Summary: Lord and Lady DunBroch only wanted what was best for their eldest daughter, but the fact remained that she would have to marry into one of the other clans of their kingdom. But when the princess refuses, and runs away into the lands of her family's old enemy, things begin to take a strange turn.
Stoick the Vast only wants peace within his lands, but with Vikings on the backs of Dragons, that doesn't seem possible. Especially when his son, and only heir can't sit still to save his own life.
Of course, with a young, twenty-year-old Viking on the back of a Night Fury, the World is a much bigger place than his small chain of islands he is one day meant to rule.
The Lord and Lady of Dunbroch have a similar problem with their daughter, who has outright refused to marry any of her suitors.
Introduce a wild and free princess to a Dragon-riding Viking Prince and the Vikings and Scots are in for a much bigger headache then they ever bargained for.
1
Dawn broke across the island of Berk as it always did. Terrible Terrors greeted the dawn with a screech and a small burst of flame while the larger inhabitants of the island roared at the sun in greeting. Berk, like many of the islands of the Viking Archipelago, had long since adopted Dragons into their everyday lives. The isle of Berk being the forerunner of the new lifestyle, many of the other tribes looked to their Chief for wisdom when dealing with their new tribe members.
Today was a day for sadness, however, as the Prince of Berk, son of Chief Stoick the Vast and Valka the Free, stood upon the dock, his friends and family gathered 'round him as he adjusted the saddlebags on his Dragon's back.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was not like his father.
Where his father was a massive man at the height of just under eight feet, and a weight of twenty stones, his son was slim, yet well built at the height of six feet, and a modest weight of eight stones. His shoulders were broad, but not as broad as any other man of his tribe, not even the smaller shoulders of his friend and brother from the Berserker tribe, Dagur. He was certainly tall enough to be a member of the Hooligan tribe, yet, even after all of his accomplishments, he still felt out of place.
"Are ye certain that we cannot change ye're mind, Sønn?" Asked the large man that was Stoick the Vast as he regarded his only child, his arm around his wife. "Ye know that ye need not go alone?"
Hiccup, his auburn hair hanging low over his emerald eyes, smiled at his parents. "I'm sure." He nodded, "I need to do this."
Dagur, chieftain of the Berserker clan, chuckled, "I could come with you," the scar-faced man suggested, "You know? To keep you out of trouble?"
Hiccup smirked at his friend, "Dagur, you'd be the one starting the trouble!"
"Guilty." The man laughed, holding up his hands. "Still, though, Brother of mine, you could use the company."
"And you have a wife to look after with a child on the way," Hiccup reminded him, "Mala won't take to kindly to you just up and flying off with me on some wild adventure with Shattermaster."
Dagur glanced fondly at the green Gronkle at his side, looking slightly sad to see the human leaving. "I hear you, Hiccup," he sighed, "Still, if you ever need help, you know where to send Sharpshooter."
Sharpshooter, a young Titan Terrible Terror, squawked from where he sat dutifully on the docks next his master's mount, a larger Titan Wing, but still remained the smallest one on the dock at six feet long from nose to tail.
"He's right, lad," said a tattooed man as he came up to the younger man, "You ever get into any sort of trouble, you know where to call for help."
"Or just for company," said the young woman at his side. "Bog-Burglar island is always open to you, Hic."
Hiccup nodded to his distant cousin, and her mate, "Thanks, Cami."
His Dragon, a Night Fury of all Dragons, crooned at him worriedly. His large green eyes wide like a puppy's. Hiccup chuckled and scratched his friend behind his ears. "It's okay, bud," he said, looking at his gathered friends and family, his eyes lingering on a blonde woman who stood by a Nadder, a large bipedal Dragon with spines all over its body, giving a small smile to her. "We'll be back...someday."
"I'll hold you to that," Stoick told his son, "Ye are the next chief, after all."
"And you've just given me all the reason I need to not come back!" Hiccup shouted with a laugh before his father roared and enveloped the boy in a spine-crushing hug. Hiccup returned it when he could breathe, "Bye, Dad."
"Fer now," the man sniffled, drawing back, "Bye fer now."
Hiccup nodded slowly before hugging his mother, "I'll always be proud of you, Sønn." She said against his hair, "You have the heart of a chief, and the soul of a Dragon."
Hiccup smiled, swallowing thickly as he stepped back and stepped up into the saddle. "Okay, Toothless," the Night Fury rose to his feet, his wings spreading. "Let's go."
Toothless and Sharpshooter shot into the air, the wind from their combined wings nearly knocking the the other humans over on the docks. Stoick raised his large arms, bidding farewell to his son for as long as he stayed in sight, and long after the two Dragons had disappeared over the horizon.
Valka placed her hand on his shoulder, "He'll be fine." She told him, looking up at the large man, "And one day, when he's ready, he'll come home to us."
"Aye, I know, Love," he sighed thickly, "I...It's just..."
"We'll miss him dearly," she finished for both of them, "T'is only a shame that things didn't work out as well as we had hoped." She said, looking over at the young woman that remained with them on the dock, the Nadder settling its head above her shoulder. The chieftess smiled at her, "Astrid, you shouldn't blame yourself for this. T'wasn't your fault."
The young woman shook her head, "It doesn't feel that way."
Stoick sighed, "Valka's right, lass, t'weren't your fault." He said, "His love of adventure was just too strong. Ye cannae tame the untamable."
Astrid nodded, "Come on, Stormfly," she sighed to her Dragon, "We've got rounds to make in an hour."
{Across the Sea}
"Alright, ya wee devils, into bed!" Merida ordered her three little brothers. The three eight-year-olds scampered off into their beds, laughing as their sister chased after them.
"Tell us a story!" Hubert demanded as Merida tucked them in.
"No." Merida said promptly.
"Story!" Hamish laughed.
"No!" Merida giggled whilst tucking in her last brother in.
"Story! Story! Story!" Harris yelled, not allowing his sister to tuck him into bed.
"Aye, Aye, alright!" Merida laughed, hoping to quiet them down. "No stories, but how 'bout I sing for ya?"
Hamish wriggled under the covers, "Can ya sing the Dragon Song?"
Merida giggled and touched the boy on the tip of his nose, "That old thing again?" She asked, "Ya know Dragons are extinct, don'cha?"
"Please?" Hubert begged.
Merida shook her head, smiling, "Alright, but af'er that, it's bedtime, alright?"
The three boys nodded happily as Merida made herself comfortable on their bed.
The girl smiled, "Go north, go north with wings on your feet," she reached over and pinched her brothers' toes beneath the blanket, making them giggle, "Go north with the wind where the three rivers meet. There's a clearing of sorts in the circle of trees."
"Where the wild constellations shine one, two, three," she tapped their noses as she counted, "Look all around you and see. Deep in the forests there Dragons will be." She smiled at the boys as they began to drift off. "They come from the earth, yes, they come from the stone. The icy cold north, that's where they call home. Go where the mountain kisses the sea. Better be brave, far braver than me."
"No one's braver than you, Merida," Hubert yawned, closing his little eyes.
Merida smiled and leaned down to kiss her brothers' heads, all of them asleep long before she finished her song. "Look all around you: deep in the forest, there Dragons will be." She rose, "G'night, ya wee devils."
She turned to leave the room, "Merida?" She turned around to see Hamish sitting up, rubbing his eyes, "Ya really think all the Dragons are gone?"
She smiled, "Aye, long before I was born, and maybe even before mum was," she smiled, "Do ya want to see one?"
"Uh-huh," the boy said, settling back down, "Would ya be scared if ya saw one?"
"I may," she smiled, reaching over to pat his head, "But you know what they say; if you hear a roar, for goodness sake, leave them be." She smiled softly, "Up where you find them, wild and free."
Hamish started snoring a moment later and Merida left the three boys to sleep. Closing the door behind her as she stepped into the hall, she moved down to her room. "Merida?"
"Mum?" She turned and found her mother standing stepping toward her, looking slightly uneasy. "What are ya still doing up?"
"I needed to talk to ya, my darling," she sighed, shaking her head, "The clans are starting to push for marriage, Dear."
A cold pit formed in the young woman's stomach, "No!" She snapped immediately, "Not again!"
"Oh, now, Merida - "
"Mum, no!" The girl shouted, "They're a bunch of iggits compared to you and Da! I can't marry one of them!"
Elinor sighed, "Merida, ya don't have much of a choice. None of the clans have anymore sons ya could wed!" She said, her voice rising, "At least ya have your pick between the lot of them!"
"And none of them would make a good king!" Merida snapped, "Ya have the boys, so why can't ya just let me live my own life?"
"Because ya are a princess of DunBroch," her mother snapped, "And ya have run out of time. Ya have to pick, or your father will have to pick for ya. Is that what ya want?"
"What I want is to be left alone!" Merida snapped right back, and turned on her heel, striding down the hall away from her mother.
"Merida!" Elinor shouted, "Ya cannot run from this!"
Yes, she could. Merida had long been thinking about taking herself out of the castle of DunBroch, and away from the life of a princess. She hated it. She could very well take care of herself thank you very much. She could hunt, she could fish, she could sail and she knew just which plants and berries to forage for so she would not starve. Her mother had just given her the last nudge that she really needed.
Merida stormed to her room, grabbing her bow and quiver of arrows, and stormed back out.
{DunBroch Docks}
Packing very little in the way of worldly possessions, Merida snuck herself down to the docks, carrying only what food she could safely carry without being seen. Back and forth she went, packing as much as she could onto a small sailboat. By the time she was ready to cast off, it was well passed the midnight hour. The girl pushed herself off the docks, and out to see with an oar, rowing a short distance before she unfurled the sail to catch a strong breeze that began to carry her out to sea.
Looking back at the castle as it began to grow smaller, she felt a small pang of guilt, but quickly stomped it out, determined to make her own way. She was unsure of which direction to go, but settled upon going North, thinking of the song she had sang for her brothers hours ago.
She wondered, fleetingly, if the North actually still had Dragons roaming the skies and seas, but put those thoughts out of her head as she sailed smoothly away.
Hours later, when dawn broke across DunBroch, it was to find that the young princess had gone from her room, and one of the small fishing vessels had gone missing. The queen was frantic over the missing girl, and the king was no better, calling out to all the clans of DunBroch to search for her, vowing to reward them with whatever they wished.
All the clans sailed out after the girl within a day of hearing of her disappearance, giving the princess at least a day and a half of a start.
Merida, meanwhile, had caught a swift wind, and was laughing while she cut through the waves, bouncing and crashing over the water. Dolphins jumped in and out of the waves, seemingly laughing with her as they darted around her small boat.
The island of DunBroch was still visible, but far enough away that she didn't think she would be noticed by spyglass, but that was only if she could keep ahead of anyone her parents sent after her should they come North.
The second full day she spent sailing she saw very few spots she could dock, and rest for the coming night. "There's got to be somewhere." She said to herself, looking all around her, but saw nothing but open water, and the shadow of DunBroch.
As she was guided by the wind, however, she noticed that the are was becoming very misty. A fog was beginning to rise. A fog so thick that it was mere moments before she could not see where she was being pulled. Yet the wind did nothing to chase the fog away!
"Not possible," she breathed out as she sailed through the fog. All her time learning from her father had taught her that wind was the bane of fog. The air had to be utterly still for fog to even begin to settle.
Suddenly, her boat lurched, as if struck by something from below. A low rumble caught her attention as she looked over the port side, catching a glimpse of a blue, speckled tail slipping below the water.
A tail covered in spines.
"No," she breathed out, reaching for her bow, "No, no, no!"
Another rumble came from behind her as she caught sight of a large winged body breaking the surface, two heads at the front, and the body of a manta behind. The heads squawked and squeaked at her respectively before disappearing beneath the waves once more. Soon, another Dragon followed, and then another, and another.
She was in the middle of a...a pod of swimming, manta-like Dragons. A pod that didn't seem to mind her presence at all. Her fears dropping slightly, she marveled at the sight of the aquatic beasts, seeing the spots on their lovely blue hides glow dimly in the dark waters.
She set her bow and arrows aside, leaning over the side as a young beast popped up, taking and interest in her. The two heads were narrow, almost like a dolphin or porpoise, yet much more pointed than either of them. The head on the left looked to its right twin, pecked at it and dove back into the water. Merida suppressed a giggle that threatened to burst from her chest at the Dragon's antics.
The boat lurched again as a larger Dragon brushed against the underside with its wing/flipper, paying her no mind as it swam by. Merida was amazed. Out of all the stories she had heard, nothing had prepared her for something like this. She had heard tales of gigantic fire-breathing monsters that shook the very air with a single beat of their wings. She had seen the skulls, and mounted heads of the great beasts that had once inhabited her homelands, but these gentle sea creatures were nothing like the Dragons she had been told about as bedtime stories.
Suddenly, the pod broke apart, spooked.
Merida grew cold, then. What would spook such a large pod of Dragons?
The answer to her question came as a large form snaked its way through the water under the boat, it's body glowing with energy. A giant eel. And it wasn't alone.
A large school of the monstrous eels swam after the pod, each one twenty to thirty feet in length. She grabbed for her bow again, hoping the leviathans would ignore her as the Dragons had, but it was not to be.
As she moved about on the boat, the movement itself caught the attention of the eels. One such eel rose up out of the water, hissing at her like a snake, and coiled to strike. Merida wasted no time in knocking an arrow and loosing it into the beast's head. The eel fell back into the water with a screech as it was converged upon by the others, drawn by the blood it leaked. Merida thanked the gods that they were to busy with the dead one to take any more notice of her as the boat sailed off deeper into the fog bank.
{Dragon's Edge}
The huts of the old camp still stood, thanks to frequent visits over the years by Hiccup. It was the perfect base for him to conduct his renewed search for new lands outside of Berk. And possibly outside the Archipelago.
He had added a few new buildings over the three years since its construction, including a forge to process metals and build new saddles and repair Toothless' tail fin. His old hut still stood, which now had a little house for Sharpshooter under Toothless' loft. In the corner of the hut was a small table that hosted a large pile of parchment, and scrolls that held his designs and plans for armor, mechanisms, and other ideas he had for the little island. Including a small map of the island he planned to use to mark out plots of land for gardening to stock up for the coming winter.
Looking out over the small settlement, he recalled when it looked a lot bigger. A lot had happened during his time away. The war with Vigo and his Dragon hunters, the war with Drago Bludfist. Finding his mother.
Breaking things off with Astrid.
He sighed as he laid back on his bed. "Guess I should've seen that coming, huh, guys?" He asked as his Dragons lay curled up in the hut. Sharpshooter was laying inside his little hut, his head on his paws, regarding his handler with a slightly sad look, while Toothless, carefully, curled up in the loft. Hiccup made a mental not to fix that. Toothless, a now thirty-five foot Titan Wing Night Fury, had nearly outgrown the hut. Being a Titan Wing, Toothless' tail fin had grown back, so now the Dragon no longer needed the young man's help to fly, but stayed out of friendship, and love. the other things that had changed about the Dragon was the fact that he now sported black bone-spikes on the tips of his wings, and the two dorsal ridges down his back now stayed out without him having to push them out himself.
The spines on his tail and head had grown sharper as well, making him look somewhat demonic. Most Titan Wing Dragons looked that way when they reached that stage of their lives. Sharpshooter looked especially devilish with his thick curved horns on his head and nose, as well as the sharp, dangerous spines running up and down his back and tail.
But back to Astrid.
It hadn't been a bad falling out...not really.
After defeating Drago, Astrid had pressured him, rather hard actually, to settle down and take up the title of Chief as his father wanted him to. Hiccup had stated that he wasn't ready, several times. The result, a rather nasty fight, and a breaking off of their betrothal. Neither one had seen it coming. Astrid had simply stated that maybe he wasn't ready to have a betrothed, either, and given back the pendant that he had given to her as a betrothal gift.
Regret was evident with both parties, but Hiccup made no comments to deny her. It hurt leaving her, however, he also felt a new sense of freedom. Being Chief, settling down? He was no where near ready for such things. He wanted to keep flying, to the end of the earth if he had to. There was still so much more to see than just Berk and the islands of the Archipelago.
Now he was free to do just that.
He sighed and rolled over on his bunk, his head cushioned on his arm, "We'll fly again tomorrow." He said to his two companions, "Maybe we'll find something new out there. Or maybe even track down another Night Fury...wouldn't that be something, huh, bud?"
A soft warble was the answer he got.
{Castle DunBroch}
It had been five days since the disappearance of the princess. None of the clans had turned anything up in their search. It was as if the girl had simply dropped off the edge of the world.
"No one has checked the North, have they?" Fergus asked, feeling drained as the other clan leaders gathered around the large map, showing their small cluster of islands kingdom, surrounded by two massive continents. "The Eastern continent is out of the question for her to have gone to, and she wouldn't go near the West for fear of the tribes there. The North is all that's left."
"Aye, Fergus, but that's Viking territory," Lord Dingwall, a short, scruffy man, huffed, "T'is nothing beyond that wall o' fog but barbarians."
"It's the only place we've not looked," said a larger, bearded man, "The wee lass has to have gone that direction."
Elinor nodded, "I believe you are right, Lord MacGuffin." She sighed, having not let on the reason she suspected the girl's flight from the castle to have been. She looked to her husband, "Fergus, dear, do ya know anything about who rules there, now?"
Fergus shrugged, "Last I knew it was a lout named Stoick the Vast, big man, bigger than myself, matter of fact." He said, stroking his beard. "Still, he's a level-headed man in his own rights, protects his own, and the like. What worries me is that his lands are still beset by Dragons."
The lords and ladies surrounding the king gasped in shock. Dragons were supposed to be gone!
"May the gods have mercy," Elinor bemoaned, "Ya mean to tell me my little darling's in such a place?"
Fergus sighed, "Perhaps, but don't worry. If she's there, then we'll find her."
"Unless she's been eaten."
"Dingwall!" Fergus roared angrily.
"Sorry."
Fergus sighed, "We sail at dawn. I'll be going personally this time, while Elinor stays behind to mind the kingdom," he said, looking at his wife, who nodded. "Load up all ya'll need for a long trip, and bring a small band of warriors with ya. We don't know if the Vikings will give us trouble, but the Dragons are an almost certainty."
{Dragon's Edge}
Merida sailed as far as she could until she had no choice but to find a place to rest. She had sailed for six days straight without rest, and now she was far more tired than she could ever remember. Taking short naps while the wind carried the small boat could not make up for a decent night's sleep. After the encounter with the eels, the girl had feared sleeping on the boat for any extended amount of time, and never fully slept when she napped.
She also feared that another pod of Dragons would come, and possibly overturn the boat as she slept; she was not a good swimmer. But as she was about to give up to exhaustion, her prayers seemed to be answered when she spotted a sizable island that seemed to be fit for people. It looked well-defended, cliffs on all sides with a small sandy beach that looked to have a path up into a wooded area. As she approached, she was delighted to hear the sound of birdsong high up on the rocks. She could have sworn she saw a large flock of some sort of black birds flying over the island in a large mass, catching a quick glimpse of a white individual in their midst.
She landed her little boat on the beach and staggered ashore, collapsing to the sand, the soft feeling against her back feeling almost like a bed to her. But the girl picked herself up, trudging further ashore with a few of her supplies to make a camp for the night, and possibly longer if the island was far enough away, and habitable enough for her to stay.
Finding a spot to rest did not take long as she found a cave bored out of the side of the cliffs surrounding the beach. It was perfectly round, looking as though the rock had been...chewed through.
Though it frightened her to think of what could actually chew through solid stone, the cave looked old, and unused. Whatever had created the cave had long since left, or passed on. And so, the young girl pulled all of her supplies ashore, and made camp in the cave, spreading out her blankets, and quickly fell asleep in the cool cave with the comforting sound of the waves crashing against the shore sounding like a lullaby.
Meanwhile, a small white Dragon was fluttering around the very same beach that Merida had made camp, and caught the scent of what smelled like his favorite treat that his human friends had long ago introduced him to; salted pork.
Smidvarg, an albino Night Terror Dragon, was rather fond of most humans he met, given they didn't smell of Dragon Root, or Dragon blood. And the small Dragon knew rather well that where there was the smell of salted pork, there was likely to be a human to eat it as well.
Carefully and quietly, the small Dragon fluttered his way down to the beach where the scent was coming from, and found himself hovering outside of an old Whispering Death tunnel. The tunnel itself was old, and musty, remaining unused for decades since the old owner had flown off never to return. He could also smell a small amount of smoke coming from the tunnel. A human was there.
Smidvarg landed lightly on the sand just outside the cave, looking this way and that as he found what he had heard humans call a boat sitting down by the water, but no human. The human, it appeared, was in the tunnel. And he was right.
As he peeked inside, he found a rather scrawny human female with hair that looked like a Terrible Terror nest had it not also looked like it was set ablaze. She appeared to be sleeping, if the light snores he heard was anything to guess at.
Normally, the little fellow would wait for the human to wake up, and beg for a bite to eat as he had done from his friend, Fishlegs, but the smell of the salted pork was just too tempting. And it appeared that the human had a lot of it. Surely she wouldn't miss a slab or two, or three?
Sneaking quietly around the sleeping girl, Smidvarg began sniffing through the packs, and supplies in search of his prey, so to speak. It wasn't long before the glutton had a nice thick slab of the favored treat, and was happily munching away on the fatty slab of meat.
The sound of his munching, however, began to rouse the girl from her sleep.
Merida had hoped that she was safe in the old tunnel, but she didn't reckon with the idea of a hungry little thief when she cracked her eyes open and found a small white creature sitting on its haunches, and eating a slab of what little meat she had brought along. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming when she saw the tiny Dragon, but after a moment to awaken, she found that she was, indeed, seeing a scaly little thief eating from her provisions!
"Hey!" Merida shouted, startling the little rascal, who turned around, wide-eyed and looking guilty. Merida had already gone for her bow before the little fellow could try to salvage the situation by looking cute as he had done before with the other humans he knew, but this one did not seem to be one for cuteness if the sharp stick-thrower she was fumbling with was any indication.
With a squawk, Smidvarg grabbed his booty, and beat a hasty retreat out of the tunnel, and blasted out into the air as Merida scrambled after him. "Come back here!"
Not likely. Smidvarg knew much better than to turn around at this point, given that he was clutching a stolen slab of pork. No human that sounded like that was worth the risk of making nice with after such a theft. Sure enough, a moment later, one of those sharp sticks she aimed at him flew right passed his left wing. Time to go!
Merida wasn't having it, however, and angrily charged after the Dragon. Quickly scaling the cliff, the girl ran after the retreating Night Terror, not even caring that her dress was getting torn by the sharp rocks, and bushes she charged through.
Smidvarg yelped as another arrow whizzed by, and started squeaking and squawking for all that he was worth to alert the other Night Terrors. Hearing the distress call, the other Terrors of the island were quick to act. But seeing the angered human chasing after their leader was enough to put the flock off attacking. So what was their solution?
Find Toothless, of course!
The forest was soon filled with shrieks, squeaks and squawks as the Terrors called for help. the cries, of course, alerted a certain Alpha Dragon resting himself in the sun while his human worked tirelessly in his new forge. Night Furies had highly sensitive hearing, and the sound of a thousand Night Terrors calling for help was enough to rouse one from the dead at times.
Toothless perked his head up as soon as he heard the call, and turned his head toward the Southern end of the island with a look of curiosity.
"What's wrong, bud?" Hiccup asked, seeing his friend awake.
Toothless got to his feet, warbling urgently and gestured for Hiccup to hop on his back, no saddle. Hiccup knew his friend well enough to know when no nonsense was required, and jumped onto the Dragon's back. "Sharpshooter!" He called out to the Terrible Terror, the larger than usual Terror shooting into the air just as Toothless jumped from the walkways.
Meanwhile Smidvarg was certain that he was in one of the human's versions of hell. His slab of meat secured between his jaws, the little Alpha couldn't very well flame at the girl, and he wasn't about to drop his prize after all the trouble he'd gone through to get it. And no matter which route he took, the human girl was still on his tail!
Time for drastic measures!
So the little fellow flew through a nasty prickle bush that he loved going through for a good scratch, but humans hated for the very same thorns. Merida, not knowing that the obstacle was what it was, bungled right into it with a yelp, her dress getting caught, and shredded even worse, which exposed her bare legs to the nasty thorns.
Now she was really mad.
She was more determined than ever to have the scaly little thief roasting over her fire.
Looking back over his shoulder at the girl, Smidvarg groaned as he saw her charging after him again. Plan B: Nadder nest area. Nadders hated strangers around their nests. If this didn't work, he didn't know what would.
Merida followed the little thief as he veered off, and through a small grove of trees...right into a large pack of Dragons...much, much bigger Dragons. As Merida blundered out of the trees, she saw the little thief sitting atop the spiny head of a large, bird-like Dragon. The Dragon saw her, and hissed, alerting three others to the intruder.
"Oh, dear..." The girl stumbled back, dropping her bow in fright as the four Dragons advanced, their wings flared out like angry cockerels.
Smidvarg squeaked smugly from his perch, seeing the tables turned on the stubborn, unpleasant human. He did feel bad, though. He hated the smell of burned humans. And the Nadders were most unlikely to let her leave their nest area after he'd led her into it.
The lead Nadder hissed again, the back of its throat glowing behind its teeth. Merida whimpered, "No! No, don't!" She curled up into a ball, hoping to protect herself somehow...before a high-pitched, shrieking roar pierced the air.
Now she heard the four Dragons whimper, and heard the sound of their large feet shuffling away from her for some reason. Stunned at not being roasted alive, the girl peeked between her fingers and saw a large Dragon hovering above the Nadders that had been about to kill her. It was a massive black beast with a fan-like tail, and spiked wing tips. Along side it was a smaller green and red Dragon six feet long, compared to the massive thirty-five feet of the other. The larger best had a glow about its dorsal spines, looking like a monster right out of her nightmares. But that was nothing compared to what was on the beast's back.
It was a man!
A young man at that, and he seemed to be in control of it!
"Get them to back off, bud," the man said to the beast he rode, patting the side of its head, and the Dragon gave off another roar, louder than the last. The four Dragons lowered their heads, and backed away from her, giving the monster room enough to land, which it did.
The man swung down from its back and hurried over to her, Merida scrabbling back away from him. Seeing this, the man skidded to a halt, holding up his hands, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, it's alright!" He shouted, looking down at her hands. She looked down and saw that she now clutched her bow again, "They won't hurt you now!"
Merida wasn't convinced. "How do I know that?!"
"You're still alive, aren't you?" He said, snarkily, making her frown. He groaned, pinching his brow, "Look, I don't know what you did to rile these guys up, but we need to get you out of here before they challenge him." He jerked his thumb back at the black Dragon, whose back was now arched like an angry feline, and hissing at the other Dragons to stay away. The smaller Dragon was doing its best to do the same, but the other Dragons were far bigger than it was, and weren't considering it a threat to them as much as the black beast.
Hiccup, for his part, was trying his best to defuse the situation on both sides. "Look, just come with us," he begged, seeing the state the girl was in. Her clothes, what remained of them, were torn and dirty. Her legs, from the knees down, were covered in bloody scratches from her run through the brambles, and she looked utterly exhausted. "We'll take you somewhere you'll be safe so you can rest, and get your legs patched up, I promise."
"I'm not going anywhere with that beast!" She shouted.
Hiccup groaned, "Alright, we'll walk back," he relented, "It's not that far. But we need to go, and we need to go now!"
As if to prove is point, one of the Nadders hissed at Toothless, flaring its wings out in a threatening manner as the spines on its tail rose. Not a good sign as far as Nadders went.
Merida was weighing her options. On the one hand, she could turn tail and run back the way she had come, and probably be hunted down by angry, hungry Dragons, whether the stranger would catch up with her or not, seeing as he himself had a Dragon which he had obviously been riding. On the other hand, she had the option of leaving with the man, and perhaps, finding a safe place to stay, well away from these wild Dragons, and pray that the two Dragons he had with him didn't eat her.
Either way, she had the possibility of being mauled by Dragons.
Hiccup held out his hand to her, "Now, or never!"
Merida whimpered, reached for his hand. She was hauled up immediately, and brought under his arm, "What the -?! Hey!"
"Toothless! Sharpshooter!" Hiccup yelled, running off into the trees. The two Dragons bounded after him, the Nadders screeching angrily behind them as they ran. The black Dragon bounded up alongside his rider, and Hiccup vaulted to his back. Merida yelped as she felt them being lifted into the air, the ground rapidly disappearing beneath them.
"I thought ya said we'd walk!?"
"I lied!" Hiccup shouted against the wind, "We'd never get away on foot!"
"Says you!" Merida squirmed. "Let me go!"
"Oh, sure, and let you plummet to the ground like a downed Dragon?" Hiccup said snidely, leaning over the neck of the Dragon he rode, "Back to the hut, Toothless!"
Merida felt them jerk through the air, and nearly lost her lunch at the speed they were moving. "Mind explaining where ye're taking me?"
"Back to my old settlement." He shouted against the wind, "You'll be safe there for now. Unless you get on another Dragon's bad side."
"There's a good side?"
Hiccup looked down at her with a scowl, "You're riding one, aren't you?"
He had a point, now that she thought about it. Looking down at the world below, she could hardly believe that she was flying. Albeit in an unconventional way, considering that she saw the rider astride his mount like a horse. But suddenly, the girl shrieked as the Dragon suddenly dropped toward the ground, and covered her eyes. When the ground didn't meet them, she hazarded a peek through her fingers, and found that they had landed.
Hiccup set her down on her feet, her legs wobbling as she fell on her duff, "You alright?"
"I...I think I am," she mumbled, finding herself face to face with the black Dragon, which was regarding her with curious green eyes with large pupils, "It's not...going to eat me, is it?"
Hiccup laughed, and dismounted, scratching the Dragon beneath his chin, "No, not that he doesn't like eating, period, but people don't tend to be appetizing to him." He said as Toothless chortled, surprising the girl. "It's a little late," he said, reaching down to help her up, "But my name's Hiccup." He smiled as she got to her feet, and gestured to the two Dragons, "These fearsome beasts are Toothless," the black Dragon crooned, "and Sharpshooter." The green and red Dragon squawked, and started purring.
Merida shied away from the Dragons, looking around the settlement they had landed in. There were six huts in all, all of them built onto the cliffs surrounding them, high off the ground over a small cove. Each hut seemed to be themed after a breed of Dragon that inhabited the area, two of which she recognized. One was the blue and yellow Dragon, resembling the one that they had just fled from, and the other was the same beast that now stood before her in the form of a sleek, black creature.
"And you are...?" Hiccup prompted.
Merida squeaked at his prompting, "Er, sorry, I just, I've never - "
"Never seen a Dragon, or met someone that rides them," Hiccup supplied, nodding, "It's okay. Not everyone appreciates this kind of lifestyle."
"I can see why," she said, remembering the little thief that had started the entire mess.
"Still, though, it would help if I knew who I was putting in one the empty huts?" Hiccup tried again.
"Oh, right," she nodded, blushing as she moved a bundle of her wild hair out of her face, "I'm Merida of clan..." She clamped her mouth shut. What if this man knew of her clan? What if he was an enemy?
"Your name's enough," he said, seeing the girl's hesitation, "Anyway, I'll bet you're tired after that whole hoo-ha, so I'll show you where you can rest." He turned on his heel, and she noticed that he had only one leg, the left one replaced by a metal peg.
"Did a Dragon do that?" She asked, looking at the two beasts suspiciously.
Hiccup looked down at his leg, "Well, yes, and no."
"Yes and no?"
"I was riding Toothless while we were fighting a huge Dragon around five years ago." He explained, "The Dragon knocked me out of the saddle, and my leg got caught up in some of its flames before Toothless could rescue me."
"I see," she gulped, following slowly after him as she took in the tiny village. There seemed to be a dock down by the water, and she saw a few small skiffs down there. Were there others?
"You can have Astrid's old hut," he said, bringing her out of her thoughts as he pushed the door of the Nadder hut open. Entering the hut, she found it decorated with a few weapon wracks, and some armor made from what looked like the same scales that had been on the Dragon the hut was modeled after. Other than that, there was a small single bed, and a chest in the room that was probably used to store clothes and such, all of which she had left back at her camp. "Did you have anything with you when you got here?"
"Er, just a few things I'd needed for the journey." She said, "I have a camp on a beach with a tunnel bored through the rock."
"Seashocker Beach," he nodded, "I see if I can't get them to you." He looked at her, and gave a small blush of his cheeks, "You...you do have a spare set of clothes, don't you?"
"Aye," she nodded, looking down at herself, feeling her own cheeks heating up as her legs were in full view of the man, albeit bloodied up and covered in scratches. Some of her mother's lesson did stick with her, one of them being the amount of skin a man who wasn't her husband was allowed to see.
"And I'll go get those right now," Hiccup said hurriedly, and excused himself, much to Toothless' amusement as the Dragon chortled again, giving the girl a draconic smile of his own, showing no teeth whatsoever.
Merida couldn't help but giggle at that as Hiccup poked his head back in, "Merida," he said, trying to sound reassuring, "Whatever you're running from, you're safe here."
Her breath hitched for a moment, forcing her to turn away from the strange man, "I thank ya for that."
Seemingly satisfied, the man ducked back out of the hut, leaving her alone...sort of.
Sharpshooter had stayed behind to keep an eye on the girl, the diminutive Titan Wing curling up at the foot of her bed like a hunting hound. Merida didn't know what to think of that, but was too tired to try making sense of anything other than the fact that she now had a roof over her head, and a bed to sleep in once again, and not a cold cave floor.
Checking the chest, she found some old blankets, and a pillow stuffed with straw. The girl was soon following the Dragon into dreamland, and was sound asleep as soon as she laid her head down.
Sharpshooter opened one of his eyes, and checked to see if the girl was well and truly asleep before slinking toward the door. Hiccup was there waiting for him as he held the door open for the little Dragon, scroll in hand.
"Alright, little buddy, you know what to do," he said, handing the Dragon the parchment, "Straight to Dad, and no one else. Got it?"
Sharpshooter nodded his head and lept from the walkway, letting his wings unfurl as he fell, and soared right back up, flying off toward Berk with nary a sound.
AN: This is a story I'm confident, and somewhat proud of, so I hope you'll all enjoy it. And even if you don't, I'll still enjoy writing it.
Also, I'd like to know what species of Dragon Merida should have. Please let me know, because I'm drawing a blank.
Also let me paint you a picture of the world that these characters live. Take three maps. The Map of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Skyrim, put those two side by side. Then take the Map Hiccup draws out, and place it above those two maps, and you'll have an idea about how this story is on a geographical level.
Please review.