THIRTY THREE: Repercussions.
There was a moment of silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire and pop and hiss of the cooking roasts...and the low, drawn out growl of the Night Fury.
Immediately, Kjetil walked forward, his heavy brows dipped as he looked to his men-and the stationary shape of the auburn-haired Viking. The Chief raised his hands to calm the suddenly ugly mood.
"Easy," he said firmly. "Jorgen, Elof, Tor-sheath those weapons! These people are our guests..."
"That man attacked all the Hunter ships and sank them!" the first man-Jorgen-exploded. His rugged face was scarred down the left cheek, his dark eyes narrowed. "I watched him and the dragon blast the ships without mercy, long past the point when they were subdued..."
"Sorry-are we talking about Hunters?" Snotlout asked directly. "The people who capture and kill dragons, who use them for skins and meat and-and as forges to produce metal? The guys who tried to kill us more times than I can count? Are we really worried about what happens to these guys?" The former hunters stared at him.
"Why you stumpy..." the second man, Elof, began. He was a tall, husky guy with close-cropped reddish hair and deep brown eyes. Dagur was on his feet in an instant.
"Snotnose is correct," he said, his voice a low growl. His finger stabbed at the three men. "What about the crimes you have committed-you and your kind? Attacking our dragons? Attacking the Edge? Attacking Berk? Capturing the dragons? Fighting them? Shooting Astrid down and leaving her to die in the ocean?" There was a gasp from the villagers as the blonde rose, her eyes flaring with fury. Her hand moved and her axe whipped forward, the razor-sharp blade pointing at the accusers.
"Have you idiots forgotten that these men are Hunters-the same people who raided your village on and off for years?" she hissed, her eyes locked on the men as she slowly advanced. "The same people I killed and drove off? So are you going to listen to the same dragon dung and demand I was executed for protecting you from them stealing, killing and enslaving you?" She advanced further and the men backed away. "We have fought Hunters for a couple of years because they threaten everything we hold dear. And my boyfriend is our leader and the man who has suffered most at your hands."
"I thought we were Vikings," Hiccup said suddenly. "And Vikings don't whine about deaths in a war. And we are at war with the Hunters. "
"We are Dragon Riders and we protect people and dragons alike!" Heather announced, standing proudly.
"How many dragons have you killed for skins?" Ruff snapped, never forgetting what Ryker had planned for Barf'n'Belch.
"Or enslaved?" Fishlegs added, glancing over to Meatlug, who was quietly parked by the fire.
"Yeah-pretty weak that you start accusing H when you have been forgiven your crimes and allowed to join the tribe!" Tuff commented pointedly. But the third man, Tor-who was solid and blonde-stabbed a finger towards Hiccup.
"You don't understand!" he yelled. "This man-this monster-has terrorised the entire Hunter community! He has attacked and sunk every ship he could find, showing no mercy! He was the reason we quit..."
"Which is the reason why you are here today," Kjetil reminded them. "And yes it is true that your kind raided us, stole our food and killed our people for years-but you sailed here and begged for a chance...which is what you have been given. But don't mistake that as wiping the slate clean!"
"But that man terrorised us all! And he did kill without hesitation and without mercy!" Elof insisted angrily. "I saw him blast helpless men when they wouldn't answer his questions..."
Astrid turned her head and saw Hiccup flinch, his eyes dark with pain. For a second, he looked into her eyes, his face filled with shame before he turned away.
"Hiccup?" she asked softly and he shook his head.
"No...that happened," he said dully.
"But...why?" she asked as he glanced back at her. This village was a place they were visiting to allow Astrid to catch up with her friends, with the people she lived with for months. It was something she had talked about at length and with longing while she was in labour, struggling to distract herself from her fears and her pain. And she and Valkana needed warmth and sanctuary and peace. Still recuperating from the birth, Astrid needed this...and he couldn't cope with the disappointment in her eyes at his crimes. At the monster he had become.
"I'm sorry," he said and threw himself into the saddle, urging Toothless forward through the door and up into the air. Dumb-struck, Astrid stared after him, hearing the whistle as Toothless's wings cut through the air and bore him away.
And her heart sunk to her boots because Hiccup had chased her all over the Archipelago...when she had run. He had asked her to wait, to let him fix it but-hurt and angry-she had run, leaving him to chase her. And though a small part of her still resented that he hadn't renounced everything and run after her immediately, she knew he had suffered on his journey. Thor, she had caught the smallest glimpse of his scars when he had changed his tunic after the birth, when he thought she had been sleeping-and she had wept at the sight of the scars on his body. Someone had done that to her Hiccup, to the kind, goofy, brilliant loving man she adored. Then she turned to Kjetil.
"They're lying," she ground out furiously. "These people turn up and think they can falsely accuse my boyfriend of being some sort of terrorist? When they are the criminals? How many of you have they killed and stolen?" She glared at him. "When Hiccup, Dagur and Heather drove them off for good? Have you forgotten that?" Not waiting for an answer, she then turned to her friends. "Heather, Dagur, Fishlegs, Ruff-and Hjordis-watch over my child. If anyone harms her, I will come back and kill them-and them all of you. Is that clear?" There were nods. "Snot and Tuff-watch them as well!" she ordered them, her axe pointing at the three former Hunters. "Especially those three and the people who wanted Stormfly dead. They are not to be trusted..."
"Wait-where are you going?" Heather asked her as Astrid pulled on her fur-lined tunic and hood once more, leaning forward to kiss her dozing child. Valkana had just fed and was sleeping deeply, not stirring as Astrid pressed a kiss to her downy head.
"Baby-your Momma is going after your idiot Daddy," she murmured gently. "Because something has happened and he is very unhappy. And I think I am the only one who can find him and help him."
"But Astrid-you've just given birth and..." Fishlegs protested and then stopped as the blonde glared at him. "...and I'm stopping talking now..."
"He's right," Hjordis added firmly. "You've only delivered a few days ago and you're still recovering..." Breathing hard, Astrid shook her head.
"I am a Dragon Rider-and I have flown after being injured, even when blind..." she told the older woman firmly. "But Hiccup...I can tell he's very hurt and is hiding something. And I am the only one he will talk to."
"But..."
"Watch my daughter," the blonde repeated sternly. "Stormfly is the only dragon as fast as Toothless and she's a Tracker-so she can find him-even he he doesn't want to be found." Then she slung her axe over her back and walked to the door, feeling the ache in her back from the hours in the saddle on Toothless. "STORMFLY!"
There was the answering trill and the Nadder sped forward, nuzzling her Rider eagerly. Laughing in delight, Astrid hugged the scaly head warmly and stared into the yellow eyes.
"Come on, girl," she said firmly. "We need to find Hiccup and Toothless." So she clambered into the saddle and shifted her position. It was still a little sore to sit but as she gripped the dragon with her legs, she pushed all considerations aside because all that was important was Hiccup. "Up, up!" she urged and the Nadder crouched-then accelerated into the air, her wings flapping furiously. Astrid gave a scream of surprise and joy, leaning forward on instinct and suddenly feeling she was back to who she had been.
Except she was more. She was now a mother, her daughter the centre of her world...along with her boyfriend/almost-husband. She was lauded as a saviour in Stippling, had spared baby Changewings on the Healers' Isle and had seized the Chiefdom of Granite Isle. And in the same time, the man she loved had faced despair, captivity, torture, hardship and desolation. What would she have done if she thought him lost? What lengths would she have gone to in order to locate the man she loved? And then she allowed herself a small smile.
Maybe flying off a few days after giving birth leaving her precious daughter in the care of her friends...
Stormfly banked and Astrid let the dragon lead, knowing the Nadder could track her friend better thank she could. Stormfly's wings were pumping furiously and she leaned low over her neck, banking at the stinging in her eyes as they raced through the clouds, the clammy damp enfolding them...but up ahead, she could just about hear a whistle and knew they were closing on the Night Fury. But they were always just out of sight, just out of shouting range, so the new mother hung onto her dragon and hoped they would catch Hiccup soon. But she was losing the feeling in her behind and getting stiff when Stormfly soared up and swooped round, circling down to break through the cloud and aim towards a large seastack...and on the uneven, rocky surface was perched the familiar black shape of the Night Fury and beside him, standing staring at the grey-green stormy sea, was Hiccup.
He didn't move, didn't look up as the Nadder landed with a screech that was happily answered by a warble from Toothless. Stiffly, Astrid clambered off the dragon and her knees wobbled-but she forced herself to walk forward, her azure gaze fixed on the tall, stiff shape with the stiffening breeze ruffling his auburn hair.
"I knew you'd come," he said tonelessly. "You're much smarter than I am." She walked forward and then paused, a few feet from him.
"More impulsive," she reminded him. "You tend to think and then over-think things, considering every angle until you tie yourself in knots."
"Or dig myself a hole I can never get out of," he said softly.
"Alone maybe," she reminded him. "That's the beauty of friends, Hiccup. They help you when you're down and can't see a way out on your own."
"There is no way out of this," he said and his head dipped. He was still looking away from her, his posture despondent. She reached out then and rested her hand on his shoulder, realising he was so tense, his muscles felt like wood. "Astrid..."
"Hiccup, you mutton-headed lunatic, did you think I would let you go when I only just got you back?" she asked him, tightening her grasp on him.
"You should," he said hollowly. "I'm not the person you fell for...not the person who deserves you..."
"You idiot-you're still the same person," she scolded him. "You've just been through some difficult experiences..."
He spun then, his eyes dark with shame as he stared into her face.
"I attacked and sank every Hunter ship I could find..." he said angrily. "I killed men who resisted me. I had Toothless kill them. I-I..." She paused and then grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to remain close.
"Hiccup...you haven't told me anything but Heather filled me in," she said gently. "You were captured by Hunters and I-I saw some of the scars when you changed your tunic after the birth. They treated you horribly and it's only human for you to..." He shook his head, closing his eyes.
"That's not it," he told her baldly. "I-I went to Healers' Isle from Stippling because you went and never came back. And when I got there, a day or so after you had left the village, I found evidence of hunters-dead dragons, Dragon Root arrows and Stormfly's spines. And I knew...I knew they had captured you and I knew what they could do." He was breathing raggedly. She drew him close, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him against her. He resisted, trying to pull away.
"Shh, shh," she said softly. He shook his head.
"You don't know what I feared," he told her brokenly. "I had been their prisoner for a month, tortured and abused to make me tell them how to train dragons, how to capture them. They hurt Toothless to make me obey. And I barely made it...but to imagine you, late in pregnancy in their care, imaging them beating you, burning you...raping you..." His eyes searched her face. "I felt such fear, such horror...such anger..."
His voice had dropped.
"And I had to find the ship that had captured the baby Changewings from the island because I thought they had you. I knew there was little time-and I had to make then fear me because I needed them to co-operate, to be terrified of my wrath and what I would do if they refused me. But when they fought, I recalled all those days and nights with the Captain...and Toothless's roars of pain...and I kept fearing I would be too late, that they would have killed you or raped you and slaughtered our child...and I wasn't there. I wasn't there. And every time I saw them, that horrific image kept haunting me so even the crimes I was committing...I could justify them because I had to find you! I couldn't fail you again. I couldn't lose you to them. I couldn't...I couldn't lose our child..."
He dropped to his knees, his head bowed as she knelt in front of him, pulling him close and finally, he leaned into her, his face burying in the crook of her neck. His arms wound tightly around her, his body shaking with grief. Her hands dug into his tousled hair, feeling the slow, rhythmic movements as he sobbed...and she finally understood. Not that she had ever for a moment considered him to be a cold-blooded killer...because Hiccup was a genuine, brilliant, kind, caring man who passionately cared for dragons and always sought the peaceful solution if there was one. But he had also shown he would do anything for her-even to making a deal with Viggo when she was dying with the Scourge of Odin for the last known Buffalord...and though Hiccup later explained he suspected it would protect itself, he had been willing to take that gamble...just so long as she was safe.
And what would she do if she had known Hiccup was a prisoner, tortured and beaten and threatened with death? But she didn't need to think about it because she knew: she would tear the ship, the world apart to get him back, to save him. And even though she had been in a different danger, she understood his utter despair and rage at the thought of her being subjected to what he had endured. Quietly, she buried her nose in his hair, feeling dampness against her skin and he gave a shuddering sigh.
"Sorry," he breathed. Determinedly, she pulled back so she could look into his face. Hiccup never cried-the closest she could recall was when he had been disowned...and when she had been dying. But it was strange, to see him with red eyes and damp cheeks because even when he had been bullied and beaten as a child, he had dealt with it bravely. So she did the only thing she could think of: she kissed him.
The effect was magical as, desperate and broken, he responded ardently, his lips moving hungrily against hers, his hands tight on her waist, holding her against him. Finally, he pulled back, nuzzling into her hair and breathing her scent deeply in.
"Never say that," she told him breathlessly. "I love you, you muttonhead. And I would tear the world apart to rescue you if the situation was reversed. I understand." She smiled. "There should always be a Hiccup and Astrid, remember? And what I want it to mean...is this. Being together, through bad times and good. Protecting each other. Helping the other when they fall. Holding them when they need it. Loving them every minute of every day, no matter what. That's Hiccup and Astrid. And with you, Dragon Boy, the bad days can be very bad...but the good days..." And she stared into his shocked eyes. "With you-they're the best."
He kissed her again, less desperate but no less tender, his lips expertly moving over hers, his tongue lightly brushing over her lower lip...and she smiled against his lips and then pulled back.
"I love you more than any other person...okay, human person..." he conceded as he heard a roar from the direction of the dragons. She giggled and tried to pretend to be affronted, though she knew loving Hiccup meant loving Hiccup-and-Toothless-just as he knew that Stormfly came as a package with Astrid. "And I'm not sure I can live without you...especially now..." he admitted, a hand sliding through her hair and caressing her cheek. "Gods, you're cold..." She smiled.
"I'm a tough Viking-I can cope," she reminded him. "After all, we're from Berk. This is a nice day on Berk..." He gave a tiny chuckle.
"Well, there isn't a blizzard so bad that you can't see the hand in front of your face so I guess you're right," he conceded, his hand stroking her cheek again. "And you look tired, Milady. It was a long flight after some broken nights and a longish flight already..."
"You think I was letting you run off?" she challenged him, smiling, though the shadows under her eyes were a deep purple with weariness. "It took you six months to catch up with me! I was not giving you that chance, Mister Magnet-for-Trouble!" He gave a small frown.
"Hmm...isn't that near Freezing-To-Death?" he teased her. Then he blinked. "Where's Val?"
"I left her with Heather, Dagur, Fishlegs, Ruff and Hjordis," she reassured him.
"Dagur?"
"Look-I believe that he will do anything for his 'brother'-and by extension, his 'brother's' child," she told him logically.
"Ruff?"
"I trust her with Val," she soothed him. "Not when she's older, by the way-unless we want her purple, tattooed and with leaves all over her-but for now, I think she'll protect our daughter like her own brother..."
"Oh Thor, we're doomed," Hiccup murmured and then he grew somber. "And I can't go back, can I?" Astrid stared into his face.
"Yes-because I will not stay if you are not welcome...when they have already welcomed Hunters in their midst!" she told him spiritedly. "So you're coming back with me." And then she sighed. "But we need to talk through this with the other Riders and make sure they understand." He nodded, leaning forward and resting his forehead against hers.
"I just hope they understand," he sighed. "I mean, I've lost my home and family and birthright already...but if I lose the Riders..." She gave a small chuckle.
"Since when did you get so pessimistic?" she asked him. "I mean, you always see the bright side, you always have a plan, you never give up..."
"I almost did," he revealed. "When I kept missing you, when I just ended up in worse messes or when I was closing-and then fate-or Snotlout-intervened. And every time, I feared I would never find you. I think-I think a part of me resigned myself to never finding you...and if I didn't, I would keep searching. Every inch of every island until the end of my days. I would never give up the search...even though my heart would have given up on ever finding you alive..."
"Oh babe-I'm here now...and I'm not going anywhere..." she whispered.
"I think you probably do need to...because there is nothing out on this sea stack..." he whispered back and she kissed him quickly.
"My sassy love," she grinned, still holding him because her body was suddenly heavy with weariness. HIs hands closed gently around her waist once more. "But remember-you have your family-Val and me. You have a home-the Edge. And I think you can always find a role for yourself-as Dragon Master or Trainer or Mapper or just a Dragon Rider. And I am with you all the way. No matter what..."
"Then I'll go back with you and see what the others say," he said finally. "But are you sure you're okay to fly?" She smiled.
"I think I'll fly with you, if you don't mind," she admitted. "I'm sore in places that it seems crazy for me to be sore, since I was flying until a few says ago. And I need to feed Val...because getting a bit uncomfortable..." His eyes widened and he chuckled, a brief glance at her chest confirming that her engorged breasts were straining against her tunic in a manner that would have Snotlout's eyes out on stalks.
"And I think my cousin may be a dead man," he added ironically.
"Pass me my axe, babe," she said as he called Toothless. The Night Fury bounded up, pupils big in his large green eyes and ears pricked and Stormfly sped up as well, nuzzling her Rider and pushing her towards Toothless. The young woman gave a laugh of delight as Hiccup praised his dragon with great affection. "My beautiful girl-you know, don't you? Thank you..." And she trailed a hand lovingly over the dragon's face as she clambered onto Toothless behind Hiccup, her arms warm around his lean shape, savouring his warmth and protection from the cold wind. "Follow us!" she called as Toothless hunched down and waggled his butt eagerly, tail flicking in excitement.
"Back to Sniffling, bud," Hiccup said as the dragon gave an exasperated croon. "Yeah, I know-we only just came from there! But I've got to go back and face the music...and see if I have any other friends left."