Her hooded cloak swayed near her feet as snow fell all around, silver clouds rolling into the forest. The fog was so thick she couldn't see thirty feet away, but she could hear the steady beat of the ocean. If she stayed near that, eventually she would hit the town. And she did.

Gold lights misted through the haze. Once close enough she could see huts dotted around the center of the village. It was surprisingly bigger than anticipated, over run with busying merchants and fishermen. No one seemed to notice her as she wandered into town. She kept her head down as much as possible , while looking for the local tavern.

She found one near the docks. It was an old run down place that looked like it was about to fall over. A horrid stench floated through the door as she entered the bar. For the most part the rowdy vikings ignored her. The room was poorly lit and a few tables had been knocked over. The food was less than appetizing and the ale even looked like the wrong color. Still, she slapped a coin on a table asking the waitress for a drink. She eyed the crowd, on the lookout for any danger. She took a deep breath not finding a serious threat. Someone in here must know something. She thought. While she was deciding on who to approach, a tall man with red hair came to her. His jaw was sharply cut and his brown eyes were upturned. He wore black arm cloths, a red tunic and belt. He sat down across from her and folded his hands.

"You look like your not from around here." His voice was cautious yet also mischievous.

"Nope."

"If you want I can show you around." She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, folding her arms.

"I'll pass." She thanked the waitress who had set down an ale right in front of her. Raising the mug to her lips, she guzzled it down, hoping when she opened her eyes he would be gone. He wasn't. She slammed the cup on the table and licked her lips. It was completely empty. His face seemed to be covered in fascination, like a girl who could drink was all he ever wanted.

"Are you sure I can't show you around?" He pushed. Instead of hurting him in some way, Astrid decided to take this opportunity and play him like a flute.

"No, but you can tell me about those dragon riders I've been hearing about."

"Let me take you around, and I'll tell you everything I know." She considered her options and decided this wasn't the worst. After all if she went around asking everybody what she knew, it would look suspicious. Besides, if something turned sour, she had one person to deal with, not several. She caved.

"I suppose, I could use a guide." She said hesitantly. He broke into a smirky grin.

"Great we can start at the hall of Blank island. I'm riff." he held out a calloused hand.

"I'm Kala." She lied. As they stood he bowed deeply.

"After you milady." She tried desperately to not roll her eyes. She only liked to be called that by one person. He followed her out of the room into the freezing air.

He led her back through town maneuvering around the tables of merchandise. Children were playing in the snow banks, while a brawl was going on near by. For the most part it seemed like a normal Viking village.

"So where are you from?" Riff asked his hands behind his back.

"I'm uh- here with a friend. Just visiting." She avoided the question.

"Oh really, which friend?" He spun around walking backwards looking at her in the eyes. Seeing that he wouldn't give up she answered.

"You probably wouldn't know her."

"I find that hard to believe."

"My turn for questions." She demanded. "So what do you do around here for work?"

"I work as a body guard for Miss Victoria. She is the richest most powerful person on Blank Island. Some people are talking about her overthrowing our chief." He said it with a hint of pride in his voice.

"I hear your mistress hates dragon riders."

"Not just her, the whole island is in a frenzy after they heard what those riders did." She came to a stop and crossed her arms defensively.

"And what exactly did these people do?" He rubbed his cold hands together and blew into them.

"They killed her father, a respected man on this island." He gestured to take a right behind a hut towards a large dome covered in artistic designs.

"Who was her father?"

"Drago Bludvist." The words rolled cooly off his tongue, but they burned like fire in her mind. Things were starting to get really twisted. She wiped the surprise off of her face, and tried to act unaffected.

"Is it true that some riders have been caught."

"Yeah, tomorrow she's going to take their ability to fly away."

"Really where?"

"Tomorrow at the stadium in the next town over." He crossed his arms and squinted at her. "Why all these questions?"

"Oh, you know, I'm just curious." She raised her hands and nervously laughed, hoping he wouldn't see through her ruse. He wasn't buying it.

"Yeah," He saud unconvinced. He gestured to the building a little ways into the distance."Well, here we are, the great hall of Blank Island." She was grateful to be there, the snow had really started coming down.

Uneasily she followed him inside.old helmets, swords, and sails hung in memory around the room. It seemed to be a museum. She poked around for a minute attempting to forget his presence. There were statues that resembled the Gods in the center of the large room, their faces frozen with anger. It was reverently quiet inside, no one was around. The fear in her stomach started tying knots. She pretended to study a rusty hammer, trying to ignore his eyes on her. Her warrior instincts could feel the danger. Her dragon ones, had predicted it.

Suddenly he clutched her wrist and pulled her right up to his face. He studied her hands carefully staring at them hard. Then he looked into her eyes. Before they had been filled with cockiness, now they were filled with perilous suspicion. Behind her back she wrapped her hands around the handle of the hammer.

"You know, Victoria said something to me once." He whispered. "That you can tell a lot by a persons eyes." She swallowed her mouth dry, her eyebrows pinched together. "I can read people dangerously well. That's why she hired me." He leaned closer. "You're not here visiting a friend." Her grip on the weapon became stronger. "You're a spy." She didn't let him finish his accusation.

WHAM! She had thrust the metal hammer into the side of his head as hard as it would allow, knocking him out cold. She dropped the weapon and took a deep breath. This was no time to panic. All she had to do was get this huge man through town without anyone noticing, and back to the beach where Hiccup would be waiting. Simple.

Oh gods.

She got right to work. A sail hanging from the wall caught her attention, as well as a cart, stuffed with old weapons. Ripping the sail down she worked quickly. Anyone could've walked in. First things first, she bound his hands and feet using the strongest knot she knew. Rolling him up inside the material was tedious work, sweat began to run from her forehead as she wrapped him in the white cloth like a burrito.

"Gods what does he eat!"

That cart, she was going to need it. Dumping the old axes out, she didn't care about the noise it made. Getting him in there was like trying to lift a yak into a tiny well. Eventually he was stuffed inside, in a very uncomfortable position. No one would guess a person was in there. She wiped off her hands, breathing heavily.

The journey back through the village was tedious and intense. She wasn't sure if at any moment, he might wake up, or someone might notice her pulling a heavy cart through the busy streets. But nothing happened. No one paid attention. It took nearly an hour trying to maneuver her way through. This would be a lot easier if stormily was here. She thought as she struggled to keep the cart upright.

Finally she was far enough away to take a rest. Leaning over, her hands on her knees, she looked the the town one last time, ready to leave.

. . .

"What- what is this?" hiccup gestured to her "package" she'd taken from the village.

"Oh, that, its just a man I picked up at the tavern." She threw a thumb over her shoulder.

"Funny." Toothless stuck his head into the cart, sniffing suspiciously. Right then Riff started moving, howling and cursing. He'd woken up. Toothless jumped away like a cat and barred his teeth. Hiccup came to inspect the prisoner, peeling back a layer of sail wrapped around him. "Great, what am I supposed to do with this?"

"He found out Hiccup." she gestured to him. "What was I supposed to do? He works for Victoria." She defended. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Did anyone see you do this?"

"No." She shook her head. " But there is something else I need to tell you." She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"GET ME OUT OF THIS!" Riff screamed. They ignored him.

"Hiccup, Drago had daughter." She spat right out. "Guess who that daughter is?"

"Victoria." He answered, her words sinking in. "That doesn't make any sense, their names are different. Auber, Bludvist." He held out his hands.

"I dont know." Astrid shook her head. "But she has this whole island thinking we killed him. Apparently he was some great and respected man." She rolled her eyes.

"Did you find out a time and place?" He asked changing the subject. She shook her head.

"Alright." He sighed, exasperated. "Lets get him back to base, see what he knows."

. . .

Snotlout stared at Riff until he thought his eyes would fall out they were so dry. He was sitting, his fingers lightly touching each other in a prayer position. The two had been seated there for over two hours, no words passing between them. He only looked at the prisoner, every once in a while blinking.

"You're wasting your time." Riff said unamused. "I'll never sell out." He didn't answer. "I won't tell you anything." Silence. "You think I'm going to crack just because you've been staring at me. "He scoffed. Twenty more minutes passed in complete quiet. They were in a tent back at the base, the room was lit by a few candles, outside a fire crackled. Several people had attempted to get this red hed to crack, especially the twins, but nothing had worked.The undisturbed stillness,  was broken when Snotlout finally spoke.

"Riff was it?" He held his position. "I've found that boredom can drive a man to the edge of insanity. And believe me." He smiled wickedly. "You will be bored."

. . .

An hour later Snotlout rolled out to the fire where most of the riders were gathered. He came to a stop next to Hiccup, who set his meat down and swallowed. "Tomorrow at noon, Hurstwic village, in the middle of town. You're welcome." He crossed his arms amused at the surprise on his face.

"Snot, I've gotta say, I didn't think you could do it, but you proved me wrong."

"What can I say, I've got a gift." He smirked.

. . .

The snow had ceased and the wind had died. All was silent except for the ocean waves far below. Hiccup sat alone mentally preparing himself for what was going to happen tomorrow. Toothless lay only a few feet from him occasionally lifting his head looking at him curiously. He could see lights in the distance from the villages dotted around the island.

He thought about the people down there who were counting on him. He thought about his mother who was waiting at home. He thought about Victoria and how much she hated him. He thought about his riders and how they were risking everything. Most of all he couldn't help but wonder if his dad had been there, none of it would've happened.

What if. What if. What if.

He couldn't help it. Over and over his mind played out different scenarios of how he could've been a better chief, or a better son, or a better man. It replayed in his brain, tormenting his heart. Just when he felt ready to break, he saw an image flicker through the darkness.

It was a place, better than this one. It was bright, and full of opportunities. It didn't linger in the past, nor did it live in the future.

this place, was tomorrow.