Chapter 3

Hiccup paced outside of Gothi's house. He bit his lip. He felt quite embarrassed about what had happened. When he saw the unknown rider being knocked off his saddle and falling to the ocean, he steered Toothless towards him. Toothless had grabbed his foot. Hiccup was so focused on catching the man, that he didn't see the huge iceberg. Quickly he had pulled the unconscious body up to his lap and pulled off his hood. It turned out he was a she. And quite a beautiful she. Suddenly Gothi was standing in front of him, signaling him to go inside. He walked in to see the female dragon rider sitting up in the patience's bed and taking in her surroundings. He coughed to get her attention. She turned her head toward him and made eye-contact. She had very beautiful blue eyes, that went perfectly with her rosy lips, fair face and golden, braided-hair. But even though she had this angelic face, there was this dangerous and intelligent demeanor about her, that made him a bit cautious. "Hello, I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of Stoick the Vast. Welcome to Berk," he said giving his most welcoming smile. She gave him a disinterested look, but said, "Astrid." She was quiet for a second, then, "Are you the idiot who let my head hit the iceberg?" Hiccup scratched his neck sheepishly.

"Yes."

"Do all your captives get to enjoy that special treatment?"

Hiccup's eyes widened and he quickly responded, "Oh no. You're no captive. When I saw you falling, I wanted to catch you and I wasn't paying attention. It was an accident." He paused, then spoke, "Why did run from us?" "Why won't I run from you?", Astrid countered, "For all I knew, you guys were hunters, who decided to train your own dragons, so you'd have it easier capturing other dragons." Hiccup thought for a second. Astrid did have a point, he had to admit. "Well, we're not. We help and protect dragons, we don't capture or hurt them", Hiccup said, "Where exactly are you from? You don't have that typical Viking accent." Astrid stared at the ceiling for moment, then looked back at him.

"Spain. It's in south Europa."

"How long have you been in the Barbaric Archipelago?"

"By how well I speak Norwegian, what do you think?"

"Two years, probably."

"And the arrow misses the bull's eye."

Hiccup groaned. She wasn't quite easy to deal with.

"And your name is only Astrid. No surname?"

"If it helps, in the south I'm known as "the blonde bitch on the freakish monster". That fame is quite widely spread."

"You don't say."

Hiccup decided to go back to his house. This was no use. "I'll be back tomorrow. In the meantime, you can sleep here." And with that he left Gothi's hut.

He walked to his house. To his surprise his father was in the living room with Gobber. When Hiccup closed the door, Stoick asked, "So had did it go?" Hiccup shrugged, "She was difficult. She only gave short answers that were quite vague. It didn't seem like she wanted to share her story." Gobber laughed, "Well, what did you expect, laddie? You chased her with a Night Fury through ice tunnels and then hit her head with an ice berg. It would make any woman, Viking or not, quite upset." Hiccup blushed as Stoick also started to laugh. "Seriously, guys, it's not that funny," Hiccup said sheepishly. "True. It's actually a serious matter," Stoick said, regaining his composure, "So what did you find out about her?"

Hiccup sat down on the stool between the two older men. "She says, she's from a land called Spain, somewhere south of the Barbaric Archipelago. But she said her name's Astrid. Astrid is actually a Viking name, so maybe she lied," Hiccup sighed, "That's all I got." "Maybe she has Viking roots from one of her parents. She could be up here to visit some distant relatives, a great aunt or something," Gobber suggested. "Maybe, but wouldn't she have given the tribe's name, where she is staying at, if that were the case," Hiccup countered, "What do you think, Dad?"

Stoick stared ahead for a few minutes, then turned back to his son and his friend. "Is it true that she freed two dragons and that she only killed two of the twenty hunters? The other eighteen were only knocked out and had minor wounds?" he asked. Hiccup looked up, surprised that his father knew so much already, then realized that he probably had talked to one of the other riders while Hiccup was preoccupied. Hiccup nodded. Stoick thought for another moment, stroking his beard. "She's on our side, since she technically wants the best for the dragons," he suddenly said, "Even though she killed someone, it was only two out of twenty, which shows she prefers to spare lives if possible." He stood up. "We should show her some kindness. Gobber, go to Gothi's and tell her to bring the girl to the Great Hall tonight. It's Silent Sven's Birthday anyway, so there'll be plenty of food. Hiccup, go and clean yourself up a bit. I'll see you later at the Great Hall this evening."

Then both older men walked out of the house. When the front door had closed, Gobber spoke, "You told the lad to clean himself up? You never do that." When Stoick didn't say anything, Gobber chuckled, "That desperate to find your son a wife." Stoick sighed, "I'm not getting any younger, Gobber, and neither are you. Hiccup will need someone to take care of him, when we're gone and all other young lasses we know are taken." Stoick paused, "And I want grandchildren." Gobber laughed and patted the chief on the shoulder. "Don't worry too much, Stoick. I'm sure everything is going to be just fine."

The idea of Stoick wanting grandchildren isn't my own idea. I've seen many funny fan art pieces doing this joke. Seriously, they're hilarious. Good job to all those "HTTDY" fan-artists. Thank you for existing.

As for Astrid's family, yes some of her relatives on her father's side are Vikings, otherwise I couldn't call her Astrid Hofferson.