AN: Oh geeze I almost forgot to post this hah 8'D Well I haven't gone to bed for Tuesday night Wednesday morning yet so it counts, right?
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Heart of a Scot, Soul of a Dragon
Chapter Four: Fate's Hand
Early the next morning while Merida ate a quick breakfast, she overheard Maudie clucking to herself under her breath as she rummaged through the larder and asked, "Something the matter, Maudie?"
The head woman jumped a little in her surprise at being addressed before saying, "Oh! Princess, I didn't hear you come in." Merida just quirked her lips in amusement, and the older woman continued, "That brace of pigeons I'd had in here has gone missing. If I can't find them, I've not a clue what you and their majesties will be eating for dinner."
Merida polished off the bun she'd been nibbling on, and suggested, "How about rabbit?"
"That'd be all well and good if we had any rabbit," the woman mused as she exited the larder and stood, hands on hips, looking about the place as though she expected to find what she was looking for tucked among the pots and pans.
"I'll get some. I'm always partial to rabbit," Merida said brightly, eager for the opportunity to get out of the castle for a few hours.
The head woman looked doubtful and said, "I don't know, Princess. Your father seems concerned about that awful Grimborn man who was here the other day...he's posted extra lookouts and everything. I'm not sure it'd be right for you to-"
"You worry too much, Maudie," Merida said with a roll of her eyes. When the woman looked ready to say no, though, the princess added, "If it makes you feel better, I'll take an escort, yeah? Then I'll be safe as a wee bug in a rug."
Maudie hesitated a moment longer, but caved in the face of Merida's eager smile. "Oh alright then. You go see to your mother and whatever tasks she has for you first, though," she said firmly and shook her finger at the princess.
Merida grumbled a little at this injunction, but did as she was bid. Besides, ever since the Mor'Du fiasco two years before, things had been much better between the princess and the queen. They still butted heads on occasion, but Merida had acquiesced to learning everything she needed to from her mother, and Elinor had loosened the reins on her daughter's schedule. It had taken a little time, but they'd gradually settled into a comfortable arrangement that suited the both of them.
Luckily, her mother took pity on her that morning and only kept Merida until lunch, which they shared in the royal chambers. Mother and daughter ate cold sandwiches by the window, chatting idly as the queen dodged Merida's penetrating questions about the interview with Viggo Grimborn that had so upset her father.
Though she gained no further insight in that quarter, Merida was unable to remain put out for long as she ventured outside, bow in hand. The afternoon was bright and clear with a breeze rolling in across the water to stir the princess's long curls as she looked around for her 'guard' of choice.
Spotting him up on the wall pacing again, Merida stooped and picked up a small stone. She threw it with unerring accuracy and caught the viking in the back of the head.
Dagur flinched and looked around, then scowled when he spotted the princess down on the ground, grinning impishly up at him. Before he could tell her off, though, she said "Come on, we're going hunting!"
"Since when?" Dagur asked with a roll of his eyes as he leaned casually against the parapet, clearly not inclined to 'hop-to' just because the princess threw rocks at him.
"Since now, obviously," Merida said with a stomp of a foot for emphasis. "Come on, quit standing about or we'll not have any meat for our supper," she chided. "Maudie's pigeons went missing so it's this or vegetable stew, right?"
Dagur grimaced at the prospect, and finally nodded his agreement. "Alright, fine, you win. I'll meet you outside the gate," he said and waved her off before making his way back to the barracks to fetch his things.
Merida flashed him a triumphant grin, then made her way towards the gate. Along the way though, a peculiar trail of feathers caught her attention, diverting her from her course.
It lead her across the courtyard and into one of the storage rooms where the extra weapons were kept. Merida pushed open the door and caught Hamish, Harris, and Hubert red handed as they pushed one of Maudie's pigeons onto the end of a spear as though to make a macabre marionette.
The triplets froze and stared at her wide-eyed as they waited for their elder sister to make her move. Merida narrowed her eyes, then said, "I won't say anything this time, lads, because I get to go hunting thanks to you-" the boys sagged a little in relief, but straightened up again as she continued sharply, "But no more wasting food like that, do you hear me? Someone didn't kill those animals just so you could play pranks on Maudie with them."
All three boys winced a little, and nodded, seeming contrite.
"Alright, then," the princess said, "Just...whatever you do, make sure they're still fit for eating after, alright?"
The little princes grinned and nodded eagerly, and went back to their work as their sister shook her head and left them to it.
When she got to the gate, Dagur was already there and waiting.
"Thought you might've already left without me," the viking mused as she approached. The bow that rested lightly in his calloused hand was large, easily double the draw weight of the much lighter one she had brought.
"Just what do you think we're out to hunt? Bears?" she asked with an incredulous laugh as she tapped his bow with hers.
"Oh, I'm not hunting at all," he said, tapping her right back before taking a moment to string the beast of a weapon. "I'm just here to kill anything that might try to eat you while you try and find us something to eat in turn," he mused with a lopsided grin.
Merida snorted in amusement, but a quick up and down of her friend revealed that not only was he carrying a large bow, but he had a sword strapped to his belt as well. She experienced a moment's temptation to call him paranoid, but thought better of it. After all, he had been there when Mor'Du had attacked. Dagur had seen the type of things the deceptively placid forests around the castle could hide.
"Oh alright then," she huffed lightly and started walking. "Just try not to scare off the rabbits with all your clanking about, yeah?"
"You won't even know I'm here," Dagur reassured her with a grin.
The pair started off into the forest, bows on their back as they made tracks away from civilization where potential prey would be more plentiful. Hours went by, though, with nary a rabbit in sight, and Merida's patience began to wear thin. She wanted to place the blame on Dagur, but for all his muscular build, the man moved agile as a deer when needed. It never ceased to amaze her.
Then, just as the sun was beginning to set and Merida was ready to call it a day, she heard a telltale rustling from a nearby patch of alders.
The princess immediately ducked behind a nearby tree, then looked around to motion for her friend to do the same. When she spotted him, though, he was already crouched behind a fallen log, bow in hand, just in case there was something bigger than a bunny hiding just out of sight. The viking arched an eyebrow at her when he caught her checking on him, and motioned for her to pay attention to her prey.
Merida resisted the urge to huff at him and turned her gaze back to the alder patch instead. Carefully, she drew an arrow from her quiver and knocked it, though did not draw as she waited for a clear shot. After a moment, a fat, brown rabbit cautiously loped out from its hiding place and sniffed the air experimentally.
Knowing she'd not likely get a cleaner shot, the princess took a breath, then stepped out from her hiding place, lifted her bow, pulled, and released in one fluid movement.
There was a pained squeak as her arrow struck home. The rabbit jumped once, then dropped to the ground, twitching as Merida hurried forward, already slinging her bow across her chest and drawing her belt knife.
"Nice shot," Dagur congratulated her. He never tired of watching his friend shoot, and had always admired her prowess with a bow. "No one back home can shoot like you can, Mer," he added with a smile.
His use of the friendly nickname he'd granted her years ago when she was still nursing him back to health, before he'd realized she was a princess, made Merida smile. He was the only one she let get away with that sort of thing, though they'd both agreed that he should only use it in private. Her mother had overheard him once and given him the sort of lecture that made one feel five years old all over again. Elinor somehow managed to make anyone on the receiving end of her lectures feel knee-high, no matter so much bigger than herself they might be.
Needless to say, Dagur had readily agreed to Merida's suggestion after that.
"What, not even Hiccup the incredible?" she teased lightly as she crouched beside the rabbit. It was still breathing, and she carefully thrust the blade of her dagger between its frail ribs and up into its heart to end its suffering quickly.
Dagur watched her work, a wry smile pulling at his thin lips. "No, not even Hiccup," he replied. "Although," he added, "He did have a shield that folded out into a crossbow that he was pretty handy with."
"He did not!" Merida exclaimed incredulously with a laugh as she withdrew her blade, wiped it clean, and then sheathed it. The princess strung the rabbit up with a bit of cord by its ankles to make it easier to carry, then got to her feet. "Between that and the flaming sword, I'm not sure which is the more ridiculous," she mused.
"It's true!" Dagur said defensively and followed after the woman as she started walking.
The princess laughed again and said, "I don't know, Dagur. I can almost believe in dragons; they're just a different kind of animal after all. I'm just not sure I believe there's actually a boy out there who not only single-handedly tamed 'the offspring of lightning and death itself', but also carries a flaming sword and a shield that magically turns itself into a crossbow." Merida shook her head, smiling to herself at the absurdity of it all, her thick mass of curls bouncing with the motion. "I mean, I'm in no place to lecture people about legends and truth, but-"
She realized then, that Dagur was no longer right behind her and looked back. Frowning, she called, "Dagur?"
The man was standing some ways behind her, looking as though he had frozen mid-stride to stare at something to one side of the small deer path they'd been following.
"Dagur, what is it?" she asked and doubled back to join him. "Is there-" As she reached her friend and turned to see what it was that had caught his gaze, Merida froze too.
Lingering at the far edge of a clearing in the shadow of a massive oak, was a wisp.
"Is that..." the viking began, voice hushed, eyes wide.
"A will-o-wisp!" the princess breathed. As they stood and stared, she could hear it now. That faint, hypnotic whisper that had lured her as a child in search of a lost arrow, and again as an adult desperate for a way to change her fate. What, then, was it trying to lead her towards now?
A thrill of excitement mixed with a dash of terror raced up her spine, and the princess tied her kill off to her belt before saying, "Come on."
Dagur gave a start when Merida suddenly dashed off across the clearing towards the wisp, its blue light illuminating the darkening forest around it.
"Are you insane?" Dagur asked, knowing full well he was the last person with any right to ask that question, but did so anyways. When she didn't stop though, he groaned and hurried after her. "Don't you remember what happened last time?" he demanded as he vaulted a fallen tree, and nearly twisted an ankle trying to avoid landing on a wisp that suddenly appeared below him.
Merida shot him a grin as she steadied him. The wisp he'd nearly trampled had vanished, and another (or perhaps the same one) appeared a little ways off. "Yes," the princess said as her friend regained his balance and they both started forward again. "It changed my life."
"Your mom got turned into a bear!" Dagur objected. They were both clambering up a steep rock face now, a wisp urging them on from its peak.
The viking reached the top first, and their guide vanished with a quiet sigh. He reached back to give Merida a hand, which she readily accepted, and easily hauled her up beside him. The princess spotted the next wisp first and pointed to it breathlessly, but Dagur took a moment to take in their surroundings before looking at the little light and the direction it was beckoning them in.
"I think it's leading us towards the inlet," the viking said as they started again, forced to go slower now as the light began to fade in earnest.
Merida looked around them for the first time, finally allowing her gaze to drop from her guide and focus on her surroundings instead. "I think you're right," she agreed. "We're heading back towards home too."
Dagur grunted in agreement, and jumped a little when the last wisp disappeared and was suddenly replaced by a whole trail of them lighting the way forward with their eerie blue glow.
"We must be getting close, come on!" Merida urged, gaining her second wind at the sight.
Dagur looked wary, but picked up his pace to match hers lest he get left behind. It was easier now, thanks to the extra light from the little spirits, but he still held serious reservations about following them in the first place. Sure, things had all worked out for the best last time, but who knew if the strange lights would be so kind again? Maybe it was a trap. Maybe they were-
"Dagur!" Merida yelped as he charged through a patch of alders and nearly stepped right off a cliff. Only her quick grab at the back of his tunic kept him from plummeting two hundred feet into the dark waters below.
"Odin's beard," the viking gasped as he took a sharp step back that carried him right into Merida, sending them to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
The princess fought her way free of him with a string of curses that would have made her mother burst a blood vessel. "Will you watch where you're going, haggis for brains!"
Dagur just lay in the grass for a moment, head still spinning from the near fall. "Sorry," he said and finally pushed himself upright to look at her. Merida was already on her feet, dusting off her skirts.
The princess grimaced and made a little noise of disgust when she realized she'd landed on the rabbit she'd had tied to her belt. The result was a gory streak of blood across her left hip that stretched down to her knee.
"Ugh! Mum'll have my hide for this," she said and shot the rabbit that still hung from her belt an ugly look. It was a little squashed, but still seemed edible otherwise.
Dagur started to laugh when the dying light of day reflecting off of something besides the distant waves caught his attention. He got to his feet, and stared into the setting sun, one hand lifted to shield his narrowed eyes against the light.
Not noticing her friend's distraction, Merida looked about her feet and muttered, "Where'd the wisps go? Did we lose them?" She frowned worriedly at the thought, wondering why they'd abandoned them so easily here at a cliff. Maybe Dagur was right to be worried about their intentions after all...
"I think they've already brought us where we need to go," Dagur said with a frown and pointed out to sea when he had Merida's attention. "See them?" he asked.
Confused, the princess looked to where he pointed. It took a moment, thanks to the light being directly in her eyes, but eventually she was able to make out a massed silhouette that she didn't immediately recognize. "Ships?" she said after a moment, expression quizzical. "Strange looking ones," she added, blinking rapidly against the spots forming in her vision.
"Merida, those are viking ships," Dagur said, voice tight, an expression that was equal measures dread and excitement on his face.
"What?" the princess demanded sharply, startled. "Are you sure?"
Dagur shot her a look so full of skepticism that Merida actually winced. "Oh, no, silly me," the viking drawled. "Of course I can't recognized my own people's ships, I mean, not like I grew up on them or-"
"Alright alright!" the woman exclaimed and threw her hands in the air in surrender. "Shut your gob, I get your point!"
The man harrumphed, but let the subject drop as he turned his attention back to the ships themselves. Though they had been sharply silhouetted a moment before, the boats were beginning to blend with the dark waters of the inlet, making it impossible for him to make out any of the tribal emblems emblazoned across the sails.
Dagur swore quietly to himself and bit down on his lower lip. The Scots had a notoriously bad relationship with the vikings that sailed this far south. He had never come up against any of them, as the alliance Fergus had brokered between the clans had made them too difficult a force to be tempting to raiding parties anymore. Vikings hadn't been seen in force on Scottish shores since before Merida was a child.
So what were they doing here now? Especially with such a small fleet?
The collection of ships no doubt seemed impressive to the princess, but Dagur knew from experience that there was no way such a small force could hope to take on the massed manpower of the allied clans. Were these some new tribe of vikings unfamiliar with the area getting into more than they could handle?
"Dagur, we have to warn my dad," Merida said.
The older man glanced down at her, then nodded his agreement and said "Yeah, come on. If we hurry we'll make it with at least an hour to spare assuming the wind doesn't change in their favor."
Merida nodded, and they started off at a quick pace along the cliff's edge, the lack of foliage there making for faster travel than cutting through the woods.
They were breathless and tired by the time they decided to take a brief rest before cutting away from the water to make it up the steep incline towards the castle. Merida heaved a sigh of relief when she saw its familiar towers soaring above the surrounding tree line.
"What in Thor's name," Dagur muttered to himself as he stared off across the water below them once more. The sun was long gone, but the gibbous moon hanging overhead provided a thin, pale light that reflected off the waves and a mass of...something that was making a bee-line for the shore.
"Can't-can't be the ships, can it?" Merida asked, incredulous as she fought to catch her breath.
"No, wind's all wrong," the viking replied absently, shoulders tense as he stepped up to the cliff and peered down towards the water, the princess joining him a moment after. The mass of shadows moved faster than any ship, and was headed directly towards the face of the rocks.
"Whatever it is, it's gonna crash!" Merida exclaimed, one hand grabbing convulsively at Dagur's arm.
The man didn't respond as the shadows shifted in unison and began to fly up the side of the cliff. Dagur's green eyes went wide when light sparked sharply within the velvet darkness, and the truth hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Mer," he gasped, heart jumping as he tore his eyes from the hauntingly familiar formation speeding up out of the darkness directly at them. "Mer, run!"
"What?" his friend asked, confused as she squinted into the shadows, trying to make out what was heading straight for them. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light…
Dagur grabbed her hand and ran, dragging the princess along after, startling a yelp out of her. "Have you gone mad? What are you-"
Her furious objection was cut off by an inhuman scream that split the night, heralding the end of life as she knew it.
AN: Whoops, cliffhanger! Hope you enjoyed! Make sure to leave a review to let me know! They really do help me keep writing! So, really, it's in your best interest ;D