A/N: Hi there! If you watch The Blacklist, then you more or less know what this is going to be about. If you don't... well, get ready for a sassier, much darker Astrid. That's all I have to say for now. Enjoy!

Hœttr is effective.

Hœttr is merciless.

Hœttr never fails.

Those were some of the things that were said about him, all across the archipelago. The name of Hœttr was well known among criminals, respected by most, feared by everyone. He'd had dozens of clients over the years; he had built quite a reputation as one of the best assassins around the islands. Any petty thief knew that, if they wanted someone dead, they could consider it done if they hired him. His services were not cheap, but they were worth the money; he made no mistakes.

Or so everyone thought.

While he'd always carried out his tasks effortlessly, he'd had one lapse of judgement one night, four years ago, that derived into the little girl that now stood beside him on the deck of the Berserker ship. Despite the nature of his job, he found he couldn't bring himself to abandon her once he heard her mother had died during the birth. Plus, he wasn't a man to hide away from a challenge. And so it was that Asmund " Hœttr" Hofferson found himself caring for a girl he named Astrid. She certainly wasn't safe with him, but leaving her in a crowded tavern would've been even worse.

"Dad, why can't I go out?" she asked him.

Because if the chief of the Hooligan tribe discovers that Oswald the Agreeable is carrying a dangerous assassin in his ship, he'll take it as a declaration of war, and he doesn't want that, he thought. Their position was very precarious right now; he'd been betrayed, not long ago, and was on the run for a while. Thankfully, he had friends within the Berserker tribe, and they'd been able to stay, but they had to keep going. Oswald had kindly agreed to let him leave when they left for Berk to sign the annual peace treaty, but he'd been very clear about not letting him be seen. Asmund didn't mind so much, but he imagined his daughter must be bored out of her mind.

"The people here could be dangerous, sweetheart", he told her. "I don't want anything happening to you." She only pouted in response.

Suddenly, he heard a booming voice, accompanied by a slightly nervous laugh he knew all too well. "Astrid, I have to go down", he told her. If Stoick the Vast found him, there'd be no end of trouble for him. If he found her, however, he'd think nothing of it.

"Why?"

"Dad has some matters he needs to tend to. I'll be back soon, I promise." He kissed her hair before heading down. From the little cabin he hid in, both chief's voices sounded loud, but not loud enough to drown out the soldier's voices he heard.

"Hey, look, it's that little girl. What happened? Daddy left because he hates you?"

"Shut up!" he heard her answer. "He's my dad. He doesn't hate me."

"Yes he does", a second voice answered. "He hates you because you're a girl, and you're weak."

"I'm not weak!"

Asmund's blood boiled as he heard the exchange, but he couldn't risk going on deck; Stoick was still there.

"Are you completely sure about this?" a dark haired girl asked. Her green eyes radiated concern. The blonde standing next to her just laughed.

"You worry too much, Heather."

"They have dragons. The gods know what they could do to you. I'm just wondering if there isn't a better way to do this, Astrid."

"Is there any appropriate way of doing this?" Astrid shook her head. "It's time. It's been too dangerous here for too long."

"Very well. But is it really necessary to go unarmed?"

"They'll take any weapons I carry the second they lay their hands on me. It's pointless. Just go. You know what to do."

Heather nodded and walked back the way they'd come. Astrid took a deep breath and set down the path. In five minutes, she'd reached the village. As she walked in, she noticed the dragons all around; some were just resting on the rooftops, others were eating fish off of barrels she suspected were there for that specific purpose. She meant to explore all that soon, but for now, her objective was the smithy, which she quickly found. It was still fairly early in the morning, an advantage since she didn't want too many people to see her yet.

As she approached, she noticed there was a boy at the forge. He appeared to be around her age, tall and slim, with wild auburn hair which he wiped out of his forehead before reaching for his hammer. She smiled slightly; this was exactly who she was looking for. She just stood there for a while, enjoying the view of his back. While he wasn't as bulky as the men she was accustomed to, there were definitely some muscles there, no doubt formed by his training at the forge and riding dragons.

Suddenly he turned around and yelped with surprise, dropping his hammer. He grew red to the roots of his hair as he bent down to pick his tool, much to her amusement.

"H-hello..." he stammered. "Why were you just standing there?"

He seemed to be incredibly embarrassed, and she couldn't help teasing him just a bit more. "Well, you're not unpleasant to look at." His green eyes widened, and his blush deepened, but that just made it so much better. Yes, Astrid thought, he was very pleasant to look at.

"Were you looking for something?" he asked, and he seemed to relax a bit. She just looked around, noticing the strange contraption on the forge. "What is that?" she asked, ignoring his previous question.

"Oh, that's just Inferno. Or rather, it's going to be." She raised an eyebrow, and he launched into a complicated explanation about a blade that could be set on fire using Monstrous Nightmare saliva. She didn't understand all of it, but the conversation confirmed what she'd already been told about this boy: he had a brilliant mind, and dragons took up most of it.

"That's impressive, uh... I didn't catch your name." As if she didn't know it already.

"I didn't say. I'm Hiccup." His embarrassment was back; she couldn't say she blamed him. She had definitely heard worse names, though. "And you are...?"

"Astrid", she gave him her winning smile, and he blinked like he'd been stunned. Gods, this would be fun. "Anyway, I came here looking for the chief. Do you know where his house is?"

"Sure, it's up the hill. I can come with you if you want..." he rubbed the back of his neck, then looked behind her. "Oh, hi, Gobber."

She turned around to see a huge Viking missing a hand and a leg. The moment he noticed her, he opened his mouth to speak, but then a change passed through his eyes and she knew he'd recognised her. He backed up, never looking away from her, until he reached a horn that was on a post nearby and started blowing it with all his might.

She looked over her shoulder to Hiccup, who looked confused, and winked at him. "Well, Hiccup, I guess I'll be seeing you around, very soon."

She then stepped forward, out of the smithy and into the sunlight, just as a ton of Vikings came out of their houses, carrying their weapons. She kneeled in the dirt as ten crossbows were pointed at her. It wasn't long until the chief of the tribe showed up, looking incredulous.

"Astrid Hofferson" he said, "I hereby arrest you for the charges of betrayal, theft, murder and destruction of property. We shall bring you to justice immediately." And without another word, he grabbed her shoulder, pulling her up. As she stood, she managed to steal a glance at Hiccup, whose face was frozen with shock, and flashed him another smile as she was marched to what she guessed was Berk's Great Hall. He frowned, clearly more confused than before. Well, she thought as she walked up the steps, he'd soon understand.

Stoick Haddock was no stranger to surprises that weren't always pleasant; his son, after all, was a constant source of those, from the moment he'd made friends with a dragon, to when he discovered the Dragon Eye. However, none of those moments left him quite as puzzled as when the Astrid Hofferson, one of the youngest and most renowned criminals of the archipelago, showed up at his doorstep like it was nothing. At first he didn't believe it when he saw her, kneeling in front of the smithy, and as he took her by the shoulder to bring her to the Hall, his mind was in a state of pure bewilderment. Why had she given herself up like that? She had to have some ulterior motivation; for a second he thought she had men hidden to attack the village while they were distracted, but he remembered she had a reputation for knowing everything about everyone, which meant that she obviously knew they had dragons to defend themselves. She wouldn't risk fighting fire-breathing reptiles...

Of course, he realised with a frown. She wasn't planning to fight them. Dragons could help a criminal empire such as Astrid Hofferson's greatly. Clearly, she came with the intention of gathering information about dragon training, so she could use it herself. However, if that was the case, why hadn't she just hidden herself near the arena to watch them? He was missing something, and that made him nervous.

Once inside the Hall, he took her to the stone platform in the middle, while the villagers began filling the place. Most of them were yelling at her, claiming for her head, or for her to be brought to the dungeons. He spotted his son at the back of the crowd, looking at the girl with a confused expression. The youngest people in Berk probably didn't know who she was, he thought, since the Hofferson name had gained its fame mostly from Astrid's father, one of the most terrible assassins to roam the seas, and while his daughter hadn't achieved such fame yet, she was certainly on the right path to it.

Gobber asked everyone for quiet, and then Stoick spoke in his loudest voice, so everyone could hear.

"Astrid Hofferson, you are one of the most wanted criminals in the archipielago. I'm sure I don't need to read you the full list of crimes you are accused of." She just smiled, a response he knew was meant to unsettle him. "As a matter of fact, so many tribes want your head, I cannot deal your sentence by myself. I will have to bring the other chiefs here to do so. In the meantime, we shall lock you in the dungeon. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Well, you could do that. But I think you and I both know I didn't show up so you could capture me." She was smiling again, like this was some kind of sick joke to her. "So unfortunately, I'm going to have to pass on your offer of a dungeon cell, which is a pity, really. I've heard they're very accommodating. No, I have an offer to make you. I've heard that Dagur escaped his prison recently." The people began to murmur, but Stoick didn't pay attention. The girl leaned closer to him. "I could help you capture him." At that, everyone looked at her, with expressions that ranged from surprise to mistrust.

"In exchange for what?"

"Oh, I only have a few conditions. For example, that Heather, my bodyguard, will be allowed to stay with me. But there is one very important rule which you'll always have to observe." She paused, and he noticed her eyes were scanning the crowd. "Whenever I have information for you..." She turned to the people, looking directly towards someone. When Stoick realised who the object of her attention was, a pit formed in his stomach.

"I'll speak only with Hiccup Haddock, your son."