Title: The Dragon Among Bears

Rating: T

Summary: When Stoic the Vast appears on the shores of DunBroch and requests his eldest to considered as a suitor for the Princess' hand no one, least of all Merida, expects the blonde girl who steps up to the target.

Disclaimer: Brave is the property of Disney, How to Train Your Dragon and Rise of the Guardians belong to Dreamworks.

"But they're Vikings. They're not allowed to present a suitor!"

"And she's a woman! She can't marry the princess."

"She didn't even use a bow. The rules clearly stated it was to be a challenge of archery. She just lobbed a bloody great axe at the target!"

"Which was a much better shot than any of their sons could manage, if ye ask me," Merida whispers to her father the moment the head of clan Macintosh was done yelling. Fergus just chuckles in agreement, an action that quickly earns him a slap from his wife.

The clan patriarchs were in an uproar, filling the throne room with enough noise that it was a mystery how anyone could actually be heard. Today had been the day of the challenge to determine which suitor would be wed to Merida when, before the festival could even begin, a dragon headed longboat had pulled up to port. Fearing an attack, Fergus had rushed down prepared for battle only to be met with a peace offering, a stone plague carved with the Dunbroch family crest and a light wooden shield banded with burnished steel. An impressive gift, Merida knew from her studies, as the shield was the most important part of Viking arms. And they were Vikings, she could tell easily from the design of their ship.

Their age old enemies.

But not today, it seemed, as the head of their tribe, a man by the name of Stoic the Vast who was, somehow, even larger and more burly than her father though just as ginger, offered them a peace treaty. They would swear an oath not to raid any territory controlled by the Dunbroch line in exchange for being able to present his eldest child as a suitor for the princess.

Great, Merida had thought as she spied a mousy brown haired boy standing shyly behind the Viking chief. He was barely the size of Stoic's leg. I'd rather marry the Dingwall boy.

Much to Merida's horror, at that of the other leaders she would soon find out, after a small bout of deliberation the proposition was accepted by the Queen and preparations for the festival were back on their way with the addition of a fourth target at the archery range.

"Oh wee lamb, better not give him a longbow, it'll knock him right over," she remembers saying snidely as she and her father took their places in on the raised platform to overlook the contest.

"Bet he's wishing he was back on his boat," Fergus had responded, in a low enough tone her mother, who had been at the front of the platform to announce the start, didn't hear. The Viking boy certainly looked too delicate and small even hold a weapon, let alone use one, so she hadn't been too worried about him winning the contest.

So it had been to everyone's surprise when a blonde girl had strode forward, announced herself to be the heir of clan Haddock, and took her place next to the wee Dingwall lad at the far right of the line. Perhaps it was the deadly look in her blue eyes or the wicked double sided axe strapped to her back, but no one had even thought to question her eligibility. All Merida knew was that the shock of her presentation had been enough to make her forget her own plan of entering as the first born of clan Dunbroch and winning her own hand.

As far as Fergus was concerned the winner was clear as the last target wasn't even standing now, laying on the grass and cut cleanly in two. However, Elinor found that she had to side with the other clans as the Viking girl had technically cheated by not using a bow. She had, in one fluid movement that had certainly impressed the crowd, whisked the axe from her back and had thrown it, dead centre, at the target.

At least Stoic and his group have enough brains to stay out of the throne room while chaos reigned, they were camped down on the shore. Fergus had given them permission to hunt in the forest for their dinner when the invitation to join them in the Great Hall had been politely declined. From her seat, Merida could see their large campfire and what looked like a deer cooking.

"I demand you redo the contest and insist that she participate properly."

"What do you mean 'participate properly'? She's a girl! She's can't be a suitor when she's a girl!"

"Mam," Merida says quietly, so quietly that only her mother's sharp ears pick it up.

"What is it, Merida?" Elinor asks and Merida's almost stung by how guarded her voice is. They had already fought about this betrothal and she didn't want a repeat in front of their guests.

"A marriage alliance would be really good for us, wouldn't it. More solid than just a peace treaty. We'd have an actual alliance, wouldn't we, with trade and help in times of war and it would last," the princess says, making up her mind as quickly as she could analyze the situation. "That's the best choice for the kingdom, isn't it? That's why you're not giving them an actual answer right now, because you want to agree with Dad."

"Yes," Elinor says, just as softy. "Now you're thinking like a princess."

"I want to talk to her before I make my decision." She's not asking for permission to do so, isn't even considering that this isn't her choice to make, and her mother looks ready to tell her so. "I'm not going to marry someone when I don't even know their name, Mam."

"Alright, go now and I'll try to pacify the lords while you're gone." Merida hugs her fiercely and runs, much to her mother's disproval, from the hall. The noise in the hall grows in response to her actions and she can just hear the beginnings of one of her mother's speeches as the door closes behind her. She has no idea how her mother's going to be able to quell the outrage but she's never failed at it before.

It's in the late afternoon sun that she makes her way down to the shore, boisterous laughter and the smell of roasting meat leading her on the path.

"Princess!" Stoic calls as she slides down the last ridge before their camp. He's brandishing what looks like a whole wild turkey on a roasting spit and has a leg of something else in his other hand. She has to smile at how alike he and her father are. "I suspect a decision has been reached."

"Sort of," Merida responds and she gets a confused head tilt back. "I wish to speak with your daughter first."

"Aye, you'll find her up on that hill," he gestures over to a ridge just before the tree line and Merida thanks him before starting up. When she gets to the top she doesn't quite expect to find the girl practicing with a bow. There are several arrows littering the ground but a majority are stuck firmly in and around a shield she'd hung on a tree. A decent shot but it could be improved.

Merida must have stepped on a branch and startled her because the next thing she knows the bow is pointing at her and their eyes lock. "Oh, Princess, I'm sorry."

"If you knew how to use a bow, why didn't you shoot in the contest?"

"Because I didn't know then," she states simply as she turns back to her makeshift target and lets the arrow fly. It thuds near the bottom of the shield. She leans on the bow afterwards, it's larger than the bows Merida's used to and easily comes up to their shoulders. "With the way the other lords were looking at me I figured they'd want to hold a new contest tomorrow."

"You just taught yourself archery. In the last few hours. That's impossible."

"No it's not," snaps another voice from behind the girl, a boy Merida hadn't even noticed until he'd spoken who's holding an almost empty quiver of arrows. He's brown haired but not the same boy that Merida had assumed to be Stoic's son, he's stockier and has the bulging muscles that she expects from the Vikings. "Astrid can do anything she wants."

"So you're name's Astrid."

"I probably should have started with that," she says as she holds out her hand in greeting. "It's nice to finally meet you Princess."

"Merida," she insists and it gets a smile from Astrid as they clasp forearms. Astrid's grip is firm and Merida notices that, even if she doesn't look it, she's got the same strength in her arms as any other Viking she's seen. "My mother has reached a decision about the betrothal."

That makes the blonde pause for a moment before she turns to the boy. "Leave us."

"What? But Astrid!"

"No, go find my brother or something. I'm sure he's doing something interesting."

"Hiccup?" The boy asks in disbelief and Merida can't help the chortle that escapes her at the name.

"What?" Astrid asks, hint of a smile around her mouth. "Our tribe believes that if you give your child a horrible name it'll scare off the trolls. His name is Snotlout," she says to another bout of chortling. "And he's leaving." The boy rolls his eyes but reluctantly gets up and heads back down to the camp. Astrid sits heavily in his place and gestures to the empty spot on the rock for Merida. "Stoic thinks that an alliance between our tribe and your kingdom could be beneficial to all of us."

"Yeah, me Mam thinks so... Wait, you just called your Dad by his name."

"He adopted me when I was ten, I never got used to calling him anything else."

"Oh, you and your brother are adopted, that's kind of him."

"Just me, I call Hiccup my brother because it bothers him since he used to have a crush on me when we were kids. What's wrong with that?"

"Then you're not the first born," Merida says slowly as she sits next to Astrid. "If you were adopted when you were ten then even if you're older you won't be considered the first born of Stoic's clan. The law states that only the first born heir of the clan can be presented as a suitor."

"I am the eldest and Hiccup isn't eligible to marry you. Or anyone else for that matter."

"Why?"

"Religious obligations." And perhaps she shouldn't pry into that but she's never been one for heeding caution.

"So he's some kind of monk then?"

"Not exactly." It's accompanied with an appraising look, as if she's sizing her up to be allowed the explanation. "We call it the Sacred Marriage. He's betrothed to our guardian, the Winter Spirit." She pauses to let that sink in before continuing. "It's not something we share with most outsiders, it tends to give them a target."

"I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"As far as your lords are concerned, I'm Stoic's daughter and I'd like to keep it that way. Besides, your parents let me compete, that should be enough validation for the others. Aren't they the king and queen?"

"The lords certainly aren't happy that you're a girl. They think it's inappropriate."

"And what about you?" When she doesn't answer right away Astrid continues. "Are you happy that I'm a girl?"

The question brings her up short and she considers it while looking into intense blue eyes. "I guess I never really thought about it before." With a frustrated sigh she breaks the contact and returns to her feet. "This is the life my Mam's been preparing me for, not the one I want. I never wanted to get married, I just want my freedom! I want to be able to do what I want to do and go wherever I want. I don't want to be tied down by some tradition."

"We tend to travel a lot, we're Vikings, it's kind of an occupational hazard," Astrid says and when she smiles to herself she looks almost sad. She looks out at the shore, at the setting sun, and stands herself. "You better make up your mind, they'll probably want an answer today." She nods once before turning and starting to walk back to her camp and Merida watches the retreating figure for a moment before making her choice.

"Hey, you said your people travel a lot." Astrid turns when she catches up and Merida quickly continues. "Could I come? If I was there?"

"I thought you said you wanted your freedom."

"I do!"

"Then why are you asking me?" Astrid stops dead in the middle of the pathway and she leans on her bow again, it makes Merida think that serious is her default expression. "We both want our freedom, not to be tied down. You don't need my permission. If someone's going somewhere you want to go just get on the boat. It's not my place to stop you, no more than it's yours to tell me what to do. That's not our way."

"Well I don't fancy boats much myself, so I'm bringing my horse." And she watches Astrid's lips curl into a real smile when she recognises the joke.

"Oh, we've got something better than horses to ride but that's a secret for another time. Besides, who says I don't want to live here? It's so warm out and I'm enjoying it."

"This is warm? Where in the world do you live?"

"It's an island called Berk, sail north for three days and when it starts snowing you're there." Her tone is so flat it sets Merida off again, chortling so hard she began to snort. "It snows for nine months of the year and hails the other three but it's home. And there are things that make it worth it, of course."

"Of course. You know, it's going to be intimidating."

"What is?"

"Going back into the throne room and telling all the armed warriors that I'm not planning on marrying any of their sons." The smile Merida gives her is slightly shy, it's not the most traditional of proposals but Astrid gently nudges her with her elbow and smiles back.

"Yeah, well they'll have to get through me now, won't they?"

Now I'm not going to say it was love at first sight, not anything like that at all. I didn't love Astrid, at least not right away is all. It just started out as a political match. What we did do was quickly become friends. Mam didn't really approve of that part as it turned out that Astrid was exactly the kind of influence she was keen on me avoiding; Astrid was a warrior above everything else and no amount of my mother's disapproving tutting was going to change that. Oh and she always puts her weapons on the table, it's a Viking thing.

Things changed as we got older. Hiccup became the leader of their tribe, a spiritual leader instead of a military one. So not being needed in Berk quite as often lead to Astrid living in Scotland all year round. We were the Warrior Queens of Dunbroch, feared across the land, we faced down countless invasions and slew the demon bear Mor'du. None of the clans rebelled though, despite my temper and Astrid's habit of punching those who bothered her.

We went where the wind led us, sometimes together and sometimes alone. I kept my freedom and gods help anyone who tries to contain her. And, yeah, somewhere along the road I did fall in love with Astrid. She's wild and fierce and everything I never knew I wanted.

Maybe I did change my fate after all.