I'm back. My apprenticeship went well, and I even got reunited with my brother, who I haven't seen in 7 years. Anyway, here's my new story. It was originally an original story I wrote. If I get the original version published, I'm taking this down. Note, for this story, pretend Merida isn't as tough as usual.

Enjoy, and thank you, everyone for your reviews.

Chapter 1

In the land of Berk, a giant war was beginning.

The war was between two small groups, an all female group called 'The Five', a group of five woman who were both beautiful and dangerous, and an all male group called 'Iron Ore', a larger group of sadistic, misogynistic men who loved nothing more than a good day of carnage.

No one knew exactly how many members there were, and frankly, no one really cared. They just wanted to stay alive.

Why this war started, and when? Well, that would always be a mystery, but one thing was certain: That war would change my life forever.

I had no idea, as I was stargazing the night before, that I would play a part. Why would someone like me be involved? At the time, I was a young blacksmith, the tender age of twenty, who was dreaming of a different future, living five blocks east from 'The Five's' base, but that I didn't know. Yet.

I was uninterested and uninvolved in the war, and had no intention of becoming involved, I just wanted to raise enough money to put a meal on the table. But Fate just didn't have my interests in mind.

It began when the sun rose one particularly sunny morning. I was on my morning walk, a daily ritual I do before I open my shop at ten, and for some reason decided to be adventurous and take a different route.

What I was expecting to happen that day, I'll never know.

As I was about to turn and head for home, something caught my eye: It was an old decrepit building. The bricks a sickly gray colour and were starting to crumble, and some ivy was sprouting from the concrete, the windows were smashed beyond repair and the lawn out the front had obviously died long ago and was replaced with sludge.

What really fascinated me was that even though no one in their right mind would live in a place like this, not that I can talk as I also live in my blacksmith shop, I still saw a human's silhouette in one of the windows.

Was this a haunted building? Or was this the base of 'The Five' that I kept hearing about?

Feeling curious, I crept closer and peeked through the only window that wasn't broken, or maybe it was broken all the way through, I didn't know.

I know, technically, it's considered bad manners, but my parents died before they were able to teach me about manners and etticate, so I wasn't concerned.

Looking around, I noticed the inside was just as bad as the outside. Maybe even worse. The wall paper was shredded, there was graffiti and paint splatters on the wall, broken glass scattered the floors, and the carpet looked like it was growing a blackish-green fungus.

But it wasn't the carpet, or the walls, or even the lack of furniture that caught my attention.

Instead, it was the young woman standing in the room.

She looked rather young, no older then 19, had pale, creamy skin with no make-up, long, curly, red hair that was flying loose like a million springs, and blue eyes that leaked innocence and a fighting spirit. Looking at her, I felt my breath catch in my throat. I had never seen anybody quite as beautiful.

I don't know how long I was standing, gawking, when I felt something seize me and yank me away from the window, turning me around in the process.

"Well, well, well." a sinister voice said.

"Looks like I caught a spy."

Looking up, I saw the grey eyes of another woman.

This one had long, curly black hair, red war paint on her face and she was about as buff as the average man. She was wearing an excentric red dress with gold sashes and lace. The woman picked me up by the collar on my shirt and hoisted me up so I was dangling in mid-air.

"I'd better get the rest of the five." She said in a creepy voice. One that sounded like she had a couple screws knocked loose.

"They'll know how to dispose of you, hopefully it will be nice, slow and gruesome!"

She said the last four words like she was jumping on hot coals in her bare feet.

Then she laughed hysterically.

She took off her sash and tied up my hands, and shoved a sock in my mouth to silence me incase I started screaming.

I mentally gulped. I was in serious trouble!