Author's Note: Hi again, ya lovely lads and lasses! I'm updating much quicker this time around now that I haven't any other stories to work on. Of course, school is still sucking the very life out of me, and so is my social life outside of that. Nevertheless, I hope my effort has paid off and that you enjoy this chapter. We got a lot of twists coming up, so stay tuned and grab a mug!
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Chapter Four: Releasing the Beast
Hiccup couldn't believe his eyes. There was the girl he hadn't quite picked up the nerve to court right before his very being, flustered, terrified, and vulnerable. The sight of her alone now caused his brain to fuddle into the fogs of smitten, and it took a moment or two for the lad to collect his resolve. They way those Spartans had set her up, on her hands and knees, practically presentable...
"Hiccup, no!" Her high-pitched voice sifted through the notes of lusting, and he guiltily snapped back into focus. The girl was tugging effortlessly at her bindings, causing the entire rack to creak and groan during her struggle. "No!" She cried, using every ounce of strength she possessed to get away from him. "Please! Don't touch me!"
Hiccup rushed forward, and despite every cell in his body telling him to go for it, he reached for the straps instead. "Why would I do that?" He soothed in a calming tone as he tried to undo the material around her wrists. Whilst he worked, he was shocked to find that her pale skin was absolutely molten with harsh bruises, scrapes, cuts, and lashes, leaving no area unmarked.
"I would never, ever try to hurt you, Astrid." He scrutinized the bloody patches on either side of her head and swallowed hard, his stomach undergoing a large amount of queasiness from the grotesque display. "What did they do to y-?" He stopped short. It felt inappropriate to ask questions like that, given the current situation, but the girl surprised him yet again by answering.
"They-They took me from my parents," she revealed with a hoarse croak, closing her azure eyes, shuddering softly. "A-After you and Alpha were captured, those Spartans returned. It...It was much easier to get what they wanted without a leader there to guide our warriors." Hiccup winced at the mention of his father and got the straps undone. Astrid sighed with relief as the clamp was removed and she was free to move, although her ankles were still shackled to the floor.
"Thank you," she muttered softly, gently rubbing her sore wrists and bringing her knees to her chest. "You have no idea how horrible its been-being trapped down here."
"Oh...I have an idea." Smiling sympathetically, the other Viking knelt down next to the female and touched her shoulder, which sent an instinctual jolt up her spine. With a sharp cry that sounded much like a feline, she jumped away from the male. The chain attached to her ankles, however, prevented any sort of free movement, and she promptly fell to her knees, breathing hard as her bangs gathered around her petite face. Her outburst had given Hiccup quite a start, and he'd taken to backing away from the frightened female.
"Don't. Touch me," she barked, flustered and paranoid. "If you do, I-I swear to Thor I'll-I'll-!" She caught herself, and stopped with embarrassment. It wasn't like her to lash out so hasty like that.
Hiccup cowered beneath her dominating air and bowed his head, using his hands to groom himself accordingly. He needed to show her that he was harmless as he had been back on Berk. That nothing had changed. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I never meant to frighten you."
His apology caused Astrid to force out a laugh. "You? Frighten me? Pshaw..." She gawked at him from a safe distance, and it was clear to him that she was lying.
Hiccup swallowed hard. "You jumped away-"
"That's because," the fifteen-year-old interrupted with a harsh glare, "every hand that's touched me since I was brought here has beaten me," she explained, shutting her eyes and making the most sour expression as she crossed her arms. "Why do you think they bound me before you arrived?"
That didn't occur to him. "They thought that you would hurt someone?" Hiccup inquired with confusion.
Astrid laughed another semi-hysterical laugh. "Valhalla, yes. Thought I was going to rip your limbs off."
Hiccup's mouth went agape for a few moments as he absorbed this new information. "Oh. Well that's...comforting," he muttered sarcastically. "What did you, er, think I was going to do?"
Astrid gave him a strange look and her tended position finally relaxed some. "You mean you don't know?" She asked, confused.
"Oh, what do I not know?" Hiccup sighed, almost exasperated at her. "I've been in the dark ever since I came here."
"Hiccup," she said, and then blatantly, "this is a breeding program."
Hiccup stood stock still, stiffened, and then blanched. "Uh..."
Astrid snorted and crossed her arms again, hugging her midsection. "It's awful, isn't it?"
"I uh, wasn't aware you spoke Latin," he remarked curiously, impressed.
"That dirty language? No," she flatly replied. "No, I've seen what goes on here in this building; it isn't hard to figure out after you've watched your counterparts' horns chopped to bits and bodies taken-" she stopped, closed her eyes, and shuddered. "They make them breed," she explained, "and take our horns. And when the children have grown, they take their horns and the cycle begins again."
Hiccup made a face of horror. Well, that would certainly explain what the prefect meant when he was talking to his daughter about "lots of babies". He bit his lip and felt a heavy layer of anguish paint his canvas of a heart. Of all the people he'd met, the prefect and his little family were the most likable. It was almost a shame that they had given him up for this. But despite what he felt, Hiccup had to focus on the situation at hand. "That's-But you're not even in heat yet!" He stiffened even more so, blushing heavily. "A-Are you?"
Astrid recoiled like she'd been slapped. "No!" She shouted, causing her counterpart to jolt. "Of course I'm not! You should know that. I couldn't be. Not after what they did to me..." She lifted a hand and touched the bandages around her head and she grew even more crestfallen. "I-I didn't think that they'd actually do it, so I kept fighting to escape. I did everything I could, until..."
Hiccup was quiet but curiosity got the better of him. "Un-Until what?"
Astrid's brows furrowed and she managed a tiny, proud smirk. "I gorged someone's eyes out." Hiccup rose his eyebrows in astonishment.
"No way."
"Yes way," she confirmed. "He deserved it, and it's almost worth my er, disfigurement." Hiccup stared at her. Now that her horns were missing, she could almost pass for a human-a Roman even, he felt the tiniest hint of disdain prodding at his instincts. But he shoved them aside for the girl.
"You...You're very brave," he finally said, and admitted, "I couldn't do that."
Astrid shrugged her armored shoulders and bit the inside of her cheek. "You could. If they were tying you up so that some random male could-" she looked at him. "You know what I mean? You would give it your all. You have pride."
Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. She had a point. "So...what should we do?"
"I don't know," Astrid admitted. "We're like trash to those monsters. If we retaliate, they'll just skin us alive and capture more cooperative members of our tribes."
Hiccup winced, thinking of Gobber, his cousin, and the rest of the teens. "...Well," he murmured. "Then should we-?" He gestured between the two of them.
"No," Astrid refused flatly. "Not here. I forbid it."
Hiccup gripped at his hair, flustered. "I mean, maybe it won't be so bad! Maybe that's our only way out of this dungeon. Maybe if we obey-"
"Gods, Hiccup-!" Astrid shrieked, covering her reddening cheeks. "I'm a Viking, not a yak!"
"Listen, please," he begged, but she was resilient.
"No, I'm not going to "expand our species" today," she stated with a glare. "My children-if I ever have any, are not going to grow here in Fort Sinister. And that, my friend, is final. We-We have to think of another way to get out of here. Something that doesn't involve you touching me with your dirty little fingers."
"Like what?!"
"I don't know!" She snapped. "Whenever I tried anything at all, they would whip me until I bled! They deprived me of food and water! They cut off my horns for Thor's sake!"
"And they'll do the same to me, huh?" Hiccup asked sadly, but to his surprise, Astrid shook her head.
"Nah, I think they're more lenient on males for some reason. In their society, I guess it's just the norm to favor the masculine caliber."
Hiccup wrinkled his nose. "Can't imagine why..."
Astrid nodded with agreement. "Neither can I. But what I can tell you is that you are special to them. You have some sort of immunity. And unless you do something drastic-knowing you, you probably will-you have an invisible shield surrounding you."
"Because...I'm male?" Hiccup asked. "My dad is obviously male and they-"
"They what?" She grew instantly concerned at the mention of her beloved leader. "Is he okay? He's okay, right?"
Hiccup blinked once, twice, and then shrugged. "I...don't know," he sadly confessed, twiddling his fingers.
There was a small silence as Hiccup and his counterpart stared off at the floor.
"I'm sorry," Astrid said, her tone softening. "I didn't realize."
"It's okay," Hiccup sighed. "I wish he was here to help."
"Me too," the girl admitted, "but I'm glad you're here. You're special to those monsters."
"Ah yes. And why on Berk would that be?"
Astrid thrust her hands at him. "Why else? Look at you! You speak Latin! You are an absolute rarity!"
Hiccup just stared at her. "Uh...and that makes me special to breeders?"
Astrid just shook her head. "Well, it must be amusing to them at the very least to be able to communicate with our kind."
Hiccup sighed. "Well, that tells us nothing. We need to figure out a way out of here." He got to his feet and walked over to the bars, touching them lightly. "Think you can bust them open?"
Astrid gestured to her chained ankles. "Stuck, remember? Besides, I couldn't ram those things without horns."
"Let me try then."
Astrid smirked. "You'll get a headache, Haddock."
"Worth it."
...
Stoick was having the time of his LIFE. Not really, of course. After his son had been so precariously taken from him, he'd been immediately transported to an outdoor arena, where they kept him in some dark little cage until Spartans in training arrived.
Fighting trainees.
"He's a very aggressive creature, isn't he?"
The black haired teen shrugged and watched as the Viking fought off yet another gladiator with nothing but his bare fists. "He's very efficient. Good for our trainees."
Stoick the Vast wiped his sweaty forehead with his enemy's wrist-the one he'd literally torn from its owner-and tossed it aside. He felt it fair. They had taken his horns, so he felt it reasonable to take something from the Romans as well.
...
"Hiccup, how many times are you gonna bash your head against the cage bars?" Asked an amused Astrid, who'd just witnessed Hiccup ramming his horns into the cage bars to try and disfigure them. It had turned out to be a futile effort, and all Hiccup had gained was a splitting headache and a rather unpleasant soreness in his horns.
"As many times as it takes," he mumbled, a little dizzy from all the ramming. "I mean, they aren't steel, so maybe I've got a chance."
Astrid nodded sarcastically. "Of getting brain damage," she agreed. "Just let it go, Hiccup. Those things aren't going to budge. And I know that because believe it or not, I've been rotting in here for the last four days. I've tried everything!"
Hiccup sat down with a huff right across from her and glanced at her warily. "Everything?" He asked meekly.
"Everything," she confirmed with a nod.
Hiccup slapped his hand shake to his freckled face and rubbed his emerald eyes tiredly. "So that's it then. No more us," he miserably concluded, to which Astrid's glare intensified.
"Not so fast, runt," she declared, "We're gonna get outta here if it's the last thing we do!"
"It very well be the last thing we do," Hiccup reasoned helplessly. "We'll die in the process!"
Astrid puffed herself up. "Then we'll die with honor!"
"Astrid," Hiccup choked, "we can't-"
"Hey! What's with all th' noise down 'ere?" Came the gruff shout of a soldier, heavily armored from head to toe as he entered the room. Staring down at the miserable pair, he grinned, and revealed something from behind his back.
There was quiet, until Astrid let out a subtle growl. Hiccup was confused until he scrutinized the guard and fell instantly sick. That horrible person was holding a Viking horn in each hand, and judging by the sickened furious look on Astrid's face, he knew where those horns had come from.
With a soft chuckle, the guard tossed the severed horns between the bars and the two Vikings watched with horror they clattered upon the floor. After a moment of silence, Astrid gingerly crawled forward to retrieve her horns, glowering quietly. Hiccup, who did NOT take kindly to what this man was doing, hissed and bared his teeth at him.
The guard just laughed. "I was told to give ya'll my regards, and a little present from Snadge." Before Hiccup could back away, the man had flourished a blunt spear and thrust it through the bars, striking Hiccup between his left arm and chest. The young Viking gasped as the arrowhead slipped through the gap, and thinking quickly, closed the gap by tightening his arm. The arrowhead actually came loose, clattering upon the floor. The guard rose his eyebrows and drew back the spear, but it was too late; Hiccup had what he needed.
"Ey, ya little barbarian," the man growled, reaching through the bars, "give that back-ACK!" Hiccup had leapt for the man's hand when it reached through the bars and now he had the entirety of the arm in his grasp.
"Astrid!" He cried, holding fast. "Grab the keys!"
The girl obeyed, reaching with all her might and grasped the keys dangling from said guard's belt as he was pulled against the bars.
Hiccup held the guard close as he yanked his arm back, which promptly bashed the young Viking into the bars. "Ow!" He yelped, head throbbing dizzily. "Astrid please!"
It did not take long for the girl to undo her bindings and toss the keys back to Hiccup, who released the man without warning. Said man stumbled back, and with all the luck for the two Vikings, hit his head back against the stone wall, which knocked him out cold.
There was a collective silence as both Hiccup and Astrid panted, the ordeal firing up both their erratic nerves and adrenaline. After making sure the man was fully unconscious, Hiccup grinned with relief, stuck the keys in the lock of the cage door, unlocked it, and pushed it open.
They were free.
"Huh." Hiccup whipped around, breathing heavily to see a smiling Astrid, hands on her hips, looking rather impressed. "Nice work there, for a runt."
Hiccup smiled back, and it was genuine. "Not bad yourself!" He almost stammered, rubbing his neck.
All seemed well and good for the most part, and the two teenage Vikings were about to make a dash for then stairs, but then-
"Oi, Adorjan!" Came the call of the horrid teenage guard from upstairs. Both Hiccup and Astrid froze with fear. "Are you alright down there? We heard some stumbling!"
"Thor!" Astrid cursed under her breath, grabbing Hiccup's attention as she turned quite pale in the face. "It's Celso!" Ah, so THAT was the teenager's name. Hiccup hadn't quite liked him from the start.
"Don't panic!" The boy ordered, and then deepened his voice to imitate this so called "Adorjan" guard. "Um, e-everything's fine, Celso!" He called back up in Latin. "Just poking some fun!" He stopped and then internally cursed himself for saying something so flimsy.
There was a very stressful, pregnant pause until the teen nonchalantly replied, "Alright, well, the boys and I are headin' to the arena to watch that Viking chief fight our gladiators. We'll meetcha there. Bye!"
And then there was quiet.
"..."
"..."
"...Is it-"
"SHHH!"
"Okay, sorry, but did you-"
"SHHHHHH!" Astrid shushed frantically, flapping her hands. "Be QUIET!"
"They're gone!" Hiccup hissed. "But you know what he said? Viking chief! Arena!"
It dawned on her and her face brightened. "Arena?"
"Dad/Alpha!" They both cried in unison before simultaneously shushing each other.
"I'll bet that's where they're keeping him," Hiccup grinned with excitement after the moment passed. Astrid was equally as excited as even more relived.
"C'mon," she ordered, grabbing him by the hand. "We have to find him and get out of here!"
"Wait, Astrid!" Hiccup hastily interrupted, surprising the female by tearing his hand out of hers. "We can't be all hasty about escaping-no. We need to think about this, carefully."
Astrid was astounded. "Hiccup, we just found out where your dad is. You wanna wait until we're found out before we can get to him?"
Hiccup didn't answer her.
She huffed with exasperation, holding tightly onto her horns. "Fine," she snapped. "Then what do we do?"
"Just...wait until nightfall. So we can sneak out of here, I suppose."
"Just sit here? Hiccup that's a stupid idea! They could easily just walk down those steps and-"
"Well if you have a better idea, then I'd love to hear it!" He snapped at her before he could stop himself. The slightly shocked look on her face made him instantly regret his harsh tone, and his complexion softened. "Look, I'm sorry. But we can't be all careless about this. This isn't a game of hide and kill-this is real life! And we need to figure out away we can all escape with our lives."
Astrid bit her lip. "What about...?"
"About what?"
"The girls," she forced out, gesturing toward the stairs. "They've been suffering much longer than I have. Couldn't we-"
"Ah, I don't know about that, Astrid," Hiccup muttered. "As much as I'd love to help them-"
"You don't know them, I know," Astrid snapped. "But I do, and these aren't drudges, Hiccup. These Vikings have families, tribes, mates even! We can't just leave them here to fend for themselves. We need to bring them with us."
"We can't!" Hiccup tried to reason. "Not unless we want to get caught with a parade of proclaimed fugitives on our backs!"
Astrid inhaled sharply, got to her feet, and stomped on over until she was nose to nose with her male counterpart. "Either we bring those poor girls with us," she hissed, "or you can escape on your own." And with that, she crossed her arms and sat.
Hiccup stared down at her and sighed, running his hands through his hair, frantically trying to think of a resolution. Boy, she could be very stubborn. But to her defense, seven generations of Viking breeding stock could do that to a person. Before long, Hiccup was actually wondering whether or not he should go on alone, but after a few minutes pause, he finally came up with a condition. "Okay, okay," he conceded. "How about this? You come with me, we get my dad, and once we get back to Berk, we can organize a rescue mission for the girls. That way, we don't have to endanger ourselves-or them-by making an escape."
Astrid looked thoughtful and she rubbed her chin. "Tempting offer," she admitted, and then got to her feet. "You promise?"
Hiccup nodded, although on the inside, he was frantically wondering how on Berk he could convince his father to come back to Fort Sinister to live up to his end of the deal. "I promise," he assured, and took her hands. "C'mon; maybe we can disguise ourselves and look around that way."
Astrid gave a quick nod of compliance before the two Vikings bounded up the stairs.
Now Hiccup could understand why Astrid had wanted to help the girls. Chained, bruised, weak, used, and abused, they were nothing more to the Romans than sacks of meat. And the stench, Gods, it was awful. The girls soft moaning and murmuring quickly rose as Astrid gingerly approached them, and then died down again as she quickly explained Hiccup's plan.
"Leave no Viking behind," she promised, which a poor female gasped out in rapture. "Shh!" Astrid soothed with a smile. "Don't worry. We'll come back for you. He's the chief's son. You have a whole tribe on your side."
Hiccup inwardly groaned. His dad was going to flip his buoy.
"Just stay strong girls," Astrid soothed. "C'mon Hiccup."
When they entered the outside world, Astrid could have cried with joy. To breath fresh air again was a dream come true. But she couldn't enjoy it for long for they had a mission in store.
"How do we find this arena?" She asked.
Hiccup looked up. "I suggest we head for the brightly lit coliseum over there." He pointed.
"Ah."
They rushed over, dodging guards and hiding behind barrels and other appliances. The streets were surprisingly empty. "They must be watching the gladiator fights," Astrid assumed, wrinkling her nose with disgust. "With any luck, they may be fighting your father."
"That's what I'm hoping for," Hiccup sarcastically remarked. "Kind of."
...
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