"It's going to be a short story," she said, "just a little break." Eight hours of research proved her wrong.
I may have done research for this, but please don't butcher me if something isn't historically accurate. I wasn't there.
Astrid sat up quickly, her eyes flashing from the door to Hiccup. "What was that?"
"Not the North Tower door," he confirmed. "I'll go check, just go back to sleep."
She nodded once and settled back down, as he phased through the door.
Astrid waited. Swallowing her fear, and keeping her eyes trained on the door. She prepared for Hiccup to return, or for whatever monster lied in the bowels of the North Tower, to burst forth.
Neither happened. Eventually, the comfort of the bed took her over again, and soon she was asleep.
In the morning, Astrid awoke to a buzzing sound. As she regained her senses, she found it was her phone on her bedside table. She snatched it, and silenced it's insistent vibrating.
"Hi mom," she answered.
"Hi honey! Did I wake you? I'm sorry."
She rubbed her eyes, looking to her clock. "It's okay, it's 1 o'clock here, I needed to get up." Astrid swung her legs out from under the comforter. Had last night all just been a dream? It had felt so real…Looking around her room, she saw no trace of the ghost. But all of her belongings had been put away. Her closet doors were ajar and her clothes hung in order of color inside. Even her Disney princess poster was hung on the back of the door.
"How's the castle? Dusty?"
"Yeah, a bit." She slipped on her house slippers and headed down to the kitchen for some breakfast.
"Well, you just worry about getting all your stuff put away. When we come on Friday, we'll bring all our rags and clean the whole place top to bottom. Do you have a washing machine?"
Astrid walked through the lobby, noticing a definite change in the atmosphere, all of her boxes were gone and things looked immaculately clean. "Uh…yeah. I think there's one in the West Tower."
"Great! Then we can prep a few rooms for guests!"
"Yeah, sounds good." Astrid took the stairs in the lobby to the dining room, and then opened the swinging door to the kitchen. She was thankful to have relatively new stainless steel appliances and marble countertops. A much bigger refrigerator and freezer sat off to the side, currently powered down, waiting for big events. "Halloween is like a month away, and that's one of the busy seasons around here. " She went to the normal sized, personal fridge to open the door. "It'd be great if we were ready for business by then."
Just then, Astrid heard a sizzling sound and turned sharply to see a frying pan suspended in mid air, with an egg within it.
"Yeah, I think that's very doable." Said her mother in the line. "I know your cousins were very excited to hear you took over the castle. They live over in Norwich, so don't be surprised if they pop in."
The toaster popped, and Astrid watched as the toast floated out and on to a plate. "Uhh...yeah, sure."
"With your Uncle's Health in the last few years, he wasn't taking in any guests, and no one really got to see him, except when we came at Christmas last year."
Astrid was barely listening to her mother as a jar of blackberry jam danced out of the refrigerator in front of her eyes. "Uh huh…"
"I've conned your aunt Eloise from Manchester into coming, and she's bringing her three kids. The least amount of hired hands we need, the better."
"Yeah, great." She watched a butter knife go into the jar and spread the jam on the toast. Meanwhile, a cabinet opened and a plate floated over to the stove, and the scrambled eggs slid onto it. She took the cartoon of milk out, only for a glass to appear beside her.
"Your father is so excited about this trip. He's been dying to know what's in the North Tower his entire life."
"Oh okay, sure." She said, taking a seat in the offered chair. "Wait wait wait, what did you just say?"
"I said your dad wants to explore the North Tower, Uncle Finn never let him in there."
Hiccup materialized in front of her, a smug look on his face, as he placed the eggs in front of her.
She mouthed, "Thank you," to him. Then she responded to her mother. "No, absolutely not. No one is going in that tower, it's way too dangerous. I went up last night, because I was curious too, and I'll say Uncle Finn had a good reason for forbidding it." She winked at Hiccup and turned on the speaker so he could listen too. Then she finally began to eat her eggs.
"Now Astrid, he's your father. You can't just boss him around."
"I can if it's my castle. The floor and stairs are crumbling, and the lake has flooded the tower. If the floor gives out underneath you, and you fall in, the walls are too slick to pull yourself out from. And I think there's barracuda in the water."
"There's no barracuda in Wales!" Her mother shouted.
Hiccup was trying in vain to keep from laughing. Then he cleared his throat, "Yes, but there are weever fish in the water. They're poisonous and can create paralysis. Not fun."
Astrid stared at him, wide-eyed.
"Astrid, who's that?"
"Uh…"
"Hello Mrs. Hofferson. My name is Hiccup, and I'm one of the ghosts that haunt the castle." He stated, matter of factly.
There was moment of silence before her mother let out a laugh. "You are just like your Uncle! Roping in the groundskeeper into pretending to be a ghost! He would do anything to convince us that the castle was hunted. I guess that's a good thing, since that's what brings in the money."
Hiccup raised his eyebrows, in an 'knew it' look.
"Alright, well we'll see you on Friday. You're probably going to have to convince your father about the tower yourself, but I'm sure he'll bug you about it relentlessly."
"I can handle it." She rolled her eyes. "Talk to you later, mom."
"Bye Honey, love you!"
"That was pretty risky. Don't you think?" She asked, after she hung up.
"It's really not that big of a deal if people know about me. Or the other 18 in the tower…it's just the…you know."
"The others?"
"Yes, precisely."
She crossed her arms, wanting to ask about it. But she had also just moved in, and was having a hard enough time getting used to ghosts in her castle in the first place. Instead, she had another question to ask him. "Hiccup, I was wondering if—"
"OGA BOGA BOGA!" Three voices interrupted her with a scream.
"JESUS CHRIST ON A MOTORBIKE!" She screamed in response. In front of her materialized three more ghosts, two looked like twins, and the other was beefy and stout.
"Wow Hiccup," said one of the twins, "you were right, that prank was much more satisfying."
"This was your idea?!" She swung her arm out to hit him, but her fist just phased through him, disrupting his image.
He only shrugged, "hey, it's better than the alternative."
The stocky boy leaned forward on the table, a flirtatious look on his face. "Hi, name's Snotlout. I'm the brains of this outfit."
"No, he's not." Hiccup whispered.
"Shut up, Hiccup."
The twins threw him out of the way. "Salutations, young Hofferson. I am Master Tuffnut, and this is my sister, the Lady Ruffnut."
"Glad to make your acquaintance." The female twin stated.
"Uh…likewise?"
"The noise you heard last night was just these guys goofing around." Hiccup provided. "When you left the door open, they snuck out and were trashing the castle."
Astrid turned up her nose. "What kind of benevolent ghosts are you?" Astrid questioned with a sneer.
"The malevolent benevolent kind." Tuffnut answered.
"But then I found them and made them clean up the house. I bribed them with being able to scare you in the morning."
Astrid frowned. "If this is going to be a normal occurrence, I'm getting out of here immediately. I won't even sell the house, I'll just leave both doors open, and vacant."
"DON'T DO THAT!" The four ghosts cried in unison.
"Oh why?" Taunted Astrid, "do I need to break a curse or something?"
That apparently was the wrong question to ask. Or right, if you'd like to think. The new, somewhat friendly ghosts disappeared in an instant, and she and Hiccup were left alone.
"What was that all about?"
He at least had the decency to excuse himself. "The door is still locked, so they couldn't have gone far. But with what you and your mother were talking about, a lot of cleaning is to be done. I will see if I can rope them into it."
"Would you like me to open The North Tower and see if we can get some others from the chapel to help?"
He looked away, shy. "Perhaps later." Then, he too vanished.
Perturbed, but not dejected, Astrid quickly made her way to the library to read more about what her Uncle had uncovered in the Tower, since no ghosts would give her answers.
June 19, 1945
The North Tower was exactly as I was expecting. Crumbling, dark, and damp. Though, the statue in the middle of the staircase surprised me. There is no imagery like it in the rest of the Castle.
When I entered, I was greeted by the biggest man I've ever seen. He had a big red beard and wore a metal helmet, like a viking. He loomed over me, and I feared for my life. I was about to tell him he was impeding on my property, but what could I do about it? He asked me my name, and I gave it, looking him square in the eye. When I mentioned I was a Hofferson, he became much more pleasant. He provided that he was Stoick the Vast, the Chief of the Hooligan Tribe. I told him I didn't understand. He led me to the top floor of the tower where the chapel once was. Seated at an assortment of different chairs and tables were a handful of viking warriors. They sat me down among them, between Gobber, a blacksmith, and Hiccup, the chief's son.
According to the chief, his tribe of 103 vikings came to raid the castle that was under Celtic rule. The Celtic druids defended themselves and trapped the tribe in the North Tower, the point of invasion. Two vikings, a married couple, were spared and allowed to wander outside the castle. This was the first Hofferson in the castle, and my great ancestor, 18 generations ago. Another viking went free, but Stoick refused to talk about him. 5 more were killed, but their spirits remain in the castle. The other 95 were to remain trapped within the castle, until Axel Hofferson was able to convince the druids in the town otherwise. Many years passed, and two generations. Axel Hofferson's children inherited the castle. The Celts either died or left, the town now Anglo-Saxon territory, and left the castle in the care of the Hofferson's. Meanwhile, the vikings in the Tower never aged. But time passed just as slowly. It seems they don't know how to leave either. I will do more research on these druids, and maybe I can help these vikings. For now, they have welcomed me to their ranks and have dubbed me Fearless Finn, since I was able to look Stoick in the eye. I am the youngest Hofferson to be Lord of the castle, and they have high hopes for me.
-Finn.
Astrid looked up to the portrait hanging on the wall of the chief, wishing she had met him, longing to know what could have happened to him. She turned back to the journal.
June 25, 1945
I visited the library today, and found as many books as I could on druids. The castle had more than I had expected, some from my father's years, and many much older. It appears research on this matter has continued in my family. I will keep another journal dedicated to my research. From what I gather, the Druids were scholarly intellectuals. They were the Judges, Teachers, and Priests of their clans…but at this period in history, the Celts were pagans and practiced forms of witchcraft. I do believe that my viking friends are under a curse or enchantment. How wonderful would it be if I was the one to free them?
For now, I will continue my research in the red journal.
-Finn
Sure enough, on the shelf where this journal was found, a red one sat in the spot next to it.
Astrid decided to continue in this journal instead.
July 7, 1945
How foolish I have been. I left the door to the North Tower unlocked, and have released a great evil upon my guests. A young orphan, no more than 6 years of age, has told me that every night when she goes to bed, she sees a strange woman watching her from the corner of the room. Another young woman said she went to the library and saw Skeletons leaning against the rails in the East Tower. Rumors have begun to grow about specters in my castle and my guests are leaving. Though I received no money from them, I feel personally responsible for their misfortune. Surely living in a haunted castle would be better than out on the streets. I rectified this situation. I told Stoick the problem, and he understood, though there was a great sadness in him. He and his son swept through the castle, rounded up all the specters, and ushered them back into the North Tower.
I understand that their sadness is attributed to being locked in the tower for hundreds of years. I took it upon myself to bring them decks of cards, chess, and checkers to entertain themselves. They seemed to appreciate it, but I doubt it's any consolation. I must do what it takes to set them free.
-Finn
Astrid wondered if letting the ghosts in the chapel out to run free in the castle was a good idea. Hiccup said there was 19, but that's still too many heads to keep track of. Maybe when she became better acquainted with them. She went onto the next entry.
August 20, 1945
My plans to attend Cambridge University have not been deterred. Mother was quite concerned when I wrote that I was changing majors from Art to Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic History. Rightly so, I had never had any interest in it before I met Stoick and his tribe. But I truly believe getting my degree in this area will help in cracking the case of the North Tower. If for any other reason, I'd like to restore the castle to what it looked like in it's peak. Whenever that was. I have a lot of work to do.
Thankfully, Cambridge is only four hours away by car, and I will be able to check in with the castle often. Two families that have been staying here since my father owned the house, are now paying rent because they are able to do so. With the funds of £50 a month, I have left a long time guest, Eret Eretson in charge of taking care of the castle while I am gone. Though, the key to the North Tower will remain on a chain on my neck at all times. Hiccup warned about a dragon that lies in wake of visitors to the tower that are not of Hofferson blood. I wonder is he is just jesting with me, but at times I can't tell.
I will miss him the most while I am gone. He is a little older than I am, relatively speaking. He is much more relaxed than Stoick, and there's something about him that's much different than the rest of the Vikings. Restlessness, I suppose, more than any of the others. I'm surprised the tower hasn't driven him mad yet. I have imagined, on more than one occasion, the look on his face when he is able to walk through the woods on a brisk fall day. How long has it been since he's breathed fresh air?
Within the next five years, I surmise he'll be able to do so once again.
-Finn
And yet, here they were. 70 years in the future, and Hiccup was still just a specter.
Astrid glanced up and saw Hiccup holding another journal from the shelf.
"When were you going to tell me about that raid that your tribe made? Or that there's like 80 more ghosts in the castle?"
Hiccup wordlessly closed the journal and then sat on the settee with her. She expected a simple answer, but Hiccup was not a simple man. "For the last 20 years, I have known you."
Her eyes widened.
"Your uncle told me stories about you, and when you only a child, he decided he was going to leave the castle to you. He asked us not to tell you about the raid, because he didn't want you to feel shame."
"Shame? Oh! That must be the 'disturbing truths' he was talking about. That my ancestors were responsible for plundering and murdering a group of people in their own home." She shrugged, "other's ancestors have done worse."
"We didn't murder anyone." He corrected. "We were told, by a man from another tribe, that this castle was abandoned and only thieves and murders lived here with their plunder. We had no idea what was really going on. This man's tribe had convinced several other tribes the same thing, and we all left our families and homes to seek our fortune."
He turned away from her, guilt still heavily laden on his mind. "We scared the Celts out of their home, and set to take control of the castle…only then was it made known that these were innocent people, just living their lives. Only three of us were spared. The rest of us have been paying for the last thousand years."
"How do I break the curse? How do I set you all free?"
"I truly do not know. I surmise that your Uncle's journals will hold some ideas."
She nodded. "Because of my Uncle, I was inspired to get my degree in Ancient History. I know between you, me, and the journals, we can figure this out together."
He smiled widely and earnestly. "Thank you." Then he considered a moment, "if we want to have the time to do this, maybe we should get some help from my friends to clean the castle, and prepare for your family in a few days."
She groaned, "I don't actually want them all to come."
"Why not?"
"I'm worried about someone trying to snoop in the North Tower. My cousins are actually really big trouble makers. I wouldn't be surprised if they knew how to lock pick and get in the tower."
He thought for a moment, "are they Hofferson's?"
"Their mom is."
"But their last name isn't?"
"No, it's Davies."
He shrugged, "Then there shouldn't be any reason to worry. Do you have the keys on you?"
"Uh, yeah? I never go anywhere without them."
He beckoned her to follow him and together they went to the North Tower hallway. "This hall is protected, and if anyone not of direct Hofferson descent tries to enter, the Night Fury will scare them away."
"Night Fury?"
As if summoned, a black shadow moved passed the window. As Astrid leaned out to get a better look, she heard a gruff snort behind her.
Turning around, she came face to face with an ebony stony creature with emerald eyes. It only stared, and looked pleasant. Though, its size and nature still made her nervous.
"This thing isn't going to scare them," she said honestly. "He looks too friendly."
The statue bared it's teeth and growled.
Astrid flinched away. "Yep that'll work."
"This is Toothless," Hiccup provided, scratching the creature's side. "He was once my dragon. We flew from island to island discovering what we could. When we came here to raid, my father had him head the ship to frighten sea-serpents. When we were cursed, Toothless was turned into a gargoyle, frozen in stone. But then, about 200 years later, the town came under attack of the Normans, and Toothless woke up and fought them off. Then went back to sleep when peace came. It was about 100 years after that he woke up again, when their was a burglar in the castle. Then he would sleep from anywhere to a few days to a few years. But now, he's pretty much always awake."
"You don't think it has to do with Non-Hofferson's always being in castle, do you? Like my Uncle's guests and the groundskeeper?"
"I think that is exactly what's happening. Which I am grateful for."
Astrid held her hand out, and the stone dragon rubbed his nose against her. She smiled, "I like him. But I don't know if I want this to be plan A. It's rumored the castle as ghosts, not a dragon."
"Easy, we get Ruffnut and Tuffnut to stand guard in the East Tower. They love scaring people, and will do whatever it takes to get a scream out of someone."
"OGA BOGA BOGA!" The twins screamed, leaning in from the broken windows.
"SWEET MOTHER MARY!" Astrid shouted in response. She took a shuttering breath, "Okay, I'm easy to startle. But you'll have to do more than jump scares to actually scare these kids."
"Like what?"
Astrid went and unlocked the tower door. "We'll do some research together. We'll watch some scary movies, as long as you promise not to use them on me."
"Deal," the two confirmed.
After the group came back inside the tower, Astrid locked the door behind her and they ascended into the Chapel.
The group seemed smaller. Gobber looked up when they entered, "there you are, Lad."
"Sorry, we got locked out. How are things?"
"Three left last night."
Hiccup's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean? The twins and Snotlout were with me outside if you were counting them."
"No kiddo, Mulch, Spitelout, and Gustof all left to go to their rooms. They never came back."
"No…" Hiccup looked around to the three more empty chairs added to the pile. "But we've never had more than one leave in the span of 10 years…and now four over two days? Why now? Is it me? Is it because my dad…?"
"No," Gobber provided, standing. "It's her."
"Me?" Astrid pointed at herself. "What did I do?"
"Nothing that you could help," Gobber provided. "It's just…a Hofferson has to…do certain things. And if you get married and have children, those children will have their father's name, and won't be Hoffersons. If you then pass the castle onto them, then the castle falls."
"Oh."
"It seems they lost hope. And more will follow suit if you don't figure something out soon." Gobber spoke to Hiccup.
"Astrid already knows about the curse, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to break it. But we need your help prepping the castle for her family so we can work."
Gobber grinned. "You mean she's going to let us out?"
"Well, to some extent." Astrid warned. "Please don't trash the place."
"No promises, lass."