Chapter Seven: A Note from the Past
"Hey…you awake Heather?" Matt asked quietly, peeking into his room. Expecting to see her laying in his bed, he was shocked to see her sitting down on Wasatch's stone bed; where Windshear had taken residency of.
"Been up for a while now." She softly replied, turning to see Matt quietly walk in. She smiled at seeing Wasatch follow a lot more noisily. Turning to face Windshear, she quietly added "Just…staying with her. You know."
"How is she?" Matt asked, walking up to the slumbering Razorwhip.
"Definitely better. Even after a few days, her scales are already starting to grow back where they pulled them off too early." Heather answered, looking at her dragon. Where her flesh was exposed, she was now starting to have a small, thin layer of the metallic silver scales show. "She's even acting better. At least, when she's awake. And to be honest, I don't know really how she acted when she was chained down. I was never able to see her that much; only when Dagur or Darien were trying to make me teach them how to train dragons without Ryker watching them."
Matt could only look at her with a saddened expression. For two months, she was held as a prisoner. Two months that he could have been at least searching for her.
Wasatch then pushed Matt aside, sticking his face right into Heather's. Laughing, Heather then scratched the Skrill's chin, causing him to wag his tail. "How are you Wasatch? Thank you for letting Windshear take your bed!"
Wasatch just growled, sending a small jolt into her.
The noise woke Windshear, who turned to see who was making it. Seeing her friends, she let out a soft growl and smiled. Nuzzling against Matt, she gently rubbed against him, as if thanking him.
"Good to see you getting back to yourself girl." Matt smiled, gently stroking the side of her face.
"Hey, you guys in here? Matt? Heather?" Hiccup's voice called out from outside.
"I'll talk to him, let Windshear keep on resting." Matt said gently, standing up to leave.
"Nah, she's been resting for the past few days." Heather replied with a smile "She'll be ok if she's awake." At that, she called out "Yeah, we're in here Hiccup."
Hiccup then appeared in the doorway. Seeing them sitting, he then smiled as he walked up to them "How're you feeling Heather?"
"Great. Especially after actually having a couple days and nights recovering, and getting some real food. Plus being out of those iron cuffs help." Heather answered, a smile appearing on her face as she showed her wrists were no longer rubbed raw "Thanks again for coming back for us. Gave us the distraction needed to escape."
"Had we known you were captured earlier, I think we would have done more than just be a distraction." Hiccup began to say, frowning at the thought "I'm sorry, Heather. We should have known something was wrong after all that time of not seeing you."
"Hey, you saved me in the end." Heather cut in, her arrogant smile growing. Looking at Matt smugly, she then added "Given me a stronger reason to bring down Dagur and Darien. Plus their new ally."
"When the opportunity comes, we'll make sure you're with us." Hiccup said, smiling at her "In fact, we're going to build a watch tower on the north side of Dragon's Edge today. Wanna come?"
"You can ride with me." Matt suggested, smiling at her "Let Windshear keep on recovering. Plus you'll be able to see me actually snowboard."
"Snowboard?" Heather repeated, obviously confused "I thought it was the middle of summer? How are you going to snowboard?"
Smiling, Matt stood up and walked to where his boards were hanging on the wall. Grabbing his snowboard off of it, he then explained "There's a mountain peak where we're building the tower. It has snow on it year round." Strapping his board to his backpack, he asked again "So, wanna come? I'll let you try it out."
"Well, as fun as that sounds, I think I'll pass this time." She answered, smiling at Matt's disappointed face "I think I'm going to walk around the Edge with Windshear. I know she flew back here when we escaped, but I just want her to take it easy getting back to normal. At least for a few more days."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Matt replied, putting a smile back on. Walking over to his bed, he then pulled out his snowboarding boots from under it.
Heather hid her frown, sad that he didn't pick up on the hint that she actually wanted him to stay.
"How's the stab?" Hiccup asked, looking at Matt with concern, walking over to him.
"It's fine. I had that patched up while on the Hunter's ship. And that was a few days ago!" Matt explained, pulling off his leather boots. Taking a moment to start lacing on his snowboard boots, he then asked "How's Astrid's arm?"
"Better now." Astrid interrupted, walking into his room. Seeing Matt lacing on his snowboard boots, she then teased "I thought you were going to help us build a tower? Not goof off the entire day."
"I am helping build the tower." Matt fired back, smiling at the teasing "I'm just going to board to where we're building it." Setting his leather boots on his table, a small cloth blew off of it onto the floor.
"Any idea with what that message means?" Hiccup asked, picking the message off the floor.
Sighing, Matt shook his head "Not a clue."
"Is this your mystery stalker?" Astrid asked, looking at the cloth with the light blue stripe.
"I'm guessing so." Matt replied, taking the cloth from Hiccup. Staring at it, he just shook his head and whispered "But, until I learn more, this doesn't really help me. All this is, is a message to me."
"We'll figure it out." Astrid announced confidently, smiling as Matt laid the cloth back on the table.
"I know, and honestly, I'm not worried about it." Matt replied, also putting a smile on "If this person or dragon wanted me, they could've done so when I was alone on Changewing Island. Or even before."
Shaking her head with a smile, Astrid then walked over to Heather "So, how'd you sleep last night?"
"Great! I feel tons better!" She replied, looking over Windshear "Windshear too. She's already looking healthier." Glancing at Astrid's arm, she asked "Does it still jab?"
Looking at the white bandaged arm, replacing where her linen gauntlet would have been, she shrugged. "A little. Only when I really use it. Like swinging my axe or lifting something heavy."
"Perfect for working on a watch tower." Matt huffed sarcastically, turning away from his table. Testing to see if his snowboard boots were on tight enough, he then shouldered his backpack with snowboard still strapped on. "I'm ready when you guys are."
"Do you guys need help?" Heather asked, seeing them turn to walk out "I mean, if you really need it, I can have Windshear come and help cut up the stones and logs."
"We'll be fine, Heather." Hiccup replied, starting to walk out of the room with Astrid "You and Windshear take it easy. We'll be back later today."
"Hey, Fishlegs left some breakfast for you and Windshear." Matt quickly said, pulling his goggles over his head. Letting them hang from his neck, he added "Up at the clubhouse. Figured you two would be hungry when you woke up."
"What? No more breakfast in bed?" Heather teased, smirking at Matt "I liked that the past few days."
He was quick to reply, saying "Well, considering you and Windshear kicked me and Wasatch out of our own room and beds, our hospitality finally ran out." Walking away from Heather, he joked "I know you and Windshear are just faking being tired. You two are probably going down at the beach, playing in the warm water; meanwhile, the rest of us are going to be slaving away, building a tower."
"And snowboarding." Astrid quickly threw in, smirking at Matt as she walked out.
"Hey! Who asked you?" Matt shouted, following closely by. Wasatch also followed, staying right behind Matt.
As the group disappeared out of the doorway, Heather heard Matt say aloud "It's not like you'll be able to do much with your arm anywa- Gah! Stop! Stop!"
Heather smiled as she heard Hiccup laugh out loud and Matt continue to cry out in pain, as if he was being hit in the shoulder repeatedly by Astrid. A little disappointed that Matt wasn't staying with her, she shrugged it off. Looking over at Windshear, she then asked "What do you think girl? Wanna try to walk to breakfast? Or do you need me to get it?"
Standing up, Windshear stretched her wings. Bumping Heather in the back, she began to walk out.
"Alright then, let's get something to eat. I'm starving." She replied with a smile, walking alongside her dragon.
Jumping out of his bindings strapped to Wasatch, Matt landed in the fresh powder of the snow atop of the mountain. It's been awhile since he's done this, which he was anxious to get back at it. Breathing the cold air, he smiled as it cooled his lungs. Winter was his favorite season, he couldn't wait for it to come back; contrary on how unpopular it made him with others.
Wasatch also seemed to like the snow too, as he flapped his wings and created a small blizzard around him and Matt.
Laughing, Matt pulled up his goggles and unstrapped the board from the backpack. Setting it down, he quickly stepped into the snap-in bindings. Hearing them click, he looked down the mountain. Miles of untouched snow. All his. In the distance, he could see Hiccup and the rest of the crew working on the watchtower, building the foundation.
Shaking his head, he then thought of the recent past. Heather. The thought of her made him sick to his stomach. How could he have been so careless and thoughtless about her? Letting out a vented scoff, he shook his head angrily at himself. He just wanted to forget what he failed to do, half the reason why he was up on top of a snowy mountain; wanting to board to take his mind off what he failed to do. And so, that's what he did.
"Alright bud. Keep up if you can!" Matt forced a laugh, popping his board up. Twisting it around, he then began to slide down the mountain side. Speed quickly came as he descended down the steep grade. Laughing, Matt carved hard to the left, letting left hand gracefully skid through the snow. Gliding along the mountain side, he then carved right. Crouching slightly, he started to gain speed. Flying down the mountainside, he glanced behind him to see that he was leaving a rooster tail of snow behind him. Wasatch was also right behind, banking left and right, letting his wingtips dip into the snow as he did so.
"Doing good bud!" Matt laughed out, returning his focus on what was ahead. Seeing a small cliff ahead, he quickly checked his speed to slow down a little. Getting closer, he popped his board up and jumped off the cliff. Swinging his arms to keep his balance, he felt himself land in the plush snow. His leg sent a jolt of pain up his body, but he didn't care. He was where he belonged. On a board. Yeah he loved boarding on Wasatch, as that was what he loved to do any time he could. But this was different; this was who he was before he even knew about Hiccup and his legacy. This was Matt's legacy. A snowboarder.
Smiling at the thought, he saw a snowbank that ran up a tree, creating a small angle up it. Angling himself, he let his board get carried up the natural ramp and skidded up the side of the tree. Reaching the point where the board was at a standstill, Matt pushed off the tree and rotated his body. Landing the backflip, he let out a shout of joy as he began to board back down the mountain. He missed it. He missed snowboarding! Smiling to himself, he watched Wasatch fly in a wide circle, having over shot following Matt when he performed his little trick.
Suddenly, an explosion sounded behind him. Whipping his head around, he was surprised to see the twins riding on Barf and Belch.
"Come on Barf!" Ruffnut shouted.
"Yeah! Zippleback blast! Whoohoo!" Tuffnut roared, laughing.
Another explosion sounded, causing Matt to shout in anger "Hey! Stop it! Are you freakin' kidding me?" His cries fell flat as the twins zipped past him. Watching them speed ahead, he shook his head in frustration. Then, something sounded off that scared him. Scared him even more than seeing Heather the first time on the Hunter's ship. A loud crack sounded behind him, almost thunder like. Looking behind him a second time, he gasped as he stared at the largest avalanche he ever saw. "Oh…my…" He whispered to himself, the avalanche getting louder and drowning out his third word. Focusing on getting speed, he then began to carve to the right. He knew he couldn't out run it, but he knew he could try to get out of its path.
"Come on! Come on!" He shouted, crouching to help pick up speed. Glancing back, he could see the wall of snow descend on him. Even traveling at an angle and away from the avalanche, he knew he wasn't going to make it. "Wasatch!" He shouted, watching helplessly as the avalanche crashed down towards him, engulfing trees and boulders littered on the mountainside. Focusing on what was ahead, he was shocked to see another ledge ahead of him. Thinking quickly, he promptly stopped himself right at the edge of the cliff. About to leap off of it, he felt the snow rush on him, propelling him forward.
From the sudden force slamming into him, he tried to angle himself as he tumbled into the snow below. Whumph! He landed flat on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Struggling to get out from under the blanket of white, he finally broke through the surface and saw that his idea worked; just poorly executed. The avalanche had gone completely over him, shooting over the ledge and creating a white arch over where he lay; leaving him just enough room to be protected. Letting out a long sigh of relief, he let his head promptly fall back into the snow. He had beaten an avalanche, something he didn't want to do again for the rest of his life.
Seeing the avalanche begin to subside, he once again sat himself up. Looking down the mountainside, he could see Hiccup and the others all gathered around each other; though it looked like the twins were off their dragon. "Gah! I'm going to kill them!" He grunted, pushing himself up. Checking behind him, to make sure the avalanche really stopped coming over the ledge he used for a shield, he then saw a small hole in it. It looked like it led to a cave. Stepping out of his snowboard, he limped slightly to the cliff while looking at the cave; as the tricks he did while snowboarding didn't help. That, and being pushed by the avalanche down the ledge also didn't help.
"Don't remember checking this cave out before…" He grunted, stepping around a small boulder to look deeper into it "Let alone seeing it." It was a shallow cave, not going deeper than ten feet. However, something caught his attention. Small remains of a fire. Walking deeper into the cave, he then rubbed his finger on some of the charred wood. It was somewhat fresh. A day or two old maybe. The actual charred remains hinted that it was a small one, barely big enough to have been called a fire. Taking a closer look at it, something else caught his eye. A torn piece of cloth lying next to the fire and under a small rock.
Quickly snatching it up, he angled it to get more light on it. It was the same color as the other cloth piece he had, with a pale blue line running not through the center, but as a curved line along the side of it. Charcoal writing made up the words written on it, to which Matt squinted and tried to read what it said: "I…blood for…No, I bled. Bled. I bled for them. I…carried them? What the…what's this supposed to mean?" He whispered quietly, staring at it in confusion. His inability to read effectively wasn't helping either. Looking up from the cloth, he stared outside of the cave. Who was this person? Why were they leaving clues for him? What are they trying to tell him?
"Matt? Matt! Are you ok?!" Hiccup's voice called out "Please tell me you're ok!"
"Hiccup? I'm fine!" He shouted, realizing that people were probably looking for him. Pocketing the cloth, he began to leave the cave. He didn't want to tell Hiccup what he found. Not yet at least. Limping out of the entrance, he could see Hiccup and Toothless staring at him. Wasatch was also with them, roaring loudly as Matt came to view. Hiccup and Toothless also had a relieved expression.
"Oh Thor…You have no idea how glad I am to see you. After seeing the avalanche and not you, I figured you were buried!" He cried out loudly, visibly relaxing on his saddle.
"I was about to be." Matt growled, his old feelings for the twins building up "If this cliff wasn't here, I know I wouldn't be having this conversation! They almost killed me! I'm sure I'd be six feet under the snow if I hadn't fallen here."
"Well, I'm glad you're safe." Hiccup replied, letting out a breath of relief "Don't worry, we'll talk to them about starting more avalanches."
Matt then huffed out "Oh I'm going to talk to them. That's for sure!"
Stepping off of Toothless, Hiccup walked up to Matt to make sure he was actually alright. Seeing him limp slightly, he then asked "How's the leg? Did you hurt it again?"
"Well, the avalanche didn't help it, if that's what you're meaning by hurt it again." Matt replied with a shrug "I'm not too worried about it though. It's not going to hold me back from doing what I need to do." At that, Wasatch walked up to Matt, still concerned for him. Resting his head in his rider's chest, he then sent a small shock into his body, as if to make sure he was ok.
Smiling, Matt rubbed the massive head saying "Don't worry bud! I'm fine! Though it was a short run, we had some fun boarding, huh boy?"
"Come on, let's head back to the Edge. I sent the twins on patrol because of what they did." Hiccup said, smiling at Matt "Let's make sure you're doing alright."
"I'm fine Hiccup. I promise." Matt moaned, tired of Hiccup's concern "I'm not like Astrid, where I'm going to pretend to be tough and shrug off the pain."
"Wow, you really going to lie to me like that?" Hiccup asked, staring at Matt with a smirk "I remember what you said after Wasatch rolled over you. Remember your back?"
"Don't bring up points that prove me wrong!" Matt laughed, shaking his head at the memory "Between you and Astrid, I'm not even going to be able to go outside!"
Laughing, Hiccup jumped back on Toothless, saying "Just thinkin' about you Matt. You wouldn't slow down if it weren't for me!" Then, in a quieter voice, asked "Are you glad to have Heather back?"
Matt's face went solemn as he grabbed his board. Brushing off the snow, he then said "Of course I am. Relationship aside, I'm glad she's safe now." Limping towards Wasatch, he then added "Personally though, every time I see her, I feel guilty."
"Why? Because of what happened to her?" Hiccup asked, letting Toothless walk towards Wasatch.
Sitting himself down on Wasatch, Matt shook his head. "No. It's what I didn't do while she was captured. That's what's making me feel guilty."
"No one knew Matt!" Hiccup argued "We just had this conversation when we left her in your room!"
"I know, I know!" Matt acknowledged, still shaking his head "I guess it's me I have a problem with. She was missing for months, and I never even bothered to look for her. Or was even concerned for her." Looking at Hiccup in the eye, he asked "Am I even worthy to be a friend if I took her for granted that long?"
"Matt…" Hiccup replied, shaking his head "That's not fair to you. She was obviously happy to see you again. And didn't blame you for what happened to her and Windshear. Any of us for that matter." Letting Toothless launch into the air, he then shouted "Come on! Let's get to Dragon's Edge. This new leg is killing me."
"What? What new leg?" Matt asked loudly, letting Wasatch bolt into the air and catch up to the Night Fury.
"Oh, right. You weren't there when Toothless and I saved Barf and Belch." Hiccup replied with a smile returning to his face "They were about to be crushed by the avalanche when Toothless grabbed them. I twisted my old leg, bending the metal." Pointing to his prosthetic, he explained "This is my spare one, just for such occasions."
Shaking his head, Matt then huffed "I still want to kill the twins. Aside from almost killing me, they ruined perfect powder!"
"I'm glad you're concerned so much about the snow." Hiccup laughed, shaking his head "Instead of, oh I don't know, everyone else that was at the bottom of the mountain."
"It may seem dumb to you, but it's important to me!" Matt shouted "I have to wait a few weeks now for the snow to fluff back! Besides, you all had dragons! You were all going to be fine."
"Oh you have it so tough!" Hiccup teased, shaking his head. Dragon's Edge then came into view, to which Hiccup turned Toothless towards his room "I'll see you in a bit. I need to file the leg down a little. It's pinching me."
"You have it so tough." Matt jeered back, ignoring the glare from Hiccup. Heading straight for his room, he smiled as he saw both Heather and Windshear sitting on his deck; with Windshear laying her head in Heather's lap. He also felt the sting of guilt, seeing Windshear's growing scales. Shaking his head briefly, he let Wasatch land next to them.
"How was snowboarding?" Heather asked, looking up to see him dismount off of Wasatch. She was giving him a skeptical look, something that caught him off guard.
"Uh, fine! Short, but fun!" Matt answered, gripping his snowboard. Heading into his room to put away his gear, he did his best to mask his limp. In hopes of distracting her, he then asked "How are you two doing?"
"Matt…I heard about the avalanche. The others told me." Heather said, pushing Windshear's head off and standing up. Walking to him, she grabbed his snowboard "Is your leg hurting you?"
Sighing, Matt shook his head. Pulling off his winter tunic, he relished in the fact he was cooling off with the soft ocean breeze. "It's always hurting. It's just more aggravated right now." He answered, continuing to limp towards his room.
"Heh, been awhile since I've seen your tattoo." She commented, following Matt into his room. Then, her eyes narrowing, began to lecture him "You need to start taking it easy! You just barely recovered from being stabbed!"
"The stab wasn't that serious. Not like Astrid's arm or your imprisonment." He huffed, shaking his head "I'm not going to let every single thing that goes wrong, dictate what I do and don't do."
Before Heather could reply, a loud shout sounded behind them. Almost a cry of surprise and anger.
Whirling around, the two then burst out laughing. Over on Hiccup's deck, was Hiccup buried up to the shoulders in fish. His face was that of anger and confusion.
"Wha-Who did this?!" Hiccup shouted, trying to pull himself out of the pile of fish.
Matt couldn't stop laughing, which turned into wheezing. He leaned against Heather who was trying to support him. She alone was having a hard time breathing as well. Dropping his snowboard, she then used her free hand to cover her mouth, trying to stifle the laughter.
Their laughter drew out Astrid from her room, next door to Matt. Seeing Hiccup, she also burst out laughing, exclaiming "Looks good Hiccup! Is that a new feature to your room?"
"Oh! That does it!" Hiccup roared, scowling at the laughing trio, acting like Terrible Terrors with a bad case of the giggles "Ruff! Tuff! I got another shift with your name on it!" At that, he began to wade out of the fish, which Toothless didn't seem to mind as he began to chomp on a few of them. "Really? You're eating the evidence?" Hiccup growled, climbing on Toothless "Come on! Let's go find those clowns."
Matt watched Hiccup take off and fly away, finally able to start controlling his laughter. Standing on his own, and wiping tears from his eyes, he turned to see Astrid walking towards him and Heather. "Haven't seen you laugh like that for a long time." She called out, smiling at the recovering Matt "I almost forgot you're a goofy kid. And I completely forgot about your tattoo!"
"Heather just said that." He replied, looking over at Heather.
"So, how was snowboarding? Didn't die it seems." Astrid smiled, lightly hitting him in the shoulder.
"Ah yeah, about that." He grimaced at the tap "Wasn't something I planned on, that's for sure."
"Don't think you can ever plan on something with the twins." Astrid laughed, shaking her head at the subject.
"Obviously demonstrated with Hiccup and his room." Heather added, gesturing to the pile of fish.
Smiling, Astrid then asked "How's the leg treating you?"
"It's bugged, but nothing really new with that." He replied, shrugging at the question. Gesturing to her arm, he asked "Your arm's not hurting now, is it?"
"Nah, it's better." She answered, opening and closing her hand to show she was indeed getting better.
"Are you just saying that? Or telling the truth?" Heather quizzed, having a smirk grow on her face "I know you Astrid, you'd be smiling if you were bleeding out, just to assure everyone that you were fine."
Frowning, Astrid huffed "I am fine! It's you two that we should be worried about."
"Let's drop the subject, ok?" Matt quickly said, getting agitated about the injuries "We all suffered from it. We all had something done to us because of…Darien." The thought of Darien made Matt grow cold inside. He couldn't believe he wasn't vigilant in keeping her out of this world, and after watching her slash Astrid's arm, he couldn't help but blame himself even more so.
"Hey Matt…what's that?" Heather asked, taking him away from his thoughts. Feeling something be pulled out of his pocket, he turned to see her staring at the cloth he barely found.
"I didn't think you brought that with you." Astrid commented, looking at the cloth "Still puzzling over the message?"
Frowning, Matt grabbed it from Heather, who stared at him with wide, worried eyes, having read the message. "I guess you can say that. This is a new one. Just found it."
"What?!" She cried out, staring at Matt in disbelief "Where? When?!"
"Ironically, after the avalanche. I wouldn't have found it if I wasn't trying to get away. There was a small cave that I took cover in and, well, found someone had set up camp. Just a small fire that's been out for days; found this under rock right next to it." Staring at the cloth, he whispered "How'd this person know I'd find it, is beyond me. I've never seen that cave before."
"Matt, do you know what it says?!" Heather cried out, staring at him with worry.
"Can't really read, remember?" Matt huffed, rolling his eyes.
"It says 'I bled for them. I carry a scar for them'." She explained, running her finger along the charcoal words "This person is still talking about someone! Or a few people even!"
"I wasn't worried at first, but this is serious. If this person is on the island, they could be watching us right now!" Astrid said aloud, staring at Matt with worry "What did Hiccup say about this?"
"I…I didn't tell him." He quietly replied, looking down "Yet."
"Why?!" Astrid yelled, staring at him angrily "Matt! We need to do something about this!"
"There's a lot of things we need to do." Matt quickly cut in, turning to face her "I didn't tell Hiccup because we have enough things going on right now. We have the Hunters to prepare for, we have Dagur and his goons doing who knows what with them, and I have Darien to worry about!"
"Why do you have to worry about Darien?" Heather demanded, glaring at him.
"Because she's from my world. And so, my problem!" Matt replied angrily "After keeping you a prisoner for months, and slashing Astrid's arm, I need to make right on my promise and start hunting that witch down!"
"Dagur was the one responsible for that! She's just his lap dog!" Heather cried out "She's my problem too!"
"Let's focus on the current situation." Astrid growled, grabbing the cloth out of Matt's hands "You said the camp was a few days old?"
"Yeah, at least that's what it looked like." Matt answered with a shrug, ignoring Heather's icy glare.
Astrid just stared at the cloth intently, as if interrogating it.
"Astrid, listen please!" Matt began to say "This person obviously wants to communicate with me, no one else. If they want to talk to me, or whatever they're trying to do, it'll be on their time table."
"Then why leave these messages at all?" Astrid argued, shaking the cloth.
"Dunno. Maybe to tell me a story. Or to prep me for a conversation." Matt replied shrugging and looking at the cloth "From what I could read, it's referring to my friends. Like the last one. Could it be a journal maybe?"
"Matt…this might not even be for you. What if it's for Hiccup? Or any of us?" Astrid suggested, looking at him with concern "You're just the one finding them!"
"No, it's gotta be for me. Why am I the only one noticing that I'm being followed? I mean, the twins would never notice that, but you would; wouldn't you?" Matt asked, shaking his head in frustration.
"Do you have an idea who it could be?" Heather asked, looking at Astrid "This is the second time that it mentions friends. This time, about what this person did for...whoever they're talking about."
Astrid continued to stare at the cloth, interrogating the words for answers. A thought crossed her mind, but she wanted to dismiss it.
"Astrid? I know that look." Matt pressed, getting eye contact with her "What are you thinking?"
Sighing, she huffed out "Nothing really. Just thought of the traitor I told you about. But it's impossible."
"Think it's him?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow "Or that it could be him?"
"Who?" Heather asked, confused at the subject "This isn't…me, right? You're not talking about what I did, are you?
Shaking her head, Astrid quickly explained "No. Someone else. Before we even met either of you." Looking at Matt, she then said "It's not who I'm thinking of for two reasons. One, I made him vow to never come back to Berk. Ever."
"Wait, I thought you were trying to arrest him? At least lock him up." Matt quizzed, talking about what she told him weeks ago.
"That's what we told everyone. But I really just sent him away after he…" Her voice trailed off, not finishing her sentence.
Realizing it was still sensitive subject, Matt continued the conversation. "What's the second reason why it couldn't be him?"
"Well, he said that he'd probably be dead after he accomplished what needed to do." She explained, looking up at Matt with a little sorrow on her face "And even if he didn't die, he said he'd never come back to hurt us. To hurt me…"
"What did he do?" Heather asked, shocked at the news. If Astrid was having a hard time talking about it, she couldn't even imagine what this…traitor did. It had to be worse that what she did!
"Guys, just stop it." She snapped, catching both of them off guard with the sudden outburst "Even if he is still alive, he made it very clear that he didn't want to be with us ever again! Period!"
"Why?! What did he do?! What's his name?!" Matt cried out, getting frustrated at trying to get a clear answer. He was a little angry that this was even a secret from him. He wished he could get a brief history lesson about it.
"I'm serious Matt! Drop it!" She growled, her eyes burning into his.
Staring at her, he just nodded slowly. "Ok, I will. Just answer me yes or no though. Could it be him?"
"No. He promised to never come back." Astrid answered, closing her eyes at the memory.
"That's all I need to know then." Matt whispered, reaching for the cloth from Astrid's hand. "Maybe one day, you'll be able to tell us what happened."
"Hiccup would be better for that." Astrid whispered, letting him take the cloth.
Confused at the resistance she put up, he could only nod "Sorry to make you think of that. I just wanted to see all the possibilities." Letting out a heavy sigh, he turned to walk into his room. Stopping, he then turned to Astrid, who was also starting to walk back to her room. He then called out "Hey Astrid. Could you keep this a secret from Hiccup? Just for tonight at least. I plan on telling him, I just want to…think about this before I do."
"Sure…I guess I can do that." Astrid answered, turning to watch Matt limp into his room, followed by Heather and their dragons. Just as they disappeared, she then shouted "Hey Matt!"
Matt limped back into view, with Heather right next to him, both confused at being called back.
"Whoever this is, don't worry about them getting you. I'll double up the patrols and keep some Night Terror sentries by your door. No one's going to get near you without someone knowing. I promise." She announced, placing her hands on her hips in a confident manner, returning to her old self.
Smiling, Matt nodded in acknowledgement. "Thanks Astrid, I'll definitely be sleeping better knowing that!" Turning around, the two walked into his room, leaving Astrid a second time.
Frowning, Astrid then began to head back to her room, thinking of the conversation. Shaking her head, she whispered to herself "I sure hope it's not you. For my sake."
Here is Chapter Seven! I hope you liked it and thought it added to the story. Thanks again, one and all, for the support! I really appreciate it. If it looks like I'm posting and updating pretty fast, that's because I had it pretty much wrote down before I decided to re-work it. Now it's a matter of grammar checking and applying the new ideas.
Again, thank you for the support!
