A week.
It had been already a week. More or less, I've literally lost track of time after the first four days.
A week since I had been brought here because the men that kidnapped me thought I was Hiccup.
A week since Heather and Ingrid were supposed to find the riders and lure them in.
A week since dark thoughts and nightmares kept plaguing my mind.
A week since I started to wish I never left Berk in the first place.
And a week since I've been waiting for the riders to show up and get me out of this Hel hole.
Part of me wanted them to stay on the Edge though, if they got caught as well then it would be awesome. Feel the sarcasm?
Anyways, it's not that bad around here.
Okay.
Who in all the nine realms am I fooling? It's horrible, the routine being the worst, oh Thor… waking up because someone kicks you in the back, then the so said breakfast, like honestly, can you call water breakfast? Oh but that's not even the worst, the two interrogations per day are, interrogations in which I've been whipped, punched, kicked, slashed and once waterboarded. And I wouldn't even have enough time between them to recover and the night was the worst, I couldn't get any sleep until morning then it would all repeat. Again and again and again.
After I've been in the captain's quarters the first night, I saw Ryker only a few times while he passed by my cell. He never said anything and neither did I. It was like I didn't even exist, which, was good? I guess?
I looked up to the door of the cell and whimpered quietly as my stomach grumbled. I was curled up in a corner, hugging my knees close to my chest with my blood coated arms. My whole body ached with dull pain, my back had been whipped and slashed pretty good, my arms and legs were full with bloody cuts, my torso was full of purplish splotches and my insides hurt from being starved and from Dagur forcing himself into me.
A shiver ran through my whole being as the horrid images flashed in front of my eyes. The worst was that a little part of me liked it, being taken like that, pain and pleasure bounding together, the feeling of— No. It was wrong for so many reasons. Odin's beard… to what I've come…
I blinked hard and pushed it aside, trying to think of something else.
But all that came to my mind was that the guard would come soon to take me again. Back to that damned chamber and back to that psychopath.
Why couldn't they understand that I didn't know anything? No. They thought I was just hard to break. That I was just a toy he could play around with. The thought alone made me frown in disgust.
I just wished that they would kill me already.
Instead of all I've been through this week I'd rather be dead.
I wouldn't wish this to anyone. To be so exhausted, starved, beaten up and to feel this helpless and weak. So hopeless that you start to even doubt your own self and your own sanity at some point.
One night I swear I've heard someone whispering my name. At first I thought that it was just the exhaustion and I was imagining it until I heard more whispers. In those moments I really thought I was going insane with all of what was happening to me and I started to wish the riders would come faster.
But what if they wouldn't come? What if Dagur and the other men were right? What if the riders didn't care? What if I really was just nobody for them and they would leave me for dead? And Phantom? Did he even notice I was missing? Did he search for me? Was he just going to let me down…? He was my friend for now over two years. He was like a brother to me. He couldn't just… leave me…
My eyes turned watery and hot tears trickled down my cheeks as quiet sobs and sniffles came along.
Those questions kept eating away at my mind and the interrogations weren't helping at all. After reassuring myself that it would all be alright and they would come, I was taken back to that torture and my own thoughts, doubts and fears were resurfacing.
As I was staying there, crying as quietly as I could, I heard some explosions then I was tossed to the ground as the vessel shook.
I scrambled up as fast as I could just to start seeing stars in front of my eyes, my head felt light and my limbs heavy. The blood loss, the starvation and the exhaustion took a toll on me.
Suddenly there was a high pitched sound and as I snapped my gaze to look through the little hatch I saw a purple blast hit a ship.
My eyes widened as realization settled in. They were here. They came.
Without thinking twice I rushed to the door of the cage and grabbed the bars tightly as I looked towards the hall from where one of the riders should come.
But instead there was Ryker.
My face dropped at the sight of the frown on his face and angry gaze as he marched to my cell. My hands flew off the bars and I took two small steps back when he unlocked the door and opened it. Then he grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the cell.
I almost tripped and fell as he pushed me forward. He didn't even bother to tie my arms. This, here, could be a nice chance to escape and help the gang. So I quickened my pace.
Even if I was tired as Hel, I ran. I ran to the end of the hall, to the hatch, the exit, my saving. There were heavy footsteps from behind me but I pushed it aside as I was getting closer and closer to the ladder.
Adrenaline flowed through my veins, dulling the pain from all of my wounds, getting me to keep going, keep going until I would be safe, away from this Hel.
I climbed up the ladder as fast as I could then skidded a bit as I ran towards the edge of the deck but stopped dead in my tracks when I saw all the hunters firing arrows and spears at the riders who swiftly avoided them. Both silver dragons were in the air, and from down here it looked like they were trying to stop the five riders but never succeeded in their task.
Wait.
Five? Where was Phantom?
I shook off the thoughts as the ship rocked violently from another shot. I fell onto a hunter who glared at me but I hook punched him as hard as I could, then stood up and kicked him in the face just to be sure.
Pants were coming out of my mouth but I couldn't waste even a second. I grabbed the crossbow and arrows that fell from the man's hands and aimed for a hunter on the other ship, then pulled the trigger. The arrow flew through the air and got straight into the hunter's chest, making him stumble back from the ballista and fall.
I couldn't even believe I managed that shot without even knowing how to properly use a crossbow in the first place. I shook the thought away and grabbed another arrow, reloaded the crossbow, aimed and fired again, this time hitting a man's shoulder.
It was better than doing nothing. Suddenly I noticed the twins staring at me as they flew past the ship I was on. I waved at them fast before I reloaded the weapon again.
Soon enough another ship was down. Then another one. And lastly the only one that remained was the one I was on.
The crossbow fell from my hands as my feet carried me to the railing, towards Toothless who was diving to the edge of the ship.
My happiness was short lived though.
Someone snatched me by my arm. I tried to get away but suddenly froze when I felt cold metal on my bare neck. I swallowed a lump in my throat and glanced up at Hiccup who was glaring at the one who was holding me.
"Hiccup Haddock!"
I clenched my fists tightly as anger poured through me. I would kill him some day.
"Ryker! Let her go!" Hiccup shouted angrily as Toothless kept hovering in the air near the ship.
"Then give back what you've stolen from us! It belongs to the hunters!" Ryker boomed then he leaned forward and I shivered inwardly as his breath fanned over my ear when he spoke lowly "Girl, I hope that father of yours taught you how to swim"
He removed the sword from my neck and the next thing I knew I had my wrists tied behind my back, the rope not even tight. The hunter grabbed my shoulder and pushed me right on the edge of the ship.
My heart was pounding hard in my chest and a series of heavy pants came out of my mouth as I looked down at the dark water. I wasn't actually very fond of swimming right now.
"The Dragon Eye or she goes overboard!"
My eyes shot up to Hiccup's. He was debating on what to do so as I was. I let out a breath and shook my head slightly. At first he didn't understand what I had in my mind but then I guess he got onto the idea.
If I got into the water and they dove fast enough then I would be saved and we won't have to worry about the Dragon Eye.
"Oh, I guess I just, don't have it with me" Hiccup retorted smugly with an innocent shrug.
"Very well then" and with that I was thrown overboard towards the cold embraces of the water. I screamed at the motion and it settled when I hit the water and started to sink.
I gasped for air but inhaled water instead and started to cough. I was panicking and it certainly wasn't helping. After some attempts to break the rope, it loosened and I was able to get my wrists free.
My lungs were burning and my limbs ached but I pushed towards the surface. As I was enclosing to the surface my vision started to swirl and I felt light headed. I tried once again to breathe as I felt my lungs collapsing but it was all water.
Suddenly I was snatched out of the water and started to cough out the water from my lungs as we soared up in the sky. I was definitely not getting back into water any time soon. After I managed to regulate my breathing, I peered at what was holding me and saw some red paws with some big, long claws.
"What in the name of…" I trailed off as I looked up "Hookfang…?"
The Monstrous Nightmare glanced down at me and smiled "Yep. You alright there?"
I gave a small nod and averted my gaze from his.
"Well, Hiccup, turns out me and Hookfang are faster" stated someone from above.
"Wow Snotlout, maybe you truly are. We'll have to change the stats in the Book of Dragons" replied Hiccup sarcastically.
"Really?"
"Of course not. Now I'd ask you to put Anne on Toothless"
I bit back a laugh as I heard Snotlout grumble something under his breath before Hookfang placed me carefully behind Hiccup. I wouldn't have thought I would miss that.
I winced a bit but pushed it fast aside and petted Toothless' side "Thanks…"
Hiccup chuckled "Anytime, and I didn't know you could use a crossbow"
"Learned just half hour ago" I chuckled out a bit weakly and saw Hiccup turn his head to look at me. The smile he had on his face faded as he now saw better what condition I was in.
"What happened there?" he asked with concern feeling his voice.
"I don't want to talk about it, but I wouldn't wish such thing even to my worst enemy. Dying is way better" I hissed out and huffed "It's just some wounds… they'll heal. Most important is that you didn't get caught instead of me"
He arched a brow and looked at me confused "What do you mean?"
"Well, they actually wanted to kidnap you, not me. The men that took me thought I was you since, you know—" I glanced down at the ripped bloody tunic and pants "—and it was dark then so…"
He stilled for a moment before he visibly tensed up a bit "I am so sorry. It should have been me in your place" he sighed and rubbed his face "We found out the next morning that you got kidnapped by the hunters from Heather and Ingrid, but both of them said that the hunters were expecting us to come so they could catch us. We had to wait a few days for them to settle.
"Then after like three days we get a Terror mail from Johann, saying that he got attacked by the hunters. I went with Snotlout and Fishlegs to get Johann out of the trouble. When we got there, turns out that there was a pack of wild dragons, not dragon hunters. We had some trouble with them but in the end we got back to the Edge only to see Ruffnut on top of Windshear, Heather's Razorwhip, urging us to hurry because the hunters attacked the Edge.
"Ingrid, Heather, Ryker and Dagur got away and we followed them on a safe distance until we got to another four ships. And here we are"
"Whew" I spoke softly.
"I know right, the good news is that Astrid and Tuffnut somehow managed to keep the Edge safe. Which is—"
"Astrid… and Tuffnut? That's like… the worst team possible" I chuckled out but winced at the sudden pain that shot through my back.
"Yes, but hey, the Edge is safe so I think they did a great job"
"You've got a point" I admitted and moved a bit to get more comfortable but instantly regretted it as pain jutted through my entire body and I started to feel the stinging sensation the salt water caused on the cracked cuts.
Now I was starting to feel the exhaustion and weakness from the blood loss. The adrenaline was slowly vanishing, giving space to the pain to come back. My breath hitched as I glanced down at the now bleeding cuts.
"Just hold on. We'll get to Gothi soon. You just have to hold on and try to stay awake. Alright?"
I looked up at Hiccup and gave a small nod, trying to catch my breath. He flashed me a small worried smile before he turned around and whispered something to Toothless. We sped up and I wrapped my arms around Hiccup's chest to hold on, just to cringe at the hurt came back.
"Where's Phantom?" I asked quietly after a while.
He stiffened a bit before he spoke softly "Phantom— well, he's gone… I don't know what happened—"
"He's gone…?" I forced out as my voice cracked.
"Yes… When we got back he wasn't on the Edge so I assumed you went on a flight, then the next morning Heather comes and tells us that the hunters took you. I am so sorry… You both should've come with us, we didn't have to leave you whole alone on the Edge. I am really sorry, Marianne.
"Maybe, maybe he just wondered around…? Let's not be pessimists and hope he didn't get caught" he finished as he turned around and gave me the best reassuring smile he could. But even he wasn't believing what he was saying.
Phantom couldn't just wonder around…
What if went after me and got caught? What if he's trapped? What if he's in trouble? What if they killed him? What if they were killing him now? Or worse?
I shook my head slightly in an attempt to clear it. There were too many questions swirling in my mind and I couldn't let them cloud my thinking entirely. But it was clouded already by the pain and fatigue. I just wanted to sleep…
"We'll get him back, I promise. Now you just need to stay awake a little longer. Okay?"
I gave a small nod and let my head rest on his shoulder. My eyelids felt heavy and it was hard to stay awake with the darkness tugging me in softly.
I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I escaped, that I even helped the others from the ship. It was, honestly, a miracle. And the weirdest thing was that Ryker sort of helped me that night before he tossed me in a cell… He called me 'little angel', like what on Odin's beard… It had to be just a coincidence.
But now? The rope was loose. It didn't make sense.
I blinked hard and shook my head slightly as I tried to stay focused on the horizon, on the setting sun, but it was getting harder and harder. The darkness was starting to embrace me, calling to me and I didn't even try to fight it.
Hiccup said something but it was all mumbled. I think I heard someone whisper my name but I couldn't be sure. I just gave a small a nod as I felt a presence stir in my mind.
I eyed again the horizon, the big orange fiery ball that was still illuminating the sky, then let the exhaustion get the best of me as I closed my eyes and fell into the dark.
