Chapter 3

Last Resort

Thanks for your reviews guys! It was really nice to read those! I wanted to update earlier, but I really wanted to post the next chapter of Little Hiccup first.

I'll answer some guests below, as I can't answer you in any other way.

Also, keep in my mind that though I like to include some facts about Viking culture, this is still HTTYD universe, and anyway the Viking culture before the arrival of christianity still held a lot of unanswered questions.

Two days had passe since Berk's defeat at the hands of the Endrisians, and the atmosphere was tense to say the least. Perched on a rock near the forest, Astrid 'the insurgent', was observing her village from afar and the dragons roaming around. Berk used to be the most prosperous island around, with a succession of great chiefs. She had a bitter smile: this reputation was now in the past. Today, the tribe was ruined, the chief was the lowliest of the low, dragons were roaming freely around and they couldn't do anything about it.

A Monstruous Nightmare wearing an armor flew above her and she gritted her teeth. It was as if her axe was begging for a good kill, yet it wasn't the dragons she wished to massacre, but the fool who dared to call himself Berk's chief. Yet she could kill none, murdering Spitelout would make her and her family meet their doom, as for the dragons...It could have made her cry out of anger and despair when she thought about it: Hooligans had sunk at such a low level! Now all they could do was try to rebuild everything and hope it wouldn't last or worsen.

The negociations with Fury were still going on. The first thing he asked to Spitelout had been the dragons imprisoned in the arena. Those were exchanged against some food and ressources, but it was still not enough.

She had spent her morning in the woods, hunting, not wanting to stay in the village. She comforted herself by the fact that the Endrisians had a heck of an army, it justified a little more the crushing defeat they experienced. Not only the warriors were well trained, had good weapons, but they also had dragons wearing armors of a very strong metal. The Hooligans weren't the first to be defeated by them after all. For this reason, most Viking tribes tried to befriend or at least avoid the dragon riders. But not Spitelout, of course!

She heard steps behind her and was about to yell at the person coming to leave her alone but stopped herself when she saw Fishlegs. His face still had bruises.

"Hey," the boy shyly said. "How do you do?"

"As fine as one can be right now. How is Ruff?"

Turned out their friend had a bruised rib, though it would have been worse, the healer who treated her told them she'd have to be careful.

"She is better, she can walk but slowly and she'll have to be careful," Fishlegs summed up. "You know, I heard some Endrisians boasting about what they did to the Outcasts years ago, they probably wanted to scare people around. Granted, the Outcasts were rotten but it's still quite awful. Alvin was the one who suffered the most..."

"Serves him well," Astrid groaned, "I wish Fury did the same to Spitelout!"

"That would have been a little too much..."

"Why? He is the one who got us in that situation!"

Somehow, she hated Spitelout more than their invaders. After all, he was the one who started the war, and the Endrisians had proposed to negociate peace even though they had won. She still hated to see some of them boasting around with their dragons, yet they weren't the worse according to her.

She looked once more at the beasts roaming on the island freely, and wondered what her father would have said if he had seen this. Nothing nice for sure. At least his death had spared him this sight. Another comfort she had was that she would have many new reasons to insult and bring Spitelout down. Her thoughts were interrupted by a roar and she snarled while some dragons and their riders flew above the island, passing near them. Fishlegs was a little afraid obviously.

"Let's hope they won't stay for long...At least it's not a Night Fury, they are not the biggest, but they are scary."

"Keep your head cool, Fishlegs. We must do that, otherwise we'll sink even lower."

"I know...It's funny, I always thought that the tales about Fury being always masked was just a story, I didn't think that someone would actually go everywhere with a mask on!"

"Yeah, I must admit it's pretty unbelievable. And creepy."

"I wonder what they are gonna do now. They're trying to find something to convince the Endrisians to give us ressources and make peace, there isn't much we can give," Fishlegs murmured. "I hoped the dragons we gave them would be enough, but no..."

"We had only a few dragons, and common species only. Fury can get some of those anywhere, no wonder it wouldn't be enough. Have you seen his army? He gains only a handful of soldiers, even I have to admit it's far from enough!" She sighed deeply and had a bitter smile: "But they should have expected that: bastards stole almost everything! What could we give?"

"Oh, it's not as they had much to steal to start with, the stocks were already low" Fishlegs sighed. "Maybe they expected us to have gold? After all maybe they didn't know that the tribe wasn't doing so well on that side."

Astrid realized it was probably the case indeed, though the Endrisians had pillaged the stocks, they hadn't stole any riches. The treasure room had always been hidden under what looked like a regular house and thankfully, the Whispering Deaths had dug the ground around the stocks. The Endrisians probably thought Berk still possessed a lot of money, after all the Hooligans hadn't been eager to let everyone else know they were quite poor and they had done their best to hide it. Many tribes around knew they weren't as fine as they used to, but they had no real idea of their actual level of poverty.

"You're right...They probably thought we would buy it back and that they would get a good booty of gold..."

"Exactly...Maybe they also thought we had more dragons than that." he sighed, musing on how their tribe was exactly standing up to their reputation anymore. "At least you've got something."

He pointed to the two big rabbits and duck she got. She told him she had planned to stay in the woods all day to hunt but she had broken the string of her bow and she needed another one. It was one thing she disliked with bows: having to bother about the string. Having to collect back her arrows was tedious too, especially for someone whose patience was limited; yet arrows were better for hunting, she used her axe only for fighting.

"We should go back to the village. I'll put the rabbits in the livestocks later."

"Yeah. I was helping with some repairs," Fishlegs said while they started to walk. "We don't have enough wood for now, but we're collecting some in the forest. Once it's all done, we'll rebuild ships again if we can get back enough ressources. That will take some times, but it's not hopeless."

Fishlegs was speaking with optimism, yet she perfectly knew that it would be really hard to get over what happened. Spitelout had made a very stupid decision when he decided to attack Endris, worse than usual. Dagur the Deranged had been crushed, the Outcasts had been slaughtered, yet Spitelout had decided to go against them! Odin, he had reached a new level of stupidity!

Fury and some of his people had came back twice on the island to negociate and then returned on their ships thank to their dragons, the second meeting had occurred this morning. Of course the chief of Endris wouldn't just offer peace and leave, for a Viking he was actually merciful to give them a chance to get peace without much losses. That's what Astrid told Spitelout. After Fury and his dragons departed, she had given him a slap in the face before the entire village and yelled: You should be glad he gives us a way to fix your mistakes! All that to prove you're as good as Stoick. Well we have the proof that you're not! This is all your fault! She wasn't the only one to think that. Her mother, Olga, who usually told her to calm down didn't stop her this time.

She reached her home soon enough, it wasn't as damaged as some had been. Astrid and Fishlegs parted, wishing each other good luck with their respective tasks. She wondered if her mother would be home. Her sister Alina would probably be out, she had been sent to find mushrooms and berries by their mother. Olga said she would be cutting wood in the forest with some other workers. The young woman wished her father was here, he had been the one teaching her to hunt. She remembered him fondly, he died a year after Hiccup. As she was about to enter, she was intercepted by Gobber.

"Astrid! Lass!"

She wondered what was wrong, she could see on his face he was worried. After her father's death, Gobber had often been a fatherly figure to her, just like he had been to Hiccup. He looked uneasy.

"Hey, what's happening?"

"I have to talk to you."

"What? Is it my mother, my sister?!"

"No, no, they are fine. No, it's the negociations...Where are you going with those?" Asked he while pointing to her kills.

"I'll bring the duck home for us and the neighbours and I'll put the rabbits in the livestocks. Now, what is it?"

"Alright, do you mind if I come in? It will be easier to speak."

She accepted, her mother and sister were still out, and she had the feeling it was for the best. She put down her bow and arrows but kept her axe, just in case some dragons decided to venture into their home.

"Fury propose to give us back what they stole if we can offer something in exchange. We don't really have much to offer him, that's the problem," he said while sitting at the table. "We have a few gold but we're gonna need it after what happened, we can't offer food anymore either."

"I figured out already that it would be difficult, but the village isn't destroyed yet."

"It's the same with all our ressources, we're really gonna need those," continued Gobber, "So...Spitelout had an idea you see...There is one thing Fury still doesn't have that we could offer him."

"What?"

"A wife."

"What!"

She looked at Gobber with wide eyes. It seemed unbelieveable that such words had came out of his mouth.

"I told them Fury had many women on his island to marry but they still proposed it to him, after all if he had a Hooligan wife, it would be definitely good for peace..."

"Gobber, don't tell me that bastard dared to propose me?!"

"No..."

"Don't tell me they'll give her Alina! She is only twelve!"

"No one has been selected yet. They proposed Fury to choose a girl of the tribe as his wife, any without a husband. He accepted. We're gathering all the girls eligible. But...Yes twelve years old have been judged old enough to be at least engaged to him."

She gasped in shock, she couldn't believe it! Alina could be proposed! It could happen to marry people young, sure, but she was still shocked to imagine her sister, who was still a child in her eyes, being married to a man.

"I did disagree since the very beginning," Gobber continued. "I am against giving a girl to that demon, but the rest of the council agreed to this, not wholeheartedly. It's the only solution it seems."

"Really?! Whoring out some poor girl to someone who could be a monster or Loki himself!What an honourable solution! But what could I expect from that walking-garbage..."

She started to pace through the room. Her most practical side knew it was true, a marriage was indeed the best solution, if the tribe gave their ressources the whole village would suffer cruelly. But it was Fury...What if she was chosen? She would become Fury's wife? For once she regretted that on Berk, Shieldmaidens were allowed to eventually marry to become regular warriors. That wasn't the case with Bog-Burglars, oh she should have been born one! The simple idea of marrying that demon was revolting! Yet it probably wouldn't happen, there were other girls...

It dawned on her: if she wasn't choosen, another girl would. Maybe Ruffnutt, maybe Alina, maybe simply a young and more vulnerable one...She could help but imagine Alina in tears, being forced to mount on the Night Fury's back behind the masked chief...

"When?"

"You have to gather at the Great Hall this afternoon."

"Fine...Did you tell Alina?"

"No..."

"Then I'll do it."

She left the house and Gobber went to see other families with other girls eligible. She walked to find her sister, she hoped Alina wouldn't be too scared. Marrying Fury...Oh gosh, she couldn't imagine that!She found her sister at the border of the village with a basket of berries and mushrooms. Putting on a smile of her face, she went to her:

"Hey, Astrid! Look what I found."

"It's good...Alina, there is something I have to tell you."

She explained her the whole thing and her sister appeared to be as shocked as she was.

"They're crazy! He is a monster!"

"I know...But we have to do it."

"You're gonna yell at Spitelout again, aren't you?"

"No doubt about that. Let's get home, we still have time."

"Astrid, I don't want to marry him."

"...Don't worry, I'm not letting them take you away."

She meant it, there was no way those monsters would take her sister! They ate lunch quickly and went to the Great Hall soon, waiting would have made it worse. Spitelout and the council were there, along with girls who were slowly starting to gather. The families were around, scared for their daughters, sisters and nieces. She crossed the stare of Snotlout who turned away, looking embarassed. He hardly dared to talk to her since Hiccup's death, since she called him a murderer. He had even grown less boastful. She gave him a scorning look. Then she saw Ruffnutt standing there, her arms crossed. She and Alina went to her:

"I see you didn't escape it either," Astrid stated simply.

"Nope, but I swear I'll make that guy's life a living hell if he choose me."

For the first time in the afternoon, she genuinely smiled: Ruffnutt would definitely hold on to her promise! Yet she felt worried when she saw her friend wince in pain because of her rib. Sure it wasn't a big wound, but it still gave her a disadvantage. She saw Spitelout advancing toward some girls to order them not to cry. It enraged her, she had controlled her anger with Gobber and Alina, but right now, she decided to let it flow. The young woman advanced toward Spitelout with a fury they hadn't seen in her eyes since Hiccup Haddock disappeared. Spitelout noticed her, and she didn't miss the spark of fear in his eyes. She tried to punch him but her arms were seized by Munch and Bucket who didn't want the situation to be worse. She got out of their grip quickly and yelled:

"Don't you dare to blame these girls for crying, you rat-eating pathetic rascal! They have all the right to do so! Sacrificing one of your tribe because of an useless and laughable war you started! Wasn't it enough to have your nephew's blood on your hands..."

"Silence, you little bitch!"

"Oh yeah, I'm a bitch! But you know what? It's better than being like you! You only wish you were a bitch!

"You might be a woman but I swear I'll have you beaten and you'll be presented like this to Fury!"

"Threaten as much as you want, but I'm not stopping! A piece of trash like you has no right to stop a woman like me from talking! I'll speak as I wish and you'd rather get ready to swallow it whole! If your brother was still alive such a thing would have never happened! He would have been able to win this war or obtain peace in a dignified way!"

Red appeared on his cheek, and several people agreeing with Astrid could be heard in the crowd. Most of people were furious with the chief right now, and Astrid intervention couldn't be more encouraged. Even some who used to side up with Spitelout were now feeling betrayed by him. She knew they were at her side, no matter how much she was threatened. She went on:

"Hiccup would have done a much better job, he was smart, truly smart while you hardly knows the meaning of the word! And he had some fucking pride! But instead of a true Haddock we got a dog who crawled on his knees before those unholy spawns of..."

"Astrid, stop!"

This time it was Gobber's voice, his eyes were pleading. She rolled her eyes, but for the sake of him she stopped. Spitelout would have definitely loved to yell at her as well, but he was exhausted, mentally and physically. Everyone was reproaching him what happened, and he knew it was his fault indeed. Gathering himself, the chief spoke up:

"One of you will be given to Fury. He said he would choose among those who volunteers. Those who does can step up, they'll be introduced to him first. If none of you is willing to propose herself, then a girl will be choosen, willing or not..."

"That's hideous!" Someone in the crowd yelled.

"Enough! Now, any volunteer?"

No girl stepped at first. Astrid looked at Ruff and then at her little sister. Alina was a brave kid, sure, but right now she was pale and trembling. Only those who would volunteer...But Spitelout also said a girl would be choosen if none stepped forward...Astrid had sworn she wouldn't let them take Alina and she realized she didn't want any other youth to be gone...Hiccup had been killed because of Spitelout, she couldn't let someone suffer again because of him. Some of the girls were standing brave, but others looked so frightened...Even if her sister wasn't choosen, any other girl would suffer. Anyway no girl had stepped up yet.

A terrible feeling invaded her: she knew what she had to do and she dreaded it. She was a shieldmaiden, she had sworn to protect her tribe. It would only give Spitelout a victory, in fact she was pretty sure he expected her to do that...But she didn't care, if it could save Alina, Ruff and the other girls it was worth the price. Taking a big breath, she stepped forward, astonishing everyone.

"Astrid?"

"I won't let you condemn another youth because of your stupidity," she said while looking at the chief. "I'll be able to handle Fury."

"He should be there soon," a woman from the council said, "Anyone else?"

Astrid looked back and saw that Ruff was about to step forward too, but Astrid shook her head. She whispered to Ruff: "Only if I'm refused." Her friend bit her lips but listened to her.

Her head was raised proudly and defiantly, she wouldn't be intimidated, she would show to those stupid chiefs she wasn't some frightened little girl. Where was Fury by the way? Would he arrive on foot, or...Suddenly, she saw a blurry black form plunging from above to land right before her and she couldn't help but jump and gasp in surprise. Pretty much everyone around had similar reactions. She was quick to understand it was him and his Night Fury. People whispered when they saw the masked chief. Of course, he wasn't alone, another rider was watching from above, along with a bunch of big dragons in armor.

It was the very first time she could see him closely. He was still wearing this stupid mask, but she had to admit that when he was mounted on his deadly dragon, with his leather armor, his weapons and yes, this very same mask which could be as ridicule as threatening, he was somehow intimidating. There was something animalistic in him, he wasn't broad, he was tall and lean, but somehow that gave him a reptilian appearance. That and the blackness of his outfit just made him look like the very monster he was riding on. He was another kind of threatening, one she wasn't used to.

"This is one girl who volunteered for our arrangement," Spitelout declared simply while pointing to her. "If she is not at your convenience, you can ask for another."

She straightened her stance, he was a little higher than her on this dragon, so she looked up and hoped that he couldn't see the wariness she was trying to hide. He turned to her; suddenly he gasped slightly, for a slight moment his eyes widened as if he was surprised and his body tensed. Why? What was wrong with him?

He had green eyes; it was all she could see behind his mask. Once the short surprise had passed, he looked at her intensely and she started to feel nervous, but she showed nothing, she just stood silently, refusing to speak to him. Finally, he turned to Spitelout, and nodded. Then he gestured to his dragon to fly away, and left as wordlessly as he came.

"Did he accept?" Asked someone.

"It seems so..."

"That savage could have spoke to us!"

Astrid could have replied that Fury wasn't the only savage, but no word would come out of her mouth right now. Although she had stepped up, it was only now that the entire reality of it imposed itself to her and she felt cold. Ruffnutt and Alina came at her side, as well as other girls who were worried for her. It was her, she was 'choosen'. She would leave everything behind and marry Fury...

Hope you liked it! Once again don't hesitate to review. I said to someone that there woud be Hiccup Pov in that chapter, but I realized later that it wasn't feasible. In the next one, I promise!

Guest's answers:

Guest 54: For a start don't think I'm answering because I feel offended by your comment or anything, you were polite, something I always appreciate. I'm taking liberties indeed, just like the movie and the serie, but sexual liberty existed in some cultures even at such a times, they didn't all have the same morals about sexuality. Ways to avoid pregnancies existed, contraception isn't a recent concept at all. I recently discovered that the condom is actually something ancient, it just wasn't made of plastic. Also, a plant from North Africa was driven to extinction in Antiquity because it was really good to avoid unwanted pregnancy and it was demanded a lot by countries around. And that wasn't happening only for brothels, some people had sex before and/or outside marriage, and some cultures accepted that well. Now I'm giving it to you, boys had often more freedom than girls, but since the serie seems to put them on an equal foot, I'll do the same. In fact Viking culture before christianism is not that well known, I did some researches about it and I must say it was quite frustrating. We know that divorce existed and wasn't a big deal, however. Keep in mind that this is still also Httyd universe, not an entirely accurate vision of Vikings. If you have an account, don't hesitate to log in before reviewing so I can answer you directly, I'm open to discussion :-)

Guest who said that Hiccup and Astrid don't deserve love if they sleep with someone without wanting to marry them and that they can't be a good ship: well, that's your opinion, I think in another and if you don't like, don't read. I thought of giving you a more developped answer, but honestly, I have wish to get into some pointless argument.

Twilight Sparkle: It's okay, each one have their prefferences ^^ Thanks for your review!