Astrid sat on the cliff near the arena, watching the dying smoke from Spitelout and Stoick's funeral vessels float up over the horizon, the orange from the flames now just a faint glow at the edge of the world. The sun had set hours ago, moonlight reflecting off the water with a blood red ring around it, but she couldn't sleep. Fishlegs had stayed with her for a little while before he'd finally patted her on the shoulder and returned to his own house to turn in for the night. Dinner in the mead hall had been a quiet affair. The shock that their chief and his brother were dead ran deeply through the Hooligan tribe, and Snotlout hadn't shown up for the evening meal. Neither had Gobber. Rumors had started circulating and Astrid had had to excuse herself from the hall before she hit someone.
She drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she stared down at the water lapping beneath the cliff face, the tide a gentle lull. Some part of her was still waiting for Hiccup to come back, wanted Snotlout to be wrong. That they'd just been ambushed by Outcasts and Hiccup had been forced into the role.
"Stupid," she murmured into her arms, closing her eyes before she forced herself to stand from her seat. Brushing the back of her skirt down, she turned to leave and had only walked a few paces before she bumped into someone. "Ah, sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." Astrid shook her head, before she remembered exactly what the time was. Her eyes darted up, breath caught in her throat as she looked Hiccup in the eye.
Before she could raise her fist to hit him or scream, he tilted his head down slightly, taking hold of her by the chin and pressing their lips together. He felt her stiffen, trailing his hands down to cup them over her hips before she brought her own hands up and shoved him back, causing the kiss to break as he stumbled back, falling onto his backside. Astrid wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before she was down over him, pinning him to the ground as she sat on his hips.
"Where have you been, you jackass?!" A chuckle left Hiccup, who merely relented under her pin of his body, her hands taking hold of his wrists and pinning them above his head. Astrid growled deep in her throat. "Don't laugh! I'm so livid with you right now, I..."
"Were you worried about me, princess?" He raised an eyebrow, lips curling into a smirk as he opened his hands submissively. Hiccup tilted his head at her, watching her face flicker through several emotions. "I'm only a few hours late."
"The competition finished early in the afternoon," she hissed down at him, taking both of his wrists into one of her hands and using her other to hit him in the chest, feeling chainmail underneath her hand. Astrid closed her eyes, biting her bottom lip. "Is princess still our code that I can trust you?"
"If you want it to be." He slipped his wrists out of her hand and pulled it down, pressing his right palm to hers, making her feel the scar he'd caused to his own flesh months ago. "I'm still bound to you."
There was silence between them, broken only by the sound of waves splashing against the side of the cliff before she looked at him, tongue sliding out to wet her lips as she thought back to Snotlout's words hours ago. "Did you kill Spitelout and Stoick?" she whispered, allowing the hand in hers to release her and come up to cup her cheek, fingers gliding over the skin there as he sat up, leaning back on his other hand for support.
"Yes." Hearing her take in a shuddering breath, he continued, tucking hair behind her ear. "I have a plan for the Archipelago, Astrid. A dream that can only be realized by our generation. Our clans have been at war for too long. Treaties will only bring so much peace and only last so long. They wouldn't listen to something like what I have planned. That's why we need to be rid of the older generation, why I had to kill them like I killed my father." Astrid bit her lip, looking down at him from where she sat in his lap, watching the look in his eye. The moonlight made him look half mad, reflecting in green as he leaned up, pressing his forehead to hers and cupping the back of her head as his voice dropped to a murmur. "I need a queen, princess. Someone to rule the clans by my side. I can't think of anybody else that I want for that position rather than you."
She glanced away, breath hitching before she looked back at his face, searching it. Seeing only truth, she shook her head. "I...let me think about it. I've had enough shocks today than adding one more to the pile." He inclined his head in a 'fair enough' motion, and silence fell between them again before she flushed, realizing she was still sitting in his lap. She scooted off him, rising to her feet and crossing her arms over her chest as he got up, placing his hands on his hips. Astrid glanced away again before she looked back at him, reaching up to tuck her side braid behind her ear. "Why are you here anyway?"
"I was looking for you, actually." He gestured over his shoulder to the forest leading to Raven's Point, where Toothless was waiting for him just at the edge. Astrid could just see his outline against the dark of the night, Hiccup looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "I wasn't expecting to find you here."
The sound of crickets chirping filled the air as she reached up to rub her neck, her free hand going to her hip before she managed to get out the question bugging her, closing her eyes. "Did you ever actually love me?"
She felt him move closer to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and holding her close. Instead of pushing him away this time, she brought her hands up, fingers tucking into the back of his chainmail as he set his chin on her shoulder. "Some part of me did," Hiccup whispered against her neck, pressing a soft kiss to the flesh there. "I still don't fully understand it or how it happened. Some part of me still does."
"Tell me about what really happened on Outcast Island." Astrid tugged herself away from him, looking at him as she brushed some hair away from her eyes.
"Maybe another time, princess." Hiccup tilted his head to kiss her mouth again, just briefly before pulling away from her before he gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I have things to do, alliances to plan. I just came to see how you were taking everything." With that said, he turned around to walk away from her, raising a hand to wave goodbye over his shoulder, and leaving Astrid to wonder just how things were going to turn out.
And what to do about his offer.
The next couple of months went by without much of an incident. Snotlout was initiated as Berk's new chief in a ceremony, with Gobber taking position as his adviser - the boy was only sixteen after all, and while Stoick had been steadily introducing him to the things he did on a regular basis as chieftain, it was still something that needed to happen. Next to Dagur and Hiccup, Snotlout would be one of the youngest chiefs in the Barbaric Archipelagos, but unlike the other two hadn't bested Stoick in combat for the title as per tradition.
The twins and Astrid had their birthdays, with Ruffnut and Tuffnut catching up to the others at last and turning sixteen while Astrid turned seventeen. There wasn't as much fanfare on the days as there had been in previous years, mostly due to the dark cloud that had been hanging around the village since Stoick's beheading. Slowly, life began to return to normal on Berk, word reaching them through traders that the Uglithugs had joined the alliance at Princess Tantrum's insistence.
Days when they'd been simple viking teenagers seemed to be further and further behind them, with Ruffnut's father starting talk of marriage to strengthen the alliance now that she was almost of age. In a fit of protest at the idea, Ruffnut had gone to their soggy dark place for a week before Tuffnut brought her home, though both twins looked sulky and miserable at the idea of one of them being married off. Their father eventually relented, though it was clear the idea was still something to consider.
Astrid and Fishlegs were the only two who really kept interest with the Dragon Academy, mostly with the latter being the one teaching the younger villagers these days. With the implication that the alliance could be going to war with the other tribes if they didn't join, he considered it better to be safe than sorry and passing the torch to the younger generation seemed to be the best option. Although a pacifist at best, Fishlegs held no delusions about what would happen should the Archipelago explode into war.
Snotlout barely hung out with them anymore. The title of chief came with new responsibilities that saw most of his days being filled, and even when he did have time to himself, something usually came up that spoiled the few moments of peace. Despite his bragging while growing up, he was actually quite humble as chief, surprising everyone to say the least. The adults of the village all agreed that it must have been the shock of seeing his father executed in front of him that straightened the boy out.
Almost three months after Stoick's death, a messenger Terror swooped into the great hall at dinner time, landing directly in front of the new chief. Snotlout paused in what he was doing before reaching to take the parchment attached to its leg, feeding it some chicken before he opened it. The entire hall seemed to stop in activity, watching as Snotlout wordlessly handed the parchment to Gobber and stood from his seat, squaring his shoulders just like he had done in the arena the afternoon of Thawfest. With a nod from Gobber, he opened his mouth to speak.
"In a few day's time I'll be heading to Outcast Island to officially sign the alliance agreement." A murmur rose up from the villagers at that. "I would like to request that these people come with me." A small cough in his hand to clear his throat, Snotlout continued. "Astrid Hofferson, Fishlegs Ingerman, and Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston." At the call of their names, the four dragon trainers stood from their seats, Astrid raising an eyebrow. "That's all."
As the villagers of Berk went back to their meals, no longer speaking in hushed tones, the teens came over to where Snotlout was standing, Fishlegs shifting a little nervously and Astrid and Ruffnut placing their hands on their hips and crossing their arms over their chests separately. "So," started Tuffnut, looking more than a bit confused. "Why'd you chose us to go with you?"
"Because I trust you guys." At the look of disbelief, Snotlout rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, you guys, cut me some slack. You know I trust you, and I know you'd get me out of a jam if it came to it, more than I can say for anyone else in the village. Hiccup said we're allowed to bring three to four people with us if we require it."
"You do know that's just him asking whether or not he can really trust you, right?" Gobber rolled his eyes at the look on the boy's face. "A chief doesn't go into enemy territory for a peace treaty with more than one or two people, because more than that will be askin' for trouble. There's a reason why I went along with Stoick to most Things - he trusted that I would be the only one he'd need."
The small group fell silent at the mention of the chief before Snotlout rubbed at his chin, looking at his friends. "Well, Astrid has to come because he specifically requested her." At the flushed look on her face he rolled his eyes. "Probably wants to smooch he-ow!"
"Just because you're chief now doesn't mean you can say whatever you want," she sing-songed a little good naturedly, cracking her knuckles as he rubbed his shoulder.
Snotlout huffed before he shook his head, returning to the matter at hand. "So...I guess the other person I want is Fishlegs. Sorry, guys," he added, noticing the looks on Ruffnut and Tuffnut's faces. "But I'm giving you the most important job of all - protecting Berk. If this alliance goes wrong, I know you guys can cause enough damage to a whole army of Berserkers or Outcasts single handedly."
"Hey, you can count on us," Ruffnut replied as she high-fived her brother.
After confirmation nods from Astrid and Fishlegs - the latter rather nervously - Snotlout sat the parchment down on the table he'd been sitting at and started to write out a response. Reattaching it to the Terrible Terror it had come in on, the tiny dragon flew around the ceiling of the great hall before swooping out into the dark, Astrid looking after it and wondering why she'd been requested to go.