Hello to anyone deciding to read this,

I have been sitting on this story for quite some time. While describing it to family and friends, I was told in no uncertain terms that I needed to write it down and share it. If even one other person reads this and enjoys it, then it will have been worth the effort.

If any of you have read HTTK in the HTTYD fanfic universe, you will notice some similarities between these, at least initially. HTTK is a wonderful and well written story by Code Musica that I would suggest you read if you love magic and some darkcup. The similarities would be because my story is heavily influenced by the Inheritance series as well. That, and it revolves around Norse mythology with some creative licence taken. I assure you that the plots will be very different even if there are some familiar elements. I have chosen the names and objects in my story for their symbolism or direct meaning, not to copy others.

A warning in advance. This story is going to be rated M for a reason people! There will be violence and smut. Though hopefully of the well-written sort. There will also be heavy helpings of magic in future chapters, if you're into that sort of thing. LOL

I should note that this story is going to be the first in a trilogy. The entirety of the first book is completely written. This means that there won't be any major changes to the plot line. Suggestions are still welcome as I have 2 more books to write in order to complete this trilogy. Though the main plots for the others are already pretty laid out in my head and in my notebook. At least this means that the updates should be pretty timely and consistent.

I have tried to maintain the personalities of characters as I see them. It will be a Hiccstrid story eventually because I just think they are the perfect couple. No, Hiccup will not be as innocent as some like to portray him. If we are all honest with ourselves though, he isn't really that nice. He's a sarcastic little shit, but we love him anyways.

On that happy note, I give you my story. I do not own any of the characters in this story and I am not receiving payment. I'm doing it for the love of it. The only thing that belongs to me is the story itself.

Enjoy!

_

"How is he so fast?!" Astrid cursed inwardly as she chased after the slight figure ahead of her. It was bad enough that he had overtaken her in dragon training, seemingly effortlessly. He should NOT be faster than her too! He was dodging around trees and rocks with unexpected grace for such a small and awkward boy. Though she supposed that, being a hiccup, his small size would have to give him some advantages in the thick overgrowth. Thank the gods she was a skilled hunter and knew this forest well. She managed to keep her prey in sight despite his head start. He seemed to be travelling with a purpose. Though Astrid wracked her brain, she could not possibly imagine where he was going. As far as she knew, there was nothing of interest in this direction until you reached the high cliffs of the coast.

Just then, the flash of green and brown cut to the left and disappeared from view. Once Astrid reached the spot she realized that what she had always assumed to be a solid rock ridge, did in fact have a small opening in it. She darted into in. Slowing her pace before reaching the other side. Perhaps he was waiting at the end to ambush her? She doubted he had that in him. She was the great warrior. He was a mouse among men. More likely that he was trying to hide from her.

She paused at the mouth of the cove, readying herself to spring out and surprise him. Then she heard him talking to someone. He wasn't bothering to keep his voice down. Was he not aware that he was followed here after all? Then why was he using so much stealth in the first place? Unless he just had something to hide.

Before accosting him, Astrid took a quick moment to appreciate the beauty of this place. It was almost perfectly round with a small lake in the middle of it. A creek bubbling in from the west side. It would be a very peaceful spot to practice or just to sit and think. No wonder Hiccup came here. She crept out from behind the rocks, keeping low so that he wouldn't spot her. She did not want to be caught too soon.

"We're leaving! You and me are taking a little vacation. Forever..." Hiccup called to no one that she could see. Was he talking to himself? Strange words if that was the case. Why come to this cove at all if he wanted to escape? Was he meeting someone here? Who? She figured now was as good a time as ever to confront him and his mystery companion. Crouching behind a boulder was never going to get the answers she sought. After climbing the stone to give her the high ground advantage, she unholstered her axe and began pretending to sharpen it. Hiccup was a few paces from her with his back to the rock. He seemed to be packing up supplies in a basket. He turned abruptly at the sound of stone on blade and then jumped at the sight of her.

"A-Astrid! Wha-what are you doing here?" Hiccup stuttered, stumbling back a few more steps. It was at this moment that Astrid realized he was wearing some sort of leather harness on his upper body. She climbed down from her perch and began to bombard him with questions. How did he get so good in the ring? Who was he training with? Why was he wearing this ridiculous harness? A noise off in the shadows distracted her and she turned to investigate. When the idiot tried to get in her face and stop her, she dropped him. Then she winded him with her axe handle for good measure. Just then a chilling low growl followed by a large black shape with glowing eyes came at them out of the darkness.

Her battle training kicked in and she threw herself down, taking Hiccup with her. She then rolled away and jumped to her feet, axe held at the ready. "NO!" Hiccup shouted. He leapt on her, catching her by surprise and allowing him to disarm her with strength she did not believe him to possess. After tossing her axe out of reach he ran to the dragon and held it back. Her eyes felt as if they were going to bug right out of her face as she watched the vicious black monster calm under his touch. When he told her she had scared it, it was more than she could take. She turned on her heel and began to run in the direction of the village.

So this was what he had been hiding! A dragon! All Astrid could think to do was get to the village as fast as possible. Should she tell Stoick? What would she tell him? She hadn't even stayed long enough to find out what Hiccup was doing with the dragon. Come to think of it, where did he even get a dragon? So distracted was she by her thoughts that she failed to hear the sound of wing beats until they were already on top of her.

Her feet left the ground as she felt sharp talons gently, but firmly, grasp her by the shoulders and hoist her above the tree tops. Screaming, she grabbed at the powerful forelegs of the creature holding her. It released its hold over a tall pine and she grasped desperately at the branches for a handhold. The beast landed beside her, bending the tree with its weight. Sitting astride it, in some perversion of a mounted knight, was Hiccup. How dare he kidnap her with a dragon and then try to calmly explain as if she would listen to him. If she hadn't been hanging from a tree she would have hit him. Instead, her only option was to climb on the back of the horrid reptile to get down. She did roughly bat his proffered hand aside as she went to climb on. Pride not allowing her to accept it. With a quick snap of wings the dragon launched himself into the sky.

*

Astrid felt her stomach drop out of her body as the trio tore into the heavens. The dragon was twirling and rolling so fast she could barely stay on its back. She made a grab for Hiccup and wrapped her arms firmly around his middle just as the beast folded its wings and went into a steep dive. Astrid sobbed into his back. Apologizing for what, she wasn't even sure. All she wanted was to be back on solid ground. As quick as the terrifying ride started, it was over. The dragon, "Toothless" she remembered Hiccup calling him, opened his huge wings wide and levelled out into a peaceful glide. She finally got up the nerve to lift her head, and her jaw dropped.

They were so high up! The ocean stretched endless and blue below them. Brilliant reds and fiery oranges reflected off the swells that appeared no larger than ripples on a pond from this height. Above her were mountains of fluffy clouds. They appeared to be soft as brushed sheep's wool, but when she reached out her arms, her hands passed straight through. Hiccup, seeing her intrigue at the texture, banked Toothless upwards and they climbed through the thick wall of pink fog.

On the other side it was a whole new world again. The sky was a velvety blanket of night. Scattered here and there were pillars of cloud. It was as if giant fluffy fingers were trying to grab for the stars. Overwhelmed with emotions she had never experienced before, Astrid wrapped her arms around the boy in front of her again as the dragon took them back below the clouds. Night had truly fallen now. Far below them she could see small lights dotting the oceans surface. With a start she realized that the lights were the hearths of Berk. It looked so small from up here. She allowed her chin to drop onto Hiccup's shoulder as she tried to take it all in.

*

His body stiffened slightly at her closeness, but he said nothing. A small smile playing on his lips as he felt her sigh against his ear. Her breath ghosting over his neck and cheek, causing his heart to stutter. Hiccup gently guided Toothless back to the cove. Hopefully Astrid would give him a chance to talk to her now. She seemed calmer at least and she had dropped her axe in the forest when they grabbed her. He fought back a chuckle as the image of her flailing and screaming in Toothless's talons popped into his head. Hopefully she would forgive him for that. Some day.

He slid from the saddle as soon as they touched down and offered his hand again to help her down. He only made the gesture out of politeness, fully expecting to be rejected again. He was therefore stunned when Astrid absently placed her hand on his as she climbed down. The surprise must have been plain on his face because she blushed and quickly put both hands behind her back. Rolling awkwardly on the balls of her feet and not looking at him.

"So what do we do now?" she asked quietly. When he didn't answer right away, she lifted her eyes to his. He could feel his emotions trying to overwhelm him, but he fought them back. Meeting her gaze, he felt a steely determination fill him as he prepared to tell her the truth. "I still have to leave Astrid" he sighed quietly. He glanced toward Toothless for a moment before focusing his attention back on her.

"I cannot kill that dragon tomorrow because I know it is wrong. Dragons are kind, playful, and wonderful creatures when you give them the chance to be. I can't tell my dad about Toothless because he would just kill him without even trying to understand. Look me in the face and tell me that the village would still accept me if they knew I allowed a night fury to live. Never mind that I gave it my friendship. I chose this path the moment I set him free. Who knows, maybe I'll discover a way to end this war while I'm travelling." He chuckled softly to himself as this last thought struck him. The war had been going between Vikings and dragons for 300 years. What difference could one runty little runaway make.

*

Astrid couldn't deny the truth in his words. The village would never allow Hiccup to keep Toothless. They would likely kill the dragon and cast Hiccup out for his deception. She grumbled, "So where does that leave us? Where does that leave me?" Especially now that I know about you and Toothless, how am I going to just go back to the way things were before?

When she met his gaze, she could see his overwhelming need for forgiveness written in his deep emerald gaze. She had never realized how beautiful his eyes were before. They seemed to bear his soul wide open and what she saw there made up her mind for her. "When are you leaving?" She asked softly. "You should at least talk to your dad first Hiccup. He would be devastated if you were to leave without telling him something." What am I going to say to Stoick? she thought to herself. Astrid had never liked keeping secrets. It made life far too complicated. Besides, she had never had anything to hide before.

"I'm leaving tonight. I already left a note for my father explaining that I left to seek knowledge on how to end this war. I made it out to seem as if I found a friend who knows where I can get the information I need. Emphasizing that I must do this on my own and begging him not to come looking for me. It is not the entire truth, but it should be enough to placate him and keep him from exiling me. Or discourage him from trying to find me, I hope. You may tell him what you wish Astrid. I did not mention Toothless, but I cannot stop you from doing so. By the time you reach the village, I will be long out of their reach anyway. They will never be able to catch me. We both know that." He was so calm and sure of himself, that Astrid had to believe him.

She knew he was right too. On the back of Toothless, the village would never be able to catch or track him. She felt a strange sense of pride blossoming inside her as she looked at the scrawny runt of the village. He had grown strong all on his own. Despite everyone trying to beat him down.

"I'm not going to tell anyone, Hiccup. Just promise me something before you go."

"Anything, m'lady" he replied promptly.

Astrid blushed again at his words, as well as at what she was about to say. Mustering her courage, she gazed into his honest open face, trying to memorize it. She wasn't sure how long it would be before she saw him again. "Be careful. Stay safe; and please, come back someday. If you can. I don't want to believe that this is the last time I will ever see you." Her cheeks were burning crimson as she turned her eyes to the ground, embarrassed at herself.

She had always found the quiet boy at the forge interesting. She was just always too afraid to show it or speak of it. Everyone else thought he was a weakling and a screw-up, but she had never believed that. He was kind, intelligent, and creative. All traits that her village never failed to underestimate. She had never stood up for him because she was too afraid that the others would discover her feelings and make fun of her for it. Now he was leaving. She may never get the chance to tell him. She was trying to find the strength to confide this when she felt a gentle finger under her chin.

Hiccup carefully brought her face up to a level with his again and smiled softly. "I will Astrid. I promise that I will try not to do anything foolish or reckless while I'm gone. Unfortunately, this is me we're talking about" he joked lightly. She chuckled at his attempt to lift the awkwardness between them. How was he always so articulate? He was suddenly serious again when he spoke, "I will miss you and think of you every day that I am gone Astrid." Her breath caught in her throat.

Before she could overthink it, she leaned forward and quickly placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "That was for everything" she confessed awkwardly. Then she hopped off the rock and rolled on the balls of her feet again, waiting for him. He seemed to be in a state of shock. She just giggled. "If you want to leave while it's still night, then you'd better get going. Dragon-boy!" She joked. Hiccup shook his head and slid to the ground beside her. With a mock salute, he called Toothless over and secured his basket of supplies to the dragon's back. Then he climbed into the saddle and strapped himself in.

He looked back at her once more as if he wanted to say something. After opening and closing his mouth a few times, he just smiled crookedly and gave Toothless a nudge. They took of with a gust of air strong enough to make her stumble back. Once she regained her balance, she looked up and desperately searched for any sign of the boy and dragon. It was no use. Toothless' black hide made him nearly invisible against the night sky. With a resigned sigh, she turned and headed back through the forest towards the village.

On the way, Astrid ran through her options for tomorrow. Surely Stoick would find the note Hiccup had left for him. How would he react when he found out that his only son had left Berk? Would he be furious at Hiccup and mark him as a coward? Or would he understand that it was for the benefit of everyone that he had gone to seek answers? Astrid hoped so.

At least no one knew that she had followed Hiccup tonight so she would most likely not be questioned by the council. Everyone knew that she had been furious at him for excelling in dragon training; gods knew she had not been quiet about it. It was unlikely that anyone would suspect her of knowing anything about Hiccup's plans. As she thought this, she suddenly remembered that tomorrow was the final in dragon training. If Hiccup wasn't here to kill the Nightmare, who would? She refused to be the one to kill it on principle since it would feel like she was just a stand-in for the real champion. Would she be able to sit by and watch someone else kill it now after meeting Toothless?

With that thought in her mind, she decided to take action. Once she reached the edge of the forest, Astrid crept around the edge of town heading for the kill ring. Keeping low and to the shadows in case anyone happened to be awake at this late hour. She managed to reach the arena without seeing a single soul. She could only hope that the night patrol men were taking a break since she did not have time for a distraction. After one more glance around, she raised the gate as quietly as she could manage and made her way to the first dragon pen. Pulling the wooden locking beam aside to open the door. Inside was the Nadder.

It was curled up on the floor of its pen, asleep for the moment. Astrid called softly to the dragon to wake it as she tried to calm the panic inside her. The nadder opened its bright amber eyes and lifted its large head to gaze tiredly towards her. Astrid, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible, held her hands up. Keeping her empty palms out and kneeling down as she began talking softly to the dragon. She told it that she was a friend who was trying to set them free. Still unsure whether or not the beast could even understand Norse.

The nadder slowly rose to its feet, worried that this might be a trick. The female hatchling was alone and unarmed though, which eased her suspicions. The two-legs were usually too cowardly to take her on one-on-one like this. She followed the young two-legs out into the ring and stretched her wings.

Astrid was amazed she had even gotten this far without being cooked alive or eaten. Perhaps Hiccup was right about the dragons. Or maybe these ones were just very accustomed to humans. Once the nadder was out into the main ring, she began talking to it again, still not sure if it could understand her. She asked it to calm the other dragons as she released them from their cages and then fly far away from here. She did not want them to be hurt or captured again. The dragon nodded in what Astrid hoped was understanding and moved to stand behind the human girl.

One by one she set all of the captured dragons free. The nightmare made towards her aggressively when she opened its pen, but the nadder squawked at it angrily. It turned away and headed towards the exit gate with the rest of the beasts. The nadder gave Astrid a long, searching look. Astrid herself suddenly had a strange and overwhelming urge to reach out and touch the dragon. Then, breaking the spell, the nadder gave Astrid what could only be seen as a bow of respect before following the others out the door and taking off into the night. There was nothing left to do but get back home and sneak into her bedroom now.

As she got back to her house, she found the shutters open on her bedroom window. She shimmied up the side of the wall and pulled herself over the window frame. Landing quiet as a mouse on the wood floor. She then removed her shoulder pads, armoured skirt, and boots. Turning towards her bed, she noticed the moonlight glinting off of something silver resting on top of her sleeping furs.

Once she got close enough she could see that it was her axe! Hiccup must have picked it up from the forest floor and brought it back to her room before leaving Berk. Her heart gave a small flutter at the thought of him taking the time to sneak into her bedroom to return her axe, despite being in a hurry to escape the village. She snatched it up gratefully and hugged it to her. Then she noticed a small note attached to it. "What is a Valkyrie without her axe?" She climbed under her furs with a soft smile gracing her lips, note in one hand and axe in the other.

*

Bit of a familiar chapter for everyone, but with a slightly different twist. So many 'Hiccup Leaves Berk' fanfics start something like this. It does seem like the best place to begin. I think that without the chance detour to the nest things would have ended a little differently after that iconic flight. I also believe that with Astrid's behaviour throughout the first movie, she most likely did have different feelings towards Hiccup than the other Viking teens. Thanks to peer pressure being around since the dawn of humanity, I doubt she would have let anyone know about this.

A note for anyone that cares to follow-up and confirm my research for this story, I have set it in the early 2nd century AD in accordance with their attire in the films. I have, of course, taken creative liberties with some of the events in later chapters. This is not a non-fiction story folks. Remember that when you feel the need to criticize. I realize they were not called Vikings at that time as they did not start the main era of raids into Briton until the 8th century. However, 'Vikings' is just a common term that we use for the Nordic folk of old now so it just makes it easier for the story. Yes, I do also know that Vikings is not a really a name, but is instead an act, as in to pillage.

A reminder that this story is already written so I will most likely not be making any major changes to the plot line. As it is going to be a trilogy (eventually), feel free to make suggestions anyways as they may be worked into future scenes. I will try to post a new chapter at least once a week. Twice a week if I can manage it, but life does get stressful. Reminder, the first chapters of any good story are always world, character, and plot building. It won't get really exciting for the first while. I can promise you that there will be blood, smut, and magic in the future of this story. You just need to keep reading. :P

Also, most everything in this story has a purpose (think Harry Potter series folks). I have included a hefty helping of symbology into each event, character name, and many of the items you will see throughout. These secrets may not be revealed in full until much later. If you have any questions about the names, words, or said symbology, feel free to message me and I might just tell you if it's not going to give too much away. If you figure it out on your own I would please ask you not to spoil it for everyone else. Thanks :)