Chapter 8
~ Astrid's POV ~

I struggled to keep my eyes open as Stormfly rolled onto dry land.
We had been flying over the water very slowly due to Stormfly's minor injuries and depleting energy and I unable to hold my weight properly because of my injuries making it even harder for my dragon. I lay front-side down on Stormfly and patted her gently.
"Good girl, good girl! We made it...we made it..." I whispered hoarsely, rolling onto the stony ground.
We had been flying for a couple of days because Hiccup had the map and I knew not which way it was to go home.

Where even was home?

My eyes began to close just as a few faces came into view. All I could hear was vague muttering, then I fell into deep unconsciousness...

~*~*~*~

Ow...what is that?

The pain was the first thing I knew as I began to wake.
Several minutes before my vision kicked in, I could feel that aching, stinging, aggressive pain in my waist.
I could hear the same muffled voices around me, whispering and hissing and the long piercing whistle as it slowly began to fall distant.
My view of the world around me was blurred and finite as it finally started to regain strength.
The first thing that came into focus was a face.
A right-in-front-of-me-you're-way-too-close kind of face.
I jumped back squealing in pain and the person waved his hands in surrender.
"No, no! It's okay! Don't move too fast or you'll hurt yourself!" He ordered, trying to hold me still.
I slapped him across the face and jumped back in fear.
I squinted up at him in the light room and saw the mutterer's face, the confusion plastered across his cheek with a faint red print of my hand.
The man before me had messy, bed-head kind of hair in a golden sun colour and bright eyes, similar to my own.
He had a smile, that while he tilted his head, it seemed to fall off his face.
In a way, it was kind of cute.

"Where am I?" I asked, at long last.

He gave a quiet laugh and rubbed the back of his neck while wiggling his jaw, probably getting the feeling back into his cheek. "You're in the Crook of the Robin's Crest, yup! That'd be where you are!" He grinned.

I gave the happy, bubbly chap a puzzled look.
"What?...Sorry, I'm confused..."

He chuckled again and pointed to a window. "You're on our island! The smallest habitable island in the archipelago! The Robin's Crest."

I heaved myself around to look out of the window.
A lush green land lay before my tired eyes.
It was barren of villagers and people though, the only house in sight was the one I was in.
"Are you...alone?" I asked, afraid he was some unsociable nomad.
He shook his head vigorously and started counting off his fingers.

"There's my sister, Arianna and my Grandfather, then myself..."

I frowned and raised a suspicious eyebrow. "That's basically alone."

He laughed hesitantly then took a seat on the floor by the wall. "You obviously don't know what it's like to be truly alone then."

I sighed and leant my arm on the window sill. "I guess not. Wait...where's Stormfly! And Hiccup! I have to get to Hiccup!" I gasped, leaping to my feet and ignoring the dreadful pain as everything that happened recently came flooding back.
The man stopped me and I fell painfully into him.
"Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy! You have a serious wound you can't just go gallivanting off!" He warned, forcing me to stay still.
I looked to the window madly and then slapped him across the face again.

"Hey! What was that for! And what is with you and slapping!"

"That was for stopping me."

He rubbed his face and his cheek began to glow red.

"How long have I been here?"

"Three days." He replied.

I gasped and looked back out of the window. "It's been a week and a half since...Oh no..."

"Well, who's Stormfly?" He asked, interrupting my thoughts. "What's the deal with her?"

I flopped down, deflated, onto the bed I had been lying in when I woke.
"My dragon. Where is she?"

The man created an 'O' shape with his lips and slumped down beside me, twiddling his thumbs nervously.
"Ooh...the dragon. The friendly Nadder...she's with my sister playing some strange game of fetch..."

I laughed out loud and trailed off into a half-hearted sigh. "Yeah, my husband helped me teach her that..."

"What is it? You look like someone slapped you in the face with a wet leaf?" He joked, another person who threw jokes in the wrong places, just like Hiccup.
I chuckled and nestled my fingers into a knot nervously.
"Yeah, my husband was taken captive and I was on my way to find help when Stormfly couldn't fly anymore, exhausted, and we landed here, wherever we are. I hope he's alright..." I answered distantly, never making eye contact.

He inhaled air until his chest puffed out then exhaled it very slowly.
"Oh. Sorry. Can I help in any way?"

"No unless you can break into the jail cells of The Granite Skull."

The man jumped to his feet.
"He's been taken by Eddval Skull-Hunter! Well that's more like 'bye bye husband, see you in Heaven!'"

I stood to my feet and faced him angrily, he wasn't the cause of my anger though, he just happened to be an unfortunate victim of it.
The helpless prey of a grazing snake.
"What do you mean?!"

The man waved his hands with a shrug of his shoulders. "No one who goes into the Granite Skull and comes out alive."

"Well, we go where no one goes! We're dragon riders! And in case you've never been faced with a dragon rider before, we never give up. Hiccup in particular! He will blast out of there on his Night Fury and reign victorious again as Chief of Berk."

I now had the man pinned up against the wall, looking slightly terrified.

It wasn't even intentional.

"Who are you? You seem sort of crazy and mad..." He squirmed, desperately trying to slide out of my grip.

I was now face to face with this stranger, if I hadn't of been injured, I could have pinned him to the floor by now.
"You bet I'm mad, baby! I'm Fearless Astrid Hofferson...yourself?"

"Solomon Magnus...the Brave..."

I stepped back and flicked a stray lock of rebellious hair behind my ear.
"So Solomon, the..." I stopped and gave him a once over. "Not-so-Brave, are you gonna help me get home?"

Solomon rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Sure. As soon as you're well enough to travel, Miss Fearless. I'm not letting you leave this island until that wound is safe from infection. I'm a doctor, I know these things."

"You...a doctor?" I asked, rolling my eyes and smiling slightly at the prospect.

He laughed out loud and rubbed his hands together with light hesitance in his voice. "Yes."

"Fine. Three days."

"A week."

"Four days."

"Five days."

"Done."

I hurried back to the window.
"Can I see Stormfly now...Doc?" I smirked, leaning on my left leg.

He gave me another dorky smile and opened the door. "After you, milady."

I stared for a moment, my thoughts solely on Hiccup before I was snapped back into life and limped toward the door.
As soon as I stepped out, a warm breeze brushed over my face. "Oh wow!"

I hobbled out running my feet through the lush grass. A thick canopy of tiny green leaves towered above us wrapping us in a humid atmosphere and colourful flowers peppered the ground giving the two of us a calm feeling.
"Solomon...this is amazing!" I gasped, unable to take my focus off my surroundings.
Solomon leant on a nearby oak tree and gazed up at the world above him.
"It's alright I guess."

He had a grin on his face that told me he really adored this place he called home.
It was his whole world.

Together we strolled through the greenery for a few minutes before I saw a very familiar face.
"Stormfly!" I squealed, running as quickly as I could toward her.

The dragon's head jolted up at my voice. "Rawk!"

Immediately she charged over to me and nuzzled me affectionately.
"Ha-ha! Yeah I know! I missed you too!" I giggled, hugging her tightly.

After a small reunion, a girl, I presumed her to be Solomon's sister, held her hand out to me.
"Hi! I'm Arianna."

I shook her hand with a smile. The girl could be no more than fourteen years old and reminded me of myself when I was younger.
"Astrid."

The girl looked back to the floor.
I guessed the pair of them weren't used to much company.
"I really like your dragon! We don't get many friendly dragons landing here. I guess they don't know how much of an abundant food supply we have. We have lots of ships coming here to replenish their food supplies. Sometimes pirates, sometimes ships of soldiers...between you and me...I like the soldiers best, they're all dreamy! Then sometimes we get-"
Solomon strolled over and slapped his hand over her mouth bringing her fast talk to a standstill.
"Okay, I think Astrid is bored of our day to day lives now..." He laughed, drawing his now silent sister into a side hug.
Arianna shoved him off her and folded her arms with frustration.
"Seriously Sol! You cut me off in my prime! Anyway...what about you Astrid? Where do you come from?"

I sunk down into a sitting position on an old log that lay on the floor.
"Well, I come from a village. There's lots of houses, people, dragons.
Living with dragons is a constant adventure. There's always some fire or a sheep chase, or a dragon race! All the dragon riders get together and we hit a race around the island collecting sheep along the way. The rider with the most sheep at the end, wins.
Yeah, it's exciting." I smiled, finding myself drifting into a joyous rant about my day-to-day life.

Arianna listened intently the whole time with a distant smile on her face as she tried to picture the fun. "Wow!...I wanna come and live with you!"

I laughed and patted her on the head.
"Maybe you can visit some time."
I switched my attention to Sol who sat down in the grass at least ten foot away from us.
"Hey Sol! Why so far away! There's room on the log!" I laughed, teasing him.
Sol smiled but stood his ground, or sat his ground, however you wanna put it.
"Nah it's okay."

A sly grin crept up Arianna's face and she leant towards my ear with her eyes glued to Sol. "He won't come near, he's scared of dragons!"
I gasped and threw an arm round Arianna.

Before I could talk a voice from behind us interrupted. "That's alright. We all get scared sometimes."

I turned around and a short, old man was stood behind us leaning against a tree just like Solomon had before.
"You must be their Grandfather." I smiled, trying to sound polite in this elder's presence.

"That I am. Olaf Magnus." He greeted cheerfully.
He was less intimidating than Solomon.

"Nice to meet you, Olaf."

I shook his hand and he gave me a small smile that enlarged his rosy dimples. "My guess is you're a lost little girl running away from home to see her forbidden boyfriend? No?"

I shook my head with a sad laugh wishing that was the reason I was here.
"No, I'm afraid not. I'm here on my way back home to get help. My husband was captured and now I have to save him. I have a husband trapped in one place and my daughter alone back home...and I'm torn in the middle on the smallest island in the centre of nowhere wishing that I could be in two places at once...and I...I don't even know what I'm gonna do..." I sighed as it all finally came to the surface.
I began to cry into my hands and covered my face with them to hide my sadness.
Olaf knelt down in front of me and wrapped his wrinkly, worn hand around my wrist.
"Hey, hey. It's okay. We'll get you home and I'm sure your husband is alright. If he's anything like you, I'm sure he's mighty strong."

I smiled and wiped my face with the heel of my hand.
I didn't feel strong right now, I felt very weak and tired like I wasn't able to stand anymore.
But he was right about one thing.

Hiccup was mighty strong.

The strongest person I knew and I was sure he would pull through this and if he did, I would too.
"Yes, he is strong. I'm just scared right now..."

"Well you're safe here to think up your plan and we'll help in any way we can." He comforted, drawing a sigh from my aching chest.

I took his hands in mine and smiled.
"Thank you Olaf, that's really sweet."
Olaf nodded, stood and turned to Solomon.
"Sol, take this beautiful young lady for a stroll along the coast why don't ya?!"

Solomon neared his Grandfather for a whisper. "But Grandpapa, she's married!"

Olaf laughed and nudged his grandson with his elbow. "She may be married, but all she wants right now is someone by her side. Be gone with you now!" He ushered, pushing his grandson in my direction.

Olaf gave him a gentle kick and Solomon tripped toward me.
"Err...you wanna go for a walk?" He asked, jerking his thumb over his shoulder and rolling his eyes.
I chuckled with a nod and followed him down the small forest path.

We strode along in awkward silence playing with one another's thoughts for a little while. Eventually the forest cleared and a small cliff came into view. At the bottom of the 20ft drop was a small, beautiful beach blanketed by a layer of seashells and seaweed. Solomon flopped down on the edge with one leg over the cliff and the other tucked to his chest. He plucked a small piece of grass from the ground and began to whistle on it.
I sank down beside him, cross-legged, and plucked up a piece of grass.
"I've always wanted to do that!" I moaned in envy.
He chuckled and showed me where my hands should be placed around the blade and blew producing a loud whistle that echoed over the cliff.
I grinned excitedly and blew into the blade.
All I created was a muffled spitting sound.
Solomon burst a laugh unable to hold it in.
"What?!" I demanded in frustration.
He laughed again and face-palmed.
"That was adorable, do it again!"

I blew again producing the same graceless squeaks and gaining another bout of laughter from my new friend.

"That is so adorable! How did you pull off a sound that bad and a face that cute at the same, while showering me with drops of saliva!" He asked rhetorically.

I giggled and blew the grass off my palm and it floated down the cliff face to the ground below.
"It's a gift." I sighed.

He chuckled again and trailed off into that same mischievous grin he had given me when I first woke up.
"Anyway, enough about grass. I wanna talk about why you're scared of dragons?" I decided, turning to face him.

His face turned cold at my words and he looked away. His blue eyes faded distantly as his mind wandered off.
"I know it's stupid I just-"

"Did I say it was stupid? All fears have a past, I just wondered what it was for your fear of dragons? Did you lose someone in the war years...most people did."

He sighed and kicked a few lone pebbles over the edge.

The art of stalling.

"Arianna jokes about it because she can't remember but...our parents were killed in the dragon attack on Berdwick Island around the time Eddval attacked.
When Drago was killed by the great dragon master, he set out to find the murderer and use him to train his dragons, then he's going to kill him to avenge Drago's life. A life for a life, that's Eddval's motto."

"Wait...what?"

I stood up and gasped, gripping my chest for support. "No, no! That 'Dragon Master' is my husband! And he never killed Drago! Drago brought death upon himself! Hiccup is not to blame!"

Solomon stood and grabbed my shoulders, his eyes as wide with anticipation and shock as mine were.
"You're saying that the Dragon Master's name is Hiccup, and he's married to you, and he never killed Drago! Everyone thinks that he killed Drago! The entire island is turned against him to avenge the life of their leader! Hiccup's life is in grave danger, Astrid! Eddval is a blood-thirsty monster and he will not stop until Hiccup has shown him how to train dragons and he is dead!"

I gulped and looked deep into Solomon's eyes. "Do you know how those people are treated? How did you escape his clutches?"

Solomon looked away again as he shuffled through broken memories hoping to find something of use.
"We were some of the only people to escape the dragon attack. We were on a fishing trip, just the three of us and when we were coming home, our distant home glowed red with blood and fire and we never returned. Our parents dead, my older brother dead, Arianna's twin, dead. She can't remember she had a twin by the way so be careful not spill that piece of information." He explained slowly, his voice low as he spilled his life's happenings.

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine how you must of felt. I'm surprised you can sleep at night." I said, resting a hand on his arm.
He sighed and slumped back down on the floor.
"I don't most nights. When I do, my sleep is poisoned by nightmares. I'm scared of dragons because they can't be trusted."

I smiled sympathetically and slumped down beside him. "My mother-in-law told me once, good dragons under the control of bad people, do bad things. You have only seen what bad dragons can do and I know what wild dragons can do, but I have also seen what trained dragons are capable of. They are magnificent, selfless creatures that can-"

He broke me off. "Astrid, stop! I watched my parents get burned alive by dragons! They cannot be trusted! So please, keep that monster away from Arianna and away from me. Thank you."

With his true feelings said, he marched off back down the forest path leaving me feeling sorry for myself on the tip of the cliff.

~*~*~

Thanks for reading chapter 8! I hope you enjoyed it! What did you think about Solomon and Olaf and Arianna? Did you like them? :) What about the Robin's Crest and Astrid having to stay there? What about Solomon's fear of dragons and Eddval's plans to capture and kill Hiccup? Anyway, watch this space for the next chapter! :D

~ Httyd_2014 <3