"This is an outrage!" King Fergus' booming voice echoed through the halls, shaking the castle. "How dare they accuse our greatest ally of kidnapping!"
Queen Elinor looked at her husband with sad eyes, but brightened them considerably as she turned to her guests. "I'm sure all will be well. Just send word to Arendelle that you have not seen Queen Elsa, and that you mean her no harm."
"No!" Stoick's voice echoed just as harshly as Fergus'. "This is the final straw! I will not take any more abuse from those stiff, high-society nations! Our dragons are fully tamed and under our control, and each and every member of our village reports to me before they do anything drastic! If Elsa had been kidnapped, I would know about it!"
They were sitting in the grand hall belonging to King Fergus and Queen Elinor, the rulers of Dunbroch. Stoick, village chieftain of Berk, had brought news of accusation. Berk had been contacted by Princess Anna of Arendelle. That was cause enough for Berk and Dunbroch to have a meeting. However, the letter contained accusation of kidnap and betrayal. That was cause enough for war.
"Why don't we talk this through, Stoick." Queen Elinor pleaded. She knew both her husband and the chieftain to be quick to anger. "We'll figure something out."
"Oh yeah, I'm sure the people of Arendelle will just love to talk to them with their mangy dragons breathing all over the place; settin' everything on fire!"
"Merida!"
All eyes turned to the bright red hair splayed about wildly. Equipped with a bow in one hand, and an apple raised to her mouth with the other, Princess Merida of Dunbroch was the picture of femininity and ladylike grace. She had entered the room from behind, and next to her was a gangly boy with shaggy brown hair.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The boy next to her obviously did not take well to her comment. "Our dragons aren't mangy, they're our friends!"
"Yeah, you are all the picture of cleanliness, aren't ya?" She fired back, giving his shoulder a little shove to go with the verbal insult.
"Look who's talking! You can't even chew with your mouth closed!"
"Well, your name is Hiccup! I get those when I drink too much!"
The boy fell silent. He had only known this girl for an hour, and already she made him want to punch someone in the face. If only he had the upper body strength.
"Have fun on your tour?" Elinor tried to hold a smile. She should have known better than to let Merida give him the tour. If Dunbroch and Berk were to hold a lasting alliance, it was essential that the future leaders get along. This part didn't seem to be going very well.
"Yeah, ma, it was great." Merida made a final face at Hiccup before taking her place next to her mother.
Fortunately, this would be considered normal behavior in Berk, so Stoick thought nothing of the peculiar way his son and the princess were acting towards each other. If he was asked, he would've thought they were participating in friendly banter. "So, back onto the matter of war-"
"Oh, come on, dad." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Not another one of your wars."
"I think I liked him better when he wasn't here." Fergus scowled. A citizen from Berk who didn't like war was like a citizen from Dunbroch who didn't like his bear stories. They simply didn't exist.
"I agree." Elinor smiled at Hiccup. "Perhaps war isn't the answer. Why don't I go to Arendelle as a representative, to assure them that both of our kingdoms are innocent."
"Go alone?" Fergus would not have it.
"You need to stay here to run the kingdom, dear. And I won't be alone." The Queen hesitated for a moment, something foreign to her. "I'll bring Merida."
"With all due respect, I can't just send you to represent both of our lands. Take my boy with you. He'll serve as an envoy." Stoick ushered Hiccup forward.
"Then it's settled. Merida, Hiccup, and I will go to Arendelle. We leave in the morning."
