Exhausted, weak, worn out.

That's how Hiccup lay in his cell in the depths of the night. Viggo and Ryker's had been... Brutal, to say the least. Persistent with their questions and barely giving Hiccup a chance to breath, let alone answer. Still, Hiccup remained silent. Toothless was Thor knows where. This had meant to be a standard procedure stealth mission, but of course something had gone wrong. He'd been saving Camicazi from a hunter and inadvertently gotten himself captured in the process.

It had been hours since he'd seen Toothless and the knot in his stomach was completely unbearable. His arms were chained to the wall above his head, and they were aching like crazy. He wanted nothing more than to just escape but at that point in time he was completely and utterly helpless. There was nothing that could aid him for miles.

Hiccup was logical, he realized the guards would get him for questioning at some point and the cycle would begin again. He could figure out what to do once he was unchained. Plus, fatigue was beginning to get the better of him. Anything he planned would more than likely backfire. His plans had a habit of doing that even when he wasn't tired.

The riders would come back for him. Or he'd find his way out. Either way, something good would happen. He'd been in enough insane incidents to know that, somehow, things always worked out in the end. But that could only happen if he kept a straight head. And he couldn't do that if with every passing second his eyelids got heavier.

Finally, giving in to his tiredness, his eyelids began to shut slowly. However this proved to be pointless as he was abruptly awoken by a distinct thudding noise.

Suddenly he felt something large nudge him. A sound of rustling could be heard from above him as begrudgingly opened his eyes. Much to his surprise, when he opened his eyes he was met with a similar emerald pair of staring right back at him.

Toothless?... Toothless?!

"H-hey bud!" he greeted, still unsure if he was hallucinating or not "W-what's going-"

"Shhhh!"

If he wasn't already awake before, he certainly was now. His head turned sharply to see a shadowy figure beside him. A torch in the corner of the cell dimly lit the cage, but not well enough for him to see who this person was.

"Who are-?"

"I said shhhh! Keep your voice down!" The person hissed.

They were definitely female. He knew that much.

"What are you doing?" he whispered

She glared in response "Do you not know how to be quiet?"

"Hey I whispered!" he insisted, still talking quietly "And you didn't answer my question"

"I'm" she paused to tug at his chains "Letting you go. But seriously, you gotta keep your voice down, a guard might hear you"

"I was-"

"Not quiet enough" she cut him off knowingly, her words barely audible. She finished loosening his chains "Now lets get you out of here"

His eyes narrowed "And how do I know this isn't a trap? How can I trust you?"

"Viggo quits when he's ahead. If he had a night fury in his grips, why would he jeopardise that?"

Hiccup processed the woman's words. What she said made sense. A big part of this battle was due to Viggo's obsession with Toothless and hunting him down. It was a fair point. Still, many questions stormed wildly around his brain.

"You work for Viggo?"

She nodded very reluctantly, something he couldn't help but mentally note.

"Why are you helping me?"

"You ask way too many questions" muttered somewhat angrily "Look, I don't like what Viggo does, okay? I hate it. So I try to help when I can"

It still didn't make sense to him "How can you work for Viggo and also-?"

"Long story. Don't have time to explain. Now come on!" she whisper-shouted, pulling him up roughly.

The woman dragged up to the deck hurriedly, desperate to get them off the ship. Hiccup looked back and noticed a guard laying on the ground, seemingly out cold. Confusion festered in him faster by the second.

Who was this person? And what was she capable of?

Eventually they got to the deck and Hiccup mounted Toothless. He still couldn't see his supposed saviour, the darkness entrapped her figure, leaving her as a mere mystery in his mind.

"Who are you? You still haven't said"

"It's better you don't know" she responded vaguely "And you can't tell anyone about my existence either. Promise me"

"I don't-"

"Promise!"

He noticed her desperation and gave in "Fine"

Now it was her turn for her eyes to narrow "Say it"

"Say what?"

"Say that you promise"

"I thought you didn't want me to talk any-"

"Just say it"

"I promise I won't tell anyone about your existence"

"Good"

"One more thing" he said quickly.

"I swear to Thor if you ask me one more question..." she mumbled with a threatening tone.

"It's not a question" he reassured "I just wanted to say thank you"

Her eyes widened, almost as if it was her first time hearing the phrase. She clearly wasn't used to it "O-oh. You're welcome"

She walked over to a small door before stopping. She looked over her shoulder at Hiccup. Despite the darkness, her eyes stuck out quite clearly. They had almost no emotions, yet they were screaming a million things. Her sapphire eyes pierced into him, it was an image he knew would stick with him.

And then she was gone. She had fled the scene as quick as she had arrived. Hiccup left the ship as quietly as he could.

Throughout the flight home, Hiccup tried to process. He'd raided Viggo's ships hundreds of times, and not once had he seen that girl. She helped the dragons, and clearly she knew what she was doing. After all, she had managed to gain Toothless's trust.

But still, how could you work for dragon hunters and then free them at every chance? It didn't make sense.

When Hiccup arrived at the Edge, unsurprisingly, everyone else was asleep. In fairness, it was the middle of the night, he couldn't say he expected anything else. In a way, it made his life easier. At least this way he had a chance to rest before being bombarded with a ridiculous amount of questions in the morning.

Making his way to his hut, Hiccup finally allowed his exhaustion to take over. He crashed onto his bed, falling asleep instantaneously.

However, throughout the night...

Those blue eyes remained in his mind.

Hope you guys like it! Don't worry, I know a lot of you will have already read this in the Previews chapter of 'Astrid the (fake) Princess' so I'm also publishing the first chapter as well.

I would type my normal outro, but gods, you must have that memorized by now. You know what to do.

Shohini :)