A/N: Hey guys! This here, is my first fanfic. It is a Throne of Glass AU. Also, there is going to be a lot of blood in this story. That is something that you should keep in mind while reading this. But... all that said, I hope you enjoy!

Sunlight shone dimly through the bars of Astrid's cell. Loud bells could be heard chiming outside in a violent way. Whips could also be heard along with a few cries of agony. Most likely the new prisoners that arrived yesterday. New prisoners were delivered almost every week. And almost every week, a few hundred of them died. New holes were dug almost every day so that the increasing amount of dead bodies could be buried.

Groaning, Astrid got up, the shackles on her wrists clinking and biting into her skin. She bit her lip and looked at her cracked nails. Walking over to the far wall that was cloaked in shadows, she groped for familiar scratches. Sighing, she dragged her thumb nail over a set of four scratches diagonally, essentially adding a new one. Staring at the wall, she sighed once again.

10 months. Almost a year. That's how long she'd survived in this hellhole. Most people barely survived a month before dying of dehydration, exhaustion, or blood loss from all the whippings they received throughout the day. But she was still alive. On the King's order's

Just then, she heard a pair of footsteps approaching her cramped cell. She froze and turned towards the door, lowering her head by instinct.

When she started walking towards the door, she hear a slightly nasal voice ask, "This is her?" She was confused, to say nonetheless, because none of the guards ever spoke to anyone, except to bark orders to them. Then, she heard the gruff voice of one of the guards outside her door say, "Yes."

Now, she was curious. Then she felt a harsh tug on her arm and was pulled out of her door.

"Follow me." said the same slightly nasal voice.

They started walking through corridors, up and down steps, and taking confusing sharp turns here and there. But Astrid knew what this man was doing. The set of stairs they were taking had already been visited by them twice before. She knew if she took a right and went down the set of stairs around the corner, she would find herself in front of the guards in front of the entrance/exit.

She smirked under her veil of dirty blonde hair. Idiots, she thought. All this extra work had only helped her memorize these dark passages.

She looked up at her escorts face, and was surprised when his head snapped around to meet her gaze.

She gasped internally. He had stunning green eyes, that glew like emeralds on his pale, freckled face. He had tousled auburn hair that seemed to have natural shades of brown mixed in with them. He had a strong jaw on which a slight stubble could be seen, and firm lips that were pulled into a straight line.

His stare was intense, daring her to keep looking. But instead of doing that, she smiled her sweetest smile and asked him, "What's your name?"

Scowling, he turned his attention back to their path. She groaned.

"You know, dragging me somewhere without telling anyone is extremely suspicious. People could mistake your actions and think you're setting me free."

As soon as he heard her say that, he went slightly rigid. She knew the ways in and out of this place. She had noticed they had just passed a familiar door for the fourth time. Enough fooling around, Hiccup. He thought to himself. It's obvious trying that trying to confuse her isn't working. She's an assassin for god's sake. He gritted his teeth and started going the right way. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her smirking slightly.

Oh, he knew what she was playing at. She wanted answers. Of course.

"Unfortunately for you," he said quietly, "Everyone here knows who I am."

Before she could ask anything else, he snapped at her to shut up and opened a pair of great oak doors. Once inside, Astrid gasped quietly and her feet stopped moving. The walls were covered in gold and the pillars inside that were holding the roof were intricately carved. There were a few paintings around the massive room. But the thing that caught her attention the most was the royal figure perched upon a massive chair that looked like a throne.

He had been looking bored until they had arrived and he looked at them. A small smirk sported his lips as the auburn male began to drag the prisoner in front of him. Her escort bowed, as a show of respect. The figure, who Astrid assumed was probably the Crown Prince, nodded slightly, and then looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

He expected her to do the same. There was no way in hell she was going to bow down to this man. Suddenly, large hands could be felt on the back of her neck and arm, pushing her to the ground into a kneeling position.

"IS THAT ANYWAY TO RESPECT YOUR FUTURE KING?" A voice bellowed near her ear. Astrid cringed slightly as his hot breath hit her ear. It was unpleasant, to say the least.

"Though I do admire your loyalty, Duke Alvin, violence is not necessary. At this moment, I request you all to leave so that I can have a word with her." He said all this calmly, as though he paid no heed to her title that she had earned by killing by the young age of 11.

This angered her above all else. The duke reluctantly left the room, leaving the auburn-haired man standing with other guards at the other end of the room near the exit.

Fools! She thought. Such complete fools! Leaving the heir to Berk undefended in her presence?

She moved her wrists a little, and the heavy iron chains clinked softly. Just two simple moves and he'd be on the floor, her strangling him with these chains. She smirked slightly at the image. Then, she saw expensive boots in front of her. Slowly looking up, she saw the Heir grinning at her.

"Intelligent one I see." he remarked as he studied her dirty face and hair. She suddenly felt aware of her filthy state and felt the need to cringe at the thought of royalty seeing this part of her - the almost broken part.

"Whatever is going on with your pretty little mind there, needs to stop." he continued with his accented voice, "Because you, Astrid Hofferson, are being given a chance to earn your freedom."

And it was then that she snapped her hear towards him, azure eyes flashing with hope and desire. Slowly, he grinned.

So this is sorta how the actual book starts, and this story follows on the idea, though not on the plot. I hoped you enjoyed this! Oh, and BTW, there are going to be some slow updates.