A/N: Just real quick before you read the chapter please read this. This note is for every single person who asked me to change or outright delete the Eret stealing a kiss from Astrid scene, if you are not one of them you are free to skip down to the actual story. For those of you that apply to who this note is for: Kindly FUCK OFF, if you can't handle FICTIONAL CHARACTERS kissing just because you don't like one of them then I don't want you reading this story. If you bothered to look, Eret isn't even a main character in this story. If you're one of the people whining saying only Hiccstrid, spoiler warning: Hiccup is dead. Also in this AU he and Astrid were never an item so it's not like Astrid is cheating on him, as a married man I hate the very idea of cheating so I will only write that kind of subject into my fic Regrets, where I already made my thoughts on that crystal clear. Let me make one last thing clear: I hate the pairing of Eretstrid, I get that other people like it but I don't; but for the purpose of this story that kiss does play a role, one I feel that those of you who threw tantrums over it no longer deserve to know.

The village was a very somber place over the next two days.

Aside from the children who were still too young to understand, everyone was focused on building the villages' defenses. The net launchers had been removed from Eret's boat and installed in various areas of the town as to try and catch the Night Fury and Al Ta-nin unawares, Astrid walked the streets overlooking the work and wondering if it would do any good. As great as a trapper Eret claimed to be, even he admitted to never catching a Night Fury, in part he says because he never came across one, but still. Astrid remembered being a young girl and hearing the whistle before the ball of fire erupting on the catapult towers, the only real evidence the dragon was flesh and blood back then was the small black streak that zoomed past the fire in the blink of an eye. Then Al Ta-nin appeared with one guarding his back, she'd been raised all her life to believe that dragons are mindless killers, but that night a dragon had protected the man she sought to kill and no one in the village had dies that night.

She saw Stoick shared her concerns on the effectiveness of the new additions to the defenses of the village. Ever since she last saw him at the meeting that night he had been off, for the first time since Hiccup had gone missing he had stayed in his home until after the sun was up. Back then he was in mourning so it made since, now however seemed out of place. The chief had sought out Gobber first thing that morning and they spoke in the forge, whatever they discussed caused Gobber to become upset, as he could be heard shouting and closed the forge for the day, locking himself in his home while Stoick quietly issued orders on what to prepare next.

Gobber was fairly drunk the second day, but was present in the forge and sharpening and forging new weapons. Even inebriated the man was still a master smith, Astrid's father had taken his sword to be serviced and was impressed with how focused the two limbed man was while still drinking mead. Astrid herself had decided it best to leave her axe in her room, she'd rather avoid explaining to Eret, who mostly stuck to her side, that the man he was going to fight to the death the next day had not only gone out of his way to retrieve her weapon, but also sharpened and polished it as well. She'd examined the axe more in the daylight, the weapon had been handled with care when Al Ta-nin detailed it, she could hardly tell the difference between the work he had done and when Gobber had fixed it up for her, the only true difference was al Ta-nin had sharpened the axe so that Astrid felt she could spilt a hair in two.

When the sky turned orange the day before the challenge was to take place Eret and Astrid both were made to turn in early. "You both need your sleep for the climb up the mountain tomorrow." Stoick said, "The plateau he spoke off has no path to it so you'll need to be well rested." Both Astrid and Eret nodded and turned to leave, but Stoick caught Astrid's arm, "Astrid I need to speak with you privately for a moment." The blonde nodded and followed the chief to his home, once inside she sat down and waited for him to speak. Stoick actually looked nervous, he was rubbing his hands together as if he didn't know what to say before he took a deep breath and looked at her. "Astrid, I want you to know that what I have to say is as difficult for me to say as it will be for you to actually do." He took a deep breath again, Astrid began to feel nervous. "Tomorrow when you take Eret up the mountain… I need you to go unarmed."

Of all the things Astrid expected to hear, that was not one of them. "I'm sorry chief, but you want me to climb a mountain to meet a man who wants to destroy our home; and you want me to go without a weapon?" She asked incredulously while simultaneously pinning him with a glare.

"I don't like the idea anymore than you do, believe me. But he claims to have a code of honor of some sort, there's no honor in killing an unarmed person. This is to ensure your safety." Stoick explained, not meeting her eye. Astrid never thought she would see the day that Stoick the Vast would be affected by her glare. "I know how you must feel about this request Astrid, but I'm asking you as your chief. And…" he stopped and looked up at the stairs where Hiccup's old room was located. "And as a man who would have been your father-in-law."

Astrid's eyes locked onto the giant of a man before her and widened, Stoick looked back at her with the sadness that only losing a child can bring. "Your parents and I had arranged everything shortly before Valka was taken. You and Hiccup were to be married after you both turned 18, but then we lost Hiccup and we agreed it best not to tell you. For what it's worth I'm sorry that I can't help you with your current situation, I know you're not happy with the contract between the trapper and your folks. But as Chief there are some things even I have to respect."

"Did Hiccup know about the contract you made with my parents?" Astrid asked before she even had time to comprehend everything she'd been told. It would make sense if he had, he was watching her all that time to become enamored with her and be happy once they would have been married, that had to be it.

"No, he hadn't a clue. But if what Gobber has told me about him in the smithy then he was rather smitten with you as it was." Stoick answered with a soft chuckle, "I'm sure you didn't have the highest opinion of him, and that's ok, he was an odd one my son, but I'd like to think the two of you could have been good for Berk, leading it together."

Astrid's head was spinning at this point. Not only did Hiccup NOT know about the arrangement for them to marry, he just genuinely had a crush on her, but she was also supposed to help lead Berk? And now she was forced to marry some foreigner who Ruffnut was drooling over despite her marriage to Snotlout. The gods seemed to be enjoying throwing her life in loops the last few days. First with Al Ta-nin's arrival, him returning her axe and the subsequent conversation they had, and now her chief reveals what her life would have been if Hiccup had never died. The blonde had to shake her head just to focus on the present, her chief was asking her to do something and as a loyal citizen of Berk and a proud warrior she had to oblige, no matter how badly she wanted to do otherwise.

"Alright chief, I'll go without weapons." Astrid said after she had finished her train of thought. She turned to leave the house and was reaching for the door when Stoick's massive hand wrapped around her arm, his grip light yet firm.

When Astrid turned her gaze back to the man in question he seemed conflicted. "Maybe…" he began, "Maybe a hidden dagger would be ok." He suggested quietly despite it only being the two of them in the house. His gaze hardened, "But only to be drawn in self defense, under no circumstances are you to attack him first. Do I make myself clear?" Astrid swallowed quickly and nodded, she was being given some leeway, she would not squander the trust Stoick was allowing her. With that he released her arm, "Good. Now go get yourself home, you have a long climb tomorrow and you'll need your rest for it. Eret even more so if he is to stand any chance of victory."

The rest of the day was rather blurred for Astrid, her mind was swimming in all the information she'd been given. She had never really considered marriage before she was told about the contract made between her parents and Eret, but looking back if she had to be chained to someone for the rest of her life, Hiccup would have been who she'd settle on. Snotlout was, well Snotlout; Fishlegs and she barely spoke before Heather came along, and before Hiccup disappeared and Eret arrived it really came down to Tuffnut, who was too much like his sister, and Hiccup. The former heir may have been a trouble maker and a walking disaster, but he was weaker than her and probably would have been easy to control, plus she could have her weapons maintained in top condition for free whenever she wanted. Yes, had Hiccup never died she could've lived with having to put up with him as a husband.

She wouldn't admit it to herself, but deep down she also thought about the way he stared at her from the forge as a teen and if he would have continued to do so after they had been married.

The next morning came far too quickly. Astrid was roused from her bed before the sun was up, as was her custom, but instead of leaving to train in the woods via throwing her axe she was to eat a hearty breakfast and get dressed to climb the mountain. Apparently everyone in the village who was a halfway decent cook had brought something for her to eat; Eret was even brought to the Hofferson house to eat. They sat beside each other in quiet discomfort, Astrid hadn't really spoken to him since the incident outside his boat, and he hadn't sought her out either. Astrid had spent a great deal of time thinking about the kiss between bouts of all encompassing thoughts of how her life could have played out, and how she felt… nothing. She might as well have been kissing a tree; she probably would have felt more if she kissed her axe, but at this point her axe just a reminder of her supposed enemy. She pushed the thoughts away, like she always did when her thoughts and emotions became a burden, and quickly ate the bread and mutton she had on her plate without glancing in her betrothed's direction.

After they were done eating they did a check of everything that they would need. Gobber took this time to yank Astrid into the forge and shut the doors and window. Without a word he handed her a package wrapped in white cloth, Astrid looked from the gift to the blacksmith who nodded her, silently wishing her good luck, and left the forge without uttering so much as a loud breath. After he left her alone Astrid pulled the string around the cloth, and unwrapped the item inside. When the wrappings fell away Astrid found a dagger, it was beautiful beyond anything she had seen in her life, with a sapphire embedded in the pommel and an inscription on the base of the blade that read: Valkyrie's knife. The weapon was clearly made with great care and detail, Astrid wondered why Gobber hadn't attempted to sell the blade, he could easily make several chickens or even a yak and sheep for a weapon such as this. It wasn't until she saw what was beneath the dagger until she realized why. Underneath the dagger was a parchment with the design of the weapon she now held accompanied by a scrawl she hadn't seen in seven years, just before dragon training.

The writing belonged to Hiccup. He had designed the knife that Gobber had given to her, she could just make out some of the scratchy writing on the paper: Sapphires to reflect the eyes, beauty to match beauty. Sharp enough to cut a hair in half, precise as she is and just as deadly. Name: Valkyrie's knife, for that's what it will be if she accepts.

She flipped the page to see if there was any more to it but it was blank, the only other thing she could make out was the HHH in the corner that confirmed her suspicions of who designed the blade. She wasn't sure if Hiccup had forged it himself and never worked up the nerve to give it to her, or if Gobber found the design after Hiccup's death and forged it out of respect for his apprentice. She knew that out of everyone, even the chief, that Gobber was the most effected by the boy's demise, there was an entire week after he vanished that the forge was shut down and the smith refused to come out of his hut. People made sure to take extra care of their weapons between raids after that.

Astrid left the forge after she rewrapped the blade and tucked it into the back of her boot, the parchment she removed and folded with care and place it in the pouch she kept on her skirt, where it couldn't get ruined by the cold climate and snow she was about to climb for the next few hours. With everything accounted for and the sun beginning to rise the time had come for the pair to make their way up the mountain, it was mostly a pathway to follow until about twenty meters from the plateau, with they would have to climb a sheer vertical rock wall. The villagers accompanied them to the start of the trail, where Stoick gave a speech about how when they returned victorious there would be a feast in their honor, it lacked his usual bravado and if Astrid wasn't seeing things he looked almost upset as he verbally cut down the man threatening their home. The shield maiden scanned the crowd for Gobber, she wanted to thank him for the dagger in her boot, but he was nowhere to be seen, likely in his hut or the forge, giving her a reminder of Hiccup might have been an emotional trigger for the man. Her parents broke through the people after Stoick finished his speech and embraced her, wishing her safety and her mothering whispering a suggestion to promise something to Eret to encourage him to win further, something that caused her daughter to scoff in discuss and shove out of their arms and storm her way up the path, Eret following with a confused look on his face.

Astrid didn't stop her furious march after the village or the tribe was out of sight, the nerve of her mother! Telling her to promise to give Eret her purity if he won! The thought was bad enough when she was being forced to do so on their wedding night, but the idea of giving it up as some sort of reward just enraged and disgusted her to no end. Eret eventually fell into step beside her; they walked on in silence for a ways with him sneaking glances at her every so often, much to her already limited irritation. "Is everything alright Astrid? You seem pretty upset over whatever you parents said to you back there." Eret finally asked when the start of the actual climb came into view, it would be the last real chance to talk before they reached the plateau.

"I'm fine, my mother was just being infuriating. It's nothing for you to be concerned about." Astrid growled back at him. He may not have deserved it, but he was the underlying cause of the suggestion, so Astrid didn't feel too bad about the slight hurt on his face. "You need to focus on the upcoming fight anyway, the climb up here is both steep and dangerous, it'll take us another two hours just to reach the spot we're going to so keep your mind on the task at hand."

With that they began to scale the side of the mountain.

A few times during the climb Astrid would look over to the side in order to gauge their time. They were doing better than expected, having climbed this mountain a few times during her training she had a pretty good feel for their position and they would be at the plateau within the hour. They had been at it for just over one hour and she could just make out the end if she squinted, but when she looked over to gauge the time of day she saw something unexpected. There was a black figure in the air, just over Raven's point, from the looks of the movements it appeared as if it was doing tricks. No doubt it was a dragon, but she had never seen one flying about like the one she was beholden at that moment, Astrid wished she could see what kind of dragon it was, either it was too far away or too small for her to make out clearly, she'd check the Dragon Manuel when she returned to the village, hopefully with it now safe from danger. If she had kept watching for a few more moments, she would have seen the figure turn and fly towards the plateau above her and Eret.

When the two finally reached the plateau, Al Ta-nin was waiting for them. He had his back to them and was looking over the side of the cliff at the view of the horizon. Astrid noted he wasn't wearing his full body garb, but instead just a pair of leggings, with his hands held behind him. Astrid wondered briefly where the Night Fury was, the dragon was too big to miss in a small area, a loud rumbling brought their attention upwards, where said dragon was perched on a rock jutting out, watching them with acid green silted eyes.

"Remove your clothing, except for your leggings." Al Ta-nin called over his shoulder, he was still facing the ocean and great beyond, the breeze making his brown hair sway just slightly. This was the most anyone had seen of him skin wise, Astrid memorized every psychical trait she could pick out, just in case he somehow managed to win this duel. The man was slimmer than most but clearly well trained, even from across the plateau she could make out defined muscles among the scars and the brand burned into his back. It made something in her gut stir, an unfamiliar feeling she'd never experienced before but she ignored it.

Eret began removing his furs and boots, eyeing the box that was located in the halfway mark between them against the side of the mountain, opened with multiple weapons inside, mainly blades. When Eret's shirt and boots hit the snow in a pile Al Ta-nin spoke again, "choose your weapon." He said while lifting his right hand to indicate the box, Eret approached it with some caution at it was located directly beneath the Night Fury who was still watching him, Eret reached out slowly and lifted a pair of matching short swords. When the dragon made no move to stop or harm him he hurriedly moved to the center of their battleground and face Al Ta-nin.

"I was 15 years old when I killed my first man." Al Ta-nin said suddenly, catching both Astrid and Eret off guard, while both had fought other Vikings, neither had killed one. "I remember the look on his face, as the light went out of his eyes… It was such a subtle change, almost imperceptible; between life and death. At first I felt ashamed, for I had taken from him the precious give of all: Life. But then I felt something else: Pride. For I had taken up arms against someone who sought to do ill against my brother." At this he motioned to the dragon above them, Astrid noticed it gaze at him and it's entire demeanor changed, it's eyes were now wide and rounded, kind even, the changed was easy to miss, but she was always sharp with her observations. "I realized, what I had done was necessary. You see, I had replaced evil with death." At this Al Ta-nin turned to face Eret at last, "That is what the League exists to do. And I have killed several dozen more men since then. And the world is better off for it. My master was 12 when he started on the same path, and he has killed several THOUSAND men in his time."

Eret stood listening to this all the while clutching the swords he chose, wondering if he should just run the man through while his back was turned, but a challenge had been issued and he would never know if he was better if he killed the man while his defense was lowered. "Well you've taken your last life." He said confidently. Hoping Astrid would be at least mildly impressed with his fortitude. He hadn't turned to look at her for lack of trust in the man before him, they now stood an arms length from each other. So he couldn't see the color drain from the blonde's face and her hands covering her dropped jaw.

"No…" Al Ta-nin responded quietly, "You've lived your last day." The way he said it sounded as if he already knew the outcome. "We are ready. Fight me boy."

"You're unarmed." Eret pointed out, he didn't wish to kill a man who had no means to defend himself.

"I will take you blades from you when you are through with them." Al Ta-nin answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He still had his left arm tucked behind his back, almost like he intend to only use his right arm.

When Eret still hesitated to move, the smaller man punched him in the face, hard. Eret groaned, he hadn't expected the hit to be as hard or quick as it was, he began to swing the blades one after the other, but Al Ta-nin simply ducked and weaved under and around them. After about five swings he stepped to the side and kicked Eret's leg with his own, causing the former trapper to stumble. Eret rushed the short distance and tried to catch him with a downward swing, only to have it sidestepped again with ease. The two faced each other again and Eret swung, Al Ta-nin finally brought his left arm out from behind his back as he deflected the next two swings by swatting Eret's arms, and catching the third with both and twisting the larger man's arm behind him and pulled it to an unnatural position, from Astrid's place at the edge she could hear the bone crunching, from the strain. Al Ta-nin caught the blade that hand was holding and released Eret, who let his anger begin to fuel his movements, however now armed, Al Ta-nin started parrying his strikes with ease. After another parry Al Ta-nin caught Eret's arm before he had time to pull back and strike again and twisted them around, switching their positions so Eret now stood closer to the edge of the cliff. The two continued to clash their swords against each other until Al Ta-nin caught Eret's wrist mid-swing and place a small gash of Eret's forearm.

Eret clutched the cut while groaning, while Al Ta-nin returned his left hand behind his back. With a growl and half shout Eret tried to strike him from behind, the man was armed now and he held no reservations about killing him anymore. But Al Ta-nin spun and parried his blade once again, then once more before leaning back and turning to avoid the next. The same thing happened a second time and it became clear that Al Ta-nin was no longer taking the fight seriously. Eret came at him again only to be blocked twice before his arm was grabbed again and he received an elbow to the stomach twice followed by a kick to his shoulder that sent him faltering backwards. When Eret regained his balance and made to rush his opponent again he found a blade hovering in front of his throat, he circled as Al Ta-nin kept his neck within striking distance, when Eret was once again standing near the edge Al Ta-nin spoke, with no indication of fatigue. "You should take pride, you survived longer than most." The whole time he was edging Eret to the edge with the threat of death.

In a last ditch effort Eret smacked the sword away with his own, in the moment he even managed to land a punch to the man's face and twist his arm in the same fashion that had been done to him, but before he could land the killing blow with his sword Al Ta-nin gracefully flowed out of the way and twisted his arm out of Eret's grip and thrust his hand into Eret's neck. The hit caused a choking noise to leave Eret who made a feeble attempt to cut him down again only for the blade to be caught in Al Ta-nin's bare hand. The man ripped the sword from his grip and in a blinding speed spun and dug it into the side of Eret's abdomen, he spun again as he slid the blade through it's new cut and elbowed Eret in the face for good measure, leaving the foreigner on his knees. He looked to a still frozen Astrid for the first time since the fight began and they both knew he was about to lose.

"Don't be afraid my friend, death comes for us all. We can only evade it so long." He grabbed Eert's chin and brought the other man's gaze to meet his own, "Consider this, and honorable exit." Then without warning he thrust the sword through Eret's chest, causing him to spit up blood, Al Ta-nin drew the blade out, now coated in the trapper's blood as he began to speak in a strange language. "Forgive and have mercy upon him…" Eret's gaze shifted slowly back to Astrid, who had looking back with a shocked expression. "Excuse him and pardon him…" Astrid didn't know what to do as she witnessed life leaving another, "make honorable his reception…" Eret's head began to feel heavy as life began to leave him, "Protect him from the punishment of the grave…" Astrid felt a tear fall, as much as she didn't want to marry Eret, she never wished death upon him, "And the torment of the fire."

With his prayer finished Al Ta-nin stepped back, placed his foot upon Eret's shoulder and shoved his body over the side of the cliff. As he watched the body disappear into the mist below his threw the sword down, embedding it in the stone as a marker of his opponent's honorable sacrifice and turned to retrieve his clothes.

Astrid stood in stunned silence as she watch Eret die and fall from the cliff, then felt her own body fail her as his killer picked his clothes up and the dragon landed beside him. He swung a leg over the beasts head and without a word took off, abandoning the weapons he brought and soared over to Raven's point before descending again, leaving her there without so much as a acknowledgement of her presence. Soon the cold began to eat at her and she began the long trek down the mountain, to tell the village that Eret was dead and to tell the chief it was at the hands of his sown son, for Al Ta-nin was Hiccup Haddock.