That Divine Beauty

Chapter 16: The Search and Rescue

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Hiccup's POV

We've been flying for hours close to the water. Since Stormfly is a Deadly Nadder and they are tracking dragons, she can pick up Astrid's scent. We have been following that scent for hours now. We have gone way past the islands I recognize. All of the sudden Stormfly burst into an amazing amount of speed.

"Whoa girl! Are we getting closer!?" She nodded her head and went unbelievably faster. "Alright girl, lets go!"

She sped across the vast expansion of  ocean. I had no clue Stormfly could go this fast. I had to grip extra tight to the saddle. Sure she was fast, but Toothless is still faster. But Stormfly is definitely catching up, I wonder what Astrid's been doing with her.

An Island finally came into view. It was horseshoe shaped and very large. It was actually very beautiful. It was covered with trees and other greenery.

"Up Stormfly. We need to hide in the clouds until we find a place to land." I told her. She obeyed and flew up.

I looked down at the island below. Along the shore were houses for the villagers. Some houses were on the edge of the forest but as far as I could tell there weren't any houses or any other buildings farther in the forest. There was a big beautiful waterfall in the middle of the island.

"Stormfly, land by the waterfall. It looks safe there." She did as told and we set up camp there.

Astrid's POV

There is no way I can walk. When that man pulled on the chain, he dislocated my ankle. I had to think of some way to get out of here. I looked across the room and remembered the wooden chair and suddenly an idea came to me.

I crawled over to the chair. I used it to pull myself up and then leaned against the wall. I was being extra careful to not put pressure on my ankle. I picked up the chair and smashed it against the wall, sending wood flying everywhere. Man I love being strong.

I sat back down on the floor. I felt in my boot for my dagger. I then realized I had used it against the man when he attacked me back at Berk. I reached around and felt at my back, right between my shoulder blades. I always keep a knife back there under my breast band. Luckily it was still there, I pulled it out. I leaned forward toward my ankle so I could get the chain off. I took my knife and placed it in the key hole. I wiggled the knife back and forth until the chain finally fell off, freeing my ankle.

I then started to assemble the pieces of wood from the chair to create makeshift crutches to lean on and a splint for my ankle. I pulled out my knife again and cut the wraps that are around my arms away. I placed two small pieces of wood on either side of my right ankle. I took some of the wrap and cut it into strips, I wrapped two of the strips tightly around my ankle and the pieces of wood. I bit my lip through the extreme amount of pain it sent from making my ankle straight again.

Next I had to make the crutches. I grabbed the two longest pieces I could find. I laid one across my lap to work on it. I took one of the shorter pieces of wood and placed it on top of the long piece. I took some of the strips I made from my wraps and wrapped it around the two pieces making them stay secure together. I took my knife and cut a small hole in the long piece of wood. I found another piece of smaller wood and stuck it in the hole. One crutch down another to go. I applied the same process to the other piece of long wood. Now I had a pair of makeshift crutches.

I got up and went to the door. As I assumed it was locked. Luckily I had my knife to pick the lock. I wiggled my knife around again and soon the door was unlocked.

I made my way down the hall. No one was around. At the end of the hall was a door. I opened it up and went through. It lead outside, I was finally free. It was dark out, my guess was about midnight. I turned around and saw forest behind me. Oh how I love the woods. I really wish I had my axe.

I made it pretty far into the forest and was starting to get tired. Crutches plus being pregnant equals extreme exhaustion. I heard rushing water which was a big relief. I'm extremely thirsty. I haven't had anything to drink all day. Soon I saw a huge waterfall. It looked so refreshing I just wanted to jump in, but physically I couldn't. I knelt down by the water and scooped some in my hands, bringing the cool water to my mouth.

"A-Astrid?" I heard someone say. I turned around. I was so relieved at who I saw. A tear slowly rolled down my cheek. I stood up with my crutches. It was Hiccup, the love of my life came to save me. He rushed over and engulfed me in a hug. I cried harder at the feel of his embrace.

"It's alright Astrid, Im here now." He said, kissing my forehead. I looked up at him and stared into his eyes.

"What happened to you?" He ask, noticing my ankle.

"The man that kidnaped me had me chained up. He asked me questions that I didn't want to answer. He yanked on the chain twice, really hard, and dislocated it." I said, looking at the ground.

"I'm so sorry Astrid. Come on lets get you home." He helped me over to Stormfly and helped me get on her too. He sat in front so I could somewhat lean against him, my bulging stomach kind of got in the way. We took off and I soon fell asleep against him.
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Author's Note:
First off, thanks for the comments and votes. I had 35 notifications at one point. You have no clue how happy that makes me. I did read all the comments.  

Second, I really like this chapter. And I know that the crutches part may have been confusing so that is why I have provided a picture up above of what they look like and what the chair looked like.