This chapter is much longer than the previous one. It also has a little more action. The Scots meet the Vikings! And there is an old acquaintance that comes back from Dragon Trainer, Dragon Speaker. Please review and if anyone is interested in doing fan art for either story, let me know. I have no cover art for them.
In the morning, Merida got ready to meet the lords and their sons. She wasn't required to dress up like she did for the games. She pulled on a dark blue dress and let her hair loose.
Elinor wore a green dress and her hair was unbound. Fergus was wearing the Dunbroch colors along with some armor. The triplets were dressed alike in their best clothes.
The guards announced the arrivals of the three clans and all three lords with their sons and warriors in tow came marching in accompanied by bagpipe music. The rivalry between the clans was not as strong as it had been before the queen was turned into a bear. However, Lord Dingwall still stood on a stool.
Fergus stood up from his throne. "So, here we are, the four clans. We are here to fight against the dragons that plague Scotland."
"Say the word, my king, and will drive these beasties from our land," said Lord Macintosh.
Cheers went up from the warriors.
Fergus tried to quiet them.
Elinor stood up. "Gentlemen," she called loudly to be heard. "We will fight these dragons. We have asked the aid of other clans and countries as well. The Vikings of Berk have answered our call for aid."
Outraged shouting filled the hall. None of them were happy with the fact the Vikings had been asked to help and even worse that the call was answered.
"SHUT IT!" roared Fergus.
The room went silent.
"Thank you, dear," said Elinor. She cleared her throat. "The Vikings of Berk have had their own problems concerning dragons in the recent past. They will have knowledge of how to defeat them."
"And what will keep them from turning on us?" someone asked.
"They are ruthless!"
"They raided our villages!"
The room was in an uproar again.
Merida could take no more of the shouting. She got up and left the room, rubbing at her ears.
"Princess?"
Merida turned to see the three young lords.
"Are you all right?" asked Young Macintosh.
"Yes," replied Merida.
Young Macintosh put his shoulders back. "Our fathers asked us to look after you during our stay. Now it's more important that we do with the Vikings coming."
"I believe I can handle myself around the Vikings, Young Lord Macintosh," said Merida.
"We will still watch out for you," said Wee Dingwall.
Young MacGuffin nodded. "It's our duty to help protect our future queen." His speech was slow, but they could understand him.
Young Macintosh and Wee Dingwall agreed.
"I fear no dragon," Young Macintosh said proudly. "I will slay any dragon with Blood Stabber."
"You're not going to run away screamin' like a little girl?" Young MacGuffin asked, his accent thickening as he spoke.
Young Macintosh frowned, trying to understand what MacGuffin said. "I'm not a coward!"
There was a booming roar outside.
"Dragons!" someone shouted.
Young Macintosh drew his sword. "And I'll prove it to you and the princess."
The warriors ran outside armed with their weapons. What they saw astonished them. Dragons of different shapes, sizes, and colors hovered above the castle. They did not attack, but that was not what had the men in stunned silence. On the back of almost every dragon was a rider. A blue, flat-looking dragon with puny legs had two large men on its back. One of them was holding a white banner.
Fergus stared up at the dragons and their riders. "They're Vikings."
"Who here is the king of Scotland?" one of the large men shouted down. He had long, bushy beard was divided and plaited into sections.
"I am Fergus the Bear King, king of Scotland!" Fergus called up. "Who are you?"
"I am Stoick the Vast, chief of Berk!"
Fergus was in shock. The Vikings of Berk had tamed dragons?
"If it is all right with you, King Fergus, our dragons are tired and we would like to land," Stoick called down.
Fergus nodded. "Yes. Yes! You may land in the courtyard."
Lord Dingwall turned to Fergus. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"No," replied Fergus.
The dragons landed in the courtyard and the riders dismounted.
Stoick and Gobber turned to the lords.
The other riders stayed with their dragons.
Astrid leaned over to Hiccup. "Do you think our dragons will be safe?"
"We have to trust the Scots," said Hiccup.
Snotlout barked a laugh. "I'd like to see them try. Hookfang will annihilate them."
At the word "annihilate", Hookfang shot a ball of fire near Snotlout.
Snotlout slowly turned around. "You just love doing that, don't you?" he hissed.
"You make it too easy," Hookfang grumbled with humor laced in his tone.
Fergus came up to Stoick. The two men sized each other up.
"Thank you for offering aid to us," Fergus said. He looked at the dragons. "Though I'm not sure how to take this."
"Take it one step at a time, your highness," said Stoick. "That's how we did."
Hiccup scanned the crowd of Scots as more gathered to look at the dragons. "Seems like they're curious."
"Nothing violent," Astrid said.
Stormfly chirped a warning.
Fishlegs patted Meatlug to calm her. "They see their weapons."
The other dragons began to growl as well.
"Let them try to attack us," Tuffnut chuckled darkly.
"Yeah," his twin agreed, cracking her knuckles.
"Enough."
Teens and dragons turned to Grim. He was patting Ember-Ash's neck. Deathshriek stood protectively over his friend.
"Remember, we are here to help," Grim said, not turning from Ember-Ash.
The young lords and Merida appeared in the courtyard.
"Dragons," breathed Merida. Her face lit up in excitement.
The young lords were shocked. Young Macintosh's grip loosened on his sword.
Elinor came out another door. "Oh, my." She put her hand over her heart. "Fergus."
Fergus, Stoick, and Gobber turned to the queen.
"Elinor, meet Stoick the Vast, chief of Berk, and Gobber the Belch," Fergus introduced, still a bit nervous about having the dragons around. "My wife, Queen Elinor."
"Your majesty," Gobber said with an awkward bow.
Elinor looked at the dragons. They all focused on her, somehow knowing she was someone important.
Toothless was the first to move. He slowly walked up to the queen with Hiccup at his side.
Elinor took a step back.
"It's okay," Hiccup said quickly. "He's friendly."
Hiccup gently took her hand and held it up palm first for Toothless to sniff.
"See?" Hiccup said.
Toothless pressed his nose against her palm. The connection only lasted for a second before Toothless pulled away. He gave a gummy smile, sticking out his forked tongue a little.
"You have a gentle beast," Elinor said.
"His name's Toothless," Hiccup said.
"An odd, but fitting name," said Elinor. "And what's your name, lad?"
"My name's Hiccup."
Elinor frowned. "Who would name their child Hiccup?"
"My dad would," said Hiccup. "It's tradition to refer to small Vikings as hiccups."
"Stories tell that the dragon conqueror lives on Berk," said Elinor.
Hiccup groaned. "It's not dragon conqueror. It's dragon trainer."
"Hiccup's the first Viking to train a dragon, your highness," Stoick said, putting a large hand on Hiccup's shoulder.
Elinor smiled at Hiccup. "You have a brave son, Stoick."
"I'm a very lucky father," said Stoick. "You haven't met my other son. Grim!"
Grim walked over and bowed to Elinor.
"I see the resemblance between you and Hiccup," Elinor said to Stoick. "But Grim must look like his mother."
"I am adopted, your highness," said Grim. "Stoick was kind enough to give me a home on Berk."
Elinor was surprised by Grim's speech and actions. Hiccup had not bowed, but was respectful, but Grim seemed to know about royal protocol.
"Looks like things are going well," said Fishlegs.
"It might not be so bad," said Astrid.
Merida came forward.
Tuffnut saw her and elbowed Snotlout. "Check her out."
Snotlout smiled. "Hello," he said to Merida.
"Hello," said Merida.
"You like dragons?" asked Snotlout. "If you have any questions, you can just ask me."
Tuffnut pushed Snotlout away. "You should talk to the dragon master," he said to Merida.
Ruffnut grabbed her brother by the horn of his helmet while Astrid smacked Snotlout with the handle of her axe. The girls dragged them away.
Fishlegs stepped up to Merida. "Sorry about them," he said to Merida. "If you want to, I can show you Meatlug. She's really nice. I think she'll like to meet you."
"She's not going to eat me, is she?" asked Merida.
"No," replied Fishlegs. "Our dragons like to eat fish. Come on. I'll introduce you."
Merida followed Fishlegs over to the brown Gronkle.
"This is Meatlug," Fishlegs said. "She's a Gronkle, one of the Boulder Class dragons."
"Dragons have classes?" asked Merida.
"Uh-huh," said Fishlegs. "Bork the Bold, the Viking who wrote the Book of Dragons, classifies dragons into the seven classes: Boulder, Stoker, Sharp, Fear, Mystery, Tidal, and Strike."
"All seven class are represented here," Astrid said, rejoining them.
Meatlug grunted and began sniffing Merida.
"It's okay," said Fishlegs. "She just wants to check out you."
"Nice, Meatlug?" Merida said nervously.
Fishlegs smiled. "You can pet her."
Merida carefully put her hand on Meatlug's snout.
"They're docile," Young Macintosh blurted out.
This had the dragons and Vikings attention.
"They're nothing more than common house pets," he continued.
Growls went up from the dragons and they brought themselves up to their full height. The sight was intimidating, but not threatening.
"Who are you calling a house pet?" demanded Snotlout. "Hookfang's the fiercest dragon here!"
"Aye, your beast looks fierce," Young Macintosh continued. "But I bet it's a coward."
Several things happened in the next few seconds. The first was Hookfang lighting himself on fire. The second was Snotlout letting out a battle cry and charging Young Macintosh. The third was Deathshriek jumping in between the boys and Hookfang to keep from anyone from getting burned by Hookfang. The fourth was Grim jumping in to the fray and shoving Snotlout and Young Macintosh away from each other.
"Enough!" shouted Grim. He turned to Snotlout. "We are here as guests." He turned to Young Macintosh. "And we are here to give you aid. We can easily leave you to fend for yourselves."
Deathshriek was telling Hookfang basically the same thing. A stern look from both dragon and rider cemented the silence. Grim and Deathshriek looked at each other and nodded.
"Perhaps we should take this inside," said Fergus.
"The dragons will be fine out here if no one provokes them," said Grim. "Who's all staying with the dragons?"
"I will," said Fishlegs.
"We will," the twins said.
"So will I," said Snotlout.
"I better stay with them, too," said Astrid. "Fishlegs won't be able to keep those three out of the trouble without help."
Grim nodded. He went over to Deathshriek and muttered, "Keep them out of trouble. Make sure they're fed."
"I will," said Deathshriek.
Stoick, Gobber, Hiccup, and Grim followed the king and queen into the castle. They were followed by the lords and their sons. Merida caught up with Hiccup and Grim.
"You train dragons?" Merida asked Hiccup.
"Yeah," replied Hiccup.
Merida turned to Grim. "And what possessed you to break up that fight?"
"I am around dragons more than I am people," said Grim. "Two teenagers trying to prove who has the bigger ego in a fist fight is nothing compared to a full-scale dragon fight."
"It's not something you want to get in the middle of," Hiccup added to Merida.
Merida looked down at his prosthetic. "Is that how you lost your leg?"
Hiccup looked down and patted what was left of his left leg. "It's a long story."
They gathered in the dining hall. The Scots were not happy when the Vikings were permitted to sit close to the royal family. The adults began discussing what to do about the dragons. Stoick told them all about the Death.
Merida was listening closely about the last Death the Vikings faced. "Is that how you lost your leg?" she asked Hiccup.
"Yeah," said Hiccup.
Grim tilted his head in the direction of the door.
"Grim, what's wrong, lad?" asked Gobber.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Elinor called.
The door didn't open.
Grim gave a chuckle. "Deathshriek, I thought I told you to stay with the other dragons."
The door opened and a blue and black head poked around the corner. Underneath was a black head and green eyes.
"Toothless," Hiccup scolded gently.
The two dragons came into the dining hall.
"How did they get in here?" asked Fergus.
"Toothless and Deathshriek are smart dragons," said Hiccup. "Toothless hates being separated from me. He'll do anything to stay with me."
"Deathshriek is very much the same," said Grim.
The two dragons settled by their riders.
Three little redheads appeared. They startled the dragons and they looked up to see three identical faces.
"Boys!" scolded Elinor. "Get away from them."
"They're fine," Hiccup assured. He got up to see what the boys were doing.
The boys turned to Hiccup and ran up to him.
"Whoa!" Hiccup called when the boys swarmed him.
Toothless got up and sniffed at one of the boys, grabbing him by the collar with his gums to pull him away from Hiccup. The brothers turned to the Night Fury and ran up to him and petted him. Toothless looked at the boys with interest. He turned to Hiccup for what to do.
Merida stood up. "Boys."
They turned to her and scampered to their seats at the table.
"Sorry about that," said Merida. "They're curious."
"That's fine," said Hiccup. "I'm surprised they're not afraid of them."
"It takes a lot to scare my brothers," said Merida.
Fergus turned to Stoick when he saw his boys were fine. "How did you know about our dragon problem?"
"We heard it from a trader who makes his rounds close to Scotland," said Stoick.
Grim looked at Stoick, giving him a shake of his head. "Tell him the truth," Grim said softly.
They turned to the blue-eyed teen.
"One of the dragons we brought with us is a native of Scotland," said Grim. "He came to Berk starved. We knew there was something wrong. Deathshriek and I flew over Scotland, retracing the dragon's flight. We found aggressive dragons and based on the stories we've been told, it was safe to assume it's the work of a Death."
It wasn't the entire truth, but the Scots didn't need to know that Grim spoke to dragons.
"A Death uses other dragons to hunt for her," said Hiccup. "It's like bees tending to their queen. The other dragons can't disobey her or they'll be eaten."
"How do we defeat it?" asked Lord MacGuffin.
"The one we faced, Toothless blew it up," Hiccup said. "They're not fireproof on the inside."
"We'll follow the dragons back on their next raid," said Stoick. "We need to find the Death first."
"Ember-Ash would know," said Grim. "He's able to fly. He can lead us there."
"We're forgetting something," said Gobber. "What's to stop our dragons from being hypnotized?"
"Gobber's right," said Hiccup with a groan. "We'll be sitting ducks if our dragons are hypnotized."
Stoick turned to Grim. "How did you beat it the first time you came here?"
"I didn't," said Grim. "The dragons were being controlled, but it wasn't enough to take control of Deathshriek."
Deathshriek let out a grunt.
Merida had a scheming look on her face. She knew she could ask someone about how to defeat this Death dragon.
"I guess we'll work something out," said Hiccup.
"Will you be joining us for the feast?" asked Fergus.
"We would be honored, your highness," said Stoick.
The feast was not the normal merry time the clans enjoyed. There were Vikings among them, dragon trainers no less.
Merida kept giving glances to Stoick's sons. It was clear Hiccup was with Astrid by the way he looked at her. Grim was a different story. He was brave and mysterious. He was also a puzzle. It was clear he had some sort of noble upbringing by how he spoke and acted around her family and the other clans. However, he did not show off like the young lords did. He was also uncomfortable with being here.
Grim sipped at his drink. He rather be out with the dragons instead of in the dining hall, especially since he kept catching strange looks from Queen Elinor.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Tuffnut asked Grim.
"It's nothing," Grim said.
"It must be something," said Ruffnut.
"I said it's nothing!" Grim snapped.
The others at the table went silent.
"I'm sorry," said Grim, hanging his head. "I don't want to be here."
Hiccup leaned over to Grim. "I don't blame you. Go."
Grim stood up and left the dining hall.
"Where's he going?" Stoick asked Hiccup.
"He needs some space," said Hiccup.
"Go with him," said Stoick. "Gobber and I can handle things here."
Hiccup nodded and followed Grim out.
The other riders watched Hiccup follow Grim.
"What's up with them?" Ruffnut asked.
"Who cares?" Snotlout bit into a leg of mutton. "More food for us."
Grim went outside and sighed loudly. It was dark and the sky was starry.
"What is it, Grim?" Toothless asked.
"Come here, Grim," said Deathshriek, lifting his wings up.
Grim stepped over to the Baleful Banshee's side. One wing came over Grim to shield him. The dragons heard the shuddering breath coming from Grim. It was masked when Deathshriek began singing.
Deathshriek looked at the other dragons, not missing a note as he continued his song. The others understood they were not to ask and not to speak of what was happening.
"Grim?"
Grim turned his head and saw Hiccup. "I'm fine. Give me a minute."
Hiccup waited while Grim collected himself.
"If you want to talk, I'll listen," said Hiccup. "I'm not a dragon, but. . ."
Grim nodded. "Dragons know a lot, but they don't know about this. The queen knows. I don't know how much, but she knows I'm no Viking."
Hiccup came over and put his hand on Grim's shoulder. "Not by blood. But you are my brother."
"Are you two all right out here?"
The boys and dragons turned to Merida. She was standing in the doorway, looking warily at the dragons.
"We're fine," said Hiccup. "You can come out here if you want. As long as you don't threaten them, they won't hurt you."
Merida slowly came out into the courtyard. This was the first time she could get up close to them without her parents seeing how intrigued she was with them.
"I never thought they could be so docile," Merida said.
"Keep in mind, princess, they are dangerous," Grim said.
Merida moved to Ember-Ash. "I noticed this one doesn't have a saddle."
"Ember-Ash is a dragon of Scotland," said Grim. "He has no rider."
Merida put her hand out to the smaller Nightmare. He put his muzzle to her hand. Merida took that as a sign she was allowed to pet him.
Hiccup gave a lopsided smile. "You learn quick."
"I'm just doing what the other Vikings showed me," said Merida.
"Fishlegs is book smart when it comes to dragons," said Hiccup. "He knows the Book of Dragons word for word. Grim and I are more hands-on."
A screech from above caught their attention. They looked up and saw something almost slithering across the night sky.
"What is that?" Merida asked. "A dragon?"
"It's Grindheart," said Grim.
"What is he doing here?" Hiccup asked, surprised.
The Whispering Death landed in the courtyard with the rest of the dragons.
"What are you doing here, Grindheart?" Grim asked the dragon. "Did you fly all day behind us?"
"Yes, I did and it was not pleasant," Grindheart hissed. "I thought you could use all the help you can get."
Another roar caught their attention. The stars were blocked out by something very large.
"That's not one of our dragons," said Hiccup, taking a step back.
The other dragons prepared for a fight.
"I know that voice," Grim quietly said.
"You do?" asked Hiccup.
"I brought a friend," said Grindheart.
A reddish-brown Timberjack landed. "Greetings, Grim," the dragon said.
"I remember you," said Grim. "Princess, would you be so kind to tell your parents and ours that more dragons have arrived to help?"
Merida didn't like being bossed around, but if it meant help, she would do it.
As soon as she was gone, Grim spoke quickly. "I met the Timberjack not long after I came to Berk. He was only passing through. We spoke little, but he said he would return to Berk."
"Why is he here?" asked Hiccup.
"To help," replied the Timberjack. "Perhaps you can use a Timberjack to help. I am willing to help."
"We are grateful for the help," Grim said.
The Vikings, the royals, and the lords came out to see the new arrivals.
"Grindheart?" Fishlegs cried. "What is he doing here? He would have had to travel during the day. Whispering Deaths don't like bright light."
Hiccup looked at the Timberjack. "I think I know how."
"So how?" asked Astrid.
"Well, the Timberjack is large enough," said Hiccup. "It could glide while Grindheart was shielded from the sun by its wings."
"That's what we did," said the Timberjack, giving a nod.
"That's what they did," said Grim. "Now we have two more dragons to help."
Grindheart hissed and hid in the shadows. The Timberjack on the other hand moved into the light.
The triplets ran out to get a close look at the two new dragons. They ran up to the Timberjack to pet him.
"No!" yelled Grim, grabbing two of them by the collars and pulling them back.
Hiccup managed to catch the other. "Don't touch his wings. You'll cut yourselves. And Grindheart isn't one to be petted unless he wants to be."
"Now that we know what all the commotion was all about." Stoick turned to go back inside.
"Aren't you going to do something about the dragons?" Lord Macintosh asked.
"There is nothing to do," said Stoick. "The dragons will be fine. Grim, they're in your care."
Grim nodded, staying out with the dragons as everyone else went inside.
"Now that everyone's inside, we can talk." Grim turned to the Timberjack. "What is your name?"
"Axewing," replied the Timberjack.
"Welcome, Axewing," said Toothless. "Thank you for bringing Grindheart here."
"We need all the help we can get," said Deathshriek.
Axewing snorted in agreement and settled down to sleep.
The other dragons followed Axewing's example. Grim settled down underneath Deathshriek's wing.
"You have a bed under a roof," Deathshriek pointed out to Grim.
"I know," was Grim's reply.
Another chapter finished. The next chapter should be posted later this week. Thank you for everyone who has reviewed and favored and followed it so far. This is turning out to be bigger than the Light and Shadow series that I created for Code: LYOKO. If you are a Code: LYOKO fan and are interested in seeing more of my original characters, check that series out. The next story is going to be focused on the Defenders of Berk series. I had decided to do an experiment to see if I could some how write in Grim to the series and see how seamless it would be. It'll be close to the episodes, giving anyone who hasn't been able to watch the episodes to get a good idea what happened during the second season.