To say the palace guards were shocked was an understatement. After all it was completely normal for the Princess to ride off into the forest for hours on end and come back looking like he wrestled a bear in the dirt. What was not normal was her to have another individual behind her, let alone a boy, let alone a boy dressed in clothes that were clearly not from around there. This was so far from being normal that the guards didn't know what to say or do, so she passed completely uninhibited. Merida rode up to the stall for Angus before jumping off the horse. Hiccup on the other hand had a little more trouble climbing off the horse. He was no stranger to riding on the back of an animal, but this was something new for him. Dragons were usually closer to the ground when he got on them, they had saddles, and they flew so he wasn't bouncing with every time the animals foot hit the ground. Merida chuckled. "You alright there?" she asked as he slid off the side of Angus' back. Hiccup nodded. She turned and started walking up the stairs to the door by the kitchen. One of the guards seemed to come out of his stupor and stepped forward.

"Princess, who is..." he started.

"This is a guest of mine." Merida said quickly. It wouldn't do to let people know he was a viking, not yet anyway. If she did, then they would panic before they would talk to her parents. Merida opened the door into the kitchen and walked in, Hiccup following. She tried to move quietly but Hiccup's metal leg clinked off the stone floor, attracting the cooks attention. Merida looked down in surprise, not knowing how she missed that he had a prosthetic leg! She wondered what may have happened from someone as young as him to have a prosthetic. It was the same side as her fathers too! Merida gave them an apologetic smile for the noise and led Hiccup threw, hoping none of them would tell her parents just yet that she snuck into the castle with a boy. That was all she needed. The two went threw the halls, the only sound was metal on stone. They came to the grand hall, but neither of her parents were there. Merida stopped to think of where they could be. Hiccup meanwhile was looking around, amazed.

Hiccup had never really left the Archipelago before, so he didn't know much outside of the viking villages. The biggest building he had ever seen was the Mead Hall. While it was impressive, it had nothing on this huge castle. This building was bigger than the Mead Hall, and decorated much differently than anything Hiccup had ever seen in the past. It was amazing, and he hoped maybe someday he could return to learn more about it from them. He thought about reaching for his sketch book and taking notes, but decided that may not be a good idea. He was still a suspicious character and even if he wasn't, it wasn't the time for that. His first priority was talking to the King and Queen to warn them about Dagur.

"This way." Merida decided, and started walking again.

xxx

Stormfly led the dragons as they flew over land, their first sight of land in a while. They hoped it was the Kingdom they were looking for. Suddenly Stormfly seemed surprised, and froze in midair, then she changed course. "What is it girl?" Astrid asked and the other dragons followed. Stormfly headed into a thick patch of forest and to the ground. Astrid got off the dragon and the other vikings followed suit. They looked around, but they couldn't see what had the tracker dragons attention. Then Toothless leaped out, at first looking ready to attack until he got a good look at who had arrived. "Toothless?! Where's Hiccup!?" Astrid asked. The other vikings looked surprised too. Why was Toothless without Hiccup?!

"So Hiccup really did get hurt in that storm?" Thuggory asked, worried. Astrid shook her head.

"Ah no! Stupid, Toothless can't fly without Hiccup." Ruffnut said. Thuggory frowned at being called stupid. He was a chief's son after all, but he decided he'd let it slide. That had been an oversight on his part, he forgot that Toothless couldn't fly without Hiccup.

"Besides, the tail fin isn't the same one they had when they left. Hiccup is here." Fishlegs said.

"Yeah, but where is he?" Snotlout asked. Astrid rolled her eyes and decided to ignore him for the moment. She looked around to see if there was any hint of where he went.

"Hey Astrid, can I keep this?" Tuffnut asked, and everyone turned to look at him. Tuffnut stood a little off to the side, holding up an arrow. The others looked stunned. Astrid turned to Toothless however. There was an arrow, so they may have been attacked, but Toothless was perfectly calm. Well he wasn't perfectly calm, he looked a little nervous, but not nervous enough to have Hiccup in any kind of danger.

"Astrid, there's tracks here." Thuggory called, pointing out a set. Astrid nodded.

"Alright, Toothless, can you lead us to Hiccup?" she asked. The dragon nodded and started off after the tracks. The others followed him.

"Do you think they captured Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked, worried. Astrid shook her head.

"I don't think so. Toothless would have chased them down if they did." she said.

"So what's the plan?" Snotlout asked. Astrid bit her lip. She didn't have one. She just had to find Hiccup to make sure he was alright and help him with whatever crazy idea he had. Toothless seemed just as determined.

xxx

Merida led Hiccup to a courtyard where he saw a large man fighting with a sword against four men at once. He had the same red hair as Merida and was heavier set. Hiccup also noticed a prosthetic leg on him as well. He seemed very skilled and was enjoying himself greatly, if the smile on his face was anything to go by. He knocked two of the men away and kicked a third. The man flew toward Hiccup and Merida and they both dodged him. The man seemed to notice them then. "Oh, Merida. Whose your friend?" he asked.

"Dad, we need to speak with you." Merida said, and by her tone, he knew it was nothing good.

Sorry all for being gone so long again. I promise I'm not going to stop writing this story! Thank you so much 02FireRains, Euge139, Iron Rose Writer, Keiri Kurosukara, Nijirosora, Patty 4577, Schoollie, TPATFan16, Tigerlilli123, Yonna9queen, Zharlee, foxglove66, iCoaster44, ladipretender, leslie2132, Cassandra Lilith Mircalla, Majorbooknerd, Sanasuke, The Silent Fury, and mystery writer5775 for your support, it really means a lot to me! Thank you especially Nuuuu, Kppuppys, P, Guest, Is this a spoon of surrender, I'm Just saying, ladipretender, The Silent Fury, Rob, Nijirosora, TPATFan16, and other Guests for your reviews. They are greatly encouraging and I love them all!