A/N- Hello again, wonderful readers. It's a fine day here – we've got the windows open, there's a nice cool breeze blowing in, and I'm thinking about wearing a light sweater to work. I also have the time before to updated! Whoo! Enjoy!
X
Chapter 12
Astrid had trouble findings things to occupy her time the following week. She snuck to the tower and watched the squires practice when she could; security had been tightened because of the thief. However, she wasn't supposed to have been in that corridor that night, so she wasn't supposed to know about that thief.
Over breakfast five mornings after the thief, Astrid asked, "There seems to be more knights in the castle. Did something happen?"
Her father paused, fork hovering over his eggs like he didn't know where to stab first.
Astrid looked, with what she hoped was an innocent expression, between her parents.
"I heard the servants in the kitchen say someone snuck into the castle," Tegard said.
Her father tightened his grip on his fork. "Never you mind, Tegard. Eat before it grows cold."
Astrid knew that tone. He didn't want to discuss it. She dropped it; she didn't want to be any further on her father's bad side.
Breakfast came to an end, and King Arvid walked away toward the throne room with a quick, muttered goodbye. Astrid strolled toward her first lesson. Each day felt like a drag without being able to see Hiccup each night. She had their weekly visits to look forward to, and each week between felt a month.
"Astrid," her mother asked at the end of the lesson, "come with me for a cup of tea."
Thinking it would give her something else to while away the hours, she agreed. They walked to a parlor with tall, wide windows that looked over the grounds. Astrid unconsciously scanned the treetops for any sign of that dragon. Now that she knew one existed, she looked as often as she could.
The thought of dragon hunting sent her blood pumping.
"Astrid, dear," her mother said once the tea had been brought. "You're distracted."
"I am?" Astrid asked.
"I don't want you to think that your father is being overly hard on you."
"You don't think he is?"
Her mother didn't respond. "He's got a lot on this mind right now. Our guests, the council, the squires, and…"
"And what?"
"And," she glanced around to make sure no ears listened. "Tegard wasn't wrong when he said someone snuck into the castle."
"Who?"
"A nameless thief," her mother said with distaste. "He wasn't very good at his job, however. The knights took care of him before anything was stolen."
"That's good," Astrid said, thinking of the sickening sound she'd heard.
Her mother didn't share her enthusiasm. "Your father is worried that it might have been a distraction for something else, which is why the security here in the castle and around it has been tightened."
"Does he think something else was stolen while the knights were chasing the thief?"
"What does your instincts tell you?"
Astrid paused to think. She said, "I would do a quick inventory of the castle. Check all doors and windows and see if a lock has been broken or picked. I would have added knights to the castle, too."
"I see," her mother said, nodding. "That's what your father is doing as we speak. He can't urge the search too fast in case it sends an alarm through the castle, which I hear that rumor is already spreading about the thief. But, he wants to leave it at just that. A thief."
"A thief that was taken care of," Astrid added.
"Yes," said her mother. "I don't want the rumors to get out of hand, you know how the servants can be, Astrid. Give them a whisper and they'll turn it into a scream."
Astrid nodded and sipped her tea.
"Now, I had something else I wanted to talk to you about," her mother said. "I wanted to talk to you without anyone else around, woman to woman."
"Oh?" Astrid asked. "Another one of those talks?"
"It's nothing terrible."
"The last time you said that, you told me about Mother Nature's monthly visits, which did turn out to be terrible."
Her mother smiled. "Part of growing up. Someone has to tell you, after all, instead of letting you wake up one morning and discovering it for yourself, like my mother. Astrid, I won't lie. I'm about to talk to you about something else related to being a woman. Dear, you'll be expected to marry not too far into your future."
"I realize that," she said. "A kingdom needs heirs."
"Yes," her mother said. "Unfortunately, a woman in your position, a future queen, has more than just heirs to think about."
"You're talking about Eret?"
"Duke Eret."
"Mother, we're alone. No one is going to barge in and demand formality."
Her mother sighed shortly, and nodded. "Yes, I suppose you're right. But, Astrid, this is important. For us, royals, marriage isn't just about the marriage itself. It is about tying bonds between important families; it is a showing of a bond between allies."
"You want me to marry Eret to tie our kingdoms together," Astrid said. "They will become allies, not enemies, which will be a positive outcome in the long run."
"Yes," her mother said, blinking at her daughter.
"I pay attention," Astrid said. "There's no other reason for Eret to have come to Berk other than to attempt a marriage with the unmarried heir."
"Yes," her mother agreed. She went into further details about Eret's family and their long line of strong victories, several of which Berk had a hand in.
Astrid, however, tuned it out. She'd heard much of it before. Her thoughts drifted along the future she'd have with Eret, should she marry; sleeping in separate rooms, seeing each other at mealtimes, pretending to be fond of each other in public. She could pretend to be fond of him in small doses; any more and she would need a break.
However, her thoughts drifted over herself, her future self, sleeping alone in the reigning monarch's chambers; her imagination went wild for a moment and pictured someone else there, a skinny young knight, her knight, the one she would handpick as her personal guard.
She took a deep breath.
"Astrid?" her mother asked.
"Yes, I agree," she said. "A marriage would be convenient."
"But…?
"But what?"
"You've other thoughts," her mother said, tilting her head up to look down at her daughter. "I can see that look on your face. What troubles you?"
"It's not trouble," Astrid said. Was it?
"Is it your mysterious squire?"
Astrid felt her face go warm. She swallowed. Her mother watched her like a hawk, and there would be no denying it.
"It might be."
"Astrid, you know as well as I do what it would look like if you choose a squire over Eret, a duke."
"What if I'd already…" Astrid started, not daring herself to say the world.
Her mother raised her finely penciled brows.
Astrid swallowed. "…fallen in love with someone else?"
Her mother closed her eyes, smiled, and looked down. "I see. I suppose that would make things awkward between you and Eret, wouldn't it? Oh…"
"What?"
Her mother gave her a knowing smile. "Your squire. It's Haddock, isn't it? The Knight Commander's son?"
"I… it might be."
"Well, as least you chose well among the squires," her mother said kindly. "You know, your father is fond of him, too. He comes from solid blood and a sturdy, loyal family. The Haddocks have always been a good house. Young Squire Haddock is a fine example of what a knight should be, don't you think?"
"Yes," Astrid said without hesitation. "He'll make a fine addition to the order. I would put my life in his hands."
"That's a sturdy sense of loyalty," her mother said.
Astrid nodded. "I've spent enough time with him to know how he really is. I've heard him talk about the order, and I believe that he will be a fine knight. He has a strong sense of justice and honor."
"I'm glad to hear that." Her mother let out a small sigh and sipped her tea. "But, dear, before you make any rash decisions, remember that your decisions now effect you the rest of your life, and those decisions effect the kingdom you serve."
"I will," Astrid said. She always had.
X
Back in her bedchamber, Astrid spent the evening staring out the window at the slowly darkening forest rather than read the tome, Royal Marriages that Benefited the Kingdom and her People. (The title itself reflected the enormous excitement of the overall book.) She did her due diligence; she read a few sentences and returned to her watch over the forest.
There was a dragon in there. Somewhere.
Would she be the queen to find it?
Queen Astrid, the Last Dragon Killer.
She liked the sound of that. She again envisioned a massive dragon skull above her throne. It looked threatening and proud, both of which were things she wanted to impose on guests and visitors to Berk. She wanted to remind people that Berk was not a kingdom to mess with.
What would it be like to tangle with a dragon?
Thrilling, surely. It would place her in history, for certain, whether she killed the dragon or the dragon ate her in a single bite.
The clock ticked away the minutes she spent staring out the window. The sky gradually darkened into purples and oranges. The treetops became dark outlines against the sky. This time tomorrow she would be sneaking away to see Hiccup; one more day. She could last another day.
She glanced down at the book to try and read, but the words were beginning to swim around on the page.
Not a good sign, she told herself. She rubbed her eyes and returned her gaze to the window.
There, she saw it. A shadowy figure shifting across the darkened gardens. Whoever it was had come from the opposite way she would have gone… from the squire hall? Astrid squinted. Indeed, the running shadow wore gray underneath his dark cloak.
Hiccup?
She didn't hesitate to question it. She ran to her wardrobe and pulled out her dark riding cloak. She pulled it over her house clothes and fastened it. She listened at the door; when the night guard had walked past and his footsteps had faded, she opened the door. She didn't see anyone. She slipped into the corridor and across it to the painting. She slipped into the servants' passage without anyone noticing.
She crept along the passage. Just because she couldn't be seen, doesn't mean she couldn't be heard. Before she had discovered the servants' passage for herself, she swore the castle was haunted. Footsteps and voices from the walls – what else could a young girl think?
Astrid walked toward the corridor outside the deserted kitchens and through the quiet gardens. She took the gate that let out to the outskirts of the forest. She started toward the east, where Hiccup had been headed. Every little twig's snap jerked her attention; she felt hyperaware of each night bird's call, each cricket's chirp, and each scurry through the underbrush.
What was he up to?
She kept going, regardless of her lack of a trail. She was getting deeper into the woods, but a feverish sense of adventure refused to let her go. She couldn't wander too far, she knew, or she would get lost. She might be able to use the stars as guidance, but in several places, the trees grew too think to see the sky properly.
She walked in what she hoped was a straight line; of course, gradually shifting was inevitable.
Just when she thought about turning around and questing him about it the next night, she heard the strangest sound she'd ever heard. It was a grumble, a warble of sorts, but it had come from an animal much larger than any she had ever encountered.
It sent a shiver down her neck and into every muscle.
It made the sound again, softer, less agitated.
Astrid took careful steps forward. If something were to attack, she was defenseless. How stupid and foolish it was to walk into the woods unarmed. She searched the ground for anything; her hands clasped around a knobby branch, almost too heavy for her to pick up. She held it like a sword, ready to whap whatever came at her.
She stepped farther in. Through the trees, she could see a clearing. The starlight shone down on the forest floor; a cove opened up, a great indention in the earth, where a stream trickled down into a small pond. Tree roots grew through the rocky walls, making it look as though darkness oozed from the very ground.
She crept the to the edge of the clearing and peered down into the cove. It appeared empty. Curious, she started to climb down into the cove via a narrow passage made of tree roots and rocks. She made it to the cove's floor with minimal trouble. The mossy ground softened her footsteps.
She crept through the shadows beside the wall of the cove. She didn't even know such a marvelous show of nature existed within her forest. Why had her walks into the woods never found this place? Had no one else yet found it? Had she discovered something in her meandering walk that no other Hofferson had?
Her thoughts left her slightly off guard. A low warble rumbled the air and she turned. There, nearly invisible in the shadow, was a black dragon. Two yellow-green eyes looked at her from a low angle, peering curiously, cautiously, and a bit suspiciously. It moved, and a black body shifted in the darkness.
She had seen a dragon that night.
She took a step toward the dragon, and it let out a vicious growl that made her stomach squeeze. Her brain reminded her of the wooden stick in her hand. A stick would do little against a fire-breathing dragon who could crush boulders with its jaw.
The dragon growled again. Astrid took a step back, clutching her stick. It growled again, advancing. Astrid held her stick at the ready. The dragon barred small, but sharp teeth, several of them, all along its wide mouth.
"No!"
The dragon lunged, but something hit her before the dragon did. She collapsed to the ground. She rolled onto her knees in time to see Hiccup jumping to his feet. He stood between her and the dragon, hands stretched out to either of them, but his attention was firmly on the dragon.
The dragon was looking at her, but it was not advancing.
Astrid had no words.
Hiccup glanced over his shoulder at her, panic wide in his eyes. "It's fine! You just scared him."
"I scared him?" Astrid repeated out of sheer disbelief. Then it struck, "Who is him?"
Hiccup gave her an almost queasy expression. Then he said, gesturing to the dragon, "Astrid, this is Toothless. Toothless, this is Astrid. A friend."
Toothless? Astrid slowly got to her feet, unable to take her eyes off Squire Hiccup, who had spoken to the dragon like a person, like a human being – a dragon, a man-eating, fire-breathing dragon.
She'd fallen in the words, surely.
Hiccup glanced back at her, uncertainty in his face.
What was she supposed to think? She didn't know, and she didn't want to think about it, either. She ran toward the passage of roots and rocks, desperate to get away, to return to her bedchamber, to the world she knew.
Astrid made it to the top of the cove and dashed through the clearing, not minding the sound she made. She wasn't even sure of the path she took.
Then, quite suddenly, something grabbed her by the arm, and her feet were no longer touching the ground. The solidity of the forest floor drifted beneath her, farther and farther away, until she had passed the treetops.
She screamed, unable to do anything else.