How To Mend A Broken Heart 2

Chapter 48

After the night that Dagon had caught you trying to escape, he had made sure you suffered for your consequences. Instead of getting three meals a day, you had one. And all you ate was  stale bread and questionable meat like you did before. Your hair had grown greasy from not washing it for days, you were now constantly hungry, and your body had grown weak. 

You had grown more tired as the days passed, even if you didn't do much you were tired. Your stomach would grumble away, telling you that it wasn't having enough food or water. And when you had to empty your stomach, Arlo would take you to a private small room to empty your bowels. 

You spent most of your time sleeping, and that was what you were currently doing at the moment. 

When you opened your eyes, blinking slowly, what you thought you saw was a dream, but if it were a dream, it had been a cruel one. 

You saw a bucket of soapy water, a tray of fresh fruits, and a pile of clean clothes. 

You blinked several times, rubbing the drowsiness away and when you looked again, it was still there. You wanted to cry. Instead you reached for the fruit, picking up a single grape, confirming that it was indeed real. You had quickly went after the food, eating as if you never have eaten before. You tried slowing down, knowing that consuming too much would be bad, but it had been too delicious. Within minutes, the apple and grapes were all gone, and you had licked your lips in contentment. 

You then had saw a clean rag by the soapy bucket, and when you had looked up, you saw that Arlo was not stationed at the door. Taking the advantage, you stripped out of your armor and began to wash yourself down with lukewarm water, which had felt heavenly against your skin.

When you had changed into the new pile of clothes, it ended up being a worn wool sweater and slightly worn leggings, which had been better than your armor. Once changed, you had dipped your head into the bucket, scrubbing out the dirt and grime from your hair. It had been hard but you managed. 

You then had pushed the tray and bucket to the far corner of the room, and that's when you noticed that the shackle was a bit longer too. It was longer by a foot or two, and you could reach the door. You gazed at the shackle, thankful for whoever had done this. Whoever it was, you were just glad that you were able to clean yourself up and be feed to what was close to a proper meal.

~~~~~

Astrid had sent Fishlegs and the twins to patrol around Berk, to keep an eye out for any sign of you or Midnight. She didn't really believe you ran away, she just wanted to make Snotlout regret his words for calling you a runaway bride. Astrid knew you wouldn't leave Hiccup without an explanation, and she knew that you wouldn't separate Toothless and Midnight. 

She would have sent Snotlout on patrol, but she couldn't find him or Hookfang anywhere. So she had searched the whole island with Stormfly but they couldn't track them down, so she headed towards the docks, seeing Eret hauling nets of fish onto the docks with several other fishermen. 

"Eret, have you seen Snotlout anywhere? I can't find him." Astrid put her hands on her hips.

"No, I haven't seen him all morning, neither Hookfang." He replied.

Astrid huffed in slight frustration and annoyance, and just as she was going to thank Eret, they both had saw Snotlout and Hookfang flying in and landing near the docks. 

"Snotlout, where have you been?" Astrid asked in a demanding tone, stalking towards him as Eret followed. 

Snotlout dismounted Hookfang. "It's none of your business, Astrid." 

As Snotlout went to walk away, Astrid had stepped in his way. "That doesn't matter! I've been looking for you all morning. I should know where you went off to!"

"You really want to know?!" He snapped at her in a hostile tone. "I've been searching for [Name] and Midnight, okay?!" Astrid had taken a step back in surprise, eyes wide. Eret was even surprised by Snotlout's hostile, angry tone directed at Astrid.  "I've been looking for her, searching for her! Not that you care or anything from what you said last night!"

"Snotlout." Astrid breathed. "I didn't mean--"

"Of course you didn't mean it." He shook his head doubtfully at her, as Fishlegs and the twins flew down.

"No sign of her or Midnight anywhere." Fishlegs said to Astrid, who was looking at Snotlout speechlessly. 

"What are we going to do?" Ruffnut asked.

"I'll tell you one thing." Snotlout stated. "I'm leaving."

"No, you will not." Astrid shook her head. "Snotlout, listen to me--"

"Why should I listen to you after what you said?!" He shouted in rage. 

"Guys, settle down." Eret motioned them to calm down.

Astrid had shook her head. "The only reason why I said that was to--"

"What is Thor's name is going on?" 

They all had turned to see Hiccup and Toothless.