a/n: Please note to everyone who read the first chapter before it was updated, I've changed Al Sa-him to Al Ta-nin, there is a reason for this that will be revealed at a later chapter.
Nearly the entire village was gathered in the Great Hall. Stoick had called everyone there after he and several others ensured that the embers from the fire couldn't start another fire; the rain was a helpful factor in that task. Now all but the children were gathered together, Astrid even noted Gustav, at the young age of 19 was helping his father stand. He had been one of the men that their visitor, Al Ta-nin, had injured with an arrow upon his arrival.
"I'm sure you're all wondering what we intend to do with this Alli- whatever his name is." Stoick began, "At this point in time I believe it best to allow our foreign tribe member, Eret son of Eret, to partake in this duel he seems to have arranged with the man." Several voices were raised in anger, Stoick merely raised his hands to settle them. "As much as I want to climb to the plateau and ring this bastard's neck, he has an advantage that we simply can't get around. That devil dragon." The Night Fury. Astrid remembered it with a chill more lightning sounded outside, as if the very thought of the beast caused the sky to thunder.
There hadn't been a Night Fury in a single raid seven years, not since Stoick's son, Hiccup, mysteriously vanished. No one ever spoke of him in front of Stoick, but there were still whispers of the once nuisance turned dragon fighting prodigy heir and what may have happened to him. The most popular theory was developed after Fishlegs noted the distinct lack of presence of the Night Fury after Hiccup disappeared, the twins of all people thought it up, that Hiccup had somehow managed to find and kill the elusive dragon and fought it to the death, sacrificing his own life in the process. Admittedly they made it up in their enjoyment of the idea of death but it gained popularity over time and was the most widely thought. Astrid never bothered with thinking about it personally, she knew Hiccup was cheating somehow, how else could someone so weak become the best one overnight? The only real negative impact of Hiccup's disappearance was that her axe was never quite as sharp when she had it detailed, that and she never got that feeling she was felt when he watched her from the forge, the one that made her feel like she could do no wrong and was already the best at 15. Hiccup may have been an annoyance, but Astrid secretly liked the way she felt when he was admiring her from afar.
"Stoick you're being a fool!" Spitelout shouted, Astrid rolled her eyes, if there was one person less fitting to be chief than Snotlout it was his father. "The man may have a dragon but if we all climb the mountain together then a good number of us can make it to the plateau and kill him." A few voices, mostly allies of the Jorgenson's and some of the less intelligent Vikings, murmured in agreement.
"Oh is that so?" Stoick seethed, he had lost much of his patience for his brother-in-law's insolence at the same time as he lost his son. "This man both commands and rides that devil! What happens if he sees the whole village climbing and decides to order the beast to destroy the mountain side? I'll tell you what: we all die in a rockslide and the survivors are picked off by either the dragon or it's master's arrows! Leaving the village both unprotected and without leadership!" Stoick shouted back, rousing more people's voices, including Astrid in support, even Snotlout was shaking his head; the lessons must have taken some root. "I've made my decision; Astrid will lead Eret up the side of the mountain. It'll take them at least a day and a half to reach the plateau so they will leave at first light tomorrow. In the meantime the rest of us shall work to better the village's defenses, while I have complete confidence that Eret can defeat this stranger I will not leave the fate of our home to chance." Again many voices were raised and fists brought up in support of the chief's plan, those who didn't agree left with Spitelout quietly while those remaining gathered closer to hear more.
"Yer makin' the right call Stiock." Gobber said, "That Ali-fella isn't some dumb brute like some of our own, he was smart and observant. He somehow knew exactly where to hit my axe for it to fly off even with the locking mechanism 'Iccup designed for me. That's no small feat considering how smart the lad was." Stoick let out a small breath, only Gobber could really mention Hiccup without enraging the large man, seeing as how Gobber was more of a father to his son than he was. But the smith made a point, the man who now threatened their village was no fool and certainly skilled as a marksman to have disarmed four of the best fighters in the village with just a bow and arrows.
"I just don't like the idea of possibly sending Astrid and her betrothed to possibly be killed at the hands of a man we know nothing about. What's to stop him from simply shooting the both of them then simply claiming he defeated Eret in combat and Astrid forced his hand?" Stoick lamented to his friend. Had it not been for Gobber, Stoick would have likely fallen into depression years ago, the blacksmith reassured him that his son loved him and that he had become the Viking Stoick always wanted him to be in towards the end. It was those thoughts that kept Stoick going, why he threw himself into his duties as chief and four years after Hiccup's death named Snotlout his new heir.
"Yeh can't think like that Stoick. Astrid can handle 'erself just fine and in a small area I doubt that fella can draw his bow before she reaches 'im." Gobber said, but his voice betrayed him with a thick tone of worry. Regardless the two men stood straight and addressed the warriors that chose to stand with them, and decided to deal with Spitelout's small group of loyalists after the real threat was dealt with, Ack would continue to keep them up to date on the small munity the Jorgenson planning.
For the next hour the group of warriors talk and devised multiple plans on dealing with their newest enemy, some even suggested they forego the duel Eret agreed to in order to have one extra pair of hands to help set up the defenses. The trapper however refused to back away from the challenge and insisted he would kill the man so they could turn the improved defenses on the dragons in the next raid. Stoick understood his reasons, a Viking never backed down from a one on one fight, so it was decided that Eret would fight Al Ta-nin on the final day in order to ensure Berk had time to prepare.
Afterwards Astrid was in the uncomfortable position of walking Eret to his boat in order to hold up the appearance of a happy couple about to face a life or death situation. Astrid didn't wish death upon Eret, but she still wished she had been given a say in his asking for her hand instead of being bought like some yak was purchased from Not-so-silent Sven, who broke his silence when she was sixteen and hadn't shut up since. They reached the docks and Eret pulled her into a hug, on she limply returned, as much as he may have felt for her the whole idea of marriage felt hollow if she didn't return the sentiment, no matter how much her mother told her that love came after marriage. Deep down Astrid always felt that if she were to marry, it would be because she was already in love, not a notion she would ever admit out loud but she thought she'd find it one day.
"Astrid…" Eret's accented voice cut through the quiet like a hot knife, Astrid looked up at him and saw he had a strange look on his face, a look that said he was contemplating something. She quirked an eyebrow to indicate she heard him, he gulped and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Look I know you haven't exactly been happy with me since I went to your parents to ask for your hand, but I want you to know that I really do care for you. I've always been a drifter, just like my father before me. But this place, Berk, it feels like a home because of you. That's why I'm doing this. Fighting that man, I'm doing it for you." Before Astrid could even open her mouth to respond he lowered his head and placed his lips on her own. Astrid was taken aback and for a moment didn't really know how to respond, she had never kissed anyone other than her parents on the cheek. The kiss wasn't bad, but it ignied no spark in Astrid, she had no real urge to throw her arms around him and pull him in for a deeper kiss like she'd heard Heather talk about when she spoke of her first kiss with Fishlegs(and every one since). Still she allowed him to kiss her for another moment before pulling back, she didn't hit him, didn't yell or glare either, but she also didn't kiss him back. Eret was placing his life on the line for the village because of her; the smart thing to do is to let him have this one thing as a token of thanks, it was what was best for Berk.
Astrid returned home with a clouded mind, she knew what she did was what was right for Berk, but she was a bit saddened that her first kiss was so mundane. Somewhere deep down she always though it would be a big thing for her, that the man she bestowed her first kiss would create a fire in her that urged her to kiss him more or make the world around them melt away for however long their lips were connected. But those were the thoughts of a little girl and she should have done away with them long ago, in two days time she would lead her fiancé up the mountain to the plateau and he would kill this Al Ta-nin person and save Berk. She would then marry him and learn to at least care for him, but she would never become a housewife for him, she was a warrior of Berk and no matter what she would remain one.
She entered her room and the first thing she noticed were that candles were lit, despite the fact she hadn't been home since that morning. The second thing was her axe that had been knocked over the cliff side and into the ocean, was leaning against her bed frame. She crossed the room in seconds and pick it up to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, the axe was most definitely hers, the one that was her mother that she had taken off the wall when she was five and wanted to help her Uncle Finn fight the Flightmare, the night he died at the hands of said dragon. It been dried out, and was even polished and sharpened, all in all it looked and felt freshly forged and more deadly than it had in years. The blonde stared at the weapon in her hands with a mix of awe and confusion. "How?" She wondered aloud.
"A warrior should never be without their weapon."
Astrid whipped around, brandishing the axe in the direction of the voice. Al Ta-nin stood at her window, and was unfazed by her threatening stance. "I know you have a low opinion of me, and frankly I don't care, but I have a code of honor that I abide by. You lost your weapon when my dragon brother knocked you down earlier, I could tell that it is more than just a possession to you, it's a part of you, so I have retrieved it and restored it to peak condition for you. I can grant you no greater gift than to die with your weapon in your hand, there was once a country called Sparta, and they had the greatest warriors in the world, so much so that they called dying on the battlefield a 'beautiful death' I will give everyone on Berk a beautiful death. However, unlike the Spartans, no one will remember Berk.
Astrid tightened her grip on her axe, she could cleave his head off right now and be done with it. She could save Berk and maybe ask the chief to cancel the marriage contract between Eret and her parents as a reward. But she had to move first, and as much as she wanted to kill him, she still had questions. "Why are you doing this? What did Berk ever do to you that we deserve to be destroyed?"
Al Ta-nin stepped closer, enough so the light hit his eyes, the only part of him not covered in black. Astrid sucked in a quiet breath when the light caught his eyes, she hated that she was almost instantly mesmerized by how green they were. "My reasons are my own." He stated bluntly, "I could ask you a similar question of you though: why agree to marry a man you clearly hold no feelings for? I saw you walking with him, you were stiff as a board. I was to be married once myself, to my masters daughter, but I spoke with him and we came to an agreement. I would one day find a wife of my own one day and in order to take his place I would lay with his daughter and conceive a child, that child would be of both his blood and that of his heir. That child would then become the next heir unless someone more worthy were to come along, much like I did."
"Well things aren't exactly that easy around here!" Astrid whisper-shouted at him, he scoffed in response.
"You think my life easy?" He said as he stepped forward again, he was close enough that if she held her arms straight out that the head of her axe would be digging into his chest. That was when she realized that he was toying with her, daring her to take his life, knowing that if she did she would never get the answers to her questions. "My mother abandoned me when I was just a babe, leaving me along to grow up with a father who hated me for the sin of taking after the woman he loved. I was also born prematurely which caused me to be different from the people where I lived and treated as an outcast despite the fact we we're at war. Eventually I found a friend in someone who was supposed to be my enemy and with his help I left my home and found my way to where I am now. I know what true suffrage is, so don't stand there and tell me that you accepting a marriage you don't want is true pain. I've nearly died at the hands of the elements, by people and dragons alike and even my own training, I survived because I was smart and determined. You have lived a life of luxury in comparison."
Astrid was rendered speechless by the synopsis of the man's life, he reminded her of Hiccup is some ways. Hiccup's mother had been killed by dragons shortly after Astrid was born and he'd been treated poorly by everyone except Gobber in Berk until he became number 1 in dragon training, Astrid was observant enough to know even Stoick seemed more irritated by Hiccup's mere presence most of the time. Astrid herself only had two notable interactions with the lost heir after she was told to cut all ties with him at the age of six. The first being just before they started dragon training and she went to get her axe sharpened, Gobber had made some poorly articulated excuse and left Hiccup to service her axe (and if she read Gobber's wording correctly, herself as well). Hiccup of course tried to make conversation with her, poorly just like his mentor while she had walked around the forge and inspected one of his invention ideas. The second was after the first time they trained with the Nadder, when Hiccup was more concerned with asking questions about Night Furies then taking part in the training. She had yelled at him after hitting the Nadder with her axe that was still buried in his shield, in hindsight she felt bad because she said he needed to figure out which side he was on, but she knew deep down he wasn't siding with the dragon, he was just clumsy. He didn't want to see all of Berk dead like the stranger she stood before now, and she never got to correct that mistake. She also remembers a short encounter where he was in the forge late one night and acting strange even by his standards but that one was unimportant compared to the other two.
"I came here for two reasons so listen carefully. First I came to return your weapon; even if we are enemies you deserve to have it in your hands. And second, I came to tell you this: Eret will die when he comes to the plateau and no amount of preparation will help Berk." Astrid looked up and met his eyes, they were cold and unforgiving yet so vibrant that she couldn't help but stare at them. "If you truly want out of you marriage to him I suggest you bring him to me and I will end his life then and there. However, should any part of you care for him then convince him to stay put or leave with him, as Berk will be destroyed." With that he backed into the darkness as a pitch black figure appeared at the window and a gust of wind blew out the candles, when Astrid managed to light one and hold it to where he was all she found was an empty room.
Stoick trudged up the hill to his home; he had stayed behind to have a drink with Gobber after everyone else had left the Great Hall. He doubted anyone else remembered or even cared but today was the last time anyone had seen Hiccup seven years ago. Stoick often wondered what his son would be like now if he were still alive, it had taken years but he finally accepted that his son must be dead, Gobber had told him of how Hiccup had become a dragon fighting prodigy while he was gone in search of the nest, Stoick was saddened that he never got to see his son live up to his potential.
"Enjoy your drink with the blacksmith chief?"
Stoick froze. There standing on the other side of the hearth with a bow and arrow trained on him was the man who claimed to come to burn his home to the ground. "You." Stoick growled taking a step forward but stopping when the man pulled the drawstring back ever so slightly to remind him that one wrong move would result in his demise.
"I thought I'd let you know a few things. The truth mostly." The man said. "Firstly I'd like to reveal the truth about your wife. Mainly that she survived that dragon taking her, she chose to stay away from Berk when she realized that the dragon wasn't going to hurt her. She abandoned you and your son." Stoick clenched his fists , no man spoke ill of his late wife, but then something caught his eye. Sitting in his chair was a wooden bracelet he'd made for Valka, one she was wearing the night she was taken. He knew it was hers by the patterns carved into the wood, he'd carved them himself when he was courting her, it showed signs of having aged a good twenty plus years and was obviously well worn. Al Ta-nin noted his line of sight and made a smirking sound, "She wore that everyday, for over twenty years until she was killed about a year and an half ago. And I know who did it."
Stoick picked up the bracelet with trembling hands, his wife had been alive until almost two years ago and never came home to him? To their son? Could she have prevented Hiccup's death? "Who did it? Who killed my wife? Tell me!" the chief demanded. Al Ta-nin simply lowered his bow and returned the arrow to his quiver.
"Your son; Hiccup."
Stoick could feel his face heating up again, this man was playing games now, Hiccup died on Berk seven year prior at the hands of the a Night Fury, for all Stoick knew it could have been this man's Night Fury that killed his son. "Your son did not die on this island like you assume." Al Ta-nin said as if reading his mind, "He left by choice, with a dragon no less. First your wife and then your son both chose the company of the beasts you fight over you. Perhaps you should have devoted yourself more to your family and less to your war."
"You're lying." Stoick spat, "My son loved me and was a dragon fighting prodigy who lost his life fighting a Night Fury! We found the battlefield and know he died honorably."
"Your son used tricks he learned by playing with the dragon he shot down and your people took it for dragon fighting prowess, none of them bothered to notice he never killed any of the dragons you used for training." The man in black responded, re-drawing an arrow. "He left after he was chosen to kill the Nightmare because he had become appalled by the idea of killing a dragon, you lost the two most important people in your life to your hatred of a species you know nothing true about. Hiccup travelled alone with his dragon for four years then met a woman riding a Stormcutter, he was thrilled at first as she taught him things he never knew about dragons before, until she revealed she was his long lost mother. After he was so consumed in his rage at her abandonment of him that he stabbed her three times in the chest, and took the staff club she wielded and bashed her with it until her skull caved in. Your son murdered his own mother without a shred of remorse."
"It's not true; my son would never do something like that!" Stoick shouted, he couldn't bare the thought of his small kind hearted child doing something so vile.
"Oh it's true. But if it makes you feel better it wasn't his first time killing another human being, he killed a couple dozen men and women before that who threatened him or his dragon. Your wife's dragon, the one that took her, tried to avenge her but was killed by the the one your son left with. That bracelet was the only thing not broken in his rage, I did you the kindness of cleaning her blood off." Stoick looked down at the too small wooden bracelet with a mixed look of horror, shock and disbelief. "But I can also tell you that your wife was the last life that Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III took from this world, he died two months later. So for the first time tonight you drank to the memory of your dead son. I'll leave you to reflect on what I've told you." Al Ta-nin said before drawing the bow again and moving towards the back door.
"How do I know you speak the truth and aren't just making these stories to break my spirit?" Stoick said, one last effort to keep himself in control of the torrent of emotions threatening to drown him.
"If that bracelet you carved isn't enough proof, then I can only give you my word as a warrior. There is no honor in lying to an opponent to achieve victory, and I am bound to accomplish my mission with my honor intact." Al Ta-nin said softly as he pushed the back door open and melded into the darkness outside. As the door shut Stoick dropped to his knees with tears spilling from his eyes for the first time in seven years.