The Arcane Evil (httyd-fic)

Chapter 17

Hiccup winced when Astrid said his full name. Eret and his men looked at Hiccup with either stares of pity or awe. "I'm not even going to ask." Eret muttered as he watched the Queen start to send magical blasts at the soldiers.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HE-" The warden started to shout as he ran from one of the rooms after hearing the commotion. He however was cut off when one of his men flew straight at him, knocking them both into the wall.

"Get off of me!" The warden yelled while pushing the soldier off of him. He looked in front of him and saw the fight taking place. He immediately recognized Astrid from the wanted posters and grinned. "What are you doing men!" He shouted when he noticed that his soldiers were losing ground. "It's just one woman!"

Astrid who was still very angry shot the warden a glare and said "Shut up!"

"Or what?" The warden chuckled as he drew his sword. "Dark Queen or not, you are still outnumbered. Did you know that the reward for you has doubled."

Astrid shot the warden an unimpressed look which made him bristle. She managed to knocked back a few more guards when she heard the battle cry from the brawny man.

The warden thought that he saw an opening and charged only to be pinned down by Toothless who had leapt over Astrid. Toothless snarled in the warden's face and was charging up his plasma blast when Hiccup, who had made it to the front of the cell with the help of Eret, shouted "Toothless stop!"

Toothless, upon hearing Hiccup. Stopped his blast and looked down at the warden who had shut his eyes in fear.

Toothless roared in the man's face as Astrid approached the pair. Her hands were still glowing green and she shouted in a commanding voice to the other guards "Surrender or your boss gets it."

Some of the soldiers tried to charge but they stopped when Astrid fired a blast which landed mere inches from the warden's face. "I'm serious." Astrid said once more. "Surrender or you will have a crispy commander."

The guards eased back a bit and hesitantly dropped their swords. "Now open the cells." Astrid commanded still pointing her hand towards the pinned warden.

"Y.....You ca....can't do this." The warden managed to wheeze out as Toothless was pinning him down with all his weight.

Astrid gave the man a dismissive look. "I assure you I can."

Some of the guards rushed to do Astrid's bidding while others watched her standing near their captain warily. The prisoners cheered loudly as they were being freed but Astrid paid no attention to them. She was looking through the crowds of malnourished prisoners for that familiar mop of auburn hair. She soon spotted it and smiled when she saw who was accompanying Hiccup.

"Your Highness." Eret acknowledged with a short bow, the other men following behind him did the same.

"Milady" Hiccup said nervously as Eret helped him stand. Astrid noticed the bruises forming and frowned. She also took a moment to look over the appearances of her men.

"I'll need water to heal you all." Astrid stated as she looked at the now emptying prison. "Think you can put the soldiers in the cells for the time being?"

Some of the men nodded and proceeded with their task. They were about to approach the warden who Toothless was still sitting on and snarling at. Toothless got off of the warden upon seeing the men but not before whacking him with his tail. The warden now grumbled angrily and cursed as he was unceremoniously tossed in a cell.

"Our armor and weapons should have been placed in one of the storerooms." Eret stated.

"We'll take the supplies we need from here for our journey. Also find me some buckets of water." Astrid stated before turning to Hiccup as Eret gave him a sympathetic look before departing. "I want a word with you."

"Eh... Astrid, I can explain." Hiccup said as he stood a bit uneasily. Astrid grabbed a hold on Hiccup's arm and guided him towards Toothless who had lain down behind them. Toothless began licking Hiccup once he had laid back against him.

"Oh come on! You know that doesn't wash out bud!" Hiccup exclaimed as he was being drenched in slobber. Meanwhile one of Astrid's knights had approached with a bucket filled with water and raised his eyebrows at the scene in front of him.

Astrid took the water, thanking the knight and then turned back to Hiccup who was still being licked by a worried Toothless. Astrid proceeded to pour some of her magic into the water like she did once before and then dumped the water all over Hiccup.

Hiccup sputtered again as he looked up to see Astrid, with a smug look on her face, standing above him with a now empty water bucket. Her magic began to work almost immediately upon touching Hiccup's skin and he could feel his injuries healing.

Hiccup stood up once all his injuries had been healed. Astrid smiled and asked "So feeling better?" to which Hiccup nodded.

"Good" Astrid said before proceeded to punch Hiccup hard in the shoulder. "That was for kissing me and throwing me off a cliff!" Astrid yelled and then grabbed Hiccup by his tunic and proceeded to passionately kiss him.

"What was that for?" Hiccup asked breathlessly when they broke the kiss.

"That was also for kissing me and throwing me off the cliff." Astrid stated with a smirk. Toothless who was watching the pair let out a dragonic chuckle.

Not far from the duo, near the entrance to the back area, also stood the knights stood hidden from view and now in their signature black armor. Eret's eyebrows had shot up at the scene and he looked to his men who were equally as astonished.

"That was interesting." Eret stated. The men accompanying could only nod.

"The Queen looks happy." One of the men pointed out as they observed the scene.

"That she does." Eret agreed. "That she certainly does."