TW: sexual assault, panic attacks

Please be aware that this story discusses sexual assault and associated experiences. Please do not read this story if it may be triggering for you. This chapter doesn't contain specific details of the assault, however it does discuss the associated emotions and fears

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"It seems, brother," Ruff replied, "Like everyone is tied up except Heather. Amateurs." Guards approached the twins, bound their wrists and threw them to the ground.

"Ouch! You're on my head, Snotlout."

"Well, Ruffnut, you should have looked where you were falling!"

The man in the emerald cloak crouched in front of Hiccup. "Identify yourself."

"My name is Hiccup Haddock."

"And you lead this band of...?"

"Dragon riders. Yes."

"Good." The man smiled. "You shall be the first to stand trial." Hiccup looked directly into his face, unflinching. The man turned and spoke to a warrior. "Throw them in the dungeon. And prepare their dragons for the sacrifice. We must show Alura how glad we are of her return."

As the riders were lead away, Heather asked whether the trial was necessary. Wasn't the word of a goddess enough to show the rider's innocence?

"If they're innocent, there's no harm in a trial." Said the man. Astrid thought she detected a hint of a smile in his voice.

Astrid's chest tightened as the riders were taken to a large wooden building. It consisted of a single room with a highly polished stone floor and already housed several prisoners. Two women wearing cloaks were braiding yarn together in the corner. A man who, from the way he was dressed, appeared to be from a different tribe, was leaning against a wall chewing something. The guard took off the rider's ties, pushed them into the room and locked the door.

"So," Said Hiccup to his friends, "this isn't so bad."

Snotlout groaned. "You realise you're facing trial by Thor know's what in front of people who sacrifice dragons to gods who don't exist?"

"Actually," Said Fishlegs, "We shouldn't dismiss another culture's beliefs just because they're different to our own. I mean, none of us have ever actually met Thor or Odín."

"Fishface, they're sacrificing our dragons to Heather."

"Excellent point, Sir Snotsalot." Said Tuffnut. "And anyway, I've met Thor. Spoke to him last week. We shall pray to the mighty Thor to free us from our imprisonment."

"Oh Gods." Muttered Hiccup. "Well, there's not much we can do until The People Of Hope release us or Thor turns up, so we'd better hang tight."

"We need to break out of here. They have our dragons." Said Snotlout.

"Relax," Fishlegs sat on the floor. "Heather wouldn't let them hurt the dragons."

"Then why are we locked in here?"

"Snotlout, Heather fooled the Dragon Hunters for many moon cycles." Said Hiccup.

Snotlout snorted. "Yeah, because that ended well."

They all sat in thought for several minutes, interrupted only by the twin's 'prayer rituals'. Tuffnut had pulled salt from his tunic pocket and was throwing it over Ruffnut. Ruffnut was chanting ominously whilst swinging her braids in erratic circles.

"Seriously," Fishlegs raised his eyebrows. "You're sacrificing Ruffnut to Thor?"

"Of course not." Said Tuff. "Nobody would want a sacrifice that smells as bad as Ruffnut. We're sacrificing her sock instead." Ruffnut held up a grey woolly stocking with a large hole and wiggled her bare foot. The other riders groaned. Astrid's stomach churned.

"Look," Snotlout lent forward on his elbows. "We've broken out of far tougher prison cells. It's not even guarded. The twins can pick locks, they demonstrated that well enough during the Thorston thieving epidemic of..."

Astrid didn't listen to the rest of Snotlout's plan. She couldn't push the thought from her mind that she was captive once again. Her arms prickled and her heart was fluttering against her ribs. She tried to calm her breathing. She told herself it was okay, this was a different situation. The others were here. Hiccup was here.

Astrid was broken from her thoughts by Tuffnut. "Ah, nope. Thor's not picking up, must be doing his laundry. I say we go with Snotlout's plan."

"Me too!" Ruff raised her hand.

"Guys," Fishlegs was exasperated. "If we break out we'll make things worse. We have to believe in Heather, I trust her with my life."

"Yeah, just 'cos you and Heather are all..." Snotlout made kissing noises.

"It's not like that!"

Hiccup ran his hand through his hair. "Fishlegs is right. We stay here, for now at least."

"Tyranny!" Shouted Tuff. "We should vote."

Hiccup sighed and turned to Astrid. "Okay, yours is the deciding vote, Astrid. What do you want to do?"

"I want-" Astrid's insides were doing somersaults now and she was struggling not to let her panic show. "I want to..." her voice died in her chest and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Babe?" Hiccup sounded alarmed. "Astrid? Are you okay?"

Astrid was shivering violently. Hiccup held her close as she curled into a ball, her hands over her head. The cell was shrinking and there was no air in the room. She gasped for breath but her lungs were being ripped from her body. Far away, a little girl was screaming. Astrid tried to sit up and the world slipped sideways. Everything was clear, migraine bright and she didn't recognise the faces around her. She was vaguely aware that she was shaking. Somebody ran their hand down her back and Astrid went cold. Ryker. Ryker was stroking her hair. She tried to yank her braid away but her hands wouldn't move; she screamed instead. No words came out and her breath got lost in her throat. Laughter ricocheted off the inside of her head and Astrid's chest exploded in pain. She pressed her hand to her tunic, felt her heartbeat which was thundering in her ears. Ryker's hands were on her shoulders and her skin crawled. The child's screams were getting nearer, the hands more desperate. Hiccup. Where was Hiccup? Astrid heard somebody telling Ryker to let go. For a moment the Earth stood still, for a moment there was nothing but silence. Then Ryker released her. Astrid cried, swallowed by terror.

After what could have been a few minutes or several years, Hiccup's voice broke through the fog in Astrid's brain. "Ssh, it's okay. It's okay, Astrid." He told her to breathe: in and out, in and out. She tried to follow his lead. Her breathing was chaotic and she choked on sobs. Eventually she managed to gasp Hiccup's name.

"I'm here. I'm right here, Astrid. Can I touch you?" Astrid nodded and Hiccup slipped his arm around her. "Breathe in." He stroked his hand slowly down her spine. "And out." His hand moved towards her shoulders. She tried to inhale as he rubbed her back, and eventually her breathing felt more controlled. She crawled into Hiccup's lap and buried her face in his chest. Everyone had just seen how weak and pathetic she really was. What did it matter if she stopped trying to hide it? Hiccup folded her in his arms. "You're alright, Angel. You're safe."

"I think I've been poisoned." Said Astrid, her voice shaking.

"Nah," the male prisoner had approached them.

"What are you-"

The man ignored Hiccup, crouched down and spoke directly to Astrid. "You've just had a panic attack, my dear. First one, I'm guessing? They feel horrendous, but they're harmless."

Astrid shook her head. "No. I feel ill, somethings wrong."

The man laughed. "Yeah, you're gonna feel sick for the rest of the day. It takes a while to wear off." He stood and began to walk away. "Let your boyfriend take care of you; the moron clearly loves you."

Astrid sat up. "Don't you call him a-"

The man looked over his shoulder. "That's more like it."