-I-
Merida was having a Very Good Day.
This would probably surprise most people, since she was at a wedding. Not her own, of course, but a neighboring prince and ally, who was marrying some princess. Her father and mother had been invited to attend, but Elinor fell ill and sent the princess in her place instead (after lecturing the both of them to behave themselves, of course) and so that's how Merida found herself audience to an arranged marriage between two people she knew nothing about. Merida would've felt sorry for the pair, but after it became obvious that they didn't have any problems with the arrangement she had fought so adamantly to avoid, she figured it was better to wish them the best and let them be.
She still didn't get it.
Wedding aside though, the night had been an absolute blast. It wasn't often that she and her dad got to spend time together free of her mother's watchful gaze, but they certainly made up for that tonight as they laughed loudly at the ridiculous hairstyles and dresses of some of the girls in attendance, exchanged mockery at the expense of some of the more frail looking noblemen and boasted about their respective exploits along with some of the rowdier gusts. She cheered as Fergus got into a string of arm wrestling matches with some old friends and Fergus howled in delight and bragged loudly as Merida showed up men three times her age in impromptu accuracy games (mind you, she was the only one at the table who wasn't brazenly drunk, but it was still pretty impressive).
After a while though, the heat of the party and incessant noise began to tire her. While she loved being able to go wild at events like this, the truth was she preferred the quiet and serenity of the wild. So, when her father was distracted with some of the other men, Merida crept away unseen to the stables.
As soon as she smelled the musk of the horses and the hay, Merida felt herself relax. Smiling secretively to herself, Merida strolled past the horses until she found the one she'd been loaned for her visit. It was really too bad she couldn't bring Angus with her, but unfortunately her beloved Clydesdale wasn't fond of boats and her mother had insisted that turning away the horses they'd been offered to use for their trip would be rude. While it wasn't Angus, the horse she's been given was alright, she supposed. A little small compared to what she was used to, but it was a pretty gold mare, quick and eager to please. As much as she would've preferred her horse, she couldn't help feeling fond of the surrogate, who seemed pleased to see her again too.
"What do you say you and I go out for a quick run, lassie?" Merida asked pleasantly as she held up the riding gear, grinning as the horse danced eagerly in response.
No one would notice if she slipped away for a little while.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was NOT having a Very Good Day.
It hadn't seemed that bad when he woke up, but any potential the day had to be anything resembling good died swiftly and painfully at the breakfast table, when Stoick cheerfully announced that he and Spitelout thought it would be a good idea to take the boys out hunting. Unfortunately, Hiccup couldn't think of a good reason to get out of having to spend the day skulking around the forest with his loud, obnoxious uncle and his louder, dumber and even more obnoxious cousin, who would no doubt delight in the chance to show Hiccup up (Snotlout had gotten a little bitter at how everyone now regarded Hiccup as a hero and a leader, jumping from the most useless Viking of their age group to uproot Snotlout as the crème of the crop) and when he saw how giddy Stoick was at the idea of spending a little time with his family, Hiccup didn't have the heart to be a brat and refuse to go.
Then, to make the experience more traditional, Stoick insisted that the dragons stay behind in the village. Snotlout had been delighted at the suggestion. Hiccup, not so much. Toothless even less so. It had taken nearly an hour of coaxing and some help from Astrid to get the Night Fury to stop trying to follow his human out of the village. Even then, Toothless was still crying out with miserable, heartbroken warbles as Hiccup walked away at his father's side, making Hiccup feel more and more wretched with every step he took.
And then came the hunting trip itself.
Spitelout and Snotlout had both teased Hiccup mercilessly when they saw that he'd brought along his crossbow shield instead of the usual hunting gear while Stoick had sighed in a long-suffering sort of way and glanced upwards as if beseeching the Gods for strength before urging everyone along. Hiccup himself ignored the taunts until Snotlout challenged him to see who could knock a loose branch free. When Snotlout himself missed, he grumbled loudly about the sun being in his eyes as his father shot him a sideways look. Hiccup probably should have resisted, but temptation to show his cousin up got the better of him and before Hiccup's conscience could talk him out of it, he had his crossbow ready and loaded and knocked the branch free.
Spitelout had gotten even more cross with a now sullen Snotlout after that, while Stoick looked more than a little smug.
In retrospect, Hiccup felt bad. He knew how hard Spitelout rode Snotlout to be the best, and that in a lot of ways his cousin was under more pressure than him to impress his dad. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at the way others were always doubting and mocking him whenever he didn't have Toothless.
Hiccup was very well aware of the fact that he lacked the girth of most Vikings (and the added physical strength that came with it), but he also knew that he was a beast when it came to accuracy. He'd managed to hit a Night Fury mid-flight and Odin only knows how far away in the dead of night. With the right tools to make up for his lack of power, Hiccup wasn't as helpless as people wrote him off as being.
As usual though, no one else seemed to catch on to this fact. Snotlout was now muttering darkly about how it didn't count because Hiccup had to use one of his weird inventions instead of doing it like a real Viking while Spitelout talked loudly with Stoick about some of the things they needed to do around the village, acting as young neither of the teens were there.
Some family bonding trip this is turning out to be. Hiccup thought, rolling his eyes.
Falling to the back of the group, Hiccup let his mind wander as the others stomped loudly through the woods, eyes often drifting longingly to the sky. What he wouldn't give to be flying with Toothless right now instead of suffering through a day out with his family… As Hiccup daydreamed about this, a sudden sound caught his attention, making the young Viking pause. Turning to study the forest around him, Hiccup waited for a minute or so before the sound came again. A soft, frightened whimper of a baby dragon. Hiccup's mouth turned downward in a frown and he turned to call out to the others, only to realize that they were no longer around. Apparently, they hadn't noticed he'd stopped and continued on their way.
Sighing loudly, Hiccup set his shield down against a tree and wandered off the path to follow the bleating Dragon, a little annoyed that they hadn't noticed he wasn't following them. Now he'd have to try and chase them down again after he found out what the problem was with the baby.
After a minute or two of following the frightened cries, Hiccup finally found himself in a clearing, his heart dropping at the sight of a little Monstrous Nightmare caught up in some kind of trap.
"There there, little guy." Hiccup soothed the baby gently, holding his hands up to show he was unarmed as he approached slowly. "Here, lemme help you, okay?"
The little dragon trembled visibly as Hiccup drew closer, but it didn't lash out at him. Luckily, the trap was pretty simplistic, so Hiccup figured out how to release it without hurting the little Nightmare pretty quickly, setting the little guy free. As soon as the trap opened, the little dragon scurried free, fluttering around happily and shooting off tiny flames in delight. Hiccup chuckled warmly at the display, scratching the baby under the chin when he came closer. Much fonder of the human now that he was free, the baby Nightmare began coating Hiccup's hand with affectionate licks, which made Hiccup grimace. He'd have to remember to wash the flammable saliva off quickly, to minimize the chances of any unfortunate accidents.
Still, it was worth it to help out a dragon in need.
"There. All better now, little fella?" Hiccup asked, smiling as he earned happy chirps from the baby dragon, who climbed into Hiccup's embrace as Hiccup pet the Nightmare absently, his eyes going back to the trap. Studying it more closely, Hiccup's smile fell away into a thoughtful frown. "It's funny, though. This doesn't look at all like the old traps we used in Berk." Hiccup commented out loud, eyebrows furrowing together. "I wonder where it came from?"
As it turned out though, Hiccup didn't have to wonder long. But only because the meaty fist that slammed into the back of his head knocked him out cold.
It took Hiccup a couple hours to regain consciousness on an unfamiliar boat that was swaying with the current of the ocean. And two minutes to regret not being knocked out and more.
"Comfy, boy?" a grizzled, ugly oaf asked with a smile that had about three teeth as he pointedly sharpened a sword that was almost longer then Hiccup was tall. He was sitting a few feet in front of Hiccup, apparently keeping watch. To what ends, Hiccup couldn't say, since they had tied him up and taken nearly all his possessions. The teen could see his knives, fur vest and quite a few of his smaller inventions scattered on a table off to the side, where two other men sat playing hnefatafl. Hiccup noted that the men all lacked anything to distinguish their tribe. A bunch of rogues who had banned together after being banished, no doubt.
"I could be better." Hiccup snipped back, easily falling into his usual habit of responding to possibly lethal and definitely dangerous situations with sarcasm and snarkiness. "The scenery leaves a lot to be desired, and the smell's even worse." The brute with the sword scowled at that, but the two brooding over the board game laughed at their partner's expense.
"Think you're clever, brat?" the man guarding Hiccup snapped. "Hmph. Dunno why Dagur's so eager to get his hands on a scrawny little thing like you, but I suppose it doesn't matter much, so long as we get paid."
"Dagur?" Hiccup's eyebrows rose. "Huh. Never been kidnapped by Dagur before. Alvin's grabbed me a couple times and the Ugli-Thugs tried once, but usually Dagur's more interested in killing me then kidnapping. Wonder what changed his tune…" That made the two men playing hnefatafl look up with evident interest on their faces.
"Alvin?" One repeated. "Alvin the Treacherous?"
"AND the Ugli-Thugs?" Two said, narrowing his eyes. "Pretty popular for such a fishbone, aren't you?"
That's when Hiccup got an idea.
"Yeah, I guess you can say that." Hiccup shrugged. "I mean, Alvin must've made a hundred schemes to try and lure me to join the Outcasts, and the Ugli-Thugs were willing to risk dying to get their hands on me. And now that I think about it, the Meatheads were pretty eager to get me to leave Berk, too. And the Pug-Faces were willing to trade three islands in their territory to my father if he agreed to a marriage between me and their chief's oldest daughter." With every tribe name Hiccup listed off, he could see a glint of greed spark in his kidnappers' eyes.
"Is that a fact?" One of them snickered. "Well in that case, maybe we shouldn't be in such a rush to get to Berserker Island after all."
"Yeah." The other guffawed. "I bet if we ask around, one of those other tribes is willing to give us a lot more than just a bag of gold for this shrimp."
"What?" Hiccup gasped in mock horror. "You'd be willing to betray Dagur and trade me to another tribe? Aren't you worried he'll hunt you down for revenge?"
"Hah!" One scoffed. "We'll make land at Rivendell. They've got that royal wedding going on, so no one'll think anything of an extra boat at the docks. Dagur won't know where to find us and, if he wants you that badly, he'd be willing to up the price to get his crazy little hands on you."
Odin I love stupid people who get blinded by greed. Hiccup thought, ducking to hide a smirk as the thugs laughed at their cunning. Rivendell was just outside of the Viking Archipelago, so it wouldn't take him that long to get back to Berk after escaping. Granted, finding a ride was going to be the hard part, but he could probably improvise after getting off the boat and away from his kidnappers.
And he already had a pretty good idea how he was gonna make that happen.
This, Merida decided, was the life.
Humming happily to herself, the redhead kicked her feet, watching as the water she'd been soaking her toes in splashed up in response before raining back down into the river. A short distance away, her borrow horse grazed on the grass as birds chirped happily overhead.
It was nice to get the chance to explore a new land like this. She loved her home, but after years of running off at any free moment, she felt like she knew every rock and tree and shrub in DunBroch by heart. It felt invigorating to scour a forest that was completely alien to her and find new wonders she never saw in DunBroch. Wistfully, the princess wondered if she could take a few years to journey around and see new sights before she had to fulfil her duties and settle down.
Probably not. Merida thought sadly. Though she and her mother got along better now and the Queen was more lenient about her daughter's wild ways, Merida herself had seen the heavy price her selfishness had almost cost her family and their people. The younger her wouldn't hesitate to fly away and be free at a moment's notice, but the her of now- wiser and more cautious- knew to be grateful for the freedoms she'd been allowed, and think of others too.
With one last, longing look at the woods around her, Merida sighed quietly and pulled her legs out of the water to stand up. Straightening her dress, the redhead slipped back into the shoes she'd abandoned at the water's edge and walked back to her horse. She'd been gone for nearly two hours now, it was time for her to return to the party.
Swinging herself back onto the mare's back, Merida gently dug a heel into the horse's side, encouraging her to leap forward and back down the path they had taken through the woods.
As they made a leisurely way back to the castle where the celebration was taking place, Merida watched the scenery that sped past with a benevolent smile, enjoying the simple pleasure of the wind rushing by and the wild encompassing all that she saw. More than any well-kept garden or the best maintained flowers of the world, Merida loved the untamed beauty of nature at its most raw.
Truly, there was nothing else that could compare.
As the Princess basked in this, she missed the crashing sounds of someone stomping through the trees and underbrush until it was almost upon her. It wasn't until she heard a loud, deep scream that Merida started, and moved to try and stop her horse. Unfortunately, she didn't move fast enough.
Like an arrow from a bow, a small, skinny figure suddenly shot out from between the trees and onto the path right in front of her horse, making it rear back in surprise. Unable to prepare herself in time, Merida went tumbling.
And that's when her day promised to get a lot more interesting.
As annoying as it was, there were definitely times when Hiccup appreciated the fact that everyone he met underestimated him. It made it easier on him when things like kidnappings happened. For example, because they were so confident that he wasn't going anywhere, the two geniuses grabbed Hiccup's possessions and took off to find ways to start bidding him off to the other Viking tribes as their charming companion stayed behind to guard him.
Apparently, Hiccup decided as he watched his kidnapper's chest rise and fall with snores that shook the boat, guarding means something different outside of Berk.
Keeping a careful eye on his guard, Hiccup cautiously stood, grateful that his kidnappers hadn't had the foresight to tie his legs (Most likely, they figured that the amputee wouldn't be able to outrun them). Creeping around quietly, Hiccup eventually found a spare sword resting against a bench. It took some maneuvering, but he managed to get the weapon propped up on its edge without dropping it and waking the kidnapper. With that done, Hiccup turned and set the rope the bound his hands behind him against the blade, sawing it up and down until the tendrils frayed enough to tear and Hiccup was free.
"Well, that's one problem down." Hiccup muttered to himself as he rubbed his abused wrists, only to realize with a start that his skin still had traces of the Nightmare saliva on it. An idea suddenly hatched in the teens mind as he turned his attention to the ropes he'd been bound with, smirking a bit when he noticed the same residue on the "And I think I have an idea on how I can fix one of the other…"
Hiccup was good at plans. Both long term 'How-do-I-Keep-People-From-Finding-Out-I'm-Harboring-a-Dragon' plans and on the fly 'Oh-Crap-Snotlout's-on-Fire-Again-and-We-Have-an-Army-of-Outcasts-Attacking' plans.
This one probably fell into the second category.
After taking care of the first part of his plan, Hiccup grabbed a bag and loaded as many tools as he could. The weapons he left behind, since they were all monstrously huge and would definitely weigh him down if he needed to make a quick getaway and most were geared more for close combat, where Hiccup would be the first to admit that he wasn't the greatest (Astrid was helping him work on that. It was a very painful process that hadn't shown any results yet). So instead he focused on other things that might come in handy. Maps, a compass, a hammer, a knife, an old hunting horn…
Just as he was securing the bags, his oh-so-vigilant guard came crashing onto the upper deck shouting and cursing as he stumbled into the rope trap Hiccup had set for him.
"Rotten little brat!" The rogue snarled as he tried to shake off the ropes that were now tangled around his ankles. Hastily shouldering the bag, Hiccup darted out the door as quietly as possibly, holding his breath when he found his kidnapper mere feet away, back turned to the Viking teen. As swiftly as he could, Hiccup scurried away to duck behind some barrels. "When I get my hands on that rotten kid…"
"You'll what?" Hiccup asked mockingly. "Ask me for some personal hygiene tips?" Hiccup was already in motion almost before he finished talking, but even then he only narrowly avoided the bludgeon that shattered the barrels hiding him, which came dangerously close to cracking his skull.
"Think you can run forever, you little pest?!" The kidnapper snarled, splashing through the ale that was now spilling all over the deck as he chased after Hiccup. "The only way you're getting off this boat is with a few missing limbs!"
"Been there, done that. Didn't live up to the hype." Hiccup quipped back as he wove around a mast, wincing when the spikes of the bludgeon scraped his cheek as his pursuer impaled it into the wood.
"I don't care what Blud and Skald say you could be worth, I'm gonna chop you into little pieces and feed you to the fish!"
"Oh, that's original." Hiccup grumbled as he scurried up a ladder to the upper deck. Snarling, the kidnapper climbed after him, swiping to try and grab the small Viking when he jumped off the deck to grab a low hanging rope. Growling low, the reprobate glowered at Hiccup as he climbed up to sit on the wooden crossbar of the mast.
"You really think you're accomplishing anything, you little brat?" He spat out. "There's no way for you to get off this boat without me stopping you and bringing you right back here. All you're doing is making it less and less likely you leave our care in one piece."
"Tell me about it. I mean, just look at how well you take care of your boat." Hiccup pointed out, motioning to the mess on the deck. "Tracking ale all over the place? Noooot very smart."
The felon scowled at that, and opened his mouth up to point out that the mess was all Hiccup's fault, only to frown when Hiccup pulled his pilfered knife out of the bag and cut through the rope he'd climbed.
"What do you think you're doing, you little bug?" he demanded. "You're not leaving this boat as long as I'm here to stop you."
"Well, that's not gonna be an issue for long." Hiccup said cheerfully, giving his fake leg a few experimental swings before swinging down to the lower decks via the rope.
While he hadn't found the time yet to try anything interesting with his leg, Hiccup had done a few fun things to tweak it in his free time. One such tweak was the flint he'd implanted into the metal of his prosthetic so that when he triggered the switch it would strike against the steel part of his leg. A handy tool for when he needed to strike up a few sparks to gain the attention of wild dragons and make them see him more as one of them rather than an invading human.
It had a few other handy aspects as well, though. Like sparking a fire on the alcohol-soaked deck of his would-be kidnapper's boat.
As Hiccup swung down, small flames burst forth from his metal leg and, fueled by the ale, quickly grew into a fiery inferno. Hiccup's kidnapper barely had time to be surprised before he realized, with a growing sense of horror, that the fire was following the alcohol drenched path all over the boat and directly to him.
Screaming in fright, the man panicked and turned to jump into the safety of the surrounding waters.
Grinning in triumph, Hiccup released the rope and let momentum carry him to the pier the boat had been docked to, stumbling a bit in his landing but no worse for the wear. As soon as he regained his balance, Hiccup darted away from the burning ship, past alarmed guards and sailors and into the city of Rivendell.
Well, that takes care of all the weapons and supplies those thugs had along with their transportation. The teen thought smugly. And that wasn't even considering the fact that his kidnappers' plot to stay under the radar was pretty much shot now. With a little luck, maybe the city's guards would recognize the man they now had to fish out of their harbor and he'd spend the rest of his life rotting in jail.
Unfortunately, Hiccup was then immediately reminded that his luck was never that good.
Because stepping out of a shop just across the street from him were the other two brutes that had kidnapped him. The smarter ones.
And they saw Hiccup at the exact same time Hiccup saw them.
Cursing the Gods for being so adamantly against him, Hiccup turned to run into the nearby forest just as his kidnappers gave angry cries at the realization that he'd escaped and jumped to chase him.
Was a little break really THAT much to ask for?
…Apparently it was.
If he wasn't already as scared as it was humanly possible to be, the sound of the horse's startled scream as it reared up would have terrified Hiccup half to death. It was dumb luck that he stumbled out of the animal's path as it shot past him and towards the city.
It was only then that Hiccup noticed the rider that the horse had left behind.
"Are you mad!" The redhead spat out furiously, glowering up at Hiccup from where she'd fallen on the ground. "You could've killed me!"
"Sorry!" Hiccup responded before he could stop himself, jumping forward to try and help the girl up. "Sorry! It was an accident!" Huffing, the girl swatted Hiccup's hand away and pulled herself back to her feet.
She was a little shorter then Hiccup, but looked to be around the same age. Round-faced, with big blue eyes that were currently drilling into Hiccup like a Whispering Death digging a tunnel and shocking red curls that looked as though a Monstrous Nightmare had set her head on fire. Her dress was made from some kind of green silk that looked expensive, and would've been pretty if it wasn't covered in dirt and mud because of her fall.
"What on earth did ya think you were doin', runnin out into the path like that?" The girl demanded, crossing her arms to narrow her eyes at Hiccup suspiciously. "Ya look like ya had a demon on yer tail!" This dry remark made Hiccup falter for a moment before turning back to look at the trees he'd emerged from, realizing that he didn't hear the sounds of anyone pursuing him.
Apparently, he'd lost his kidnappers and didn't realize it until just now.
"I, um, just wanted to get some exercise." Hiccup lied badly. He didn't want to get the girl involved in his mess, especially since he'd already nearly gotten her killed and they'd only just met. "Sorry. I didn't realize you were there.
"Exercise, huh?" the redhead repeated flatly, eyes going down to Hiccup's bag. "What's in yer pack?"
"Stuff." Hiccup answered, a little confused by the question. "I mean, what am I supposed to be carrying in a bag?"
"Oh, I dunno." The girl said, looking thoroughly unimpressed with Hiccup. "There's lots of nobles in town fer the royal wedding, with a lot of jewels and gold that can go missing real easy." That got the redhead's suspicions across loud and clear, and Hiccup couldn't help feeling a little affronted.
"…You think I'm a thief?" he asked, glaring at the girl's flat 'well, duh' look. Scowling, Hiccup tore the bag open to show the girl its contents. "Oh, yeah, I could really make a killing off of all this junk now, couldn't I?"
"Can't blame a girl fer being suspicious, with the way you came tearing out." The girl explained with a shrug, unapologetic even after being proven wrong (Though technically, Hiccup had stolen the bag and its contents, so she was actually right). "I figured you must've been runnin from the law."
"Well I wasn't." Hiccup said sourly. "I was trying to get away from the nutjobs trying to kidnap me."
"…kidnap?"
Hiccup hated the way his mouth ran away on him sometimes.
"You were kidnapped?" The redhead repeated. Instead of looking frightened like any reasonable human being, or even concerned as someone with an ounce of empathy might've, the girl looked interested in Hiccup's predicament.
"What? No I just- I mean I-!" Damn. "Okay, yeah. Some thugs grabbed me and I just managed to get away. That's who I was running from. I'm sorry I almost got you killed and messed up your dress and lost you your horse, but I really, really got to get out of here before those guys find me again, so if you can just point me in the direction of the highest point on the island…?"
"If you want to get up higher, I know a good spot that might work." The redhead told Hiccup, still studying him with evident interest.
"Really?!" Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, things were turning out in his favor…
"Yep." The girl responded cheerfully before turning to start back down the path, red curls bouncing with her movements. "Just follow me."
…What?
"What?"
"Well you're obviously not gonna make it that far on your own without getting yourself killed." The redhead pointed out scornfully, shooting Hiccup a teasing smirk. "So, being the kind and gracious person I am, I've decided to help you."
Aw, crap.
"That's not necessary." Hiccup insisted.
"Yes it is."
"Really, I don't need your help."
"Of course you do."
"This is dangerous."
"Good. I could use a little excitement."
And that's when Hiccup realized that he wasn't going to get rid of this madwoman no matter how hard he tried.
"I'm Merida." The redhead introduced herself, sticking her hand out to Hiccup with a grin. "Yer new bodyguard."
"Hiccup." The Viking sighed, reluctantly accepting Merida's hand and shaking. "The guy who's already wishing the horse had killed him when it had the chance."
"Don't worry so much, Hiccup." Merida scoffed dismissively. "Yer in good hands now."
…The other guys back on Berk were never gonna let him hear the end of this.