Night Rider

Childhood Secrets

-Hiccups Pov-

"Astrid!" I gasped, glad to see her. She continued to stare at me, her gaze unfaulting and intense. "Astrid?" I said quieter. I reached through the bars and grasped her hand with mine.

I quickly retracted it as a cold blade was produced dangerously close to my chest. My hand slid back through the bars and my gaze didn't leave her's. She didn't blink and instead she stood there without moving for quite some time before saying something, and what she said wasn't good.

"Dragon Master."

It wasn't a question, but more like a statement. I didn't reply. Astrid knew my name, and even if the guards were at the door, she wouldn't call me that: she would either call be Rider or Night Rider. Dragon Master was the name given to me by the Hunters and their crew - so why she had used it or where she had heard it from confused me.

"Here you are." She said. Her sentence was cold and without emotion and the dagger was pressed firmly against my chest. I tried to walk back, but her iron-like grasp closed around my wrist and held me in place against the coldness of the bars. I could faintly hear Toothless growl from behind me, and I knew that I was protected, well, kind of.

"Astrid?" I tried again, searching her face. "What's happening?"

"Stop asking questions." She answered in an irritated tone. She drew the knife back from my chest, but still held me firmly against the cool bars. She looked around my cell and while she did, I noticed that the dagger which she was holding was engraved with the Hunter's seal and her axe was not on her back, and Astrid never went anywhere without it.

"Where's your axe?" I questioned her.

"Stop asking questions!" She growled and pulled on my wrist, making me crash heavily into the steel bars. It hurt... a little... but I guess that it would leave a nasty bruise. I wanted to ask where she had got the dagger from, but I couldn't ask questions, so I turned it into a statement.

"That's a hunter's dagger." I told her. She gripped it fiercely, her knuckles growing white.

"I know." She answered menacingly. Wow - she wasn't giving detailed answers like she normally would.

"You're not okay. You need to see Gothi." I told her, trying to avoid questions. Her eyes were still glancing around my cell, but then she thouroughly examined the prison surrounding my cell and Toothless's cell too.

"I'm fine." She said in a low voice.

"It's fine to see Gothi now." I told her again. She grunted and squeezed my wrist tightly, cutting off the blood circulation.

"Let go of my wrist." I told her sternly.

"No." She responded, her gaze landing back on me.

"Let go of my wrist." I politely instructed her.

"You're not my boss." She explained.

"Let go of my wrist." I retaliated.

"Shut up." She snarled.

"Please let go of my wrist, or it will drop off." I told her, emphasising the second half of my statement.

"Shut up!" She exclaimed loudly.

"Why?" I asked.

"That's a question." She informed me.

"So it needs an appropriate answer." I explained to her.

"Shut UP!" She shouted, and released my wrist with such force I fell backwards onto the cool stone floor. Toothless was still growling, but I highly doubt he would actually shoot at Astrid - he had learnt that she was a friend.