Chapter Text
“Stupid Snotlout.”
This had been Astrid’s mantra for the last 200 miles or so.
At first, she cursed him because he had convinced her parents to accept his proposal. She still didn’t, but they were taking his side and trying to get her to convert over. But marrying Snotlout was not what she wanted. Vehemently.
Now she was cursing him for a different reason. Because of his persistence, she had no choice but to leave the city and look for home and adventure elsewhere. She’d become rich and famous and then they’d see that they were wrong.
She ended up going north, towards the frozen wastes. Why? Because no one would look for her there.
But she was beginning to regret her decision to do so as it was truly turning out to be a frozen wasteland.
Go figure.
It was cold, wet, and utterly uninhabitable. The snow rushed around her in a flurry, chilling her to the bone as she stomped through the snow.
She thought several times about going back, but hadn’t yet. If she continued north, she’d eventually pass the mountain range and be able to go west and then back down to the warmer weather. This had been the medium length, medium effort route and had seemed like the best option at the time. Compared to the long but easy route south east, that would have doubled her travel time, or the short but difficult route that was straight north through the mountains. That sounded even colder and she didn’t much like climbing.
But as another chill shook her body, she once again cursed Snotlout.
As she walked, she kept her arms crossed and her head down to try to keep warm. On occasion, she’d look up to scan the landscape.
That tower wasn’t there the last time she looked!
An old, tilted, stone tower, looking far abandoned and far neglected.
It would work for now. She could have a warm fire and sleep for the rest of the night and continue in the morning.
So she went to it, circling the base looking for the entrance.
Hmm. No door.
Perhaps the tower had sunk in the sand over time and the door was buried?
She did another lap and saw a window way up top, facing the ocean. That would be her way in.
She checked the stones for handholds, and when she found them sufficient to hold her weight, she started climbing.
The wind and snow made it hard, but Astrid was tough and strong. A lot more so than the average woman.
She reached the window and pushed, amazed to see the shutters opened easily.
As she knelt on the windowsill, she swept her eyes over the interior, extremely surprised to find it habited.
A small boy knelt at a low table, a stick of charcoal in his hand. But he was staring right at her.
“Hi!” She greeted, amicably.
He trembled, scrambled to his feet, and ran to the fire pit in the center of the room, where he took up a frying pan and came running at her with it. It was actually pretty pathetic, as he was obviously putting all of his strength into the attack, but it was a slow and telegraphed arc.
She caught it, so easily. “Hey little guy! No need to be so hostile.”
He pouted at her, then said, “I’m not that little…” with the voice of a man.
“Oh! Sorry, I just…”
“Thought I was a child? I figured. But I can defend myself!”
She glanced at the wrist she held solidly in her grip. “Sure you can.”
“You’re trespassing,” he snapped. “Now leave before this gets ugly…giant woman!”
Astrid smirked. “And to you, I probably look even bigger than usual.”
“What?”
She sighed, but not in exasperation. She supposed he did deserve an explanation, since she was trespassing. But first, she easily disarmed him of the frying pan.
He stared at her in horror.
“I’m a quarter giant,” she explained, ignoring his look and dropping fully into the room. “My grandmother was a giant. Twelve feet tall. I’m only seven feet.”
She saw him gulp as she stood at her full height.
“Look…uh, you got a name?”
He swallowed again. “H-Hiccup.”
She grinned. What an appropriate name! “Look Hiccup, I’m not here to hurt you or anything. I was traveling down the beach and saw your tower. I thought it was abandoned and hoped to find shelter for the night. Sorry if I scared you.”
Hiccup exhaled harshly, resting a hand on his chest. “Oh thank Odin…”
She set the pan on the table, shrugged her bag and axe onto the floor, and held out her hand. “Let’s start again, shall we? I’m Astrid. Could you allow me shelter for a while?”
He stared at her hand in confusion. “What am I supposed to give you?”
“Uh, your hand?”
Awkwardly, he placed his hand in hers, only for her to take hold and shake.
Then she let go. “You never had a handshake before?”
He shook his head, then after a moment, he confessed. “You’re the first girl I’ve ever seen in person.”
Her eyes went wide. “What? Are you serious?” She contemplated the fact she hadn’t seen a door. She doubted those little stick arms could hold his weight on the climb down. “Have you…never left this tower?”
“I have!” He insisted. Then added, “but not much…”
She gave this scrawny boy another once over. He was tiny, yes, but almost malnourished, pale, and sickly. His clothes were tattered and well worn, his hair looked dull and stringy. “How old are you?”
“16. You?”
“Also 16!”
Excitement lit up his eyes, before exasperation. “Really?! Puberty really hates me…”
She chuckled. “Again, I have giant blood. I’m bigger than everyone else our age.”
He looked at her, longing scrawled all over his face. He didn’t guard any expressions, and probably didn’t know how to. Suddenly, he jolted. “You’re wet! And you must be so cold! And you’re my guest!”
“Oh, that’s not necessary…”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit in the chair by the circular fire pit. Then he tugged on her coat, and she let him take it.
Honestly, she felt so much better finally sitting by the fire, it was hard to argue with him.
She watched as he hung up her coat to dry, then went to the little kitchen on the far wall. Now that she had a calm second, she could look around. It was a large circular room, with the fire pit being at the very center. The pit had bellows and anvil nearby, so not just a fire, but a forge.
Hiccup came back and left a tea kettle on a grate over the fire, then scrambled away again.
There was only the one window, where she had come in. The ceiling was tall and slanted, following the roof. Rafters criss-crossed up above and cast dark shadows over the ceiling. Across from the window was the kitchen area, lifted a few steps up from the ground. To her right, there was a large door, though she didn’t imagine it led outside. To her left, there was an arched doorway, the room beyond partially obscured by a curtain. She could see a little bed tucked in there, but the room was barely bigger than a closet.
The rest of the large room was fairly bare. There was a low table, with furs on the floor. The walls only had weapons and little charcoal drawings as decoration. A set of drawers, a wardrobe, a chest. Just enough to hold meager belongings.
A few candles and the hearth were the only sources of light.
A blanket fell on her shoulders, and he even tried to tuck her in. “Here, it might not be the nicest, or softest, but it’s warm.”
It was thick wool, scratchy, and had a sour smell to it, like he had tried to wash it, but in this place, it could never quite get dry quick enough. “It’s great, thanks.”
He smiled at her, with thinly veiled excitement.
The kettle sang, water ready, and he poured them both a mug, and put tea leaves in them. Her mug was silver, his was made of wood.
Then he sat on the floor by the table and stared at her.
It occurred to Astrid that she was sitting in the only chair in the room.
“Huh, are you comfortable down there?”
He sat cross legged, and settled in his seat. “Oh yes, I’m fine. I’m not allowed to sit in the chair anyways.”
This information was disturbing. But she didn’t ask him to elaborate. Instead, she asked, “So…you don’t live here alone?”
“No, sometimes my father comes. But I’m mostly here by myself.”
“And…your father has guests sometimes? Have any other friends?”
He shook his head no.
Her brow furrowed. He must be profoundly lonely.
“You must be hungry!” He popped to his feet. “Let me find you something!”
She wanted to protest that she was fine, but her stomach growled.
He took a large pot and put it over the fire on a hook. Then he took a bucket of water and started filling it, but it looked like a struggle.
“Let me help,” she got up.
“No, no, please,” he eased the bucket over the lip.
“I insist,” she easily took the bucket from him, and finished filling up the kettle. She made it look easy.
So he got to work putting ingredients for stew in the pot. Beef, onions, celery, and carrots.
“It’ll take a while to cook,” he explained, but he went back to the kitchen and took out some bread, meat, and cheese. “This isn’t much, but I hope it’ll tide you over.” And he nearly shoved the plate of food in her hands.
“This is perfect, thank you,” She said gratefully.
She tried not to crinkle her nose at the fact the bread and cheese had mold on them. It was free food, and she didn’t have to tuck into her rations. She would force herself to be grateful.
She ate silently, occasionally sipping her tea, while he not so subtly watched her.
“Can I get you anything else? Are you comfortable?”
She smiled at him. “You’ve done more than enough, Hiccup. All I wanted was to get out of the wind.”
He nodded, then forced himself to sit on the floor again, despite being antsy. “What were you doing out there?”
She chuckled. “You know, I don’t really know.”
He furrowed his brows and tilted his head. “You don’t…?”
She took a bite and talked with food in her mouth. “So, my parents are trying to get me to marry this boy named Snotlout. And he’s…well, he’s an oaf. He’s my friend, but I don’t like him in any romantic way. I really don’t see myself as the marriage type. I’m more the adventuring type! So I figure, I’d go out and find adventure, strike it rich, and mom and dad would realize that I don’t need a man…at least not now. Maybe in a few years I’ll find someone I like on my own.”
He considered all of this, but looked rather lost. “Umm…what’s marriage?”
She nearly spat out her tea. “You don’t know?”
He shook his head. “My father doesn’t tell me everything about the outside world. He just tells me what he thinks I need to know. And I have a few books, I guess.”
Astrid considered this. “Marriage is when a man and a woman vow to spend their lives together. Usually they love each other, but sometimes it’s arranged.”
“Oh!” He snapped his fingers. “Happily ever after, right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“So…you didn’t want that?”
She rolled her eyes. “If you’re getting it from story books, it’s not accurate. Marriage is…well, a woman keeping her house clean and nice, does all the chores, cooks the meals, takes care of the children, all that stuff, while the man goes out and works, and then hangs out with his friends.”
“Oh. I understand,” he said darkly.
“Yeah, so that’s why I didn’t want it.”
“So, you just…left? You weren’t afraid of your parents catching you? Weren’t afraid of the outside world?”
“Yep, just ran away. And yeah, I’m sure if my mom or dad found me, they’d be pretty pissed off, but whatever. I had to prove I was serious about not marrying Snotlout. Besides, what’s there to be afraid of?”
He seemed to be stuck on the first point. “You just left? You can do that?”
She shrugged. “I did.”
He looked down to the table he sat at. “I couldn’t.” Then he looked up at her. “Could you tell me more? Where are you from? What’s it like? Do you have a mom? Is she nice?”
“Whoa whoa!” She chuckled. “Let’s start from the beginning. I’m from Berk, you know, the capital city.”
His face paled. “Oh…yeah?”
“Yep! Born and raised! It’s really not much of a city, but it’s bigger than the other villages and settlements. It’s got a lot of long houses, and the Jarl’s home is up on the hill, a big wooden castle.”
Amused, she saw him resting his head in his hands, completely enthralled despite her poor descriptions.
“The city is up on cliffs that look out over the ocean. There’s a forest to our East.”
“Are there pets there? Like cats and dogs and yaks?”
“Yep, and we have goats and chickens…and dragons.” She smirked, amused by the way he said it.
He sat up, confused, but intrigued. “You like dragons?”
“Yep! I have my very own Nadder named Stormfly. I didn’t get to finish training with her, so I didn’t get to take her with me,” she said sadly. “But I’m going to return soon with my fame and fortune and then I can finish my training.”
“I was under the impression that Berk hated dragons.”
“Who said that?”
“My father.”
Right. The only other person he’s talked to. “Well, he’s wrong. We love dragons. The Jarl has a Rumblehorn, and his wife has a Stormcutter.”
Hiccup shuddered. “What about Night Furies? Do they like Night Furies?”
“Probably, though no one has ever seen them. Are you afraid of dragons?”
He shook his head, but didn’t look like he was being honest.
“You know, you can come with me. We’ll find our fame and fortune together, and then we can go to Berk and you can start dragon training!”
He shook his head. “I can’t leave. My father would kill me.”
“You don’t seem to be enjoying your life here.”
He shrugged. “It’s not about happiness, it’s about safety. It’s not safe for me out there.”
She scoffed. “Are you not looking at me? I can easily fend off anything that threatens us.”
“Then what am I supposed to do? I wouldn’t be able to help you…although, I’m pretty handy with this forge!” He gestured to the weapons on the walls.
She looked around, appreciatively. “This is pretty good work. But honestly, I wouldn’t mind just having some company on my adventure. You don’t seem annoying, so I wouldn’t mind if you tagged along.”
“Thank you, Astrid…but I can’t. I really shouldn’t be talking to you now. If my father ever finds out you were here…” he gulped.
She crossed her arms. “He’s rather protective of you, hmm?”
“Oh yeah! You have no idea.”
She watched him, studying the way he nervously fidgeted. He had a slight tremble, and his eyes kept shifting between her and outside.
This kid was as high strung as they came. Though she supposed she’d be pretty tense if she was that size and had a father that seemed to give Thor a run for his money in the Wrath department.
“What do you do for fun around here?” She asked, trying to get him to relax.
“Oh, um…fun? I guess…” he got up as he trailed off. From a side table, he brought a book over. “I like to draw.” He knelt at her side, holding it open for her. “I don’t really have a lot of stuff to draw, so most of it is copied from the books I own.”
He had plants and flowers, buildings, armored Vikings, ships. The sketchbook held a wide but odd variety of subjects.
“These are schematics for weapons,” he explained. “I can’t wield a sword and I can barely hold a shield. So I’ve been working on weapons that I can use.”
“Have you made any of these?” She asked, looking around the weapon laden walls. All she saw were standard, familiar arms.
“I made this one,” he flipped to a page labeled ‘the mutilator’. “It worked too! It shot a bola, kind of like a crossbow.”
“So where is it?”
“…my father destroyed it.”
“Why?”
“Said I didn’t need it.”
She frowned. “He’s so protective of you, but when you make a way to protect yourself, he doesn’t like it? That’s…weird.”
“I often don’t understand him.”
“What’s he like?” She asked.
He gazed at the ground, his countenance full of fear. “He’s serious.”
Astrid gnawed on her cheek. Something nagged at her. She definitely didn’t feel right leaving this boy here when all was said and done.
“Have you ever touched grass before?” She blurted.
He frowned again, eyebrows pinching. “What’s grass? Some kind of fabric?”
Astrid closed her eyes in defeat. He absolutely wasn’t staying here.
“What about your parents?” He asked, eagerly. “What are they like?”
“Usually pretty kind and reasonable. This is…kind of the first time I’ve disagreed with them.”
“And you decided to run away!?” He barked. “One disagreement, and you left!?”
“Now hold on,” she protested.
“I never get along with my father! I never agree with him! And yet I’m still here! I haven’t left! You get in one argument with people that actually love and care for you, and you give it all up?! Why would you waste that?!” His eyes were flashing with passion and unshed tears.
“Okay, first of all, shut up,” she scolded, not unkindly.
He shrank back.
“You’re partly right. Running away probably wasn’t the most rational thing to do. But I’m not throwing them away. Just getting away for a little while, proving my independence. I’m going to go back.”
He pursed his lips. “And they’ll take you back?”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
He hunched his shoulders and swept his gaze over to the window. His reply went unspoken, but it didn’t need to be said.
She decided to bring his attention back to his sketchbook. They went through the pages, and he explained what each was.
“And they’re beneficial too, allegedly. I don’t think they even grow in our country but I’d love to see one someday!” He cringed. “Sorry, I really didn’t mean to ramble!” He chuckled awkwardly.
“I don’t mind. I asked you what it was.” She gestured to the drawing.
“Right well…I have the tendency to ramble about my work, but father always gets mad and wants the short version.”
“Well, I don’t.” She shrugged. “I want the Hiccup version.”
He smiled and they continued to go through the book. Once they had gone through it, they sat and chatted until the stew was ready.
Astrid gratefully took the stew, but found it tasteless. It was apparent he didn’t have any spices, or even salt. Again, it was free food, so she ate it without complaint.
As they talked, she noticed this strange dichotomy in Hiccup. With the things he knew, he was extremely smart. But she found herself stumped by how much he didn’t know. Simple things, things she wouldn’t even think of because they were so commonplace. He didn’t know about wells. Apparently, the water in the tower was snow from the roof, melted into a basin. He had never heard of dessert either; apparently, the cookbook he had didn’t have a section on desserts. He had never heard of ‘games’ and couldn’t fathom the concept as she tried to explain it.
Eventually, Astrid found herself blinking slowly and nodding off.
“Astrid? Are you tired?”
“A little,” she smiled sheepishly. “I left early this morning, and I was walking all day.”
“You walked from Berk to here in a day? I didn’t know it was that close!”
“No no,” she chuckled. “Definitely not. A dragon might be able to fly it in a day or two, but not on foot. I left Berk about a week ago. I left the tavern at the last village this morning.”
“Oh. Right. That makes sense…” Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, why don’t you sleep in my bed up there? It’s kind of small, so I hope it’s okay…I’ll sleep in here on the floor, alright?”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely! You’re my very first guest, and I want to make sure you enjoy your stay.”
She stood, cracking her back. “Well, that’s sweet.” She followed him up to the little room, noting he had way more drawings up here than in the main room. The interior wall only went up a couple feet, and the ceiling above was the same as the main room. She could even see the fire light on the rafters. Though she supposed this probably kept the room warmer.
She laid down on the bed, her feet hanging off the end.
He winced. “I was afraid of that…”
She only chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Reminds me of my own childhood bed when I got my growth spurt. We didn’t have the gold right away for a new one, so I had to have my feet hanging off for a few months.” She settled down on top of the made sheets, just covering up with the wool blanket he had lent her.
“Are you warm enough?”
“I’ll be fine. It’s just a little cat nap.”
He gnawed on his lip, and then proceeded to tuck her in, as well as he could.
She gave him a confused but amused smile.
“I wasn’t supposed to do that, was I?”
“First for me, but I don’t mind.”
He sighed in relief. “Dream of victory, Astrid.” And he closed the curtain behind him.
What luck! She had not been looking forward to sleeping on the cold floor of an abandoned tower all by herself. But to find Hiccup had been a real boon from the gods. He had provided food, warmth, a bed, and good conversation.
Not to mention, her first mission as an adventurer! She had to rescue him from this tower!
She slept for several hours, the tower being the quietest room she’d ever slept in. Then sometime early morning, before dawn, the entire tower rumbled, and she heard the roar of a giant dragon.
Her eyes shot open.
“Astrid!” Hiccup hissed, throwing the curtain back. “It’s my father! He’s returned early! You have to hide!” He scurried back into the main room and stowed her belongings in the chest in the corner.
“Wait!” He jolted. “Stay in there! He rarely goes in, just…just be silent!” He threw the curtain back into place, haphazardly covering the doorway.
Astrid got up, quiet to not make any sound, and gently peaked through the curtain to try to catch a glimpse of this so-called ‘father’.
The shutters opened, and a large white point entered the room. It looked kind of like a giant tooth.
A huge man with black dreads and dark skin climbed down the white spike and dropped into the room. He held a barbed staff in his hand, and had a cloak made of dragonhide over his shoulders. His face was covered in scars and his eyes were dark and held deep bags under them.
Something about him rang a bell in Astrid’s mind, but she couldn’t place it.
“Hello father, you’re home earlier than expected,” Hiccup greeted, wringing his hands nervously.
“And that doesn’t fill you with joy? That your father returns early?”
“No no, it does! I just—I’m surprised is all!”
“I’m not staying for long.” The man walked across the room, his steps heavy and purposeful.
“Oh…just a check in, then?”
“Better than that.” There was a smile in his voice, though she couldn’t see his face. Then he paused, and Astrid saw where his gaze was directed.
Her used dishes sitting by the chair. The chair he wasn’t allowed to sit in.
“Why have you used my fine dishes?” He said darkly. “You know you aren’t supposed to. I thought you were better than that.”
“O-Oh! I just—well, I couldn’t—”
Then the man spotted Hiccup’s mug on the low table, and frowned harder.
“Who’s here, Hiccup?” He asked darkly.
“W-What?”
“Who is in my tower!?” The father yelled, violently.
Astrid took the distraction and noise to quietly climb up the bookcase and peer over the short wall.
The man was on the other side of the tower, looking in the other room. She now could see it was a bedroom, and it was a lot more finely furnished than the rest of the tower.
“Someone here?! Y-you’re kidding! Crazy! I would never–no one would ever–!”
Astrid leapt from the wall up to the rafters, and hid in the shadows.
The man grabbed Hiccup by the collar and lifted him off his feet with no effort. “You do not lie to me, creature. You are an open book, and I know you’re hiding something!”
“N-no! Me? Nothing! There’s no one here!”
The man dropped him and stormed over to his room.
“W-wait!”
The Father drew back the curtain, scanned the room, and then riveted his gaze back to Hiccup.
Even from up here, Astrid could see Hiccup swallow with immense effort. “I…was pretending.”
The father turned fully, and started towards Hiccup with slow, deliberate steps. “You were pretending?”
“Yes. I was pretending to…have a guest over. I wanted her to have the nice place setting.”
“What, like an imaginary friend?”
Hiccup nodded.
“And a girl at that?”
Again, a nod.
The man started chuckling. “Oh that’s sad. That’s very very sad.”
Hiccup stared at his shoes.
“What does she look like?”
“What?”
“Your imaginary woman. What does she look like?”
Hiccup seemed to weigh the options before saying, “blonde.”
The man chuckled. “I thought you’d like blondes. What else? Buxom?”
Hiccup nodded.
“A frail thing? Frailer than you? Someone you could actually overpower?”
“N-no! No, she’s big and strong and tough!” He blurted.
The man cackled. “You want a big strong woman? That’s what gets your rocks off?”
“I don’t…understand.”
“Oh of course you do, boy. You’re 16. That age when you start having urges. Pleasuring yourself with your hand. That sort of thing.”
Astrid gaped in shock at the way this man’s mind worked. And the way he mocked his son over such a delicate subject.
“What does that have to do with pretending to have a girl here?”
But his father just laughed at him. “You have no idea, do you?!”
Astrid was appalled. This man had messed his son up, and was gleefully laughing at his ignorance. She gripped the beam under her fingers to keep from jumping down and killing him.
“Even in your imagination…” the man chuckled. “Have you ever had an imaginary friend that was smaller than you? Or is being so weak and frail so normal for you, you can’t imagine any different?”
Hiccup’s face was flushed with embarrassment, but he doubled down. “But I’m not all that weak or frail, am I?”
The man laughed again, but in a different way, a darker way. “No, my boy, you certainly are not.” He wiped a tear from his eye before going to the table. “Which brings me to the real reason for my visit.” He dropped a scroll on the table. “The plans are complete.”
Hiccup knelt and smoothed the paper out. From up here, Astrid couldn’t tell what was on it.
“This one is you,” the man pointed. “You are the key to making this all work. In five days, I will return for you, and then we will launch our attack on Berk.”
The words made everything click. This man, Hiccup’s cruel father, was Drago Bludvist, feared enemy of Berk. The man who had waged war against them. The man that enslaved dragons and forced them to fight to the death.
“Me?”
“Yes, you can finally make yourself useful to me.”
“B-But—”
“Five days, Hiccup. You will study these plans, memorize them. I want you to see them in your dreams. Practice.”
“You’re putting a lot of trust in me…”
“I am,” He confirmed. “Once we take Berk, you’ll have a new home. It’ll be nice and safe, and I’ll even find you a big blonde broad to play with. Won’t that be nice?”
Hiccup didn’t respond.
“That was a question, creature.”
“Oh! Yes! I’m uh…I’m looking forward to it.”
“Good, because if you fail…this tower will become a lot less comfortable, do I make myself clear?”
“…Crystal.”
“Glad we have an understanding.” He patted Hiccup’s face, none too fondly. “I better go. Finish your imaginary date, and then get to work. Do not fail me as usual.” He walked with purpose back towards the window, where that white spike still poked in. He climbed up on it, and disappeared.
Hiccup continued to stare at the scroll on the table, becoming more and more distressed as the seconds went on.
When Astrid figured it was safe, she dropped onto the floor, startling him.
He jumped, and whipped his head up to look at her. Then he looked up at the ceiling and smiled. “So that’s where you hid.”
“People rarely look up,” she explained. Then she walked over to look at the scroll Drago had left. “Your father is Drago Bludvist.”
“Yeah…”
“He’s Berk’s greatest enemy.”
He jerked away from the table and scrambled towards the window. “Look, whatever you’re thinking, I’m not a threat, okay? I don’t want to be an enemy to Berk. I don’t want to hurt you…and I don’t want you to hurt me!” He trembled.
“I wasn’t planning on hurting you,” she soothed. “In fact, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to convince you to come with me.”
He gnawed in his lip.
Astrid glanced over the plans Drago left, studying the arrows and diagram.
Drago had him listed as delivering the killing blow to Jarl Stoick, the main threat and an unfair trauma. How was that a good idea? How could he do that to his own little son?
“This plan is going to get you killed,” she stated, bluntly. “But, if we take these to Jarl Stoick, both of us will be heroes. I guarantee you’ll be rewarded with enough gold, you could start a new life.”
He seemed hesitant, and unsure.
“And I’ll be with you, ready to help you with that step. You could even stay with me and my family. With your forge skills, I’m sure Gobber would love to have you work for him.”
“Gobber?”
“The city blacksmith. He’s great!”
He nodded in understanding, but still looked conflicted. He wrung his hands anxiously.
“What’s got you stuck?” She asked, approaching him carefully. Standing next to him, she realized he only came up to her chest. Such a tiny thing!
“You’re certain that Berk doesn’t hate dragons?”
This again? “I already told you they didn’t. Why would I lie about it?”
His lips wobbled as he looked wholly and truly scared.
“Okay, so besides what I said, you know, how I’ve been training a Nadder and the Jarl and his wife have dragons? If you can’t believe any of that, there’s this old story that’s been around for years.” After a beat, she said, “Actually, it’s pretty topical. In a week, it’s going to be the Lost Heir Festival.”
He frowned. “Lost Heir…Festival?”
“That’s what it’s slowly been called over the years. It’s the anniversary of when the Jarl’s son went missing. The old story is that the son was born so early, he was so weak and frail, he would have died without any intervention. Gothi, our medicine woman, and something of a mage, replaced the baby’s heart with the heart of an ancient dragon. It allowed him to live, but the rumor is that it allowed him to shift between the form of a man and that of a dragon at will.”
Hiccup went very, very pale.
“It’s kinda fantastical. No one outside of the castle could ever confirm if it was true or not, but the baby was kidnapped and no one ever knew what happened to him. The festival is a way to draw attention to his absence and renew the search for him…although it’s been, what? 16 years since he went missing? I think that’s right. Anyway, if the lost son is part dragon, would the Jarl really hate them?”
He still stood there, his expression tight.
“I don’t know why I thought that would convince you. It’s just a story. The Jarl never confirmed it.” She rolled her eyes.
“Did he ever deny it?” He asked, softly.
“Mm, I don’t think so. But I don’t know if the story just keeps the son in thought or—”
“I’ll go with you,” he whispered, staring wide-eyed and trembling.
“Alright!” She pumped her fist. “I promise you won’t regret this, Hiccup! Fame and fortune, here we come!”
With a new sense of determination she hadn’t seen from him, Hiccup went around and collected his few meager belongings in a potato sack. Mostly sketchbooks and trinkets he had made in the forge. He rolled up the scroll, and many others like it, and put them in his bag as well. As he worked, she could hear him muttering to himself.
“Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I should have known. It was so obvious!”
“Hey uh, Hiccup?” She tried to placate him. “Are you okay?”
He whirled on her, face red with anger and eyes wild. He looked seconds away from bursting into tears. “Oh I’m just fine!” He snapped. “I just found out my entire life is a lie, but I’m doing just swell!”
“Well, maybe Drago didn’t realize we were at peace with dragons? Maybe he genuinely thought we hated them and didn’t mean to lie to you?” She didn’t know why she was defending the man, but she wanted to ease Hiccup’s pain. “I’m sure he had your safety in mind.”
“No, no he’s a liar. He’s the enemy and we have to tell Berk. We have to tell the Jarl—the Jarl! I can’t talk to him!”
“Sure you can! He’s a kind man.”
He shook his head frantically.
“Well, how about I do the talking? I’ll just tell him that the son of Drago defected to our side and we’ve brought a copy of Drago’s plans!”
“Don’t call me that,” he bit. “That man is not my father. You will tell the Jarl that I was a prisoner to Drago.”
“Uh…did I miss something? You seemed to have changed your mind pretty quickly on that. I know it must be hard, but you don’t have to denounce him.”
“No,” he said sternly. “Drago is not my father. I understand that now, and you’ll understand in a minute. We need to go.”
“O…Kay…?” She drawled, completely lost. “Is there a door? I suppose I could climb down with you on my back…do you have any rope?”
“No.” He went to the window that was still open from Drago’s departure. “I’ll get us down.”
“You?”
“Yes. Can you hold my bag?”
She scoffed as she came up beside him. “Honey, I don’t know if you could climb down there yourself, let alone with me.”
“Who said anything about climbing?” He smirked.
How else was he expecting to get down? Yes, the ocean was right there, but it was still too shallow of a jump from this height.
He knelt on the windowsill. “Sit on my back.”
“Uh no, that’s crazy talk.”
He looked at her, his eyes steeled and focused. “Trust me, Astrid.”
She considered an escape plan. Grab his waist with her legs and grab the windowsill as he jumped. Yeah, that would work.
Doubtful, she straddled his back, and even when kneeling, didn’t quite sit on him.
“Which way are we going once we’re out?”
“Why does that matter? Just get us down.”
“I know I sound crazy, but trust me. Which way?”
She sighed. “Oh fine. We’re going South, so you’ll go to the left down the beach.”
“Got it. You might want to hang on.”
“Hang on to wha—?” Her words died in her throat as he began changing under her fingertips. The worn tunic turned to scales, and his body rapidly grew underneath her, lifting her off the windowsill. His hair turned from auburn, to black, to scaly nubs. It all happened so fast, she barely comprehended it.
“No way…” she breathed. “It’s you…you’re the lost heir…”
The boy turned dragon underneath her flexed and stretched his wings, then tensed as he started to lean forward.
He warbled something incoherent, but she somehow still understood the sentiment.
“I’m ready,” she said, patting his side.
He dove, a sharp whistling sound breaking through the icy wind, before unfurling his wings and catching the up draft.
Astrid whooped in delight at the sensations. Flying on Stormfly was fun, but this was different. Unrestrained, uncontrolled, and he was flying free.
Finally free of the lies, free of the oppression, free of his tiny little cage.
He banked to the left, as she had instructed, and took off like a shot, racing the wind.
She hooked her legs under his wings and leaned forward to hold around his neck. Their bags were sandwiched between them, staying secure.
“Okay,” she said in his ear. “I’m hanging on tight. Why don’t you show me what you’ve got?”
He roared, the sound reverberating through his body and into hers. He pulled up, flying straight up into the air, his wings pumping hard and taking them higher and higher. Then, he rolled upside down and allowed them to fall backwards, an excited scream being ripped from Astrid’s lungs.
He spun around, catching them in the current, before righting and moving into his next death defying stunt.
He did several maneuvers, each one crazier than the last. Spins, twists, dives, anything and everything.
“You’re amazing!” She sang, adrenaline pumping through her like an electric current.
Eventually, he calmed down and flew straight and lazy, heading South.
“Tired yourself out?”
He groaned at her.
“I get it. You probably haven’t flown this much in a while. Just take it easy and set us down when you need a break, okay?”
He would eventually, but for now, he just wanted to get as far away from that damn tower as possible.