A/N: It is now 10:30pm. I'm so sorry about the lateness of this chapter. A lot has been happening. And, I'm sorry to say that I have a favor to ask of you all. If you really think that this fic is good, you wouldn't mind passing it on to another Big Four fan, would you? It would help. A lot. Again, I'm sorry that it's late and I'm sorry it's rushed.

Hiccup had been embarrassed and humiliated many times. The feeling wasn't new and, in fact, he had expected to be either one before lunch.

The earliest case of embarrassment and humiliation he had experienced goes back to when he was around six years old. It was summer time and, surprisingly, it was hot that day. All the other children were jumping off a small cliff into the cool waters below, doing back flips as they pushed off the land and into the sky. He, however, tried his hardest to climb down the side. Of course, he didn't get very far before Snotlout saw him. Even though all the other kids teased and bullied him, Snotlout was by far the worst. He began calling the poor child names, throwing rocks at him until he fell into the water. Unfortunately, his shorts he made just for swimming made it to the surface before he did. None of them allowed him to live a day without hearing about the accident.

Eyes kept glancing over at him, some even batting lashes in an attempt to flirt with the young fishbone Viking. He sighed and continued staring at the dresses that were spread out before him.

Since Merida's dress was completely ripped apart, he was sent to go buy a new one. His ears shot up at hearing a child's shriek. Since the camp and the town were so far apart, he had to take Toothless along with him. He had left him by the banks of the river behind a bush, not wanting to trek around town with a dragon. And, by the looks of things, nobody had ever seen nor heard of such a beast.

When a group of children came running past him, laughing and shrieking, he sighed in relief that they hadn't found his friend and continued staring at the clothes. Girls around his age stood not too far away, giggling at the sight of his red face. Flustered and frustrated, he grabbed a random dress, pushed the little money he had into the clerk's hands, and ran off to the river. He stuffed the dress crudely into his satchel as he looked around.

"Toothless." He whispered, calling his friend out of hiding.

With a soft coo, the dragon came out from behind the bush and walked over to his rider. Truthfully, he was angry with the human for not taking him. Even though he was rather large and tall when he stood on his back legs, he wouldn't have hurt anyone unless they tried to hurt him and Hiccup. But, he couldn't stay angry at him for long. He allowed the boy on his back, slowly flying into the sky as not to disturb the townsfolk.

It didn't take long for them to return back to camp. If his human had gone alone, though, then it would have taken him much more than two hours. Seeing the fire pit the two had made for everyone, they landed. Jack glanced over from his spot in a tree.

"Did ya get it?" He asked, sitting up completely. "Is it pretty? Put it on and twirl for us, dear."

Hiccup glared at the fire as he made his way to Merida. "Har har, you're hilarious." He mumbled.

When the two first met, the winter child hardly spoke to him at all aside from stories here and there. It was all new to him. After so long of talking to himself, there was finally someone to listen and it felt strange. Most of the time, he would say something and expect it to go in one ear and out the other. Whenever the brunette answered or retorted back, it made his heart jump and his face pool with color from embarrassment. He still wasn't used to having people talk back even though it's been almost a whole week since the two met.

Merida shook her head, trying her hardest not to crack a smile. She nodded, mumbled a thank you, grabbed the dress, and rushed off into the woods to change. Untying the corset, she stared at the dress that hung on the tree in front of her. It didn't seem all that tight and it was a little darker shade then what she usually wore. After ripping what was left of her dress off, she slipped the new one on; cutting wide slits at the elbows. Her undergarment began poking through the slits as she walked back, just like how her other dresses used to.

As she pushed away stray branches and climbed over fallen logs, she began to wonder about her family. Would her parents actually be looking for her? How angry would her mother be when she got back? More than likely, she would bust a blood vessel from screaming at her. 'How could you do this to me? To everyone!' is how she imagined it would start. Then, it would continue on for hours about how embarrassed her mother was, how her father was worried sick. She groaned as she entered camp, already hearing her mother's voice piercing her ears.

"Are you alright?" Hiccup asked, handing her a stick with fish at the end, already cooked.

She took it and sighed. "Ffine. Jus' thaching about mye mothar."

"Mother?" He asked as he began eating his own dinner.

Merida nodded. "She jus' waounts meh twho dwho whatevar she waounts. Ay down't waount twho get marraid but she jus' won't listan."

It took him a moment before he completely understood what she said. When he did, he pressed his lips together and glanced around, trying not to make eye contact.

He was young when his mother passed, so, he didn't remember much about her. What he did remember were small things. How she would kiss his forehead before he went to sleep, how she would stick up for him when the village complained about the runt. The small memories made him smile and he turned to her.

Jack stared at them for a moment, waiting for someone to break the silence. With a sigh, he leaned into the tree again. "You're so complicated." He mumbled.

Toothless cooed in agreement as he allowed his human to lean against him. It was, indeed, a wonder as to how he could understand the red head. Hiccup sighed and placed another fish on the end of his stick, placing it over the fire. By the time he was done eating, he could tell the eldest teen as asleep. It was confusing the first two days they camped around. There were times the winter child would just lay there and stare at the moon without moving. Then, there were times he moved around trying to get comfortable. The only way he knew that his companion was asleep was when he would hear a soft snoring and see his pale fingers twitch every few minutes. When the snoring was heard over the fire and the hand began to move ever so slightly, he turned to Hiccup turned to her, questions racing through his head.

"Alright." He said. "Who exactly are you? Why did you want to come with us so bad?"

She jumped, slightly taken back. With narrowed eyes, she looked over every freckle on his face, not wanting to look at his eyes. "Why did youu let meh coom in the fierst plaace?" She snapped back.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I did it for Jack." He explained, staring into the fire. "Not many people can see him or hear him. He's been alone for so long. When he realized you knew he was there, I could see how much he wanted to take you with us."

Silently, he looked at her. "I know what it's like to be alone like that."

The two stayed like this, staring into each other's eyes. Merida took note of how the fire flicked in his evergreen orbs, making it look like a forest on fire. Her eyes began trailing down to his lips. She watched as the corner of his mouth twitched in annoyance. His lips were always twitching right before he began a fight with Jack. Taking the sign of anger, she narrowed her eyes and looked down at the fish she had began roasting.

"If youu muist knoow…" She started, biting the corner of her lip as she thought of a way to say it. Saying it bluntly would be the best way. "Ay rain aeway twho get aeway from mye mothar. So ay couldan't get marraid."

And it began. She began explaining everything; the clans, her social status as a princess, the traditions her people had. Whenever she brought up anything about her mother, though, she noticed how depressed he looked. His serious face would drop and his eyes would wonder elsewhere. She began to wonder if she should ask him, but, that would only make things worse. If he was sad just listening about a mother, how would he handle talking about his own? He would nod, show that he was listening, and look around the forest almost as if he was searching. She told him about her strengths. Mainly, her archery skills. At one point, he began doubting she could possibly break an arrow with another and spoke his feelings toward the action. She laughed slightly and pushed him, gaining her a flick of the tail to the head.

Toothless stared at the two and snorted. The more they talked, the closer the two physically got to each other. He had to keep pushing his human closer to his stomach. This girl…if they got too close, she'd take his rider away from him. He had to prevent this.

Merida laughed slightly. "Youu're a Vikang?" She asked. "Look at youu, thowgh!"

Hiccup chuckled. "Yeah, my dad doesn't believe I'm a Viking, either. To tell you the truth, I don't even want to be one."

"Why?"

"Because…we don't really pillage villages like other Vikings. We kill dragons." He said, turning to his partner. He scratched the scale covered beast between the wings, causing the dragon to coo happily.

She stared at the two friends for a moment, knowing very well the bond they must be sharing. Angus and her had been together since she was little; always getting into trouble, always having each other's backs. There was no way should could imagine having to kill him. With a sigh, she looked up at the winter child still fast asleep in his tree and decided to change the subject with a smile on her face.

"So…" She started. "Whean did youu fierst hear about Jack Frost?"

He looked up at the sky, trying to think back. "When I was little, my mom used to tell me fairy tales. About princesses and strong warriors; sometimes they were about trolls and wizards. But there was this one story I remember her reading to me about the spirit that brought winter. My dad doesn't believe in magic like that."

"Well, he shouuld, 'cause it's truue." She said, smiling as she nodded toward the older teen in the tree.

Hiccup nodded and chuckled. At first, he didn't really trust the girl. For all he knew, she had stolen that horse and dress. Even though he didn't completely trust her, he still had faith that she wouldn't take their things and run off like the thief he thought her to be. He yawned and looked up at the sky, watching as the moon stared back. By the way it was positioned, he could tell that the sun would soon start rising. Had they really been up all night? Just as he went to close his eyes, Jack fell out of his tree and landed on his face. Strange.

'Usually he lands on his feet.' Hiccup thought as he watched the teen scramble up.

"Alright!" He said, wagging his finger at each member of the group. "Which one of you shot me out of the tree? It was you, wasn't it; you over grown lizard!"

Toothless growled and began standing at the accusation. Jack continued pointing at him, a smirk growing on his face. "You never liked me! You are lucky it's autumn or I'd pound you with snowballs!"

"Jack, calm down." The brunette said, standing up to get in between the two.

The older one shook his head. "No, I was having a good dream until he decided to shoot one of those plasma balls at me!"

"But, Jack," Merida started. "Taoothlass didn't dwho anaything."

The winter child turned to her, confused. He could understand if the dragon hit him out of the tree, but, nobody else had a good enough reason to wake him up. Just as he went to retort back, he felt something shift down into his hands and even fall to his feet. He looked down and expected to see more string from his torn over cloak falling everywhere. Instead, in his hands were small specks of ash. At least, that's what it looked like at first. When he brought it up closer to his face, he noticed that it glimmered much like the sand that would fly threw the air at night. He narrowed his eyes at the stuff until another shot flew past his head and into the fire pit, putting it out. They all jumped and looked around for the source.

What they did not expect was laughter, slowly becoming louder and making the hairs on their necks stand.

"Look at you all…so jumpy, like mice."

This voice…

Yes…Jack knew this voice. It talked to him before he came out of the ice. At first, the voice scared him. It was laced with venom and promised to keep him forever in the dark. Then, he slowly opened his eyes; the ice breaking as he surfaced. He had expected the owner of the voice to come forward, to reveal himself. To take him away like he had promised and bring him back into the never ending darkness. But, all he saw was the moon. And, he didn't feel as scared anymore.

Hearing the voice once more, though, brought back those feelings of solitude and fright. It scared him to his very core. He even began stepping backwards, reaching for the dragon that hated him so.

It laughed once more. "Do you think that beast would protect you? Against me?"

Finally, a figure appeared from the shadows. His golden eyes pierced threw their own and made chills slide up their spins. Toothless even seemed a bit frightened of the man, but, still wrapped his tail around the three, growling lowly.

When he was a child, Hiccup was afraid of many things. He was afraid of heights, dragons, his uncle, falling. But mostly, the dark. He spent many nights staring at the dark corner of his room as a young boy, waiting for those same golden orbs to come out and that same laughter to fill the air. His heart dropped into his stomach as his mind began searching for the correct name of the shadowy figure.

"The bogeyman…"

To any adult; the sound of the name would make them fall over laughing. To a child, it was terrifying and, to some groups of friends, taboo to even say it. This man brought the brunette many nightmares and created new fears from them. He could only imagine what he could do to them at that moment.

His eyes twinkled as he glanced over at the dragon rider, his shark teeth showing as he smirked. "Why so formal? Or do you always use titles like that?"

Lifting his hand, he created a small arrow out of the black sand. He looked it over, obviously proud of his creation. "Why don't we go on a name to name basis, eh, Hiccup?"

The look on the poor boy's face made him chuckle. "You may call me Pitch. And I think your trip has gone on far too long." He flicked his hand, sending the arrow toward the brunette's head.

Toothless swatted it away with his tail, roaring at the shadow man as his friend and the girl climbed on his back. Jack whispered to the wind before jumping into the air, avoiding the arrows of black sand that were shot his way.

Merida threw her arms around Hiccup's waist, bracing herself as they launched into the air. The arrows continued to fire and only made her feel helpless. If only she had her bow and her arrows, she could fight off the man. She looked around, looking for anything that she could throw down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a knife in Hiccup's boot. She grabbed it and tossed it, moving out of the way just in time to avoid another attack. The rider let out a 'hey' at the feel of the blade leaving his boot and turned around. As the sun came up, it glimmered as it flew down, hitting something in the darkness of the woods. He sighed and turned back around to focus on the sky ahead, relieved that the attacks had stopped.

"Are you alright?" He whispered to the princess.

She nodded and cupped her hands over her mouth. "Jack! Arre youu aleight!?" She screamed.

The winter child paused and waited until they were under him to answer. "I can't understand you!"

"She asked if you were alright!" Hiccup screamed up at his companion.

He shrugged, looking over everything. "I think so!"

Jack turned back to see if they were being fallowed. Somehow, he could still feel those eyes digging into him, ripping him apart. He had heard of this 'bogeyman' from eavesdropping on children's conversations. From what he had heard, this man haunted them in the night, making their worst nightmares appear in their dreams. Some of the children developed fears from them. One he knew was scared of being in the forest. Another, sadly, was scared of the snow.

He bit his lip as he looked around. Nothing but trees for miles. Wait. That wasn't a tree. His heart began to speed up as he grinned, pointing down to the small cove. If he hadn't had been looking, they would have missed it completely.

"There it is!" He shouted.

As they landed, he took in his surroundings. Yes, there was the small waterfall. And the tree he fought with when he first landed. And there, right in the center of it all was her tower. Some of the color had faded from the shingles and flower pots now lay on the sill where the small doors led in. Moss and ivy climbed up the sides of the fixture, showing just how much time had really passed. He smiled and laughed, jumping around. It wasn't too long before his smile dropped and his laughter went away. A dark feeling began to encase his chest and tighten his stomach, making it turn every which way. What if Pitch had gotten to her? His eyes went wide as he turned to the other three.

Hiccup placed his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow. "She's up there?" He asked, Toothless gawking at the tower behind him.

"Yeah." Jack said nodding. "I need one of you to go up there and talk her down, though. She can't see me." He stared at the three for a moment before pointing to Merida. "I suggest you."

"Me?!" She screamed, her voice clear . "Why me?!"

"Well, because you're a woman, she's a woman. She'll trust you more. And, you don't have a dragon breathing down your neck."

Merida glared at him and crossed her arms. "Ay thaink Hiccop should gow."

The brunette bit his lip and looked up at the tower. While the other two began to argue, he walked over to the strange house, slipping his hand into a crack in the stone wall. His friend let out a noise of concern. He turned to him slightly and smiled, beginning his climb. Slowly, his mind began to travel back into his memory. What did he know about this girl? Her hair was blonde, she walked around barefoot, and her name was Rapunzel. Now…how was he going to convince her to come down? With a sigh, he heaved the rest of his body up onto the sill. He looked inside and almost jumped out. Golden hair laid across the floor, seeming to have no end. His eyes followed the strands slowly until he was staring at a pair of emerald eyes. They were wide and frightened, and, for a moment, he thought they were his own. That is, until, the teenaged girl who owned the eyes shrieked, quickly dropping the pie she had just taken out of the oven.

"Who are you?!" She demanded, grabbing her frying pan.

He stepped inside the overly clean tower, putting his hands up. "My name is Hiccup, I'm a friend!"

"No you're not!" She hissed, narrowing her eyes. "You've come to take my hair!"

He shook his head and shuffled to the side, watching as she tried to circle him from a distance. Take her hair? Was this girl insane? He pressed his back up against the wall, his eyes glancing down to see a small chameleon already on his leg, trying it's hardest to bite into him.

'Come on, there has to be something! Something!' He thought. 'Alright, what did Jack say? Glowing hair, special song, ah! That's it!'

He looked back up at the girl, his hands still in the air. "I know how the frost got on the windows!" As soon as the words left his lips, he turned away and braced himself for the worst.

Strangely, there was silence. No footsteps, no sound of the pan hitting his face. Nothing. He opened his eyes and glanced over at her, slightly surprised. Her eyes were wide and her face softened. She lowered the frying pan, tilting her head. "How do you know about that?"

Hiccup swallowed hard, holding out his hand. "I'm a friend. I've come to take you outside."

Rapunzel stared at his extended hand. How could he have known about the frost on the windows? Nobody else knew but her and possibly her mother. But, her mother was so against leaving the tower, there was no way she could have brought him up here. She stared at the boy's mouth. No fangs. She looked at the boy's hands. No claws. And, he didn't seem like he wanted to hurt her. In fact, he looked scared of her.

She bit her lip and hesitantly reached for his hand.

A/N: What the hell is Merida saying? "Fine. Just thinking about my mother." "She just wants me to do whatever she wants. I don't want to get married but she just won't listen." "Why did you let me come in the first place?" "If you must know...I ran away to get away from my mother. So I couldn't get married." - ADAM

Reviews = Motivation = Chapters

Again, sorry it's rushed. I'm gonna sleep now.