Chapter Fifteen: The Forsaken Chief
"Easy bud. Just let the salve do its job…" Matt whispered, placing a moist towel over Wasatch's neck "Feeling better?"
Wasatch growled, looking up at Matt with an apologetic expression.
"Hey! You did great bud! You can't blame yourself!" Matt quickly said, taking a seat next to where Wasatch's head lay "You bought us enough time for Teton and me to be able to escape! You can't feel bad about that. You're the reason Heather's still alive."
A day after Teton left, Matt spent the time resting his shoulder, though it was pretty much healed at this point. Now he was busy taking care of Wasatch, who still had some war wounds from when he fought Teton before Matt trained him. That, and after being hit with the Black Curtain, kind of tweaked his wing, and caused him to bruise all over from crashing into the ground.
Heather then poked her head through the open doorway, smiling as she saw Matt sitting next to Wasatch. "Well, he seems to be doing better. She commented, walking in with Windshear close behind.
"Yup, a lot better." Matt whispered, smiling at her "Though he hasn't moved much. Think his pride is hurt from losing to Teton more than anything."
"Losing to a bigger Skrill?" She asked, sitting on the other side of the resting dragon "Come on Wasatch! You can't blame yourself for what happened with that! Teton was probably a Titan wing!"
Wasatch huffed out some hot air, still not comforted by their words.
"Tell you what buddy, rest up today, and tomorrow we'll go wakeboarding. You love to pull me around." Matt said, trying to make a deal to cheer up his dragon; which kind of worked as he let a smile crack at the corners of his mouth.
"Wakeboarding? What's that?" Heather asked, looking at Matt skeptically.
"Right, guess I never talked to you about that." Matt grunted, struggling to stand up on his seat. Limping to where his boards were mounted, he grabbed his latest model that he built. Limping back, he sat down next to her, who continued to stare at the odd looking board with a questionable look.
"This is a wakeboard. Unlike a snowboard, this thing lets me board on water. It's wider so it has more surface area, and has some fins to help me control it." He explained, flipping it over and showing the small fins on both ends of it "Wasatch tows me behind him and I just glide along the water. It's a lot of fun actually, you should try it."
"Does it hurt your leg?" She asked, looking at him with a hardened expression.
"No more than what snowboarding does." He quickly explained, letting a careless smile grow on his face.
"Ugh, Matt! You're going to be the death of me, I swear!" She groaned, shaking her head.
"What? Why?" He asked, carefully placing the board down. Looking at her in the eyes, he then asked "Why's this a problem with you?"
"It's not a problem. Just thinking that you should slow down a little." Heather excused, looking away from him "I mean, it's not like you've been hurt enough!"
Matt stared at her, unsure how to answer. Closing his eyes in confusion, he then asked "Alright, what's going on? Are you asking me to stop boarding?"
"No! I'm, just…er…" Heather stammered, looking up at him. Sighing, she shook her head and looked down with a saddened expression "I don't know. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm just asking you to slow down a little more."
"Heh, that's a little rich; coming from you I mean." Matt quickly fired, leaning back from his seat. Heather quickly faced him, wondering what he meant. "Listen, you asked me to treat you as an equal; to let you do what you would do normally. Amiright?" He asked, looking at her with his usual carefree smile.
"Yeah…" She whispered, nodding in agreement. She already knew what he was going to say.
"I too, want to be treated equal. I want to be able to do what I normally do!" He finished saying, sitting up straight and stroking one of Wasatch's spike "I'm not letting anything dictate what I do and don't. I'll choose what I want to do. Okay?"
Heather could only nod, not being able to look at him in the eye.
Matt could feel her frustration bottled up inside her, creating an intense feeling between the two and in the air. Sighing, he then asked "What's on your mind? Go ahead, tell me what you're thinking."
"You! It's you I'm thinking about!" Heather quickly snapped, venting out her frustration "You have the worst luck! More than anyone I know! Me included!" Numbering her fingers, she then began to list "First off, you had your leg slashed by Alvin. Then, when you come back three years later, you're nearly killed by me and Dagur and almost bled out during a raid; and of recent, you've been captured by Dagur three times; tortured by Darien, who hurt your leg even more; fought Teton, injured your arm when you trained him, who also got captured with you in the process! Oh, and fought two battles here at Dragon's Edge!"
"The arms healed!" Matt quickly replied, smirking at her. With an eyebrow, he asked "Why does this suddenly bother you?"
"That reason exactly! You don't care! At least you act like you don't!" She cried out angrily, causing both Wasatch and Windshear to stare at her "Matt, I was terrified I was going to find you torn in pieces yesterday! Have you ever thought how I would be if something more than an injury happened to you?!"
"I have. Trust me, I've thought of that. But that's not going to stop me from living life." Matt replied, scooting closer to her "If you let me, I can try and explain what I mean."
Heather just looked at him with her frustrated expression, waiting to hear his reasoning.
"Heather, remember I made my choice to stay here, right?" He reminded, gently wrapping his arm around her "I took into account everything that could happen. Er, well, most things. Teton was definitely a wild card."
Heather rolled her eyes at the joke, not amused. "What exactly did you take into account?" She asked, frowning at him.
"What if Hiccup dies. Or Stoick." He began to list, his face growing solemn.
Heather whipped her head to look at him in shock, surprised he was even talking about it.
Ignoring her surprised face, he continued to say "Or if I lost Wasatch. Even you. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't staying here because of my current situation. I wanted to make sure I was staying for the reason that this place is actually my home, not just a place where I'm with very extraordinary people and doing extraordinary things; though that helps." Looking at Heather in the eyes, he whispered "I even thought about the possibility that I'd be killed here. Would that sway me from staying?"
Heather just stared at him, listening intently.
"Listen, you listed all those things that did happen to me. And I'll admit, that's a lot crap to happen in such a short time. But you missed a few other things that I went through as well." He continued to whisper, looking at her with a softening expression "I met my ancestors, Hiccup and Stoick. I got to learn for myself that dragons are real! Hell, I got to train a Skrill!" A smile cracked at his lips, which he added "I guess two Skrills."
Heather, shook her head, trying hard to hide the smile that wanted to come out.
"I got to go on some crazy adventures! I got to actually make a difference in this world!" He continued to list "I helped good people, and I stopped evil ones." Looking at her in the eyes, he quietly added "More importantly, I got to meet you."
Heather looked away from him, trying to hide the sudden wave of emotions overcoming her.
Grabbing her arms, forcing her to look at him, he quietly said "And I'm glad I did. It's made everything worth it. Leg getting slashed, bleeding out, and even getting captured and tortured." Gripping her tighter, he smiled as he said "I love you Heather."
Heather finally broke down in tears. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him closer into a tight hug. "Ugh Matt! I hate you!"
Taken back, he quickly joked "Not quite the words I was expecting, if I'm honest. The opposite actually. That's very different from what I was hoping you'd say!"
"Shut up!" She laughed, pulling away and wiping her tears "I hate you, because you're impossible to stay angry at!"
Matt just smiled, his eyes lighting up. Grabbing her, they just sat there and talked, knowing it was official. They did indeed love each other.
"My chief…" Ugo whispered, crawling to where his leader was sitting "I've scouted ahead. Seems like they're all in low alert, should be easy to get in and out."
"Good." Strogg whispered, using his axe to hoist himself up. The giant man then turned to face the rest of his eight man crew, ordering "Get the ship ready. Ugo and I will handle this ourselves. Make sure you're close enough to the cliff that we can just get on. Understand?"
After several 'yes chief's', the group turned and quietly traversed back to the ship, hidden behind a pillar.
"Lead the way Ugo…" Strogg whispered, gesturing for his last remaining champion to guide him.
"Yes my chief." Ugo loyally replied, turning and silently walking through the tress.
Strogg followed, a little more noisily than Ugo, but still quite enough to not be worried.
"Are you sure that doing this will help us get the boy?" Ugo asked, now alone with Strogg. He and Strogg often discussed their plans, concerns, and thoughts when such time presented themselves. Being the only two remaining Vikings from Thariin, and Ugo being a follower for years, he and Strogg were close friends, rather than ruler and warrior. Well, former ruler and warrior.
"Aye I do. Though I don't trust Ryker. He's keeping something from us." Strogg admitted "We'll give him what he wants, but we're here to take something for ourselves. Just to make sure this little heist isn't going to be a waste of time. Besides, he asked us to get the girl; he didn't tell us how to…"
"I'm still confused why we need Ryker and that blubbering fool Dagur." Ugo confessed, pushing some branches away. Making sure it was clear, he motioned for Strogg to follow.
"They know more about Hiccup and his dragon riding brats than we do. Four years is a long time. A lot can change. Aside from that; we don't need them. We need his brother Viggo's help. And the only way to get to him, is through Ryker." Strogg explained quietly, keeping a leery eye out. Walking alongside Ugo, he added "Remember. The boy isn't the only target. We're going hurt Stoick too. Ryker and Dagur know them best, and the best ways to…undermine them."
"Of course, though I'm confused as to why the boy came back to Hiccup and the others. He's separated himself from them for years!" Ugo commented, pondering the meaning.
"I've been thinking of that as well. I can only assume he was thinking if he left them, then we'd leave those he cares about alone." Strogg answered methodically "I guess it worked in a sense. We did stop chasing after Stoick and his pathetic excuse of a son. But it didn't sway my desire to break Stoick."
"Aye, and now we're finally getting somewhere…" Ugo growled, stopped over some cliffs. The night was settled in, with the moon covered by clouds. Perfect to infiltrate Hiccup's little outpost. "How Ryker was never able to conquer this place with an army is a mystery." He observed, looking down at the few lights that dotted Dragon's Edge.
"We failed to take Berk with a large fleet and army four years ago." Strogg reminded "They're no strangers to fighting the odds, that's for sure."
"There. That's the building." Ugo pointed, resting his other hand on his axe "I saw only one dragon walk inside with her. Won't be a problem to deal with."
"Eerreeegggh!" Something screeched behind them, making the two whirl around. A single Night Terror glared at them, screeching at the top of its lungs.
Ugo grabbed a rock and hurled it at the Terror, striking it in the head. Struggling to stay in the air, it finally fell, hitting the ground with a loud thud.
"One thing that Hiccup and the riders should know…" Strogg growled, his eyes turning black with hate and rage. Walking up to the struggling Night Terror, he finished saying "Is that I've become far more ruthless and cold than they probably remember me by." At that, he lifted his massive executioner styled axe up over his head and brought it down with all his strength.
"Alright Hiccup. My turn to babysit Darien." Heather called out, walking into the hanger with Windshear right behind her.
Laying against Toothless, putting together Matt's new brace, Hiccup looked up and smiled "Right on time! How was dinner?"
"Good! There's quite a few left over Yak chops for you and Toothless." Heather laughed, watching him stand up "Assuming Matt didn't eat them all. Didn't know he could eat so much!" Holding a plate with some of the food, she then walked over to Darien's cage, sliding it under the door. Darien made no immediate effort to take it, as she continued to sit against the wall with her knees tucked up into her chest and her tied hands holding them up. She glared at Heather and Hiccup, trying to make them uncomfortable.
"Hey, come talk with me outside real quick." Hiccup said, gently guiding Heather out to follow him "I have a question."
"Oh, uh sure!" She replied, kind of taken back by the request. Turning to Windshear, she ordered "Stay here girl, I'll be right back." At that, she followed Hiccup and Toothless out, curious as to what he was going to ask her.
Standing on the edge of the hanger's deck, he waited until she was standing next to him. "How's Matt doing?" He asked, turning to look at her.
"Oh, uh, good. At least better now." She replied, reliving the moment they had with each other earlier that day.
"Good…good." Hiccup acknowledged, nodding as he spoke.
Looking at him curiously, Heather then asked "Did you want to talk about Matt? Or is this about something else, Hiccup?"
Sighing, Hiccup shook his head. Looking at her in the eyes, he asked "I guess I'm just wondering how you're doing?"
Confused, Heather just raised an eyebrow, asking "What do you mean? I've been fine."
"How are you doing with all this?" He expounded "The messages Matt's been finding, our past with Ukiah, the Hunters, Dagur being your brother, and Darien being here; not to mention the latest drama with Matt and Teton. A lot's happened, and you've really been free for only a short time." Looking at her with concern, he asked "Are you doing alright?"
Looking at Hiccup, she let out a sigh. Shaking her head, she then explained "I'm fine Hiccup, really. At least I'm doing a lot better. Matt and I talked today, and…you know, I think it helped me a lot." Looking into the Hanger, she added "As far as Dagur and Darien go. They're not my family. At least, I don't consider them that. I guess when the time's right, I'll put some more thought into it."
Hiccup just nodded, resting his hand on her shoulder "We're here for you Heather. Don't forget that."
"I know. Thanks Hiccup." She replied, flashing him a smile.
"Hey, so…is Matt still in his room?" He then asked, looking over at Matt's building.
"No, he's in the clubhouse. Probably still eating. I told him to save you a few, but that probably just made him eat more." Heather replied, shaking her head at the thought.
"Heh, probably. Thanks for letting me know! I finished fixing his brace." Hiccup replied, showing it to her "This time I made the rotators out of Gronckle Iron. Shouldn't break like the others did."
"Great! I'm sure he'll appreciate it. His leg is still bugging him after being hit there by Darien, and then the whole adventure with Teton didn't help either." She laughed, shaking her head at what he went through. Normally, she wouldn't have laughed at the idea; but after visiting with him, she felt it was appropriate.
"Hey take care! I'll make sure the twins actually relieve you tonight. Instead of letting you have the night watch all to yourself." Hiccup shouted, walking up a ramp with Toothless.
"I'm not going to hold my breath for them!" Heather laughed, shaking her head at the thought of the twins actually getting up to take over the watch. Walking back inside, she closed the door to the hanger, so that the only source of light were a few candles. She saw Windshear already laying down in her usual spot and trying to get some sleep. "Leaving me up by myself?" She teased, taking a seat next to the silver dragon, so that she was leaning against her. Her scales were already looking better. Almost back to normal before being a prisoner, it seemed to help the memory of what happened to her disappear.
"I can keep you company." Darien's voice cut into her thoughts.
Heather frowned, turning to see Darien sitting cross legged at the door of the cage. The plate was resting on her lap, and she was picking away at the food with her hands still tied in front of her.
Seeing Heather's frown, Darien shrugged, resuming eating her meal "I mean, I guess you're used to being alone. What's a few hours of sitting and watching me?"
Heather ignored her by rolling her eyes and grabbing her axe off of Windshear's saddle. Still unable to recreate her special double bladed axe, as she still had to wait for Windshear to shed some scales, Astrid's extra one was more than adequate for her. Rubbing a stone across the sharpened side, she stared at the candlelight reflecting off of it.
"Don't hide the fact that being alone still scares you." Darien continued to laud over her, taking a large bite out of the yak chop "Mmmm, this is good." Swallowing her food, she then continued to say "The reason why you've stayed here as long as you have, is because you don't want to be abandoned again. Not because you actually care about these guys."
"Maybe you're right." Heather whispered, still staring at the axe "Maybe I am here for selfish reasons. For me and Windshear. But don't pretend, or imply that I don't care about them." Finally, looking at Darien with a fire in her eyes, she added with venom in her voice "Because I do. And I'll gladly make sure they're not hurt by you or Dagur anymore."
Darien smiled, setting her plate down and sliding it under the door. Settling down in her cross legged position, she then taunted "Don't lie to yourself Heather. You've only cared about yourself. That's all you've ever known."
"You're wrong. Maybe a few months ago, you'd have been right; but not now." Heather quickly growled, her eyes narrowing "I'm done talking with you, but I will say that at least I'm more honest with myself than you are with yourself." At that, she scraped the rock across the axe's head, letting the grinding sound cut any chance for a rebuttal; and also allowing her to vent her anger.
"Whatever you say Heather…" Darien chuckled, scooting herself backwards. Finally leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes as she added "We'll see if you stay with these guys if Matt gets killed."
Heather froze in place, the rock midway on the axe head.
"Oh? Did I hit a soft spot?" Darien laughed, still not opening her eyes.
Heather stood up, using the axe to push her. Walking over to Darien's cage, she glared at her with an anger and fire in her eyes.
"Wonder if Hiccup or Astrid die, will you feel the same about them like Matt?" Darien jeered, finally opening her eyes and smirking at her "See? You really don't care about your friends. Only one person! Matt!"
"You're right." Heather hissed, her eyes narrowing "I do care about Matt a little more than the others. But it doesn't diminish how much they still mean to me!" Pointing her axe at her through the door, she growled "And you're also right that I would leave here if anything happened to him; or anyone for that fact. But not because I don't care about them. I'd leave to hunt down those that were the reason why they were killed!" In a low whisper, she added "You, Dagur, Ryker, even Viggo. Whoever he is. And even if you weren't the cause, I'd come after you out of principle."
Darien just smirked at Heather, knowing she got the reaction she wanted out of her. "I'm sure you would…which is why I'm still alive."
Heather just stared at her, her anger flooding throughout her body. Her heart pounded like a big bass drum. Heavy and slow. It was everything in her power to no open the door and wipe that arrogant smirk off that face. "Listen here-" Heather began to growl, her eyes bulging out of hate.
Thump! A loud sounding thud hit outside of the hanger door. Whirling towards the sound, she raised her axe "Hiccup? Astrid? Is that you?"
Windshear stood up on her feet, growling at the door.
"Oh? Maybe I spoke to soon." Darien lauded "Maybe it's you who's going to die!"
Heather ignored her, waiting for whatever was out there to come in, she then shouted "Snotlout! I told you to stop following me! If it's you Ruff or Tuff, I'll kill you if this is a Loki prank!"
"…rrruawk…" A weak squawk sounded from outside.
"Stormfly?" Heather asked, lowering her axe as she recognized the growl. Windshear bolted ahead, pushing the hanger doors open, still not at ease. Heather gasped as she saw Stormfly collapsed on the hanger deck. A large cut ran down her chest, towards one of her legs. She was bleeding a lot too! "Stormfly?!" She gasped, dropping her axe and running to the downed dragon. The cut looked bad, being deep all the way down. "What happened?!" She cried out, tearing her hood off. Using both her hood and cloth mask, she tried to stop the bleeding. "Windshear! Go get the others!" She shouted, frantically trying to help Stormfly.
Windshear bolted into the air, heading straight for the club house.
"Hold on girl…" Heather whispered, pressing her hood and mask firmer against the cut.
"Hah! Seems like our conversation is turning into a reality!" Darien jeered, now up on her feet and trying to see exactly what was going on.
Heather's eyes burned with anger. If she wasn't already keeping the cloths pressed against Stormfly, she'd have already sliced her up. About to fire something back, she heard something running along the wooden ramps. Looking in the direction of the sound, she was relieved to see Hiccup, Matt, and the gang.
"What happened?!" Hiccup asked loudly, gently picking up Stormfly's head.
"I don't know! I just found her like this!" Heather cried, looking up at him with anxiety "I don't have anything to press against the rest of the cut!"
Hiccup unstrapped some of the leather straps across his chest and began to remove his riding gear. "Fishlegs! Get the medical kits!" He ordered, pulling off his tunic.
"Right! Be right back!" Fishlegs shouted, climbing on Meatlug and flying to his room.
Using his tunic, he pressed it against the remaining slash that Heather couldn't get to. "Where's Astrid?" He asked, looking at Heather with a worried expression.
"I don't know! Last I saw her, she and Stormfly went to their room after they ate!" Matt answered, making sure she was pressing firm enough on the slash.
"Matt, Snotlout, and twins! Go look for Astrid! Start in her room!" He ordered, focusing on where he was taking care of the cut.
"Right! Leave it to me!" Snotlout shouted, clambering on Hookfang. Launching into the air, he headed straight for Astrid's room, leaving Matt who was running along the ramps and the twins still clambering to get on their dragon. Confused, shocked, maybe even scared, he had no idea what was going on. Landing roughly on Astrid's deck, he then bolted inside her room.
Matt was right behind him, using the brace Hiccup rebuilt to keep him sprinting. The brace almost worked like magic, as he ran without a limp and the pain that should have been there, was nonexistent. Arriving on her deck, he saw the twins finally getting into the air and flying towards them. Ignoring them, he bolted through her door, only to find Snotlout frozen in shock.
It wasn't hard to see what shocked him. Her room was torn apart. Her bed was smashed, and everything was thrown on the floor; ranging from shields, swords, axes; all her stuff. A trail of blood led out towards the deck, probably being from Stormfly.
"No…" Matt whispered, kneeling down at something that caught his eye. Pulling off a torn blanket, Matt found Astrid's axe. But, it wasn't finding it that horrified him, it was the fact the entire axe head was caved in, as if something cut it! Anger flooded through his body. His heart began to race as he stood up and stared at her axe.
"This…this is bad…" Snotlout whispered, finally starting to walk around the room "Where could she have gone?"
"Rather, where was she taken? And who?" Matt whispered, ignoring the twins that just walked in. Holding the axe up, he showed them the destroyed axe head.
"Cool! Where was our invite to the party?" Tuffnut laughed, observing the damage.
"We always miss the excitement…" Ruffnut moaned, looking crestfallen.
"Are you two serious?!" Matt shouted "Astrid's missing, and you can only think about destroying stuff?!"
"Matt!" Snotlout shouted, pulling all three's attention. Walking up to him, he handed him a shredded cloth, with some writing on it. It was nothing like the last three. The cloth was dark and dirty. The runic writing seemed like it was hastily written, rather than thought out and written neatly.
Grabbing the cloth, Matt then instructed "Snotlout, keep searching the room, look for anything that could tell us what happened. Twins, get out there and patrol the coast. Head east. See if you can't find any kind of ship, camp, or anything!" Turning around, he then jogged out, saying "I'm going to see Hiccup. To tell him that…to tell him the news."
Running along the ramps and pathways, Matt couldn't help but think who did this. Between Ryker and Dagur, it didn't make sense! Why go for Astrid, and not for Darien? Maybe this note talked about that. Glaring at the cloth, he huffed "Wish I could read it…"
Arriving at the hanger, he felt a pit in his stomach as he saw Stormfly lying on the hanger's deck. "How bad is it?" He asked, walking up to her.
"It's deep. And long." Fishlegs answered, running some kind of string through a needle's eye "Going to have to stitch it."
"Hey girl…" Matt whispered, kneeling down in front of her. Resting his hand on her nose, he then said "Hiccup, Astrid…Astrid's missing."
Hiccup looked up from where he was cleaning some of the blood off of Stormfly. Both Heather and Fishlegs gaped at him.
"Her room was torn apart. I found her axe…" He continued to whisper, unable to look at him in the eye. The anger he was feeling was rising, making him curse himself for only bringing bad news and no solution.
Hiccup stood up and took the axe. Staring at it, he then turned and walked into the hanger. Glaring at Darien, who just smiled at him, he whispered "Where is she, Darien?"
"Hmph. How should I know? I've been locked up in here for the past few days. Minus the little field trip you guys took me on." She sneered at him. Waving her tied hands, she added "I've been under you're watchful eye since you guys captured me. Heh, come to think of it, I've been safer with you guys watching me. Should've spent more time watching each other instead!"
"Where. Is. Dagur?" Hiccup growled quietly with a tone Matt never heard from him before.
"Honestly, I don't know." Darien replied, shaking her head with the smirk "You have a better idea than I do."
Matt walked up to Hiccup, glaring at her as he handed him the cloth. "Hiccup, we found this in her room. I don't know what it says, but let's see what they want." His eyes narrowing at Darien, he then coldly whispered "If they don't need her, I'm going to end Darien right here…"
Darien's smirk slowly faded away. Matt would be willing to kill her, and with Astrid missing, she had no doubt he'd do it.
Reluctantly, Hiccup took the cloth, not taking his eyes off of her. His eyes burning in anger, he finally looked down and read the message. Heather and Fishlegs listened, waiting to learn what was being asked.
Reading the message, Hiccup recoiled back in shock. Looking up at Matt, he then whispered "Matt…this isn't Dagur or Ryker. It's…Strogg…"
"Strogg? Who?" Matt asked, confused at the name.
"He's…an old enemy of my dad's. He wants you to take Darien to them…" He explained, almost a little hesitant at first
"Me?" Matt asked, confused at the request "Why me?"
"I don't know. I don't even know how he knows about you." Hiccup whispered "Or why he's not asking me to come…"
"So…going to kill me now?" Darien teased, looking relieved that she was part of the deal.
Matt just glared at her, his fists curling.
"Listen." Hiccup began to explain, pulling Matt's attention "Four years ago, when we took Ukiah in our tribe…he was being hunted by this man. He was a chief of a powerful village called Thariin."
"Wait. Is Strogg the guy Ukiah asked your help to kill?" Matt asked, already putting the puzzle together.
Hiccup only nodded. Looking down at the cloth, he whispered "Matt…I don't know why, but he wants you. It says he wants the Skrill rider to bring Darien to their ship. They're sailing east of here, and want to see you before noon tomorrow. And only you." Looking up at him, he then whispered "Otherwise, Astrid's going to be…"
"I'll go Hiccup. You know that." Matt said with passion "I'm just wondering why he wants Darien too."
"Ugh Matt, you're dumb sometimes, you know?" Darien huffed, rolling her eyes "Obviously he's working with Dagur and Ryker to get me back!" Smirking at him, she added "So, am I worth killing to let Astrid die?"
Shaking his head, Hiccup then interrupted "Listen Matt. I don't think Strogg's wanting to kill Astrid. Not as a first resort anyways."
"Why wouldn't he?" He asked, trying to ignore Darien.
"He…he's an evil man, Matt." Hiccup whispered. Turning to Heather, who was staring at them with worry, he explained "It's a long story…but the only thing that matters is that we have to get her away from him!"
"You need to tell me exactly why!" Matt demanded, walking Hiccup out of the hanger "You can't keep this a secret from me. Not anymore. I need to know everything! Who was Ukiah, and who is this Strogg?" Turning, he glared at Darien and growled "See you in the morning…Darien." At that he slammed the doors shut to the hanger, blowing out most of the candles.
Standing there alone, with one flickering candle left, she let out an evil smile as she quietly replied "Likewise Matt…see you in the morning…"
"Mmmph!"
Astrid felt herself dropped on the deck of a ship. With a burlap bag over her head, and a gag stuffed in her mouth, being tied by a small cloth; she had no idea where she was; nor could she yell out her anger and frustration of being kidnapped. She twisted her arms and legs, trying to get out of the ropes that had her bound. The cords of rope around her wrists were crisscrossed, making it impossible to slip out of. Another rope was lashed from her wrists and waist, keeping her from thrashing them around. The ropes around her ankles were cinched, essentially acting as cuffs around her boots and keeping her immovable. "HrrrUmmphhh!" She tried to shout, kicking and shuffling her legs in frustration.
She heard some soft whispers nearby, though hardly audible. She could feel the ship start to drift away, though she had no idea in what direction. Focusing on trying to slip out of the ropes, she was then rolled over onto her back and felt a net wrap around her. Unsure of what was going on, she then felt herself hoisted up. Suspended midair, she let out an angry cry. "MMphh HrrruumpPH!" She shouted into her gag.
Reluctantly, she gave up trying to escape. Focusing on what happened to her, she tried to put together what she did know. She remembered hearing something outside of her room, which she thought was Matt walking by. She remembered ignoring it, and let Stormfly lay on her floor, as she usually did before sending her to the hanger. That's when someone grabbed her from behind. She didn't have any time to react, as a wadded rag was stuffed in her mouth. She tried to spin around and hit her attacker, which let her catch a glimpse of him. He was big, and had a scarred right arm; that was all she could see before the hood slid over her head. She remembered hearing Stormfly screech, and few loud crashes; which she assumed to be the stuff all over her room. The fight ended quickly with a loud thud. She still had no idea what happened to her. Maybe she was loaded on next to her.
Recalling the events after hearing Stormfly go quite, she remembered she tried to kick the man behind her, which she felt her foot get grabbed and lifted up, crashing her down. She reached for where she thought her axe would be, only to hear the sound of iron getting crunched and pushed away. She was completely powerless as she felt her arms forced behind her, while her ankles were being tied together. That much she did know, that there were two of them. It was a short while later when she was carried away over one of their shoulders. She tried to call out for help, but knew no one heard her.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard someone step up next to her.
"My chief, she's still the same little thunder we knew her as…" A voice sounded quietly to her right.
That voice. Why was it familiar? It wasn't Dagur, or Ryker. Why was it familiar to her?
"Heh…you know…I thought the years would diminish the admiration I had for her." Another voice began to say. That voice. She knew exactly who that was. Her blood ran cold with ice. Her breaths began to shorten as she recalled the times she heard it. Strogg...Strogg the Murderer!
Feeling someone gently rub her cheek through the hood, she jerked back against the net, trying to shout angrily to back off. "GGgggmph rrrruffm frrmm mmph!"
"Heh…you know. I almost admire her even more. She grew stronger. Never settled." Strogg continued to whisper coldly "Like a fine wine; it gets better with time."
Astrid heart stopped, knowing full well what Strogg was intending.
"I'm anxious for this trip to be over with…and I'll finally claim my revenge; and prize." Strogg continued to say.
"Aye my chief. But first things first. We need to get to that island." A second voice said, which she remembered as Ugo's "We still have a promise to keep."
"Yes. We'll get Ryker his friend…Darien, wasn't it? And also a Skrill for Dagur?" Strogg growled, walking away and his voice finally disappearing out of ear range.
Astrid let out an angry grunt. She knew Strogg was obsessed with her, as she was the only Berkian he wanted alive when he invaded Berk. She couldn't imagine being his trophy! Shoot, she couldn't believe he came back! Her blood boiled as she thought of the reason why he did though; and that was nothing more than to use her against Ukiah. As far as he knew, Ukiah was still a friend with both her and Hiccup.
Feeling the ship pick up speed with the sail, she continued to hang in her net, waiting for what the future would hold. All she knew for certain, was that Strogg wasn't going to let her go; even if given what he wanted.
Hey everyone! I made it safely across the country after three long days of driving. Hope you enjoyed the suspense of the chapter, and I plan on trying to get to a more regular schedule in order to finish this story. Have a great day and thank you for all the support!
Shoutout to those that have regularly PM'd, and reviewed it!
WhisperingWarrior
TheAnvilofWriting
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Thank you again!
