It is late in the afternoon and the sun is almost disappearing into the horizon. Toothless goes over and nudges Merida, making her giggle.
"He really likes you." Hiccup remarks.
She turns to him with a big smile.
"Can ah ride 'im?"
He scratches his head, "Um, regarding that, Toothless here cannot fly on his own. His artificial tail needs to be controlled. So, if you want to ride him-"
"Ah'd have tae ride wi'h ye!" she cuts him off, "Tha's a'right."
She tickles its chin and it responds with low purrs. Angus seems to get jealous and he starts nudging her from behind. She caresses him in return. Hiccup chuckles softly.
"Shouldn't your parents be looking for you by now... Merida?"
"Ugh! A search parteh es prob'ly lookin' fer meh by now..." she mumbles, hoping he wouldn't hear.
"Uh... a search party?! Woah, you must be someone important here then."
She shrugs nonchalantly and continues petting Toothless. The viking watches her for a moment until he suddenly realizes who she was.
"W-wait... Y-you're the princess!" he gasps and hastily bows to the ground before her.
She sighs and rolls her eyes, "Och, please! Get up!"
"But you're the princess! Why didn't you tell me? It's not everyday I meet someone of your ranking! I should be calling you Your Highness or milady!" he exclaims, not rising from his position.
"Do naet call meh milady!" she blurts out, "An' get up, now!"
"Okay, okay... as Your Highness commands!" he says, sitting up with hands held up in mock surrender.
She shoots him a deathly glare. If only looks could kill, he'd be dead right on the spot.
"Uh... that was wrong..."
A toothy yet nervous grin shows on his face and for some reason, she calms down. She turns back to the dragon and he lets out a sigh of relief, watching her from the corner of his eye as the two creatures continue to frolic around her. Seeing them interact makes the viking glad, especially at the thought of how easily she won the dragon's trust. After a while of fondly watching them, Hiccup goes over to Toothless and hoists himself on. He holds out a hand to Merida, who stands up next to them with a hesitant look forming on her face.
"Are ye sure et's safe?"
"Of course, I am." he smiles.
The night fury looks back at her with a convincing tooth-less smile. She takes a deep breath before taking his hand and hoisting herself onto the dragon's back. As she tries to sit comfortably, she stops short, realizing something she had to do... once they fly. An awkward feeling suddenly creeps up on her. She then clears her mind and tries to relax. She asked for this anyway, she reckons.
"Uh, princess, you're going to have to-"
He gets cut off as she does what he was about to say - to hold on to him. She is now holding on to his shoulders with both hands. Though he cannot feel the firmness of her grip through his armor, he can feel the tension coming from her. He too, tenses up and feels a little awkward, but nevertheless, it has to be done. He changes the mode of his prosthesis and hooks himself on.
"Okay, bud. We're ready."
With a mighty beat of its wings, the dragon takes off into the air, gaining speed as they go higher. The redhead shrieks as they are lifted off the ground. She shuts her eyes and grips tighter on Hiccup's shoulders like her life depends on it, as it would somehow be on this case. Her ears pop from the pressure building up in the atmosphere. Without looking down, she can sense that they are already way too far from land. Soon enough, Toothless reaches the clouds and he starts to glide slowly.
"Are you alright there?" asks the viking, looking back at the princess.
As Merida feels the gentle and steady blowing of the wind, she slowly opens her eyes. She gasps as she sees the entire kingdom of Dun Broch, along with a majestic view of the fields and forests that surround it. She has always been out in these forests, but this is her first flying experience, and everything looks so different from above.
"Et's... breathtakin'!"
Her eyes widen in awe as they go further into the sky, soaring and gliding through the breeze. She flips her hair as it sways with the wind, enjoying the feeling. Her light blue dress goes flowing behind her in an unsteady motion but she doesn't care, the rush of excitement getting the better of her. They pass through more layers of clouds and the redhead cannot help but playfully reach out for them. Both the dragon and its rider smile gladly at the princess' amusement. As they push further and cross the open sea, the night fury starts to fly low. Low enough, they are able to smell the ocean breeze and the coolness it brings. Toothless takes a short side glide, dipping part of his wing into the sea. The princess then leans down and reaches out for the water. She waves her hand about and unintentionally splashes the viking with some of it. He looks back at her and she giggles lightly, causing him to smile and blush a bit. They fly a little faster reaching for the hills on the land up ahead until they see an amazing view of the setting sun.
"That's one amazing sunset, right, bud?"
The night fury growls lightly in affirmation as they pause for a moment, flying in place to admire the beauty of the view.
"And that's not even all of it!"
"Wha' do ye mean?"
"I'll show you."
And they continue to soar through the sky until it is dark. Dark enough, stars twinkle above them like sparkling diamonds. Her eyes soften at the sight. A moment later, they reach the spot where a magnificent view of the Aurora Borealis lights up the night sky. It seems as though the viking knew exactly where and when these sky highlights are to be found.
"Th' northern lights!" she gasps, "Et's beautiful... Amazin'!"
The dragon growls lightly, wanting to be noticed.
"Yer amazin' too, Toothless." she remarks, caressing his side.
The creature happily lets out a purr at her touch. Soon enough, on their way back, they once again see the kingdom, which is now glistening with night lights. It leaves the princess marveling at the experience. And after a few more moments, they land back on the cliff. Hiccup dismounts himself and helps Merida down.
She turns to him with a soft smile, "Ah've had a great time. Thank ye, Hiccup."
He gladly returns the smile. Angus neighs as he runs toward his owner. As she is about to hoist herself on the horse, the viking scratches the back of his head and clears his throat, seeming to get her attention.
"So, I guess... this is goodbye?"
She looks back at him and their eyes meet.
"Maybe..." she almost sounds like whispering.
Toothless whimpers lightly and looks intently at her with drooping ears. She cannot help but let out a breathless chuckle. She too has become fond of the creature, and as if on cue, a thought strikes her mind.
"Maybe... ye can visit meh again sometime." she says.
The dragon's ears perk up, showing its signature tooth-less smile and turning to its rider, who equally had a bright expression on his face. The redhead giggles lightly at this.
"Um, so... tomorrow?" he asks stickily.
She hoists herself onto the horse.
"Tae'morrow then... viking!" she replies with a smirk.
She pulls on the reins and the horse neighs, standing up on its hind legs before galloping away. The viking turns to their direction and watches the princess dash through the forest until she is completely out of sight, leaving him in a fit of daze. His reptilian friend then nudges him from behind.
"What?!" he huffs.
It growls happily at him and he knows that he cannot hide the sense of excitement that is rushing through him.