Hello all,
I am glad you all are enjoying the story, thank you for the wonderful reviews! I do hope you enjoy this next chapter.
THUD!
"Another good shot ma, donae forget ta exhale as ye release!"
THUD!
"Ow my shoulder aches, ye had more practice then me, darlin." Queen Elinor rubbed her aching shoulder.
"A' know, but wit' war comin we need ta prepare, ma." Merida said rubbing her own pained shoulder. "The more we practice the betta we git." In the safety of the courtyard where only three years ago the lord's sons competed for her hand, Queen Elinor and Princess Merida stood practising for war. Archery was quickly becoming less fun since they now had to perfect it rather than wanted to. Whispers of the threat had everyone on their toes, all but one Viking clan united with Alvin the Treacherous. The Berk Viking clan were under high suspicion since they were supposedly the first to train dragons, and now Alvin had the ability. However Stoic and his clan swore they didn't help or support Alvin. Many believed Stoic was waiting to betray King Fergus at the best opportune moment, even the royal family were suspicious. Though some questioned if Stoic's clan even rode dragons, none of the royal family nor the locals had seen the Hairy Hooligans riding dragons. So even though it was suggested and pointed out, many overlooked the idea of Stoic's clan riding dragons. After all everyone was focused on the threat of Alvin, and so while the Hairy Hooligans swore fealty to King Fergus they were allies and so the suspicions were buried.
With the land preparing for war everything became more serious, it felt like people were ducking for cover whenever the clouds blocked the sun. Narrowly the Queen and Merida convinced King Fergus that when war came they would not be hidden away but fight as well, with dragons involved no place would be safe. Both knew hiding while an army of Vikings on the backs of dragons rampaged was pointless. The fear was enough to cause even the little devils: Hamish, Harris, and Hubert to behave. Notching another arrow Merida shot at her target and winced almost dropping the bow. She had to be the best for her people which meant pushing herself and so she weathered the pain and tried to shoot again.
"Merida enough, we have practised enough. Ye need ta rest, if ye injure yerself ye will be nae good in a fight." Queen Elinor had gone to her daughter and turned her around. She knew this was important but seeing Merida push herself so hard was torture.
"Yer right ma, my shoulder does pains me. Time fer princess lessons?"
Nae sweeti' nae lessons today. Ye done enough." Queen Elinor spoke up.
"Time fer dinner!" Maudie called out and the pair headed back to the castle.
"Ye tell 'em it nae happenin'! Me daughter decides nae the lords!" King Fergus' angry voice was coming from the main hall and had stopped Queen Elinor and Merida dead. The messenger stood proudly, a messenger from Clan Macintosh.
"Very well A'l tell 'em, but they'll nae be happy! Ye have the chance ta avert all this, but put yer daughter's wishes before us all!" That was it, King Fergus rose and pulled a broad sword ready to deliver the messengers head back to his fellow lord without the body.
"Yer lord agreed ta the terms! She nae marry unless they win her heart!" King Fergus said as he drew near the messenger whom now stumbled back. Knowing that sending a messengers head back was a sign of war, Queen Elinor moved forward leaving Merida in the doorway they had come in. The Queen took on her commanding air she usually did and stopped her husband, then turned her icy glare to the messenger.
"Ma daughter practises her heart out ta prepare ta defend the people, and ye act like she is selfish! Ye tell yer lord he is the one being selfish! He agreed ta the terms and any tha' go back on their word in the face o' war dishonours 'emselves!" The messenger shrank back before speaking in a more softened tone.
"Is it dishonourable ta ask the terms ta change ta avoid war and death?"Queen Elinor wasn't prepared for that, and so the messenger pressed, "It's nae yer family on the coast, nae yer daughter they'll take. Sometimes terms need changin' or we all pay..."
That was when the messenger left and the king and queen were faced yet again with the pressure of what was to come. More and more the messengers came demanding Merida choose a suitor and wed, over time it became less about her freedom and who she would love, and more about stopping a war. All four suitors were very nice, but three she could only view as friends. The fourth was a Viking and despite his small frame, Merida knew the stories of Vikings and what they did. It frightened her to think of being taken away to Berk they were barbarians after all. As she had grown up she knew she had a duty to her kingdom, but also wanted to find love not just wed for politics. She remembered reading of tales of love a brave knight sweeping a maiden off her feet, but the more these messengers pressured the more it seemed like such tales were unreal.
Suddenly Merida was no longer hungry but needed air and lots of it. Turning away she left quickly and headed for the stables, a ride on Angus always cleared her head. As usual she took her bow, quiver of arrows, and sword just in case, but knew she would not be able to lift her bow today after such a vigorous workout. Soon she was on Angus riding hard and fast as she left the castle grounds and entered the woods. Her thoughts were elsewhere as her horse carried her far into the woods. The fresh air helped as she breathed it in and her wild red hair blew in the breeze. She preyed for a sign in that moment then opened her eyes.
After a long hard ride, they stopped by a nearby stream and Merida hopped off Angus and let him get a drink. Now away from the pressures of the castle and the demands of the other lord's messengers she sighed. Why did it all have to hinge on her? Were they not strong enough allies? Why did it require her to marry someone? Shaking her head she looked around, here at least it was quiet and peaceful with nothing looming over her. The only reminder of her problems was her sore shoulder which she rubbed then a glow caught her eye.
The all too familiar blue glow of the will-o'-the-wisps got her full attention. Caution warred with fascination, as Merida moved towards the glowing wisp which disappeared leading her to another. Wisps were meant to lead one to their fate, but as with history clearly reminded her that fate could turn out to be disastrous. So there was a struggle to follow and see what fate intended for her be it good or bad, or flee and ignore the wisps call. Thinking of how bad her fate could turn out to be, Merida started to turn away and leave but stopped short. 'What if it could save us all? I'll be more specific this time if it's the witch the wisps lead me to.' Merida thought.
Biting her lip she turned back to the blue glow and spoke as though talking to the wisp. "Alright Al' follow ye, but that nae means anythin' will come o' it!"
With that she followed the wisp, Angus instinctively following her without any urging from her. For the longest time the wisps lead her further into the woods and soon the sun would be setting. Merida was just about to give up following the wisp when it led her to a clearing. In the large clearing the wisps made a semi-circle as though gathering and waiting for her arrival. Moving into the semi-circle of wisps she stood there a moment before they all suddenly vanished. 'Typical bloody wisps!' Merida growled at the waste of time and turned back to Angus, this time the wisps didn't lead her to her fate but a clearing which was a waste of time. As she started to head back to Angus, that was when it happened. The natural instinct, that survival instinct embedded in all animals came alive in Angus as he sensed a predator nearby. The frightened horse gave a whinny and moved around the field nervously. "Angus?!" Catching his reigns, Merida tried to calm him, "What's wrong with ye, ye big baby?!"
"If I had to guess, he senses a predator nearby and is scared." A man's voice spoke up, and Merida whirled around pulling her sword as she did to face the source of the voice. There stood a young man about the same age as her leaning against the tree. He looked familiar, but older, taller, and not as scrawny as she remembered. Though at that moment his name escaped her, but she did recognise some of his features and his green eyes. Where had she seen him before? Strangely she immediately saw he was a Viking and took a defensive position. "Keep yer distance, I nae wanna hurt ye, but A will defend myself!"
The young man gave a dejected look as his shoulders slumped. "Great! You don't even remember me, do you?"
Merida swallowed scouring her memory for something to tell her who this man was. She should definitely remember him, or at least her pounding heart wanted her to. In the end all she could do was shake her head. Which caused the boy to frown and give a sarcastic response. "Of course not, who would remember the scrawny Viking toothpick?"
Merida's eyes widened at the confirmation of what the boy was, A Viking. It was a word that often frightened young maidens and caused men to pull swords. Yet she had only met two Viking and that was at the competition three years ago. She mostly remembered her pain and sadness at being forced to be presented as a potential bride like she was a bargaining coin. Only vaguely did she remember that she had gasped and scooted away as Stoic the Vast come up to the throne and greeted her father. Stoic was everything she imagined a Viking to be and had been just as frightening despite the gentle way he bowed and spoke, then he introduced his son the fourth suitor-Hiccup. Stoic the Vast stepped aside to reveal his son whom was nothing like his father at least in appearance. She never really spoke to Hiccup, but from all her princess lessons about Vikings, Merida didn't really want to learn more. To put it mildly her family had a 'personal history' with Vikings and was afraid of them. It wasn't prejudice, she respected the Berk Clan and the alliance they formed with her people; but some wounds were too deep to ever heal properly. It was because of these deep wounds and their history that Merida never really considered Hiccup a suitor, sure he had technically won the competition; but he was a Viking.
Getting over her shock she swallowed. "A' am sorry, just a bit jumpy. Ye caught me off guard there Hiccup."
He seemed to brighten then happy to be remembered by the princess. "You remember me?"
"Yeah A remember ye. Yer taller, and gained a bit o' muscle, but yer features changed lil'. What are ye doin way out here?"
"I uhh I needed some fresh air." Hiccup rubbed his neck nervously.
"C'mon now ye need nae lie, ye live on an island and it would take ye weeks to get here by boat." Merida pointed out. Despite the proof to the contrary, Merida like many in Scotland doubted the rumours that the Berk Viking clan rode dragons. Besides like many in Scotland all her focus was on Alvin and his army that threatened the lands, and so the little rumour was easily overlooked.
"Alright I will tell you on two conditions." Hiccup replied giving her a crooked smile.
"Name yer terms first." Merida answered cautiously.
"First you have to put away your sword." Hiccup's eyes moved to the blade in her hand. For a moment Merida looked at the blade then at him. Hiccup was taller and not as scrawny as before, but still he was no where near the size of his father. If Hiccup tried anything though, Merida was sure she could defend herself, and so sheathed her blade. "Secondly, please join me for dinner. I was just setting up camp and preparing dinner when you arrived."
Uncertain Merida looked to Angus whom still acted like he would be attacked by a predator any moment. As her attention went to Angus Hiccup waved frantically to his left to get Toothless to back away. A moment later the horse calmed down, and Merida looked back to the Viking. The young man gave another of his croaked smile, which surprisingly made him look very handsome. Now relaxing a bit more Merida knew as a princess she could not be ruled by fear. She would be queen one day, which meant she could not show fear to anyone especially the Vikings. Besides it would be good practice to show that their alliance was important since Hiccup's clan were allies. Smiling her fake smile to keep a peaceful meeting, Merida answered. "O' course Lord Haddock, A' would be honoured ta join ye."
Following him into the woods further they came upon his camp trailed by Angus. The pair sat on a log by the fire, and were soon eating a couple of cooked fish. Merida had thought to ask what he was doing way out there after dinner. As Hiccup offered her a drink from a water-skin, Merida kept a pleasant attitude as she spoke. "Yer a very good cook Lord Haddock."
"Thank you princess." Hiccup replied shyly then his expression saddened. She had just drank some of the water and not noticed the sweetness of it. "I...uhh princess. I am sorry..."
"Fer what? Ye did nothin' wrong." Merida replied though now she felt too relaxed and light headed. In mere moments she realised her mistake as the water-skin slipped from her fingers to the ground. She had become too trusting and now she noticed the lingering sweet flavour. "What have ye done? Why? I donae understand..."
She blinked back the tired spell enough to see Hiccup reach for her, but she stumbled back as she moved away and came to lean against a nearby tree. She reached for her sword but it felt so heavy like trying to lift a boulder. Just as her knees gave out a pair of arms caught her waist, and she found herself held against the young Viking. Weakly she tried to push away, but her limbs felt so heavy. Her head lulled back as she saw Angus whinny and was ready to defend his rider. "Now Toothless!"
The young Viking's words confused her dizzy mind, what was a Toothless? Seeing a black shape block Angus' path she reached out with all her remaining strength. "Angus...noooo please donae...donae... Angus..."
Then everything went, all her remaining strength and resistance fled away as everything went black. The last thing she heard was Hiccup's soft whisper in her ear. "I'm sorry Merida, please forgive me."
It felt like a dream when she opened her eyes a short time later fighting the drug that sapped her strength. Vision partially blurred she looked up at the figure above her, his brown hair blown back and he looking forward. She knew she was being held against him and the way it felt they must be on horse back. She tried to shake her head at the thought, Angus would not carry them he would try to protect her from Hiccup. This left the question what were they riding on? Did Hiccup have a horse? She had not seen one back at his camp. Weakly the reached down beside her to find not a main or horse hair, but scales. Scales? What manner of beast did one ride that had scales? Then it struck her like a blow to the gut, the rumours were true the Berk Viking clan rode Dragons! She wanted to ask what he was intending for her, but it was too much to stay awake and soon her eyes fluttered shut once again.
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