You guys don't know how much I love you! 16 review for last chapter, let's see if we can reach 90 with this one?

This is a little long. I know many of you wanted an angry Hiccup when he discovers Astrid was out but I wanted some bonding time beetween the girls in here.

In the next chapter there will be some little drama beetween Hiccup and Astrid.

*evil laughter*

Enjoy!

-Clary Chase

Valka moved with ease and agility throught the rock tunnels as if she had done it thousands of times. Which she had probably done.

Astrid tried not to yell at the feral lady as she tripped once again on a rock and getting eased back on her feet by Stormfly who was following her close behind.

I want answers, that's why I'm doing this, she thought scrolling her shoulders.

Valka disappeared in a black hole and Astrid panicked.

"Hey!" she yelled.

She rushed forward and ran into the hole as well.

Light hit her and she whined, covering her eyes.

"What the-"

She blinked and gasped in surprise.

She was in a sort of dome. The ceiling was made of ice and all around her, trees, meadows of green grass and flowers.

She was standing not so far from a cliff and dragons of every species and sizes were flying around.

She widened her eyes "Frigga!" she exclaimed "This is amazing"

She heard a laugh beside her and turned to find Valka smiling, crouched on one of her dragon's wings.

"You like it?" she asked getting off and taking esitant steps in her direction.

Astrid shook her head in disbelief "It's stunning. What is this place?"

"A dragons sanctuary" the woman explained "There are a few sprawled in the lands the men know. They are made to be a safe shelter for dragons in need, even if I don't know how they came to exist. Mine is actually really similar to this"

"Yours?" Astrid looked at her with a curious gaze.

"Aye" Valka said "I come from a land far from here. There I have my own sanctuary where I have gathered all kinds of dragons in these past twenty years"

She pointed her staff down and Astrid neared the edge of the cliff.

"Oh my gods!" she yelled stumbling back "What is that?"

Valka smiled tenderly at the giant white beast that was settled comfortably in water and grass "That is the Bewilderbeast, the Alpha of the dragons of the lands I come from"

Astrid frowned in confusion and decided to sit down. Her legs were shaking dangerously.

"I don't get it, Valka" she said watching her sit in a weird position some feet away from her. She almost reminded her of a cat.

"What don't you get?" she stroked her dragon's nose and looked at her with her eyebrows raised "Time for questions has come, you're allowed to ask what you want, but I can't promise you I'll be able to asnwer all of them"

Astrid nodded "If you're from a different land, then how come are you here?"

Valka pursed her lips "The Bewilderbeast decided to move in here almost a week ago. It's weird because I expected to find another alpha here, every sanctuary has one but... none. We settled in here and some of my dragons followed us here"

"Why has it moved?"

"I don't know. It was all so sudden. But I suspect something dark and big going on in these lands"

Great, Astrid thought, because I really need more dark and big things in my life right now.

"I just know it must something important for my alpha to move up here"

"Why did that Nightmare attack me like that? With no reason? I've dealt with other dragons before and he was abnormal, his eyes were empty"

She watched the woman's green eyes darken as she looked at her giant beast.

"I don't know, Astrid. I have my doubts but... I'm not sure. I'll do some searches in these lands"

"I'll help you" Astrid blurted and instantly blushed at her weird and sudden proposal.

What was she saying?

A little part of her mind told her she was proposing to go with her because she truly cared of what was happening, while the other, meaner and darker, was suggesting she was just looking for an excuse to stay away from Hiccup and Merida.

Valka scrutinized her with her green eyes half-closed "Are you sure you want to do this? It will be dangerous"

"I'm not afraid of a little adventure" she deadpanned "Hic and- I mean, I've done things like exploring new lands before. I'm prepared for anything"

The feral woman was still watching her with a doubtful look "Astrid is a viking name"

"It is. I am a Viking"

Valka bit her lip "Vikings don't trust dragons so easily, even less people who befriend dragons"

"I am one of a kind" Astrid only said.

She didn't want to tell everyone in Berk had a dragon. At least not yet.

If she did, Valka would have probably wanted to know the one person who had made everybody change their minds, and she wasn't ready for that.

She wanted to have a little adventure on her own, no one that she knew involved.

Maybe she was a little selfish, but she didn't care.

She was allowed to have a little happiness, right?

"What do you say, Cloudjumper?" Valka said scratching her dragon's chin "Do we want her with us?"

Cloudjumper did what looked like a smile and blinked with her owl-like eyes and Valka laughed turning to her "I think that was a yes"

Astrid smiled "It'll be an honor but... can I ask you a few more things?"

"One condition"

"Yes?"

"I'll get to ask you some things as well"

The girl bit her lip "Like you said, I don't know if I'll be able to answer to all of them"

The woman grinned "You're a smart one, are you?" she said.

She leaned on the balls of her feet and nodded "Go on"

Astrid took a breath "Where do you come from?"

Valka clenched her jaw "I can't answer this"

"But-"

"Please" she said closing her eyes briefly.

Astrid was surprised by her reaction "Okay. But at least tell me, did you have a family?"

This question seemed to hurt her even more and the woman didn't meet her gaze "Why do you want to know this?"

"I need to know at least something about the woman I am helping, don't you think?"

Astrid didn't mean to sound rude. But the feral dragon-lady fascinated her a lot. She was beautiful, in her village she would have probably caught most men's attention.

She had had to be raised somewhere and if she didn't want to say where, Astrid would've at least found out something about the life she was leading before.

She had said 'past twenty years' and seeing she was probably around her own parents' age, she must have lived almost half of her life beetween humans.

Valka sighed, she had a faraway look in her eyes when she spoke up "I did. I had a family. A husband and... a son"

Astrid narrowed her eyes "You had a son?" she asked "But... then why did you-"

"It all happened by accident" Valka said before the question could slip past her lips "There was an attack, I was out and when I came back into my house there was Cloudjumper playing with my son who was barely one year old. He looked at me and I esitated to kill him because I had seen he wasn't a vicious beast. My husband jumped in and took our son. Cloudjumper wasted no time and took me away"

Astrid was still confused "But why didn't you ever come back?"

"My native island is a land of 'kill or be killed', Astrid. Dragons were always a problem but I never wanted to kill them. Everyone thought I was a freak"

"Your husband surely didn't, or else he would have never married you" Astrid said in a hard tone "And you had a little son. Wasn't this enough to make you come back?"

Valka bit her lip "You speak as a young girl, when you'll have a family on your own you'll probably understand why I did it. I believed my family would have been safer without me. They could have been killed that night only because I couldn't kill a dragon"

Astrid looked at Cloudjumper.

Valka was so much like Hiccup. The two of them would've gotten along.

She thought about raising a family on her own and then leaving them but that thought only made her feel worse.

She didn't feel like judging a woman she barely knew.

Maybe Valka was right. She would have understood, eventually.

There was a moment of silence beetween the two women but it was comfortable.

It was Valka who broke it "What about you?" she asked "Why are you here?"

"Well, my chief's son is getting married with the princess of Dunbroch and he wanted some of his best warriors with him"

"You sound resentful. Don't you like being here?"

"Given the circumstances, no. I don't"

Valka must have sensed her despair and didn't push any other question on the topic.

Astrid was glad of it. She wasn't sure she could handle talking about the wedding without breaking down crying.

It was late in the night and her wounded limbs were complaining for not being rested in a comfortable bed.

"I think it's time for you to come back to the castle" Valka said.

Astrid nodded, tired, and stood up with Stormfly's help.

They made their way back into the tunnels in silence, Astrid crouched on her dragon's back.

When they were finally out it was darker then Astrid had expected.

"The sanctuary's light betrayed me"

Valka smiled "It's all a trick. The ice makes it look like there's always daylight" she patted Stormfly's wing affectionally "Will you be safe coming back on your own?"

Astrid could hear concern in her voice.

If her calculations were right according to her story, Valka's son had be her age.

The woman could be easily her mother.

She smiled down at her "I'll be fine" she said "Will I see you again?"

Valka nodded "I'll be here waiting for you. Recover, and then we'll go looking for what's troubling the dragons"

The idea thrilled Astrid "Then I'll see you in a few days, Valka"

"Have a good night, Astrid"

Stormfly was instantly in the sky.

The cold night wind chased back some of her tiredness, but it soon came crashing back down on her as soon as Astrid left Stormfly in the stables and tiptoed silently up the stairs.

She plopped down on her bed and closed her eyes.

That night, she dreamed of brighter days for her in those stranger and unwelcome lands.

Hope you guys like it!

I'll try to post next chapter as soon as it's done!

REVIEW! :)