A Little Bit Of Fate

Chapter 51: Waking Up Next To Strangers

*Image mine!*

*But the spoof isn't, I just added it in to enlighten y*

Astrid's POV

(I decided to not let you wait for a few chapters like I originally planned. Yeah, I'm saving that move for later hehe 😏. You're welcome *innocent smile*)

The first thing that registers is the hands...

The hands grabbing me out of the cold, cold, darkness. Pulling me up. Then...nothing but dreams.

I fade in, disoriented. I don't want to take up, but I know I have to. I force myself awake. I register a strange warmth around me, around my should-be-wet being, and a soft surface. Furrowing my eyebrows, I force my heavy eyelids open. Light fills my vision.

"Hey, she's awake!" A soft voice cheers lowly as if it's only meant for me to hear. I blink, slowly taking in my surroundings. Right in front of me, at my eye level, is a man. I flinch back automatically, but he doesn't retaliate; only smiling wider.
He seems to be at least eighteen, with glistening blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, a sharp jawline, and is dressed in unfamiliar, gold embedded attire. I eye him suspiciously. What's going on? I wonder, dazed. What happened? And who is this?
(No it's not gender-bent Astrid 😂...well damn, imagine that shipping😂 )

I open my mouth to speak my thoughts, but pause, deciding to figure out what I'm doing in this situation: I'm laying on a soft surface, with a strangely good-looking foreigner laying directly across from me, his head resting on his arm as he stares into my eyes, smiling a rather..attractive..smile. I glance down, noticing that I am laying on some sort of bed, which adds to my confusion.

All I remember is leaving Berk in a boat with a bunch of people, including the gang...then large waves...then coldness.

I try to speak, but all that comes out is a raspy, dry cough. The man gets the memo, his eyes lighting up, and I crane my head to watch as he sits up, leaning over to grab a mug from some sort of small table. He comes back quickly and beckons with his hand for me to sit up. I do so reluctantly and notice (angrily) how weak I am. He helps me with one hand on my back, the other on my elbow, and I narrow my eyes in frustration at having to be helped. Once I'm sitting upright, thankfully, he withdraws. He props something up behind me – A pillow – and smiles gently again. He hands me the wooden mug, and I shakily grip the smooth brown object, raising it to my chapped lips tensely as I glance at this stranger, a weird feeling in my gut. I don't trust him. I take a sneak peek at the mug: it looks fine: it just looks like water.

I let the cool liquid slide down my throat, and hum in appreciation as I feel –just a little bit – restored. I take a few more sips before lowering the cup, gripping it tightly in my lap. Well, there's a sheet covering myself, actually. Speaking of...

I glance down, the sheets have slipped down to my waist, so I'm able to see that I'm wearing something..different.
"A dress?" I mutter, the first words this strangers is hearing from me. What in the name of Thor?!
"Why–? Why am I in a dress?" I ask, looking at the stranger, freaked out, to say the least.

"You were drenched, love. We had to get you warm." He replies calmly, adding to my suspicion, he takes the mug from me gently and places it back in its place.
Love?
His words set in, my brain searching up with my ears. Wait..that means...My eyes widen in realisation and my cheeks burn as I glance at him. I don't even have to speak for him to know what I'm thinking.
"Don't worry, I let some female friends of mine do it. You've kept your dignity." He laughs a little, gently patting my shoulder. I smile in relief, relaxing just a hint. Ohh, thank Thor!

"Well, whatever's left of it..after waking up in a random bed across from a stranger!" I reply somewhat awkwardly, trying to joke a little, even though every fibre in my body is telling me not to trust him at any costs. To run while I still can. He laughs freely, throwing his head back as is its the funniest thing in the world.

"Yeah, fair point." He exclaims after he manages to compose himself. I glance around the room, automatically scanning for ways of exit discreetly. Wooden walls and ceiling. Door to the other side. Purple throw rug. Bedside table. Window, with its hatch closed, and velvet curtains mostly drawn closed.
"So, what..what happened?" I finally ask the stranger, fiddling with my fingers as I wait for an answer. He frowns.

Stranger 's POV

*** FLASHBACK***

I stood on the bow of the boat, scanning the waters around us as the rain beats down hard, the storm only intensifying. My crew worked around me, bringing gear down where it would be dry, or following various orders. The usual. My eyes catch suddenly on something a few boat lengths away. A small boat, almost overturning in the raging water. My eyes widen as I watch a figure swept into the sea and washed away in a few blinks of the eye, close to us but further from the boat. My eyes catch on a now unconscious girl sinking bellow. Without a second thought, I throw off my jacket and plunge into the water, in a rather elegant dive, despite my crew's warning. The water cradles me, but I don't bother noticing. Instead, I search for the unconscious mass of blonde. Seeing her disappearing underwater, I dive down after her. I manage to grab her, hugging her close to me. She doesn't move. I breach the surface and turn, disoriented for a few short seconds. But I find my people, rowing out to meet me in a dingy. They come to my side, and I hand them the unconscious girl first, before taking their hand and letting them help me up to safety, where they're checking if the girl is still alive. I spare a glance at the now capsised rowboat before I turn my focus on the stranger I just saved.

***  FLASHBACK OVER***

I turn and explain most of this to the girl in front of me, who nods, taking it in.
"But..my friends. Are they okay?"  She asks after I've finished. I inwardly wince, knowing this was gonna come up since the start.

-----------------........................-----------------
Another cliffy! Yeah, I'm not sorry. You should expect lots of these by now haha. Guess you'll have to put up with it. The only thing I'm sorry about is how short this chapter is lol. Only around 1100 words. Oops.

So, who's the stranger?
no, Who is he REALLY?
Where are the gang? Are they safe?
Is Berk okay?

So, I've made an OC book, if you wanna look at it. It's basically got info about Randi and one other person right now, but it's there if you want to look at it. (There might occasionally be spoilers... 😏 Shh!)

Here's a quote: (might of forgotten last time)
Me: *first hears about the coronavirus*
Me: eh, we'll be fiiine, it'll be over in a week.
Me: *hears of all the deaths and the cruise ship.*
Me: We'll be good. They won't get in Australia.
Me: *hears about the Australian cases.*
Me: uh...Tasmania's safe? Nobody likes us anyway so why come down 😂
Me: *hears about the Tasmanian case*
Me: uh... it's way up the top of Tasmania? And north and south tasi hate each other, so we'll be fine...?
Me: come at me bro, pollute our clean air! What's next?!
Me: *hears rumours about a southern case.* Well sh—
Ha.
🍰 Eat Some Cake 🍰
Seriously. Before the panic buyers get to it!