Here's a quick timeline: This takes place five years after How to Train Your Dragon, Jack met Hiccup the winter after the movie took place when he was thirteen. Brave took place earlier in the summer, and Jack met Merida two years ago when she was sixteen. Jack's movie is running kind of along a parallel universe so things along that storyline will be different. And of course, it's taking place during Tangled.
I hope that clears some things up for you all.
Hiccup was on his way to the dining hall when Jack joined him. Instead of his usual excited chatter and jokes, the winter spirit seemed almost sullen and distracted. Worried, Hiccup asked him what was wrong but Jack just shrugged and shook his head.
"Nothing, I can do." He said. Hiccup couldn't get him to say anything more.
Bothered by his friend's behavior, Hiccup tried to distract him by talking about the rumors he heard the maids whispering about in the halls. "I heard that there has been a strange, icy, phenomenon affecting the town's fountains. There was a maid in one of the hallways talking about how the one in the back courtyard looks like a frozen statue of water." He looked at his friend. "She called it a beautiful miracle." That brought a smile to Jack.
"I froze about five of them last night while I was wandering around." He laughed. "I bet people will be talking about that all day, too bad it'll all melt soon. Ooh. I also went to some mountain village way north. By the time I was done there, the whole place was covered in frost." He fell silent again as he remembered the reason he went up there in the first place; to let lose all his frustration at not being able to do anything last night. Hiccup just looked worriedly at his friend, but fell silent too.
They soon reached the dining hall and within moments the red-head, Merida, was there. "Come sit wi' me, Jack." she said, grabbing a hold of his hand and pulling, "I've got to tell ya' about what happened this summer."
Jack looked back as he was pulled away. "You coming Hic?"
Hiccup, relieved to not be left out, smiled and was about to follow when Stoick called from behind. "Aye, Hiccup. O'er here, lad." The rest of the vikings had chosen a seat in the opposite direction Merida was pulling Jack. Caught between his people and his friend, he hesitated before going over to the vikings. He gave an apologetic shrug to Jack as he turned. It would have been difficult to explain to the others why he was going to sit with a Scottish princess he only met briefly last night, instead with his own people. That was what he told himself at least. In truth, he felt a little on the out when it came to Jack's other friend. He still felt a little betrayed that his friend hadn't told him.
Over at the vikings table, Hiccup could see Jack sitting with Merida, listening as she talked, her arms gesturing wildly as she told a story. She sat a little apart from the rest of her group, who looked like they were listening to a different story being told by a big man; almost as big as Stoick, Hiccup noticed. He recognized the queen from last night, Queen Elinor, sitting next to the man, who must have been Merida's father.
Eventually, breakfast was finished and the vikings split up to go to their various activities. Stoick and Gobber went to confer with the King and the other royal leaders who were visiting. Mildew and Spitelout went off to who knew where, and Snotlout went off to flirt with the castle town maidens. Jack was still by Merida's table.
"Guess I'm on my own." He said out loud, to nobody in particular. He started heading toward the main castle entrance.
He was almost to the door when he felt a cold gust of wind behind him. "Hey, wait up Hic." Jack called. Hiccup turned to see Jack flying down the hall, leaving gusts of wind and a frost on the walls in his wake; and Merida, running behind him in a dark blue dress, her hair still a wild mane of red curls. Hiccup stopped and waited for the other two to catch up.
"Ya could 'ave waited for us." Merida said, slightly breathless. "Now we can all go tae town together." A second later, she was already out the door, guards saluting her as she passed through the doors to the outside.
Hiccup and Jack exchanged a look before hurrying after her. "Sorry, I just figured you two would be too busy catching up, and all." Hiccup said when they were all together. "I didn't want to feel like a third wheel and all." He trailed off.
Merida looked at him, "Wha's tha supposed to mean? Jack and I are jus' friends. I only wanted to tell him abou' what happened a few months back. Ya see, me mum wanted tae marry me off to one of the other clan's sons. I di'nt want to be married so I accidentally unleashed this ancient bear curse that almost killed my mum."
"Whoa." Was all Hiccup to think to say at that story. "An ancient bear curse, huh?"
"Uh huh. And we also managed to kill the daemon bear, Mor'du, who had also been cursed thousands of years ago."
"Wow." Hiccup wasn't sure whether to write this off as a tall tale, or actually believe the girl about the curse and ancient demons. Then again, his best friend was an invisible winter spirit and at home he ran a dragon training academy with his pet nightfury. Yeah, she could be telling the truth.
"I still can't believe you'd do that to your own mom. I'm just glad you guys seem close again after all that." Jack said, lacing his fingers behind his head as he walked between them. "I mean, you tried to physically change her to get out of marriage and suddenly everything between you two is all huncky-dory."
"I guess spending time in the forest, away from the castle and the all the rules and restrictions, allowed us to get tae know each other again."
"So what happened to this Mor'du guy?" Hiccup asked. "You said that he was cursed thousands of years ago? Why was he still alive?"
"We think tha' the witches curse kept him like that. It gave him the strength of ten men but not the soul of one. He wandered the forest for years as a menace. Took ma da's leg when I was a wee girl."
"Your dad lost his leg?" He looked down at where his leg used to be, before he lost it almost five years ago. Since then he had modified his prosthetic leg to be able to do almost anything a real one could. He was still a little limited when it came to running or hiking, but it made riding Toothless easier.
Merida noticed his metal foot. "Oh! Wha happened to it?" She asked, kneeling down to get a better look.
"I lost it years ago in a... fire." He said simply. He left out the part about almost falling to his death after causing the Green Death to crash into the earth amid its own inferno. He needed to be careful to not mention Toothless or any of the other dragons. His father didn't want other kingdoms to know that they have figured out how to train them and keep them as pets instead of endlessly fighting them.
The three were silent for a while as they continued walking. They were passing through a residential area near the castle courtyard and people were already about and attending to their morning business. After a while, Hiccup finally spoke up. "So, how did you guys meet?"
Jack and Merida exchanged a glance. "Two years ago, I was doing my rounds in Scotland, flying through the forest when I heard someone calling out my name. I investigated and came face to face with this crazy redhead who was wandering the forest yelling 'Jack Frost' at the top of her lungs. I was pretty surprised when I found out that she could see me, too."
"Maudie, one of our maids, was complaining about the cold an' she blamed Jack Frost, saying that he 'ad come early this year or something. I knew spirits like the Will-o-the-Wisps existed so I figured that Jack Frost may be real too. I had gone out to try and find him and I saw a bit o' blue pass by and I knew he was real." Merida explained. "Since then we've been friends, but Jack only comes around every couple weeks in the winter."
"It's too warm in the Summer; mostly I stick to the poles or the Northern Islands during that time. I only came to Corona to keep Hic company and because I was curious what it was like down here." Jack patted Hiccup on the back as he talked. "Totally worth it so far, though the heat is a bit uncomfortable."
Hiccup smiled. Those were the months that Jack spent at Berk. There was a very short summer season and a long, cold winter. Like, nine months of winter usually. During the short summer, Jack usually wandered around, visiting other areas and bringing frost and cold to different time zones. He was almost glad now that he knew Jack had someone else to visit with during those months. He was still a little jealous, but now getting to know Merida a little better, she seemed alright.
