A/N: Before we start, I just wanted to thank all of you guys for making this my most reviewed and all around most successful story I have ever written. It means a lot that so many people are enjoy the story. I hope you all like what's to come! You guys are the best!

Chapter 11: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

Merida smiled as she made her way down the hill towards the center of the village, Hiccup at her side. It was a smile that she had been wearing since she went to bed the night before, so excited by the previous day's events that she had almost forgotten to change out of her new clothes. Not that she would have minded.

Looking down at her new clothes, she couldn't help but let out a small giggle. Hiccup had been right on the money when he said that she didn't enjoy wearing dresses and the other frilly things that came with being a lady of the Highlands. The freedom and simplicity of the Viking style was much to her tastes. She would have to thank Fishlegs when she finally got a chance to meet him.

Glancing over at Hiccup, she smirked as he quickly turned his head away, the blush on his face making it evident he had been watching her. Things had been slightly awkward since he had come to wake her up that morning, now doubt due to the last second kiss she had given him the night before. Merida still wasn't entirely sure why she had done it, but every part of her seemed to have been urging her too and even with the awkwardness afterwards, she couldn't say that she regretted the choice.

"Sae," Merida spoke up, hoping to break the silence, "Ah ne'er did ask ye whit it is ye dae at th' smithy."

"I'm Gobber's apprentice," Hiccup stated, a confused look on his face, "I thought we went over this already."

"We did," Merida replied with a smirk, "Whit Ah meant was whit exactly dae ye dae fer him?"

"A little bit of everything, I guess" Hiccup replied with a small smile, "Repairs, crafting weapons, armor, and tools. You know, blacksmith stuff. I've made everything from broadswords to nails. Let me tell you, I make a mean nail."

"Ah'm sure ye dae," Merida giggled, causing Hiccup's cheeks to redden.

"I've also tried my hands at inventing before," Hiccup stated, "With vary degrees of success."

"Inventin'?" Merida questioned as they entered the main part of the village, "Whit kind o' thin's hae ye invented?"

"Like I said, I've had varying degrees of success," Hiccup explained, ignoring the looks that he and Merida got, "The variation running between nonfunctional to complete disaster."

"It cudnae hae been 'at bad," Merida stated as the two rounded a corner, bringing the smithy into view, the smoke rising from the chimney signaling that Gobber was already inside.

"I'm still not allowed in the woodcutter's camp after my "automatic woodchopper" almost sliced one of their heads off," Hiccup elaborated, grimacing at the memory, "And that's nothing compared to the Borer."

"Th' Borer?" Merida questioned, a look of concern on her face.

"Trust me, the less I say about that, the better," Hiccup replied as they reached the smithy and opened the door for Merida before following her in, "There are still some hard feelings over that one."

"Whit ane?" Gobber asked, not looking up from his work by the anvil.

"The Borer," Hiccup answered, causing Gobber to hiss as if he was in pain as he looked up at his apprentice, blinking in surprise as he found Merida standing in his shop.

"Princess!" he said, an alarmed look on his face as he set his work and tools aside, "Ah didnae expect tae see ye in here any time soon."

"Ah felt like visitin'," Merida replied with a shrug and a sly smirk, as Hiccup peeled off his vest and put on his heavy, leather apron "Th' woods hae been growin' dreadfully borin'."

"Understandable," Gobber said with a chuckle, before giving Merida a dramatic bow, "Welcome back tae ma humble smithy."

"It's an honor tae return," Merida giggled as she gave him a curtsy, causing Hiccup to laugh as he made his way over to the furnace.

"Ah like yer new look," Gobber complimented, indicating to Merida's new clothing, "Much more befittin'."

"Thank ye," she said with a smile, "An' thank ye fer yer gifts as well. They meant a lot tae me."

"It was nothin'," Gobber said, waving off the compliment, "I was happy tae dae it."

"Thank ye all th' same," Merida repeated, finding a stool and sitting on it.

"Sae, it seems ye an' Hiccup hae turned over a new leaf," Gobber commented, eyeing the two teens with a smile.

"Ah suppose ye can say we hae," Merida replied, looking at Hiccup and smiling shyly at him, causing the young man to blush as he pushed on the billows, stoking the flames within the furnace, "Hiccup showed me Ah was lookin' at thin's th' wrong way."

"Aye, he's been haein' 'at effect on people as o' late," Gobber commented as he turned back to his own work, causing Hiccup to glance at him and smile.

"Ye know, Gobber, Ah've been meanin' tae ask, but why dae ye speak with a Highlander accent?" Merida questioned, raising an eyebrow in Gobber's direction.

The question seemed to startle Gobber, who paused in the middle of swinging his work hammer. The question caught Hiccup's attention, causing him to spin around and stand up while rapidly glancing between Merida and Gobber. Merida's eyes widened in surprise at the Vikings' reactions before she looked over at Hiccup for any sign as to how badly she had just misspoke. Before Hiccup could do anything though, Gobber sighed, catching both of their attentions. A thoughtful, almost forlorn expression cross Gobber's face as he placed his hammer down and lifted his head to look at Merida.

"At's because ma mother was a Highlander, princess," he explained simply.

"She was?" Merida asked in confusion, scrunching her face as she tried to decipher the meaning behind Gobber's words, "Ah hae ne'er heard o' any marriage between th' Highland Kingdoms an' Berk. At least, nae aefore ma own."

As soon as her words mouth, Hiccup let out a painful hiss that told her that her words had not been chosen well.

"'At's because there werenae nae marriage between ma mother an' father," Gobber explained grimly, his expression unreadable.

"Ah…Ah daenae…" Merida mumbled, not comprehending what Gobber was saying.

"Ma mother an' father did nae meet through some diplomatic treaty tae foster peace like ye an' Hiccup," Gobber elaborated, leaning against the anvil, his solemn eyes focused on her confused ones, "They met when ma father raided her village an' took her with him."

Merida gasped in shock as everything became abundantly clear to her, her eyes widening in surprise as she clasped her hands over her gaping mouth.

"Ye mean he…" Merida began but trailed off, the thought to horrible to finish.

"Aye," Gobber confirmed for her, "Closest she got tae a wedding ceremony, Ah suppose. Nine moons later an' here Ah was."

"Oh Gobber, 'at's horrible!" Merida exclaimed, before realizing the kind of impact her words might have on the blacksmith, "Ah mean, nae 'at it means it was terrible ye were born, Ah was jist saying…"

"Ah understand whit ye are sayin', Princess," Gobber cut her off, holding up his good hand to stop her from continuing, "An' it doesnae hurt me none. Ah take nae pride in th' manner o' my birth or th' actions o' ma father in any circumstance."

"It…It sounds like ye…didnae really like yer father," Merida commented, before flinching slightly as Hiccup spun his head around to stick her with a shocked expression, clearly surprised she had the audacity to say something like that.

"Aye, 'at's true," Gobber replied, causing Hiccup to whip his head around to point his shocked look at the blacksmith, "Ah hae nae love fer ma father, Hel take his soul. Th' only thin' th' man was ever good at was drinkin' an' beatin' on women an' children. Ah was lucky he didnae let this shop gae tae rot afore Ah inherited it. Only good thin' th' bastard ever gave tae me."

"He…he sounds like an awful man," Merida stated sympathetically.

"He was," Gobber agreed, "Th' world was a better place after 'at Highlander shot him in th' back as he tried tae run away durin' a raid. When Ah was younger, Ah liked tae think 'at man was ma grandfather, ma mother's father, takin' vengeance."

The shop fell quite after that, Merida looking down at her hands clasped in her lap while Hiccup rubbed his arm and kicked the floor awkwardly. Gobber glanced between the two before turning his attention back to his work, picking up the metal he was working with and reheating it with the brazier before pounding on it again.

"Whit was yer mother like?" Merida questioned, bringing the clanging of hammer on metal back to a sudden stop.

"She was a kind soul," Gobber said after a moment, lowering his arm again but keeping his eyes completely focused on the anvil in front of him, "A lovin', carin' mother who ne'er held th' circumstances o' ma birth against me. She hated ma father more than anyone though. If he had had a grave, Ah'm sure she wud hae danced on it."

"Sae, ye an' her lived with yer father, like some sort o' family?" Merida asked, obviously disgusted by the idea.

"We were a family in th' basest sense," Gobber replied, picking up his work hammer and looking it over, "Ma father ran th' smithy, with me as his reluctant apprentice. Ma mother meanwhile did patchwork an' whatever odd job th' villagers wud let her dae. Nobody trusted her an' fer good reason. Ah've heard many tales aboot how she tried tae escape th' village with me when Ah was a babe, tae say nothin' aboot how many times she tried tae kill my father in his sleep. It was surprising 'at it was ultimately a raid gone bad 'at ended him, but oddly poetic in a way."

"Whit happened after he died?" Merida questioned, inching forward a little bit.

"Ah was only yer age when it happened, still in dragon trainin' with Hiccup's mother an' father…among others," Gobber said solemnly, his eyes clouding with memories which he quickly shook away, "Sae his blacksmithin' duties fell tae his so-called assistant, who in reality was ma grandfather's legitimate apprentice, an' in turn became th' man who actually taught me how tae be a blacksmith. Ma mother meanwhile enjoyed more freedom in th' village as it became clearer 'at with ma life sae firmly entrenched here, she wasnae goin' tae try an' escape any time soon. She was ne'er fully accepted as a member o' th; village, as ye will nae doubt be completely unsurprised tae hear, but she was able tae become a cook fer th' many feasts at th' Great Hall."

There was a pause as a sad look crossed Gobber's face, still examining his hammer as if by looking at it, he could look into the past.

"She took sick an' died nae long after ma twentieth year," Gobber spoke up after a moment, "They wudnae burn her because she wasnae a Viking, sae Ah took her out into th' forest an' buried her th' way she told me th' Highlanders did."

Finally, Gobber lifted his eyes and looked at the two teens, who were looking back at him with matching, sorrowful expressions. Seeing this, an embarrassed look crossed Gobber's face, indicating that he had revealed more than he had previously meant to.

"Anyway," he said quickly, scratching his nose awkwardly, "Ma mother was th' ane responsible fer raisin' me, sae Ah kind o' picked up th' accent from her. Ma father hated it, sae Ah let it stick as a way tae spite him."

"Ah-Ah see," Merida replied, wringing her hands as she tried to think of what to say, "Gobber Ah-"

"Daenae," Gobber cut her off, startling her, "Jist let it lay, Princess."

Merida slowly nodded, turning her gaze away from Gobber, who looked over at Hiccup.

"Daenae ye hae work ye shud be doin', lad?" Gobber questioned, raising an eyebrow at his apprentice.

"R-Right," Hiccup replied, quickly turning back to the furnace, "I'll get on that."

Gobber nodded in approval, turning his attention back to his work, filling the smithy with the sounds of clanging metal as Hiccup and Merida glanced worriedly at each other.

Later,

The sun slowly began to peak outside as the noise from work filled the shop, Hiccup holding the pommel of a broadsword as Gobber beat on it mercilessly with a hammer, red hot sparks shooting off of it with every blow.

Merida, meanwhile, had taken a place at Hiccup's design table, flipping through one of his sketchbooks. Merida smiled as she looked at the various designs and drawings Hiccup had sketched on the white pages. She was surprised at how talented he was at the art, adding to the rapidly growing list of skills the young man seemed to possess. Turning a page, Merida's smile grew as she found the sketch he must have drawn while designing her new bow, accompanied by drawings of the carvings he had done on the bow as well as ideas he had scrapped for the design.

Merida figured that would be the end of the sketchbook, but as she moved to close it, she noticed markings on the next page. Flipping it over, her eyes widened in surprise as she let out a small gasp, the sound of which was covered up by the clanging of metal being worked not far away. On the page a drawing had been sketched. A drawing that was clearly of her. Merida's cheeks began to turn pink as she looked at the depiction of her in one of her dresses, her old bow in her hands and an unseen wind blowing through her untamed mane of hair. She was shocked at the level of detail that had been placed in the drawing, especially because Hiccup had to have done it all from memory. From the individual strands of her hair, to the look of determination on her face, to the fletching of the arrow, the individual pieces built up to a picture that simply took Merida's breath away.

Her smile growing as her blush deepened, Merida leaned down to get a closer look at the drawing, before a loud knock came from the smithy door. Merida let out a squeak of surprise, quickly slamming the sketchbook shut as Hiccup and Gobber looked up from their work. Merida discreetly pushed the sketchbook away as Hiccup made his way towards the door, Gobber rolling his eyes behind the Viking teen in exasperation.

"You alright, Merida?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow at her as he walked by on the way to the door, "Your face is a little…red."

"Oh, is it?" Merida questioned, feeling her blush glowing brighter, as she pulled at the collar of her shirt with one hand and fanned herself with the other, "Ah'm alright. It's jist a wee hot in here is all."

"Maybe you should grab some air," Hiccup suggested, "Just let me take care of this. I think I know who it is."

Pulling the door open, Hiccup stared blankly at Fishlegs who was standing nervously just behind the door.

"Hey, Fishlegs," Hiccup greeted, raising an eyebrow at his friend, "What are you doing?"

"I'm here to pick up that new warhammer for my dad," Fishlegs explained, "Is it alright if I come in?"

"Fishlegs, we've already been over this," Hiccup sighed exasperatedly, "You're not banned anymore."

"You sure?" Fishlegs questioned uncertainly.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Hiccup replied with a chuckle, before stepping aside and holding the door open so Fishlegs could enter. Fishlegs smiled as he entered the building, quickly looking around before his eyes widened in surprise as they fell on Merida.

"P-Princess Merida!" Fishlegs choked in surprise, fidgeting nervously before deciding to bow to her, "I-I didn't expect you to be here."

"It's alright Fishlegs, ye daenae hae tae dae any o' 'at," she said with a chuckle, standing from the stool, "Besides, Ah'm nae much o' a princess here anyway."

"Alright," Fishlegs chuckled nervously, "I see you got the clothes my mother made. Do you like them?"

"Ah love them," Merida replied, playing with the hem of her skirt a bit, "Be sure tae give yer mother ma thanks."

"I will," Fishlegs replied with a smile, "My mom was really excited to be making clothes for a princess. It was all I could do to make sure she didn't tell the entire village. My dad thought it was a bad idea, but my mom just ignored him."

"Good on her," Merida replied with a chuckle, before a though occurred to her, "Ye know, we were ne'er formally introduced, were we?"

"I guess not," Fishlegs replied with a chuckle of his own.

"Merida O'DunBroch," Merida stated, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"Fishlegs Ingerman," Fishlegs replied, shaking her hand with a smile.

"Ye know, Ah'm surprised ye an' Gobber werenae at ma party yesterday," Merida commented.

"Oh, that's because Hiccup wanted it to be a "private affair", as he put it," Fishlegs stated with a smirk.

"Och, did he now?" Merida questioned, turning to Hiccup and raising an eyebrow at him, causing the young man to blush.

"'At's enough fraternizin', ye lot," Gobber stated as he walked over with a larger, metal war hammer, "This is a place o' business."

"Sorry, Gobber," Fishlegs apologized, before producing a bag of coins and handing them to Gobber.

"Whit are ye up tae today, Fishlegs?" Merida asked as Gobber hobbled away to count the payment.

"Well, after this, I'll be done with helping my dad," Fishlegs replied, "Why?"

Instead of answering him, Merida turned to address Hiccup,

"When are ye done with work?" she asked him.

"We should be done for the day after we finish shaping this sword," Hiccup answered.

Nodding, Merida turned her attention back to Fishlegs.

"Why daenae ye gae brin' 'at tae yer father an' then meet us back here," Merida stated, motioning towards the hammer, "Hiccup shud be done by th' time ye get back. After 'at we can all spend some time together."

"Sounds good," Fishlegs agreed, before hefting the hammer onto his shoulder and exiting the smithy. Merida turned and looked back at Hiccup, who was smiling warmly at her.

"Well, danae jist stand there, get ae work," Merida ordered, making a shooing motion at him, "We daenae hae all day, after all."

Hiccup could only chuckle and hold his hands up in a helpless gesture as he returned to work, Merida smiling at him as he went.

Later,

The mid-afternoon sun cut through the dark green canopy of the woods, covering the ground in long shadows. Merida, Hiccup and Fishlegs made their way through the woods, chatting idly with each other. Merida was in the lead, her new bow and quiver slung over her shoulders.

"Ah still cannae believe 'at Gobber is half-Highlander," Merida said as she hopped over a rock, "Ah mean, Ah guess Ah shud hae been able tae figure it out, but it jist ne'er occurred tae me 'at something like 'at happened."

"It happens a lot actually," Fishlegs explained, ducking beneath a low hanging branch, "Pretty much every Viking village does it to some degree. I've heard it called 'bringing in new blood.'"

"'At's…horrible," Merida whispered, pausing to look back at Fishlegs with a look of horror and disgust, "Ye're sayin' this happens a lot here in Berk?"

"Not a lot here, just in Viking tribes in general," Hiccup explained, walking up next to her and placing his hand on her shoulder, "Berk tends to be a lot more insular and take very…unkindly to outsiders."

"Aye, Ah've noticed," Merida replied grimly.

"So Gobber's case is kind of a strange one," Hiccup continued, squeezing her shoulder to reassure her, "From what I know, a lot of people gave him a hard time over it."

"'At's sae terrible," Merida sighed, shaking her head sadly as the three of them continued on deeper into the forest, "Ah daenae understand why people always hate somethin' 'at's different."

"I think it's because new things, things they don't understand, scares people," Hiccup explained as they reached a small creek, over which a fallen tree was laid. Merida hopped up onto it, holding her arms to her side to retain her balance as she began to cross, Hiccup and Fishlegs following her.

"People don't like to be scared, so they treat the new thing hostilely," Hiccup continued as they reached the other side and hopped off, "It's just kind of how people work."

"Doesnae make it right," Merida commented, glancing over her shoulder at Hiccup.

"I know," Hiccup agreed with a shrug, "Just an explanation is all."

"Wish we cud dae somethin' fer Gobber," Merida said with a sigh as she stepped over a patch of brush, "Ah mean did ye notice somethin' aboot his accent?"

Hiccup paused and looked at Fishlegs, who shrugged.

"No, not really," Hiccup admitted, stepping over the brush, Fishlegs following him.

"He sounds exactly like Lord Macintosh," Merida explained, "Ah wonder if Gobber's mother was from Macintosh lands. Maybe she was even a member o' th' clan!"

"Maybe," Hiccup said with another shrug of his shoulders, while Fishlegs began to look around at the surrounding area in confusion, "But how could we ever figure that out?"

Merida sighed, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, realizing she didn't have an answer to that. As she did, Fishlegs continued to look around in confusion, spinning in place as he lifted a finger, signaling there was something he couldn't quite figure out.

"Uh guys," he said, catching Merida and Hiccup's attentions, "Where are we?"

At the question, Merida and Hiccup blinked in confusion, before looking around at the surrounding area before realizing that they were also didn't recognize the patch of woods they were in.

"I'm not sure," Hiccup replied, "I don't think I've ever been in this part of the woods either. Have you Merida? You've been exploring a lot lately."

"Nae, Ah daenae think Ah've been in this part either," Merida admitted, turning in place looking in every direction, "Dae either o' ye remember which way th' village was?"

Hiccup looked at Fishlegs who grimaced and shrugged his shoulders, causing Hiccup to turn back to Merida and shake his head.

"Damn," Merida swore, before glancing around, "Well, Ah guess we shud jist start walkin' until we get our bearins back. It's a small island after all"

The others nodded and followed Merida as she pushed her way through some brush. The path was hard going at first, with thorns and briars grabbing at their clothes and occasionally scratching their skin. Eventually though, the brush opened up, making their going easier. As they continued, Merida suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as a chill went through her body.

"Did ye lads feel 'at?" she asked, pausing and looking over her shoulder at the boys with wide eyes, the boys nodding in reply.

"What was that?" Fishlegs questioned.

"Ah daenae know," Merida replied, shaking her head before turning around and continuing through the brush.

Brushing some bushes aside, Merida revealed a large clearing on the other side. The three teenagers gasped in shock and awe as they stepped into the clearing, their eyes widening in surprise. The clearing was dominated by a dozen large standing stones, spaced equally from each other and forming a perfect circle. The stones each stood over ten feet tall and were seemingly cut from solid rock before being placed in their current positions. Some were topped with smaller rocks, balanced on the top. There were even two stones placed close together, holding up a third one and forming an arch. The rocks seemed immeasurably old, worn by weather and wind, with moss covering the bottom of most of them.

"Wow," Hiccup said as he stepped out into the clearing with the others.

"Sun above," Merida whispered in awe, before turning to Hiccup, "Ye didnae tell me there was a standin' stone circle on th' island."

"That's because there isn't," Fishlegs spoke up, looking around as they crept closer to the stone circle, "At least, there shouldn't. Vikings have lived on this island for generations, they've explored every inch of this island. I think they would have found this before."

"An' yet, here it is," Merida stated, reaching out and touching one of the stones, feeling its cold, smooth surface.

"And yet, here it is," Fishlegs repeated with a nod.

"But why is it here?" Hiccup questioned.

"Well, standin' stone circles are sacred places," Merida explained, "They're supposed tae have a connection tae th' world o' th' Fey."

"Fey?" Hiccup questioned.

"Spirits," Fishlegs elaborated, "Fairy folk."

As Fishlegs and Hiccup talked, Merida edged closer to the circle. Taking a deep breath, she crossed the invisible threshold into the inside of the circle. As she did, she felt a chill run down her spine.

"Merida," Hiccup spoke up, looking at her in concern, "Are you alright?"

"Aye," Merida replied, looking over her shoulder at him and giving him a small smile, "It's jist 'at-"

Merida was interrupted by a strange sound that suddenly came from behind her, causing her to stop cold, looking at the boys were staring at something behind her, their eyes wide in surprise.

Before Merida could say anything more, the sound came again, sounding almost like the murmuring of a child. Turning around, Merida found a small, blue specter hovering the air a few inches from her face, glowing blue like an ethereal flame. It murmured at her again, causing her eyes to go wide and her jaw to go slack from shock.

"W-What is it?" Fishlegs whispered hesitantly.

"Ah…Ah think it's a wisp," Merida said, her eyes completely focused on the creature before her, which only seemed interested in watching her.

"What's a wisp?" Hiccup questioned, edging hesitantly towards her.

"It's a type o' Fey," Merida replied, as she hesitantly began to lift her hand out to touch the wisp, "It's said they can lead ye-Oh!"

Just as her fingers were about to touch it, the wisp suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, giving another murmur as it went. The others looked at around to see if they could find where the wisp had gone, only for another murmur to catch their attention as the wisp reappeared a few feet away near the center of the circle. Looking at it, they saw that it was moving its arms in a way that made it look like it was beckoning them.

"…tae yer destiny," Merida finished, her eyes wide.

"What's it doing?" Fishlegs questioned.

"I think it wants us to follow it," Hiccup stated. Before the boys could say anything more, Merida began walking towards the wisp.

"Merida!" Hiccup whispered harshly, holding his hand out in futile attempt to stop her, "What are you doing?"

"It wants us tae follow it, doesnae it?" Merida replied, glancing over her shoulder at Hiccup.

"That doesn't mean we should!" Hiccup stated nervously.

"Oh come, Hiccup, where's yer sense o' adventure?" Merida teased, smirking at him.

"Back in the village, where it's safe," Hiccup deadpanned, hesitantly following Merida, who chuckled and shook her head at him, before turning her attention back to the wisp which was still beckoning them. Fishlegs meanwhile gulped nervously before following as well.

As they got closer to it, Merida reached out and tried to touch the wisp again, only for it vanish a second time. A second passed before it reappeared on the opposite side of the stone circle. This time, however, it wasn't alone. Behind it, forming a line down a previously unseen path, were dozens of other wisps, each of them beckoning the three teenagers to follow them. The three of them stared at the wisps in amazement.

"Alright," Hiccup relented, not taking his eyes away from the wisps, "Maybe we should follow them."

Merida peeked over at him and smirked before she began to follow after the wisps, each one disappearing as she drew close to it, the two boys trailing behind her. The path led through a dark, tightly packed stretch off woods, the branches of the gnarled trees forming a canopy above them, making the path seem like a tunnel. Eventually, the path ended at clearing, Hiccup noticing the tunnel exit passing under the exposed roots of a large and ancient tree.

As they entered the clearing, the wisps led them to the right, where the three saw a small cottage. The cottage looked like it had been built into the hillside, the roof actually being a grassy knoll that sat upon the house, a ring of white stone's designating the edge of the roof. The walls of the cottage were made of hewn, white stone, with the only break in their uniformity being a wooden door in an alcove.

"Lads?" Merida spoke up, catching Hiccup and Fishlegs' attention, "Is there supposed tae be someone livin' this far out in th' woods?"

"Not that I ever heard of," Hiccup replied, looking at the cottage in confusion.

"Me either," Fighlegs agreed, scratching his head.

Slowly, Merida began to inch forward, following the wisps as they continued to beckon her towards the cottage, the boys following her hesitantly. As Merida reached the door to the cottage, the wisps vanished all together, leaving her at a loss to what she should do. Looking at the door, Merida carefully raised her hand, curling her fingers into a fist as she prepared to knock.

"Hello," a voice said from behind them, causing the three teenagers to jump and let out simultaneous cries of surprise.

Spinning around, the three found an old woman standing behind them. In fact, she looked positively ancient. She had greyish white hair which swept away from her face in an almost solid shape that ran down her to the middle of her back. Her fair skin was wrinkled with innumerable frown lines, crow's feet and other assorted signs of aging. She stood with an extremely hunched posture, resting most of her weight on the gnarled walking stick he had. She wore a simple, dark green dress under a lighter colored shawl. A mismatched pair of earrings hung from her lobes and Merida couldn't help but notice the few white whiskers that grew from her chin. A sleek black raven sat on her shoulder, eyeing them curiously.

"…Hi," Hiccup said after a moment, wiggling his fingers at her.

"My, I don't get many fisitors," the woman said with a thick accent that Merida couldn't identify, "Vat are all you young folk doing out here?"

"Um, well…you see…" Hiccup mumbled as he tried to come up with an explanation.

"We got…" Fishlegs began, nervously playing with his hands.

"…lost," Merida finished, "An' then we kind o'…"

"Followed zee lights," the woman stated, smiling knowingly at the three of them, causing them to look at her in surprise.

"How did you know that?" Hiccup questioned.

"I'm an old voman, dearie," the woman replied, her smile growing, "I have my vays."

"Who are you anyway?" Fishlegs questioned.

"Just a simple voodcarfer," the woman replied, moving past the three of them as they stepped aside, allowing her to open the door to the cottage and step inside, "Come in, vill you?"

"Hiccup," Merida whispered as they moved to follow the old woman, "Whit is 'at accent she has?"

"I…I think its Old Norse," Hiccup replied hesitantly as they stepped inside, "It's been awhile since I heard anyone speak with that accent though."

Inside, the cottage had a very comfortable, if cluttered, feeling to it. Most of the room just passed the door was filled with wood carvings of all sorts of sizes and designs sitting on tables and shelves throughout the building. A work table sat not far away from them, covered in wood shavings, sawdust, woodworking tools and half-finished carvings.

The next room was apparently some sort of kitchen, dominated mostly by a large, black iron cauldron that sat in the center of the room, filled with some unidentifiable liquid. The shelves in this room held vials and jars in which there were more ingredients then any of them could reasonably identify. A small wooden table, surrounded by four chairs sat next to the cauldron.

Off to the side they could see a door leading to another room, where they could just make out a bed, signifying the room's use.

"Come in, come in," the woman beckoned, "Hafe a seat."

"Thank ye, uh…" Merida began to say before thought occurred to her, "Ye ne'er did tell us yer name."

"You nefer asked," the woman replied cryptically as Hiccup and Fishlegs took seats as well, the three teenagers sharing confused glances.

"What is your name?" Hiccup questioned.

"I'fe had many names ofer zee years, dear boy," the woman replied enigmatically as she eased herself into the last chair, "But you? You can call me Hilde."

"Well…Hilde…I'm-" Hiccup began but the old woman held up her hand to quite him.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock zee Zird," Hilde stated smiling at Hiccup's shocked expression, "I know vho you are."

She turned to look at Merida and Fishlegs, who were also looking at her in astonishment.

"I know vho you both of you are too," Hilde stated, "Fishlegs Ingerman and Princess Merida O'DunBroch."

"How…How dae ye know all o' this?" Merida asked in confusion.

"Like I said," Hilde replied with a shrug, "An old voman has her vays."

The three teens looked at each other in confusion again, before Merida turned her attention back to Hilde.

"How did ye know aboot th' wisps?" Merida questioned.

"I hafe lived in this forest for a fery long time," Hilde explained, "I hafe learned to interact with all manner of creature that calls it home. In schort, zee visps are my friends and I zeirs."

"You're friends with the wisps?" Hiccup asked in shock, "I didn't even know they existed until today."

"As you vill no doubt discover, Reiter, zere is much in zis vorld you do not know about," Hidle stated warmly.

"Why did they brin' us here?" Merida questioned.

"Vhy does anyone do anyzing?" Hilde replied with a shrug, "Because zey vanted to."

"But Ah grew up hearin' tales o' how wisps were connected tae fate," Merida said, clearly unsatisfied with the woman's answer, "Ah heard they lead a person tae their destiny."

"I vouldn't know anyzing about destiny or fate, Jager," Hidle stated with a laugh, "I just know zee little creatures bring people to me from time to time."

"Did they tell you about us?" Hiccup questioned, "Is that how you knew our names?"

"Names are not hard to find, Reiter," Hilde explained, "I know your names and so much more."

"More?" Hiccup asked.

"Kind says zee trees," she replied, smiling at him, "Clever says zee wind. Oh yes, Reiter, I know much more zan your name."

The three teenagers looked at her in shock, before Fishlegs finally managed to find his voice after a long while of silence.

"What…what are you?" Fishlegs asked.

"Just a voodcarfer, Leser," Hilde replied with a smile as she pushed herself to her feet, "Just a voodcarfer. Now, vould you three like some dinner?"

Later,

"Thank ye fer dinner, Hilde," Merida thanked the older woman as she, Hiccup and Fishlegs stood outside Hilde's cottage, "It was delicious."

"You're too kind, Jager," Hilde replied with a smile, waving the complement away, "I'm just glad to hafe someone to cook dinner for again. Gods know zis one doesn't appreciate it."

As she spoke, she indicated to the raven sitting on her shoulder, causing it to caw as if offended, earning chuckles from the three teenagers.

"I guess we should be getting back now," Hiccup said, stretching his arms above his head and yawning.

"The only problem is we still don't know which way is back," Fishlegs pointed out, causing the other two to sigh as they remembered.

"Oh, zat's no problem, dearies," Hilde said, leading them away from her house before turning them around to face the forest. As she did, they noticed a path leading away that they had not seen before, cutting through the trees and brush.

"Just follow zat path and it vill lead you shtraight to zee village," Hilde said from behind them, "And don't be schy about coming back, I do love company."

"But Hilde how dae we find our…" Merida began to say, turning around to talk to the older woman, but froze in her tracks as her eyes widened in shock. The boys noticed and turned around as well, shock striking them as well. The old woman had vanished, along with her cottage. Instead, the three now stood back at the standing stone circle, directly in front of the arch. A howling wind swept over the clearing as the three teenagers stood stock still in the moonlight.

"Well," Fishlegs spoke up after a moment, "I'm done."

With that, the Viking boy turned around and began walking down the path, clearly restraining himself from flat out running away. Hiccup moved to follow him, but noticed Merida continued to stand where she was, looking at the standing stones with a mixture of shock and awe.

"Merida," he said gently, but received no response, "Merida, come on."

Trying to think of a way to catch her attention, Hiccup looked down at Merida's hands, which hung loosely at her sides. Flexing his own hand nervously, Hiccup bit his lip in indecision before taking a calming breath and reached out to take her hand in his. The feel of skin upon her own seemed to snap Merida back to reality, her eyes blinking rapidly as if she were coming out of a slumber. Slowly, she turned and looked down at Hiccup's hand holding hers, before bringing her eyes back up to look into his.

"Come on, let's go home," he said, smirking at her, his nerves calming as he looked into her eyes, "I'm sure we'll be able to find her again."

A blush colored Merida's cheeks for a moment, before she smiled at him, turning to face him as she interlocked their fingers.

"Alright," Merida replied, stepping up beside him as they began to make their way down the path, their hands remaining clasped until they had reached home.

A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Not super serious, just a lot of my favorite characters interacting, as well as building the setting a little more. And I got to introduce the witch, who was an absolute blast to write. I changed her to a less comedic character, so I hope you guys liked her, because she's very important to the story. Also hope you guys liked my take on Gobber's history. Either way, as always, feedback and critiques are always welcome so please review! Later!