AN: Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to give you chapter ten of this story. Chapter 11 is underway and will posted as soon as it is done. This will likely be in a week and a half.

Not much else to say. Please direct all questions to my inbox. Review and tell your internet friends.

And here we go.

I own nothing.

OF BOWS AND DRAGONS

Chapter 10: The Best Laid Plans…

The pair of them rolled their respective parchments and made to leave to small meeting chamber. "Now lad, business is concluded. Let's eat and have a little drink."

"Sounds like what I need at the moment. I'll secure this in my room and be back down."

Fergus laughed and exited behind the boy. "Good man! Hurry back!"

-_-At Present-_-

Hiccup rushed pass the table that had been brought back to the center of the hall and barely glanced at the queen or her daughter as he passed. Meanwhile, the three 'wee devils' descended upon Toothless. The dragon rolled his eyes and began to try and shrug off their futile attempts to subdue him.

Fergus took his seat at the table and angled it so he could watch his sons wrestle the mighty beast. Merida leaned towards her father hoping to get his attention. "So, dad, did you reach a suitable arrangement for his people?" Anticipation rolled off of her in waves.

The older man was silent for a moment as he thought about the last clause on the treaty then, he let out a soft chuckle at the antics in front of him. "We did. That young man is a good negotiator with a good head on his shoulders."

Elinor smiled. "Well then its good we that the decision was for him to keep his it."

"I am rather attached to it. I'd hate to lose it," said Hiccup as he strolled down the stone steps. He looked over to his best friend and saw that all three boys were pinned beneath him. The dragon now began to torture his trapped victims by licking them mercilessly. "Boys, scratch under his jaw!"

One of the tree immediately began doing as he was told. Hiccups advice worked and Toothless collapsed on top of the three terrors. Laughter roared through the hall from the royal family. Hiccup managed to contain his laughter long enough to help free them from the large head pinning them to the ground. Through a series of gestures, they made it apparent that they would have revenge on Hiccup.

They were saved from severe scolding from their mother by the opening of the doors leading to the kitchen opening. From behind them came a variety of savory foods on platters and a couple of barrels that presumably had drinks in them. Hiccup's and the newly awakened Toothless' mouths started to water. "Uh… What's… What's the occasion?" asked Hiccup as he took his seat.

The food was set on the table and the cups were filled with drinks appropriate to their owner. Hiccup's was colored similar mead but smelled unfamiliar.

Fergus raised his cup that was filled from the same barrel as Hiccup's. "To new friends! And to peace."

"Here, here!" said Hiccup in reply knocking his cup with the king before chugging the entire contents of the cup in one go. The amber liquid burned strongly as it went down. The cup was slammed back down onto the table. "Oh gods that burns. I love it. What is that?"

The entire table was silent. "Lad, that was whisky. You ought to drink that a bit slower."

"Ah. Well then," he raised the cup, "I'll drink this next one slower. ANOTHER!"

Fergus and Merida laughed loudly. The princess reached over and slugged hi shoulder. "That's the spirit!"

The meal proceeded heartily and all remaining tension in the air bled away. As the food diminished from the table, Fergus and Hiccup had begun to trade stories. It had started with Merida prodding Hiccup to tell the story of how Toothless got his prosthetic tail fin. He refused at first but was eventually convinced to do it by everyone, including Toothless.

Hiccup sighed and knocked back what was left in his cup. "What the hell, why not? I was the village mess up. I couldn't do anything right and I was despised…" He launched into the tail of how he had shot down Toothless to get a bit of glory but, he couldn't bring himself to slay the dragon. He had proceeded to study the trapped dragon and learn everything he could about him and his kin. "… I managed to avoid getting caught and completed training while building him a fin."

Merida looked impressed with Hiccup. Elinor was feeling much better that he was capable of mercy. Fergus looked satisfied with the tale. "That's a good story," he paused to take a drink from his cup. "Have I told you about how I lost my leg to a bear?" At Hiccup's negative he began to tell his story. "So many years ago, we were in the glen, having a day to ourselves. Merida was young. Only a few years old, and had just gotten her first bow." Elinor frowned slightly at the mention of her daughter getting the weapon. It wasn't proper. "She had wandered off into the woods-"

"I was chasin' a wil-o-wisp. Not wanderin'," interjected Merida.

Fergus huffed. "Hush now. I'm tellin' the story! So me and the guard here her scream and we gathered our weapons to go fight. She came running out of the woods with the biggest bear on her heels. It was Mor'du. The greatest bear. 12 feet tall at least. His face was scarred with a dead eye boring into my heart. Blades stuck out of his black hide." With each word Fergus' hand gestures grew bigger.

"This is my favorite part," whispered Merida to Hiccup.

"Before I could swing my sword Mor'du, bit my leg clean of at the thigh!"

Hiccup smiled and raised his glass in celebration of the valor. "With courage like that you would fit in well with my village."

"My thanks, lad," said the king, returning the gesture.

Merida pushed her plate away. "Well, we heard about one amputation. Let's here another one. How'd you lose your leg?"

"Merida! Don't pry on the boy," scolded Elinor.

Hiccup flashed her a wonderful smile that gave her heart a slight flutter. "It's alright. I did something stupid which made me have to do something crazy." Hiccup finished his fifth cup full in one gulp and waved off the servant who had come to fill it. He needed the liquid courage. "I graduated at the top of my class in fighting dragons. Which won me the right to kill my first dragon in front of the whole village."

"Weren't you working with Toothless on flying at this point?" asked Merida with confusion lacing her voice.

"That was the stupid thing. I tried to show everyone there was no reason to fight them. It almost worked when my dad scared the dragon and it nearly killed me. Dad had the dragon restrained, but only because Toothless helped to corral it. I tried explain that a much larger dragon was forcing the others to attack the village which made him angry that I had seen the nest and hadn't told him. I was disowned by Stoick the Vast."

Merida squeezed his hand at his forlorn expression. Hiccup gave her a thankful smile. "He and the entire village took Toothless and went to the nest. Astrid convinced the others to listen to me. We took the captured dragons and rode to the nest, arriving just after the rest of the fleet. Just in time to see the second biggest dragon I've ever seen burst from the mountain. It had six eyes and thick rough hide."

The triplets gripped each other tight and sat at the edge of their seats waiting for what would happen next. Fergus and Merida was much the same, though Merida was still grasping Hiccup's hand. "The others distracted him while I went to get Toothless off of the sinking ship. Dad had to pull us out and he made peace with me." Hiccup rubbed his forehead. "Here comes the part where I did something crazy. I got on Toothless, and we got the Green Death to follow us into the sky where his size would be at a disadvantage. We stuck him several times in the wings before he set fire to the clouds. With our cover gone we, sped to the ground. As he went to torch us, Toothless fired into his gas filled mouth-"Toothless unleashed a blast of fire for emphasis, which startled the listeners- "Lighting the dragon on fire. The fin burned, and we got dragged into the exploding dragon. Woke up several weeks later. Didn't have a leg. It got burned right off."

The table was in awe of the story. They had never had heard such a tale. "Wow, lad. That is one hell of a story." Fergus was reclining farther into his seat. "What do you mean that massive beast was the second biggest dragon you've seen?"

Hiccup laughed loudly. "I've seen a bigger dragon. That one wasn't very friendly either."

"Come on, Hiccup! You've got to tell us about that one!" pleaded Merida.

Hiccup just shook his head. "Nope. Not tonight. I have to get some sleep. It's a long trip back to Berk."

Elinor handed her plate to the servant who was coming around to collect the plates. "How long of a trip is it? When can we expect your people?"

"It'll take about a week if I pull a hard flight but, I'll slow it so we can return right away. So, a week and a half there and a week and half back with most of the village. The ships will follow us by a couple of days with everyone else."

Fergus stroked his goatee. "That's a long trip to take by yourself. Not to mention your wounds are still healing."

Hiccup shrugged, "I've had worse. Besides, I have Toothless."

"Still. I wish you would take someone with you."

Merida saw an opportunity open before her eyes. She could ensure Hiccup was still keeping his end of whatever deal he made, she could figure him out, and she could see distant lands. She could go with them. "I'll go with them. I can make sure his wounds stay healthy and-"

"NO!" yelled her mother. "I'll not have you going around unsupervised!"

Fergus sighed. On one hand he had one of the people he trusts most to see the Vikings and make sure they plan to be true. On the other hand, it was his daughter going off alone with a boy. It was a difficult decision. Sending his daughter would be both a diplomatic mission and a chance to observe them. "I see how it could work. How will your people react to a woman ambassador?"

Hiccup leaned back in his chair. "Same as they would if Merida was a man. So, long as it looks like she could hold her own, its fine."

Elinor's eyes met her husband's. They held a silent argument over this choice. "Fine. But know that I think that this is an inappropriate and terrible idea." With that statement, Elinor marched up to the hers and the kings chamber.

"She'll come around," said Fergus almost wistfully.

Merida stood up and made for the stairs with an excited face. "I'm going to go pack a bag!"

"Pack light. Only the essentials. And pack warm. Your bow counts as an essential," called Hiccup after her.

Fergus herded his boys up to bed at the same time but held an arm across Hiccup's chest to stop him so they could talk. "Hiccup. I'm charging you with my daughter's safety. If anything happens to her it's on you. Do I make myself clear?"

"As a sunny day."

"Good."

AN: That is a wrap. Fecal matter has gotten real. Up next is Chapter 11: …Go Awry.

Review and let me know what you think of the story so far.

War and Peace,

-RedHoodandtheOutlaws