A tired Hiccup ran through the forest, pressing on his right shoulder, trying to ease the annoying pain coming from it. He quickly glanced behind him to see if his foe was still pursuing him, once he saw that nobody was after him he started to slow down, stopping near a tree to rest near it. He was breathing heavy from running so much. He slowly sat down near the tree, leaning heavily on it, again glancing around him, half expecting to be caught, but after he saw no one in the vicinity, he turned to glare at a small device he was holding in his right arm. For any other person that device would look like a simple sword handle, without a sword. But Hiccup actually managed to 'hide' the blade inside the handle and he was able to 'release' the blade with the simple turn of a small switch, discretely placed at the top of the device. He turned the switch and three sharp iron pieces quickly rose from the handle and placed themselves on top of each other, locking themselves in place with a loud click, creating a decent sized sword. The boy looked at the weapon, half surprised that this prototype still worked after all the beating it took. Then he quickly remembered that he hadn't won yet, so he sighed and forced himself to get up, using the sword for support.

"There you are," a voice said, but Hiccup tried to ignore it, being more focused on getting in a fighting position than to hear Astrid's sarcastic remarks. A thing that he still cursed himself for 'teaching' her. "I brought you the sword you dropped quite awhile ago." She continued, looking slightly confused at him, but once he managed to stay on his own and hold the sword with both hands, she snapped at him. "That's enough for today!"

"I'm not down yet." Hiccup simply replied, looking exhausted at an Astrid that didn't even seemed winded. After the constant snowing stopped and the weather was more pleasant, the duo had resumed their training in the forest, a thing that Astrid was very eager to do. In the past two weeks since they started sparring again, Astrid just seemed to be a lot stronger than before, even if she hadn't really trained at all, and that wasn't really good news for Hiccup. Even if their usual sparring matches lasted a little more than ten minutes and with breaks between them, Hiccup still ended quite exhausted in just a couple of hours while Astrid looked like she hadn't even broken a sweat. And it was also not a surprise that she was winning most of their small duels, in turn making Hiccup slightly annoyed and more willing to best her in combat.

"You can barely walk! Your shoulder is bothering you again! We need to go to the healer!" She almost yelled at him, walking towards Hiccup. But the boy was still holding his ground and once Astrid was close enough, he tried to attack her, but the girl easily dodged the blade and backed away a few steps from him. "For Thor's sake..." She muttered, grabbing the sword handle that Hiccup dropped awhile ago and twisting the small switch, making three metal pieces to pop out from the handle and climb on top of each other, creating a sword just like the one Hiccup was using. At first, this was a simple duel between the two, supposedly the last one of the day, but after losing most of the encounters this day, Hiccup was really frustrated and annoyed, so he really wanted to win the last fight, but things weren't really going his way, so once he realized that he was losing again, he started running in this direction, hoping that he would have time to rest a little and maybe ambush Astrid, in the end granting him the win. But he was still very tired and she was holding his other sword. Astrid was simply glaring at him, her axe strapped on her back since she didn't care that much about the duel, she already gave up the fight. She was holding his sword in her right hand, having a tight grip on the handle, then she simply placed the blade on her left palm and made a small cut, flinching a little as the blade cut deep enough to leave a small scar. "There you go. First sight of blood. You won!" Astrid said, twisting the small switch again, making the blade to retreat into the handle.

"Why did you do that?" Hiccup asked, slowly lowering his sword and looking slightly sad at Astrid, who was now walking towards him.

"You wouldn't give up, so I did. We really need to take care of your shoulder," She said, giving him back the sword she used to cut her hand.

"I'm sorry..."

"Tis but a scratch," she said wiping the blood from her palm on her blue shirt, leaving a very noticeable stain that probably won't wash out.

"We really need to change the rules," Hiccup commented, still holding his shoulder and looking very tired.

"If you want." Astrid simply replied as they both started to walk towards the village.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The two teens were at the healers hut, the elder was examining Hiccup's shoulder. It had been almost three months since the encounter with those bounty hunters on Ísland and Hiccup's right shoulder was still annoying him almost every day. And the only person to blame for that was an incompetent healer from a village from that huge island. Even if at first, the injury didn't look that bad, soon after the adrenaline faded the real pain started to show up. The way Astrid was pressing on the wound to stop the bleeding didn't really help. It hurt like Hel and she would've traded anything to ease the pain. Was this how he felt when she was injured? Soon after they left the cave the duo landed near a nearby village in the middle of the night, they left the dragons hidden in the trees and she quickly carried Hiccup to what looked like a healer's hut, which luckily it was. So they woke up the healer and begged her to treat Hiccup, which she did. But the slow and sloppy methods the old woman was using almost made Astrid want to strangle her. It took her more than ten minutes to prepare a something to ease the pain for Hiccup, which a competent healer would've done in five, and the way she removed the arrowhead, damaging the injured area even more and causing Hiccup a lot more pain, it took all her strength to not grab her axe and throw it after the woman; even she could've done a better job with the wound. Not to mention the negligent stitches and bandaging. Even now, after the wound healed, the scar was looking terrible, an amalgamation of pink and skin colored lines crossing each other in the most ungraceful way. One of the things that calmed the pain was a tight bandage over his right shoulder, but that sometimes made his whole right arm go numb. But the healer from Jàrnstarfa kept saying that the wound would heal in time, if he only let it.

"Astrid, be a dear and bring me that bowl," The healer said, waking her from her daydreaming. She quickly got up and went to the table the healer was pointing at, there was a small bowl filled with a whitish substance that smelled funny. She grabbed the bowl and brought it to the old woman, who soaked a small piece of cloth in the bowl before placing the cloth on Hiccup's shoulder, over the scar. "This is the only thing I can do to ease the pain. You must let your body heal on your own."

"I've been letting it heal for the past few months." Hiccup complained, looking after the healer as she got up and handled Astrid a few strings of bandage, to patch him up.

"Then give it more time. Don't overdo yourself." The healer replied, walking to a table and starting to mash some plants into another wooden bowl.

"I'll try," Hiccup said, glancing towards Astrid as she was slowly bandaging around his shoulder. Once she thought it was tight enough, she ripped the end of the bandage and made a knot, locking the salve soaked cloth on his shoulder. "Thanks." he thanked Astrid, who smiled in return.

Then Hiccup started to dress his tunic and vest while Astrid patiently waited for him by the door. It's not that she disliked the healer or her hut, but the salves and plants and ingredients that were stored here really disturbed her nose, it still surprised her that some people could stand the strong scent that always filled those huts and dedicate their lives to make salves and 'things' out of plants and other stuff. Once Hiccup was ready and started to walk towards the door, the healer said, "Remember, you can only heal if you want to. I, nor no one else can force you to heal if you don't want to." Hiccup simple nodded in response and left the hut with Astrid.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was already evening and the young couple was sitting in their room at the inn, content after an overall good day. The room was mostly warm, especially now that the winter was finally starting to leave, even now that the fire was slowly dying, neither one of them made any signs that they would want to keep it alive, to continue warming the room. It hadn't even been cold in the past few nights, but that might also be because of the bundle of pillows and furs that were still spread on the bed from almost two months ago. Even if Drik, the new innkeeper, came searching for the missing furs and pillows, he didn't take everything back, there were enough left to make them feel cozy and warm.

Astrid's back was pressed to Hiccup's chest, his right hand lazily hugging her and holding her left one, slowly caressing over the bandage that covered the self-inflicted cut. "You've been obsessed with that cut since we arrived at the inn." She suddenly said, making him sigh.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup simply replied.

"Don't start with that again," She said, slowly turning around, wanting to face Hiccup.

He didn't reply right away. "I believe that all scars have a meaning, that they remain on the skin forever for a reason."

"So what does this scar mean to you?" Astrid asked, looking at Hiccup as he carefully grabbed her left hand in both of his and kissed her palm, over the bandage.

"This scar shows me that you are a better warrior than me."

"How?" She asked. "This scar is the proof that you defeated me."

"You gave up."

"So? You still won."

"There was no way that I could've bested you in combat, not in a fair fight, at least. And you saw that my shoulder was bothering me, that I was already exhausted and had little strength left. You could've easily defeated me, but you gave up. You swallowed your pride and gave up since you knew that I wouldn't have gone to the healer until I would've defeated you."

"And how does this make me a better warrior, again?"

"You cared more about your adversary's condition than about winning. I don't know how many vikings would've just gave up when they literally had the victory handled to them on a silver plate."

"That's a nice thing to say," She smiled at him, until he continued again.

"But it would've also been nice if you wouldn't had made a deep enough cut to leave a scar. Now this will be a constant reminder that I'm a selfish person."

"You're not selfish. You just wanted to brag that you defeated Astrid Hofferson in a sparring match. And there is nothing wrong with that. I even respect your ambition and how you didn't give up even when you knew that you already lost. Again, not a lot of vikings would've done that."

"Thanks."

"So, tell me what other scars mean?" Astrid asked, having a curious look in her eyes.

"Well, you have a lot of small cuts and bruises from helping me train, I don't even think I remember from where did most of them came."

"Tell me what do you think about this?" She asked, pointing to a small cut on her left cheek. She got that scar from an arrow that was shot towards her, she managed to dodge it in the last second, otherwise things would've been a lot nastier.

"I think this shows that you aren't just a pretty face and that you can defend yourself in case of something."

"Not just a pretty face?" She asked, slightly amused.

"Well, you're pretty and the scar is on your face, so it makes sense." He answered, making her laugh.

"I bet you like me only because of my scars," she commented, still looking amused at him.

"Yes, among other things."

"Like what?"

"That you always bring me breakfast here and wake me up; sometimes throwing the water you brought on me. Your sweet voice when you yell at me when I fell asleep at the forge, or when I defeat you in a race with Toothless."

"Because you cheat!"

"How? When?"

"You just do!"

"Just go to sleep. You're tired." Hiccup said, making her cuddle closer to him and he hugged her back lovingly. "I don't cheat," he muttered earning a small laugh from Astrid. Soon after that they both fell asleep.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was almost noon when Astrid entered the room and noticed that Hiccup was still sleeping. She placed the small plate with food on the table and then went near the bed to wake him up. "Hiccup," she said, looking amused at him as he covered his head with the pillow. "You don't want to do that," she threatened.

"Five more minutes..." Hiccup murmured in reply, relaxing once he heard Astrid's steps moving away from the bed. She had a very bad habit of waking him up by grabbing the furs off him when it was cold outside, leaving him no option but to get up and retrieve them, then she would engage in conversation and not let him get back to sleep.

"A messenger from the Meatheads arrived today," Astrid stated, sitting on a chair near the table.

"What did he want?" Hiccup asked, still not getting up.

"They want to gather as many vikings from all the villages that are willing to help them."

"With?"

Astrid sighed, glancing towards the covered window before she said. "They found the nest at Helheim's Gate."

"Wait, what?" Hiccup asked, now getting in a sitting position and looking confused at Astrid, thinking that he misheard her or something.

"They want to go to Helheim's Gate and kill all the dragons there."

"That's stupid."

"I know."

"No, wait. That's more than stupid. That's imbecilic! They'll all die!"

"Well don't yell at me!"

"What else did the messenger say?" Hiccup now got up and started to look around the room for a new tunic to wear.

"Most of the important villages accepted. Bob-Burglars, Berk, he said that even Dagur agreed."

"Of course he would be the first go and kill some dragons. For Thor's sake..." Hiccup complained, dressing his tunic while walking around the room, looking for something else. Astrid was only looking confused at him walking around. She understood his frustration with the fact that Berk agreed to go to Helheim's Gate to destroy the nest. He never managed to get any closure with his father and after he put a bounty on their head, things only got worse. She wondered if they could ever forgive each other.

"Can I help you?" She asked after a few moments, making Hiccup stop and glance at her.

"I can't find my boots."

"At the end of the bed," she pointed, making him turn around and quickly grab and equip them, muttering a 'thanks'.

"What did Audun said about this?" He asked, walking towards the door.

"Wait!" Astrid got up and quickly went to the door, where Hiccup was looking confused at her. She got between him and the portal before she said. "You won't go anywhere until you eat something."

He was looking slightly annoyed at her, but the tone she used and her expression left no space for arguing. So he sighed, went to the table and grabbed the loaf of bread and a piece of cheese from the plate then walked to the door, shoving it in his mouth. He kept his glare on Astrid for the whole time. After they both left the inn and he finished his rushed breakfast, he asked again. "What did Audun say?"

"He disagreed with the plan. He said that it was a bad idea and he won't send any of his people to die for nothing. Then the messenger started to argue with him and it ended up with a few yells and curses. It was pretty fun to watch." Astrid said, following Hiccup on the small streets.

"We should go with a few dragons and make sure they don't die." Hiccup replied, suddenly stopping and going in another direction.

"What can we do to not let them die?" She asked, running a little to catch up to him.

"We can fight the Queen and maybe..."

"Fight the Queen?!" Astrid interrupted. "Are you nuts?!"

"There is no way that they could defeat it. We have dragons..."

"That creature can swallow a Timberjack whole!"

"We have two Night Furies! Toothless and Skað can easily distract her without being caught."

"Let's just say that it would work. Let's just say that by some miracle the huge ass dragon would decide to fly after two black dragons that are like some bugs to her. Then what? How do you think we can bring her down?! There is no way we could win that fight! And what about the vikings?! Do you think they'll just stay there and watch? And after we, hypothetically, defeat the Queen, what do you think they'll do? Thank us?!" Astrid yelled at him, making a few random villagers to stop and look confused in their direction.

"Astrid," Hiccup said calmly, getting in front of her and taking a deep breath before continuing, "Berk is the largest village in the Barbaric Archipelago, last time I checked there were almost five hundred vikings living there. Dad used to take about one hundred with him on each search for the nest; now that they really found the nest how many vikings do you think he'll take? How many vikings will insist on going? At least four hundred, if not more. Imagine a lot of teens, about our age that would want to go to be there when the Dragon Queen dies," he said. Astrid sighed. She hadn't thought about it that way. "This is only Berk. Imagine all the other villagers: the Meatheads, the Bob-Burglars, the Berserkers and all the other small villages that want to be a part of this. There will be at least a thousand vikings on that island."

"I understand." Astrid said, bowing her head a little, fully realizing the gravity of the situation.

"They will all die if we don't do something." Hiccup said, making her look at him.

"But we could also die if we go there."

"I would rather die trying to save them, than stand here and do nothing." Hiccup said before turning around and starting to walk towards the Great Hall, Astrid quickly following him.

As the duo was approaching the great building, they noticed Audun exiting the building, followed behind by his son. They quickly ran to him and before Hiccup even had a chance to greet them, Audun said. "I guess the lass told you about the Meathead messenger."

"When do they plan to attack?" Hiccup asked, deciding to get straight to the point.

"One week after the Festival of the Idises."

"That's two weeks from now." Hiccup muttered.

"We already refused to help them, so don't you even think of doing something!" The chief said, walking in front of Hiccup. Bjørn and Astrid were both sitting behind, just listening to the conversation.

"Astrid and I can go with a few dragons and distract the Queen, that way they could..."

"It's out of the question! You will do no such thing!" Audun said louder.

"They'll all die!" Hiccup argued.

"There is nothing we can do for them."

"Yes there is! We can distract the Queen while they retreat. They won't want to fight once they'll get to see the size of that dragon."

"And you both could die. Neither one of you is allowed to leave this island!" The chief said.

"But..."

"It's final!" The chief finished, walking past Hiccup and Astrid, quickly followed by his son who took a small break to greet the duo.

Astrid and Hiccup just sat at the steps of the Great Hall and glared towards Audun as he walked away. "Maybe he's right." Hiccup said, making Astrid to look confused at him.

"Hundreds of vikings will die!" She yelled at him.

"But you won't be one of them." Hiccup simply said, looking at Astrid as her expression softened. "I don't want to lose you."

"But..." She tried to argue, but he hugged her. "We can't just give up like this."

"I don't want to risk your life."

"But we could save them."

"I won't risk your life." Hiccup said before he kissed her. He really didn't want to argue with her on this matter. Luckily she didn't insist after that. They walked through the village a little more before Hiccup went to the forge to finish his work and Astrid to the forest to check on the dragons.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Two weeks had passed and neither one of them said anything about the attack at Helheim's Gate. It still bothered them that they couldn't really do anything to help those vikings, but maybe that way the Barbaric Archipelago would think that only Fáfnir could protect them from the dragons. Or maybe they'll just hate the creatures so much more because they killed their loved ones. Either way, the whole viking world would change after this.

It was already dark when Astrid entered the inn, wet to the skin from the heavy rain outside. For the past hour she tried to trade with a merchant for a nice, painted shield. She liked the contrast of blue and orange the shield had, and also the small runes carved into the wood, but that 'greedy bastard' thought that five white wolf pelts, in perfect condition wasn't enough for the shield. She sighed again as she walked to the room she shared with Hiccup. She opened the door and looked at the dim illuminated room. The fire was almost dead and all she wanted now was to be somewhere warm. She grunted annoyed and entered the room, glancing at the bed where Hiccup was already sleeping covered by all the furs; she'll have to wake him and then he'll be grumpy, exactly what she needed right now...

Astrid grabbed a small log from the pile near the further wall and tossed it on the fire, hoping to reheat the room quickly. She then grabbed a chair from the table and brought it near the fireplace, then she arranged her cloak on it in order to dry itself until morning, hopefully. She undressed her tunic and tossed it on the chair before grabbing a dried one to wear. She tossed her boots near the bed before she decided that it was time to let Hiccup know that she was there. Astrid sat at the edge of the bed and looked at the pile of furs and pillows in front of her, but she didn't hear anything except the wood cracking in the fireplace, she should at least hear Hiccup snore or something. Slowly, she grabbed a fur that was covering the bed and pulled it off, revealing that the bed was actually empty. Instead of finding Hiccup muffled in furs and pillows, she just found a pile of those things in the bed. She looked confused around the room, only now noticing that his boots weren't even here.

She quickly got up from the bed and checked around the room, noticing a small piece of paper on the table. Astrid grabbed it and tried to read it, but it was too dark for that, so she went near the fire and knelt by it, now fully lighting the paper. Her eyes widening as she read it.

'Astrid, I suppose that you already noticed my absence, so I won't make this long. I've taken Toothless and I'm going to Helheim's Gate hoping that I can stop this, or at least save as many lives as possible. I know that I should've told you and I'm really sorry about that, but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to you, so that's why I left like this. I already prepared myself for this and I have all the necessary equipment, so don't worry. I should be back by morning.

Love, Hiccup.'

"I swear I'll cut his head when I get my hands on him!" She growled, charging out of the room with the intention of getting there as quickly as possible. Helheim's Gate was only two hours of flight from here, but Toothless was faster than Stormfly and she had no idea when he left. "That fricking idiot!" She said louder this time, arriving at the exit of the inn. She stopped and quickly looked down at her. She was barefoot and only wearing a thin tunic and leggings. She cursed again before running back to their room and grabbing her boots and her cloak. Then she stormed out of the building.

Hope you liked it, the next chapter should be published next week.