Chapter 5-

'Exhaustion'

Ragnarok Is Coming…

Astrid lay on her back, her eyes closed, although not asleep she was as still as if so. Without the relief of losing consciousness to slumber, Astrid focused on entertaining her thoughts by counting her breaths or by holding her breath until her vision went blurry and she could hear the thump of her own heartbeat and then she would breathe. So far, forty-five seconds was her best. She was so focused, that when the explosion trembled the earth like a great roar, Astrid nearly jumped out of her skin.

She wasn't completely sure if someone had just crashed a Monstrous Nightmare into a boulder but that was sure as Hel what it sounded like.

Astrid snapped her eyes open and scanned her surroundings, although she could see nothing out of place in the dark lit dungeon.

Gathering her strength Astrid lifted her body into a sitting position and called out for Heather; although unsurprisingly, the girl did not answer. At first Astrid didn't think anything of it. Heather's mood swings were fickle and she would often ignore Astrid just because she felt like it, but after she scrambled towards where Heather usually sat she realised that there was no response because Heather simply wasn't there. It was as if she had just vanished. Astrid hadn't heard the rattle of keys from a guard or Heather at all, she was just gone. Astrid, although, didn't have much time to ponder on Heather's mysterious disappearance as she heard someone across from her cough.

It wasn't uncommon, a cough. This dungeon wasn't exactly the cleanest or the most sanitary of places and people were bound to get sick, but it wasn't so much the cough that spiked Astrid's interest, more whom it derived from.

Her heart thumping a little faster, Astrid heaved herself on two feet, using the wall to scramble herself up. She stumbled to the bars and leant against them, craving their support. She forced her eyes to reveal who was in the cell opposite her. Unfiltered happiness bubbled in her chest as Astrid's sight caught a glimpse of none other than Ruffnut Thorston.

Her throat scratched and parched, Astrid called to the girl, hoping that it was indeed Ruffnut she saw and not another who resembled her. In hearing her name, Ruffnut caught sight of Astrid's face and gasped. She too, seemed relieved to see Astrid alive.

Astrid had never really been overly close with the Thorston twins, but seeing a familiar face that was alive, gave her hope that maybe not everyone she knew was dead.

"Ruffnut, where's Tuffnut? How are you here? Have you seen anyone else?" As Ruffnut heard her brother's name her face fell and sorrow brimmed in her eyes, something awful had happened and Astrid couldn't help but feel horrible she mentioned his name as Ruffnut turned her back on Astrid and sat down; her head between her hands.

"Ruffnut?" Astrid spoke tentatively. Ruffnut didn't answer. Assuming the worst, Astrid closed her eyes and lay her pounding head against the cold bite of the bars.

Suddenly, a clattering against the stone floor alerted Astrid that someone was coming, but she didn't have the energy to care. She wasn't due to go into the Hospitium anytime soon and although she felt sorry for whomever would disappear from their cell forever, she found it hard to care for them. Whatever fate had in store for them, it couldn't be worse than being half-starved to death and without the privilege to sleep. Heaving a sigh, Astrid let go of the bars and slowly dropped to the ground again.

Soon, she thought. Soon her end was bound to come, either forced by her hand or fate.

In the distance, down the corridor of the cells, Astrid could see the flicker of an orange glow. Strange, she thought. Normally the guards were as used to the darkness as the prisoners they watched over, whoever was coming was not one the usual visitors. Apparently the others around her thought the same thing for she heard the shuffle of limbs as they no doubt pulled themselves out of sight of what was coming; praying they were not on its agenda.

The glow of a torch grew brighter and the click of footsteps louder, until they stopped. Opening her eyes Astrid seemed to be proved wrong, she was, in fact, the object of interest. On the other side of her bars stood the silhouette of two men. The darkness hid most of their features but Astrid could see enough to know she did not know the men.

Too exhausted to care, Astrid barely registered the rough command ordering her to get up. The high-pitched jingle of keys seemed to hammer into her very skull and she almost barked at the man to stop when she heard the familiar screech of her cell door opening.

"Dangmö, carry her, she appears too weak to walk," the same voice that had first spoken ordered the guard behind him. A strong pair of arms lifted her limp body into a standing position. With the new angle, Astrid looked at the man holding the torch. She squinted against the bright light, but she could see that it was neither Dagur nor any of the other alchemists. Perhaps they finally realised she was more dead than alive and were going to end her misery, Astrid hoped that was the case; she couldn't imagine being forced to spend another minute fighting the gnawing claws of hunger.

The guard began to push her forward following the man holding the torch. His hand firm on her arm, she was more or less being dragged by the guard, Dangmö. Astrid's steps were heavy and she stumbled more than she walked. The lack of shoes or any form of protection against the scratch of the stone floor didn't help either. Her head hung and Astrid fought the urge to fall and crumple into a ball and beg them to just leave her alone.

"I don't think she'll make it to Drago, sir," the guard that was carrying Astrid murmured. She almost laughed, no shit? I'd like to see them in my shoes; or lack thereof, she thought.

Casting a glance at her weak form, the man in front shook his head, "It doesn't matter, Drago wants her now, delaying wouldn't be wise, you know as well as I do," he replied gruffly and continued walking.

Dangmö pulled her arm over his shoulder and Astrid almost sighed as she leaned all her weight on the guard. With Astrid being more or less carried by the guard they seemed to move a lot faster through the parallel rows of cells and soon she could see a winding set of staircases at the end of the corridor.

Anticipating the amount of time and effort it would take Astrid to make it up those stairs the man in front ordered the guard to carry her. Dangmö let go of Astrid briefly before she felt an arm behind her legs and the other at her back. The guard began carrying Astrid bridle-style up the stairs. If Astrid had any sense of dignity left, her cheeks would have flushed red with embarrassment at how close she was to the guard, and with how little she was wearing; she could practically feel each beat of his heartbeat. In what seemed like no time at all, the three of them came out of what Astrid realised was a trapdoor in what seemed to be another dungeon. Great, she thought, I'm just being upgraded.

Expecting to be dropped to the ground, Astrid was surprised when they began walking to the other end of the room where the door was. Beside the dungeon sat two guards. One got up to open the door whilst the other walked to the trapdoor and with a thud, closed it behind them. The guard at the door nodded to Dangmo in acknowledgement and when he looked at Astrid's pathetic form folded in Dangmö's arms Astrid could swear she saw a hint of sympathy in them.

Placing the torch in the sconce, the man in front continued walking and she was carried through the door and into what seemed like a room for storage. Bags of what looked like rice and oats had been piled on top of each other and to the side, Astrid could see crates of all sorts of fruit and vegetables piled to the ceiling. Need like she had never felt before coursed through her food deprived body and she struggled uselessly against Dangmö's grip, but all too soon they passed through the room and all hope of food gone too.

Astrid felt like crying. Could they not see? She was practically fading before their eyes. Astrid looked up into the guard's face. He was impassive, dark eyes forward, and without emotion. It was almost as if he was… used to this?

Breathing in, Astrid closed her aching eyes the rest of the way of wherever they were going. If she so much as caught a whiff of food Astrid wasn't sure she was completely incapable of clawing at the guard to get what she wanted.

It was a while before Astrid heard the man in front speak, "You would be better setting her down now Dangmö." Dangmö nodded and lowered Astrid to the ground. Without the warmth and support, Astrid felt as if she had been ripped from her only source of comfort and almost tumbled to the floor, had Dangmö not lifted her up by the shoulders pulling her along.

Looking around her, Astrid realised they had walked into some sort of foyer. In front of her, past the man, there was an eloquent looking set of double doors. Up close, Astrid could see the intricacy of detail in the smooth carvings. There seemed to be a picture to it, a lion's head on either side of the doors, each with their mouths roaring open. Behind the lions was a single rose on each side, one looked wilted and dead; the petals ebbing away. On the other side, the rose looked vibrant and almost glowing, but it looked different. Almost as if the rose was fuller, more compact of petals with something in the middle of the flower's center.

Pulling her away, the guard guided her to the right and down another passageway. Truly, Astrid was ready to completely collapse, only her curiosity of where in Hela's realm they were taking her, made her keep going.

At the end of the corridor was an arch opening with billowing silk curtains shielding what lay beyond. The guard pushed aside the fabric leaving Astrid to squint against the blinding light of the sun that came shining in full force onto her pale face. Pulling her arm against her eyes Astrid followed the guard through the door.

"Careful of the step," the guard warned but it was too late. Astrid fell headfirst through the door, narrowly missing the man in front but very much smacking into the mucky ground. Laying there, Astrid groaned against her weak limbs that shook as she somehow found the will to pull herself up. She could feel the dull stinging on her knees and elbows as she pushed herself to keep walking. Dangmö clutched her arm tight and allowed Astrid to lean herself against him. It was only now that Astrid noticed the warm sun in her face, she wished she could pause and just find comfort in the sun's warm touch, but alas, the guard kept walking.

Around her, Astrid could see nothing but endless, lush gardens. Pink rose bushes lined to her right and left creating a perfect circular wall of flowers. There were strange trees with long drooping leaves that hung low and in the crescent of the leaves a small, brown sphere ball nestled like a precious jewel. In the centre, there was a pond as large as a small lake with flowering lily pads and at each side there a wooden bench. The flower beds were a riot of May colour and even on closer inspection, they were weed-free. The setting sun had begun to create a sky of fire, the orange of every wintry hearth and healthy tangerines, but before the flames in the sky, there were soft hues of pinks and soft reds. It was beautiful, the first beautiful thing Astrid had seen in a very long time.

On one of the benches, there was the large figure of a man, a man that this time, Astrid knew. This was the Drago they had spoken of. Before, when the guard had spoken the name something had tugged at her brain but being able to put a face to the name began to ring a series of very alarming bells. Drago's cruel, pure evil face was the last thing Astrid saw before he shoved a cloth over her mouth and she woke for the first time in that pit of a dungeon.

Whatever Drago could want with her now, Astrid had no idea, but she had a feeling it couldn't be good. As they got closer, Astrid's heart began to thump faster.

"Your Highness, the Immune you sent me to fetch," the man that had been leading them bowed and indicated an arm towards Astrid. Drago's vile eyes roamed across what seemed like every inch of Astrid's slim, weak form; suddenly Astrid felt very naked in her thin, dirt-caked gown and she had to cross her arms against the vicious stare.

"Yes, indeed you have." His voice was rough and sounded as gravely as the first dreadful time she had heard it and not for the first time, she wished she could hide away from this evil man.

"Paeton, send the guard to fetch me something to eat. Some chopped apples and bread." Drago smiled crookedly as Paeton nodded to Dangmö. Strangely, Astrid felt less comfortable without the steady presence of the guard keeping her up and as he left her side, Paeton seemed to realise her incapability to stand on her own two feet as he replaced the guard; allowing Astrid to rest her side on him. Paeton was much taller than the other guard and now as she looked, Astrid could make out a quite harrowing scar that ran angrily across the right side of his face, although looking up had begun to make Astrid's head spin far more than she could bear and she looked reluctantly back at Drago.

He seemed to be watching her every move and she wished someone would speak to break the silence, unfortunately, it was the wrong someone who spoke.

"I can only guess the list of questions you might have for me, and if you let me, I can explain them all but I implore you to listen to what I have to say first." Drago offered the spare seat beside him with a hand, but Astrid stayed rooted to the spot. Smiling, Drago continued, taking her silence as an answer. And so he began.

"I have been alive a lot longer than you, fair one, and I have seen horrors that you couldn't even imagine, but you shall hear of that soon.

"I had a family once. We lived on a small bit of land in our village and being a fisherman, my wife and I built a small wooden cottage just beside the sea. We lived happily as a married couple and soon after being wed my wife was blessed with a child. I was there when she was born, my daughter that is. We named her Castra after the Goddess Fair's daughter hoping it would bring health and happiness to our daughter. She looked so much like her mother I found it would be hard to distinguish each beauty from the other. A few years passed and still, we lived peacefully and without quarrell; that was until they came.

"Like giant evil beasts, they came over the island, their shadows blocking out the sky almost completely leaving us in shadows. I was in fear for my family. We knew of dragons, of course, everyone did and we had heard of other villages being raided and drained of their food stores but never our little island. Neighbours began screaming as they were attacked and their own loved ones maimed, I had been fishing when they had arrived, so I ran to my home, praying to the Gods that my loved ones were alive and safe; but the Gods weren't listening.

I arrived at the house that I had built along with my wife and watched as my daughter was torn in two. My wife lay motionless and casted aside, carelessly on the roof of the house. I ran despite having only a small blade that I would use to cut pieces of fish bait and I killed that dragon, but it didn't matter, they were dead. So, that night I buried the two parts of my daughter and managed to get my wife off the roof. I buried my wife beside her daughter, marked their graves and burned the house down."

If Astrid didn't feel the constant gnaw of hunger at the pit of her empty stomach and the overbearing pounding in her head, she would have thought her own imagination had finally decided to entertain itself. The story Drago told was horrifying and yet, as he told it, there wasn't even the smallest flicker of grief or pain as he reminisced the death of his family. The man was truly heartless. Astrid glanced up to the face of Paeton to see his reaction of the brutal story but he seemed as emotionless as the man telling the story.

"That night, the village I lived in helped me to capture a dragon, we lured it with fresh meat and it gladly fell into our trap. It was a magnificent beast; huge and monstrous and so I broke it. Let it foolishly waste its fire and then I broke the creature until it saw me as its master. Then I did the same with another dragon and then another and another until I had a sizable amount of dragons at my will. Stupid creatures they were.

"Tying one to the helm of my boat I gathered the villagers and we set sail with the creature leading me to its nest. The dragon I found there was huge, bigger than any dragon I had ever seen, but it was not what I was looking for. When I found the beast I had been searching for I tamed it. It was no easy feat and I lost my arm in the process but once I had the beast it brought me an army."

Drago stopped and looked to Astrid as if gauging her reaction on the matter. It seemed as if he was looking for her approval. Uncomfortable, Astrid looked to the ground, hoping he would finish soon.

Drago looked up to the sky, his eyes flitting across its beauty. "It's a long story and not one I should feel privileged to tell you, but know that I am a very powerful man."

Astrid's confusion intensified tenfold. Why should she care? Does he want a round of applause? He's taken everything he possibly could and with Astrid on the brink of death there was nothing she could fight back with.

"Why should I care?" Even Astrid was surprised at how weak she sounded. When she spoke it sounded barely like a whisper. But Drago seemed to have heard her just fine.

"Don't play games with me. No one in this realm is immune to my serum and yet you are. It would make even the least gullible of men think you are not from this realm." His voice was clipped, frustrated even.

Astrid almost laughed outright. This man is mad, no, not mad, insane! Another realm? Someone must have poisoned his water hole because if there was ever a mad man, then this was him.

In her silence Drago had begun to lose his temper and he let out a long breath.

"Take her away and bring her to the East Wing." And with that Drago waved a dismissive hand her way, got up, and walked away.

Astrid could only stare at the giant hulk that limped further into the distance. It was only now that she noticed his right arm was in fact gone; replaced by some sort of metal replica of what his arm should have been.

Strange Astrid thought, the sky was going dark. Like someone was turning out the lights of the world. The last thing Astrid thought as she succumbed to utter darkness was that she wouldn't be able to count the stars one last time.

...oOo...

Astrid groaned. Gods her head hurt. Still fuzzy as she began to wake up, Astrid slowly opened her eyes. Slowly and reluctantly, she uncovered her face. Astrid blinked, closed her eyes, and blinked again. Streaks of sunlight came through a window and the blinding light seemed on a warpath straight to her eyes.

Yawning, she rubbed the palms of her hand against the blurriness in her eyes and began to sit up and then Astrid's heart fell as memories came flooding back. The dungeon, Tuffnut, Drago. Looking around her, Astrid tried to figure out where she was.

The room Astrid was in was unsettlingly empty, as if all the colours had been stripped from a canvas. Everything was a crystal clear white. The walls, floor, and as Astrid glanced at herself, she seemed to have been dressed in a plain white robe. Along the front of the room was a row of spread out cots, each adorned the same stark white sheets as her own cot. To Astrid's left there was a large window the size of the entire wall, a wall that was more glass than stone.

"Hello there." The soft feminine voice made Astrid jump and turn to the sound. From a door Astrid hadn't originally noticed, a woman began walking towards Astrid. Astrid could tell she was rather young, older than herself but still slight and youthful. She had dark black hair that had been bunched up into a neat bun on the top of her head and wore a tidy white frock.

The woman carried an assortment of coloured bottles carefully in her arms. She had a friendly smile on her face as she looked over at Astrid. She began setting the coloured bottles on a small bedside table beside Astrid.

"You were in a terrible state when you arrived, barely clinging to life. I managed to get some fluids in your system and you've gotten some well needed rest. How do you feel now?"

Astrid assumed the woman was a nurse as she began examining her, checking Astrid's pulse, and studying her eyes.

Astrid swallowed past the dryness in her throat, "Better, thanks." Nodding, the nurse began mixing some of the liquids she had brought into a bowl.

The nurse offered the bowl to Astrid, "This will help with the headache." Taking it from her, Astrid looked into its contents, she really didn't want to drink that. The liquid had taken a suspicious brown colour and smelled worse than a Vikings breath. Grimacing against the odour, she plugged her nose and chugged. As soon as she finished Astrid wanted to hurl the foul stuff up, but she had to admit her head had begun to clear; the pain ebbing away to nothing.

"There, that's better. Now I'm just going to grab you something to eat and then the guards will take you to your room," the nurse stated, but Astrid grabbed her arm before she could go.

"Where am I? Please, I need answers and don't give me some vague bullcrap," Astrid pleaded, she was fed up with being kept in the dark about everything.

Sighing, the nurse pried Astrid's weak fingers off her arm and sat at the end of her cot. Excited to finally be getting some answers, Astrid sat up and leaned against the headboard.

"Where are you from?" the nurse asked.

"Berk," she replied.

"Well, from berk, you're quite far away. Further south."

Astrid wasn't aware of any major settlements south, that was the kind of stuff Chief Stoick would have known.

"What is an Immune and what does Drago mean that I'm immune to 'his serum'?"

"Being an Immune is your salvation, no doubt it's the only reason you're alive right now. The serum is something that I can't tell you much of. I don't really know much myself and what I have heard is nothing but rumours from the servants. But listen to me carefully." The nurse lowered her voice, she held a warning in her eyes as she looked at Astrid.

"Don't ask questions. Trust me, whatever the answer is, it is worse than what you can imagine. Surviving should be your only goal. And whatever you do, just follow the rules." Patting Astrid's hand, the nurse got up and went back the way she had come.

Astrid exhaled, now she was even more baffled. Astrid slid her legs out from the sheets and stood on the cold marble floor. Astrid hissed at the sting that reverberated through her feet. She lifted her leg and gasped at the mass of scrapes and cuts across the bottom of her feet.

Awsome, she thought bitterly. Biting against the sting, Astrid got up and began walking to the glass-wall. Astrid assumed she was on one of the higher levels as she could see quite far across the island. She could discern now it was in fact an island she was on. Far in the distance the land met sea and far into the horizon there was only sea.

The nurse was telling the truth, wherever Astrid was she was definitely somewhere South. The island was different. The grass was greener and the trees were strange. It was something Astrid had only really seen in survival books in Berk. Tropical islands with blistering hot days and freezing cold nights. She could see similarities in the pictures she had studied and the scene before her now.

It was beautiful. Before the eye there was nothing but an abundance of exuberant vegetation of all sorts of vibrant colours. Brilliant, tall palm leaves swayed gently in the morning breeze. It was unfortunate the island was ruled by a monster like Drago who ravaged smaller, weaker tribes, killing off their people.

Walking back to the cot, Astrid looked about for something a bit more comfortable to walk about in but her search turned out useless. Everything in the room was so empty there wasn't anywhere to look, she just had to hope that the nurse had something for her to wear other than the same ragged gown she had been subject to wearing.

Not too long later, the nurse came back through the door but this time she was carrying a tray of food and draped over her arm was a collection of clothes. She wore the same friendly smile as she set the tray on the bottom of the cot and handed Astrid the bundle of neatly folded clothes, they were surprisingly light. Astrid thanked the women and set down the clothes, her attention was far more focused on the helpings of food.

There were apples and a bowl of something that looked like oatmeal and all sorts of other fruits. Astrid lifted an apple and if she could have opened her mouth any wider she would have eaten the apple in one bite. As it was, she took off a quarter of it in one bite and, barely tasting it; she chewed halfway and took another bite, barely pausing to breathe. It was so Gods damn good. Like she had never eaten an apple before in her life, she finished it in less than no time.

Although Astrid felt no need for pretentious manners, she had to chaste herself from actually moaning as she swallowed a spoonful of the oatmeal. The nurse, knowing this was definitely her first meal in she didn't know how long, went to leave, although she alerted the guards as she left the girl alone.

When Astrid had finished the entirety of the food on the tray, she looked at the clothes the nurse had left and for the first time she realised there was nowhere she could go to actually get changed. Although the nurse had left and there was currently no one else around, she wasn't exactly comfortable just changing in the open, but there were no other options.

As fast as was possible, Astrid dressed herself, pulling on the light material over her thin limbs. Although Astrid didn't have the chance to fully inspect, she grudgingly noticed how pathetically skinny she had become. All her life Astrid spent every spare minute building muscle and toning herself and often she prided herself on how pleased she was with her own body. But now she looked no better than a walking skeleton and dressing herself had taken all her energy leaving her breathing heavily after.

Once dressed, Astrid waited by the cot for the nurse to tell her what was happening next, she even folded and tidied the sheet on the bed as she waited. After what felt like twenty minutes a guard came through the same doors as the nurse. It was the same guard that had taken her from the dungeon, Paeton. The same one that had heard the gruelling story Drago had told her.

"I will escort you to your living quarters, if you would follow me." Paeton beckoned Astrid through the door. Complying, Astrid followed the guard.

They walked in silence. The only sounds were her bare feet padding on the smooth stone floor and the rhythmic click of heels. Astrid crossed her arms over her chest and looked around at where the guard was taking her.

They seemed to be going through a maze of corridors that, as Astrid tried to remember their layout she got utterly lost. Astrid came to the conclusion she was in a castle, a rather rich castle. On each door heavy gold handles had been placed and as she looked around everything was rather luxurious and eloquent. Nothing had any indications of mould or rot and on some walls huge exquisite tapestries had been hung. They depicted the same picture Astrid had seen on the huge doors.

"So, how did you get here?" Astrid knew it was a random question but she wanted to break the silence.

"Same as you." His voice was clipped, not in the mood for questions huh?

"Well you seem to be a guard but not a guard, more authority if you know what I mean." Astrid prodded, hoping to get a conversation out of him.

"I'm captain of the guards," he responded.

"Well what's the Captain doing escorting a simple prisoner? I don't have to tell you I'm certainly not a threat."

"Drago ordered it." That one made Astrid mentally stumble. It was all so confusing. Why her? What made Astrid so special that she got saved from the dungeon? Whatever it was, it had something to do with being an Immune, whatever that meant.

Astrid stayed silent the rest of the way and soon they came to a set of doors. They were larger than the average ones and had two lion paws instead of door handles. Paeton opened the door to reveal a massive library. Astrid wasn't a big reader, but the collection of books was enough to make even Astrid gasp in astonishment.

Paeton kept walking, urging Astrid on past a cozy area in the corner of the room where a fireplace lay dormant with a few sets of chairs and sofas scattered around it. At the very end of the room there was a hidden opening behind one of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. An entire corridor lay beyond the opening. This passageway was a lot wider than the ones throughout the castle with three other guards stationed outside three doors. Astrid wondered what could be behind those other doors.

Paeton nodded towards the other guards and they returned the gesture as he led Astrid towards another door that did not have a guard outside. Opening the door Paeton indicated Astrid to step through. Hesitantly, Astrid walked through and was shocked to find how lavish it was.

In the centre of the first room she walked into was a small, sturdy, oak, table with three rich red settees and an impressive chandelier hanging in the center; its crystals caught the morning glow of the sun and reflected it in a million blades of light. Beneath the table and surrounding almost the entire circumference of the room was a patterned rug. At the end of the room were two closed doors and whatever was in there was sure to be as lavish as the first room.

Astrid was speechless, this couldn't be where they were keeping her? From a dank, mouldy cell to a living area more lavish than anything Astrid had ever seen before?

Sensing her astonishment, Paeton pushed her the rest of the way through the door and stepped in himself closing the door behind them. Suddenly, the room became rather small with just the two of them and although Paeton hadn't done anything to make her mistrust him, he also hadn't done anything for her to trust him.

Thankfully, he began walking to one of the doors. Astrid followed him and found this was a sizable kitchen area; pots and pans lined one side of the wall while the other held a firepit and rack.

"This is where you will stay but you will be working for your keep. During the day you will stay in here. At night you will be with the other servants completing the same work as they do. A maid will come during the day to prepare food and one of the alchemists should come up as well. You will not refuse anything they give you nor will you give the servants, guards or alchemists any sort of rebellion, is this clear?"

Astrid nodded slightly.

"Myself and three other guards will be stationed outside that door." Paeton pointed to the first door they had come through and Astrid followed his gaze as he continued,

"There is no way out other than through there and wherever you go I shall be watching. Drago has personally requested that you meet him for dinner each night. You would do well to comply." With that, the Captain walked back out of the kitchen and through the door.

Astrid held no doubt that Paeton stood on the other side of that door. One thing was clear, she wasn't leaving anytime soon. The nurse had told her not to ask questions, to focus on surviving but Astrid didn't know if she could. There were so many questions she wanted to ask but whom would she even approach? Certainly not Drago, she dreaded having to spend one minute with the vile creature never mind an entire dinner. She also had a feeling that Paeton wouldn't give her the answers she wanted.

Exhaling, Astrid explored what was now her quarters. In total there were four rooms. A sitting room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom and each were as extravagant as the was still rather early in the afternoon and despite the heavy meal Astrid had no less than an hour ago, she was famished. Searching about in the cupboards in the kitchen, Astrid looked for something to eat, but her search came up empty.

Although, she did manage to finally find a pair of slippers in the bedroom that had a concerning size of a bed for one person. In the bedroom was a large window, although, beyond the glass was a large drop that even if Astrid managed to smash the window without Paeton discovering her or impaling herself on the glass, there was no way she could survive the drop. Instead of wallowing on the things she couldn't do Astrid focused on what she could: sleep.

The huge four-poster bed was beautiful, the sheets were unbelievably soft and whatever the bedding was made of, it felt like sitting on fluffy clouds but it was too comfy. Astrid had spent so much time laying against jagged rocks and hard floors that the soft bed was too soft. So, she pulled the sheets off and carried them to the sitting area, lay down on the sofa and for the first time in a long time, Astrid Hofferson fell into a dreamless sleep.

...oOo...