"It was th' biggest bear ah ever saw, with black fur an' its hide littered with th' weapons of fallen warriors…with one dead eye. Mah father drew his sword, and…"

The children of Berk tensed up as they listened intently to the tale.

"One swipe of it's massive paw an' his sword shattered! Then CHOMP! His leg was clean off! Down th' monster's throat it went…"

All of them gasped, their eyes growing as large as saucers. All except Astrid who was calmly listening to the tale a second time. She became so interested in the origin of her father's nickname that she practically begged her to tell the story. However, just as she was ending, a group of children came to hear what was so interesting. After a few sentences they became the most attentive audience Merida ever had.

"Mor'du has never been seen since, and is roamin' th' wild, waitin' fer his chance of revenge…"

Just then she gave a mocking bear roar and the children leaped up screaming and laughing. They scattered in all directions, most of them running back to their homes, others going off to play somewhere else. Chucking, Astrid walked up to Merida who was now laughing at the screaming children.

"How come you weren't that animated when you told it to me?" The viking said, crossing her arms.

Merida shrugged. "Ah guess ah didn't think ye'd be that entertained."

Astrid gave a small scoff, but laughed it off. "Well, there's a lot more to me than meets the eye." She groaned as she slowly sat next to Merida, trying to stretch her legs in the process.

"Ah suppose that makes two of us." Merida sighed.

"Oh please." Astrid scoffed again. "I figured that out about you this morning in the Great Hall."

The princess gave a sarcastic-looking smile, and then looked out to the horizon that poked out from the Cliffside. Most of the sun's light had left already and the sky was a blazing orange that faded into a deep red.

"Wow," she said softly, "it's that late already?"

"Yeah," sighed Astrid, "We should probably get home then."

"Home…" the word echoed through Merida's mind. Even after they stood and walked toward the viking's house, Merida's thoughts drifted to her home. She remembered the sweet smell of the highlands that breezed through the land, and the crisp air of the midnight moon. Such thoughts continued even until she closed her eyes to sleep.

Urgency

The dreams seemed all too realistic for the princess. For a while, it seemed she were truly at home, laughing and joking with her family. She could hear her father's hearty bellowing of a laugh, she could feel her brothers wrestling with her over a fur carpet, and she could see her mother's scolding face which eventually melted into amusement.

Then they came. Dragons of all shapes and colors tore apart the room, burning everything. She could feel the radiant heat surround her, the smoke was choking her throat and her eyes began to water, blurring the images of her screaming family.

The nightmare could not have ended sooner. She lie awake now, her back on the hard floor and a familiar viking peering over her.

"Merida, are you okay?"

The princess breathed slowly, allowing herself to take reality back in. Astrid only relaxed when she finally nodded.

"Ah'm fine." Merida sat up, but her eyes stared into nothingness. Suddenly, she grabbed Astrid by the shoulders and practically shouted, "Ah need ta speak with Hiccup! Ah shouldn't have waited so long, now mah people could definitely be gone. Please!"

For a moment, Astrid just sat there, not knowing what to do. Then she nodded slowly.

"Okay."

The Meeting

Fishlegs yawned and looked groggily around the room. It wasn't even dawn yet, but Astrid managed to drag the old team out of bed and tell them all to meet in the Great Hall. Snotlout fell back asleep, his face resting on the table they were all sitting around. The twins were just as tired, but whenever Tuffnut leaned on his sister to sleep, he was met with a forceful punch that jolted him awake again. The only ones who seemed truly awake were Hiccup, Astrid, and the Scottish Princess.

None of them were fully dressed, making the scene look more like a slumber party than an important meeting.

"What's going on?" Snotlout said, jolting up after Astrid threw a cup someone left at his face.

"For the seventh time," Hiccup said annoyed, "We've got a dragon situation."

"Like that's new." Tuffnut said just after getting punched by Ruffnut again.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, then turned to Merida. "Merida, you said there was attack on your land. Can you describe it?"

"Well, we didn't see it comin'. After all, ah'd never seen a dragon in mah life till Toothless."

"Where were you when they started?"

"In mah room. It was th' dead of night when they started. All of a sudden, ah hear screamin' an' when ah get out there are dragon all over th' place, massacrin' mah people."

Hiccup looked down. "It sounds like a raid. Though, the dragons wouldn't fight people for no reason. Did you fight back?"

"O' course we fought back! Ye don't jus' sit back an' relax while someone's attackin' ye do you?"

"Okay, okay." he said, defensively. "Was it just one kind of dragon, or were there many species?"

"All kinds."

"I agree with Hiccup. It sounds like a dragon raid." Astrid said calmly. "Did you notice them going for any food or livestock?"

"Well, ah wasn't exactly seein' what they were goin' fer. All ah know is that ah was fightin' with whatever was around till mah mum grabbed me an' mah brothers an' sent us off on different ships. Why we couldn't stay on th' same ship is beyond mah knowledge."

"You don't think it's another Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus do you?" Fishlegs said warily. His eyes shifted as though it were there with them.

"I don't know," Hiccup said, "but we can't be too careful. Everyone take provisions to last a few days, and bring your weapons. We'll leave in the morning."

"Wait, wait." said Snotlout, still half-asleep. "How are we supposed to know the way? None of us have ever been there."

"I've been there, and so has Toothless. And you know how a dragon never forgets a place as soon as they've been there. So everyone be sure to get your dragons ready to go first thing." Hiccup stood up, ready to go back to bed. He could feel a yawn coming up as this was the second night in a row he lost sleep.

"Wait, we're goin' on dragons?" Merida said. There was a small quiver in her voice, and her eyes grew wide.

Everyone froze and stared at her. The idea of travelling in any other method seemed almost unbelieveable.

"Well, duh." said Tuffnut. "Do you expect us to fly by ourselves?"

"But…why don't we take a boat or somethin'?" Her eyes shifted through all the other faces staring at her.

"A boat's too slow," explained Astrid, "and dragons don't need the wind or a current to move them. If you want to get back as soon as possible, dragons are the way to go."

Merida looked defeated. There was no way she could argue against it, but it was obvious the thought of flight terrified her.

"I guess that settles it then." said Hiccup. The others agreed and one by one they stood, all of them too eager to get back to bed.

Merida stood as well, but just as she turned to leave, Hiccup grabbed her arm.

"Merida, wait. Can I talk to you for a second?" he said.

"There's nothin' more ta talk about."

"But-"

"Ye best get yer sleep, Hiccup." she said, and pulling her arm away she headed toward the door. Astrid was waiting for her, holding the door open, but when the Scot reached her, she said,

"You go on ahead, Merida. I'll join you soon."

The princess nodded then went off, hoping she could find her way back to Astrid's house. As soon as she was gone, Astrid walked toward Hiccup who was on his way out the door. To prevent him from going any further, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him away.

"Wha-? Astrid, what are you doing?" he said, surprised.

"We need to talk." she said sternly. "You've been avoiding me for weeks, and you're not gonna muscle your way out of it this time." she led him back to his seat where he sat down.

"Astrid, I'm tired. We can talk in the morning."

"No. We're going to talk about the marriage now."

The Next Morning

Panic could not even describe what Hiccup was feeling. He had packed and gotten ready as he instructed everyone else to do, but as soon as he turned around, Toothless was gone. He ran all around the village, checking the feeding stations, the stables, everyone's house, even the smithy. But the dragon was nowhere to be seen.

Breathing heavily, the chief ran his fingers through his hair. Of all the times to go missing, it had to be right before they're about to leave. Even the twins were ready to go, which says a lot. Heading back to his house, Hiccup ran into his father.

"Dad! What are you doing?" he said, noticing the large pack on the man's shoulders.

"I heard you're going to Scotland." he responded harshly.

"Uh, yeah. To help with Merida's dragon problem. Who- who told you?"

"The twins have big mouths. Now I'm coming with you, no question about it." stepping around his son, he started off to fetch Skull Crusher.

Hiccup stumbled after his father. "Wait, dad. Who's going to look after the village?"

"Gobber and Spitelout can do it. They've done it before."

"Hold on. Dad, stop!" Hiccup ran in front of his father, preventing him from going any farther. "It could be dangerous. We think there may be another dragon like the Red Death."

Stoick looked deep into his son's eyes. "Then there is no doubt of me coming."

"Dad, we can handle it really."

"Well I can't let my son lose another limb or even his life!"

"But dad-"

"Son, as the new chief of Berk, you have to be careful. You are the end of the Haddock line. If anything happened to you…" he trailed off. He never finished, and before either of them could say anything more, Stoick ran off past Hiccup.

Hiccup didn't pursue him anymore, understanding his father's feelings, but a part of him couldn't help but be annoyed over the fact that his father was only so eager to join them because of the fact that they were headed to Scotland: the dwelling of Vahallarama's killers.

His thoughts were spanned when he noticed someone running up to him at a high speed. Turning his head, he saw Astrid running up to him quickly.

"Hiccup!" she called. "Have you seen Merida? She went out for a walk this morning, but she hasn't come back yet!"

"Hey, calm down. I'll go look for her, just go finish getting ready." He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I still need to find Toothless anyway."

"You lost Toothless? Do you think something happened to him?"

He shook his head. "Nah, he can't get off the island, and he knows better than to wander off too far."

"Well, hurry!" Astrid ran off again, checking everywhere for Merida, despite Hiccup's assurance.

"This day just can't get any better." Hiccup said sarcastically. From the way things were going, it seemed like a disoriented family getting ready for a long trip, but no one was ready.

He ran through the forest, calling for both Toothless and Merida, but he neither heard nor saw any traces of either. It seemed the deeper he went into the woods, the more hopeless he became. After a while of climbing over fallen trees and trudging through leaves, he stopped calling and just looked around. Maybe something did happen to Toothless, and maybe even Merida. His heart sank at the idea, and he resumed calling for them again.

All of a sudden he heard a faint shriek. He ran towards the noise, scared that they might be in danger, but then he noticed a bit of laughter following it. He craned his neck, listening for a direction and followed the noises. As he got closer, he could hear along with the laughter, splashing and the purring of a happy dragon. Moving through a few large rocks, he found himself at his and Toothless' special place; the place where he and the dragon first became friends.

It all looked the same. Moss covered grass decorated the surrounding stones and the healthy grass gleamed away from the small lake in the middle. The only difference was a young, redhead cupping water and splashing it on the ebony dragon who in return flicked his tail in her direction, soaking her in cold water.

Her laugh was also just as he remembered it. It wasn't the same as the one she gave the previous day, but it was more light and sweet-sounding. The sound of it reminded him of their days in Scotland where they would forget everything else and run through the village, or have a snowball fight, or even spar with one another.

Eventually she looked up to see him standing above them, staring at the two of them playing.

"Hiccup!" her voice sounded surprised, and quickly she got out of the water. Toothless was disappointed the fun was over, but he gave her one last splash of water. Much to his and Hiccup's disappointment, she didn't laugh again.

The chief went down to meet her, but he didn't seem all too surprised.

"Sorry, ah went out fer a walk in th' woods an' got lost. They're not quite like th' ones at home. Ah called fer help, but only Toothless came ta get me, and ah guess we got carried away here." She looked at him warily as though he was going to scold her. He hated that scared, unfamiliar look.

"It's okay." he said. "But we should probably get back. We need to head out."

She nodded then climbed out of the structure. Toothless followed after her, but he gave Hiccup a rather annoyed look as though it was his fault that the fun ended. Hiccup returned with a confused grimace then climbed out himself.

By the time they finally got back to the village, everyone who was going was waiting with their dragons at the Academy. From a distance, Hiccup could see Astrid pace back and forth, worry planted on her face. But as soon as she noticed the trio walking up to them she sighed in relief.

"Thank the gods." she said. "I was afraid you guys got attacked or something. Wait a minute." she frowned. "Why are you all wet?" she looked the princess up and down.

Merida shrugged. "Toothless an' ah just had a small water fight."

Astrid chuckled at her then went over to Stormfly. The dragon purred as she stroked her nose, then the viking proceeded to mount her back.

"Well," said Astrid, "since we don't have time to teach you how to ride, it looks like you'll have to ride with someone. You can choose whoever you want."

Merida turned, studying the choices before her. She had no idea how she would ride with a two-headed dragon, and the twins didn't seem the safest since they were fighting already. Snotlout's dragon seemed alright, but she still wasn't so sure about Snotlout himself. Fishlegs and Meatlug seemed harmless, but once again she had no idea how she would ride with him. She was half-surprised to see Stoick there, but as soon as she made eye-contact with him he gave her a harsh glare. She quickly looked away and decided to avoid eye contact from that time forward.

Astrid began to worry. It was obvious Merida didn't like the idea of flying or even dragons at all.

"Hey," she called, and Merida looked in her direction, "why don't you ride with Hiccup? You seem to be the most comfortable with Toothless, and we can all assure you he will never let you fall."

The princess turned toward Hiccup who had already mounted the Night Fury. He gave a small shrug with a smile as if to say, "Why not?"

Merida sighed, it was true Toothless was probably the only dragon she really trusted, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to trust him into taking her into the air. But there was no other choice. She wouldn't mind riding with Astrid, but the Nadder underneath her was too intimidating.

She walked up to the dragon, but then she wondered how on earth she was supposed to mount it. With Angus she could just throw herself over his back, but there seemed to be a large, black wing in the way. Seeing her dilemma, Hiccup offered her his arm. Hesitantly, she took it. He helped her up on the dragon's back, then handed her something leather.

"Here. Fasten this around you." he said.

She took it, but then gave a quizzical look. It seemed like a belt, but there were two straps hanging off the sides that had metal rings at the end of them.

"It's a spare harness." Hiccup explained, "That way you won't fall off as easily."

The princess nodded, then buckled the harness around her waist. After she was done, Hiccup took the rings and connected them to two hooks poking out of the side of the saddle. Merida gave a small grimace that her life is being protected by a bit of leather and metal, but it was still better than nothing.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Astrid called, and Merida looked up to see everyone on their dragons, nodding and a few of them giving a loud 'yeah'. Hiccup then put on his helmet and leaned down with his dragon, ready for takeoff. Merida's heart began to beat faster and faster.

Suddenly she felt her stomach drop all the way to her toes. Just as Hiccup had done years ago, Merida wrapped her arms tightly around his waist at takeoff. She had gone riding with Angus many times, but the speed of a horse was nothing compared to a dragon. The wind cut right through her, and she could see them rise higher and higher. Terrified, she shut her eyes closed. Eventually her body began to relax as she got used to the velocity, but when she opened her eyes again, all she could see under her feet was the vast ocean far below them. Her heart raced in fear.

Then she looked ahead.

The horizon was visible, and they seemed closer to the clouds than the water. She took in a deep breath as she stared in awe at such a sight. Daring herself to look down again, her eyes drifted to the water. But instead of shrinking in fear, she laughed at how high they were. Slowly she let go of the man in front of her. The speed, the thrill of it all allowed her heart to jump. Smiling, she allowed her arms to fly out free as though they were wings. Closing her eyes again, she cursed at herself for being so scared before. She remembered doing this with Angus pretending she really could fly, but this time when she opened her eyes she wasn't disappointed of being on the ground.

She couldn't describe the feeling that surged through her entire body. She could feel the air slip gently through her fingers, and her hair flew straight back, allowing the wind to touch her neck.

Looking ahead of herself she found the word for it. The word that would forever describe the feeling of flight:

Freedom.