Chapter 7: Broken
Merida, dressed in her dark blue dress, sighed as she sat upon Angus' back, looking down at the island of Berk stretching out below her. Her bow was looped around her shoulders, she finally having gotten around to recovering it after that first horrible day on Berk, thankful that no one had taken it from the arena floor. The horse and rider currently stood on one of the island's highest, rocky cliffs, the forest, valleys and crags all visible to her. It had been weeks since she had first arrived on the island and she had done little other than explore the land. Not that it was truly by choice, the Vikings had given her nothing to do in the village and seemed to prefer that she be in the area as little as possible, an unspoken request she was more than happy to oblige. It's not like she really wanted to do any work for the Vikings anyway, though she'd be lying if she said that the work done at the smithy didn't interest her to some degree.
Merida was happy to be out of the village also because it meant she didn't have to be around the Vikings. Stoick seemed to resent the fact she was there at all, almost as if Merida staying in his home hadn't been his idea in the first place. Stoick's attitude towards Merida was practically welcoming however in comparison to the outright hostility she received from the teenagers, especially Astrid, who seemed to loathe her entire existence. Merida had to admit though that Hiccup seemed to be interested in getting to know her. Or at least, he made it seem like he was, as Merida was fairly certain he was just putting on a show for her, that he had a somewhat better grasp of diplomacy than his father and new that playing nice with her would be better for both of their peoples, even though it made him seem two-faced to her.
Merida sighed again as she looked over the wilderness that covered most of the island which she had been exploring for the majority of her time there. Merida was shocked to discover that the island's forests and cliffs were actually quite beautiful in spite of how the island looked on the outside. The forest was made of towering trees, mostly of spruces and other evergreens that had adapted to the bitterly cold northern winters. The flora was rounded out by ferns and mosses that covered the forest floor. A few small lakes and ponds made from collected rainfall and thawed snow dotted the landscape, rolling down the hills and cliffs to form streams and even small rivers that cut across the forest on their way back into the ocean, pouring over the steep sides of the island in frankly beautiful waterfalls. Dominating the forest were numerous species of birds and small creatures such as squirrels, mice and rabbits, their numbers strong thanks to the lack of any natural predators existing on the island save for eagles, owls and the Vikings themselves.
The cliffs, while lacking in the life that dominated the forests, were still rather breathtaking, the erosion of the sea, the rivers and the weather creating rock formations that were a sight to behold. Also, from the cliffs Merida could see the rocks and small islands that surrounded Berk almost like a protective ring. Some were sharp rocks jutting out of the sea like teeth, while others were leaning towers of stone that stood almost as tall as Berk itself. She even caught sight of some massive stones that created arches over the crashing waves.
Merida and Angus currently stood on one of the highest points of the island, near the center where the continually rising land reached its point. Merida and Angus had worked their way up the rising earth that surrounded the cliff throughout the afternoon and were currently taking a break, Angus deciding to graze a little on the coarse grass that grew through the hard earth. The horse seemed to have been enjoying his time exploring the island with Merida, though Berk was slightly too confined for him to go galloping across the countryside, which probably explained why he seemed to be the only horse on the island.
Glancing to the west, Merida saw that the sun was beginning to set beneath the horizon, the blue of the sky transforming into purples and oranges, the light of the stars beginning to poke through in the east. Sighing, she turned her eyes back in the direction of the village, realizing it had come time to head back so she and Angus wouldn't be stumbling around in the dark.
"Come on," Merida said, catching Angus' attention, "It's time tae head back."
The horse snorted as he turned and began clomping down the steep hill to the side of the cliff before trotting through the forest. As the horse and rider reluctantly made their way through the woods, twilight fell over the island, the stars and the moon shining while the last light from the sun faded as they reached the outskirts of the village, close to Stoick, Hiccup and, she supposed, her home.
As Merida slid from Angus' back and began to lead him over to his stable, a screeching sound cut through the night and straight to her heart. Her icy blue eyes went wide as she whipped her head towards the center of the village, her red hair flying wildly around her as she did. A warning horn sounded from one of the watch towers and she saw beacons being lit and raised into the night sky. Her blood ran cold as she hoped against hope that this wasn't what she thought it was.
"DRAGONS!" someone called from village as monstrous screams cut through the air and fire began raining from the sky.
"Angus!" she cried, whirling around to face the horse, who stared at her with wide, fearful brown eyes, "Ye have tae get out o' th' village! Back intae th' forest, it will be safer fer ye there!"
The horse shook his head roughly, clearly afraid but not willing to leave the princesses side.
"Ah'm nae arguin' with ye Angus!" Merida shouted before running to the horse's other side and slapped his rear end, urging the horse to bolt back into the woods. Angus took the time to glance back at Merida as he ran, seeing her urging him on.
"Gae!" Merida screamed as the horse disappeared into the dark woods, "GAE!"
As she did, there suddenly came a loud thud from behind her and she felt the earth shake slightly beneath her feet. Merida froze in place, swallowing loudly as she heard something moving behind her. Slowly, Merida turned around, dreading what she would find. Standing behind her was clearly a dragon standing roughly twice her height and possessing at least four times her mass. It was mostly light blue in color, its scales glistening in the moonlight, while those on its belly faded into white. She noticed that it had a bird-like physique, with two backward jointed legs and folded wings at its side, its long tail balancing out its large head. Its head was mostly dominated by its large, lizard-like snout, the mouth filled with curved, razor sharp teeth that stuck out past its lips. Its large nostrils sniffed at the air as it glanced around with yellow and black, eyes with slit pupils that flanked its snout. From the end of its snout grew a long horn that curved back towards its head while a frill of yellow spikes grew from the base of its skull. A row of yellow spines grew down its back, while its blue and yellow striped tail was completely covered in them. Its wings were bat-like, the membrane colored yellow while the boney structures were blue. On each wing, a small, finger-like, yellow claw grew from the lower joint. Four yellow claws grew from its feet, spread out along each foot to keep the dragon's balance, while a similarly color spur grew from the back of each foot.
Merida had only seen a few dragons in her life, the mighty beasts seemingly disliking the Highlands. She recalled one attacking Castle Dunbroch when she was younger, and had seen a handful flying over the castle. She even encountered a couple while exploring the wilderness around her home, though it was always either from afar or she snuck away before the dragon caught wind of her. Her mother taught her about them as part of her studies, and her father always came back with stories when he was called away to help protect a part of the kingdom from a particularly vicious one or group of dragons. So as the beast eyed her, its head cocked to the side to study her, Merida knew exactly what it was the stood before her.
"Nadder," Merida whispered to herself, almost as if she had to tell herself the answer. As she said that, the Nadder roared at her, as if her saying its name enraged it. Merida screamed in fright as the Nadder lunged at her, forcing her to roll out of the way. Rolling to her feet, Merida quickly unslung her bow from her shoulders and drew an arrow. She spun around to face the Nadder, notching the arrow and pulling it back, aiming it right at the dragon.
The Nadder hissed as it turned to face Merida again. As it did, the Nadder opened its massive mouth wide, a glow appearing in the back of its throat. Merida's eyes widened in surprise as she realized what the Nadder was doing. As the fire grew in the Nadder's throat, Merida loosed her arrow, sending it flying right into the Nadder's gaping maw, the missile imbedding itself into the top of the dragon's mouth. The Nadder screeched in pain as it lifted its head up, shooting fire into the night sky.
Merida quickly notched another arrow, backing away from the Nadder and watching in fear and awe as the flames cut off. Turning back to Merida, the Nadder hissed angrily at her, flicking its tongue against the arrow in its mouth, snapping the shaft and sending it flipping through the air in a shower of blood and saliva before it came rolling to a stop at Merida's feet. Merida looked at it in surprise before aiming her bow at the Nadder again. The Nadder screeched at her in response and whipped its tale at her, sending a shower of spines flying at her. Letting out a yelp of surprise, Merida dove to the ground, avoiding the spines that impacted the ground around her.
Taking advantage of Merida being forced to the ground, the Nadder rushed at her, its jaw wide and its wings spread threateningly. Merida gasped in surprise as she tried to scramble to her feet but couldn't get away before the Nadder raised one of its clawed feet to slash her open. Before it could though, something tackled into the now unbalanced Nadder, sending the dragon tumbling to the ground. The Nadder screeched in surprise and pain as it rolled across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris as it flapped its wings angrily.
As the Nadder tried to right itself, Merida looked to her savior, finding Stoick looming over her, his eyes trained on the Nadder before glancing at her.
"On yer feet, girl," he ordered, causing Merida to push herself to her feet, and dust herself off as the Nadder managed to pick itself up as well.
"Get to the smithy," Stoick told Merida as the Viking chief turned to face the Nadder which hissed at him angrily, "You'll be safer there."
"Whit?" Merida asked in confusion, "How will Ah be safer there?"
"It's where I keep my son, isn't it!?" he asked hurriedly as the Nadder began to charge at him, "Now go!"
Grunting in frustration, Merida turned around and slung her bow back over her shoulders as she ran while the Nadder slammed into Stoick, who dugs his feet in a met the charge head on, wrapping his arms around the dragon's snout and beginning to wrestling with it, being careful to not gore himself on the beast's horn.
As Stoick fought with the Nadder, Merida ran down the hill towards the village's center. Everyone was out, either fighting with the swooping dragons or trying to douse the flames that sought to consume buildings throughout the village. As she ran through the chaotic streets, she saw Snotlout, Astrid and their group of friends helping put out a fire on the roof of one of the houses. Turning away, she dodged out of the way of a man fighting with smaller dragon before ducking around another corner, bringing the smithy into sight.
Running up to the door, Merida flung herself against it, slamming the door open and sending the princess stumbling into the smithy, loudly knocking over a couple of weapons before catching herself on a wooden chest.
"Merida?" she heard Hiccup say, causing her to turn to look around the room. It was set up much like the smithy that was in the castle back home. In one corner sat a bench that seemed to be a desk used for designing, covered in scratch of parchment and charcoal pencils. In another corner sat a pair of workbenches covered in tools and clamps. The furnace and billows occupied a third corner, the coals burning hotly within the metal confines while the fourth corner had a large window that opened to the outside, a desk strew with weapons in front of it while a few racks of weapons hung from the wall on either side. At the center of the room sat a black anvil next to a large bucket of water. Hiccup stood at the anvil, working on a sword, an apron on over his clothes, his vest hanging on a peg on the wall. Nearby, Gobber stood at the bench by the window. They both wore matching surprised expressions as Merida picked herself up and brushed off her dress.
"Whit?" she asked irritatedly, eyeing them both with an annoyed expression, "Ye act like ye've ne'er seen me afore."
"No! No, it's not that," Hiccup replied hurriedly, dropping the hammer he had been holding and the sword he was working on before holding them up defensively, "It's just that I've never seen you, you know, in here before."
"Aye," Gobber agreed, as he handed a passing Viking a battleaxe, "Certainly didnae expect ye tae come flyin' intae ma shop like 'at. Most people knock, ye know."
"Well, in case ye haenae noticed, there's a dragon attack happenin' outside!" Merida exclaimed, quickly slamming the door closed, "Sae Ah was in a bit o' a hurry."
"That's right, there hasnae been a dragon attack since ye came here, has there?" Gobber stated with a nod.
"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked, concern written on his face.
"Aye, Ah'm fine," Merida replied dismissively, looking around the shop, "Ah ran intae a Nadder near ye…the house. Yer da's takin' care o' it."
"Wait, you ran into a Nadder?" Hiccup asked, "Did it attack you?"
"O' course, it's a dragon isnae it?" Merida replied, shooting a confused and slightly irritated glance at him.
"How did you get away?" Hiccup questioned.
"Ah fought it aff until yer da showed up," Merida replied offhandedly.
"You fought off a Nadder!?" Hiccup exclaimed, surprised while Gobber looked at her with an impressed expression.
"Aye, shot it in th' mouth when it tried tae breathe fire at me," Merida said with a shrug, "Nae big deal really. It almost got me with those spines o' its, but yer da showed up an' started fighting it. Guess Ah owe him."
"You shot a Nadder in the mouth!?" Hiccup questioned, shocked while Gobber let out an impressed whistle.
"Ah got tae say, lass, 'at's pretty impressive fer someone without any dragon trainin'," Gobber stated.
"Thanks, Ah guess," Merida replied with another shrug as she continued to look around the smithy. Hiccup brushed a hand through his hair as Gobber chuckled while shaking his head incredulously.
"Well, looks like they might be leavin'," Gobber stated as he looked out of the window up at the sky as the screeching of dragons, shouts of Vikings and the clashing of metal against scales began to fade.
"Already?" Merida asked, confused, causing Gobber and Hiccup to shoot her confused looks of their own, "Nae 'at Ah'm complainin' or anythin', just surprised. Figured these attacks lasted longer."
"Nae usually," Gobber replied, "Th' point o' these attacks is tae raid our food supplies an' livestock. The dragons we actually end up fightin' are providin' cover fer th' others. Once th' raid is done, th' others make a break fer it themselves. Ah'm surprised though, Ah haenae heard anythin' about th'…"
Gobber trailed off as his ears pricked up. Listening as well, Merida could hear what sounded like a high-pitched whistle, sounding similar to wind being sucked through a narrow hole. His eyes widening in surprise, Gobber looked up, his jaw going slack in shock before whirling around to look at Merida and Hiccup, who looked at him with a mixture of confusion and worry.
"Doon!" Gobber shouted, turning fully from the window, "Get doon!"
Gobber's warning was followed by the sound of something whistling through the air at high speeds. Gober quickly dove to the ground as Hiccup spun around and grabbed Merida by the shoulders before pulling her down to the ground with him on top of her. A split second later, something slammed into the ground as there was a flash of purplish light and a blast of heat from outside the smithy accompanied by a deafening boom. After a moment, there was silence as smoke began to pour into the smithy from outside.
"Hiccup," Merida stated, looking up at the smithy's ceiling with an irritated expression as Hiccup lay on her.
"Yeah?" Hiccup asked.
"Ah think ye can get aff me now," she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Right!" Hiccup said quickly, springing up to his knees and holding his hands up and away from her, a blush completely covering his face, "Right, sorry."
"Whit was 'at?" Merida asked, picking herself up and brushing herself off.
"'At was a Night Fury," Gobber replied, grabbing the sill of the large window and pulling himself to his feet.
"Whit's a Night Fury?" Merida asked, as she moved over to the window, sucking in her breath as she looked outside. The building across the street from the smithy had been completely demolished, transformed into a smoking crater surrounded by rubble. The road before them had been scorched by intense heat and leaning out of the window, Merida could see that the walls of the smithy had been blackened as well. Flames burnt here and there amongst the destruction and the stench of sulfur filled the air.
"Be happy ya didnae know afore," Gobber replied as he reached up and closed the window, "Because th' Night Fury is th' fiercest dragon ye cud ever fear tae face this side o' th' Red Death."
Merida nodded, still in shock after witnessing such devastation.
"Ye two should probably be headin' back home," Gobber instructed them, "Th' worst is over, nothin' but cleanup tae dae."
"Do you think they could use my help?" Hiccup asked as he took off his apron and hung it up on a peg.
"Er nae Hiccup, th' work 'at needs doin' requires heavy liftin' 'at ye're nae really," Gobber paused as quickly looked Hiccup over, "equipped fer. Better tae show th' lady home an' be here bright an' early tomorrow. Ah'm sure there are plenty o' things 'at are goin' tae need fixin'."
"Okay," Hiccup sighed with disappointment as he pulled his vest off its peg and put it on, "Good night Gobber."
"Good night Hiccup," Gobber replied with a small smile before turning his eyes to Merida, "An' a good night tae ye too, princess."
"And tae ye as well, um, Godder," Merida stated, caught off guard by Gobber's friendliness.
"It's Gobber," Hiccup whispered to Merida as he walked over to her side.
"Och, right Gobber," Merida quickly corrected as she and Hiccup exited the smithy, "Sorry aboot 'at."
With that, Merida and Hiccup left the smithy, the two teens making their way up the hill towards the house. They were awkwardly silent for a few minutes, the only sound between them being the crunching of their feet against the dirt road.
"Thanks, Ah guess," Merida spoke up suddenly, startling Hiccup.
"Sure, don't mention it," Hiccup replied, smirking and waving his hand dismissively at her, before a look of confusion crossed his face as he looked at her, "Thanks for what?"
"Fer correctin' me back there," Merida explained, not meeting Hiccup's gaze, "An' Ah guess fer knockin' me tae th' ground when th' Night Fury attacked.
"Oh yeah," Hiccup said, blushing and scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment, "Like I said, don't mention it."
The two teens walked in silence for a few moments before Merida spoke up again.
"Sae why were ye in th' smithy?" she asked, glancing at him and raising a questioning eyebrow.
"I kind of work there," Hiccup answered with a shrug.
"Work there?" Merida questioned, confused.
"Um yeah," Hiccup replied, scratching the back of his neck again, "I'm kind of Gobber's apprentice."
"Why is th' son o' th' village chief workin' as a blacksmith's apprentice?" Merida inquired, the confused look still on her face.
"It's one of the few things that I'm actually somewhat adequate at," Hiccup admitted with a sigh, "Plus it keeps me out of trouble, like my dad wants."
"'At's basically whit yer father said when he told me tae gae there earlier," Merida stated.
"Yeah, he would say something like that, wouldn't he?" Hiccup griped, sighing again.
"Ye seemed tae be doin' an okay job," Merida stated, glancing at him again, causing Hiccup to look at her with a raised eyebrow, to which she responded with a shrug as she looked at the ground.
"Gobber's a pretty good teacher," Hiccup explained.
"If ye say sae," Merida stated, the slight tone in her voice making it sound like she disagreed.
As the two neared the house, Merida happened to glance at the stable behind the house, happy to see it intact before realization struck her.
"Oh nae, Angus!" she exclaimed, a panicked look crossing her face.
"The horse?" Hiccup asked in confusion, startled again by Merida suddenly speaking up, "What about him?"
"When th' dragon attack started, Ah forced him tae run intae th' woods where he wud be safe," Merida explained as she turned to Hiccup, "Ah hae tae gae find him tae make sure he's nae hurt."
"I'm sure he's fine," Hiccup tried to reassure her, "He's the biggest animal on this island when the dragons aren't around and you made the right call, they don't really ever seem to go into the woods, not enough room for them."
"Still, Ah hae tae gae find him," Merida said as she began to rush towards the forest, Hiccup running after her, trying to keep up with the fleet-footed princess.
"I'll come too," Hiccup huffed behind her.
"If ye insist," Merida sighed, slowing down to allow Hiccup to catch up with her, "We'll cover more ground if we split up."
"Er, right," Hiccup replied, "What should I do if find him?"
"Jist start leadin' him back while callin' ma name," Merida answered, "He cudnae hae gone far."
With that, Merida veered off to the left in her search for Angus, causing Hiccup to sigh as she disappeared into the brush.
"You know," he said to himself sarcastically, "I'm starting to get the feeling that she's trying to avoid me."
As Hiccup began his search for the horse, Merida scanned the dark woods for Angus.
"Angus!" she called, trying to get the Clydesdale's attention, "Angus, where are ye!?"
"Well, well, well," a voice said from behind her, causing Merida to spin around in surprise as Astrid emerged from the shadows, "Look who's wandering around the woods in the middle of the night."
Meanwhile,
As Hiccup wandered around the forest, he happened upon a clearing, dominated by a peaceful glade. A whole garden's worth of flowers grew there, colored midnight blue, their stems seemingly pointed to the moon hanging over head. As Hiccup scanned the glade, he managed to make out the large shape of Angus in the pale moonlight.
"Angus!" he called as he jogged over to the horse, causing its ears to prick up and its head to lift to look in Hiccup's direction, "There you are."
Stopping next to the horse as it turned to face him, Hiccup took the time to marvel at just how big Angus really was compared to him, towering over the Viking as the Clydesdale observed him with its brown eyes.
"Hey there big fella," Hiccup greeted, suddenly very nervous, "Merida's been looking for you."
Angus seemed to recognize the name as he leaned forward and began to sniff Hiccup with his large nose.
"Hey, easy there, big guy," Hiccup said cautiously, "I'm just trying to help. Please don't like eat me or whatever it is that horses do to people they don't like."
Angus sniffed Hiccup for a few more moments before whinny quietly and nuzzling the teen with his snout.
"Well, I guess that means you like me," Hiccup stated with relief, reaching out and patting Angus on the head, "Now come on, I'm sure Merida will be even more happy to see you."
Noticing the reins hanging from Angus, Hiccup slowly reached out and took them into his hand, smiling when the horse offered no resistance. Hiccup turned to begin leading Angus out of the glade and back towards the village, but stopped as the dark blue flowers caught his eye again.
"Girls like flowers, right?" Hiccup asked Angus, shooting a questioning glance at the horse, "Do you think Merida would like these?"
Angus' snort offered very little in reply.
"Well, you're no help," Hiccup sighed, a smirk on his face as he playfully rolled his eyes at the horse while turning back to the flowers. Leaning down, he picked one of them before bringing it back up to his face for a closer examination.
"Yeah, I think she'll like these," Hiccup stated before he went about picking more of the flowers, a smile on his face, "I think I'll need all the help I can find to get on her good side."
Meanwhile,
"Whit dae ye want, Astrid?" Merida asked cautiously, taking a step away from the Viking girl.
"Just wanted to chat," Astrid replied with a shrug, "You've been doing a pretty good job of avoiding me since the last time we got to talk."
"'At's because th' last time we talked ye tried tae choke me," Merida pointed out, her icy blue eyes narrowing in anger.
"Actually, I was choking you," Astrid said darkly, all sense of false cordiality dropping from her face, "And I would have done a lot worse to you if Gobber hadn't shown up."
"Whit is yer problem with me?" Merida demanded, her anger boiling over, "Whit did Ah ever dae tae ye?"
"It's not what you did personally," Astrid explained, her blue eyes narrowing, "It's what your people did."
"An' whit, pray tell, did ma people dae?" Merida questioned.
"They killed my father," Astrid growled, taking a step towards Merida.
"Whit?" Merida asked, surprised.
"You know all those Vikings your people fought in our war? The ones they were so happy to kill?" Astrid questioned angrily, "One of them was my father!"
"Am Ah supposed tae be sorry fer 'at?" Merida asked, a look of disgust growing on her face, "Last time Ah checked, it was th' Vikings who started 'at war by invading th' Highlands. We were defendin' our homes from ye savages!"
"We had a famine that year!" Astrid shouted back, "Our people were literally starving to death!"
"Sae 'at makes it okay tae steal from us!?" Merida yelled, her hands clenched into fists, "'At makes it okay tae pillage our land, kill our people an' take whit was rightfully ours!? Ah bet whoever killed yer father was stoppin' him from committin' some heinous crime, like murderin' a child or rapin' a woman. Ah'm sure yer mother wud hae been proud if he came home tae tell ye 'at story!"
"You shut your damned mouth!" Astrid screamed as she suddenly reached for her belt and pulled out a knife, the blade flashing in the moonlight. Merida unslung her bow just as quickly, notching an arrow and pointing it at the other girl before she could take another step towards her.
"Stay back!" Merida threatened, the bowstring taut in her fingers.
"I remember you're pretty good with that bow," Astrid observed, indicating to the weapon with the blade of her knife, "Almost killed that worthless betrothed of yours with it that first day you were here. If I was far away, you'd have me dead to rights."
Astrid suddenly lashed out, grabbing the bow with her free hand and yanking it to the side, causing the arrow to fly wide as Merida released it, the missile burying itself in a nearby tree.
"Too bad I'm not far away," Astrid sneered before kneeing Merida in the stomach, wrenching the bow from the princesses grasp as the Highlander doubled over in pain. Reaching down, Astrid grabbed a handful of Merida's hair before yanking on it and tossing the other girl to the side, sending the redhead rolling through the brush.
"This is a nice bow," Astrid commented as she looked over the weapon, holding it in both hands and running her thumbs over the wood before turning her dark blue eyes back to Merida, "I'm guessing your father gave this to you."
Merida said nothing as she pushed herself to her hands and knees, watching helplessly as Astrid looked her directly in the eyes. Astrid's eyes bore into Merida's for a moment, before she lifted her knee up and quickly brought the bow down on it, snapping it cleanly in half with a loud crack.
"Oops," Astrid said dispassionately before tossing the remains of the weapon right in front of Merida. The princess stared at the broken bow, its two halves held together by the drawstring, for a few long moments, a look of anguish on her face. Slowly, her sorrow gave way to hate, angry tears welling up in her eyes as her hands balled up into fists in the coarse grass and her whole body shook with rage. She whipped her head up to glare at Astrid, who smirked back at her.
"Sorry about that," Astrid mocked as her smirk grew into a sneer. Screaming in fury, Merida jumped to her feet and leapt at Astrid, catching the other girl off guard and tackling her to the ground. The two teenage girls rolled through the brush, each trying to roll on top, Astrid dropping her knife in the struggle. Merida managed to plant herself on top of Astrid, smacking the other girl in the face a few times and splitting her lip before the Viking girl managed to grab hold of her arms and roll Merida off of her.
As Merida picked herself up, she had just enough time to look up before Astrid speared into her, lifting the princess of her feet before slamming her hard onto the ground, knocking all of the air out of the Highlander's lungs. As Merida recovered, Astrid stood up before kicking the redhead hard in the side, causing Merida to cry out it pain. While Astrid pulled her leg back to kick her again, Merida grabbed onto it, pulling the blonde off balance and knocking her to the ground again.
Astrid tried to push herself up, but Merida leapt on her again, pinning the Viking to the ground and grabbing the sides of her head. Astrid tried to push Merida off, placing her hands on the princess' face and shoving against her. Merida struggled against Astrid and began digging her fingers into the other girls face, earning a cry of pain from the blonde. Grabbing firmly onto Merida's head Astrid yanked it to the side, pulling the Highlander off of her and sending her rolling across the ground.
As Merida recovered, Astrid pushed herself to her feet, spotting her knife as she did. She quickly picked it up, turning her attention to Merida as the other girl began picking herself up as well. Letting out a rage filled cry, Astrid rushed at Merida, who looked at enraged teen with fear as she tried to scramble away.
Before Astrid could get to Merida, there came a monstrous scream as Angus came bursting into view, slamming into the stunned Viking and knocking her to the ground, the knife tumbling out of her grip. Astrid screamed as Angus reared back, rolling out of the way as the horse brought his massive hooves onto the ground where she had been laying a moment before.
"What the Hel's going on here!?" Hiccup shouted as he came running into view, a bouquet of flowers clutched in his hand, glancing first at Merida, who laid on the ground, fear still in her eyes and then at Astrid who stood nearby, blood beginning to ooze from the cuts on her face, "Astrid, what in Odin's name are you doing!?"
"What am I doing!?" Astrid demanded, "What the Hel are you doing, Hiccup!? Why are you defending this Highland trash!?"
"Why are you trying to kill her!?" Hiccup yelled back with more bravado then he knew he possessed.
"Are you kidding me!?" Astrid asked incredulously, "After everything her people did to us!? After she tried to kill you!? You're actually sticking up for her!? What's wrong with you!?"
Before Hiccup could say anything, Astrid glanced at what he was holding in his hands, before letting out a disbelieving laugh.
"Really? You picked flowers for her?" Astrid questioned, snatching the flowers out of his hands before he could do anything, "Do you actually like her or something?"
Hiccup sputtered and mumbled, caught off guard and unable to come up with a response, causing Astrid to snort in contempt.
"Gods, you're pathetic," Astrid stated, tossing the flowers right in Hiccup's face, causing the young man to flail at them in surprise as she rolled her eyes at him, "You're in an arranged marriage, you're marrying her regardless of what happens and yet you're throwing yourself at her. How desperate are you?"
Hiccup said nothing as Astrid scoffed again, turning and beginning to walk away.
"You know what? I've wasted enough time with you losers. I'm going home," she said before pausing a few feet away from Merida, who was still sitting on the ground, "Have fun rutting around with Hiccup the Useless, princess. Maybe you'll get lucky and you can add impotence to his list of failures."
Astrid turned to go, but held up a finger as if she remembered something she forgot and turned to look at Merida again.
"Before I forget," she stated, before pulling in her bottom lip, sucking on it and then spitting a blood filled loogie into Merida's face, "Thanks for the split lip."
Merida screeched in fury as she scrambled to her feet, trying to chase after Astrid as the other girl began to walk calmly back towards the village. Before she could get at the Viking girl however, Hiccup stepped between the two.
"Merida, stop!" Hiccup shouted, reaching up and barely catching Merida on the shoulders before she barreled into him.
"Get oot o' ma way!" Merida demanded, glaring at Astrid as she tried to claw past Hiccup, the other girl glancing over her shoulder and shooting Merida a smug smile.
"No, you have to stop!" Hiccup argued, barely holding onto the enraged princess, "All of this fighting isn't helping anyone!"
"Gods, whit kind of Viking are ye!?" Merida demanded, pushing Hiccup away from her.
"What happened?" Hiccup asked, ignoring her question and trying desperately to help, but Merida wasn't having any of it.
"Jist leave me alone!" Merida screamed at him, scooping up the remains of her bow and shoving past Hiccup, almost knocking him to the ground as she ran into the woods in the direction of the house. Hiccup looked in the direction she had gone with an utterly helpless expression before grabbing hold of Angus' reins and leading the horse behind him as he made his way home.
By the time Hiccup got there, Merida had already disappeared inside. Hiccup quickly led Angus into his stable, taking of his saddle and reins before rushing inside through the back door. He raced through the simple kitchen and through the living area before bounding up the stairs to the second floor. He found himself in a simple hallway, making his way past the doors leading into his father's and his rooms and coming to a stop before the entrance to what had become Merida's bedroom, the wooden door firmly shut before him. Hesitantly, he lifted his hand up and knocked on the door.
"Gae away!" Merida's muffled voice demanded from the other side of the door.
"I'm sorry, Merida," he said, "I don't really understand what happened to you back there with Astrid but I just want to help."
"Then help me by gaein' away!" Merida shouted back at him.
"Just open the door, Merida!" Hiccup shouted, surprising himself, "I just want to talk to you!"
Hiccup heard the stamping of feet before the door was thrown open and Merida stood before him, her blue eyes rimmed red from crying.
"Well, did it ever occur tae ye 'at maybe Ah daenae want tae talk tae ye!?" she screeched at him, leaning so close to his face that Hiccup was forced to take a step back, "Did it ever cross 'at thick Viking head o' yers 'at Ah daenae want a damned thing tae dae with ye!? Ye'd think 'at shootin' arras at someone wud send 'at message, but ye didnae really pick up on 'at one, did ye, Hiccup!?"
"I-I…" Hiccup mumbled, to caught by surprise to put an entire sentence together.
"Why daenae ye dae us both a favor an' drop th' act, it's nae foolin' anyone," she growled, "Ye must really think Ah'm stupid if ye think Ah daenae see whit ye're daein'. But Ah dae, Hiccup, Ah see whit ye're daein', tryin' tae act all nice an' friendly sae this whole stupid marriage thing can gae along smoothly. Oh, fer sure, it's real noble o' ye, tryin' tae encourage peace like 'at, but all it's really doin' is makin' ye look like a damned bloody idiot! Sae jist stop it, because deep down, Ah know ye're exactly like every other Viking on this damned island! Sae let's jist be honest with each other from now on. Ah know ye hate me Hiccup, ye and yer entire stinking tribe. Well, guess whit? Ah hate ye too!"
With that, she slammed the door in the stunned Hiccup's face, never even allowing him to say another word to her. Hiccup stood their shocked for a few moments, before he seemed to recover and his expression was replaced with one of sadness. Sighing, he lightly hit his head against the wooden door, looking gloomily at his feet.
"I…I don't hate you," he whispered, finally finding his voice, but unable to raise it loud enough for her to hear.
Slowly, Hiccup backed away from the door. As he did, he felt something brush against his hand against something. Glancing down, he saw that one of the blue flowers had clung to the fur of his vest. Pulling it out, Hiccup looked at it for a few moments before his expression turned to one of frustration as he balled his hand into a fist, crushing the floor before throwing it against the wall, the petals bursting off of it and floating to the floor. Hiccup watched them for a moment before turning and running into his room, slamming the door behind him and flinging himself face-first onto his bed, falling into a fitful sleep as the sounds of Merida's sobbing echoed from the room next door.
A/N: Interesting chapter to write here. I've had this scene stuck in my head for a while now so it felt good to finally get to write it all down. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. As always critiques and feedback is always welcome so please review! Later!
