"Lad, lad?" Hiccup groaned as he was disturbed from his slumber. He peeked an eye open and blinked multiple times to get used to the bright sunlight streaming into his room. Two shadows eventually adjusted to reveal the queen and healer gazing down at him. He felt very awkward in this state with the queen. Quickly sitting up in bed he stuttered with nervousness.
"Oh, good morning Your Majesty." He bowed his head before getting out of bed.
"Good morning. The healer and I will examine your arm for this morning, much work is to be done today, would you please?" She gestured to the edge of the bed and Hiccup nodded. They removed his white sling around his arm and and examined the cut. After a few minutes, the healer and queen concluded their checkup with a nod and stood up to leave the room.
"Young man, it seems your arm has almost fully healed. Enough for you to return to your…home. You may resupply what you need and depart by morning tomorrow. Understood?" Elinor tried to sound as gracious as she could, but Hiccup could tell that she wanted him to leave as soon as possible. He simply nodded and bowed.
"Thank you for your help." He mumbled. She simply closed the door and continued her way. Hiccup stood still for a couple moments, suddenly feeling very down. Merida crossed his mind. He imagined her getting a chance to ride Toothless, to meet his friends, to go on adventures with her. But now, all that changed. With his good arm, he squeezed his wounded one, well, it didn't feel very wounded anymore. No pain slicing up his arm, no infection making his cut sting, no need for the sling. Just a large white scar forming into his skin. His fingers grazed over it and he sighed.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted." He spoke softly, pulling his boots and vest on, Hiccup decided that it would be a good idea to spend his last day with someone special. He knocked on her bedroom door, but no one answered. While walking around the market, Hiccup looked for Merida, but found her nowhere. As breakfast began, Hiccup almost gave up when suddenly, he heard a familiar shout.
"Yes! I win again." He walked towards the stone entrance he heard the voice and entered the royal courtyard to find Merida practicing sword fighting with all three of her brothers. All panting from previous fights. She wore an off the shoulder loose white shirt with heavy sleeves which seemed to be wrapped together by her leather arm guards to prevent them from getting in the way of her fighting. She wore a black corset with string that criss-crossed on the front and a large leather belt hung snug around her hips- with a large crest buckle. Her skirt was a long flowing navy blue plaid pattern. Some parts of the hem was tied higher onto the dress to keep Merida from tripping. Hiccup turned away with a blush as he saw how pretty she looked and decided to watch the Dunbroch children. He backed up and leaned against the stone wall, crossing his arms to enjoy the show. Merida, Hamish, Hubert, and Harris stood in a circle facing each other. Although Merida was older than all three, they were almost as tall as her and probably much stronger from training. Fergus watched the three ready to fight.
"On my mark, ready? Begin!"
Hubert, between Merida and Harris pulled the first move, lashing forward towards Merida bringing his sword up and swinging it down. Merida dodged the blow by bending on one knee an raising her sword above her head. The two clashed while Harris and Hamish fought each other, but Hiccup could only keep his eyes on Merida. She quickly stood up and swung her sword around her head giving her speed and momentum to knock Hubert away. He was knocked to the left but stayed on his feet and swung to the right. Merida held her ground and his sword clashed with hers, she was ready to make another move until Hubert lifted his sword causing hers to almost fly out of her hands and knocked her back. Regaining her balance she lunged forward at him towards the left, she pulled her sword back and went to the right, then the left again. But with the last move, she moved her sword towards his feet making him jump. She spun around, her dress catching wind and lifted off the ground. Hiccup actually saw how graceful she moved when fighting. She swung her sword around at him, the tip almost grazing Hubert's chest knocking him on his back. Quickly thinking, Merida placed her foot on his chest to keep him from getting up and took his sword. She smiled in triumph at her brother on the ground. He lifted in hands up in surrender. The princess hopped off her brother and jumped up and down, laughing with joy. As Merida laughed, a snort escaped before she reached a hand for Hubert. He grabbed her hand tightly before smiling mischievously. Merida gasped and attempted to free her hand but Hubert pulled her to the ground. He attacked her with tickles.
Hamish! Harris!" The two twins helped attack the Scottish princess while she laughed until she cried. Fergus watched and gave a hearty laugh at his children. Hiccup held in a giggle.
"Hiccup! Help us!" His head snapped up in surprise at someone calling his name. The three boys looked at Hiccup while trying to tackle Merida at the same time. Hiccup smiled and joined in the fun. He tickled Merida's stomach and watched humorously as her eyes filled with tears. Her hair sprawled around her like a fire and made Hiccup blush.
"I surrender!" She pleaded. Hiccup sighed, content with his and the triplets victory. He pulled Merida to her feet as she caught her breath, a smile never escaping each others lips.
"Well, this is an interesting morning." Hiccup said.
She laughed, "This? This is nothing. Ye should've seen us earlier." She reached down and untied the strings holding up her dress. It fell like a waterfall, the hem, barely grazing the ground. She patted her skirt hard, dust and dirt falling off. Dusting her hands and resting them against her hips, she sighed in content.
"Come on," she nodded her head in the direction of the castle, "Time for breakfast!" She turned and skipped her way to the kitchen doors. Her hair bouncing back and forth. Hiccup couldn't help but smile. They entered as Merida made her way swiftly past the servants working and continued her way into the Great Hall, Hiccup almost jogging behind her. What Hiccup didn't know that Merida was trying to keep ahead to avoid him. When Hiccup grasped her waist while tickling her, her heart was beating so fast, she could feel it pounding in her ears. Her palms were sweating but also felt like she never wanted to leave that spot with him. She thought keeping her distance would help relieve the blush across her cheeks. Merida quickly grabbed what she could in her hands for breakfast, two apples, some grapes and a slice of bread before making her way out the kitchen doors, through the Great Hall and out to the stables. Hiccup sighed as he slowed down in the kitchen. He didn't want to give up on finding Merida, it was his last day! Hiccup began to jog out of the kitchen until he felt something small crash into his view, sending him to the floor. Swiftly as he could, he caught his footing and wrapped his arm around whatever he could grab to stop whatever it was from falling. It wasn't heavy whatever it was. Hiccup turned his gaze to whatever he caught. A small gasp escaped from his mouth as he saw a young girl, no older than him! It was the girl he saw when he first arrived in DunBroch. He first noticed her eyes, big, dark brown, doe eyes, with a hint of gold in them. She had long brunette wavy hair that reached the small of her back. Two small braids on either side of her head that came together in the back. She had a small beauty mark just below the corner of her left eye. Her skin looked flawless and slightly tan except for the blazing red that came from her cheeks. Her petite figure was very light in Hiccup's arms. Wait. His arms? He had forgotten that he had crashed into her in the kitchen! He stuttered as he pulled himself to reality.
"I-I am, so sorry!" He stuttered. He looked around to see the other servants about the kitchen. Many of the women giggled while the men simply rolled their eyes. Hiccup felt her small hands on his biceps, shaking. He pulled her back up standing and noticed fish scattered across the two.
"No! Forgive me!" She spoke rather loudly. "It-it was all my fault. I'm such a fool!" She knelt down to grab her basket and the fish nearby. Feeling guilty, Hiccup kneeled as well and helped the stranger pick up the fish he caused to fly out of her basket.
"My apologies sir." She said. Sir?
"Please, call me Hiccup." He smiled. The woman smiled back at him.
"Isla." She said quietly, wondering if he even wanted her name at all. The blush never escaped the girls cheeks as she picked up the mess. When they were both finished, she spoke again.
"How long wi-will you be staying here?" She asked.
"Oh, uh. Actually I have to leave by morning tomorrow." Hiccup replied. He noticed Isla's face fall in sadness.
"Oh." She was quiet for a moment. "I-I was hoping if-if I ever saw ye again. I would be able to officially meet you. Guess this is an odd way to meet."
Hiccup was confused and didn't really know what to do. He couldn't just leave a woman here, but he also couldn't find Merida either.
'She was probably already long gone. Maybe she already knew about my leaving tomorrow and didn't care. Well that was nice of her! I also never saw my necklace I gave her on her, she probably hated it. She probably laughed at threw it away, of course who would want a necklace from a viking! Her own kingdoms enemy! Oh no! She probably found out about me. The queen told her of course! She is keeping her distance because she knows I am a viking! I'm so stupid!'
Hiccup sighed as he came to a conclusion in his head. 'Whatever could've happened between us is impossible. I should've known.' He brought himself back to the woman in front of him.
"Well, I guess I could always spend my last day with you." He simply stated. Isla's eyes suddenly lit up, making Hiccup grin to see her happy.
"Really? You-you wouldn't mind spending your day with me?" She questioned, pointing to herself.
Hiccup shrugged, "Not really, no."
Isla couldn't keep the grin off her face as she walked to a table and set the basket down.
"Well, okay. Uh. If you would excuse me for a moment." She walked over to the far side of the kitchen to two women working on plucking feathers from chickens. She spoke quietly to a small plump woman who had a cap around her head and rosy, puffy cheeks. The plump woman nodded and went back to work. Isla came back to Hiccup and said confidently.
"Where to, Hiccup?" She giggled, she followed him out the door to enjoy the day.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
As Merida made her way to the stables, she finally felt her heart rate slow down. With a less shaking hand, she fed the already half eaten apple to Angus with a sigh. She hoped that she could spend today with Hiccup.
'I was overreacting with Hiccup earlier.' She thought. 'It's not like anythin' will happen.'
A blush appeared across her cheeks as a small image appeared in her mind. She felt soft but strong lips against hers and a warm hand brush her curls from her face.
'Well, maybe not yet.' She calmed herself down and turned, hoping to see Hiccup. But instead, no one was there.
'Huh? Where did he go?' Merida questioned. She rolled her eyes. 'He is probably lost in the kitchen.' She strolled her up back through the Great Hall, and into the kitchens. She was overwhelmed by the smell of fish. She scrunched her nose at the smell. Spotting Maudie by the chickens, she asked.
"Maudie, have ye seen that boy we found not long ago? We passed through here and I lost him." Merida asked.
"Oh, your highness. The young man just went out to spend the day with Isla."
Merida's eyes widened and suddenly felt like her entire day was ruined. She felt her shoulders sag as she hung her head down. She was really looking foreword to showing her archery skills and maybe even visiting Hiccup's dragon in the forest.
"Is something wrong ma'am?" Maudie asked, noticing the princess's emotion change suddenly. Merida suddenly stood straight and put a smirk on her face.
"Oh yes, don't worry Maudie. You said Isla, right?" Maudie nodded and replied. "Ay, she looked very excited and asked if she could be excused for the rest of the day."
Merida began towards the back door of the kitchen. " Thank you. Carry on as you were Maudie." When Merida was outside and ear shot of the kitchen workers, she sighed. Pressing her back up against the cold stone walls, she thought to herself.
'So, Isla does like him. I knew I saw something when we returned.' Merida felt as if her heart had gone heavy. 'Well, why should I care what he does with her? He is enjoying his day with her, good for him!' It was then Merida caught sight of two figures walking in the distance. Instantly recognizing them as one of her servants and the auburn haired man, she moved farther to the other side of the wall, hoping they wouldn't see her. Eyeing carefully, Merida noticed how big Isla's smile on her face was.
She is very pretty, Merida noticed. Her hair was much more tamed than hers obviously. Her skin wasn't pale and she was much more petite. She turned her gaze to Hiccup who looked like he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Merida rolled her eyes.
'Someone is having a good time.' She thought. She finished her observation and walked to the stables much quicker than usual.
"Well, if he is having a good time, than why should I ruin that huh? It's not like I need him to have a good day right?" She mumbled to herself as she approached Angus. "He can spend the day with me another time." She exclaimed as she readied her saddle on Angus rather forcefully. "Of course I don't want to get in the way of his plans with Isla." Merida couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of her. Hiccup gave her the necklace right? Merida felt the cold metal on her chest as it hid under her clothing, hoping no one would see it, thinking she was engaged. But then again, he didn't know what it meant. Now that he did, would he want it back? Would he give Isla a new one? What if he trusted her enough to let her meet Toothless? Merida's thoughts were cut short when she felt Angus's hoof step on her own toes.
"Ouch! Angus!" She pouted to her Clydesdale who was ready to go.
"Sorry bud, okay. We'll go for a quick ride and be back by lunch, alright? Merida kicked against Angus as he readied into a trot and went out to the forest.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/
By lunchtime, Hiccup had been on a walk near the castle with Isla and gotten to know her more. She was born in the village with her twin brother who was a blacksmith.
"Hey I'm a blacksmith too." Hiccup implied, causing Isla to light up even more.
"That's wonderful, you two would get along so well."
When she was older, her mother and her went to work in the castle while her father worked on cattle and farming. The family was spread around the kingdom doing different chores and labor but by the end of the day, they would gather in their small home and enjoy the rest of the evening with each other. Hiccup was very interested to hear about her life, but noticed nothing really wonderful happened in it. No big adventures with her brother, unlike what Merida would have with hers. Isla also wasn't much of an outdoors girl, she liked to stay in the castle and sew or cook. Merida would probably burn water and wasn't the best at sewing, but could spend the rest of her life in the forest. When they returned to the castle, Isla excused herself to help prepare the food, letting Hiccup join everyone in the Great Hall for lunch. When he entered, tables were set up and many people joined around them in merriment and laughter. Near the back was a long table for the Royal family to eat upon. He caught sight of the triplet princes who looked like they were starving for food. Next was queen Elinor chatting with another woman on her right. On her left was King Fergus who looked like he was about to start a fight, laughing and pointing at some men in the crowd. Hiccup's eyes then fell onto Merida. She slouched slightly in her seat and her hands folded into her lap. Boredom was clearly written on her face. She didn't notice him in the large crowd of men and women. Waving his hand in the air, he got Merida's attention, but instead of a wave in return or even a smile, she turned her head in the opposite direction and kept her eyes off him. Hiccup stared at her in confusion as he put his arms down and sat for lunch. Throughout lunch, Hiccup would lift his head from his food and hope Merida would just simply look him in the eye for a moment, but she never did. Near the end Hiccup caught that something was different about the princess. She didn't look happy at all, not a smile on her face. Losing his appetite, Hiccup left his plate and waited outside the doors for a certain princess.
When her plate was empty and her stomach full, Merida excused herself from the table and decided to go for a small stroll around before getting ready for her classes with her mother. Following the large group of men and women out of the Great Hall, she was about to make her way down to the gardens when a strong grip of a hand grabbed her forearm and pulled her to a shaded corner of the castle. Merida noticed suddenly who pulled her and her cheeks began to burn as he spoke.
"Is something wrong?" He questioned. Merida's eyes widened at his question.
"Uh, excuse me?" She said with a raise of her brow, she took quiet slow breaths to calm her heartbeat pounding in her eardrums.
"You looked…well…not you today at lunch." Merida mentally rolled her eyes and tried to think of an excuse.
With a smile and a laugh, she began, "Well it was me. Don't worry Hiccup. I'm fine. Just tired from Angus today, that dang horse always know how to push my buttons." She sighed. She was about to leave when she felt Hiccups hand grip hers. She didn't turn her head, she wouldn't.
"Are you sure?" His voice sent shivers down her body. She hated what this boy did to her! Ugh! Just seeing him would make her heart speed up. Talking to him would make her face burn. And him holding her? She thought she would scream.
'Who does this lad think he is? Ditching me than asking if I'm alright? Of course I am!'
With gritted teeth, Merida growled quickly "I'm fine." Pulling her arm out of his grip, Merida ran back inside getting ready for her lessons. A confused boy stood in his spot, he huffed.
"That girl, is so-so!" With a kick at the grass, Hiccup marched away thinking how plan B would work.
For the rest of the day, Hiccup and Merida avoided each other as much as they could. Hiccup continued his day with Isla while Merida spent her day inside with her mother. After dinner, a heavy storm had begun outside. The castle was quiet while everyone departed for a long night of sleep. Rain pattered the windows and tapped the stones giving a small rhythm that would explode by the thunder. Getting a warm fire started in the fireplace, Merida sat in front with a blanket wrapped around her. Rain wasn't the problem, but she hated the thunder. As thunder rumbled, she sighed deeply and focused on the warm flames in front of her, her grip on her blanket tightening. A sudden knock on her door startled her. She yelped as her hand went to her chest. The blanket falling off her shoulders, she sighed and stood up to open but didn't take a step forward when it opened itself.
"Listen princess, we need to talk." Hiccup whispered closing her door behind him.
Merida rolled her eyes, the last thing she wanted to do was talk to him. "Alright lad, what about?" She crossed her arms.
He sighed. "What's wrong? You have been acting different all day, and I would like to know what it is and how I can help." He offered.
"Nothing is wrong Hiccup, now please leave. I am tired and you aren't helping." Hiccup suddenly was inches from her face. His eyes bore into hers and he wasn't happy. He frowned down at her, making her seem vulnerable. She wouldn't show that side of her and stood straight as high as she could reach, until she found herself leaning closer to Hiccups face. She moved away slightly, licking her lips.
"No. I don't know why you aren't telling me anything, and I don't know why but it is driving me crazy. I know enough about to you to see when something is wrong. I'm your friend Merida. I want to help." Hiccup suddenly felt two small hands on his chest push him away. He gaped at Merida who had fury in her eyes, her fists clenched at her sides as she slightly huffed.
"Listen lad! This isn't any of your concern! Alright! I can get through this just fine on my own. I don't need anyones help!"
"So you admit it! Something is wrong!" Merida threw her hands up in the air and groaned. She walked towards the blanket and kicked it across her chamber floor.
"Merida why won't you tell me. I thought you trusted me!"
"Well, I did!. Now, I'm not so sure." With her back to him, she crossed her arms. Her room was suddenly very warm and she felt uncomfortable.
Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. 'So she does know what I am.'
"You know don't you?" Hiccup asked.
Merida gave a confused look but refused to turn back at him. She scoffed, "Know what?"
"About me? What I am."
Slowly, Merida began to think about what he was talking about. When it hit her like an arrow to a target. A viking! Oh how could she be so stupid! Her mother had told her about the vikings, but Hiccup? A viking? They were huge, heartless, disgusting burly savages! The man in front of her was anything but that! This guy is her enemy and she's upset about him spending time with another girl? She should be upset at him for stepping into her kingdom! She turned to Hiccup with her teeth clenched.
"Viking." She spat. "You need to leave immediately Hiccup."
Hiccup was slightly taken aback by her sudden change of emotion.
"Please listen Merida. I know I'm an enemy but-"
"Goodnight, sir." She demanded.
Sighing, Hiccup knew how stubborn she was and gave up. "Fine." He left her bedroom chamber and out the door. With a slam behind him, he pressed his forehead against the door.
"Goodbye princess."
This chapter. I wish I could throw up on it. Not only did I not like writing this but I had so much writer's block about how this was going to play out. I'm sorry if this disappointed you guys. Please leave a review on this chapter, I need more feedback. But thanks for being with me this far :)
