A/N: Oh, look, another update in between, surprise surprise. This was planned as part of the Friday-Update but I think it works better as a separate short in-between chapter.

A day may come when I regret to have updated too hastily, when I run out of prewritten content. But it is not this day! ;P

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Chapter 7: Visitors

(A few weeks later)

"Astrid?"

Astrid heard the anxiety in his voice and felt how his arm found its way around her but she wasn't able to react. Her mind was completely focused on her breathing. Deep breaths, inhaling through the nose, exhaling through the mouth. And again. And again. Slowly, the pain subsided and Astrid began to register the world around her again. And the concerned faces.

Everyone was looking at her!

"I'm fine!" she mumbled in annoyance and turned to hide her face against Hiccup's shoulder.

They stood at the harbor and it felt like half the village was assembled along with about two dozen dragons, waiting for that dreaded ship to land. They had spotted the Redthorn's ship around noon and now, they would appear between the sea stacks at any moment.

"Are you sure?" Hiccup asked anxiously and Astrid wasn't sure whether to smile or to roll her eyes at him.

"For the last time, yes I am! I'll let you know if that changes, okay?" She settled for a reassuring smile which Hiccup returned apprehensively. He definitely needed to stop worrying about her or Chief Magnus of the Redthorn tribe would eat him alive…

"Look!" Tuff suddenly shouted and all their heads whipped around. There they came and with more speed than Astrid would have thought practical. She heard how Hiccup inhaled sharply, then turned and leaned in to give her a quick and hard kiss. Then he retreated again, his expression tight and carefully nudged her backward.

"Please!" He said. Just that one word and Astrid's lips tightened. She knew what he wanted her to do but didn't agree. This was Berk! There should be no need for her to hide amidst the crowd, this was their home, the Redthorns wouldn't dare to break their laws. But she saw the desperation in her husband's eyes and, reluctantly, she complied.

Astrid stepped back to stand between Ruff and Lia, behind Valka and surrounded by a tight wall of Berkians. She didn't like to hide but even worse than that was leaving Hiccup to stand at the front on his own. But he wasn't alone, not really. Toothless lay behind him, curled up as if asleep but Astrid knew better. He was supposed to appear harmless until needed. But he was there.

A couple of minutes later, the ship landed and through a small gap, Astrid got her first tolerably good look at the delegation from the Redthorn tribe. Chief Magnus was an impressive man. His size didn't quite reach that of Stoick but surely it would have been close. He sported a similar beard as well, but where Stoick's had been impressive on its own, Magnus had braided countless beads and foreign coins into the blond tresses which made him glint and clink with every movement. His gaze wandered appraisingly over the crowd and he made no secret of his disapproval.

"Hiccup!" He boomed a moment later and threw his arms around the younger Chief in greeting. "Still not fully grown, I see. A shame, but you can't help it, eh?"

"Magnus!" Hiccup replied with a tight smile. "Welcome on Berk. How was your journey? Pleasant, I hope?" Astrid secretly saluted Hiccup for his levelheadedness. She wanted to punch the Redthorn Chief already.

"Fine, fine. We sent the girls back this morning so the last few hours had been a little… hard but that's how it is, eh?" The big man's booming laughter echoed through the harbor and over the crowd and he didn't even seem to notice how nobody chimed in. Hiccup had barred him from bringing any girls just for their amusement and bringing any wifes seemed not to have been an option. Well, if a few hours were already hard, Astrid was looking forward to seeing them squirm after a week!

Hiccup didn't reply and had turned his attention to the other men standing behind their Chief. Astrid saw that two of them were wearing the same practical armor, uniforms apparently, and seemed to be guards or something the like. They stayed in the background though and Astrid's eyes wandered further toward another man who obviously was Magnus' son. Similarly broadly built and with equally blond hair looked this man like a younger copy of his father. His beard was not as impressive but neither was he bald and all in all, he looked better groomed. His piercing blue eyes wandered over the crowd in front of him and for a moment, they seemed to rest on Astrid, even though she should be barely visible to him. Astrid flinched and despite her former bravado ducked down behind Valka's back. Those eyes were cold as ice and had a menacing gleam in them and she would die a happy woman if she never had to feel them on her again.

"Geir!" Hiccup greeted the man and tore his attention away from the crowd. "Good to see you. Welcome to Berk to you, too." Astrid knew Hiccup, knew him well. She heard what it cost him to say these words and now she understood why he'd been so anxious all these months. This Geir was dangerous!

"Hiccup, old fishbone!" Geir answered in a low and too calm voice. "Nice to see you, too. And your friends as well though not all of them. Where's the fat one? And the crazy one is missing, too. We can't have fun without them now, can we?"

"Chief Dagur and Fishlegs will be here in a few days," Hiccup replied tersely and Astrid heard the other man grunt.

"I see. Well, that's a shame but you have enough people here to keep us company, I see. And where is she, the divine beauty the whole Archipelago is swooning about? Where is your wife? You wouldn't deny us a view of such legendary beauty now, would you?"

Astrid froze and noticed Hiccup did as well. She'd never been shy about her looks, knew that she was reasonably attractive but hearing this man saying it like that made cold shivers run down her spine. Someone tugged at her arm, Valka, and she gave Astrid an imploring look before she let her pass her to the front of the crowd. Hiccup was at her side in an instant and placed a protective arm around her shoulders. Normally, she would have glared at him for such behavior, would have shrugged his arm off and maybe punch him for being too overprotective but not today. Today she was glad to know that he would do everything within his power to keep this man away from her and from any other female Berkian as well.

"This is my wife, Astrid Haddock née Hofferson. Astrid, these are Chief Magnus and his son and heir Geir from the Redthorn tribe." Hiccup introduced them formally and Astrid suppressed a shiver as the men's hungry gazes wandered over her body. She would not show any weakness, not in front of these men!

"Chief Magnus, Geir, welcome to Berk!" She said dutifully but neither of them reacted in any way to her words.

"Well done, my boy!" Magnus laughed raucously. "Well done indeed! You fucked her well I see. Let's just hope your child gets a bit bigger than you!" The broad man kept laughing and Astrid fisted her hand into Hiccup's tunic, at his back where it would be hidden from view by his coat. She felt him shaking with rage but even though she still wanted to ax this man she knew she couldn't. They had welcomed him to their island, he was a guest. And the Gods were adamant about the rules of hospitality, killing a guest in cold blood was one of the biggest crimes there was.

Behind them, Toothless had lifted his head and his low growling vibrated through the ground and the air alike. He, too, seemed not to like these visitors. Without looking, Hiccup stretched his arm and placed his hand on the dragon's head, calming him without saying a word. For a moment, it was eerily silent. Chief Magnus' gaze rested on Hiccup's hand on Toothless' scaly head and for just a moment, Astrid thought she saw a flicker of fear in the broad man's eyes but it was gone before she could be sure. She hoped it was true though. If he feared their dragons, it would be so much easier to keep them in check.

The moment passed and Chief Magnus turned to wave at one of his men. Without holding her attention for the moment, Astrid remembered that it hadn't been the father who'd made her blood run cold. Geir hadn't said anything since she'd stepped forward but even though she tried not to acknowledge it, she felt his cold eyes on her, raking her. Stepping a bit closer to Hiccup, she chanced a glance at the blonde man but looked away again instantly. She felt Hiccup's arm around her tighten and she guessed, he'd seen it too, that expression on Geir's face. His lips had been drawn back to reveal his gritted teeth in a cold sneer and the look in his eyes... Astrid was a warrior, always had been and was not easily frightened. But she wasn't stupid either, knew that these days she was more vulnerable than she wanted to openly admit. And the look in those cold blue eyes made her heart beat faster and not in a good way. Because those eyes had been filled with a mixture of greed, lust, cruelty and blatant desire.

"Laif!" Magnus' loud voice drew their all attention and blessedly distracted Astrid momentarily. "Laif, come here my boy." Hesitantly, the last member of the Redthorn delegation stepped forward and Astrid blinked. It was a boy of 16 or maybe 17 years, also blond but by far not as broad as Magnus and Geir. "This is Laif, my younger son. I think you haven't met yet" the broad Chief introduced the boy with a devious grin.

This was another son of Magnus, Geir's brother? This boy, who stepped uncomfortably from one foot to the other and who was barely able to raise his eyes to meet theirs as he greeted them? Astrid could hardly believe it. And Hiccup seemed equally surprised.

"Your younger son? I didn't know you had any other children" Hiccup admitted perplexedly but Magnus just laughed again.

"Oh, I have many sons and daughters, I guess," He winked at Hiccup. "But only with these two, I'm sure they're mine. Got their mothers as virgins and fucked them until they died giving birth to my sons" Astrid dug her fingernails deep into her palms, hoping the pain would distract her and help her stay calm. How dare this man say such things? How dare he keep breathing and even laughing? She wanted him dead, wanted him to die a very, very painful death!

While she fought to stay in control, she noticed something else though. She noticed that Laif's posture wasn't unlike her own. He stood there, between his father and his half-brother, not looking at anyone, just staring at the ground in front of him. But his hands, too, were clenched into tight fists and his body, too, was shaking with rage.

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A/N: So, things start to become serious...