Astrid's POV

I sat on the edge of my bed, nails dug deeply into the side. I had broken up with Hiccup, I had broken up with Hiccup.

I felt my heart constrict as my throat closed in on itself. I bit my lip as my eyes began to sting.

I don't know what I would've done hadn't Ruffnut knocked on my door the night before, offering me the comfort I needed more than most. Ruffnut was surprisingly good at comforting people.

A sad 'squeak!' escaped Stormfly as she came over and curled up beside me.

I glanced down at the dragon as let my hand stroke her forehead. "Gods, what am I doing, Stormfly? I'm 'Fearless' Astrid Hofferson for Thor's sake! I shouldn't be locking myself in my room all day because of some guy, I should be out there, throwing axes and kicking ass!"

Stormfly tilted her head as she watched me shoot up from the bed and get ready for the day.

After breakfast and a nice morning flight, we landed in front of the Meade Hall, where the council were supposed to be discussing battle strategies and defense, should Scauld The Skull Masher attack.

I slid off Stormfly as I threw my axe over my shoulder, throwing open the doors of the Meade Hall as I strode confidently over to the table where the other members of the council had gathered.

The council was made up of myself, the Thorston twins, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Gobber, Valka, Eret, some of the elder warriors and of course, Chief Hiccup Haddock himself.

As I caught a glimpse of Hiccup through all the people gathered around the table, I couldn't help but feel that all the emotions from the night before were threatening to resurface.

I took a deep breath before squeezing myself in between the Thorston twins, shooting Ruffnut a small smile before turning my attention to what was being said.

There wasn't a lot of talking between Hiccup and I, we only spoke whenever he asked me about strategies or if there could be a breach in our defense somewhere.

I was grateful that he was able to remain professional, but even I couldn't ignore all the times he glanced at me, a sad shimmer in his eyes.

"I think that'll be all for today, go home and get some rest, we'll continue this when the other Chiefs arrive" Hiccup informed us as he rolled up the maps we had been drawing on.

Chatter erupted through the council as we were all heading for the doors.

As I was about to step outside, a hand wrapped around my wrist. "Astrid, wait"

I whipped my head around and found myself standing face-to-face with Hiccup. I narrowed my eyes at his hand around my wrist as I heard the chatter from earlier fading, indicating that our friends had stopped at the door to watch whatever was happening.

I furrowed my brows at Hiccup as I forcefully yanked my arm out of his grip, whistling for Stormfly.

"Astrid, please!" I heard Hiccup yell after me as Stormfly grabbed me by the hand and threw me onto her back before we shot up towards the clouds.

Freedom, finally.

I filled my lungs with the crisp air of the heavens, sighing deeply as Stormfly performed a graceful spin.

But it was when I heard that familiar whistling sound, shooting throughout the skies, that I realized I was not quite off the hook yet.

We dove into the forest, flying in between the trees before we found a small cave that would be capable of hiding the two of us from the night fury and it's rider.

A low 'thud' could be heard as Toothless and Hiccup landed right outside the cave.

I held my breath as Stormfly and I pressed ourselves up against the walls of the cave, praying that the duo outside wouldn't see us.

After a while, a loud sigh could be heard. "She's not here. Let's just go home, Bud"

I peeked out of the cave and took a good look around us.

"The coast is clear!" I grinned at my dragon as we stepped outside. Gods, I was so happy that Toothless wasn't a tracker class.

I took one last glance up at the sky, just to make sure that the night fury and his rider were truly gone. When I realized that they weren't coming back, I came to the conclusion that it might be better if we just stayed where we were for the rest of the day.

I swung my axe over my head before letting it go and sending it straight into the trunk of a tree. A smile lit up my face. "Don't you just love being out here, girl? Away from everyone and everything?"

The dragon growled in agreement as I yanked the axe out of the tree.

Author's POV

Night had finally descended upon the island of Berk.

All its inhabitants had crawled into their beds and gone to sleep for the night, blissfully unaware of what was happening right underneath their noses.

Along the beaches of Berk, a small boat had docked, just beneath a cliff so it would be near invisible to anyone who didn't already know it was there.

Two large and burly men jumped out of the boat, silently making their way up towards the village.

They had one mission: To kidnap the blonde in the house with the Deadly Nadder.

The men stayed in the shadows in an attempt to hide from the Chief and his night fury, should they be out on night watch. Fortunately for the two men, the Chief and his dragon were both sound asleep in the comfort of their own home.

The men quietly pushed the front door open, which was unlocked and immediately set eyes on their victim.

It was as if someone had laid her on a silver platter with a note that said: "Take me!", the two men had definitely not been expecting their mission to go as easily as it had so far.

The girl was a heavy sleeper, another thing that made the two men's job even easier.

The largest of the two picked the girl up, whilst the other left behind a letter they had been given by their employer.

With a sharp nod and a mischievous smirk, the two men made their way back towards the boat, cloaked by darkness as they slowly, but surely, rowed away from the island of Berk.