Astrid's POV

As soon as he finishes talking, I'm up on my feet, despite his protests, and running out of the room. Dodging a lunge towards me as I head out the door, I feel the slight rocking of the gigantic boat I realise I'm on. I hear him running after me, but don't stop. All I do is run down the corridor, dodging servants, cooks and crew members.
I have to get out of here! I have to find my friends.

"Wait, Princess! C'mon, please!" I hear him calling after me, just as I pass a woman carrying a bunch of clay plates. I grab a few from her without asking.
"Forgive me!" Is all I tell her before I turn and hurl the plates at the man. He manages to dodge the first one but wasn't prepared for the next. It smashes him right in the head, and he falls to the ground.

"Sorry, but he creeps me out!" I tell the astonished woman, who cracks a smile.
"He creeps us all out. He's deserved that for a long time now!" She says, a thick Swedish accent coming through. I smile at her in relief.
"Um, I may need your help, Mam..." I hesitate, and she takes my arm, glancing at an approaching figure, before leading me into a small room that is full of mops and such.
"I need to find my friends!" I announce once we're alone. She frowns.

"The man, ur, the creep.." I hesitate a bit more.
"His name's Gosta the Gloomy..but he halls himself Gosta the Great. We call him Gosta the Greatly Overrated." She tells me and I laugh a little with her at what she calls him.
"Who is he? And where exactly am I?" I ask her.

"He's the captain's son, so he also gets to give us orders, but unlike him, his father is actually nice to us. Gosta treats us like dirt under his boot." She explains and I nod, feeling sympathetic for her.
"Anyway, right now you're on The Ship Of The Gods, as Gosta calls it. His father, however, calls it Danensis Destiny."

"Danensis? Like Denmark? But...Denmark is independent. It merged as an independent like ten years ago! Why call a Swedish boat Danensis?" I ask. She shrugs.
"Gosta's father is of a Denmark origin." She replies and I nod in understanding, before remembering why I'm talking to her in the first place.

"Well, I need to find my friends. Gosta told me they were brought in when I was but were locked in the cells, while I went to his, " I pause to shiver, "Personal quarters. He was giving off a very..dangerous vibe to me... So I need to find my friends and get out of here." I finish, before looking down at the red dress I'm wearing.

"And I'll need to get some normal clothes..."
The woman smiles. "I can help with that." She tells me determinedly, before taking my wrist gently and running with me out...

~~~~~~~~........................________........................~~~~~~~~

I stand now in some black pants, a grey long-sleeved tunic, and a thin sword clutched in my hand. The Woman, Disa, barges into the small storage room I was using to get changed in. In the meantime, she was trying to find out some information for me. I frown when I realise how frantic the look on her face is.

"What's going on?" I ask. She shakes her head and brings her finger to her lips, signalling me to be quiet. I nod But shoot her a confused look. Soon enough footsteps are heard outside the room and I understand now what she's talking about when I hear a certain someone's irritating voice...

"Have you seen the girl?"
"What girl?" A random man's voice questions.
"The blonde one. She ran off on me."
"Oh. I'll help you find her then."
"Good. We can't have her running around The Ship Of The Gods, can we?!"

One set of footsteps moves away from the door, but a slight creaking tells me someone still stands there. My eyes widen when the door handle rattles. "Huh? It shouldn't be locked..." I hear Gosta mutter. Then there's a loud pounding on the door and a glimpse of an axe blade through the splintering wood.

I exchange a look with Disa, and she grabs my hand, and pulls me away from the door just as a hand slams through the wood and reaches for the door. My look hardens. I pull away from Disa despite her silent protest, and reach up and slam my foot into the hand, bending it back. I grab the hand in an iron grip as I can hear Gosta howling in pain from the other side of the door.

I let go of the hand and it withdraws as quick as lightning. I reach up and unlock the door silently.
"Hey, you wanna know something Gosta?" I ask him and he growls on the other side of the door.
"You're going to regret that, Princess." He exclaims, venom dripping from his words.

"Oh, no I won't," I mutter before he tries to shove his way in. Since the door opens inwards, I simply turn the handle and pull the door towards me, and Gosta starts to come in, but before he can blink I slam the door back in place, and in doing so it slams into his forehead. I can't help but smirk a little.

"You're messing with the wrong Viking," I exclaim fiercely.
I hear him cry out from the other side of the door, and it is followed by a thud. I wrench open the door with a proud smirk to see him laying on the floor grasping his forehead that may or may not be bleeding.

"My name is Fearless Astrid Hofferson, and I'm not your princess!" I grow through my teeth, before stepping over his body, laughing as he yells out in pain. I soam the hilt of the sword into his head, and he's out like a light. As soon as I'm over him, I take off running down the hall. Disa catches up just as in rounding the third corner.

She takes my hand just as in about to turn a corner, and pulls me the opposite way, through a door, and into a hallway. "They keep the prisoners here, and that's where I think your friend will be." She tells me, and I nod in understanding.
"Then let's hurry, before he gets the whole ship searching," I reply, moving into a jog, gripping the sword firmly in my hands as I yearn for my axe.

Meanwhile...Gosta's POV

Smirking devilishly, I grip the axe in my hand, before swinging it at the wooden door. It only takes about five hits before a hole big enough for my hand is through, and so I sit the axe against my keg, reaching in with my hand to try and find the good handle. After a few seconds of hopelessly touching the wood with my palm, a force slams into my hand, bending it back against the wood. I hiss in pain, but before I can withdraw, I feel my hand pressed backwards in an natural way. I can't help but wail at the top of my lungs, because it IS painful.

Suddenly the pressure is gone, and I withdraw my hand quicker than a speed stinger's tail. I take a few seconds of recover, pressing my hand into my thigh as I bend over it, hoping nothing is broken.

"Hey, you wanna know something Gosta?" I hear from the room form the unmistakable voice of the brat I saved. I growl in anger, looking forward to putting my hands around her and–
"You're going to regret that, Princess," I shout, my voice dangerously low. I immediately shove myself at the door, trying to force my way in. Or my surprise, the four flies open, and I barely managed to stop myself from falling forwards.

Instead, I start to bound into the room, but the next thing I see is a wooden door swinging towards my face before I cry out in pain, and experience a moment of blackness.

I stumble to the ground, trying to recover from the sounding in my news. How can one little girl give so much damage?!

"You're messing with the wrong Viking!" I hear her call from inside the room. I touch my hand to my forehead to feel something wet, and I withdraw to see it's bleeding. Great.

"My name is Fearless Astrid Hofferson, and I'm not your princess!" the Blonde hisses from the doorway, before standing right on my stomach.
"Ow!" I cry out. Little bitch is gonna pay for that!
But before I can even force my self to recover, I see a glimpse of a handle towards me, before my world turns fully black.

"...sta! Gosta! GOSTA?!" I pell open my eyes with a groan, to see my good friend bending over me, staring at me in worry. Confusion floods my head before the memories come flowing back.

"Ahh..." I mutter, sitting up. "Damn..."
Sten raises an eyebrow, handing me a cloth, which I dab at my forehead. "What happened?" He asks me, confusion flashing in his brown eyes. I shrug.
"Feisty girl bent my hand back, slammed a door into me, stepped on my stomach, and slammed a sword hilt onto my forehead."
"Feisty, huh?" He asks me. I flash him a goofy grin.
"I like feisty." I admit, and he laughs, clapping me in the shoulder. He stands up and offers a hand, and I take it firmly. Once I'm up I turn to him with a serious look.

"I want the word out through the ship that I'm after Fearless Astrid Hofferson, and I want her brought to be alive." I tell him, he nods with an equally serious look, about to run off, but I got him with a hand. "Tell them it doesn't matter if she's beaten, but I want her kept pure, for me! The crew can have their turn after I'm done with her." I admit, smirking in anticipation. I already feel a prick bellow in excitement, before nodding at the brunette. "I'll be in my chambers." I finish, before stalking off, cursing my pounding head.
At least I have some herbs that can help.

............~~~...............~~~............~~~

Sorry for the boring stuff.

Well shiiiiiiit! It's getting pretty damn real, huh. Can Astrid find her friends and escape? Will Gosta find them? What about Hiccup, how's he doing? And that Mystery POV...when will we hear from them again?

Alright, catch ya next update!
🍰 Eat Some Cake 🍰