Hey you guys! Sorry for the long wait! I was just trying to get some chapters written in order to focus on the last few. I've also been swamped with homework, and AP exams, the SATs, and finals that are coming up. Wish me luck... and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to review!
As they flew Hiccup noticed that Astrid was really quiet and he felt horrible. When he'd snuck out of Berk to find Drago he'd come expecting to negotiate peace. Instead, he messed everything up and now had no hope to avoid war and keep the peace. He desperately needed to talk with his dad, and even that caused a whole new round of guilt as he thought of how Astrid must feel.
Astrid had just lost everything she had ever known in a few hours. Drago was her father, whether he was a good one, or even a good person, was another matter entirely. He was her father, and she had basically been disowned. He said basically because he knew that if she ever went back she wouldn't make it.
That was hard to take in for anyone, and he was a bit worried that she hadn't broken yet. She was either really strong or on the verge of breaking at any moment. To leave everyone and everything behind was unthinkable to him, but then he realized something and asked gently," Hey, Astrid, do you want to stop by your house for some things or-"
"No," she said her voice cracking a bit and he felt her wince," If I go back, everyone will be there waiting for me, and then I'll be stuck there. I can't risk that."
"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly and was about to say something when she broke down in tears and he didn't know what to do. His heart broke for her and he hugged her gently while he rode on. He didn't know if he was helping but he had no clue of what to say or do to make anything better.
He only hoped that they reached Berk soon, and they could figure out where to go from there.
...
Astrid had tried to compose herself, to steel herself and feel no emotions, but she couldn't help thinking back to the cold and chilling glare Father had sent her way when he saw her. Her life basically flashed before her eyes and the thought terrorized he. Hiccup's kind simple thoughtfulness was enough to send her into tears.
She'd done everything she could think of in order to make Father proud. She'd done her chores. She cooked, she cleaned, she sewed. She spent time perfecting her appearance in the hopes of ensuring she married well. She tried to stay quiet, she tried to stay calm and serene and reserved, but it was never enough.
No matter how hard she tried she could never do it. She could never live within her place, and everyone knew it. Father had warned her of what would happen if she didn't try harder, and she did her best to do so.
All her best efforts were now for nothing because the minute he had seen her it was over. She had betrayed him in the worst way imaginable, and the wrath he normally reserved for staff or villagers or outsiders was now sure to be unleashed upon her the first chance he got.
She remembered the warnings she'd received as a child. The lashings, the insults, the isolations, but she'd endured them. Not only because she tended to receive them for disobeying or embarrassing him, but because she knew that as harsh as he was on her...it didn't compare to how cruel he could be if he decided she wasn't worth his sympathy.
He was Drago Bludvist, and she knew that everyone feared him, and she was not naive enough to think it wasn't deserved. For as long as she could remember he had told her of how as a child, his own village was attacked by dragons and his family was killed. He lost his left arm in the attack and constantly lived in fear of another assault by the creatures. Despite everything that had happened to him, he vowed to rise above his fear and conquer the beasts that had hurt him.
He had told her that he was protecting everyone from the dragons who had hurt him and his family, but who would not hurt him or his family again. He had told her that that was why he had taken her in. He would not leave her at the mercy of the horrible beasts and that the only way to ensure her safety would be to listen to him and stay inside. That it was for the better as her future was not meant to be outside anyways, and she had believed him.
She had believed everything he had told her because who else was she supposed to believe. Everyone around her walked on eggshells around him and, to an extent, around her as well. No one had told her the truth, and now all that was left were the lies she'd been served on a silver platter.
She was nobody in this world but a pathetic orphan tricked and abandoned by a bloodthirsty barbarian intent on declaring a war using the very dragons he had warned her against her entire life. The fact that she hadn't even known despite calling him Father for 20 years nearly broke her.
She tried to push everything from her mind if not for her own sake, but for Hiccup and Toothless' who were at a loss of what to do with her.
"I'm sorry, Hiccup," she managed to choke out.
"Don't apologize, Astrid," he said comfortingly.
"I'm fine now," she said trying to control her breathing and dry her tears, but he only hugged her from behind and said," Don't worry about it... After what you've been through, I'm surprised you're doing so well."
She wanted to cry all over again at his kind words and understanding, but accepted already having made a big enough fool of herself and managed to compose herself as she noticed an island coming into view and she asked," Is that-"
" Yeah, we're almost there," he said.
They landed and she got down easy enough. Hiccup and Toothless lead her over to an opening where she assumed they had snuck out through and she couldn't help raising a questioning eyebrow to which he asked," What?"
She just shook her head and followed him. The minute they entered and were in the view of people she noticed how they immediately greeted Hiccup cheerfully and Astrid was once again hit with just how much Father had lied to her. The village was far from what he had told her. He had told her that all Vikings were cruel barbaric and selfish and eager to take down anything and everything standing in there way. She realized after a moment or so that he had been describing himself.
She was brought out of her thoughts when a man with one hand and leg asked Hiccup in a heavily accented voice and a prosthetic for each that was missing," And who is this now?"
She turned to Hiccup and he answered meaningfully at the man," This is Astrid."
The man smiled good naturedly if not a bit teasingly," Ah, of course, well, lass, welcome to Berk!"
She managed to smile back," Thank you..."
Hiccup shook his head tiredly at the man and said," Astrid, this is Gobber, he's the dragon dentist and doctor."
"Really?" Astrid asked impressed that they would go so far for their dragons.
Gobber nodded," Aye, lass, have been for a while now."
"Why?" she asked," What made you do it?"
He smiled good naturedly and motioned towards Hiccup," Well, I used to be a blacksmith, but after this one had to go and slay the Red Death, I was left with very little to do. It took a while, but now here I am, and I'm mighty happy with how things turned out."
"The Red Death?" she asked once more confused.
Gobber frowned and instead said," Don't tell me you never heard of it...
When she shook her head he explained," That dragon was responsible for all the raids 5 years ago. It would control the dragons and force them to bring it food or become food themselves. We didn't know this, and for 300 years we'd been at war with the dragons until this lad came around, and changed Berk for the better."
Astrid silently took all of that in and looked at Hiccup incredulously and asked hesitantly," Is that how you lost your...leg?"
He nodded solemnly," Yes, but it was a small price to pay for keeping this guy around for good. I mean look at all of this," he said gesturing to everyone inside with their dragons and having a good time," This makes everything worth it."
" Exactly, lad, couldn't of put it better myself," Gobber said nodding before snapping out of it and giving Hiccup a meaningful glance," Now you have some serious explaining to do. Your parents are none too happy with you, and now with the lass here, you have even more explaining to do."
He sighed tiredly and said," I know, Gobber, but you'll never believe what happened today and well... let's just say things are not looking too good."
Gobber frowned and said," What are you talking about, Hiccup?"
He shook his head and said," Later, Gobber, right now I have to find Mom and Dad and figure out what we're going to do, and help Astrid, too."
"Is something wrong, lass?" Gobber asked in concern.
She hesitated," There is, but it's better if you hear the whole story...is he coming?"she asked Hiccup.
He nodded and said," Can you take us to my parents, Gobber?"
Gobber frowned slightly before nodding and leading the way," Last I checked they were waiting for you to come home all evening."
"Well, that's encouraging..." Hiccup groaned and turned to Toothless," We're so dead, bud..."
The closer the neared the chief's household, the more Hiccup started to become nervous. He felt 15 years old all over again and he couldn't help it. He didn't know how his parents would react back then, and he definitely didn't know how they would react now.
Toothless seemed to understand because as they reached the top of the hill, he subtly nudged him forward. He nodded and went inside motioning for Astrid and Gobber to follow them.
As soon as they were all inside his mom rushed forward and enveloped him an enormous hug," Oh, Hiccup, we were so worried about you!"
"I'm sorry, Mom," he said sheepishly.
She pulled back," Don't you dare run off like that again, Son, especially not now when-"
"You deliberately disobeyed my orders, Son," his Dad thundered," You risked not only your life, but the lives of our people and you-"
"I had to do what I thought was right," he snapped," and I'm sorry if I couldn't stand staying here and doing nothing while we waited for him to attack!"
"So you went after Drago?!" Stoick cried in disbelief.
Hiccup nodded gravely," I did...and you were right, Dad...I'm sorry."
Stoick softened but his worry didn't vanish," What happened out there...and who is this?" he said gesturing to Astrid seeing her clearly for the first time.
"This is Astrid," he said motioning for Astrid to come forward who did so somewhat terrified,"Astrid these are my parents Valka and Stoick the Vast. He's the chief.
Astrid nodded in greeting and they returned it and Hiccup continued," I'd asked Trader Johann for directions as to where Drago had last been seen and I followed them. They lead me to where I'd crashed the other day..."
"The day you saw Astrid," Valka finished.
He nodded and continued," I didn't understand and decided to just ask her who was in charge of where she lived and...well...you can guess who it was..."
Stoick addressed Astrid suspiciously," Who was he to you, lass?"
Her eyes widened and he noticed her take a noticeable deep breath before saying," He was my father..."
Stoick glared at his son," Why would you bring her here! Thor Almighty, as if we needed any more reason for Drago to target us, you brought his daughter here to-"
"You don't understand, Dad," he exclaimed desperately," I had to bring her here! She can't go back there she-"
"She's his daughter," he said cutting him off," He's going to come looking for her and Gods help us, if he decides to take it out on us for your foolish mistake!"
Hiccup was about to snap back defensively when Astrid beat him to it and cried out nearly in tears again," But, Sir! I can't go back! Please don't make me! You don't know what he'll do to me now that-"
Stoick softened and motioned for her to take a seat at the table where Valka placed a comforting arm around her and said," Tell us why you can't go back, my dear."
She took a shaky breath and said," He's not my real father. He took me in when I was a baby. He told me that my parents gave me up and he took pity on me and raised me as his own. He'd always made it quite clear that he would not tolerate either embarrassment or betrayal. "
Valka smoothed her hair and said reassuringly," Sometimes fathers say things they don't mean, dear, of course he wouldn't do that to you."
She shook her head helplessly, "I was supposed to stay at home helping the servants do the housework and look pretty. That was it, but it was never enough... I would somehow always manage to slip up and especially when I was younger he would punish me through lashings, beatings, isolation, or anything else he could think of to break the wild streak I had that he said was the reason I had no offers."
Everyone in the room was silent and they all looked at each other with the same outraged disbelief as the other, but she continued and said hastily, "It had gotten better in the last 3 years. He was away on business a lot, and the only times I really saw him was at dinner where we would eat in silence mostly. It wasn't until Hiccup came along that things went wrong...
"I wasn't even supposed to be outside, but Hallberta, my hand maiden, encouraged me to enjoy myself, for once, and it was the day that I first saw Hiccup. He was an outsider with a dragon which to my father was unspeakable and I shouldn't have stayed but I was curious, and then he saw me and I ran. That was the day Father told me he had received a new shipment of dragons and he would be away for a month or so.
"The servants allowed me to spend the day by myself when he left and I went into the forest where the Terrible Terror Hiccup sent was waiting for me. A week passed and I waited for Hiccup to come back so that he could take the Terror with him because if Father had found out about it...
"He came back and refused to take him back and then he asked me about Father and it was the first time I realized what he had been doing this whole time, and I was terrified, but in denial. Hiccup was about to leave when he convince me to go on a flight with him, and it was going well until we happened upon what I assume to be my father's army base. We tried to get away but it was too late they tried to shoot us down and when they failed Father had already seen me and had witnessed my ultimate betrayal..." she finished trailing off her voice cracking.
Valka held the poor girl tight and looked at her husband pleadingly and he nodded and asked gently," And what would happen if you were to go back?"
She winced and thought back to the other people, dragon trappers mostly, who he'd found to be too soft hearted to be useful to him and she said," The same thing that happens to all traitors."
They understood what she couldn't bring herself to say and Hiccup hoped his parents would come to her defense and protect her from Drago. He didn't know what he'd do if they didn't.
Stoick nodded gravely and looked to Valka and Gobber who all nodded solemnly and he placed a comforting hand on Astrid's shoulder and said," Your father won't ever get his hands on you as long as you're on this island. I can promise you that."
She looked up at him in disbelief before a few stray tears of relief fell from her eyes and she breathed," Thank you, Sir!"
He smiled reassuringly and said," A chief protects his own, and as long as you're on my island, I will make sure no harm comes to you at the hands of that barbarian."
Valka nodded and said," For the time being you can stay with us, and we'll see about getting you settled tomorrow, alright?"
Astrid nodded gratefully and smiled a genuine smile for the first time and Valka immediately warmed up to her completely and walked over to the fire where dinner was ready and waiting to be served," I bet you're starved, dear. How does some dinner sound?"
"Amazing," she admitted and Valka beamed," Good and you can stay for dinner, too, Gobber."
"Don't mind if I do," he said comically and said conspiratorially," I heard you've finally improved your cooking skills, Val!"
Hiccup managed to laugh," It was about time, too! A person can only take so much..."
Stoick laughed heartily," Let's just eat before Val decides to take it out on all of you..."
Astrid looked around as Valka served her food and how everyone was laughing and chatting amiably and wondered not for the first time just how much she had missed out on at the hands of Drago...
Hope you liked it, sorry it was more of a filler for the next chapter! It's going to get better though! Trust me! Don't forget to review!