Chapter 45

It was a rainy afternoon when a black horse-drawn carriage made its way through the ornate gates of the Hofferson estate for what was probably the last time. As the rain battered against the window panes, two women could be seen seeing the carriage off from the second floor.

"He's not going to turn back," Astrid muttered.

"I know...," Rosalinda replied. "I just wish he would have at least looked me in the eye before he left."

"Father's personality is rotten. Do you really think he'd..."

"I know," Rose cut her off. "I just... He loved me! I was his daughter all those years and now... now... he won't even let me see him off," She sniffed. "Where all those years for naught?! I tried to be the perfect daughter!"

Astrid showed no pity for Rose however because just as her father had coddled one daughter he had easily discarded the other. The one that was his actual flesh and blood.

Rose stood like a statue, trying to hold back the tears Astrid knew would flow once she was in her rooms. The last two weeks had been anything but pleasant.

Snotlout had stayed in the manor for only two days. After a Terrible Terror came carrying Hiccup's letters for them he was heading back to Berk, seemingly on a flaming dragon that apparently had been hidden in the woods on her estate. Next time Astrid was going to have to talk with Snotlout about forest fire safety. Though that could wait as Astrid smiled at the letter she had opened once safely back in her rooms.

Hiccup's humor showed through the paper as he recounted the events leading up to him being stabbed... twice, not thrice like Snotlout had hinted and then subsequently being nearly trampled by Toothless and several other dragons as the fishing boats moored.

She actually laughed out loud at Hiccup's recount of Gobber claiming he needed to bulk up or else Hræsvelgr's winds would sweep him up and over the edge of the island, which would most likely be bad for his love life.

There was little to do today. Astrid had already been to visit the bedridden King, who was doing much better now under William's watch. She was glad because if they were going to pull this off the King needed to be in good enough shape to oppose Grimmel. That dastardly Crown Prince had even sent her an invitation to the Palace and a letter that asked if she would arrive a bit earlier on Founding day so that they could go over some logistics. Astrid doubted that would be the case but she hardly had a good reason to refuse the request.

A commotion outside her window alerted her to a situation happening downstairs. By the time she reached the foyer Samuel was being restrained by several servants, including William. His wild outbursts and slurred words all point to him having inhibited enough alcohol to drown a horse.

"Just what is going on here?!" Astrid asked as she stopped on the 4th stair before reaching the foyer.

"You! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Samuel shouted as he made a grab towards his daughter's direction though he was stopped short as the footmen managed to keep him at bay until two knights arrived.

"Escort him to his rooms and do not let him out." Astrid ordered as her eyes narrowed.

"How dare you try to confine me!" Samuel struggled. "I am your father. You are to obey and respect me!"

"THEN ACT LIKE A FATHER!" Astrid shouted, startling the man into silence. No one in the foyer had expected the Lady's outburst and as she came down the last of the steps to stand in front of the drunken brute not a whisper was heard from the servants.

"Respect is something that has to be earned," Astrid stated as she glared at her so-called father. "You being a horrible parent does not help your argument at all. Why should I respect the very man who trampled upon his late wife's legacy and pride by bringing in a mistress and her spawn the day of the funeral?! Why should I respect a man who would cast one child aside for another? Why would I respect a man that drowns his sorrows in the nearest pub when his bitch of a wife that tried to have me killed is the one he's worried about?!"

"That...,"

"I don't want your excuses." Astrid uttered as she crossed her arms. "I want you squared away in the countryside where you will not darken my doorstep any longer."

"Not before I hear what Esmeralda has to say!"

"She really has you wound so tightly around her finger that you have absolutely no concern for your own kin." Astrid stated. "Very well, I will contact the Magistrate to let you see her next week. They should be done with the interrogation by then. But remember. This is the last kindness you will ever get from me," With that said Astrid waved her hand and the knights dragged the drunken man out of her line of sight. She sighed before turning back around to go back to her rooms.

"Mistress," William called out. "Are you alright?"

"I will be," She muttered before leaving.

In the coming week Astrid was true to her word. She had gotten the Magistrate to grant Samuel a visit. While waiting for the official reply the man they called father drunk himself into a stupor each day. Rose still tried to approach him, mostly out of pity for her father, but Edwin had been disgusted by the behaviour and actively avoided the man.

Once the official letter arrived Samuel was out the door like lightning. Not even sparing a glance or a thank you to the daughter than made it possible. Astrid expected no less and was actually looking forward to that visit. Knowing Esmeralda's vindictive streak she wouldn't put it past the woman to twist a proverbial dagger into her husband's heart if it meant she could get the upperhand in an argument.

And Astrid was not wrong. Samuel didn't come home that night, nor the night after that. The knights were orginized into search parties and one came across the man slumped in an alleyway next to a pub looking as unkempt as the trash he was laying next to.

She had no more sympathy to give as she watched her drunken and stinking father being dragged out of the carriage by two footmen. Rose hurriedly passed Astrid who was watching the scene from the hallway above. She wasn't about to make her presence known but had to do so when the man lashed out at Rose, slapping her in the face and calling her a harlot.

Samuel would have done a lot worse if he wasn't being restrained, and Rose, who had always been a daddy's girl looked at the man, tears in her eyes, while she clutched her rapidly swelling cheek. The man was still yelling insults at her and she just couldn't comprehend why.

Astrid had ordered that Samuel be confined, not to his rooms but to the dungeon under the manor and he be made to sober up. If this was how the man would treat the only person still on his side then he did not deserve the luxuries that had been provided to him in the past.

It was only a day later that Astrid learned of what had set Samuel off. According to the Magistrate, Samuel had entered the cell block with a determined pace. He was not there to plead for his wife. He was there to beat her for being an idiot. In the letter the Magistrate went on to explain that the couple fought with words at first. Esmeralda on her knees behind bars had shrieked when Samuel had grabbed her hair that had been placed in a haphazard bun and yanked.

Samuel apparently had yanked so hard that Esmeralda's head hit the bars. He had yelled at how she dared to leave him alone with their children and as his wife she should have shown more decorum and sensibility.

Astrid had been right about Esmeralda's vindictiveness. Even while faced with her husband's ire she found something to twist and break. With nothing left to lose Esmeralda had gleefully told the man that the daughter he cared so much about was not even of his own blood. She went on to tell him how Rosalinda had known this and still gleefully went on with the lie. Twisting the knife deeper and deeper Samuel asked about Edwin, to which Esmeralda only shrugged at and muttered "Who knows,"

Astrid figured why Esmeralda had laid all the cards on the table, even bringing doubt into Edwin's parentage. She had absolutely nothing to lose. The Magistrate was seeking the highest penalty for her crimes, which would result in her losing her aristocratic title and all the power it entailed. Her husband whom she had used to gain power, but who had abused her at the same time to fit the mold of a perfect Noble lady over the years would not get off scot free. She would watch the world burn and see Samuel drown in despair, not knowing if her words were truth or lies, not knowing if his children were actually his.

Samuel was but a shell the last couple of days. He ate but would look not look Rose in the eye. Edwin had cut ties with the man days ago and could not be bothered anymore. Astrid finally had all the preparations in place and sent Samuel off to a cottage in her fief. She would never let him come back to the capital.

In the end the carriage drove away without any fuss. Astrid turned around to go back to her study once the manor gates had shut. Rose took a deep breath and went to the studio Astrid had helped her set up. She needed to relax and face the truth that was her parents' mutual destruction.