Noblesse oblige

Part 1

Chapter 1

'Drip'

'Drip'

'Drip'

Astrid let out a frustrated shout while hitting the damp moss-covered wall with her fist. Her knuckles burned but she didn't care. Right now she just wanted to pummel someone or something. She knew it wasn't very lady-like but who gave a flying Thor's behind right now.

Light shone from out the tiny window of her cell as if mocking her predicament. She had been a lady of Nobility. A lady of luxury though it never went to her head. The strict upbringing of her House had seen to that. What she wouldn't give to have a nice feathery pillow right now instead of the threadbare cot that had seen better days. Then she could use that pillow to get a good night's rest before smothering that damned Duke's son who put her here with it.

Astrid thought gleefully 'Maybe she could feed the guy to Stormfly or any other dragon for that matter.' but then she sighed. That would just give the poor dragon indigestion.

As Astrid continued to think of ways to get her revenge any sane person might be wondering what she could have done to earn herself a one way trip to a damp cell and possibly the gallows.

This all started many months ago.

The Kingdom of Berk, situated on the Sea of Frozen Death, was a quaint place. It snows nine months out of the year but it was peaceful.

The kingdom's citizens got along well with their neighbours, the Dragons. So well in fact that each person had a bonded dragon to call their own. It was the dragons that chose their companions however and those that had a strong dragon were often highly regarded.

Such a person was Astrid. She had bonded with Stormfly on her 6th birthday and though she was the daughter of a low ranking Baron House she was still considered the cream of the crop during the Social seasons.

Astrid had cared little for these parties because she knew her fiancé would be decided for her anyways. Her father was very adamant that she be wed to a higher House of Nobility. Not only would her family's wealth increase but so would their lands. The nobility rarely wedded due to love after all. Everything was politics.

She had no say in the matter, not that she particularly wanted to. As a member of the nobility, she could easily get a lover on the side discreetly if her future husband paid her no attention. She wasn't the first one to do so either. The husbands usually turned a blind eye because Noble women tended to be dangerous. They were the social butterflies of the court and one rumor or jilted woman could end up with a man being penniless. No, Astrid was by no means powerless. She knew how to play the game.

Much like the women taking lovers, the men of noble birth could take a concubine or two, depending on their standing within society. It was an archaic practice and the only one Astrid abhorred. She had no problem with the man also taking a lover, but to marry them while she could not get married anymore grinded her bones. It was the society she had grown up in but that didn't mean she had to like every aspect of it. The concubines and the wife would often clash causing quite a few catfights and tumbles down marble stairs.

One rainy day Astrid had walked into her father's office and had been informed a suitable husband had been found. Her father looked especially gleeful and she soon figured out why. The person she would be marrying was the Duke's son who was 4th in line to the throne of Berk. Marrying into the Royal family was a big deal even if it was into the house of a Duke.

Her father had spared no expense and Astrid soon met her future husband. Snotlout Jorgenson, Son of Duke Jorgenson and cousin to the Crown prince of Berk. She didn't like him. No scratch that, she really didn't like him. He was arrogant and prideful and thought that he was god's gift to women. Astrid often wondered if he was overcompensating for his small stature. She wanted to maim him the first, second and third time they had met. Maybe that was why her mother had confiscated all her knives. Even the family axe on the mantelpiece had been removed.