Hi, thanks for being patient with me. As always, I very much enjoy your enthusiasm with this story. Last two chapters, I haven't really gotten responses except for a couple of favorites and follows which I greatly appreciate. I really want some feedback though. What can I fix? What should happen next? Anything. But still, it's very cool to see the lot of you enjoy this story. I'm having a great time writing this. It's a great break from writing document analysis essays. Anyway, please continue doing what you are doing and please, if you have the time, give me some feedback. As always, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer, I own nothing.

~Soldier78~

The Viking and the Slave

Chapter 7

There truly were days when the strong and tough Astrid Hofferson would question her ability to actually be tough and strong. She always knew she wouldn't be the smartest Viking or the strongest Viking. However, her rigorous training and her engagement with the Viking community had earned her the status of being feared or respected…by her generation.

It felt like only her generation understood and valued her abilities that took years to master into some form of greatness. She could throw an axe, summersault forwards and backwards, beat top Vikings at an arm wrestle and be able to brush off any flirtatious advances. Even on her worst days, she was still valued and still a role model for her generation.

Then Hiccup, though she highly regarded him now and loved him for who he is, showed up, and mastered a new skill that was now greatly admired, ended a war and took down the Red Death. His father was now open about his affection for his boy. Hiccup was regarded highly by the village now as the First Dragon Rider and was the center for advice about training dragons. Astrid greatly admired him just like the rest of the village. Yet, with his rise, Astrid felt like she was feeling a downfall.

She scowled every time after she shot an arrow. She counted fifteen shots and not one of them hit the center of the oak tree. The arrowheads just either dug in barely to hold against the sides of the tree or they were shot into the ground.

This was her fifth outing to the forest to try and master the shot since our story began. Every time she came out here, she was motivated by the negative nickname for her. The other riders were still calling her "Astrid the Aimless", except for Hiccup of course. Hiccup always had the decency to not exploit flaws.

There was a loud, obnoxious squawk coming from behind her. She turned to see her Deadly Nadder right there, flapping her mighty wings impatiently. It was time to go home. Astrid sighed, strapped the quiver to her back and mounted on Stormfly's back. She gave the dragon the order to flight and she rode with one hand holding the reins and one hand gripping the yew bow with a frustrated, vice-like grip.

She flew straight to the stable, deftly hopping off and landing on both feet before setting the bow aside to unsaddle her friend. As she hung up her gear, she heard a distant grunt and sharp mutter. Astrid snuck to the back of the stable and climbed on top a couple of barrels to look over the fence. Through the one foot slit, she could see the Thrall trying to chop some wood. She had a decent hatchet in her hand and looked like she could have the strength to break that with maybe two hard hits. Yet, the blade came down and hit the log, only to whack the side of it and the entire piece toppled over with just a cleavage from the strike.

Astrid wanted to laugh, it was amusing to watch but she bit her tongue. As she watched for the fourth time, the amusement grew old and into a sense of empathy as she was cruelly reminded of her own obstacle.

"Thrall! Get o'er 'ere!" barked her mother from inside. "Now!"

The girl stopped, jumped at the abrupt noise. Astrid held her breath as the girl stood still. She expected her mom to come out and drag her by the ear to get inside. Yet, this foreigner had at least a sense of tone and headed into the house. She waited a few moments until she heard her front door slam shut. She looked over her shoulder at the fleeting sight of her mother heading down the knoll and into the Market Place on an errand.

Astrid leapt down from the barrels and something overcame her. The foreign emotion of empathy kicked right in and, out of instinct, Astrid headed to the wood and picked up the hatchet. She gave it a good look in her hand and glanced, as if knowing the slave would be right there, at the back of her house. She pursed her lips together and turned to the stump. She positioned one log and aimed. She split six pieces of timber in about five minutes.

On her seventh, she was just about to let go but she stopped when she saw a figure out of the corner of her eye. It was the slave, approaching cautiously. Astrid lowered the hatchet and eyed the poor girl. This was one of the very few times Astrid had the chance to really study this new addition to the Hofferson Household. The Thrall had stopped just a few feet from her and had this undecipherable glimmer in her oceanic eyes. The gash on her right eye was healing but it was still prominent on her face now covered in weeks' worth of dirt and grim. Her cropped hair was now growing with the bangs getting in her eyes. The collar forged by wrought iron hung loosely on her neck, probably creating grooves of skin burns. Her tunic was torn in a few places and frayed even more around the edges from wear. However, the girl still had this honorable expression on her face. Her jaw was set and her lips thinned into a determined scowl. That undecipherable glimmer was now read as stoic and indomitable. Who was this girl?

Astrid held out her hand with the hatchet and swallowed. With her own steeled jaw and furrowed brow, she glared at the teen.

"Continue." She demanded, waving the axe to emphasize and translate her point. The thrall took two steps forward and snatched the hatchet which briefly struck Astrid for the boldness. Astrid took the moments to observe the girl's movements. The thrall's arms swung down in a rough arc but once again, failure.

Astrid bit her lip in hesitation. She was about to take a step forward, but in mid-step, she faltered and turned her back on the struggling girl.

The sky was dotted with bright stars and the moon was rising over the ocean. Just an hour ago, Astrid had received air mail from Hiccup's little messenger Terrible Terror.

I'm at the Cove if you want to join me.

-HHH

So she snuck out, snuck into the stable. She carried an oil lamp in her right hand as she entered the stable. She stopped for a second, admiring the slumbering Deadly Nadder. She almost took a step forward but paused when she heard a quiet murmur.

"Kneel, Kneel." It sounded like to Astrid. She shined the light onto the fidgety girl in the haystack. The Thrall turned onto her side. She cried another name and fell into a pathetic whimper. Astrid frowned, moved by the distress this girl was experiencing. Astrid had half a mind to even crouch down, shake her awake to save her from the shadows of her nightmares. As she watched the teen thrash to her right side and settled. It was all too similar, Astrid summarized as she turned to Stormfly.

Quietly, she roused the Nadder with a stroke to her scales. Stormfly crooned abruptly but Astrid quickly shushed her. She turned her head to see the girl turn onto her other side, groaning. She looked at Stormfly and started to ease her out as quietly as she could so she wouldn't disturb the sleeping teenager. She soon flew to the Cove.

Hiccup was where he said he would be. He was reclined against Toothless and gazing up at the stars. His hands were folded behind his head. There was a small fire going to the right of him. It crackled and flickered healthily. The flames reflected off of Hiccup's emerald eyes as Astrid got closer. Stormfly plopped down on the ground next to Toothless who raised his head briefly, startled by the newest visitor but soon settled his large head back down to snooze some more.

Astrid sat with her back against Stormfly's stomach and stared up as well.

"It's amazing that we don't have any clouds tonight." Astrid admired after a few moments of silence. She turned her head and saw a very blissful look on Hiccup's face.

"No rain or much wind either." He commented, absently. Astrid smiled for a reason she wasn't quite sure why. Normally, she'd beat herself up over that, it was the exact sentimentality she tried to push out of her all those years. Yet, she still smiled softly at any non-offensive remarks of his. "I wonder, though."

Astrid turned her head to look at him. Hiccup beamed back at her. Those green eyes shimmering with mystery and curiosity.

"Where do you think stars come from?" Hiccup asked. Astrid raised a brow at his question.

"You're asking me?" She asked him, a bit baffled as to why he asked this. It was written down somewhere.

"Sure." He affirmed with a shrug.

"I thought you would know that." Astrid wondered, looking back up at the stars. "You seem to know that kind of stuff."

"So you think I know everything." Hiccup said flatly. Astrid cringed a bit, did she say something very wrong? She glanced at Hiccup who sighed. "I thought you'd know."

Astrid felt immediate guilt and licked her lips, thinking about how to amend this quick obstacle. She closed her eyes and thought.

"They were put there by the Gods." Astrid answered. "They were sparks and burning embers from Muspelheim that the Gods took to give light to us. They say that they placed them in the sky themselves."

Hiccup smiled and looked at her again, appreciating the gesture. Astrid only hoped that she was forgiven. He turned his head again and pointed to the sky. With his index finger, he mapped out a constellation. Astrid's eyes followed his long, thin digit.

"That's the Eyes of Thjazi." Hiccup said. Again, he looked at Astrid. "The only constellation I know."

Astrid hummed in response, still attached to the sky.

"You want to know why?" He prodded.

"Because Thjazi is a funny name?" Astrid jested without looking at him. Hiccup grinned like an idiot, amused by that response. She eventually turned her head to look at his dazzling emerald eyes again. "Why?"

"I find the legend pretty funny. Have you heard it?" Hiccup inquired. Astrid shook her head. He smiled and looked back up at the sky. "Thjazi was a giant that captured Iðunn, you know goddess of apples and youth."

Astrid chuckled.

"I like apples." She commented randomly, averting her gaze back up at the endless sky. Hiccup's smile grew and he resumed his story.

"Well without Iðunn, the gods would grow old. They figured Loki was involved and sent to get the goddess back otherwise he'd face death. In the end, he did get Iðunn but killed Thjazi in the process. This made the Gods compensate Skaði, Thjazi's daughter. " Hiccup said. Astrid listened, still gazing. "She got to choose her husband from their own number. She could choose only by looking at their feet, however. She thought she'd married Baldr, because he had the most beautiful feet. However, she found herself betrothed to Njorð, god of the sea. The Gods also had to make Skaði laugh, done by Loki. The last compensation was throwing Thjazi's eyes into the sky and making them stars. And so, the eyes of Thjazi."

Astrid chuckled at the bizarre story. Hiccup looked at her.

"What's so funny?"

"Why does our religion have such weirdness to it?" Astrid said for lack of a better word. Hiccup chuckled.

"We're Vikings." He answered simply. Astrid laughed at his comment as well. Hiccup hummed in thought for a second, getting Astrid's attention once more.

"What?"

His tone turned into a bit of sympathetic curiosity.

"I wonder…about their religion." Hiccup told her. Astrid raised a brow.

"Whose religion?"

Hiccup sighed.

"The…the…"

"You're curious about the slaves' beliefs?" Astrid said, sitting upright now. Hiccup did the same.

"Yes, I am." He said astutely. Astrid huffed which earned Hiccup's indignation. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No," Astrid tried to amend. "It's just…what can they tell you? They don't even speak our language."

Hiccup huffed and laid back down against Toothless.

"I don't understand it." Hiccup grumbled. Astrid glared at him.

"Understand what?" She asked, appalled that he was suddenly mad at her.

"They're living under our roof! She lives in your stable and he lives under my stairs-"

Astrid cut Hiccup off.

"He lives under your stairs?" She asked, baffled for a moment until she finally processed Hiccup's sour remark. "Your dad-"

"Yes, my dad got a thrall as an offering." Hiccup explained to her, bluntly. "The point is…they're living with us. They aren't sheep or yak or even dragons. They're humans, just like us! Why can't we at least be kind to them? It is a challenge for them to understand our orders because they don't know our language!"

Hiccup had just finished flailing his hands around in anguish and he settled down, arms crossed as he now glared at the endless sky. Astrid had a ridiculous thought about the stars. The sky was endless, therefore, the beauty that Astrid had been gazing at all night was probably the same just across the sea.

"Do you…know his name?" Astrid asked softly. Hiccup chuffed.

"He is a thrall." He spat bitterly. "His name won't matter."

Astrid felt extremely uncomfortable as he repeated the same biting words that she had spoken when her father brought home the slave girl in the first place.

And when Astrid went home that night after a hasty goodbye from Hiccup, not even comfortable with giving him a kiss on the cheek to add the ambiguity mess of their relationship, she directed Stormfly inside. What was even more ridiculous was the fact that clouds started to coat the skies and the thunder rumbled. Rain was pouring hard, making visibility tremendously doubtful. It was probably halfway through the night and she was exhausted but as she stepped into the stable. She heard a soft snore and turned her head to look down at the girl. The light from the lightning momentarily brightened the restful body of the thrall. She was now sleeping much more peacefully, curled up a bit from the chilly air. Astrid bit her tongue in thought for a moment and suddenly huffed. She said goodnight to Stormfly and marched straight to the Great Hall. The rain completely drenched her in seconds after leaving the stable.

She stormed straight inside and found the figure of a large, rotund Viking boy, hunched over a large book. She approached the table with determination in her face and she looked at him dead in the eye.

"Fishlegs, do you know where these thralls come from?"

He gave a nod and Astrid sat down at the bench next to him.

"Good, tell me everything you know about them."

To be continued.

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