Hope you guys like this first real chapter! You get an idea of what's going on! I know Astrid may be a little OOC but it's understandably so considering what happens. Don't worry you'll see glimpses of the real AStrid until she finally- well...you'll see;)

Astrid quietly made her way into the kitchen and lit a fire in what served as their dining room immediately. The house was still quiet, much to her relief, but she wasn't going to take any chances and immediately checked on the meal. In the kitchen the chicken was ready and had stayed pretty warm, and the broth was almost done, all she needed to do was set the table and ensure that Father's cup of mead remained full and she would survive the evening just fine.

She removed the broth from the kitchen fire and allowed it to cool before tasting it. It was okay, she thought to herself sadly, but like everything else she did it would not impress Father and mediocre was all she could ever hope to achieve.

She'd just finished filling their bowls and plates when Father stalked quietly into the house and sat himself at the head of the table and silently demanded his dinner.

Astrid silently obeyed and presented him his food to which he immediately started to dig in, and Astrid followed. They ate in silence, and when finished he bitingly smirked. Just as Astrid had predicted he said," It was mediocre but, then again, I suppose for you, that's as much as I can ever hope for."

Astrid hung her head down in shame but remained quiet. While her entire being protested against being meek and obedient, she had to go against her nature in order to avoid unnecessary consequences later. Tears or protests or arguments solved nothing when it came to her father. He was ruthless," Clean this mess up, and go to your room. I have work to do."

She nodded and stayed seated until he was gone and then immediately got to work cleaning up. By the time she got upstairs to her room, she was exhausted. Her legs ached, she was terrified, and she didn't know what do which was not a feeling she liked at all.

She made her way to her bed and plopped down not in the mood to make her way to the rose water bath that was sure to await her. She ran a ran through her blonde curls, which was becoming a habit now that Father refused to let her tie it back.

She sighed tiredly and made her way to the bathroom where one of the few servants Father allowed in the house was waiting for her. Hallberta had taken care of Astrid since she was a baby, and had become like a mother to her. Once Astrid came of marriageable age, Father had dismissed a great deal of servants in order for her to be introduced into how to run a household which meant she was now left to help the servants with the cooking, cleaning, and sewing.

She didn't mind, and while tedious and pointless, Astrid enjoyed spending time with the household. Hallberta, however, made sure that Astrid never had to do too much, and always let her indulge in the comfort and luxury provided to her by Father. She made sure that Astrid's clothes were laid out for her, her hair tended to, and her bath drawn everyday.

She didn't see the point considering she was nearing the age of 20, and the only men who would marry her were men who were only interested in getting onto good terms with Drago Blubvist or not interested due to her abhorrent nature.

Hallberta smiled kindly at her and ushered her into the bath where the oils and scent engulfed her and soothes her aching muscles wonderfully.

Hallberta left her to her own devices and she did her best to forget the entire day happened.

...

Hiccup's mind was racing the entire ride back home, and he knew he was making Toothless uneasy but there was little he could do about it. He'd thought that he'd discovered a new land, only to find that someone had discovered it first. The girl had been proof of that, and he couldn't help but be curious as to who else was there and what lay amidst the forest. Who was that girl, and why was she so terrified of him and Toothless. Vikings were tough and unflinching in situations, or at the very least indifferent. She'd been scared out of her wits, and that did not sit well with him if he were being completely honest.

There were so many things that he wanted to know, but for now he would wait it out.

Toothless let out a crooned questioningly and he patted his neck," Yeah, I'm okay, bud...but today was... yeah, it was something, huh?"

He made a noise in agreement and he laughed dryly," You know we're going back, right?"

Toothless made protested but he shook his head adamantly and chuckled," Uh, sorry, bud, but I'm serious about this. We're going."

Toothless grumbled, but that was the end of it for now because they landed right in front of his house. The biggest in the village and it stood atop a huge hill. It was a bit intimidating but held his fondest memories with his family and friends.

Smoke curled up into the sky from the chimney and signaled that dinner was ready. He took his helmet off and made his way inside. His dad, greeted him happily and enthusiastically," How was your day, Son?"

"Uh," Hiccup trailed off," It was good.."

"Good?" Stoick asked.

"It was very interesting," Hiccup said vaguely. His mom set dinner on the table and he went to go greet her with a kiss on the cheek," Hello, dear, you have fun out there?"

Hiccup nodded sitting down," Yeah, you're actually gonna love this, Mom, we thought we'd found some new land actually."

"You didn't?" Stoick asked confused.

Hiccup shook his head," Nope, just when I'd drawn it out and officially dubbed it 'Itchy Armpit', we saw this girl with blonde hair and blue eyes."

"A girl?" Valka asked interested," What happened?"

Hiccup sighed tiredly," Nothing, Mom, she ran away."

"Why would she do that?" Valka asked frowning," What did you do?"

"Nothing," he repeated," we were just going to introduce ourselves when she ran off absolutely terrified."

"She can't have outrun you, son, not with that Night Fury of yours," Stoik determined," So you either didn't follow her at all, or you let her go."

"I let her go," he said with a huff," She obviously didn't want to be found, and while I don't know why, I wasn't about to force her to talk to us..."

Valka smiled sympathetically and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder," You did well, son, the poor lass."

Stoik just grinned knowingly," You're going back aren't you?"

Hiccup tried to play it off casually," What? I have no idea what you're talking about, Dad... I-"

"I know you, son," he said cutting him off," You won't rest until you get to the bottom of this."

"Dad..." Hiccup began with a tired sigh.

"There's nothing wrong with that," he reassured him," Just make sure you're not biting off more than you can chew."

Valka nodded," You don't know what's going on. You're in unknown territory, and if she was as terrified as you said she was, then something is probably off right here, don't you think so, dear?"

Hiccup thought back to how her blue eyes had filled with terror at the mere sight of them, and he felt a chill run down his spine. His mom was right, he had to be careful unless he wanted to risk making things worse for everyone involved.

He nodded grimly and gave his parents a reassuring look," Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing...what's the worst that could happen?"

Stoick gave him a deadpan look and Hiccup looked away feigning innocence and Valka interjected," Good, now let's finish eating."

And just like that Hiccup's thoughts remained with the mysterious blonde, and how he would manage to get some answers.

...

Astrid woke up to see Hallberta shaking her awake and she asked groggily," What?"

"Wake up, lass," she ushered," There's a lot of work to be done, and you don't want your father to see you slacking off now, right?"

Astrid sighed but did as she was told," No, I guess not..."

Hallberta smiled comfortingly and went to get Astrid's things ready for the day as Astrid diligently made her bed and swept the floor and made sure everything was in it's place before sitting before her vanity and allowing Hallberta to brush her hair and get her ready for the day.

Hallberta handed her a deep burgundy dress, and brown corset on top, brown flats, and her regular kransen placed on her head, she dabbed some rosewater on her wrists and neck, and she was done.

Hallberta kissed the top of her head before they began their actual chores for the day. Astrid helped Hallberta sweep the entire house, make lunch, start dinner, and so on. It seemed as though the chores never ended, but no matter how much work Astrid did she could never overcome her restlessness.

It seemed as though no matter what she did she always managed to further dishonor Father after all he'd done for her, and that terrible feeling in her gut never seemed to go away.

Hallberta handed Astrid some potatoes to peel and she asked," Did Father already leave?"

She nodded," He left rather early this morning...something about a new shipment..."

Astrid shivered involuntarily. A new shipment meant more dragons that Father had managed to capture in order to protect everyone. He had brought her along with him a couple of times when she was younger, and she would never forget the menacing sounds they made as they struggled against the bonds of their cages. She would be forever grateful to her father for all he did for everyone. He protected her and everyone else, whether they acknowledged it or not.

She knew that Father was expecting a new shipment of dragons, and that he was very anxious to receive this particular shipment. Astrid didn't know why exactly, but knew better than to ask. She knew her job was to cook and clean and look pretty, and she wasn't even particularly great at that to begin with.

Her thoughts involuntarily went towards the young man from yesterday, and she found herself hoping he was smart enough to stay away. He didn't seem that horrible, Father always warned her about how deceiving Vikings tended to be, and Astrid found she didn't want Father to find him. If he did the young man wouldn't stand a chance.

The mere thought brought along serious worry, and Hallberta seemed to sense it and she frowned in concern," Oh, are you alright, lass? "

"I'm fine," Astrid said trying to force a smile like she'd been raised to do to cover up her true feelings, but like every other time before, she failed.

Hallberta pulled her into a motherly hug and kissed the top of her head, and Astrid let her as it allowed her to conceal her true feelings and thoughts.

It seemed as though Thor was truly watching over her because Hallberta immediately took the potatoes from her and ushered her outside," You've been inside too long, dear. You need some fresh air, and then you'll be good as new! Go."

Astrid hesitated before listening to her and hoping that she wasn't too late.

...

Hiccup was waiting with Toothless eagerly awaiting to catch even a glimpse of the girl. He easily found his way back to the cliff where they'd crashed the other day. He'd considered looking around and trying to find her, but decided against it.

Toothless was happily frolicking in the grass and he stared off over the cliff and took in the forest beneath them. He got lost in his thoughts for a bit when he heard a slight rustle in the trees and he smiled slightly.

He turned to Toothless who had already heard and was by his side in a flash. They looked around and waited. After a moment they heard more rustling before their 'surprise' visitor made her grand entrance.

Hiccup had to remember to breath as he took in her loveliness. He didn't think he'd ever seen anyone like her in his entire life. Her blonde hair hung down her back in loose waves, her eyes were the same sky blue color that had haunted his thoughts from the moment he'd first laid eyes on her, and she was slight in built but not short. He also noticed that she kept a tentative pace as she walked towards them as though she thought they were going to attack her or something.

He did his best not to provoke her running away again and he noticed that Toothless did his best to be the least threatening he could be. The girl grew more at ease and finally stopped right in front of him and took a shaky deep breath.

He smiled gently and said," Uh, hey."

She frowned a bit startled for some reason but composed herself and nodded.

"Who are you?" he asked wanting to know just who she was and where she was from.

She took another breath before finally speaking," It doesn't matter who I am."

He frowned," I'm sorry?"

She didn't back down surprisingly and said pleadingly," You have to leave now and take the dragon with you."

"But why?" he asked thoroughly confused," Is something wrong? Do you need help?"

She shook her head startled," No, there's nothing wrong, but you aren't exactly welcome here. If anyone were to find you...er...both of you-"

"But that doesn't answer my question," he protested," Why would we not be safe here, and you are?"

She seemed a little anxious at the beginning but now her expression gave way to annoyance and he felt a bit confused as to why that only intrigued him even further," I'm safe because this is my home, and my father will protect me. You are a complete stranger... with a dragon for Thor's sake! "

"What do you mean with a dragon?" he asked now a bit wary," Do you have something against them still?"

"What do you mean still?" she shot back as though he wasn't making any sense.

"Dragons are no longer a threat," he tried to explain as calmly as possible while he gave Toothless a reassuring pat," I mean... does this look like a bloodthirsty vicious monster?"

Toothless gave her his best gummy smile and she softened for a split second before she subtly shook her head as though to clear her thoughts compose herself," It doesn't matter what you think or say or do, you can't be here, and I just came to warn you."

She made a move to leave when Hiccup automatically reached forward and caught her arm," Wait, can you at least tell me your name?"

She hesitated once more before mumbling," Astrid."

He smiled, it suited her," I'm Hiccup and this is Toothless."

She raised a questioning eyebrow and he didn't know whether it had to do with his name or Toothless'. She didn't say anything else before she ran off without another word.

"Astrid, huh..." he said a grin sneaking its way onto his face. Toothless crooned questioningly and he shook his head," I'm fine, bud, but I don't think this is going to be the last time we come back..."

So there you go! Hope you guys are interested because there's one more chapter to go for today, and then I'll try and update when I can!:)