Chapter 5

Hi everybody! Thanks to everyone who wrote a review, I'm sorry for the wait, but I had a busy schedule lately.

Just one note I forgot in the last chapter, yes, Lady she is the OC I created in Rider and the Beast. I really like that one and I wanted to have her again.

Enjoy!

When morning came, Fishlegs and Heather presented themselves at the Hofferson house. While Fishlegs was greeted warmly, the dark-haired girl had to justify her presence.

"I'm here to make sure you're prepared to leave," the girl explained.

"I've packed already, I'll only check one last time to be sur I forgot nothing," Astrid replied dryly before turning to Fishlegs: "Do you mind helping me?"

"Never, except when you want to do some suicidal moves against Monstrous Nightmare."

Though usually she would have shook her head at the boy's shaky humor, here she granted him a little chuckle. Heather waited under the hateful stares of Olga and Alina, answering curtly whenever they would tell her something. Astrid had to admit that girl had countenance, not many people could handle her angry mother without being at least shaken, but Heather seemed to remain unfazed. Astrid took her time, Fishlegs assured her he had packed yesterday so he was ready to go.

"The ships are waiting for us but we have time."

"Fury will be there?"

"No, as I told you he left already, he didn't explain why."

"At least I won't see him."

The twins came at her door and they accompagned Astrid to the docks as long as her family and Heather. They also threw death glares at the girl, but she remained unfazed, and for a moment, Astrid couldn't help but be reminded of Hiccup...No, she shouldn't associate her friend's memory to those...Those savages! Everyone in Berk came to see her departure, and while they probably meant well she felt even more like a precious merchandise sold away. They were calling her a hero, wishing her good luck, saying they would pray for her and write songs about her. She couldn't care less. Astrid knew they were relieved to see her leave instead of their daughters.

She saw Varl, looking at her like a kicked puppy, but she didn't really care. Ignoring Spitelout and Snotlout completely, she only said goodbye to her loved ones. Her mother, her sister and her friends hugged her all. She said goodbye to Gothi, the shaman squeezed her hand tightly. Gobber also gave her a hug and offered a small and sharp pocket knife.

"Very useful if you get disarmed, remember it."

"Thank you...Please, can you two keep an eye on my sister? I asked the twins already, but they won't be enough."

"We will, I promise you."

Gothi nodded, and Astrid felt a little better. Gobber didn't dare to say it, but after what happened to Hiccup, he wasn't sure he could really help anyone. He would have been more virulent toward Spitelout if he hadn't blamed himself so much as well. Yet he had to do this, he had to held his promise to Astrid. It wouldn't redeem him for loosing Hiccup, it wouldn't redeem him for letting Astrid get married to Fury, but at least he would help a child.

She thanked them both and breathed in deeply. What would await her on those ships? She saw the dragons which Berk used to keep prisoners on one boat. She was somehow exactly like tem, except that they were probably happier than her. Stupid beasts! She wanted to give Berk one last glance, but she couldn't muster it, otherwise she would break, and she couldn't do that now. Her legs were trembling, but she got on the ship nonetheless, supported by Fishlegs's presence right behind her.

"Dragons...There are dragons everywhere..."

Indeed, now that she paid more attention to the dragons around, she saw there were many on the boats or flying around. Fishlegs would have left immediately if it wasn't for his friend. Astrid was looking at the beasts with a mix of awe and horror. She had seen many dragons before, but here she couldn't fight those, she was somehow their prisoner as well...She heard Alina yelling goodbye to her, and she wanted to turn round and look at her, but she just couldn't, seeing her face one last time...

'You protected her, it's all that matters,' she thought, 'she'll stay with mom and your friends promised to keep an eye on her.'

In spite of all that, Astrid was still worried. She felt the ship moving, she saw dragons pulling the boats and their strenght combined to the men rowing made the boat move at a speed she wasn't used to. She turned to look at Fishlegs who was watching their island. She bit her lip and eventually yielded to her urges. She turned round and looked at her home...Her mom and her sister were looking at the boats on the harbour. As the boats were taking distance, the island grew smaller and Astrid felt her heart tighten. She was really leaving it this time, it wasn't just a trip for a quest or an expedition...

Her eyes started to wetten, but she decided not to show her tears to those people. She locked herself in her cabin with Fishlegs as soon as Heather showed her where it was. The boy did his best to speak, he wasn't in the mood, but he wanted to cheer her up.

"They gave you a nice cabin, with a real bed..."

"Great."

"Do you prefer to be alone?"

"No, you can stay, except if you want to leave. I know you're used to my bad moods, but still."

"It's okay...I'm sure the twins are already preparing something terrible against Spitelout already."

She nodded and smirked at this. She would have liked to see that.

"It's not really good for our projects," she murmured, thinking of the idea they had to marry.

"No indeed...I don't know how long we would have lasted, I don't know if really believed in it."

"I don't know, but I would have preffered you over Fury for sure."

"Maybe it won't be that bad with him...And you're Astrid, you'll make him respect you."

Maybe, but when a spouse had to make the other respect them, there were no real chances to have a happy love-life. The two continued to talk until they heard someone tap at the door. Astrid opened to see Heather standing there.

"Fishlegs, you're called by the captain, he'll show you where you'll sleep."

"Sure..."

He left Astrid quite reluctantly, and she was expecting Heather to leave as well but the young woman remained where she was.

"I would like us to speak."

Astrid rolled her eyes, she probably wanted to tell her she had to be nice and good toward their chief if she didn't want to go through consequences and other shit like that. Well, if she had to deal with that kind of shit, she would do it right now and get over with it. Letting Heather take a sit on the bed, she sat at her side, keeping some distance to show she wasn't her friend, but not too much otherwise she would have looked scared.

"What is it you want to tell me?"

"Actually, I just thought you might have questions. I don't think I'll have all the answers you want but I can try."

Astrid raised her eyebrow quizically, she wasn't expecting this. It was true she had many questions, she didn't know where to begin with. She shrugged.

"Let's start with a simple one: How is your chief?"

"You mean his face or his personality?"

"...Both."

"I'm forbidden to tell anyone about his face, if he wants to unmask himself before you, he will. As for his personality, you have nothing to fear. You won't want to believe me right now, but he is someone good."

"Yeah, really! I don't feel much of his goodness."

"I know you're not thinking much good of him right now. But he managed to end this war without victims, or at least a very few of them. Your chief..."

"If you want to tell me Spitelout is a pathetic excuse of a chief and that this war was laughable, we're at least agreeing on something."

Heather realized this wans't really good of her to remind her that her tribe was at fault, she didn't need to hear that. It was delicate balance, she wanted to defend Hiccup, but on the other hand, hearing people say that Fury was a great guy would just make Astrid feel even more misunderstood and angry.

"Yeah, I figured out you weren't very fond of him...What's this story with Stoick and his son?"

Astrid sighed and told her pretty much the whole story. Heather listened silently, of course she knew the story, better than Astrid actually, but she had to act as if she never really heard of Hiccup Haddock before, so her future chieffess wouldn't get any suspicions. She felt sad for the girl, Hiccup told her he and Astrid were friends but he didn't believe his loss had affected her or Fishlegs that much. She didn't know for Fishlegs, but obviously Astrid had been wounded, more than Hiccup thought. It made her feel respect for that girl: she had kept loyalty for the true heir, without letting a cruel and calculating man fool or corrupt her.

"And he never came back?"

"No. We discovered some blood on pieces of clothes, dragons' scales...We're pretty sure he died."

"And you still continue to defend him?"

A wave of sadness washed through her, Astrid was staring at the door, not really looking at it, she was just lost in her memories.

"I'll never forgive Spitelout and Snotlout. Since then I always put them down at each occasion I got, Spitelout mostly. His son at least stopped to boast around, so I ignored him often. Everyone called me the insurgent, and I still am I guess."

"You do that because you had a thing for him?"

Astrid felt annoyed, Heather wasn't the only one who asked her that, a lot of people in the tribe suspected her feelings. Yet her little crush on Hiccup wasn't her main reason to act as such. Why couldn't people believe that friendship and injustice could be a motive?

"No. I mean, I had a thing for him but it wasn't much, just a small teenage flirt. But he was my friend for a long time, I am sure he could have been a really good chief if he had got the time or the right guidance. And what Spitelout did was low anyway. Even if Hiccup hadn't been a friend, I would have despised his uncle for what he did."

"I understand."

Astrid rolled her eyes. No she couldn't understand, she hadn't been there! The voice of reason was telling her that maybe that girl went through something like that too, but she wasn't in the mood to listen to the voice of reason. She turned to the girl:

"And how did you find yourself in that tribe? Did you think one day: 'oh I want to ride fire-spitting monsters from now'?" She asked in a voice laced with venom.

"...Honestly, I'd rather tell you my story once you'll be less angry. I don't really like to talk about it and it's not something I tell to anyone."

A silence passed, and Astrid rolled her eyes again: it wasn't her fault if that girl had chosen one of the weirdest, most nonsensical and despicable way of life!

"I'm the one supposed to ask questions, you didn't really answer me: how is your chief?"

"Well, he is very good with dragons and he is a very nice person. He can be very sarcastic, and he doesn't stop himself from saying whatever he wants, that's maybe why people fear his words more than his sword. It's not that he can't fight, but he knows how to tell you the thing that will truly hurt you if you really makes him furious. And he is too serious at times."

"Good, I know what kind of chief I can expect, that's great! But what kind of husband will he be?"

"That I can't tell, he was never married before. We had a short affair at a time, but that's all, we're only friends now. I think he can be a good husband, he wouldn't disrespect you."

"How lucky I am..."

Heather bit her lips, it would really be difficult. She remembered how Astrid yelled at her chief after she had been promised to Fury; usually she would have put anyone talking like this about her chief in their right place, but she couldn't blame Astrid. She had just lost everything and she was being sold. Like a slave...

"I understand that you're angry, I would be also. You have to pay because of a chief you despise, and you have to go through an arranged marriage. But believe me, there are worse fates."

"Knowing that other people got worse doesn't comfort me...I would like to be alone."

"If you need anything, tell me."

Heather stood up, actually relieved that Astrid didn't want to talk anymore. The dark-haired girl passed before the sailors and left to her own space, as the second in command on this ship, she had her own cabin even if it was smaller than Eret's one. That conversation with Astrid made unwanted memories resurface again, she suddenly felt the need to go out again. After all these years she just couldn't let go of it all...At the same time Astrid was fighting against the tears, some managed to fall, but through her gritted teeth she swore it would be the last time, she wouldn't let those people see her tears, she swore it.

O o O

Fishlegs had been shown the place where he would sleep, he would be among sailors, and it didn't bother him at all. One thing which bothered him however were the dragons on the boats and flying in the sky. Yes he knew they were tamed, they belonged to the people here, but they were dragons! He was standing near the mast, ready to take cover while he was watching two big Monstruous Nightmares fighting. It was scary but also fascinating. It was difficult to observe those animals in the wild, he would only see them in cages. Now those dragons weren't wild but they were obviously independent. It was an impressive sight...

"Are you gonna gape at them all day?"

Fishlegs jumped in surprise and saw a tall and big man with tattos on his chin looking at him with a slight smile.

"Hum, sorry."

"Don't be. I guess you're not used to that."

"No...One of them is yours?"

"The one over here, his name is skullcrusher."

Fishlegs couldn't help but gape again, this dragon was just impressive! He had never seen any like this one!

"What's your name?," Asked the man.

"Hum, Fishlegs."

"I'm Eret, son of Eret, captain of the fleet. You're here as a guest, aren't you?"

"Well, yes."

"Good, but even guests has to participate to the work, only our future chieffess can skip that."

Fishlegs blushed slightly, he had indeed forgot that. Vikings would rarely take passengers who wouldn't work, except if they were too young, too old, or wounded, or if they had a particular status like Astrid. He soon took place among the others, and started to work along with them. The next day, he visited Astrid once more to know how she was doing. She had hardly left her cabin. He found her in a strange, confused and thoughtful state that morning. She assured him she was fine, but he believed none of it.

"You should go outside. I know the dragons are scary..."

"I'm not scared, Fishlegs! I don't want to get to know them, that's all."

"You'll have to...It's better for them ot know you."

She rolled her eyes, a part of her thought it made sense but she still couldn't muster it, plus she felt quite upset that morning. She wouldn't have told it to Fishlegs, but she had a dream...And it took all her willpower not to blush because of it. In her dream, she was in bed, and Fury was with her, with his mask still on. They were getting rid of their clothes, she remembered that Fury ripped hers at a point. Then she threw the mask away. She couldn't see his face however, it was blurry, but it wouldn't matter...Oh she had just blushed after waking up. She wasn't prudish, she had done dirty stuff with Grun and with her other boyfriends in the past, and she already had wet dreams. But it was the first time that she was having such dreams about someone she loathed.

She decided to push away those thoughts and looked at her stuff. She had her axe, it would be nice to train, but it she couldn't do it here. Fishlegs was right, she couldn't stay here all the time, and now that she thought about it, staying inside like this would probably make her look like a scared little thing. She put on her vest, took her axe with her and went out to find Fishlegs.

Meanwhile, her friend was helping with the mainsail when Eret went to him.

"Is Fury's fiancee still in her cabin?"

"Astrid? Yes, she is."

"I'll have to talk to her, at least to present my respects."

Fishlegs wasn't really sure about this, he didn't really like the man's tone while saying those words, he seemed a little too gallant. Would he try to take advantage of Astrid? Oh sure, he would get a violent response, yet he wouldn't want his friend to be subjected to such a treatment. He was about say something when he heard someone laugh. He saw Heather coming toward them.

"Eret, you sound creepy when you try to be solemn!"

"Oh come on! You overexaggerate it!"

"I swear it! Anyway, I guess she still wants to be left alone for now."

"Alright, alright."

With that, he left them, returning to his work. Heather smiled at Fishlegs, and for the first time he was fully aware that she was pretty.

"You were worried because of Eret, weren't you?"

"I don't know him or anyone here," he simply answered.

"Dont worry, he has a fiancee and he is way too loyal to our chief to do that."

Fishlegs was a little reassured, yet he was still worried. He would have to know that man a little more, and by himself. Heather went at his side.

"It's really noble of you to come with her."

"I owe her that, she saved me more than once during quests."

"She is not in danger you know. I'm aware there a lot of horrid things told about our tribe, but a lot are invented. And we had no wish to attack your tribe but..."

"Astrid and I are perfectly aware that Spitelout is the one to blame," Fishlegs interrupted abruptly. "But it's still infuriating that she is the one who has to pay for it! That dumbass already took a friend..."

He stopped himself right there. He wasn't aware, but Astrid just arrived behind them, and heard what they said.

"You're talking about Stoick's son? She told me about him, he was your friend too," Heather stated.

"Yeah, he was."

"It's always hard to loose someone like this."

"Sounds like you know what you're talking about," he murmured.

"I do. It's hard to speak about it, but I do."

Fishlegs wondered what happened to the girl. They heard footsteps behind them and saw Astrid advancing to their side.

"I thought you didn't want to go out," he said with a happy smile

"Changed my mind."

She wouldn't have say it, but she was now feeling a little bad toward Heather. She had been harsh to her while the girl had tried to be friendly, and she had assumed that she had no idea of what she felt like, but it seemed that she was wrong. That girl was still an Endrisian though, and still one of the people who escorted her to be taken away. However, Astrid had learnt something during her different quests: allies could come from very unexpected places. She could still try to know her a little more, she and Fishlegs needed an ally, she needed someone to answer her questions and she indeed had to know the people she would live with.

"There is something I didn't ask you, but I just thought about it," Astrid declared.

"What?"

"There was almost no victims during the battle. Yet your tribe had already slaughtered enemies, like the Outcasts. So, why did you spare us like that?"

Heather felt her gut tighten, Fishlegs looked intrigued as well. She would have to be careful around Astrid if she asked questions like that.

"Our chief doesn't like useless massacres, and he always admired your island. The thing with the Outcast was different, we had bad blood with them."

"So did we, they killed Stoick," Fishlegs explained.

'Yeah, exactly the reason why we killed them,' Heather thought.

"What was your bad blood with them?"

Heather didn't answer that, and Astrid understood this was another thing she couldn't talk about.

"There were many reasons to hate Alvin, I guess," Fishlegs murmured. "I heard that children plays with dragons in your tribe."

"Hum, yeah, indeed," Heather answered though she was surprised at the change of subject.

"Aren't you afraid for them?"

"No. I know it seems incredible to you, but in the end, dragons are just animals, they can be nice too. You're probably not really believing it, but you'll see on the island."

They continued to talk like that, the two asking a lot of questions, and Heather asked some herself when Fishlegs's eagerness to know more would leave her some space to do so.

O o O

The days went by, and in spite of her still vivid anger, Astrid was starting to really like Heather, she learned soon that the girl had been opposed to the marriage and she felt grateful for that. She was starting to like Eret as well. The captain had presented his respects, and though he had been a little clumsy while trying to be formal, he had been a gentleman. The rest of the crew and warriors however wouldn't talk much to her, though they wouldn't disrespect her, she could feel they were distant to her while they were less cold with Fishlegs. She guessed they probably didn't like having to treat a complete stranger from a defeated tribe as someone important. She would have to earn their full respect. One afternoon, she and Fishlegs were on the deck, talking with Eret:

"I heard that you and Heather were the first ones to join Fury," Fishlegs said.

"Heather is the very first one, I came after."

"Where do you come from actually?" Asked Astrid. "You were taken as a slave too?"

"No, but I almost did. I come from a family of dragon trappers..."

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah, I know it's pretty ironic."

"How did you ended in a tribe of dragon riders?" Asked Fishlegs.

"Well, I almost lost my honor and my freedom to become the lowest kind of slave, when Fury arrived. He was just a kid back then, but he already had the Night Fury. He saved me, and I immediately swore to him and made him my Tann."

"Tann?"

"In my mother tongue, it means 'Chief', but one you choose yourself, not the one you had when you were born. You have to obey your chief, but you're linked to your Tann with a stronger bond."

Astrid was about to ask what happened to Eret when a call caught their attention:

"Endris! We're approaching the island!"

Both Hooligans felt their guts tighten, and Astrid even felt a wave of nausea. They indeed saw the shape of a big island in the distance. As they approached, they saw dragons flying around, without attacking. The village they saw from afar was way bigger than Berk's, it could be called a city actually. A tribe didn't need to have a big home or a big village to be respected or powerful, Berk was the proof of it. Yet, it was still impressive to see that.

"Welcome to your new home," Eret murmured.

Now, I know that most readers are probably waiting for Astrid and Hiccup to meet, that will happen in the next chapter. Don't hesitate to review !