Chapter 3

Astrid sat in the great hall with her chief. Luckily Snotlout wasn't there, where he had gone Astrid did not care. Tales of how Astrid beat Heather flew around the room, each one more outrageously exaggerated than the last. Stoick had been extremely proud of her, for upholding the pride of Berk, while still remaining honourable in spite of the easy victory.

They drank some tankards of mead, idly chatting, when Astrid heard Snotlout's unmistakable voice echo throughout the room.

"Where is my berserker-crushing bride?"

Immediately the smile on Astrid's face was replaced with a frown. Her previously light mood darkened, and she saw Snotlout approach them, before squeezing himself on the other side of her. Astrid dug her elbow into his side when he tried to put his arm around her, and mentally prepared herself for another flirting session, which promptly began.

Stoick then left them, saying that he'd leave the lovers to it and started talking with Gobber who was nearby, which caused her to fume in rage. She knew that the chief knew that she didn't want the marriage, but she also knew that there was nothing he could really do about it.

Astrid looked about, desperate for a distraction from Snotlout's droning. She was almost close to tears, she was feeling so hopeless and unhappy with her situation, when she heard it: a steady clink of metal. Looking over to see what it was, she saw the masked figure of the Nameless One enter the hall through the open door. His metal leg cause the noise, tapping regularly against the stone floor, as he made his way seemingly towards her. Astrid could see his eyes through the visor set with steely determination, before turning her gaze to another form entering the hall, this time running and panting with exhaustion. It was Heather, and she quickly made her way towards Nameless.

Heather seemed to give up when she saw him, the masked figure in strange leather armour about to reach Astrid. Snotlout had stopped talking at this point, also looking at the two new figures who had entered the hall, before he spoke loudly. "Is this Heather? The supposed warrior who-"

Astrid quickly shut him up with a hard punch to the ribs when she realised what he was saying, knowing it was stupid and unwise. Snotlout bent over on the chair, gasping in pain.

Nameless still approached them. Astrid noted how he was apparently completely devoid of the nervousness she had seen in him before. He also had a strange metal cylinder strapped to his right leg, graced with many carvings that Astrid could not define.

In three quick strides, he had reached them, and he turned and faced Astrid, completely ignoring Snotlout. When he spoke, a sense of finality was entwined with his voice, but also sadness.

"Astrid Hofferson, I'd like to take you as my betrothed, and reinforce the alliance between the Berserkers and Berk."

At this, the whole hall became silent after many gasped. Incredulous expressions adorned many faces, including Astrid's, before it changed to one of anger. Heather had also stopped, seemingly stunned by what the masked man had said.

Astrid was furious. Did everyone think they could just have her? Was she just some object to be owned? Snotlout also looked furious, but clearly for different reasons. She was about to start shouting, but Stoick spoke first.

"Nameless One, in normal circumstances I would of course like to accept the offer you proposed, for Berk. But I'm afraid I cannot, for Astrid is already engaged with Snotlout here."

Nameless turned to Stoick.

"That is unfortunate, but I am surprised. I thought Astrid Hofferson despised Snotlout Jorgenson? And from what I have seen, it would prove what I have heard." Astrid's face almost turned smug from watching Snotlout become even more furious, flushing with embarrassment, but she was too angry.

Nameless continued, "Because of this, I will fight him to claim Astrid, in a duel."

His head turned to Snotlout, and Astrid could see his emerald eyes narrow in anger. Snotlout started sweating nervously. He had also heard of the legendary warrior the masked man in front of him was. He was nowhere even close to Astrid's level, let alone this mythical fighter looking down at him.

At his moment of indecision, Nameless spoke again, his voice hard but mocking, "Or is Snotlout Jorgenson too much of a coward to fight?"

Everyone gasped. This was the greatest insult, and now Snotlout couldn't refuse. He, and his family would lose honour and be shamed, and Astrid's parents would surely call off the wedding. Astrid hoped he would refuse to fight, but she know he couldn't.

Eyes averting the emerald orbs burning into him, Snotlout spoke, his voice nearly cracking. "I will fight you."

At this, Nameless nodded curtly, before spinning around on his prosthetic, and walking out of the hall into the darkness of evening, pulling Heather with him.

The clinking of the metal faded until Astrid could hear it no more. She was too stunned to speak. She would now marry Nameless. The Nameless One. Oh sure, he still had to beat Snotlout, but that wasn't difficult. Even Astrid could do it with ease, let alone a warrior destined for legend. Her parents would not refuse; they couldn't refuse. The honour of their daughter being wed to the Nameless One was too great to deny. Part of Astrid was curious about him. Tales of him always said he was kind and respectful, and Heather had also said so. Astrid was curious about what he looked like beneath the mask, and why he wore it. Heather had not even known.

But that curiosity was squashed by anger. How was he so kind and respectful, when he also treated her like a simple object, without thoughts or feelings? He had even used her feelings against Snotlout to his gain.

That night as she lay in bed, tears stained her face, body shaking gently as she sobbed into her pillow. She seemed to be crying a lot lately. Well, at least tomorrow she would get to watch Snotlout be humiliated in front of a crowd, and see this legend himself in battle.


The next morning, Astrid sat in the stands with Stoick, Gobber and Heather. The raven-haired woman seemed much more calm; Astrid assumed Nameless had filled her in. Snotlout stood in the arena below, and Astrid could tell that he was almost shaking with nervousness. He held a shield and hammer, wearing a light suit of mail with his helmet. His face was red and he was sweating profusely.

Then, Dagur spoke loudly, grabbing everyone's attention. "Everyone! Today we are here to witness a fight, for the girl and mighty warrior, Astrid Hofferson!" Everyone looked at her and cheered. It appeared that she had made her name among them. Dagur continued, "Whoever wins, will have her hand in betrothal and marriage. Here, from Berk, we have Snotlout Jorgenson!" No sound came from the crowd as his name was called. "And our other fighter, the legendary, greatest warrior in the whole world: THE NAMELESS ONE!" The crowd roared as the black, one-legged form walked confidently into the arena, chanting "Nameless" over and over.

He held a shield plated in a kind of silver metal that Astrid did not know the name of in his right hand. In his left, he held the cylinder-thing she had seen buckled to his leg the evening before. But the most striking thing was his armour. It was jet black, covering his entire body, with red highlights. It seemed to be made of small plates over a suit of mail. Astrid realised with a gasp that this must be the dragon platemail she had heard about, and those plates were actually dragon scales. His helm was shaped much like his normal mask, but also black and red, set with scales. He looked like nothing Astrid had ever seen before.

Dagur held up his hand and the cheering died down. "The fight will last until one fighter surrenders, is knocked unconscious, or killed! It is up to the mercy of the victor to spare the loser."

Astrid could see Snotlout blanch white in fear. Truth be told, she wanted to see him get a beating and be humiliated, but he didn't deserve to die. If Nameless really was kind and respectful though, he would probably spare Snotlout.

Dagur brought his raised hand down with a chop, and a drum sounded. The fight had begun.

Astrid immediately saw Nameless move his shield arm, and somehow a rope shot out at Snotlout. He was so surprised, and it was so fast, that he could not react and was tangled in the line. Then suddenly a mechanism in the shield reeled Snotlout in like a fish on a line, dragging him shamelessly on the ground. Letting out his classic high pitched scream, he struggled but the line was bound around him tightly, drawing him towards Nameless, who flicked the cylinder. Astrid watched in awe as a blade burst out of it, lighting on fire. Snotlout was drawn to the shield, pressing against it, while the flaming blade hovered against his side, ready to plunge into Snotlout's torso.

The fight was already over, it had been less than five seconds. Astrid saw awed expressions reflected in the faces around her, except Heather, who smiled smugly. She had clearly seen him fight before.

"Do you yield?" Nameless said, voice carrying through the faceplate.

All Snotlout could do was nod in terror. Nameless 'sheathed' the burning sword, the flames disappearing. With a flick of the shield arm, Snotlout was released into a bundle on the floor. So he had been merciful in the end.

Astrid could now see why this man was a legend.

Snotlout had managed to stand up, and shouted, "He's cheating! That shield isn't fair! I demand a rematch, without shields!"

Astrid almost facepalmed. Each fighter was allowed to use his own equipment. Snotlout had already lost in a humiliating way, and was proceeding to humiliate himself further.

Dagur then spoke to the crowd again, voice mocking. "Oh! Snotlout was so easily defeated, and says Nameless was cheating!"

The crowd laughed and jeered, and Astrid would've joined in had Stoick not been sitting besides her. He was obviously angry, the temporary heir was being such a muttonhead. Snotlout had turned even redder.

Nameless' voice then silenced the crowd. "Sure then, if you so insist. Let us fight again without shields."

They went back to their original positions, and discarded the shields. Snotlout held his hammer in two hands, fingers white with the strain. Nameless unsheathed his sword, once again bursting into flame, tongues of fire distorting the air around it. He deftly spun the sword in his left hand, right hand by his side. Huh, he was obviously left handed.

Dagur dropped his hand again, and once again the drum sounded.

Snotlout rushed forwards, and Nameless stood still, weight resting on his metal leg. Snotlout swung the hammer with enough strength to fell a nadder, but it was badly aimed, so Nameless pivoted to the side and the blow missed him. The fiery sword licked Snotlout's arm, glancing against the mail. The sword would not penetrate it, for it was of good quality, but Snotlout screamed at the heat. Astrid really did facepalm this time; it was so embarrassing that she was betrothed to him.

As Snotlout wheeled to attack again, the flat of Nameless' sword flicked towards the hammer, the flaming blade hovering near Snotlout's hands. He screamed at the heat of the fire and dropped the hammer. Astrid, and pretty much everyone else there, knew that Nameless could have cut Snotlout's hands or fingers off, or at least badly burned him.

Astrid was now conflicted, he did indeed seem merciful, and kind enough to purposely not maim his opponent. But he still had treated Astrid like an object; she could not start to guess his motivations.

Now disarmed, Snotlout pulled out a dagger, and thrusted towards the chest of his opponent. Nameless didn't even try to block. The dagger hit his chest, but stopped. The armour was extremely strong. Still though, even mail would have blocked that blow. Snotlout tried again and again, repeatedly stabbing Nameless all over, but the armour was too good. Astrid's eyes widened in awe, even the neck and face were protected, the dagger getting nowhere. The armour wasn't even scratched.

Suddenly, Nameless burst into action once more. His metal prosthetic swept out, catching Snotlout's unexpecting legs and knocked him onto his back, before the flaming sword hovered over his face, threatening to extinguish his life.

"Do you yield?"

Snotlout's face turned to one of anger, and he suddenly shouted. "Your stupid armour is too strong, there's no way I can even hurt you! It's not a fair fight!"

Everyone at this point stared at Snotlout blankly. Astrid saw Stoick fuming beside her, and she was fuming herself, face flushed with embarrassment. Once again he had lost incredibly quickly.

Nameless spoke again, breaking the incredulous silence. "Very well Snotlout, but this is the last time. I will take off my armour, and so will you."

With that he walked calmly out of the arena. Snotlout waited a moment, then did the same.

Astrid turned to Stoick, and their eyes met. "I pray that Hiccup returns soon," he said, "Snotlout cannot be chief."

She nodded in agreement. If Snotlout became chief surely Berk would fall: they were hard pressed by the dragons with an extremely competent and capable chief, let alone a extremely incompetent and incapable one.

Heather still sat with a smug expression. Astrid simply waited, talking to no one else.

After a couple of minutes, Nameless came out into the arena, wearing nothing but a simple green tunic, brown trousers, boots and his helm, which was the leather one this time. Astrid could see that he was lean, much more thin than your average Viking warrior. Still, he seemed strong, she could see outlines of muscles on his chest. Snotlout then also arrived, wearing his tunic, trousers and boots.

"Hey, you're wearing a helmet! I thought we said no armour!"

"It's only leather. If you wish, you can wear your own helmet."

Snotlout ran back, emerging again with his helmet. It was hard for Astrid and the other Berkians to watch. This was truly about the most embarrassment they had ever gone through.

Dagur's arm fell for the third time, accompanied by the drum. Nameless held the sheathed sword in his left hand. As Snotlout ran towards him, hammer raised, he tossed the cylinder into the sand to his side. The crowd gasped, but Astrid finally understood what he was doing. He was humiliating Snotlout; Nameless felt he was so weak that he could beat him unarmed.

Well that wasn't entirely true, for as Snotlout approached, Nameless stamped his prosthetic. The crowd watched with wide eyes as something on it span around, the rounded walking base replaced with a silver steel blade. Snotlout swung his hammer down vertically, and Nameless sidestepped, before lifting his left knee, and flicking out the prosthetic blade in a crescent, the metal colliding with the hammer and knocking it out of Snotlout's hand.

Everyone there knew that he could have plunged it into his chest, killing him.

Again, Snotlout's dagger came out, but the leg came up again, once more expertly disarming his opponent, before a right fist collided with his jaw, sending Snotlout sprawling to the ground, again. Snotlout blacked out, quickly waking up to see a bladed prosthetic hovering over his face, ready to stamp down.

"Do you yield? I didn't even have a weapon this time aside from my leg."

Snotlout nodded carefully, cautious with the blade over his head, an expression of defeat apparent on his face.

The blade was removed from Snotlout's head, and he slowly got onto his feet.

"Nameless has won the fight by with a crushing victory!" Dagur screamed, and the crowed roared. "In winning, he has won the prize, to be betrothed to Astrid Hofferson!"

Astrid seethed in fury. That's all she was, a prize?

"Nameless, is there anything you would like to say to your betrothed before we end here?"

The masked warrior nodded and he looked at Astrid, striking green eyes meeting her, before he spoke, voice projecting to all through the visor. "Yes, there are a couple of things that I would like to say." The crowd silenced themselves when he spoke, clearly harbouring great respect. "Astrid Hofferson, I am sorry that you were forced to marry against your will. It is something I don't like or believe in."

Then why are you doing it?

Before she voiced her thoughts, he spoke again, finality but also a sense of longing gracing his tone. "Due to this, I will not be that same oppressor. I renounce our betrothal. Go free, and be the shieldmaiden you've always been."

Everyone gasped, and Astrid's tongue escaped her, screaming "WHAT?!". Oh, the plot twist! The crowd roared at his respectfulness, chanting his name. Astrid's mind raced.

Apparently he was the kind and respectful man after all; Heather was right!

Through the relief, however, a small voice in her head asked a question that bothered her. Why would he do this? Surely Heather had spoken to him about her previous predicament, but if he did this for every poor maiden married against the world, he'd never have time for anything else!

She saw Nameless reclaim his sword and shield, before walking out of the ring, metal leg clinking. Heather to her left was still smiling, meeting her gaze, and Stoick to her right gazed at her, bewilderment apparent in his expression. "I never could have guessed that turn of events, Spitelout and his wife will be furious at their son's poor performance. Snotlout has embarrassed himself, his family and his tribe today."

"When has Snotlout not done that?" Astrid asked with a smile, spirits infinitely lifted by her freedom. "But I keep wondering, why would he do that? Also he seemed very intent on humiliating Snotlout, almost as if he had an old grudge on him."

"Aye lass, I can't tell either. Maybe it is teach him a lesson? I couldn't say."

"Maybe I'll talk to him later."

"Yes, you should. I heard he's not part of the Berserker village, and merely works here. He could be a great ally of Berk – his smithing skills are beyond anything I've seen."

Gobber than piped in, "No offence taken, Stoick. But aye, that armour was impenetrable, and that sword! The shield too! I could learn a thing or two from him even."

Astrid then got up to leave, knowing Gobber could talk about Nameless' equipment for an age. "I need to go to think about some things myself. I'll talk to Nameless later."

Stoick waved her off, and Astrid walked out of the stands, more thoughts, but also relief, washing through her head. She didn't notice the grim expression he had when she left, his eyes full of sorrow.


So here's the third chapter, and this is where I feel confident enough to publish the story. All seems to be going well so far, but situations will are subject to change. This is mostly a HiccupxAstrid romance story, but it will be quite a slow burn. Fluffyness sighted on the distant horizon. Some other pairings will be made as well. Also, as the rating might suggest, there will be no lemons in this story. Sorry for any of you looking for that, but I want this story to be accessible to all readers.

On Snotlout, he still retains his original personality - he simply hasn't had much experience at all with the opposite sex, besides Astrid (which doesn't really count, look at how their dynamic works in Httyd 1, you'll get my meaning), which is due to change. Also, he's not had Hiccup there to direct him into being a better person. Basically what I want to say is: he's not the bad guy here.

Update timings will vary, it depends on how much time I have to write, for I am still a student after all.

Anyway, hope you enjoy!