Don't you just love cliffhangers?
I stood still, unsure of what I should do. I had completed my task, so I didn't need to worry about the dragons, but I did worry about one thing. Hiccup. If the vikings were here, and Hiccup was meant to be distracting them, what had happened? Had they caught Hiccup? Did I take too long? Did they realise that it was a trap? If anything had happened to Hiccup I would never be able to forgive myself. All those times that he helped me, all those times that he saved me, and now I have gone and failed him. I need to get out of here, but I didn't know what to do. I could pull out my axe, but there is no way that I could take them all. I could run, but that would mean that they would try and catch me and I would leave Hiccup here by himself. I could use Stormfly, but then she would be endangered too. I could lie, but they would know that it is a lie. If I didn't do something quickly, then they would, and they are doing, something.
The three vikings were only steps away from me and on instinct, I pulled out my axe. I lashed out and hit one in the shin, causing him to stumble back. The second one swung his own axe at me, but I ducked it and when he was slightly off balance from the swing, I tripped him by swinging by leg into the back of his. I quickly met the third man's sword with my axe and I held it away from me. But he was stronger, and the first viking was recovering from his instability, so I quickly released my hold against his sword and using all my force I elbowed the first man in the face. However, the third man punched my arm which held my axe and I unconsciously let go of my axe due to the pain which was spreading from the impact on the funny bone. My axe slid across the floor where the second man reached out and grabbed it, a cruel smirk on his face.
Suddenly, a pair of strong, large hands grabbed my forearms and yanked them behind my back. In a last effort, I slammed my right foot down on his foot, but it was too late as a second pair of arms enclosed around my waist, stopping all my movement.
"Gerdan!" Screamed the man who spoke before, "Write a note to Eret and Drago. We found their missing girl." A horrific smile spread over his face. A strangled cry behind me told me that Stormfly had been captured too, and now I knew that I was doomed for. For all I know, they have imprisoned Hiccup and then I will be joining him now. Not saving him, not protecting him, joining him. I have failed.
"You're a pretty one, aren't ya?" Sneered a viking who was holding me. "We 'ever get any fresh faces 'round 'ere."
"All of our women are ol' 'n' ugly, but you..." spat the second.
"Are a beau'y. Untouch'd. Perfec'." Growled the third.
"Stay away from me." I cried, struggling in their arms, disappointed at how desparate my voice sounded.
"Fiesty too. Even be'er." The second roared. All three laughed and I gulped. What was going to happen to me?!
"Where are we going? What's better about being feisty?" I questioned, still trying to escape their metal-like grasp.
"Be'er if you don' know tha' sweetie." The first answered. They continued to drag me off up the hill away from the arena. The sky was still pitch black and the grass was wet and cold like it had just been raining. Roaring fires were situated in even spaces along the path which I was being dragged along and the houses were extremely pretty and elegant - it was hard to believe that all the women were 'ugly' if this was how beautiful every building was. The stars in the night sky seemed to be brighter here then they were in Berk and I found myself staring at them while I was being dragged rather than looking at my captives.
"Are we going in there?" I asked them when we had finished the incline of the hill and were now heading parallel to the river. A few paces infront of me, there stood a vast building. I don't remember seeing anything like it on Berk. It looked vaguelly like the Great Hall, but it had cage bars instead of windows and the smell was horrific. It smelled of blood and rotting flesh and vomit and I hoped to Thor that we weren't going in there because the smell only got worse the closer we got. I felt like I would faint if we stepped in there.
"Clever one, 'rn't ya?" Said the viking to the right of me. "You, should be us'd to livin' somewhere like there though. You look like 'ilth and squ'lor, so goin' in a place full of t'e sick and horren'ously dirty should make ya feel right at 'ome."
"Hey!" Said a threatening voice behind us. Almost everyone spun around at the sound of the voice and everyone drew their weapons and held them at the intruder. "That's my girlfriend you're talking about." Toothless fired a plasma blast at the vikings on the left of me, then on the right of me. Vikings charged forwards towards Hiccup and Toothless. A heavy weight lifted from my shoulders when I learnt that Hiccup had not infact been captured and that I hadn't left him to his doom by being captured. Spurred on by his appearance, I elbowed the viking behind me in the throat and he immediatly released me. I spotted my axe lying on the ground beneath all the vikings and plasma blasts and I ran for it. A large and beefy viking spotted me and leaped towards me. He flung himself onto me like a child would fling themselves on a matress and I was pushed down into the sticky and sickly mud. He squashed the air from my lungs and I struggled to breathe as he grabbed my arms and held them behind my back.
Suddenly, he was pushed from my back and carried into the air. I took a long breath and looked up to see a black dragon in the sky with the man in its claws, and then dropped him into the river below. I crawled onto my hands and knees and scrambled forwards until my hand grasped the familiar handle of my trusty axe, then I jumped up and attacked the vikings left and right, slashing them all in their stomachs. I made my way over to the now undefended Stormfly and with four swift blows cut her from her bonds with held her. I hopped on her back and she boosted us into the air. Stormfly squawked at Toothless and we immediatly flew away from the battle.
"Did you mean what you said?" I asked Hiccup when we were ten minutes away from the island. I made a silent promise with myself that I would never go back there - unless it was absolutely nessaccary, like Stormfly or Hiccup were stranded on there.
"What did I say?" He asked, probably confused at what I meant.
"When you came to... rescue me." I said, semi-conscious that I had to be rescued, even though I was greatly overpowered, "You said I was your girlfriend."
I could tell that he was embarrassed by it as he unconscioulsy rubbed the back of his neck. Maybe he didn't want me to be his girlfriend after all...
"Yeh, I mean, if you don't want to, or anything, but I would like you to, as I love you and all, but if you don't want to..." He stumbled through his words, hardly looking at me.
"Hiccup." I said. He looked at me, clearly showing fear and nervousness in his eyes and posture, "I would love to be your girlfriend."
He gasped and smiled, "That's wonderful! Yes! Thank you!"
"You sound like an over-excited puppy." I teased him.
"Puppies are cute, so are you calling me cute?" He smirked.
Stormfly sent a single spine over Hiccup' head and I chuckled as he ducked.
"Your dragon shot at me!" He said.
"I know." I answered, "And you were scared."
"Was not!" He retaliated.
"You were! You ducked!" I playfully shouted back.
"Because I didn't want a spine in my head!" He shouted back.
"Scaredy-cat." I murmered.
"I heard that." He said to me.
"Fishbone." I murmered again.
"Hey!" He shouted.
"Coward." I said under my breath.
"That's it!" He shouted. How did he hear that? A plasma blast shot over my head.
"Your dragon almost killed me!" I shouted.
"I know." He smirked.
"I am going to get you, Haddock!" I shouted. I swerved behind him, but he picked up speed and soon it became a race.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
"Woah!" Hiccup shouted as a spine grazed his shoulder.
"I win!" I screamed. We were almost back at out island and I was growing slightly tried from being up all night.
"You win?" He questioned me.
"I hit you!" I screamed at him in triumph.
"Well, yeah? I couldn't really shoot at you because if I did you could die," He teased.
"Yeah, well, I still won the race." I protested.
"Who said it was a race?" He teased.
"Given the circumstances, it was made into a race!" I whooped. But something caught my eye. Something was moving on our island and a small boat was docked up on the beach.
"What's that?" I quietly asked as I shot past the stationary Hiccup and I sped down to the island. When I got close, I noticed that it was Fishlegs, and he looked frantic. His blond hair was sticking up in random places and he appeared to be as parched as the beach he stood on. I swiftly landed beside him and I heard Hiccup and Toothless land next to me.
"Fishlegs?!" I questioned, "Why are you here? And it is the middle of the night!"
His voice sounded hoarse and rough and he was definatly worried. "It's Berk! Something terrible is happening."
Will Astrid and Hiccup go back to help Berk? Only time will tell... well, only I will tell because I am the author so yeah. And how can time tell you anyway? It can't speak or write, so that is a stupid phrase and I don't even know why I used it...
Enjoy!