Hello there peoples.

It took longer to write than I thought, but it's mostly done. Seven months of rereading, rewriting and then rereading again. I've had an idea for this story for some time now and decided to finally write it. I haven't seen a story with a similar plot on the site, so I went for it. I'm going to play with the concept of few 'what ifs' and AU's and explore how one affects the other.

I want to thank all the people that read my other story – Not So Bad After All. I also want to inform that there won't be any continuation to that. I just can't think of an original plot for it. Fear not, this story is almost finished and it does have something that I'd like to call a plotline. For this story I will be answering your reviews, either by PM or in the following chapters.

Warning: I don't suppose everything will be 100% historically correct, BUT that wasn't what I was aiming for. I'm sure you noticed that the HTTYD franchise isn't completely historically correct either. Yes, I did a lot of research and Viking culture is something I'm very interested in, so I'm not purposely neglecting it. I tried to be as truthful about the Viking times, as I could. Well, except for the dragons, but, you know, they're kind of important.

Disclaimer: I don't own How to train your dragon - books, movies, nor TV series.

Anyways – enjoy!

CHAPTER 1

The one that started it all

Astrid really hated her father right now.

As the Chief's daughter, she was very aware of the possibility of an arranged marriage. It was very common between the tribes after all. That, however, did not mean she was any more pleased, when her father, Egil [1] 'Fearless' Hofferson, announced that to rebuild the alliance between Hairy Hooligans and their tribe, she was to be wed to their Chief's son. Astrid couldn't possibly imagine herself in a role of some housewife; cooking, sewing and cleaning after her 'husband'. Not to mention bearing him children. She just turned seventeen for Thor's sake! Besides, Astrid was a warrior. A Viking through and through. It was her, that won The Dragon Training and killed her first dragon when she was only fourteen. With her long blond hair and ocean blue eyes, she was the village's beauty and pride. Astrid wanted to become the perfect Shieldmaiden and spend her life protecting her home from the dragons.

She hated those nasty reptiles. The devil creature she hated the most, known as the Flightmare, ruined her family's reputation. Astrid still clearly remembered that day. She was eight at the time. As every ten years, along with Avondale's Fire, there came the mysterious dragon. No one knew why it came, but every time it did, the dragon left many victims. The Flightmare was a very extraordinary creature. Its skin looked as if it was lit by some unknown source. Her uncle, Finn 'Fearless' Hofferson, a person she looked up to greatly, went to fight against the dragon. But then 'it' happened. The great and brave uncle Finn froze. It was said that the 'Fearless' Hofferson froze in fear. And with that the Hofferson's reputation went downhill. They weren't as respected as they were before. Other Chiefs avoided talking to Egil at the Things. Honor was something very precious to lose for a Viking, especially the Chief and his family. It was that day, that Astrid promised herself she'd avenge her uncle's death and restore her family's honor. She would show them what a Hofferson could do. And she had it all planned out for when the dragon would come back. But until then, Astrid would protect her village during dragon raids.

Of course her plan never became reality.

Why, you may ask? Well, about two and a half year ago the dragon raids stopped. Just like that. Of course, there still were some dragons roaming around further in the woods or in the mountains, but that was it. They never came near the village. It was like their thirst for blood had just disappeared. Astrid was nearly fifteen then and just starting to fight alongside adults. They had some dragons still locked up in their arena but not for long…

It happened a few months after the dragon raids stopped. It was one of those peaceful nights, when everything seemed quiet and calm. As the life-threatening raids stopped, most of the villagers allowed themselves to let their guard down a little bit. Not too much, though, they still were Vikings. It was close to midnight when all Hel broke loose. At first there was a big explosion, that awoke everyone. Men and women ran out of their houses to see what happened. Then they saw IT. A dragon, black, fast and unlike any other they had ever seen. A Night Fury seen so close for the first time in the village's history. What shocked people the most was not the dragon itself, but what was on its back. Because atop the devil creature was a human figure, cladded in black armor.

The dragon swiftly flew towards the arena and shot a purple blast, causing another explosion. Parents, worried (and scared, but they'd never admit that while they were alive), hugged their children closer and some Vikings grabbed the closest weapons they could find to protect themselves and their families. It was all in vain though, as the dragon was nearly impossible to be seen in the dark, night sky.

"Fire the catapults! Get into positions!" shouted furiously Egil Hofferson. He would not allow this monster to attack his village like that.

"Aye Chief!" answered the villagers. They were too slow though, because a few seconds later the black dragon with the figure atop flew above the small Viking village with unbelievable speed and the sound that the Night Fury was known for in the whole Archipelago. Following them were the dragons from the arena. Gronckles, Nadders, Timberjacks and many other dragons escaped their cages. The Vikings tried to shoot them out of the sky but only managed to bring down two Nadders and a Zippleback. The village was left in shock.

No one went back to sleep that night.

It happened many times more, along with destroying the dragon traps set in the forest. The Dragon Master and the Night Fury (as the Barbaric Archipelago started calling them) always came at night, unable to be seen and very dangerous. They never harmed any of the villagers, but they did destroy the defenses whenever the island's residents tried to shoot them down. In time, they started coming with some friends. More dragons with people on their backs. The results of those attacks were always the same – most of the captured dragons gone and the village's defense system in ruins. It was one big, endless and vicious cycle.

Of course, the Isle of Bjargey [2] wasn't the only island affected by the Dragon Master. There were hardly any islands in the Barbaric Archipelago that hadn't been attacked by one of the dragons with people in armor atop of them. There were many tribal meetings, at which the Chiefs discussed the problem, but none of those brought any improvements to the situation. It's an understatement to say that The Dragon Master wasn't the most favorite person in those regions. While some of the people admired him for his skills with the dragons, most of them feared and despised him. There were many, many stories of the dragon lovers and what the Dragon Master looked like across the whole Archipelago. None of them were true of course, as nobody was ever able to see the face of the most mysterious men in the history of the Archipelago.

Not long ago though, someone was pretty close. Astrid was going to her usual training spot in the forest when she heard some rustling in the bushes nearby. She stopped walking immediately and paused to listen intently to the weird sounds. It didn't sound like a boar or any other forest animal she could think of. Quietly, she tiptoed closer to the source of the noise. Astrid hid behind one of the bigger bushes and after a second she looked out slightly.

There IT was. The black dragon that haunted people in their dreams. Thankfully, it didn't notice her. She didn't even had time to look closer, because its Rider came out from behind a tree. The Dragon Master certainly didn't look like everyone imagined he would. In stories, he was seven feet tall with bulging muscles - the real one, while still above six feet tall, was a lot smaller. The Dragon Rider was definitely thinner than most Vikings, but still appeared to be strong in a lean sort of way. He was wearing the usual black armor, though it was unlike any Astrid had ever seen. It was a combination of metal, material and… were those dragon scales? She wouldn't be surprised if it were.

"I think that's the last one, bud." said The Dragon Master. His voice... His voice was a bit nasally, but it sounded so normal, so human… From what she heard, she would guess he'd be around her age. Astrid was so shocked, she backed away a few steps, which resulted in her accidentally snapping a branch. That, of course, drew their attention. Astrid cursed herself.

The Night Fury and its Rider turned around. She saw two pairs of vibrant green eyes staring at her, or rather the bush she was behind – Astrid was thanking every single god in Asgard that the bush was bigger than her. The dragon started growling and Astrid panicked, quickly thinking through her options. Running away now would be a suicide and even with her trusty double-headed axe she wouldn't stand a chance against the dragon and its Rider. If they find her… Yes, she'd admit it – she, Astrid 'Fearless' Hofferson, was scared. She remembered reading about the Night Fury in the Dragon Manual few years back. One line had particularly carved itself deep into her mind.

Your only chance is to hide and pray it does not find you.

At least she could quickly examine the great Dragon Master's face. Or at least part of it, as most of it was covered. He had a fresh scar on his left eye, that looked a bit like a dragon claw mark. His skin was pale and she could notice some freckles there as well. Everything below his eyes was covered. He also had a hood that covered his head, though some loose, brown strands of hair were jutting from beneath the cloak .[3] Overall, he looked young. His narrowed, green eyes were flickering from side to side, searching for any threats. Astrid turned around with her back pressed to the bush.

THe blonde warrior stopped breathing for a few second and listened. She heard the Rider snooping around the bushes nearby, but after a few second he gave up. It was clear, that he didn't want to have a confrontation with anyone any more than Astrid. She heard something that must've been the dragon taking off in a rush. She sat there for a moment, unable to move. The blonde Viking slowly got up and looked around. On the ground, where few minutes ago was the devil couple, she could see the dragon's and his companion's footprints. The man's footprints looked weird – one foot was normal, but the other was smaller and was shaped strangely. She decided not to dwell on it, as it didn't seem to be the most important thing right at the moment. Astrid noticed something black on the ground. She bent down and what she found, was a black, round thing – the dragon's scale perhaps? She carefully tucked it in one of her pockets. She would examine it closer later.

The teenager decided it was time to go back to the village. She contemplated about telling the village about this encounter, but decided against it. It may have been considered foolish to do so, but many Vikings were telling tales of how they've seen The Dragon Master. All of them proved to be just some made up stories, and so the village didn't believe in anything remotely related to the Rider walking around the island and 'making friends' by day. Telling what she just saw, would only be viewed as another unbelievable story – especially, if she would say that thee Dragon Master was no more than a young boy her age.

All that happened about a year ago. While the memory of the Rider's look became a bit hazy, the one thing she clearly remembered were those green eyes, human's and dragon's so much alike.

"Aaastrid. Hellooo Astrid." The said girl snapped out of her thoughts when she saw a hand flying in front of her face and someone calling her name.

"Huh? What?" Astrid turned around to see her best friend – Ruffnut Thorston. The girl was the same age as Astrid. Ruffnut – or Ruff for short – was few inches taller than her but thinner. She had long blond hair, tied into three braids. Ruff almost always wore an olive and purple dress with a red belt and a fur vest. She had a twin brother – Tuffnut- and together they caused havoc and chaos around the village. They both knew how to fight – and fought well, but preferred to be the village's troublemakers, dedicating their free time to the God of mischief – Loki. As similar as the siblings were in personalities and appearance, they loved to fight with each other. You could not possibly see them not arguing when they were in the same room.

"I thought you fell asleep there for a moment. You just kept staring at this tree for like ten minutes!" Ruffnut complained. Astrid looked around. Before her was the tree at which she was supposedly staring. Her axe was stuck in the dead center of it. In one, quick move, she yanked it out.

"I was just thinking." Astrid answered absently. She studied the edge of her axe. It was getting dull again.

"About what? Your Dragon Master?" the taller girl teased while chuckling. The only person that knew about her encounter with the Rider, was Ruffnut. In moments like these, Astrid was seriously wondering why she even told her or why she and her were friends. Then again – Ruff was the only girl her age in the village that she could somehow relate to.

"No Ruff. I'm… I'm getting married." She breathed out, defeated. The tone didn't suit her, she decided. Astrid looked at her friend. The twin was surprised to say the least, the previous laughter dying on her lips. Ruff knew how the shorter girl felt about marriage, she had a similar opinion after all. She stared at her friend with widened eyes and… was that pity? Astrid Hofferson did not need pity from anyone. She took a swing and angrily threw her axe at the tree.

"Oh. That sucks."

"Yeah, it sucks!" she yelled. Okay, so maybe Astrid got a bit of a temper. So what?! She was a Viking! And she definitely wouldn't tolerate pity from her friend, or anyone for that matter.

"Soooo… who's the lucky guy?" The taller blonde tried to lighten up the situation, though Astrid wasn't amused. If looks could kill, Ruffnut would've dropped dead right there and then.

"Son of the Hairy Hooligans' Chief" Astrid answered shortly as she went to retrieve her weapon. She did not want to talk about it.

"Wait – isn't that that runt? What did they call him? Ah! Hiccup the Useless! He's the guy that destroyed more houses than the dragons back when there still were dragon raids!" At this point Ruffnut was openly laughing. Astrid, however, didn't find it that funny. She was fully aware of her 'fiancé's' reputation. They'd probably expect from her to make a Viking out of him or something like that. She doubted he would push her into something she didn't want, though if he did, she wouldn't have a problem to show him not to cross the line. The blonde wouldn't hold back in voicing her opinions. She wouldn't be surprised if it would turn out that she was the 'manlier' of the two. Although the last time she has seen him was when she was six and he seven. She hadn't seen him since, even during the Things.[4] Astrid herself was not really keen to meet other heirs, as that didn't seem important to her at the time, but she had never seen Hiccup spending time with them either.

She vaguely remembered a thin boy, with an auburn mop of hair and a freckled, pale face. She'd admit that the boy was not the worst company. His big imagination allowed them to have a good time playing. He was kind of funny too. And clumsy. But Astrid honestly didn't feel any need for a man in her life. Especially one that she saw more as a short-lived playmate, rather than someone who could defend himself if necessary or think like a warrior, someone she could somewhat relate to. Maybe he changed, she didn't know. But if the rumors were true about this 'Hiccup', then this marriage wasn't going to be easy. For neither of them. She would be stuck in an awkward arrangement that neither of them wanted in the first place. At least she assumed so.

"So-" Ruffnut tried to calm down, but failed badly as a snicker escaped her mouth. "when is the wedding?"

"They're coming in two days to sign the treaty. The wedding is in about a month." Astrid sighed and looked at the sky. It was getting dark. "Come on. Let's head back. It's getting late."

When they returned to the village, they quickly said their goodbyes and parted. Astrid was about to enter her house, when she heard someone calling her name.

"I heard you're getting married, Hofferson." said the over-sweet voice of Oili Ahlberg[5]. Astrid didn't really like the girl. Oili was half a year younger than her, but she was known to flirt with any boy in the village just to get their attention. Astrid had to admit though – Oili was very pretty. She had long, strawberry blonde hair, tied into a complicated braid that cascaded down her back. Her sea-blue eyes and full lips made her very attractive. The girl was a bit short for her age, but she was also lean. She always wore some kind of dress (quite short, mind you) with leggings. Oili was skilled with a bow and a sword. She seemed to be sweet and nice, but she could also be pernicious. The seventeen-year old hated how the girl was two-faced.

"Yeah, so what?" Astrid snapped. She knew she shouldn't have been so harsh but the blonde couldn't stop herself, the irritation from the whole day cumulating inside her.

" Nothing." Oili shrugged off-handedly. "I'm just surprised. They say you're gonna marry Stoick the Vast's son." Oili tilted her head innocently. But Astrid sensed something she couldn't identify, coming from the younger girl's voice. She narrowed her icy blue eyes.

"May I have an advice for you? Mind your own business Oili." And with that she walked away. Astrid entered her house, avoiding gaze with anyone. She wasn't in the mood to talk. The family was just finishing their meal, having some small talk at the same time. A blonde middle-aged woman with piercing blue eyes looked up at the person who walked in and sighed in relief.

"Honey, you're back. I was starting to get worried." said Astrid's mother, Solveig [6] Hofferson. Astrid felt kind of bad for making her mother concerned, but then she remembered the reason she left the house earlier that day.

" Maybe she was in the woods with some boy." sniggered Gunnar, Astrid's younger brother and heir to the throne of Bjargey after her wedding. He was two years younger than her but still pretty tall, almost reaching her chin. He, just like his sister, preferred to fight with an axe. The siblings had a pretty good relationship with each other, constantly teasing one another. He was actually the only person Astrid ever joked with. Astrid would especially tease her brother about his crush on Oili. Normally the seventeen-year old would answer back, but she was in a foul mood. The blonde teenager quickly climbed the stairs and went to her room, purposely slamming the door in the process. Solveig looked at her husband with concern.

" She'll get over it. It's for the best. The sooner she realizes that, the better." He shrugged trying to keep a straight face, though inside he too was worried for his 'baby girl'. He was reluctant to accept Berk's Chief proposal. He knew how it would affect Astrid and knew that she definitely wouldn't be happy with it. But from the Chief's point of view it made a lot of sense – for tribal politics and economy. Arranged marriages were very common and it was the most logical solution, but he also didn't want to punish his daughter by trapping her in that sort of arrangement. His own marriage was arranged, but he and his wife learned to love each other. He could only hope that his daughter would have just as much luck. And that she would forgive him.

He didn't know just how much this marriage would change things.

A/N:

[1] Egil in Old Norse means 'respect, horror'

[2] Bjarg in Old Norse means 'rock, mountain'. Vikings added –ey to the names to show that they are islands

[3] Kind of like the one Heather wore in Race To The Edge.

[4] Yes, I know that only men went to the Things, but I figured that if Bob-Burglars is a tribe led by women, they would allow the female heir to come as well. And so Astrid should be allowed to come too.

[5] Oili in Old Norse means 'Divine Woman' ( a bit of a competition for Astrid, I guess); Ahlberg - from Swedish al 'alder' and berg 'mountain'

[6] Solveig in Old Norse means 'from the house of strength'

I hope you liked it. I have most of thing written up already (currently one and a half chapter to go), only making some minor changes along the way and constantly checking for any errors. I'm going to use some quotes and scenes from the canon, but they will most probably be in a completely different situation. I will sometimes torture you with the meaning of the names like above, or just some historical facts, because I find them really fascinating. I try to choose names to fit in with the characters. I'm planning to update twice a week in the afternoons – Tuesdays and Fridays. Note that it's the afternoon in my time zone, not necessarily yours though. The chapters (only chapters) are between 3,500 to over 4,500 (on one occasion even reaching 6 000) words each. I tried not to make them too long, nor too short.

The rating is 'T' or in some parts maybe even 'M', for language, suggestive themes and descriptions.

R&R

Till next time!

~InsertACreativeNameHere