Chapter 7

Another day dawned and things were somewhat hectic in the Southern Isles. "WHERE IS HE?!" Princess Margarette screeched while slamming the basin to the ground. The porcelain bowl shattered causing the maid that was helping her with her washing to flinch. The maid shrank back as the normally calm Princess appeared quite irate.

"Calm down Maragette," The Regent said as he stood by her now open door. "Your shouting will achieve nothing."

"We can say the same for your actions Lars," Margarette growled at her oldest brother who was Regent until their father and mother returned. "To think that I trusted your plan at all!"

"Leave us," Lars growled and the maid ducked out with her head down. Now only the Princess and the Crown Prince remained.

"You need to be patient sister," Lars stated. "If all goes well we will be able to take Berk, Dunbroch and Arendelle in one move. Don't you want to be Queen of a vast empire?"

"Nothing has been going well! Prince Hiccup should have been crawling back to me by now. And of course I want to be Queen!" Margarette exclaimed in a very unlady-like fashion. "But it was your stupid plan to break off the engagement with Berk. I just needed to wait for his old man to croak. I already had him wound around my finger."

"Why wait when we can just take what we want? Who cares if Prince Hiccup didn't come here on bended knee." Lars asked with a raised brow. "If my plan works then Berk, Arendelle, and DunBroch will be clawing at each other's throats. Their resources will become depleted once a war breaks out. It's then when their rulers are most vulnerable. Once they are weakened we strike."

"Is that why you convinced our brother Hans to aim for the Arendelle throne?" Margarette raised a brow and crossed her arms. "Look how well that turned out."

"Hans was an idiot," Lars said dismissively. "He would have never gotten the throne. I just wanted him out of the running for King. Though if he had succeeded then there was nothing a little poison wouldn't fix."

"So ruthless," Margarette chuckled. "That's why you and I get along."

"Hans is gullible. He took my bait this time as well and he even dragged our 10th brother into it." Lars smiled wickedly. "Soon there will be one less Royal with a claim to the throne."

"So me breaking my engagement was also part of this grand scheme of yours. Father will be mad." Margarette uttered.

"Exactly," Lars smiled as his eyes got colder. "Angry Kings make mistakes…."

"I better be compensated richly for this. Facing father's wrath is not something I look forward too." Margarette sated while pursing her lips.

Meanwhile, back on Berk, Astrid was contemplating how to approach the scullery maid. Mala had given her some direction but had ultimately left it up to her. It still left a bitter taste in Astrid's mouth that she would have to pretend to be someone's friend. She either was or wasn't. If she wasn't friends with someone they would know it right away. This reminded her too much of the fake friendships among the Nobles. Especially the story of the fall of the Thornston family. They were a prominent family governing an Earldom but have recently begun to decline. Earl Thornston was an ex-army General who governed his family with an iron fist. The ladies were expected to marry into prominent families and the men were supposed to take over the Earldom and its businesses. The problem started when Lady Thornston had befriended a daughter of a Viscount in the neighbouring territory. Everything was fine for a few months. Lovely tea and garden parties. One day Lady Thornston confided to her friend that she would rather become a doctor then marry the brute her father had picked out for her.

Astrid hissed as Atali tied the corset tighter. She should really get a petition going to ban these things. She got back to her musings while enduring it for now. Now this little confession between friends happened to be the downfall of the family. The Viscount's daughter let it slip on purpose and of course the Earl heard of this. Lady Thornston was given an ultimatum then. Either marry her prospective fiance within a week or be thrown on the streets with only the clothes on her back. Lady Thornston chose the streets while holding her head high. What's more, her twin brother also renounced his claim to the Earldom and left with her. When the legitimate and only heir left the branch families started lapping up at the resources this family had.

"Ladies… I was wondering if you…." Astrid hissed again as she was laced up further "know a maid named Sierra?" She finished the question just as Atali finished the corset. When turning around she saw that Minden had laid out three dresses for her while Nadia held out a box of accessories. Hiccup was the one who surprised her with those the night she first stayed here. Atali and Minden shook their heads but she could see a spark of recognition in Nadia's eyes.

"The new scullery maid. Yes, I've seen her around. Some of the other maids were making fun of her because she didn't have a bonded dragon yet." Nadia answered. "It was odd. She wasn't at fault but started to apologize profusely after I had called out the other maids."

Astrid nodded, filing away the information, and then picked up a cobalt blue dress. It had a sleeker skirt, which Astrid liked, and wasn't ostentatious as some of the dresses she had seen other women wear. There would be a garden party later in the day hosted by Queen Valka. All the Noble ladies would be gathering and Astrid was a bit nervous because this would be her first party after her imprisonment. She knew that she could expect some unfavorable comments especially since her new engagement hadn't been announced yet.

As Astrid left her room Minden asked if they should accompany her. Astrid, knowing what she had to do, shook her head negatively. The fewer people involved the better. Mala had commented that Sierra washed the pots and pans out in a nook behind the kitchens so Astrid made her way there. Indeed she found the maid there scrubbing a pot vigorously. Now the only problem was the approach. She couldn't just casually walk by. The upper class didn't take a walk behind the kitchens as opposed the sprawling gardens of the Palace.

She thought for a moment and then sighed. She might as well wing it. She picked up her skirt slightly to avoid the mud and then made her way over to the girl. "Excuse me?" Astrid asked to gain the girl's attention.

The scullery maid startled and dropped the pot she had been scrubbing onto her toe. Astrid certainly didn't mean for that to happen and walked towards her swiftly to see if there was any bleeding. "Are you alright? I really didn't need to startle you like that." And she hadn't. She had used her usual voice but she wondered if perhaps the girl was easily startled.

"My Lady I am sorry," The maid kept her head down and wrung her hands in nervousness. Astrid noticed that her black locks were getting into her face. She kinda felt bad for the girl now.

"Hey, hey, look it was my fault for startling you." Astrid said as she tried to make her voice sound reassuring. "There is no need to apologize."

"But you are of a higher rank than I…." The young maid uttered.

"So?" Astrid frowned. She wasn't sure what the girl was getting at.

"Uhm… Those of a higher rank should always be apologized to even if they are at fault." The girl then uttered shocking Astrid.

"Who told you that?!" The young maid flinched back a bit as Astrid had accidentally let out the edge in her voice. Whoever taught the maid this will be feeling the underside of her heel soon. "Look, I didn't mean to startle you," Astrid began again. This wasn't really going where she hoped. When the maid wanted to apologize again she shushed her.

The girl still wasn't looking at her and an awkward silence had descended between them. Astrid needed to think of something fast. "Why don't we get you some ice for your foot." She proposed.

"Don't worry My Lady. I am fine," Sierra stated and then asked "What brings you here?"

"I… uhm.. I'm looking for Dagur," Astrid quickly answered and thought 'Oh Thor,"

"The Royal gardener?" The maid asked then.

"Yes, I was hoping he could cut the bushes near my room in the shape of those ornate flamingos. They are just so charming." Astrid gushed but mentally she was kicking herself because those things, while supposed to be flamingos, looked nothing like flamingos. "I figured he would be near the kitchens since well….." She beckoned the maid closer as if to gossip. Sierra leaned in then Astrid said "He absolutely loves the head cook."

"Yes, he seems to like Miss Mala's cooking quite a lot." The scullery maid answered. "But he won't be here today. He was called into the Knight compound by Miss Heather after he set fire to the Queen's prized roses by accident."

'Well DAAAAANMMMMMM' Astrid's mind reacted to that tidbit of information but she didn't show it on her outward appearance. "That is unfortunate, but…" She stopped for a moment and groaned. She couldn't do it. Sneakiness be damned as well. The girl was now finally somewhat looking at her and those big brown eyes held such innocence. If this girl was a spy then she was a master and Astrid had it coming if she got stabbed in the back. What she was about to do was going to be breaking so many rules.

"Sierra come with me," Astrid said as she grabbed the maid's arm and tugged her to follow. The young lady was momentarily stunned but followed along the muddy walking path to a discrete area of the palace.

"My Lady?!" Sierra asked once they stopped and Astrid looked around to see if there were any prying ears. "How….. How do you know my name?!"

"You may call me Astrid," She told the maid. "And I know it because you are in a lot of trouble."

Sierra gulped and her eyes widened. "But…. But….. I apologized!" She said in such a nervous voice. "Please don't have me whipped!"

"What?! No! It's not about the pot!" Astrid was taken aback. "It's because your employment papers were forged. They are suspecting you of being a spy."

The young maid took a step back and Astrid hoped to Thor she wouldn't run. Tackling someone in this dress was going to be a pain. Instead Sierra got down to her knees and clutched the hem of Astrid's dress to the surprise of the dress owner. "I'm not a spy. I swear on my mother's grave I'm not!"

It took a while for Astrid to calm the girl down and when she finally did she had several questions. "The papers, they came from the Jorgenson estate?" Astrid asked and Sierra nodded. "You were employed there?" Another nod. "Did Camicazi have any hand in your placement here?" Now that got a stronger reaction than normal.

"Please don't blame Lady Camicazi!" Sierra uttered. "She's not a spy either! She only did it to….."

"To?" Astrid asked as she saw Sierra's hands clutch her skirt.

"She only did it to save my life," The maid finally admitted and Astrid's brows shot up.

AN: Now I do wonder where this little twist will take us (innocent whistle)