Princess Astrid quartered the small tower room that she had been locked in and was immensely disappointed. It was a small functional room, sparsely furnished with plain bed, table and chair that were hardly suited for a Princess. There was one heavy door which was locked and bolted from the outside and a small window that looked over a sheer drop to the cliffs below. The window wasn't locked because there was nowhere to go. A fireplace had a fire burning in but the chimney was too narrow to offer any opportunity. Angry, she paced back and forth until the door opened and a huge hairy Outcast guard ushered in a sullen woman in cap and poor grey gown. The woman laid a tray on the small table by the fire then left, the door slamming shut behind her.

As soon as she was alone, she raced forward and inspected the tray, seeing a simple meat broth, a hunk of bread and a mug of mead. She swallowed: she was hungry and thirsty but most of all, she was angry. Part of her wanted to slap the tray aside and sulk but the larger part of Astrid-the part that was a pragmatic would-be Queen-sat down on the sagging chair by the fire and tucked in. But as she finished, she inspected the spoon: it was an unusual metal piece of cutlery and she laid the bowl aside, her eyes focussing on the metal. Slowly, her lips curved into a smile.

oOo

Hiccup found the kitchen, his exhausted and grimy shape slipping in at the back and managing to make his way unevenly to the pot. He garnered only handful of curious looks but the staff all looked disinterested and beaten down: it didn't encourage him about the working conditions. But the cook-a short, paunchy man with a squint-beckoned him forward, seeing his skinny shape stumble and helped him to a seat.

"New lad, eh?" he asked, inspecting the lanky shape before him. Warily, Hiccup raised his head and gave a small nod.

"Um, yeah," he admitted quietly. "Came in today-and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. They put me to work in the stables straight away-and I haven't eaten all day." The cook instantly went to the pot, ladling out a generous bowl of soup and pressing it into his cold hands. Hiccup glanced up and smiled in gratitude, urgently beginning to eat. The cook settled by him, his portly shape easy.

"You look in need of that," the cook commented. "They're not great at treating new lads-but we always make sure you get a solid meal, never fear!" Hiccup finished his stew and nodded.

"Um, thanks," he said. "I-I don't know where to go now?" The cook thought, scratching his stubbly chin.

"I'm Reidar," he introduced himself.

"Henrik," Hiccup lied automatically. Reidar eyed him carefully.

"You haven't been treated well, have you?" he guessed. Emerald eyes widening, Hiccup opened his mouth to protest but the cook cut in. "You're very guarded, lad..." He paused. "Good looking lad, though."

Okay, that set alarm bells ringing but Hiccup just hunched his shoulders and stared passively at the fire, trying not to respond. There were a few men back at Berk Castle he avoided as a matter of course because they were fairly predatory on the weaker drudges and he had heard unpleasant rumours. He had warned Gustav and the little ones to stay away from them at all costs...and then a wave of guilt washed over him. The kids! He had vanished without a word and they would worry...notwithstanding that they all looked to him to protect them. He knew Gobber knew where he had gone and he also knew Gustav was aware that Gobber was his friend and go-to person. Gobber would look out for the kids-until Hiccup came home.

"Normally, a lad thanks someone who compliments him," Reidar noted, his hand gently squeezing Hiccup's shoulder. He stiffened, feeling awkward.

"Um...thanks," he said warily. "Um...not used to anyone being nice, to be honest." Reidar patted his shoulder again, seeing the faint blush in the boy's pale cheeks.

"I'll look out for you, lad," he said. "Best of you sleep in the stables. It's warm and safe from most of the worst excesses of Alvin and Savage..." Hiccup looked up.

"Um...Savage?"

"Alvin's second-in-command," Reidar explained with a thoughtful look. "By name, by nature. He enjoys making an example of anyone who crosses him-and he likes pretty boys."

"Oh Thor," Hiccup muttered under his breath but the cook gave a chuckle.

"Nice looking boy like you-especially with those eyes-yeah, you're definitely his type," he noted.

"Well, I'm definitely not his!" Hiccup sighed and rose. "Thank you," he added and the cook smiled indulgently.

"Slip in any time and I'll see you taken care of!" he grinned as Hiccup slipped out the back.

"That's what I'm concerned about," he murmured as he walked out into the yard. But he didn't head back to the stables, instead quietly slipping into another door and beginning a very cautious exploration of the castle. He had learned to tread quietly to not attract attention and he carefully explored the ground floor, finding offices, armoury depots, cells and guard posts-which resulted in him being chased away with another mouthful of abuse. After the third time, he headed back to the stables and found Fury's stall. He carefully unsaddled and tended his horse, making sure the black stallion was carefully groomed and fed before curling in the sparse straw of the stall and dropping asleep.

oOo

Spitelout and Snotlout knelt before King Harild and both held their breath. The King was utterly furious that his Heir had been taken and word was so slow back to the Castle. But he was more furious that his daughter had been kidnapped by a vengeful ex-squire, the son of a traitor. He knew Stoick and though he had declared the man a traitor, he had always trusted the man and the declaration had been pushed on him by his advisers-including Lord Madguts, Lord Mogadon and Lord Norbert. All of them had advised that despite his excellent record of achievement and unswerving loyalty, his disappearance could only be due to treachery and he should be dishonoured.

Harild stared at the men kneeling before him. Spitelout was always a man deep in Stoick's shadow, his talents extremely meagre by comparison. He had flourished with his half-brother's disgrace and had taken all advantage-but he had been very dismissive and cruel to the man's son. Perhaps expelling the boy from the squires had been an error, creating discontent where there had been complete loyalty-and this was the result. Coupled, of course, with the evident incompetence of the Captain.

"Take the squires and resume the search from Haakon's Mount!" the King commanded. "Do not come back until you have located my daughter-and apprehended the traitor!" Spitelout raised his head, a cruel expression on his face.

"As you command, sire," he said but Harild raised a hand.

"He is to be brought back alive," he hissed. "I insist on speaking to the boy to make sure he understands just how badly he has disgraced his family. If he dies, I will kill one of you two-is that clear?"

"As crystal, sire," Spitelout growled through his teeth. The king stared at him.

"Go!" he mouthed and the Captain of the Guards and Knights rose and backed away, his son mirroring the action. Harild watched them go, then beckoned forward Sven the Wise-an average-sized man with a bald head, jug ears and a bushy handlebar moustache-and Mulch, Astrid's tutor. "Those idiots lost my daughter," he growled. "The boy must be brought back alive-because I need to execute him by my own hand for his treason. But I am not convinced that Eret has no part in this debacle. I would not put it past him and his accursed master to take my daughter as a stepping stone to absorbing Berk into his suzerainty!"

"My sources do suggest that he was the man who provided the vintage mead that was consumed so eagerly and irresponsibly by the knights and their squires," Sven murmured thoughtfully.

"None moreso than the Jorgensens," Mulch added blandly. Nodding, Harild rose, adjusting his gilded armour.

"Prepare the Royal Nadder Cavalry!" he commanded. "And fetch Hoark, Ack, Lars, Finn, Jurgen, Geir, Erik, Magnus, Stig, Jostein, Jorn, Terje, Vidar and Rolf. I want my best knights at my side as we track down the traitor who stole my Heir!"

"As you command, sire," Sven said with a grim smile. "Our course?"

"North," the King decided. "I don't trust Eret-and I am certain Alvin de Traitre will have his foul hands in this. We head for Outcast lands!"

oOo

Waking early, Hiccup managed to wash his face in cold water and tend both his and Astrid's horses before anyone knew he was there and headed promptly to the kitchen to grab a slab of set porridge. It was an odd meal, a set splodgy bar of oats, congealed milk and honey, but it filled him which was the aim. Reidar winked unsettlingly at him and slipped him an apple which he took gratefully and vanished before anyone asked any questions, tucking his prize into his belt pouch. But as he was about to head out, one of the guards grabbed him hard by the arm.

"Hey-you're new aren't you?" he growled and Hiccup dropped his head, hunching his shoulders.

"Yessir," he mumbled. The man dragged him back into the kitchen.

"Good-you can carry her Highness's tray then!" he announced and forced the heavy metal tray into Hiccup's hands. He stared at a pot of brewing mint tea, a covered bowl of warm porridge, another bowl with yak, chicken, mutton and boar meat, a wrapped warm roll with yak butter and cutlery for the imprisoned royal. He nodded, dipping his head and walking after the guard as directed. He couldn't believe his luck: he was being taken directly to where Astrid was being held, making his life so much easier...

Except it wouldn't be because the Princess was going to be closely guarded and somewhere deep in the castle. It was going to be really hard to work out some sort of plan to get her away...unless they would be good enough to bring her somewhere closer to the exits and the horses. Hiccup had every faith he could get her away and cause enough chaos to distract them as they ran...but he would need to work out some plan to get her out of her cell first.

The fact they were going up...and up...and up wasn't helping either. He would probably need a damned dragon to rescue her from the top of this tower if he wanted to just snatch her away-but of course, they all vanished centuries ago. All that was left were traditions, memories and a selection of preposterous names for things which people clung onto because they sounded cool. And a very tricky problem for the would-be knight to solve. Trying to imagine what his father would have done was no help because Hiccup knew his father would roar, wave his battle-axe and sword and probably take the castle by himself. Hiccup was not that guy: his hope lay in stealth and cunning. And hopefully, a tiny sliver of good luck, for once...

But as he toiled up an incredibly long winding flight of stairs to get to the room, he realised luck was definitely not going to be on his side. Especially when they arrived at the heavy wooden door of her room-to find the guard asleep and the door ajar. The guard with Hiccup shoved past and peered into the room, but a superficial look confirmed that the Princess was gone. In a towering rage, the guard turned on the other guard, kicked him awake and bellowed that he must have let the Princess sneak past him. Instantly, the men were in each other's faces and fists began to swing.

Cautiously, Hiccup slid past and into the room, laying the tray on the table and absently lifting the bread roll and starting to munch it. He didn't buy that Astrid had got past the guard because there was only a single winding stair up and she would have been spotted. It was a difficult route to escape down...

He frowned and stared at the bed. The bedclothes were disturbed and the sheets had been stripped. Checking over his shoulder, he drifted closer and realised the sheets had been ripped and tied together to fashion a makeshift rope...that was attached to one of the legs of the bed and tented over the corner of the sill and through the window, which was ajar. He stared back across the room, his hand resting on the taut fabric, which was still jerking slightly. His eyes widened and he glanced across the empty room, seeing the guards still fighting outside, then pushed the window wider open and peered down.

The blonde shape of Astrid had swarmed down the rope and was hanging outside a window two storeys down. As he watched she swung back then used her booted feet to kick in the window and vanish from view. As soon as she was in, he glanced around, then pulled the window to, ducking down to untie the rope and shove the material through the window. He slammed the window closed just as the guard lumbered in, an eye swelling.

"No slacking, rat!" he bellowed, seeing Hiccup's jaw moving. The young man ducked a blow and scampered towards the door. The other guard was unconscious again-this time because he had been punched unconscious. "Take that tray back to the kitchen-that food ain't for the likes of you!" Hiccup grabbed the tray and scooted away, his long legs flying down the winding stair-but he was't heading down to the kitchen. He was trying to intercept the escapee two floors down...

oOo

Astrid landed in the empty room with a curse and felt her rope go slack. She just had the presence of mind to grab it and haul it in before it fell away to the depths. It had been an insanely dangerous plan but she wasn't prepared to just wait like a damsel in distress: she was a Hofferson, for Thor's sake! So she cast around the room, searching the drawers and finding a plain linen cap to disguise her beautiful hair and a dull brown sack-like dress that she pulled on over her own riding garb. Swiftly she bundled up her torn sheet rope and made it look like a bundle of washing-and then she put her head down and raced down the stairs-just as she heard the swift sound of approaching steps.

She sped down the stairs, keeping her head down and stealing looks from under the cap that half-shielded her beautiful face. Though she had been in the Royal family, she hadn't always been the Heir. Her brother, Finn, had been the Heir until she was ten when he...died. And then her life had come screeching to a halt and every plan she had harboured had been subsumed in her role as the next ruler of Berk. But before then. she had ducked off, playing with the kids of the nobility and the senior knights and later, the pages. They had gotten into all sorts of scrapes but they had always shielded her from any fallout-often at personal cost. Especially Commander Stoick's son. She paused at a corner, wondering which way next and an image crossed her mind: a scrawny, skinny undersized kid with scruffy auburn hair, pale freckled face and bright green eyes. He was the brightest of the kids and always treated her like a friend...until she became Heir and vanished from his life. Whatever had happened to him?

She sniffed and smelled the unmistakeable scent of lye. Wrinkling her nose, she headed for the laundry, knowing she could ask for directions from one of the women. Astrid Hofferson needed no one to rescue her!

oOo

Hiccup sped into the room and found it empty, though there was dirt and scuffed steps on the dust layer on the floor. His head snapped up and he rolled his eyes to the skies.

"Thor-you couldn't even make this easy for me, could you?" he muttered, sighing. "I mean, I have nothing planned and she's at loose in the castle, on her own, unprotected..."

But if they recapture her, they won't really hurt her-because they need her...

And yet...she's actually done the thing you were struggling with...getting her out of her cell! Now all I have to do is track her down, smuggle her to the stables, secrete her there and find a way to get her out...though I think I already have that part worked out...

Then he spun and dashed down the stairs, dodging guards who all shot mouthfuls of abuse at the skinny shape. The word had gotten round and the guards had slammed the outer gates closed, cutting off any chance of an easy escape. Outcasts were milling around, heavily armed, and Hiccup recognised the massive shape of Earl Alvin, still blinking the sleep from his eyes as he roared orders and threats at his men for their incompetence in allowing his precious prisoner to escape.

"Get 'er back now or I'll 'ave a dozen of yer lazy useless worms 'anging from me battlements!" he roared, beckoning a brutal looking man with dark, mean eyes and a scruffy moustache. "Savage-search the servants's quarters and areas. I'll bet 'er 'Ighness thinks she can 'ide amid the menials!"

Oh Thor, Hiccup thought and dumped the tray, heading deeper into the back ways of the fortress. There were scores of servants earning their keep by scrubbing, laying fires, washing, cleaning, fetching wood, mucking out the animals, preparing food and performing whatever dismal tasks the soldiers and Lord could think of. But there were fewer opportunities for women than men-mainly cleaning, cooking, washing and sewing-so he headed for the areas where the female servants were usually to be found and dodged women carrying heavy baskets of washing...until he paused and peered after one, seeing a youngish woman inexpertly balancing a full basket of sheets on her head. As he watched, the basket began to slide off and as he jumped forward to help, he nudged her and the contents spilled on the dusty floor.

"Son of a half-troll!" the girl spat and Hiccup stiffened: he knew that voice. He snapped round and instantly ducked to a crouch, helping the girl begin to gather up the dusty sheets.

"Keep your head down and don't answer back," he hissed as he grabbed a sheet and carelessly folded it. A pair of wide azure eyes glared at him, not recognising him at all.

"What?" she hissed.

"You're new," he hissed, keeping his head down. "They don't take kindly to anyone answering back. Um-not at all!"

"What are you talking about?" she snapped.

"Just say I bumped into you," he muttered, bundling up another sheet as a heavy woman in a deep red felt skirts,  grey blouse and frilly linen cap and apron stomped up.

"Girl!" she shouted. "You clumsy, careless little whore! All of those will need to be washed by hand again-and you're not getting any food until you've done it!" Astrid's blonde brows dipped in a scowl and her head snapped up.

"That's not fair!' she protested. "He..." And she bit back the rest of what she wanted to say-because the basket had been falling before the young man had tried to help and he had warned her to keep quiet. The woman walked forward and slapped the escaped Princess hard across the cheek...and it took every ounce of self-control for Astrid to stop herself rising and hitting back. But amid the reddish haze of anger that threatened her senses, she saw the young menial shake his head, his green eyes concerned. There was a bruise on his pale, lightly-freckled cheek and a scruffy cap covered his head with a few tufts of auburn hair poking out. Then she bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Ma'am," she mumbled. The woman slapped her again.

"Better!" she snapped and then turned to Hiccup, grabbing his ear and hauling him up. "And I saw you make her drop the basket-so I'll get Ulric the beat you, boy!" He grimaced-the pull on his ear was really painful-and made to sass a reply...but she released him urgently as a handful of large shapes appeared. She bowed as Earl Alvin lumbered up, his eyes sweeping over the scene.

"I'm lookin' fer the Princess," he announced. "She's escaped me generous 'ospitality and I wants 'er back!" Astrid ducked her head, urgently folding the sheets and Hiccup stumbled back, realising she had drawn attention to herself. He groaned silently as Alvin narrowed his eyes and motioned to his men to grab her and haul her up, swooping forward himself to rip the cap off her hair, revealing her long golden braid and proud glare. "Ello, Princess!"

"Alvin!" she spat. "You should let me go now before my father, the King, crushes you  like the revolting bug you are!"

"You wound me, Princess," Alvin leered. "I were offerin' yer a nice room wiv a view-and yer were so impolite as ter run away...so I may 'ave ter treat yer like a prisoner!" The men grasped her arms tightly and she gave him a fierce look.

"I will see you on your knees, begging my father for your miserable life!" she sneered then looked away. Alvin's scarred face twisted in an angry scowl and he motioned his men to haul the girl away. But as he turned after her, the supervisor called him back.

"My Lord, I need to beg your indulgence," she said sharply. "That girl dropped the sheets and they..."

"Wash them again, woman!" he snarled. "I don't keep yer ter 'ave dirty linens!"

"They're only dirty because the boy..." she began and Alvin huffed.

"Savage-beat him and then you, woman, can scrub those sheets without bending my ears any more!" he growled and stomped out as then men turned to Hiccup. He cringed back as the cruel-faced man closed on him.

"Oh Thor," he murmured, "this is what I get for trying to help an escaping Princess. How on Midgard am I expected to get her out now?"