This chapter switches from calling Hiccup a male, to calling her a female. That is because this chapter is told (sorta) from Astrid's POV and will be using the pronouns she would be using in her head.

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Astrid was waiting at the docks, along with half the village. They had gotten a message about a day ago that they had turned around due to bad weather. They had taken it as a message from the gods to turn around and head home. Good thing, too, because they had apparently seen something amazing that they were bringing back with them.

Even Stoick was on the docks, which was not unusual, but today was the date of his daughter's death, a day he usually spent in solitude.

Finally, halfway through the day, while the sun was high in the sky, they saw the ship coming around the island. On it, was a large black... something. No one could tell exactly what it was from here.

A few moments later, they finally saw what it was and they all backed away from the boat. It was a dragon. One they had never seen before. It was chained up on the deck, its mouth secured closed, and there was a man in armor tied up next to it.

"What is the meaning of this?" Stoick yelled as they berthed the ship in the dock.

Snotlout stood before the chief, only a small amount of fear in his eyes.

"It was flying overhead while we were sailing back. It is a night fury, chief." He explained, and everyone gasped, stepping even further back. All except for Astrid, who walked closer, recognizing the dragon by the obviously man-made fin on its tail. That meant the man in armor had to be, not a man, but the woman who had died six years ago. The woman who had run away in fear and loathing.

The woman was Hiccup.

"And what of the man tied up next to it?" Stoick asked, sounding only the slightest bit calmer.

"He tried to free the beast, so we tied him up to allow you to determine his sentence."

Stoick nodded before boarding the boat himself, walking over to the woman.

"Why would you save this foul beast. What has he done to deserve your life favor?"

The woman lifted his head ever-so-slightly and whispered something back that no one else heard.

Stoick must not have liked it, because he kicked her in the stomach. "What do you know about her?" He ordered.

The woman doubled over, but a laugh escaped from her mask.

As everyone else looked in horror of the woman who was laughing at their fierce chief, Astrid wondered what Hiccup had said to make him so angry.

"Take them both to the arena, and keep the beast chained up. Give him weapons to defend himself. We shall turn them into our weekly entertainment." He ordered, leaving no question in his voice before stalking away.

Snotlout quickly picked up a sword-looking weapon and dragged Hiccup off the ship toward the arena. Six men lifted the dragon and carried it behind Snotlout while everyone else busied themselves with cleaning the boat and carrying off their haul.

Later that night, Astrid snuck a plate of food out of the hall and to the arena. What she didn't expect to see was a fire with a fish cooking over it, made from the handles of their weapons. Toothless sat across from Hiccup, looking longingly at the fish over the fire. IT was then that she realized he could not eat with his muzzle on.

"I brought food, but it seems you already have that covered." She tentatively spoke.

Hiccup rushed to put her mask back on before turning around to see who it was.

"Astrid? Why would you bring me food?"

"I am on your side Hiccup." She replied as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"But only under the cover of night, right? Not during the day while they drag me and Toothless to a prison to be used as entertainment? Not in front of anyone who could be disappointed in who you side with?" She pulled off her mask, seeing no point in hiding from someone who knew who she was already.

Astrid shrunk back at the harsh, but true, words. Should she tell the girl that she had lied, covered for her when she ran away? Made sure her memory was honored as a true Vikings should be.

No. She was no longer a Viking. She would not care about the risk Astrid had taken to hide the truth. To make sure they remembered her, not for betrayal, but for bravery.

When she looked back at Hiccup, she saw something she could not believe. Without the mask on, her face shown, and it had a single long scar going from between her eyes, down her right cheek, and down into her armor, where she could only assume it went further down. And another on her left temple going down until it slashed halfway across her neck.

She knew they weren't close enough yet, but the question still burned; What happened to you?

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Word Count: 868