Twenty-Seven.

He went down with a crash, the shock still swathing him even as the pain began to register. He gave a gasp of fear and rolled back, seeing a shape emerge from the darkness, with the croak of a Nadder sounding behind it. His hand pressed against his bleeding lip, Hiccup stared up as a furious shape glared down on him, cold blue eyes scanning his face and an axe clamped in a clenched fist.

"Hi, Astrid," Hiccup groaned and waved Toothless into the cave. "Get Stormfly back and keep out of sight!" He crab-crawled backwards as she advanced on him and tried to get to his feet. "Please-this is important! We're in danger!"

"You ran away!" she hissed. "I trusted you and you put my dragon out of action for a whole day!" He staggered up and found her punching him again. He slammed to the floor once more, looking up in horror. The utter panic was beginning to surge through his body at the blows but he fought for control, desperate to get away from the Trappers.

"Please-I only wanted to protect you!" he begged.

"I can protect myself!" she snapped. He looked back in agony-the crashing of the hunters was closing rapidly-and stumbled up again.

"From me!" he hissed. "You run away with the Berserker slave and you are ruined. I couldn't do that to you. Now will you please trust me? We need to be quiet because those are hunters and they..."

"TRUST YOU?" she snarled. "I trusted you and you betrayed me! You ran away! You think I'm trusting anything you say right now?"

"You really oughtta!" he said, lunging at her to push her back into the cave but she wasn't having that and threw him to the ground, landing over him to pin him to the rock. His eyes widened and finally total panic overtook him. The shape over him morphed from the furious but welcome shape of Astrid to the deranged outline of the Berserker. He gave a low gasp of terror. And then his instincts took over. Using every ounce of his strength, he threw her off him and rolled onto her, his hands pinning her down helpless. He leaned close.

"GET OFF ME!" she shouted, hating the feeling of being helpless. She thrashed and struggled but he had her completely immobilised, his scrawny shape exerting pressure in the precise points to render her vulnerable. The points where he had always been pinned.

"It's not so much fun when you're immobilised, is it?" he said suddenly, staring down onto her. "Believe me, I know. I hate being pinned. Please, Astrid-never do that again..."

And then a pair of hands wrenched him off her and he screamed, thrashing in panic as he was hauled up and his arms pinned. The blind terror in his green gaze was pitiful as Astrid slowly rose to her feet, breathing hard. Four hunters had found them and she stared at their strange garb in shock. They scanned the clearing but there was no sign of the dragons so the other five with them ran on as the hunters held Hiccup.

"Are you alright?" the leader growled. He was the same large man that Hiccup had met previously. Astrid stared up at him, blinking in shock. She nodded, suddenly wary. Hiccup was utterly terrified. "We heard you cry for help and when we found him...well, if you want us to deal with him, we'll be happy to!" The dull light of the lanterns abruptly gleamed off the edge of a nasty looking boning knife and Hiccup fought even harder. Then the man turned to the helpless boy.

"I see you turned your interest from dragons to more attractive prey," he hissed and Hiccup froze, his eyes wide. The trapper lifted the knife, tracing it down his bloody face, the tip lightly stroking the livid welts from his own hand and the blood from Astrid's punch. "But trying to force her is really not acceptable!" He fisted Hiccup's hair and pulled his head back, the knife hovering over his throat. Astrid shook herself, mesmerised by the confrontation until she abruptly realised the man was going to kill Hiccup.

"NO!" she said suddenly. "Don't hurt him! He didn't do anything!" The Trapper slowly swivelled his head to inspect her like an insect.

"I can see blood on his face from your punch and found you pinned under him, screaming for him to get off," he growled. "Didn't do anything? Not for want of trying!" She shook her head.

"He doesn't mean any harm!" she said, her voice pleading. She could see there was no chance of fighting them off without them killing Hiccup. She had to bargain for his life and play the helpless stupid girlfriend. "Please, he's a really nice guy but he just had a bit too much mead and I kinda led him on and then I sorta lost my nerve and..." She paused. "Don't hurt him! Please..." The big man frowned and stared into the terrified face. He motioned to the other man not restraining the boy.

"See to it he learns his lesson," he ordered and grabbed a lantern. "We still need to find that Night Fury!" And he stomped off into the gloom as Astrid felt her breath hitch in shock. They were actually hunting Toothless? Her gaze swung treacherously back to Hiccup, who was being held even firmer, his arms twisted agonisingly behind him as the third man cracked his fists then began to punch the helpless boy. Astrid stared and ran forward.

"No!" she protested and grabbed his arm but she was thrown aside as the beating continued. Only for a handful more punches and kicks, but enough to leave him curled and limp on the ground as they grabbed their lanterns and trotted off after their leader. Astrid stared after them, then urgently scooted to Hiccup's side. "I'm so sorry..." she whispered.

He pulled away from her and buried his face in the crook of his arm. His bony shoulders were jerking and he gave a low moan as he tried to master his pain. Then, still ignoring her, he began to drag himself across the rocky ground towards the cave mouth. "Toothless?" he murmured. "You there, bud?"

"Hiccup!" Astrid said the worriedly, walking to intercept him. "Talk to me!"

"Go away, Astrid!" he said roughly. "Go back to Berk where you belong!" She determinedly stood in his way, then dropped to her haunches in front of him, forcing him to look at her.

"I belong with you," she told him angrily. "Do you know how hard it has been to find you?"

"Actually, yes since I was the one trying to throw you off my trail," he murmured thickly. "So you found me. I'm not coming back. Go home."

"I'm here now and I'm not leaving without you," she said determinedly. Then, finally, he looked up, his shadowed green eyes filled with anger and fear. Wincing, he managed to get to his knees.

"What makes you think I want you here with me?" he asked her directly. She gaped. "Astrid, I drugged Stormfly for a reason. I didn't want you with me. I didn't want the guilt of ruining your life as well as my own. No one will believe you kept your honour if you ran away with me!" He sighed. "And why would you think I would want you to stay when you greet me with a punch in the face? Did you really think that was the right thing when you know how badly I've suffered?"

Her jaw dropped. "I-I was angry because you lied to me and tricked me!" she snapped. She was not going to feel guilty. "I was sent to bring you back-which I'm not going to do-but I'm not going home without you either because that would dishonour me. So you can either dishonour me or dishonour me. Your choice." He crawled forward.

"Toothless is injured," he said stiffly and pushed past her, embracing the Night Fury fiercely. "I-I'm so sorry. Bud. This was all my fault."

Still angry but now-unwillingly-starting to feel ashamed of the anger and frustration she had clung to during over two weeks of searching for the boy and had unfairly taken out on him, Astrid turned to stand behind him. "Can I help?" she asked in a gentler voice. He stiffened and seemed on the verge of refusing but he was in pain and knew he could treat his friend better with her help.

"My saddlebag," he murmured, gesturing vaguely. "There are bandages and salve Gothi gave me. Toothless is hurt." The Night Fury looked at his Rider with big green eyes, far more concerned that the skinny shape in front of him was battered and leaking blood than about his own admittedly-painful leg. Hiccup grimaced. "I'm okay, bud. Just a little bruised." Astrid grabbed the leather satchel and handed it to Hiccup and the boy carefully drew out bandages and salves and then leaned towards the leg, bound with a bloodstained scarf. Astrid crouched down and frowned.

"What did this?" she asked in shock.

"A steel bola, thrown by a catapult," Hiccup said quietly, wincing as he peeled away the scarf and saw the ragged gash. "Easy, bud. It's okay."

"Hiccup-why were you dodging steel bolas?" Astrid asked him carefully. He soothed the thick salve into oozing wound, hissing in pain as he pulled on his own wounds. He absently scooped another handful and carefully rubbed it in.

"Those men were Dragon Trappers, Astrid," he said in a distant voice. "They capture dragons to sell to arenas for Dragon Training or to be killed for sport. Or they cut them up for...parts." His voice was shaking. "I couldn't rest while it was happening. So I released the dragons from the arena and those on the deck of the Trappers' ship. Unfortunately they noticed and...er...they objected."

"And that's why they were chasing you," she realised. "I'm sorry, Hiccup..." His eyes flicked up but then he looked down and concentrated on winding the bandage round the dragon's leg. Toothless gave a little whine but he nuzzled Hiccup's shoulder to reassure the boy that he appreciated the help.

"Go back to Berk," he told her softly, fastening the bandage. "There's nothing here for you." She stared at him.

"Hiccup!" she protested, her eyes hurt.

"You just harm yourself by being here. Tell my father I am alive and may come home one day." His voice was determined.

"I've been searching for you because I care!" she snapped.

"How much do you care, Astrid?" Hiccup said sharply, looking up from under his messy auburn hair as he smoothed the bandage carefully. "Enough to punch me in the face? Twice? Enough to throw me to the ground and pin me helpless? Enough to get me taken by the hunters and beaten for...for trying to assault you? Tell me!"

"I-I..."

"Astrid, you know how much I've been hurt," he whispered. "I'm really struggling even being touched by another person. Any violence makes me cringe. I-I...don't feel like me any more. I needed to help those dragons to be something other than just a Berserker slave." He swallowed. "I needed to be a Dragon Trainer again."

"Hiccup-I am really sorry," she said in a soft voice. "I was so worried because you were so badly hurt. I...I can't imagine Berk without you. I don't want to stay on Berk without you. Please...don't send me away!"

Hiccup stared at the ground and levered himself up, staggering to the side of the cave and tossing down a pile of wood that he had collected. Painfully, he assembled a fire. "Bud, if you could...?" he murmured and the dragon gave a small plasma blast that ignited the wood. Then the boy forced himself to peek into the saddle-bag and lifted out the battered little shape of the Terrible Terror, his wing broken and face smeared with blood. Carefully, he wiped the dragon's wounds and used the last of the salve to tend the wounds. He worried about the eye: he wondered if the little dragon would lose it. He sighed: there was no salve left for himself but he reckoned the dragons needed it more and he cast the empty pot into the bag wearily. Finally, he splinted the wing using a small piece of wood and then wrapped the Terror in the blood-stained scarf, lying him close enough to the fire to keep him warm.

Then he more or less collapsed to his knees and curled up by his wounded dragon, dragging his cloak over his battered shape and closing his eyes. He heard Astrid breathing, her feet shuffling as she waited for his answer. But honestly, he was far too tired to argue any more. "I have nightmares," he warned her wearily. "You may be disturbed."

Astrid sat down and stared at him as his eyes closed and he sank into sleep. Stormfly curled behind her and gave a little caw. She sighed as she leaned back against him. "Yes, girl-I think I messed up," she sighed. "I just hope he'll let me stay because I really worry about him."

She was woken by a scream, heart-wrenching and desolate as Hiccup sat up, wide-eyed and unseeing. "DAGUR! NO! Pleasepleaseplease don't do this, don't hurt me, don't make me..." He was trying to curl behind his arms, tears streaking his pallid and bruised face. "PLEASE! I wanted my first to be her...oh Astrid, I'm so sorry...I couldn't stop him, I let you down...I can never be yours now...you deserve so much better that this...I'm so sorry..." He was sobbing now, reliving his rape and she stared at him in horror, never realising how much he had hoped...and how much he had lost. Her heart shuddered in pity for him as she saw him begging her unseen self for forgiveness for being ruined by the Berserker Chief. Her eyes burned with tears at the utter misery in his voice. And she found herself crawling over to the sobbing shape, wrapping her arms around his shaking body and pulling him into her embrace.

"It's okay, Hiccup-I'm here now," she soothed him, feeling him curl against her and bury his head in her neck. She stroked his hair and encircled him in her strong arms. He nuzzled closer. "You're safe-I'm here." She felt his arms close around her and she rested her head on his. "It's okay," she repeated as they snuggled together and drifted into sleep with Toothless's wings wrapped safely around them.

oOo

Morning was cold, grey and foggy and Astrid felt Hiccup move as he tried to prise himself free of her embrace. Her eyes fluttered open to see him sitting painfully, his battered face pale and guarded. She pulled herself up on her elbows and offered a slight smile to him. "Morning," she said gently. He flinched.

"You should go home," he said, looking away. She sat up.

"You are the most stubborn, bone-headed, stupid..." she began and he sighed.

"Astrid, I only want to protect you," he sighed. "You heard me last night. There is no future for us. I don't want you to throw everything away for me. I'm not worth it." She scrambled to her knees and watched him change his skinny and battered shape into an older green tunic. She winced at his bruises and he hissed in pain as he moved.

"Hiccup, I came after you of my own free will," she said insistently. "I...care for you. You are my best friend. And I hate to see you like this..." He looked up, his eyes angry.

"Like what?" he asked roughly. "Weak? Beaten? Pathetic? Ruined?"

"Alone," she said quietly. "Wounded. Struggling." He flinched.

"I'll manage," he told her stiffly. "I meant it. Astrid-I want you to go home." He achingly grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around his skinny shape. "I've got work." She scrambled to her feet.

"Hey!" she said and took a step after him. "You're working?" He stopped and took an angry breath.

"I can't just walk up to the Great Hall and get some food here," he said shortly. "Not that I really could back on Berk in the end. I need to work to get food." He took a shuddering breath. "I can be someone else there. I work in the forge, I don't have to listen to people sneering names at me or pitying me. I can leave at the end of the day and come back to Toothless and feel safe." He lifted his chin, still looking away from her. "I want you to go."

She watched him walk down the slope, his small limping shape quickly vanishing among the brush and trees and then she chewed her lip thoughtfully. He was angry but her mind rewound to the screaming, pleading boy last night and she realised she had got her closest impression of what he had endured in that horrible nightmare. There was no way she would leave him while he was still suffering. But she did need to let her dragon rest: Stormfly had flown and tracked without complaint for over two weeks and Astrid knew her faithful friend was exhausted.

She stared round the little cave: it was nicely concealed in the forested hills just to the south of the town walls and far enough from the Port that it was not common knowledge. Toothless had curled up and gone back to sleep and Astrid walked up to him and gently stroked his head. The dragon cracked an eye open a sliver and gave a little rumble of acknowledgement, then went back to sleep. She inspected his injured leg and saw the bandages were still clean: he would heal well. The injured Terror was still asleep and she tucked him against the Night Fury, who rumbled in approval and didn't even open an eye at the bedmate. Then she gave her dragon the last of the dried fish and ordered the Nadder to stay in the cave with the Night Fury. She stroked her dragon gently and gave her a hug. She knew she couldn't take Stormfly into the town and the encounter with the Dragon Trappers had warned her that this place wasn't dragon friendly-or safe.

After a quick wash in the stream and a careful rebraiding of her hair, she returned to the cave with her mind made up: she needed to explore. After a long moment, she reluctantly laid her axe aside and concealed it by her dragon. She wasn't sure how well it would go down in a Port and decided to just take a couple of concealed knives. Astrid was a trained Viking Warrior and hated leaving her primary weapon but she didn't want to attract attention to herself when she was reconnoitring the settlement. Then she pulled on her cloak and fur hood and strode down the hill towards the town. She needed food for herself, fish for the dragons and to find Hiccup.

She never lacked confidence and as she strode through the crowded streets, she found that people veered from her path: her grim expression and purposeful movements made her appear intimidating and the peaceable inhabitants wanted to avoid conflict. Her feet took her down to the docks and she stared up at the ships moored. Berk's fleet wasn't large but it was sturdy and she was amazed at the variety of shapes, sizes and styles of ships moored. Traders shouted their wares or unloaded their holds: fishermen dragged baskets of fish ashore and bartered for the best prices and a war-longship was moored with a crew ashore, enjoying liberty.

But the largest boat was the strangest, the hull a strange shape and deck an unusual configuration. There was a large cabin at the stern and cages were visible on the deck and Astrid could hear the pathetic howls and roars of distressed dragons. It was the Trappers' ship and she stared as a man came striding down the gangplank. Fortunately, it wasn't one of the men from the previous night and he simply cast her an appreciative smirk then carried on along her way. She bunched her fists: on Berk, everyone knew her worth as a warrior but here, she was just another anonymous young woman and she would be judged solely on what was seen. She turned away.

As she walked down the docks, she paused by fisherman and eyed a basket of fish. Then she felt in her pouch: she had a few coins as well and she spiritedly bartered for the fish, paid as little as she could manage and hefted the basket onto her shoulders before taking it back to the cave. It was mid-morning before she returned and the dragons were still sleeping. She sighed, then woke them up and fed them, before making a small fire and cooking a couple of the fish for herself and Hiccup when he returned.

She was concerned about the Terrible Terror: the little dragon was listless and had to be coaxed to take a few shreds of the raw fish. She even tried giving it some of her own cooked fish but it only sucked a few shreds before whining and curling up sadly. She felt her heart fill with pity for the damaged little creature and wrapped it warmly in her blanket before tucking him against Stormfly, certain her own dragon would care for the injured Terror. She stared across the little cave: cold, isolated and exposed. She knew why he chose to stay here with his dragon but she knew he shouldn't be alone. Down in the town, among so many strangers, she knew he was vulnerable and feared for his safety. She had to persuade him to let her stay and watch over him.

She ate her lunch and wrapped his cooked fish in a piece of sack-cloth, then headed down to the town once more, seeking Hiccup. This time, she wouldn't be taking no for an answer. Astrid Hofferon wasn't giving up.