A/N: Set after HTTYD 2. Differences are Stoick is alive and still chief and Hiccup and Astrid never dated.

Chapter I

The Shipwrecked Highlander

"So mom, are you gonna participate in the dragon race today?" Hiccup asked.

"I think I will. It seems like a lot of fun." Valka said. "Now, keep steady." She told him as he tried to stay standing straight. She was teaching him how to ride Toothless the same way she rode Cloudjumper.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this. You ready?" he asked her.

"Let's go!" Valka said as she and Hiccup both leaped from there dragons and spread the wings of their wingsuits. Hiccup had recently modified Valka's leather armor to have wings like his own.

"This is AMAZING!" Valka screamed in joy as they glided next to their dragons.

Hiccup suddenly noticed something on the beach below them. "You see that?" he asked.

"Is that a wrecked ship?"

"Toothless, let's get down there!"

Hiccup approached the wrecked ship and looked inside. "Mom! There's someone in here!" Hiccup said. "Hey, you okay?" he asked gently shaking the sleeping girl. Her hair was wild and fire red. Her skin was fair and her dress was torn and dirty.

"Let me see her." Valka said. "She's exhausted and dehydrated. We better get her to the village."

Oh my head. Merida thought as she slowly opened her eyes. She was in a fairly comfortable bed somewhere. She started to sit up but her head hurt too much.

"Oh, you're up." She heard a voice say. She looked and noticed a man a women in an adjacent room.

She tried to say something but here throat was so dry that it came out as wheeze.

"Here, drink." The man said as he handed her a glass and she drank it so quick she almost chocked. "Whoa! Whoa, slowly." He said.

Her water blue eyes looked into his forest green ones for a moment. His hair was brown and unkempt. She noticed a small scar on his chin.

He put his arm under her lower back and helped her sit up.

"Thanks." She said.

"I'm Hiccup, that's my mother Valka."

"I'm Merida."

"Here," Valka said as she walked in with a plate of food.

"None of that's yours is it?" Hiccup asked. His mother's cooking was infamous for its taste.

"No, it's what you made."

Merida wolfed it down almost chocking herself again.

"How do you feel?" Hiccup asked.

"My legs feel heavy and they ache a little. I also feel like I've got a knot the size of a boulder on my head."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"I was on a small boat and I got caught in a storm. I woke up here."

"You've been out for a few days. Your left knee is fractured and you have a concussion." Valka said. "We set the leg and I'm working on your dress."

"My dress?" Merida suddenly realized she was wearing something else.

Before she asked hiccup said, "No, I wasn't here when my mom changed you."

"That's good."

"You know I examined the wreckage. That was a one person sail boat built for bay fishing, not the open sea. What where you doing?"

"…Running away. My mother is trying to force me into marring. Where am I exactly?"

"Berk."

"Berk, that's a strange, wait! You said Berk? As in the Hairy Hooligan tribe's Berk."

"The very same."

"Help me up."

"Huh?"

"I want to see if the rumors are true."

"Put your arm around me." Valka said.

"Here," Hiccup said, handing her a crutch that used when was getting use to his first prosthetic. "Use my old crutch."

"Thanks."

Valka helped Merida to the door. "Hope you're ready." Valka said and pushed the door open.

"Wow." Merida breathed.

There were dragons everywhere. Flying, walking, eating, bathing, and resting.

"This is Berk." Hiccup said waling up next to them. "My home."

"This is amazing! WHOA!" she shouted as a streak of black shot past her.

"Whoa there bud." Hiccup said as Toothless ran up to him.

Merida felt breath on her neck and turned to find herself nose to nose with Cloudjumper.

"Eek!" she shrieked and fell. "Ow! My leg!"

"Cloudjumper!" Valka chastised. "Sorry about that. Dragons can be very curious." Valka said helping her up.

"Hey look, it's the girl!" they heard someone shout. Soon they villagers flocked towards them.

"Who is she?"

"Where's she from?"

"She a Viking?"

"Hey! Hey! Back off!" Hiccup said. "She just woke up so lay off! You'll get your answers."

"Hiccup!" a voice boomed as Stoick approached. "How's our guest?" Stoick asked gesturing to Merida.

"Better, Merida? May I introduce my father 'Stoick The Vast'. Chief of the tribe. Dad, this is Merida."

"Charmed." Merida said as she shook his massive hand, he was just as a big as her father if not bigger, as was everyone else.

"So you want to meet the different kinds of dragons?" hiccup asked.

"Yes please."

"Well, this is Toothless, a Night Fury. The unholy offspring of lighting and death itself."

"He's so cute!" Merida said "So what about this one." She asked about Cloudjumper.

"This is my dragon Cloudjumper, he's a Stormcutter."

"My Dad's dragon is a Rumblehorn named Skullcrusher. Come with me, I'll inroutuduce to the first riders and their dragons."

He led her to the academy only stopping to introuduce her to Gobber and the Hotburple Grump.

The trainers where waiting for them.

"Everyone this is Merida."

"Hey Merida. I'm Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup's second in command. This is Stormfly, she's a Deadly Nadder."

"I'm Snotlout Jorgenson. I ride the Monstrous Nightmare Hookfang."

"I'm Fishlegs Ingerman, Co-author of the 'New Book of Dragons'. And this is Meatlug, she's a Gronckle."

Merida looked at two blonds who were currently trying to kill each other.

"Those are the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston. They ride the two headed Hideous Zippleback, Barf and Belch."

"Seriously?" she asked.

"Seriously."

At that point another Nadder and rider flew in. "Ah, I heard our visitor had finally woken up. I am Eret son of Eret, former dragon trapper now rider. This is Spike."

"This. Is. Awesome!"

That Night…

"So, Merida?" Hiccup began. They were sitting in front of the fireplace of Stoick's home with Stoick and Valka.

"Yeah?"

"Would care to explain what you us told me earlier. About running away?"

"…I've just turned 19. The legal marrying age where I'm from is 16 and we get married quick. The truth is, I'm the princess of DunBroch so it's even more important for me. But I've turned down every proposal. My mother decided it's high time I got married and arranged a marriage for me. But I don't want to marry, I want my freedom. I knew she wouldn't listen, so I left."

"Well," Stoick began.

They're gonna send me back I know it!

"You'll need a place to stay until we can get house built for you. Why don't you use Hiccup's old room." Stoick said.

"You mean…I can stay?" Merida asked hopefully.

"As long as you want." Valka said.

"Then I have one more question."

"What?"

"When do I get my own dragon?"

The 3 Haddocks smiled. She was going to fit in just fine.

A/N: Thoughts? Please review