Hey everyone. Here is the re-write of Together in Death. I'm much happier with this one than the original.

Please note: this is not going to be the only chapter. Enjoy!

Stoick the Vast and his life-long friend Gobber entered Stoick's home in a drunken stupor. They had been in the Great Hall celebrating with their fellow Vikings regarding a recent victory. It wasn't a victory in the sense of a battle but a victory nonetheless for today they had received news that Princess Merida, the daughter and heir of their greatest enemy, had been cut down by an assassin.

Everyone had joined the celebration. Stoick had not seen his 19-year-old son, Hiccup, at the Great Hall but Gobber had assured the chief that he had been there. It was well past midnight when they decided to go home.

Arms wrapped around each other's shoulders, they stumbled uphill towards Stoick's home, singing merry songs. They slammed the door open, unknowingly throwing it off of the hinges, and laughed boisterously,

"Oh, the Gods have smiled on us, Gobber!" Stoick declared proudly, searching for more drink,

"Aye," The blacksmith agreed, "They have!" He laughed but stopped suspiciously when he noticed how quiet it was on the second floor. He couldn't brood long as Stoick pushed a large bottle against Gobber's chest.

"The finest mead in the archipelagoes, my friend!" Stoick beamed, noticing his friend taking a quick glance to the second floor. Stoick drunkenly punched his shoulder, "You open that and I'll go get Hiccup! Oh Thor, he'll be happy with this news! Hiccup!" The large man bellowed as he walked towards his son's room, "You would not believe the good news I have! Princess Merida is dead! It won't be long now before-" Stoick's voice got stuck in his throat as he opened the door to Hiccup's room. He nearly fell to the ground at the horrifying sight that greeted him.

There, hanging with a rope around his neck, was Hiccup, his green eyes wide and lifeless.

"G-Gobber" Stoick gasped out, stumbling to find something for support, "Gobber!" The chief screamed. He heard the heavy footsteps running up the stairs,

"What is it?" He called as he entered the room, "Beard of Thor!" He whispered in shock at the sight of the dangling body.

Stoick leant against his son's desk, his breathing heavy and near uncontrollable. A night of joy, merriment and celebration had turned into his worst nightmare.

The next moments were a blur for the grieving chief. At one moment, he was in his son's room; the next, he was outside with countless of others as they watched them respectfully carry his son's body and the body of his Night Fury out of the house to prepare for the funeral rituals. Underneath the blur of tears, he saw Gobber approach him,

"Stoick." He said quietly as he held out a piece of folded parchment. Stoick slowly took it and saw that it was addressed to him. He walked away from the crowd towards a cliff overlooking the sea. Slowly, trying to keep his hands from shaking, he opened the letter, hearing his son's voice as he read,

My Dearest Father,

By the time you find this, I'll be dead. I didn't want to leave you so soon but I had no other choice. There was no point for me to live any longer. How could I live knowing that the woman I loved with all my body and soul was dead at the hands of my kin? Yes, I was in love. I know you'd think it was Astrid that I spoke of but I wasn't speaking of her.

I speak of someone I met two years ago, only a few months before the war with DunBroch. I was flying with Toothless over the forests near DunBroch. I was mapping the area and I got distracted by the staggering amounts of green when we suddenly crashed. I woke up to the sight of a beautiful young lady with fiery hair and ocean eyes. She told me her name was Merida but not much else.

Friendship grew quickly. She showed me the land and taught me how to use a bow (or tries to). I often took her with me to the skies on Toothless and we flew as far south as London. But the declaration of war changed everything. We tried to meet regularly in the forest but that didn't always work. But when we did meet, our bond grew more and more, soon passing the boundaries of friendship and growing into something I had never thought of: love. Our first kiss took place in the light of a full moon. At that moment, I felt like I could do anything. Fly, see the Gods, be with her for eternity.

Shortly afterwards, the war escalated and it became harder for me to meet her but when we did, it was the happiest moment of my life. But like most things in life, those moments ended. Two days ago, she promised that she would come back the following day. I waited for her in the usual spot.

She never came.

Tonight, I entered the mead hall to a raucous party. Why there was a party I didn't know. I had to ask a half drunken Gobber for the answer.

"Princess Merida is dead!" He cried. Fear clutched at my heart. I asked him if he knew what she looked like. He described her as a fair maiden with fiery hair and ocean eyes. It was my Merida that was dead.

Despair overwhelmed me, the tears flew freely because without Merida, I was just like I was before I found Toothless: nothing. Without Merida, I am truly nothing.

When I stumbled home, Toothless tried with all his might to lift me from my despair but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried. I told him what I was going to do and he said to me, "Then I'll join you."

I could be with Toothless in life but with Merida, I couldn't. Now we can be together in death.

I regret nothing in my life, Dad, only that I wasn't the Viking you wanted me to be. Please, keep going with your life and don't cling to me like you did when Mom died; I couldn't bear to see you nearly waste away again.

I want you to know that I'll miss you and I dearly hope and pray with all my heart that someday we'll see each other again in Valhalla.

I love you, Dad.

Hiccup.

The letter was crumpled under the pressure of Stoick's hands as waves of emotions came. First, he felt anger, rage and disappointment. Hiccup had betrayed the Vikings by falling in love with the daughter of their enemy. With a yell of frustration, he threw the letter into the sea before collapsing to his knees in grief.

For a long time, Stoick the Vast sat there and cried. He no longer felt angry towards his son. Now he only felt remorse and regret. His son loved his enemy and, blinded by pride and hatred, he had destroyed his son's only happiness.

Stoick stood up, knowing what he had to do. He walked back to the village with his head held high but his shoulders sagged. He first found Gothi and Gobber. They were surprised and shocked when he told them to not perform the rites on Hiccup, stating he had one last duty to do as a father.

He walked to his home and wrote a letter to his enemy.