So here is the next two chapters. I have a break coming up so I'm hoping to knock out some more chapters over the weekend. I just have to get through this one and get ready for an exam on Monday. Then my week will become easier. Thanks for the comments already and please keep providing feedback. Thanks and enjoy!

Disclaimer, I own nothing.

~Soldier78~

The Viking and the Slave

Chapter 5

The party was in full swing. Mead and meat were distributed everywhere. Astrid watched from her seat, not entirely in the festive mood. She kept one hand cupped around her mug of the alcohol with no intent in finishing it in order to avoid being served some more when she hated the damn liquor in the first place.

She saw a shadowy figure from the corner of her eye. She looked up to see Hiccup gesturing to the seat.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked out of courtesy. Astrid shook her head. Hiccup sat down, only inches away from the blonde Vikingess. He observed her behavior, she casually brought the tankard to her lips and took a small sip. She swallowed, her eyes casted downwards at the table. Her face looked crestfallen as well. Hiccup cleared his throat. "My Dad is certainly a big fan of your father."

Astrid gave a meek, affirmative hum.

"He keeps telling stories how Hoffer the Sharp valiantly 'slewed' five hundred Celts while outnumbered." Hiccup added, mindless to Astrid's dejected emotions. "You know…he attacked a manor…a manor is…"

"I know what it is." Astrid snapped abruptly. It effectively silenced Hiccup who looked sort of surprised at her outburst. Hiccup raised a brow. "Fishlegs lectured me about the southern islands."

Hiccup gave a nod.

"Of course." He amended. "Sorry."

Astrid angrily took another sip of her mead and forcefully swallowed it.

"Dad brought home a slave." She told him. Hiccup sat forward and closer, interested suddenly. She gave a bitter laugh. "Says that she will make work a lot easier since I "conveniently" have Dragon duties when should be doing my chores."

"Sounds like you have a lot of free time now." Hiccup interjected. Astrid looked the liquid in her cup. He looked at her. "Astrid?"

"She has a gash, right along her right eye." Astrid recalled vividly. She looked at him. "Can barely keep her right eye open. It continues to bleed."

"Maybe take her to Gothi." Hiccup offered.

"Dad won't allow it." Astrid refuted sadly. "Besides, she's a slave. We should save medical supplies for the people who really need it. She's lasted this long."

Hiccup wasn't too happy with her tough-like response.

"Infections can be gradual, Astrid." Hiccup argued softly.

"Dad won't allow it." Astrid repeated. She sighed, unhappy with herself. "I don't know why I brought it up."

Hiccup shook his head and decided to change the subjects. He stood to his feet and offered an extended hand. Astrid looked up at him with a questioning glance.

"Let's go." He suggested, pretty bluntly. Astrid raised a brow.

"Hiccup, your father-"

"I believe you still owe me a flight." He attempted to charm. Astrid smiled, ignoring all types of protocol and took his hand. Together, they walked into the cold air and Hiccup gave a sharp whistle. Astrid was heading to her stable.

"Let me go get Stormfly." She stated. Hiccup, who had intentions of having Astrid ride behind him, only nodded his head and allowed her to run quickly.

Astrid snuck into the stable and lit a candle. She walked up to her dragon, ready to awaken her when she heard a groan coming from the hay besides Stormfly. Astrid looked down to see the slave girl turn on her side, obviously trying to sleep.

She saw the gash again that the flame seemed to irradiate and she frowned, feeling the foreign emotion of sympathy. However, her dragon was awake with a squawk which jerked the slave girl awake too. Astrid was quick on saddling Stormfly, hoping the slave didn't spot her staring. Astrid commanded the Nadder out the stable and Astrid exchanged glances with the slave girl.

"If they ask, I'm taking Stormfly out for a flight." Astrid told the girl. The slave girl still gazed at her, left eye fully open, the other squinted shut with a thick line still running down it. Astrid chuffed and mounted on Stormfly. "Not like you can understand me anyway."

She clicked her tongue and Stormfly took off.

Hiccup soon joined her in the air.

"Nice of you to give me a heads-up." He jested, sidling up to her. Astrid gave a sly smirk.

"Just testing to see if you were alert." She reasoned casually. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, I'm always alert." He stated, playfully offended. "Leader of the Dragon Academy, remember?"

"Also to see if you can still have Toothless fly with the weight of your big head." She quipped quickly. Hiccup scowled at her.

"Oh really," he was in his challenge mode. "Let's see how well Toothless can fly with my big head."

"Race you," Astrid hastily challenged and she nudged Stormfly's sides. The Nadder took off in a burst of speed and Hiccup soon urged Toothless to do the same. Their thrills built up against the bursting wind. Hiccup laughed as he snagged first but Astrid was close behind.

Astrid gave a haughty laugh when Stormfly matched and exceeded Toothless's speed. She noticed the surprised glance on the Night Fury rider's face. He'd soon beat her, she knew, but it was worth it to just see that shocked expression to remind him just how far she had come as a dragon trainer herself.

However, the idea of racing became old. The two riders landed in the Cove and dismounted. The calm beauty was enchanting. The lake shimmered under the full moon and the stars dotted the sky in no particular formation.

Hiccup rested his back against a boulder while Toothless decided to fish in the pond. Astrid stood around, stroking Stormfly's scales fondly. She took the serenity of the atmosphere to think. For an odd reason, her mind was clouded with the dark image of the defeated foreigner, sleeping on hay with blood streaming endlessly from her eye. She stopped her hand abruptly and thought about that for a moment.

"Astrid?"

Her head snapped up to the voice of her male companion. She watched him look at her with confused, concerned eyes.

"Hm?" she hummed.

"Are you okay?" He treaded carefully. Astrid nodded after thinking a moment. "What's on your mind?"

Astrid gave his question some thought. She sat down next to him, allowing Stormfly to go play with Toothless a little bit. Hiccup inched away to give her some leg room and she brought both of her knees to her chest with her arms hugging them tightly.

"Hiccup, do you know anything about any tribes south of here?" She asked him. "Like where my father went?"

Hiccup contemplated for a moment.

"Dad says they usually go for these little 'villages', some sort of religious settlement. Usually the slaves brought back are the followers of some religion they call Christianity." Hiccup said. "They are rich with gold and silver. But then again, Dad says they weren't 'priests' but commoners."

"What is Christianity?" Astrid asked, crossing her legs and leaning forward. Hiccup shrugged.

"Some belief that follows one god."

"One of our gods?"

Hiccup shrugged.

"I actually don't know." Hiccup said honestly. "Maybe run it by Fishlegs, he might know it."

Astrid shook her head.

"It isn't worth it." Astrid said flatly. She sighed. "I should probably get back before I hear how "I'm supposed to go to bed early so I can rise and do my chores."

Hiccup sighed sadly and stood up.

"You want to walk or fly back?" He asked, hopefully she take the first suggestion because it would take longer. Astrid held Stormfly's reins and shook her head.

"We need to be up early anyway." Astrid muttered. Hiccup's shoulders fell but she had a valid point. Astrid swung herself onto her Nadder's back. Hiccup mounted on Toothless and they both flew towards the village.

Hiccup was still the gentleman and walked with Astrid towards her stable. She directed Stormfly in, undid her riding gear and shoved it in the crate besides the firewood stack. Hiccup's eyes fell to a shadowy figure on a pile of hay, back turned to them, asleep.

"Is this her?" Hiccup whispered. Astrid scoffed.

"No need to be quiet." She snarled. "She's awake."

"Does she have a name?" Hiccup asked. Astrid casted a sad glance at the resting body but kept her toughness.

"She is a thrall." She answered. "Her name won't matter."

Shocked, Hiccup looked at the one girl he admired for so long. It was so uncharacteristic of Astrid to give such words of hate. He decided that it was time to head back and he said farewell to Astrid. He mounted on Toothless outside of the stable and casted one last look at her. Astrid waved as he departed.

Astrid turned to the girl asleep on the ground. She was curled up, trying to sleep. She thought back to her words. She recalled a faint bite on her tongue, uncomfortable as she lashed out those words. She shook her head and decided to head inside before she does more that she'd regret in the morning.

However, by next morning, Astrid came down the stairs just at sunrise when she was supposed to be when she found her mother yelling at the thrall who was sitting on the ground, with a clueless expression on her face, with two stones at her feet. Astrid stood there, watching the event unfold. Her mother's voice raised a volume.

"Work!" she snarled at her. "Grind the damn cereal!"

Astrid was startled when her mother gave slapped the thrall straight across the face. The girl's head tilted to the right and slightly downwards from the impact. Astrid felt compelled to rush forward and help. That's when Gerda found her daughter standing at the stairway. She looked at her with an unhappy glower.

"Ach, 'Strid, git o'er here an' help this useless slápr." Her mother indirectly insulted the thrall. Astrid complied, quickly at the thrall's side to demonstrate. She took the handstone in her hand and showed it briefly to the girl, then scooped some of the cereal onto the base, the quern, and started mashing it. Astrid glanced up and caught the hard stare of the thrall. Her eyes were a darker blue than her own, glossed with callousness and a deep hatred to which Astrid could perfectly understand. Astrid saw the hurt as well and felt a bit sick to her stomach at the sight of the blood etching down her cheek from her gash that was popped in one place from the impact of her mother's hand.

The thrall reached forward however, taking the handstone from Astrid as her way of saying that she 'understood' the practice and to leave her alone. Astrid nodded and stood up, awkwardly heading for the door to get to the Dragon Academy for today's lesson. She stopped at the threshold, hearing the rough echo of the handstone twisting against the base's stone, crumbling the tough grain into white powder.

Astrid thought about the girl all the way to the Academy. The raising questions all summed into one basic thought; who is she?

To be continued.

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