Dragon's Heart ~ Hiccstrid

Chapter 13

My fingers are red, knuckles split and throbbing. I've been pulling at the bars of our little window for some time, but they won't budge.

Looking over to Ingrid, I feel a wave of pride and sadness wash over me. She's been recovering from her wound just fine, which I think there's a different story behind. But, at the same time, I'm beginning to wonder. Is Hiccup ever going to come for me? Is he even alive?

I nearly choke at that thought, gagging on my own sorrows. 

No. He wouldn't leave me like that. Hiccup wouldn't do that. And, with that thought safely tucked away in the back of my mind, I turn back to the bars. 

If they would just pop out of the socket already.. 

Pop! I gasp, slowly taking the little bar in my hand. Did it really just come out? Really? It's that easy?! I giggle, suddenly giddy and euphoric as I begin to tug on the others. I drop the other on the floor, waking Ingrid up with the clattering.

"Astrid? Wha-"

"We're getting out!" I laugh, pulling even harder on the bar, another one popping out. They must have been replaced recently, and hadn't been settled in properly. I nearly scream in delight as the third bar slides out with a satisfying Ping!, making a hole just big enough for the two of us to climb through.

"What?" She's still confused, getting up from her position on the floor slowly.

"We're free!" I giggle, something I would usually never do, but I'm so excited, that I can't help myself. "Come on, I'll push you out with the bars, then climb out myself to put them back in." She nods, a smile spreading across her pale face as she begins to understand. I shove the three bars into her non injured arm, then push her out gently so that she makes her way out to the other side quietly.

"Do you need help?" She asks, but in the time I would have been answering, I swiftly slide through the hole, dropping down onto the soft grass just outside.

"No. Give me the bars." She hands them over one at a time, and I work them until they click back into place, making it look was if nothing had ever happened. Once the last one is done, I turn back to her, grinning.

"We're free." She whispers. And I whisper back,

"We're free!... We're free!" She laughs softly, and I join in, wrapping my arms around her, still unable to believe our amazing luck. "Good thing those bars were just replaced." I bite my lip, looking back to the little window. "If they hadn't, I don't think we would've gotten out." She looks curious and still in shock when she asks,

"I wonder why they replaced them."

"Yeah... I wonder."

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Hiccup flings the axe at the fir, yelling, as he's obviously very upset. I watch from behind a tree, concealed by the shadows. 

"Why can't anything ever work out?!" He grabs another axe from the pile, throwing it at a nearby oak. He hits it, but barely. I frown. Breakfast was really awkward today.

That fish dude and Snotlout kept looking at each other and at me weird, and Hiccup just looked tired, but judging from what he's doing right now, he was probably upset then too. The two annoying twins just babbled about their pet chicken, and for once, they seemed to be the only people acting normal. 

I had excused himself early, to go for another fly with Stormy. I just happened to spot him in this clearing and decided to watch for a few minutes. Minutes that turned into hours.