As I'm writing this, I have no internet. Yet, I still find a way to procrastinate doing homework.
Elinor couldn't shake the horrible feeling she had about Merida's idea of marriage. It didn't seem like her daughter all. When Merida had heard about the potential war between Dunbroch and Berk, she felt outraged. Elinor remembered staying up with her late one night, listening to her rant about how she couldn't stand all the hatred. She said how if she could make it all go away, bring peace to Dunbroch like she had the last year, she would. Then, her eyes lit up and she rushed away without another word. The more Elinor thought about it, the more unsure she was about Merida's intentions.
Where I try to recreate a two hundred page book and quiet my dragon...
After dinner, a plump woman named Maudie was waiting to show Fishlegs, Snotlout, Tuffnut, and I our rooms. Just before I left, I pulled Merida aside.
"Come to my room in ten minutes with a lot of paper, and some string," I said urgently.
"Why?" she asked excitedly.
"I'll tell you later," I said. As I walked away I looked back at her and repeated "Ten minutes," before running off to join my friends.
Once we arrived at our rooms, Maudie left us with a tight smile and a short nod.
"Guys, I need your help with something," I said to my friends. I looked over my shoulder and motioned for them to enter my room.
"What is it?" Fishlegs asked.
"I was talking to Merida earlier and-"
"Ooh, the princess, huh? Hiccup, you dog," Tuffnut laughed. I rolled my eyes and continued.
"She told me that she wants to get out of this marriage too," I explained. "She should be here soon,"
"Aw yeah," Snotlout hooted. I shook my head.
"I need you to help me remake the book of dragons," I said. All three of my friends exchanged serious looks before bursting out into laughter. "I'm not kidding!" I exclaimed.
"Our book isn't even finished yet! It may never be. We're always finding new information," Fishlegs said.
"So we'll leave blank pages,"
"And, you expect us to rewrite all two hundred pages?" Tuff asked, still laughing. I nodded seriously.
"Okay, maybe not all of them," I sighed. "The reason there might be a war is because the Dunbroch Clan is scared of the dragons. If we tell them all about the dragons, they'll become less scared of them, and we won't seem as threatening. Then, they'll let us call of the wedding!" I explained, my excitement growing.
"You want to tell them all about the dragons?" Tuffnut asked.
"Not everything, just a basic knowledge, so they won't be scared of us. Then, we won't even need this stupid marriage thing," I said excitedly.
"But what if they use it against us?" Fishlegs questioned unsteadily. I felt my stomach drop.
"I don't see you guys coming up with any better ideas," I snapped. Fishlegs looked hurt by my tone. I sighed and let my frustration wash out of me. "Sorry," I said, undoing my pin and letting the heavy pelt fall to the floor. I refastened the pin, this time on my shirt.
"No, I'm sorry. It's a good idea. I'll help," Fishlegs said, his face breaking out into a smile. I returned it gladly.
"Me too," Tuff declared.
"Me three," Snotlout chimed in.
"Thanks you guys. Really,"
"Hiccup? Are you in here?" Merida asked, her head poking into the room.
"Yeah, come in," I called, though she had already entered. "Merida, this is Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Tuffnut. They're going to help us write a copy of the Book of Dragons," I said. Merida frowned in confusion. I quickly explained my idea to Merida.
"We have to get this done quickly, and without anyone finding out. Especially my dad," I finished.
"Lets do this!" Tuffnut yelled excitedly. I turned to Merida, holding out my hands to take the supplies from her, when I realized she was empty handed.
"Where's the stuff?" I asked, my shoulders dropping in disappointment.
"You have your helpers, I have mine," Merida said. Not understanding what she meant, I walked over to my bag which had already been brought to the room. I pulled out the extra charcoal pencils and handed them out to each of my friends.
There was a loud knock on the door. Merida smiled and opened the door. Standing by the door holding stacks of paper and a ball of twine were the three teenagers from the competition, Young MacGuffin, Young Dingwall, and Young Macintosh.
"Thank you, boys," Merida said approvingly, taking the supplies from them.
"What'd you need this stuff for anyhow?" Macintosh asked, waltzing into the room.
"We're writing a book," Merida explained. "A book of Dragons," I stared at her in disbelief.
"What happened to not letting anyone find out?" I asked. Merida looked at me like I was crazy.
"How can they help us if they don't know the plan?" she countered, putting her hands on her hips.
"Fine, they can help," I relented, motioning for the other two to enter the room.
"Where do we start?" she asked, spreading the papers out on the floor.
We worked tirelessly, filling page after page with information. Terrors, Gronckles, Nightmares, Zipplebacks, Whispering Death, Bone Knapper, and at least ten more. And we were barely a quarter of the way. We had decided to leave out the more exotic species that no one had seen in a hundreds years. Fishlegs was able to recite most of the information, and Tuffnut, Snotlout, and I were able to fill in the gaps. I drew the dragons, Tuff, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Merida, Macintosh, Dingwall, and Macduff copied down logistics, names, weaknesses, and any other details about the dragons that Fishlegs called out, though I made sure to be limit the weaknesses we wrote down.
After two and a half hours, at around one o'clock in the morning, everyone left to their own rooms. I continued to work for another hour until I couldn't keep my eyes open. I pushed the papers under the bed, flopped down on top of the blankets, and fell asleep.
"Hiccup!" My dad's voice said. My eyes popped open. I saw my father standing in the doorway of my room.
"I'm up, I'm up," I said tiredly, sitting up and stretching.
"Quiet your dragon, would you?" he asked.
"Sure thing," I yawned. My dad nodded firmly and left the room, pulling the door shut behind him. I stood up and changed into a fresh set of clothes, fastening my pin to my shirt.
I walked out of the room and made my way out of the castle, turning many corners until I reached what I thought to be the exit.
No, not so. Instead, I walked right into the dining room where the only people there were Merida's family. All eyes turned towards me. I froze for a moment before straightening up and brushing down my messy bed head.
"Sorry," I said. "Wrong room," I laughed nervously and backed out slowly. "I'm just going to-" Faintly, I heard Toothless's cry coming from outside. "Deal with that," I finished. As I hurried away, I could hear Merida laughing hysterically at my awkwardness.
I finally found the exit and ran towards Toothless, who was crying loudly. He had, however, stayed in the stable, which that was an improvement from following me like the day before.
"Hey, I'm here bud," I said soothingly, scratching him under the chin.
Fast as I could, I strapped on his saddle and artificial tail fin. I replaced my fur vest with my riding one that I had fastened to Toothless's saddle the day before. It was lucky that I had.
"Where are you going?" Merida asked, walking up to me.
I looked over my shoulder before answering. "Flying,"
"Oh, I thought you were joking yesterday!" she exclaimed, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
"Why would I joke about that?" I asked in a perfectly serious tone.
"Because... because people don't fly, especially not on dragons!" Merida exclaimed. I shrugged and hopped on Toothless's back.
"Where's a good place to fly, do you think?" I asked her casually, sitting back in the saddle.
"Well, the Fire Falls are beautiful, by Crone's Tooth," Merida said. I looked at her with a blank expression. She laughed and hopped on Angus's back, no saddle or bridle. "I'll show you,"
Merida kicked her heels on Angus's side and wrapped her hands in his mane. Angus shot forwards and headed towards the castle walls. I leaned forwards on Hiccup's back and, sensing my eagerness, he shot into the air.
"Let's follow them, bud," I said once we were in the sky, pointing down at Merida and Angus. Toothless darted after them, flying just above the tree tops.
Soon enough, they approached a large cliff, with uneven stone pillars shooting up the sides. Flowing over the edge was a strong waterfall, that reflected a rainbow in the sky.
"Not bad, eh?" Merida asked when he and Toothless landed after circling around the top of the cliffs once.
"I think we could have some fun, right bud?" I asked Toothless, looking up at the towering cliffs. I looked over my shoulder at Merida and smiled. "Be back soon," I said before Toothless shot into the sky, climbing higher and higher until we reached the top of the peaks.
I let out a loud cry, releasing all my stress and doubt in a single breath. Toothless flew in and out of the falls, and though I'd normally be annoyed with him, I didn't care.
As Toothless weaved over and under the clouds, I felt better than I had since arriving at Dunbroch. I could faintly here Merida calling my name, but I only urged Toothless to go faster.
I released another scream, pouring my sadness out into the air, only to be carried off my the wind. I became aware of tears welling up in my eyes, and the only thing I could think of was never getting home to Astrid.
And then I felt scared.
I leaned back in the saddle and Toothless leveled out, spreading his wings. I flopped forwards in the saddle and hugged his neck. He crooned loudly, looking at me with concern out of the corner of his green eye.
"Let's go down, bud," I said, sniffling and wiping my eyes.
Slowly, Toothless descended to the bottom of the cliffs where Merida sat on Angus's back.
"What was all that yelling about?" Merida exclaimed.
"Nothing. Let's go finish the book," I said flatly.
"Wait, were you crying?" she asked, studying my face. I turned away from her and shook my head. "Okay, tell me why. Is it because of... what's her name... because of Astrid?" she asked. My head snapped forwards.
"What? How do you- why did..."
"You mentioned her name earlier," she said. "And Snotlout said you were 'bummed about Astrid' last night, so I assumed,"
"Of course,"
"So, who is she exactly?" Merida asked, hopping off of Angus's back. I blushed furiously. I hadn't planned on talking about my girlfriend with my fiancé.
"She's a girl back on Berk," I said simply, lying back in Toothless's saddle.
"Oh, you don't say," Merida said sarcastically.
"She's my girlfriend," I confessed, smiling as I said it, though it quickly faded. "And I'm scared that I won't be able to call her that anymore," I added quietly. Merida hadn't heard me.
"What's she like?" Merida asked. I smiled, Astrid's face flashing in my mind
"She's beautiful. Her favourite weapon is an axe, and she never leaves her hair down for more than a few hours in the morning and at night, but I like it. Did mention she's gorgeous, and smart, and funny, and tough, and strong, and-"
"And you love her?"
I paused, for a moment before answering definitely. "Yeah. Yeah, I do," I laughed and looked down at my pin. "Didn't tell her yet," I added quietly. Hot tears blinded my eyes again. I blinked them away quickly and faked a smile.
"I'm going to head back. Work on the book," I said softly. Merida nodded.
Just as I was about to take off, Merida spoke again.
"You know, if I loved someone as much as you seem to love Astrid, I'd bee doing everything you are, if it meant I could be with them," she said. I looked back at her and smiled.
"The way you say that, it almost seems like you do love someone," I remarked lightly.
"Me? Oh no. Not today,"
I hope you enjoyed this installment! There's a little sappy Hiccup for you!
I'd just like to put something out there, this story is NOT going to be as long as Half-Bloods of All Sorts (if you haven't read it, please do!) because I started working on it later and I want to finish it before summer because life and stuff happens.
So, REVIEW! FOLLOW! FAVOURITE! YAY!
I hope you have an awesome life! Don't let people bring you down! EMPOWERMENT!
