Chapter 9

It was chaos at the guard post when Astrid and Hiccup arrived. Atali and Edwin were right behind them and Edwin looked curiously at the scene unfolding. The wooden door had been left open so the group heard most of the shouted exchange. There were also several more knights milling around but they did nothing but watch the prisoners insult each other.

"Let me out of here! Do you know who I am?!"

"A crazy redhead who can't take a punch?!"

"May your heels be like your talent! FLAT!" This was followed by an audible gasp of shock and incredulity.

"You bit me!"

"May your crinoline be square!" Another shouted.

"How dare you!"

"NO, HOW DARE YOU!"

"Your petticoats are as plain as your ideas!"

"You couldn't embroider a walking boot if the needle was treaded for you!"

"You take that back!"

"WILL THE LOT OF YOU SHUT UP!" Someone finally shouted causing silence to reign. That was when Astrid decided to flag down one of the knights.

"Excuse me, we'd like to bail some people out." The knight looked rather uncomfortable as she said this. "Money isn't a problem I assure you." Astrid then added.

"I'm sorry miss but you would need to talk to the arresting knight about that. They are currently...." The armored man gestured slightly to a closed door near the back but Astrid didn't catch that.

"Currently what?" Astrid frowned. The knight now really looked uncomfortable and fidgeted somewhat. Suddenly the shouting picked up again but this time it wasn't from those arrested. It came from one of the offices further in the room. That wooden door had been closed but they could still hear a deep voice shouting.

Said door soon slammed open and the female knight walked out with quite the angry stride and the clinking of her armor. She was followed closely by a burly man that might have been her commanding officer. "Do you even know who you arrested?!" he snarled "He's an Earl damnit! AN EARL!"

"I don't care! They were disrupting public order!" The woman retorted.

"Oh she's done for now...." Astrid and the others heard some of the knights whisper and snicker around them as the argument between the woman and her commander was ongoing.

"What was she thinking, arresting a Noble..."

"This is why women shouldn't be allowed to hold a sword,"

"She's been getting on the Captain's nerve for a while now..."

"Think she'll be finally chased out?"

"Why do we even have to work with such a disgrace of a wench?"

"It would have just been better if she'd joined a brothel," Astrid bristled at the comments she heard and the quiet laughter that followed at the female knight's expense. She didn't know this woman's circumstances but to go against the status quo of what was expected of women, in general, was something to be admired. She clenched her fists and then turned back towards the spat as it was nearing a crescendo. The older commander looked about ready to draw his sword on the woman and just barely held back.

"Apologize," The man commanded again, "Apologize and release the Earl."

"You want me to apologize for doing my job?" She asked before crossing her arms. The hostility between the pair could be felt by everyone in the room.

"Listen here you little wretch! You're damn lucky to even be included in this platoon!" The man now exclaimed viciously. "You're not only from a disgraced house but you're also a damn woman! It's no wonder none of the prominent Knight Orders wanted to take you. Why they didn't run you out of the academy can be anyone's guess," Astrid's eyes narrowed. That was a low blow. An extremely low blow. The commander was basically suggesting that the woman had slept with her superiors to secure a spot.

"Shouldn't we stop them? She looks about ready to separate the man's head from his neck." Hiccup asked worriedly. This caused Astrid to raise a brow in surprise at the man. So she wasn't the only one that had noticed it. The female knight was much too calm for having been grievously insulted like that. The only thing that betrayed her anger was the hand that had unconsciously moved to the hilt of her sword. It twitched, eager for blood.

Hiccup also looked about ready to step in but before he could move it was Dagur who uttered "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU INSULTING HER FOR YOU KELP-FACED CRETIN!" Those in the room looked on in surprise at his outburst. "You!" Dagur pointed through the bars. "You owe the lady an apology! How dare you berate her for doing her job!"

"B-But My Lord!" The commanding officer uttered, surprised that the Earl would stand up for his captor. "She arrested you!"

"And I bit him! You're point being?" Dagur deadpanned.

"Ah, finally he admits it," Gobber, like the Grimborn brothers who had been placed in cells all nodded unconsciously.

"In fact, if it's this Vision of a Valkyrie that comes to arrest me then I would happily walk to the gates of Valhalla with her," Dagur then sighed.

The older knight was sputtering as Dagur went completely off tangent and began praising the female knight more and more. "The stubbornness of a Valkyrie and the bearing of a Noble lady," He happily praised as he gazed at the woman adoringly. "Oh what I wouldn't give to see your sweet visage, my dear."

"Oh my Thor, will you shut up for a moment!"

"You can't tell an Earl to shut up!" Her commanding officer bristled. "Do you want to get demoted again?!"

"She can tell me to do anything she wants as long as I can know the sweet lady's name...."

"What is wrong with Earl Deranged?" Edwin finally asked.

"He's been struck by cupid in the arse," Astrid muttered before she corrected herself. She fake coughed before saying "What I meant was that he has fallen for the knight at first glance. He might also be a masochist."

"What's a masochist?" Edwin asked innocently while Astrid was loath to answer and Hiccup just tried to stifle a giggle.

"Oye laddie, when yer done ogling the lady, mind getting meh out of here?!" Gobber muttered as he had been watching his godson the entire time.

"GOBBER WHAT THE HELL!" Hiccup exclaimed.

"Hey don't blame me! It's yer eyes that were wandering!" Gobber stated which caused Hiccup to blush.

Hiccup sputtered for a moment as he tried to come up with a response, but everyone's argument was stopped when Astrid just started laughing uncontrollably. She just couldn't stop and gripped her knees.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just can't...." Astrid held her stomach from all the laughter. "The amount of silliness that is going around here. Gods..."

"Sis are you alright," Edwin asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Astrid assured him. "I just can't. I'm willing to pay everyone's bail here so long as they don't send me into a laughing fit anymore."

"What could be so funny?" Edwin asked as if he didn't quite get the humor of it all.

"Let's see.... Earl Deranged is clearly head over heels and not at all worried about the consequences of his sister finding out he's been arrested. Which is funny as Lady Heather is a force to be reckoned with." Astrid stated and Dagur looked at her wide-eyed as if he had completely forgotten about his sister.

Dagur clearly tried to protest now but it was of no use. He was blanched white as a ghost at the prospect of Heather finding out about this.

"Then you have these two brothers...." Astrid pointed to Viggo and Ryker who had continued to insult each other over the ramblings of Dagur and Gobber. "I certainly never knew there were so many clothing-related insults."

The Grimborn brothers kept quiet as Astrid continued.

"Then we have Hiccup's godfather who is as blunt as he can be. Honestly, I think he takes great pleasure in causing his godson embarrassment."

"Right ya are lassie," Gobber announced, not even trying to hide it.

"Thor smite me now," Hiccup groaned.

"It's not a bad thing Sir Haddock," Astrid actually giggled. She then turned to address the blustering man "May I speak with the Dame for a moment regarding her arrests?"

The knight officer was about to protest more before he thought better of it and just left the area in a huff after giving Astrid a brief bow. The female knight Earl Deranged was crushing on hard finally took off her helmet to reveal hastily chopped off blonde hair.

"I am the Lady of House Hofferson. Who might I be addressing?" She asked.

I am Dame Mala formerly of House De Lacour." The woman introduced. "It is a pleasure to meet you, miss."

The name surprised Astrid very much. She hadn't thought that there was a De Lacour left, not after.... No, she better not say it. Astrid, however, did not show her surprise outwardly and instead smiled before getting down to business.

"Oh, my heart is ripped to pieces! Why most the lovely Dame introduce herself to another!" Dagur lamented.

"Dagur now is not the time!" Astrid groaned.

Once everything was settled and the arrested people were free was when Hiccup finally spoke. "You were...." He honestly had no words but he had been fully entranced by her. "Might I just say that that was amazing," He finally voiced. Astrid tried not to blush. No one had ever really thanked her for doing something. Her stepmother and sister were the ones usually ordering her to do something and the manor staff would be aghast with worry if she tried to lift a finger.

"I'm happy your godfather got off without a severe fine," She instead said as she stood poised and held out her hand to shake Hiccup's. Instead, he took her lace-gloved hand and kissed the back of it like a gentleman. This caused Astrid to blush as well. She was a woman, such actions were what gentlemen did but unlike her sister, she hadn't gotten out much unless it was a formal event.

"Hiccup how long are ya gonna play Cassanova? Ask the Lady out already!" Gobber's question broke through the haze and Astrid blinked curiously. She now saw Hiccup redden as he turned back to his godfather to shout something. Though she didn't hear this as her mind kept supplying 'He's still touching my hand. Oh Thor, he's still touching my hand!'.

"Uhm..." Both said at the same time.

"No, you go first," They said in unison again and then blushed once more. Edwin and Atali had never seen the normally stoic Astrid blush so much in a day.

"I.... I was wondering if I could see you again Milady?" Hiccup asked with a hopeful look in his eye. They were still in front of the guard tower but the crowd had since dispersed. Viggo and Ryker had been grateful for the bailout and had promised to pay Astrid back one way or another. Earl Deranged was still inside the tower trying to woo the female knight. Astrid knew for a fact that Lady Heather would tease him mercilessly about this. So besides Gobber, Edwin and Atali, Astrid was relatively alone with Hiccup. Usually her stepmother acted as a strict chaperone during social functions and would not even let the young men near her but readily made her daughter available. Astrid decided that yes, she would like to see Hiccup again and she thought of the perfect venue.

"I'm debuting in High Society the day after tomorrow. I would love it if you and your godfather could attend." She said but then mentally berated herself because she had just invited Hiccup on such short notice. Usually Nobles took weeks to plan their attire and she was now worried that Hiccup and Gobber would stand out like sore thumbs.

But Hiccup was far from worried. In fact, he seemed delighted. "Milady we would be happy to attend." He accepted the spur of the moment invitation gracefully and Astrid had an inkling that Hiccup might be a Noble in disguise but she quickly threw that thought out of the window. Surely not.

"Then I will send you an official invitation post haste when I return home! May I know your place of residence?"

"I will be looking forward to it Milady. Both Gobber and I are living above the Stately Drake's smithy on Main street," Hiccup once more kissed the back of her hand before he and his godfather departed.

"Okay, I have to ask. Is he a Noble or something?" Edwing queried once they were back in their carriage heading for the manor. "I am so confused,"

"I don't know Edwin, I don't know," Astrid giggled. "But he was a perfect gentleman. Something even the Nobles of this Kingdom have trouble portraying." here she sighed dreamily.

"My lady, what if he's not trustworthy? You just met him today," Atali asked worriedly. "For you to just invite him to your Coming-of-Age ball...."

"Atali, if I were to only look for trustworthy people then I have to exclude more than half of the people already invited." Astrid sighed. "Nobles and even commoners will always have ulterior motives. We are a society that marries off our children for political power after all. No one's hands are clean. But I feel that I was right in inviting him. You know that feeling of butterflies you get in your stomach?"

"Constipation? Atali questioned only for Astrid to shoot her a glare.

"NO!" Astrid quickly corrected. "It's like you just have that feeling that you've clicked with someone."

"I still worry Miss," Atali stated as she folded her arms.

"Yes yes, but with all the wolves present it will be the least of your worries." She replied.

"But..." Edwin started to say something but closed his mouth and then thought for a minute. "You're thinking that the people attending are either there to size you up as the next Marchioness or to propose a union between houses."

"You've caught on Edwin, and you should be careful too." Astrid said. "It is a somewhat known fact that I like you so people might approach you as well to gain a foothold."

"I hate politics," Edwin sighed. "Sometimes I wish my mother hadn't become a Noble."

"We can't choose our parents, Edwin, and most often we can't choose the future we are thrusted into. What we can do is try to make the best of it." Astrid declared.

-----

Harry: (Wades through a room full of plushies) "The hell happened here?!"

Vala: "I went to buy a cactus plushie. They were sold out."

Harry: "That doesn't explain this lot!"

Vala: "I went on a bit of a shopping spree,"

Harry: "A bit......."

(There is a scream when a door opens somewhere behind them)

Harry: "Was that Nightstar?"

Vala: "Probably. The mountain of plushies must have fallen on her. Dont worry. She'll get out... eventually,"

Harry: "The hell?!"