The ground was yank from her as Astrid was carried into the air, the ship below becoming smaller and smaller the farther she was taken.

"Let me back down!" she screamed, but the dragon soared away from the ship without any sign of landing.

Astrid struggled to look up, the wind gusting passed her in a torrent of power. Above her was the dragon's belly, but something odd caught her attention. A petal hung from the dragon's side, and it was then she realized it was wearing some form of a saddle.

Drawing closer was a spread of trees and a cliff. Astrid stumbled away from the dragon as soon as it released her onto the grassy ledge jutting out from the cliff. The imposing black dragon blocked her escape into the woods nearby. The rider dismounted, and it was then that Astrid caught sight of the metal leg attached to where a foot used to be.

The rider stared at her through the eyehole slits of his helmet, sending an eerie shiver up Astrid's spine. She'd encountered many strange and horrific things in her short 18 years, but this person riding a dragon caught her quite unsettled.

"Who are you?" she asked, the only question that seemed to fit the moment. Her eyes darted to the black dragon that seemed to be gazing into the depths of her soul through its bright green eyes. Her hand itched for a weapon, anything to ease the chill bumps crawling up her skin.

"Astrid?" The rider said. He flipped up the helmet, revealing an entirely different persona than what Astrid had expected. A smile greeted her. "When I saw you I thought maybe it was you, but I wasn't sure. But it is you!"

Astrid's heart thumped wildly in her chest, recognizing the voice she hadn't heard in nearly 3 years. "Hiccup?"

He nodded, still grinning.

Any bit of fear and caution left her. Astrid stormed up to him, punching Hiccup in the chest. The dragon's ears flattened and it hissed. Hiccup held up a hand. "It's okay, bud." With just those simple words, the dragon stood down.

Hiccup looked at Astrid, rubbing his chest looking hurt but not surprised. "What was that for?"

Astrid planted fists on her hips. "For going missing for nearly 3 years!" She swung, punching him hard again. "And that was for your worried-sick father!"

Hiccup frowned at the mention of his father. "How is he?"

Astrid glared. "Not the same since you left. He searched everywhere for you. He was so desperate to find you, but it's like you had vanished from existence." She could feel the stinging in the corners of her eyes, recalling the worry and anguish that had radiated from the Chief all those years. "Where were you this whole time, Hiccup?"

Hiccup slid off his helmet, placing it into the saddlebag hanging off his dragon. The dragon chirped at him, and the boy scratched its chin affectionately. "It's a long story, and you're never gonna believe most of it."

Astrid glanced curiously at Hiccup's metal leg then at the dragon then back at him. "Try me."

Hiccup gazed at her for a long beat, the gears in his head visibly turning. "Can I trust you with a secret that is of the utmost importance?"

He looked at her with a longing in his eyes that told Astrid how desperate he wished to share his secret with her. The image of a 15-year-old gangly, freckled-face boy flashed in her mind. He'd wanted to be her friend again so badly back then, and it seemed he still longed for that friendship now.

"Yes," she simply answered.

A smile broke out on his face. Hiccup climbed up on his dragon, offering a hand to Astrid. Wariness crossed her features at the thought of climbing aboard the foul beast (though this one seemed to be well….trained).

"You trust me," Hiccup reassured at her hesitation.

She'd experience many things, but riding a dragon was not one of them. Astrid breathed in deep. She slapped her hand into Hiccup's, and he helped her onto the saddle. He glanced over his shoulder at her. "By the way, this is Toothless, my dragon. Toothless, this is Astrid, an old friend of mine."

The dragon gurgled what Astrid assumed was a greeting. She didn't know how to respond. She'd never actually talked to a dragon before. She had no time to when the beasts were attacking her village.

"You might wanna hold on." Hiccup shifted his metal foot in the petal on the side of the saddle, leaning forward. "Let's go, bud."

Astrid felt like an arrow shooting into the sky as Toothless launched upwards. She quickly wrapped arms around Hiccup's waist, holding on for dear life. The sheer power underneath her was strangely exhilarating. Everything grew white as the dragon shot through the clouds. Blue skies suddenly surrounded them as they broke through the milky white. Astrid peered down at the ocean of clouds below, amazement quickly building inside her.

They flew steadily for several minutes, Astrid not being able to tell how many miles they had gone. She didn't seem to bother with it as she enjoyed the ride. Killing dragons was her purpose in life, but the feeling of taking down a horrendous beast couldn't compare to flying on one.

Toothless suddenly descended, and they were soaring over the sea once more. In the distance, a massive formation jutted out from the water. As they approached, Astrid recognized it as huge chunks of ice, reminiscent of a glacier. "What is this place?"

Hiccup threw a grin over his shoulder. "Where I live."

"In a glacier?"

"Oh, this is no glacier."

Toothless circled around the ice until dipping down toward an entrance. He tucked in his wings, zooming through the ice tunnel. Astrid leaned closer into Hiccup's back, letting out a startled yelp, the hollowed-out ice a little too close for comfort.

They landed in an area where the mountain finally became rock, and Hiccup hopped down, offering his hand again. Astrid brushed it off, not used to the chivalry that he kindly bestowed. She noticed out of the corner of her eye the little disappointed shrug Hiccup did before ambling further into the quarters.

Hiccup awkwardly gestured around him. "Welcome to my home."

Astrid began to wander, slowly taking it all in. There was a bed and a large slab of rock that Toothless didn't hesitate to climb upon to rest. A desk sat near the bed, drawings of dragons and contraptions littering the wall above it. A thick book sat closed on the desk that entitled "Book of Dragons" embedded on the leather cover.

She pivoted to survey the other side of the large quarters. Far on the other side was a curtain. She glanced at Hiccup in question and he gestured there giving silent permission.

Astrid stepped through the curtain, eyes widening. All the makings of a forge and workshop was laid out in there. So many different contraptions, some of which Astrid vaguely recognized from the drawings above Hiccup's desk, hung from the rock walls or in crates or laid out on a table.

She turned to Hiccup, who'd followed her through the curtain. His eyes shone with hope, as if there was a yearning inside him that hoped she'd find his inventions interesting.

"So, this is where you've been the whole time? Living in a glacier. With a trained dragon. Inventing things?"

"Once again, it's not a glacier," he playfully reprimanded, "and yes, for most of the time, this is where I've been."

Astrid crossed her arms. As amazing and surreal as all this was, that still didn't change the fact that he'd left Berk with only a hastily scribbled note to explain his disappearance. "Hiccup Haddock, you have a lot of explaining to do."

He nodded, somberly. "I know."