Chapter 32

It was already late at night when Astrid finally left the blacksmith. The information she had gleaned had been jarring, to say the least, though in retrospect she should have seen the Crown Prince pulling such a move. As her carriage made its way back to Hofferson Hall she couldn't help but replay the conversation over in her mind.

"I greet his Majesty the King, Sun of the Kingdom." Astrid curtsied elegantly.

"Lady Hofferson, please none of that. Especially here. Royal protocol isn't needed," The King uttered as his seemingly frail and malnourished hands gripped the blue quilt. With what might have been a breath of relief he uttered "My niece, you have grown into a formidable woman. Just like your mother."

"Uncle," Astrid chose to ask informally since he acknowledged her as his niece. "What happened to you?"

"My wretched son, that's what," The man angrily uttered as he gripped the sheets. "He and his men stole into my rooms one night and imprisoned me. He even had an imposter ready to assume my identity! THE NERVE!" The exclamation was followed up by some severe coughing. Hiccup cautiously approached to see if the King was alright. The King however waved him off. "You must stop him,.... I... I hate being this weak, damn it!"

"We can try," Astrid stated "Though we don't exactly know what he's planning,"

"How can no one have known that you've been replaced by a double?" Hiccup questioned with a frown. "Surely...."

"Because I hired that double myself Chief Haddock," The King stated while looking somewhat forlorn. "For security reasons, all Monarchs have a double that closely resembles them. When I accepted the crown I met mine. A knight of commoner origins but the resemblance was uncanny."

"And the King isn't often seen by the public." Astrid reminded. "The only people that might be able to differentiate between the two would be those living in the palace or family members."

"Also, you know Sir Hiccup is a Chief?" Astrid asked with great curiosity.

"Sir Gobber informed me of that fact," The King explained. "I had long wanted to form an alliance with the Viking tribes yet my ignorant son would always turn the court against that idea." The man looked somewhat remorseful. "I always believed that there would be much we could learn from each other but the greed my son is displaying might instead lead to all out war."

"War?!" Astrid gasped as she hadn't heard anything about that. The Nobility had been quiet and neither army nor navy had been mobilized as of yet.

"Grimmel is fixated on the notion that the Viking tribes are hiding a secret," Quintas stated. "When I was wasting away in that cell he would often come and gloat. Telling me that he was aiming for a winter campaign to take the Viking Isles by surprise. The only hope I had in that dark cell was that Lord Deranged might hold him off."

Astrid observed Hiccup looking somewhat sheepish at the mention of a secret. 'Of course it pertained to the dragons,' she mused and probably everyone in the room knew it.

"My son, I am sad to say, has lost his way a long time ago," The King uttered. "Maybe I pampered him too much. Maybe I pampered him too little. My wife died in childbirth and I had no idea on how to raise a baby. Though that is no excuse. I feel that I have brought this on myself and asking for your help... it's..... It feels as if I'm taking the easy way out."

"No parent is perfect," Astrid said. "I idolized my mother but to call her perfect.... I wouldn't dare. She raised me right, yet she fell to the machinations of a conman and a cheater," Of course Astrid was talking about her father. "She was a workaholic, a person that demanded perfection, she would scream when frustrated but she'd hug me when sad. She was a genius and an idiot at the same time," Astrid confessed. "You tried your best to raise your son on top of all the responsibilities you had. What Grimmel does after reaching adulthood isn't on you." She confessed. "At least that is my opinion."

Astrid was jolted from her musings when the carriage she was in come to a somewhat violent stop. The knights that accompanied her held their formation while Astrid took a quick peek out of the window. "What is happening?" She asked.

Atali too was curious and frowned when she and everyone else spotted several palace Knights approaching. Neither Astrid nor Atali heard much of the conversation going on outside but one of the Hofferson kings quickly knocked on the carriage door. Astrid opened it and he relayed a message.

"The palace knights are requesting we cooperate and let them search the carriage. The Captain is trying to stave them off but they are determined." The young knight relayed while looking somewhat flustered.

"And what is their reasoning for this search?" Astrid asked with a frown.

"Uhm...," The young knight was somewhat hesitant. "They haven't given any Lady Hofferson,"

"What?" Astrid asked with raised brow.

"They haven't given a reason milady," The knight bowed as he repeated his earlier statement. "It's one of the reason the Captain is refusing their search,"

"Call the Captain of the Palace guard here. I will speak with them personally." Astrid ordered. She was getting a bit ticked off to be honest. After everything she'd learned so far today she felt overwhelmed. This stop and search felt like a slap to the face for other reasons yet her previous frustration permuted into this matter. Normally she wouldn't go so far as to excerpt her authority in this manner but today she was feeling somewhat sadistic after all that she'd come to know.

The Captain of the Palace guard was a buff man sporting a long brown-haired beard. He was clad in armor befitting his station and stood at attention in front of Astrid's carriage door. His cape, bearing the crest of the Royal family, swayed in the cool wind. Both Astrid and Atali were seated still in the carriage. "Sir Knight, what is the meaning of this?" Astrid asked. "Why should we grant your subordinates leave to search my carriage as they please?" She asked in a tone she didn't use often. It was a tone she remembered her mother using, a tone that her mother used when she got her way. Authoritative, Assertive and Fearless.

"Marchioness, I beg your pardon," The knight Captain uttered. "The Palace is currently in lockdown by order of the Crown Prince. Lady Arkas seems to have been the victim of a kidnapping. We are only trying to be thorough."

Astrid raised a brow and then said "Yes, I can see why the guards would be mobilized in that situation. Though do your subordinates think stopping a carriage with the Hofferson crest would yield them any results?"

"We would never accuse anyone of House Hofferson of harboring kidnappers!" The Captain quickly uttered. Astrid was glad that her name still held power even after her mother passed. To her this was a statement, as selfish as it sounded. She could have easily agreed to the search of her carriage but as a Noble that would have compromised her honor. Astrid held her head high as the Captain quickly made a gesture for them to let her carriage and retinue pass. Honor was the most important thing to have right now. Especially after what her uncle had relayed her. A Noble's honor is their shield, a Noble's pride is their sword, a Noble's integrity is their soul. And Astrid sat straight as they passed the checkpoint. She would not waver, not after her promise to the King.

"Uncle," Astrid remembered saying. "I am not the genius my mother was but I will help you any way I can," She had uttered like a prayer. No, she wasn't loyal to the family her grandmother married into but she knew of the responsibilities that would be heaped upon her should Grimmel win or fail in his quest. Either way it would affect her and the Hofferson house in some way.

"Atali," Astrid said once they passed the checkpoint. "Do you still have contact with the maids in the palace?"

"I believe so?" Altali answered.

"Can you find out what transpired on the Palace grounds?" she then asked.

"I will endeavor to do so milady," Atali uttered. "Though it might take some time."

"Time might not be on our side," Astrid stated. She sighed and then looked out the carriage window at the night's sky. "No, time definitely isn't on our side right now," She murmured.

"Young Miss?" Atali questioned.

"I've noted that the Crown Prince is a man of opportunity, Atali," Astrid muttered with some discontent. "Any Lady would note that his behavior at Lady Arkas's party was less than stellar. Yet suddenly he would mobilize the Palace guard, who's first and foremost task is the protection of the King, to track down Lady Arkas? I would find that laughable,"

"Milady?" Atali asked as they passed through the checkpoint. Neither of them noted that the wagon heading in the opposite direction to them, which also passed said checkpoint, bore the Bog Merchant family crest.

"There are plenty of Knight Orders that can aid in the search for lady Arkas," Astrid stated. "So why is only the Palace guard mobilizing?"

Atali had no words for that reasoning. When her Ladyship laid it out like that then she too began questioning their actions. The carriage moved on as these thoughts were churning in the maid's head.

Later that night, Grimmel angrily threw the glass goblet that he held against the wall, startling the elderly steward. Red wine trickled down the wall and some even landed on the expensive rug. "What do you mean you can't find her?!" He asked towards the kneeling knight in the room.

"Your Highness, it's as I've reported," The knight uttered. "None of the checkpoints have spotted her and my men are still searching the grounds but it seems Lady Arkas has vanished into thin air."

"No one just vanishes into thin air!" Grimmel growled as his anger took over. 'How dare this woman try to ruin my plans.' He thought. "Are you sure you checked everyone exiting the Palace gates?"

"Yes sir," The knight reported. "The sculalry maids who leave the palace for the markets in the morning, the Court officials and other staff that do not live on the palace grounds as well as the merchants were all interviewed and searched."

"Merchants?" Grimmel frowned. "All the necessities for the Foundings day celebration should already have been delivered."

"Which merchant group are we talking about here," Grimmel then asked.

"The Bog Merchant group sir," When the knight answered Grimmel just groaned and swore. Of course Griselda would have accomplices to aid her escape. 'Damnit' he thought before ordering the steward to ready his horse.

There was quite a commotion later that night in front of the Bog Merchant group's headquarters near the port. The night shift employees were shocked when knights kicked open their doors and the Prince waltzed in. Grimmel moved towards the stairs leading to the second floor with determination in his stride.

"You're Highness, you can't go upstai-agh," An employee was shoved out of the way by the Prince as he could care less right now.

"Where is she?!" He demanded as he pushed open the double wooden doors so hard that they banged against the walls. Grimmel's eyes conveyed his anger as he glared at the people in the office.

"Your Highness, please comport yourself," The elderly gentleman behind the desk warned as his eyes narrowed at the Prince. "I will not allow such barbarism around my granddaughter,"

"Lady Camicazi, I apologize," Grimmel said, though it was clear that he didn't mean it. Camicazi who had been having tea with her grandfather merely nodded, not even standing up to curtsy as was expected of a Lady meeting Royalty. Grimmel was even more annoyed as these commoners threated him as if they were his equal. It seems that they had gotten big egos when they monopolized several market goods.

"What brings his Highness to our humble business?" The elderly man asked as he put down his cup. Grimmel's eye twitched at this business being called humble.

"Where are you keeping her?" He asked again, this time more calmly.

"Who your Highness?" Camicazi asked innocently.

"Lady Arkas," Grimmel stated. "You helped her escape the Palace," 'and my assassin as well,' though he didn't voice that part.

"I'm sorry but that is a serious accusation," Camicazi's grandfather stated. "Such slander,"

"I know you had a hand in her disappearance and I will tear your business apart until I find her!" Grimmel announced. How dare these people get in his way.

"What proof do you have?" Camicazi asked with a raised brow.

"Then explain to me why your merchants were leaving the palace so late at night?!" Grimmel asked.

"As you know we strive on excellence and quality," The old man stated while folding his hands together on his desk and looking straight at the Prince. "It seems the recent batch of wine delivered to the palace hadn't been up to standard so we procured a better product and delivered it free of charge as an apology. The Head maid and Chef oversaw the delivery themselves."

"My knights reported to me on the way here that the wagon contained casks of wine," Grimmel muttered. "If you delivered the wine then how was the wagon still filled?"

"Of course we couldn't leave a defective product in the palace," The old man answered.

"You have an answer for everything don't you?" Grimmel was losing his patience now.

"Why, we have nothing to hide," The elderly man chuckled. "While Lady Arkas is a dear friend of my granddaughter, I had no hand in her disappearance."

"Be aware that your ships leaving port will be searched from no-" Grimmel was interrupted when a knight barged in. The knight quickly informed to the Prince that a Barque had quickly set sail from port just minutes before the Prince and his men arrived at the company. The Knights, having noted that the sailors packed up quickly and departed for open waters, found this odd.

"So she and that blasted rogue are on that ship, aren't they?" Grimmel surmised. "Why else would a ship leave port so quickly and so late at night." Now he smirked before ordering the Knight next to him to order the Royal Navy to intercept that ship. Grimmel never once looked back as he quickly made his way out of the office. If he had he would have noted Camicazi trying to hold in her laughter. Once the coast was clear and the Prince and his men were scrambling to the port nearby she turned to her grandfather and hugged him.

"I can't believe they fell for that!" Cami snickered. "I wish I was there to see the Prince's face once he realizes there are only spices aboard."

Cami then proceeded to move aside one of the bookcases in the office to reveal a secret hiding spot. "Didn't I tell you my grandpa could fool him," She said to the pair hiding in that spot.

"Griselda come, we haven't much time," Cami urged as she helped her friend up. "We have a Cutter stationed at our private pier that will take you up North along the coast. The Prince will be back once he finds out that the other ship was a decoy."

"Ah..." Krogan uttered as he tried to stand up. His hand on his abdomen was wet with blood once more.

"Camicazi, go get one of our Healers quickly. He's torn open one of his stitches." The elderly man ordered. Cami went quickly while Griselda helped Krogan up.

"Thank you again," Griselda said to the man. "For everything,"

"Think nothing of it child," The elderly man replied. "Young love. Why I remember when I eloped...."

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AN:

Harry: "Finally! Krogan is out of that barrel,"

Vala: "Yes, yes. I was feeling stabby so BPD happened."

Harry: "At least the Porg was spared,"

Vala: "Uhm...."

Harry: "Where is my Porg?!"

(Vala points to the grill)

Harry: "You Porgicidal maniac!"

Vala: "I was hungry!"