To Brave Fire
A teenage boy with shaggy auburn hair stood on a tall hill as he over looked four teens about his age loading a boat that was resting next to the dock in the bay. He smiled sarcastically as the blonde twins - one a boy and one a girl - glared up at him.
"Hiccup!" the long blonde haired boy yelled, "why the hecks aren't ya helpin' us?" The boy and his sister went back to work loading the heavy barrels up onto the boat though still glaring at the auburn haired boy. Hiccup rolled his bright green eyes at the twins about to answer.
"Because," Said a female voice coming up from behind Hiccup and wrapping her thin arms around his waist, "I told him not to work. With that leg o' his he's bound to fall." Kissing his shoulder the girl walked in front of Hiccup smiling up at him, "I wouldn't want my boyfriend falling, now would I?" She whispered in his ear before kissing him gently on the lips and walking down the hill to help the others.
The girl twin rolled her eyes annoyed at the sight of affection from her two friends, "Astrid," she started at the other blonde girl, "I've told you time and time again, you can so do better than Hic." The three boys around the two girls rolled their eyes as they let Astrid into the group to work.
As quietly as the klutzy teenage boy could, Hiccup walked down the white dusted hill to the dock with his friends. Once Astrid's cold blue eyes caught site of the gangly teen she stomped over to him, "Hiccup!" she yelled, her white blonde hair falling into her left eye, "You're going to get hurt. Go back up the hill. It's safer there." Hiccup could hear the three boys who were still loading up the large boat snicker.
He glared over his girlfriends shoulder to the people guilty of laughing at him, "I think I can figure out if something's too dangerous or not Astrid." Hiccup answered her still glaring mainly at his cousin who was leaning again the boat watching them. "Snotlout, get back to work!" he yelled at the brunette his temper starting to get the best of him. "This isn't a comedy sketch for you to watch!"
"Oh, I think it is." Snotlout answered the slightly younger teen in a mocking voice as he crossed his arms over his chest and began to laugh. Astrid turned around glaring at Snotlout darkly, "Okay... So I'll just be going now." He said slowly before running behind the largest of the six teens. "Help me, Fishlegs!" he whispered frantically to the blonde boy.
Fishlegs shook his head, "I think I'd rather sit this one out. I don't like friction." He said timidly looking anywhere but at his friends. Snotlout groaned, rolling his eyes and walked out from behind the larger teen.
"C'mon Astrid," the other blonde girl yelled happily from her paused spot on the dock, "We wanna see ya beat someone up! Ye haven't in forever." She smiled at her brother crookedly before looking back at Astrid.
Hiccup rolled his eyes at the twins as the other one spoke. "Yeah, what Ruffnut said! We wanna see 'Lout get creamed!" His smile grew as he looked over to the cowering brunette who was trying to sneak away slowly. "Where ya goin' Lout? Don ye wanna get beat up by a girl?" All eyes turned toward the teen boy who smiled sheepishly then walked over to where he had been leaning against the boat before.
"Why don't ya shut up Ruffnut?!" Snotlout yelled over to the blonde haired teen.
Ruffnut was about to answer but before he could a very tall and very large red headed Viking walked up between the six teens who were in a deformed circle. "Aye, ye almost done with tae boat yet?" he asked in a hard accent glancing around at the teens. Catching sight of Hiccup he smiled at him, "Hiccup, Ah wan tae see ye mah boy."
Hiccup smiled halfheartedly at the older man and began to follow him to the end of the dock where they would be alone. "Wha' did ya want me for Dad?" Hiccup asked looking up at the red-haired man next to him cautiously, afraid to anger the strong man who had an even stronger temper.
The man who the village folk called Stoick the Vast smiled down at his son, "Ah know yer nervous 'bout goin' tae the Highlands, and Ah jus' wan tae let ye know 'at it'll be all right. Eventually." Hiccup rolled his eyes at his father's try at a pep-talk and smiled sadly.
"I think the hardest part so far is having all the villagers' askin' me why we're goin' in the first place." Hiccup answered with a sigh looking out over the salty, bay water. "It's gotten them into a frenzy of worrin' and they won' stop bugging me about it."
Stoick slapped a large hand on Hiccup's back - that used to make his knees fall from under him by the force - and smiled largely at the boy, "Aye, but yer tuh son o' the Chief, ye should be used tae this attention." Hiccup rolled his eyes and pushed his father's hand off from his shoulder sighing once more. Yes, for a while after he had defeated the Red Death - a monstrous mother dragon that controlled all other dragons - he was the main island celebrity, but after a few weeks everyone forgot about him and went on to their normal lives. He was still considered the island reject - even if he was the main dragon trainer.
"Dad, ya know I've never been in the spot light for that long a time tah get used to it." Hiccup answered turning around towards the boat that was now ready for them to depart. "And if I have it's always been bad." Hiccup began to walk up the dock, limping once in a while as he went and Stoick followed soon after, mentally preparing themselves for what would be coming soon.
"Are ye mad?" a teenage girl with fiery red, curly hair sticking out in all directions yelled standing up from her sitting position at the long wood table, glaring at the dark brown haired woman who sat calmly in front of her. "Yer havin' another one o' them games? Ah thought ye said we would'nae be havin' more." She then moved her glare to the man on the other side of the table who had the same fiery hair as herself.
"Don' look at meh!" the man said raising his hands in the air in surrender to his fiery tempered daughter who was glaring daggers at him. He turned toward the three boys sitting on the other side of the teen girl with the same fiery hair, "Why don' we get outa here, aye boys?" he said in a loud whisper to the triplets, "Let yer sister an' mum work 'is out on ter own." The three identical boys nodded at the same time and stood up from the table without making a sound, running out of the giant dinning hall.
"Wher' do ye think yer goin'?" questioned the woman with dark brown hair to the man as he tried to make his get away like the triplets. "Fergus, we have the speak the Merida together." The woman stated to her husband, he sighed, nodded and sat down again.
"Wha' do ye mean?" asked the girl with flaming curls and bright blue eyes looking from her mother to her father. "Tell meh what?" her mother sighed and nodded to her father as she began again.
"We have gotten letters from all three clans saying that they will be able to come to the games. This games are not like the ones we had fer yer suitors, these are fer ye, just like we had every year fer yer birthday till ye were thirteen. Wha' do ye think Merida?" Her mother stated happily, waiting for her daughter to respond to the idea.
Merida smiled broadly, "Well, if it's just fer fun, why not?" Merida said laughing as relieve washed over her. She wouldn't be forced to merry someone she didn't know again.
"We also have received a letter from tae people north o' us. They'll be visitin' and inquiring us of something. When they get here, Merida, I want ye on yer best behavior." Merida rolled her eyes but nodded none-the-less.
"Ye should be tellin' 'at tae tah boys" Merida answered back as she stood up from the table, "Am goin' out riding on Angus a little b'fore dark." As she got to the large wood doors of the dinning room, she turned back to her mother and father, "G'bye Mum, Da." Fergus and Elinor smiled at their daughter as she disappeared to the other side of the door, then smiled at each other, ready to brave the next day.