You Are My Romeo

Chapter 3: Prisoner

~Astrid~

A fresh breeze blew past me, sending shivers down my spine as I rested my arms on the railing of my new balcony. No longer than a week had passed since the incident at the Great Hall, in which my father had been poisoned and I had been forced into accepting Dagur's marriage proposal to prevent a brutal war against the Berserkers.

I rested my cheek in the palm of my hand as a deep sigh escaped me. My gaze travelled across the island, which was a dead, dim and grey as one would imagine. There was no green grass, only dark dirt that covered the surface of the island and from said dirt rose only tall pines, whose needles seemed as dull as the grey stone that not only the village but also the fortress had been built with. The only thing that made the village seem a little less boring were the dark, wooden roofs that rested atop its buildings — which I assumed had been made from the only trees that grew on the island, something that gave the whole village a bit more dimension, although I could not imagine it being very effective against dragon attacks.

In the one week I had been on Berserker Island, there had been a total of three dragon attacks, which had caused quite some devastation in the village, but the fortress had remained unscathed. I would never forget my surprise that first evening at dinner after the dragon attacks, where one of the villagers had asked Dagur for resources to help rebuild and he had flat out refused. Where I came from, not only did we give resources, we also helped in the process of restoring the village after an attack. I didn't like Dagur to begin with and with every passing day that man seemed to give me a reason to dislike him even more.

Three loud raps on the door to my chambers snapped me out of my daze as a deep voice called out from the other side of the door: "It's time for dinner, the Chief expects your presence."

You would think that after a week of repeating the same thing to me, he would realize that I understood that I was to be present at every dinner, but for some reason he couldn't get that through his thick skull. I shook my head, attempting to remind myself that this poor guard was probably just doing what he had been told and dared not defy his orders. With a sigh, I began my descent down the stairs.

~A~

The Berserker fortress was much larger than I had ever expected. When I was younger, I had heard rumors of the fortress of the most vicious and brutal warriors in the archipelago, but I hadn't the faintest clue that it would be so massive. Stretching from where it was nestled in the great mountain in the middle of the island — which was so tall it seemed to pierce through the clouds — all the way down to the coast where the armada was docked in a shipyard which took up half the size of the fortress, incased in large walls of stone. Several towers rose from the fortress, one of which had become my new residence. My tower was the one closest to the mountain, making it the tallest one. I had a lovely view of the sea that seemed to stretch on for eternity, but I longed so to see lush, green forests filled with all sorts of plants and animals like the forests of home. Berserker Island was a prison and I longed for nothing more than to be set free.

"I see you're not wearing a dress." Dagur pointed out as I sat down at the opposite side of the table from him, keeping my gaze on the feast that had been spread across the table.

I glanced down at my outfit for a split second, what was so wrong with some iron shoulder pads, a blue wool shirt and a studded leather skirt? I shrugged his little comment off as I leaned forward and helped myself to a serving of some bread rolls. "I thought it'd be fitting if there was to be another dragon attack this evening."

Dagur's eyes narrowed as I noticed his knuckles growing white from the strong grip he held around his fork. "I thought we already discussed this? You are not allowed to participate in battle until we have a sufficient amount of heirs."

I had to physically restrain myself from gagging as I shoved a bread roll down my throat in the hopes of keeping my breakfast from making a reappearance. Just the thought of marrying that man was sickening, but having children with him as well? Let's just say I was surprised I had been given a room with a balcony.

"Luckily for you, we didn't have any guests this evening, but if you ever dare show up like some common soldier to the dinner table whilst we have company, know that there will be dire consequences." Dagur threatened, not even looking at me as he seemed to be too busy cutting through his steak.

I nodded in reply, not really in the mood to start an entire fight over something so little and insignificant as a dress. The rest of the dinner continued in complete silence and not long after, Dagur had finished his meal and stood from his seat before he marched out of the dining room, off to do the gods know what.

Did I care what that man did in his free time? Not in the slightest. Which is why I finished my meal in peace and quiet before I was escorted up to my room ... in complete silence. The guards followed me all the way up to my door, both opening and shutting it for me before they left. It all made me feel like a prisoner, but I suppose that in some way, I was.

Ever since my arrival, guards were following me everywhere. From the dining room to the courtyard and all the way back up to my bedroom, which was the only place I seemed to get some peace and quiet.

I sank down in the king size bed that took up a good portion of the room I had been given at the very top of the tower. A plethora of furs from various animals had been spread across it, making it a comfortable and warm bed to sleep in, which I found to be perhaps the only redeemable quality of the entire situation I had landed myself in.

I found myself gazing over my shoulder and out the door to the balcony, which I had forgotten to close when I had left my room for dinner. Fortunately, it was a rather warm summer evening, which made it alright to leave the door open. From where I was sitting on my bed, I could spot a few twinkling stars in the night sky, which made me wonder how many more were being hidden by the half-open door to the balcony.

I didn't have much time to wonder though, as a loud whistle filled the otherwise silent evening, followed by a deafening blast as the entire tower shook like a leaf in the wind. The blasts seemed to continue, as the faint smell of smoke filled my nostrils. There was only one explanation for all of that: dragons.

I quickly sprung to action, using all my strength to shove my giant bed in front of the door, blocking the entrance for any guards who would attempt to keep me from doing what I had to do. A wave of excitement washed over me for the first time since I had left Averon as a grin pulled at the corners of my lips. I leapt over to the chest which had previously been at the foot of my bed but was now standing in the middle of the room. I threw open the lid and dug into the chest, out of which I pulled my pride and joy; my mother's battle axe. Finally, after a long week of pure boredom and not being able to do anything I loved, I would finally get to fight again, I would finally get to kill a dragon.