That is who you are

Chapter 8

What did they want from him? My question stayed unanswered. I fought with all my strength to free myself from the grasp of these men that separated me from the man I loved. I had to get back to Hiccup—I couldn't leave him in Drago's hands.

"Let me go!" I pleaded.

"Out of the question!" one of them replied, holding me even tighter.

"Please, I'm begging you—Hiccup is in danger! You have to let me go!"

I was close to panic. I had to get a hold of myself, but how? How could I possibly put things into perspective when the person I loved the most in the world was in the talons of the most dangerous madman the world had ever known?

Come on, Astrid, calm down...You're stronger than this.

Yes, I was stronger than this, and I was going to prove it.

The men steered me out of the castle, and we followed the paved alleys of the town until we finally arrived at the port of Göteborg. Where were they taking me? What did they want to do with me? We stopped momentarily in front of one of the moored ships, and the leader of the group left with three of his men to take care of some business, leaving me alone with just one guard.

I didn't have much time to act. The man had me with my hands behind my back, and didn't have any means of defending himself.  Seizing my chance, I kicked him violently in the crotch.

He lost his grip and I took advantage immediately, knocking him out with two quick punches. I wasted no time in taking back my axe—which the men had brought along with their own weapons—and took off, in the hopes of finding a rowboat. I ran the entire length of the harbour before I finally found one, and jumped inside, setting off in the direction of Berk. It wouldn't do any good to get back to Hiccup all alone—I'd need to bring everyone, especially our dragons.

The further I got from the harbour, though, the more I felt like I was abandoning Hiccup. I was willingly leaving him alone there, with Drago Bludvist as a jailor. Oh, gods, I was a monster! How could I do this to him?

But I'd have to do it if I wanted to save him... I kept rowing out to open sea, and once I figured I was far enough from the Göteborg harbour, I started calling for my dragon. I was much more at ease on her back than in this boat...but I had no idea where she'd be at this time! I absolutely had to find her.

At that moment, I heard voices shouting, getting dangerously close to where I was—I'd taken too much time to stop and think. I turned and discovered that what looked like Drago's entire armada was on my heels, and if they caught me that'd be the end of it. I tried my best to pick up speed, but time wasn't on my side—they caught up to me with no trouble and took possession of the boat.

"What, so you decided to leave without saying goodbye?" the leader of the guards asked me.

He grabbed my arm, holding on with brutal force, then leaned closer.

"The Master isn't going to be happy when he hears about this..."

"Funny," I said. "The way I see it, he's going to be pretty mad at you guys."

He frowned, throwing me a dirty look. He must not have been used to dealing with a woman who wields an axe as well as me.

"Tie her up!" he shouted. He was annoyed.

I smiled at him, letting the men tie up my hands. They then tied me to the mast of the ship, hands tied behind my back. Then the ship set sail again, but they didn't head back towards the harbour—in fact, the entire armada was steering towards one single spot: another ship up ahead.