being called 'princess' again but smiled at the kind gesture from Hiccup. She picked up the map that he had drawn out and inspected it, amazed that he could navigate through all the tunnels with ease. Boredom quickly set over her and with nothing else to do she decided to walk around. She looked down at the map and saw a path leading to a room labeled as 'washroom.' Deciding to go there first Astrid looked through most of the wardrobes and pulled out a set of clothes. She was curious why Hiccup had clothes of all different sizes but she pushed that curiosity aside. After a few minutes of walking Astrid finally found the room and marveled at it. It wasn't a large room, similar size to her own room back on Berk. Towards the back wall was a wooden tub and a railing connected with the wall, holding up a piece of cloth. Astrid approached the makeshift shower and looked closer to see several levers and knobs.

She set down the clothes she collected on a nearby barrel and took off the clothes she was wearing. Astrid stepped into the shower and pulled the cloth around the tub. She inspected all the levers and knobs, confused on what controlled what. She shrugged and pulled the first lever and a hatch in the center of the tub opened up. She jumped back in shock and realized that under the hatch must be some sort of drain. She closed the hatch and pulled the other lever and heard a rush of water soon after. She gasped in shock when the water hit her skin, a shock of cold hitting her. Astrid reached out to one of the knobs and turned it in the direction labeled hot and waited for the water to warm up.

She hummed in satisfaction when she felt the water warm up and stood underneath the comforting shower. A few minutes later Astrid turned the knob back to its original place and pushed back the lever that controlled the water. She pulled the other level that controlled the drain and watched as the water drained from the tub. Astrid then pulled back the cloth and felt the soft breeze blow over her skin. She looked around for a towel and managed to find one in a nearby barrel. After she dried herself off Astrid changed into the fresh clothes and put her old clothes in the hamper. She continued to walk around and became more familiar with the area. She walked past a forge, some sort of stable, and a room just full of barrels. As she inspected the barrels she realized they were all full of mead. She thought back to the previous night and how Hiccup acted but shook her head at the thought.

He obviously wasn't himself when he approached Astrid but it still shocked her when she saw him. She turned and walked out of the cellar and headed back to the main room. As she walked into the room she looked out the window and saw something high in the sky. She recognized quickly that it was Toothless and Hiccup. She continued to watch them as they did loops and banked through the air. She peered up and saw that Hiccup seemed to be sitting up higher as Toothless leveled out. A few seconds later it seemed Hiccup was falling out of the saddle and then started to fall towards the water. Astrid gasped as she watched him fall, later being followed by Toothless. She hid her eyes behind her fingers, not being able to watch the sight. She expected to hear something but nothing came around, she slowly looked up to see Hiccup flying alongside Toothless.

The two continued to fly like that until they went back towards the entrance to the hideout. Astrid waited for the two to come back and heard them coming a few minutes later.

"Nice to see you're awake," Hiccup told her as he walked into the room.

"How did you do that," Astrid asked as she walked closer to him.

"Do what," Hiccup asked as he eyed her and set his helmet down on the table.

"You were flying out there," Astrid told him as she pointed back outside, "How did you do that." Hiccup nodded as he realized her question and messed with a few things on his suit. A few seconds later he reached down towards his shoes and pulled up his arms. As he held his arms out he showed a set of what looked like wings.

"This is how I fly," Hiccup told her as she slowly turned around in a circle. Astrid remained silent as she slowly walked towards him and inspected his creation.

"It took many attempts but I eventually got it," he told her as she lifted up one of his arms.

"You seem pretty crafty," she pointed out as she stepped back.

"It helped keep me busy on Berk," he admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Gobber was the only one on Berk who saw something out of me." Astrid was about to say something but held it back, knowing that he was right.

"Thank you, by the way," Astrid told him as he stashed the wings away and he looked up at her. "For the food and the map," she added and he nodded after his confusion was cleared up.

"Well I figured it was the least I could do for you," he told her as he walked towards the bed and sat down.

"I have to ask," she told him, "Why do you have all this different clothing." He let out a short laugh and smiled as he took off his boots.

"Well sometimes I collect things during raids," he told her, "Clothing being a big thing on that list. I don't necessarily have too much to see if it's my size so I just grab and go."

"I didn't see you as someone who steals," she noted.

"Well there's a lot I do you might not see me as," Hiccup told her as he stood up. "I'm going to the forge, if you need me then just yell." Without saying anything else Hiccup walked off towards the forge. Astrid just watched him go and didn't say anything as she stood still. She heard a noise and saw that Toothless was now charring the stone floor before he laid down. Astrid just shook her head as she wondered what exactly she didn't know about these two, she just hoped that she would find out sooner rather than later.

Hiccup let out a sigh as he wiped sweat from his brow after working down in the forge for most of the morning. He put out the fires and stowed all of his tools away in their correct places. He threw his shirt over his shoulder and turned to exit out of the room. He walked back into the main room to grab a fresh change of clothes and headed towards the washroom. He stood under the warm water and let it flow over his sore muscles. A few minutes later he stepped out and dried himself off. As he was slipping his pants over his legs he heard a noise coming towards the room. He looked up to see Astrid standing in the doorway and her hands were covered in dirt. She stopped as she realized he was already in the room and she remained silent. Hiccup noticed that she was staring at him and he smirked,

"Like what you see," he joked as he slowly stood up. She didn't say anything as she remained silent and Hiccup watched as she stepped closer to him.

"What did this to you," she asked as she slowly extended a hand towards his chest. Hiccup looked down to what she meant and realized she was talking about the scars on his chest. He quickly grabbed her wrist and looked her in the eyes. He let go of her hand and slowly put on his shirt.

"So what have you been doing," Hiccup asked as he gestured to her hands. She seemed like she wanted him to answer her question but she didn't press on.

"I was working on the garden," Astrid told him and a surprised look came across his face. "A girl can't just live on fish all the time," she added. He let out a laugh and nodded,

"I guess you are right," he admitted.

"Want to see what I've done so far," she offered and he gestured for her to lead the way. The two made their way through the tunnels and finally arrived at the garden. Hiccup became even more surprised when he finally saw what Astrid managed to do. Dirt was thrown all over the place as Astrid started to neatly organize the rows together.

"It was all sort of a mess," Astrid told him as she watched him inspect her work.

"I can tell you're big on organization," Hiccup remarked as he walked around the room.

"Just a little bit," Astrid said as she looked around the room. "So how do you get sunlight in here," she asked and he walked over to a set of levers.

"Well we are just under an open section of the mountain," Hiccup told her as he pulled a lever. A loud creaking noise could be heard as the roof panels opened up and light poured into the room.

"I'm impressed," she admitted as she looked up at the open sky above them. He nodded as he watched her and could tell that something was on her mind.

"What are you thinking," he asked and she looked over at him, and he could see she was debating on saying something.

"What is like when you are flying," she finally asked him and he smiled at the question.

"I'm free," he told her, "I can just leave all my problems behind and just think up there."

"Must be nice," Astrid commented as she looked up at the clouds passing overhead.

"It is," he said with a soft voice and continued to watch her. "I can always show you," he offered and she seemed to have a conflicted look on her face. "You don't have to answer now, just know that the offer is always on the table." Astrid nodded and then Hiccup pulled the lever again, shutting the roof panels in the process. "Come on, I want to show you something," he told her and he headed back towards the main room. He heard her footsteps behind her as he walked into the room and headed towards the table. On top of the table rested a small journal and Hiccup opened it to reveal several pages all neatly folded inside. He carefully unfolded the pages, covering the whole table in the process. He stepped back after he finished and looked over at Astrid as she studied the pages.

"What is that," she asked as she took a step towards the table.

"That is a map of where Toothless and I have explored," he told her.

"You've covered a lot of space," she noted as she looked around the map. "Berk's quite a trip," she added as she noticed the island on the map and then her eyes fell on another island. "What's that," she asked as she pointed to an island labeled 'The Nest.'

"That is the source of Berk's problems," Hiccup told her as he pulled out a chair and sat down. "Inside that nest is the Queen, and she is responsible for the raids."

"I don't understand," Astrid said as she shook her head, "How is one dragon responsible for all the raids."

"She forces the dragons to collect food for her," Hiccup said with a serious voice, "If they don't she eats them."

"How big is it," Astrid asked with an uncertain tone,

"Big," Hiccup told her, "Big enough to destroy Berk with one blow."

"Why are you telling me this," Astrid asked and Hiccup let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Honestly, I don't know," he admitted, "But hopefully you don't think I'm the worst thing in the world now." Astrid nodded and continued to study the map,

"So how do you plan to take her out," she asked.

"How did you know I wanted to do that," he asked with an amused look on his face.

"Why else would you stay anywhere near Berk," she asked him and he was shocked by how upfront she was being.

"Well, I don't know," he admitted, "I've been trying different things for six years and nothing has worked." The two remained in silence as Astrid continued to study the map and Hiccup watched her. Suddenly there was a roar in the distance and Hiccup looked outside to see several dragons flying into the sky.

"It's getting worse," he said as he stood up from the table and walked over to the bed.

"Another raid," Astrid asked as she watched the dragons as well.

"I'm afraid so," Hiccup told her as he quickly changed into the amour. "I'll be back, probably," he told her with a short nod as he walked with Toothless towards the main entrance. Hiccup jumped into the saddle and looked back to see Astrid watching him. With one final nod Hiccup adjusted his foot in the paddle and the two shot into the sky. Hiccup let out a sigh as he watched the dragons fly ahead of him, trying to prepare himself for what was about to come.

The flight to the village took quite a while as the sun had set before Hiccup arrived. Fires were already set as Hiccup watched the chaos below. He heard a loud cry and Hiccup looked down to see several people running out of a large house. "Get me down there bud," Hiccup pointed down towards the ground, near the outskirts of the village. Toothless quickly dived down and landed softly on the ground. Hiccup swung his leg over the saddle and quickly ran towards the village. He tried his best to stick to the shadows and managed to make his way through the village undetected. Finally, Hiccup arrived at the large building and watched the crowd that had gathered at the entrance.

"My son," a woman cried as she was held back by a large man, "My son is still in there." Panic washed over Hiccup as he quickly dashed towards the building and saw another door that led into the building.

He burst straight through the door and looked around, trying to spot the remaining person in the building. There was fire in every direction he looked and sections of the roof started to come crashing down.

"Help," Hiccup heard a hoarse voice call out and he looked around for the source of the voice. A few seconds later he found the voice and saw a boy huddled in the corner of the building. Hiccup took a step towards the boy but stopped when he heard a loud crack above him. He looked up to see a large section of the rafters come crashing down towards him. Hiccup rolled to the side and managed to dodge the falling debris before it crushed him. However, now the rafter was blocking his path to the boy and he couldn't manage to get to him.

"You have to come to me," Hiccup told the boy but he remained in the corner. Several sections of the room started to fall down and Hiccup realized they didn't have much time left.

"You have to trust me," Hiccup told him, "I'm here to help you." The boy slowly nodded and took a step towards Hiccup. Hiccup's heart dropped when he heard another loud crack above him as the boy walked towards him. He looked up to see a large section of the roof shift downwards right before it fell to the ground. Hiccup tried to warn the boy but it was too late and Hiccup was sent backwards as the roof came crashing down. Hiccup slowly picked himself up as his ears were ringing now. He felt a sharp pain in his side but he had no time to assess his injuries now. Hiccup quickly exited the building and made his way towards where Toothless was hiding. "Let's go bud," Hiccup told him as he jumped into the saddle. He winced as he felt his injuries but they could wait for now. He let out a sigh as Toothless lifted up into the sky and he watched the village below. The large building now fully collapsed on itself and Hiccup heard a loud cry ring out through the night, another one that would haunt his nightmares.

Ayo, it's me, hopefully everyone liked the chapter and hopefully I didn't disappoint with a bit of a longer one for this one. Obviously a bit of character development and some insight on what's going on mentally. I will also like to say thank you again for the new follow and favorites. I know I sound like a broken record but I am still surprised by the amount of you that have enjoyed this from an early stage. I am not guaranteeing anything but I am not completely sure when the next chapter is coming up. I do have quite a bit of work to do before school starts up after my short break but I'm sure it won't be long. As always, if you have any questions, comments, and/or reviews please leave them as they are always helpful and peace out!