A/N: Reminder that updates are every Monday, and begging me for updates sooner than that will accomplish nothing. I also want to clarify that there is a difference between expressing your excitement and impatience for a new chapter, and demanding an author update. Your words have power, use them wisely. When you start talking like you are entitled to a new chapter or start yelling at me to update, that is when I get pissed.
That said, there have been hundreds of wonderful, patient, lovely people who have been so supportive and so encouraging, and so wonderful, and I am blown away by that. This recently hit 1000 followers, which blows my mind. I want to do a video to celebrate, so if anyone has questions about this or any of my fics or me or whatever, you can submit them to me for the video. (Better specify that they are for the video, otherwise I'll just answer like I would any review or PM or whatever. You can send questions through reviews or PMs or to my tumblr.) Thank you all so so so much for reading, and also I apologize because I don't feel like this chapter is up to snuff, but next chapter something super exciting happens, so I'll make it up to you.
Chapter 22: An Outstretched Hand
"You."
Astrid turned from watching the newly-freed dragons disappearing into the night sky, Stormfly going with them to assist in carrying the dragons too weak to fly on their own.
"You know we have a hard enough time catching dragons without someone setting them free every few weeks." Camicazi pulled a broadsword from her belt and pointed it at Astrid.
"Maybe if you stopped capturing them I wouldn't have to keep setting them free." Camicazi snorted and took a step forward and Astrid took a step back. "I still don't want to fight you."
The small chieftess laughed. "Too bad I want to fight you."
Astrid took her axe from her back as she and Camicazi circled each other. "Have it your way, then. But let the record show," Astrid said, twirling her axe deftly between her hands. "That I really didn't want to hurt you."
Camicazi shook her head. "I knew it, you know. I knew you were faking all that damsel in distress, 'you don't know what he'll do to me' crap."
Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought I was pretty convincing."
Her opponent shrugged. "You were pretty good, but I'm a burglar, pirate, and conwoman. I know deception when I see it. I also know how to utilize the element of surprise." She crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye and swung her sword in a maneuver Astrid easily blocked.
"It's not really a surprise if you tell me you're going to do it, you know," Astrid said, her axe locked against Camicazi's sword.
"Depends on what the surprise is," Camicazi said brightly, and with a flick of her sword severed the clasp of Astrid's cloak.
"Hey!" Astrid shouted as the cloak fell from around her shoulders. Camicazi danced backwards, grinning.
"That's what you get for stealing my clothes. I still want my skirt back, by the way." She lunged again, and Astrid deflected the blow and tried to hit her with the handle of her axe but Camicazi ducked out of the way.
"I think it looks better on me," Astrid told her, fingering the hem while Camicazi glared at her. "Normally I'm not really one for flowy skirts, but this one has really grown on me." She jumped out of the way of Camicazi's next swing and just barely blocked the next one.
In the past Astrid had always relied on being smaller and faster than her opponents, but Camicazi had her beat on both counts. It was all she could do to keep out of the way of the small girl's swift jabs and even attempt to get in a few of her own. It didn't help that Camicazi was a lot less concerned about causing significant bodily harm.
"You know the bounty on my head calls for me to be brought in alive, right?" she asked as she blocked another attempt at cutting her in half.
Camicazi shrugged. "Oh, I know. I was one of the first people Stoick contacted when you made your allegiance clear." She rolled out of the way of the broad side of Astrid's axe and swiped at her feet. "They all think there's a chance you're still innocent and being controlled or whatever, I guess." She feinted to the right, and Astrid barely got her axe up in time to avoid having her braid chopped off. "But I know you're not and they'll figure that out the second you're put on trial and just hang you for treason anyway, so the way I see it I'm just saving them a step. Very economical of me, if I do say so myself. Let no one say I'm not generous. Sure, I may be a thief and a pirate, and the best damn burglar the world has ever seen, but I'm a giver, too. I help out where I can. It's an important quality for a chieftess, don'tcha know."
That was the other thing Astrid was learning about Camicazi: she never stopped talking. Astrid didn't understand how she wasn't getting winded talking so much while jumping and twirling around. Astrid took a careless angry swing she knew would miss but needed to get out of her system anyway.
"Is the incessant talking a strategy to distract your opponents and drive them crazy, or are you just incapable of shutting up?"
Her axe met Camicazi's sword and the smaller girl paused, frowning. "Well, it's probably the latter if I'm being honest, but it works as the second thing too. What do you think?"
Astrid pretended to take a swing at Camicazi's head, and when she lifted her sword to block it Astrid got in a blow with her axe handle to Camicazi's stomach.
Camicazi doubled over, the breath knocked from her lungs. Astrid took a step back. "I think it's more annoying than strategic. And it's probably proving more of a distraction to you than to me."
The Bog Burglar tried to raise her sword for an uppercut but the head of Astrid's axe came down and shoved the tip of the sword into the ground and held it there. Camicazi tried to pull her sword free but Astrid bore down on the axe, trapping the end of the sword between the earth and the curve of the axe blade. That was one advantage she did have over Camicazi: strength. The other girl may have had speed and size on her side, but Astrid was stronger, and her long legs made it easy in that moment to sweep Camicazi's out from under her.
She toppled over, her sword pulled from her grasp, and Astrid slung it away with her axe, before pointing her own weapon at Camicazi's neck.
Astrid smirked. "You're not the only one good with surprises."
Camicazi gaped up at her, eyes and mouth wide open. "I get the feeling that in another life you and I should have been friends."
Astrid looked down at the girl; fierce, brave, an excellent fighter. "We probably would have been. Maybe one day we still can be."
Camicazi scoffed. 'Unless you leave your dragon-loving boyfriend I don't think that's likely to happen. What, has he got a dragon-sized cock or something?"
"You don't know what he's like," Astrid said, moving her axe blade a little closer to Camicazi's neck when her hand started to inch towards her belt and the throwing knives concealed there. Camicazi's hands rose back to the side of her face. "You don't know what the dragons are like."
"I think I do, actually," Camicazi spat, glaring. "They've been attacking and destroying my village my whole life."
"Only because they have to," Astrid explained. "They serve a queen who makes them attack. Otherwise they're docile."
"Docile?!" Camicazi rolled her eyes. "Hah! I'll believe that when I see it."
Astrid pondered that for a moment. "Then let me show you. Because I've seen it. When they're not in attack mode the dragons are amazing. They're kind, and playful, and affectionate. They're not savage beasts; they're incredible and intelligent creatures."
There was a squawk from above and Astrid looked up to see Stormfly returning. The Nadder came to land close by and Astrid pulled her axe away from Camicazi's neck and held out her hand. "Let me show you," she said. "The way he showed me."
Camicazi looked from the hand outstretched in offering to the dragon waiting nearby, then back to Astrid's face. There was curiosity there, and for a moment Astrid had hope.
And then Camicazi reached for her belt, and Astrid had a split second to dive out of the way of the throwing knives. Stormfly screeched, tail bristling, preparing to launch her own projectiles, but Astrid shouted at her to heel. She dodged two more blades before grabbing her cloak and reaching her dragon. She grabbed the side of the saddle. "Go, girl, go!"
A sharp pain exploded in her arm as Stormfly took off, and Astrid looked down to see one of the small throwing knives half-embedded in her upper arm. She couldn't remove it without letting go of the saddle, so she had to let it stay as she used both arms to climb onto the seat. It couldn't have taken her more than a couple of seconds, but the burn of muscle contracting around the knife blade seemed to last much longer.
Once she was seated on Stormfly she yanked the knife from her arm and let it fall into the ocean below. Immediately blood started pouring from the wound and she used her cloak to wrap it up. She cast the Bog Isles one last look, and thought of that brief moment of curiosity in Camicazi's eyes.
Xx
"Well, it's gonna hurt like hel for a while, but you'll live."
Astrid gave Hiccup a sheepish smile as he finished wrapping bandages around her wound, all the while giving her a disapproving glare. "It's only fun if you get a scar out of it."
Hiccup rolled his eyes. "You should have just left. Why didn't you just hop on Stormfly and get out of there as soon as you saw her?"
"Stormfly was helping the escaping dragons transport the ones who were too weak to fly on their own."
"You still could have run. You should have run." Stormfly and Toothless had been hovering close by while Hiccup dressed her wound, and now Stormfly leaned in close to inspect the injury.
"Please," Astrid said, scratching Stormfly's chin with her good arm. "It's not like I couldn't handle one pint-sized pirate."
Hiccup threw Toothless a skeptical look and the dragon cocked his head, not understanding but still trying to be supportive. "Your injury says otherwise."
Astrid frowned. "I had her pinned and disarmed. The only reason she managed to get that hit in is because I let her go."
"What'd you do that for?"
Astrid wouldn't look at him. She scratched behind Stormfly's crown of spikes and the dragon trilled in delight. "I wanted to try to show her that dragons aren't bad. Like you did with me."
She could feel Hiccup's eyes on her. "Why would you do that?" he asked quietly.
Astrid shrugged. "I wanted to try to change her mind. I mean, she's the chief of a village of powerful warriors. Can you imagine how much it would help our cause to have someone like that on our side?"
"I'm not sure Camicazi was the best place to start." She couldn't tell from his tone what he was thinking so she glanced at him. There was a small frown on his face, though it was more contemplative than disapproving.
Astrid gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "You have to start somewhere, right?" She nuzzled close to Stormfly's head, an action which prompted a jealous Toothless to nudge at his own rider's arm for affection. Hiccup didn't take his eyes off her as he pulled Toothless's head into his lap and began stroking between the little spikes. Toothless closed his eyes and purred like an overgrown housecat.
"I guess."
"You know, for a second there she looked receptive."
Hiccup perked up at that. He blinked at her and his mouth fell open slightly. "She did?"
Astrid nodded. "A very short second, granted, but she's a chief. She's going to be hesitant about anything that could put her people in danger."
"Hm." Hiccup turned his attention to Toothless, who had rolled over onto his back and was now enjoying scratches on the underside of his chin. She could practically hear the gears of Hiccup's mind turning. He glanced at her. "You put yourself in danger in order to try to convince her dragons aren't bad?"
"Yeah, of course," she said. In Hiccup's eyes she could see confusion and contemplation and most importantly, hope. Astrid smiled wide. "You gotta start somewhere."
Xx
Ingrid smiled as she watched Brenna eagerly tuck in to her cake. "Slow down," she said, "Take smaller bites."
Brenna rolled her eyes. "I'm a big girl now, I can take big bites."
"Big girl or not, you'll choke if you don't start taking smaller bites, and then you won't see your fifth birthday."
Brenna swallowed her bite of cake and opened her mouth to argue when there was a knock at the door which Ingrid left to answer. Brenna shrugged and shoveled more cake into her mouth.
Ingrid opened the door to see Stoick standing there frowning, a rolled up piece of parchment in his hands. "Chief," Ingrid said, eyebrows lifting in surprise while Arvid stumbled out of his seat to come stand beside her. Stoick on their doorstep never meant good things these days. He had declared their eldest daughter a traitor and sent word to many chiefs of other tribes that there was a bounty on her head, though they'd at least managed to convince him to specify that she was to be brought back alive. She could be tried for treason, but until they knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she wasn't being controlled or coerced, they couldn't bear to allow him to condemn her.
Even so.
She never left the skies on those rare occasions she was seen during raids on Berk, but they said she was often on the ground during raids on other villages. Astrid would not go down without a fight, and they knew the caveat on her bounty might get ignored in the heat of battle. And so they dreaded the day Stoick arrived on their doorstep to tell them their girl had been killed on some far off island.
"What can we help you with?" Arvid asked, trying for nonchalance but not quite being able to hide the anxiety in his voice.
Stoick presented the roll of parchment to Ingrid. "This arrived today, delivered—" he paused, glancing at Brenna and lowering his voice. "Delivered by a Terrible Terror. I thought the two of you should see it."
Ingrid and Arvid exchanged looks. "If this is something you need to discuss with us, can we do it later?" Ingrid asked, glancing over her shoulder at Brenna. "We're just in the middle of celebrating Brenna's birthday."
"Oh." Stoick looked at Brenna, who cowered behind her doll. It seemed she still had not forgiven him for frightening her. "My apologies for interrupting. But no." He looked back to the Hofferson parents. "I don't think this is something that needs discussing. Just something I felt ought to be brought to your attention. It's—well, I suppose it really just tells us what we already knew, or at least suspected…" he trailed off as Ingrid unrolled the parchment. Her eyes grew wide and she snapped the roll shut, shooting a glance behind her at Brenna.
"Like I said," Stoick muttered, scuffling his feet. "Not something that really needs to be discussed."
"Yes," Arvid said, staring at the ground. "Ah, thank you for bringing this. I think."
"I'm sorry for interrupting such a happy occasion," Stoick said, tilting his helmet. "I'll leave you to it."
The Hoffersons nodded their goodbyes. They stared at the closed door for a long moment before Brenna piped up behind them. "Is he gone?" They both turned to see Brenna's bright blue eyes peeking over the top of the table.
Arvid gave her a tight smile. "He's gone now, darling. You're fine." Brenna climbed back into her seat and started eating again. Arvid glanced at this wife, who clutched at the parchment in her hand and nodded. Arvid looked back at Brenna. "Ah, Brenna love, Mama and I have something to discuss right quick, and then we'll be right back to give you your presents."
" 'Kay," Brenna said around a mouthful of cake.
The Hoffersons kept up their pleasant parental smiles until their bedroom door had closed behind them and Ingrid spread the parchment out flat on their bed. At the top was a note written in an unfamiliar hand: She didn't like the wanted posters. None of them looked like her. Below, taking up most of the parchment, was a detailed charcoal drawing of Astrid from the waist up, lying nude on her stomach on a fur blanket and looking over her shoulder at the viewer. She was propped up on her elbows with her hair unbound and falling over her shoulders and concealing her breasts, though the expression on her face was distinctly seductive.
Ingrid shook her head. "What is this?"
Arvid snarled and his hands balled into fists. "He's bragging. Taunting us. Just like when he gave back her bridal crown. He's taken her maidenhead and he wants us to know it."
"No, no, I don't believe it," Ingrid said, wringing her hands together and frowning. "We can't trust a drawing like this. He could have drawn her face from observation but if he'd seen a naked woman before he could easily have filled in the rest."
Arvid paced around the room, refusing to look any longer at an image of his daughter so blatantly sexualized. "She's fighting by his side now, Ingrid. She's been with him for months. For gods' sakes she was seen kissing him. She probably has become his lover by now."
Ingrid sniffled. "Oh my little girl," she moaned. "What have you done? What have we done?" Arvid stopped his pacing to wrap his arms around his wife. "Oh Arvid, we never should have let them do this to her. We should have refused, we should have protected her. All we've done is make it worse…"
"We…we couldn't have known," Arvid said, but the words sounded as empty as they felt. This was their fault, and they both knew it. Ingrid sobbed into his vest.
"Oh, my baby girl…"
At that moment they heard a loud peal of laughter from the next room. Arvid sighed and rubbed Ingrid's shoulders. "Come on, my love, we can't stay in here moping forever. We've got a birthday party to attend to."
Ingrid sniffled again and came out of hiding to wipe at her eyes and nose. "Right, right, yes." She took a deep breath and rolled the parchment up and stuck it in a drawer while another happy little shriek echoed from the next room. Ingrid frowned. "What is she doing in there?" She rubbed at her eyes again and opened their bedroom door.
Both parents froze in shock.
"Mama, Daddy, look, he does tricks!" Brenna squealed, holding a piece of dried fish up as the little green Terrible Terror spun in circles on his hind legs. She held the treat lower and the Terror took it carefully from her hand before jumping up and hovering in the air to lick at her face.
After a moment in which neither Hofferson parent was capable of movement something clicked, and Arvid was running forward and snatching the Terror away from Brenna. The scared Terror screeched and bit Arvid's hand, who dropped him while Ingrid grabbed Brenna. The Terror took to the air and squawked at Arvid before taking off out the window.
"Awww, Daddy, you scared him!" Brenna whined, squirming in her mother's grasp.
Arvid rounded on the little girl. "Brenna Hofferson, what were you doing with that thing?! That was a dragon, they are dangerous!"
"That one wasn't!" Brenna protested. "He was sweet!"
Arvid held up a bleeding finger. "He bit me the first chance he got!"
The little girl stuck out her bottom lip and her eyebrows knit together. "Only 'cause you scared him! He was nice! Astrid sent him!"
Ingrid stopped trying to hold onto the struggling little girl, who scrambled out of her arms while Arvid stared slack-jawed at his youngest daughter.
"How-how do you know?" He blinked and pointed a stern finger at Brenna. "And don't say it's a secret!"
"Look!" Brenna said, pattering across the floor to an unwrapped package. She picked up a little dress made of shiny red fabric. "She sent me a little dress for my dolly for my birthday!" She leaned back down to pick up a piece of parchment. "There's a note too, but I can't read it."
Ingrid and Arvid exchanged a look before they were both sprinting across the room to grab the note out of Brenna's hands. At first glance it was obviously Astrid's handwriting. The parents huddled together, the note held between them, and read the first message they had heard from their daughter in months.
Tell Brenna I said Happy Birthday, and that I love her so much and miss her a lot.
They turned the parchment over and over, and searched through the brown paper the dress had been wrapped in, but there was no other message.
Astrid clearly had nothing to say to anyone but Brenna.
Xx
A sharp tap tap tap pulled Astrid from the divinely deep sleep she'd been enjoying. She sighed and snuggled back into Hiccup's chest. She was cozy and warm; sleep made her body feel heavy and she was happy to sink further into the warm blankets and Hiccup's embrace. His bare skin against hers was a lovely reminder of what they'd been doing before they'd fallen asleep, and sleepily Astrid made a note to pick up where they'd left off as soon as she woke up properly.
Her lover had been in rare form last night. She would barely have caught her breath from one orgasm before he had hands or mouth or hips between her legs endeavoring to give her another one. Not that she was complaining; she'd been unusually insatiable the last few days. And, well, she thought smugly, she had a couple months' experience by now, and was certain she had given as well as she'd got, so that by the time they fell asleep they were both thoroughly exhausted, but utterly happy.
She was almost asleep when the tapping noise roused her again. She whined, and Hiccup's arms tightened around her waist and pulled her closer as he pressed a few sleepy kisses against her ear. Could she just stay like this forever? Cozy and happy and pleasantly tired after hours of glorious sex and a great night's sleep?
Whatever was making the tapping sound clearly did not agree.
Finally Astrid managed to drag her heavy eyelids open and got a blurry glimpse of a pair of feet standing in front of the bed. Oh, just Hiccup up before her, then. She yawned and closed her eyes and curled herself up tighter in Hiccup's arms.
Wait.
Astrid blinked blearily.
Hiccup was definitely still asleep behind her, and there was definitely a pair of feet in front of their bed, along with the bottom of a strange curved staff that was producing the annoying tapping sound every time it struck the stone floor. Astrid's eyes snapped wide and she pushed herself up with one arm while the other clutched the fur to her neck.
There was a very tall, very imposing, very angry looking middle-aged woman frowning down at them. She lifted the strange staff from the ground and used it to point at Hiccup.
"Wake him for me, would you?"
