Don't leave me

Chapter 12: Kidnapped

Astrid's POV

My head was pounding as I sat up in my bed. Gods, why did it hurt so much?

I yawned as I rubbed the side of my head, opening my eyes slowly. But it was when I opened my eyes that I realized I was no longer laying on my couch, no, I was laying on a bed, in a cell.

I glanced around the cell and found that it was nothing extraordinary, just an uncomfortable bed in one corner and an old bucket in the other.

I massaged my temples. What had happened?

"Prisoner!" The loud voice of the guard shaking the bars of my cell caused me to jump. "Scauld wants to see you"

I glanced up at the guard as he opened the cell, grabbed my arm and yanked me after him, bringing me up to the main deck where a bunch of armored men were standing, all watching me intently.

The guard let go of my arm as he pushed me forwards, causing me to stumble before I managed to catch myself.

I stood up straight and found myself staring into the eerily dark eyes of a tall and large man in front of me, which I assumed to be Scauld The Skull Masher.

"Ah, you must be the Chief's girlfriend! I must admit, he does have good taste." Scauld winked at me as he stroked his long, mud brown beard.

I narrowed my eyes at him as I shook my head slowly. "Sorry, but you've got the wrong one. I'm the ex-girlfriend"

"Oh, is that so? From what my men gathered when they fought against you, alongside Drago, you and Chief Hiccup seemed to be quite close" Scauld pointed out, crossing his arms.

"We were at the time, but now we aren't. You should've come for me two days ago, perhaps you would've had a shot at angering Hiccup then" I sneered at him.

Scauld's eyes grew even darker as he narrowed them at me. "Even if you're not his girlfriend, it's not like we can risk letting you go. We don't want your Chief and his friends coming here, dragons blazing, before we've even had a chance to attack Berk!"

"But seeing as we can't just let you sit around in your cell all day, perhaps we can have a little fun with you?" A malicious smile stretched across Scauld's face, something that sent chills down my spine. He made eye contact with the guard that had hauled me out of my cell earlier before giving him a short nod.

The guard nodded back before grabbing my arm and pulling me over to the mast of the ship, where he tied me up before he let out a loud whistle.

The sounds of chains being dragged against wood flooring filled my ears. At first, I couldn't fathom what was happening, but then something clicked inside my mind as I realized what they were going to do.

I glanced to my side and was greeted by the sight of a group of large, heavily scarred men walking towards me, chains in their hands and devilish grins on their faces.

I swallowed the lump that had gathered in my throat as the first man raised his chain and I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the impact.

Hiccup's POV

"Welcome to Berk, dear friends!" I exclaimed to all my fellow Chiefs as they made their way into the Meade Hall.

The Chiefs I had contacted earlier had finally arrived, all willing to help Berk fight off Scauld, should he attack.

After the guests had gotten settled, my other friends and the elder warriors joined us, all willing to help out with planning our strategy and defense against Scauld's forces.

As we were discussing where we would place the ballistas, the doors to the Meade Hall swung open, and running in came Gustav Larson of all people.

"Gustav, What are you doing here? This is a private meeting!" I scolded him.

The young boy bent over as he tried catching his breath. "I'm sorry Chief, but Astrid is gone!"

"What?" I furrowed my brows as I stood up straight. "How do you know?"

"Stormfly has been running around the village in a frenzy all morning, but I managed to get her to calm down long enough to find Astrid's house empty, with her axe still inside"

A few small gasps erupted from my friends.

"Gobber?" I stared at my old mentor as I placed my hands on the table.

The older man nodded in response before hurrying out of the Meade Hall.

***

I was looking over the plans we had made earlier when the door to my house suddenly flew open, waking up Toothless from his nap in the process.

The dragon growled bitterly as he went upstairs.

"Hiccup" Gobber's forehead creased as he walked over to me.

I glanced up at him, searching for any relief in his eyes. "Yes?"

Gobber's gaze fell to his feet. "She's gone... we couldn't find her anywhere"

I took a deep breath as I dropped the parchment in my hand, sinking into the chair. "No... she can't be"

Gobber sighed. "We found something when we searched her house. I think you should take a look at this"

Gobber handed me a letter that had been tied up with string. I furrowed my brows as I opened it.

^^^
Chief Hiccup Haddock,

We have your girlfriend, and I must admit, she is quite dashing.

It's such a shame to ruin such a beautiful young woman... poor thing, full of sores from all the whipping!

Hopefully she'll survive a few more days, I would certainly enjoy killing her in front of you.

Sincerely,
Scauld The Skull Masher
^^^

I gritted my teeth as I ripped the parchment apart, only to throw it into the fire.

I furrowed my brows as I watched the fire burn the remains of Scauld's letter, a thirst for revenge flowing through my veins as I crossed my arms.

"Gobber, prepare our best men and women, if Scauld wants a war, then I'll give him a war"