Sorry about the long wait people. Internet is being a bitch, and my younger brother has almost used it all up... the bastard. anyway, enjoy. and please leave reviews, they make me happy and want to update more.
"How could you allow this to happen? How could you sit back and watch as those two tried to rip each other apart? Why Shadow, why?" yelled Astrid.
"If you would calm down and stop yelling I would explain." Shadow said calmly. Still fuming, Astrid stopped pacing and sat down in a stone chair in front of Shadow. "Alright then. Explain." She demanded.
"Alright, let me start at the beginning. You remember back when Hiccup was captured by Dagur and I pretended to be a demon in order to help him escape?" Astrid nodded. "Well, what happened inside that cave was this: Dagur didn't believe my disguise and thought I was an imposter, so I proved to him that I was by biting Hiccup and marking him. I got carried away however and instead of marking him as my property, I held on too long and accidently marked him as my potential mate. The equivalent of a boyfriend." Astrid started nodding slowly as things started to make sense.
"When Phantom showed up, I could practically feel secret intentions from him, and I found out a little while ago that he had intentions to make me his mate. Black Moon culture dictates that if a male wishes to take a female for a mate, whether there is competition or not, he offers himself to the female so she can 'try him out'. That's what Phantom was doing at the beach by showing off. He was allowing me to use him as I pleased to decide if he would be a suitable mate."
Shadow took a breath and continued on. "I've taught Hiccup a lot about my culture, and I believe that he must have picked up on Phantom's behaviour. It is my belief that by marking him, it has somehow influenced Hiccup's thoughts of me, and he felt compelled to stake his claim against Phantom. Hiccup has more of a claim on me than Phantom does, despite being a human."
Now Astrid eyes went slightly wider as she figured the rest out. "So when Phantom saw the mark on Hiccup, he saw it as an insult that you chose him and not one of your own kind. So he attacked Hiccup and challenged him to steal that claim."
"Correct. And now that the challenge has been initiated and accepted, there isn't anything we can do until a victor has been decided. If it ends in a draw then the two must fight. Whoever wins either was has the right to ask permission to court me."
Astrid sat in thought for a few minutes thinking about this situation. "So what exactly is this challenge?" She asked.
"For this contest I will need your help. I'm not allowed to have contact with either of them, so I need you to pass messages back and forth, and to give them information on the stages of the contest. The contest requires them to present gifts to me, to show their own abilities, strengths and values. The first stage is to show how well they can provide for me, the second is meant to find out how well they can protect me. The third is to show how useful they are to me, so I can see for myself that I am not meant to be a trophy to them. Next stage is for them to show exactly how much value they place in me, and the final one, the tie breaker, is to see how much skill and talent they have. The reason I need you is to present their gifts to me so I cant be bias and choose one because I favour them. Only for the tie breaker can I see them." She explained.
Astrid nodded in understanding. "So what do you want me to tell them?"
Shadow thought for a minute before answering. "Tell them what I have told you about the contest itself. They can search for gifts ahead of time if they choose. And tell them that the first contest starts tomorrow when the sun rises. They will have until sunset to show how well they can provide. If they ask for extra information, tell them that the gift required is some kind of food. The second contest will begin at sunrise the next day."
Her questions answered, Astrid got up and prepared to leave. But then she stopped. "I'm curious though. Who are you rooting for the most?" she asked the dragon girl.
Shadow smiled. "The one who is more connected to dragons…"
Astrid looked at her curiously, but left without another word, secretly smirking to herself. She thought Shadow meant Phantom, the other Black Moon. But Shadow was thinking otherwise.
"Good luck River-Tide," she whispered to herself in the gloom. "I hope you win."
.
.
.
Phantom and Hiccup stood shoulder to shoulder outside of Dragons Lair while they waited for Astrid. Both of them growled at the other in disgust and hatred for even thinking about taking Shadow from them. Patiently, and with great self-control, they waited.
Astrid exited the cave no long after, and went right up to them both. "The rules of the contest are clear. You two cannot fight with each other, rule number one. Second, you need to find certain gifts for Shadow, and she will pick a victor each time. Shadow cannot see you when she chooses the victor for each contest. First one starts tomorrow at dawn. You'll need to find some kind of food to prove how well you can hunt."
Both males nodded. Hiccup was already formulating a plan, meanwhile Phantom was doing the same. They would see who could come up with the better choice.
"As Shadow said, may the best drake win." Said Astrid. Hiccup smirked and turned to Phantom. "I plan to."
Phantom turned to him on anger, a growl resonating from deep in his chest. "You are no drake. You're not a dragon. You're a disgrace. How can you call yourself a dragon if you can't even fly?" he taunted.
"Well when you think about it, neither can you right now." Hiccup taunted. "But that will soon change."