Hello. I am greatly sorry for keeping you fantastic readers waiting, if you were. College has been a long haul and it's nearly over so I look forward to returning to fun writing instead of forced essays on Asian history (the class is pretty cool though). Please provide feedback and hope you enjoy these next two chapters. As always, thank you for reading this.

Disclaimer, I own nothing.

~Soldier78~

The Viking and the Slave

Chapter 3

The sun was surprisingly out for the third time that week. The Gods were actually quite generous. Yet, the air was still a bit chillier than most summers further south. Astrid thought this casually as she hefted a double-bladed axe and a hatchet to the forge for sharpening.

She made it to the counter and hoisted the two tools onto the top. The loud clatter caught the attention to the scrawny apprentice.

"Oh, hey Astrid." Hiccup greeted in his usual awkward way. Steeling her jaw, she portrayed the usual, nonchalant, fierce Viking she molded herself to be by folding her arms and giving a piercing glare at the Chief's son.

"Can you sharpen these?" She asked. Hiccup waltzed up to the counter and picked up the hatchet. Expertly, he examined the state of the hand axe which made Astrid want to steal it from his hand and bash it against him. Yet, she refrained and just watched the boy fiddle with the device.

"I could, but it kinda needs a new blade." Hiccup said.

"And how much would that cost me?"

"For you, absolutely nothing." Hiccup surmised. Astrid shook her head.

"Hiccup, you can't just do things always for me on the house." She argued, arms still folded. "It's not right."

"Fine," Hiccup said with a shrug. "Then let's go for a ride later, you and me."

As much as she hated it, she felt her heart flutter at the invite. Her impassive composure kept from hastily accepting the offer to save herself any further embarrassment. She reached into the side pouch on her skirt and slapped a shard of hacksilver onto the wood.

"A flight and a piece of hacksilver." Astrid compromised. Hiccup smiled ruefully and nodded, getting to work on his latest project.

"Coming right up." He obediently informed. Astrid shook her head.

"Wait, what about the other orders before mine?"

"For once, can you just let me work?" came Hiccup's sarcastic argument from the table across the space. Astrid sighed. "There's a bench in here, sit down. You look like you've been on your feet all day."

Astrid entered the forge and sat down on the workbench, facing the wheel and watching the one-legged boy do what he does best, fix things. She smiled, he could fix things like weapons or dragon saddles or even relationships. She couldn't help but see that Chief's cape on his back as he nonchalantly took measurements and rifled through a crate of spare parts.

"Mum has been throwing chores on back for the past two weeks." Astrid informed, she shrugged. "Usually happens when Dad is away on a raid."

"Oh yeah, aren't they due back anytime soon?"

Astrid shrugged.

"I dunno, you know how we are. 'Tis the season to pillage, burn and steal." Astrid mocked a typical male swinging his beefy forearm that would hold a tankard of mead that sloshed with the uncoordinated movement. Hiccup looked at her and gave a short laugh, smiling in amusement for Astrid's humor that was just beginning to emerge.

He walked back over to her and handed her the hatchet.

"Well, don't forget slaughter." He mentioned. Astrid smiled, both their gazes met for a few seconds, remaining there until both awkwardly looked away. Hiccup was suddenly busy with her axe and she was suddenly looking at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. She heard the shrieking of the grinder's wheel when Hiccup pressed the metal to the round stone. There was an stroppy silence between them which was typical for the two of them, a way to ward off the captivating impulses and forget about them until some sort of interruption from the outside or until one of them would talk about something not entirely interesting but good enough to throw the embarrassment away.

"So," Hiccup said as he turned the axe over the other side. "What have you been up to?"

Astrid gave a short laugh and her elbow rested on the table behind her, her chin on her hand as she stared at the outside world. The grassy Cliffside.

"Oh you know, boring and-"

"They're back!"

Both suddenly were attentive to the exploding activity around the village. People were heading down to the harbor. Astrid and Hiccup shared a look with one another and Astrid was the first to sprint out, she ran to the grassy cliff she looked at before and saw the familiar sight of longships pulling into port.

"Dad…"

She waved over to Hiccup.

"They're back!" She yelled at him with a bright smile on her face. Hiccup nodded, clear that he got the message and he saw her run towards the shipyards.

Once she reached the level of the piers, she stopped short on the dock. There were five ships being emptied. She looked for her father among the throng and found Hoffer Hofferson unloading the furthest boat. She was heading towards the boat when she stopped as a throng of captives were in her way.

There were ropes around each of their necks, they wore aging tunics and a few of them looked like they had suffered some injuries leading up to their capture. They walked in a slow, defeated march and Astrid caught the crushed look of a boy, not too much older than her. His brown eyes dull with despair.

She shook her head and waited for these new slaves to pass. She jogged up to her father who yanked hard on a rope. Out stumbled a girl with a tattered cotton dress. She regained her footing and kept her head down. Astrid looked up at her father who towered above her and looked down upon her.

"My sack is still on the ship, get it." He instructed. "I have some business to deal with."

Astrid nodded and went to retrieve the rucksack. She hiked the bag onto her back which was notably heavier with the weight of new treasures her father had obtained.

After delivering the sack back to the house, she made her way back to the Blacksmith's to pick up her axes she had forgotten in the midst of the excitement of the returning fleet. She walked to the Forge with Stormfly waddling beside her. She smiled at her dragon and stroked her scales as they came up to the shop. She entered the Forge.

"Hiccup?" she called.

"O'er here Astrid!" Hiccup said as he walked out of his backroom. The curtain to that room drifted closed and he smiled, his finger jittery in her direction as he realized her purpose for coming here. "Oh yeah, I've got your axes ready to go."

He gave her the hatchet she had left and her axe which he sharpened and polished to her astonishment.

"Hiccup…"

He shook his head.

"Leave it." He asked of her and the blonde nodded her head. "So…up for that flight?"

"Um…actually my Dad's home so…" she trailed, wincing as she expected a disappointed look on his face. However, he remained his usual smiling self.

"Oh no problem. I completely understand." He assured with his dorky smile. "I suppose…I'll see you at the feast then?"

Oh right, the feast. It was tradition following a return from some raid. The treasures gotten from the mission would be presented to the chief and the chief would divide the wealth among himself and the returning men. It was also an opportunity for the men to boast about their heroics against the vile enemy with an odd name for a country. Irish, sounded like some kind of rash.

"They're a pain in the ass, I'll tell yeh tha' much." Her father had said as he regaled his battle brother who stayed behind due to a bad case of some illness. "They're fightin' back, makes 'em 'arder t'slit their throats."

"But isn' tha' part o' the joy o' raidin' Hoffer."

"Aye."

Astrid made it to her home after reporting to Hiccup that she would be there. She entered the front door, crossed the threshold only to see her father presenting a person to her mother.

"She was a pain t'capture but I spared 'er because she is strong and will make yer work a lot easier since our daughter conveniently 'as Dragon duties when she's supposed to be doin' the work."

Astrid slammed the door shut, alerting her parents and the girl of her arrival. The girl looked at her with a glare as if suddenly mad at her. However, the girl bowed her head and Astrid gasped. It was the girl her father brought from the ship. Now her hair was short and there was a metal collar around her small neck.

"Does she have a name?" Astrid asked, gazing at the back of the girl's chestnut locks.

"Ach, why does it ma'er?" Hoffer waved off. "She is jus' a slave an' nothin' more. Astrid, find a place fer this low life rat."

Astrid nodded and hesitantly approached the girl.

"Ach! Yer suddn'ly scared o' some Irish filth!" Hoffer said.

"N-no sir." Astrid cleared her throat and beamed a confident gaze at her father. She pulled on the tunic of the girl. "C'mon."

The slave obliged, stumbling behind as if there was a limp behind her. Astrid pushed the girl out the door unto some hay.

"There, you'll sleep there." Astrid said, pushing the girl onto the ground. She was able to get a full look at her face and nearly staggered back at the heart-stopping gash right across her right eye. Her entire right eye was half-closed forever and the wound was still bleeding. For a second, Astrid contemplated whether to help this slave or go back to the house to prepare for the feast. She recalled her father's struggle to obtain this slave and he was quite controlling over this situation and she wouldn't want to step out of line again.

She left the stable where she kept her dragon and didn't even look back.

To be continued.

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