Author's Note: I apologize for not writing a lot lately. Things have been kind of crazy. Originally I wasn't going to write a sequel for my first fanfiction, but then one day I started getting all these ideas on what I could do and realized I had to write a sequel. I'm sorry if some of you don't approve of some of the things I've done with the characters, but considering they are still in high school, I felt like bringing in some more high school themes. Thank you all so much for your support with Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons: High School. I hope you enjoy this sequel. Reviews are always appreciated. -BabyFox08
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story except ones that you do not recognize. The others are property of DreamWorks and Disney
Dry sticks and leaves crunched under Merida's feet as she made her way through the thick foliage surrounding her. She carried her bow in one hand and balanced a quiver of arrows on her shoulder. Though she wasn't particularly fond of using her bow for hunting, she felt safe with it. She knew that if anything happened, she'd have a form of protection, and considering there had been a recent bear attack over the summer, there was no harm in carrying it. On top of it all, she truly enjoyed the feeling of freedom she got when shooting a bow.
Her feet noticed the change in terrain before she did and she knew she was getting close. Instead of the familiar grass and leaf path covering most of the forest, she found herself following a hidden rock trail. The hike got deeper and soon enough instead of walking, she was climbing. She found holes in the rock mountainside and bulging rocks to support her weight and continue her on her way. This was the biggest reason she hadn't brought her horse with her. He wouldn't have been able to endure this climb. Truthfully though, the princess just wanted to be alone.
After a few more minutes of careful climbing, Merida reached the area she was looking for. Near the top of the mountain, there was a small, flat plateau perfect for sitting. She leaned back against the rock wall behind her and settled into the small nook, careful not to crush her arrows with her body weight. Her blue eyes glimmered as she stared out in front of her. The most amazing part of her hiding place was the view it provided. Here she was able to stare across all of Scotland. She was higher than the treetops and could see rivers rushing through the landscape. Above her the sky was a brilliant cloudless blue. Even here was beautiful and pure.
With a sigh, Merida closed her eyes and tilted her head back. This was one of the many places she went when she needed to escape daily life and princess duties. Though she had developed a far better relationship with her mother, she still felt the need to steal little moments for herself. She crossed her arms over her lap and began to remember the events that happened the year before. She remembered her first day of school last year, and how angry she'd been at her mother for sending her to a 'preppy' school. She remembered meeting her roommate for the first time and staring at her impossibly long golden locks in awe. Later in the year she had chopped those luscious locks off in a desperate attempt to disassociate with the woman posing as her mother. She remembered the day her friend Jack Frost almost died trying to save them from a pond covered in thin ice. When he surfaced from his near death experience, his hair was left shockingly white and his eyes cryptically blue from excess stress. However, while those events and many others stood out in her mind, it was the day's involving her and Hiccup that stood out the most. Merida remembered dancing with him for the first time, his skinny arms wrapped around her. She remembered the feeling of his lips against hers, soft and warm. She remembered when she visited him in his hometown of Berk, and the surprised look on his face. She smiled to herself at all the wonderful memories.
Her thoughts trailed to the upcoming school year. Butterflies wracked her stomach as she realized the full extent of her nervousness. She had no idea what she was walking into. Would everything be different? Would all be the same? She was the most worried about being split up from her three best friends. Last year they'd had a lot of classes together, but what about now? She didn't want to lose them. Even if she was incredibly independent, she still needed her friends.
She allowed her eyes to flicker open. Much to her surprise, the sun had started to set. With precise, measured movements, she made her way down the mountain and back to her home, and started packing for her journey to Corona in the morning.
Rapunzel rubbed her eyes as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. At times it was hard for her to believe she was the same girl hidden in a tower for most of her life. She didn't feel the same. She was so much stronger now. Gone was the weak, dependent girl afraid to disappoint someone who had spent her entire life using her. Almost timidly Rapunzel lifted a hand to her hair. Originally she thought it would stop growing completely, but she'd been wrong. Though it grew much slower than before, it now hung near her shoulders. Her choppy layers still flipped outward away from her face. Before she had cut it, she never realized just what a large role her hair played in her life. Now that it was gone, she was discovering who she really was, not who she was expected to be.
She felt a hand come down on her shoulder and watched the Queen's kind face come into view behind her. She smiled softly and the Queen smiled back, gently running her fingers through Rapunzel's dark hair. "You know, if it makes you more comfortable, we could dye it back to blond," she offered. Rapunzel's smile grew and she turned around, her eyes meeting the Queen's. "Thank you," she started. "But I think I'll keep it this way, Mom." She stuttered slightly on the last word. She had been living in the castle the entire summer, and she loved her biological parents, but yet there was something there blocking her from forming a complete relationship with them. That thing blocking her was Gothel. She knew that woman wasn't her real mother, but she had lived her entire life with her. She was having slight trouble adjusting.
She turned around and sat on the bed in her giant bedroom. When the king and queen let her pick her room in the castle, she chose the smallest of the bedrooms even though it was bigger than all the space in her tower combined. Soon her mother sat down next to her. Pascal crawled up onto her shoulder. "Rapunzel, are you sure you don't want to be homeschooled at the castle?" Her mother asked for what must have been the fiftieth time. She had lost her daughter once, and she was deeply afraid of losing her again. "I know a wonderful private tutor." Rapunzel brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Thanks Mom, but I have to go. All my friends are there, and I feel as if I belong there," Rapunzel stated. Her mother patted the shoulder absent of a chameleon.
"Very well. Then I have a little surprise for you," the queen grinned. Rapunzel looked into eyes very similar to her own. "Remember how your school has a no pet policy?" She asked. Rapunzel nodded and Pascal made an agitated noise, showing his disapproval in the rule. "Well, I pulled a few strings, and, the school decided it was alright if Pascal came with you," she declared. Rapunzel's face lit up. "Really?" She almost yelled. Her mother laughed. "Yes! They said that because no students have a known chameleon allergy, they see no harm in it as long as you keep him contained." Rapunzel pulled her in a hug. "Thank you so much!" She said, elated. Her mother let out another light laugh and turned to the open suitcase on the floor. "Shall we continue packing?" Rapunzel nodded. There was a silly grin on her face.
"Dad, do we really have to do this?" Jack asked, a whine creeping into his voice. His father sighed, turning into a parking lot and taking an available space at the front of the building. "Jack, we've gone over this. No matter what it's happening. Believe it or not I'm trying to help you, not hurt you. Now please get out of the car and go inside. You'll thank me for this later," his father said. It was Jack's turn to sigh as he stepped out of the car and into the office.
He was immediately hit with the scent of toothpaste and the sound of what he imagined to be drills. He stepped up to the front counter to check in for his appointment. The receptionist looked up at him and smiled. "What's your name honey?" She questioned. "Jack F-" he stopped himself from saying Jack Frost, the name all his friends referred to him as because of his white hair and magic cane that shoots ice. "Overland," he finished. "Jack Overland." She nodded and typed his name into a computer. "Alright, you're all checked in. Why don't you take a seat in the waiting room and someone will be out to get you in a few minutes." He thanked her quietly and turned to the waiting room.
He had barely sat down when a small woman dressed in blue scrubs walked out and called his name. He stood on shaky legs, nerves coursing through his body, and followed her. She led him to a teal colored reclining dentist chair and told him to have a seat. "Hello Jack, my name is Bethany, I'll be putting your braces on today," she introduced herself. Her cringed at the mention of the word braces, not believing this was actually happening. "This should be a completely pain free process but your teeth will be sore afterwards so we recommend taking some pain killers and eating cold, soft foods. Other than that, you'll be fine. Shall we get started?" He nodded despite the dread building up inside of him.
She told him to go to the sink at the back of the room and brush his teeth. Before returning, he took a moment to say a silent goodbye to his metal free smile. He really didn't understand why his dad was making him get braces. He thought his teeth looked fine. Weren't kids supposed to get braces before sophomore year anyways? He suppressed a groan.
In the hour following, Bethany pulled his lips apart with lip stretchers, vacuumed all the air out of his mouth, sanded his teeth off with a grain-like substance, covered his teeth in glue, pressed metal brackets onto his teeth, and placed two wires in the middle of it all. The entire time all he could think was, 'what will everyone else think?' 'Will I get made fun of?' and most importantly, 'Will Rapunzel like them?' He had avoided telling his girlfriend he was getting braces for fear that she'd hate them. He just couldn't seem to get the words out when conversing with her.
"What colors do you want?" Bethany asked, bringing Jack out of his thoughts. He looked up to find her holding chains of colored bands above his head. He pointed to dark blue and silver, unable to speak because of the lip stretchers. "Do you want them alternating?" She asked. He nodded and she got to work placing the bands over his brackets. Eventually she set her tools down, took the lip stretchers out, and handed Jack a cup of water. He drank it gladly, ready to get the desert out of his mouth. He let his tongue explore the braces now glued to his teeth. He almost cringed at the feeling of the sharp metal against his cheeks and tongue. He missed the smoothness of his teeth. "How do they feel?" Bethany questioned. He shrugged. "Fine," he murmured, looking away. The word metal-mouth played over and over in his head. She handed him a plastic bag. "Inside is some chap stick, wax, floss threaders, super floss, and Christmas trees used to get under the wire. There is also a manual in there showing how to floss and care for your braces. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call. "Okay," he replied, about to vacate the chair in helpless misery. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Bethany said. She handed him a mirror. He took a deep breath and forced a smile, only to watch it disappear seconds later. He thought he looked like a complete dork with so much metal protruding from his teeth. It was settled right then and there. He hated his braces.
He politely handed the mirror back to Bethany and vacated the chair as fast as possible. He found his father sitting in the car and felt anger boil through him. This was his fault. He got into the car and slammed the door. "Let me see," his father instructed. Jack shook his head. He had already decided he wouldn't show them to anyone. It was too painful. "Jack..." Something in his father's tone made him give in. He moved his lips and his dad smiled. "Hey they look pretty good!" He remarked. Jack huffed. "Whatever..." Mr. Overland just looked at him. "You'll thank me one day Jack." Jack refused to answer and stared out his window instead. With that they drove home so Jack could finish packing.
Hiccup felt a heavy hand come down on his shoulder and he looked up into his father's eyes. "Are you sure about this Hiccup?" He asked. Hiccup inhaled deeply. "Yes," he stated after a moment. "I want to do this, before school starts," he added. His father sighed. What his son was about to do was almost unheard of in their culture, however, Stoic accepted it. He realized his son was coming into his own and needed chances like this to express himself as his own being. "It's just a big change," his father voiced. Hiccup nodded. "That's kind of the point dad..." Hiccup said. Stoic raised his arms in surrender. "Sorry Hiccup. I just don't want you to regret this." Hiccup took another deep breath and walked inside the small shop. "Don't worry, I won't."
Over the summer, the two had bonded quite a bit. Sure it was hard to believe that the scrawny boy known as Hiccup could ever be the son of the vast and great Stoic, but the two had reached an understanding. Hiccup had even developed a better relationship with all the animals in Berk, especially cats. He had finally showed his father the cat he rescued named Toothless, and now they all coexisted happily. Stoic thought his son might have a real gift.
A man looked up from a dusty counter at Hiccup. His nerves had skyrocketed and a large part of him wanted to back out of this insanity, however, he stayed where he was. "Name?" The name asked. "H-Hiccup," he stuttered out of nerves. The man raised an eyebrow and pointed to an empty chair. "He can take you right now just go sit down," he said eventually. Hiccup nodded and took a seat in the large leather chair, nerves eating his insides. A large Viking appeared behind him. "What are we doing here today?" He asked. Hiccup closed his eyes and let the words fall out of him.
"I want it shorter, much shorter actually, especially on the back and sides. And can you make it longer on top and spike my bangs up with gel?" He asked nervously. There, it was out. The barber behind him raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I don't think I've ever given a haircut that short before..." He seemed uncertain. "I realize its short, but I'm ready for it. Thank you," Hiccup replied. The barber shrugged. "It's your hair..." he muttered, wrapping a cape around his neck.
Hiccup settled into the chair. This was actually going to happen. In the Viking community, it was rare to find someone with short hair. Most Vikings took pride in their long hair, keeping it tied up in braids and knots. Even if a Viking was found with short hair, it was usually a result an accident with a dragon. Nobody cut their hair short by choice; nobody but Hiccup.
The barber sprayed his hair with some water. When the layers didn't kick out, his hair fell almost to his shoulders. Hiccup felt him drag a comb through his wet locks and suddenly felt icy blades on the very top of his neck. In that moment everything became real. He was really cutting his hair. This was something he had thought about for a while. He had worn the same hairstyle for all of his life and had realized that he needed a change. Outside of his friend group, no one took him seriously. To them he was a weak little kid. That's why he had spent the summer working out and building muscle. Though he still wasn't nearly as big as the other Vikings, his muscle mass had increased tenfold. The final step in reinventing himself before school started was cutting his hair.
The barber continued snipping at his hair and reddish-brown locks fell to the floor. A small part of him cried out watching his hair fall to the ground. He'd always liked his hair. It made him feel like himself. However this was something that needed to happen. He was coming into a new part of his life. The scissors grazed his forehead, trimming the bangs previously falling into his eyes. He then turned around, reached into a jar, and spiked Hiccup's bangs up. He spun Hiccup to the mirror. "What do you think?"
Hiccup met his reflection with wide eyes. He barely recognized himself. His facial features looked sharper and well defined. His green eyes stood out against his freckled face. He reached up and gently ran his fingers through his hair. "It's so short," he whispered with a smile. He couldn't believe he'd actually done this.
He jumped out of the chair, his head feeling lighter. His father paid the barber and they walked out. Stoic wrapped an arm around his son's shoulders. "What do you think son?" He asked. Hiccup grinned. "It's different, that's for sure, but I think I like it," he answered. His dad smiled. "I'm glad son, I'm glad. Now let's get you home so you can pack."