Symphony of Shadows

15. Freya

"You've gotten so strong, what have you been up to for the past five years?" Astrid asked mostly to fill the awkward silence that had fallen but also out of curiosity about Hiccup's life after Berk. They hadn't been carrying the body of the unconscious viking for long but she was already feeling some soreness in her shoulders and back from the strenuous work and mentally thanked Odin for saving her from embarrassingly dragging the man all over the market by her self. Hiccup was carrying the brunt of the burden as he had the monster's upper body and she held his legs, yet the monster in her arms must've maintained a steady diet of two yaks per day to achieve such a cumbersome build. She was already sweating like a sailor in the open sea with a Scauldron. Hiccup had offered to carry the man all but himself by stuffing him in one of his baskets, but they were much too small for his body to fit.

Hiccup answered her curiosity with a sigh.
"Well, I didn't stop researching dragons, I actually went on several explorations where I discovered the diets of different species and preferred habitats. I had to make a living so I started to sell my research to some dragon hunters and I got appointed as a consultant."
Astrid was shocked yet oddly proud that the viking who she knew had a hard time fitting in had finally found his place in such an unforgiving world.
"Wow, Hiccup, that's an amazing achievement, you should be proud of yourself! You could probably make a second edition of the Book of Dragon with all of the interesting things you've observed about the dragons. You're going to have to tell me all of the details once we set this ogre down, are we there yet?"
He laughed awkwardly at her sentiment but shook his head. "It's not much but I get to discover new things and be whoever I want to be, I never could have done that on Berk. Uh, we should be close...yes I see the fountain now. Just a little bit over to the right." He looked over his shoulder and started to walk backwards over to a gleaming metal statue of a beautiful Freya standing next to her two cats. The statue flowed into a small fountain where many a viking had tossed gold coin in hopes of finding a spouse or having a bountiful harvest.

Hiccup bent to set the body down inside the fountain and Astrid dumped her end unceremoniously. She crouched down, pulled out her new favorite knife, and got to removing the mans clothing. When she got to his disgusting organ, she attempted to alleviate the mood by cracking a joke. She looked at Hiccup and offered him the knife, "Would you like to do the honors?" A grin plaguing her face at the sight of his squeamishness.
"No, no um, I'm good from here...that's, that's all you..." Hiccup laughed nervously and she shrugged, then began to make the mutilation. She once had to neuter a sheep because it kept harassing the ladies in the pen, so she knew her way around the slices she was making, but this was much more fulfilling. When she finished, she tossed the pieces into the fountain and stood back up to face Hiccup who looked rather green in the face and had his arms crossed over his stomach.
"You were right, this will be a much more humiliating experience, imagine waking up at the feet of the goddess of fertility, with no genitals! Oh the irony!" Astrid let out a chuckle, the reality of the situation settling in, she had been fooled not once, but twice. No more, she vowed, she would not allow herself to fall prey again. However, if she hadn't been a fool, she would have never crossed paths with Hiccup, which made her eyes water. She had been carrying so much guilt and regret for so many years, and she felt like letting out a sob of relief and punching Hiccup at the same time. Instead of choosing violence and possible pushing him away, she took a hold of his hand and clasped it in both her hands.
"I need to tell you about something you said earlier...something about no one missing you and that I hated you. That's not true. I know I wasn't friendly towards you and while I might have my reasons, it's no excuse. But I never hated you. I hated myself for not being good enough...and I guess you were just an outlet for my frustration? When we found you in those woods...well I guess not you, but when we thought you were dead...I couldn't believe it. For months I just replayed every interaction I had ever had with you, which weren't many, but it made me realize how much we hurt you. No one was ever there for you and I regret not being that person for you-"
Hiccup interrupted her with a shake of his head.
"Astrid, stop. I don't need your pity."
"It's not pity Hiccup. It's empathy and compassion that everyone at Berk lacked in your time of need. So if you'd accept it, I would really like to be your friend. I can't promise I can erase the past, but I will try my hardest to be there for you like I should have. What do you think?"
Hiccup was speechless, staring at her in shock at her words. His eyes had softened and she swore they were filled with moisture.
"Well, well...sure? I mean yeah that'd be great." He laughed uncomfortably, his voice thick with emotion, and scratched the back of his head, which made Astrid smile endearingly. It was clear that he hadn't formed many human relationships, but she didn't mind. She preferred it actually, she didn't really like being around people that liked to be the center of attention (Ruff was the only exception) and relished in her solitude. It had always seemed better to her to be a woman of few words than to say so many words of such little importance. This was part of the reason why she couldn't stand Snotlout, but also because he was a spoiled, misogynistic pig with a superiority complex. He was slowly becoming more tolerable as his chiefdom loomed closer and Astrid personally thought it was because he was too stressed that he would fail and become an embarrassment to the tribe, but that was only an educated guess.
"Friends it is." She dropped his hand she had forgotten she was holding and surveyed their surroundings, surmising that it would be a couple of hours before the sun set and before she would need to head back to her boat. They could meander around and then wait to see when the man woke up, which Astrid so desperately wanted to witness.
"Do you want to stay around here until he wakes up? I want to see my handiwork in full effect. Plus his face will be priceless." Astrid snorted at the picture her mind had conjured and could not wait to see other vikings laughing and pointing at the monstrosity, maybe even giving him a beating. Molesters and rapists were seen as the bottom feeders of viking society and many would turn a blind eye if they saw a group of vikings give the devil an early admission into Niflheim.
Hiccup paused and looked around warily, seemingly debating whether or not he should stay and ultimately made his decision.
"Okay, where would you like to go in the meantime? Well actually I needed to get some supplies, would you, uh, would you be interested in coming along?" He gave her a nervous smile and Astrid thought it was adorable.

Wait. What? Adorable? Since when did she find things adorable? Certainly not Hiccup. She was just confusing her feelings about his survival that was all. Nothing more and nothing less. Friends. She hooked her arm around his cheerily, and asserted, "Lead the way." So with a slight smile on her face, they went and Astrid felt the lightest she had in years. Oh Freya, help her.