The Crown Prince's grin only grew bigger as her eyes became desperate now, almost in a pleading manner.
"My father has got it in his mind that he needs a champion. Someone who he can trust to be his knife when he is unable to do so himself." The crown prince was about to continue on when he was interrupted by Astrid's laugh.
Her, the king's champion? Oh gods above, it was hilarious.
"You want me to be the king's champion? Even if I do take you up on this offer, the fancy title isn't necessary. It is merely a fancy term for a killer... or rather, an assassin."
Astrid would've continued had it not been for the low growl of her escort, who stood at the back of the room with his hand on his sword.
"Show respect to your future king. He is speaking." Astrid scoffed. As if. "As I was saying," the prince carried on, "Yes, that is the case. But, this chance isn't being given to you. You will have to prove yourself to the king. You will be fighting for that title. My father has arranged a competition where you will stay at the castle while you fight. If you are ever disqualified, you will be brought back to where you were found."
Astrid now stared at him with a mixture of disbelief, disgust, and shock. Didn't the title of 'Berk's Assassin' mean anything to them? Just because she let her rage take over once. Nothing good came out of anger.
"I'm assuming with your silence, you accept this challenge?" The prince offered. Astrid nodded. She would once again show Berk why, exactly, they had feared her.
After that conversation, Astrid had been escorted to a different cell, and for the first time since she'd come to Outcast Island, she had been given decent food. Instead of water and a tiny piece of rock-hard bread she was given once every three days, she got a small amount of mead, a leg piece, and a decent sized bread. Not luxurious, but she'd take what she could get.
The new cell she had been taken to had a small, cracked mirror and a small bed. It looked comfortable, she supposed. It probably was. But she had been here for so long, that even though she had been pampered while she was Berk's assassin, even she had forgotten how sleeping in a bed felt like.
It was late at night and Astrid was standing in front of the mirror, looking at her reflection.
She sighed. Her hair was dirty and tangled. Her hands were calloused to the point where her skin felt hard as stone. Her face was caked with dirt and mud. Her fingernails were cracked and utterly ruined. In other words, she looked as if a tornado had hit her... multiple times.
Even her once bright blue eyes seemed to have lost their color. They gave of the illusion that they were almost grey.
She looked at the shackles around her wrists and ankles. She was stuck here because she had lost her control.
And because she had been foolish enough to listen to a stranger. Now her best friend was gone.
Astrid felt her knees collapse under her. She felt the cold, rough stone floor underneath her, not seconds later. Astrid curled in on herself as silent sobs racked her body. And like every other night since she was captured, Astrid cried herself to sleep.
Her cell door slammed open, causing her to look up. Standing at the door was the auburn male. Behind him were three girls and a few dozen guards. She smirked slightly. At least he had a brain.
He grabbed her arm and dragged her through the door. Keeping his hand on her arm, her led her through long passages and wide staircases. At some point, the scenery became less dirty and a bit more neat. Before long, they were in front of a room.
Inside was a bath with steaming water, and a cabinet. Laid out on a chair was a light blue tunic with grey leggings and boots. The auburn male grabbed her wrists, before scowling menacingly before removing her shackles. Before she could even make a move, she was grabbed by two of the three girls, and led to the bath. She was bathed to the point where she felt clean even on the inside. They had scrubbed her callouses and cleaned her hair.
They dressed her in the tunic, which looked surprisingly nice. The reason for that would've been because she would be arriving to Berk with the crown prince. Nonetheless, she felt somewhat like her old self again. She felt a bit more confident.
After the three girls had finished cleaning and dressing her, the auburn male had placed shackles on her wrists yet again.
And here she was thinking he would let it slip.
Seriously, she wasn't that suicidal. If his looks could kill, she'd be six feet under every time she received one of his glares.
"You know, I still don't know your name. If you're going to be cranky all the time you could at least do me the favor of telling me your name." Astrid said sweetly, looking up at him through her lashes.
She knew what men liked. She knew how to convince them, how to tempt them, how to avoid them. This was only part of the things she was taught along with ways to kill people. It usually worked, but she had never met anyone as stern and attentive as him before.
"You don't need to know what my name is. All you need to know is that if you ever want to earn your freedom, you're going to have to fight for it." He snapped as a response.
Astrid huffed slightly. She didn't know what she was expecting. She didn't even know why she was slightly disappointed. She should have been expecting that.
"Come on Hiccup, no need to be that uptight. Besides, she might as well know. She's going to be with us for a long time." Astrid looked behind her. It was the crown prince, striding up to her with his hands in his pockets.
"This here," he continued, gesturing to the auburn male, "Is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, otherwise known as the Captain of the Guard. And I am Eret, otherwise known as the crown prince of Berk." He swept her hand up in his, and bent down slightly to kiss it. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Astrid Hofferson."
She felt 'Hiccup' stiffen slightly beside her. Looking at Eret, she noticed he was wearing a grin.
"Pleasure to meet you too," she replied, mirroring his expression. He released her hand and strode off to where he came from.
She placed her hands on her hips and looked at Hiccup.
"Soo, Hiccup?"
He groaned in response.
Just to clear things up:
Yes, I was considering to do Dorian!Hiccup but I didn't want Stoick to be evil. I'm only following part of the story-line for Throne of Glass, not all of it. It's messed up, I know. But, hey, lets set all that aside and continue to read other stories by awesome writers! (Like seriously, some people should not be able to write as well as they can. One time, I was up till 3 in the morning reading fanfics and clique novels. Not that I'm complaining. Cause I'm not.)